I loved the visual/design of the character right off the hop. Very cool look and bad-ass weapon made me think Manticore would be a pretty cool villain. Reading through the character's history and abilities/game stats I see that the cool factor isn't limited to the visuals. Any writing that includes the word "skullduggery" is awesome in my books. Manticore is a good challenge for lower powered characters that could be used in many ways to challenge even higher powered heroes (perhaps they have to guard someone from being assassinated by the villain?).

Presenting a detailed and complex background for an interesting and complex character, this product contains beautiful illustrations and a complete write-up of a young superhero attempting to escape his past.

For Striker's family is Yakuza, and he is not comfortable with it... to the extent of studying criminal justice and becoming a law enforcement officer. Following an almost mystical event he received his superpowers and began to tread paths a police officer cannot in his quest to destroy the Yakuza and in particular his own father.

But in his elevation to power, perhaps lie the seeds of his own destruction... arrogance, hubris, perhaps, could lead him astray. Or not...

For like all offerings in the 7Ronin series, Striker is finding himself called to a gathering in central Japan where the assorted characters will have a chance to band together - for better or for worse...

Beautifully presented in great detail, as a stand-alone this has the potential to be an epic character (player or NPC), even if you are not collecting the entire series or intending to use them together.

The backstory for this superhero involves an early adoption and a kid growing up quite normally until her 16th birthday dinner when she felt a bit sick and visited the restroom - only to have the bathroom furniture spout water and ultimately explode around her as her powers made themselves manifest! Fortunately they then remained quiescent again until she went to college, but there she fell in with a bad crowd and turned to petty crime... until one of her superpowered crime partners decided to attack her adoptive parents. A massive battle ensued, and after defeating him, she turned herself in and did her time for the offences she'd committed.

Now a reformed character, she brawls on the side of good. Her powers include probability manipulation and the ability to change the colour of an item, and she has also taken to the study of magic.

Hex is an interesting character with the potential to walk on either side of the street as superhero or supervillain. She'd be quite interesting to play or to use as an NPC associate of the party, with a backstory that can - and should - intrude into the plotline every so often.

I cannot believe this book hasnt been reviewed yet. Well, if Im going to be the first, let me tell you know. Just pick up this awesome free book. No? Want a reason to do so. Not sure you want to junk up your computer with free junk. Well, let me give you more reassurance.

This book is very well done. The art and layout are superb. The story if fun and light. It takes six superhero characters from different worlds for a nearly 30 page crossover issue. An interdimensional tyrant (who reminds me of Apopcalypse) snatches them up for his own Mortal Kombat style arena games. Just imagine that simple story done well by one of the Big Guys... DC or Marvel. Epic, if you ask me.

Now Im going to break it down even further. This story is well delivered and well written, a collaboration of several very talented writers who are highlighted in articles at the end. This product is free... a celebration of Free Comic Book Day. It is available in three systems, I am assuming the three worlds from which these characters are taken. These systems include the ICONS system (my personal favorite), M&M 3rd edition (a nice system), and Supers (which I know nothing about). This means that if you want to, you can aquire multiple systems and use it as cliffnotes on converting one system into another. Game mechanics are highlighted in red making them easy to compare with each other. Seven characters are detailed at the end. Two of them I had stats for, but the others I assume are converts from M&M and Supers. So that means I got four really good character stat layouts.

I feel like I will be insulting my dear reader's intelligence to continue. This book is a gem and it is for free. There are comparable products on this site which charge you a dollar for one character's stat layout... one character, two pictures, a bit of character history, thats about it. All of that for one dollar. Comparrable modules under the ICONS system usually seem to average about five dollars each. They do not even guilt trip you with that "Pay What Your Heart Tells You To" options. They dont ask for any money, just maybe read the articles at the end to learn more about the writers and try to enjoy the free superhero action responsibly. Why even think about it anymore? Pick up this wonderful freebie and start a crossover of your own in your gaming group.

Happy belated Free Comic Book Day.

I cannot believe this book hasnt been reviewed yet. Well, if Im going to be the first, let me tell you know. Just pick up this awesome free book. No? Want a reason to do so. Not sure you want to junk up your computer with free junk. Well, let me give you more reassurance.

This book is very well done. The art and layout are superb. The story if fun and light. It takes six superhero characters from different worlds for a nearly 30 page crossover issue. An interdimensional tyrant (who reminds me of Apopcalypse) snatches them up for his own Mortal Kombat style arena games. Just imagine that simple story done well by one of the Big Guys... DC or Marvel. Epic, if you ask me.

Now Im going to break it down even further. This story is well delivered and well written, a collaboration of several very talented writers who are highlighted in articles at the end. This product is free... a celebration of Free Comic Book Day. It is available in three systems, I am assuming the three worlds from which these characters are taken. These systems include the ICONS system (my personal favorite), M&M 3rd edition (a nice system), and Supers (which I know nothing about). This means that if you want to, you can aquire multiple systems and use it as cliffnotes on converting one system into another. Game mechanics are highlighted in red making them easy to compare with each other. Seven characters are detailed at the end. Two of them I had stats for, but the others I assume are converts from M&M and Supers. So that means I got four really good character stat layouts.

I feel like I will be insulting my dear reader's intelligence to continue. This book is a gem and it is for free. There are comparable products on this site which charge you a dollar for one character's stat layout... one character, two pictures, a bit of character history, thats about it. All of that for one dollar. Comparrable modules under the ICONS system usually seem to average about five dollars each. They do not even guilt trip you with that "Pay What Your Heart Tells You To" options. They dont ask for any money, just maybe read the articles at the end to learn more about the writers and try to enjoy the free superhero action responsibly. Why even think about it anymore? Pick up this wonderful freebie and start a crossover of your own in your gaming group.

Happy belated Free Comic Book Day.

Ferrous is a villain that would be a challenge for a group of heroes, never mind one-on-one. His magnetic abilities are powerful but more than that they are varied in their applications- he seems to know every trick in the book and then some.

Boogeyman is aptly named as his power set is sure to prove to be a nightmare for heroes to deal with. Teleportation and the ability to inflict fear as well as the creepy power to animate toys (straight out of horror movies!) means Boogeyman is a scary threat for any hero that crosses his path.

Blood Moon is a scary villain for heroes to face off against- one part Predator, one part Alien and all killing machine, his strength and camouflage abilities combined with razor sharp claws make him a deadly opponent. Great character for surprising your heroes with if you're looking for a bit of a horror/suspense feel.

I love this character. The art alone is worth the price of this installment. If you're looking for a tank-style villain this is a great choice.

Antihero is a PL12 villain that has a formidable array of powers and abilities that will challenge any heroes that might cross the anti-matter powered criminal. Not just a deadly blaster-style character, Antihero is a brilliant scientist as well, meaning the heroes will have their hands more than full trying to take him down.

A great character! From a fully realized and fleshed out background story, to cool powers and a great look (Who doesn't love the idea of a character with metal dreadlocks?? Talk about bad-ass!), Alloy is a great villain for one-on-one encounters but has the potential to give a couple lower-powered heroes a run for their money as well. Her connections to other villains means that there's also potential for her to pop up as part of a greater threat. Excellent pick-up for any campaign.

If you are a fan of DC's Mr Miracle then you'll enjoy Enigma - an illusionist and escapologist computer genius who after one parental rejection too many suffered Dissociative Identity Disorder and became the criminal trickster... his use of high technology gismos mirrors Arthur C. Clark's comment that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic leaving players to wonder whether Enigma is a mystic, a psychic or..?

For your money you get a 6 page pdf which includes the cover page and license info and four pages of background and stats. This is a well thought out villain that could easily become a recurring annoyance for your PC's - nice to see Xion Studios continues to entertain.

Most people regard vengeance as a dish best tasted cold... not Poprock, born of an angry young girl burning to avenge her father's murder. Her main power is the ability to unleash the energy contained in items when she throws them - she carries a whole bunch of ballbearings for the purpose - backed up with an extreme talent at the martial art of capoiera. Her general athleticism also makes her good at parkour. Quite a heady mix for a budding super-powered character!

The backstory gives involvement with known supervillains, who helped her identify and harness her powers, but given other associates she could as easily be a superhero instead. As a teenager, she'd also fit well into any game involving young superpowered individuals.

This is a well-constructed character with plenty of potential however you decide to use her.

This is fantastic. Art is up there with really great Comics What else is there to say? If you need Heroes or Villains for your roleplaying game, or just like great art. Get these. Less then a cup of coffee and well worth it.

It makes me want to look at the game these are designed for.

Highly recommend these.

I am associated with Adventureaweek.com, were I operate as the main PDF monkey. My reviews are written with a desire to remain unbiased as many of the designers, writers, artists and publishers are considered friends to me. Having said that I am first and foremost a reviewer, and in respect to these people and their product I intend to evaluate this product honestly and fairly.

WatchGuard Sourcebook Kodiak, Les Superieurs presents a single character for the Mutants and Masterminds 3rd RPG. Weighs in with 7 pages, but only 2 of those actually offer any game material. 1 cover, 1 OGL and 3 pages of ads cover the other 5 pages. Am aware that pdf pages are cheap and all, but that really feels like a lot of ads to product ratio. The artwork, whose artist I could not find a reference within the product, sorry, was fairly good. Layout is extremely impressive, the graphics and the formatting of the game mechanics flow well presenting a very polished product. Except for one thing. One thing that has always bothered me, justification odd spacing. As a layout designer I know how annoying justified text can be to get it ti flow around pictures without stretching words and letters, but without taking the extra step to fix these oddities the entire product suffers, lessening the overall effect.

Now, we've discussed the art, the layout, the formatting, etc...but what about the actual character presented here, is it any good? Kodiak is your classic take advantage of situations when they are presented kind of guy. His luck changes when he finds himself in possession of a bearskin that allows him to transform into a hybrid anthro-form, giving my enhanced senses, strength and the perks of being a hulking humanoid bear. The idea behind the character is well enough, and I could easily see him filling the role of a B lister in any campaign. My problem with the character is more with the writing itself. The back story is there, and conveys the important details, but lacks the finesse one would expect to support the layout and visual feel of the product.

All in all this is a decent product, but the bulk of ads, the spacing formatting along with the lackluster writing I am settling on a solid 3 star rating. A fun character, just not entirely living up to its potential.