Name: The Bat Man Val Char Cost 15 STR 5 20 DEX 30 18 CON 16 10 BODY 18 INT 8 14 EGO 8 20 PRE 10 6 COM -2 6 PD 3 4 ED 4 SPD 10 7 REC 36 END 27 STUN Characteristic Rolls: STR: 12-, DEX: 13-, CON: 13-, INT: 13-, EGO: 12-, PER: 13- Run: 6", Swim: 2", Jump: 3", Lift: 200 kg Cost Powers END/Roll 7 "Smells Like A Bat," Images vs. Smell/Taste, non-targeting sense group, one hex, +1/2 advantage 0 END, +1/2 advantage Persistent, -1/2 limit IAF Bat Musk Perfume (can be washed off if detected) Cost Skills, Talents, Perks Roll 3 Acting 13- 3 Animal Handler 13-: Bats, Equines 3 Breakfall 13- 4 Combat Pilot 13-: Small Planes, Gliders 3 Disguise 13- 2 Gambling 13-: Horse Racing 2 KS: Horse Racing 11- 4 Language: Jivaro, idiomatic 4 Language: Bat Calls, idiomatic 3 Oratory 13- 2 PS: Jockey 11- 2 PS: Toxicologist 11- 3 Riding 13-: Equines 2 SS: Chemistry 11- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Streetwise 13- 2 Familiar with Small Arms 6 +2 with Rifles 30 Perk: Followers, 25-point base, 32 Jivaro Indian Warriors 21 Perk: 105-Point Vehicle, Bat Glider 100+ Disadvantages 15 Secret ID: Earl Westfall, ex-jockey 20 Hunted 11-: The Spider, more powerful 20 Hunted 11-: The FBI, more powerful 15 Extreme Reputation 11-: Mass Murderer 25 Psychological Limitation: Megalomaniac, very common, total 5 Distinctive Features: Short, Fat Little Man OCV: 7 (9 with Rifles); DCV: 7; ECV: 5; Mental Def.: 0; Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 PD/rPD: 6/0; ED/rED: 4/0 Costs: Char.: 88 Disad.: 100 Powers: + 112 Base: + 100 Exp.: + Total: = 200 Total: = 200 ----- Bat Glider Val Char Cost 15 STR 5 10 BODY 1 hex Size 2 DEF -1 (doesn't protect passenger) 20 DEX 30 4 SPD 10 30"* Move 33 (-6" Ground Movement) *10" Flight + 20" Gliding, x4 Noncombat 13 "Spine-Mounted Sniper Rifle," 2D6 RKA, +1 OCV, +2 Range Modifier, -1/2 limit OIF Rifle, -1/2 limit Bulky, -1/4 limit 10 Charges, -3/4 limit One-Hex Row Arc of Fire 15 "High Maneuverability," +3 Levels with Flight Size: 1"x.5"; Mass: 23 kg; DCV: -0; KB: +1; MAX: 480"; Cost: 105/21 ----- Source: Grant Stockbridge, "Death Reign of the Vampire King," Popular Publications, 1935 Background: What if Oswald Cobblepot, the Penguin, had instead chosen a bat theme for his criminal persona? Stockbridge's villainous Bat Man, who preceded Bob Kane's heroic character by four years, gives us an idea. The horror began with the deaths of prominent gangsters suspected of controlling illegal horse race gambling operations. Survivors reported attacks by swarms of bats that latched ravenously upon their victims. They arrived soundlessly and fled in response to mysterious squeaking. And overhead floated the form of a giant bat. The Spider, however, feared more was involved than a series of mob hits. Unfortunately he was right. Although the cloaked vigilante raced from city to city trying to prevent the carnage, bat swarms slaughtered thousands across the nation. Worse, his attempts to track captured bats caused the Spider to be accused of the murder spree himself. He discovered that the giant bat was a man piloting a glider and that the attacking swarms had human help in reaching their victims. Captured by the Bat Man's Jivaro worshippers, the Spider and his companions narrowly escaped being fed to the vampires. Since he was unable to keep up with the Bat Man in an airplane, the Spider built a glider himself. The two masked men engaged in a harrowing dogfight over the Continental Divide. The Spider crashed on a ledge but his final bullet had found its mark. His initial attacks may have been revenge upon mobsters who had interfered with his earlier career but the Bat Man's motives for mass murder are unclear. It can't be a bid for power; he has no apparent political agenda and is already a god. Is it a grab for wealth? His resources are obviously vast, and he has never demanded money in return for calling off his vampires. Perhaps he's mad; the Spider learned that Earl Westfall is a recovering drug addict. In any event, the Bat Man is a detail-sweating strategist whose careful planning has paid off so far. He's a stay-in-the-background mastermind type who lets his henchmen and little winged friends do his bloodletting for him. If the player-characters ever manage to catch him on the ground without his helpers, they'll be able to beat the snot out of him. They will have to work hard to do it, however. Westfall is cautious and resourceful. Confronted by the PCs, the Bat Man will at first depend on his vampire hordes to finish them off. If this fails, he'll have the Jivaros stalk them with poison darts or will attempt to pick them off from the air himself. Should the heroes persist and get too close to one of his hideouts, the Bat Man will try to capture them alive -- not out of mercy or because he wants to learn what they know but because his bats prefer live food. Westfall is a jet-set type with no criminal record or known underworld connections. He will be polite to the PCs but will attempt to stay out of their way and fade into the background as much as possible. His role as a retired sports celebrity gives him a plausible excuse for vacationing in whatever city the bats happen to strike next. Powers and Abilities: Earl Westfall is an unsung genius: aeronautical engineer, anthropologist, biologist, chemist. He's persuaded a tribe of Jivaro Indians that he is their bat god, trained a vast swarm of vampire bats to kill on cue, and constructed a compact one-man flying machine more agile than most 1930s airplanes. Westfall coats himself with an artificial bat musk so that the vampires won't attack him and coats their teeth with a poison that is harmless to the bats but which kills humans on contact. He maintains several lairs around the United States but his main headquarters is a cavern system in the Rocky Mountains warmed by natural hot springs where he raises and cares for his tropical bats. It is inaccessible except by air and affords no place to land a conventional aircraft. The Bat Man reaches it with his glider. Adventurers will have to use a hot air balloon or autogyro -- or construct gliders of their own. The Jivaros are stealthy hunters and stalkers, natural tacticians. Their favorite weapon is a blowgun firing drugged or poisoned darts but they also carry knives. A few of them are good wrestlers. In the Bat Man's employ they've learned to be efficient burglars and getaway drivers. They still regard aircraft and the men who pilot them as something supernatural. Disadvantages: Because of his short stature, Earl Westfall stands out in a crowd even when he's not in his Bat Man guise. In addition to the Spider (substitute the PCs), he's sought by the FBI because of the nationwide nature of his crimes. Two of his strengths are also weaknesses. His glider is rather fragile as vehicles go and affords him no protection. He can't wear an armored suit while flying what today would be called an ultralight aircraft. A good shot to it or to its pilot will end the Bat Man's career rather quickly. Also, Westfall's control of the bats depends on a liberally applied musk perfume. If it gets washed off, or if the bats are somehow released before he can splash it on, the Bat Man will suffer the same grisly fate he has meted out to others. Height: cm (4' 11"), Weight: kg (90 lbs), Sex: Male, Race: Caucasian Appearance: The Bat Man is a short, hideous figure with a bat's ears and face and with wings extending from his shoulders. It's a costume. He speaks in a squeaky, grating voice and emits eerie calls to summon or dismiss his tiny slayers. Earl Westfall is a dapper man who has apparently more than doubled his weight since he quit riding the horses. He wears an inflated suit beneath his clothes to give the illusion that he's become fat. Westfall's Jivaro henchmen are squat, brown jungle tribesmen proficient with the blowgun. They usually wear traditional red tunics but will don North American clothing if the climate or mission requires it. They don't speak English and may be unfamiliar with Spanish as well. =========== Hero System write-up by Kevin Scrivner