facts characters and NPCs might know about Grond if they succeed with an appro- priate Skill Roll:
N/R: Grond is a monstrous, immensely strong, destructive supervillain. Most experts routinely describe him as the strongest being in the world (though Gargantua, Ripper, and Valak the World-Ravager can exceed his strength, at least temporarily).
K/R: His real name is Sydney Potter; he was a petty crook who was mutated into a monster as a result of a botched prison medical experi- ment and about five other strange coincidences all taking place in the same timeframe.
-4: Grond hates fire, largely because it causes him even more pain than most energy attacks, and usually avoids it or finds ways to snuff it out that don’t involve touching it (such as beating a fire-manipulating superhero to a pulp using a bus, small building, or other convenient object).
-8: Mental Blasts cause Grond immense pain... and usually lead to him attacking the person who just psionically zapped him.
Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains n Grond 145
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
90 STR 80 27- Lift 25 ktons; 18d6 HTH damage [9] 18 DEX 16 13-
50 CON 40 19-
5 INT -5 10- PER Roll 10- 8 EGO -2 11-
30 PRE 20 15- PRE Attack: 6d6 6 OCV 15 6 DCV 15 3 OMCV 0 3 DMCV 0 4 SPD 20 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 40 PD 38 Total: 40 PD (40 rPD) 30 ED 28 Total: 30 ED (30 rED) 40 REC 36 100 END 16 30 BODY 20
100 STUN 40 Total Characteristics Cost: 377
Movement: Running: 12m Leaping: 60m Swimming: 24m
Cost Powers END
21 Horns: HKA 2d6 3
Armor Piercing (+¼); Inaccurate (½ OCV; -¼), No STR Bonus (-½)
22 Can Fight All Day: Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) for 90 STR 0 3 Hit Annoying Little Man Harder: +10 STR 5
Increased Endurance Cost (x5 END; -2)
2 Hit Annoying Little Man Really Hard: +10 STR 10
Increased Endurance Cost (x10 END; -4)
18 Stratospheric Punch: Double Knockback (+½) for up to 90 STR 12
Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), Requires A Brick Tricks Roll (-½)
17 Super-Tough Body: Hardened (+¼) for 40 PD/30 ED 0 17 Super-Tough Body: Impenetrable (+¼) for 40 PD/30 ED 0 52 Super-Tough Body: Resistant (+½) for 40 PD/30 ED 0
Hardened (+¼), Impenetrable (+¼)
40 Super-Tough Body: Damage Negation
(-5 DCs Physical, -3 DCs Energy) 0 4 Super-Strong Lungs: Life Support
(Extended Breathing: 1 END per 20 Minutes) 0 56 Super-Leaping: Leaping +56m (60m forward, 30m
upward) 6
MegaScale (1m = 1 km, leap takes 1 Phase per km; +1)
10 Super-Strong Swimmer: Swimming +20m (24m total) 0 6 Four Arms: Extra Limbs (2) 0
Inherent (+¼)
7 Four-Armed Combatant: +2 SPD 2
Activation Roll 11- (-1), Costs Endurance (-½), Only To Punch (-1)
Skills
32 +4 HTH 17 Brick Tricks 20- 9 Hoist 16-
Total Powers & Skills Cost: 333 Total Cost: 710
400 Matching Complications (75)
25 Distinctive Features: big, ugly mutated green body (Not Concealable, Causes Extreme Reaction [abject fear]) 35 Enraged: Berserk when realizes he’s been tricked, or
thinks he’s been tricked (Common), go 11-, recover 8-
20 Hunted: the Champions (Infrequently, As Pow, NCI, Capture)
20 Hunted: UNTIL (Infrequently, As Pow, NCI, Capture) 10 Physical Complication: Big And Heavy (is always 12 feet
tall and weighs approximately 1,000 kg; +2 OCV for others to hit, +2 to PER Rolls for others to perceive) (Infrequently; Slightly Impairing)
25 Psychological Complication: Childishly Naive And Prone To Tantrums (Very Common, Total)
15 Psychological Complication: Hatred Of Fire (Common, Strong)
5 Social Complication: Public Identity (Sydney Potter) (Occasionally, Minor)
10 Unluck 2d6
10 Vulnerability: 1½ x STUN from Mental Blasts (Common) 10 Vulnerability: 1½ x STUN from Fire Attacks (Common) Total Complications Points: 75
146 n Grotesk Hero System 6th Edition
GROTESK FACTS
Here are some facts characters and NPCs might know about Grotesk if they succeed with an appropriate Skill Roll: N/R: Grotesk is a super-strong, super- tough, hideously ugly supervillain.
K/R: His real name is Phil Hernandez; he got his powers from being flesh- warped by the villain Fleshtone.
-1: Grotesk has the ability to make beautiful people temporarily ugly by touching them.
-6: Grotesk isn’t really that villainous, just confused, depressed, angry, and even frightened; it might be possible to transform him into a hero if his problems could be addressed.
Background/History: Phil Hernandez was a security guard working at a think tank’s laboratory who had the misfortune to be on duty the night that Fleshtone decided to rob the place. Fleshtone decided to have some fun and “play” with him. Using his biokinetic powers, he literally “melted” Hernandez down and “resculpted” him into a grotesque mockery of the human form. Then he took what he wanted from the lab and left Hernandez to die.
But Hernandez didn’t die. Although now horribly mis-shapen, he soon found himself growing stronger and tougher. He got up and lumbered out of the lab, smashing through several heavy tables in the process. He thought about going for help, but then he realized no one could help him. He was a freak, a horrible ugly Grotesk thing, and no one was going to help him but himself.
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
60 STR 50 21- Lift 100 tons; 12d6 HTH damage [6] 18 DEX 16 13-
40 CON 30 17-
10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 10 EGO 0 11-
20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 6 OCV 15 6 DCV 15 3 OMCV 0 3 DMCV 0 5 SPD 30 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 35 PD 33 Total: 35 PD (35 rPD) 35 ED 33 Total: 35 ED (35 rED) 20 REC 16 80 END 12 25 BODY 15
90 STUN 35 Total Characteristics Cost: 310
Movement: Running: 12m Leaping: 24m
Cost Powers END
13 Touch Of Ugliness: Drain Striking Apperance 2d6 2
No Range (-½)
10 Frightful Hideousness: +20 PRE 0
Only For Fear-Based Presence Attacks (-1)
35 Resilient: Resistant (+½) for 35 PD/35 ED 0 10 Strong Leaper: Leaping +20m (24m forward, 12m
upward) 1
Skills
32 +4 HTH
2 PS: Security Guard 11- 13 Power: Brick Tricks 18- 3 Stealth 13-
1 Streetwise 8-
Total Powers & Skills Cost: 119 Total Cost: 429
400 Matching Complications (75)
20 Hunted: New Paladins (Infrequently, Mo Pow, Capture) 25 Hunted: PRIMUS (Infrequently, Mo Pow, NCI, Capture) 15 Psychological Complication: Feels Cut Off From
Humanity; Has To Fend For Himself (Common, Strong) 15 Social Complication: Public Identity (Phil Hernandez)
(Frequently, Major) Total Complications Points: 65 Experience Points: 39
Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains n Harpy 147
Background/History: Edwina Baldwin wanted revenge. She thought she was so lucky — a poor girl from a Blackpool slum getting a rich boyfriend who promised her the moon and the stars. So what if his business wasn’t quite legal? Then she got pregnant and wouldn’t have an abor- tion. Her boyfriend dumped her. When she threat- ened to reveal all in a paternity suit, he sent two goons to break her kneecaps. She realized she had never been his lover — only his whore. After that, she didn’t see much point in fighting back. She had her baby, tried not to resent the child because of her father, and went on the dole. But she could hardly get a good job with a baby, parents who’d disowned her, and one leg that hadn’t healed right.
Then Edwina saw an ad for “domestic servants” that included the curious proviso, “Applicants must be desperate.” Sinister, yes, but that described her. She applied and found a job as cook for a lady of great eccentricity... and power. The master alche- mist Zarrindokht wanted servants who would not talk to outsiders. To obtain discreet and loyal help, a little thing like child care and an alchemical cure for a crippled leg was a small price to pay.
Edwina proved an eager and loyal servant, always trying to become more useful. She saw Zarrindokht as part employer, part surrogate mother. Zarrindokht noticed Edwina’s diligence and promoted her to lab assistant. Now she washed bottles, ground minerals, and performed other basic tasks. After four years, Zarrindokht promoted her again — to minion. She enchanted Edwina so she could assume the form of a super- strong bird-woman, a classic harpy. Edwina went on missions throughout the Inner Planes, collecting rare materials for Zarrindokht’s alchemy.
In a rare moment of generosity, Zarrindokht offered to destroy Edwina’s ex-lover as a perk for five years of good service. Edwina asked if she could do it herself and the alchemist agreed. Edwina spent a week trashing her ex-lover’s little empire of drugs, loansharking, and corruption before dropping him off the roof of a skyscraper.
Unfortunately, Edwina attracted the attention of the police and a local superhero. Both located her “home territory” — the neighborhood where Zarrindokht kept her sanctum. Regretfully, the alchemist suggested Edwina leave her employ: She knew Edwina would not want to give up the power she’d tasted, but she’d made herself too visible. Eventually the police would follow her to Zarrindokht’s door. As “severance pay,” Zarrin- dokht taught her how to make the potions she needed to turn into the Harpy and back again. The alchemist also gave Edwina a list of names of other mystics who might offer her work.
Since then, the Harpy has worked as a merce- nary for a number of mystics and assorted supervillains and criminal agencies. She doesn’t enjoy crime, but she wants money to support her daughter. A lot of money, so her child will never know the privations she endured.
Personality/Motivation: Grotesk no longer feels any real connection with the rest of humanity. The changes wreaked upon his body by Fleshtone have left him something less than human, something no right-thinking person would ever want to be around. So, he’s got to fend for himself, and that usually means stealing what he needs to survive (since he can’t hold a job), committing super- crimes on his own or as some master villain’s hire- ling. He’ll do whatever it takes to build a halfway- decent life for himself.
Quote: “I nah ha’ as ug-y as you be whe I ge duh bea’ing you.” (Grotesk rarely speaks, and never for long; the changes in his physical form make it hard for him to pronounce many sounds.)
Powers/Tactics: Grotesk possesses superhuman strength and resilience. Scientists working for PRIMUS have theorized that whatever Fleshtone did to him somehow triggered a latent mutation or the like (though he doesn’t register as a mutant to mutant-detecting technology), or perhaps that simultaneous exposure to chemicals in the think tank lab altered him somehow. Additionally, he somehow “inherited” a tiny fraction of Fleshtone’s powers — by touch he can temporarily make a person much uglier.
Grotesk’s tactics aren’t very subtle or sophis- ticated. He usually charges in, roaring at the top of his lungs, and attacks the biggest, toughest opponent he can find. He relies a lot on Presence Attacks in addition to raw STR, since he knows how frightening his appearance is.
Campaign Use: Grotesk isn’t truly villainous; he’s just somewhat unhinged and deeply depressed because of what’s happened to him. If a hero found a way to cure him, or at least to improve his outlook on life, it might be possible to turn him around and put him on the heroic path.
To make Grotesk more powerful, give him a Multipower of “brick tricks” he can perform at will. Stick to relatively simple ones involving raw power, like Shockwave and Thunderclap; those are more his style than “finesse” applications of super- strength. To weaken him, reduce his SPD to 4 and Running to 8m.
Associates, Allies, And Adversaries: Grotesk is eager for revenge on Fleshtone and will do his best to track down any clue to the biokinetic fiend’s location.
Appearance: Grotesk is a horrible mockery who looks like a human body that’s been melted down and then vaguely put back together (which is pretty much exactly what happened to him). His facial features are melted and warped, his heavily- muscled body hunchbacked and lumpy, his limbs slightly disproportionate here and there. His “costume” is a pair of tattered Army green pants.
148 n Harpy Hero System 6th Edition
Personality/Motivation: Harpy isn’t a bad person, but a hard life left her with little sympathy for others. She believes she must be a supervillainess to survive and provide for her daughter. She’s also husband-hunting among the supervillains she works with. Edwina only cares about the money: she’ll switch sides if someone offers her more money, and would not be a good person to leave as sole guard for a large heist’s profits. Losing her daughter is her greatest fear, so so she won’t knowingly risk death or capture for the sake of a robbery or another villain.
Harpy doesn’t hurt anyone more than she has to... except for criminals who take advantage of desperate women, such as pimps and loan sharks. She also hates men who abuse women. She enjoys dropping people like that from great heights.
Quote: “Don’t fight, and I won’t hurt you. This is just business.”
Powers/Tactics: By drinking a potion (itself carrying only a little magic), Edwina can become the Harpy. She needs a second potion to change back into human form before the normal 24 hours of effect are complete. As Harpy, Edwina is super- strong and quick, resistant to small arms fire, and able to fly. (She doesn’t take an OIAID Limitation on her superhuman Characteristics and Powers because there’s no chance she could revert to her much weaker Human identity in the middle of a fight, or ruin her Secret Identity by accidentally changing into Harpy form.)
Harpy can punch normally, but can also batter opponents with her wings and rake them with her claws. Her favorite tactic is to perform a Grab on a slow-moving opponent and fly up high. Then Harpy drops her victim and flies back to the fight. Squeezing is optional: when Harpy fights as part of a group, just getting an opponent out of the fight for a few Phases matters more.
Campaign Use: The Harpy is a straightforward villainess for hire, given a small mystical twist. Her powers are more physical than most char- acters in the Mystic World; her chief defense against mystical attacks is simply her high STUN. On the other hand, her mystical connections may draw regular superheroes and villains into meetings with the Mystic World. She could easily join GRAB or a similar group of “just in it for the money” super-robbers.
To make Harpy more powerful, increase her SPD and/or expand the scope of her Combat Skill Levels. She could also learn Martial Arts maneu- vers such as Martial Grab, Flying Grab, Choke Hold, or Crush, so she can grapple more effec- tively. To make Harpy a less powerful opponent, reduce her STR and claw damage.
Associates, Allies, And Adversaries: As a merce- nary supervillainess, Harpy has mostly worked for denizens of the Mystic World. Various druids of the Circle of the Scarlet Moon have been her most frequent employers, and she’s on good terms with that organization as a whole. She thinks that some of the higher-ranking male members might make acceptable husband material. She’s also worked for DEMON, but finds most Morbanes at least a little disturbing. Black Paladin and Zorran the Artificer have also hired her services from time to time.
Appearance: Edwina Baldwin is a woman in her early thirties standing 5’3” tall; she has fair skin, delicate features, and red-blonde hair. As Harpy, she’s visibly stronger and gains red-blonde feathered wings and birdlike legs with large talons. Her rather scant costume is metallic golden, with scarlet feathers edging her gloves. When she expects to act as Harpy, she sweeps her hair back into two points with hairspray.