STEVEN S. LONG Predators An Enemies Book for Dark Champions Author: Steven S. Long Editing & Development: Allen Th omas Layout & Graphic Design: Andy Mathews Cover Illustration: Andy Mathews Interior Illustration: Manuel Calderon, Storn Cook, Dominika Klosowicz, Derrick Th omas, Maria van Bruggen SPECIAL THANKS First, special thanks to Christoph Schütt (for help translating names and terms into German) and S. John Ross (for the chili recipe). Second, we’d also like to thank the Digital Hero playtest- ers and testreaders who reviewed the Predators manuscript and helped us correct typos and check the math. It would be a crime not to give you the thanks you deserve — you’re all heroes! Hero SystemTM ® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademark for its roleplaying system. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, Hero System © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved. electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or computerization, or by Champions © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved. any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Fantasy Hero © 2003 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved. Publisher: DOJ, Inc., 1 Haight Street, Suite A, San Francisco, California 94102. Predators © 2005 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved. Printed in the Canada. First printing July 2005 Star Hero, Justice Inc., Danger International, Dark Champions, Pulp Hero, Produced and distributed by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. Western Hero © 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved. Stock Number: DOJHERO602 • ISBN Number: 1-58366-044-5 http://www.herogames.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .....................................4 CHAPTER THREE: APPENDIX ....................................221 SOLO CRIMINALS Cop, Basic ...................................220 CHAPTER ONE: Cop, Experienced/Tough ...............221 CRIMELORDS Le Bateleur .................................102 Gangsta ......................................222 Black Tarantula ............................105 El Azteca .........................................6 Security Guard, Basic ...................223 Blind ...........................................107 Security Guard, Elite .....................224 El Azteca’s Cartel ...........................8 Blood Orchid ...............................109 El Escorpión ..................................10 Soldier/Mercenary, Basic ..............225 Brahma .......................................112 Soldier/Mercenary, La Vispa ........................................12 Brother Namaan ..........................114 Buckshot .......................................15 Experienced/Tough ....................226 Jack L. Carter ..............................117 Soldier/Mercenary, Special Forces 227 Caligula .........................................17 Cerberus .....................................119 Hotspur .........................................19 Spy, Cinematic .............................228 Chiaroscuro .................................121 Spy, Realistic ...............................229 Charlemagne .................................22 Contagion ...................................123 Diomedes ......................................25 Terrorist, Basic ............................230 Copperhead ................................126 Terrorist, Experienced/Tough .........231 Janus ...........................................27 Daedalus .....................................129 Rasputin .......................................30 Thug ...........................................232 Dagger ........................................132 Super-Soldier Projects .................233 Speargun ......................................33 Alexander Drood, Carl Spears ...................................37 the Unfi nished Man ...................135 Randolph Starr ..............................39 Ahmad “the Vulture” Farswali .......139 Starrlight and Starrbright ................42 Firebug .......................................141 Strad ............................................44 Fusillade .....................................143 Michelangelo Strake ......................47 Dr. Rodin Grimm ..........................145 Gunplay ......................................147 CHAPTER TWO: The Headless Hangman ...............150 CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS Hecate ........................................153 The Arsenal ...................................50 The Heretic .................................155 Arsenal .........................................51 Ixion ............................................158 Gatling ..........................................54 Jackknife ....................................160 Heatseeker ....................................56 Jihad ..........................................164 Magnum .......................................58 Rodrick Kaine ..............................166 Troubleshooter ...............................60 The Kissing Bandit .......................168 Widowmaker .................................62 Lt. Paul McClinton .......................170 The Rest Of The Arsenal ............64 Meteor ........................................173 The Consortium .............................65 Nocturne .....................................175 Members Of The Consortium .....69 Andres Panthanatos .....................178 UMBRA .........................................74 The Philistine ...............................181 Heinrich Zoltran .............................77 Prospero .....................................183 The Victory Party ...........................80 Redbeard ....................................187 Herr Doktor Gerhardt Spregen ........81 Rush ...........................................190 The Victory Brigade (Siegestruppe) ..85 Saltpeter Mary .............................193 Kreuzfeuer ....................................85 Satan’s Kiss ................................195 Falke ............................................88 The Shrike ...................................197 Jäger ............................................90 SNAFU ........................................200 Todesfalle ......................................92 Spike ..........................................203 Trittrunter ......................................94 Stonehenge .................................205 While Earth Burns (WEB) ................96 The Tallyman ...............................207 The Recluse ..................................98 Temptation ..................................209 Gaea’s Commando ......................100 Thunderhawk ..............................211 Torquemada ................................214 The Varangian .............................216 4 Hero System 5th Edition INTRODUCTION great hero is nothing without a great bad As an enemies book, Predators is designed pri- guy to oppose him — aft er all, it doesn’t marily for use by GMs. If you’re not a GM, you may take a whole lot of heroic eff ort to defeat still fi nd it useful as a source of example powers A some incompetent fool, or to investigate a and character ideas, but get the GM’s permission to criminal “mastermind” who doesn’t have the brains read it. Some GMs prefer to keep the information to come in out of the rain. But for Dark Champions in this book secret until they reveal it during game GMs, coming up with a constant stream of cool, play, and may not ever want players to read their evocative, dangerous, exciting adversaries for the enemies’ character sheets. PCs can be a major task! Not only are many Dark Chapter One of Predators focuses on master Champions PCs likely to leave their opponents dead criminals: fi endish men and women like El Azteca, instead of in jail, but making one terrorist, assassin, Michelangelo Strake, Caligula, Speargun, Char- or thief diff erent from those who came before oft en lemagne, and Rasputin who are behind the schemes strains the GM’s creativity. and crimes the characters fi ght. Th e PCs may never To help keep the time and eff ort of creating see some of these people, but they’ll defi nitely hear new enemies to a minimum, Predators presents about them on the streets. nearly a hundred criminals, spies, killers, thieves, Chapter Two covers organizations: the Arse- and other assorted scum for the GM to use. Th ey nal, a powerful team of well-armed mercenaries; range from powerful and infl uential captains of the Consortium, a conspiracy that seeks to exploit industry who seem like ordinary, upstanding citi- human contact with aliens for its own benefi t; zens to most of the world, to drug lords, assassins, UMBRA, a group of business and military lead- cat burglars, conspirators, and beyond. Th ere are ers determined to take over the world; the Victory even a few “weird” criminals, with strange powers Party, an insidious far right-wing political orga- or abilities your PCs may never be able to under- nization with a dark secret at its heart; and While stand or explain fully. Earth Burns, an eco-terrorist group. Sometimes Th e backgrounds of these characters tie them even a powerful crimelord isn’t enough to oppose into the “Dark Champions Universe” described in the PCs for long, and these organizations give the Hudson City and other books from Hero Games, GM an opponent to set against the PCs that can’t be but you can easily adapt them to your game if destroyed with a few gunshots. you’re not using that setting. Just change a few Chapter Th ree, Solo Criminals, features ene- background details, maybe tweak an ability