Adrien Massengo (Order #47334526)

PROWLERS PARAGONS
 TIME HEIST
WRITING
Eddy Webb

EDITING
Carinn Seabolt

LAYOUT
Thomas Shook, Bill Keyes

COVER ART
Moonee, Dan Smith

INTERIOR ART
Moonee

PROWLERS & PARAGONS DESIGN

Leonard A. Pimentel

TITLES/LOGOS
Jesse “Cadre” Hansen

© 2013–2021 LakeSide Games, Inc. Prowlers & Paragons, Prowlers & Paragons Unlimited Edition, Prowlers &
Paragons Unlimited Edition Quickstart, Pinnacle City’s Most Wanted, Pinnacle City, the Pinnacle City Universe,
LakeSide Games, and all related marks and logos are trademarks of LakeSide Games, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adrien Massengo (Order #47334526)

PROWLERS PARAGONS
 TIME HEIST


“Time Heist” is a starting adventure for 3-5 Standard Level only mentions being hired by Mister X. But Shard is paranoid,
heroes. It uses characters and places from Pinnacle City, but it and managed to trace Mister X back to some company called
can easily be placed in any urban area with a bank, a zoo, and TymeShyft, working out of a refurbished warehouse.
a warehouse area.
Part 3: The heroes arrive at TymeShyft, to discover that it’s

BACKGROUND a completely normal tech startup company. They reveal that

they’ve been working on mercury links — items that will help
calibrate their (currently theoretical) time machine. Just as
Ape-X, Primate Minister of Earth in the 23rd century, wants to
they reveal the links, Ape-X and his apes attack, attempting to
go back home. Born into slavery some 150 years from now, he
acquire the links! Can our heroes apprehend the avaricious ape?
and his kind were genetically manipulated to be just intelligent
enough to perform menial and dangerous tasks. But something
went wrong, and he became the most intelligent creature on
the planet. He manipulated events to culminate in a long and
PART 1: A BANK ROBBERY
costly war — so costly that parts of his body were replaced with The setup for the “Time Heist” can go one of two ways. If the
cybernetic implants as a result of the damage he took from group is already a superhero team, then start the issue with
the conflicts. But eventually the uplifted animals prevailed, and them able to get into contact with each other. Maybe they’re
humanity was crushed under their heels. However, rebels in his hanging out at their headquarters, or they have communication
camp desired freedom over tyranny and turned against him, devices to contact each other when a crime is committed.
forcing him to use his time-shunting device to escape into the However, if the heroes are not yet a team, start the issue with
past, where it promptly broke, stranding him in the 21st century. them both in relative proximity to each other and within a few
blocks of the Pinnacle City National Bank. (The characters don’t
But Ape-X is patient. It took him years to rule the Earth, and have to know they’re near each other — many a comic book
if it takes him years to go back and reclaim his throne, so be story has started with an unusual coincidence! — but it helps if
it. He has spent the past few months in Pinnacle City acting there’s a plausible reason they’d all be in the same space.)
as a broker of events. Under the pseudonym “Mister X,” he
has quietly infiltrated the supervillain community, acting as a Once you establish the setup, spend some time focusing on
mysterious, shadowy figure organizing elaborate jobs. According each of the heroes. Let the players narrate a scene with their
to the fragmented 23rd century records he has, a company characters in a state of relative calm: maybe they’re at their job
called “TymeShyft” will invent a key element of his time-shifting under their secret identity, training their powers in a private
device: the mercury links. In this century, they’re still a startup area, or doing a minor but heroic task like saving a kitten from a
working in a refurbished warehouse. Ape-X has a plan, and a tree. Whatever the scene, keep it to one dice roll at maximum;
patsy to work with. He’s just missing one key element: money. you should be encouraging them to get into character and show
the other players what they’re like, rather than setting up new

SUMMARY plotlines.

After everyone has had a moment to showcase their characters,

Part 1: “Time Heist” starts with the heroes preventing a robbery
the silent alarm at the bank goes off! Find reasons for all the
at the Pinnacle City National Bank. Crime Spree is responsible
characters to be aware of this crime. It can be anything from
for the robbery, but when she is captured, she doesn’t have the
a superteam that gets a call from the police chief about the
money. She mentions working with someone named “Mister X,”
crime, to overhearing a squad car radio while heading to the
who agreed to launder the money and give her 50% of the
local library. Again, don’t worry too much about plausibility here,
profits, if she deposited the money in a specific dumpster
as the goal is to get the players to the scene of the crime quickly!
near the bank.

Part 2: By the time the heroes get to the dumpster, the money is
gone, so the investigation begins! The heroes uncover clues that
indicate the money was taken by apes of various kinds, which
reveals that several apes escaped from a local zoo recently and
were never recovered. While at the zoo, Shard attacks, trying
to dispatch the heroes. When captured and interrogated, he

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Adrien Massengo (Order #47334526)
PROWLERS PARAGONS
 THE ROBBERY PART 2: GOING BANANAS
The heroes arrive at the bank in the middle of the robbery.
There are several hostages who are kneeling on the floor with Once the heroes get to the dumpster in question, all the money

Time Heist
their hands behind their heads, and the cashier is very slowly is gone. The characters need to search the area for clues.
counting out money for the robber: Crime Spree (see Prowlers Everyone searching makes an Investigation challenge roll against
and Paragons Ultimate Edition, p. 151). Crime Spree is a a threshold of 2 successes. Any character that meets or beats
speedster who dilates time in order to run quickly. She’s a the threshold realizes the following:
known thief, but she’s also overconfident, so banks have learned
that she won’t come with other people, and she’ll stay until she • There are footprints all over the place — likely Crime
gets everything she’s come for, believing she can jet off whenever Spree’s.
she wants. The cashier is stalling for time until the police (or the
• There are fingerprints all over the inside of the dumpster,
heroes!) arrive.
but there’s nothing inside — not even garbage.

The moment the heroes arrive, Crime Spree is babbling to the • The fingerprints look somewhat human, but are actually
cashier. She’s clearly excited and nervous about something, and those of a variety of apes!
as soon as the heroes arrive, she’ll try to take off using either
her Super Speed or Time Stop powers. If she manages to escape, If anyone gets at least one net success, they also remember
she’ll appear a page later without the money to taunt the heroes there was an article online last week about some apes ending
— not only is she overconfident, but she also really enjoys being up missing from the Pinnacle City Zoo.
a thief, so she’ll be a little starstruck by the heroes that are
coming after her and she wants to prolong the conflict. Don’t
be afraid to make mistakes with Crime Spree; the goal is for her
to be caught, and as a character she’s more of a dilettante than
a hardened criminal.

THE PLOT THICKENS

Once Crime Spree is captured, she talks immediately (more
accurately, she doesn’t stop talking since the heroes arrive, but
she starts answering their questions). She explains that she was
hired via the dark web by someone known only as “Mister X,”
who asked her to rob this specific bank at this specific time.
Mister X somehow knew that two of the guards would be sick on
this day, leaving them low on security. If she left all the money in
a certain nearby dumpster, he would launder the money and pay
her half in return. “Seemed a no-brainer,” she admits. “Mister X
gets some money, I get some money, and I have a blast doing it.”

The players can do what they like with Crime Spree: drop her off
with the police, wait for the police to arrive, or leave her tied up
with a note. Then it’s off to find the money!

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Adrien Massengo (Order #47334526)
PROWLERS PARAGONS
 GOING TO THE ZOO TOMORROW’S NEWS TODAY
The Pinnacle City Zoo is full of people at this time of day, If captured, he won’t say much except that he was hired by
especially with the news of the disappearing apes (the ape house Mister X to stop the heroes’ meddling. On his person, the heroes
has a sign on it saying “the exhibit is closed until further notice”). will find a printout of an article from a local news website, which
Allow the heroes to ask around about anything unusual — in is about the very fight that just happened! The article looks
general no one will know much of anything, although the ape like it was posted tomorrow. Further, on the back, Shard has


house keepers will note that the apes seemed to be unusually scribbled some information. It looks like a lot of numbers with
placid before the escape. the word TYMESHYFT? circled a few times. A Professional or
an Investigation challenge roll (threshold 2) will reveal that the
Then, Shard attacks (see Prowlers and Paragons Ultimate numbers are a series of bank account routing numbers, along
Edition, p. 164)! He breaks into the zoo and starts causing with a company tax ID. Further investigation will reveal the bank
indiscriminate damage while calling for the heroes. Even if account belongs to one Anthony Russo (Shard’s real name),
they’re in disguise or relatively unknown, Shard knows their while the tax ID belongs to a company called TymeShyft, LLC.
names and that they are there. There are a lot of civilians around,

PART 3: TYMESHYFT
and Shard uses that to coax the heroes into confronting him.

Shard is a mercenary, and he’s been paid to stop the heroes from
TymeShyft is a public company, but the address for the corporate
investigating further. He’s not the most intelligent villain, but he’s
offices is listed as a post office box. The post office refuses to
relentless and a dirty fighter, willing to take any advantage he
release any information about the people who own the box.
can over the heroes. He doesn’t know much about the heroes
There’s a website (tymeshyft.com) that has only some basic
aside from their names and what they look like in costume, so
information, the same post office box, and a phone number. The
he’s not prepared for their powers unless they are famous or
phone goes to a cell phone belonging to a Dr. Brenda Stevens,
have tangled with Shard before. Further, he won’t retreat or stop
who is surprised to be getting any calls for TymeShyft — they
until he’s captured or incapacitated.
only just applied for the official paperwork for the company a
month ago, and they haven’t been promoting the company at
all. But she is happy to meet with anyone that sounds like a
prospective investor or a superhero willing to spread the good
word about their company, and gives an address to what sounds
like an abandoned warehouse.

TYMESHYFT, LLC
The heroes arrive at the warehouse. The outside looks old, with
boarded-up windows and graffiti spray-painted all over the walls.
There are very few cars around. Most of the metal doors look
pitted with flaking paint, although one is covered in fresh purple
paint. Beside the door is a small sign that says “B. Stevens,” and
a button. The heroes can hear a loud buzzing sound when they
push the button, and Dr. Stevens comes quickly to the door to
let them in.

Inside the warehouse walls are still covered in graffiti, but the
interior has been completely refurbished. The floors are polished
concrete, and the massive space is littered with chrome desks
with chairs and powerful computers. The back of the warehouse
has been converted into a secure room, with thick brick walls
and a steel door with a keypad.

Dr. Stevens introduces the heroes to the rest of her team (three
other scientists named Johan, Klara, and Mattias) and explains
that they are a new tech startup company. They’ve been doing
some software design as a side gig to generate money for their
main project: the creation of a working time machine! In fact,
Dr. Stevens explains that they just finished building the mercury
links, which will help calibrate their eventual design. Although

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Adrien Massengo (Order #47334526)
PROWLERS PARAGONS
 the mercury links are kept in the secure room, the scientists will
be eager to show them off if the heroes show even the smallest
amount of interest.

Time Heist
As soon as the links are removed from the secure room, the
rolling door in the front of the warehouse is blown open!
Ape-X (see Prowlers and Paragons Ultimate Edition, p.
148) walks in, accompanied by fifteen apes of a variety
of types. All of them have a metal helmet on their head,
and are strapped to a jetpack while carrying a futuristic-
looking gun. (Count these as minions, 4d, with the Flight
power.) The metal helmet is what Ape-X uses to control
his minions — if the minion is taken out, players can
narrate knocking the helmet off and allowing the ape
to scamper in fear away from the conflict.

Ape-X will attempt to steal the mercury links, allowing his

minions to tie up the heroes. He has no compunctions
against using the scientists as collateral damage in
his quest — he believes himself smarter than any
human, and merely wants the mercury links as the
next stage in rebuilding his own time-shifting device.
If the links are destroyed during the fight, Ape-X
will retreat, leaving the apes to fend for themselves.

CONCLUSION
So what happened? As part of his escape from
the 23rd century, Ape-X was able to acquire some
fragmented news reports of the time he was travelling
to. From those reports, he knew that a company known
as “TymeShyft” invented key parts of this device, and
that they created the mercury links around now, but no
records exist of where the company was based at this time — it
was originally under Dr. Stevens’ name before they restructured
as TymeShyft, LLC. But Ape-X knew that the heroes would be in a
fight with Shard at the zoo on this date, so he hired Shard to appear
there, along with giving him some hints about TymeShyft to coax
the heroes into finding the company.

So Ape-X broke the apes out of the zoo to use as part of an ape
army, but he couldn’t replicate the same experiment that gave him
his own superior intellect. Instead, he could only fashion a crude
control helmet that allowed him to manipulate his brethren. Once
the heroes found the company, he could swoop in and steal the
mercury links for himself.

If Ape-X is asked why he didn’t just call the number and find the
address for himself, he’ll fly into a rage. It turns out, phone numbers
don’t exist in the 23rd century, so he didn’t know what it was!

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Adrien Massengo (Order #47334526)
PROWLERS PARAGONS