The classic Ripper plot: Ripper goes Berserk in combat, forgets his commander’s orders, and goes on a rampage through the city. The heroes and VIPER have to simultaneously fight each other while trying to capture him/get him back.
When VIPER doctors use a sample of Ripper’s Omicron chemistry- infused blood to save an injured female agent, she becomes the almost as powerful Ripperette! Ripper falls head over heels in love... but she wants nothing to do with the hideous super- villain. Can the city withstand his violent attempts to court her, find gifts to win her over, and make her his bride?
After an UNTIL encounter with Ripper goes horribly awry, a crippled UNTIL agent develops an obsession with stopping the hid- eous strongman. What lengths will he go to — and how many lives will he be ready to sacri- fice — to kill Ripper?
SIDEWINDER
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
40 STR 30 17- Lift 6,400 kg; 8d6 [2] 30 DEX 60 15- OCV: 10/DCV: 10 20 CON 20 13-
13 BODY 6 12-
15 INT 5 12- PER Roll 12- 15 EGO 10 12- ECV: 5
20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 10 COM 0 11- 10 PD 2 Total: 28 PD (18 rPD) 10 ED 6 Total: 28 ED (18 rED) 8 SPD 40 Phases: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 12 REC 0 40 END 0
43 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 189 Movement: Running: 26”/208”
Leaping: 8”/16” Swimming: 20”/160”
Cost Powers END
67 Gauntlet Blaster: Energy Blast 10d6, Autofire (5 shots; +½), 64 Charges (+½);
OIF (-½) [64]
Speedster Martial Arts
Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 5 Flying Dodge — +4 Dodge All
Attacks, Abort; FMove
5 Passing Disarm -1 -1 Disarm, 50 STR to Disarm roll; FMove 5 Passing Strike +1 +0 8d6 +v/5;
FMove
5 Passing Throw +0 +0 8d6 +v/5; Target Falls; FMove 5 Rapid Punch +1 -2 12d6 Strike 75 Super-Running: Running +20” (26” total),
x8 Noncombat Multiple, Reduced Endur-
ance (0 END; +½) 0
42 Super-Swimming: Swimming +18” (20” total), x8 Noncombat Multiple, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0 10 Diminished Fatigue: Reduced Endurance
(½ END; +¼) for 40 STR 0 36 Friction Resistance: Armor (12 PD/12ED) 0 12 Armored Costume: Armor (6 PD/6 ED); OIF
(-½) 0
8 Impact Plating: Physical Damage Reduction, Normal, 50%; OIF (-½), Only To Protect Against Damage Sustained When Perform- ing Move Throughs/Move Bys (-1) 0
Perk
5 Fringe Benefit: Membership (Dragon Branch)
Skills
30 +6 HTH
4 +2 OCV with Gauntlet Blaster 3 Combat Driving 15-
3 Concealment 12- 3 Conversation 13- 3 Lockpicking 15-
2 KS: The Superhuman World 11- 2 KS: VIPER 11-
3 Persuasion 13-
3 Power: Speedster Tricks 15- 2 PS: VIPER Agent 11- 3 Security Systems 12- 3 Shadowing 12- 3 Stealth 15- 3 Streetwise 13- 3 Tactics 12- 3 Teamwork 12-
Total Powers & Skills Cost: 356 Total Cost: 545
200+ Disadvantages
20 Hunted: UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture) 20 Hunted: Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture) 10 Hunted: VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching) 15 Psychological Limitation: Cautious
(Common, Strong)
10 Psychological Limitation: Fear Of Being Restrained (Uncommon, Strong) 15 Reputation: VIPER supercriminal, 11-
(Extreme)
20 Social Limitation: Subject To Orders (Very Frequently, Major)
15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Michael Ramirez) (Frequently, Major)
220 Experience Points Total Disadvantage Points: 545
Background/History: Michael Ramirez was a low- ranking VIPER agent who wanted more. When tests revealed he might prove susceptible to genetic alteration, he jumped at the chance and volun- teered for the experiments. Doctor Blank and his assistants exposed Ramirez to special radiations to strengthen his muscles and skin, injected him with drugs to inhibit his body’s ability to generate fatigue poisons, and used chemicals to send his metabolism into hyperdrive. After eight tedious and painful months, he gained superhuman strength and swiftness, though fortunately with- out developing serpentine physical features like so many of the other guinea pigs. Since then he’s served VIPER as Sidewinder, taking a break from the organization only during occasional periods of incarceration in Stronghold.
Personality/Motivation: Because his powers depend so much on movement, and because he enjoys open spaces so much (they give him room to run), Sidewinder has a powerful fear of being captured, restrained, or confined (including a mild touch of claustrophobia). He particularly fears going to prison, and will do whatever he has to (including running away from the battlefield) to avoid it. He shies away from opponents who can Entangle or Grab him, preferring to leave them for his comrades. However, sometimes he tries to take such enemies out right away with a quick Move Through attack.
His fear of capture makes Sidewinder unusu- ally cautious. He likes to plan missions extensively, taking into account all possible details and compli- cations, and having back-up plans for all reason- able (and many unreasonable) contingencies. But since he thinks showing his fear this way isn’t very
SIDEWINDER
PLOT SEEDS
Sidewinder becomes infatuated with a female PC (or prominent NPC) and begins “wooing” her. When she turns him down repeatedly, his attentions become more sinister... and violent. After Sidewinder botches a job, the VIPER leadership punishes him. Believing the screw-up wasn’t his fault (it was Oculon’s), Sidewinder angrily decides to take revenge. To keep from exposing himself, he begins secretly tipping off the PCs to certain VIPER activities. Sidewinder trains hard, saves up his Experience Points, and buys some speedster tricks. With VIPER’s permission, he wants to test them out... on the PCs.
“macho” or “cool,” he hides it behind a facade of bravado and confidence. He does as much of his planning in secret as he can, and in combat utters wisecracks and snide remarks to make himself look bold and daring. He can’t fool anyone who’s known him for long, though.
Quote: “If you blink, you’ll miss me. But I won’t miss you!”
Powers/Tactics: Sidewinder’s powers are those of the classic superhuman “speedster”: he can run (and swim) with incredible speed, has amazing reaction time, and so forth. Though not as fast or flexible as some speedsters, he’s more than quick enough to run rings around his average oppo- nent. (If you want him to perform a low-powered “speedster stunt,” such as some of the abilities in the Speedster Powers section of The UNTIL Super- powers Database, use his Speedster Tricks Skill.)
But there’s a lot more to Sidewinder than just speed. Unlike most speedsters, who are com- paratively fragile, Sidewinder is strong and tough. He can’t pick up as much as a typical “brick” or punch as hard, but he’s found ways to combine his speed and strength into a lethal package. First, he developed a series of special maneuvers which rely on his speed. He can run by someone at top velocity and strike them (doing extra damage thanks to his momentum) or disarm them, punch an opponent a dozen times in the space of an eye- blink, or quickly get out of the way of incoming attacks. Even better, he can simply run into some- one as fast as he can, counting on his strength and toughness to keep from knocking himself out. To improve his chances of that, he had VIPER laboratories create special “impact plating” for his costume to protect his shoulders, arms, and other parts of the body which hit targets he col- lides with. Between the plating, his natural fric- tion-resistant skin, and his armored costume, he’s pretty well protected.
If Sidewinder’s speed, strength, and maneu- vers can’t do the trick, or he can’t reach his oppo- nent, he can fall back on his Gauntlet Blasters. Using standard VIPER technology, engineers created these devices for him on the Council Of Thirty’s orders after Sidewinder lost a fight due to his lack of ranged attacks. VIPER technicians have upgraded them several times since then, and could conceivably install other weapons in his costume if necessary.
Campaign Use: For the most part, Sidewinder’s a typical VIPER supervillain, encountered pri- marily in combat. However, since he retains his human form and interests, the PCs might run into him in social situations without knowing who he is. They could also encounter him while he performs the elaborate preparatory work he puts into missions, then have to try to chase him down when he flees.
To make Sidewinder more powerful, give him some “speedster tricks” such as supersonic finger-snaps, high-speed phasing, or the like. You could also add more gadgets to his arsenal. To
weaken him, slow him down and get rid of his gauntlet blaster.
Sidewinder does not Hunt heroes on his own. He only does so when VIPER orders him to, how it orders him to.
Appearance: Michael Ramirez is a more or less average looking man of Hispanic descent, though some women find his cocky, confident attitude attractive. His eyes, moustache, and hair are as dark as his heart. As Sidewinder, he wears a black bodysuit costume with dark red boots, knee- pads, belt, gauntlets, and impact plating along his shoulders and arms. His half-face mask, also dark red, leaves his hair free. A stylized logo of a sidewinder curves sinuously across his chest in dark red.
VIPERIA
Daughter Of The Serpent
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
70 STR 60 23- Lift 400 tons; 14d6 [7] 28 DEX 54 15- OCV: 9/DCV: 9 45 CON 70 18-
23 BODY 26 14-
23 INT 13 14- PER Roll 14- 20 EGO 20 13- ECV: 7
40 PRE 30 17- PRE Attack: 8d6 20 COM 5 13- 32 PD 18 Total: 32 PD (32 rPD) 32 ED 23 Total: 32 ED (32 rED) 8 SPD 42 Phases: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 23 REC 0 90 END 0
90 STUN 9 Total Characteristics Cost: 370 Movement: Running: 36”/144”
Flight: 30”/240” Swimming: 22”/44”
Cost Powers END
175 The Inheritance Of The Snake: Multipower, 175-point reserve
10u 1) Eyes Of Fire: RKA 4d6, Penetrating (+½), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 4 10u 2) Breath Of The Hurricane: Energy Blast
14d6, Double Knockback (+¾), Explo- sion (Cone; +½), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); No Range (-½), Does Not Work Underwater Or In A Vacuum (-¼) 8 11u 3) Breath Of Ice: Dispel Fire Powers 15d6,
all Fire Powers simultaneously (+2), Explo- sion (Cone; +½), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); No Range (-½) 8 9u 4) Shockwave: Energy Blast 10d6, Double
Knockback (+¾), Explosion (-1 DC/3”; +1), Hole In The Middle (1” in the middle; +¼), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); No Range (-½), Only Affects Targets On The
Ground (-¼) 7
9u 5) Thunder-Clap: Sound Group Flash 10d6, Area Of Effect (10” Radius; +1¼), Personal Immunity (+¼), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); No Range (-½) plus Energy Blast 4d6, NND (defense is Hearing Group Flash Defense; +1), Area Of Effect (10” Radius; +1¼), Personal Immunity (+¼), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); Linked (-½),
No Range (-½) 6
2u 6) The Big Wrap-Up: Entangle 6d6, up to 6 DEF; OIF (appropriate materials of opportunity; -½), No Range (-½), Extra Time (at least a Full Phase, and often longer, depending on how long it takes to get the materials; -½), Defense Depends On Materials Used (-½), Side Effect (may cause considerable damage to the
environment; -0) 6
40 Daughter Of The Sun: Absorption 8d6 (energy; half to BODY, half to END), Delayed Fade Rate (points fade at the rate of 5 per Minute, +¼); Limited Phenomena (fire, heat, and radiation attacks; -¼) 0
52 Her Wrath Falls Like The Storm: Autofire (5 shots; +½) for 70 STR, Reduced
Endurance (½ END; +½) 1 44 Nothing Is Beyond Her Reach: Area Of
Effect (One Hex; +½) for 70 STR, Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 1 44 No Spirit Can Hide From Her: Affects
Desolidified (+½) for 70 STR, Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 1 90 Her Body Is As Solid As Stone: Energy Blast
9d6, Damage Shield (+½), Continuous (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); Only Affects Those Who Strike Her, Not Casual Contact Or Grabs (-½) 0 32 No Weapon Can Make Her Bleed: Damage
Resistance (32 PD/32 ED) 0 50 She Is Greater Than The Elements, Greater
Than The Ages: Life Support: Total, including Longevity (Immortality) 0 10 Her Senses May Not Be Diminished:
Sight Group Flash Defense (10 points) 0 10 Her Senses May Not Be Diminished:
Hearing Group Flash Defense (10 points) 0 20 She May Not Be Toppled: Knockback
Resistance (-10”) 0
20 Her Will May Not Be Contravened:
Mental Defense (24 points total) 0 20 Her Spirit And Body Are As Indomitable As
The Snake: Power Defense (20 points) 0 22 She Will Not Die: Healing 1d6 (Regen-
eration; 1 BODY per Turn), Resurrection (unless killed by her father or some future son), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½); Self Only (-½), Extra
Time (1 Turn; -1¼) 0
140 She Moves Like The Lightning: Multipower, 140-point reserve
14u 1) She Flies Like The Wind: Flight 30”, x8 Noncombat, Combat Acceleration (+¼), Rapid Noncombat Movement (+¼), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0 11u 2) She Runs Like A Cheetah: Running
+30” (36” total), Combat Acceleration (+¼), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0 4u 3) She Swims Like A Fish: Swimming +20”
(22” total). Combat Acceleration (+¼), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0 10 Nothing May Hide From Her: N-Ray
Perception (Sight Group) (not through lead, gold, or force fields) 0 20 She Sees With The Wind: Targeting for
Hearing Group 0
5 She Sees The Hidden Fires: Infrared Perception (Sight Group) 0 5 She Sees In The Moonlight: Ultraviolet
Perception (Sight Group) 0 3 Her Hearing Is Keener Than Man:
Ultrasonic Perception (Hearing Group) 0 12 She Hears Hidden Voices: High Range
Radio Perception (Radio Group) 0 5 She Knows The Workings Of The Mind:
Mental Awareness 0
9 Her Gaze Is As Keen As Dragons: +6 versus Range Modifier for Sight Group 0
VIPERIA
PLOT SEEDS
In a city that’s recently been victimized by Viperia, a woman shows up who claims she’s Viperia’s mother. She says that for a small price she can perform a mystic ritual that will turn her daughter away from VIPER. Is she a crackpot, a desper- ate woman who’s gone insane from the loss of her child, or the reincar- nation of Queen Ackee? Viperia appears to be unstoppable, but Dark Seraph csays he’s discov- ered a mystical way of defeating her, which he’ll share — provided the heroes perform a “small favor” for him. Who is the lesser of these two evils?
UNTIL intelligence has tracked Viperia’s home base to some place within a 20 kilometer radius in the Ghanian wilderness. Your mis- sion is to locate its exact position and (if pos- sible) capture her alive. Viperia doesn’t par- ticularly get along with other supervillains, with one notable exception — Gravitar! By coin- cidence, they recently worked together and hit it off, so Gravitar tracks down Viperia and per- suades the super-strong villainess to accompany her on a shop-and- rob expedition in the swankiest commercial districts of the world. Why settle for an Yves St. Laurent original when you can have Yves St. Laurent himself? Can you stop the two most powerful women on the planet from going on the world’s deadliest shopping spree?
Perks
5 Fringe Benefit: Membership (Dragon Branch)
Talents
16 Words Cannot Be Hidden From Her: Uni- versal Translator 14-; Only To Translate African Languages (-¼) 0
Skills
30 +3 Overall Levels 3 Acrobatics 15- 3 Breakfall 15-
1 CuK: Ancient African Cultures 8- 3 KS: Snakes 14- 1 KS: VIPER 8- 3 Language: English (fluent; Bantu is native) 3 Deduction 14- 3 Persuasion 17- Total Powers and Skills
Cost: 989
Total Character Cost: 1,359
200+ Disadvantages
20 Hunted: UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI,
Capture)
20 Hunted: Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI,
Capture)
10 Hunted: VIPER and the Serpent Nama 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching) 10 Physical Limitation: Cannot Take
a Recovery If Brought to Below 0 END Without A Week’s Hiber- nation
(Infrequently, Greatly)
20 Psychological Limitation: Curi- ous About The World (Very Common, Strong)
10 Psychological Limitation: Anxious To Please Her Father (Common, Moderate)
20 Reputation: VIPER supercriminal, 14- (Extreme)
20 Social Limitation: Subject To Orders (Very Frequently, Major)
10 Unluck 2d6
10 Vulnerability: 1½ x Effect from Magic Adjustment Powers (Common) 10 Vulnerability: 1½ x STUN from Magic
Attacks (Common)
10 Vulnerability: 1½ x BODY from Magic Attacks (Common)
989 Experience Points
Total Disadvantage Points: 1,359
Background/History: Eleven hundred years ago in a distant land now forgotten, there rose a great war- rior-queen, Ackee. After the death of her husband, she took in her hand the sacred spear of her people and drove back the forces of barbarism, uniting the nearby tribes into a small but prosperous kingdom. But as the years passed and death drew near, Queen
Ackee became increasingly aware that not only her body would die; it was unlikely that her kingdom would survive her death. This troubled her aged mind, so she embarked on a great journey to visit the cave of the Great Serpent Nama, to seek his wisdom and find a way to ensure that her kingdom would be preserved. “No kingdom lasts forever,” Nama told her what she already knew, but wasn’t willing to face. “But few kingdoms fade into the dust without leaving some influence, great or small, on those that follow them. Take comfort in that.”
“But I must have more!” Ackee declared, not hiding the bitterness in her voice. “Have I not been a brave and just ruler? Have I not been a battle queen
without equal, fighting even when my body was pushed beyond the weary limits of the flesh? Have I not made ten thousand sacrifices over my long, hard
lifetime? Is it fair that I should die without a gift to
hold onto when the breath leaves my body?” Then the serpent smiled, and Nama became a Man, young, tall, and glorious beyond all others, as befits the serpent god. Lovingly he took the aged queen Akee into his arms, and behold! — she was young again, and under the moonlight her skin was unweathered, and her beauty had become that of the goddesses of ages past. Then Nama shared the holiest of his arts with the great queen, and she became heavy with child. Seeing that his work was done, Nama dis- missed her, telling her in a voice full of majesty (and perhaps regret):
“Farewell Ackee, greatest queen of Africa. You have a wild thing in your belly, and that is my gift to you, for she will endure the uncounted years and bespeak your memory, though not as a queen, for no kingdom will ever contain her!”
Ackee returned to her people, who marveled that one as aged as she could still bear a child. But the child was a storm in the womb, and the months were diffi- cult, and when the time came for the Serpent’s daugh- ter to enter the world Ackee did not survive, though with her last breath she looked upon her daughter with a smile on her face.
The elders named Ackee’s daughter “Tuwi- shande,” for that was the name they gave to the great- est of the late summer storms that came from the ocean and left the land in ruins. And the name was apt, for none could control Tuwi-shande. As an infant, she tore apart huts; as a child, she devastated villages; as an adolescent, she laid waste to whole countrysides. No spear could pierce her flesh and none dared lay a hand upon her. In her youth, she was easily bored, and had no use for words, for the ones she heard were mostly used to curse her.
For sport Tuwi-shande searched the lands for signs of battle; when she found them, she dared both sides to kill her, and she laughed when they tried, for against her the mightiest warriors in the world were as harmless as a baby monkey. Finally, every warrior in West Africa felt so humiliated and ashamed by his inability to stop her that no man dared lift his spear, and war vanished from the land. This was a crime against the order of things, so the bravest warriors in Africa set aside their differences and made the long journey to Nama’s cave. They begged the Serpent God to do something about his wild daughter. Nama laughed at their complaints, but finally he agreed to put his daughter to sleep until an age of the world arrived that had heroes able to handle someone of her nigh-matchless power.
Nama called his daughter, and she came to his call, and he ensorcelled her. The spell he wove was imperfect — three times throughout the ages, Tuwi- shande awoke for a few weeks, wreaked havoc upon the land, then returned to her slumber for centuries — but it was enough to spare the world from her full wrath. Finally in 1992, when Nama anointed the Supreme Serpent, he realized the time had come to awaken Tuwi-shande. VIPER agents were directed by a dreaming vision to visit the cave where Tuwi-shande lay asleep. It took years of experiments to awaken her, but they did so, and when the Serpent’s Daugh- ter was exposed to the wonders of the modern era, she marveled at them. The agents told her of a great
war that was taking place between the Snake and the lesser race of men, and Tuwi-shande agreed to help the Snakes without question. The agents clad her in a beautiful green dress which was emblazoned with the symbol of the Snake, and they gave her the name Viperia, which they told her was a sacred name. She was very proud of it.