CP65 HOOD

Most of the time, when people call you a “hood,” it’s a slang term for a criminal. Not an actual, literal hood. Today on From Panel to Play, we’re taking a look at the criminal-turned-demonic-accomplice known mostly by how he accessorizes his wardrobe; it’s the Hood!

Parker Robbins was a petty criminal until he followed up a tip on a warehouse he believed contained valuables. Instead, it was abandoned apart from some occult paraphernalia and one irritated Nisanti demon. Parker destroyed the creature and took its mystical cloak and boots, believing them to be valuable. The items endowed the two-bit criminal with powerful magical abilities, allowing him to rise as a dangerous crime lord and sorcerer. He assumed the identity of the Hood, a villain who uses his power of flight and invisibility to gather other criminals under his leadership.

Unknown to Robbins, the true power of his cloak came from none other than the dread entity Dormammu, who uses Hood as a mortal agent, Empowering Robbins with enough magical power to combat the Sorcerer Supreme.

The Hood comes to Marvel: Crisis Protocol with a whole mess of abilities… in two different flavors! Like Ant-Man and the Wasp before him, the Hood has the ability to transform during battle from his normal self to a much more psychotic version.

When he’s acting as the normal Hood, he has some magically-empowered attacks and abilities. He can channel dark energy through his guns as a hex shot, which functions much like a normal pistol but is a Mystic attack, or he can call down a bolt of Dark Lightning on his target for 3 Power. A Mystic attack hitting at Strength 6, the Arc special rule causes the lightning to leap from the initial target to a number of additional targets within Range 3 for each wild in the attack roll. These secondary targets take 1 damage each. Dark Lightning is a perfect choice for clumps of enemies and can debilitate the initial target, who is shocked after the attack is resolved.

The Hood can also patch up his allies with magic through Dark Arts, which removes 3 damage but inflicts the Bleed special condition. And if he’s looking to avoid damage himself, he can use his cloak to become invisible. Invisibility Cloak lets him use his Mystic defense in place of another defense as he slips from his attacker’s sight.

But you might want to let him get hit once in a while. You see, the Hood has a buddy along for the ride: a Nisanti demon like the one he fought before becoming the Hood. When an enemy damages him, the demon takes the driver’s seat, transforming to his possessed form.

While possessed, the Hood becomes a terror in combat. He trades in his pistols for a pair of Strength 6 Razor Claws that shred the enemy, his Dark Lightning becomes Empowered Dark Lightning that does even more damage to its initial and secondary targets. Beyond that, the Hood gains powers that allow him to charge in at an enemy and lash out with his claws and a supernatural resilience that reduces all the damage he takes by 2.

Fortunately for the people who have to fight him, there are multiple ways that the Hood can revert to his normal form. His attacks can cause him to revert, and he becomes vulnerable to Mystic attacks, returning to normal if he is damaged by one.

That’s all for our first look at this criminal-turned-supernatural villain!

Be sure to check back for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol. Pre-order your own copy of the Doctor Voodoo & Hood Character Pack at your local game store or through our webstore today.

Until then, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!

CP65 Doctor Voodoo

Today on From Panel to Play, we’re taking a look at a man with voodoo in his blood and a sweet walking stick. The Gunner of God Lord of All Loa, it’s Doctor Voodoo!

Jericho Drumm is Doctor Voodoo, a Hougan of vast mystical power through his study of voodoo. He learned his craft at the feet of the aged master Charles LeJeune, also known as Papa Jambo. Doctor Voodoo is a natural master of voodoo practice and quickly rose as the supreme Hougan in Haiti.

When Doctor Strange was temporarily unable to fulfill his duties as Sorcerer Supreme, he was replaced by Doctor Voodoo. Drumm’s soul was determined to be the purest and most deserving of the role. As the Avenger of Supernatural, Doctor Voodoo has loaned his magical talents to groups like the Midnight Sons and the Avengers, combating foes like the Chaos King and the Empyre.

Doctor Voodoo steps onto the tabletop with a host of mystical abilities, accompanied by the spirit of his deceased brother Daniel Drumm. In life, Daniel was the local Hougan of Doctor Voodo’s hometown of Port Au Prince; a rival bokor’s spell murdered him. Now, he is a companion to Doctor Voodoo and a source of some of his most unusual abilities.

In battle, Drumm can use Spirit Venom to inflict a supernatural injury on his opponent. This attack weakens the spirit of its target while bolstering Doctor Voodoo, thanks to the Sap Power special rule that removes 1 Power from the target for each wild result in the attack and grants it to him.

When the master Hougan wants to punish an opponent, he can lash out with the Staff of Legba. This mystical relic allows Doctor Voodoo to channel his power through it and deal a brutal strike to his enemy. For 3 Power, the staff hits at Strength 7 and has the Power Burn special rule. For each wild in the attack roll, the target loses 1 Power and takes a point of damage for every power lost in this way. The Staff of Legba is a fantastic weapon for dealing with characters that rapidly accumulate Power or those who are camping a stack of Power to pull off a potent attack.

Of course, some of the most interesting abilities of Doctor Voodoo involve the spirit of his brother, Daniel, represented in-game with the Brother Daniel token. Voodoo starts the game with the token, which allows him to add 2 dice in his defense and dodge rolls and grants him 1 Power if he rolls at least 1 failure in any dice roll. Brother Daniel also increases the potency of Doctor Voodoo’s Spiritual Strength power, which allows him to throw interactive terrain. With Daniel acting like a poltergeist and increasing its potency, Doctor Voodoo can throw Size 3 or smaller terrain, while without the token he is restricted to Size 2 instead.

The Hougan can also draw on his brother’s spirit to afflict the enemy in battle. Possession allows Doctor Voodoo to guide Daniel’s spirit into a foe’s body by spending Power equal to the enemy’s Threat. When he does so, Daniel interferes with the target’s ability to act. The token is moved to the target character, who can no longer interact with, hold, or contest objectives while it has the token. Having Daniel wrestle for control of your opponent’s faster or more objective-focused characters can foul their plans and is a fair trade for the benefits of keeping it on Doctor Voodoo.

That’s all for our first look at the master of Voodoo and Hougan Supreme!

Be sure to check back for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol. Pre-order your own copy of the Doctor Voodoo & Hood Character Pack at your local game store or through our webstore here!

Until then, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!