Sentinel Comics RPG Core Rulebook

Plot Characters
Plot characters are named NPCs that play
significant roles to advance a story but don’t always
act in action scenes. Some plot characters are
recurring, meaning they show up in many issues
and maybe even many collections: The Mayor of
Megalopolis, the guy who runs that great bodega
on 28th and Pine in Rook City, and that allied hero
who shows up sometimes and lends a hand are all
solid examples of plot characters.
In some cases, you’ll have stats to represent
plot characters. This is especially likely if they have
powers or abilities they’re supposed to actively use
in a scene to help or oppose the heroes. Their stats
reflect their relative power and complexity.
Allied heroes might have stats like the players’
heroes, have stat blocks similar to villains (to simplify
them), or be statted like minions or lieutenants.
Such characters can act in action scenes like all
other characters. They get their own turn in the
action order, can perform any of the basic actions,
take risky actions, and use any ability they have. Like
bystanders, you can let players control allied plot
characters.
Threats
Threats are hostile minions, lieutenants, and
villains that aren’t necessarily present at the start of
a scene but could be added later. Threats typically
come into play through the actions of another
character or the effects of a scene element like
a challenge, a scene’s environment, or a twist.
In published issues, these threats are statted out
within the scene for ease of reference.
Let’s look at a couple different ways threats can
appear in scenes.
The heroes are facing off against some opponents,
one of which is a vehicle — the Alien Teleport Beacon.
To stop the constant arrival of new threats, the heroes
must destroy the beacon (or find a way to deal with
the orbiting troopship, not listed here).
Alien Teleport Beacon
Lieutenant
Description
The Alien Teleport Beacon is a vehicle that hovers
a few feet above the ground and is operated by
several alien technicians. Its purpose is to serve as a
gateway for arriving alien soldiers.
Ability
Gateway: The Alien Teleport Beacon, on its turn,
summons Alien Soldier minions from the
orbiting Alien Troopship and delivers them to the
scene. These minions act immediately after the
Alien Teleport Beacon’s turn.
Special
The Alien Teleport Beacon can perform no actions
except its Gateway ability.
always equals the number of heroes in a scene.
Alien Soldier
Minion (1 Per Hero)
Description
This alien soldier is here to take over the world.
Ability
Laser Limbs: The alien soldier has +1 to Attacks
made with its laser-powered appendages.
150
The GM’s Turn