If I Were Crazy, Would You Still Call Me Superman

It's Not Easy

Wow.

That is pretty much the word that best describes the most recent session of our Champions campaign, 'The New Age of Champions' (based on my friend William's 11 year tour De force Champions game, 'The Age of Champions').

To begin I would like to note that our friend Corey, who has participated in a few weak and false start games with us, finally got to be in one that rocked. Fitting and ironic, since now he is moving away, out of state, and it will likely be the last time we play together.

His moving wasn't a surprise. We knew a while back (way back when we first met actually) that this would eventually be the case. Now, having had running a game that included him and was pretty darn awesome, I am feeling a bit of sadness and regret that as a friend and GM I didn't figure out how to make his inclusion work sooner. Oh well. Life goes on and an open invite to our table remains should he ever find his way back to the Big Apple.

Corey, it was a blast. Good luck and godspeed.




Sunshine Superman

The game as a whole keeps on trucking and keeps getting better. The successful inclusion of Corey's character Ballistix to the continuity puts a very interesting and somewhat powerful Superhero in the Philadelphia, PA area which it kind of needed (the other two or three PA heroes are cool but not overly mighty).

Thanks to some quick thinking on Corey and my part we found a way to insert Ballistix in flawlessly to what was going on in the story.

If you'll recall (and even if you don't), Marcus' character, The Power, was recently fired from the superhero division of the United Nations SHIELD type organization UNTIL for insubordination, recklessness and, well, generally acting like a nut. His last recorded position was a train station outside Philly. Ballistix, a Philly based hero who works with UNTIL's Project: UNITY is sent to bring The Power back to base. It's one part apprehension, one part rescue and the powers that be at UNITY New York think that maybe, just maybe, The Power didn't come right back because he might be in some kind of trouble. Maybe he even ran afoul of some or all of the escaped super-criminals who recently broke out of Stronghold (the Super-Max Super-Bad Guy prison).

Pocket Full of Krytonite

Now sometimes players have these plans that seem, y'know, a little bit crazy. Occasionally, they're crazy like a fox. Sometimes they aren't. No, sometimes they're just batsh*t crazy. We're talking crazier then Sh*t House Rat.

Ninjette: "Don't you mean, "Crazier then 'A' sh*t house rat?"

Thugboy: "No, I mean what I said..."





Marcus had a plan. In his head, it was a great plan.

Basically, it involved capturing the currently on-the-loose AI of the arch-villain Mechanon, who is essentially an evil machine god, and trapping it in a new body that the team could then shut down. This is a good idea. Difficult to be sure but a good idea. It's been part of Mechanon's M.O. in the past to build a new, more advanced body to inhabit each time he returns. The idea of baiting him by letting it be known that someone recently developed some awesome new robot would be pretty enticing to someone like Mechanon.

He's where is starts to break down...

His first thought was to contact the evil technological conclave called ARGENT and get them to do it. Hmmm...I guess if you're pretending to be a villain making the request and offered them a lot of money or resources it might work. But then how do you know they won't double cross you or worse yet, make an awesome robot body for Mechanon that he will then possess and use to kick the crap out of everyone.

His second plan was to find one of the escaped criminals, a villain called Think Tank, and get Mechanon to possess him. Think Tank is a telepathic human brain inside a large robot body. Marcus' theory was that is Mechanon tried to enter Think Tank, the two consciousnesses would be locked in conflict and the heroes would be able to capture them both. In a single body no less!

Again, nice idea but waaay too chancey. Think Tank is a upper mid-level villain. Mechanon is, did I mention 'evil machine god'? 'Cause yeah, evil machine god. Do we want an Ultron with telepathic and psychic abilities kids? No we do not.

I Am Superman And I Can Do Anything

So the other problems with his plan(s), aside from those issues mentioned above, were that he saw the end results but had not clearly thought out how to achieve them.

He didn't take into account the fact that Think Tank had escaped with 4 other villains, one of whom was basically Superman with Captain Atom's nuclear powers.

He decided to get himself fired in order to go it alone, hoping to investigate and spare his allies the dangers of the plan, when in fact they could have helped immensely. A lesson learned early in the campaign by another PC apparently fell on deaf ears..."This universe is tough. Heroes are not guaranteed to win. You need friends and you sometimes need their help just like they need yours."

I had one NPC say, "The team isn't called The Champions anymore. It's not the Freedom Force or the Justice Avengers. We're called UNITY. There's a reason."

Really, I think he just wanted the glory, a win that said, "I, The Power, captured this major mojo, bad guy Mechanon."

Somebody Save Me

In the end, The Power found that the villains who escaped Stronghold were on a freight train bound for Upstate New York. They had commandeered the train, attaching a series of Inertial/Kinetic Energy Field Generators to their conveyance that enabled it to travel much faster on much less fuel.

When The Power snuck onto the moving train, he passed a conductor/train worker fellow who was terrified, saying that the villains were in the front car.

When The Power entered the engine car he was immediately attacked by a villain called Mako, a shark themed, underwater Wolverine type. The Power's psychic force field barely prevented Mako from biting his shoulder off. At this point, Endurance wise, The Power is running on fumes. He is down to the very bottom of his Endurance Reserve, not having rested since a battle with villains the day before and flying all over the USA all morning trying to track these criminals down. Also, he has a weakness that his Flight takes more Endurance then Flight normally does.

The Power asks Think Tank and the other villains to call off Mako in hopes of talking, when he is hit with a stun beam from behind. The Conductor. In truth he was a shape-shifting villain (a former hero actually but that's another tale) called The Outsider. Ya'see...

How did 5 villains escape Stronghold without anyone busting in, busting out or any alarms going off? Why spring only these five dudes? Who was behind it all? Well, as it turns out, some mysterious head honcho villain hired Outsider to do it. He shifted into one of the Stronghold guards after knocking the guy out and taking his security access card. He used devices supplied by his employer to mess with the Stronghold security cameras and speed up the train. He got the drop on The Power.

Luckily, help was on the way whether Power wanted it or not. Ballistix, having found no sign of The Power at the coordinates provided, figured the train barrelling through at well over two to three hundred miles an hour might be a clue to something suspicious...

To Be Continued...

AD
Barking Alien

New Age Heroes - Part 2

I realize that the previous post may have been a bit confusing without certain frame of reference elements. As noted, there are past posts that reference the ups and downs of our Champions game. Essentially, after the initial story arc, Jeff got married and wasn't able to come around and play on our scheduled day. We took a short break, originally thought to be a long and/or even indefinite one, only to miss it and try to resurrect it some time later with a few new players added.

The first attempt to pump new life into it was a one shot that really didn't pan out well. A second attempt was made a bit later after a little tweaking and it turned out much better. While not quite up to its former glory yet, the game shows continued potential.

Now, three sessions after the restart, Jeff returns! He will be available on and off, roughly every other session, so his character has become more of a support character with an eye toward helping facilitate several projects that may radically change the background and setting. Woohoo! I am so excited I can hardly wait to see what the heck he's going to do.

If you will recall in my previous post, The Power had gone off half-cocked to investigate several instances that the team had learned about just prior to his making a fool of himself and getting canned from Project: UNITY.

When Jeff's character Revenant (formerly known as Siphon Zero) returns from a black ops mission in Afghanistan and discovers what happened, he decides to have a heart to heart talk with NPC group leader Night Force. Revenant brings up some great points and spouts some solid philosophy and the next thing you know he's convinced Night Force to give The Power another chance. Revenant contacts The Power on his cell (they were pals outside of the team as well as on) and talks him into waiting for a lift back to New York and UNITY's base.

Only...The Power doesn't intend to 'wait' exactly. He is going to try and check into what's going on before heading home.





Meanwhile, Dave's alt character, Silver Sun, met up with Britian's Ultramarine while saving the international space station. A huge fan of Ultramarine's, Silver Sun asks if he can fly with him back to England. Ultramarine agrees and the two fellows end up talking shop and comparing notes. Finally arriving in London, Silver Sun gets to meet the entire British super team. Silver Sun decides to hang out with them for a bit and he and several members go for breakfast and of course, tea.

Now Conrad was out Saturday, so we didn't do much with his character Makeshift, a mysterious android found inside a bunker-like base belonging to the high-tech, anti-supers villain Paradigm Shift. Shift was our main nemesis in the first story arc and now here in the second, some of what he left behind after being sent to prison is continuing to make life heck for the heroes. Is Makeshift one such element or is something deeper at work here? Time will tell.

Much, much more happened in the roughly 8 hour session but that should suffice for now.

As always, more to come,

AD
Barking Alien

New Age Heroes - Part 1

The latest session of our rejuvenated 4th Edition Champions campaign (simply titled, The New Age of Champions*) was also one of the best sessions of anything we've had in a while.

Although there was not a bit of combat and no direct adversary, the game felt more meaningful and full of activity then the two previous ones, which were chuck full of hero vs. villain full-contact craziness.

What made this session so special (And it was special. There is no other word for it.)?

First, and perhaps foremost, it featured a slight change to the Player roster. Ray and Conrad were absent and Jeff made a return guest appearance. This changed the dynamic considerably. Jeff was there at the beginning of the campaign and he had a big impact on the story and style of the game. Also, Jeff is a very unusual type of player. He is the kind I grew up with but don't see a lot these days. Jeff gets into his PC's head and his PC lives in this campaign setting. He is not merely going on the adventures and fighting the bad guys and seeing how much xp he received. Jeff, and by association his PC, cares about the people, places and events as if they are a part of him and he them. It makes even minor actions and activities seem to have weight. It's extremely refreshing to see that mindset return.

The other thing Jeff's presence seems to do if spur on one or more of the other players to get proactive and appreciate the campaign the way Jeff does. This meant we saw a lot more interaction between the PCs and the NPCs, the PCs and each other and the PCs and the various organizations that make up the setting.

Secondly, without a direct threat, the PCs have the chance to explore the consequences of their recent actions in previous sessions. Honestly, after saving an international space station full of astronauts of varying accents, the rest of the "adventure" was mostly talk and investigation.

After congratulating the team on a job well done in saving the astronauts and the station, Night Force (Major NPC) dropped some intel on some new situations that developed while we were occupied averting the aforementioned potential disaster in orbit. This was immediately followed by a one-on-one with three of the PCs.

Night Knight (Dave) was confronted about the somewhat excessive use of force during the the group's previous outing on an opponent who didn't really warrant it (in Night Force's opinion). Night Knight agreed it was regrettable and a bit excessive. This somehow turned into a philosophical debate between the two characters (Dave as Night Knight, me as Night Force) about the differing mindsets of the Captain America or even Superman hero (highly moral boyscout with a black and white world view) and the stop-crime-by-any-means-necessary mindset of a Batman or Daredevil type character. Neither was advocating a kill-them-before-they-kill-us/Punisher approach but Night Knight came close a few times. The two men came to an understanding but only time will tell if they can hold on to their compromise.

Next, The Power (Marcus) was called in by Night Force, who was joined by Omni (another Major NPC and a mentor like figure to The Power). A session or two ago, The Power went on a solo mission that he didn't tell the team about. In addition to the mission being unsanctioned, The Power decided to contact Superhype!, a 24 hour TV and Internet cable channel that covers anything and everything Supers, from news to entertainment, etc. A film crew from Superhype followed him in a ride along a la' COPS as The Power tried to uncover and capture a ring of high-tech weapon smugglers. In the process, he threw a couple of cars, a small truck and managed to set part of a city owned housing project garage on fire. The two higher ranking heroes simply approached Power with a nice, calm, "WTF! What the hell were you thinking? Who is paying for the vehicles and the building damage. Don't think we are. It was an unsanctioned mission meaning no government help to cover damage to public property. What's wrong with you man?!"

Now Marcus, the player of The Power, is normally pretty good at bluffing or getting himself out of tight spots be they physical or verbal. Yesterday however, something bizarre possessed him and he just started having The Power act like a total as...jerk. He went on mouthing off to the veteran heroes, getting all egotistical and just generally making himself out to be a glory seeking loose cannon. So...Night Force discharged him. Yep. He was made to turn in his supergroup ID and hand in his communicator. Fired.

Upon being escorted out of the secret base, Power flew skyward and went to investigate some of the recent reports of trouble on his own. At this point he believes there may be a connection between several seemingly unrelated incindents. He hopes to prove he can solve these mysteries on his own and then, quote, "They'll be begging me to come back to the team".

Finally, Arcane (Lee) is approached by Night Force and Omni and thanked for all he's done so far. He has had an excellent track record in a short period of time. A new addition to the team, he was nonetheless very helpful in defeating several pretty tough villains and saving the space station.

The two veteran heroes think Arcane can help undo some of the public relations issues The Powers activities might have caused. Also, since he is a former 'graduate' of the Scaramangler Foundation, he is the perfect fellow to strengthen ties between the superheroes of Project: UNITY and that organization. Omni hopes that by carefully handling their public image and maintaining the public's current approval rating of superheroes, he may be able to reinstate 'The Champions', the premier super team that disbanded some 20 years ago in disgrace.

But wait! What about Jeff's character Revenant? Where is Dave's other (alternate) PC, Silver Sun! Who is Makeshift?

Find Out Next issue...

AD
Barking Alien

Storming Heaven

I was talking to one of my players about how he wanted to spend his experience points in our Champions campaign and after he told me what he was thinking of doing I said, "Very logical."

He replied with a "Thank you Captain" and for a brief moment neither of us said a word. This pause in our Champions conversation was immediately followed by his request that, one of these days soon, I run a one-shot or short campaign of FASA Star Trek.

Damn.


 


I am on such a superhero kick right now that pretty much the only thing you could tempt me with would be Star Trek. And FASA Star Trek at that! While I dearly love the Last Unicorn Games ICON system edition, there is a very special place in my heart for FASA Trek as any long time reader of this blog knows.

If you don't know this or are not a long time reader (Hey, it's possible. Not everyone is as lucky and privileged as you are), please check out some of my earliest entries on the subject or follow the label marked Star Trek.

Will I be accommodating my good friend's request? Most assuredly. Soon? Perhaps. Right now I need to finish the current adventure in our Champions game and reestablish the flow of the campaign before I consider dabbling in something else.

It's funny but it just some happens that I am currently reading Storming Heaven, the latest and last book in the Star Trek: Vanguard series of Trek novels. Picked it up the same day my pal asked about playing Trek. Surely it's a sign.

AD
Barking Alien

Supers And Their Supporting Cast

As usual, a little sad my last post didn't solicit any comments even as the previous one, which inspired it, did. Oh well. They say timing is everything and perhaps my timing is a bit off with the weekend approaching (and now here as of this writing).

Still and all I think some of the ideas I put forth are worth a look. Please take a gander when you get the chance.

Now then...

One of the under used elements of the Supers genre among many Superhero gamers and GMs (myself included from time to time) is the use of an effective supporting cast in the heroes' costumed and secret identities. In Champions especially, the 'Dependant NPC' Disadvantage is only a disadvantage if the NPC is truly dependant upon the PC. If Lois Lane is never in trouble or even around, Superman has less to worry about and as we all know, that's not as fun.

The problem for me is, more and more, my new and younger players don't really think about plucky reporters, dear old aunts and best buddies who try to figure out their identities. Most are reading Marvel comics where the secret identity and double life traditionally attributed to the superhero is sort of passe'. The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Captain America, Luke Cage and many other Marvel heroes have publicly known 'secret' identities. It doesn't hinder them in the least because their supporting cast, once an important part of the comic book soap opera milieu, now consists primarily of other costumed super beings.

This conversation is not out of the question:

Hawkeye: "I'm worried that if they find out my secret identity, they'll go after my girlfriend."

Spiderman: "Um...dude. You're dating Spiderwoman. She can kick your ass. And mine. And likely theirs who ever 'they' are."

I do have one player, the always awesome Dave, who has an interesting Dependant NPC for his Champions alt character, Silver Sun. Silver Sun adopted a young boy who has evidenced super powers of his own and with the help of the Scaramangler Foundation (a sort of global, non-profit Xavier's School For Gifted Youngers meets the Red Cross), the kid is learning to handle his abilities while Silver Sun learns to handle having a kid.

Again however, the kid has powers. He is not a normal child who has no means of defending himself at all against an attacking supervillain. That dynamic is simply not often as evident as it once was.

Now, as to a supporting cast of Supers and those who can hang with them...

I can create Superhero concepts at the drop of a hat and as such, I tend to. For my Champions campaign I am actually showing a huge amount of restraint, as part of the setting is that the word has considerably less Superheroes than Marvel or DC comics.

New York City for example, often depicted as the mecca of all superhero activity in mainstream comics, has just over a dozen Supers. What I have done is given the team, individually or as a group, the chance to move around and see the rest of the country and even the world. As such, they have forged relationships with Supers from other states and discovered just how hard their jobs can be.

For example, Georgia, former home town of Silver Sun before he moved to New York, is protected by only three other heroes. Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Wyoming appear to share not but a handful of costumed do-gooders between them. This makes each one stand out more and gives the players a reason to not only help but to get to know them. Sometimes they become friends, sometimes they rub each other the wrong way. It makes for good TV as they say.

Finally, taking a cue from current Marvel as well as my old Villains & Vigilantes days, the government agents, SHIELD types and other law enforcement officers and officials round out things nicely as people who can handle themselves but still need to call in the heroes for the big jobs. Here more than anywhere else you get the people who can either love or hate the PCs and NPC heroes in a big way and have enough clout to make things easy or hard for the supers. Some agents are honored to fight beside these gifted individuals. Some would prefer the freaks would stay out of the way and let them do their job. You know the drill.

So those are some of my supporting cast thoughts. Not all of them mind you but enough for an early Saturday morning. No game today as personal stuff takes precedent but back to the fold next week.

Oh and just a quick heads up...June 30th is the next RECESS game event! I'll be there and I hope, if you can, you will too.

Laters,

AD
Barking Alien