Jennifer Shinefeld
CHAPTER 4
ART DIRECTION Equipment����������������������������������������������������������������������� 14
Aaron Acevedo
CHAPTER 5
LAYOUT & GRAPHIC DESIGN Resolve and Adversity ����������������������������������������������������� 12
© 2013–2019 LakeSide Games, Inc. Prowlers & Paragons, Prowlers & Paragons Unlimited
Edition, Prowlers & Paragons Unlimited Edition Quickstart Rules, LakeSide Games, and all related
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Prowlers & Paragons Ultimate Edition Quickstart! This Quickstart provides you with a condensed form of the rules
for Prowlers & Paragons Ultimate Edition (P&P), a much improved version of our original roleplaying game that we spent the last five
year years revising, expanding, and playtesting. The P&P core rulebook has already been written, and includes not only what you’ll
find here, but also tons of additional material we couldn’t fit in this book, things like…
• Streamlined rules for creating exactly the kind of hero you want to play, from street-level prowlers to iconic paragons and everyone
in between.
• A simple and intuitive system for character advancement that lets you decide how quickly the heroes develop and ties
advancement to reaching milestones in the story of the game.
• A variety of optional rules you can use to make combat more high-flying and heroic, or to add a level of gritty realism if you want
your games to have a darker, more serious tone.
• A huge list of weapons, armor, miscellaneous gear, and vehicles you can use in your games, plus rules for gadgets, customizing
your gear, and building your own headquarters.
• Complete rules for dealing with Resolve and Adversity, the narrative currency of the game, including a mechanism for using
Resolve to balance heroes of varying power level.
• Guidelines for using the game’s narrative ruleset to handle disasters, hazards, hostile environments, and other extreme conditions
and situations in which heroes regularly find themselves.
• A massive library of animals and extras, some ordinary and others less so, 15 fully fleshed out villains, and 15 ready-to-play
heroes.
• Loads of advice, tips, tricks, shortcuts, strategies, and suggestions for running a great superhero game that feels like a superhero
game instead of a super-powered dungeon crawl.
And a whole lot more. Whenever possible, we’ve taken language and material directly from the P&P core rulebook. Occasionally, we
needed to rewrite things or change how we presented some of the material in this Quickstart to make it easier to use as a stand-alone
product. We hope you like what you see. If so, please consider supporting our upcoming Kickstarter campaign, which will go live on
March 19, 2019. For more information, visit our Facebook Page, and thanks for your interest in P&P!
With that out of the way, let’s get to it. Up, up and … well, you know the rest.
GLOSSARY
GM: An abbreviation for gamemaster, the person who runs the
game.
2 PROWLERS PARAGONS
Minion: Minions are generic enemies like gang members, ninjas, Story: Often called an adventure in other roleplaying games, a
robot soldiers, or thugs, who only pose a threat to the heroes in story is a distinct tale in which the heroes participate that has a
Introduction
groups. Like all enemy characters, minions are run by the GM. clear beginning, middle, and end. Unlike in an actual story, the
collaborative nature of roleplaying makes it entirely possible that
Non-Player Character: Any and every character run by the GM. the story that gets told over the course of the game will be very
different from the rough outline the GM originally had in mind.
Page: Often called a round or a turn in other roleplaying games,
a page is a brief unit of in-game time that represents a few Travel Power: A type of Power that lets you move faster than
seconds of combat or any other fast-moving action scene. It a normal person.
represents roughly one page of a comic book or a few moments
of an action scene in a movie or show. Villain: A competent, dangerous, or important enemy that is at
least as powerful as the heroes and is often much more so. Like
Scene: A variable unit of in-game time roughly equivalent to all enemy characters, villains are run by the GM.
one chapter of a book or one scene of a movie or show. Scenes
normally revolve around a specific action, event, goal, location, Xd: This indicates a number of ordinary 6-sided dice. For
or task. example, if you have to roll 8d, you roll 8 dice of the ordinary
6-sided variety. Modifiers of +Xd or −Xd require you to add or
Series: Often called a campaign in other roleplaying games, subtract that many dice before rolling them. For example, a −2d
a series is a collection of related stories that typically involve penalty means you roll 2 fewer dice than normal.
the same heroes and unfold in chronological order. As in the
comics, you can have a one-shot, which isn’t really a series at
all, a mini-series that involves a limited number of stories and a
single overarching metaplot, or an ongoing series that can last
for months or even years.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 3
CHAPTER 1
CHARACTERS
Chapter 1
Characters are the beings that populate the game world. They include heroes, who are run by the players, and villains, foes, minions,
and extras, all of whom are run by the GM. All characters incorporate narrative elements like who they are, what their motivation.s
are, and how they got their powers. Additionally, most important characters are also defined by three types of characteristics: Traits,
Perks, and Flaws. Each is described below.
TRAITS AGILITY
Agility represents your coordination, dexterity, nimbleness,
All characters in P&P are defined by characteristics called Traits. reflexes, and speed. You can also use half your Agility in place
There are three types of traits: Abilities, Talents, and Powers. of the Covert Talent when trying to be stealthy.
Abilities represent inherent physical and mental characteristics.
Talents represent aptitudes and skills. Powers represent
unusual or truly superhuman abilities. Every Trait has a rank,
INTELLECT
Intellect covers your intelligence, knowledge, memory, and
ranging from as low as 0d to as high as the particular game
ability to think on your feet. You can use half your Intellect in
allows. Traits with a higher rank are more developed or powerful
place of any Talent when rolling to determine what you know
than those with a lower rank. For example, 4d Might is better
about something. Actually doing anything with that knowledge,
than 3d Might.
however, always requires using the Talent itself.
4 PROWLERS PARAGONS
SURVIVAL
TALENTS Survival concerns your ability to live off the land. It’s used for
things like building fires, finding food and water, securing shelter,
Characters
Talents represent natural aptitudes and skills picked up through
setting traps and snares, and tracking. It also covers practical
experience or training. All characters have twelve Talents:
information about plants and animals found in the wild. Last,
Academics, Charm, Command, Covert, Investigation, Medicine,
this Talent is used when handling animals or riding mounts.
Professional, Science, Streetwise, Survival, Technology, and
Vehicles. Each is described below. Simply having a Talent doesn’t
TECHNOLOGY
mean you know anything about it. As with Abilities, 2d is the
Technology deals with the creation, modification, and repair of
average and 6d is the blurry line between exceptional and
mechanical and technological devices.
superhuman, at least for ordinary folks.
VEHICLES
ACADEMICS
Vehicles covers your ability to operate vehicles. This Talent
Academics represents your knowledge of scholarly subjects
applies not only to piloting, but also to gunnery, navigation,
like anthropology, archaeology, art, cultures, history, linguistics,
operations, and even basic vehicle maintenance.
philosophy, psychology, and sociology.
CHARM
Charm reflects your attractiveness, empathy, social skills, and
POWERS
force of personality. Powers are unique special abilities like the ability to fly, move
things with your mind, or shoot energy beams out of your eyes.
COMMAND P&P includes many Powers, but for purposes of this Quickstart,
Command concerns getting others to do what you want through each hero sheet includes everything you need to know about
force of will. your Powers. Like Abilities and Talents, most Powers have a rank
(with a few exceptions), although what that rank means and how
COVERT it’s used varies by Power.
Covert applies to intrusion, larceny, shadowing, stealth, and
PERKS
surveillance. You also use Covert to defeat security measures
like alarms, cameras, locks, and traps, as well as to palm items,
pick pockets, and perform other acts of nimble-fingered larceny.
Perks are advantages that come from the world around you. P&P
includes quite a few Perks, but for purposes of this Quickstart,
INVESTIGATION
each hero sheet includes everything you need to know about
Investigation concerns your ability to conduct investigations,
your Perks. As social characteristics that are typically handled
uncover clues, perform research, question or interrogate
narratively, perks don’t have a rank or a Source.
witnesses, analyze data, and make deductive or intuitive leaps.
MEDICINE
Medicine covers academic and clinical knowledge of medicine
FLAWS
and psychology. Assuming you have medical supplies on Flaws are physical, mental, or social hindrances. P&P includes a
hand, you can treat wounded characters by making a Hard wide variety of Flaws, but for purposes of this Quickstart, each
(2) Medicine roll, healing them of 1 point of damage per net hero sheet includes everything you need to know about your
success rolled. You can only do this once per patient per day. Flaws. Flaws help you earn Resolve — this is discussed in Chapter
4 of this Quickstart.
PROFESSIONAL
MINIONS
Professional reflects your knowledge of the professional world
and covers topics like business, economics, and finance.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 5
CHAPTER 2
ACTION
Chapter 2
You can automatically do anything a normal person can do without difficulty. Simply tell the GM and describe what happens. However,
any time you try to perform a non-combat action whose outcome is uncertain, you have to make a challenge roll to determine who
earns narrative control and gets to describe what happens in the game world. Things work a little differently in combat, but out of
combat, challenge rolls generally determine who gets to narrate the outcome of an action.
When making a challenge roll, you roll a number of 6-sided dice NET SUCCESSES NARRATIVE CONTROL
equal to the Trait that applies to the action attempted. You earn −2 or Less Opponent
one success for every 2 and 4 rolled, and two successes for −1 to 0 Opponent with Embellishment
every 6 rolled. To speed play, you can take 1 automatic success 1 to 2 Actor with Embellishment
for every 2 dice you choose not to roll. 3 or More Actor
Once you have your successes, you have to subtract the action’s
Two mighty heroes, Citizen Soldier and Gatecrasher, are
threshold to determine your net successes. If you’re acting
putting on an arm wrestling exhibition for charity. Both have
against an opponent, they make their own challenge roll against
12d Might, which is the Trait that applies to this action. Citizen
you, and you use their successes as your threshold. If you aren’t
Soldier doesn’t bother rolling, and instead takes 6 automatic
acting against an opponent, the GM assigns a static threshold
successes for his 12d. Gatecrasher, meanwhile, rolls 12 dice
using the table below as a guide. Challenge rolls made against
and gets a 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, and 6, for a total of
a static threshold are usually referred to by their difficulty and
7 successes (one for 2 and 4 and two for every 6). Because
threshold, often followed by the name of the relevant Trait — for
both characters are trying to do the same thing — win the
example, an Average (1) challenge roll or an Average (1) Might roll.
contest — the one who rolls more successes is considered the
THRESHOLD DIFFICULTY Actor. That would be Gatecrasher. Subtracting Citizen Soldier’s
0 Easy 6 successes, Gate ends up with 1 net success. Gatecrasher
1 Average gets to describe how the arm wrestling contest plays out, but
2 Hard Citizen Soldier can add an embellishment to the narration.
3 Daunting
4
5
Brutal
Inhuman
EMBELLISHMENTS
6 or More Superhuman Whenever an embellishment is allowed, the party who doesn’t
have narrative control can add to the other person’s narration
in some small but meaningful way. An embellishment should be
When you subtract your total successes from the action’s
a clarification or additional detail that expands on the original
threshold, the result is called your net successes. This
narration without contradicting it. Embellishments can’t render
determines who gets to describe what happens, as indicated on
the original narration untrue or true but effectively meaningless.
the table below. As used below, the Actor is the person making
the roll and the Opponent is the person resisting it. Actions like
cracking a safe or scaling a wall don’t involve an Opponent, so COMPROMISES
the GM acts as the Opponent. When someone else has the right to embellish your narration,
you can offer a compromise. This means you describe a less-
than-perfect outcome for your action in exchange for them
giving up the right to embellish your narration. In order to have
SUPER TIP! a compromise, both sides have to agree on the final narration.
Opponents are never obligated to accept a proposed compromise.
Comic books are a visual medium. What you look
like matters in a superhero roleplaying game, DESCRIBING THE ACTION
so draw or find an image of your hero that you The point of this narrative system is to make the game more
can share with everyone else in the game. exciting by paving the way for creative and unexpected
outcomes. When characters take action, players and GMs
are expected to narrate interesting results, first and foremost.
6 PROWLERS PARAGONS
DEFINING MOMENTS
Although we expect players to slant things in their favor and
GMs to slant things against them, narrations should usually
involve something more than a simple I win or you lose. For
Whether you’re a solo act, part of local team, or a member of an
example, if you fail a challenge roll while trying to leap from one
international league, there are times when everything rests on
Action
rooftop to another, the GM should come up with something
your shoulders. When that happens, you always have the option
more interesting than just having you fall to your death. Maybe
of declaring that this is a Defining Moment. This does two
you stop short at the edge of a building and drop something
things. First, any 6s you roll explode: they count as 2 successes,
you were carrying. Maybe you almost make it across and end
you get to roll those dice again to try for extra successes, and
up dangling by your fingertips, ready to lose your grip at any
you can keep rerolling them as long as you keep rolling 6s.
moment. Maybe you drop onto a scaffolding some thirty feet
Second, every point of Resolve you spend on that challenge
below. Be creative and make your descriptions interesting.
roll earns you 3 extra dice instead of the usual 1 extra die (as
discussed in Chapter 4).
TRADITIONAL RESULTS
Not everyone is comfortable narrating their actions. If this You can only declare one Defining Moment per story, and only
describes you, that’s fine too. While these rules are designed one hero can declare a Defining Moment per scene (although
around the idea of rolling for narrative control, you can just as heroes in different scenes can declare Defining Moments that
easily apply a more traditional framework of rolling to determine just happen to occur at the same time). Most importantly,
success or failure by using the table below. When using this Defining Moments take their toll on you. Once a Defining
table, the GM determines the nature of all silver linings and Moment is over, you must permanently reduce one of your
complications. You can even mix and match these systems, Abilities by 1d!
with some players using narrative results and others using
traditional results. Defining Moments should be rare and special. You shouldn’t
expect to have one every issue, or even every story. It’s only
NET SUCCESSES RESULTS when you find yourself in a situation that rests entirely on your
−2 or Less Complete Failure shoulders, involves your allies or someone you love, or speaks
−1 to 0 Failure with Silver Lining directly to why you became a hero in the first place (and why
1 to 2 Success with Complication your Motivation keeps you doing it) that a Defining Moment is
3 or More Complete Success appropriate.
ASSISTING
Many actions are easier to accomplish as a team. Whenever
you perform such an action, you get a +1d bonus to your
challenge roll if you have one assistant, a +2d bonus if you have
a few assistants, or a +3d bonus if you have many assistants.
Occasionally, you and your fellow heroes have to perform
individual actions as a group, like when sneaking into a villain’s
lair. In cases like these, everyone involved in the action makes
their own challenge roll. However, as long as the group members
can communicate with and assist one another, characters who
earn more than 3 net successes can distribute their extra
successes among their allies to help them succeed as well.
CONTESTS
Some challenges are more dramatic and interesting when
broken up over multiple rolls. These challenges are called
contests, and they’re broken down into 3 exchanges. Each
exchange covers a separate part of the overall task and requires
its own challenge roll. The winner of each exchange is allowed to
describe something that happens during that exchange—think
of this as an embellishment—and earns a +2d bonus on their
challenge roll in the next exchange. Whoever wins the third
and final exchange gets to describe the overall outcome of
the contest.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 7
CHAPTER 3
COMBAT
Chapter 3
P&P should be played with a strong narrative focus. The story that unfolds while playing the game is what matters most. However,
because super powered slugfests are such an important part of the superhero genre, combat is one place where the rules get a bit
crunchier. Whenever the heroes are involved in combat, use the following rules, which build and expand on the basic system.
EDGE RANGE
During combat, time is broken down into pages. A page Range is handled abstractly in P&P. Rather than measure
represents a few seconds of time in the game world. Every distances precisely, three range classes are used to approximate
character involved in combat gets a turn to act on each page. distances. Close Range covers anything from physical contact
Characters act in order of their Edge, from highest to lowest. If to within the distance an ordinary person can move in one page.
you prefer to handle initiative randomly, have characters make Distant Range covers anything beyond Close Range but within
Edge rolls when combat begins and use their successes as their range of most weapons and Powers. Extreme Range covers
effective Edge for that battle. When characters have the same anything beyond Distant Range but close enough to see (within
Edge, action order is as follows: heroes, villains, foes, and extras. limits—the Moon is past Extreme Range). As a very rough rule
of thumb, it can sometimes help to think of Close Range as being
You can always hold your action in reserve, waiting to act in within about 50 feet, Distant Range as being within about 500
response to something that might happen later that page. If feet, and Extreme Range as being within about 5,000 feet. The
whatever you were waiting for doesn’t happen, you lose GM always determines the initial range class between combatants.
your turn to act on that page. If two or more characters hold
their actions waiting for something to happen, action order
among them is resolved according to their Edge when it does.
THROWING RANGE
Ordinary people can accurately throw weapons and light objects
as far as Close Range. Of course, characters with superhuman
ACTIONS strength can often throw things much farther than that. If your
Might is greater than 6d, use the table below to determine how
All characters get one turn to act on each page of combat. When far you can accurately throw things. Your throwing rank equals
it’s your turn to act, you can move and perform one or more your Might minus the object’s weight rank (minimum 0d).
actions. An action is a brief act that requires a bit of attention.
Being that this is combat, attacks are the most common type THROWING RANK THROWING RANGE
of action, so actions and attacks are often synonymous. You 3d to 6d Close Range
can also defend yourself and perform as many free actions as 7d to 12d Distant Range
the GM considers reasonable. Free actions are minor actions, 13d or More Extreme Range
things like drawing, sheathing, or dropping an item, opening or
MOVEMENT
closing a door, or saying a few words to someone within Close
Range. Once everyone has taken their turn to act (or chosen to
skip their turn), the current page ends and a new one begins.
Like range, movement is also handled abstractly. Moving up to
or away from someone already within Close Range of you takes
MULTIPLE ACTIONS one page. Moving doesn’t prevent you from taking actions, so
You can perform more than 1 action per page, but if you do, you you can move up to someone within Close Range and take a
suffer a −2d penalty to all challenge rolls per extra action taken. swing at them on the same page. Moving one range class closer
For example, if you perform two attacks on one page, you suffer to or farther away from someone takes 2 pages, unless you have
a −2d penalty to each. If you perform three attacks on one a power that lets you move faster than normal (a Travel Power)
page, you suffer a −4d penalty to each. And so on. You have to at 6d or greater, in which case you can cross one range class per
declare your multiple actions before making any challenge rolls. page. This assumes you’re fighting in an ordinary environment
Actions and movement are different things, so you can’t use with terrain that limits how fast characters with Travel Powers
multiple actions to move farther than normal. can move. If the battle is happening in wide open terrain, the GM
is free to let characters with Travel Powers at high ranks cross 2
or even 3 range classes in a single page.
8 PROWLERS PARAGONS
CHASES DAMAGE
Chases through open terrain are usually won by whoever is
faster, which is why they’re boring. Luckily, most chases occur Every net success rolled on a damaging attack inflicts 1 point
in locations where maneuverability is just as important as speed, of damage. Damage reduces a target’s Health. Once a target’s
Combat
places like crowded city streets, dark sewer tunnels, or the Health has been reduced to 0, they’re defeated, and are
cramped airspace between office buildings. In this Quickstart, knocked out for the rest of the scene. Health can’t go below
chases like these are resolved with challenge rolls using Agility 0. Once a fight ends, you can make a Hard (2) Toughness roll
or a Travel Power and should be handled narratively, using the to recover 1 point of Health for every net success rolled. You
rules provided in Chapter 2. Travel Powers let you move much can also do this after every night of rest. Non-player characters
faster than normal, so characters use only half their Agility when recover from their injuries as quickly as the plot requires.
competing against characters using Travel Powers.
LETHAL AND SUBDUAL DAMAGE
ATTACKS AND DEFENSES There are two kinds of physical damage: lethal and subdual.
Most weapons and attacks inflict lethal damage, but unarmed
Attacks are handled like any other challenge roll. When attacking, attacks and certain light blunt weapons inflict subdual
you make an attack roll using the Trait that corresponds to your damage. The only real difference between the two is that you
attack, and your target makes a defense roll using the Trait that use half your Toughness as a passive defense against lethal
corresponds to their defense to determine the threshold you damage, and your full Toughness as a passive defense against
have to beat. If you roll more successes than your target, the subdual damage.
attack hits and inflicts damage or a special effect, as discussed
SPECIAL EFFECTS
below. If you don’t beat the threshold, the attack either misses
the target or hits them but has no effect.
GRAPPLING
unconscious, or otherwise unable to actively defend yourself.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 9
narratively, using the rules provided in Chapter 2. If you aren’t
already in grappling combat, your opponent can use an active
defense instead of Might to resist your attempted grab or hold
Chapter 3
maneuvers.
SPECIAL ATTACKS
Comic book combat involves more than just smacking each
other around. Combatants often employ special attacks and
tactics, from the mundane to the distinctly superheroic. While
it would be impossible to cover every comic book trope, the
following section includes some of the more iconic.
AREA ATTACKS
Explosions, blasts of dragon fire, and other attacks that target a
large area rather than an individual are called area attacks. Area
attacks target everyone in their area of effect, whether friend
or foe. You make a single attack roll, and everyone in the area
makes their own defense roll. Because these attacks target an
entire area, they’re hard to evade. Targets using active defenses
must halve their defense rank unless they forfeit their next turn
to act diving out of the area or behind cover.
CHARGE ATTACKS
If you have a Travel Power, you can use it to perform a charge
attack, an attack in which you slam into your target at high
speed. If you have Density or Growth, you can use those Powers
instead, relying on your increased mass for damage. Either way,
you get a +2d bonus on your attack roll for the charge attack,
but you suffer a −2d penalty to your defense rolls until after
your next turn to act.
STRATEGIC ATTACKS
A strategic attack is any attempt outmaneuver, outsmart,
or otherwise gain an advantage over your opponent without
harming them directly. Strategic attacks work like ordinary
attacks, but the Traits used to perform and resist them will vary
depending on what you’re doing — this is always determined
by the GM. If successful, a strategic attack will have one of the
effects listed on the table below, which will last until the end
of your next turn to act. You pick the effect from the options
available to you, depending on your net successes. All penalties
imposed by multiple strategic attacks are cumulative. You can
find examples of common strategic attacks below, but feel free
to get creative and make up your own.
NET POTENTIAL
SUCCESSES EFFECTS
1 to 2 −1d to challenge rolls • speed halved
3 to 4 −2d to challenge rolls • drop item or weapon • can’t move
5 or More −3d to challenge rolls • lose next turn to act
10 PROWLERS PARAGONS
Overpower: Knocking or shoving an opponent back, down, or
aside. Use Might or a Power that affects physical objects (like
MINIONS
Minions don’t have Heath. Whenever you hit a group of minions
Telekinesis) against your opponent’s Might or any active defense
with an attack, you defeat 1 minion per net success rolled, or up
they prefer.
to 2 minions per net success rolled when making an area attack
Combat
(up to the number of minions in the area). If the attack inflicts
Psych Out: Angering, confusing, distracting, or unnerving an
harm, defeated minions are knocked out. If the attack inflicts a
opponent with banter, jokes, threats, suggestive comments, and
special effect, defeated minions are subject to the special effect
so on. Use Charm or Command against your opponent’s Willpower.
for the rest of the scene.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
account for specific conditions and situations. For example, you
should get a −2d attack roll penalty when attacking someone
behind partial cover or a −4d attack roll penalty when attacking
The following section provides rules for some of the more
someone behind almost total cover. You should also get a −1d
common situations likely to arise in mundane and superheroic
penalty to your attack and active defense rolls in dim lighting or
combat, as well as rules for handling minions. Use these rules as
a –3d in total darkness.
a guide when adjudicating the various antics, edge cases, and
wild ideas that inevitably arise when supers throw down.
AMBUSHES
Ambushing someone requires a successful challenge roll using
your Covert against your target’s Perception. When using
deception or seduction to catch a target off guard in a different
way, roll Charm instead. If you succeed, your target is surprised —
they can’t act or use active defenses on the first page of combat.
Targets with embellishment rights can say they were only partially SUPER TIP!
surprised, allowing them to use their active defenses, but that’s In the real word and the world of superhero
about it. If you fail, the target isn’t surprised and can act normally.
comics, fights often end when one side looks
around, realizes they’ve been beaten, and
GOING ALL-OUT surrenders. It should be the same here as well.
When attacking or defending yourself is all that matters, you
can go all-out. All-out attacking grants you a +2d bonus to
your attack rolls, but halves your defense ranks (both active and
passive) until after your next turn to act. All-out defending grants
you a +2d bonus to your defense rolls until your next turn to act
comes around, but prevents you from attacking or performing
other actions when it does. You can still move and perform free
actions while all-out defending yourself.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 11
CHAPTER 4
Resolve and Adversity are points you can spend to alter the game in your favor. Heroes use Resolve, while Adversity is reserved for
the GM. Both are discussed below.
RESOLVE
in the game world to help them when you do this. This is purely
for the sake of the narrative — you still get to take your regular
turn to act on that page.
Heroes begin every issue — again, that’s every game session —
with some amount of Resolve. This is listed on each hero’s
sheet. As discussed in the core rules, a hero’s starting Resolve CHALLENGE ROLLS
varies depending on how powerful they are — the more powerful You can spend Resolve to add extra dice to your challenge
the hero, the less Resolve they have per issue. In this Quickstart, rolls on a one-for-one basis. You can spend any amount
Resolve doesn’t carry over between issues, so spend away! You of Resolve on any roll, and you can decide whether or not
can earn extra Resolve in the following ways, plus however else to spend them after rolling the dice. You can also spend 1
the GM deems appropriate. Resolve to reroll a challenge roll completely. If you’ve already
spent Resolve to add extra dice to the roll, you can reroll
DEFEATS those extra dice as well.
SPENDING RESOLVE
free of it. Either way, you can then move and perform actions as
usual on that same page. You can only do this once per scene.
12 PROWLERS PARAGONS
Resolve and Adversity
ADVERSITY
While players have Resolve, GMs have Adversity. As the GM, you
begin every issue with 1 point of Adversity per hero in the group.
Like Resolve, Adversity isn’t carried over between issues. As GM,
you can earn extra Adversity in the ways listed below.
CHALLENGE LEVEL
Especially challenging or dangerous scenes will often have a
Challenge Level. Challenge Levels run from 1 to 3, indicating
the amount of Adversity the GM earns per hero at the start of
that scene. For example, the GM will earn 6 Adversity when 3
heroes begin a scene with a 2 Challenge Level.
UNHEROIC ACTIONS
Heroes are expected to act like heroes. Whenever a hero
performs a cowardly, selfish, treacherous, or otherwise unheroic
action, you as the GM immediately earn 1 Adversity.
SPENDING ADVERSITY
As the GM, you can use Adversity to do anything players can
do with Resolve. If the rules say you can use Resolve to do
something, you can use Adversity to do the same thing for any
non-player character. Additionally, there are three other things
you can do with Adversity.
FLAWS
Unlike heroes, non-player characters generally succumb to their
Flaws whenever the opportunity presents itself. In fact, clever
heroes who learn a villain’s Flaws can often use this to their
advantage. However, the GM can spend 1 Adversity to have a
villain or foe resist or overcome one of their Flaws, if only for a
moment — in this case, for the rest of the current scene.
MISFORTUNES
You can spend 1 Adversity to throw a misfortune at the heroes.
Misfortunes are random problems, obstacles, and instances
of bad luck that make the heroes’ lives more difficult. They
include things like having a hero’s weapon malfunction or run
out of ammo, having a stray attack cause collateral damage that
endangers civilians, or having a hero’s mask get torn off in a fight.
VILLAINY
Once per story, you can spend 1 Adversity have a villain
automatically perform any act of villainy, meaning anything
necessary to further the plot of the story. This can be used to
have villains do things like throw switches, grab hostages, or
escape in order to face the heroes later in the story.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 13
CHAPTER 5
EQUIPMENT
Chapter 5
Many items that heroes carry around are Powers rather than traditional equipment. Nevertheless, heroes and villains sometimes
use mundane weapons, armor, and equipment, collectively called gear. This chapter includes an assortment of mundane gear for
your games.
WEAPONS
ARMOR All weapons have a Weapon Bonus. Most weapons inflict
Armor grants you the Armor Power at a rank equal to your Toughness lethal damage, but an “(s)” after the Weapon Bonus means
plus the Armor Bonus shown on the table below, depending on the weapon inflicts subdual damage. If you’re wielding a
the armor worn. If you already have Armor, you can use it in place melee weapon, you can add its Weapon Bonus to your Might
of Toughness when determining your effective Armor rank while or Martial Arts rank when making close combat attacks, and
wearing artificial armor. Advanced suits of powered armor may you can add its Weapon Bonus to your Agility or Martial Arts
include built-in weaponry and equipment like communications, rank when defending yourself against close combat attacks.
life support, sensor systems, and servos that enhance your If you’re wielding a ranged weapon, you can add its Weapon
abilities. Features like these should be considered Powers. Bonus to your Agility when attacking in ranged combat. Ancient
and modern weapons inflict physical damage, while advanced
ARMOR ARMOR BONUS weapons inflict energy damage. Ranged weapons can be used
Ancient, Leather +0d
at up to Distant Range.
Ancient, Mail +1d
Ancient, Plate +2d
Modern, Armored Uniform +1d ANCIENT WEAPONS
Modern, Tactical Gear +2d WEAPON TYPE BONUS FEATURES
Modern, Military/Riot Gear +3d Axe Melee +2d —
Advanced, Light +2d
Baton Melee +1d (s) Thrown
Advanced, Medium +3d
Bow Ranged +2d Two-Handed
Advanced, Heavy +4d
Club Melee +2d (s) —
Crossbow Ranged +3d Readied, Two-Handed
Dagger Melee +1d Thrown
Great Sword Melee +3d Two-Handed
SUPER TIP! Nunchucks
Shield
Melee
Melee
+2d (s)
+1d (s)
Flexible
Shield
Superhero games become stale villain-of- Spear Melee +3d Thrown, Versatile
the-week slugfests if the heroes don’t have Staff Melee +3d (s) Two-Handed
personal lives that allow them to be real Sword Melee +2d —
Three Section Staff Melee +3d (s) Flexible, Two-Handed
people as well as caped crusaders.
Throwing Star Ranged +0d Thrown
14 PROWLERS PARAGONS
MODERN WEAPONS Versatile: The weapon is normally used in two hands, but it can
be used in one hand as well. Reduce the item’s Weapon Bonus
WEAPON TYPE BONUS FEATURES
by 1d when wielding the weapon in one hand.
Assault Rifle Ranged +4d Area, Two-Handed
Equipment
Baseball Bat Melee +2d (s) Versatile
Combat Knife
Grenade
Melee
Ranged
+1d
+4d
—
Burst, Thrown
EQUIPMENT
Heavy Machinegun Ranged +5d Burst, Heavy Weapon If you have any Talents at rank 4d or higher, you’re assumed
Pistol Ranged +2d — to carry whatever tools and equipment you need to make use
Rifle Ranged +3d Two-Handed of them. For example, if you have at least 4d Covert, you’re
Rocket Launcher Ranged +6d Burst, Two-Handed assumed to carry lock picks and whatever other tools you might
Shotgun Ranged +3d Two-Handed need to use that Talent. While that’s normally enough, you may
Submachine Gun Ranged +3d Area, Versatile occasionally find yourself in need other equipment. The following
list should get you started.
ADVANCED WEAPONS Binoculars: Grant you Super Senses (Telescopic Vision). Powered
WEAPON TYPE BONUS FEATURES binoculars also grant Super Senses (Night Vision) as well.
Blast Cannon Ranged +7d Curst, Two-Handed
Blast Gernade Ranged +5d Burst, Thrown Bug Detector: Detects active bugs and transmitters within
Blast Pistol Ranged +3d — Close Range.
Blast Rifle Ranged +4d Two-Handed
Blast Rifle, Military Ranged +4d Area, Two-Handed Caltrops: Floor spikes that can slow or stop pursuers. They are
Plasma Sword Melee +3d Versatile sometimes poisoned.
Vibroblade Melee +2d —
WEAPON FEATURES
The features listed on the weapon tables are described below.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 15
Camera: An advanced digital camera. Many also work like Light Stick: Chemical stick that glows for a few hours when
high-tech binoculars, granting you Super Senses (Night Vision, activated.
Telescopic Vision).
Chapter 5
Climbing Claws: Add +2d to challenge rolls made to climb Night Vision Goggles: Grants you Super Senses (Night Vision).
natural surfaces.
Parabolic Microphone: Grants you Super Senses (Acute
Climbing Gear, Ice: Makes climbing sheer ice possible for Hearing, Enhanced Hearing) 9d.
ordinary human beings.
Parachute: Allows for safe falls from extreme heights and
Climbing Gear, Urban: Makes climbing sheer crystal or glass provides limited gliding.
surfaces possible for ordinary human beings. Advanced versions
might use magnets to allow climbing on sheer metal surfaces. Police Scanner: Allows you to listen in to local law enforcement
communications. If you aren’t a police officer, owning one will
Computer: Small, wireless, top-of-the-line, and highly-encrypted get you arrested.
portable computer.
Polyhedral Dice: Nothing to see here, so just move along.
Communicator: High-tech version of a cell phone common in
sci-fi games. Radio: An advanced, multi-channel, and probably hands-free
walkie-talkie. An earbud radio is a tiny version that you place
Crowbar: Adds +4d to Might rolls when forcing things open in your ear, making it both hands-free and completely hidden.
or apart.
Rappelling Gear: Allows rapid descent from heights with an
Explosives: Material and detonators required for controlled Easy (0) Agility roll.
demolitions.
Scanner: A handheld device used to analyze matter and energy
Flashlight: A small but powerful flashlight with a variable- in sci-fi games.
width beam.
Scuba Gear: Allows you to operate underwater for up to 1 hour.
Gas Mask: Grants you the Immunity (Toxins) Power limited to
those that affect the eyes and lungs. Scope: Mounted on a firearm, modern versions often work just
like high-tech binoculars.
Geiger Counter: Detects and displays the level of environmental
radiation. Silencer: Also called a suppressor, it muffles the sound of a
firearm as well as its muzzle flare.
Handcuffs: Can be made of metal or plastic; threshold 5 to
break, but plastic ones are easily cut. Space Suit: Sci-fi gear that lets you operate in outer space
for hours.
Lantern: Provides light in an area. Ancient ones burn oil and last
a few hours. Modern ones use regular batteries and last much Telescope: Primitive means of granting the user a limited
longer. Some can be used to recharge rings. version of Super Senses (Telescopic Vision).
16 PROWLERS PARAGONS
Equipment
PROWLERS PARAGONS 17
CHAPTER 6
ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 6
The heroes don’t live in a vacuum — well, at least most don’t. The following chapter rounds out the rules with some benchmarks and
guidelines for interacting with the world itself.
ENERGY FALLS
Although there are many different kinds of energy in the Falls are treated like attacks that can only be resisted with
real world, P&P lumps them into a few simple categories passive defenses (unless you can come up with a creative way to
for game purposes—otherwise Powers that control or resist use an active defense instead). The attack rank of a fall depends
energy become too diluted. The standard types of energy are on the distance fallen, as shown below. Apply a +3d bonus if
described on the table below. Because gravity and magnetism you land on something like spikes or sharp rocks, or a −3d
are forces that affect physical objects directly, they should be penalty if you land on something like cushions, garbage, or water.
represented with Powers like Elemental Control and Telekinesis. Additionally, whenever you fall onto soft surfaces like these, you
If you must classify these forces as energy, treat them both as can use Agility as an active defense against falling damage.
force energy.
DISTANCE RANK
ENERGY DESCRIPTION Up to 10 Feet 4d
Chemical energy that dissolves matter, Up to 25 Feet 6d
Acid/Corrosive
usually in a physical medium. Up to 50 Feet 8d
Pure magical energy of the physical Up to 100 Feet 10d
Arcane
(as opposed to psychic) variety. Up to 250 Feet 11d
Considered a unique kind of energy Any Farther 12d
Cold/Frost/Ice
in most supers settings.
Electricity/ If it looks like lightning, it probably
Lightning
Energy/Laser
falls under this category.
Generic energy; light, lasers, and HEAT AND ELECTRICITY
anything not otherwise covered.
Like falls, exposure to energy is considered an attack that can
Fire/Heat/ Anything that involves heat; some only be resisted with passive defenses (again, unless you can
Plasma overlap with generic energy above.
come up with a creative way of using one of your active defenses
Physical force; attacks using this energy instead). Use the table below as a guide when determining the
Force/Kinetic
are considered physical attacks.
rank of such attacks.
Comic book radiation that works
Radiation
like energy, not the real stuff. HEAT ELECTRICITY RANK
Sound/Thunder/ Sonic or vibratory energy, the Campfire Wall Socket 4d
Vibration* energy of molecular motion. Building Fire Car Battery 6d
*If you care, this kind of energy should be useless in a vacuum but at Chemical Fire Power Line 8d
+3d when used underwater. Incinerator Power Main 10d
Lava Generator 11d
Blast Furnace Lightning 12d
18 PROWLERS PARAGONS
and the vacuum of outer space. Exposure to these conditions
is measured in pages (each roughly 3 seconds long), so even
DAMAGING COVER
Attacks can penetrate objects if their attack rank exceeds the
Environment
if you aren’t in combat, you should track time in pages when
object’s Structure. Any time you hit someone through an object,
dealing with a major hazard. You can withstand exposure to
the target can use the object’s Structure as a passive defense.
major hazards for a number of pages equal to your Toughness;
beyond that, you suffer 1 point of damage per page of exposure.
Hazards can’t inflict more than 1 point of damage per page, SCENERY AS WEAPONS
even if you’re exposed to multiple hazards at the same time. When super strong characters use vehicle and other massive
A number of Powers (notably Adaptation and Immunity) can objects as weapons, they get a +1d to their attack rolls, but
protect you against environmental hazards. those objects don’t last long under this kind of punishment. For
every page that an everyday object is used this way, its effective
SUFFOCATION Structure is reduced by 2d.
You can hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to your SCENERY STRUCTURE
Toughness. After that, you start suffering 1 point of damage per Post Office Mailbox 4d
page until you can breathe again (at which point this damage Heavy Door, Motorcycle 5d
goes away). Brick Wall, Telephone Pole 6d
Metal Dumpster, Sedan, Statue 7d
SWIMMING Big Statue, Fighter Jet, Humvee 8d
Characters use half their Agility when making movement-related 747 Airliner, Bus, Huge Tree, Yacht 9d
challenge rolls and travel only half as fast as normal when 18-Wheeler, Giant Statue 10d
swimming. They also suffer a −3d penalty to Perception rolls Ferris Wheel, Tank 11d
while underwater. A scuba mask lowers this penalty to −1d, but Vault Door 12d
only for visual Perception rolls. When engaging in underwater
SPEED
combat, characters use half their Edge and suffer a −3d penalty
to their physical attack and active defense rolls. Characters with
the Swimming Power ignore all of these penalties.
Many characters have Travel Powers, and those who don’t often
travel in some kind of vehicle. The table below indicates how fast
PROWLERS PARAGONS 19
CHAPTER 7
BROKEN WINGS
Chapter 7
The following short adventure (which we’ll call a story from here on out) is designed as a simple introduction to P&P, giving you a
taste of how the game plays. The story is set in Pinnacle City, a sprawling metropolis that bears more than a passing resemblance to
a number of other real world and comic book cities you probably recognize. If you’re interested in learning more about Pinnacle City
and the villains who call it home, check out Pinnacle City’s Most Wanted, which will be part of our upcoming Kickstarter happening
this March. If you prefer to have this story take place somewhere else, feel free to set it wherever you like. It won’t affect the plot
in any way. Because this is only an introductory story, the heroes have less freedom than usual. Everyone playing the game should
understand that Broken Wings is more of a brief guided tour through some of the highlights of gameplay than a completely open
roleplaying experience where the players can literally do anything they want.
20 PROWLERS PARAGONS
HEROES powers manifested, Brian sent her VIP tickets and begged her
to come — he has no idea why his incredibly talented friend
Broken Wings
stopped spinning just as her career was about to take off, and
The heroes in this story are Alabama Slammer, a young southern
he’s been worried about her ever since. Kayla brought her new
speedster new to Pinnacle City, Citizen Soldier, a World War II
friend Tammy along with her because she knew Tammy would
veteran turned physical powerhouse still serving his country,
love it, and also because Tammy knows what happened last time.
T-Kay, a young telekinetic who doesn’t yet have full control of
If things start to go wrong, Tammy can pull her out of there —
her powers, and Vigilant, a man dedicated to ridding Pinnacle
and for that matter out of the city — before anyone gets hurt.
City of organized crime. For the most part, the enemies in this
story vary in strength according to the number of heroes in play.
As a result, you should have no trouble playing with less than VIGILANT
four heroes. The only exception might be the final battle with Michael Cross is the only hero who begins the story in costume.
Lady Aether. Although not overly powerful, Lady Aether has a He’s been following an arms dealer named Wellington Bryce,
few impressive one-shot abilities that could spell doom if there who’s looking to move something more than just guns. Michael
are too few heroes. GMs can either adjust her abilities, or they doesn’t know exactly what Bryce has to sell, but he knows he
can play the story as written and see what happens. After all, doesn’t want it in his city, so he’s been waiting for the arms
getting defeated by a villain isn’t the end of a superhero story: dealer to make his move, at which point he can take both Bryce
it’s often just the beginning. and whatever he’s selling out of circulation. To that end, Michael
is watching the club from his vantage point on the roof. He’s
ALABAMA SLAMMER positioned near one of the club’s large blacked-out skylights,
monitoring everything happening inside the club through a feed
Tammy James is at the club with her friend, Kayla Zamain (see
provided by tiny cameras and microphones he planted around
T-Kay below), looking to have fun. While most clubs have a life
the club a few nights ago. The audio feed is being run though
span of 12 to 18 months before the new hotness draws every
a digital filter that removes the music, letting Michael hear the
one’s attention, Club 706 has been one of the Pinnacle City’s
conversations happening around the club without difficulty. With
most popular clubs for several years. Tammy had to see what all
the skylight unlatched, Michael is ready to leap down into the club
the fuss was about. Plus, Kayla had free VIP passes for tonight,
the moment he confirms that Bryce has the weapons with him.
so why not. Tammy also knows her friend is worried about her
telekinetic powers going haywire. Kayla wants Tammy there in
case she needs to pull her out of the club before anyone gets
hurt. No big: Tammy has faith in her friend’s abilities, and if
PART 1: CLUB 706
something does go wrong, she can easily have Kayla far away Club 706 is located in downtown Pinnacle City, overlooking
long before anything bad happens. Pinnacle Bay. The club is a massive venue. Patrons enter into
an opulent lobby and make their way through an ornate hall
CITIZEN SOLDIER before coming into the main area. The main dance floor is a
large oval area surrounded by VIP booths with a raised stage
Hamilton Smith is standing at the long bar near the back of the
for the DJ at the far end. Above the dance floor, a second set
club, as uncomfortable as a man can be. He may look young, but
of booths look down from ringing balconies, while the roof is
the last dance club Hamilton visited was the Savoy Ballroom in
lost in darkness behind an intricate latticework of articulated
December of 1941, right before he enlisted in the army. He’s
gantries that support lighting arrays, confetti dispensers, smoke
there as a favor to his friend, Colonel Jane Bailey. Colonel Bailey
machines, and other equipment designed to give patrons one of
works with AEGIS, the government agency that handles super
the best shows the international club scene has to offer. There
powered beings and extraordinary technologies. She recently
are long bars at either end of the main dance area, and two sets
received some vague intelligence from an unreliable source
of restrooms, one on either side of the floor.
concerning an advanced weapon system and this particular
nightclub. Although the information wasn’t concrete enough to
The main floor of Club 706 also boasts a somewhat smaller
justify deploying AEGIS assets, Jane’s gut told her there might
lounge area — large enough to be a separate club its own right —
be something to this. Luckily, her friend Hamilton Smith is bullet
called Purgatory. Purgatory has more intimate seating, a smaller
proof, superhumanly strong, and a veteran who knows how to
dance floor, and its own bar. Although it’s far from quiet, the music
handle himself. So she asked him as an off-the-books favor to
in Purgatory is usually relaxing down-tempo trance, as opposed
spend the next few nights at Club 706, just keeping an eye on
to the high-energy dance music that fills the rest of the club.
the place in case this turns out to be something after all.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 21
a luxurious outdoor terrace with a breathtaking view of the bay. leave, but one of Chow’s men blocks his way. The arms dealer
Filled with booths, long sofas, VIP cabanas, a massive bar, and takes a moment to release a resigned sigh, then activates the
yet another set of restrooms, the open terrace area feels more Battle Shield weapon system he’s been wearing around his wrist,
Chapter 7
like a packed rooftop bar than a dance club. the one that looks like an ordinary wristwatch when deactivated
(see below). If the heroes haven’t yet intervened, this is the time
As always, the employee service areas are hidden behind to do so, since Bryce and Chow are about to get into it, putting
everything else. On the first floor, the service areas include those everyone in the club in danger.
behind the bars, a rear employee entrance and loading dock for
deliveries, a DJ suite and service area with a private restroom, Vigilant has been tracking Bryce for days. He’ll automatically
employee locker and washrooms, and a security area. There’s know when Bryce enters, and will have no trouble eavesdropping
also a stairway that leads down to the basement level. While on his conversation with Chow thanks to the digital filtering
mostly used for storage, a large mechanical room that houses the discussed earlier. As a result, Vigilant will realize that this
building’s mechanical and electrical equipment can also be found conversation is not going to go well long before the room
in the basement level. The second floor service areas include bar actually explodes into violence. Although he begins outside the
service ways, a general manager’s office, and a systems room club, Vigilant can easily slip in through the open skylight and
for the computers that control the lighting, sound, and video monkey his way down along the club’s lighting apparatus in a
displays throughout the entire venue. This area is also where the single page of movement. In short, while Vigilant will have to
private elevator that leads to the owner’s office may be found. spend one page moving before he can get into the action, he’ll
know that things are going to go badly long before the other
WARMING UP heroes do.
22 PROWLERS PARAGONS
WELLINGTON BRYCE TRIAD MUSCLE
Broken Wings
COMBAT THREAT 4D
Edge 9 Health 5 The large men Chow brought with him as muscle are big, tough,
and very intimidating. While they might not be as skilled as the
ABILITIES
enforcers, they’re well trained and know how to fight.
Agility 3d Perception 5d
Intellect 4d Toughness 4d
Might 3d Willpower 5d TRIAD ENFORCERS
TALENTS THREAT 6D (Shooters, Unique Ability: Undercover)
Academics 4d Professional 4d The women that Chow brought with him are skilled fighters.
Charm 4d Science 2d They’re also hidden around the room where Chow and Bryce
Command 2d Streetwise 4d are meeting, pretended to be ordinary club goers. Any heroes
Covert 2d Surival 2d who take a moment to scan the area can make a Perception
Inetigation 2d Technology 2d / Threat roll to detect these women. If they fail this roll, the
Medicine 2d Vehicles 4d enforcers will surprise the heroes on the first round of combat.
POWERS
TRAINED POWERS
Martial Arts 5d: Bryce rolls 5d when attacking and defending CLOCKWORK COMPLICATIONS
himself in unarmed combat. At some point during the battle, Club 706 goes completely
GEAR dark and — what feels even stranger after the pounding music —
completely silent, as someone shuts off the power. Emergency
Battle Shield: Bryce is currently wearing the item he’s looking
lights come on a moment later, but the club remains dimly lit at
to sell, a prototype weapon that looks like a watch, but
when activated, surrounds the user in a personal force field, best, as club goers try to figure out what’s going on. They don’t
granting 8d Armor. It can also fire force blasts, granting 8d have long to wonder, however, because Lady Aether’s Clockwork
Blast (Kinetic) as well. In effect, Bryce has 8d defense against Dragoons suddenly appear in various locations around the
all physical and energy attacks and can fire an 8d ranged club, seemingly out of nowhere. The largest group of Dragoons
attack at up to Distant Range. The Battle Shield only has immediately begins to corral the club goers into one large area,
enough charge for 1 minute of continuous use. using their weapons to frighten or, when necessary, to pummel
anyone who gives them trouble. A second group makes its way
to the club’s main safe, at which point one of the Dragoons
BILLY CHOW begins using a torch built into its mechanical fingers to cut the
safe open. And a third group heads upstairs to find Bryce (or
COMBAT
maybe they appear upstairs right from the start — that’s up to
Edge 8 Health 3 the GM, depending on what’s more dramatic), looking to steal
ABILITIES the Battle Shield!
Agility 4d Perception 4d
Intellect 2d Toughness 3d There are quite a lot of Clockwork Dragoons in the club. There
Might 3d Willpower 3d are 3 Dragoons per hero in the main group corralling club goers
together in the middle of the main dance floor, 2 Dragoons per
TALENTS
hero in the group headed upstairs to grab the Battle Shield
Academics 2d Professional 2d from Bryce, and 1 Dragoon per hero in the group breaking into
Charm 2d Science 2d the safe. If the heroes work their way through these minions
Command 2d Streetwise 4d too quickly, you can have more enter the fray from the services
Covert 2d Surival 2d areas if you want this scene to run longer. If Bryce, Chow, or any
Inetigation 2d Technology 2d
triad muscle or enforcers are still standing when this happens,
Medicine 2d Vehicles 4d
the GM will have to determine how they react depending on how
POWERS things were going before that moment. Chow is mad, and trying
TRAINED POWERS to save face, while Bryce is simply looking to extricate himself
Evasion 6d: Chow rolls 6d when performing active defenses as quickly and efficiently as possible.
against physical and energy attacks
Martial Arts 6d: Chow rolls 6d when attacking and defending In fact, what’s happening here is mostly one giant diversion.
himself in unarmed combat Having stopped by earlier in the evening, Melody Fong scattered
a legion of miniaturized Clockwork Dragoons around the club,
GEAR
including into the service areas. Shrunken small enough to seem
Pistol: 6d to attack at up to Distant Range little more than coppery glitter, her mechanical minions waited
until a signal was transmitted, returning them to their full size.
Those in the service areas were the first to return to normal
PROWLERS PARAGONS 23
PART 2: WINGING IT
size, after which they made their way down to the machine
room, found the electrical panel, and destroyed it, cutting off
power to the club. This also cut power to the security system
The second part of this story begins with the heroes back at Club
Chapter 7
Gabriel Michaels has on his office. With the power turned off,
706. Tonight, however, the club is closed for repairs, and the
Lady Aether, who herself has been waiting in shrunken form
heroes are there to meet with the club’s owner, Gabriel Michaels.
near the elevator to Gabriel’s office, can now return to normal
Obscenely wealthy and extremely well connected, Gabriel had
size, make her way up the elevator shaft, break into Gabriel’s
no trouble reaching out to the police and calling in a favor or
office, and grab those beautiful wings. As for the robberies going
two to get whatever contact information the heroes gave them
on in the club, that’s mostly happening in case of unforeseen
last night. He reached out to each of the heroes personally and
complications. If her minions escape with money or some high
asked them to meet with him in his office, claiming that all of
tech toy, that would of course be lovely, but if the police arrive
Pinnacle City was in danger and that he needed their help. While
sooner than expected or some super powered do-gooding
the heroes may have mixed feelings about some rich guy using
dullards drop by, the Clockwork Dragoons are there to keep
his influence to get their contact information from the police,
them busy. The heroes will only learn about this after the fact,
Gabriel sounded completely sincere and extremely worried, so
as discussed in Part 2.
here they are. At this meeting, Gabriel will tell the heroes about
the stolen wings and why it’s so important that they be returned
Noteworthy Details: The biggest challenge in this scene
as quickly as possible.
has less to do with the Clockwork Dragoons and more to do
with the fact that there are innocent civilians everywhere. The
As a known collector of unique oddities, a broker in these sorts
heroes will need to find a way to draw the bad guys away from
of things contacted Gabriel a few years ago claiming to have
the club goers or to protect them as the battle rages on around
a set of clockwork wings that were nearly identical to those
them. In particular, T-Kay’s friend Brian T should probably find
used by The Fallen. Of course, Gabriel was skeptical at first,
himself in one kind of trouble or another by being more heroic
until he saw them in person. The wings were marvelous, strange
than he should be protecting his fans. Despite everything, GMs
and beautifully intricate. After having them examined by a few
should be generous when handling this complication in play.
academics and a number of baffled materials engineers, he was
Brian T and the club goers are there as much for roleplaying
convinced that these may well be quasi-magical clockworks
reasons as to present a challenge, so most reasonable efforts
wings just like those used by The Fallen. So he bought them.
to protect the civilians should be successes. At the end of the
day, this is a 4-color story, and few things will kill a lighthearted
But of course there was a catch. When they arrived, the wings
mood faster than having innocent civilians get caught in a
were delivered in a large crate covered in runes. The message
lethal crossfire.
that accompanied them claimed that the wings were a prototype
of those used by the Fallen, and that he’d actually used them
CLOCKWORK DRAGOONS for a short while. Unfortunately, this also meant that the wings
THREAT 6D (Automatons, Shooters) had bonded with him on a mystical level. The runes on the crate
were a complex warding spell that kept him from sensing them,
The foot soldiers of Lady Aether’s Clockwork Brigade, Clock
so the wings had to be kept in the crate at all times. The longer
work Dragoons are minions with 6d Threat. They’re armed
with rifles that fire non-lethal physical projectiles, so they can they were out, the more likely it was that the Fallen would sense
attack in both close and ranged combat. Being robots, they’re them, and come looking for them. After all, his mystic link to the
also treated as inanimate objects for all purposes. Clockwork wings could render him vulnerable to all sorts of magic. If the
Dragoons are programmed to avoid killing at all costs, this Fallen were to discover that someone had an object mystically
having less to do with mercy than with Lady Aether’s concern linked to him, he would be … displeased.
for how her name will be remembered if she crosses that line.
But Gabriel has spent too much money to keep his new toy
locked away in a crate he could never open. He bought those
THE AFTERPARTY wings to appreciate them, to display them, and that’s what
Sooner or later, the battle will end, the bad guys will be defeated, he was going to do. He found himself someone who actually
and the police will arrive, looking for answers. At this point, the understood magic, and had them inscribe the same warding
heroes can make their introductions. Citizen Soldier will want to spell that was on the crate inside the walls of his office. The back
deliver the Battle Shield to AEGIS, which is something everyone side of every wall, every piece of flooring, and every ceiling tile is
is likely in favor of, and the bad guys will be taken away by the covered in magical runes, all designed to hide the wings, which
authorities. The police will take statements from the heroes and he then mounted on the wall behind his desk. And that’s where
ask for a way to contact them for follow-up. Unless the heroes they’ve been, safe and sound, until yesterday.
want to do anything else, this brings Part 1 to a close.
At this point, Gabriel will turn to the heroes and ask for their
help. Right now, those wings are out there, and every moment
that passes is another moment that The Fallen might sense this
and decide to come looking for them. All of the heroes will have
heard of The Fallen. He isn’t the world’s most powerful villain,
24 PROWLERS PARAGONS
but neither is he someone you want to draw to Pinnacle City Footage: Club 706 is lousy with security cameras, some obvious,
without first calling for an evacuation. While Alabama Slammer and others hidden. Additionally, Vigilant had his own hidden
Broken Wings
might think she can take him — she can’t, not by a longshot — surveillance equipment scattered around the club as well.
the other heroes are acutely aware that none of them would Unfortunately, there’s little to be found in the video and audio
even be able to slow him down. Assuming the heroes agree, they footage that the heroes don’t already know.
can then begin their investigation, as discussed below.
Gabriel’s Office: Gabriel had an advanced security system
Noteworthy Details: Gabriel should be a completely likeable that included an actual force field generator shielding the entire
character. Yes, he’s absurdly rich and has a quirky hobby. But office from any attempt to penetrate it, at least until the power
he’s completely charming, relatively down-to-earth, and utterly went out. Once that happened, the thief forced her way into
sincere in his desire to protect Pinnacle City. He doesn’t act his private elevator, climbed up through the emergency hatch,
like he’s better than anyone else, and he doesn’t give off that and burned Gabriel’s heavy security door to ashes. The thief
creepy fawning vibe that some people do when they’re face-to- then entered the room, grabbed the wings, and apparently left
face with superheroes. This is someone who’s comfortable with through an open window. The thief appears be a woman, as
himself and with those around him, regardless of what they can indicated by the single set of ashy footprints, and didn’t seem
do. Gabriel is also extremely grateful to the heroes for what they to care about leaving the telltale prints. Additionally, slight
did last night, and it’s obvious that what he’s happiest about is singeing on the top of Gabriel’s private elevator and around the
the fact that no one died (or, if things went very badly, that more open window suggest something like jet boots or a rocket pack,
people didn’t die). He seems to genuinely care about the lives of meaning it’s possible the thief flew up the elevator shaft to enter
the people who were in his club. If anything, Gabriel may seem Gabriel’s office and out the window to make her escape. Lastly, if
like a patron for future stories (if the players want to use these the heroes make a painstaking investigation of the room, they’ll
characters again). find something that the police missed: a tiny fiber that doesn’t
match anything in the room. If the heroes have it analyzed, a
In fact, Gabriel is actually a demon named Moloch who has been forensic specialist (such as Vigilant’s science and tech guru, Mila
hiding out on Earth for the last few decades. He’s a powerful Moreno) will be able to figure out that this fiber came from the
villain — probably in the same weight class as The Fallen — but Abandoned Textile Mill (see Part 3 below).
his true appearance, identity, and even his thoughts are
protected by an enchantment that none of the heroes nor any
technology they possess can penetrate. Sure, he isn’t telling
the heroes the whole truth, such as the fact that he has those
wings in case he needs to take advantage of the mystic link to
SUPER TIP!
the Fallen should those two ever come into conflict, or the fact Superhero stories aren’t about defeating
that he doesn’t want to get the wings himself because he needs villains. They’re about doing the right thing,
to keep a low profile. And sure, he owns nightclubs around the
especially when that thing is dangerous,
world because he’s become enamored with them as the perfect
place to do what he loves, corrupting human souls. And sure, hard, scary, or requires personal sacrifice.
much of the power and influence he wields comes from knowing
every dirty little secret there is to know about everyone in power
in Pinnacle City. But nobody’s perfect. None of this will come up
Clockwork Junk: The players may decide to examine what’s left
during this story. For purposes of this story, Gabriel Michaels is
of the Clockwork Dragoons they trashed. If they didn’t think to
just a wealthy entrepreneur who needs help. If you want to know
do this in Part 1, they’ll need to go to the police station to get
more, Moloch is one of the 15 fully fleshed-out villains provided
their hands on the evidence. Of course, that won’t be a problem:
in the Prowlers & Paragons Ultimate Edition core rulebook.
a friendly call to the station from Gabriel Michaels will get the
As for The Fallen, he isn’t really going to show up in this story. If
heroes access to whatever they need. While a direct examination
you want to know more about him, you can find him in Pinnacle
of the pieces themselves won’t reveal anything, if anyone thinks
City’s Most Wanted.
to check for unique energy signatures, they’ll find something.
The pieces give off a very faint residual energy, almost like a type
THE INVESTIGATION of radiation. In fact, it’s traces of volatile aether. If the heroes can
This part of the story is wide open. At this point, the heroes need figure out a way to scan the city for similar energy signatures,
to do some investigating to see if they can find a way to track they’ll eventually discover faint emanations coming from the
down who did this and find those wings as quickly as possible. Abandoned Textile Mill (see Part 3 below).
If the heroes decided to begin investigating on their own at the
end of Part 1, they can continue doing so, now with a renewed Legwork: Citizen Soldier and Vigilant can hit up their contacts
sense of urgency. A few possible avenues of investigation may for information. The clockwork minions are a dead giveaway —
be found below, but GMs are encouraged to let the heroes take they’re going up against Lady Aether, a steampunk-themed
their own approach to this. villain who seems to be a brilliant inventor of impossible
clockwork technology. The most dangerous thing about her
is that she’s a genius who always seems to have contingency
PROWLERS PARAGONS 25
plans on top of contingency plans. Apart from that, she carries Standing in the middle of all this rust and ruin is Lady Aether,
this bizarre pistol that fires an extremely powerful heat ray, a surrounded by her Clockwork Brigade, mesmerized by a man-
freeze ray, and who knows what else. Last, she’s built herself an sized pair of clockwork wings clamped to a large workbench
Chapter 7
army of clockwork robots that she calls the Clockwork Brigade. on the far side of the room. A number of other clamps keep
They include the Clockwork Dragoons the heroes have already the wings spread apart as if in flight. Besides the wings, the
encountered, Clockwork Hussars, who can fly, and Clockwork workbench is covered in tools, some familiar and others less so,
Cuirassiers, who are the toughest of all her clockwork minions. coils of copper wire, various clockwork components that look
like parts for her minions, a collection of magnifying glasses of
different sizes, an acetylene torch, an advanced laser cutting
tool, and a sheaf of hastily drawn plans, schematics, and notes,
There’s nothing a GM can do to make the game Noteworthy Details: If you search the internet for the words
interesting if players don’t go along with it, and “abandoned textile mill,” you’ll immediately understand why a
steampunk-themed villain like Lady Aether would be drawn to
there’s nothing players can do to make the game
this location.
interesting if the GM doesn’t go along with it.
CONFRONTING LADY AETHER
What happens now depends entirely on the heroes. Lady
PART 3: ABANDONED
Aether is accompanied by a large contingent of her Clockwork
Brigade, which should include at least 10 Clockwork Dragoons,
TEXTILE MILL
5 Clockwork Hussars, and 1 Clockwork Cuirassier per hero
(thus, when playing with all four heroes, that’s 40 Dragoons,
20 Hussars, and 4 Cuirassiers). At least 10 of the Clockwork
The abandoned textile mill lies on the farthest outskirts of
Dragoons should be on foot patrol around the compound, and
Pinnacle City. The mill had been in financial trouble for years,
5 Hussars should be on the roof or out patrolling the skies.
struggling to comply with environmental standards it simply
wasn’t designed to meet, when recession came along and drove
If the heroes take the direct approach, they may be able to tackle
home the final nail, forcing the business to close for good. The
the clockwork soldiers who are out on patrol before the others,
surrounding area includes a number of other factories, all of
which should help matters. That still leaves a large number of
which were built around the same time and suffered similar if
mechanical menaces to handle if/when they storm the mill, but
not identical fates. As a result, this entire area was abandoned
the heroes shouldn’t have too much to worry about — between
decades ago and remains empty, except for the gangs and
Alabama Slammer’s ability to defeat twice as many minions
squatters who sometimes call it home.
as usual (thanks to her Super Speed) and T-Kay’s telekinetic
area attacks (which also defeat twice as many minions as usual),
The mill itself is a large square building roughly four stories
the minions are going to have a rough time of it. Lady Aether,
(60 feet) tall, with a single main factory area and a small, one-
meanwhile, will be so engrossed in her work that she’ll probably
story wing to the north that was probably used to conduct
ignore the heroes on the first page of combat.
business. Discolored by years of carbon soot and countless
other pollutants, the brick and mortar exterior is permanently
If it matters, the mill’s walls have an 8d Structure, as does its
stained and defiantly ugly. Narrow windows vaguely reminiscent
floor and ceiling. While old and ugly, the building is solid and
of arrow slits or prison bars begin at just above eye level and run
isn’t likely to collapse in the battle, not even if a few holes get
to within a few feet of roof.
blasted or punched through the walls or the roof. Of course, if
the heroes make a concerted effort, between Citizen Soldier’s
The inside of the main building is now a single wide open space
12d Might and T-Kay’s 12d Telekinesis, anything is possible. The
that had once been partitioned by interior walls and filled with
rusting machines scattered around the floor have a 7d Structure
row upon row of machinery. Some of the machines are still there,
and a weight rank of anywhere from 6d to 10d.
whole or in part, elephantine and ornately complex affairs that
look like a haphazard collection of pipes, tubes, wheels, gears,
If the heroes try to reason with Lady Aether, she won’t listen.
belts, and valves, all caked in a dirty layer of dusky oxidation.
It’s not that she doesn’t believe them. Quite the opposite, she’s
In other areas, large discolored patches in the cracked cement
certain they’re telling her the truth. She simply doesn’t care.
floor reveal where similar machines once stood. The overall
Lady Aether has several monitoring devices affixed to and others
impression is one of open space broken up by collapsed sections
aimed at the wings. The first instant they detect anything — a
of brick wall and tall towers of rusty machinery, all illuminated
transmission, a reaction, even the slightest twitch or sign of
in a warm yellow glow thanks to the amber lights hung here
life — she plans to be long gone. As for what The Fallen does
and there.
when he gets here, well, that isn’t really her concern.
26 PROWLERS PARAGONS
CONCLUSION
Noteworthy Details: If the heroes wiped the floor with the
villains in Part 1 and have been cruising along in the story
Broken Wings
without much difficulty, you may wish to give this scene a
Hopefully the heroes manage to defeat Lady Aether and get
Challenge Level of 1. As noted earlier, this grants the GM 1 extra
the wings back to Gabriel’s office. Assuming they do, Gabriel is
point of Adversity per hero when this scene begins.
sincerely grateful. He makes them permanent 706 VIPs — they can
now go to the club any time the want and even reserve VIP booths
CLOCKWORK DRAGOONS completely free of charge (the good hearted and unwaveringly
THREAT 6D (Automatons, Shooters) polite Citizen Soldier will have to do his level best not to cringe
when he hears this). Apart from that, Gabriel mentions that he
The foot soldiers of Lady Aether’s Clockwork Brigade, Clock
frequently travels around the world looking in on his properties,
work Dragoons are minions with 6d Threat. They’re armed
with rifles that fire non-lethal physical projectiles, so they can and as he does, he occasionally hears about matters like this,
attack in both close and ranged combat. Being robots, they’re things the heroes might want to know about. While neither a
also treated as inanimate objects for all purposes. Clockwork hero nor a hero wannabe, Gabriel promises to keep them in the
Dragoons are programmed to avoid killing at all costs, this loop if he comes across matters that might warrant the heroes’
having less to do with mercy than with Lady Aether’s concern attention in the future. He hopes that this is the beginning of
for how her name will be remembered if she crosses that line. a long and wonderful relationship. Yes, he most certainly does.
And what if the heroes fail, what if they were all defeated and left
CLOCKWORK HUSSARS without Resolve? Well, any number of things might happen — and
it might not even matter since this is only a one-shot — but we
THREAT 6D (Automatons, Shooters, Unique Ability: Flight)
might suggest that the heroes wake up, bound in some way that
Although they look somewhat different, Clockwork Hussars even they might have trouble escaping (for example, if you chain
are simply Clockwork Dragoons that can fly. They operate the
Citizen Soldier and Vigilant together, the Soldier can’t use his super
same way and follow the same behavioral protocols described
strength without crushing Vigilant into a fine paste). Lady Aether
above. Lady Aether doesn’t have nearly as many Hussars as
she has Dragoons because the Hussars take longer to build and and whatever remained of her Clockwork Brigade are now gone,
require more volatile aether to operate. but the clockwork wings are still there, clamped to the workbench.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 27
LADY AETHER
28 PROWLERS PARAGONS
LADY AETHER MELODY FONG
Lady Aether
VILLAIN DESCRIPTION
Edge 15 Class: Standard Age: 32 Hair: Black
Health 7 Group: None Sex: Female Eyes: Hazel
ABILITIES MOTIVATION
Agility 6d Perception 6d Thrills (Melody) / Progress (Millicent)
Intellect 9d Toughness 4d
QUOTE
Might 3d Willpower 10d
“Get out of my way, heroes, there’s nothing rattling around in those
TALENTS
so-called brains of yours that could possibly help you stop me!”
Academics 9d Professional 3d
GOALS
Charm 3d Science 9d
Command 6d Streetwise 3d Melody: Have fun and actually do what she wants rather than
Covert 6d Survival 3d what everyone else expects of her.
Investigation 9d Technology 9d Millicent: Perfect her inventions, prove her genius to the
Medicine 6d Vehicles 6d world, and claim her rightful place in history.
POWERS METHODS
TECH POWERS Melody has two distinct ways of operating. In her secret identity,
Blast (Heat) 10d (Item: Pistol, Overload): On its Heat Ray she’s careful and subdued. She does extensive research
setting, Lady Aether’s Aetheric Infusion Pistol fires a 10d before all of her robberies (usually of advanced technology
damaging attack at up to Distance Range. She can raise or Victorian era artifacts that are more than they appear) and
her rank to 16d for one shot by overloading the pistol, after plans every moment with painstaking precision. Once she
which this setting will no longer function. goes into action, however, Millicent’s personality takes over
Ensnare 10d (Item: Pistol, Overload): On its Freeze Ray setting, and Melody becomes the derisive, dramatic, and flamboyant
Lady Aether’s Aetheric Infusion Pistol fires a 10d special attack Lady Aether, putting on airs and developing a British accent
at up to Distance Range. Affected targets are frozen in ice and and Victorian era speech pattern. She loves any chance to
unable to move for the duration. It can be overloaded like the use the marvels of science she creates, even in combat, but
Heat Ray setting. she prefers to avoid harming innocents and killing. After
Flight 7d (Item: Rocket Pack): Lady Aether’s aether-tech all, she isn’t a villain. She’s a brilliant scientist whose genius
rocket pack lets her fly at up to 250 mph. the world has yet to recognize. Plus, imagine the dreadful
footnotes some dreary little historian might write about her.
Immunity (Sensory) 4d (Item: Goggles): Polarized mechanic’s
goggles make Lady Aether immune to the Dazzle power and ORIGIN
visual sensory overload effects. Melody Fong had always been perfect, because that’s what
Polymorph 10d (Item: Pistol, Overload): On its Shrink Ray was expected of her. She was the perfect daughter, perfect
setting, Lady Aether’s Aetheric Infusion Pistol fires a 10d student, perfect college athlete, perfect doctor, perfect
special attack at up to Distance Range. Affected targets fiancée, perfect — everything. Until the past life regression.
are shrunk to miniscule size and rendered helpless for the Still unsure as to how it happened, Melody remembers the
duration. It can be overloaded like the Heat Ray setting. session with her patient, the hypnosis, and then strangely, that
Super Senses (Night Vision, Thermal Vision, X-Ray Vision) it was she who fell into a trance. She found herself hunched
6d (Item: Goggles): Lady Aether’s goggles also let her see over a workbench covered with clockwork gears and coils of
in the dark through both light enhancement and thermal copper wire. She was Millicent Flange, a brilliant Victorian
imaging and grant her the ability to see through solid objects era inventor whose genius had gone ignored because she
if she concentrates on doing so. was a woman. Melody realized this was her; she had been
Millicent Flange in a past life, and over a century later, she
TRAINED POWERS was still letting others determine her destiny. No more!
Evasion 10d: Lady Aether is rolls 10d when performing active Melody snapped awake with newfound resolve and access
defenses against physical and energy attacks thanks to to all the knowledge, memories, and scientific genius of her
Melody Fong’s years of gymnastics. past life. Millicent Flange may have died before the world
Expertise (Aether-tech) 12d: Lady Aether rolls 12d when could learn of her brilliance, but she now has a second chance
making Technology rolls involving her aether-tech. for glory. And Melody Fong was done with being perfect.
Expertise (Psychology) 9d: Lady Aether rolls 9d when making PERKS
Profession rolls involving psychology.
None
Total Recall (10d): Lady Aether has an eidetic memory and
can remember things with perfect clarity. FLAWS
Flashbacks (Millicent Flange’s Past Life)
Quirk (Conflicting Personalities)
Secret Identity
PROWLERS PARAGONS 29
Alabama Slammer
ALABAMA SLAMMER
HERO
Edge 36 Resolve 3
Health 6 Hero Points 125
ABILITIES
Agility 3d Perception 6d
Intellect 3d Toughness 5d
Might 3d Willpower 5d
TALENTS
Academics 3d Professional 3d
Charm 5d Science 3d
Command 3d Streetwise 3d
Covert 3d Survival 3d
Investigation 3d Technology 3d
Medicine 3d Vehicles 3d
POWERS
SUPER POWERS
Phasing (6d) (Concentration): By vibrating her molecules at
super speed, Alabama Slammer can move through physical
TAMMY JAMES
objects (but not through force fields), but she has to go DESCRIPTION
slowly and concentrate to do this.
Age: 22 Hair: Brown
Regeneration (6d): Alabama Slammer’s super metabolism
Sex: Female Eyes: Green
lets her heal 1 Health per hour.
Resistance 12d: Alabama Slammer’s super metabolism also MOTIVATION
gives her an effective Toughness of 12d when making rolls to Adventure (Being a hero is as exciting as it gets)
resist drugs, diseases, and poisons.
QUOTE
Super Speed 12d: Alabama Slammer can move about one
thousand times faster than a normal person. She can use “Y’all might wanna just go ahead and give up now, before I
this Power to perform attacks, active defenses, and in place make you look bad. I know you boys are sensitive about that
of Agility. She can use this as a Travel Power (she runs about kind of thing.”
10 times faster than sound, and moves fast enough to run ORIGIN
across water and up walls). She can also change into her
costume in an instant or vanish in the blink of an eye. Last, Tamara “Tammy” James is a bright, funny, and optimistic young
when fighting minions, she defeats 2 per net success rolled. woman, maybe in part because she’s been though a lot. Raised
by her mom in a small town in Alabama, Tammy’s family always
PERKS skirted the line between working class and poor. Amanda James
None did what she could for her children, but everyone had to help
make ends meet, so Tammy began working at the Bama-Gator
FLAWS Bar & Grill the minute she was old enough. It was there, a few
Quirk (Impulsive) years later, that her powers blossomed. Bubba Barton, former
Quirk (Mischievous) biker and owner of the Bama-Gator, was leaving for the night
Secret Identity with the day’s cash when a pair of men entered the place
and demanded the money at gunpoint. Bubba handed it over,
GEAR
but when one of the men began taking too keen an interest
None in Tammy, Bubba broke a bar stool over his head. His friend
panicked and fired at Bubba. Tammy screamed, then realized
that time had somehow slowed to a crawl. She pulled Bubba
out of the way of the bullet and disarmed the man in the blink
of an eye. Since then, despite Bubba’s worried attempts to talk
her out of it, Tammy’s been loving life as a superhero.
30 PROWLERS PARAGONS
CITIZEN SOLDIER
Citizen Soldier
HERO
Edge 12 Resolve 3
Health 12 Hero Points 125
ABILITIES
Agility 6d Perception 6d
Intellect 6d Toughness 12d
Might 12d Willpower 9d
TALENTS
Academics 3d Professional 3d
Charm 5d Science 3d
Command 6d Streetwise 3d
Covert 5d Survival 3d
Investigation 3d Technology 3d
Medicine 3d Vehicles 5d
POWERS
SUPER POWERS
Armor 12d: Citizen Soldier’s altered physiology makes him
incredibly resistant to harm. He can use this Power as a
HAMILTON SMITH
passive defense against physical and energy attacks. DESCRIPTION
Regeneration (12d): Citizen Soldier’s super-charged physi
Age: 92 Hair: Black
ology also allows him to heal 1 point of Health per hour.
Sex: Male Eyes: Brown
TRAINED POWERS
MOTIVATION
Leadership (9d): As a natural leader with many years as an
officer during WWII, Citizen Soldier can grant each of his Idealism (Everyone deserves justice and liberty.)
allies a free reroll on any challenge roll once per scene, as QUOTE
long as he can see and communicate with them.
“Son, you’ve already made enough mistakes today. But you can
PERKS always make a better choice — put the gun down and let’s talk.”
Authority (Top Secret Clearance): Hamilton contracts with ORIGIN
AEGIS, the branch of Homeland Security that deals with
supers, and has top secret clearance. Hamilton Smith was born a patriot. Although life was often
unkind to African Americans in the 1920s, Hamilton had faith
Contacts (Homeland Security, Military): Hamilton knows
in America. He volunteered for the army soon after America
people in these fields who will provide him information and
entered the Second World War. Like so many young black
occasionally assistance.
soldiers, Hamilton wanted to be part of the Double V Campaign,
FLAWS helping achieve democracy abroad and equality at home. A
Enemy (Doctor Berlin)* brilliant tactician, he was soon assigned a squad of highly skilled
Quirk (Old Fashioned) irregulars, called the Citizen Squad, operating in the European
Secret Identity theater. In what would be their last mission, the Citizen Squad
discovered a secret facility run by Dr. Maximilian von Graff (the
GEAR man who would become the nefarious supervillain, Doctor
None Berlin). Graff had been conducting bizarre experiments, trying
to create the ultimate soldier. The Citizen Squad managed to
SPECIAL NOTES destroy the facility, but not before Hamilton took a bullet meant
*Citizen Soldier’s Enemy Flaw (Doctor Berlin) is a plot hook for one of his men. Not knowing what else to do, Hamilton’s men
for the GM to use. It increases his Resolve by 1 point (already injected him with a restorative serum they’d stolen from the lab.
included above) but it’s not a Flaw you can trigger in play to The serum put him into a coma, and in honor of his service, the
earn extra Resolve. U.S. government kept Hamilton alive for the decades it took
the serum to do its work. It kept him young, healed his injuries,
and turned him into the hero, Citizen Soldier.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 31
T-KAY
HERO
Edge 8 Resolve 3
T-Kay
32 PROWLERS PARAGONS
VIGILANT
HERO
Vigilant
Edge 18 Resolve 8
Health 7 Hero Points 125
ABILITIES
Agility 9d Perception 9d
Intellect 4d Toughness 5d
Might 4d Willpower 9d
TALENTS
Academics 3d Professional 3d
Charm 6d Science 3d
Command 6d Streetwise 6d
Covert 6d Survival 6d
Investigation 6d Technology 3d
Medicine 3d Vehicles 6d
POWERS
TECH POWERS
Super Senses (Night Vision) 9d (Item: Suit): Vigilant’s costume
includes night vision technology.
MICHAEL CROSS
Swing Line 4d (Item: Grappling Line): Vigilant uses a grappling DESCRIPTION
gun with a retractable swing line.
Age: 27 Hair: Blonde
TRAINED POWERS Sex: Male Eyes: Green
Martial Arts 8d: Vigilant can use this Power to attack and
MOTIVATION
defend himself in close combat and when grappling.
Preparation (n/a): Vigilant can spend 1 Resolve to have the Redemption (Repenting for his family’s sins.)
perfect mundane item, tool, or weapon, to have planted QUOTE
something in or prepared his current location ahead of time,
“This ends now. You’re going to drop those weapons. The only
to have previously researched information he now needs, etc.
question is whether you want to be conscious when that happens.”
Two-Fisted (9d): Vigilant can accept a −2d penalty to his
attacks when fighting minions to defeat 2 (rather than 1) per ORIGIN
net success rolled. Born into a wealthy family connected to the Russian mafia, the
Weakness Detection (9d): Vigilant can accept a −2d penalty road was paved for Michael Cross to step into a life of crime.
to his attacks to target weak points — targets halve their Blessed with his father’s canny instincts and his mother’s
passive defense ranks against these attacks. natural athleticism, Michael would have made an exceptional
Bratva captain. But that all changed when an assassination
PERKS
attempt on his life and that of his brother, Alex, left his
Contacts (Criminal, Law Enforcement, Technology): Michael girlfriend, Mila Moreno, in a coma. Although she’d eventually
knows people in these fields who will provide him information awaken, she’d never walk again. Barely 19 years old, Michael
and occasionally assistance. hunted down the men responsible and brought them to
Wealth: Michael is extremely rich and uses his family’s ill- justice. But for what — the men were just pawns, and he knew
gotten wealth to fund his crime-fighting efforts. it. When Michael’s father sent him and his brother away to
train with the ancient and venerable Black Lotus clan, Michael
FLAWS realized it was his opportunity to learn the skills he’d need
Enemy (Scorpio)* in his quest for justice. While his brother, Alex, spent those
Relationship (Mila Moreno)* 5 years becoming the merciless enforcer Scorpio, Michael
Secret Identity returned home ready to take on the mantle of the hero called
Vigilant. With his former girlfriend turned friend Maria as his
GEAR ally, Michael has devoted himself to ridding Pinnacle City of
Armored Bodysuit: grants 6d passive defense. organized crime. Michael knows he’ll eventually have to turn
2 Jo Sticks: 10d to attack and defense rolls. Subdual. his sights on his own family, but he’s not ready to do that yet.
2 Katars: 10d to attack and defense rolls. Lethal. SPECIAL NOTES
Other Gear: communicator, tech and tool kits, and other
mundane gear and vehicles as needed. *Vigilant’s Enemy and Relationship Flaws are plot hooks for
the GM to use. They increase his Resolve by 1 point (already
included above) but they aren’t Flaws you can trigger in play
to earn extra Resolve.
PROWLERS PARAGONS 33