All characters and their associated images, descriptions, backgrounds, and related information are declared Product Identity.Acts of Villainy #0: Harvester is © D.T. Butchino. All rights reserved. Refer-ences to other copyrighted material in no way constitute a challenge tothe respective copyright holders of that material.Super-Powered by M&M and its associated logo are Trademarks of Green Ronin Publishing and are used under the provisions of the Super-Powered by M&M Trademark License (see www.mutantsandmasterminds.com/licensing for details).Acts of Villainy #0, Volume 1 published October 2012

elcome to the premiere issue of Acts of Villainy: Solo, a semi-weekly villain feature that presents villains for the Mutants &

Masterminds, Third Edition role-playing game. So what does “semi-weekly” mean? Sketchpad Studio is a small organization and occasionally things slip from the schedule. That said, we’re going to try to release four characters every month, as well as a team here and there. So why Acts of Villainy? Why not a campaign book or a city book? To be honest, my favorite books have always been ones with adversaries in it. Back in the mid-80s, I first discovered Champions, Villains & Vigilantes, DC Heroes and Marvel Superheroes, and had a chance to play and run all of them. And, while I collected quite a few of the campaign books and adventures, I went out of my way to grab Enemies, Most Wanted and any other book where I could get my hands on villains to use in my games. However, after a few years, while I still got those books, I started making my own villains and eventually had created a virtual horde of bad guys. Fast forward or two and you have the product you’re reading right now.What can you expect out of Acts of Villainy? Well, first off, you can expect the obvious: villains. The Solo line presents a single villain (or in some cases a villain and their henchmen) that ranges from your street vil-lains to masterminds, and everything in-between. Every PDF will have a full-color illustration, stats and background. In addition to Solo, there will be the Team line that introduces groups and organizations of villains for gamemasters to use in their campaigns. Finally, there’s a possibility of a Schemes line that will introduce a few new villains, while also detailing adventures for anyone needing a quick encounter for their game. How about a print compilation of some kind? While I’d love to say we’ll make print copies of our books, a lot of it depends on the consumer. If the books seem popular, we’d love to offer a print collection at some point.

And, while plans for a campaign book isn’t on the books at this time, there is a default setting that the AoV line uses: The Tribute Universe. Within this world, heroes have been around since the late ‘30s and the world’s benefited from their existence. While the game year is the same as our’s, the Tribute Universe has a higher level of technology, efficient military and law enforcement, and is ruled by the United Nations. In many ways, the world celebrates its heroes and works with them to make the streets safe for everyone on them. But, like any good comic book universe, there are massive organizations that both hinder (and help) the heroes, most of which will appear in the Team line as time goes on. There will be instances where references are made to an organization and individual that has yet to be published. In those instances, we will try our best to define them for readers by offering a glossary in the introduction when we can (please see below). Next issue is coming along great and may see publication on the heels of this issue. For now, though, please enjoy this character and let us know how well he works in your game. Thanks for your patronage and stay tuned, we have some great characters on the way!

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Bring on the bad guys!

Primary Wrting & Design: D.T. ButchinoAdditional Writing: C.D. Ens-ButchinoIllustration & Graphic Design: D.T. ButchinoEditing: C.D. Ens-ButchinoPlaytesters: Sara “Olympia” Dean, Ralph “Faultline” Duell, James “Kitsune” Kavanagh, David “Ronin” Laramie, Jamie “Eisenhart” Long, Glen “Event Horizon” Myer, John “Blackstar” Szczypien Publisher: Charlie McElvy of Xion Studios

This book is dedicated to Renee Rock, my aunt who was taken too soon from us and who always had faith in my work. She loved a good, scary movie and passed that love on to me. Thanks for all of encouragement, Aunt Renee. I miss you.

Sketchpad Studio would like to also thank Nate Piekos of Blambot for the following fonts that were used within this product: Bucket of Blood, Crater-Face, Silver Age.

Sketchpad StudioE--Mail: sketchpad.studio@gmail.comVisit us on Facebook & Google+

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Real Name: UnknownOccupation: Psychopathic killer, former urban myth Identity: The general populace believes The Harvester to be an urban mythLegal Status: UnknownFormer Aliases: NonePlace of Birth: UnknownMarital Status: Presumed singleKnown Relatives: NoneGroup Affiliations: NoneBase of Operations: Upstate New York and Vermont, and parts of Que-becFirst Appearance: Acts of Villainy: Solo #0

History: To most, The Harvester is just an urban myth, a story that people have made up to keep tourists out of the woods or to get kids to go to bed at night. Those living in his hunting grounds, however, know all too well how real this killer is. No one knows exactly where The Harvester came from, but he leaves a trail of bodies in his wake wherever he goes. First appearing around 1980 in upstate New York, he was originally spotted after killing a band of hunters in the backwoods just a few miles north of Lake City. When local and state police attempted to follow him, the killer just seemed to vanish into the forest like he was never there. He popped back up for another sighting a few days later near the New York/Quebec border. This time around, he slew a carload of underage drinkers returning home from a party. Just like before, after the deed was done, he vanished into the woods with barely a trace. He appeared once again after that in northern Vermont, and then showed up again in parts of New York. For years his reign of bloody terror gripped the area while the police grasped for clues to his whereabouts and his identity. During this time, the local press began dubbing the killer “The Harvester” after some kids made a joking reference to the killer’s purpose being to harvest his victim’s souls. Finally, during another chain of murders in 1984, a band of state and city law enforcement officers set a trap for the serial killer with a few of their own left as bait. During what seemed to be a just night of camping in the woods, two young police cadets, June Carpenter and Mark Cunningham, lured the killer into a field where he was to be trapped by law enforcement who had surrounded the area. The only problem was that The Harvester saw through their plan. After systematically killing each of the hidden of-ficers, the killer then moved in to trip the trap knowing that there wouldn’t be one. When the June and Mark ran into field expecting an ambush, they instead found themselves fighting for their lives. The pair quickly real-ized that they had no help and scrambled to get out of the woods and to find their way to the road. Instead of a safe escape, however, the cadets found their way to an apparent dead end, high on the sheer cliff that over-looked the nearby lake. Using their wits, June and Mark were able to trick the killer into getting close enough to the cliff’s edge to knock him over it, seeming to killing him in the process. However, it seemed that Fate had other plans for The Harvester. Finding the desiccated remains almost a decade later, Richard Kane, a former member of the Pentacle of Shadows (see Pentacle of Shadows), saw a chance to exact some vengeance on his former colleagues. Using a spell he’d been working on, Kane attempted to reanimate the killer so that he could use him as a weapon against the Pentacle. The reanimated butcher attempted to kill Kane instead, forcing the sorcerer to flee from the area to save his life. Feeling his body mend itself after it had decayed for so long, the murderous brute set out to retrieve his weapon and start his bloodstained mission once again. The weapon in question, a strange sickle made from a rare kind of black metal, had found its way into the col-lection of Ashley White, a horror movie fan with a penchant for collecting odd memorabilia from actual crime scenes. Unknown to Mr. White, the sickle was special. It allowed its former owner to track its location to the collector’s house, marking him as The Harvester’s next victim to herald the killer’s triumphant return. But, after reclaiming his weapon, the killer felt like he had left something unfinished and shifted his attention to the two people that had tricked him before. June and Mark were still living in upstate New York and had become clos-

er due to their harrowing experience almost a decade ago. By the time that The Harvester was resurrected, the pair had been married for quite some time and had a young son named Kevin. They had put their terrible encounter with The Harvester far behind them and were comfortably living their lives as agents in the government organization known as A.C.T.I.O.N. (see A.C.T.I.O.N.). Thus, when The Harvester found them at their subur-ban home, the Cunninghams thought his appearance was merely a prank by an insensitive neighbor or colleague. They quickly discovered the truth and made a hasty retreat with their son. Making their way to her sister’s house across town, June begged her sibling to take Kevin far away from the area. While her husband checked the house for anything that they could use as a weapon, June reported in to the agency to get someone to help them. This would be the last call that she would ever make. The Harvester appeared out of nowhere and killed her where she stood. Grief-stricken by the loss of his wife, Mark made a suicidal attempt to destroy the creature once and for all with some explosive canisters that he had found on his sister-in-law’s property. Mark discovered too late that The Harvester was different than before – he was stronger and more durable than ever now. As the house erupted into a ball of flame, Mark perished, but the killer simply walked out of the destruction as if nothing had even happened, with any wounds stitching back into place on the way out from the house.Since that night, The Harvester has continued on his gory streak, hunt-ing down those he deems fit to meet his special brand of pain. He now seems to be searching for something, or perhaps someone. There’s still at least one more person that has eluded him: young Kevin Cunningham. It is surmised that The Harvester continues to seek him to complete his revenge on the Cunningham bloodline. After he finds him, his vengeance will be complete and The Harvester will be free to continue on his grue-some mission.

Hurrr

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Height: 6’6” Weight: 282 lbs.Eyes: Red Hair: None

Strength Level: The Harvester possesses superhuman strength, enabling him to lift (press) 6 tons under optimal conditions and 25 tons under mo-ments of intense rage.

Powers: The Harvester has inhuman strength, durability and stamina, as well as the ability to boost his already incredible strength while enraged. His body is impervious to many conventional weapons, and has an ac-celerated healing factor, allowing him to heal quickly from most wounds and conditions. In addition to his extraordinary regeneration, his stamina also grants him immunity to most debilitating conditions, including poisons, disease and age. Also, while he does seem to breathe, most toxic or incapacitating gases don’t seem to deter The Harvester, nor does being underwater for extended periods of time. There have been a few attempts in the past to reach the creature telepathically, but he seems to be immune to such powers, even though he displays an almost psionic ability to track and find specific people (or, in a rare instance, his sickle). Lastly, The Har-vester has an uncanny ability to disappear and reappear in the area he’s been known to stalk. Whether this is a transportation power of some kind or just a keen sense of his surroundings is unknown.

Paraphernalia: The Harvester wields a sickle that has a handle that is bound in leather and has a sharp, dark-purple blade made from an unknown metal. While it has never been confirmed, rumor has it that the sickle has certain properties that allow it to drain the souls from anyone attacked with it.

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Healing Factor: Immortality 1 (Return after 2 weeks), Regeneration 10 (Every 1 round; Persistent) • 22 pointsInhuman: Immunity 45 (Common Descriptor: Mental Effects, Fortitude Effects, Interaction Skills), Impervious Toughness 8, Senses 1 (Low-light Vision) • 54 pointsLay of the Land: Teleport 6 (1800 feet in a move action, carry-ing 50 lbs.; Accurate, Change Direction; Check Required: DC 11 (Expertise: Survival), Limited: Only within Hunting Grounds) • 12 pointsLifetaker Sickle: Strength-based Damage 5 (DC 28; Penetrat-ing 13), Linked Weaken 10 (Affects: Awareness, Resisted by: Will, DC 20); Restricted: Harvester Bloodline: Feature 2, Easily Removable (indestructible) • 19 points Target Sense: Senses 7 (preternatural, Accurate: Detect: Target, Detect: Target 2: ranged, Extended: Detect: Target 3: x1k) • 7 points

Grab, +10 (DC Spec 18)Strength-based Damage 5, +10 (DC 28)Throw, +1 (DC 23)Unarmed, +10 (DC 23)Weaken 10, +10 (DC Will 20)

Dodge 8 Parry 10 Fortitude ImmuneToughness 8Will 2

Abilities 56Powers 114 Advantages 8Skills 18 (35 ranks)Defenses 9 = 205

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Athletics 2 (+10), Expertise: Survival 10 (+10), Insight 4 (+6), Intimidation 10 (+10), Perception 4 (+6), Stealth 5 (+6)

All-out Attack, Close Attack 2, Favored Environment: Hunting Ground, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Takedown, Tracking

• Obsessive: The Harvester is a creature of habit. Once he focuses on a target, he will not stop until either that target is dead or he’s stopped. • Hunting Grounds: The Harvester keeps to a specific hunting ground and rarely ventures from it. • Motivation - Psychopath: There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to The Harvester’s hunting methods. The only common element in his victims is their misfortune to cross his hunting ground. • Power Loss - Life Force: The Harvester must collect life force once a month or lose access to his Healing Factor.

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The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.1. Definitions: (a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have con-tributed Open Game Content; (b)”Derivative Material” means copy�righted material including derivative works and translations (including into other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, up�grade, im¬provement, compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) “Distribute” means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise distrib�ute; (d)”Open Game Content” means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Con-tributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works un�der copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. (e) “Product Identity” means prod-uct and product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, inci¬dents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photo-graphic and other visual or au�dio representa¬tions; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or effects, lo�gos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or registered trademark clearly identi¬fied as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f) “Trademark” means the lo�gos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify it�self or its products or the associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the Contribu¬tor (g) “Use”, “Used” or “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this agreement.2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this License.3.Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your accep¬tance of the terms of this License.4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original mate¬rial as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this Li¬cense.6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute.7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, includ�ing as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, indepen¬dent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product Iden�tity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability

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As we strive to make our products a tribute to the source material, we’re going to try to answer some mail in each issue (if space allows). However to do this, we’d like to have a snazzy name for our letter column. So, in the spirit of comics, how about a contest! Yes, that’s right, we’re looking to our fans to suggest a new name for our letter column! Just submit a name and the staff of Sketchpad Studio will decide on which name we like best. What’s that? You want a prize beyond the pride of naming our new column? Okay, how about a free issue of Acts of Villainy? If your name is the one chosen, you will receive your choice of one Act of Villainy issue between now and the deadline of January 1st, 2013, as well as being thanked by the staff via Facebook. Please note the following rules: one entry per e-mail, all names become property of Sketchpad Studio and all names should appear within the body of an e-mail. Serious entries only, please. To enter, e-mail Sketchpad Studio (sketchpad.studio@gmail.com) your name with the subject line: “I Have a Better Name!” Good luck to all that enter!

Next Issue: You’ve seen the sketches on the Facebook page, now beware the multi-armed might of Tangleweb! Coming in Acts of Vil-lainy: Solo #1!

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