Untold ages ago, perhaps even millennia, the star-gods walked the Earth. They gifted the winged-ones with the ability to fly, allowing them to soar high above all others. But when the winged-ones were driven into hiding by the jealous earthbound humans, they sought refuge in the iso-lated reaches of the arctic mountains, in a place they called the Aerie. This is the rec-ognized homeland of the Avian people, ruled by the warrior-queen Talona.

But not all Avians fled to the Aerie. A tribe of warriors stealthy enough to evade detection by the humans re-mained behind when the others fled for the safety of the north-ern reaches. They re-mained hidden deep within the caves that riddle the highest peaks of the Atlas Mountains. Unlike their distant kin, these Avians did not develop into an agrarian society, but instead held fast to their more primitive ways of hunting and gather-ing. However, their relative proximity to human civiliza-tion made it difficult to avoid drawing attention to themselves, so they evolved in a way that the old gods likely did not intend—they became scavengers. Humans seem to care too much for the living, they found. But rarely do they care so much for the dead. So these Avians learned to avoid detection by feeding off the corpses of dead animals and even humans. In time, they came to view this as a sacred ritual—they believe that the eating of the dead gives them strength, and the higher up the food chain, the greater the strength. Their strict warrior code prevents them from killing and eating one another, unless victorious in a one-on-one fight akin to a duel. That, of course, makes humans the next best and most readily available source of strength.

One warrior who possesses this strength is a young man named Vohl-Turr. He is a born leader whose charisma is matched only by his cruel sadism. Skilled in both the martial and diplomatic arts, he rose through the ranks of his tribe and assumed the role of chieftain after slaughter-ing the old chief in one-on-one combat. By consuming his heart, Vohl-Turr proved his worth and is now recognized as the undisputed head of the entire tribe.

However, unlike his predecessor, Vohl-Turr is no longer content

to hide in the mountains. He is no longer satisfied with the role of chief—he sees himself as a king. He wants to expand the borders of his

great kingdom. Perched high on his mountain throne, he gazes down at the nearest cities—Emerald City being

the closest—and sees only those who will serve, both

as his slaves and as a source of strength-giving suste-

nance.

PERSONALITY

Black Vulture is generally calm and collected and exudes an aura of confident self-control. He rarely

gives in to his bestial nature, having repressed it almost completely. In

conversation he often seems quite pleasant, but even that cannot mask

his cruelty for long. The suffering of others means little to him.

POWERS & ABILITIES

Much like others of his kind, Black Vulture is at his most dangerous when he is airborne.

He possesses formidable skills when it comes to aerial combat, preferring to perform

fly-by attacks using his wickedly sharp claws to shred his opponents. Unlike most other Avians,

however, he has remarkable self-control over his bestial side, and in combat tends to

fight defensively, using hit and run tactics and well-coordi-nated teamwork to his advan-tage. One power that he uses

quite effectively is his ability to summon a wake, or flock, of vul-

tures and use them to harass his foes, causing little in the way of actual damage, but greatly distracting them and leaving them vulnerable to his own opportunistic attacks.

BLACK VULTUREREAL NAME: Vohl-TurrOCCUPATION: Warrior Chief and Would-Be KingBASE: Atlas Mountains near Emerald City

22 THREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURETHREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURE THREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURE

BLACK VULTURE PL10STR STA AGL DEX FGT INT AWE PRE

4 4 8 4 8 2 4 2

POWERS

Birdspeak: Comprehend 2, Limited—Birds only • 2 points

Claws: Strength-based Damage 2, Penetrating 6 • 8 points

Vision: Senses 4 (Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Extended Vision, Low-Light Vision) • 4 points

Wake of Vultures: Perception Range Affliction 10 (Resisted by Fortitude; Vulnerable, Defenseless), Limited Degree, Limited—Outdoors only • 10 points

Wings: Flight 6 (120 MPH; Wings) • 6 points

SKILLS

Acrobatics 6 (+14), Athletics 6 (+10), Close Combat: Claws 6 (+14), Deception 10 (+12), Expertise: Tactics 4 (+6), Insight 4 (+8), Intimidation 4 (+6), Perception 10 (+14), Persuasion 6 (+8), Stealth 6 (+14)

ADVANTAGES

Agile Feint, Animal Empathy, Assessment, Benefit (Ruler of Avian Clan), Daze (Deception), Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 4, Evasion, Favored Environment (Aerial), Improved Critical (Claws), Improved Initiative, Languages (Avian), Leadership, Move-by Action, Redirect, Set-up, Taunt, Teamwork, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge

OFFENSE

INITIATIVE +12

Unarmed +14 Close, Damage 6, Penetrating 6, Crit. 19-20

DEFENSE

DODGE 12 FORTITUDE 6

PARRY 12 TOUGHNESS 8/4*

WILL 6 *Without Defensive Roll

POWER POINTS

ABILITIES 72 SKILLS 31

POWERS 30 DEFENSES 12

ADVANTAGES 23 TOTAL 168

COMPLICATIONS

Addiction: Black Vulture and his followers have learned to enjoy the taste of dead flesh, particularly human flesh. He has difficulty resisting its allure.Motivation—Recognition: Black Vulture wants to be officially recognized by the world as the ruler of his own kingdom of Avians.Reputation: Although largely unknown right now, as word spreads of Black Vulture and his followers, their nasty habit of eating the dead makes them almost universally loathed by others.ALLIES

Few people outside of his “kingdom” have even heard of Black Vulture, so he has no allies other than his own tribe of warriors, who are fanatically devoted to him and stead-fast in their support of anything he does. He has little use for humans as anything other than food, so he is unlikely to even try to ally himself with other villains. That said, he is intelligent enough to know that humans do make good pawns from time to time....

ENEMIES

Because of his rather gruesome penchant for eating people, it won’t be long before Black Vulture makes enemies in and around Emerald City.

HOOKS

Bring ‘Em Back Alive!: Talona, leader of the main host of Avians living in the Aerie, catches wind of her cannibalistic kin and decides to capture them. She plans to have them tried for crimes against nature back home. She storms into the area with an armed hunting party, causing the people to panic. The heroes must avert a potential crisis either by confronting her or by teaming up with her.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Next: An airplane carry-ing several important passengers crash lands on a snow-covered mountain peak high in the Rockies. The heroes

are sent to locate the survivors and bring them home. However, there’s one problem—when they arrive at the crash site, they find no bodies. The crew and passengers have all disappeared. And stranger still... there are no foot-steps leading away from the wreckage of the plane. The heroes must locate the victims and rescue them from the Black Vulture’s clutches before it’s too late!

AVIANS

As an off-shoot of humanity, Avians take on a variety of roles and professions. Because their society is clan-based, the Avians still have a dedicated warrior caste. The statistics below represent a typical Avian warrior.

AVIAN WARRIOR PL4

STR 2 STA 2 AGL 4 DEX 3 FGT 5 INT 0 AWE 1 PRE 0

Powers: Strength-based Damage 1 (Claws), Flight 5 (60 MPH; Wings), Senses 2 (Extended Vision, Low-light Vision).

Advantages: Defensive Roll, Favored Environment (Aerial).

Skills: Acrobatics 2 (+6), Expertise: Survival 4 (+4), Expertise: Tactics 4 (+4), Perception 4 (+5).

Offense: Init +4, Claws +5 (Close, Damage 3).

Defenses: Dodge 5, Parry 5, Fortitude 5, Toughness 3/2*, Will 3. *Without Defensive Roll.

Totals: Abilities 34 + Powers 8 + Advantages 2 + Skills 7 + Defenses 6 = Total 57 points

33THREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURETHREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURETHREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURE THREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURE

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Mutants & MasterMinds threat report #16: Black Vulture

Design and Writing: Glenn Hall

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Art Direction and Graphic Design: Hal Mangold

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44 THREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURETHREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURE THREAT REPORT: BLACK VULTURE