The Carlyle Building
A 60 story skyscraper housing the offices for a number of fortune 500 companies, as well as a number of smaller firms, and unknown to the general public, a front company for operatives for the Servants of Set.


CB & T is the 4th largest bank in North America and maintains its HQ in Empire City‘s Carlyle Building.

Club Ecstasy - One of the city's nighttime hot spots, anyone who's anyone wants to be seen here. It's also rumored to be a front for one of Empire City's leading crime families.

Cup a Joe - The nation's 3rd largest coffee house chain.

Freedom Towers - Located in the heart of the city's finical district, they're home to several hundred businesses, government agencies, and it's rumored that even the CIA leases space in their massive frames. 

Comics Emporium - A local comic chain store with locations in each of Empire City's five boroughs. In addition to comics, they sell a wide variety of comic-related material, as well as hosting a local convention, Empire Con, each year.

Fat Boyz Burgers & Fries - Home of the ½ lb. “Fat Boy” burger.

Fast Eddy's Pizza - The best Sicilian style pizza in Empire City.

Fox Hill Estates - An upscale private residential community, located in the Northwest section of the city. It's home to the Mayor's Mansion and several of the city's more prominent citizens.

Lincoln Heights - A notorious housing project located in the citie's South Side.



Empire University

Empire City State University (ECSU) - Home to the NCAA's top rated offensive team, the ECSU Wildcats.

Empire City Community College (ECCC)



Empire City Community Hospital - Empire City's publicly funded community hospital. Located on the city's South Side, it serves the city's less affluent citizens. It's the city's only "Level 1" trauma center.

Hayes Memorial- Owned and operated by Alliance Health Services, LLC. 

The Hayes Memorial Community Outreach Center - A free clinic run by Hayes Memorial. It provides essential medical services to the Lincoln Heights housing projects.



Empire City Criminal Justice Complex - Located downtown, the Criminal Justice Complex houses the ECPD administrative offices, the Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB), the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), and the EC District Attorney's office (DA).

Empire City District Attorney’s Office

Empire City Police Department (ECPD)
- ECPD Major Crimes Unit (MCU) - The MCU is the primary unit that responds to any crimes, or situations, dealing with metahumans, supervillains, terror attacks, etc.
- Emergency Services Unit (ESU) - EC police tactical (SWAT) and emergency rescue unit

Empire City Office of Emergency Management
- Commander Mark Dunham - A decorated firefighter, and paramedic, he runs the EC Office of Emergency Management. He's known for his hot temper, and less than favorable opinion of the city's superhero population.

Empire City Department of Fire and Emergency Services (ECFD)

Empire City Department of Corrections (ECDC)
- Empire City Adult Detention Center (ADC)
- Woman's Detention Center (WDC)
- Empire City Jail Annex (The Annex) Located on a small man-made island in Empire Bay. It was specifically designed, and built, to house high-security inmates, namely the city's supervillain population, with a grant from the federal government.
- ECDC Emergency Services Unit (ESU)- ECDC's tactical unit. It responds to inmate disturbances, high-risk inmate transports, attempted escapes, etc.

Empire City Department of Youth Services

Empire City Criminal Courts Complex  - In addition to housing the various courtrooms, judges, clerks of court, they provide space four housing inmates awaiting their hearings and space for use by the various officers of the court.

Empire City Metropolitan Transit Authority
- "The Metro" - Empire City's subway/rail system/public bus system.
-  Empire City Transit Authority Police - TAPD is responsible for policing Empire City's various public transport systems.

Empire City Port Authority
- Empire City Port Authority Police - Provides police services at EC two airports, the port authority, and all other ports of entry, as well as supervising the contract security guards responsible for performing more routine functions like entry control, issuing ID badges, and foot patrols around the port.

Federal Plaza - Hosts offices for most federal agencies, including BSI, the US Attorney’s Office (1 Federal Plaza), and agencies such as the FBI, USSS, ATF, USMS, etc.



TV-1 Satellite Network - One of the many entertainment outlets owned by the Carlyle Media Group.

WECN - Empire City's 24 hour news channel

- Amber Green: Ace reporter for Investigative Reports, a weekly investigative show airing on WECN, and one of its highest rated shows.

The Empire City Chronicle - The city's primary newspaper.

The National Informer - A weekly tabloid that routinely spreads the latest gossip.

Capes Magazine - A monthly magazine that covers superpowered heroes and villains alike. Owned and operated by the Carlyle Media Group.



The Empire City Museum of Natural History
The Empire City Museum of Modern Art
The Empire City Opera House
The Metro Dome Sports Complex - Empire City's spanking new sports complex, and home of the Warriors, Empire City's NBA team.



The Warriors - Empire City's NBA team
The Stars - Empire City's WNBA team
The Sabers - EC's NHL team
The Imperials - EC's Major League Baseball team (thanks Cougar).

Hi. I must say that this sounds very interesting! Will you be posting story of how the campaign unfolds? I for one would be interested in how this story plays out.

Just letting you guys know that I've added a little additional info, and reorganized a few items to make them easier to find & read.

Also, I've having a bit of trouble coming up with names for EC's MLB and NFL teams. The baseball team would have been around forever, and I'm trying to come up with a name that would have fit them back in the 20's or 30's. The NFL team's been around since the 50's, but I'm stuck. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

dsumner wrote on Feb 28^th, 2010 at 4:58pm:


During this time Football teams were selecting Avatars of their regions heritage for the team mascosts.  Examples are the Raiders, Steelers, Patriots, Redskins, Browns (name of team owner), Oilers, and Vikings.

They also choose names for animals linked to the region: Eagels, Cardinals, Bears, Colts, and Lions.

Possible EC names could be Sentries, Sentinels, Watchmen, Guardsmen, Longshoremen, Hardhats, or Imperials.

Sorry, not much of a sports fan, I certainly don't have the kind of trivia Cougar is throwing out there, so I'll leave it to the pro's.

I do have a question, I'm reading through the original descriptions, and I'm having trouble identifying what has been updated.  Is there any way you can identify updates?  Maybe Italics or something?  I just end up reading everything again, and some stuff seems new to me, but I'm not sure if I just didn't catch it the first time or if it's new.  Either way, it's a good read. 

dsumner wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2010 at 10:16am:


It is very useable for MLB as well.  In the same time period  you had the Yankees and the Giants

Here are the teams in 1920
There were 16 teams in MLB during the 1920s, eight in each league.
American League: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Athletics (now Oakland Athletics), Washington Nationals (now Minnesota Twins), Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and St. Louis Browns (now Baltimore Orioles).

National League: Boston Braves(now Atlanta Braves), New York Giants(now San Francisco Giants), Brooklyn Robins (now Los Angeles Dodgers), Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds.

The Empire City Imperials fits very well.

So what did you decide on for the cities NFL team name? Just curious, if I get to play my character played college football and would be a fan.

No he wasn't good enough to play pro 

Empire City Knights

The Cougar wrote on May 6^th, 2010 at 6:38pm:


Nice, I like it. And thanks for the design.

Avatar wrote on May 9^th, 2010 at 1:54pm:


Go right ahead. I plan to eventually getting around to turning some of this stuff into a PDF for anyone who wants it.

Hammer wrote on May 11^th, 2010 at 8:49pm:


Sounds good to me, but I'm not sure how to go about doing it.

I have a question, the Guardians old HQ is it located in Empire City?  If so...whats been done with it?  You initial part of this thread says its been two weeks ago...but its said that for almost a year now... lol.  How much time has actually passed with the Guardians gone?

I'm still looking for Thunderbolt to ...make secure his own Headquarters... but game pace keeps that perpetually on the back burner.  I don't think I've done anything worth an xp so advancement to spend invention points is still a distant option.

I'm adding a quick update to cover some of the people you guys have run into so far.

Anvil – Superpowered enforcer for the Leonetti Family

Death Warrant (formerly Nemesis) – Professional assassin, currently working for the Jade Dragon Asian crime syndicate.

The Servants of Set – An ancient Middle Eastern based cult, not seen in decades.

When I saw this thread I couldn't help thinking of the 80s cartoon show COPS, which I found to have a strong V&V flavor...

dsumner wrote on May 11^th, 2012 at 3:13pm:


You can be darn sure Stalker will be watching this show close

DSumner,

I wanted to take this opportunity to pass my thanks on to you for having posted your Empire City write-ups; my brothers and I started a new V&V campaign again last week - our first in about three or four years - and I rather unceremoniously ripped off the name of your campaign city as a place for us to situate ourselves (I decided I did not want to have Toronto as a place-setting again; I'd like to be able to wreak havoc on a city and not have it contradicted by the evening news).  I'd briefly considered using M&M's Freedom City, but wanted to avoid any association with what ended up being a rather painful and unhappy gaming situation for us.

As my working day extends to ten or twelve hours - not including volunteer work I do - your expansions on Empire City have provided a wonderful place for ideas to start germinating.  I look forward to the eventual .pdf, and wish you all the best in your ongoing world-building.

Sincerely, and with admiration,

Tempest

Hi Dom,

I made a cleaned up version on Google Docs that you're welcome to use for making updates.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qts3kw9XDD9OaviugCGF2iuUGNxkFbnjYBrntYcTi9Y/...

Thank you,

I might have missed some of the later updates since after I posted it I read a little further and I wasn't sure if all of it was incorporated into the main sections or not.

Nambia - A small West African nation, and former British colony, with large deposits of diamonds and rare metals, such as copper and tungston. The country's former leader, Dr. Joseph Sambivi, has been deposed from power and is currently fighting a brutal civil war, with his usurper, President for Life, Charles Otanga. Each is rumored to have outside backing from various governments, while President Otanga is said to be making use of metahuman mercenaries.

What's unknown to many, is that Pres. Otanga is a powerful metahuman in his own right with a number of psionic abilities, which he uses to exploit the loyalty of his followers.

Port Royal - Nambia's former colonial capital, and the country's second largest city.

Victoria Crossing - Nambia's third largest city and home to many European mining concerns and expats.

The Simbas - President Otanga's personal bodyguards/enforcers. Known for their brutality and their fierce loyalty, each Simba is hand selected from members of President Otanga's extended family/clan.

Morovia - The Kingdom of Morovia is a small Eastern European nation ruled by Prince Hugo Vladimir Stoyanov, scion of the Stoyanov royal family. The family has ruled the small nation, with an iron fist, for generations.

Q’atan - The Sultanate of Q'atan is a small island nation located in the Persian Gulf. The island is a hub for international banking and business. The US has poor relations with them, as their liberal banking regulations, and finical secrecy laws, are reportedly used by countries such as Iran and North Korea, as well as  many criminal and/or terror organizations, to hide illicit monies from the prying eyes of Western law enforcement agencies.

In addition, several known supervillains and terrorists have taken refuge there, as the Sultan has granted them sanctuary, and the country does not have an extradition treaty with the US.

If you don't have the hang of it, you'll be scary when you do... awesome work!

OK, I've made a few additional mods, and I'll update the Google Docs site in a bit.

Ranger wrote on Jan 1^st, 2013 at 4:31pm:


Possibly, but DG and Guam work for what I've got going on.

It's been a minute since I've added anything to this, but I tacked on a bit of background info, as well as some info on the Owl Creek nuke power station.

Looks like I'll have t hut around for the prices of the Empire City updates to consolidate them into a complete PDF again!

Thunderbolt wrote on Sep 20^th, 2013 at 11:17am:


Locked it until I finish adding some info. And while we're not playing, I do have some ideas and you guys should feel free to use any info you want and.or continue posting fiction, questions, or just chit chat.

Ranger wrote on Sep 25^th, 2013 at 12:03am:


Feel free sir.

Atomix



Identity: Evan Greene
Aliases: None
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Place of Birth: Empire City
Sex: Male
Age: 27
Side: Evil
Affiliation: Independent Villain
Known Associates:
Known Grudges: The Guardians
Base of Operations: Empire City
Level: 7
Training: Endurance

Powers:
1. Heightened Strength B: +19.
2. Heightened Attack: +1 point damage w/ Disintegration Ray per level.
3. Heightened Endurance A: +11.
4. Disintegration Ray: R=36", PR=2, 1d20 damage.
5. Flight: PR=1 per hour. Max flight speed = 825 mph.
6. Heightened Agility A: +8.
7. Training: +2 accuracy with Disintegration Ray.
8. Low Self Control: He can't hold back with his damage.

Weight: 170 lbs.
Basic Hits: 4
Agility Mod: -
Strength: 35
Endurance: 25
Agility: 14
Intelligence: 11
Charisma: 12
Reactions from: Good: -/Evil: -
Hit Mods.: 10.14
Hit Points: 41
Healing Rate: 2.8
Power: 85
Damage Mod.: +1
Accuracy: +1
Carrying Capacity: 3,857 lbs.
Basic HTH Damage: 2d8
Movement Rates: 74” ground, 3630" flight.
Detect Hidden: 8%
Detect Danger: 12%
Inventing Points: 7.7
Inventing: 33%
Origin and Background: Athletics
Legal Status: US Citizen with criminal record

Origin/Background: Evan's a former athlete who liked the thrill of hanging around and associating with know criminals.

Combat Tactics/M.O.: While he's more than capable of handling physical attacks, Atomix prefers to fly above the battlefield using his Disintegration Ray attack to strike at targets from above, or the rear. If they fail to incapacitate his target, he'll usually resort to attacking them with whatever heavy object happens to be handy, using on his speed and momentum to increase the damage the object will inflict.

Personality/Character Traits: Atomix is a thrill seeker who gets a rush out of using his powers.

Damned powerful!  Nice villain... out of the Protector's league though.  Well if the whole team attacked him... maybe...


EDIT: Opps! Ninja'd..was referring to Atomix...lol {ninja'd by a ninja..lol!}

Hmmm.. the ninja could almost be female from the look of the picture.   Maybe that 'his' big secret? lol!

Chatter - Chatter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables users to send and read "Chats", which are text messages limited to 140 characters. Recently purchased by Carlyle Communications.

Faceplace - Faceplace is the world's largest and most popular online social networking service. It's a subsidiary or Carlyle Communications.

Pictagram - Picaagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them.

Damocles

"Shhhhh....no need to cry little one, I'll be swift."



Identity: Richard Paige
Side: Evil
Affiliation: Independent Villain
Base of Operations: Empire City
Sex: Male
Age: 28
Level: 8
Training: Endurance

Powers:
1. Special Weapon: Sword: +4 to hit. HTH +1d12 damage. Ignores SR of 12 or less. May be used to block incoming attacks. Requires an action and a successful agility save. PR=2 if acting out of phase.
2. Heightened Defense: -4 to be hit while conscious and mobile.
3. Heightened Expertise: +4 to hit with bladed weapons.
4. Non-Corporalness: PR=7 per hour.
5. Training: +2 to hit with sword.

Weight: 170 lbs.                            
Basic Hits: 4
Agility Mod: -                                 
Strength: 14
Endurance: 16                              
Agility: 19
Intelligence: 11                            
Charisma: 11
Reactions from Good: -/Evil: -
Hit Mod: 4.104
Hit Points: 16
Power: 60 
Healing Rate: 1.6                   
Damage Mod.: +2
Accuracy: +3
Carrying Capacity: 348 lbs.      
Basic HTH Damage: 1d6               
Movement Rates: 49” ground
Detect Hidden: 8%                     
Detect Danger: 12%
Inventing Points: 8.8
Inventing: 33%
Legal Status: UK citizen, wanted in multiple countries.

Origin and Background: An assassin for hire, currently rumored to be in the employ of Genom.

Combat Tactics/M.O.:

Personality/Character Traits: Flamboyant, and a bit of show off. He enjoys putting on a show.

I'm wondering what you guys think of Despot?

Well before you get to lay a hand on Despot, you'd have to work your way through The Black Watch, his personal bodyguards, the hordes of robots guarding the Black Keep, and knockout the array of defense systems built into the place, and the Morovian military.

Morovia is leterally his personal fifdom, he does what he wants, when he wants. While the Black Keep has tech rivaling that of any major comic supervillian, the rest of the coutry is stuck in the 1950's.

As far as the Europeans are concerned, they leave him alone, as long as he's not causing problems for them, or their interests. The US tolerates him, as his family were strong anti-communists, as well as the country having substantional deposits of Uranium.

Thunderbolt wrote on Dec 12^th, 2013 at 1:46pm:


He has the Black Watch that serves as his loyal bodyguards, they're more than just run of the mill underlings.

DARPA & ADEPT's X-49 Aerospace Fighter



A joint research project between DARPA and ADEPT, to develop a military capable trans-atmospheric transport aircraft.

Sorry, that was a typo. 

As far as the X-49 goes, it's something that Rampart may get to play with at some point. If you guys look through some of this stuff, you'll see I'm trying to add in elements from your various backgrounds into the stuff I'm posting. The last character I posted, Damocles, is working as a "security consultant" for the guys that are responsible for Thunderbolt, and his sister, gaining their powers.

Plus I figure until I can get things rolling again, you guys should be able to play around with this stuff, and flesh out your back stories, and "supporting cast" a bit more.

All due respect to our young meta-lord I disagree about Despot. After hopefully finding a way through the garrison of robots, the Despot himself will be fresh and his Disintigration Beam (half on range modifiers due to his Cybernetic eyes) will do almost 20 hit points per attack. With 16 hp of his own our young meta-lord has almost a 50/50 chance to take that first shot on the chin for a knockout. 48 ADR is fine if you can roll 48 or less to take the damage but the odds are not in your favor.

Not that he couldn't be beat but ran by a GM with some tactical acumen Depspot is a team wrecker 

Sigh.

I was not comparing Despot to Thunderbolt... my intent was to express the fact that I feel the Despot needs a movement power of some sort as it is a glaring deficiency in the design.  He is not tough enough in my opinion to be a team wreaker because of that.. but only just shy of it.  He needs a movement power to make himself a threat that a team would need to work very well together to defeat... IF he had at least one movement power.

Pitting Thunderbolt a 2nd level character solo against a 13th level mastermind villain complete with minions is flatly unfair... but for devil's advocate I'll humor this...

Thunderbolt has an agility of 16 which means he will always get two actions.  Assuming he realizes the danger this mastermind villain represents ... it is a certainty he will use one of to do evasion.  Thats a -6 {1/10th 'Current' Power} to any attack Despot send his way.  This would not be enough and TB would likely {one of his favorite tactics actually} parry with a Magnetic Power controled object.

Assuming the Despot's Robot minion - Black Watch are 4th level {like most minion level foes and not lieutenants}, we'll assume TB can defeat at least two of them.  They are robots so easily manipulable with Magnetic Control.  Make them duplicates of the Prince Despot so they weigh 180lbs each for a total of 360lbs {well within his Magnetic Control capacity}, that's a Parry Factor of 3 for a grand total of a -9 with evasion for any attack the Prince Despot sends TB's way.

Add in roll with blow which the Prince would be hard pressed to stop TB from knowing of his presence he has {Radar Sense} that's 6 pts of damage he could immediately shut to power damage as opposed to hit points.  Add to that with TB's parrying bonus [Heightened Expertise +4, Dam Mod +1, Acc +2] that's a total of 10pts if I add the object weight parry factor or maybe 11 if I use the robots basic hits{as structure rating} for the total damage which can be blocked per parry.  That's a Grand total of 16 points of damage per attack blocked... so not likely any one hit KO's.  LOL... well at least until the objects is disintegrated then he'd have to grab another 'meat shield'/random rubble shield.

Of course TB doesn't need to use Black Watch minions as parry objects - any heavy partially metal object could work even concrete with metal rebar within it would work.

So the biggest advantage Prince Despot would have is his level {and let's face it that's a BIG advantage}..that's a bonus +5 to hit Thunderbolt and  inflicts a -7 on Thunderbolt to hit him.  Nasty and overmatched...

However, Prince Despots biggest weakness is his Bionic body and Cybernetic form... all metal!  Not the foe you place against a Magnetic/Electrical controller!

Now I'm sure the Prince will realize though he may be megalomaniacal enough and Arrogant enough not to be cautious and use an action for evasion as well... that would be an additional -12 to Thunderbolt's attack against him and he could also roll with blow and shunt 12 damage per attack to his power.  On average the Prince Despot will get 3 actions so he can easily spare it.  I'll assume part of that "GM with tactical acumen" would do this even though his description would more likely point to him underestimating the lvl 2 young hero.

Anyways with Lightning Control vs Bionics Thunderbolt has a modified 22- to hit.  With level Adjustment that is a 15- {not bad odds}.  If Prince Despot Evades Thunderbolt still has a 3- chance to hit {not so good mostly looking at luck here}.  The Prince Despot has a modified 18- chance to hit Thunderbolt with his disintegration ray.  With level adjustment that's a 23-.  As Thunderbolt will be evading every turn that is a 14- chance to hit.  But Thunderbolt is parrying with an object so he may not even take any damage.

Now the issue.  The Prince Despot's disintegration ray has a range of 28".  Thunderbolt can attack him with Lightning at a range of 32"... which is the issue as Thunderbolt has a movement power and can easily keep his distance.  Now reading the rules of V&V I don't see anywhere that it lets you use a power outside of its range {its not a range increment like 3rd Edition D&D but seems to be an absolute range}.  Which is weird cause the Prince Despot's power of Cybernetic Eyes-Heightened Sense says it halves range penalties... well he has no powers that reach into range penalty catagories 31 to 60 inches {-1 to hit} - Table 3.2 b.  Though that table seems to be meaning move/distance speed difference between attacker and defender for penalties.  Not clear on that. 

But RAW If Thunderbolt stays 29" away.. Despot can't attack with his disintegration ray.  But Thunderbolt can still attack with lightning control if he stayed say 31" inches above.

My point again... the Prince Despot needs a movement power!

Now to use magnetic control Thunderbolt would have to risk getting closer only a 17" range on that.  Thunderbolt would have a 20- to hit, with level adjustment 13-, if the Prince Despot Evades 1- {not good odds if the Prince Despot decides to evade... which tactically he should}.

So, Should Thunderbolt keep his distance and pot shot at the Prince Despot he could put up a fight, sort of. 

If Prince Despot does not evade Thunderbolt will eventually wipe the floor with him; likely hitting with his surge electronics power to shut his eyes down... no eyes - no ranged attacks, no evasion cause he can't see his foe and the fight is pretty much over.  Though Thunderbolt would likely have to hit him multiple times with the Surge power to work.. it is only a 32% chance {but not modified by level}.

At that point Thunderbolt could pick him up by his eyeballs, if he wanted, and throw him around like a dirty rag doll Until he dropped {though any portion of his bionic body would do for magnetic control}.

Also evade or no... if Thunderbolt Ever hits him with magnetic control successfully.. the fight is practically over as TB can merely pick the Prince Despot up and turn him to face away from Thunderbolt.. he's not a robotic body so he can't  turn his head all they way around.  So it would be merely move actions on Thunderbolt's part to keep him turned away and unable to target TB with his eye beams.  He can't break Thunderbolt's magnetic hold on him; unless TB moves him within reach of any terrain he can use his strength on the break free {and it better not be made of metal either} as Prince Despot has no movement powers like flight to resist with... something he could reasonably apply his strength against to pull free of the Magnetic control.  With no movement power he can apply - NO MORE EVASION! TB would just hammer him down from his rear flank in total safety with lightning until he was done.

As I said... an unfair fight.

oh, and TB's armor is only a safeguard against unfortunate combat misfortune.  TB does nto consider it his major defense its there to help soften the inevitable damage he will eventually suffer in battle... but he really doesn't rely on it as his major defense.. magnetic & lightning control are his real defenses.

It really becomes a who rolls lucky fastest often enough... in that case.  The Favor is on the Prince's side but its Thunderbolt's ability to keep his distance that makes it a fight at all!

If the Prince Despot continues to evasion... Thunderbolt would only hit with his magnetic control on a shear lucky roll ... not likely on a modified 1.    But if he did.. the fight would be practically over.

The Prince Despot could not just without effort put TB down... unless, Prince Despot had a movement power he could easily defeat Thunderbolt cause TB could not then keep his distance... especially if the Prince keeps evasion up.

Which was MY original real point.. Prince Despot needs a movement power to be a true team wreaker.

EDIT:  Yeah castle defense was not something I was calling into question as I would assume a team of heroes would not be assaulting him in his home... that's illegal unless there is a cause.  I was stating power-wise he needs a movement power.  Now as a Inventor he could easily make something that would help a lot.

Devil's advocate again.. on Thunderbolt.  Automated defenses..yeah machines... made of metal.. yeah. Again not really an insurmountable threat to a hero who can control machines electrically or manipulate metal with a thought. 

But Again.. my original critique of Prince Despot was not about THUNDERBOLT it was a general assessment of Prince Despot's capabilities.  I still think he needs a movement power!  Really, I don't compare EVERY posted villain to Thunderbolt.. why do you?

And AGAIN.. Thunderbolt is not unbeatable.. but foes that rely on technology or have metallic body parts are NOT good foes to put against him.. they are Vulnerable to his powers.. from the get go!

LOL.  Nice but your thinking only in two dimensions...

Thunderbolt is 32 inches UP lateral not horizontal... he moves a few inches blasts  Even if the Prince moves his 90" away Thunderbolt can easily move over him with his over 1,000" of flight speed and maintain his altitude of 32"... 'rinse and repeat.'

But yes you are correct IF the villain knew Thunderbolt was coming and knew he was a magnetic manipulator... he could indeed prepare non-ferrous materials to defend with, but that is beyond my Devil's advocate example. 

Thunderbolt has with him always metal that is ferrous to manipulate.. his costume and weapons which admittedly would not hold up for indefinitely versus the Prince Despot's strength.. but its just as likely there would be something ferrous in the environment to manipulate even if the Prince was prepared to not have ferrous components in his body.. a tricky thing to do even fiber-optic power transmissions still needs something conductive and likely ferrous to manipulate the electrical flow of technology... likely small discrete components in circuitry that were TB to magnetically grab and pull at those delicate components might be even MORE detrimental than grabbing the Prince's metal arm {electronic components are rarely load bearing structures and TB can apply 1,700lbs of pull!}.

Thunderbolt would never assault a villain mastermind of this magnitude solo  IF he suspected the villain was expecting him.  Prince Despot is a Inventor... with an army.  I was just comparing stats unprepared in an open stat to stat engagement. 

Its just as likely TB would invent a EMP Blaster powered by his own Magnetic and electrical powers to neutralize the Princes bionics.. {Call it a paralysis ray..only for electrical powered devices} but again that's beyond my example and off my point that I think The Despot needs a flight power!

Thank you for your critique though... I'm REALLY trying to get a handle on the game mechanics and master them!

LOL. Yeah... Thunderbolt would have to have a VERY STRONG and personal reason to attack this Despote In his contry IN his castle with HIS Army of cronies guarding him!

Thunderbolt is more focused on getting at the people who experimented upon his sister and himself - GENOM!  He's 'currently' more a street level crime fighter...

Now... were the Prince Despot to abduct his sister... Sarah, well THAT would be motivation and no international law or army of minions would stop Thunderbolt from storming the castle to save his sister!  He's kinda over protective of her {needlessly so}.

Thunderbolt would go to WAR and would not come ...unprepared... or alone!

The Black Watch



The Black Watch is the royal guard of the Morovian royal family. Each member is hand picked to be a member of this elite unit, where they serve until they no longer capable of doing so. The following stats are the minimum needed to gain entry.

STR: 13
END: 14
AGL: 13
INT: 11
CHR: 11

Individual members will be 4th to 6th level, and Officers will be 7th to 9th level in experience. In addition they each receive a +2 to hit with firearms, as well as a +2 to hit in HTH attacks. Each is armed with a dagger, semi-auto pistol, assault rifle, and equipped with an armored (ballistic material) uniform that is ADR=48.  Heavier weapons are available as needed.



A member of the Black Watch with a Jump Pack prepares for a routine patrol.