Stage 2 civilians

Not everybody at Stage 2 becomes a hero or villain, obviously. Not all tall people go into basketball, even though height is a prime characteristic of successful basketball players. So what are the rest of them doing?

Stage 2 provides physical and mental advantages over mundane humans. "Mental advantages" doesn't necessarily mean super-intelligence. What it does mean is that Stage 2 supers lack some of the mental gaps or disadvantages that mundanes have to deal with. They deal with surprise better, they have more neuroplasticity, better reaction times, and so forth.

Because of this, most Stage 2's excel in fields that depend on physical prowess or charisma, not intelligence. The people who make it into CEO positions at big companies might be brilliant thinkers, but they tend to have won their position through maneuvering and social benefits rather than some incredible invention or innovation.

So what do Stage 2's do when they aren't putting on body armor and throwing shuriken at criminals?

Businessperson. It's said that all corporations are sociopaths, and successful CEOs must be as well. Stage 2's tend to have the ultra-competence required to pull the job off without stabbing everyone around them in the back, so there's a fair number of corporate officers are Stage 2.

Diplomat. A surprising number of diplomatic appointments, especially to dangerous or unstable countries, are Stage 2. This allowed, for example, an American in Syria to rescue his staff after insurgents attacked their base a couple years ago in Syria.

Scientist. While super-intelligence isn't really a thing at Stage 2, many scientists are called on to do dangerous, grueling field work. Biologists, climatologists, chemists, and more find value in the benefits that Stage 2 provides to them. Many interesting breakthroughs have been made because a Stage 2 scientist was able to work in the right place at the right time. A few such intrepid souls have advanced to Stage 3 because of some overly dangerous encounter, of course.

Sports athlete. There are now separate competition brackets for Stage 2 athletes. Since they are officially banned from Olympic competition, and since their numbers aren't quite large enough, most of their exhibitions happen on Pay-Per-View television. These shows have gained more and more pageantry over the years, since essentially the performers are able to operate at Olympic levels more or less continuously and can take the time they'd spend training or recuperating to practice new stunts. This category also includes MMA fighters, boxers, and the like.

Television personality. The demanding schedule and requirement for telegenic speakers makes Stage 2's a logical choice when some producer needs to point a camera at someone and have them read the teleprompter while sounding natural.

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Just because this part of the guide was boring to write, here's some badass music celebrating super-villains. Enjoy.

Life at Stage 2

Earlier in the guide, I recommended that you be at least Stage 3 to embark on a life of villainy. Some people just can't wait, and many up-and-coming villains will be fighting Stage 2 heroes. So let's talk about life at Stage 2.

Everyone reading this guide should remember what it was like growing up. Broken bones would set themselves. You'd do better than your peers at school, in sports, and so on. You were better looking, faster, stronger, and generally more awesome. What I want to talk about is the people who don't make it to Stage 3. These are the kids who avoided getting into a life-threatening accident, the ones who didn't take a bullet or get in a car wreck or whatever.

The basics of Stage 2 heroism and villainy look pretty similar. You'll see some common points:

• Body armor. Yes, you won't permanently show bruises or suffer from broken bones, but do you really want to be hurt to begin with? Of course not.
• Exploitation of mundane advantage. Know all those brooding vigilantes of the night? They work at night because it's an advantage that serious powers can usually cover. They encourage a fearful reputation because it's an advantage. Vigilantes with guns are effective because guns are effective. A good Stage 2 super knows how to leverage the environment and his available resources.
• Secret identity. Some Stage 3 and up supers don't bother, but a day job is still a necessity at Stage 2. They still have to eat, sleep somewhere, and so on. That means money, and that means a job. If they were lucky enough to inherit money, that money is still legal and aboveboard and leaves a trail.

Remember that Stage 2 makes for superior physical and mental traits. Stage 2 supers are typically successful in their chosen field - business, politics, or whatever. A lot of villains who are being harassed by a Stage 2 vigilante have gone after especially successful members of their community, with mixed results. On occasion, a villain has even kidnapped their nemesis and didn't even realize it.

Don't count on being able to identify your target through injury, either. A lot of villains have tried this. They'd break a specific bone or leave a scar or something. Two days later, the millionaire industrialist they suspected would appear at a charity ball, free of any such injury. Word to the wise: even at Stage 2, supers heal quickly.

Some villains say it's bad form to know a hero's secret identity. Others will firebomb their nemesis' home given half a chance. You have to figure out how you feel about this yourself, mostly because karma can come back and bite you hard if you cross this line. All I will say is: if you need a trump card, this isn't a bad one. Just don't play it until you're out of better options.

Tactics for fighting against a Stage 2 hero:

• Wear him down. Sure, if he's armored, weaksauce attacks may not seem useful. You want quantity, not quality here. Eventually he'll get tired, or frustrated. Even if his body is capable of going on, his heart won't be in it.
• Negate his advantages. Look for the things he leverages - darkness, fear, whatever - and commit crimes at times and places where those are not helpful to him.
• Network. Most Stage 2 supers are similar, as mentioned. This means most villains who fight them will have a common collection of tactics for dealing with them. Talk to your fellow villains - if you can - and find out what specific advice they can give you.
• Timing. With a secret identity, a Stage 2 hero won't be able to fight crime 24/7. Try to get a sense of his schedule, if he keeps one. Plot his appearances on a map of the city, do crimes in different parts of town, and look at his response times. Hopefully you'll be able to narrow down his location.

I've got my own specific advice for specific heroes I've fought, but I'm saving that for the premium guide. Sign up today to pre-order "Mr. Big's Playbook"! I'll have Paypal links up soon, promise.