Champions – Fear

Arnold Vimes had one major talent; his presence – both in person and on the screen – was undeniable.

That was enough to make him a successful actor and socialite (if only a competent director and producer) – but while manipulating his viewers was amusing he wanted REAL power over their emotions. Unfortunately, evoking genuine love, compassion, and similar emotions was difficult; such responses to movies tended to be shallow at best. The only real emotions that were readily evoked by fiction… were grief, fear, and shock. His productions began to focus on such things – which made him a cult success for quite some time.

Eventually, however, his audience began to fall away. Arnold’s films just never let up – and after a while the constant emotional bombardment was no longer fun.

With his star fading, Arnold retired and went in search of REAL power. The power to make men tremble before him, the power to command, the power to make their fear and shock terrifyingly real.

Eventually he found something.

The interface rod had once linked together desparate minds, focusing their wills and transforming their massed psychic potential into power to feed to the Jagaroth Drive – sending the ship across space and time. The ship, however, had been badly damaged in the Celestial assault. It had still escaped – the Celestials were few and the Heirs of Nygoth were many – but the damaged drive had fragmented, scattering it’s components across the Earth.

Lacking it’s proper outlet, that power fed back into the mind of anyone who attempted to use the rod – enhancing some aspects of their mind and damaging others, burning open psionic discharge channels, and activating latent potentials.

It had been used at times – but eventually wiser tribal leaders had sealed it away.

Arnold had laboriously translated the inscriptions on the seal – and had heeded only the promise of power, and not the warning, He had taken the rod from it’s long-hidden crypt – and like the would-be users of so long before – his focus on it, along with the latent telepathic potentials of the human mind, had proven sufficient. Arnold had welcomed the power pouring back into his mind, and let it bring forth what lay latent there. What arose from the ensuing trance was no longer truly Arthur Vimes, for what had lain in the depths of Arthur Vimes mind… was not pleasant.

What arose from that hidden crypt was Fear, a Lord of Nightmare.

Fear used the power of the rod on others – creating the Horsemen (as well as Terror – a grave error) – and sought for other ancient artifacts decorated with the fish-tentacle motif’s of what he called the “Wyrm Scepter”.

Unfortunately for Fear, while the Horseman had minor successes, the Mandate and the Darkmage ruined his attempt to obtain the power of the “Wyrm Crown”, the Dragon Circle and the Dark Spawn turned his attempt to obtain a horde of “Artifacts of the Wyrm” into another disaster, and he – and the rest of the Horsemen – disappeared after a mess in Jerusalem (some reports indicated that War, Famine, Plague, and Death were sucked into another dimension during the battle).

The world never knew that the Horsemen had ridden out in defense of the Earth during the Jerusalem Disaster – or that War, Famine, Plague, and Death had been drawn into the Imaginal Realms from which they drew their power at the battle’s end. Fear and Destruction had, however, been left behind, their links with the Realm of Dreams and certain aspects of the Imaginal Realms broken and their powers drained.

They would spend the ensuing years searching for a way to regain their powers – and found one at last in another ancient artifact (once an amplifier-link to the now-vanished rod) with the ability to amplify latent psychic abilities until they burst into manifestation.

Fear and Destruction have returned.

Fear originally appeared in Wrath of the Seven Horsemen, Hero Games, 1987. This version has modified attributes, rewritten skills and powers, and a differing power source. I did keep the general idea though, as well as some chunks of the original adventure background.

 

Fear

 

Value	Characteristic	Points
20/32	STR	10
20/24	DEX	30
25/31	CON	30
15/21	BODY	10
11/23	INT	1
26/32	EGO	32
38/100	PRE	28
11/35	COM	0
6/12	PD	0
6/12	ED	1
6	SPD	30
11/17	REC	0
50/74	END	0
44/56	STUN	0
	Total	172

 

Points	Powers	END
45	Nightmare Lord Multipower (90-pt reserve); Generic Limitation (Nightmare Powers Only): -½; Variable Limitations: -1, -½
u-2	+50 PRE / Dreadful Presence; Generic Limitation (Only to cause fear, panic, etc. ): -½.
u-3	Summon: Dread Wraiths (2 120-point creatures); Range: 0; Active Points: 88; Summon: Single Type, +0; Champions Advantage (Creatures are generally cooperative): +½; Generic Limitation (May only have one set of summoned wraiths at a time.): -1.	9
u-3	Summon Nightmare Hounds (32 80-point creatures); Range: 0; Summon: Single Type, +0; Active Points: 71.	7
u-4	8d6 Nightmare Clutch Energy Blast; Range: 450; Versus: ED; No Normal Defense (Being entirely alien, not sleeping, knowing no fear.): +1; Reduced END: Half, +¼.	4
u-1	Reaching Through The Night; Based on EGO Combat Value: vs. ECV, +1; Generic Limitation (Nightmare Powers Only): -½; Variable Limitations: -1, -½; There are several ways that you could look at “Based On ECV” when applied to martial arts. In this case, it simply substitutes the user’s Ego for his or her dexterity when using the style and inflicts damage against mental defenses using (Ego/2) as Strength rather than against physical defenses. This doesn’t affect the user’s speed or figured characteristics other than base OCV and DCV.
(4)	Martial Block (Canny Deflection) (OCV +2, DCV +2).
(4)	Martial Strike (Pressure-Point Strike) (OCV +0, DCV +2, 12d6).
(3)	Martial Throw (OCV +0, DCV +1, 10d6+v/5).
(3)	Martial Grab (Nerve Lock) (OCV -1, DCV -1, STR 62).
(3)	Flying Tackle (OCV +0, DCV -1, 10+v/5).
(4)	Crush (OCV +0, DCV +0, 14d6).
(5)	Takeaway (Numbing Strike) (OCV +0, DCV +0, STR 62).
(16)	+4 DC for Martial Attacks.
u-3	1d6 Evoke Aspect Transform (Major, Limited Class); Range: 450; Based on EGO Combat Value: vs. ECV, +1; Reduced END: Zero, +½; Penetrating: +½; Armor Piercing: 1, +½; Continuous: +1; Uncontrolled: +½; Active Points: 90; Generic Limitation (Has very limited control over what aspect expresses itself or how.): -1; Difficult to Dispel: ×2, +¼; Cumulative: +½.	0
u-4	18d6 Mental Illusions.	9
u-4	18d6 Mind Control; Communication: Verbal, +0.	9
u-4	2d6 Death of Fear Killing Attack (RKA); Range: 450; Based on EGO Combat Value: vs. ECV, +1; Champions Advantage (Ego Attack does Body): +1.	9
u-2	Gates of Dream Extra-Dimensional Movement to the Dream Realms; Dimensions: One, +0; Time Travel: None, +0; Mass Multiplier: ×16, +20; Carrying Mass: 800.	4
10	Elemental Control: Creature of Dream (15-pt reserve); Variable Limitations: -½, -¼; Visible (Easily detected by psychics, anyone with dream awareness, mages): -¼
a-10	Armor (10 PD/10 ED).
b-10	Force Field (10 PD/10 ED); Reduced END: Zero, +½.¼	0
c-10	Life Support (total).
d-10	Regeneration (1 BODY/Turn); Regenerate: From Death, +20.
e-10	Power Defense (30 pts).
f-10	Mental Defense (36 pts); Add to Total.
g-10	Damage Reduction (Physical, 50% Resistant).
h-10	Damage Reduction (Energy, 50% Resistant).
50	Dream Variable Power Pool (30-pt Pool); Control Cost: 15; Change Powers as 0 Phase Action: +1; Restricted Type of Powers Available (Dream Powers Only): -½
8	Flash Defense (Sight, 8 pts)
10	Running (+5″, 11″, NC: 22″); Non-Combat Multiplier: ×2, +0; Non-Combat (MPH): 22	2
12	+12 CP to All Attributes Great Blessing; Modifications to Primary Attributes do not affect secondary attributes. Aid to Defenses has half effect per standard rules.
(12)	2d6 Aid (All attributes) (Fade/turn, Max. 12); Range: 0; Affects: All Powers of Special Effect, +2; Reduced END: Zero & Persistent, +1; Always On: -½; Personal Only: -1; Increases maximums only, does not speed healing: -1; Difficult to Dispel: ×2, +¼; Aid to Defenses is halved per the standard rules. Aid to primary attributes does not affect secondary ones.	0
245	Total Powers

 

Points	Skills, Talents, Perks	Roll
40	+4 level w/Overall Level
7	Dream Weaving (Control Power Pool)	17-
3	Combat Piloting	14-
3	Stealth	14-
3	Mimicry	11-
3	Oratory	29-
3	Acting	29-
3	Bribery	29-
3	Bureaucratics	29-
3	Conversation	29-
3	High Society	29-
3	Interrogation	29-
3	Persuasion	29-
3	Seduction	29-
83	Total Skills, Talents, Perks

 

125+	Disadvantages
40	Susceptibility to Holy Relics and People (2d6 STUN and BODY/Turn); Condition: Common, +10
30	Vulnerability to Magic (1½× STUN and BODY); Attack: Very Common, +15
10	Hunted by the Mandate (8-); Capabilities: As Powerful, 10; Non-combat Influence: None, +0; Geographical Area: Unlimited, -0; Actions: Hunting, ×1; Punishment: Harsh, 0
15	Hunted by the Vanguard (8-); Capabilities: As Powerful, 10; Non-combat Influence: Extensive, +5; Geographical Area: Unlimited, -0; Actions: Hunting, ×1; Punishment: Harsh, 0
20	Megalomaniac (Very Common, Strong)
20	Fearless (Common, Total)
10	Overconfidence (Common, Moderate)
15	Reputation: Leader of the Horsemen (11-, Extreme)
15	Secret Identity
15	3d6 Unluck
10	Distinctive Features: Lord of Nightmares; Concealability: Easily, 5; Reaction: Always noticed & major reaction, +5
200	Total Disadvantages

 

COSTS:

Char.

Powers

Total

Total

Disadv.

Base

Exp.

172

+

328

=

500

500

=

200

+

125

+

175

 

OCV	DCV	ECV	Mental Def.	PD/rPD	ED/rED	Phases
8	8	11	36	32/20	32/20	2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

 

Fear is (at least in Champions 4, he’d need some upgrades for current editions) a pretty major villain – potentially capable of defeating entire superhero teams with his presence alone. I’d recommend bringing a large and diverse team if you HAVE to try and fight him.