SATURDAY MOURNING REWRITE

Our world is in peril. The year, 1994. From out of space, comes planet Cybertron, hurtling
between the Earth and the moon, unleashing cosmic destruction. In the 21st century, mankind
faces an epic struggle for survival, the forces of nature have spun wildly out of control. Man's
civilization is cast in ruin, and the dinosaurs have returned to reclaim the Earth. A strange new
world rises from the old. A world of savagery, super-science, and sorcery. In this savage land, a
new group of heroes must burst their bonds to fight for justice, defending humanity in a world
gone mad. A world where the strong survive. A world of... Saturday Mourning!

What is this?
To wit, Saturday Mourning was a spin-off project of Disney Villains Victorious, a tabletop
setting themed around classic Saturday Morning Cartoons instead of any media specifically by
Disney. A post-apocalyptic theme helped tie the cartoons together into the Badlands. A guy
named Badlander came up with the initial idea, pitched it to the DVV anons, and charted out a
lot of the setting before interest died and Saturday Mourning went into stasis.
Later, a guy named Architect (that’s me) decided to give the setting an overhaul, redoing the
map, rewriting the old KLRs, making new content, and fine-tuning the groundwork set by
Badlander and everyone else who pitched in on /tg/. This rewrite does more straight
interpretations of the source material than the original did, which often fudged show canon as
needed. There’s also some Bakshi films to fill in blanks and spice things up.

Radical. How do I use it?

The document you’re reading now has the KLRs -- King, Land, and Rule articles -- that explain
what each villain is like, how terrible the place they terrorize is, and how they act or react to
other groups in the setting mucking around in their business. They’re useful for both players and
GMs, giving everyone a decent primer on what each place is like without going into the nitty-
gritty, spoilerific details.
If you’re looking for a system to actually run this with, I suggest looking at games like Prime
Time Adventures or Cartoon Action Hour. The latter’s far more in tune with the spirit of the
game, but it might be worth looking at Savage Worlds or the DVV Homebrew System if
neither of those tickle your fancy.

On the topic of time...

As a rule of thumb (and unless your GM determines otherwise), the events of the various shows
happened anywhere between 2-10 years ago. This can allow for older player characters that
remember what the world used to be like and younger ones that do not. What things were like
before then is subjective, because cosmic destruction was unleashed and that tends to damage
spacetime. It’s why 16th Century Conquistadors are able to coexist with 26th Century New
Yorkers, 40th Century mutant wizards, and prehistoric dinosaurs with laser guns strapped to
their backs. When Second Earth died, everyone’s clocks were synchronized.
Table of Contents

“To Do” List

Cobra Commander (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero)

Doctor Julian Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog)

The Eco-Villains (Captain Planet and the Planeteers)

Brandon “Big Boss” Babel (C.O.P.S.)

Eric Raymond (JEM)

The Fearless Leader (Rocky & Bullwinkle)

Jumanji (Jumanji: The Series)

Megatron (The Transformers)

Menator (The Mysterious Cities of Gold)

Mumma-Ra (Thundercats)

Nekron (Fire & Ice)

Arktos (Tabaluga)

Oscar Bulloney (Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa)

The Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Tirek (Rescue at Midnight Castle)

Venger (Dungeons & Dragons)

Wilhelmina Scharnhorst (Cadillacs And Dinosaurs)

Dr. Irving Claw (Inspector Gadget)

“To Do” List
Americas
Crimson: Dominion (Doc Terror, The Centurions)
Dark Blue: Skullmuria (Skullmaster, Mighty Max)
Light Orange: Infernac Rift (Metlar, Inhumanoids)
Bright Blue: Empire City (Big Boss, C.O.P.S.)
Purple: Isle of Evil (The Worldwide Organization of Monsters, Mad Monster Party?)

Europe
White: Scorched Earth (Zarm, Captain Planet and the Planeteers)
Dark Green: Mogonda (Kortan, Highlander: The Animated Series)
Dark Purple: Britannia (Morgana, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice)
Chartreuse: Eternia (Skelletor, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe)
Pink: Warnermark (The Brain, Animaniacs)

Africa
Olive Green: Rulon Imperium (Emperor Krulos, Dino Riders)
Lavender: Garden of Monsters (Saw Boss, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors)

Asia
Umber: Bug City (Arachnids, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles)
Bronze: Tormack Khanate (Tormack, Galtar and the Golden Lance)
Yellow: Clutches of Dr. Zin (Dr. Zin, Jonny Quest)

Oceania
Dark Orange: Shadaloo (M. Bison, Street Fighter)
Black: Islands of Mer (Pirate Lord Bloth, The Pirates of Dark Water)
Green: Greater Tazmania (Taz-Mania)

Not Pictured
Moon*Star of Limbo (Mon*Star, Silverhawks)
Evil Side of the Moon (Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers)
MAD (Doctor Claw, Inspector Gadget)
VILE (Carmen Sandiego, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?)
Cobra Commander (G.I. Joe: A Real American
Hero)
KING: Cobra Commander

The fanatical terrorist leader known only as Cobra Commander is a great enigma. His
background is seeped in contradiction and mystery, but what's known is that he formed Cobra
as a means of destabilizing the governments of the old world and establishing a new hierarchy
over the ashes. Cobra Commander can be charming, ingenious, and terrifying, controlling the
unconditional loyalty of countless soldiers without ever revealing his face to the world. He is the
main force of personality behind the Cobra State, arrogantly lording his renown and status over
the other members of the High Command that make his rule possible. Though the years have
made him wiser and more shrewd, Cobra Commander refused to let time make him soft or
temper his paranoia. Do what he says, because he's always there, watching for threats over
land and air.

LAND: Cobra State

From their fortified bunkers beneath Springfield, Cobra watched and waited as petty tyrants
claimed the land above. When they saw their chance, Cobra struck, opening their bunkers to
the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses yearning to exchange their freedom for security.
Cobra State is a mighty civilization built upon the ruins of America's East Coast. Snake motifs
and sleek, futuristic technologies have replaced the old ways. Every building is built like a
bunker, every street lamp has a camera, and giant, serpentine monorails wind their way across
the country. Cobra's stockpiled weapons and vehicles provide them with sufficient firepower to
protect their borders from the Decepticons and Robotnik, but only with experimental technology
reverse-engineered from their enemies do they expect to defeat their foes in the long run.

RULE: Secrets And Lies

Refugees with nothing left to lose need only submit to Cobra if they want all of their needs cared
for. Propaganda is omnipresent in Cobra State, but many Viper troopers and their families are
loyal to Cobra out of genuine gratitude. Seeing outsiders as jealous of their perceived
prosperity, the people of Cobra are distrustful of foreigners and wary for spies seeking to disrupt
their way of life. Springfield is secured against nearly any conventional assault, but power
struggles from within Cobra's High Command threaten to split the country into civil war. The
metal-masked Destro is Cobra Commander's biggest rival, followed by the manipulative
Baroness he is allied with. Heroes seeking to take advantage of this situation may find new
avenues opening up for them, but being caught in the act would unite all of Cobra against them.
Doctor Julian Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog)
KING: Doctor Robotnik

Julian Robotnik was a human scientist of remarkable skill who served the Kingdom of Acorn as
Minister of War during the Great War. Once he had been given authority to 'dismantle' the army,
Julian was quick to repurpose his war machines towards a coup that established him as
dictator. He is a cold, wicked autocrat with a fell mind for all matters intellectual and a deep
loathing for all works of nature. The heartless tyrant is the ultimate authority in Robotropolis, the
only other being he gives any responsibilities to is his loathsome nephew, Snively. The rest of
his subjects are ruthlessly taxed as tributaries or roboticized into badniks he can throw at his
endless campaigns for global conquest. In recent years, his obsession has moved away from
hunting down freedom fighters to studying the esoteric chaos emeralds that can grant him
ultimate power.

LAND: Robotropolis

When Robotnik took over Mobotropolis, the first thing he did was tear the natural beauty of the
city out by the roots and have his machines reshape it to better suit his foul sensibilities.
Robotropolis is a blasted state of black smog and acid rain littered with factories that run night
and day to build armaments for his badnik horde. The good doctor has yet to despoil the fringes
of his territory, which are still wild bastions of nature. He allows the mobian nobility that
remained in his empire to pay harsh tribute in exchange for ruling their cities relatively
unimpeded, well aware that treason or delays in giving Robotnik his due would result in being
turned into mindless badniks. The same is the sentence for any other dissenters in Robotnik's
domain, as the evil warlord is always looking for ways to pad the numbers of the mechanical
army.

RULE: Welcome to the Machine

As a mad egoist with better things to do than suffer the trivialities of running an autocratic
dictatorship, Robotnik prefers to focus on his war games with the Decepticons or Cobra than his
own suffering people. SWATbots are a constant sight in Robotropolis, readily available to sweep
malcontents off the street and shove them into roboticizers for processing. Foreign relations are
simple, but effective: If it enters Robotropolis without a good reason, take it down. Being allies
with mercantile villains like Raymond or Bulloney might get your foot in the door, but unless
you're with the Eco-Villains or have advanced technology of value to the Doctor, consider
yourself beneath his notice. Word of heroes trying to overthrow the Eco-Villains will eventually
reach Robotnik, who will intervene if they can make it worth his time.
The Eco-Villains (Captain Planet and the
Planeteers)
KING: The Eco-Villains

The Eco-Villains are a loose organization of five individuals, a Syndicate bound by a mutual, all-
encompassing desire to extort the planet of everything it's worth. They all remember the time
before the world went to hell, glad that the 'do-gooders' that used to hold them back are long
gone. Each Eco-Villain bears a Ring of Destruction, granting them control over an aspect of
pollution. When the powers of Super Radiation, Deforestation, Smog, Toxics, and Hate are
combined, they form Captain Pollution, a mad demigod at the Eco-Villains' beck and call. As the
Eco-Villains are a quarrelsome, fractious bunch that can barely tolerate one another, Captain
Pollution is only summoned in times of dire necessity. The Eco-Villains work together to profit,
bringing in resources from other nations in exchange for technology and mercenaries.

LOOTEN PLUNDER: The (disputable) leader of the Eco-Villains and owner of the Deforestation
Ring, Looten Plunder is the most powerful and twisted businessman on the planet. He's the sole
proprietor or Plunder Incorporated, a corporation based in the Caribbean with a reach stretching
across the whole Atlantic. He's a pleasant man to deal with as a business partner, always quick
to smile or crack a joke to make you feel at home. In reality, he's as dirty as they come, happy
to stab about anyone in the back for profit. The City in the Sea is his biggest client, and he's
happy to help them expand if it means he can make money off the eventual war they'd have
with Cobra over land and resources. The Deforestation Ring he wears is a fake, the real one on
loan to Argos Bleak so that Plunder can reclaim South Africa from the mutant jungles of the
Monster Minds.

DUKE NUKEM: Duke Nukem is wielder of the Super Radiation Ring, a scaled mutant man that
feeds on hazardous radiation and toxic waste. Soaking in decades' worth of atomic rays from
leaking reactors has made him incredibly powerful, strong enough that the other Eco-Villains
tend to give him what he wants when he asks something of them. They also do that because
he's their best defense against the Olmecs, whose solar-powered technology becomes useless
when the Duke overloads them with his radiation blasts. Thankfully, Duke Nukem is content with
his current lifestyle, spending his days absorbing rads and spectating Mutant League games
before retiring to his manor home in a malfunctioning reactor. Leadsuit, the Duke's ever-
suffering sidekick, reluctantly rules a small human settlement residing in his boss' shadow.

SLY SLUDGE: The current holder of the Smog Ring, Sly Sludge is the laziest and least
productive member of the Pollution Syndicate. He runs a few shanty towns and dumping
grounds (some of which are double-booked), but only in the loosest sense of the term. Finding
him to be a leech at best and a liability at worst, Blight, Plunder, and Skumm have repeatedly
considered replacing Sludge and giving his Smog ring to someone else. Until the three Eco-
Villains can decide on someone who will promise them with substantial returns, Sly Sludge is
desperate to get back into their good graces, no matter what the cost will be to pull off such a
feat. While lazy, Sly is serious about defending his personal power and comfort when it's
threatened. He lives up to his name, using a variety of traps and gambits to redirect his enemies
and minimize his workload.
VERMINOUS SKUMM: Armed with Toxics Ring, Verminous Skumm is a physically repulsive,
humanoid rat mutant with a special knack for spreading disease. Besides the physical plagues
and illnesses he's known for, Skumm also spreads diseases of society, such as fear, ignorance,
and crime. His people, the rat mutants, live beneath South America, occupying the sewers and
festering like sores in the darkness. Through Skumm's underworld connections, the Eco-Villains
maintain ties to a variety of unsavory crime rings, such as MAD, SCUM, and VILE. His spies are
over the world, digging dirt for their rat master to use as blackmail. While none of the Eco-
Villains have anything in the way of morals, Verminous Skumm is easily the most ruthless in his
pursuit of profit. His drug trade rakes in huge profits, but the price is crippling addiction and
death.

DR. BARBARA BLIGHT: The creator of the Pollution Rings and master of the Hate Ring, Dr.
Blight loathes this new age of savagery and sorcery. She constantly searches for ways to
overturn the status quo, believing only through science can the world return to the "beautiful,
rancid dump that people made it". She cooperates with other mad scientists, including Doctor
Mindbender, Doctor Robotnik, the Brain, and -- perhaps most heinously -- the Decepticon
Shockwave, all in an effort to harness magic into a science that she can reliably control. When
these contacts fail her, Blight throws her problems to her small, but dedicated think tank of less
successful scientists: Dr. Arkeville, Dr. Scarab, Dr. James Bent, and Cinnamon J. Scudworth, to
name a few. Though manic, erratic, and utterly unethical, her technological genius cannot be
underestimated.

LAND: Pollution Syndicate

When the initial earthquakes and global storms passed, the Eco-Villains took every piece of
South and Central America they could get their hands on. In a matter of years, the once-vibrant
land became a mess of labor camps, strip mines, and crowded slums. The earth is covered in
trash, the skies are obscured by smog, and the rivers are tainted by runoff. The Pollution
Syndicate's domains are inhospitable to flora and fauna, restricting mundane humans to
Plunder's labor camps and the techno-citadel of Blight Town. Everyone in Plunder's cities is
under his employ; it's a hard life, but at least it resembles old world civilization. Blight Town, in
contrast, is a cruel place powered by human slave labor, a surveillance state under constant
observation by Blight's computer, MAL. He's loyal, but error-prone, and in dire need of a
ReBoot.

RULE: Polluting Our Planet Is The Thing To Do

If you live with the Eco-Villains, you pollute. It's a way of life. You use the land, you use the
ocean, and you use the people around you, until there's nothing left for them to give back... and
then move on to something new. You probably work for Plunder or Blight, and likely wish you
did if you don't. Looten Plunder's coastal camps are the most open ports of call, allowing
travelers to slip in and out of the Syndicate domains fairly easily. Blight Town is much harder to
pass through unseen, as MAL will report anything of interest (such as magic, Blight's current
obsession) to his mad mistress. Attacking one Eco-Villain will not immediately trigger an attack
from the others, but repeatedly spoiling the schemes of the Pollution Syndicate as a whole will
blackball you from their trade empire and mark you as a pest to be exterminated.
Brandon “Big Boss” Babel (C.O.P.S.)
KING: Big Boss

An imposing kingpin of crime, Brandon “The Big Boss” Babel once graced every public enemy
list from Empire City to LA. A ruthless racketeer, smuggler, and counterfeiter with a literal iron
fist, Big Boss had his pudgy fingers in every pie of the underworld. After he recruited the equal
parts brilliant and insane black market scientist Doctor BadVibes into his crime family, the scope
of his master plans only grew and grew, escalating from bank robberies to robbing the banks
themselves! So terrible was his non-stop crime spree that the city was forced to establish a
specialized task force just to deal with Big Boss’s gang: the Central Organization of Police
Specialists. The C.O.P.S. and C.R.O.O.K.S. duked it out time and time again on the streets of
Empire City, even coming to begrudgingly respect each other as arch foes, yet the C.O.P.S.
could only hold out so long before Big Boss’s wave of crime before they found themselves
locked away on the other side of the bars. Freed from the rule of law, Big Boss rebuilt Empire
City in his image; seedy, mean, and crawling with glorious, glorious crime. Though Big Boss is
nasty customer in every respect, he is not without his sense of morality, twisted though it may
be. Those who serve his criminal empire well are taken in by him as family, and defended to the
death no matter how obnoxious their occasional incompetence may be. Boss also considers
himself a man of honour, and will always make sure to repay his debts, refraining from killing
innocents where possible. He extends his mafia code over all gangs in the city who operate
beneath him, sending out his enforcers to not-so-gently “remind” frequent transgressors of the
way things are done in his city. Most bizarrely, though Big Boss is tolerant of almost every
criminal activity in the book, he has made a single exception for drug trafficking, considering it
“the lowest crime of all”.

LAND: Empire City

Even before Big Boss’s takeover, Empire City was swarming with organized crime. Though by
day, the beautiful port city looked like any other coastal metropolis, its alleyways and
abandoned warehouses hid multiple underground criminal networks operating right under the
noses of the city’s police protectors. With the Boss in charge, crooks have dropped all pretenses
of subtlety, crawling out of the woodwork to expand their operations into sprawling dark
industries. Depending on the quality of the protection racket district by district, the streets of the
city are either lawless hellholes of gang violence ready to go up in smoke at a moment’s notice,
or ostentatiously extravagant havens of tastelessly flaunted unearned wealth. As the “Crime
Capital of the World”, Empire City has even attracted below the board organizations from
abroad to set up shop. The likes of VILE and MAD have established major headquarters in the
more affluent parts of town, attracted by the neverending demand for stolen works of art to line
penthouse walls. Caught in the middle of it all, the civilians who still live and work in Empire City
do their best to get by. Keeping their heads low and quietly paying their dues to the local gangs,
they carry out their lives as they always have, only interrupted far more frequently by the sound
of gunshots.

RULE: Crime’s A-Wasting!

Though his arsenal of stolen warmachines and Doctor BadVibes’ deadly inventions could easily
bring the city to its knees, Big Boss rarely steps in to dirty his hands interfering in the affairs of
lesser gangs. Big Boss built Empire City up into the den of scum and villainy it is today so that
crooks around the world would always have a place to call home; a place where a henchman
can earn a dishonest day’s work in peace without being accosted by pesky law enforcement.
Instead, Big Boss prefers hands-off rule, managing the city instead through natural checks and
balances formed by rival factions. Thanks to this, black market trade has boomed unstifled city-
wide, its back alley manufacturies and chop-shops churning out some of the finest mass
produced weapons and cybernetics on the global market. Though the incessant turf wars across
Empire City may seem like senseless chaos to an uninformed observer, fighting between gangs
is carefully managed to let personal conflicts and grudges be resolved without tensions boiling
over into complete anarchy. Even invading forces like Cobra’s commandos or Cybertronian
strike teams quickly find themselves wrapped into this intricate network of alliances and
betrayals; the city swallowing up its would-be conquerors. The regularity of this restrained
violence has worked its way into the schedules of Empire City’s citizens, for whom barricading
themselves behind locked doors while the local gangsters brawl it out has become as routine as
taking out the trash.
Eric Raymond (JEM)
KING: Eric Raymond

When the world was ruined and his money became worthless overnight, Eric Raymond thought
he lost it all. Very much a man of his time, Eric got his big break as the personal assistant to
Emmett Benton, owner of Starlight Music. He received half of his boss' company when Benton
passed away, later securing the other half of Starlight from the man's daughter. It was then that
Eric discovered Synergy, a revolutionary supercomputer of Benton's design. As the people of
Los Angeles tried to put their lives back together, it was Raymond's charisma that convinced the
survivors to follow his lead. Eric's partner-in-crime is Techrat, a reclusive savant who maintains
Synergy while Eric manages the city as mayor. Greedy, scheming scum, Eric Raymond seeks
power wherever he can get it. He even managed to become rich again through the new money
of the new world.

LAND: Starlight City

Starlight City is glitzy city of light and sound, the greatest center of old world culture on the west
coast. Under Raymond's guiding hand, Starlight has become a global trading hub, a city in
which all manners of goods and services can be found and sold. As money is the root of all evil,
the city is also a beacon for criminals like M.A.D. and raiders like the Olmecs. To better defend
Starlight (and his money) from these threats, Raymond had Techrat connect all of the city's
systems to Synergy, allowing her to see, hear, and react to anything that happens in Starlight.
When the city is under attack, Synergy can use her holograms to confuse and disorient
aggressors while armed mercenaries zap them with laser weapons. When Synergy sees a
crime that Raymond can benefit from, though, he'll order her to ignore it in exchange for a cut of
the action.

RULE: Showtime, Synergy!

Raymond can command Synergy from anywhere in the world via the voice-activated
holoprojector in his tie. While lifelike holograms don't make the man untouchable, his money
sure as hell does. Even in this savage world, money holds sway, whether it takes the form of
Bison Dollars, Plunder's scrip, or the infallible gold standard. For those who don't take cash,
Raymond has other items at his disposal, such as 20th-Century artifacts and blackmail he
acquires through Synergy's camera network. He only uses threats of force as a last resort,
rarely ever going through with them. People who want to hit him where it hurts will aim for his
wallet, though they should be warned that his wallet can hit back. Being light-years ahead of
anything from her own time, Synergy's artificial intelligence is far more independent than she
lets Eric or Techrat know.
The Fearless Leader (Rocky & Bullwinkle)
KING: Fearless Leader

Facing off against the threat of extermination by alien invasion and cosmic calamity, one nation,
in spite of all odds, ended up not only surviving, but thriving. In a cruel twist of fate, that nation
was the tiny, backwards, mean-spirited country of Pottsylvania. Their fearless leader is Fearless
Leader, a tyrannical despot who rules with an iron fist and revels in it. He punishes dissidents
left and wrong with one-way vacations to the salt mines and personally ensures that every
Pottsylvanian citizen is both a spy and informant on the activities of every other spy and
informant in the nation. Fearless as he may be, the dictator can’t run a country by himself. He
keeps a number of "trusted" advisors (such as the diminutive Mr. Big and the infamous field
agents Boris Badinov and Natasha Fatale) always at his beck and call to gather intel and deliver
cheap and reliable results.

LAND: Pottsylvania

Pottsylvania is a bleak and barren land. It bears no natural resources, produces nothing of
value, and lacks any semblance of art or culture. What it does have is mean, and lots of it,
which it gleefully exports far and wide. For all that makes Pottsylvania an awful place to live, her
citizens are fiercely proud of their bad reputation. They laud dirty deeds, dishonesty, and crime
as patriotic pastimes while do-gooders are outlawed and shunned. Every element of life is
geared towards cultivating a populace of saboteurs; children learn the ABCs of Assassination,
Bombing, and Conspiracy, the country’s newspaper is printed in invisible ink, and hotels require
a fake ID to check in. Thanks to their wholehearted embrace of all things crooked, Pottsylvania
has blossomed into a nation of thieves, spies, and assassins par excellence.

RULE: Hail to the Black & Blue!

The only thing you can trust a Pottsylvanian to do is betray you in the name of the Fearless
Leader. Before total societal collapse, the Pottsylvanians needed to use every trick in the book
to keep themselves afloat. Lying, cheating, and stealing gave them an underhanded edge that
they've come to rely on. Through hard, unearnest efforts, Pottsylvania has amassed a sprawling
intelligence network and the stolen plans for doomsday weapons from across the globe. The
only things preventing them from replicating the full arsenals of their neighbors is their lack of
technical know-how and tendency to stab each other over credit. However, between their tanks
of stupefying Goof Gas and silos of ICMBMs (InterContinental MooseBerry Missiles), the
scrappy nation manages to avoid being dominated by its greatest enemy -- the whole world.
Jumanji (Jumanji: The Series)
KING: The Game

Describing itself as "a game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind,"
Jumanji looks like little more than a board game at a glance. Whenever a poor, unfortunate soul
happens upon Jumanji and chooses to roll the dice, they are transported to a hostile world and
given a single clue with which to determine what they must do to finish their turn and return
home. These tasks are neither easy nor simple, requiring sharp wits and keen skills to survive
the countless threats Jumanji holds within. Even when a group fails to end their turn and never
returns home, the Game always finds a way of reaching new hands and continuing the cycle of
terror. In a world gone mad, many people play Jumanji in search of escape from the world they
live in -- little do they know, Jumanji is a form of escapism few players ever come back from.

LAND: Jumanji

The jungle of Jumanji is said to lie deep within the dark heart of Africa, a dangerous land that
makes the alien biome surrounding it look tame in comparison. It's a violent caricature of
Central Africa in which all elements of nature are exaggerated, flora and fauna alike armed with
unique weapons and changed into lethal challenges to pit against victims of the Game. There
are more predators per acre here than anywhere else in the world; from giant anteaters to fire-
breathing toads, the native life is tailored to make the lives of players both hellish and brief. Most
everything in Jumanji is hostile to outsiders, a fact that's even truer for any intelligent life that
may be encountered there. The days are bad and the nights are worse, providing excellent
incentive for players to end their turns and get the hell out of there.

RULE: ARE YOU GAME?

As it says on the inside of the box, "Jumanji gives a clue to help players complete their turn". It's
fair, in a sense: You either solve Jumanji's puzzle or stay there, as there are no reminders for
anyone who misses their only clue. Though a physical place on Earth, the world of Jumanji is a
self-contained construct of clockwork, making escape by conventional means all but impossible
for anyone trapped on the inside. No matter how cruelly the Game treats its players, Jumanji
has an uncompromising, zero-tolerance policy when it comes to punishing any player it deems
to have cheated it. It is quick to punish cheaters with foul curses, and anyone who uses trickery
to end their turn will be followed home. The sound of drums and the minions of Jumanji will
hound them until they return to the jungle and play by the Game's rules.
Megatron (The Transformers)
KING: Supreme Leader Decepticon Megatron

Megatron, Supreme Leader of the Decepticons, was a tyrant of great power and cunning. After
waging war for longer than mankind has existed, Megatron struck down his equal and opposite,
Optimus Prime, and forcing the leaderless Autobots to move their resistance underground. It
cost much -- even their homeworld of Cybertron -- but was it worth it? The sad truth is that, with
no worthy foe to throw himself against, Megatron turned on himself. He spends his days trapped
in a hazy state of sanity, holding heated arguments with the disembodied head of his nemesis
and all but ignoring the outside world. Megatron's cabinet works hard to present the illusion that
their leader is sane, well aware that the Decepticons would fall apart if they didn't. Megatron's
obsession made him strong, but he's little more than a shell of a 'bot without it.

LAND: New Kaon

After Cybetron's surface was rendered uninhabitable by Megatron's gambit, the Decepticons
used the Key to Vector Sigma to eco-structure a huge swath of North America into a twisted
home away from home. A living nightmare of rust and smelting pits, New Kaon is the black heart
of Decepticon activity on Earth. Bread and circuses are used to distract the Transformer horde
from Megatron's condition, but all of the energon expended during the war means there's rarely
enough "bread" to go around. Homeless Empties beg for energon and parts in the streets, their
wretched existence earning them scorn from the Decepticons and pity from the few Autobots
still online. A space bridge in Decepticon City connects New Kaon to the Decepticon HQ on
Cybertron, which has been slowly reconstructed through the tireless efforts of Shockwave.

RULE: One Shall Fall

Megatron's inability to rein in the Decepticons meant his immediate subordinates had to do it for
him. The cities of New Kaon are ruled by the Decepticon elite, with internal strife preventing any
one Decepticon from becoming too powerful. Starscream manages the daily affairs of New
Kaon as a whole, watching for anyone capable of threatening him and pressing them to join 'his'
side. His ambitions are kept in check by Soundwave, who loyally awaits for Megatron to
recover. Shockwave, meanwhile, has decided that Megatron is a lost cause and that a more
logical leader must replace him. As a whole, the Decepticons see the puny natives of Earth as
pests to be stamped out after the last Autobots are destroyed. They wouldn't give a human the
time of day unless they could prove themselves to be as brutal and nasty as any Decepticon
was.
Menator (The Mysterious Cities of Gold)
KING: Menator

In the distant past, eons ago, there were two great civilizations: Atlantis in the East, and Hiva in
the West. The two destroyed each other in a global war that rendered the Earth's surface
uninhabitable for ages, the survivors of this catastrophe fleeing underground and mutating into
small, pointy-eared Olmecs that saw themselves as superior to the savages infesting the
surface. The aging king of the Olmecs, Menator, used the advanced technology of his ancestors
to conquer the surface-dwellers and extracted DNA from human victims to correct the flaws in
their genes. His ruthlessness and pragmatism saved the Olmec people from extinction, and the
lost knowledge acquired from the Mysterious Cities of Gold will allow the Olmecs to have their
time in the sun. Mentator is cruel, but fair, and will let nothing get in the way of reclaiming the
Olmecs' legacy.

LAND: The Olmec Empire

The Olmec Empire spans the whole of Central America and the Andes Mountains. The
mountain range acts as a natural barrier between the Olmecs and the Syndicate, while the
dense smog acts as an unnatural one. The territory of the Olmecs is jungle and rough terrain,
reminiscent of the land as it was before the Spanish arrived. The native people live much as
they have for centuries, though they are now subject to the Olmecs and their enforcers, the
Urubu, who worship the mutant Olmecs as gods. The Olmecs are cruel masters, taking
'sacrifices' from the natives for slave labor and experimentation while they themselves live in
utopian cities of gold beneath the mountains. Many of the Olmecs' bases are hidden
underground, where Olmec scientists can carefully study the damaged records of Hiva and
revive more of their kind from cryogenic stasis.

RULE: Children of the Sun

The Olmecs believe themselves superior to man in every way, demanding that those before
them should lay down their weapons and accept their rightful masters. While this tactic may
work on those who cannot defend themselves, it did nothing to endear them to the Eco-Villains,
who hate the Olmecs on principle. (Alternative fuels? Yuck!) As much as the Eco-Villains want
to raid the Olmecs and get steal their gold, the Olmecs' solar weapons make them unbeatable
in their own court. Conversely, while the Olmecs wish to demolish the unruly savages in the
East and be done with them, their solar-powered weapons becomes worthless in the smog-
covered realm of Pollution Syndicate. The natives suffer the most from their violent border
skirmishes, though fear of Olmec retaliation may overpower any willingness to accept help from
outsiders.
Mumma-Ra (Thundercats)
KING: Mumm-Ra, The Ever-Living

In the ancient past, when magic ruled supreme, there was a powerful sorcerer by the name of
Wahankh. Not satisfied with serving a pharaoh, Wahankh sold his soul to the Ancient Spirits of
Evil in exchange for greater power and eternal life. The sorcerer, now known as Mumm-Ra, was
sealed in an onyx pyramid by the pharaoh as punishment for his treachery. He would stay
entombed there for many years, until the destruction wrought by Megatron freed the mad
mummy from his prison and allowed Mumm-Ra to walk the Earth once more. With no one to
stand in his way, Mumm-Ra used his arcane might and an army of mutants to forge an empire
of his own. Possibly the strongest sorcerer on Earth, Mumm-Ra is a living avatar of the Ancient
Spirits of Evil, an instrument of their will that occasionally chafes under the harsh edicts of their
rule.

LAND: Kingdom Of Third Earth

If the First Earth was ruled by magic, and the Second by science, than the Third Earth is ruled
by Mumm-Ra. When he first arose from the Black Pyramid, Mumm-Ra wasted no time
reshaping the Fertile Crescent into a land of jungle and sand that resembled the lost kingdom
he never had the chance to conquer. Mumm-Ra's people are truly subject to him, forced to beg
and grovel for the barest of scraps from their immortal priest-king. He is cruel, but practical,
causing mass suffering in order to curry favor with his dark masters. The people of his land are
forced to worship the Ancient Spirits of Evil, and Ancient Spirit worship gets spread through
Mumm-Ra's (relatively) safe trade routes. He does not, however, allow for worship of himself;
that would make the Ancient Spirits furious, possibly furious enough to revoke his power
completely.

RULE: Wherever Evil Exists

For the most part, Mumm-Ra cares little for those who pass through his domain and what goes
on in it. Mundane travelers carrying Ancient Spirit pamphlets with them will be left unmolested
by Mumm-Ra himself, though he can't speak for any mutants, bandits, or mutant bandits they
might run into. Those who have drawn the ire of the Ancient Spirits, however, should expect to
receive a visit from Mumm-Ra very soon. Being as much a servant as he is a king, Mumm-Ra
will eliminate anyone his gods want gone, assuming the reason isn't because the Ancient Spirits
see you as a legitimate threat. In such a scenario, Mumm-Ra will go to any lengths, offer
anything to anyone, in order to become truly independent of the Ancient Spirits of Evil. He's so
desperate that he might keep his word after he's become free, though he could just as easily
not.
Nekron (Fire & Ice)
KING: Nekron the Ice Lord

Long ago, there arose in the North a powerful queen named Juliana, whose ambition was to
extend her realm to all regions of the known world. To this end, she gathered an army of sub-
humans and bore a son named Nekron. When Nekron came of age and attained mastery of the
black arts and the powers of the mind, together they seized control of the Land of Ice. From
their castle, Icepeak, they sent a giant glacier rumbling southward. No village or people could
stand against its relentless onslaught, the remnants of humanity fleeing South to Eternia. Still
Nekron pushes his ice ever southward, though now his expansion is facing unusual opposition:
eldritch magic, monstrous warriors, and fantastic technology. Regardless, Nekron continues to
force his glacier forward, while the Queen uses deception and trickery to weaken their enemies
from within.

LAND: Land of Ice

Nekron's domain is a harsh domain of snow and darkness. The land is covered in large glaciers,
the thick permafrost hidden beneath Nekron's conjured ice. Only the most brutal can survive
here, which is why the sub-humans under Nekron's banner call the Land of Ice their home. The
lives of the sub-humans are short and violent, living in tunnels beneath the snow and hunting
woolly animals for sustenance until the time comes that they must fight and die for the Ice Lord.
They survive, but not thrive, their birth rates only barely making up for the men they lose to
Nekron's wars. Various trinkets and artifacts long lost to time can be found beneath the ice,
attracting the daring and greedy to the Land of Ice in search of treasure. Besides Icepeak, there
is a castle of snow where an eccentric elemental entertains guests with song and dance
numbers.

RULE: I Spit On Peace! I Spit On Love!

Nekron is as cruel as he is vain and tyrannical. He will stop at nothing to conquer the world,
stubbornly denying any attempts at brokering peace brought before him. Queen Juliana is
partially to blame for her son's disposition, though he's grown far stronger than her and now only
listens to his mother's demands as it deigns him to do so. He has, on occasion, allowed for
warriors to challenge him, but only so that he could magically paralyze and execute them to
reaffirm his superiority over others who would raise a sword against him. Heroes who enter the
Land of Ice are likely to be attacked by any sub-human patrols that spot them, either to be killed
or captured so that they can be taken to Nekron's dungeons. There's little to be gained from
serving the Ice Lord, as he will likely execute you once you've outlived your usefulness.
Arktos (Tabaluga)
KING: Arktos the Magnificent

The wicked Arktos is the very embodiment of the ice and snow, his very breath issuing forth the
chill winds of winter. Arktos’s frozen heart has no room for pleasantries like nature, and where
his icy gaze sweeps over verdant green meadows, he sees only prime real estate for a shiny
new glacier. With his armies of obedient arctic creatures, boundless industry, and cruel
ambition, Arktos would soon see the entire world blanketed in pure white snow--if not for his
own incompetence. For all his posturing as a frigid dictator, Arktos has far more in common with
a petulant child than an almighty overlord. Spoiled rotten by his penguin servants who cater to
his every whim, Arktos is a vain and petty tyrant, ordering his minions about on inane errands
securing him new flavours of ice cream or erecting shiny new palaces only for him to inhabit
them for a week before abandoning them. Arktos insists that everything in his kingdom, down
the the smallest detail, be precisely to his expectations, and even a minor interruption of his
pampered routine can send him into a tantrum. His advisor, the enslaved Green Lander sage
Shouhu Bouhu Van Gouf, hardly makes things easier for the would-be archvillain, who
intentionally misleads Arktos into foiling his own plots in advance or even accidently acting for
good.

LAND: Iceworld

Iceworld, as the name implies is a realm of ice and snow where no plant dares sprout--lest it be
stomped back into the ground with prejudice by one of Artkos’s goons. Iceworld is inhabited by
a multitude of walking talking animals, nearly all creatures of the tundra. The polar bears,
penguins, walruses and wolves pride themselves as favoured servants of their frosty lord, and
most live in comparative comfort within the walls of Arktos’s floating capital: a metropolis carved
from ice known as Glasstown. Those who serve Arktos well are rewarded with cushy, if
demanding, jobs in the royal palace tending to His Iciness’s needs, while the less favoured find
themselves performing thankless duties as soldiers in Iceworld’s army or toiling away in his
factories. Despite its lack of urban development outside Glasstown and a handful of border
outposts, Iceworld is remarkably well industrialized. Great factorums built from massive carved
ice blocks churn out everything from weapons of war to ice cream and tinned sardines--Arktos’s
first and second favourite foods respectively. As Arktos’s kingdom expands to cover the last
remaining traces of greenery in the icy wasteland that was once the annexed kingdom of Green
Land, a tertiary class of citizens has begun to form out of the surviving Greenlanders, many of
whom are forced to work as servants to Arktos helping him build new factories and settlements
over the land they once called home.

RULE: Schlüssel zur Macht

Though Arktos makes a fool of himself with his attempts at villainy more often than not, he is
nevertheless a force to be reckoned with. Arktos has been scheming to cover the world in ice
and snow for over 500 years, and has done battle with a lineage of powerful dragons, wearing
each down over their centuries long lifespans until they finally collapsed dead from exhaustion.
With his defeat of the fledgeling Tabaluga, last of dragonkind, he has eliminated the last source
of dragonfire: one of the only substances on earth capable of melting him for good. The same
recklessness that so often spoils his plans is also the quality that makes Arktos especially
dangerous: he has an uncanny knack for stumbling upon forbidden powers combined with the
lack of common sense not to meddle in things so far beyond him. When he discovered the
secret of the Tree of Life, an ancient oak whose roots infuse life into the Earth and keep the
forces of nature in balance, he had no qualms with snuffing it out just to spite the hated Green
Landers, contributing to the worldwide ecological collapse the world of Saturday Mourning
suffers today.
Oscar Bulloney (Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo
Mesa)
KING: Mayor Oscar Bulloney

When an irradiated comet crashed in the western plains and transformed the land into a
colossal mesa, excess radiation from the comet evolved some of the wildlife to humanoid forms.
Among the mutant cattle of Moo Mesa was Oscar Bulloney, mayor of Cowtown. Blatantly
corrupt, the mayor rigged elections and taxed to the point of theft, having outlaws do his dirty
work while his own hands were kept clean. Even Sheriff Terrorbull was hand-picked by
Bulloney, serving Bulloney's interests as the Masked Bull when off the clock. Not satisfied with
being the richest man on the Mesa, Bulloney bought out the rail companies and had them build
tunnels through the Mesa itself. With a reliable railroad on and off the Mesa, Bulloney raked in
the dough with his trade routes across North America. His biggest export is oil, something
especially scarce in a world gone mad.

LAND: Moo Mesa

Moo Mesa is an elevated landform lying several miles above sea level, a picturesque painting of
the wild west. It's mostly desert, with the occasional forest, gorge, or river to break up the dust
bowl. The sides of the Mesa are sheer cliffs, making for a natural defense against invaders, but
restricts the only means of reaching the surface to air travel or Bulloney's railroad. The natives
of Moo Mesa are humanoid animals, most of which have only seen actual humans in Cowtown,
the central city all rail lines pass through. People across the badlands are attracted to Moo
Mesa due to its riches in oil and precious metals, boom towns rising and falling practically
overnight. It also helps that the land isn't a wasted-out husk of its former glory, though
increasing trade between Bulloney and the Eco-Villains might change that.

RULE: Frontier Injustice

Law and order are fickle things in Moo Mesa. Criminals on Bulloney's payroll are given badges
and told to maintain the peace, while rogue bandits prey on travelers in the desert. Though
there's rumors of a vigilante trying to bring justice to the Mesa, this 'Moo Marshal' can only be in
so many places at once. Heroes seeking to depose Bulloney will have their work cut out for
them, as while it may be difficult to convince the people that Bulloney is a no-good cad, it's quite
easy to convince Bulloney that you're a threat to him. Bulloney can keep track of anyone going
in and out of Moo Mesa by rail, so his enemies best keep an eye open for his gunmen while
they sleep. Thankfully, if anyone likes a good bribe, it's Mayor Bulloney. A generous donation or
five should have the corrupt politician in the palm of your hand.
The Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
KING: The Shredder

Long ago, there was a ninja clan by the name of Foot. Once noble, the Foot Clan became
criminals under Oroku Saki, a ninja who had his Sensei framed and banished so that none
could challenge his right to leadership. Besides being an adept warrior, Saki was also a
technological genius. Aware of Saki's skills, an alien warlord named Krang offered his advanced
technology to the ninja in exchange for a new mechanical body. When the world was ruined by
Megatron's attack, Oroku Saki, now the Shredder, used Krang's tech to crush his enemies and
become the new Shogun of post-apocalyptic Japan. Emperor Fred still gets to keep his title, but
he's even less relevant than he was before. Shrewd and sadistic, but with a twisted sense of
honor, the Shogun Shredder commands the loyalty of his ninja warriors with intelligence,
charisma, and sheer martial might.

LAND: Century's End

Before the apocalypse, Japan was an economic powerhouse. Now the once-prosperous land is
wounded, and ruined skyscrapers dot the country like skeletons. Warrior gangs roam the
badlands, though none venture into Foot territory if they value their lives. Villages that etch the
sign of the Foot on their walls are safe from raiders, and are allowed to thrive under Shredder as
long as they obey his laws and pay has taxes. The Shogun parked his mobile base, the
Technodrome, in Little Tokyo, where it will likely remain until it can be sufficiently powered. Until
that time, the Technodrome has been gutted of all nonessential parts and integrated into the
infrastructure of Shredder's capital. As a cost-cutting measure, the Shredder's robot ninjas have
been phased out and replaced with a mixed army of human, mutant, and robot animal warriors.

RULE: This Is Your Family, I Am Your Father

The Shredder is, for the most part, a shockingly fair ruler. Though he punishes those who would
cross him or his clients with extreme prejudice, everyone else is free to go about their business
as long as they don't disturb the peace. Over the years, the Foot have absorbed other ninja
clans into their ranks, making them some of the most diverse and formidable fighters around.
Picking fights with the Foot is always a bad idea, but there's no better way to get Shredder's
attention than defeating his warriors in combat... besides fixing the Technodrome. As he has
both Krang and the Big Cheese harping on him to get it back into a combat-ready state, the
Shogun would be very appreciative towards anyone that could secure both the parts and energy
needed to do so. Without the Technodrome, the Shredder fears that an attack by foreign
invaders is inevitable.
Tirek (Rescue at Midnight Castle)
KING: Tirek

The Dark Lord of Midnight Castle, Tirek is a large, demonic centaur of relatively negligible
sorcerous ability. Rather, most of his power comes from his Rainbow of Darkness, a malevolent
artifact that beats like a heart in its carrying sack. With it, Tirek can transform anything good and
beautiful into an ugly beast he can exert influence over. He used the Rainbow of Darkness to
conquer Dream Valley, transforming the ponies that once lived there into a legion of man-eating
demons. The strongest of these demons, the Nightmares, drive his infernal Nightmare Chariot.
Of course, for all of his blustering and browbeating, Tirek would be powerless without his
Rainbow. Its for this reason that he constantly searches for ways to increase his power, forcing
his servants to raid neighboring lands for new additions to his artifact collection.

LAND: Nightmare Valley

Years back, the land was once the majestic Dream Valley. When Tirek drove his Nightmare
Chariot across the sky, he plunged the realm into an eternal night, transforming it into a
desolate shadow of its former self. Though hot and unaccommodating, no light passes between
the dense clouds blocking the sun. In the center of Nightmare Valley lies Midnight Castle, a
jagged tower of brimstone where Tirek himself resides. Besides the mindless Nightmares and
Stratodons, there are a number of intelligible creatures that inhabit Nightmare Valley and
reluctantly call Tirek their master. No matter how heroic or noble they could be at heart, all that
live in Tirek's domain are ugly monsters on the outside. The original inhabitants of the land are
thought to be extinct, or at least will be soon due to their value as exotic pets or alchemy
components.

RULE: The Night That Never Ends

Nightmare Valley is not for the faint of heart. All who enter Tirek's domain will be pressed into
his army, changed into monsters so that they can better serve his interests. Tirek is a cruel and
demanding master, asking nothing less than total obedience from his minions in exchange for
the continued existence of themselves and their loved ones. He's not particularly liked by his
neighbors, and must occasionally defend his borders from them, but Nightmare Valley allows for
a buffer between Bug City and the rest of Europe. The Bugs are a constant threat, but Tirek
pours over his artifact night and night in order to figure out how to wrest control of the swarm
from the Brain Bugs. Those who make themselves useful to Tirek will be rewarded with small
fiefdoms and protection from other factions, though those against him should be wary of his
wrath.
Venger (Dungeons & Dragons)
KING: Venger, Force of Evil

Tall, menacing, and adorned with devilish features, Venger is an evil wizard with a heart of
stone. His thirst for power is unquenchable, driving him to forge a pact with the Nameless One
ages ago. He knows countless spells and incantations, allowing him to return from death and
change his face to deceive his foes. With the powers at his disposal, Venger banished the
dragon Tiamat and the old Dungeon Master, thereby becoming the uncontested Master of the
Realm. The evil wizard now seeks to conquer the rest of Europe, his monstrous legion waging
war against the forces of Morgana and the horde of Skeletor. Though callous and
uncompromising, the dreaded tyrant holds himself to a code of honor and keeps his word when
he deigns to give it. Venger scrys upon distant lands, searching for a means to shift the tides of
battle in his favor.

LAND: Venger's Realm

Venger's Realm of Dungeons & Dragons is a land of medieval fantasy and perilous adventure.
It's a microcosm of the old world, a magical place containing of steep mountains, dense forests,
scorching deserts, freezing taigas, and far more esoteric lands within. Being scarcely uniform in
structure, Venger's Realm is a haphazard amalgamation of disparate lands bound together by
long stretches of wilderness and small patches of civilization. Alongside humans, the Realm is
also inhabited by dwarves, elves, and other magical creatures, all of which live equally
oppressed under the draconian laws of Venger. Fearsome predators stalk the countryside,
preying upon those who leave the safety of society. Abandoned castles, hidden caverns, and
lost ruins dot the Realm, full of traps and treasures that attract daring adventurers like moths to
a flame.

RULE: Dark Fantasy

The Realm is not well under the iron fist of Venger. Wild monsters run rampant, making travel
between villages a risky affair. Greedy nobles exploit the poor, hoarding wealth and culture
while the peasants work themselves to the bone. Orcish soldiers grind the weak and helpless
underfoot, capturing criminals and vagabonds to be pressed into Venger's army. As long as the
strict laws of his Realm are enforced and feared, Venger will turn a blind eye to the daily
injustices that occur in his kingdom. He cares only for power, both exercising it and hoarding
more for himself. The few heroes that have taken a stand against Venger are fractious and
divided, waging a war that no one hero could ever hope to win on their own. Even though his
powers are greatly diminished, the Dungeon Master is said to lend aid to heroes in need of his
cryptic wisdom.
Wilhelmina Scharnhorst (Cadillacs And Dinosaurs)
KING: Governor Scharnhorst

Wilhelmina Scharnhorst is the governor of the City in the Sea, a settlement built on the ruins
what used to be Manhattan. Corrupt and power-hungry, but always wanting what's best for her
City, Scharnhorst is a woman of practicality. She didn't open trade with the Eco-Villains because
she hates trees and slithers, she did it because their money keeps the City strong and dinosaur
hunting keeps Hammer’s poachers busy. With Jack Tenrec and his Mechanics run out of town,
Scharnhorst has been free to manage the City her way. She sees the Ancients as people to be
imitated, not learned from, hiring scientists to rediscover old technology and mercenaries to
shoot anything that comes out of the jungle. Always willing to cut deals with people she finds
useful, Scharnhorst respects people with a sense of purpose and strength of character.

LAND: The City In The Sea

The City in the Sea is an island on the east coast of North America, a metropolis founded on the
ingenuity of a people who have learned to adapt to the new world in lieu of relying on sorcery or
super-science as a crutch. Though Scharnhorst's rule over the City was unopposed for years,
foreign trade opened the doors to foreign influence. The Ancient Spirits of Evil are rapidly
gaining clout, their cult attempting to edge out what remains of the Machinato Vitae faith. Looten
Plunder's logging and mining camps fill the air with noise and smog. Spies and criminals from all
over the world threaten the City's security, while the wizard Gemini to the North want the City
destroyed and it's people made humble. Worst of all, sightings of ghosts, spirits, and other
paranormal beings are on the rise, with no signs of dropping anytime soon.

RULE: City at War

The City in The Sea in a republic, a rarity in a world gone mad. Citizens vote, enjoy basic rights,
and appoint councils to get jobs done for them. In a direct violation of the principles the City was
founded on, the Governor has many tricks to prevent herself from getting removed from office,
allowing her to keep her job in all but the most explicit cases of foul play. If raiding parties of
slither-riders armed with blasters weren't bad enough, Shadaloo and the Purple Dragons
threaten to tear the City apart with the gang war over control of the island's underground. The
ghosts are a threat to everyone, as the only technology that can reliably banish them is trapped
in the sunken ruins of New York City. The City in the Sea is a pie that everyone wants a slice of,
but offers the greatest rewards to whoever can successfully take it whole.
Dr. Irving Claw (Inspector Gadget)
KING: Dr. Claw

The enigmatic leader of the MAD crime syndicate, the bad doctor is a constant shadowy
presence in the international underworld who rules with an iron claw. Though Claw enjoys the
money, power, and fear his criminal empire brings him the thrill of villainy itself is the true draw.
He revels in crafting bold schemes, the more chaos they cause the better, and tends towards
prioritizing global mayhem over pragmatic profiteering. A villain after the classics, Claw enjoys a
good diabolical monologue, and will never fail to treat his captured foes to one before shackling
them into an elaborate deathtrap or freezing them solid to add to his collection of human
snowglobes. For all his theatrics, Claw is not to be dealt with lightly. He is a seasoned criminal
genius and a master escape artist. He’s so elusive that nobody has ever been able to even
catch sight of more than the glint of his steel claw as he vanishes into the shadows. Heard but
not seen, Claw is a mystery even to his most trusted henchmen, and some aren’t even sure he
exists, some theorizing he’s merely a bogeyman invented by MAD’s true leaders to keep the
grunts in line. No matter the case, there’s no denying that the sinister voice of Claw demands
respect and immediate obedience… or else.

LAND: M.A.D.

In a world where criminals run amok, the Malevolent Agency of Destruction stands alone as the
best organized, competent, and resourceful crime ring of them all. MAD is embroiled in global
schemes from counterfeiting to smuggling, and even operations supposedly independent of the
underworld monopoly are often connected to the wider MAD network, unknown even to their
ringleaders. What makes MAD so threatening is their unparalleled ability to show up anywhere
at any time, as well as the sheer unpredictability of their schemes. The organization is built up of
local cells, each comprised of only a few henchmen each. Information is shared only on a need
to know basis, and so even if one MAD cell is rooted out, there are no doubt dozens more ready
to take their place. Kept in check in part by fear of Claw and in part by the rigorous vetting
process required to become a MAD sleeper agent, Dr. Claw’s henchmen have a shocking
amount of loyalty for mere hired guns, often preferring to bring their safehouses down on their
own heads with explosives than allow MAD assets to be captured by local authorities. When a
scheme calls for more than a squad of loyal goons, MAD never fails to have a specialist for
every occasion. MAD’s elite operators are an eccentric and bizarre bunch to be sure, but are
nonetheless deadly, many of them so skilled in their fields as to border on the supernatural.

RULE: Crime Always Pays

MAD thrives on chaos and anarchy, and so when the world went to hell in a handbasket, there
was no doubt they would prosper. The true genius of Dr. Claw lies in his infallible ability to make
a profit from any development, and oftentimes his schemes are so inscrutable it seems he’s
deliberately challenging himself to make them work. Unpredictable as they are, MAD plots tend
to follow a similar pattern. Bit by bit, through subterfuge and sabotage, their agents will set in
motion a disastrous chain of events that leads to localized chaos. Riots, economic crashes,
sudden system malfunctions, and catastrophic miscommunications have all been later
uncovered as MAD ploys to create confusion. Thanks to MAD’s crack infiltrators, they’ve even
been able to wreak havoc on a grand scale with the use of false flags, instigating conflict
between formerly friendly factions. In the madness that follows, their agents easily slip away
with stolen loot unnoticed until it’s far too late to catch them. Whether gold, technology, or
secrets, MAD’s plunder only gives the villainous organization more resources to make the next
great scheme bigger, badder, and more lucrative.