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This week's first COTW is another from my mytho-supers Chaos
Continuum campaign... He's one of the team-mates of Shark
(who appeared last week), the first who joined the team that
would become known as the Elementals Elite.
Flamethrower; headstrong pyrokinetic and pyromaniac
super-villain
(c) copyright 1984-2001 andi jones
Total Points: 69,250 Points
Age about 40; 6'2"; 220 pounds; a tall and lanky man with
tanned skin, shaggy reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, and
wearing a costume - something in bold reds and yellows, with
either hotrod-style flame patterns on the arms, or maybe
racing stripes.
ST 10 [-] - thrust 1d-2, swing 1d,
fatigue 12
DX 13 [30] - basic speed 6.25, move 6, dodge
7*/16*#
IQ 13 [30] - senses 15
HT 12 [20] - hit points 15, stun 100
WL 9 [-10] - fright check 12**
*includes bonuses from Combat Reflexes
**includes +3 from Composed
#includes +6 from Passive Defence and +3 from
Flight
ADVANTAGES: Absorption x100 (Fire/Heat; Points may only go
into Extra Fatigue, -20%) [640]; Alertness +3
[15]; Ally Group (Elementals Elite, 15-)
[150]; Alternate Identity x2 [30];
Appearance (Attractive) [5]; Charisma +2
[10]; Collected [5]; Combat Reflexes
[15]; Contacts (Various) [50]; Costume
[15]; Extra Fatigue +2 [6]; Extra Hit Points
+3 [15]; Extra Stun +40 [80]; Flight (Only
while in Body of Fire, -10%; Cannot fly underwater, -5%)
[34]; Multimillionaire x4 [100]; Musical
Ability x1 [1]; Patron (Shark, 15-) [90];
Super-Flight x3 [60]; Thermographic Vision
[20]; Wealth (Filthy Rich) [50].
SUPER-POWERS: Animate Fire (Power 25; Extended Duration x3,
+90%; Rapid Fire, x9, +360%; Nuisance Effect, requires 3
hexes of fire per animation, -15%) [1,204]; Body of
Fire x250 (Instantaneous, +20%; Link, to Passive Defence,
+10%; No Obvious Effect, +20%; Selective Effect, +50%; Costs
Fatigue to Activate, 2 points, -5%) [2,438]; Control
Fire (Power 5000; Wall x2, +60%; Temporary Disadvantage,
Overconfident, -10%) [22,500]; Fireball (Power 25;
Armour-Piercing (100), linked to Costs 9 Fatigue,
Emergencies Only, Full-Damage Only, No Knockback and Reduced
Range x3, +0%; Continuing Damage, +50%; Continuous Beam,
+50%; Doesn't Harm User, +20%; Homing, +50%; Hotshot, +30%;
No Obvious Effect, +20%; Rapid Fire x5, +200%; Nuisance
Effect, must have 1 "on fire" hex per attack, -10%)
[765]; Firestorm (Power 25; Area Effect, +50%;
Continuing Damage, +100%; Doesn't Harm User, +20%; Hotshot,
+30%; Increased Area, +20 hexes, +400%; Movable Area, +40%;
Selective Effect, +50%; Wall x2, +60%; Costs Fatigue, 2 per
use, -10%; No Knockback, -10%; Nuisance Effect, area must be
at least 33% "on fire", -15%; Takes Recharge, 5 seconds,
-25%) [1,185]; Neutralise Fire (Power 9000; Rapid
Fire x4, +160%; Requires WL roll, -40%; Temporary
Disadvantage, Edgy, -5%) [38,700]; Passive Defence
+6 (Instantaneous, +20%; Link, to Body of Fire, +10%; No
Obvious Effect, +20%; Costs Fatigue to Activate, 2 points,
-5%) [218]; Smoke (Power 250; Doesn't Harm User,
+20%; Movable Area, +40%; Limited Use, 3 per day, -20%;
Nuisance Effect, area must be at least 33% "on fire", -15%;
Takes Recharge, 10 minutes, -25%) [750].
DISADVANTAGES: Bad Temper [-10]; Callous
[-6]; Compulsive Carousing [-1]; Delusion
("Fire is alive") [-1]; Enemy (The Phalanx, 6-)
[-15]; Enemy (Law Enforcement worldwide, 6-)
[-15]; Greed [-5]; Migraine (on 6-)
[-5]; Odious Personal Habit (Capricious and
Mercurial) [-5]; Pyromania [-5]; Reputation
-4 (as especially vile super-criminal and terrorist, to all
citizens) [-20]; Secret Identity [-30];
Sense of Duty (to the Elementals Elite) [-5]; Very
Unfit (Unreliable, on 5-, -70%) [-4].
QUIRKS: Hates the nickname "Firebug"; Hasn't played the
guitar since the night his powers manifested; Enjoys
chemical stimulants, but dislikes narcotics and depressants;
Fond of gambling, especially poker and blackjack.
[-4]
SKILLS: Acrobatics-12 [2]; Area Knowledge (Los
Angeles)-13 [1]; Area Knowledge (Ibiza)-14
[2]; Beam Weapons/TL12-14* [.5]; Brawling-12
[.5]; Carousing-14** [8]; Dancing-12
[1]; Disguise-11 [.5]; Driving/TL7
(Automobile)-11 [.5]; Ecology/TL7-10 [.5];
Electronics Operation/TL12 (Communications)-12 [1];
Electronics Operation/TL12 (Sensors)-12 [1];
Flight-15 [8]; Gambling-16 [8];
Intimidation-14 [4]; Karate-12 [2];
Motorcycle/TL7-12 [.5]; Musical Instrument
(Guitar)-11*** [.5]; Musical Composition-9#
[0]; Scuba-13 [2]; Sex Appeal-14**
[4]; Singing-8**## [0]; Stealth-13
[2]; Streetwise-16 [8]; Swimming-14
[2]; Throwing-13 [4].
*includes +2 from IQ
**skill is at -2 when Very Unfit is active
***includes +1 from Musical Ability
#default from Musical Instrument (Guitar)
##default from HT
LANGUAGES: English (native)-13 [0]; Spanish-11
[.5].
SUPER SKILLS: Animate Fire-15 [16]; Control Fire-15
[16]; Fireball-18 [28]; Neutralise Fire-16
[20]; Smoke-16 [20].
EQUIPMENT
When preparing for a confrontation, Flamethrower will be
equipped with a few handy items. First, his costume is a
fire-proof sheath of ballistic battle-cloth made of advanced
non-metallic fibers; it provides PD 4, DR 40, and weighs 10
pounds. (This armour was not purchased as advantages; it is
covered as equipment from his Patron.) He'll also carry a
small TL12 hand-held micro-computer that serves as a
neutrino communicator, multi-scanner and navigational tool.
And finally, he will be equipped with as many as a
half-dozen TL12 plasma grenades (see p.UTT66) which he will
used to start fires. (And in a real pinch, he knows how to
use a TL12 blaster weapon, though he's not in the habit of
carrying one.) Under more relaxed circumstances, he'll not
wear the armour nor carry the grenades, but he usually has
the micro-comp. He is only ever without these items when he
is spending a night on the town, bar- or club-hopping; in
these cases, he'll have only a wallet (containing one of his
false identities, cash, credit cards, etc.), hotel keys and
as much cash as he might spend (possibly a few thousands
dollars).
BIOGRAPHY
Born in the early 1960s to a mundane, middle-class family in
Encino Valley, California, Stevie Jones grew up leading a
normal life. Fond of music and not fond of working hard in
school, Stevie spent his afternoons and summers absorbing
the sounds of rock-n-roll; by the time he was in high
school, he had taught himself to play guitar and formed a
band with some classmates. In the spring of 1978, Stevie's
band performed at their high school, and afterwards went out
to a popular all-night diner to celebrate the gig. Stevie -
always a bit of a hot-head, and critical of his performance
- was in a foul mood. Spoiling for a fight, Stevie saw his
girlfriend talking with a boy from school, and had words
with the boy... Harsh words quickly turned into a
fist-fight, and just as the boys hit the floor, a gas line
in the kitchen cracked and a massive fireball erupted over
the grill. But rather than flaring up and quickly dying out,
the fireball continued to expand. In a matter of a few
seconds, the entire diner was engulfed in flames. And over
the course of less than a single horrific minute, every
person in the diner was burned to death - except Stevie.
Unscathed and not so much as singed, Stevie knew instantly
that he'd made the fire rage through the restaurant... He'd
felt the sensation of being the fire, like it had been a
part of him. And he'd seen the footage on the news of mutant
riots in New York, Mexico City and Rome, and he knew what
mutants could do.
Stevie fled, hoping his involvement would not be discovered.
In that, he got his wish; many of the bodies in the diner
were burnt beyond identification, and Stevie was assumed to
be one of the dead. And for the next six months, Stevie led
the life of a runaway, living in the canyons outside Los
Angeles and scrounging for food. On more than a few
occasions - either when angry, or frustrated - his
fire-controlling powers erupted, and the authorities clued
in that they had a transient "pyro mutant" on the loose.
Stevie realised that he would eventually be caught, and
feared what would happen if confronted by the police. But he
never had to contend with that reality; one night - as he
was breaking into a deli to score some food - Stevie
encountered the creature the press was calling "the Shark",
a mutant who had been attacking ships in Atlantic ports like
New York and Boston. Stevie was terrified, but quickly
regained his composure when Shark informed him that he was a
type of mutant metahuman known as a pyrokinetic. Shark also
said he would help Stevie develop his "abilities", and learn
to use them effectively. Stevie thought about it for only a
matter of seconds, considering the depressing alternatives.
He joined Shark on the spot, and has never looked back.
By late in 1980, Stevie was calling himself Flamethrower,
and he and Shark were making a name for themselves as
super-criminals. (Flamethrower's tempestuous and
pyromaniacal personality was more than evident to the press,
and he was dubbed "Firebug" in some of the tabloids, much to
his chagrin.) Before long, they encountered a fellow mutant
called Stratos, who helped form the identity of the group
that would be known as the Elementals Elite. It was also at
this time that Flamethrower and his team-mates made it
public knowledge that they were not only mutants, but
"mutant supremacists", metahumans convinced of the
superiority of the 'home superior' race, and pledged to
nothing less than the domination and subjugation of
obsolete, mundane humans. That wasn't entirely true, of
course, but it made good headlines. In early 1982, the
Elementals rounded out their roster with the geokinetic
villain Landslide, and adopted the alien space-craft Shark
discovered on the ocean-bottom (which they named Atlantis).
Everything came together, and the quartet threw themselves
into a crime-wave that cemented their reputations as
cunning, bold and brutal. They ran circles around the
police, stayed two steps ahead of the governmental agencies,
and over-powered or out-gunned every super-hero who crossed
their paths.
In the mid-1980s, the U.S. Government turned up the heat;
their super-agency C.H.E.S.S. (the Central Headquarters of
Espionage and the Secret Service) was transferred to NATO
jurisdiction. But it didn't make any difference; Shark was
able (and willing) to engage military forces, and the
Elementals Elite as a team seemed to be unstoppable. They
were responsible for hundreds of deaths, caused billions of
dollars in theft and damages, and were wanted by law
enforcement from every corner of the globe. And they kept it
up until 1988, when they finally retreated to enjoy their
wealth and revel in their notoriety. When not "working" with
his team-mates, Flamethrower travelled the world and enjoyed
the night-life in places like Hong Kong, Paris, New York,
London and especially Ibiza, a resort island in the Spanish
Mediterranean known for its hedonistic night-club scene. For
Flamethrower, it had been a frenzied ten years, and he had
enjoyed every hot-headed, fiery, explosive moment of it. His
entry into the world of Metahumanity seemed like a lifetime
distant, which was just as well; it seemed that the more
distance he put between himself and the spring of 1978 -
psychologically speaking - the better he felt.
After a couple years of relative obscurity, the Elementals
Elite returned to their lives of crime in dramatic fashion.
In early 1992, Shark abducted a United States Navy nuclear
attack submarine, and took its Trident missiles. In June,
Shark appeared at the Earth Day celebrations in Rio and
delivered an ultimatum to the industrial nations of the
world: stop polluting the environment, or pay the ultimate
price. For six months, the Elementals awaited results, but
got nothing. And so, on 29 December, a small handful of
Shark's stolen warheads destroyed the city of Sao Paulo,
Brazil, and 12 million people perished. In the wake of the
blast, Shark and Stratos used their super-abilities to
contain the radiation, but Flamethrower became enthralled by
the burning ruins and walked into the heart of the
firestorm, pushing his fire-controlling powers to their
limits. Whether it was the radiation mutating his metahuman
abilities or merely extra-effort on his part, he found
himself capable of controlling fire in an area more than a
half-mile across, and able to consume fire in an area of
several square miles... He had never felt more in touch with
the fire, and had never felt more alive. He revelled in it.
By the middle of 1993, however, it was clear that his
expanded metahuman talents had come at a price: he developed
head-aches and bouts of weakness, symptoms determined to
stem from radiation poisoning.
But a little sickness wasn't enough to stop Flamethrower.
Through 1993, he continued to indulge in the high-life while
the United Nations wrestled with the issues of Shark's
demands. At the end of the year, the progress on the
environment was stalled and the Elementals destroyed
Helsinki, Finland (and another two million people).
Flamethrower again bathed himself in the glorious fires at
ground zero, pushing his metahuman powers to even greater
levels and risking further exposure to radiation in order to
re-experience the same primal connection to the fire he had
felt in Sao Paulo. He was exultant as the Elementals headed
into 1994 - feeling invigorated and full of life, even as
his radiation sickness worsened. Soon, the Elementals would
face a new challenge in the form of the Phalanx, a powerful
new team of super-heroes pledged to stopping Shark's acts of
terrorism. Flamethrower was immediately swept into an
intense rivalry with Hotspur, a fire-using member of the
Phalanx whose powers manifested in the fiery nuclear death
of Sao Paulo. In part, Flamethrower's renewed ardor helped
the Elementals evade capture. In December, after another
year of inactivity from the United Nations, the Elementals
tried to destroy Seattle, Washington, but were foiled by the
Phalanx. That event led to a encounter with US warships in
the Pacific, a clash which saw a half-dozen vessels sunk by
Shark - including an aircraft carrier and a destroyer, and
thousands of deaths.
Although they escaped with only moderate injuries, the
Elementals chose to abandon their ultimatums and clumsy
political gambits, and return to what they did best:
hands-on savagery. They embarked on a campaign of
eco-terrorism targetted on the industries doing the most
damage to the environment. For Flamethrower, this was a
return to the good old days; the Elementals were destroying
businesses, confiscating wealth and leaving a trail of
victims. Despite renewed efforts by the authorities,
C.H.E.S.S. and super-heroes like the Phalanx, the Elementals
waged their guerrilla war through 1995 and into 1996,
evading capture and successfully throwing the global economy
into turmoil.
By late in 1996, however, the issue of the economy was
upstaged by a super-natural disaster occurring in the
atmosphere, an extra-planar storm-system known as the Demon
Winds corrupting the Earth's weather. Saturated with chaos,
the weather became increasingly extreme and violent, and
each year the length of winter grew. The Elementals relaxed
their campaign of industrial sabotage, and Shark even
volunteered his weather-controlling super-powers to the
efforts of a super-hero battling the Demon Winds. In 1999,
after close to two years of solid winter, it looked as
though Earth was nearing Ragnarok. The threat of an
impending Apocalypse didn't bother Flamethrower.
Flamethrower's fire-based powers were of little use against
the Demon Winds, so he has spent much of the past couple
years revelling in the pre-Apocalyptic chaos, engaged in
extravagant partying in the few places in Europe and the
United States where wealth and hedonism still provide
shelter for those with money and connections. He remains
ready to move the minute the Elementals need him, but in the
meantime he's carousing like there's no tomorrow (which,
given the circumstances, may well be true).
ENCOUNTERED
Flamethrower, as a man, embodies many of the characteristics
of the fire he controls (and adores). He is animated and
vibrant, and tends to run hot. His demeanour isn't
consistent - he can be friendly, or critical, or aloof, or
mean-spirited, or even (admittedly rarely) jovial and kind.
But lurking beneath that surface is an intensely touchy
anger, and however reasonable Flamethrower might be before
an outburst, the moment he loses his temper, he can be as
furious, cruel and violent as anyone.
Deep down, the root of Flamethrower's disturbed mental state
is no doubt a direct result of the fiery tragedy he caused
that night in 1978, when he killed several dozen classmates,
numerous other innocent people, and - in a sense - himself.
Clearly, he's never taken the time to properly deal with the
emotions that catastrophe stirred up, and his inability to
look inward has resulted in a tempestuous personality
constantly in flux, and externalised in a fixation with fire
- which he sees as something almost alive, a rapacious and
indefatigable entity with which he identifies...
It should noted, however, that despite his temper,
Flamethrower is not a raving madman, nor a complete loose
cannon. He is more inclined to lose his temper in
circumstances in which there is real pressure. In his
civilian life - which primarily involves anonymous carousing
and socialising in dance clubs, bars and discos around the
world - he is markedly more relaxed, and seldom loses his
cool. In these environs, Flamethrower (who will be using one
of his false identities) is still unpredictable and touchy,
but capable of controlling himself in all but the most
trying circumstances...
FLAMETHROWER'S POWERS
Technically, Flamethrower is not a pyrokinetic; while he has
an impressive control of fire, he doesn't have the ability
to actually create fire or heat in other things. He can set
his own body ablaze, at temperatures approaching 7000
degrees F; this provides DR 125 against fire and heat
attacks, and DR 50 against bullets. The intense heat
increases his unarmed damage to 21d, and even standing in
his hex deals 25d of burn damage. (Note that Flamethrower's
control over his fiery corona is quite fine. He can burn at
lower temperatures; this will, of course, reduce DR and burn
damage appropriately. The "No Obvious Effect" enhancement
allows him to burn without visible flame or shedding light,
if desired. With "Selective Effect", the proximity burn
damage is also under his control, and only affects those he
chooses.) When on fire, the heat shield surrounding him adds
to his ability to manoeuver out of the way of danger;
Passive Defence is linked to Body of Fire. The heat shield's
thermals also give him the power to fly in this mode, at
speeds up to 190 miles per hour (Move 96). Igniting his Body
of Flame is instantaneous, but tiring (it costs 4 Fatigue
total).
Once he's in the presence of fire, Flamethrower's power to
manipulate it is near-total (and far-reaching since his
mutation at Sao Paulo and Helsinki). Using Control Fire, he
can contain any blaze within a radius of 1,000 yards, or
rearrange the pattern of burning hexes in the same area (the
latter modelled with the "Wall" enhancement). Flamethrower
enjoys this power, and the rush it gives him inflates his
already near-foolhardy confidence. Using Animate Fire (LC
9), he can create up to ten animated "living fires"; treat
these as living shadows as per Animate Shadow (p.SU55)
except that they inflict 25d burn damage instead. And using
Neutralise Fire, Flamethrower can quench or suppress fires
within a radius of 1,800 yards - an area of 3.25 square
miles. The "Rapid Fire" enhancement was added to allow fires
to be neutralised faster; see p.SU63. (This power can also
be used to increase his DR vs Fire by 3.2 million points, if
necessary.) Note that the act of absorbing fire is
unattractive to Flamethrower, and something he is loath to
do; it makes him edgy, and he must convince himself to do it
by making a WL roll.
Offencively, Flamethrower is equally capable. His principle
attack is Fireball, which allows him to cause fire to leap
at enemies. He can launch up to six such 25d attacks per
turn, but each attack must have a single "on fire" hex to
fuel it. The "No Obvious Effect" enhancement models the fact
that these attacks do not come from Flamethrower's hands or
person, but from the hex of fire he must extinguish to make
the attack; the fireball could come from the side or behind
the opponent, as long as both the origin hex and target are
within his range of 250 yards. Which enhancements he uses
will depend on circumstances, though Continuing Damage and
Homing are almost always used. With effort, the Fireball can
be made hot enough to burn armour away; the Armour-Piercing
enhancement is linked to a group of limitations, however,
and will be use sparingly. (It is reserved primarily for use
against vehicles and structures.) Flamethrower's other major
attack is the Firestorm, which is much like the Fireball
except that it covers an area of effect (up to 1800 hexes,
in any shape he wants). Note that both Fireball and
Firestorm are enhanced with "Doesn't Harm User"; aside from
the obvious benefit, this prevents Flamethrower from using
his own attack powers to fuel his Absorption battery. And
finally, Flamethrower can use Smoke to make the fires in
burning hexes intensify and consume their contents quickly,
producing vast amounts of smoke - an area 100 hexes
across.
Lastly, Flamethrower's radiation sickness seems to have
stabilised; he periodically suffers debilitating head-aches
and bouts of weakness, modelled with the Migraines and Very
Unfit disadvantages (the latter with the "Unreliability"
limitation, such that it only applies on a 5- on 3d).
THE ELEMENTALS ELITE
Shark: Despite the fact that Shark is a monster in every
sense of the word, Flamethrower is staunchly loyal to him,
and is unconditionally devoted to the Elementals Elite. He
sees Shark as the agency of his deliverance, since it was
Shark who lifted him out of his life on the street and
channelled his anger (and super-powers) into "worthwhile"
pursuits. Flamethrower admires Shark's talent for survival,
and of all his teammates, he is the most at ease with Shark
(despite Shark's bestial nature and unsettling
appearance).
Stratos: Flamethrower has nothing against Stratos - and
completely trusts his teammate in a pinch - but they don't
have a whole lot to say to each other, and don't spend much
time together "off the job". At best, they're happy to keep
out of each other's hair, and there's no friction. And at
worst, Flamethrower is a bit touchy, and Stratos gets on his
nerves... But even these flare-ups are minor, and are never
enough to jeopardise the team's actions.
Landslide: Landslide is handsome, athletic and a gifted
academic, and occasionally that's a bit more than
Flamethrower can tolerate. He knows, on some level, that
he's insecure about it, but that doesn't prevent feelings of
bitterness and envy. But if there's any friction, it's akin
to sibling rivalry; when the chips are down, Flamethrower
and Landslide work together without issue. And every once in
a while, they even enjoy a night out pub-crawling
together.
CANONICALITY
Flamethrower includes a handful of house-rules. He uses the
"Will as fifth attribute" option, with the addition that WL
is bought from 10, and at same cost as all other attributes.
(It is used more predominantly, most notably in Cinematic
skills, none of which Flamethrower has.) Flamethrower uses a
house variant of the Stun rules from "GURPS Supers",
available at the address below. His Ally Group advantage has
a base cost of 50 points (for allies built on more than 100
points); the Elementals are built on well in excess of 100
points each, but it's probably not necessary to increase the
price of the advantage. Flamethrower's Contacts are left
unspecified, so the GM can assign them as he sees fit; for
the most part, they are criminal contacts that provide help
fencing, laundering and banking illicit funds, and other
financial services. Flamethrower's Patron models the
benefits of Shark's space-craft Atlantis. Some of his
super-powers have some enhancements applied which are not
technically legal, but which get the job done well enough;
the effects are covered above (see FLAMETHROWER'S POWERS).
Note that two of his powers - Fireball, and Firestorm - are
both based on the Fireball power; Flamethrower bought it
twice just to keep the enhancements and limitations clearer.
Both use the Fireball skill. Finally, a couple of
Flamethrower's disadvantages are not worth full value; this
is largely because they don't affect him as adversely as
they did when he was younger, but are still more severe than
Quirk-level.
Variant
Stun Rules
Variant
Ablative DR Rules
Variant
Armour-Piercing and Hardening
Rules
WHAT IF?
Flamethrower exists in a high-powered supers setting, and
would demand powerful player characters to be used as a
recurring NPC. That's possible, in both a gritty or
four-colour campaigns, but it's more likely that
Flamethrower will be beyond the reach of most PC heroes. He
is, after all, meant to be one of the most capable
super-villains in the world, and has a career spanning two
decades. But even if the heroes aren't in Flamethrower's
weight-class, he can still be put to use in the campaign,
either as a behind-the-scenes operator (serving as a
background leader for lesser villains) or in a background
role to establish atmosphere.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
Revenge, Best Served Hot: The FBI (or some other appropriate
agency) has caught a very lucky break: they've arrested a
small-time swindler in a racketeering bust, and he's offered
up some intriguing evidence in exchange for consideration
from the prosecutor. He claims he knows who Flamethrower is,
and that he's helped him sidestep certain legal problems in
the past. (The man would be one of the underworld operatives
that Flamethrower has access to through his Contacts
advantage.) Suddenly, they have an opportunity... But how
will they go about it? Going through formal channels will
take too long, and bring numerous other agencies and
organisations into the mix. Will they go by book, risking
all those cooks in one kitchen? Or might they try to handle
it their own way? The PCs could get involved in this
off-the-books operation at any level... They could be
investigators in the racketeering case, now frantically
searching for other criminals who also know something. They
might be secret agents in the espionage community, tasked to
find some of Flamethrower's other contacts, or to locate
capable assassins, or procure equipment and weapons. Or they
could be freelance metahumans - not quite super-heroes, more
like mercenaries for the good guys - who get hired to bring
Flamethrower down. Sure, he's very powerful. But with the
benefit of inside information and the element of surprise,
could the right group take him? Without Shark and his other
teammates, is Flamethrower manageable? There are a massive
number of people in the world who want to see Flamethrower
dead, and part of the fun of this adventure might be
collecting help from a stunning variety of police forces,
law enforcement agencies, super-heroes, super-villains and
corporate interests.
Balance of Power: The PCs are super-heroes. But even
super-heroes have rent to pay, so periodically they hire
themselves out as body-guards, couriers and security
personnel. Their newest job is in a small ultra-tech
research lab tucked into a factory complex in the city. The
scientists there have invented new fire-fighting equipment,
including a nozzle that sprays super-foam which extinguishes
fires instantly, and a ray-gun that projects an energy beam
which inhibits combustion. The researchers have had several
break-ins by a gang of street-toughs in the employ of a
local mob captain who thinks some ultra-tech hardware will
give him an edge... So the PCs are hired on as security. And
sure enough, in one of the nights following, the PCs respond
to alarms indicating an intruder in the building. They get
to a security terminal, and use close-circuit video to size
up the gang that's broken in. They're shocked to see that
it's not thugs, but Flamethrower himself, no doubt come to
confiscate the fire-fighting gadgetry before its adopted by
law enforcement agencies eager to see his capture. The PCs
are way out of their league, but they have one chance: if
they can get into the main lab before Flamethrower does,
they can use the fire-fighting gadgets against him. They're
just prototypes, of course, and not fully tested, but
they'll even the score against the dangerous villain they
face. Is Flamethrower resourceful enough to defeat the
heroes without his full range of flame-powers? Are the
heroes brave enough to face him, even with the
flame-stopping tech? What other gadgets might be found in
the labs to spice things up?
- written & formatted by andi jones
(andi@angelwerks.com)
- thanks to jack herman and jeff dee for C.H.E.S.S.
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