Anyways, in contrast, here’s a villain who works alone . . . well, sort of.
Miss Multitudes
“When everyone is me, I’ll have whatever I want! Ha ha ha ha!”
Alias: Valerie Martins
Approach: Disruptive
Archetype: Inhibitor
Health: 30 + (
× 5)
Powers
Agility 
Duplication 
Suggestion
Telepathy
Qualities
Acrobatics
Human Virus
Science
Self-Discipline
Status: Penalised Heroes
3+ Heroes with at least one penalty
1-2 Heroes with at least one penalty
0 Heroes with at least one penalty 
Abilities
Momentary Control (A): Attack using Suggestion. Use your Max die. A target dealt damage this way Attacks an ally by rolling their single largest power die.
Psychic Feedback (R): When Attacked by someone with a penalty you created, Defend by rolling your single status die, and the attacker also suffers that much damage.
Siphon Vigour (A): Hinder using Telepathy. Use your Max die. Recover using your Min+Mid dice.- Viral Conversion (A): Hinder using Duplication. That penalty is persistent and exclusive. As long as that penalty is in play, reduce damage dealt to you by 1 and whenever you are dealt damage, the target with this penalty takes 1 irreducible damage.
- (U) Airborne Contagion (I): While the scene is in the Green zone, all heroes’ quality dice at or above are reduced one size. In the Yellow zone, all heroes’ quality dice at or above are reduced two die sizes. In the Red zone, all heroes’ quality dice are treated as if they are
. (When using this upgrade, Miss Multitudes has 10 additional Health.)
- Heroes may remove this ability with three Overcome successes. If a hero takes a minor twist, the hero must lose access to a quality entirely until this ability is removed.
- If a hero is knocked out while this ability is active, you may create a new minion using the hero’s highest power die to represent the controlled version of that hero.
- (M)
Master of Total Chaos (I): If you are in a situation where everything is spiralling out of control, automatically succeed in an Overcome to accomplish a task by throwing out the rules.
Miss Multitudes
Alias: Valerie Martins
Gender: Female
Age: 20s
Height: 5’6"
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blonde
Skin: Light
Build: Thin
Costume/Equipment: Red crop top, shorts, and thigh-high boots.
Approach: Disruptive
Archetype: Inhibitor
Biography
Valerie Martins was a new intern at a local bioscience lab. However, one night when she was working late, a faulty containment unit malfunctioned and released a virulent supervirus which Valerie was exposed to. Collapsing instantly from the infection, she was found an hour later by the other lab researchers. There was no known cure for the virus, so, as a last-ditch effort, the scientists administered an unstable, experimental new miracle cure that the lab had been developing, in the hopes that it could save her. It did immunise Valerie to the virus, but it also imprinted her DNA patterns onto the supervirus, transforming her into a living contagion. Not one to let an opportunity pass her by, she decided to use her newfound abilities to acquire the wealth and power that she craved.
Capabilities and Motivations
Miss Multitudes’ physiology is altered so that her cells constantly produce her supervirus, which is transmitted via touch. It takes effect almost immediately after infection, and overwrites the genetic code of any infected individuals, transforming them into exact physical duplicates of Valerie Martins, though they do retain their minds, and, in most cases, any superhuman abilities that they possess, though such powers are usually dampened by the genetic overwrite.
However, the process does create a psychic link betwixt Miss Multitudes and the transformed, allowing her to launch psionic attacks at them and to momentary take control of their actions — though only very briefly. Also due to the link, whenever Miss Multitudes is harmed, a fraction of her pain is transferred to those she has transformed. She can also draw mental energy from her victims and use it to revitalise herself.
Those who have been transformed carry the virus themselves, and thus can infect others if they touch them. Over the numerous times that Miss Multitudes has surfaced, scientifically-inclined heroes have practically always been able to concoct antidotes to her contagion; however, the virus evolves fast enough that any old antidotes usually prove ineffective when she makes her next appearance.
Upgrades
Miss Multitudes can use her limited scientific knowhow to upgrade her supervirus, making it contagious through air, rather than relying merely on touch to spread her contagion.
Miss Multitudes, Empowered
Alias: Valerie Martins
Approach: Creator
Archetype: Overlord
Health: 30 + ( × 5)
Powers
Agility
Duplication
Suggestion
Telepathy
Qualities
Acrobatics
Human Virus
Persuasion
Science
Self-Discipline
Status: Minions
9+ Minions 
5-8 Minions
3-4 Minions
1-2 Minions
0 Minions
Abilities
- Barrier of Innocents (A): Attack using Suggestion and use your Max die. Defend against all Attacks against you until the start of your next turn using the number of your minions.
- Infected Mob (A): Use Duplication to create a number of minions equal to the value of your Max die. The starting die size for those minions is the same as the size of your Min die.
- Overwhelming Horde (A): Attack using Suggestion and use your Max die, with a bonus equal to the number of minions you control.
- Resilient Servitors (R): Reroll any number of minion saves against the same Attack.
- “Why Should I Care About Them?” (R): Redirect an Attack to one of your minions.
- (U) Airborne Contagion (I): While the scene is in the Green zone, all heroes’ quality dice at or above are reduced one size. In the Yellow zone, all heroes’ quality dice at or above are reduced two die sizes. In the Red zone, all heroes’ quality dice are treated as if they are . (When using this upgrade, Miss Multitudes has 10 additional Health.)
- Heroes may remove this ability with three Overcome successes. If a hero takes a minor twist, the hero must lose access to a quality entirely until this ability is removed.
- If a hero is knocked out while this ability is active, you may create a new minion using the hero’s highest power die to represent the controlled version of that hero.
- (M) Master of Conquest (I): As long as you are in command of your own forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome involving seizing an area or capturing civilians.
Capabilities and Motivations
On occasion, Miss Multitudes has created or stolen biotechnology that increases the strength of her viral prowess, and allows her to exert her will over those infected by her, controlling their actions like puppets. Those with strong wills, like many costumed heroes, can resist her influence. Most are not so fortunate, however, as Miss Multitudes can create vast crowds of servitors, which any heroes hoping to confront her must wade through, taking care not to harm the victims of her treachery.
Miss Multitudes’ Threats
Miss Multitudes has access to these minions and lieutenants only when using her Empowered build.
Converted Civilians
Minions
Description
These are simply assorted bystanders who have been transformed by Miss Multitudes into duplicates of her, and are now under her mental control.
Ability
Infectious: Whenever a Converted Civilian takes an action that makes it come into physical contact with another living target, or when it makes a damage save against such an attacker that made contact with it, it also Hinders that target with the same roll.
Tactics
As they lack minds of their own, theses minions simply do whatever Miss Multitudes orders them to, often in a haphazard and disorganised fashion, as her mental manipulations lack finesse.
Converted Super
Lieutenant
Description
This is a superhuman — either a villain, a hero, or somebody else — who has been transformed and controlled by Miss Multitudes.
Abilities
Infectious: Whenever the Converted Super takes an action that makes it come into physical contact with another living target, or when it makes a damage save against such an attacker that made contact with it, it also Hinders that target with the same roll.
Super-Schtick: The Converted Super has +2 to damage saves and to [one type of basic action].
Tactics
As a super is a much more valuable minion than a mere civilian, Miss Multitudes often gives them much more autonomy, placing a psionic construct of her own psyche in their mind.
Editor’s Notes
I imagine that whether one’s clothing is also transformed when affected by Miss M. was something that was portrayed inconsistently across her appearances.
My original plan for her build was either Disruptive + Overlord or Creator + Inhibitor, so she’d have both Hindering and minion-making. But after some thought, I decided that she should instead focus solely on the hampering — partly because I figured that there are already scores of mind-controlling villains. But I still wanted her to be able to have crowds of minions at times; hence the two builds. (It was simply a happy accident that both builds ended up with the same health.)
Also, I originally hadn’t planned on her having the lieutenants, but after striking upon that idea I figured that it could create some neat moments when enemies or allies show up under her control.
Fun Fact: Martinus Beijerinck was a founder of virology, co-discoverer of viruses, and kinda-namer of them, and his first name is where I got Val Martins’ surname from.
None of the default powers in the SCRPG really encapsulate Miss M.‘s abilities super well. Transmutation isn’t right, as she doesn’t change anybody’s material composition. Shapeshifting kind of fits; she changes others’ shapes into her own, but she can’t alter herself, and Shapeshifting is a Self-Control power. I settled on Duplication, as she can “make copies of [herself]” — the copies just used to be other people, instead of appearing out of thin air like most duplicators do. (Yay for obeying the law of conservation of mass somewhat more than most supers!)
