Yeah, they took the midnight train, heading any where…
Speaking of circus rides and Riders (both Night and Dawn), I finally got off my duff and did an environment writeup for a Ferris wheel as I promised (or is that threatened?) to do months ago. More of a big civic design you might find in Ferristown than a carny ride, but it’ll give Flatfoot and company something to play around with.
1 Like
That is very cool! Although it seems like, with a 50/50 chance of adding two more minions on each damage save, the carny workers would spread in a hurry. It feels like there should be a limit on how often “Hey, Rube” can trigger across a set?
Randomizers:
Approach: 10, 7, 2 [Options: Skilled, Focused, Specialized, Overpowered, Tactician, Leech*]*
Archetype: 7, 2, 5 [Options: Inventor, Indomitable, Formidable, Loner, Legion*]*
Upgrade: 4, 12, 1 [Options: Mook Squad, Villainous Vehicle, Brainwashing Zone*]*
Mastery: 12, 3, 8 [Options: Conquest, Profitability Superiority, Malice*]*
Isotope
Real Name: Amita Randall, First Appearance: Fallout #14, December 1971
Approach: Leech, Archetype: Legion
Upgrade: Villainous Vehicle, Mastery: Malice
Status Dice: 9+ minions: d4. 5-8 minions: d6. 3-4 minions: d8. 1-2 minions: d10. No minions: d12. Health: 10+5H (Upgraded 25+5H)
Qualities: Close Combat d8, Science d8, Imposing d8, Mob Minds d8
Powers: Nuclear d10, Speed d8, Intangibility d6
Abilities:
- Radioactive Aura [A]: Hinder multiple targets using Nuclear. Recover Health equal to your Min die. If you roll doubles, also Attack one of those targets using your Max die.
- Fission [A]: Roll your single status die. Deal yourself that much irreducible damage. Create that many d6 minions.
- Reabsorb [A]: Remove any number of Legion-controlled minions. Roll their
- dice and Recover that much Health.
- Devour Force [R]: When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Nuclear die. If this negates the Attack entirely, Hinder that target and Boost yourself with that same die roll.
- Unfocused Hate (I): Whenever multiple Legion minions all take the same action against the same target, you must roll all of their dice at the same time and use the lowest rolling die amongst them for each minion’s result on that action.
-
(U) Warframe (I): The Warframe is a d10 lieutenant with the following powers:
- Nuclear Core [A]: Add minions to the Legion squad equal to half the Warframe’s current die size. Those minions are of a size equal to the highest die size already existing in that group. If the vehicle has a bonus or penalty, adjust the number of minions created by that amount and then remove that mod.
- Nuclear Bath [A]: Roll the Warframe’s die. Isotope Recovers that much Health.
- Sturdy (I): When rolling a damage save, add 2 to the result.
- Master of Malice (I): When you take an action to demonstrate or indulge in cruelty, automatically succeed at an Overcome to inflict pain or fear.
Common Scene Elements:
- An unstable doomsday device.
- A villain she is temporarily working with to her own ends.
- A cityscape full of civilians Isotope is threatening to draw the heroes out.
Half-Life’s early foes were a mixture of hired supervillains sent to track him down, and military opponents who believed that he was a threat. In Fallout #14, however, a new and deadly foe was introduced who would quickly become a serious problem. Over the course of the previous issues, the gang that Paul had been working for had successfully reconstructed the device that gave him his powers, and tracked down his unique power signature. They attempted to activate the device again to give nuclear powers to a squad of their hired goons.
This proved to be a mistake. The device erupted once again, but this time, its power wasn’t contained. The intended goons were instantly vaporized, as were most of the scientists working on the project, and all of them fused with the lead scientist, Amita Randall. She was instantly devoured from within, transforming into an unstable nuclear being who could fission off chimeric fragments of the many people who had died to create her. Convinced that Half-Life had somehow sabotaged her data, she sought revenge against both him and her former masters as the vicious villainess Isotope, gradually taking control of her criminal organization while pursuing the hero!
Keen-eyed readers noted many similarities between Isotope’s powers and the more stable powers displayed by Fission, and these were not an accident. As Isotope pursued Half-Life, it was revealed that she had been attempting to reverse-engineer leftover technology from both Neutrino’s old ship and the dimensional vessel that had been destroyed by Ignition, resulting in the nuclear-powered disasters that had afflicted both her and Half-Life. Isotope would go on to be a frequent foe to both Half-Life and the Vanguards, alternating between revelling in her condition and seeking a cure, no matter the cost to the civilians around her. In Fallout #24, she unveiled a Warframe built out of the parts of her experimental engine, capable of boosting her powers to threaten entire cities; while the first model Warframe was destroyed in Fallout #25, Isotope would continue to unveil new versions on a semi-regular basis.
Behind the Scenes
And with that, every villain option has been chosen at least once this phase!
Chief Lackey Rich built a very different Leech Legion; I don’t know if this one is very good mechanically, but I think she has a chance. She hurts herself to create massive swarms of minions, and then if you focus on her she defends herself and absorbs minions to heal, and if you focus on the minions she messes you up and heals as a side effect. She heals a lot, is what I’m saying. She’s definitely much more dangerous as an upgraded character, with enough health to loop the trick and a support vehicle that can either add to the swarm or keep Isotope healed up.
1 Like
They’re a puzzle minion, much like Major Twist in the Guise book is a puzzle lieutenant. If you just punch them out, they’re potentially a real problem. If you can Hinder them before they’re forced to save (often taking some teamwork to pull off) their odds of multiplying (and surviving) drop off sharply. Even if you can’t get the timing to work out all the time, their small die sizes make even minor Hinders pretty effective against them taking effective actions too.
Also, in that particular suggested scene they probably won’t be hostile to the heroes unless they insist on chasing off potential riders or stopping the wheel themselves (presumably to limit the villains’ movements) and even then a suitable Overcome could persuade them to cooperate. They’re more likely to get in the way of whichever villain tries to escape on the ground, and whatever henchmen they have with them. The ticket booth till’s right there, and a little en passant robbery is pretty appealing if the heroes aren’t pressing too hard. What could a few carnies do, right?
Love the background story, and the spawn/reabsorb cycle combined with a strong defensive Reaction is classic Legion villain material.
I think she’s okay as-is and as you said much, much more potent with her VV upgrade. Much like my power-suckers, she’s got that terrible base Health and relies on rolling her status die for minion generation. Really needs not to crap out on her early rolls or the whole engine kind of sputters and stalls, so distractions to keep from getting focused down early help a lot. An environment or villain ally with hero-Hinder twists will help her and her minions stay alive, and any that can grant her a re-roll (a Tactician villain, or perhaps a lieutenant with a custom ability) for when she whiffs that d12 status on round one would be a big help. A Bruiser ally with Living Wall never hurts either.
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That makes sense! I always forget that Hinders can apply to damage saves.
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Heh. I’ve seen my players deliberately avoid attacking a lieutenant with multiple penalties on them because they didn’t want to “waste” them on a damage save. Reducing the guy by one die step was going to have less effect than all those mods messing with his next action would, at least in their opinion.
That group was a little buggy about trying to one-shot lieutenants by doubling their die size with a massive Attack whenever they could. Theoretically more action-efficient than chipping down step by step…theoretically. 
2 Likes
Randomizers:
Approach: 3, 6, 5 [Options: Prideful, Bully, Disruptive, Mastermind, Specialized, Generalist*]*
Archetype: 7, 1, 2 [Options: Predator, Inventor, Formidable, Inhibitor, Loner*]*
Upgrade: 6, 10, 4 [Options: Villainous Vehicle, Power Upgrade II, Calming Aura*]*
Mastery: 4, 5, 10 [Options: Enforced Order, Mad Science, Total Chaos*]*
Rougarou
Real Name: Raoul Duchamp, First Appearance: Candle in the Dark #3, May 1972
Approach: Specialized, Archetype: Loner
Upgrade: Power Upgrade, Mastery: Total Chaos
Status Dice: No other villains: d10. 1-2 other villains: d8. 3+ other villains: d6. Health: 30+5H (Upgraded 50+5H)
Qualities: Close Combat d12, Imposing d8, Natural Hunter d8
Powers: Strength d10, Animal Control d8
Abilities:
- Rend and Tear [A]: Attack using Close Combat against one target with your Max die, another with your Mid die, and a third with your Min die.
- Pounce [A]: Attack using Close Combat and use your Max+Min dice. Defend yourself using your Mid die.
- Terrible Howl [A]: Hinder one target using Imposing and use your Max die. Attack that target using your Mid die.
- Lord of the Pack [R]: When a non-minion ally in the scene is defeated, roll your single Close Combat die as a Boost for yourself.
- Master Shapeshifter [R] When you would be Hindered or when an Attack would reduce you to 0 Health, reduce the penalty to -1 or reduce that damage to 1.
- (U) Power of the Moon (I): Increase Strength to d12 and Awareness to d10.
- (U) Master of Total Chaos (I): If you are in a situation where everything is spiralling out of control, automatically succeed in an Overcome to accomplish a task by throwing out the rules.
Common Scene Elements:
- One or two other werewolf villains who are infected by his curse and who mainly get in his way. These new werewolves are usually Underpowered, with a Bruiser who can redirect attacks aimed at Rougarou to themselves and a Predator who tries to pull outlying heroes away to munch on.
- A rural or wilderness environment with civilian targets that Rougarou is hunting, whose moonlight will empower him and his pack.
- A multi-step challenge to weaken Rougarou’s curse and make him easier to subdue.
After joining forces, Dawn Rider and Prometheus began to search for the reasons that their circus had been attacked, and the source of the divine flame that Prometheus had been created with. They soon discovered that some malign force was releasing cursed beings in an attempt to kill Dawn Rider, as part of an ancient ritual whose details remained vague to them. The most dangerous of these forces proved to be the monstrous werewolf Rougarou.
Introduced in the final pages of Issue #3 when he captured the Galleria Circus’s strongman and transformed him into a subservient wolf-man, Rougarou was initially presented as a powerful and cruel werewolf, determined to expand his pack by infecting only the strongest and toughest humans. Over the course of Issues #3 and #4, Rougarou diverted other monsters towards the duo, hoping to weaken them before he and his strongest wolves moved in for the kill, and then he struck, attacking the Galleria Circus and transforming several members of Dawn Rider’s troupe into minions.
But in the finale, as Dawn Rider and Prometheus subdued Rougarou and he bragged that her family could not be saved unless she killed him, Prometheus was able to see into the monster’s heart, and discovered the twin souls warring within him. Dawn Rider risked herself on a dangerous magical ritual and succeeded in binding Rougarou deep within the heart of the human mystic who it inhabited. They met Raoul Duchamp, and learned that he was the host of a terrible curse, which would inhabit anyone who slew him - Rougarou’s true plan had been to take the body of Prometheus for itself! Raoul had held the spirit of Rougarou for decades, staying in remote corners of the world and limiting its power, until a powerful and beautiful man had arrived at his doorstep, unbinding all of his protections with a single touch. The man had said only one thing - that this would aid in the return of Atlantis…
This was the preparation for Venture’s upcoming major event, “Dark Depths”, a crossover between several of the comics’ magical forces that combined Skybreaker Adventures, Dark Rivers, and Liberty’s Dream. Although their own limited series was done, both Dawn Rider and Prometheus would take part in the crossover as they sought to learn the secrets of Atlantis and the fall of the Fomorians!
As for Rougarou, his role in this crossover was done, but Raoul would go on to be a recurring villain across several lines, especially for Dawn Rider and Veilwalker. The werewolves that he turned could be saved if the curse was contained once again, but there would be long periods of time in which Rougarou took control of Raoul, and the magician sought new ways to contain the beast or cure himself. A past version of the monster even appeared as a foe in Cryptic Trails.
Behind the Scenes
It only seemed fitting for Venture Comics to do their own version of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.
I don’t know if Venture is going to add vampires to the mix; if they do, it probably won’t be as one of this run of villains because I don’t get very many! But I like the idea of a werewolf pack leader who is actually very bad at leading a pack and is at his best once his servants are defeated. Secondary park members will likely defend him, throwing themselves in the path of attacks and giving him time to get stronger as the moon’s light grows.
The added complication that you can’t kill Rougarou is really just there to create narrative tension; you can lock the host up, but if you kill them you merely inherit the curse. It’s a mean one, probably dating back a long time! Maybe someone will figure something out in future phases and this guy can become a hero, or maybe not. We will see.
2 Likes
That one Loner ability where you self-Boost when an ally drops produces some counterintuitive effects, which I found pretty amusing. My experiment with it carried it to extremes by using a whole team of “Loners” in name only, all of whom Boost each time one of the others drops. Of course, it would be more efficient to just use a few lieutenants instead, but where’s the fun in that?
So what happens if/when the curse-bearer just up and suicides? That ought to put an end to it, there being no living killer to transfer to - or maybe you wind up with a reanimated zombie werewolf instead?
I think in that case, the curse is loosed and simply races to the nearest possible host, although “reanimated zombie werewolf” is also an interesting possibility. Maybe that’s what will happen in the Iron Age!
3 Likes
It does seem like a very Iron Age thing to have happen. Even if not a typical mindless zombie, an effectively immortal revenant werewolf that can only die if someone else kills them and then passes along the curse is the kind of angsty edgelord stuff you started seeing a lot of in that era and going forward.
2 Likes
Randomizers:
Approach: 2, 6, 7 [Options: Skilled, Disruptive, Focused, Mastermind, Specialized, Adaptive]
Archetype: 8, 5, 3 [Options: Bruiser, Indomitable, Inhibitor, Domain, Fragile]
Upgrade: 1, 8, 9 [Options: Mook Squad, Quality Upgrade II, Defense Shield]
Mastery: 2, 5, 11 [Options: Behind the Curtain, Mad Science, Unfathomable]
Eochu Bres, King of Atlantis
Real Name: Eochu Bres, First Appearance: Dark Rivers #44, Sep 1972
Approach: Mastermind, Archetype: Domain
Upgrade: Quality Upgrade, Mastery: Unfathomable
Status Dice: Based on environment minions, lieutenants, and/or challenges. 3+: d10. 1-2: d8. None: d6. Health: 50+5H (Upgraded 70+5H)
Qualities: Persuasion d10, Magical Lore d8, Close Combat d8, Alertness d8, Insight d8, King of Atlantis d8
Powers: Presence d12, Radiant d10, Teleportation d8
Abilities:
- The Beautiful One [A]: Hinder all opponents that can see or hear you using Persuasion. Boost yourself using your Max die.
- Shining Sea [A]: Attack one hero using Magical Lore. Hinder all heroes using your Max die.
- Master of the Dark Sea (I): Ignore damage from Environment sources during the environment’s turn.
- Call the Tides [A]: Activate one of the environment’s twists in its current zone or one zone closer to red.
- Sand Against the Waves [R]: When Attacked, redirect the Attack to an environment minion.
- (U) Immortal Demigod (I): Increase your Persuasion to d12, and your Magical Lore, Close Combat, Alertness, and Insight to d10.
- (U) Master of the Unfathomable (I): If you are in a situation involving eldritch and disturbing forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome to do the bidding of the Formorians.
Common Scene Elements:
- An immensely hostile environment, either in the halls of Atlantis or where the Dark Sea is invading a civilian locale.
- Atlantean Royal Guard: A set of D8 minions who get +2 to save against environmental damage.
- Caoránach: A terrible and nigh-immortal sea monster, built as an Overpowered Titan with “You Are Not Worthy of My Power”, “Do Not Dare Touch Me”, “Down the Hatch”, “Foolish Insect”, and “You are But Gnats to Me”. Caoránach can only swim within the Dark Sea; additional Challenges can force the Sea back from areas of the environment to keep the serpent from attacking.
Mid-1972 saw the second grand crossover event in Vanguard Comics, “Dread Depths”. This crossover spanned the pages of Dark Rivers, Liberty’s Dream, and Skybreaker Stories for three months, with two issues of each comic devoted to the rising of Atlantis and the return of the Formorians after over twenty years sealed away by prior generations of mages.
The story began with the appearance of Dawn Rider and Prometheus in the pages of Dark Rivers, investigating the force who had been attacking them. As Veilwalker tried to help them, the three were attacked by a powerful, shining figure, who declared himself the King of Atlantis. He revealed that twenty years ago, the Dark Sea had been sealed away by three gates, and he was here to break the gate sealed by the Night Rider, gathering an array of mystical curses that he used to snap the gate open and throw the heroes into the sea.
In the next two stories, Bres would use Unseelie treaties to undermine the second gate, defeating Reverie and casting her into the sea, before facing off against Skybreaker, who recognized him as an ancient fae king who had sacrificed his kingdom to the Fomorians for personal power, sinking Atlantis beneath the sea and turning it into a gateway to the Dark Sea. Skybreaker had defeated him in the ancient past, and his successor in the 1940s had stopped his attempt to reteurn alongside the mystical heroes of that age. Once again, however, Bres was sucessful, claiming the Spear of Assal and casting Skybreaker into the depths. There, the hero was surprised to see other heroes alive and holding their own, protected by… the Drifter!
The second half of Dark Depths revealed that the Drifter was, along with a handful of other immortals, a descendant of Atlantis, moving through life on the currents and trying to bury the loss of his people. He had been forced back into action by the rise of Atlantis, moving to the Dark Sea to save the heroes Bres was casting down, and with his help and Veilwalker’s magic, they were able to return to Grovedale, facing off against Bres and his demonic hordes as he sought to throw the city into the Sea and replace it with Atlantis, and thus creating a conduit for Balor to enter the world. At the conclusion of the event, Atlantis was forced beneath the waves again and Skybreaker reclaimed his spear, but it was clear that Bres was not gone for good. The King would be seeking to open the gates once more, and would be a perilous foe for the magical heroes of the world in the years to come…
Behind the Scenes
I was looking for a good Fomorian opponent who could actually appear, unlike Balor, and then I got a Mastermind Domain character and went with “master of the Dark Sea”. In mythology, Bres was a Tuatha king who surrendered to the Fomorians, and now we see what the Venture version of that is!
Bres is a nasty piece of work. His usual plan is to trigger environmental nonsense, but he’s got plenty of power of his own to shine heroes into submission with some truly nasty Hinders or force most of them back while he targets someone vulnerable. Caoránach is even more unstoppable, although the built-in challenges should help with that. Overpowered Titans have a lot of d12s to throw around until you make them vulnerable.
3 Likes
Interesting mix of Irish and Atlantean myths there. A two-month long six-issue three-book crossover would have been huge IRL 1972, but Sentinels skews the “big event” concept earlier than we actually got - although we did get smaller character crossovers like the first JLA/JSA team-up.
Weirdly, I was just looking at the M&M villain writeup for Bres the Beautiful. They gave him an artifact called the Eye of Balor that essentially contains the dead Fomorian’s spirit and powers - and they also made him a Fomororian changeling rather than a Tuatha. Yours lives up to the “Beautiful” moniker a lot better.
Yeah, big crossovers are a little more common in this setting (Dimensional Devastation back in '68 was really pushing it). This one, in terms of effect, is probably similar to the whopping Thanos War crossover Marvel did in '73, which covered twelve issues of comics in multiple lines over the course of six months. It’s definitely the biggest crossover in this five-year stretch, and probably will wind up being the biggest in the Bronze Age unless something surprises me.
DC seems to have had fewer big crossovers than Marvel prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths; they usually just had two-parters across two comics, or appearances by a hero in another hero’s book for an event.
1 Like
Oh yeah, I always forget Thanos War was as early as it was. That was huge for its day.
DC was definitely less prone to really big events prior to the '84 Crisis, but they’ve sure been making up for lost time ever since. Arguably not a Good Thing that, although YMMV.
2 Likes
Randomizers:
Approach: 2, 8, 8 [Options: Skilled, Mastermind, Overpowered, Dampening, Ancient*]*
Archetype: 4, 3, 5 [Options: Bruiser, Guerrilla, Indomitable, Formidable, Inhibitor, Loner*]*
Upgrade: 5, 9, 10 [Options: Power Upgrade I, Defense Shield, Calming Aura*]*
Mastery: 7, 12, 2 [Options: Behind the Curtain, Mysticism, Malice*]*
The Man
Real Name: Hank Ferris Sr., First Appearance: (as The Man) Fly Boy #1, Oct 1973
Approach: Skilled, Archetype: Inhibitor
Upgrade: Defense Shield, Mastery: Behind the Curtain
Status Dice: 3+ Heroes with penalties: d10, 1-2 heroes with penalties: d8, No heroes with penalties: d6. Health: 25+5H
Qualities: Technology d10, Imposing d10, Criminal Underworld d8, Insight d8, Investigation d8, Secret Magnate d8
Powers: Inventions d10, Presence d8, Deduction d6
Abilities:
- Entitlement [A]: Hinder using Presence. Use your Min die. Boost yourself using your Max die.
- Suppressing Fire [A]: Hinder multiple targets using Technology and use your Max die. If you roll doubles, also Attack each target with your Mid die.
- Power Syphon [A]: Hinder using Inventions. That penalty is persistent and exclusive. As long as that penalty is in play, reduce damage dealt to you by 1 and whenever you are dealt damage, the target with this penalty takes 1 irreducible damage.
- See Through You [R]: When Attacked by someone with a penalty you created, Defend by rolling your single Status die, and the attacker also suffers that much damage.
- (U) Imbedded Force Shield (I): You cannot be damaged by anyone except yourself until the defense shield is destroyed. The defense shield has 40 Health, or can be deactivated with three Overcome successes. If a hero takes a minor twist working on the shield, you can make an Attack as a reaction by rolling your single Inventions die.
- (U) Repair Force Shield [A]: Overcome using Inventions. Use your Max die. On a success, remove one success from the deactivating challenge. Alternatively, instead of an Overcome, use the Max die to Recover that much of the defense shield’s Health. This ability cannot be used if the defense shield has been completely removed.
- (U) Master Behind the Curtain (I): As long as you are not directly involved in the fray and are using your influence indirectly, automatically succeed at an Overcome to manipulate a situation.
Common Scene Elements:
- Company Men: d8 Minions. As a reaction, they can step their die down, then roll it to Defend a superior.
- Locksmiths: d8 Minions. When they Hinder, roll twice and take the better result.
- Secret Lairs: These act as dangerous environments, often filled with The Man’s inventions or attempts at life-extending technology.
Fly Boy’s ultimate nemesis was the criminal master of Ferristown, a sneering industrialist who ran the criminal organization colloquially known as The Company and who was instrumental in his plans to destabilize the neighborhood, with the ultimate goal of taking control of it, clearing it out, and “gentrifying” the whole area. In his first several appearances he was known only as “The Man”, but keen-eyed readers who had been following The Fearless Flatfoot immediately recognized Ferristown’s first master, Hank Ferris.
By this point, Ferris had been a criminal for over forty years, but while his body was growing weaker his criminal mind was as sharp as ever. Having gradually rebuilt his empire with the help of his son, Ferris was determined to take control of what he viewed as his city once again, clearing out the rot and the ‘undesirable elements’ and returning it to a state of ‘purity.’ Fly Boy was the ultimate repudiation of his ideals - a man with no formal education, living in the slums, assembling hypertechnology that rivalled the best that Ferris could manage with a team of scientists and an unlimited budget. Ferris hated Fly Boy, and was determined to destroy him.
While he mainly stayed behind the curtain, Ferris’s repeated experiments into prolonging his own life had left him with a highly capable battle wheelchair equipped with power-draining features, which he could use in abstract to keep his vitals stable and stave off the effects of age, and in the moment to drain the vitality and energy of his foes. He would prove to be a deadly foe to both Fly Boy and his ancient nemesis Flatfoot, as he sought to both expand his dominion and secure a route to immortality.
Behind the Scenes
I’ve said for a while that I wanted Hank Ferris to come back, and having him return in the Blaxploitation storyline as the epitome of white corruption and power really just seemed like the obvious choice. This gives me a way to link Fly Boy more closely to other stories, to make use of my pretty limited selection of Bronze Age villains, and to have a villain called The Man.
The Man is not particularly damaging, but he is an annoying foe to face off against, with powerful Hinders, good defenses, and a few tricks to attach himself to his enemies and make their lives more difficult. His minions are likely to make that situation worse, with Company Men defending him and Locksmiths powering up his status die, but if you can get him alone and start punching, he’s an old guy in a powered wheelchair, he’s not going to last long.
Also, Hero Forge has some pretty solid wheelchair options, but it definitely took a bit of fiddling to include more sci-fi elements. I like how it turned out!
3 Likes
The cow-catcher’s a nice touch, very retrotech look for a rather retro villain.
Fly Boy being much better at tech than Hank is is another similarity to Milestone’s Hardware, although he worked from within the system to sabotage it - and he was nowhere near as principled at first.
1 Like
Randomizers:
Approach: 4, 7, 1 [Options: Relentless, Underpowered, Bully, Focused, Mastermind, Generalist]
Archetype: 2, 2, 3 [Options: Inventor, Bruiser, Guerilla, Indomitable, Legion]
Upgrade: 8, 2, 9 [Options: Hardier Minions, Quality Upgrade II, Defense Shield]
Mastery: 7, 2, 5 [Options: Behind the Curtain, Mad Science, Mysticism]
Pioneer
Real Name: Pinky Bickerton, First Appearance: Cryptic Trails Vol. 3 #2, July 1974
Approach: Focused, Archetype: Bruiser
Upgrade: Quality Upgrade, Mastery: Mysticism
Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d10. Health: 35+5H
Qualities: Ranged Combat d10, Magical Lore d8, Tracker d8
Powers: Radiant d12, Awareness d8
Abilities:
- Lure Them In [A]: Defend yourself using Radiant. This Defend lasts until your next turn. If an Attack deals more damage than the Defend’s value, end the Defend and Attack the attacker equal to the Defend.
- Get Them Where You Want Them [A]: Hinder one target using Awareness. Use your Max die. Attack that target using your Mid die.
- Holy Blast [A]: Attack one target using Radiant. Use your Max die. That target cannot Defend or use reactions against this Attack. Attack multiple other nearby targets using your Min die.
- Flagellant [R]: When Attacked, use the amount of damage taken by the Attack to Boost yourself.
- Untouchable (I): Reduce damage taken by physical and energy sources by 1 while in the Green zone, 2 in the Yellow zone, and 3 in the Red zone.
Common Scene Elements:
- Bickerton Men: d8 Minions. If any other minions or lieutenants are nearby, this minion has a +1 to their actions. If not, they have a -1 to their actions.
- Silas, Remy, and/or Wendell Bickerton: Pinky’s brothers are villains in their own right; Silas focuses on social skills and acts as an Inhibitor, Remy is a Relentless gunslinger who competes with Pinky, and Wendell is a researcher and Inventor.
- High Noon: An environment representing a nearby town occupied by the Bickertons, with civilians, captive monsters, and locations for gunfights.
While Winter Wolf’s most common opponents were local rustlers, dangerous monsters, and occasional wandering gunslingers looking to take him down, his most enduring foes were the Bickerton Agency, and their regional leader Pinky Bickerton, commonly known as the Pioneer. Introduced in Cryptic Trails Vol 3. #2 as a framing narrative, Pioneer would first face off against Winter Wolf in Issue #4, when she kidnapped a family of knockers to draw him out of Lostwood for a showdown.
Pinky Bickerton was a firm believer in Manifest Destiny; she had grown up in a family of monster hunters who had used their investigative skills and magical abilities to branch out into security and bounty hunting, and had risen through the ranks to become a champion mage and gunslinger, armed with mystical weapons and powers. Pinky felt it was her duty to make the West safe for God-fearing Americans, and that monsters should be either killed or made useful; either as subjects for her family’s studies, labourers using their abilities for the betterment of the superior species, or simply amusements to show that the world belonged to humanity. She often kept her victims alive rather than killing them simply to show that she was stronger, which fortunately gave Winter Wolf a chance for daring rescues and escapes.
While she was a skilled tracker and fighter, Pinky wasn’t much for the niceties of life, viewed as halfway to being a feral beast herself by the rest of her family. Her frequent clashes with the other Bickertons formed the backdrop of frequent stories; in Cryptic Trails #50 one of these feuds escalated to an attempt on her life by her eldest brother Silas, and ultimately his death as she killed him in revenge and framed Winter Wolf for the deed.
Behind the Scenes
Focused gives you so few dice, it is kind of impressive. But it works for someone with a truly one-track mind, and giving her radiant magic sets her against the main character for showdown purposes.
Obviously, the Bickertons are one part Pinkerton and one part Van Helsing, a combination that works beautifully for the purposes of a Wild West monster enclave. I don’t know if any of them survive to the modern age, or if their conflict with Winter Wolf is ultimately going to be the downfall of the organization and the family, but we will have to see!
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Feels like she or some member of her family are likely to cross paths with Rougarou at some point, probably resulting in one of them killing him and catching the curse. Not the kinds of villains that are going to get along with each other at all.
Must refrain from Animaniacs jokes.
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I definitely considered claiming that one of her siblings was the Brain of the outfit. But in the end I stuck with just the one joke. 
It’s not impossible that the Bickertons end up being the connective tissue between the Cryptic Trails version of Rougarou, and the guy who has it in the present day. On the other hand, they might have enough mystical knowledge to know not to kill it, and instead have some poor soul locked up in their basement until he breaks free and wrecks revenge. A couple ways it could go…
And unrelated, I thought I would share a little sign of how much energy I’m putting into this project (hint: too much!)
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Pinky. Bickerton.
They really went there, huh? XD
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