Necessary Evil NPCs

• Doctor Despair: Doctor Despair is a world famous villain. The most famous in the world, without a doubt. He is a warlord, a tyrant, a scientist, a sorceror and a calculating and effective leader. Despair was never an arch for a specific hero, he always saw himself as Earth's true ruler and anyone who opposed him would taste the pain of Despair. His capers invariably required massive team-ups to undo. He ruled his own country for decades before the V'sori reduced it to slag. Now he's the most wanted human rebel on the planet, his organization growing in strength and numbers every day. He is famous for being brutal, effective and brilliant. No-one knows what he looks like behind his power armor but anyone who has teamed up with him knows he's used to living like a king and working like a madman. Few villains have ever rivaled his cunning or determination, nor is he particularly known for betrayal, lies or wanton bloodshed. He is an honorable monster.

• Paladin: Before his death at the hands of the V'sori, Paladin was known as the greatest champion humanity had to offer. A sworn defender of the Earth and the Solar System we call home, Paladin drew his powers from the sun itself, a battery that allowed him near-infinite strength and power. A glowing hero known around the world and on distant alien worlds, Paladin was the face of the superhero community and the most visible member of the original war against the alien invasion. His death at the V'sori signaled the end of human independence and the beginning of the alien empire's domination of the planet.

• The Aquarian: The ruler of Atlantis and guardian of the Oceans, King Meros was a famous and near-ageless superhero before the invasion. Half-human, Meros combined the best traits of human and Atlantean physiology; he was psychic, adapted to the oceans, superhumanly strong and tough with an army of sorceror-priests and fish-warriors at his beck and call. Unfortunately it was all for not; like the rest of the superheroes great and small, The Aquarian is assumed dead. His kingdom, Atlantis, was razed with the same cruel efficiency the V'sori used to obliterate the surface cities of Earth.

• The Outsider: A space-god who could grow larger than the planet Earth itself, or stride around cities like a regular human being, the Outsider appeared in the 1950's and briefly terrorized the world before superheroes chased him away with some of his own cosmic technology. He used an army of robots, one of which stalemated The Paladin in combat for days. He created the massive island that Star City is built on, a perfect eight-point star. After his sudden retreat he has never been heard from again. Star City grew in his wake, quickly becoming the world's leading city for superhero antics and population. This came with an influx of super-science, celebrities and, of course, super-villains. The reigning protectors of the city was a team of heroes known as The Alpha Force, but they're all dead now.

• Warlord Grypon: An aging V'sori commander and master politician who has shown a keen interest in Star City and all of it's neighbourhoods, inhabitants and architecture, no doubt due to it's near-magical origin. Grypon always travels with a bodyguard or a dozen elite K'tharen. He barely needs them since he is one of the mightiest V'sori psychics on Earth.

• Mayor Jerry Perez: A middle aged Hispanic man with salt and pepper hair, the mayor of Star City is always impeccably dressed, whether it be a three-pieced suit or the latest designed casuals from the trendiest shops. As the most visible human in the new V'sori government he is well paid and has grown accustomed to living a posh life in the public eye (and in the aliens' pocket). He knows how big a target he is for any resistance so he is rarely seen without at least a few of his special forces or "Cape-Killer" officers.

• War-Master F'arak: One V'sori is appointed the unquestioned ruler of each planet the Empire conquers. The War-Master of Earth is a cunning soul named F'arak. The wily veteran has fought his way up through the ranks, earning his spot as an officer by his cleverness and willingness to pound an enemy with his minions relentlessly. Though V'sori do not often engage in direct combat themeselves, F'arak has seen action on many occassions, and in fact lost an eye in a battle during the invasion.

• The K'tharen: The stuff of nightmares, the K'tharen are monstrous slavering aliens, as fearsome as they are savage. Most of them are well over seven feet tall, every bit of which is muscle. The "Fins" have humanoid forms but with a thick crocodile-like hide. Their head has a distinctive shark-like appearance, especially with the fin-ridge that runs along the top of their skulls and their coal-black eyes. Their coloration runs towards the darker end of the spectrum along their backs, from light greens to blue and violet, while the front is universally pale. The K'tharen grow darker along their dorsal ridge as they age, and older members of the race can appear pure black.

• The V'sori: On the other hand, the V'sori can be best described as beautiful. They are tall, thin, but well muscled, and bear a bluish complexion eerily similar to that of the Atlantean people who have lived among the people of Earth for generations. Their hair is mostly dark brown or black, and is often worn short or shaven completely, but with a single small braid of longer hair off to one side of the face. V'sori are rarely seen in public without their body armor, a tight suit of segmented plates composed of some unknown alien material. In battle, V'sori commanders wear full helmets with mirrored visors.

• Omega: Various resistance movements have been quashed by the V'sori, but the most promising has only just begun to act; Omega. Omega was started by the greatest supervillain of the modern age, Doctor Despair. Its members are largely made up of former superhumans the world once called villains. Doctor Despair has said that only he is the rightful ruler of earth; "not some alien scum from the back corners of the galxy." Omega is organized into cells, each of which is only aware of the other members of the cell to prevent betrayal. Cells are contacted with their mission information through blind drops, secret codes, and most commonly encoded broadcasts.

• The Man on the Street: "Yeah, I heard jokers like Mr. Cranium and Slab are fighting for the resistance now. Hell, I can remember when those two knocked over Star City National Bank a few years back, and now they're going to save us when Paladin and the Alpha Force couldn't? That would be a miracle, and the V'sori have outlawed miracles." - John Davis, Truck Driver.

The average person living on the Earth of Necessary Evil is a hardy and fatalistic soul. After the V'sori seized control, the world economy went into the tank for several long months. With the aliens enforcing martial law around the world, the sort of widespread looting and lawlessness one might expect from such an event never occurred. Soon after the destruction of of Earth's leaders it became clear the V'sori were hear to rule rather than destroy, so most people have remained subservient rather than face certain death.

With the V'sori and their human governors encouraging the populace to work and maintain the world's infrastructure, most people could do little except try to resume their normal lives. Schools reopened, hospitals saved lives, and order returned to the world, though it was an order authoried by an alien power. The people of Earth know they are no longer working for themselves, but rather toward some sinister purpose whose nature they may never understand. There is little vocal objection to V'sori rule for such statements are marked seditious, and any who utter them are taken away for "re-education."

With this specter hanging over their heads, most adults are a dour lot. As hope fades, alcoholism and drug abuse are on the rise. Most humans quietly listen to whispered reports of resistance movements and cheer quietly when the V'sori are set back. Hearing news about the real progress of the resistance is not easy, however, as the V'sori have installed their own human sycophants in the media. Still, with every victory the Omegans score over the aliens and their human puppets, the flicker of hope smoldering in the hearts of humanity burns a little more brightly.

Necessary Evil