MYSTEREON 5 (15)

The Strange Bestiary

Who was that masked figure? No one knows for sure. Mystereons are more than masked vigilantes with strange abilities, although they are that. These mysterious individuals crop up in recursions with surprising frequency'sometimes in places entirely appropriate (recursions based on fictional leakage from pulp or comic book superhero fiction), but sometimes not. Either way, no one seems to know where they come from. It's almost as though they originate in the Strange itself and intrude upon recursions for reasons of their own.

Mystereons seem to work for justice, but often it comes in the form of particularly violent and bloody vengeance against wrongdoers (or perceived wrongdoers). Although each mystereon's appearance is unique, almost all look like humans in masks and dark-colored costumes or uniforms, usually with a symbol suggesting the mystereon's adopted name: the Red Scorpion, Moonhunter, Shadowman, and so on.

Motive: Justice

Environment (Magic or Weird Science): Always alone

Health: 21

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (6 points)

Armor: 1

Movement: Short

Modifications: Speed defense and stealth as level 6.

Combat: Mystereons use their fists and sometimes conventional weaponry (such as throwing stars, billy clubs, or firearms). Through the use of superscience or magic, a mystereon can produce other special effects, but usually only once, after which time the device must be recharged or rejuvenated in their secret lair. These effects include one or more of the following, or something similar:

• An electrical jolt that inflicts a major wound (8 points) and stuns the target for three rounds, during which time she can take no action
• A cloud of mist that fills an immediate area and induces terrifying hallucinations that increase the difficulty of all actions by two steps for one minute (the mystereon is immune)
• A sticky net that entangles all creatures in an immediate area until they can break, wriggle, or cut themselves free (difficulty 6 task)
• A flash of smoke that allows the mystereon to move a long distance without being seen
• An injection that grants the mystereon great strength for one hour, during which she inflicts 3 additional points of damage in melee and the difficulty of her related tasks is reduced by two steps
• A burst of energy that puts all creatures in an immediate radius into a hypnotic state for one minute, during which they cannot ake actions and the difficulty of resisting spoken suggestions is increased by one step—but harming them ends the effect immediately (the mystereon is immune)

Interaction: Mystereons are driven loners, often seemingly noble but with an inexplicable, myopic, violent streak. They can be reasonable but are never swayed from their cause.

Use: Mystereons might just be masked heroes (or antiheroes), or they might be something far more complex, operating from the Strange with agendas in dozens of recursions.

Loot: Mystereons possess not only the varied 'bag of tricks' described under Combat but also other sophisticated gear such as grapnel guns, smoke bombs, tracking devices, and more.

It's possible that the devices the mystereons use are cyphers, which lend further credence to the idea that there's more to the mystery behind them.

GM Intrusion: The mystereon produces a device that is perfect for the situation at hand.