What’s vital for a GM when portraying villains is their motivation. What do they want? Why? These are questions for which the GM must have answers when he begins setting the scene, lest he end up with a rehash of the last lot of villains, with different costumes.
Most villains fall into certain basic archetypes: the punk, the bandit, the mobster, the professional, the terrorist, the expert burglar, the assassin, the artiste, the boss, the master mind, the show off, the psycho, the mad scientist, the cultist/lodge member, the outcast and the alien invader.
The Punk: usually in their teens, but can be any age. The punk is not a skilled criminal (in fact, they may not be skilled at anything), but is a criminal because of financial need, peer pressure, opposition to authority, or for kicks. They have bravado because they fear to appear weak, are hurried when committing crimes because they’re scared, and are easily cowed by the appearance of authority figures, especially if they have the advantage of numbers. But they can still be dangerous: fear, anger or desperation frequently drives them to violence, and they often act without thinking. Many gang members are punks, although most gangs will feature one or more individuals who can lead because they have brains and a modicum of self-control. Most drug addicts who turn to crime to support their habit are punks. Most burglars, car thieves, muggers and drugstore or service station robbers are punks.
The Bandit: rarely seen in Western countries in the present day, but still common in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Bandits have learned that if they have weapons and a willingness to use them, that they can cow, rob, rape and kill other folk with ease. Bandits are often in their teens, but can be any age. They are unskilled, though they have a familiarity with weapons and some may be quite competent. They enjoy petty power and the abuse of it, but wish for little more than the fear of others and physical gratification. They sometimes kill or maim for fun or out of anger, more often just for money, and they do so with little compunction. They are poorly organised, lazy, mostly have over-inflated egos and usually fare badly against properly organised and led troops or heroes.
The Mobster: usually in their twenties or older. Mobsters are regular criminals who run one or more businesses, with the objective of making money. They are almost always part of an extended family or group of associates who act to assist each other in their lawful and unlawful acts. Though their businesses may be illegal (prostitution, extortion, drug-running, gambling) they commit violent acts usually only when necessary to protect or further their business - although they are proud of their family or group and can be provoked to violence. They are a step up from the punk in terms of organisation and attitude. They tend to have one of three flaws: either they are disloyal and may consider treachery (from acting for an enemy gang to ratting on their colleagues), they may be blindly loyal and refuse to surrender even when outgunned (resulting in a bloodbath), or they may be greedy or overconfident, and reach beyond their grasp. Most mobsters are satisfied to be minions of a boss, without the responsibilities of running an organisation.
The Professional: hard-cases who are skilled at a particular type of crime and stick to it, usually moving from place to place every so often to avoid becoming too well known. Professionals make the best hijackers, armed robbers and are good at high-intensity, often violent jobs requiring a cool head, steady hand and keen eye. They are frequently cold-blooded killers who will use the maximum possible response when threatened. They are usually smart enough to recognise when a plan has gone wrong or the odds are poor, and will attempt to make a getaway. Because they work in frequently-changing small groups or alone, professionals are more independent and flexible than mobsters. Mercenaries and covert operatives also fall into this category.
The Terrorist: terrorists do not believe themselves to be criminals, but rather the tools of a higher power than the law: sometimes a revolution, sometimes a fundamentalist religion. Because of this belief that they have a moral superiority to the masses and the defenders of the law, they can perform acts that "professional" criminals would not - such as setting bombs in public places. They sometimes are fanatical enough to plan their own deaths, but usually have an escape route. Often they have contingency plans in case they are killed, such as dead-man switches and bomb timers. Terrorists usually have a bit of weapons and/or explosive training, but depend on the free nature of democratic society and their own commitment to succeed. They sometimes argue among themselves about how to bring about their goals, and this can lead to violence or the group splitting into several parts.
The Expert Burglar: burglars are thieves who would prefer to avoid violence or even discovery. The expert burglar - often a cat-burglar, safe-cracker or the like - is a proud, skilled professional who prides him/herself on not having to resort to violence, on being successful by using their head and planning, or by their wits and agility when things go wrong. Expert burglars will run rather than fight, and usually surrender rather than have a stand-up battle they can’t avoid - although they will not surrender to an obviously weaker force. Some expert burglars have so much pride (considering themselves modern day Robin Hoods) that they disdain to rob common folk, restricting themselves to the very wealthy and to corporations or governments - even sometimes to a specific kind of theft, such as paintings or jewels. A few are proud enough to taunt heroes, police or victims about an imminent theft, just for the added thrill.
The Assassin: this type of villain is rare. Most murders are spur-of-the-moment events, and most contract killings are done by amateurs - punks or mobsters. The assassin has a reputation to consider, and works for big money. They are often regular travellers, who may work regularly for a particular employer, but consider themselves free agents. Assassins are highly skilled individuals who almost always work alone, occasionally in small groups. They are usually ex-military or intelligence types. They have excellent self-control and are rarely identifiable as anything out of the ordinary, unless they wish to be. Like expert burglars, they usually pride themselves on planning, falling back on their wits and agility only when things go wrong. Some assassins may become intoxicated with the hunt, and offer victims a "sporting chance" - usually less than sporting, but enough that a lucky, skilled or heroic victim might turn the tables.
The Artiste: Artistes may be burglars, or killers, or something else all together. Artistes do not do crimes, in their own view; they create art. An artiste will always have a style, to which they will rigidly cling, and by which they may be identified or even predicted. Artistes are flamboyant and always like to talk to their victims and enemies, to impress them with their uniqueness. They are usually very intelligent and charismatic, and though they sometimes work with others, they prefer to be their own boss; usually with a group of flunkies to do the grunt work. Artistes gain the most pleasure from demonstrating their superiority to others, especially any self-elected heroes, and prefer to humiliate their enemies rather than kill them (not all Artistes are killers anyway). Often Artistes value their art above the lives of innocent people.
The Boss: a boss is a member of a gang or organisation, whose ability to manipulate (by fear or by example) his fellows and to plan has caused them to float to the top. They are strong-willed (but not always self-disciplined), usually intelligent and charismatic. Most bosses wish merely to continue the status quo: to have "their boys" doing the business they usually do, and to keep the money flowing in. Their concerns are that their power should not be eroded or usurped. A few are visionaries, with plans to expand their operations, take over the turf of other bosses, and to bring down the defenders of justice who stand in their way. These visionaries are usually aroused by personal power, will sacrifice innocents or even their own minions (pawns) to achieve their goals, and (because they attract attention) tend to be short-lived. They cause far more trouble during their brief careers than more middle-of-the-road bosses. Bosses tend to believe in making examples, because in their view to do otherwise is to demonstrate weakness. Thus, those who oppose the boss often suffer a crushing response.
The Master Mind: the master mind, like the artiste, is a very unusual (some might say crazy) person. Like the artiste, most master minds are consumed by the need to demonstrate their superiority - in this case their superior intellect. A few have some vision they wish to make real; often world domination. Master minds are manipulators, who move their minions and unwitting creatures around like pieces on a chessboard to achieve a given end. Often they will elect themselves the "arch-nemesis" of a hero or a hero team, pitting themselves against the heroes secretly to demonstrate their superiority. Master minds almost never actually confront their enemies until their plan has advanced to the point where the hero(es) have been captured and/or are in their power - and then, they cannot resist the temptation to gloat. Often in person. Many master minds suffer from the temptation to then place their enemies in some situation from which they are intended not to escape (usually they are supposed to die) but from which the master mind could themselves escape; thus again proving themselves superior. Master minds always have great resources - either money, some kind or power, or their brains - sometimes as well as their brains. People can be manipulated using nothing but clever plans, but power and money help. Master minds always need minions.
The Show Off: some people crave money, others power. Show offs crave recognition. Whatever acts they perform will be designed to gain them publicity, and thus will usually involve public landmarks, media figures, broadcast stations, and acts of crime so blatant that they will make the front page. Show offs would prefer to be shown as brave, stylish rogues, of course, rather than cowards or losers, and so they must defeat or humiliate opposing heroes, although killing them is generally out and in fact to escape and leave them baffled is better than to leave them battered. Show offs tend to operate alone, because they don’t like to share the lime-light. They tend to feature flamboyant costumes, behaviour, and speech, and take risks: which is how they usually get caught.
The Psycho: mentally aberrant criminals are most people’s worst nightmare. There are good reasons for this. They do what they do because of some internal logic or voice which is not apparent to anyone else, and so their acts seem to be without rhyme or reason, senseless. This is not so, but profiling a psychopath is a difficult and unpleasant task. Psychos do not always wear costumes, do not always do the most logical thing, and work alone and in secret, which make them difficult to find. Sex criminals are usually considered too sordid for most hero-villain games, but killers are popular - and psycho killers are the most ruthless of all. They can view other people as having no intrinsic value. Psychos do have an internal logic, to which they will unerringly cling, and by which they can be detected and/or predicted. Some prey only on a very specific type of victim (middle-eastern cab drivers, for example, or size-14 young women), and for some murder is only a part of a personal journey they know they must travel. They tend to be methodical, and often repeat themselves in their method. Psychopaths are, as a rule, highly intelligent, often charming, inconspicuous, and unsuspected even by regular acquaintances until they are caught in some overt act. Psychos are difficult characters to accurately portray; do your research if you intend to try!
The Mad Scientist: the mad scientist has a great deal of knowledge and brilliance concerning a specific field of endeavour. Often they are somewhat naive or overly cynical regarding other fields. Mad scientists usually want revenge for years of being ignored or derided by the scientific community, and often plan to take revenge on society as a whole, by demonstrating the fruits of their discoveries in a manner gauged to gain as much publicity, and cause as much misery to those they hate, as possible. Years of suffering have twisted the mad scientist into a misanthrope. Mad scientists usually need minions, but apart from a trusted lab assistant they are usually hired gunsels of poor quality. Mad scientists are usually physically outclassed by heroes, whom they view as the agents of the mocking public, and thus to be obliterated with whatever terrible new weapon is available. Once disarmed, they usually surrender, only to dream of a new beginning and a new revenge.
The Cultist/Lodge Member: cults and secret societies make great opponents in a super-hero campaign. For one thing, there can always be more of them. For another, religious fanatics, brain-washed masked minions, and lodge members who fear their own sinister leader more than any righteous heroes, make great opponents, neither asking nor offering any quarter. Such secret cults or societies have a goal which every member works towards - it may be world domination (overt or covert), the emergence of some evil, alien elder power from another dimension, or another dastardly purpose. Over the years, some comics have portrayed such societies as composed of Nazis, seeking the rise of the Fourth Reich. Typically, a cult or secret society will have access to some kind of advanced or alien technology, or mystic powers or objects. They can perform secret acts in their everyday guise as normal people, or as masked minions perform overt acts of terror. Some such lodge teach martial arts, some brainwash their minions to enforce absolute obedience, others actively attempt to recruit super-heroes or villains under coercion by threatening their families and loved ones. Such cults and secret societies, and their vicious behaviour, always create a few hostile individuals who have encountered them - almost powerless individually, but with the knowledge to aid more powerful opponents, should they be somehow located. Such persons - the children of cult victims, or escaped brainwash candidates - are often the ultimate downfall of such organisations.
The Outcast is an individual who wishes only to be like everyone else. However, because they look hideous or alien or have obvious super powers, people have hated or feared them, and may have attacked them or driven them away. They have usually no friends or family, and bond with other outcasts, such as fugitives, wanted criminals, and homeless people. Their anger at the way they’ve been treated is directed at society - at those who fit in - often specifically the beautiful, the popular, and the successful. Super heroes are often targets! Outcasts can be easily manipulated by smarter villains, and easily provoked by pretty much anyone. However, they can sometimes be befriended with kindness. They tend to select ugly, desolate, lonely hiding places, such as toxic industrial precincts, disused subway tunnels, and the like.
The Alien Invader: Alien invasions make for exciting campaigns! However, they are a lot of work. Individual aliens are typically average representatives of their culture: if the culture is militaristic, harsh and inhuman, they the average alien will be that. Aliens may have very alien reasons for invading, but they might include: (1) they live under the earth or the ocean, and are angry at human pollution/expansion (2) they are jealous of mankind’s success, and as an older/younger race they intend to supplant mankind as Earth’s dominant race (3) they want the Earth’s valuable resources and/or living space (4) they see humanity as a dangerous race about to explore space, and who must be defeated before they become a real threat (5) Earth has unwittingly done something which has offended the aliens, such as launching a probe which accidentally destroyed an important spacecraft (6) the aliens have been duped into attacking, by a super villain who has convinced the aliens that all other humans are evil or dangerous. Not all aliens will agree with the invasion, however, and dissenters may be the key to ending the war. It is even possible that the war could go on for some time, with neither side realising why the other side is fighting. Aliens, like psychos, are very different from humans, and have consistent but different motivations; it is therefore very important to do research before you play.
Vanquisher
Alias Jurgen Loew. Male caucasian, stands 7’4" tall, masses 295 lbs., 24 years old. He has dark hair which is cropped to stubble, is clean-shaven, and has blue eyes. His physique is almost grotesquely muscular, with bulging veins, and several livid scars on his hands and forearms.
Mutant, 3rd level. I.Q. 10, M.E. 13, M.A. 9, P.S. 34, P.E. 24, P.P. 11, P.B. 12, S.P.D. 19, H.P. 25, S.D.C. 140.
Major powers: Manipulate Matter Strength (new)
Minor powers: extraordinary P.S., extraordinary P.E.
Jurgen is a Danish national who, following his first taste of military service in the Danish army, found it to his liking and served in progressively less official military units - in Iraq, Bosnia, and Angola. In Angola he was wounded and left behind by his comrades, and captured by rebel forces. The rebels eventually turned him over to members of the shadowy Tau organisation, whose presence in that country was somehow related to the rebels. Tau scientists subjected him to a series of excruciating experiments, which he was evidently not intended to survive. In his cell, Jurgen found that he could break his chains. His powers had manifested, and he rampaged through the base, killing the scientists who’d tormented him and fleeing in a stolen chopper. After killing his mates who’d left him in the scrub, he returned to Europe, where he found little work for a super-powered mercenary not attached to any cause. In America, he heard, there was money to be made. Soon after, he was in Olympia.
In Olympia he fell in with henchmen of the nefarious Silencer. The Silencer offered him a lavish share of the loot, and a chance to pit himself against the self-styled heroes of the city. The partnership has been a dream for Jurgen, and a nightmare for the city.
Jurgen, before he gained his powers, was of the "professional" villain archetype. Like many villains, gaining his powers has made him arrogant and overconfident, and he has discarded many of his more careful ways. He enjoys wreaking havoc, eliciting fear, and defeating the self-righteous protectors of society. He will not intentionally kill unless it is necessary, but he does not pull his punches; and he is unconcerned by the deaths of enemies or innocents.
His major super power, Manipulate Matter Strength, is a new power which will be described in a later article. In summary, however, he can increase or decrease the S.D.C. of objects - and persons - by a factor of 3, at a touch. When used on living things, the effects are temporary.
Vanquisher always dresses in light, rigid body armour which he has used his power on (A.R. 14, SDC 300). He avoids using his power to enhance the bodies of his allies (he doesn’t want to be constantly pestered, and besides, he likes being so much tougher than everyone else), but one of the first things he will do in a serious fight is to use his power to weaken his opponent’s armour, or else his opponent directly. He prefers to smash enemies with his fists, but if seriously threatened will uproot telegraph poles or other large, blunt instruments to inflict 1D4x10 damage with.
The Order
This is a secret criminal organisation. It has no single leader, instead being run along the lines of a gentlemen’s club, with a chairman, secretary and treasurer, all of whom are elected and can be replaced when necessary. It is also believed to be global in scope, with hundreds of dedicated employees and thousands of unwitting dupes or hired freelancers. The Order exists for just one thing: the indulgence of the whims of the membership.
The members are all extremely rich, and sufficiently corrupt that they view their own desires as paramount, and the laws of society - not to mention the concerns of non-members - as inconsequential. Most of them are men. They contribute $10,000,000.00 annually (each) to The Order’s treasury, to cover the payroll, regular expenses and special events. In return, The Order supplies them with information, protection (both physical and legal), a supremely elite and smugly secret social connection, access to various illegal diversions ranging from narcotics, fights to the death, man hunts, cuisine made from endangered species and slavery.
The Order’s employees are extremely well-paid, and as a result they are highly skilled and dedicated. Well-dressed, usually polite and clean-cut, they are not the image of mob hitters. The "middle management" of The Order are mostly ex-intelligence types, but a few super types exist.
Tau
This is a secret society. Tau is known only to a few individuals, who know well the value of staying silent; this society values its unknown status, which gives it greater freedom to operate. Tau’s avowed objective is world domination, but they don’t plan to accomplish it by flashy (and perilous) stunts like holding the globe to ransom or kidnapping every single head of state. Instead, they work in secret, building blackmail cases to coerce decisions by government officials, threatening family members, infiltrating law enforcement and intelligence operations, and arranging fatal accidents for those who prove difficult to persuade. Tau may be a global organisation; certainly it has operatives in the US, Europe, and Asia.
No known members of Tau have super powers. Tau agents in Olympia are involved in gaining control of local high-tech companies and in gathering information about Olympia’s heroes. They may also be involved in occasional daring thefts, using coerced employees to bypass alarms and open locks, as Tau requires funds to operate.
Operatives of Tau do not take part in stand-up battles. Where attacks must be made, they are always done using subterfuge and surprise, typically using a disguised operative to get close to a target with a silenced pistol, or a sniper with a Shiva rifle, or both. Once firing begins, operatives employ terrifying Inferno pistols to quell any remaining resistance. If victory is not quickly forthcoming, the Tau agents will quickly disengage and melt into the shadows, and will seek an easier avenue. Violence of any kind is only used when other underhanded tactics will not work, as it is too newsworthy, and Tau fears publicity. As yet they have no high-level infiltrators in the city’s newspaper, The Torch, and so they cannot kill stories once they are known to journalists.
Tau has certain resources which give it an edge over conventional spies and undercover agents. They are:
Examples of Tau technology are detailed below:
The laser, used alone, has a range of 500’ and can do either 2D6 S.D.C. or 4D6 S.D.C. It can only fire single shots, not bursts. The targeting setting adds +2 strike with an aimed shot. The E-clip holds enough power for 50 low-power shots or 25 full-power shots. A low-power shot is used to propel a bullet.
The rifle has a range of 1200’ and does D6x10 S.D.C. It can only fire single shots, not bursts. The targeting setting adds +2 strike with an aimed shot. The magazine holds 50 rounds.
Using a Det-Whip is dangerous. If a natural 1, or a modified 2, 3, or 4 is rolled, the whip hits the user, and does full damage to them.
The Det-Whip is not effective unless it is in contact with something when it explodes, because its blast radius is just a few centimetres. When wrapped about something (say, for example, an arm), it does 2D4x10 S.D.C. damage, and will sever a human limb, head, robot arm, etc. It’s actually pretty difficult to hit the head or neck; most people put their arms in the way. A normal attack will hit (roll D%): 01-20 left leg, 21-40 right leg, 41-65 left arm, 66-90 right arm, 91-00 head or neck.
Multiple cords from a whip can also be removed and used manually by an explosives expert, for example to blast a hole in a wall or door. The grip and reel are the only triggering device required to do this. One or more cords can also be used as tripwires; in this case the cord is both the trigger and the explosive. Damage is reduced in this case to 1D4x10 damage, done usually at either ankle or neck height, and usually located in a shadowy or darkened place.