EternalPhoenix

Queenie Maybelle blinked in surprise and momentary confusion. “Magic fork?” Yes, love. The one in your hand. She glanced at it. “Oh. Right.” If it was not obvious by this point, she didn’t always realize when she was using the Ring. She’d had it for so long now, and using it was easy as breathing. She…did not have a favorite flower. She should have a favorite flower. She did not have a favorite flower. No one had brought her flowers in…longer than she liked to think about. Her life was actually kind of lonely, when you thought about it. She had a restaurant to run, employees she was friendly with, and even allies in outer space in the Praetorians. But friends? Significant others? Nope. Her cheerful mood at last drooped. Well, at little. She was living the life she intended, but that didn’t mean it was fun to be reminded of the things she was missing by doing so. “Can you do dogwood, or yellow jessamine? I…don’t have a favorite flower.” She was, however, a Carolina girl at heart. North? South? Who cared? Not her. (This was a lie. South Carolina all day, baby.)

Effigy and Invisigirl “My life before this school was a survival class!” Wilona hollered from her position way up front. She really was setting a stiff pace. She did not care about scorpions. She did not care about slippery spots. And she did not care if anyone but Naomi was actually following her. She just wanted to get this the hell over with. Naomi, for her part, really didn’t care either. Her mind was full of complicated colors and shapes. Indeed, she didn’t actually comprehend what Wilona had even said. Well. It wasn’t like she needed to, anyway. All she needed to do was keep up with her partner, and keep her bag’s weight off her with her powers. Easy enough.

Queenie Maybelle smiled once more. “Sister, huh? I have one of those, too. Her name’s Rose.” Yet another person she did not call nearly enough. “I think she’s got…three kids, now?” Really needed to call her. Did she even have the same number? Oh, dear. And, of course, the reminder that she wasn’t even married, let alone had kids. Nice. That’s why she didn’t call more often. Maybelle was a guileless woman, so her emotions showed on her face as Leon was still talking. Discomfort, spiced with guilt. Ah, family. At the mention of using powers, she looked hesitant. “Is that safe to do in here?” She glanced around the cafeteria. It still had plenty of people in it. “Even if it isn’t destructive, don’t you have a secret identity? I don’t, not really, but most heroes are sensitive about theirs.”

Tatsuya Gushiken Power Level: 12; Power Points Spent: 210/210 STR: +5 (20), DEX: +5 (20), CON: +5 (20), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16) Tough: +5/+9, Fort: +8, Ref: +15, Will: +10 Skills: Acrobatics 10 (+15), Craft (artistic) 3 (+5), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Intimidate 17 (+20), Knowledge (art) 3 (+5), Knowledge (current events) 3 (+5), Knowledge (streetwise) 3 (+5), Knowledge (tactics) 8 (+10), Language 6 (+6), Notice 12 (+15), Sense Motive 12 (+15) Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Assessment, Attack Focus (melee) 6, Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Challenge - Improved Cunning Fighter, Challenge - Improved Demoralize, Challenge - Improved Startle, Cunning Fighter, Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 6, Evasion, Improved Critical (Black Dragon Shock (Strike 4)), Improved Critical 2 (Black Dragon Cutter (Drain 9)), Improved Critical 2 (Black Dragon Cutter (Strike 4)), Improved Critical 2 (Black Dragon Secret Technique: Infinite Worlds (Strike 4)), Improved Initiative, Lionheart, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Intimidate, Notice, Sense Motive), Startle, Takedown Attack 2, Ultimate Effort (Toughness saves), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: Black Dragon Style Training (Container, Passive 6) (Custom 2 (Container 5.6)) Leaping 2 (Jumping distance: x5) Protection 4 (+4 Toughness) Quickness 2 (Perform routine tasks at 5x speed) Speed 2 (Speed: 25 mph, 220 ft./rnd) Super-Movement 1 (slow fall) Super-Movement 1 (wall-crawling 1 (half speed); Limited (while moving)) Super-Senses 3 (accurate: Normal Auditory, danger sense: Mental) Super-Strength 6 (+30 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 12.8 tons; +6 STR to some checks) Black Dragon Swords (Device 7) (Easy to lose, Only you can use) Black Dragon Techniques (Array 15) (default power: strike) Black Dragon Cannon (Blast 9) (Array; DC 24; Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Accurate 3 (+6)) Black Dragon Cutter (Linked) Black Dragon Cutter (Drain 9) (Linked; drains: single trait - toughness, DC 19, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Black Dragon Cutter (Drain 9)); Affects Objects) Black Dragon Cutter (Strike 4) (Linked; DC 24, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Black Dragon Cutter (Strike 4)); Mighty) Black Dragon Gust (Linked) Black Dragon Gust (Move Object 9) (Linked; Strength: 45, Carry: 4.3k / 4.3 tons / 6.4 tons / 12.8 tons; Cone Area (90-180 ft. cone - General); Limited Direction (Away), Range (touch); Progression, Increase Area (area x2)) Black Dragon Gust (Trip 9) (Linked; Cone Area (90-180 ft. cone - General), Knockback; Range (touch); Improved Throw, Progression, Increase Area (area x2)) Black Dragon Secret Technique: Infinite Worlds (Strike 4) (Default; DC 24, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Black Dragon Secret Technique: Infinite Worlds (Strike 4)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5) [5 extra ranks], Penetrating [3 ranks only], Secondary Effect [5 extra ranks]; Affects Insubstantial 2 (full power), Mighty) Black Dragon Shock (Linked) Black Dragon Shock (Emotion Control 9) (Linked; DC 19, Feats: Improved Critical (Black Dragon Shock (Emotion Control 9)); Shapeable Area (9 cubes of 125 cu. ft. (5x5x5) - Targeted); Limited to Emotion (Fear), Range 2 (touch)) Black Dragon Shock (Strike 4) (Linked; DC 24, Feats: Improved Critical (Black Dragon Shock (Strike 4)); Alternate Save (Will) [5 extra ranks], Shapeable Area (9 cubes of 125 cu. ft. (5x5x5) - Targeted) [5 extra ranks]; Mighty) Black Dragon Twister (Move Object 9) (Array; Strength: 45, Carry: 4.3k / 4.3 tons / 6.4 tons / 12.8 tons, DC 24; Cylinder Area (45-450 ft. radius + height - General), Damaging; Duration (concentration); Progression, Increase Area 3 (area x10)) Sword Supremacy (Probability Control 1) (Minimum Result: 1; Limited 2 (Swords)) Attack Bonus: +9 (Ranged: +9, Melee: +15, Grapple: +20/+26) Attacks: Black Dragon Cannon (Blast 9), +15 (DC 24), Black Dragon Cutter (Drain 9), +15 (DC Fort/Staged 19), Black Dragon Cutter (Strike 4), +15 (DC 24), Black Dragon Gust (Trip 9) (DC 19), Black Dragon Secret Technique: Infinite Worlds (Strike 4), +15 (DC 24), Black Dragon Shock (Emotion Control 9), +15 (DC Staged/Will 19), Black Dragon Shock (Strike 4), +15 (DC Will 24), Black Dragon Twister (Move Object 9) (DC 24), Unarmed Attack, +15 (DC 20) Defense: +15 (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -4 Initiative: +9 Languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Japanese Native, Russian, Spanish Totals: Abilities 46 + Skills 21 (84 ranks) + Feats 34 + Powers 53 + Combat 36 + Saves 20 + Drawbacks 0 = 210 Age (as of Jan 2019): 27 Height: 5’ 9” Weight: 185 lbs. Ethnicity: Okinawan Hair: Dark Green Eyes: Dark Brown w/ faint Red glow Background: Tatsuya Gushiken (Gushiken Tatsuya in the Japanese ordering) is a man on a mission. He has one purpose in life and one purpose only. To become strong enough to defeat the World’s Greatest Swordsman and take that title from him. There’s one small problem with that goal, however. Jin, the owner of that title and servant to the sun goddess Amaterasu, formally retired a year ago due to injury. And his primary rival, the man who calls himself Daimyo, actively refuses to take it up. So it’s been a free for all across the world as swordsmen and women fight to the death for the right to call themselves the World’s Greatest. The qualifications are simple enough. You can’t have any superhuman powers or devices that boost your abilities. And you can never, ever, lose to another sword user who qualifies except the acknowledged World’s Greatest. It was harder to determine who was the World’s Greatest before the advent of the telegraph. It’s only gotten easier since, with radio, telephones, and the internet. Tatusya is on the shortlist to take the crown, but he’s not there yet. There’s a whole lot of dueling left to be done. It all started way back when he was a kid in a rural village in Okinawa. Young orphan boy and his even younger little sister (Yuzumi), taken in by a kindly kendo dojo master and his young daughter Katsumi. Even in those days, Tatsuya had his eyes on his goal, but Katsumi had the same goal. And so they trained until the two were the strongest in the dojo, despite being 8 (Tatsuya) and 12 (Katsumi) years old. Those who witnessed both agreed that Katsumi was the better of the pair. The idea of being subordinate to anyone rankled Tatsuya, and he challenged Katsumi. She beat him. He challenged her again, to a midnight duel with real swords. She beat him again, without cutting him at all. He tried a third time, with two swords to her one. If anything, he lost faster. Katsumi was a kind girl, but one hell of a prodigy in swordsmanship and perfectly happy to prove it at any time. Tatsuya was dejected the next day. A old friend of the dojo master was visiting. A very old woman named Samantha, who wore three swords in casual defiance of Japan’s laws. When she was leaving, she took a little time to sit with the poor boy and chat with him a while. Well, more like relentlessly tease and mock him for being so damn serious at his age. He did not know it, but she was the former World’s Greatest Swordswoman and a grandmaster in the Black Dragon sword style. She showed him a few moves to amuse herself, but the exertion quickly exhausted the very old woman. With a warning to never get old, she departed in the dojo master’s car. The lesson that Tatsuya took from this was that three swords were better than two. Katsumi showed him that night that he was very wrong. Though Tatsuya’s desperate, frustrated tears Katsumi reminded him that she was 4 years older and that as a boy he would most likely grow up to be bigger and thus physically stronger than she ever would be. Skill and finesse were important, yes, but size, reach, and strength settled more fights than not. This did not entirely sooth Tatsuya, but it did make the two firm friends. It was an idyllic life. Until shortly after Katsumi’s 13th birthday, when she tripped and fell down the stairs. She broke her neck in the fall and died. It broke both Tatsuya and Yuzumi’s hearts. Her eually heartbroken father at last managed to pry the truth out of Tatsuya. Tatsuya sought the pinnacle of strength for one reason. To protect his little sister. To protect Yuzumi. Their parents knew the details better, but they were dead and beyond talking. All Tatsuya knew is that his sister was special and powerful people wanted her for that specialness. The dojo master sighed…and decided to induct Tatsuya in the Black Dragon sword style that he was a master of. It was training straight out of hell. Black Dragon Style is, of course, a three sword style. One sword is held in each hand, and one in the teeth. The training was long, grinding, and brutal. Stronger. Faster. Tougher. More accurate. Better dodging. The training was kept from Yuzumi. She had a kind, gentle, and reserved temperament. Tatsuya didn’t want to tell her that she was a fugitive and that her beloved brother was undergoing what could only charitably described as voluntary torture to gain the power to protect her. Tatsuya, you see, was normal. He was not a prodigy, not really. Just a hard worker with plenty of free time on his hands. He had no special physical aptitudes. The training wasn’t merely to increase his abilities, but to increase all of his natural talents and aptitudes relating to swordsmanship. His very genetics and natural physiology had to be forced into compliance. Many terrible things happened in that oversized basement beneath the dojo. Basically every type of physical training under the sun. The very best of modern pharmacology and alchemy. A few discreet surgical procedures. And the power of the titular Black Dragon, or as it was better known to mystical types all over, the world, the Dragon of Shadowed Flames. Typically it was referred to as an evil, corrupt spirit or demon. This was inaccurate. Only the spirit part was correct. It was not evil or corrupt. Rather, it was amoral, offering power at a brutal price. In that basement, during those hellish years, all the physical, mental, and spiritual weakness was burned out of Tatsuya. At 17 years of age, the dojo master finally deemed him ready for the final challenge. Here’s your swords, kid. Now you fight the Dragon. It was not quite so simply as slashing it enough times. The battle was physical, mental, and spiritual. It was arduous, and taxed him to his newly gained uttermost limits. It was not, in the end, a battle he could or was even supposed to win. But the Dragon found him his sacrifices acceptable, and granted him a small measure of power. Minor physiogical alterations, so that the results of his training would stick with minimal effort. But the big thing was blackening Tatsuya’s swords. They were rendered nigh indestructible compared with normal blades, and with them the various techniques he had learned would be much more effective. Normal steel tended to, well, break under the strain of performing Black Dragon Style techniques at full power. Even limiting the force put in only put off the inevitable snapping. And the edges needed continual maintenance beforehand. And then he went upstairs. It had been three days. He was exhausted and covered in sweat. His hair and eyes had changed. He returned to chaos. In those three days out of the few thousand he’d been living at the dojo, the ones seeking Yuzumi had found her. Much had been revealed, and many dojo students were badly injured. Even the master himself was not currently able to stand from the beating he’d taken. The story was simple. Yuzumi was an astonishingly powerful cryomancer, and the infamous Agency wanted her to be their latest weapon. As usual, whether she or anyone else was willing to allow this or if she was even that type of personality were completely irrelevant to them. Minds could be altered. Opposing forces could be killed. They’d hired a powerful mercenary, assembled a combat squad, went where she was, and took her. It took Tatsuya a week of killing his way through the Japanese underworld looking for Agency employees to find her. The lab was buried in a remote section of the Hokkaido mountains. But there was something wrong. As Tatsuya approached, a huge man smashed the massive front door completely off its hinges with one punch. The young man prepared to fight, but Ruslan Turgenev only greeted him and told him Yuzumi was inside. There were no closed doors, let alone locked ones, and no one to block his way. Why? Ruslan completed his contract, to deliver the girl. Payment was delayed, which annoyed him. And the pointless cruelty and sadism of the Agency scientists and researchers annoyed him further. Especially because it wasn’t just directed at Yuzumi. They thought they’d make Ruslan listen to her screams and desperate pleading, and he’d do nothing. They were wrong. Seconds after his payment was finalized, he started killing all of them. They’d only finalized his payment because she’d stopped screaming and pleading. Ruslan did not have a heart made of stone, despite his reputation. The mercenary walked away. Tatsuya wasn’t willing to let him at first, but Ruslan brought up the excellent point that the dojo’s master (who was still stronger than Tatsuya at this point) lost to Ruslan. What was Tatsuya going to do? So Tatsuya let him leave, and rescued his sister. Unfortunately, Yuzumi didn’t remember him. She didn’t remember much of anything. Her personality had not been changed, but her memories had been wiped. Posing only as a friend, he took her back to the dojo to recover. A few days later, Ruslan visited with an important reality check. The Agency was absolutely going to return, and they would hire someone with even less scruples than Ruslan next time. Probably more than one. As it was, Tatsuya would not be able to protect her. He and everyone at the dojo would be killed. However, Ruslan had a solution. A protection contract. Ruslan didn’t need to physically remain at the dojo, either. Crossing the old mercenary carried a steep, steep price. He had a reputation, after all, especially when it came to completing his contracts. Tatsuya didn’t have money, but he didn’t need it. He could work for Ruslan until such time as his own abilities and reputation were enough to protect Yuzumi on their own. Lest anyone think Ruslan was getting soft, this deal benefited him, too. The fight with the dojo’s master had impressed him, and if the boy was likely to surpass the aging man in a few years. Such a warrior by his side would be very profitable. Tatsuya didn’t hesitate. He was in. All of his goals would be furthered in this, and all he had to do was train and fight? No thought was required. He left Yuzumi thinking of him only as a friend of the dojo, not her older brother. Today, Tatsuya is the longest serving member of the Turgenev Mercenary Group. Ten years of traveling the world for mercenary contracts and battling swordsman and women. Others have both come and gone…either to the grave or prison. Yuzumi is living a quiet life at the dojo’s town. She has married a certain redheaded idiot and former delinquent. Their first child, a daughter, was born last year. But it’s not enough yet. Tatsuya cannot rest until he is the World’s Greatest Swordman. For his sister, for long departed Katsumi, and for himself. So when someone calls with a contract offer or a opportunity to duel presents itself, he ties his black bandana to his head and leaps at the opportunity to further hone his skills and advance his reputation. Meanwhile, Yuzumi is starting to remember her past… Powers & Tactics: Tatsuya has no superhuman powers of any kind. He has no special devices of any kind. The Black Dragon Swords may be three regular (if virtually indestructible) Damage 3 (Improved Crit, Mighty) swords in anyone else’s hands, but the effects he can use with them are a result of his masterful sword skill and extreme training. The same is true of his Black Sword Style Training abilities. The Dragon of Shadowed Flames only made it easier for these abilities to be gained and maintained. It did not grant them at all. The Black Dragon Techniques can technically be performed with ordinary swords, but performing them at full power breaks them irreparably. Even limited power causes significant to severe damage, depending on sword quality. It is the Black Dragon Swords that permit Tatsuya to use the full power of the techniques without worry. A fraction of the power of the Dragon of Shadowed Flames has been imbued into them, rendering them virtually unbreakable. Black Dragon Style Techniques are performed with the use of three swords. One in each hand, and one clenched in the teeth. A ventriloquism trick allows the swordsman to speak. The closest to a basic attack in the Techniques is Black Dragon Cutter. Finely honed technique permits the user to cut through just about anything with one slash. Even mighty adamantine will be cut. Black Dragon Shock is a literally terror inducing attack that strikes directly at an group of opponent’s minds. Even if they resist the fear, they may still take damage from it. Black Dragon Gust is a lightning quick slash of the air that knocks away anyone and anything in a cone shaped area from the swordsman. Black Dragon Twister takes this up a notch (being a lightning fast spinning slash of the air), to a fully fledged tornado that features razor wind. It can pick up, hold, and throw things, too. Although especially skilled, strong, or flexible opponents can get out of it. Black Dragon Cannon is, surprisingly for a swordsman, a ranged attack. He slashes the air so hard, fast, and precisely that a razor sharp blade of wind is generated and flies at the target. However, the crown jewel is the Black Dragon Secret Technique: Infinite Worlds. A seemingly endless storm of blades descend on the opponent. The more it is used, the more endless the parade of slashes and cuts seems. Black Dragon Style Training essentially turns Tatsuya into somewhat of a super soldier analogue. He is faster, quicker, and can jump further than any “normal” human. His body can endure significantly more damage, he can wall run with the best of them, and his hearing and sense of danger are enhanced. However, the real showstopper is his carrying capacity. It is blatantly superhuman, taking several tons to even slow him down. He has probably reached the limits of what strength he can achieve. However, his speed, quickness, and leaping can likely still improve. Tactically, Black Dragon Gust is basic “you aren’t a threat to me, go away” selection. When it works, it blasts enemies at least a thousand feet away. Next up in threat level is Black Dragon Shock. He doesn’t use lethal damage with this one ever, as that’s not the point of it. Moving up one level is Black Dragon Twister. He does use lethal damage with this, but only with actual military. Civilians like law enforcement or superheroes he keeps it a nonlethal attack. At this stage, Black Dragon Cutter is standard, with Takedown Attack 2 on tap if the others didn’t clear out the riffraff. Again, this is a nonlethal attack against law enforcement and most superheroes, but lethal against the military or superheroic sword users. Black Dragon Secret Technique: Infinite Worlds is at the top of the hierarchy. This is always a lethal attack. Black Dragon Cannon stands outside the hierarchy, as it’s exclusively for enemies he can’t reach for whatever reason. Keep in mind that these are his standard tactics. He responds to taking lethal damage by inflicting some of his own if he wasn’t already. A personal grudge/vendetta may change his damage to lethal against a specific hero. Conversely, a lack of respect for a specific hero’s abilities may result in nonlethal instead. Moreover, this is all subservient to the terms of a contract. If the client doesn’t specify their preferences, all of the above applies. If the client does, expect him to obey to the letter. Keep in mind that he’s a warrior, not an assassin. If he’s on a killing mission, the target(s) is/are armed and/or in possession of superhuman powers and thus capable of defending themselves. Or the client has lied and now the heroes have to protect someone entirely different than expected. With that said, with the Improved versions of Acrobatic Bluff, Cunning Fighter (ATK bonus used to Feint), Demoralize, and Startle in his toolkit, most people can say goodbye to their dodge bonus. He’s unique among the highly accurate in that he’ll still use the +2 version of Accurate Attack at times. In fact, he’ll change his tradeoffs with that, All Out, Defensive, and Power Attack fairly frequently. He seeks cover against ranged opponents, naturally, and seeks to get in melee range with his versatile movement capabilities. The most surprising thing he has is Ultimate Toughness. More than one opponent has smashed him to the ground with an attack no human should survive, let alone endure, only for him to rise again and cut them down. Personality: Tatsuya is a warrior. A stoic, badass man of honor. He’d have been just as at home if he had come of age for the Mongol invasions of Japan or the Sengoku period. His entire life is oriented around becoming the World’s Greatest Swordsman. He’s a villain because he’s not an especially moral person. The lives of strangers and enemies mean nothing to him. This does not mean he’s an immoral person, either. Rather, he’s largely amoral. His friends and allies he will protect, certainly, and he’s not some asshole who’s impossible to get along with. He can drink, dance, and tell stories at the tavern/pub/bar with the best of them. But make no mistake; he is a predator in human form. All that lovely humanity can disappear in an instant and all that left is something resembling a demon. One who’d be more than happy to fight you to the death. Said demon may only be unleashed in response to appropriate challenge, but it is still there. For he has a strong code of honor. There’s no honor in killing the weak or those who never had the ability to defend themselves, but soldiers are putting their lives on the line by the nature of their profession. It’d be dishonorable not to kill them when they choose to fight. He’s not a mindless contract completing automaton, either. Heroes can dodge fighting him at all if they come up with a clever plan that lets him technically fulfill his contract. Ultimately, Tatsuya isn’t someone you redeem, exactly. He’s been killing people for a decade. He is not and never will be one of the good guys. And even if the heroes completely take apart the Agency (a task worthy of a full campaign on its own, as detailed in The Agency’s section), protecting his sister Yuzumi from them is the only reason why he’s working for Ruslan. It is not the only reason why he’s pursuing becoming the World’s Greatest Swordsman. He’s also doing it for his fallen childhood friend, and for his own pride as a swordman. With that said, if the heroes can find another way to keep his sister protected, and assist her in remembering him…the reunion would mellow him, some. He doesn’t want his kind gentle sister to know he’s a killer of hundreds and feared as a god of war. To see him as covered in blood as he is. Her eyes widening in horror and disgust haunt his nightmares. Not that that would happen, mind. It’s all in his head. What would actually happen is that she would accept him. Completely. And tell him he didn’t need to work so hard for her sake anymore. Thus he wouldn’t. No reason to work for Ruslan, hence no real villainy. His only killing would be in defense of his life or the lives of those he cares about. He’s made his fair share of enemies, after all. Or, you know, in duels to determine who is continuing on the road to becoming the World’s Greatest Swordsman. Because that’s how that works. Did you think he’d stop? Silly heroes.

Devil Hunter Society Overview The Devil Hunter Society is over three thousand years old and it is, in fact, an off shoot of a earlier organization in China. The Yayoi people brought the trappings with them when they migrated over to Japan. China’s relative instability compared to Japan over those three thousand years caused the original parent organization (itself a splinter group) to splinter over and over again until no sect had any special relevance. The Society itself was relatively tiny and insignificant, only operating on a very local scale through all of the Yayoi and Kofun periods. Yet even in these very early days they operated on something resembling the modern superheroic ethos through a marked Buddhist influence on their philosophies. The Asuka period saw growth and incorporation into the government. Demons were a problem for the consolidating Imperial government, and the Society had the expertise to combat them effectively. By the Nara period, Devil Hunters, though still relatively few in number, could operate with impunity as long as they were doing their job. Unfortunately, two smallpox epidemics and the distrust of the powerful Fujiwara clan in the early Heian period led to the Society’s ouster as official civil servants and tighter restrictions on their operations. This, in turn, led to the creation of the Society’s alternate dimensional headquarters. This was prescient, as the warring between the Taira and Minamoto clans over control of Japan would have forced the Society to pick a side and contribute warriors…if they had not already vanished. The Society had as little to do with recorded Japanese history as possible, from this point onward. The decentralization of Japanese government into a feudal system was actually quite helpful in this regard. Being known to the ruler of one province did not mean they would be known to the ruler of the next. And periodic civil wars meant that who those rulers were could change from one decade to the next. So what was the Society up to, as the Kamakura period gave way to the Muromachi period which in turn gave way to the brief Azuchi-Momoyama period? Expanding. The wars left many orphans in their wake, and the number of demons and devils that were taking advantage of the carnage was large. However, the larger the organization, the more difficult it becomes to hide its footprints. There is some evidence that Oda Nobunaga knew of their existence, but not where or how to find them. Toyotomi Hideyoshi certainly knew of them and probably where to find them, but still not how to do so. It was Tokugawa Ieyasu who figured out that last part, but he waited until after the battle of Sekigahara. For the first time in literal centuries, the Society Supreme Commander and his 17 Clan Commanders met with the leader of a mostly unified Japan and his entourage. Tokugawa, and by extension his shogunate…were not fans. Though in their defense, an army of highly skilled warriors and/or powerful magicians that numbering nearly ten thousand strong and can show up on the doorstep of literally any city or castle is kind of a nightmare scenario no matter their stated intentions. Especially if they refuse to be controlled by you and you have literally no way of forcing the issue, as their base of operations is completely unreachable to you. With that said, while the Tokugawa Shogunate clamped down on the Society like they did a lot of things, the common people had long known better than to get the people who slew the demons who appeared periodically to murder and/or eat the common people. Additionally, the Society’s operations had greatly expanded in the preceding centuries. While most of Europe was held in an iron grip by the Catholic Church’s Paladin Order, much of Asia and Africa saw repeated visits from Devil Hunters on missions ranging from demon extermination to knowledge seeking to recruitment. The Islamic proscription against magic was a rude surprise, and so operations in Middle Eastern and other Islamic nations was kept low. And then Kiske, of the Thousand, launched his revolution. The Society experienced a dramatic philosophical shift into pragmatism and ruthlessness. While it remained a Society in name, in practice Kiske turned it into his own private demon killing army. He sought knowledge, power, and the annihilation of all demonkind. He deemed that the sacrifices to obtain such things would no longer be paid in the blood of Devil Hunters. Combat training ramped up, as his minimum standards were high. Recruitment missions were slashed in numbers, as the number of potential recruits that could meet his standards were low. Extermination missions were also reduced to prevent casualties among those who did not meet his standards. And a new type of mission appeared to replace knowledge seeking entirely. Requisition missions. It was a new name for the same thing, except no longer would the Society take no for an answer. Furthermore, Kiske didn’t care at all about the Paladin Order or Islamic law, and increased operations in all of Europe and every Islamic nation. He also took the opportunity the Meiji Restoration afforded and destroyed the Tokugawa Shogunate’s records on the Society, along with expanding operations to the Americas. Today, the Society numbers approximately five hundred warriors with ten times that in support staff. The numbers drop off was not from casualties, not really. Though the Headquarters increases the longevity of those who dwell in it, they still age. And Devil Hunters on active status are in the field (and thus aging normally) as often as they are at home. Combined with those who left the Society or merely retired in disgust at Kiske’s methods and a miniscule recruitment rate, the Society’s numbers dwindled to their current state. As no Devil Hunter seeks fame for their actions, it has taken until the modern age with the internet for them to become anywhere near widely known. Even now, they’re only really known among the global magical community. Interpol is in Oda Nobunaga’s position of old, where they know an organization calling itself the Devil Hunters exists but where they come from is a giant shoulder shrug. Heroes trying to stop them from doing all the crime stuff will have their work cut out of them. Then again, isn’t that what heroes are for? Doing the highly improbable, if not outright impossible? Headquarters Devil Hunter Society HQ Equipment Points Spent: 25 Toughness: +10 Features: Concealed 2, Dual Size, Gym, Holding Cells, Infirmary, Isolated, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Personnel, Power System, Sealed, Workshop Powers: Communication 9 (sense type: magic; Omni-Directional Area) ESP 9 (affects: 2 types, inc. visual - visual & auditory; No Conduit; Limited) Inhabitant Longevity (Features 1) Teleport 9 (20000 miles as full action; Accurate, Portal; Anchor (Society Headquarters ), Long-Range) Size: Awesome Totals: Abilities 0 + Skills 0 (0 ranks) + Feats 0 + Features 14 + Powers 4 + Combat 6 + Saves 1 + Drawbacks 0 + Equipment 0 (0 ep) + Weapons & Armor 0 (0 ep) = 25 You know, I call it a headquarters but it’s really a full sized town, albeit mostly empty. Nestled in a small valley in rural Japan, and basically completely forgotten is a blast from Japan’s past. The buildings here evoke Heian period Kyoto in the interior, but the exterior is just a sleepy farm town surrounded by plenty of rice paddies and other fields. There are no cell or smart phones. There is no electricity or modern machinery. A visitor, unlikely as that may be, would feel like they just stepped back in time several centuries. Until said visitor notices their first spell casting. Everyone who lives here is a member of a Clan, and can cast spells. Granted, the civilian population/support staff is generally pretty weak, but there’s no need for flint and tinder when a little blast of fire will do. Irrigation is easy when you can create water with a small spell. Who needs a flashlight when there’s a Fire Clansman (Light Subclan) in the neighborhood? Etcetera. The interior has a training academy, various practice grounds, and quarters for all the actual Devil Hunters. There’s meeting halls and offices for Kiske, Zuki, Rina, Kino, and their Lieutenants. But the overall vibe is kind of…sad? Fifty five hundred living in a town that could effortlessly accommodate ten times that number is really sad. Step off the beaten path and you’ll find homes and businesses abandoned for decades, if not over a century. There are no children in the interior. It is literally an armed camp, on a perpetual war footing. However, it’s got everything the Devil Hunter need to do what they do, and thus they call it home. Tactics Let’s start with a quick chart. Experience Level PPower Level Sword Atk Bonus/Damage Magic Atk Bonus/Damage Defense/Toughness Rookie 6 9/3, 8/4, or 7/5 5/7, 4/8, or 3/9 9/3, 8/4, or 7/5 Graduate 7 10/4, 9/5, or 8/6 6/8, 5/9, or 4/10 10/4, 9/5, or 8/6 Veteran 8 12/4, 11/5, 10/6, or 9/7 6/10 or 4/12 12/4, 11/5, 10/6, or 9/7 Senior Veteran / Support Lieutenant 9 13/5, 12/6, or 10/8 8/10 or 6/12 12/6, 10/8, or 9/9 Combat Lieutenant 10 14/6, 13/7, or 12/8 10/10, 8/12, or 6/14 14/6, 12/8, or 10/10 Good. Each of the three Clan Commanders has two Combat Lieutenants and one Support Lieutenant. Both Combat Lieutenants are supported by a Senior Veteran. The rest of each Clan is made up of a mix of Veterans, Graduates, and Rookies. Each Combat Lieutenant commands either Sword or Spell Squad, which identifies the specialty of the Squad. Typically, the Power Level of the other ability (Magic for Sword, Sword for Spell) will be one or two lower and thus not as used in combat. Each Support Lieutenant commands the Support Squad. Now, their magical capabilities can be quite broad, depending on Subclan. The three main Clans are Fire (fire controllers, naturally), Frost (cold controllers, generally without the Create Object power), and Shock (electricity controllers, of course). However, many have a Subclan (formerly a full Clan before numbers dwindled too far and forced a merger) Fire has Sun (parts of fire, light, gravity, and radiation controllers), Light (pure light controllers) Fang (animal mimics). Frost has Water (water controllers, naturally), Forest (plant controllers), and Ki (life controllers). Shock has Metal (magnetism), Storm (weather), and Thunder (bits of sonic, air, and kinetic controllers). Earth (pure earth controllers), Sound (pure sonic controllers), Might (pure gravity controllers), Night (darkness and dream controllers), and Moon (illusionists/mimics with bits of light control) are currently extinct, with the only example of the latter being Kiske himself. …I’ll probably end up making the Lieutenants at some point, bleh. Anyway, teams are five strong with the team leader being the strongest member. No ties allowed. Small scale missions will only a single team, commanded at least by a Veteran. Moderate scale missions will have three teams, and at minimum are led by a Senior Veteran with a Veteran commanding each of the other teams. Large scale missions will see a five team layout, and at minimum are led by a Lieutenant and seconded by a Senior Veteran (theirs if a Combat Lieutenant). The Senior Veteran will have their own team, and the other three will be led by Veterans. Massive scale missions are dramatic endeavors featuring anywhere from seven to twenty five teams. They typically feature multiple Clans, their Commanders, and multiple Lieutenants. However, mission scale is not the sole determining factor in who leads a mission and its teams. What’s listed above is for a low relative threat level.. The higher the threat level, the higher ranked the mission leader and his subordinates are. It’s not unheard of for high threat level but small scale missions to feature a Clan Commander, both their Combat Lieutenants, and both of their Senior Veterans. So you as GM have a certain flexibility in putting a group together to oppose your heroes. Additionally, in the Phoenixverse those who have reached PL 12 have earned a special free Benefit feat that slightly alters the rules on Extra and/or Extraordinary Effort for them. They are detailed below. Pirate Crew Member Feat Name Effect Kiske, of the Thousand One Thousand Spells Kiske does not need to have an action readied to counter magical powers. He may simply do so. Normally, this would require a Hero Point (or in this case, granting one to the hero being countered). For him it does not (and no HP is granted to the hero being countered). The opposed power check, however, is performed as normal. Zuki, the Thunderer Thunderclap: Divine Cleft When attacking with his sword, Zuki may use Extra Effort to double the positive effects of All Out Attack or Power Attack. Meaning that Defense may be traded for Attack Bonus or Attack Bonus for Damage at a 1:2 ratio. This effect only lasts for the round it is used in. He may not do it for both feats with one use of Extra Effort. To do both at the same time, Extraordinary Effort is required.

Kino, of the Stars Power Level: 11; Power Points Spent: 225/225 STR: +4 (18), DEX: +4 (18), CON: +4 (18), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +2 (14), CHA: +2 (14) Tough: +10, Fort: +9, Ref: +12, Will: +9 Skills: Acrobatics 11 (+15), Bluff 13 (+15), Diplomacy 8 (+10), Gather Information 8 (+10), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 8 (+10), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 8 (+10), Language 1 (+1), Notice 8 (+10), Sense Motive 8 (+10), Sleight of Hand 1 (+5), Stealth 6 (+10) Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 4, Challenge - Improved Feint, Challenge - Improved Taunt, Dodge Focus 3, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (Blazing Fire (Drain 10)), Improved Critical 2 (Blazing Strike (Strike 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Dazzling Beam (Stun 8)), Improved Critical 2 (Fire Blast (Blast 14)), Improved Critical 2 (Fire Bolts (Blast 8)), Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Bluff, Sleight of Hand, Stealth), Takedown Attack 2, Taunt, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: Blazing Sun, Burning Soul (Device 12) (Easy to lose, Only you can use) Blazing Sword (Linked) Blazing Fire (Drain 10) (Linked; drains: single trait - toughness, DC 20, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Blazing Fire (Drain 10)); Affects Objects) Blazing Strike (Strike 6) (Linked; DC 25, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Blazing Strike (Strike 6)); Penetrating [5 ranks only]; Mighty) Burning Regeneration (Regeneration 24+1) ([Stacking ranks: +1], recovery bonus 5 (+5 to recover), recovery rate (bruised) 3 (recover 1 / round without rest), recovery rate (disabled) 6 (recover 1 / round), recovery rate (injured) 5 (recover 1 / action), recovery rate (staggered) 5 (recover 1 / action)) Enchanted Durability (Protection 6) (+6 Toughness) Immortality (Ageless) (Immunity 1) (aging) Immortality (Regenerative) (Regeneration 1) (resurrection 1 (1 week); Stacks with (Burning Regeneration (Regeneration 24+1)); Persistent, Regrowth) Omnilingual (Comprehend 3) (languages - read all, languages - speak all, languages - understand all) Sunfire Magic (Array 16) (default power: blast) Blinding Burst (Dazzle 10) (Array; affects: visual senses, DC 20; Burst Area (50-250 ft. radius - General), Selective Attack; Range (touch); Progression, Increase Area 2 (area x5)) Crushing Gravity Field (Move Object 10) (Array; Strength: 50, Carry: 4.3 tons / 8.5 tons / 12.8 tons / 25.6 tons, DC 25; Burst Area (50-250 ft. radius - General), Damaging; Limited Direction (Downwards); Progression, Increase Area 2 (area x5)) Dazzling Beam (Stun (Array; DC 18, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Dazzling Beam (Stun 8)); Range (ranged); Accurate 3 (+6), Improved Range (200 ft. incr), Precise, Progression, Increase Range (max range x2, 2000 feet)) Fire Blast (Blast 14) (Default; DC 29, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Fire Blast (Blast 14)); Precise, Ricochet (1 bounce)) Fire Bolts (Blast (Array; DC 23, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Fire Bolts (Blast 8)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Accurate 3 (+6), Improved Range (200 ft. incr), Precise, Progression, Increase Range (max range x2, 2000 feet)) Fire Bomb (Blast 10) (Array; DC 25; Burst Area (50-250 ft. radius - General); Progression, Increase Area 2 (area x5)) Gravikinesis (Move Object 10) (Array; Strength: 50, Carry: 4.3 tons / 8.5 tons / 12.8 tons / 25.6 tons; Burst Area (50-100 ft. radius - General); Progression, Increase Area (area x2), Selective) Gravity Warp (Teleport 9) (Array; 900 ft. as move action, 20000 miles as full action; Accurate; Change Direction, Change Velocity, Easy, Progression, Mass (carry 250 lbs), Turnabout) Regenerative Sunlight (Healing 10) (Array; DC 20; Action (standard), Range (ranged); Limited to Others; Persistent, Regrowth) Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +12, Grapple: +16) Attacks: Blazing Fire (Drain 10), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 20), Blazing Strike (Strike 6), +12 (DC 25), Blinding Burst (Dazzle 10) (DC Fort/Ref 20), Crushing Gravity Field (Move Object 10) (DC 25), Dazzling Beam (Stun 8), +14 (DC Fort/Staged 18), Fire Blast (Blast 14), +8 (DC 29), Fire Bolts (Blast 8), +14 (DC 23), Fire Bomb (Blast 10) (DC 25), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 19) Defense: +12 (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -5 Initiative: +4 Languages: English, Swahili Native Totals: Abilities 36 + Skills 20 (80 ranks) + Feats 21 + Powers 94 + Combat 34 + Saves 20 + Drawbacks 0 = 225 Age (as of Jan 2019): Unknown (at least 100 years) Height: 5’ 11” Weight: 175 lbs. Ethnicity: Sub Saharan African (tribe unknown) Hair: Black Eyes: Dark Brown Background: Kino, of the Stars doesn’t remember a lot about his life before the Society. World War I’s African theatre was somewhat sparse on action compared to Europe, but he remembers soldiers passing through his village (Town? City? He doesn’t quite remember.). His next memory is of being sick. He knows this was the influenza epidemic that started in 1918. The Spanish flu that killed millions of Africans. He is quite certain it was about to kill him, too, were it not for the intervention of Kiske and the Devil Hunter Society. According to the Society’s records, a pestilence demon was thriving on the outbreak, making it worse than it would have otherwise been and drawing others of its ilk to the area. Kiske killed it personally, and a Zuki, The Thunderer led squad (his first mission as Shock Clan Commander) killed off the rest. A support squad from Frost Clan (featuring Rina, The Iceheart as a leader of a bodyguard squad) lent medical aid through means both mundane and magical. Kino survived. Others did not. Kino wanted to join such cool people. Mighty warriors with great magic. Great heroes, with a dashing and intelligent leader. It wasn’t a recruitment mission (they had come to exterminate the demon specifically), but Kiske liked the look of the boy. The long sickness had destroyed his memory of who he was, and nobody stepped forward to claim him as their own. So when Kiske and the Society left, Kino went with them. The boy trained hard, but he was no prodigy. Quite ordinary, really, as recruits went. The only thing that set him apart was not merely just the capacity for, but the determination to endure body and soul crushing amounts of hard work. Kiske had many other matters to attend to, but he checked in on Kino and the recruits from time to time. Zuki remembered the spirited lad, and checked in sometimes himself. Kino’s determination not to die back in Africa had made a small impression on Rina, too, and she checked on him sometimes as well. It wasn’t mentorship, not really. And those three weren’t alone. But still. He graduated training, and was assigned to a rookie squad. Zazie, the Steel Wind. Yuki, the Quenched. And his rival Delun, of the Journey. In times past, one or two of them would not have survived to make veteran status. Under Kiske’s rule, all four did relatively unscathed. As veterans, with their changeable squad compositions, the four worked together much less often. Time went on and on. Zazie became one of Zuki’s Lieutenants. Yuki became one of Rina’s shortly after she became Frost Clan Commander. And both Kino and Delun became one for the Fire Clan Commander. However, nothing lasts forever. Akiko, the Phoenix, died suddenly and surprisingly permanently. A new Fire Clan Commander was needed. To Kino’s surprise, Delun gave him his recommendation and stepped aside. The rivalry was well and truly buried. The other two Clan Commanders had been tracking his career if not actively mentoring him, and let their preference for him be known. His former squadmates spoke well of him, after all. But it was his hero of a century ago, Kiske, who shocked him out of his shoes by convincing the other Fire Clan Lieutenant to also stand aside. With only one candidate, the vote was a foregone conclusion. Kino, thrilled to his toes, now got to stand beside the heroes from so long ago as their equal. For the most part. Kiske as still the boss. This suits Kino fine, as his first mission as Commander was to annihilate the demon whose curse had stole Akiko’s life. It was, naturally, a complete success. Powers & Tactics: Zuki is both a expert swordsman and a expert magician. He has a potent enchanted sword, the symbol of his group, and his body is also well enchanted. Blazing Sun, Burning Soul can only be properly used by him. For anyone else it is an ordinary Damage 3 (Mighty, Improved Crit) Sword. This is because it was originally drawn from his soul in a rather intense magical ceremony and corporealized into a nigh unbreakable blade with a special magical ability. It is much more effective than normal swords in his hands, having more power, and more sharpness. It also emits a heat so intense there is likely nothing in the world it cannot cut. The special powers of his society’s swords traditionally fall into the realms of Flame, Frost, or Shock. He is a slight exception to this, being fully fledged Sun Clan. The Sun Clan was subsumed into the Fire Clan before Kino’s arrival, but all the same. His special ability is rapid regeneration. His injuries literally burn out of existence, as flames incinerate any trace of physical injury. It’s quite the spectacle, even if it does require a little conscious effort for the most part. He’s hoping to fix that soon. As a magician, he is extremely versatile. His Sunfire Magic has produced fire, light, and gravitic effects. It’s possible he could use radiation or a limited range of magnetic or even electric effects one day. At any rate, he uses fire purely for damage. Fire Blast is the big shot. Fire Bolts do less damage but is more accurate and strikes multiple times. Fire Burst is the crowd control, doing damage over an area. It is important to note that this is stellar and therefore nuclear fire. Effects that counter normal fire will have no effect on it. His main focus with light spells is disabling the opponent. Blinding Burst (which can disable the visual senses of everyone in an area) and Dazzling Beam (which simply overwhelms the target with light and color, essentially inducing a non-physical seizure) support this. However, Regenerative Sunlight is a healing spell that only works on other people. It opens up all sorts of interesting questions about what his magic can do with light beyond photonic manipulation. His gravitic spells through more fuel on this fire, as they’re all quite different. Crushing Gravity Field is literally that. Anything caught within the area is subject to damage and being pressed to the ground unable to move. Gravikinesis allows him to move a selected amount of objects within an area. It can be used on people, as well, but cannot do direct damage. Gravity Warp bends spacetime to its will with raw gravitic force, connecting two points and permitting him to effectively teleport over potentially vast distances. The enchantments to his body are relatively subtle by comparison. His physical durability is significantly higher, he can speak, read, and understand all languages, and he is effectively immortal. That last one is something of a big deal in the Phoenixverse. Agelessness is difficult enough to acquire, but the ability to return from death (even if it’s after a week) is vanishingly rare. The list of (former) mortals who can do that is short indeed. It was Kiske who learned of the method, and performed the ritual on his top lieutenants. Like Kino. Tactically, Kino can seem like a wrathful god of the sun than a mortal. He shows a decided preference for his sword. This is fair, as one swing tends to either cripple or outright kill most opponents. This generally permits him to Takedown Attack 2 his way through a large amount of opponents. And with Gravity Warp, he can approach from unexpected angles. But he is a competent battlefield strategist. Thus larger groups can get hit with Blinding Burst, Crushing Gravity Field, or Fire Bomb. And some enemies have auras or reaction damage, so Dazzling Beam, Fire Blast, and Fire Bolts can be effective in those situations. Gravikinesis and Regenerative Sunlight allow him to be effective is a support role, as well. A Feint or Taunt (Improved version, naturally) can swing things in his favor, as well. And nothing yet has survived a full +5 All Out Power Attack with his sword. Gravity Warp also serves a second purpose. Burning regeneration requires a standard action to remove most damage conditions. So it can give him a quick breather to remove Disabled and/or Staggered before charging back in. Like the other two Clan Commanders, he takes very good care of his Clan and team, protecting them as much as possible. He is always the last one to retreat because Gravity Warp’s long range option is an easy escape. There’s actually a lot of power stunts Kino can do, as befits his magic’s versatility. Fire Blast, Fire Bolts, and Fire Bomb can have the Fire descriptor replaced with Laser (for light) or Gravitic (for gravity) if a foe is immune to fire damage. Blinding Burst and Dazzling Beam can swap feats, extras, and total ranks to become Blinding Beam and Dazzling Burst. He can even turn Blinding Burst into Fireflash, which is an effect descriptor swap from Light to Fire. He’s even got a Maser Blast, which resembles Fire Bolts with Autofire and the Fire descriptor swapped out for Alt Save (Fort) and the Radiation descriptor, respectively. In the support arena, he’s got Low-G Zone, which is Super Strength 10 (Feats: Progression [Increase Area], Selective; Extras: Affects Others, Burst Area; Flaw: Duration [sustained]). So everybody he wants within a 50-100 foot radius suddenly has +50 lifting STR and a max load of over a hundred tons. For when you absolutely, positively, gotta carry smething ridiculously heavy with all your friends, accept no substitutes. And that’s the story here. All of his power stunts are very situational. He won’t pull one of these out unless it’s been proven necessary. Personality: Kino is a hardworking and dependable guy. He’s a nice guy with an appealing if simple personality and people just tend to like him. He feels like the luckiest person in the world, getting to work alongside his heroes from his early days. His determination is more than superheroic. He just doesn’t know how to give up, because the only thing he’s ever been truly great at is working hard. His is a simple creed. Work hard, be kind to others, and protect those important to you. The main problem with him, the thing that makes him a villain at the present time, is that he doesn’t see people from outside of Devil Hunter Society as, well, people. In fairness, he’s spent about 90 percent of his life with the Society, has spent all that time hero worshiping them as the people who saved his life, and encounters with outsiders almost always involve said outsiders being deliberately obstructive and/or getting violent. He quite literally doesn’t know any better than to consider outsiders almost as bad as demons and combat them accordingly. So surprisingly enough, the youngest member of and newcomer to the Clan Commanders has the highest personal body count. Basically he’s a shonen protagonist except on the wrong side. As noted in the entries for Zuki, the Thunderer and Rina, the Iceheart, flipping them from villain to good will flip Kino. Because he’s not a sociopath or anything. He has a conscience, and it works just fine. As stated above, he just doesn’t know any better. But Zuki and Rina do, and it’s quite literally the first time in his life he’s been confronted (from someone he’d listen to) with this idea. That outsider doesn’t necessarily equal enemy. He’s neither blind nor stupid. Outsiders are humans, too. And in an instant, he’s angrier than he’s ever been in his life. Genuinely goddamn furious. Kiske is such a bastard. Using Kino. Manipulating Rina and Zuki. And for what? To protect everyone? Bullshit. The Society isn’t everyone. There are those out there just as weak and vulnerable as he was a century ago. Outsiders are not all enemies. Some are people, as worthy of protection as the Society’s own. With all three Clan Commanders against him, Kiske’s rule over the Society is broken. What happens next is entirely up to you, GM. Dismantle the whole org? Throw everyone in prison? Let them atone as true heroes once again? The choices are boundless and all yours.

Rina, The Iceheart Power Level: 11; Power Points Spent: 240/240 STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16) Tough: +9/+14, Fort: +8, Ref: +8, Will: +14 Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Concentration 12 (+15), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Gather Information 7 (+10), Intimidate 12 (+15), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 13 (+15), Knowledge (history) 8 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 3 (+5), Knowledge (tactics) 3 (+5), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 8 (+10), Notice 12 (+15), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Stealth 7 (+10) Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 2, Attack Specialization 2 (Heartsong Strike (Strike 6)), Attractive (+4), Benefit (Demon Hunter Commander), Challenge - Improved Demoralize, Challenge - Improved Startle, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (Chill Wind (Blast 8)), Improved Critical 2 (Heartsong Strike (Strike 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Ice Bonds (Snare 14)), Improved Critical 2 (Ice Javelin (Blast 14)), Improved Critical 2 (Snowblind (Dazzle 14)), Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Ritualist, Set-Up, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Intimidate, Notice, Sense Motive), Startle, Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: Enchanted Durability (Protection 6) (+6 Toughness) Ice Wind, Heart Song (Device 12) (Easy to lose, Only you can use) Chilling Field (Force Field 5) (+5 Toughness, Feats: Attractive (+4); Impervious [6 extra ranks]) Coldproof (Immunity 10) (common descriptor: Ice/Cold) Heart's Song (Emotion Control 11) (DC 21; Perception Area (General), Secondary Effect, Selective Attack; Limited (to current emotion felt), Range 2 (touch)) Heartsong Strike (Strike 6) (DC 23, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Heartsong Strike (Strike 6)); Mighty, Precise, Subtle (subtle)) Icewind Magic (Array 16) (default power: blast) Flying Platform (Flight (Alternate; Speed: 2500 mph, 22000 ft./rnd; Platform) Howling Blizzard (Obscure (Alternate; affects: visual senses, Radius: 1000 ft.; Selective Attack) Chill Wind (Blast (Array; DC 23, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Chill Wind (Blast 8)); Alternate Save (Fortitude); Accurate 3 (+6), Homing (1 attempt), Improved Range (200 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range (max range x2, 2000 feet)) Chilling Burst (Paralyze 10) (Array; DC 20; Burst Area (50-250 ft. radius - General), Duration (concentration); Action (full); Progression, Increase Area 2 (area x5)) Hailstorm (Blast 10) (Array; DC 25; Cloud Area (50 ft. diameter, lingers - General); Indirect 2 (any point, directed away)) Ice Bonds (Snare 14) (Array; DC 24, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Ice Bonds (Snare 14)); Homing (1 attempt), Precise) Ice Darts (Blast (Array; DC 23; Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Accurate 3 (+6), Improved Range (200 ft. incr), Precise, Progression, Increase Range (max range x2, 2000 feet)) Ice Javelin (Blast 14) (Default; DC 29, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Ice Javelin (Blast 14)); Homing (1 attempt), Precise) Icewind Burst (Move Object 10) (Array; Strength: 50, Carry: 4.3 tons / 8.5 tons / 12.8 tons / 25.6 tons, DC 25; Cone Area (100-500 ft. cone - General), Damaging; Range (touch); Progression, Increase Area 2 (area x5)) Snowblind (Dazzle 14) (Array; affects: visual senses, DC 24, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Snowblind (Dazzle 14)); Precise) Immortality (Ageless) (Immunity 1) (aging) Immortality (Regenerative) (Regeneration 13) (recovery bonus 6 (+6 to recover), recovery rate (disabled) 2 (recover 1 / hour), recovery rate (injured) 2 (recover 1 / 5 mins), recovery rate (staggered) 2 (recover 1 / 5 mins), resurrection 1 (1 week); Persistent, Regrowth) Omnilingual (Comprehend 3) (languages - read all, languages - speak all, languages - understand all) Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +10, Grapple: +12) Attacks: Chill Wind (Blast 8), +14 (DC Fort 23), Chilling Burst (Paralyze 10) (DC Staged/Will 20), Hailstorm (Blast 10) (DC 25), Heart's Song (Emotion Control 11) (DC Staged/Will 21), Heartsong Strike (Strike 6), +14 (DC 23), Ice Bonds (Snare 14), +8 (DC Ref/Staged 24), Ice Darts (Blast 8), +14 (DC 23), Ice Javelin (Blast 14), +8 (DC 29), Icewind Burst (Move Object 10) (DC 25), Snowblind (Dazzle 14), +8 (DC Fort/Ref 24), Unarmed Attack, +10 (DC 17) Defense: +8 (Flat-footed: +4), Knockback: -12 Initiative: +3 Languages: Native Language Totals: Abilities 32 + Skills 29 (116 ranks) + Feats 20 + Powers 106 + Combat 32 + Saves 21 + Drawbacks 0 = 240 Age (as of Jan 2019): Unknown (at least 150 years) Height: 5’ Weight: 95 lbs. Ethnicity: Japanese Hair: Black Eyes: Dark Brown Background: Rina, The Iceheart is in an awkward position. She herself was not yet born during Kiske’s rise to power. She has no personal knowledge of how much things have changed. Her older brother (who adopted her into their family) however, was a Clan leader at the time. He retired specifically because he did not agree with the changes. Also Kiske kicked his ass in a non lethal duel. Byakusei, of the Blossoming Storm (his name) pulled her out of a crowd of rookies. She got there the old fashioned way. She volunteered. When you’re barely into your teen years and all but one of your equally orphaned childhood friends have died, well. Few people cared about destitute peasant orphans during the Meiji Restoration. Survival was a constant struggle, but they had each other. Until slowly, they didn’t. Disease, lack of food, and cruel winters took all but her and Rokuro away one by one. They were too old to steal like they did as children. The punishment should they be caught would be much more severe. Their choices were few, and all bad. But the Devil Hunter Society promised room and board, as long as they were willing to fight supernatural menaces. Everything else promised either a pittance of cash, or virtual enslavement to a trade’s master. They could not wait too long to decide, either. Rina’s cold beauty had been noticed, and Rokuro’s life meant nothing to such unscrupulous men. Either they would decide their futures now, or they would be decided for them. A heavy thing to place on barely more than children. Of course, they joined the Society as recruits. They trained diligently and well. Rokuro had some talent with a sword, but his deficiencies with magic kept him in the normal classes. Rina, however, progressed well in both categories and was admitted to the elite training courses. Where Byakusei noticed her. It was Rina’s decision to join his family. A better home. Better food. Better training. And, of course, Rokuro would be freed of having to look after her. Rokuro, for his part, kept his objections to himself until it was much too late. That house was a cold and lonely place. But the accommodations were better than the recruit dorms, which were a big tent with a bunch of cots in it. One for the men, one for the women. The food was of better quality and more plentiful. One bowl of rice made for a poor meal, but it was all the recruits got. Occasionally there was fish at dinner, but still. And Byakusei directed her training himself. The Storm Clan Commander was a far better teacher than rank and file veterans who drew the short straw or “volunteered”. Even if he was a bit hands off, she learned a lot. But training ends, and field work begins. Kiske took notice for her progression as time went on, and began offering her more and more prominent missions. He was curious to see if she would excel, and when she did he was well pleased. He did not serve as a trainer, but as a mentor figure. Further down the line, when Frost Clan needed a new commander, it was his recommendation that clinched the win in the vote for her. She’s settled into the role rather nicely. But her position remains awkward. Two men who she has great respect and gratitude towards have diametrically opposed views. Deciding between them was impossible. So instead she covered her heart with layers of ice, and has done her best to follow orders. What the society does under Kiske’s command is sometimes evil. However, the goal is always good. She’s deeply conflicted and trapped in decision paralysis. So she is The Iceheart. Powers & Tactics: Rina is both a expert swordswoman and magician. She has a potent enchanted sword, the symbol of her group, and her body is also well enchanted. Ice Wind, Heart Song can only be properly used by her. For anyone else it is an ordinary Damage 3 (Might, Improved Crit) Sword. This is because it was originally drawn from her soul in a rather intense magical ceremony and corporealized into a nigh unbreakable blade with a special magical ability. It is much more effective than normal swords in her hands, having more power, more sharpness, and more precision. It even shrouds Rina with just enough frost to disguise her slashes as breezes to unkeen eyes. The special powers of her society’s swords traditionally fall into the realms of Flame, Frost, or Shock. She is somewhat unique to this, being fully fledged Frost Clan hybridized with the currently extinct Sound Clan. Therefore she has two special abilities instead of one. This is, needless to say, highly unusual. Chilling Field uses the power of absolute zero (where all matter ceases movement) to drain the energy of any attack directed at her. This makes her considerably more durable than her peers. Heart’s Song can force whatever emotion she’s currently feeling onto anyone who can hear her sword sing said song. This is less useful than it sounds, as her sobriquet of The Iceheart is not inaccurate. Early on, she had trouble controlling it. Combined with her other nonpower related issues, she earned her sobriquet. As a magician, she does ice, cold, and wind. She has a wide variety of ways to do damage. Ice Javelin is high damage and single target. Ice Darts is weaker, but more accurate while using multiple hits. Chill Wind does its best to freeze its target solid, bypassing armor from equipment, devices, or superhuman powers. Hailstorm is exactly that. Chunks of ice fall from the sky and batter the enemies across an area. Icewind Burst combines damage with the ability to move things or enemies. She has a few spells that have more exotic effects, as well. Ice Bonds can bind a target in ice, and Snowblind can, well, blind people. Chiling Burst is arguably the best of them, as it exposes an area to such intense cold that anyone within it slowly loses the ability to move. Her final regular spell slot is occupied by two options. Frozen Platform she can ride to fly around at hypersonic speeds, while Howling Blizzard blots out vision in a thousand foot radius. The enchantments to his body are relatively subtle by comparison. Her physical durability is significantly higher, she can speak, read, and understand all languages, and she is effectively immortal. That last one is something of a big deal in the Phoenixverse. Agelessness is difficult enough to acquire, but the ability to return from death (even if it’s after a week) is vanishingly rare. The list of (former) mortals who can do that is short indeed. It was Kiske who learned of the method, and performed the ritual on his top lieutenants. Like Rina. Tactically, Rina can seem more like a goddess of winter than a mortal. She shows a decided preference for ranged combat, which helps a lot in that impression. Aside from that, it’s Ranged Combat 101 with her. Area attack for groups of enemies, single targets once they’re whittled down. Collateral damage really isn’t her thing, so she’ll be careful with that. Chilling Burst is her favorite area spell. Ice Javelin and Ice Darts are tied for favorite single target spell. One of her favorite things to do, when with a full Frost Clan team, is unleash Howling Blizzard to blind the opposition while her team does its work. And there’s nothing like an Demoralize and Startle combo (one of them Improved), used with Set Up, to let her underlings rock a tougher opponent’s world. Her underlings or Zuki and Kino should they be fighting together. She is very protective of her Clanmates and makes sure they get out safely. Personality: Rina comes across initially as emotionless to the point of sociopathy. This is the direct opposite of the truth. She cares a lot. About her Clan. About the Society. About right and wrong. But she’s caught in a grey area. Like Kiske, she doesn’t want anyone in her Clan or indeed in the Society to die. So they have to be stronger than and more ruthless to their enemies. For the former, that means there’s knowledge and artifacts that they absolutely need, regardless of whether or not the current owner is willing to surrender them or not. This has, inevitably, made them many human enemies. Enemies that cannot be allowed to harm the Clan or the Society. So when the two sides clash, she must do everything she can to prevent casualties to her own. And that means killing people. She is deeply uncomfortable with stealing and killing, but she cannot see a better solution. She knows it’s wrong, but the alternative is burying more and more friends. So she piles the ice high on her warm and caring heart, and gets on with what needs to be done. Without complaint. As stated in Zuki, the Thunderer’s entry, flipping him to the hero side will flip Rina. This is because she thinks herself alone in her reservations and as such dares not speak them aloud to anyone. Zuki going to war with Kiske shows her that no, she’s not alone. This melts the ice piled on her heart and breaks her decision paralysis. No more. She sides with Zuki in that how they treat others is more important than preserving their own lives at all costs. And it is seeing the two of them stand against Kiske that makes Kino get to thinking, and change sides himself.

Effigy and Invisigirl Wilona was irritated again. “You mean we could have gone somewhere where my Latin would actually be useful?” And she could ogle cuties in swimsuits? Argh. “Argh!” Naomi, for her part…looked zoned out, as usual. The thoughts she was having do not translate into any known language. She was thinking in colors and shapes, complicated ones. Artificier’s comments didn’t bother her at all. She knew she was more than just turning herself and other stuff invisible. Honestly, she was about to whip out her sketchbook when Wilona exclaimed again. “Okay, the hell with this. I’m not dumb, mesa. You want us to go deeper in the cave? I’m going deeper in the cave!” She turned the LED lamp on. “You coming, Naomi?” It took the invisible girl a few seconds to process language again, but she nodded. The two started walking, because dammit, minimal power use rules.

Effigy “Classmate?” Wilona did not know what Velocity was talking about, and the bafflement showed plainly on her face. Because Naomi was decidedly not filed under “classmate” in her mind. “No, I don’t think so.” But neurons started firing in the back of her mind. Meanwhile great, someone had told the great hero about what happened on Halloween. “My hand’s fine. It’s not the first time I’ve burned it and it won’t be the last. Hell, it’s not even the worst time.” Another chance to impress the great heroes? You betcha. “Now the Terminus Invasion, whew…I thought I was gonna burn it off.” Unlike a lot of people would be, she wasn’t actually that traumatized by it. Sure, it was terrible. Really, really terrible. But she’d also been incredibly awesome, so for her it kind of balanced out. When she wasn’t thinking about the genuine friends she’d lost among the street people. Which she wasn’t. Door firmly shut, yes indeed. The last neuron fired, and the thought bubbling in the back of her mind leaped to the front. The specific trigger being Gabriel speaking to someone who couldn’t currently be seen. It had just taken a few seconds for her to get it. “Oh! Classmate, you mean Nao-I mean Invisigirl.” She was never going to get used to the codename thing. “I thought she was already here.” Naomi poked her head through the curtains in response to Gabriel’s call. “And see, I was right. Not in the usual way, but whatever.” Invisigirl Naomi was a busy workin’. Grooving to some sweet pop music. Lost in her little art world. She’d finished the sketching, but that just meant there was more painting to do. And she needed to use her hands for the stitching and more delicate gluing. Progress had slowed a bit, but she was still in the zone. It was a very good day, but she’d become aware that she was forgetting something important. She’d think about it when she was done, though. This was crunch time. The nitty gritty. Her powers could hold things in place, but the detail work was all her two hands. And then Gabriel’s voice basically slapped her upside the head. Nonsene syllables came out of her mouth. naomiellison.exe was knocked off line and had to reboot. Metaphorically speaking, of course. She poked her head through the curtains after turning her music off and taking out her earbuds. She had four different colors of paint on her face, and a pencil behind one ear and a dry paintbrush behind the other. This prompted Wilona to speak again. The reboot was complete, but language was uh…having an error. Speaking was impossible. Naomi blinked a few times, wearing her usual zoned out expression. Error resolved. Also, thing forgotten remembered. So she stepped entirely out from behind the curtains. Her customary overalls were, well, very dirty. The full rainbow of paint colors. Fabric swatches pinned to the outer pockets. Glue dotted the entirety of the denim. She practically radiated contentment. Her hands were full of stitching, so when she waved half of a period authentic pilgrim costume (a man’s shirt, specifically) waved with her hand. “Hi.” Language was still having an error, so saying more was impossible. It would be so much easier if she could speak in pictures. But alas. Well. At least WIlona was having fun.

Zuki, The Thunderer Power Level: 12; Power Points Spent: 255/255 STR: +3 (16), DEX: +5 (20), CON: +3 (16), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +5 (20), CHA: +3 (16) Tough: +9, Fort: +9, Ref: +15, Will: +9 Skills: Acrobatics 10 (+15), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Gather Information 7 (+10), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 12 (+15), Knowledge (history) 7 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 2 (+5), Notice 10 (+15), Sense Motive 10 (+15) Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 2, Attack Specialization 2 (Awoken Slash (Strike 6)), Benefit (Demon Hunter Commander), Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 6, Evasion 2, Improved Critical 2 (Awoken Slash (Strike 6)), Improved Initiative 7, Improved Trick, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Redirect, Ritualist, Second Chance (Concentration checks to maintain powers), Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: Enchanted Durability (Protection 6) (+6 Toughness) Immortality (Ageless) (Immunity 1) (aging) Immortality (Regenerative) (Regeneration 10) (recovery bonus 6 (+6 to recover), recovery rate (disabled) 1 (recover 1 / 5 hours), recovery rate (injured) 1 (recover 1 / 20 mins), recovery rate (staggered) 1 (recover 1 / 20 mins), resurrection 1 (1 week); Persistent, Regrowth) Last Second Parry (Luck Control 1) (force a re-roll; Limited 2 (attacks against Zuki)) Lightning Magic (Array 17) (default power: blast) Chain Lightning (Blast 9) (Array; DC 24; Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Accurate 3 (+6), Indirect 3 (any point, any direction), Precise) Lightning Bolt (Blast 15) (Default; DC 30; Indirect 3 (any point, any direction), Precise) Lightning Flash (Dazzle 9) (Array; affects: visual senses, DC 19; Perception Area (General); Sense-Dependent (Visual); Indirect 3 (any point, any direction)) Lightning Form (Linked) Affects Corporeal on Sword Attack (Features 9) Concealment 10 (Linked; all senses; Limited (to miss chance)) Insubstantial 3 (Linked; Energy) Lightning Storm (Blast 9) (Array; DC 24; Shapeable Area (9-18 cubes of 125 cu. ft. (5x5x5) - Targeted); Accurate 3 (+6), Indirect 3 (any point, any direction), Progression, Increase Area (area x2)) Stunning Bolt (Stun 9) (Array; DC 19; Range (ranged); Accurate 3 (+6), Indirect 3 (any point, any direction)) Omnilingual (Comprehend 3) (languages - read all, languages - speak all, languages - understand all) Sword Supremacy (Probability Control 1) (Minimum Result: 1; Limited 2) Thunder Flash, Divine Dream (Device 14) (Easy to lose, Only you can use) Awoken Slash (Strike 6) (DC 24, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Awoken Slash (Strike 6)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5) [3 extra ranks], Penetrating; Mighty) Lightning Movement (Super-Movement 5) (air walking 2 (full speed), wall-crawling 2 (full speed), water walking; Limited (to while moving)) Lightning Proof (Immunity 5) (damage type: Electricity) Lightning Quickness (Quickness 14) (Perform routine tasks at 50000x speed) Lightning Reactions (Enhanced Trait (Traits: Evasion 2 +1 (+2), Feats: Improved Initiative 7) Lightning Speed (Speed 14) (Speed: 250000 mph, 2200000 ft./rnd) Attack Bonus: +9 (Ranged: +9, Melee: +11, Grapple: +14) Attacks: Awoken Slash (Strike 6), +15 (DC 24), Chain Lightning (Blast 9), +15 (DC 24), Lightning Bolt (Blast 15), +9 (DC 30), Lightning Flash (Dazzle 9) (DC Fort/Ref 19), Lightning Storm (Blast 9), +15 (DC 24), Stunning Bolt (Stun 9), +15 (DC Fort/Staged 19), Unarmed Attack, +11 (DC 18) Defense: +15 (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -4 Initiative: +33 Languages: Icelandic Native Totals: Abilities 44 + Skills 17 (65 ranks) + Feats 27 + Powers 111 + Combat 36 + Saves 20 + Drawbacks 0 = 255 Age (as of Jan 2019): Unkown (known to be at least 200 years) Height: 5’ 7” Weight: 150 lbs. Ethnicity: Icelandic Hair: Strawberry Blond Eyes: Hazel Background: Zuki, The Thunderer was there. He was a green, wet behind the ears rookie when Kiske took over their demon hunting society. He wasn’t involved, and doesn’t know what Kiske actually did, but he was there. He remembers his teammates. Tana, of The Waves. Isora, of Beast Blood. Nika, The Heartfire. How was it that he rose to stand beside Kiske as his right hand, while so many others fell away? Isora, who fell in combat as he’d always wished. Tana, who departed in disgust as Kiske’s new methods and likely died of old age. Nika, the girl Zuki loved, who followed her brother Tana into exile. The old guard, the mighty warriors Zuki looked up to in those days? Where did they go? Time is ever merciless. To a select few did Kiske grant his knowledge of functional immortality. To the ones he would have stand by his side for the rest of time. But Zuki is troubled. Because he was there. He remembers. These days their society is an armed camp full of serious professional warriors, but before? He remembers the laughter of children and old men. Lovers necking in quiet corners. It was a happy place full of light and life and hope. They are so few now, where before they were so many. 17 clans, collapsed into just 3. And these days they are so violent. Killing demons is important, he agrees. Protecting their own is important, he agrees with this too. But outsiders are no longer regarded as friends unmet, but as enemies unrevealed. He remembers the old teachings. And he is troubled. Kiske having steered everyone wrong is an impossibility. He is a good and virtuous man. A brilliant hero who has saved more lives than anyone will ever know. Zuki knows this to be true. He believes it with all his heart. Moreover, Kiske is the man who raised Zuki up from nothing. Who taught him so much about swordsmanship and magic. Kiske is his mentor and his personal hero. He looks up to him both literally and figuratively. But he remembers, and he is troubled. The truth his eyes have seen and the memories of his earliest days war with loyalty to and faith in one great man. And even if Kiske were somehow removed, what happens next? Who leads them? At any rate, Zuki leads the Shock Clan. It’s a broad tent, these days. The remnants of the actual Shock Clan are the most numerous, but bits and pieces of Metal, Storm, and Thunder remain within it. Zuki himself is Shock Clan through and through, however. He never had any intention of rising this high. Hell, he thought he’d be killed long before he became anyone who mattered at all. He was some dumb kid who got in bad debt with loansharks (thanks to certain unscrupulous and gold digging women) and ended up on the other side of the world from his home, lonely and afraid. But his sensei believed in him. Tana also held to his faith even when Zuki didn’t deserve it. Isora…was mostly an asshole. And Nika was mute, but kind in small ways. But none of them died. None of them became corrupted. Tana was a shining light. A beacon. Isora was a savage warrior, slicing all foes in his path. And Nika too, contributed. Her sobriquet was accurate, as she was the beating heart of the team and unfailing support right when they needed it. And so, for such good friends, for justice, and for honor, Zuki found his strength and started walking beside them. They were never invincible. They were wounded, beaten down, poisoned and/or otherwise messed up often enough. But they always pulled through. They survived. But Kiske, their shiny new leader supreme commander, was changing things. He wasn’t wrong. No squad or team had ever come back unharmed, and they came back short one with depressing regularity. It wasn’t all the time, or even most of the time. But the rookies were thinned out by combat against demons. Nobody was ever failed out for not measuring up. Those actually inept were reassigned to support duties even the deeply mediocre were sent on missions just like the top of the training class. They were expected to behave with dignity, compassion, and honor. Even in the face of a gruesome, horrible death and/or failing their missions. Zuki and his squad were whole…but he knew several that weren’t. Horrific permanent injuries, maimings, and of course the ones who simply never came back at all. Kiske wasn’t wrong. It didn’t need to be so horrible. He should have never said anything to Tana. The conversation turned into a debate which turned into an argument which turned into their team breaking. They were veterans now. Tana had been growing more and more visibly uncomfortable with the changes Kiske had instituted. After the argument with Zuki, Tana had a blazing one with Kiske himself. And the next day he was leaving. Nika was horribly torn, but she couldn’t abandon her brother. Isora and Zuki couldn’t abandon their home. The latter two were reassigned to different teams. Isora died shortly thereafter, chainsawing his way through a horde of demons. And Kiske began personally mentoring the heartbroken Zuki. Zuki’s abilities and his perception of himself improved. Time went by, and the old Shock Clan commander retired. The Clan held a vote, and Kiske approved the results. Zuki, the Thunderer, was their new commander. Powers & Tactics: Zuki is both a master swordsman and a expert magician. He has a potent enchanted sword, the symbol of his group, and his body is also well enchanted. Thunder Flash, Divine Dream can only be properly used by him. For anyone else it is an ordinary Damage 3 (Might, Improved Crit) Sword. This is because it was originally drawn from his soul in a rather intense magical ceremony and corporealized into a nigh unbreakable blade with a special magical ability. It is much more effective than normal swords in his hands, having more power, more sharpness, and the ability to cut several times with one swing. The special powers of his society’s swords traditionally fall into the realms of Flame, Frost, or Shock. He is no exception to this, being fully fledged Shock Clan. And so his special power is literally being as fast as lightning. Full on hypersonic speedster style. Up walls, across water, and even through the air itself (albeit at a halfspeed ascending or descending) He’s also immune to electrical damage. As a magician, he does lightning. Not electricity, lightning. Lightning Bolt is literally that, and just as powerful as the real thing. Chain Lightning is weaker, but strikes repeatedly and is more accurate. Lightning Storm maintains the accuracy, but spreads it over a wide area. Lightning Flash blinds the hell out of anyone who can’t close their eyes in time. Stunning Bolt is for when more polite violence is required. And the last of his regular arsenal is his absolutely amazing Lightning Form, in which he transforms himself into living lightning. He is virtually untouchable in this form, and his sword still works on the corporeal. And these are just the Thunder Flash half of his magic. The Divine Dream half remains unawakened. He is not aware of this. The enchantments to his body are relatively subtle by comparison. His physical durability is significantly higher, he can speak, read, and understand all languages, and he is effectively immortal. That last one is something of a big deal in the Phoenixverse. Agelessness is difficult enough to acquire, but the ability to return from death (even if it’s after a week) is vanishingly rare. The list of (former) mortals who can do that is short indeed. It was Kiske who learned of the method, and performed the ritual on his top lieutenants. Like Zuki. Tactically, Zuki can come off as closer to a god than a man. Faster than most can perceive and casually summoning ridiculous amounts of lightning. His eyes glowing with energy and his body sparking with electricity. His first move (with +33 Init, he tends to go before everyone) is to flash step in and take advantage of everyone else technically being Flat Footed to start chopping foes down with his sword and Takedown Attack 2’ing his way through the rest. Many a demonic mook squad has been annihilated by this. Even humans are not immune, though he never uses lethal damage against them. Lightning Storm can also be very effective in clearing mobs. Lightning Bolt is the heavy artillery, with Chain Lightning swapping in when accuracy is needed at range. Lightning Flash has turned the tide of many a group battle. For more difficult opponents, Lightning Form and his sword generally suffice. With that active, he is genuinely impressively difficult to hit. And that’s without getting into the fact that he has Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Improved Trick, and Redirect. All of which, along with Move By Action, he uses liberally. All Out and Power Attack are also on tap. They are particularly impressive with used in tandem for a +5 with Lightning Storm. Or that opening strike with his sword, if he only has one opponent. He will retreat if combat is going badly, but his Clan comes first. He is technically capable of power stunting, but the use of that would be a narrative device to show that his the Divine Dream half of his magic exists. Otherwise he won’t power stunt at all. Personality: Zuki is defined by a lack of self confidence. He just doesn’t see himself the way others do, or the way he actually is. It’s better than it was in the old days. It’s like…when he was a green, wet behind the ears rookie. He still saw himself as a helpless civilian who’d die easily on the battlefield. Even when he had the courage to stand beside his old friends, he still didn’t see himself as any more skill than one of said rookies. Despite this being demonstrably untrue. Even now, when he’s a godlike badass, he doesn’t see himself as any better than one of his rank and file veterans. He does know he’s fully competent, but amazing? Spectacular? No. This is because he’s comparing himself to the Tana and Isora of his memories and the Kiske of now. Anyone would feel inadequate next to that group. Outside of this he’s actually a startlingly good guy. He keeps his Clan well stocked with compliments and praise, but shrugs off any directed at him with self depreciating humor. Outside of combat he’s a friendly, easygoing guy who sadly remains a sucker for a pretty face. In combat he’s the wrathful god of lightning, serious as a heart attack. He cares a lot for his Clan and the Society in general. The only reason he qualifies as a villain at all is his loyalty to Kiske. Otherwise he’d absolutely be a hero. Of course, Kiske knows this and so doesn’t ask him or his Clan to directly participate in any truly unsavory business. One of the other two Clans will be the main force, with Shock running interference. This does not mean that Zuki has never killed anyone. He has done his very best to avoid it, but a lightning bolt striking a tank or assault helicopter has predictable results for the crew inside. They were military. They knew the risks of getting into a fight with superhuman opposition, and they did it anyway. This does not make him feel better. Neither does the fact that he saved members of his Clan in the process. Which means, naturally, that Zuki is the point where savvy heroes can redeem the entire Devil Hunter Society. If the heroes can get Zuki to fully believe in and trust himself at last and turn on Kiske for being evil af, his Divine Dream magic will awaken and he’ll be both willing and able of handing the arrogant bastard his ass on a plate. Zuki flipping will flip Rina, which will flip Kino, which flips the whole Society. Getting him to believe in and trust himself is easier said than done, and getting him to turn on his mentor and personal hero may well be even harder. It’s going to be a long and tedious process of becoming his friend and gathering evidence against Kiske. But like the saying goes, easy isn’t for heroes, is it?

Queenie Maybelle absolutely noticed the difference between Leon’s two hands as she shook his right. One was obviously a prosthetic. She didn’t even consider asking. It would be very, very rude. She exaggerated her Southern accent to match his mock British, smiling all the while. “McQueen. Maybelle McQueen. A pleasure, sah. And don’ you fret about bein’ rude to little ol’ me.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “I know boys are gonna be boys.” She leaned back and laughed, dropping the act. “I’m sorry, I can’t do that anymore.” She sobered, if only a little. “I do mean not to worry about it. I don’t like being objectified, but I know that you’re a teenage boy with all those hormones howling in your blood. And my bedroom mirror keeps telling me I’m still good lookin’ every mornin’.” Double and she knew very well what being a sucker for a good looking face was about. Even if her good looking faces came with rock hard muscles and the ol’ box and tackle between the legs. …she probably needed to get laid. Dang it. Anyway. “Just try not to make a habit out of it. I may not mind too much, but other ladies might.”

Effigy and Invisigirl Wilona had been throwing more fire than she had since the Terminus Invasion, and she was feeling it. Not fatigue. There wasn’t an apparent upper limit on how much fire she could generate as far as energy went. It was her right hand and to a lesser extent her arm. So much intense heat in such rapid succession was cooking them. She didn’t actually care, mind, but it was going to be an issue going forward. And then Ouroboros struck. The Carrion Queen clawed at the portal’s edges briefly, delaying her departure, and Wilona decided she’s officially had enough of the Evil Zombie Lady. Power surged through her as she taxed her output to its uppermost limits. “PYRUS! PYRUS MAXIMUS! BURN!” The blast of fire her right hand emitted bore no resemblance to previous emissions. That was fire. This was like she’d briefly opened a portal directly into the deepest pits of Hell or the heart of a star. Such was the blast of heat that roasted the lobby. Wilona technically missed. The Carrion Queen’s show of resistance was only that, a show. But the fire went through the portal right behind her before it closed. Wilona sagged, landing on the floor. She would have toppled over, but Naomi was there, physically supporting her, albeit staggering a little under her sudden weight. Naomi shimmered back into visibility, as did everyone else. “We won, Wil.” She said quietly. “Now I think it’s burn doctor time again.” She raised her voice to what to other people would be a normal speaking volume but was practically yelling for her. “Um. Is there a doctor in the house?” Wilona peeled off her right glove, wincing as it stuck briefly in several places. The skin was liberally peppered with burn scars, a few of them genuinely nasty. It was also showing all the signs of a full first degree burn, with spots that convincingly passed for the second degree. “Tch. I’m fine. Just gimme a minute.” “No.” Naomi’s voice was surprisingly firm. She bent her knees just so Wilona’s would buckle briefly (before the exhausted girl caught herself), and then merely blew air over her hand. Wilona hissed in pain. “Tch, fine. Doctor, whatever.” To anyone watching, body language would give away that the two were closer than mere friends. What exactly that mean, however, was a mystery.

Blackgate Pirates Overview The Blackgate Pirates are, without a doubt, the biggest menace to global shipping. Thanks to their Captain, Yori Newgate, they can show up practically anywhere and be gone just as quickly. For modern navies, Yori’s teleport portals are an absolute nightmare. He doesn’t seem to operate a fleet of ships, either. He’s a thoroughly modern pirate, using speedboats from an ever changing home base. Sometimes said base is a bigger ship. Sometimes it’s on land in a coastal area. And under Yori’s command they’re bold as hell, sometimes raiding multiple ships while they’re docked in a port city or feeding on a canal like the Suez or Panama off and on for a day or two before a naval response inevitably shoos them away. Hostage taking, kidnapping, murder more or less for hire, robbing the safes, stealing cargo, sinking ships. They’ve done it all. They’ve stolen whole ships, sold the cargo on the black market, and then sold off the ship itself. Superheroic response has been piecemeal and ineffective. Since Yori moves their base of operations around so much, tracking them down is difficult at best. The primary members of the crew (Yori, Nayan, Zuberi, and Layla) either match or outclass the average superhero (which is a PL 8 in the Phoenixverse) so an entire team must be assembled. Yori purposefully operates more often on seas close to economically disadvantaged countries with poor navies. Giving the world’s top navies (such as the US, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, or UK Royal) extra motivation to hunt him is not on his to do list. There’s bold, and then there’s foolish. This and the global span on his activities makes forming such a team a daunting challenge. There’s never enough heroes to go around, and a given country being economically weak exacerbates this. And even if a team of heroes is assembled and manages to track the Pirates down, Yori is likely to kill them all by himself as the vast, vast majority of professional superheroes in the Phoenixverse are decidedly not equipped to deal with a heavily damage and toughness shifted PL 14. And so the Blackgate Pirates continue to do as they please in pursuit of their boundless ambitions. Tactics For rank and file crew the Thug and Soldier archetypes will do fine. A duplicate of Nayan tends to command individual squads, with the real deal in overall command of raids. Yori is usually busy keeping the portal open, but will step in if things start going poorly. Zuberi typically has a squad of his own, hunting for supplies equipment useful to the Pirates as a whole. He’s also the assessor for unknown tech. Layla provides overwatch, sniping anyone who looks like they’re either in or taking a leadership position, calling for backup, holding a position that’s blocking a squad’s advance, etc. She’s not the only one doing that, a few rank and file crew do it too, but she’s incredibly effective by comparison. Yori’s loyalty to rank of file crew and Nayan duplicates doesn’t exist. They’re easily abandoned and easily replaced. Layla will cover Zuberi’s return (and he moves his ass like it’s on fire, not stopping for anything). Nayan covers for everyone as best he can, and is usually the last one out, swapping with a duplicate back at the current base. Rank and file crew left behind will likely surrender, but Nayan duplicates will fight to the last as they know they’re not “real”. Additionally, in the Phoenixverse those who have reached PL 12 have earned a special free Benefit feat that slightly alters the rules on Extra and/or Extraordinary Effort for them. They are detailed below. Nayan is a special case due to the astra inside him. If it wasn’t there, he’d have hit PL 12 by now as a magician. So he has access. Pirate Crew Member Feat Name Effect Yori Newgate Unstoppable Ambition May use Extra Effort as a Reaction to apply his Will save in place of any other bonus. Nayan Believe It Normally, a PC or NPC can only add one power feat with Extra Effort. Even if they’re increasing the rank of a power feat they already have. Nayan is different. His Duplication Summon power, should he choose to increase the ranks of Progression (# Minions), he will increase it by 2 ranks, becoming able to summon 25 duplicates. This also applies to Extraordinary Effort, and so if he uses this he will be able to summon up to 100 duplicates.

Layla Khan Power Level: 11; Power Points Spent: 180/180 STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +5 (20), CHA: +0 (10) Tough: +3/+5, Fort: +7, Ref: +15, Will: +8 Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Craft (mechanical) 2 (+5), Diplomacy 10 (+10), Disguise 10 (+10), Gather Information 10 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 2 (+5), Knowledge (streetwise) 2 (+5), Knowledge (tactics) 7 (+10), Language 5 (+5), Notice 15 (+20), Sense Motive 5 (+10), Stealth 12 (+15) Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (ranged) 4, Attack Specialization (Sniper Rifle (Device 6)), Defensive Roll 2, Dodge Focus 6, Equipment 4, Evasion 2, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 2 (Sniper Rifle Shot (Blast 7)), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Precise Shot 2, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Disguise, Notice, Stealth), Ultimate Effort (Aim), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: Firearm Supremacy (Probability Control 1) (Minimum Result: 1; Limited 2 (Firearms)) Smoke Grenade (Obscure 4) (affects: visual senses, Radius: 50 ft.; Independent) Sniper Rifle (Device 6) (Easy to lose) Sniper Rifle Shot (Blast 7) (DC 22, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Sniper Rifle Shot (Blast 7)); Penetrating; Improved Range 3 (700 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range 3 (max range x10, 7000 feet), Subtle (subtle)) Sniper's Harness (Device 5) (Hard to lose) Cloaking Field (Concealment 10) (all senses; Passive) Goggles (Super-Senses (direction sense, distance sense, extended (type): Vision 2 (-1 per 1k ft), infravision, ultravision) Wrist Grapple (Linked) Speed 1 (Linked; Speed: 10 mph, 88 ft./rnd) Super-Movement 3 (Linked; slow fall, wall-crawling 2 (full speed)) Equipment: Secondary Arsenal (Assault Rifle, Knife, Machete, Masterwork Heavy Pistol, Smoke Grenade [Smoke Grenade (Obscure 4), affects: visual senses, Radius: 50 ft.; Independent]) Attack Bonus: +9 (Ranged: +13, Melee: +9, Grapple: +11) Attacks: Assault Rifle, +13 (DC 20), Knife, +9 (DC 18), Machete, +9 (DC 20), Masterwork Heavy Pistol, +14 (DC 19), Sniper Rifle Shot (Blast 7), +15 (DC 22), Unarmed Attack, +9 (DC 17) Defense: +15 (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -2 Initiative: +7 Languages: Arabic Native, Chinese (Mandarin), English, Kurdish, Spanish, Turkish Totals: Abilities 32 + Skills 23 (92 ranks) + Feats 30 + Powers 40 + Combat 36 + Saves 19 + Drawbacks 0 = 180 Age (as of Jan 2019): 23 Height: 5’ 7” Weight: 145 lbs. Ethnicity: Saudi Hair: Blonde (dyed, naturally Black) Eyes: Dark Brown Background: Layla Khan is a unpowered young woman from Saudi Arabia. This should already tell you much about how her life has gone. Saudia Arabia is…near the bottom, as far as equality between the genders is concerned. Cishet males stand at the top. Everyone else is…significantly lower. They have their reasons for this, and whether they’re good, bad, or something else I will leave as an exercise for the reader. Layla was a prodigy, as far as shooting went. She seemed to be born to fire guns at a high level of proficiency. Unfortunately, she was born with the wrong set of genitals for this to be considered especially important. Aside from one permissive shooting fan of an uncle, her conservative family had no use for her talents. Perhaps the government would have, but it never came to that. She stole one of her uncle’s rifles and one of his handguns, disguised herself, and slipped out of the country. She was 15 at the time. It would be nice to say that she fell in with some friendly terrorists and everything worked out great. But no. Layla shot a lot of men who would have taken away her obvious birthright. For faith. For honor. Out of jealousy. The reasons were varied and many, but ultimately ceased to matter once those voicing them were dead on the ground. As more and more of their blood drained into sand and soil, more and more of Layla’s humanity drained with it. She had wanted to fight for a cause. For something that mattered. But in the end she became nothing more than an assassin for hire. She spent her earnings on better weapons and gear. And she kept her prices relatively low. It was never about the money. She didn’t care about getting rich. Recognition was what she craved. She chased the most difficult jobs, not the ones that paid more. Her notoriety built until she was dodging assassins after her. Some were from or paid by the Israeli Mossad, which has never been shy about removing potential threats to Israel. Some were from or paid by Islamic extremists, who found such a young woman extremely offensive. And, of course, there was the usual hodgepodge of has beens, never weres, and green newbies who were looking to make a name for themselves. There were days when it seemed like half the Middle East wanted to kill her. She didn’t mind the target practice, but it was getting tiresome. She should get out. She was in Khor Fakkan (a port city in the United Arab Emirates belonging specifically to the Emirate of Sharjah), looking to bribe a freighter captain into giving her passage, when the Blackgate Pirates made a ridiculously bold nighttime raid. In the dockside chaos, she sought out the infamous Yori Newgate, who was only too pleased to have one of the Middle East and Asia’s finest sharpshooters join his crew. Powers & Tactics: Layla has no superhuman powers and even her two devices aren’t particularly special. She has a high powered Sniper Rifle and a Sniper’s Harness that does a few useful things. She is, however, one of the best ranged combatants on the planet, especially with her Sniper Rifle. The range it has is ridiculous. Mundane firearms are hitting their limits while she’s still effortlessly clipping the wings off flies. She’s hit targets over a mile away, though that taxes the limits of the gun and her abilities. It is a hell of a gun with armor piercing ammunition and sporting an integral silencer besides. Her Sniper Harness is a perfect complement to it. It has three parts. A Cloaking Field to render her unnoticed until her fateful shot. Goggles that dramatically increase her visual senses, so she can actually see to hit the targets her Sniper Rifle can reach along with the distance to said targets. And a Wrist Grapple to get to those elevated perches that are so perfect for sniping. She also has but does not always carry a variety of secondary weapons. An assault rifle, a masterwork heavy pistol, a machete, a knife, and some smoke grenades. Tactically, she’s a sniper. And one with a hell of a lot of range to work with. If she’s the one starting the engagement, between her Cloaking Field and Hide In Plain Sight, you’ll never know she’s there until your brains are splattering the pavement. Those same to two items make you starting the engagement a difficult proposition at best. She knows very well that melee or normal ranged combat against superhuman level foes is a suicidal endeavor. The melee fighters either outclass her in skill by a wide margin or have the physical strength to casually break her bones. The ranged fighters are worse, with a completely unpredictable assortment of abilities that can effortlessly outclass one unpowered human woman with a gun. PL 11 does not equal stupid or overconfident. To beat her, you have to bring the Super Senses to overcome Concealment, Obscure (remember the smoke grenades?), and Stealth, then endure a heavily attack and defense shifted PL11 with Acrobatic Bluff and Power Attack who is willing to shoot you as many time as it takes. Some movement speed ranks are also a good idea, because she likes to run away, too. Straight fights are for those with death wishes, and she doesn’t have one. She cannot power stunt. What she has is on the sheet. Personality: Layla was once an idealistic young girl, until reality and killing a few dozen people caught up to her. She’s the stereotypical cold and stoic professional sniper now. Everyone is kept at arm’s length, because she may one day have to provide their brain matter with additional ventilation. She’s killed so many times and from so many ranges that human life just isn’t special to her anymore. She can kill as easily as breathing, and with about as much thought and feeling behind it. The other Blackgate Pirates (except Nayan, naturally) are killers, sure, but it also means something to them. For good or ill (mostly for ill), they feel something about killing and it’s something they actually decide to do. With Layla it’s basically reflex. There’s no thoughts about sparing enemies or showing mercy. Race doesn’t matter. Gender doesn’t matter. Age doesn’t matter. There are only targets and not targets. Targets are shot to death. Not targets are constantly assessed to determine if they have become targets. There is very little humanity left in her, and that is almost entirely contained in her deep seated craving for recognition. She is absolutely one of the top 100 sharpshooters on the planet, and she’s still improving. She wants that talent and hard won skill acknowledged. Specifically by the King of Saudia Arabia, at least to start. Despite all the ways she kind of isn’t one, she still considers herself a good Muslim woman. Layla is not redeemable. She can’t be saved no matter how persuasive or compassionate the heroes are. There is no cheat route to dealing with her. Her craving for recognition is not something that can ever be truly satisfied. She has to be outwitted, overpowered, and beaten into the ground. And even then the heroes must be cautious, for she will not be taken alive if she can manage it. She won’t suicide directly, but she will do everything she can to force the issue and leave the heroes no choice. Assuming, of course, she can’t possibly escape to fight another day. This includes after she’s technically captured so escort her to that cell personally, heroes. Or you might find out she beat the shit out of the cops doing that, stole a gun, killed some or all of them, and escaped.

Queenie Maybelle smiled again, blushing slightly. It had nothing to do with Leon. She was remembering a particularly “spicy” fellow from culinary school. “And what do you know about spicy? That’s grown up stuff.” She teased gently again, but settled down to listen to his story. And what a story it was, even if he was obviously barely scratching the surface. Maybelle was lucky, she reflected, to grow up in a home with both parents, so filled with love and food. It wasn’t like she didn’t know that, but abstract knowledge was no match for direct experience. She was quietly angry. Seething, really. It wasn’t fair at all. He didn’t need someone to tell him how to live. He wasn’t ready for that. What he needed was someone to support and accept him. And, Claremont, clearly, had not yet provided. If they’d been standing next to each other, she’d have hugged him. Instead, since they were across a table, she took his free hand in hers. “Hey. You know you’re safe now, right?” She was looking directly into Leon’s eyes, leaning over the table a little to do so. “Your burdens are heavy, but you don’t have to carry them alone. There are people who will be or already are more than happy to help. Like your roommate. And me. I promise, it’s not as bad as you think. It never is.” Maybelle let go of Leon’s hand and settled back in her seat. “As for how I’m getting you to talk…” She assumed a perfectly innocent expression. “It’s probably the power of boobs.” Well. They were, uh, a little on the large side, that was true. She laughed merrily at Leon’s reaction. “I’ve looked like this since before you were probably born, sunshine. I think I can tell when a fella’s eyeing me up.” She chuckled a little more. “More seriously, well…like I just said. You needed someone to just listen to you. Everybody needs somebody like that. No shame in it.” She blinked, suddenly startled. She'd had a realization. “You know, we’re having this intense conversation, and I don’t even know your name.”

Zuberi Wafula Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 180/180 STR: +12 (11/35), DEX: +0 (10), CON: +3 (16), INT: +6 (22), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16) Tough: +3/+6, Fort: +9, Ref: +3, Will: +12 Skills: Bluff 9 (+12), Computers 9 (+15), Craft (chemical) 9 (+15), Craft (electronic) 9 (+15), Craft (mechanical) 9 (+15), Disable Device 3 (+9), Gather Information 6 (+9), Intimidate 9 (+12), Knowledge (life sciences) 9 (+15), Knowledge (physical sciences) 9 (+15), Knowledge (technology) 9 (+15), Notice 7 (+10), Sense Motive 7 (+10) Feats: Accurate Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 3, Dodge Focus 3, Eidetic Memory, Grappling Finesse, Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Pin, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Jack-of-All-Trades, Power Attack, Speed of Thought (use INT for Init, not DEX), Startle, Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge (Visual) Powers: Heavy Coat and Goggles (Device 2) (Hard to lose; Subtle (subtle)) Protection 3 (+3 Toughness; Subtle (subtle)) Sensory Shield 3 (sense: all senses, +6 to saves vs. Dazzle attacks) Polyglot (Comprehend 3) (languages - read all, languages - speak all, languages - understand all; Limited (to languages with more than a million speakers)) Tentacle Harness (Device 12) (Hard to lose) Additional Limbs 3 (5 extra limbs; +3 to Grapple when not using Imp. Grapple, Feats: Improved Grapple) Elongation 3 (Elongation: 25 ft., range incr 30 ft., +3 Escape & Grapple; Permanent) Enhanced Strength 24 (+24 STR) Quickness 2 (Perform routine tasks at 5x speed; One Type (Physical)) Speed 3 (Speed: 50 mph, 440 ft./rnd) Super-Movement 6 (slow fall, sure-footed 1 (25% penalty reduction), swinging, wall-crawling 2 (full speed), water walking) Super-Senses 3 (infravision, radius (type): Visual) Super-Strength 6 (+30 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 102.4 tons; +6 STR to some checks) Attack Bonus: +3 (Ranged: +3, Melee: +6, Grapple: +18/+27) Attacks: Unarmed Attack, +6 (DC 27) Defense: +12 (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -3 Initiative: +4 Languages: Swahili Native Totals: Abilities 31 + Skills 26 (104 ranks) + Feats 21 + Powers 60 + Combat 24 + Saves 18 + Drawbacks 0 = 180 Age (as of Jan 2019): 53 Height: 5’ 9” Weight: 240 Ethnicity: West African (Kikuyu, specifically) Hair: Shaved Eyes: Dark Brown Background: Zuberi Wafula is a proud graduate of the University of Nairobi with a double doctorate in electronic and mechanical engineering The university itself is not so proud. It’s a classic story. He was a research professor, experimenting with a new breed of cybernetics he called psionetics. The goal was to minimize actual implantation in favor of psionic connectors that could operate via a limited form of telepathy. Cybernetics themselves are cutting edge technology in the Phoenixverse, so Zuberi’s research was absolutely on the bleeding edge of science. His sole research assistant was a young man named Paul. The two, despite their age differences, formed quite a fond friendship. Everything was going well, and it became time to show off their prototype. Paul had his reservations, but Zuberi overruled him. He’d take the risk upon himself. This was a mistake. The processors in his Tentacle Harness, put there to aid his brain in controlling said tentacles, ended up overriding his brain instead. The Harness went out of control. It could have been a massacre, but fortunately Paul happened to be the secret identity of a spider themed superhero. He managed to disable the Harness before anyone was seriously injured. It was a hell of a setback, but Zuberi was confident he could iron out the problem. And the idea did work. Between him and Paul, they convinced the University to give the project another chance. Unfortunately, they had more and more trouble producing tangible results. They were making real progress, but without another demonstration it was growing more and more difficult to convince the university to continue funding the project. Finally, the axe fell. Zuberi was forced to take his work elsewhere. He scraped together a small company with his savings and hired Paul. He was so close. Then he found out the unscrupulous department head had arranged behind the scenes to have his funding cut off and stolen his research to be used for an even less scrupulous weapons manufacturer. He found out via a cease and desist letter from said corporation. It would be tempted to say Zuberi snapped, and that’s the official line. But he could have never harmed anyone without putting on the Harness. The processors overriding brain function problem had been solved, along with many others. The problem remaining (which really wasn’t a problem for the weapons company) was that they still negated the wearer’s inhibitions. The official story is that Zuberi snapped, put the Harness on, and proceeded to murder his department head and every primary executive of the weapons corp. Specifically by throwing them out of the skyscraper they were meeting in at the time. The real story is that he snapped in that room, as they were laughing at the fat idiot who thought his genius and dream mattered more than money and power. He’d been a puppet from the start. Even with the Harness on, he was clearly in control of himself. The fat idiot couldn’t possibly harm a fly. Dance, puppet, dance. Well. He showed them, didn’t he? Then he uploaded a virus hat either corrupted or erased all the data in their systems. The fight with Paul (in his superheroic guise) back at Zuberi’s small offices was a violent and emotional affair. Zuberi had known Paul was a superhero for a long time, as he was terrible at hiding it and Zuberi was not an idiot. But Paul won, and Zuberi went to prison. For about five minutes. He staged a mass breakout that threatened all of Nairobi. Paul and a few other local heroes were run ragged collecting everyone. Zuberi was better prepared this time, and Paul lost their second fight. The last thing the hero saw before blacking out was Zuberi striding into a portal made of shadows. The last thing he heard was a belly laugh that sounded nothing like his now former mentor. The breakout had been staged with the aid of Yori Newgate. Zuberi had joined the Blackgate Pirates. Powers & Tactics: Zuberi has no superhuman powers, only a pair of devices. In fact he’s kind of in terrible shape despite his CON score. His Heavy Coat and Goggles help protect his body from damage and his senses from being dazzled. The Tentacle Harness, however, is the main event. It has four tentacles attached to a thick belt at his waist. They’re attached behind him, at the base of his spine. The tentacles are fantastically strong, able to lift busses and train cars without effort. Even locomotives and tanks aren’t beyond them, though they take real effort. Walking with the lower set instead of his legs gives him speed comparable to city-bound automobiles. They can climb walls and swing from anywhere, granting him greater mobility than said automobiles. They have cameras that see into the infrared feeding into his sensory cortex. Their positioning means he can basically see all around himself. And they grant him five times the physical reach of any unpowered human. Tactically, he’s not that complicated. He’s a pure melee fighter who can strike, grapple, or both with Improved Grab. He’s actually a fearsome grappler for his Power Level, and so that’s more or less his go to move. He’ll usually use a +5 Accurate Attack, after which most foes find it impressively difficult to escape and he can crush them with that +12 STR bonus. He’s capable of both Feint and Startle as a professional level, so those get mixed in as needed. He relies pretty hard on that 25 ft. reach, whether no matter the opponent. If he has time to prepare for the battle, he is absolutely bringing his average Inventor result of 15PP’s worth of something to the fight. Most common is Immunity 5 (entrapment), but that leaves 10PP with which to negate or minimize an enemy’s strengths. He is not capable of power stunting whatsoever. Inventor is the best he can do. Personality: Zuberi was always somewhat arrogant and self-centered, like many geniuses. But he knew enough to keep it under control. He had to function in society as someone with no real power, after all. However, in the skyscraper when he snapped, he started to change. There is no coming back from committing multiple murders, no matter how worthy your justification. As such, and with the Harness negating his inhibitions, he has fully embraced being a super villain. Arrogant, selfish, and bombastic, he plays the role to the hilt. It’s fun. These days, even with his work on the Harness complete (meaning the inhibition negation is gone), he has not noticeably changed. Because like the rest of the crew, he has an ambition. A dream. Not for one moment has he ever given up on his technology being used to benefit mankind. Naturally, he would receive the accolades and praise for such genius work that he believes he deserves. Why, he could even sit in prison for the rest of his days knowing that he had succeeded at last. And that everyone who ever doubted him knew how deeply wrong they were to do so. But alas. He is a well known international criminal. A pirate and a murderer many times over. It cannot happen. Unless, of course, Captain Newgate achieves his ambition. Such a lofty perch would have many benefits to those who brought him to such heights. Zuberi is not a man you save. There is no redeeming him. He has grown too used to doing as he pleases without regard to the law or morality. He has shed too much blood and caused too much pain without caring for the consequences of his actions. Up above is not a lie. He was always a man who wanted his name etched into history forever. Specifically for his scientific work. Being a pirate and a murderer was never the plan, not that he minds. So if your heroes could find a way to get the international scientific community to accept his completed research (because it works without problem now) and shower him with all those accolades and validation of his genius, he would quietly surrender and go to prison for the rest of his life. Whether Yori and the crew would let him is another matter.

Queenie “Hmm. ” Maybelle chewed thoughtfully “I get it. Nobody wants to be bossed around in their own kitchen. But I think you're making an unfair generalization.” She swallowed; smiling in sheer joy, for she was not immune to her own cooking’s effects. “Dang, I’m good. What was I saying?” She took another forkful, chewed thoughtfully some more, and swallowed. “Oh, right. My mentors have been a mix. Sure, some were bossy. My profession is full of tyrannical overlords. But some were just friends who knew more than me.” She took another forkful out of her bowl, but did not put it in her mouth. “There was the one…” Her face glowed and she smiled at the memory before shaking it off. There were people she should call later. Mental note. “I’m not asking you to give the program a chance, mind. You got the right to choose whether you do or not with no input from a stranger like me. Just…heavens, how do I put it?” She took the opportunity to eat the forkful hovering in front of her mouth. “I know. Remember that adults are people just like you and your friends. We come in all flavors and varieties.” She flashed a smile, because food pun=yay. “Anyway,” Maybelle said, taking another forkful, “whether I’m interested in your long story or not is doesn’t matter. If you’re willing to tell it, I’m willing to listen to it. Seems to me like you need someone to hear it.” She smiled at Leon and followed up with a gentle tease. “Unless, of course, you’ve got someplace else to be?”

Queenie A little time passed. Leon was able to do some damage to his seconds. A cute but fully adult brunette came in and talked to Maybelle. Said brunette was shorter than the chef, but arguably better dressed. Their conversation was largely inaudible to Leon, but he would hear the name Clara. Body languages suggested Clara was a subordinate. Their conversation ended, and Clara took Maybelle’s place behind the cafeteria counter to continue serving. Maybelle herself disappeared deep in the back for a moment, before emerging with a steaming bowl of food. Barbecue pulled pork macaroni and cheese. The heavenly aroma of barbecue sauce and melted cheddar cheese turned heads briefly as the chef walked over and sat next to Leon. “Hope you don’t mind, sunshine.” She gestured to the cafeteria, which was somewhat stuffed for the lunch hour. “Not many places left to sit, and a lady’s got to eat sometime.” She favored him with another smile. The same translucent silver energy as before formed a fork, and Maybelle started to dig into her meal. “If you don’t mind me asking, why’d you 'dodge' being given a mentor?” There was only simple curiosity in her tone.

Terrifica Terrifica smiled. He didn’t make assumptions. Good. “Clever boy.” She returned the photographs and documents to her belt, and pulled out a slip of paper. She handed it to Nevermore. “Get changed and meet me at this address.” She walked out of the library, but turned for a moment in the doorway. “You do have your own transport, yes? I have something to attend to.” It was a question she already knew the answer too, if her smirk was any indication. “You did say you wanted to look at the scene, didn’t you?” Riverside. Later. The address was, naturally, the jewelry shop from the photographs. Terrifica’s motorcycle was outside. She could be seen in through the window, talking to an older Caucasian man. Even with the door closed, she still heard Nevermore pull up. Visibly so, as she turned and glanced at him, before resuming her conversation.

Queenie Maybelle laughed. Not so much at the young man’s joke, but at his timing. While he was getting seconds. Excellent. “Sorry, sunshine, I’m catering for today only.” Her hands were busy, but her Ring was not. Translucent silver energy plucked a business card from her jeans pocket. It read The Southern Queen, and had both a phone number and an address on the western edge of The North End. It did not have a name on it, but Maybelle was as ever a helpful soul. “Maybelle McQueen, Head Chef and Majority Owner.” She blinked for a second, realizing she was using the Ring and not the third hand she did not have. Her hands were free at this point, so she took the card from the energy (which dissipated immediately) and handed it to the young man. “Course, when I’m doing the hero thing they call me Queenie.” It wasn’t something she’d have said to Joe Schmoe on the street, but this was Claremont. And she didn’t wear a mask anyway. He wasn’t with a mentor that she could see. Little bit strange, but eh. “Guess you didn’t get a mentor, huh? Probably just a mix-up. They’ll find you someone, don’t worry.” There was a brief moment where it seems like she was about to offer so they didn’t have to, but she didn’t. “Well sunshine, if you need thirds or a chat I’ll be here. Lots of work to do and you’re holding up the line.” She pointed, smiling without a trace of mockery. Only good cheer.

Creating The Universe Queenie didn't get a student assigned, but she's still here! Doing food, what else?

November 3, 2021. Claremont Academy. Diana Falk Cafeteria. Queenie Maybelle McQueen had not been assigned a specific student for Mentorship Day. She’d signed up, that much was true. But in a reversal of how things normally worked, there were too many heroes for the job. Instead, the Headmistress had asked if Queenie could cater the event instead, and she was more than happy to. So here she was in the cafeteria. The equipment was…adequate, but all in all Maybelle was very happy she’d premade what she could. Word quickly got out that the food in the cafeteria was really good today, and soon the entire student body was finding an excuse to swing through. Not all at once, naturally, but enough to keep the ring slinging chef busy as a bee.

Effigy Barely a month into the term, and Academy Headmistress Calliope Summers already knew how to get Academy Student Wilona Tabana to do stuff. It was…staggeringly smple, honestly. Summers just…asked instead of ordered, and most of the time Wilona said yes. And so when the Headmistress had asked if Wilona wanted to meet two members of the Freedom League, Wilona said yes. Who wouldn’t? The whole mentorship thing (for she was not stupid or blind as to the reason Summers asked) could kick rocks as she was doing just fine, thanks. But it was a chance to meet some legendary heroes. It was one for the scrapbook for when she was old and tired. Really felt like she was forgetting something important here. Eh, it’d come to her. So Wilona, in Effigy Robes and domino mask (full costume) flew down through one of the auditorium’s skylights. She did open it first, naturally. Libertas (her wind flight spell) whirled wildly around her, roaring in the suddenly enclosed space. There was no way possible she could not do a superhero landing. The sound was impossible to miss. She grinned in the savage joy of a dynamic entrance well made. What was her codename again? Oh, right. Fire danced around the fingers of her right hand as she lowered Libertas to a minimum. “Hiya. I’m Effigy. Nice to meet you.” A breeze ruffling her clothes, fire lighting her from one side, and of course the dramatic entrance and pose…it was almost like she wanted the two legends to be impressed by her. But that couldn’t be right. Nope, didn’t sound like Wilona at all. Invisigirl Meanwhile, Naomi had been backstage inside the auditorium since early that morning. The theatre club (such as it was, those poor happy few) was planning to put on a production for Thanksgiving. But alas, last year’s background and scenery had faded over the last year. It needed touching up, and who better than that quiet girl who’s also drawing something? Naomi didn’t mind. It made her feel useful. Why had she been here all day? Well. It turned out the previous production had been rather…traditional. Good natured pilgrims. Helpful Indians. Maize. The usual. The theatre club wanted to do something a bit more…historically accurate this year. So Naomi also got saddled with a partial set redesign and a costuming revamp. It wasn’t like she’d been working entirely alone. The theatre club had been diligently helping alongside her. But it was mentorship day, and so they’d said their goodbyes to go get to that. Naomi, unfortunately, was in the zone. Sketching and painting and stitching and gluing as busily as someone with two hands and what was basically telekinesis could be. She did not hear the theatre club leave, because earbuds. Or notice that they were gone, as they’d put their work away for now. Nothing to visually or physically trip over. Wilona’s flashy entrance did grab her attention for a moment, but then she heard her partner’s voice and dismissed it as Wilona being Wilona. If only she had actually looked, she would have seen the two Freedom Leaguers loitering. But alas, she did not.

Terrifica Terrifica turned her head and looked at Nevermore. Her gaze was clearly appraising, and when she turned back to her book he was left feeling as if he’d somehow been found wanting. She flipped a few pages, getting to the end of the book, and stood up. She walked over to a shelf, replaced the book, and promptly disappeared. The wall next to the library’s entrance shimmered, and Terrifica (re?) appeared. “Making assumptions, are we? You’ve lost points before we’ve even started.” She was smirking, but her voice held a teasing lilt, not malice. She slid the holographic device back into her utility belt. “Since when do we sneaky types ever sit in the middle of a room, waiting?” She took a breath and let it out. “But to business. A crime has been committed, and only the brave Nevermore can solve it.” She reached into a different pouch of her utility belt, and pulled out a series of curiously undated photographs and documents. Official police letterhead and styling, otherwise. Once reviewed, they would show a locked room theft. No way in. No way out. Ten thousand dollars in diamonds missing. The security guard and cameras had seen nothing. The police had done a canvass of the neighborhood, but even that was mostly useless. A known jewel thief had been seen observing the store, but had been tracked down to the city morgue thanks to a heart attack. He had been there at the time of the thefts, and all his known associates were either out of state or in prison. “Finished reading? What do you think? What is the first step towards solving this dastardly crime?” Was Terrifica hamming it up? Perhaps a little.

Queenie Queenie sighed. She wasn’t the type to complain, but all the same. She was homesick, and very tired of space crime. “Hopefully there aren’t too many. When we’re finished I’d like to go home.” She flew into the warehouse completely in the open. Cover? Didn’t know her. “Okay, you guys get one last chance to surrender. If you don’t I’m sad to say this is going to hurt.”