Introduction

Amazing Spider-Man #631 cover (Image credit: Marvel Comics Database)

We’ve seen vengeful moloids assault the surface world, a classic bank robbery by Doctor Octopus, and a mile-high ninja assault. This time, the heroes face a scaly threat in the city’s sewers.

Spider Man villains are my favorite Marvel villains, and The Lizard is my favorite among them. He’s savage, menacing, and a tough opponent for Spidey. Yet Spidey has to pull his punches and protect The Lizard while defeating him because beneath the creature lies his friend Dr. Curt Connors. Plus, The Lizard just looks cool with his white lab coat and huge tail.

This Action Scene is best for one to three heroes. If you use more heroes, consider starting the scene with some of the Doom unlockables already in play.

That reminds me, this scene includes Unlockables that the Watcher can purchase using the Doom Pool and others that players can purchase with xp. Let me know in the comments what you think of these additions.

This scene can serve as the culmination of a larger storyline, or inserted easily into an ongoing event.

Dramatis Personae | Setup | The Scene | Action | Aftermath | Milestone Option | Doom Pool Unlockables | Player Unlockables

Dramatis Personae

The Lizard (Dr. Curtis Connors, World Renowned Herpetologist)

(Image Credit: Marvel Comics Database)

Affiliations:Solo d10, Buddy d6, Team d8

Distinctions: Dr. Curt Connors, Lairs in Sewers & Swamps, Savage Lizard

Lizard Serum Transformation
Superhuman Strength d10, Superhuman Stamina d10, Enhanced Durability d8, Enhanced Reflexes d8, Enhanced Speed d8, Wall Crawl d6, Leaping d6, Reptile Mastery d10

SFX: Tail. Step up or double Superhuman Strength for one action. If the action fails, shutdown Tail SFX. Recover on an opportunity.
SFX: Claws and Fangs. Add a d6 to your dice pool for an attack action and step back highest die in pool by –1. Step up Physical Stress inflicted by +1.
SFX: Regeneration. Spend d6 from the doom pool to recover physical stress and step back physical trauma by –1.
Limit: Cold Blooded. Add d6 to Doom and Shutdown highest Lizard Serum Transformation power if hit with a cold-based attack. Recover on an opportunity.
Limit: Antidote. Add d6 Doom and shutdown Lizard Serum Transformation Power Set if successfully force fed the lizard serum antidote. Recover by spending d6 Doom when Dr. Connors takes emotional or mental stress.

Specialties: Acrobatics Expert, Combat Expert, Menace Expert, Medical Expert, Science Master

Bio: Dr. Curt Connors is a world renowned herpetologist who lost an arm in an explosion. He created a serum to regrow his arm based on how reptiles regrow body parts, but the serum turned him into The Lizard. Spider-Man turned him back with an antidote, but now whenever he experiences stress he risks reverting to The Lizard.

As The Lizard he retains some of his consciousness and scientific knowledge, but he becomes savage. He desires to see reptiles rise and rule the world. Besides his own enhanced abilities, he also gains the power to psychically master and control all reptilian life in a two mile radius.

Use the Dr. Curt Connors distinction at d4 when the Lizard attempts to use his human knowledge and reason.

Alligator (Specialty Character)

Alligator d8
Solo d8, Buddy d6, Team d4
Bite d8, Thick Hide d6
SFX: Death Roll. Add a d6 to your dice pool for an attack action and step back highest die in pool by –1. Step up Physical Stress inflicted by +1.

Venomous Snake Swarm (Mob)

Team 3d6
Distinctions: Deadly Fangs, Slither
Snake Swarm: Swarming Mass (Intangible) d6, Bite d6
SFX: Poison. Add a d6 to your dice pool for an attack action and step back highest die in pool by –1. Step up Physical Stress inflicted by +1.
SFX: Area Attack. Add a d6 and keep an additional effect die for each additional target.
Limit: Mob Cohesion. Defeat Team dice (with d8 stress) to reduce mob.

Action!

Setup

The Lizard has built a lab in the sewers using items stolen from the labs at the school at which he works. He has created a lesser version of the serum that turned him into The Lizard and plans to inject it into the city’s water supply, thus creating a population of lizard people. To aid his efforts, he has used his reptile control powers to free venomous snakes and alligators from the city zoo. To make matters worse, Dr. Connors’ son Billy has recently gone missing!

The Scene

NOTE: Scene Distinctions are listed below in blue caps (LIKE THIS) and complications, resources, and assets are in blue with quotes “Like This.”

The Lizard’s sewer lab is near a pipeline feeding from the water treatment plant. The tunnel area is partially filled with (SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER). The sewer is (DARK), damp and smelly.

The Lizard’s (MAKESHIFT LAB) sits atop a platform and features a d8 Resource  “Explosive Chemicals” which he can use to inflict stress or complications.

The Lizard is near his lab injecting his serum into the water supply pipeline when the heroes arrive. He has two alligators and a venomous snake swarm protecting him.

Getting to the Action

The serum begins as a complication “Serum in the Water Supply d10.” At the end of each Action Order the Watcher can spend d6 Doom to step up this complication. If it exceeds d12, the serum has irreversibly entered the city water supply. Heroes can use actions such as turning valves or breaking pipes to remove or step back the complication.

Billy, Dr. Connors’ son, is trapped on another platform being menaced by one of the alligators. Treat (BILLY) as a scene distinction. The alligator uses him in actions against the heroes, causing the hero emotional stress if it wins. Heroes can rescue Billy and remove him as a scene distinction with an effect of d8 or higher on a rescue action. (However, see the Doom unlockables below for more possibilities with Billy.)

If things look bad for The Lizard, he spends an action ripping open a huge pipe and causing water to pour out. He then tries to escape through a ceiling hatch. The broken pipe causes a complication “Flooding Chamber d6” which the Watcher can step up by spending d6 Doom at the end of each player’s action!

• If the flooding reaches d10 and Billy has not yet been rescued, he drowns and needs a Medical Specialty roll vs the Doom Pool to survive.
• Once the water reaches d12, all heroes must make a roll including Stamina or some other resistance to drowning vs the Doom Pool + the d12 complication. Any heroes that fail this roll take the Doom Pool’s effect die as Physical Stress. (Watcher Tip: Make this “attack” like an Area Attack SFX to speed up play)

Aftermath

If The Lizard gets his serum into the water supply, the heroes suddenly have a huge problem on their hands. They’ll have to keep order in the city and find a way to apply antidote to the victims. In addition, if The Lizard escapes, he will gladly control this new army with his Reptile Mastery power.

Give all new lizard people the New Lizard Serum Transformation Power Set from the Billy Connors Doom unlockable below.

If The Lizard’s serum doesn’t reach the water supply but The Lizard escaped, the heroes will likely want to track him down before he carries out a new plan.

Milestone Option

Interested players may take the following Milestone to more deeply interact with The Lizard’s theme.

Student
Some heroes must balance their co-curricular activities with the pressure of homework, grades, and school culture. Can you save the world and get the grade?

1xp when you attend class during a scene.
3xp when attending class is the cause of conflict or stress.
10xp when you become the favored student/star pupil, or when you fail the class.

Doom Pool Unlockables

Spend the following dice from the Doom Pool to include these options in the Action Scene.

1d8 or 2d6

Large Constrictor Snake: (Specialty Character)
Snake d8
Solo d8, Buddy d6, Team d4
Fangs d6, Constrict d6
SFX: Immobile. Add a d6 and step up your effect die by +1 when inflicting Constriction complication on a target.
SFX: Swallow. Step up or double Fangs when target has a Constriction complication.

1d10 or 2d8

Huge alligator: (Minor character)
Solo d8, Buddy d6, Team d4
Distinctions: Primal Hunger, Clumsy Brute, Fierce Opportunist

Giant Sewer Gator
Thick Hide d8, Tail d8, Bite d8

SFX: Tail Sweep. Target multiple opponents with Tail. For every additional target, add d6 and keep +1 effect die.
SFX: Death Roll. Add a d6 to your dice pool for an attack action using Bite and step back highest die in pool by –1. Step up Physical Stress inflicted by +1.
SFX: Smashing Jaws. Double or step up Bite on an action against a single target, then shutdown Bite. Spend d6 doom to recover.
Limit: Huge. Can’t fit between narrow spaces, and other problems. Turn a Giant Sewer Gator power into a Complication and add d6 doom. Spend d6 doom to recover.

Specialties: Menace Expert d8

1d10 or 2d8

The Lizard has turned his son Billy into a miniature version of himself to test his new formula.

Billy Connors (Minor character)
Solo d6, Buddy d8, Team d4
Distinctions: Child, Ferocious

New Lizard Serum Transformation
Enhanced Strength d8, Enhanced Stamina d8, Enhanced Durability d8, Enhanced Reflexes d8, Speed d6, Wall Crawl d6, Leaping d6

SFX: Tail. Step up or double Enhanced Strength for one action. If the action fails, shutdown Tail SFX. Recover on an opportunity.
SFX: Claws and Fangs. Add a d6 to your dice pool for an attack action and step back highest die in pool by –1. Step up Physical Stress inflicted by +1.
SFX: Regeneration. Spend d6 from the doom pool to recover physical stress and step back physical trauma by –1.
Limit: Cold Blooded. Add d6 to Doom and shutdown highest New Lizard Serum Transformation power if hit with a cold-based attack. Recover on an opportunity.
Limit: Antidote. Add d6 Doom and shutdown New Lizard Serum Transformation Power Set if successfully force fed the lizard serum antidote. Recover by taking more New Lizard Serum.

Specialties: Acrobatics Rookie, Combat Rookie, Menace Rookie

Player Unlockables

Any player who defeats The Lizard by feeding him the antidote may access the following unlockables:

5xp – Gain Dr. Curt Connors as a “School Faculty d6” resource. A hero can also use Dr. Connors as a “Tutor d6” resource to support a recovery action for mental stress from school.
Limit: Dr. Curt Connors can be used once per session. At the Watcher’s discretion, Connors can be used a second time in a session, but an opportunity on the subsequent roll using the resource means that Dr. Connors reverts to The Lizard at a narratively appropriate time.

10xp – Gain Dr. Curt Connors as the resource above (with the same Limit) but as a d8 instead of d6. In addition, the resource implies the Connors’ family as family friends and can support physical stress recovery (by Connors patching the hero up).