The Book of Viper

[Yodaking]

The Book of Viper

C3G MARVEL SUPER SECRET EXCLUSIVE 65
FOR GOLD OR COUNTRY




Comic PDF


Mini PDF

The figure used for this unit is a Heroclix figure from the Captain America set.
Its model number and name are #026/Viper.

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Character Bio - After she severed ties with Hydra, Madame Hydra helped Jordan Stryke escape custody in Virginia, only to proceed in assassinating him and usurping his codename Viper along with his leadership of the group known as the Serpent Squad. Viper went on to become the founder and leader of an elite criminal underworld organization through sheer ruthlessness, treachery, and the cunning of her black heart. Now a professional terrorist with her own organization, she then employed a number of different super villains as her chief operatives, including Silver Samurai, Boomerang, and Constrictor. In one of her many terrorist acts, she would try to gain control of the snake-themed organization called the Serpent Society, with Slither, Copperhead, Puff Adder, Fer-De-Lance, and Black Racer as her operatives. The latter four operatives infiltrated the Serpent Society in an attempt to take it over. Later she blackmailed Wolverine into marrying her as a means to secure her criminal empire in Madripoor. For a time, Viper was the dictator of the nation of Madripoor, using the nation's resources to support global terrorism via Hydra until eventually being overthrown by new S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Tony Stark and Tyger Tiger. (Wikipedia)
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-Rulings and Clarifications-

• N/A

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Incoming Synergy:

• As a Human, Viper has these Human Synergies.
• As a Terrorist, Viper has these Terrorist Synergies.

Outgoing Synergy:

• Villainous Tactics allows you to add 1 to your initiative roll for each Terrorist and Criminal Unique Hero you control, up to a maximum of +5.
• Underworld Contract allows you to have Viper bond with one Mercenary or Assassin Unique Hero you control.

Immunities, Benefits, and Weaknesses

• Androids, Constructs, and Undead are not affected by Viper's Poisoned Strike special power.

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-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

• N/A

-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

• Initial playtest: Yodaking
• Second playtest: Ronin
• Third playtest: Zeekthefreak test 1 & 2
• Fourth playtest: Lob5t3r
• Fifth playtest: Lazy Orang
• Art: Comic, Figure, Background
• Art by japes

[Yodaking]

NAME = VIPER
SECRET IDENTITY = OPHELIA SARKISSIAN

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = TERRORIST
PERSONALITY = RUTHLESS

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 4

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 7
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 5

POINTS = 180

UNDERWORLD CONTRACT
At the start of the game, you may choose a Unique Assassin Hero or a Unique Mercenary Hero you control. After revealing an Order Marker on the chosen Hero's card and taking a turn with that Hero, you may take an immediate turn with Viper, and you may not take any additional turns with other figures you control.

SUBVERSIVE TACTICAL DEFENSE
When rolling for initiative, if there is at least one Order Marker on this card, you may add 1 to your roll for each Unique Criminal Hero and Unique Terrorist Hero you control, up to a maximum of +5. If you win initiative, until the end of the round, Viper and any Unique Heroes you control within 6 clear sight spaces of Viper add 1 to their Defense number.

POISONED STRIKE
After attacking a Unique Hero within 3 clear sight spaces of Viper with her normal attack, if at least one skull was rolled, you may reveal an "X" Order Marker on this card to inflict one unblockable wound on the defending figure. Androids, Constructs, and Undead are not affected by Poisoned Strike.

[Yodaking]

Been a while since we last discussed this design so I just posted where we left it off. I already see a few things I want to change though. Thinking the initiative bonus from Tactical Mind needs a cap, +6? Also want to update Poisoned Blade to better fit with what we did for Cheshire's poison tipped claws, so have the X reveal an option after rolling a skull.

[japes]

Originally Posted by Yodaking

Been a while since we last discussed this design so I just posted where we left it off. I already see a few things I want to change though. Thinking the initiative bonus from Tactical Mind needs a cap, +6? Also want to update Poisoned Blade to better fit with what we did for Cheshire's poison tipped claws, so have the X reveal an option after rolling a skull.

I was going to remind you of Cheshire when I first read through. Good idea.

[Yodaking]

As for the mini, I personally like this one quite a bit.


Captain America Set #026/Viper

Unless someone has an objection it is the one I'll list in the FP. I can also get us pics once Spring gets here is no one else can do it earlier.

[Yodaking]

Some art options.







The last two look a little too similar to what we used for the Madame Hydra card though so I'd go with the first one if it is usable.

[johnny139]

Very interesting... she's going to have a tough synergy web with four different named classes in her powers. I'd prefer a more specific name for the first one though, in case we every want to reuse it with a different class. I'm also a bit iffy on the third power's theme... to me it reads "poisonous sword" which isn't really her style. Needs a theme tweak is all, though I can't think of any in particular.

I was going to say it feels weird that she costs more as Viper than as Madame HYDRA, but evidently, she was Madame HYDRA first, changed to Viper, and then got possessed by Hive and became the new Madame HYDRA again. So she should be pricier as Viper! The more you know...

[Yodaking]

Yeah I've been brushing up on her history and skills now that I've started this thread and she uses poisons in many different ways and not just on blades so I too was thinking of a name update.

[Yodaking]

This is the territory I'm trying to cover with her second card.

Bio- After she severed ties with Hydra, Madame Hydra helped Jordan Stryke escape custody in Virginia, only to proceed in assassinating him and usurping his codename Viper along with his leadership of the group known as the Serpent Squad. Viper went on to become the founder and leader of an elite criminal underworld organization through sheer ruthlessness, treachery, and the cunning of her black heart. Now a professional terrorist with her own organization, she then employed a number of different super villains as her chief operatives, including Silver Samurai, Boomerang, and Constrictor. In one of her many terrorist acts, she would try to gain control of the snake-themed organization called the Serpent Society, with Slither, Copperhead, Puff Adder, Fer-De-Lance, and Black Racer as her operatives. The latter four operatives infiltrated the Serpent Society in an attempt to take it over. Later she blackmailed Wolverine into marrying her as a means to secure her criminal empire in Madripoor. For a time, Viper was the dictator of the nation of Madripoor, using the nation's resources to support global terrorism via Hydra until eventually being overthrown by new S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Tony Stark and Tyger Tiger.

And then here is her list of powers and abilities:

Viper has no superhuman abilities but her strength, speed, reflexes, agility, dexterity, coordination, balance and endurance are on the order of an Olympic athlete. She is a great swordswoman and even greater markswoman with most long range weapons, and has extensive training in hand-to-hand combat. Viper occasionally employs poisoned weapons with snake-motifs, such as venomous darts or artificial fangs filled with poison. A brilliant strategist and tactician with extensive combat tactical experience, Viper is highly skilled in the management of criminal organizations and very well connected in the international criminal underworld. She is also a master of stealth and espionage. Perhaps her greatest strengths are her influence, the financial resources at her disposal due to her stature in organized crime, and an uncanny luck which has allowed her to cheat death in situations where lesser people would have died. Viper may or may not have supernaturally augmented longevity.


Viper is usually armed with various ray pistols and conventional handguns. She formerly possessed a teleportation ring. She has also used various other special weaponry, including poison-tipped throwing darts, knives, and whips. She has sharpened and elongated canine teeth with hollows inside them. She keeps a special poison in them, to which she has an immunity.

[japes]

Leadership of some sort to tie in a possible future Serpent Squad or Serpent Society Mercenaries, Terrorist, Criminals and Assassins does seem like a lot but they all seem like they'd fit. Probably need to make a list of all her thematic ties current and future designs and see where they stack up in the Class debate. Maybe we can adjust. Perhaps just use the Contract power to change the Class of a single figure to one of the others.

Some type of Poison power.

All her physical abilities can be taken care of with stats so we can probably use two powers for her Leadership and Tactical abilities...one recruitment power and one tactical-leader power.

Though the Teleportation Ring from Silver Samurai would be iconic as well unless that was more her thing as Madame Hydra...I can't recall.

[Viegon]

I like the overall direction, very cool. I agree that she has a lot going on synergy-wise; seems like it could almost be too difficult to build armies around...

Seems like she should have 7 range to match her Madame HYDRA card. 6 life also seems really off; we almost never give normal humans more than 4 life.

Worth noting that I hope to run with a HYDRA Infiltrator design in the not too distant future, which its main appeal would be an initiative boost for Strucker and Kraken; not sure if the crossover with Tactical Mind would be in issue or not...

[Yodaking]

As to army building, the idea is not to try and have her in an army with all 4 classes at once but rather have her able to easily fit into several different types of armies. The Mercenary power has you choose one assassin or merc, not both so you only add one of either class to be her chief operative or bodyguard. Then the Tactical Mind power allows her to be the head of a terrorist or criminal empire. So when it comes to army building, the best approach would be to draft her with other terrorists or other criminals but not try to mix them, then add in one 'free agent' merc or assassin to help shore that army up a bit. Her defense boost is clearly good for squads should you want to go that route, but she gains the initiative boost from having 'lieutenants' (ie. heroes) around to carry out her plans. As mentioned above I do think the initiative boost should have a cap so it doesn't feel like you are hurting yourselves by drafting squads.

I feel most if not all the serpent society/squad would fit into one of the four classes: Terrorist, Criminal, Assassin, Mercenary. Does someone see it differently?

It has been a while but I believe the high life was to help her survive as a 'leader' type figure. I didn't want to give her CCE or something similar (even though she seems to qualify for it) to make her harder to kill as I was more interested in exploring other power ideas. So I leaned on this tidbit for justification: an uncanny luck which has allowed her to cheat death in situations where lesser people would have died. Viper may or may not have supernaturally augmented longevity. Essentially the higher life than a normal human was to show her ability to cheat death, where as another human would go down after 4 or 5 wounds she manages to stick around just a bit longer. If the life number goes down, then I'd want to move the defense number up.