Dark Champions House Rules...Anyone?

[bryanb]

Hi All,

I am thinking of starting up a DC campaign and would like to know what House rules, tips, pitfalls, plot ideas people have that have run this style of game.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[Tamashii2000]

Have the structure of the local mob fleshed out before the game, Who's the boss, the main henchmen, the flunkies. Where do they meet? what area's are they in? Do they have 'low level' supers.. all that stuff.

[BlackCobra]

Actually, I'd recommend having more than 1 "Mob" or organized crime group in your local campaign world. It gives you a lot more options and interesting stories.

My personal favorite mix has been 1 regular mafia-type, 1 Carrebian (sp?), 1 Tong and 1 Yakuza. Generally, they have negotiated some sort of piece and have well-established territories and "crimes" that they control. Throw in 4 or 5 major gangs (controlled by various top-end groups), a super-villain or two lurking in the background, and you have quite a nice Underworld put together.

One of my favorite style things has always been to have a VERY honorable Yakuza (the old-fashioned kind) who are much lighter in the gray spectrum than most criminal groups. They actually act more like a vigilante group protecting Little Tokyo than act as traditional thugs.

I'd also establish up front the tone you're trying for in the campaign -- how dark, how heroic, etc. Otherwise you can end up hip deep in blood or with characters attending more co-vigilante funerals than you'd planned on.

Good luck.

[Enforcer84]

No guns.

[Rage]

Originally posted by Enforcer84
No guns.

care to give a reason for this?

[RDU Neil]

Originally posted by bryanb
Hi All,

I am thinking of starting up a DC campaign and would like to know what House rules, tips, pitfalls, plot ideas people have that have run this style of game.

Thanks for your help in advance.

One of the big discussions Storn and I had, years ago, when debating DC was the following...

Is this DARK Champions... or Dark CHAMPIONS.

IOW, is the emphasis more on low power/no power street level types... or is the emphasis on "feeling gritty" but the power levels are still super.

Both work for me. You can have a street level type who does the Daredevil "no killing" thing. Or you can have a telekinetic who uses her powers to rip out the hearts of evil doers. Both could exist in the same world, but the flow of the game will be different depending on that powerlevel.

Questions to answer:
1) Does this campaign take place in the shadows of a superhero world, or are the "Daredevil types" as powerful as it gets?

2) Is this a vigilante campaign, or street level heroes? I've always been surprised that everyone assumes DC must mean killing vigilantes, when MY first thought is Batman or Daredevil. A hero, but one that deals with crime, rather than saving the world.

3) How much better are the PCs than "normals?" In a superworld, it is easy to justify the "I've trained myself to be better than human!" but in a more realistic setting, how do you justify someone fast and tough enough to take out five thugs and dodge bullets?

4) NCM for everyone... or not? Very important in determining how "super" the campaign will be.

In the end, I'd suggest the following... Let your players be "super" but not "superpowered." By this, I'd say, give 'em 300 pts to build their characters, so they can have a $#!tload of skills and gadgets and weapons... but watch that STR is not too high, nor Defenses. Dex in the 23-29 range, 5-7 SPDs, etc. Damage Reduction of 50% (resistant, non-persistant) with no higher than 10 PD/ED is a great way to simulate that they always get knicked, but rarely take a full shot... but they are far from invulnerable.

This makes for great "Daredevil, low Batman, Green Arrow, Nightwing" style characters.

Or... if you go the vigilante route... get a lot of body bags. Your PCs should face much more lethal threats, if they themselves are acting with lethal abandon. Can be really fun, but tends to be short lived.;)

[Storn]

Neil, you should also say something how you've managed to adroitly marry Dark Champions sections of your campaign world to a much, larger, more Champions world. That both exist in the same campaign world. No easy task.

"friendly nudger" storn