facts characters and NPCs might know about the Living Sphinx if they succeed with an appropriate Skill Roll:
N/R: The Living Sphinx is a terrifying half-man, half-great cat being who terrorizes Egypt and nearby regions.
K/R: The Living Sphinx is a unique mystical creature native to Ma’at, the part of Faerie that’s home to the ancient Egyptian pantheon; on his home plane he’s even more powerful.
-2: The Living Sphinx’s mystical claws can even harm intangible beings.
-4: The Living Sphinx can some- times be distracted by challenging him to a riddle-contest; defeating him in a riddle-competition is a good way to force him to divulge information.
-8: The Living Sphinx is easily harmed by Fire/Heat attacks.
Background/History: The Living Sphinx is a unique mystical creature who lives primarily in the extradimensional world of Ma’at, the part of Faerie that’s home to the ancient Egyptian pantheon. A terrifying monster, the Living Sphinx periodically visits Earth to spread fear, chaos, and destruction, which he loves. He’s terrorized Egypt periodically over centuries, but he reappears much more frequently now — Earth’s become a buffet of delicacies since 1938.
Personality/Motivation: The Living Sphinx’s sole overriding desire is the kill. The death of any living being in his presence, whether he’s the killer or not, provides him with spiritual sustenance and intense physical sensations of pleasure — he psychically “tastes” the target’s soul as it passes from this plane. However, the sensations are much stronger if the deceased is the bearer of strong mystical powers, so the Living Sphinx makes a particular point of pursuing and killing magical beings and masters of the Arts Arcane.
Quote: “Sweet your soul will taste.”
Powers/Tactics: A mighty fighter, with incred- ible speed, strength, resilience, and magically- enhanced claws that can rend even the bodies of astral or otherwise insubstantial beings, the Living Sphinx is a terrifying opponent, especially for mystics or on those rare occasions when he “teams up” with villains. He cannot be destroyed on Earth’s plane — destruction of his mortal form merely causes it to be reborn in Ma’at, though it takes several years for his mystical energies to coalesce again. He retains his full memories from his “previous life,” and will no doubt attempt to take revenge on whoever defeated him. He can be physically and permanently destroyed in Ma’at itself, though on his home plane he’s even more powerful.
Campaign Use: The Living Sphinx is a killing machine with a particular taste for magical victims. He makes a great straightforward adver- sary for any mystic PC. As a unique and magical “beast” he could be the object of an adventure — to fulfill some task or quest, the PCs have to fetch one of his claws as an ingredient for a powerful spell, or win some other device, boon, or informa- tion by challenging him to a game of riddles.
To make the Living Sphinx tougher, increase his Damage Reduction or keep boosting his Char- acteristics until he’s powerful enough to frighten the bejesus out of your PCs. You could also give him a small Variable Power Pool for magic spells he can cast. To weaken him, reduce his Charac- teristics (especially SPD), get rid of his Damage Reduction, and/or reduce the DCs in his HKAs.
Associates, Allies, And Adversaries: The Living Sphinx is a solitary being not given to working with others. However, he willingly follows
the orders of Anubis (page 13), whom he regards as a divine messenger.
Appearance: The Living Sphinx is a horrifying creature, as much beast as man. His chest and lower body is vaguely catlike, complete with short black fur, clawed feet, and a long tail. Unlike his mythical namesake, however, the Living Sphinx stands upright... and, at 6’6” tall, towers over most people. His neck, shoulders, and arms are humanoid, though he has long, thick, wickedly sharp claws in place of fingernails. Its head and face are gener- ally human, but twisted into bestial anger, with fiery golden eyes and thick reddish-brown hair that falls like a mane around his shoulders and back. His voice is deep, disturbing, and obviously
Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains n The Living Sphinx 189
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
45 STR 35 18- Lift 12.5 tons; 9d6 [4] 32 DEX 44 15-
35 CON 25 16-
25 INT 15 14- PER Roll 14- 25 EGO 15 14-
30 PRE 20 15- PRE Attack: 6d6 12 OCV 45 11 DCV 40 3 OMCV 0 7 DMCV 12 8 SPD 60 Phases: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 35 PD 33 Total: 35 PD (35 rPD) 35 ED 33 Total: 35 ED (35 rED) 25 REC 21 70 END 10 23 BODY 13
80 STUN 30 Total Characteristics Cost: 451
Movement: Running: 36m Leaping: 20m
Cost Powers END
80 Sphinx’s Claws: HKA 2½d6 (4½d6 with STR) 8
Armor Piercing (+¼), Affects Desolidified (+½), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼)
12 Bite: HKA 1d6 (4d6 with STR) 1
No Knockback (-¼)
35 Monstrous Toughness: Resistant (+½)
for 35 PD/35 ED 0 30 Monstrous Toughness: Physical and Energy Damage
Reduction, Resistant, 25% 0 15 Powerful Mind: Mental Defense (15 points) 0 10 Immortal Form: Power Defense (10 points) 0 40 Immortal Physiology: Life Support: Total (including
Longevity: Immortality) 0 24 Astonishing Speed: Running +24m (36m total) 2 8 Astonishing Leaps: Leaping +16m (20m forward,
10m upward) 1 40 Walking Between Worlds: Extra-Dimensional
Movement (any physical location in the Quaternion), x2 Increased Mass 4 5 Cats’ Eyes: Nightvision 0 10 Catlike Senses: Tracking with Hearing Group 0 10 Catlike Senses: Tracking with Smell/Taste Group 0 11 Scenting The Divine: Detect Extradimensional/Divine
Beings 14- (Smell/Taste Group), Discriminatory, Telescopic (+2 versus Range Modifier) 0 9 Catlike Senses: +3 PER with all Sense Groups 0 30 Alter Form: Shape Shift (Sight, Hearing, Smell/Taste, and
Touch Groups, any humanoid form), Instant Change 3 41 Monstrous Healing: Regeneration (BODY per Turn),
Can Heal Limbs, Resurrection (stopped by cutting off his head or killing him in Ma’at) 0
Talents
24 Universal Translator 18-
Skills
24 +3 HTH 3 Acrobatics 15-
2 Animal Handler (Felines) 15- 3 Breakfall 15- 3 Charm 15- 3 Concealment 14- 3 Conversation 15- 3 Deduction 14- 10 Defense Maneuver IV 3 Disguise 14-
4 Gambling (Board Games, Dice Games) 14- 3 AK: Egypt 14-
3 KS: Ancient Egyptian History 14- 3 KS: The Realms Of Faerie 14- 3 KS: The Egyptian Gods 14- 5 KS: Riddles 16- 3 Mimicry 14- 3 Oratory 15- 3 Shadowing 14- 3 Sleight Of Hand 15- 13 Stealth 20- 3 Tactics 14-
4 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons Total Powers & Skills Cost: 544
Total Cost: 995
400 Matching Complications (75)
10 Distinctive Features: Radiates Supernatural/Divine Evil (Not Concealable; Causes Major Reaction; Detectable Only By Unusual Senses)
15 Hunted: Ma’at (Frequently, As Pow, Capture) 10 Hunted: Dr. Ka (Infrequently, As Pow, Capture)
20 Psychological Complication: Loves To Taste The Death- Throes Of Mystical Beings (Common, Total)
10 Psychological Complication: Enjoys Terrorizing The Weaker And Creating Fear And Chaos (Common, Moderate)
15 Psychological Complication: Overconfidence (Common, Strong)
20 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN from Fire/Heat (Common) 20 Vulnerability: 2 x BODY from Fire/Heat (Common) Total Complications Points: 75
190 n Lodestone Hero System 6th Edition
Background/History: William Huang was once a poor but diligent physics student at Millen- nium City University who was conducting some advanced experiments with electromagnetism. Unfortunately, in his zeal to earn good grades and thus acquire a prestigious job, he ignored his professors’ safety warnings and kept working during a thunderstorm.
The next thing William remembered was waking up on the other side of the lab, his body one big ache. The window was shattered, rain was blowing inside, and his equipment was in smoldering ruins. Trying to save his notes, but too weak to stand up yet, he gestured feebly at the lab table — only to have a metal test tube stand fly off the table and right into his grasp.
He tried it again, this time snagging a couple of tools hanging on the wall nearby. The notes were soon forgotten as he tested the extent of his control over magnetism. Before long, he could not only attract or repel ferrous objects, but emit blasts of magnetic force, protect himself with a magnetic shield, and even fly!
And that was the end of William Huang’s academic career. Who needed knowledge to get rich, when one had superpowers? After creating a simple costume and christening himself “Lode- stone,” William embarked on a robbery spree that only ended when Sapphire and Nighthawk helped PRIMUS capture him. A minor slip in PRIMUS’s security routine let him escape. Ever since then he’s back on the street and ready for more action... and money!
Personality/Motivation: Lodestone’s goal as a supervillain is simple: get rich. He grew up poor, and he doesn’t intend to ever be poor again. He mostly commits robberies, though he’ll gladly sign up to work for another supervillain if the pay is good, he’s treated well, and he doesn’t have to do anything distasteful like kill or maim other people. He hasn’t done a good job of saving his money so far — he mostly throws it away on gambling, pres- ents for his wife (who thinks he’s gotten a good job at a research lab), and needless luxuries — but he’s enjoying himself immensely, so he doesn’t care what happens, as long as he can stay out of prison.
Quote: “Kind of hard to shoot me with a bent gun barrel, isn’t it?”
Powers/Tactics: Lodestone’s powers derive from his ability to control magnetism. Many of them only work on ferrous objects — for example, he can only Deflect ferrous attacks (which would not include many bullets), and his Dispel (repre- senting his ability to shred or otherwise disrupt a metallic object) only affects powers involving iron, steel, and the like (such as many super-technology gadgets). Other powers, such as his Magnetic Blasts, suffer from no such restriction.
Even after years in the villain business, Lode- stone hasn’t learned much in the way of super- combat tactics. He tends to pick one foe he knows he can affect and stick to attacking that person until he defeats him or is defeated.
Campaign Use: Lodestone is a mercenary super- villain with just enough conscience to make him interesting. He’s not callous and cruel, like so many supervillains; he doesn’t like to hurt people at all. He just wants as much money as he can possibly get his hands on. But if push comes to shove, he’ll hurt someone rather than let himself get captured. If the GM is looking to expand the ranks of GRAB, Lodestone would make an excel- lent candidate. He fits their modus operandi and attitude perfectly.
Lodestone should fit into most Standard Superheroic Champions campaigns pretty well. Increasing his power usually means increasing the value of his Multipower reserves and slots, and sometimes boosting his DEX, CON, and/or SPD. To weaken him, reduce the Active Points in his powers.
Associates, Allies, And Adversaries: Lodestone usually works by himself (he gets to keep all the loot that way!), but sometimes teams up with other villains or hires himself out. For example, he joined Holocaust’s temporary “team” in 2006, and has worked with the Ultimates on several occasions. If the Ultimates were less violent, and Blackstar were less of a jerk, he’d consider applying for membership.
Appearance: Lodestone’s costume is gold and grey. The torso has a gold hourglass sort of pattern covering from his shoulders to his belt, and his half-face mask is gold as well. The legs, trunks, belt, sides, and arms are grey; the boots and gaunt- lets are gold.
Out of costume, William Huang is a handsome young man of Chinese descent. His hair is black and cut short, and his face often has an infectious grin... especially when he’s just made a big score and can afford to party.