Teen Champions Villians

[godjam]

Het out there,
Just wondering if anyone else is interested in more Teen Champions villians, i thought the TC soucebook had a lot but really lacked some crazy villians for heroes to fight.
I'm thinking like the ones Teen Titans (cartoon) fight, or Static Shock.
Anyway i'm looking for ideas
Ideas for teen oriented adventures would be cool too.
Thanks

[Remjin]

Well, honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the genre, but I do occasionally enjoy the cartoons... =)

Well, lessee... I'll see what I can come up with, I'm feeling like contributing... let's start with some Villain ideas...

Iron and Silk, a pair of martial artsy villains. Iron is the epitome of hard and fast, able to withstand some serious blows and deliver even worse. The kind of guy who punches stone pillars down, that sort of thing. Basically, a martial artist/tank kind of character with some good movement abilities and lots of martial skills. Silk, on the other hand, is extremely lithe and fights in that very hand-wavy elusive style that throws people around, perhaps even pressure-point style stuff like paralyzing people and making them poo themselves. Together, they are ferociously annoying thieves with an honor system for combat.

The Fool, a mimic that likes to set up huge scams where he makes out like a bandit. The hardest part is figuring out where/who he is and catching him. A penchant for leaving clues and signature items like jester's items.

.........

Adventure ideas to go with them... The Fool has enlisted Iron and Silk to act as his henchmen for a particularly nasty little con in which he needs to kidnap an important dignitary to get at a repository of jewels which the dignitary is supposed to view. A rare collection of a sort. Iron and Silk help him do the switch, replacing two of the dignitaries body guards, who, of course, are similarly built to Iron and Silk. They move in to steal the jewels, with Iron and Silk doing the physical stuff while the Fool gets to the jewels and grabs them. He leaves his calling card, a Jester's hat, upon the bust used to present a particularly expensive necklace.

The hat itself is actually an original piece from a museum, something missed during a previous thieving, also of the Fool's doing, where he left a rubber ball in place of the crown jewel in the same display. The ball is actually an antique rubber ball leading back to a place like House on the Rock in wisconsin, which is now derelict, and his home base at this time. Etc. etc.... not very good, but something, anyway. Simple enough in total, but could get complicated, add twists and other elements to your tastes. =)

[gojira]

In the anime Project A-ko, there's two groups of girls at the Japanese high school, and they are rivals of each other. So the "villain" is another school girl, I guess.

The villain is B-ko ("Biiko"), a girl genius inventor whose father is rich enough to support her mecha habits. She builds several super-mecha, none of which really work well against the heroine, until the last one which she pilots herself. I've got a young Biiko around here someplace, I could beef her up to something for a 250 point teen villain if you like.

BTW, I say "rival" because nothing really bad happens in the film. I personally get a very Buffy-the-Vampire-Slayer vibe from Project A-ko. Basically, high school is so weird anyway that giant mecha and super powers just fit right in. The girls appear to be very intense and serious about their rivalry, but in the end I feel this is from the perspective of the teen-agers, and in fact it's going to blow over as soon as the school year is out.

So anyhoo, that's my basic idea. A less than lethal rivalry with another group of supers at the school. One group is the more popular group who seem to have all the advantages, the other group is the misfits. Take you pick which side you want to be on.

[Kirby]

Het out there,
Just wondering if anyone else is interested in more Teen Champions villians, i thought the TC soucebook had a lot but really lacked some crazy villians for heroes to fight.
I'm thinking like the ones Teen Titans (cartoon) fight, or Static Shock.
Anyway i'm looking for ideas
Ideas for teen oriented adventures would be cool too.
ThanksI'd rather see ideas/lessons for running a Teen Champions game. Sadly, I tried running one, but after the introductions and so forth, I really didn't know what to do. :o

On the one hand, the kids don't know what all their powers can do. On the other hand, the players know exactly what their PCs can do, so where's the excitement in several sessions discovering what you already know? Teen Champions has Ravenswood Academy, which is a very nice set-up, and makes sense if you're writing a comic book or making a cartoon, but doesn't do so well for an RPG (from my limited experience). Once the PCs explore it, what else is there to do? What fun is it figuring out how much your character can bench press or how fast he can run when you already have it on paper? :shrug:

Back on topic, to make a teen villain, just take a regular villain, cut his Speed in half (or subtract 2) and lower his Active points to about 40 or 30. I'm visiting my parents for the week, so I don't have one on me, but when I return home, I'll try to remember to post an NPC villain I created for my short-lived TC game. (He was actually a fellow student, but was destined for villainy.)

As for the anime refrences though, I try to stay as far away from that as possible.

[Guzalot]

Several of the villains in DC:The Animated Series would fit perfectly into a Teen Champions campaign.

[Remjin]

I'd rather see ideas/lessons for running a Teen Champions game. Sadly, I tried running one, but after the introductions and so forth, I really didn't know what to do. :o

On the one hand, the kids don't know what all their powers can do. On the other hand, the players know exactly what their PCs can do, so where's the excitement in several sessions discovering what you already know? Teen Champions has Ravenswood Academy, which is a very nice set-up, and makes sense if you're writing a comic book or making a cartoon, but doesn't do so well for an RPG (from my limited experience). Once the PCs explore it, what else is there to do? What fun is it figuring out how much your character can bench press or how fast he can run when you already have it on paper? :shrug:

Back on topic, to make a teen villain, just take a regular villain, cut his Speed in half (or subtract 2) and lower his Active points to about 40 or 30. I'm visiting my parents for the week, so I don't have one on me, but when I return home, I'll try to remember to post an NPC villain I created for my short-lived TC game. (He was actually a fellow student, but was destined for villainy.)

As for the anime refrences though, I try to stay as far away from that as possible.


I don't see how it would be much different than running a regular Champions game, to be honest, except for flavor and the like. Then again, maybe I just don't understand the genre that well. Just work in context of the age and present problems that beset young people like that.

If you're in a school full of super-powered teens, look to movies like Sky High at the least, or any other teen movie or TV show. Sure, they have to learn their powers, but why don't they do it while on some sort of adventure? I'm assuming its a bit more light-hearted, so why not have the bitter bus driver fall into a vat of nuclear waste and/or biochemical product? His rampage across school could be devastating.

Have those involved in class elections use their powers illicitly to gain votes or destroy their opponents and stop them! When puberty goes wrong could be a good theme, creating monsters of mayhem from rampaging hormones and a lack of control over powers. Have the school rivals cause some trouble and start a fight, acting like a kiddie-league villain team bent on destruction (of your school or mascot)!

The lunch line could be an adventure in and of itself with the diversity of students. Perhaps the alien students' diet consists of dangerous alien monsters that threaten lunch period! Or, a rampaging psychotic ruins a character's day at the mall. Or driving lessons turn into a torture test of trying to pass as a 50 foot tall monster rampages into that part of the city! The battle against fat, thanks to a confused telekinetic/telepath becomes literal?

Sneaking out to a party becomes a fight against super high-tech security that their parents have placed on their home due to their occupations. Lactose Intolerance or Arachnophobia become a huge problem as the next villain rears its ugly, soppy, 8-eyed head.

I would think the genre wouldn't matter much to the story, you can run all the usual stuff, its just a matter of adapting typical stories to the context.

[Spence]

I'd rather see ideas/lessons for running a Teen Champions game. Sadly, I tried running one, but after the introductions and so forth, I really didn't know what to do. :o

On the one hand, the kids don't know what all their powers can do. On the other hand, the players know exactly what their PCs can do, so where's the excitement in several sessions discovering what you already know?
--snip--
What fun is it figuring out how much your character can bench press or how fast he can run when you already have it on paper? :shrug:

Well you are correct. It does defeat the purpose of the entire game doesn’t it.;) Here is one option. Though be warned using it will make you a heretic in some quarters and you will be branded a ultra evil control freak of a GM !!:eek:

Seriously though, one way to do it is use hidden powers. You need to be up front with the players so they completely understand. Have the players build their characters at a lower point level with their powers at a lower (beginning) power level. Then secretly buy up their abilities with a set number of hidden points. The secret stuff should fall in line with the basic concept of the character and the style of play used that would be enjoyed by the player. Then as the PC has dangerous encounters you can reveal their hidden powers. For instance if your telekinetic teen hero is getting beat in battle and has been hammered pretty hard, he could “instinctively” raise the force field he didn’t know he had just in time to block a deadly blow. Or perhaps he has a 4D6 flame bolt that just isn’t cutting it. In the heat of battle he pushes to get the extra 2 dice. Unknown to him he has 4D6 of ‘hidden flame bolt”. Instead of a 6D6 Flame he gets a surprise as a 10D6 flame lashes out! Once revealed the powers are theirs.

To do this you need a good understanding of the players and they have to be up for it. But it can be a fantastic game.




Back on topic, to make a teen villain, just take a regular villain, cut his Speed in half (or subtract 2) and lower his Active points to about 40 or 30. I'm visiting my parents for the week, so I don't have one on me, but when I return home, I'll try to remember to post an NPC villain I created for my short-lived TC game. (He was actually a fellow student, but was destined for villainy.)

As for as making teen villains, the only way I seem to get it to work is make the villain as an adult and then “unspend” XP until they are at the needed point value. It may be the “long” way around. But it works for me.



As for the anime refrences though, I try to stay as far away from that as possible.

Small point, anime is a medium not a genre.

It is up to you but there is some very good "super" oriented anime out there and many of them actually centered around Teen Champions style stories. Junior or High school students discovering greater than normal powers and saving the world from destruction. The biggest problem is many people have only seen child oriented and sanitized edited anime like Dragon Ball Z or Naruto or the super campy stuff like Full Metal Panic:FUMOFFU. Which is like saying all movies are bad because you saw a Barney movie and Airplane and thought they were stupid. There are a lot of good ones that are great places to mine for plot ideas.

Of course you may already know all this and have already decided you are just not interested, and are asking yourself, "just who is this idiot trying to tell me something I already know?" :mad:

In that case, please just ignore this last part :D

[Gideon]

Seriously though, one way to do it is use hidden powers. You need to be up front with the players so they completely understand. Have the players build their characters at a lower point level with their powers at a lower (beginning) power level. Then secretly buy up their abilities with a set number of hidden points. The secret stuff should fall in line with the basic concept of the character and the style of play used that would be enjoyed by the player. Then as the PC has dangerous encounters you can reveal their hidden powers. For instance if your telekinetic teen hero is getting beat in battle and has been hammered pretty hard, he could “instinctively” raise the force field he didn’t know he had just in time to block a deadly blow. Or perhaps he has a 4D6 flame bolt that just isn’t cutting it. In the heat of battle he pushes to get the extra 2 dice. Unknown to him he has 4D6 of ‘hidden flame bolt”. Instead of a 6D6 Flame he gets a surprise as a 10D6 flame lashes out! Once revealed the powers are theirs.

To do this you need a good understanding of the players and they have to be up for it. But it can be a fantastic game.

I like this idea, but I have had very bad experiences with it. One game my concept of the character and my GM's understanding of and interpretation of the character were VASTLY different. Another game, a couple of the characters simply started "experementing" with there powers by using them constantly to "Try to see what they could do".

A good alternative way of doing this is to start the characters off with less points character points, fewer Disadvantages, and possilby stricter (and lower) limits on Active Point Totals for powers. You can also limit how high defenses, stats, skills, etc... can be at the start of the game.

You cna if you want even combine the two, but I suggest that instead of building powers for the characters and then having them discover them (sometimes a power is left undiscovered for years), set aside XP for them that only aplies towards buying things that they are training/ learning.

EX: one of the characters has gavitic flight powers. He spends time trying to figure out how to use these powers to fly while underwater. He earns an amount of XP that can only be used towards purchasing the "usable underwater" advantage on his flight.

Also, on the topic of setting and such:

I have always perfered the idea of super-powered kids in Normal school to "School for Superheroes".

With super-teens in normal school not only do you have much more to work with for ideas:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Veronica Mars
Degrassi High
Heathers
Teen Titans
Young Heroes in Love
Smallville
X-Men Evolution
Mean Girls

Plus you also don't need to design 2043 super-powered students to be the PCs schoolmates.

[Spence]

I have always perfered the idea of super-powered kids in Normal school to "School for Superheroes".

With super-teens in normal school not only do you have much more to work with for ideas:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Veronica Mars
Degrassi High
Heathers
Teen Titans
Young Heroes in Love
Smallville
X-Men Evolution
Mean Girls

Plus you also don't need to design 2043 super-powered students to be the PCs schoolmates.

Me too :thumbup:

Secret supers in a normal school give new meaning to "secret ID" :sneaky:

One idea that pops up in those A-word videos, is the super-PC's work for a secret organization of good guys and a few of the school staff are actually their supervisor/commanders. But the rest of the school doesn't know anything.

[Remjin]

just another thought... why not run a summer camp scenario? Way too many films and books about that. :D

I presented sky high as an example, mostly, wasn't sure what he was looking for. This discussion is making me want to run some of this for a shoet story arc of silliness and laughs.

[Vestnik]

If your Teen Champions are anything like the people I knew in high school, they probably spend a lot of time hiding from their nemesis, The Narc. ;)

[Spence]

That brings up a major question.

When you are thinking "Teen Champions",

do you think "campy teen agers"

do you think "serious young people" in a campy world.

do you think "serious young people" in a serious world.

do you think "serious young people" in a serious world with a small dose of camp.

All of these are real possibilities but have entirly different 'builds". Teen Titans (TV) runs the fine line of serious heroes in a serious world with a healthy dash of camp. A campiagn based on it would have a very different tone than one based on 1985ish New Mutants.

[Gideon]

Knowing what tone the campaign is supposed to have will definately be a big help.

I personally like Serious young people in a mostly serious world. But then again I always feel that camp and sillyness are best in moderate doses.

With a game that is run with super-powered kids in a normal school you get a great dicotamy with the characters. People start getting into conflics between their secret and super IDs, and it can be great fun.

Remember if this isn't "Super Hero High", then not every villian needs to be a Super Villian, and not everything needs to have a Super motive or Super explanation.

You can get great fun out of normal things like the rival football team stealing the school mascott, or people crashing the school dance. AND you get the extra fun of the characters trying to decide whether it is a problem apropriate to handle in secret ID or super ID.

[godjam]

Hi There,

Have to say i like the "mostly serious teen setting" with campy/comic elements. The super teens shouldn't really know how dark the world can get, at least at first.
(Personally i wouldn't even think about putting Crowns Of Krim, Takofanes or any other murderous highpowered villian anywhere near the pc's.)

I liked the Motor City Defenders a lot more than Homeroom Alpha, although i think they work well in the same setting; but normal school seems more interesting than super-school a la X-Men.

As for teen villians it's all well and good to say that Adult super villians undrestimate the PC'S, but how long is that gonna last. Once or twice; then they won't take any chances and soundly thrash the poor kiddies.
Also there's the 'Power Pack' effect; remember when Sabretooth lost to Power Pack? How the hell was anyone supposed to take him seriously after that- thrashed by a bunch of kids!
I just see Pc's who play a couple of campaigns having long memories
"Yep, Talisman veeerrryy scary, but didn't you get your butt handed to you by Homeroom Alpha?"
( Wait for Talisman's impotent scream of rage.)
What TC could have done with is a few ideas of how to intergrate adult villians with teen supers- emphasising foiling their plots and fighting their goons. I do tend to hate it in the comics when a really nasty villian who fights the Avengers or JLA toe to toe gets taken down by some nobodies with no apparent explanation- it really damages that villians credibiliy.

But i've got a couple of ideas for villians who focus on teen issues (not in a boring way!) if anyone wants to here them.
GJ

PS- Thanks for the suggestions so far- especially Remjin- Kudos

[Supreme Serpent]

I've previously posted the School of Hard Knocks -

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1009554&highlight=%22church+crime%22#post1009554

[clsage]

In the anime Project A-ko, there's two groups of girls at the Japanese high school, and they are rivals of each other. So the "villain" is another school girl, I guess.

The villain is B-ko ("Biiko"), a girl genius inventor whose father is rich enough to support her mecha habits. She builds several super-mecha, none of which really work well against the heroine, until the last one which she pilots herself. I've got a young Biiko around here someplace, I could beef her up to something for a 250 point teen villain if you like.


And for a more powerfull version you might want to take a gander at:

http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationsanime/p_ako/bko.html

as presented by :hail: Michael Surbook. His version totals in at....540 pts.
Definately a mastermind sort of gal who could potentially give a Teen
Champions team a bit of a run for their money.....

BTW, anyone else catch the general similarities between B-Ko and Royal
Pain from "Sky High", or is it just me over analyzing again ?

-Carl-

[The Doctor]

In our teen champions game I tried to interweave villains into the Ravenswood campaign at an almost subliminal level. During the summer while I was still generating teachers and students I with some help from a few posters on the board made up a an acceptance letter that I sent to the players from Headmistress Pelvanon that was shortly followed by a class schedule and map of the school. Our first roleplaying experience at Ravenswood was move in day and everyone was a trying to check in when student and staff alike were wisked into the main auditorium where a thin dark haired almost European looking man with a rakish derby and a cape informed them in fluent yet broken English that Headmistress Pelvanon had died in her sleep the night before and that he would be taking over her duties as Headmaster of the school. This dark man(Gracious Louca) adn his mysterious ways represent a ton of roleplaying opportunities. In my campaign in the same breath he told everyone Kristina was dead he also told them that Ravenswood was in financial trouble from years of free spending and that in order to correct the massive debt Miss Pelvanon had amassed he would have to reduce the faculty 40% and the school would have to rescend 75% of the scholarships offered to students in need of financial assistance(Including metas). As if this weren't enough he accepts 9 Academic tools from the I.H.A. the U.R.S.A. series of knowledge and meta detection robot, so now there is the ever watching presence of the I.H.A. on campus and in the classrooms logging any meta activity. Gracious shuns all administrative duties, leaving his actual duties to his staff(which include two PC meta-human teachers that don't trust Gracious at all) while he is found bleeding half dead on his desk or speaking in a Salue Boken to a Greater Demon under the bleachers at a pep assembly. I also started out with something dead in the ground for a character that sees dead things, he's rooming with a PC. There is Lord Voltaire(Mutant energy projecter/Vampire Lord) living in the fallout shelter under the school sustaining himself on the students life force(not killing them, just sending them to the infirmary) Obviously the Rival School in which case I borrowed the Lothlorien Institute from an incredible Champions fansite. How do you get a rivalry going with the Lothlorian, it satarts with the students that lost their scholarship and had to go to Lothlorien as a consolation. There's also great teen champions gaming during the summer if the kids aren't from the same area and meet up with each other to go to a concert or special summer session.

These are just a couple of the things I'm doing with my teen champions campaign. Hope it helps! I also attached a pic of the dead thing that Geist saw in the ground that everyone else thought was a small tree.

The Doctor

[gojira]

And for a more powerfull version you might want to take a gander at:

http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationsanime/p_ako/bko.html

as presented by :hail: Michael Surbook. His version totals in at....540 pts.

That's just friggin' awesome. What I like best is that there's quite a bit of similarity between his write up and my teen version, right down to the 2d6 Unluck. Great minds think alike! :D


BTW, anyone else catch the general similarities between B-Ko and Royal Pain from "Sky High", or is it just me over analyzing again ?

No, not B-ko. I was catching a vibe, but I'm not sure what it was. More like Doctor Doom, but it's not that exactly either. What I liked about Royal Pain was that while female, she could also be tough, smart *and* a supervillainess. It's a nice strong character that still makes a good foil for the protaganists in the show.

[SKJAM!]

I wrote up Seto Kaiba of the Yu-Gi-Oh! series a bit back, and a thread of plot ideas stolen from the pre-cardgames arc of the manga suitable for Teen Champions. Oh, and Tomie, though she's not suitable for lighter-hearted campaigns.

Urusei Yatsura can be difficult to find in print format, but it ran a long time and has lots of fun characters and plots that are minable.

If you want to get very grim with your villains, there's Narutaru (Shadow Star in the States) which is the magical pet subgenre gone very, very wrong.

[Sketchpad]

I would recommend taking a look at Ninja High School (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_High_School) for some ideas as well ... it's got some great villains and is an enjoyable read :)

[Remjin]

In our teen champions game I tried to interweave villains into the Ravenswood campaign at an almost subliminal level. During the summer while I was still generating teachers and students I with some help from a few posters on the board made up a an acceptance letter that I sent to the players from Headmistress Pelvanon that was shortly followed by a class schedule and map of the school. Our first roleplaying experience at Ravenswood was move in day and everyone was a trying to check in when student and staff alike were wisked into the main auditorium where a thin dark haired almost European looking man with a rakish derby and a cape informed them in fluent yet broken English that Headmistress Pelvanon had died in her sleep the night before and that he would be taking over her duties as Headmaster of the school. This dark man(Gracious Louca) adn his mysterious ways represent a ton of roleplaying opportunities. In my campaign in the same breath he told everyone Kristina was dead he also told them that Ravenswood was in financial trouble from years of free spending and that in order to correct the massive debt Miss Pelvanon had amassed he would have to reduce the faculty 40% and the school would have to rescend 75% of the scholarships offered to students in need of financial assistance(Including metas). As if this weren't enough he accepts 9 Academic tools from the I.H.A. the U.R.S.A. series of knowledge and meta detection robot, so now there is the ever watching presence of the I.H.A. on campus and in the classrooms logging any meta activity. Gracious shuns all administrative duties, leaving his actual duties to his staff(which include two PC meta-human teachers that don't trust Gracious at all) while he is found bleeding half dead on his desk or speaking in a Salue Boken to a Greater Demon ... and etc.

Is it just me or does this really really sound like a Harry Potter story? No offense meant, just seems to have all the elements...

[steriaca]

Humm...may I sergest Ranma 1/2, even thoe it dosen't directly deal with superpowers per say?

[Kirby]

To me, Anime is a dementia obsession, so I want to avoid it at all costs. The B-ko example is something I want to avoid all together, from the "distinctive feature" bikini power suit to the 540 point cost. I would be looking for characters that would eventually become 350 point characters.

I mentioned previously that I had an NPC that was a destined villain in my short-run game. His 'code name' was Updraft and he had wind powers.

Updraft

Val Char Cost
9 STR -1
16 DEX 18
13 CON 6
10 BODY 0
12 INT 2
14 EGO 8
11 PRE 1
15 COM 3

3/9 PD 1
4/10 ED 1
3 SPD 4
5 REC 0
26 END 0
22 STUN 0

6" RUN 0
2" SWIM 0
1 1/2" LEAP 0
Characteristics Cost: 43

Cost Power
40 Wind Attacks: Multipower, 40-point reserve
3u 1) Wind Gust: Energy Blast 4d6, Area Of Effect (5" Cone; +1) (40 Active Points); No Range (-1/2)
3u 2) Wind Blast: Energy Blast 4d6, Double Knockback (+3/4) (35 Active Points)
2u 3) Out of Air: Energy Blast 2d6, No Normal Defense ([Standard]; LS: Self-Contained Breathing; +1) (20 Active Points)
2u 4) +8 PER with Hearing Group, Ranged (+1/2) (24 Active Points)
2u 5) Small bits of wind: Telekinesis (10 STR), Fine Manipulation (25 Active Points)
9 Wind Powers: Elemental Control, 18-point powers
6 1) Fire Starvation: Dispel Fire 2d6, all Fire powers simultaneously (+2) (18 Active Points); Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2)
9 2) Flight 9" (18 Active Points)
9 3) Force Field (2 PD/2 ED/4 Flash Defense: Hearing Group) (Protect Carried Items) (18 Active Points)
4 Wind Resistance: Knockback Resistance -2"
15 Sense Air Currents: Spatial Awareness (no Sense Group) (22 Active Points); Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2)
School Uniform
8 1) Armor (4 PD/4 ED) (12 Active Points); OIF (-1/2)
13 2) Mind Link , One Specific Mind, No LOS Needed, Number of Minds (x16) (35 Active Points); Only With Others Who Have Mind Link (-1), IAF (-1/2), Custom Modifier (Affected as Radio and Hearing Groups, not Mental Group; -1/4)
15 3) Shape Shift (Sight Group), Instant Change, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Day (+1/2) (22 Active Points); IAF (-1/2)
Powers Cost: 140


Cost Skill
3 KS: Music 11-
2 KS: Wind Instruments 11-
2 KS: Elemental-based supers 11-
3 Lockpicking 12-
2 PS: Instrument 11-
1 Stealth 8-
3 Streetwise 11-
Skills Cost: 16

Cost Perk
1 Fringe Benefit: Membership
Perks Cost: 1

Total Character Cost: 200

Unfortunately, I never did get around to writing up his Disadvantages, but Poor/Destitute and Unluck would have been among them, along with some sort of teen angst Psych Lims.

The game I ran was based in Ravenswood Academy which is a private school for normals and supers. Despite the entire superhero community knowing about this school, the super aspect is a secret from society. Basically, I would wonder what to do for day-to-day activities in the game. Do I roleplay classes? Does the school randomly get attacked or have something crazy happen (such as like in the Buffy: TVS) but the 'normal' students are completely ignorant of who keeps saving them? Instead of concentrating on school, do I concentrate on 'out of school' activities, and thus ignore the whole Academy? How long until VIPER attacks the school, revealing the presence of supers? (If you've read Teen Champions, my guess is you'd agree it should happen within the first school year of gaming. It's practically an open secret what Ravenswood does.

As for after school threats, I would probably introduce the PCs to Bulldozer first (in *theory* he should give them a run for their money) so that they can see how this mockable villain can actually be a threat to normals (and low powered supers).

Anyway, that's all I have for now.

[lapsedgamer]

If you can tolerate Disney movies. Take a look at Sky High. It's not bad for what it is, and they show some interesting teen subplots. They have warring cliques, teenage insecurity and angst, and an interesting take on being a second generation hero.

Also some clever moments in a Danger Room training excercise. Whatever you do, don't go anywhere near Zoom. I felt cheated out of my $3.00 when I rented it. I shut it off in the first twenty minutes.

[clsage]

If you can tolerate Disney movies. Take a look at Sky High. It's not bad for what it is, and they show some interesting teen subplots. They have warring cliques, teenage insecurity and angst, and an interesting take on being a second generation hero.

Also some clever moments in a Danger Room training excercise. Whatever you do, don't go anywhere near Zoom. I felt cheated out of my $3.00 when I rented it. I shut it off in the first twenty minutes.

Hmmm....I'd disagree about "Zoom...". Granted, different tastes, etc. But
I'd say it's worth watching all the way thru, if just for some flavor ideas in
regard to a teen team, such as the cliche (but still classic) "us vs them as
method of building cohesion in the team" structure which shows itself later
in the film....

Just my $.02US. YMMV.

-Carl-

[Captain Emu]

I like the School of Hard Knocks. Something really cool about the warrior nun imagery of the leader and the default uniforms of the students. Most of the characters concepts work for me.

I do recall running a Teen Team game way back before I got into any of the published systems. The game actually revolved around two rival schools created by a buddy and me. Mirroring normal hometown high school rivalry through super-powered antics and the occasional big power brawl, it was really fun with each of us controlling the members of one of the schools.

Some of the plots that were used were the usual dating games, teen drama. Throw into this the local street super teens and the dangers of trying to go through puberty with an atomic bomb rushing through your veins and it was great fun. I do recall a scenario that placed the usually second-string teen heroes as the defenders of the city when a plot took out most ofthe major adult heroes. There were also the usual seductions, corruptions and implications of the youths in the campaign.

What happens when a kid with super-strength and the need to keep face in front of fellow teens gets cornered into a fight with the local bully? How do you cool the heels of an angry super-jock. When you super genius joins the Mathletes, is it fair to the other schools? A lot of fun can be had just by taking a scenario from your own childhood or those of kids around you and throwing a super into it.

Thanks all,

-CE

[Basil]

To me, Anime is a dementia obsession, so I want to avoid it at all costs.

I just wanted to say AMEN!!

[OddHat]

I ran a Teen Supers campaign that went well about five years ago, and I just ran a Teen Titans homage convention game that went well.

I kept the campaign and the homage game centered on the theme of the path to adulthood, though other themes (especially family, first love, sex and friendship) came into play. I didn't set much of the game in a classroom, except a few scene starters here and there. School life was there, but the important things were what happened outside of class time.

I'd say don't go for funny, don't go for cute, except as comic relief from real tension (of course your tastes may vary). Don't simulate genre elements you don't enjoy just because they're "teen". The teen years are arguably the core of the heroes journey, as the hero discovers who he really is and who he could become. Threaten lives, build relationships, endanger those the character loves, go for all the drama you would in a regular campaign. Let the characters save their world.

My preferred Teen Supers sources are the Legion of Superheroes, Eiko Eiko Azaraku (live action horror movie series from Japan), the good seasons and episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the good Teen Titans (comic, not TV show), X-Men and New Mutants arcs. Which were the good and which were the bad bits of those series will again vary by taste.

I'd also advise against making discovery of powers a core plot element, though I don't mind it as a side bit. I gave a lot of XP to reflect how fast the young characters were learning, but learning how to use your powers was never as important as stopping the bad guys.

[Derek Hiemforth]

Is it just me or does this really really sound like a Harry Potter story? No offense meant, just seems to have all the elements...If only all my stories sounded like Harry Potter stories...

Jo Rowling is a friggin' billionaire, after all. :D

[naturaltwenty]

While it's for Mutants & Masterminds there's a plethora of ideas at http://www.mecha.com/~conkle/mm/index.html , which is Christian Conkle's Ultra Teens are Go!

I've used the premise for a Sadie Hawkins dance one-shot that worked out very well.

Later

[Derek Hiemforth]

Just wondering if anyone else is interested in more Teen Champions villiansWhat are "villians?" ;)

[godjam]

Oopps! It's just been pointed out i spelt villains wrong on my posting.

Still, it would probably snarky to wonder if the person who posted it hasn't got better things to do...like join the debate.

Have to agree with the 'Teen heroes fight Bulldozer' suggestion, just to give them a shock.
Also the PC's could end up seeing the same villains they fight as Adult heroes differently.
Having a run-in with the same squad of Viper goons a couple of times, maybe flesh out the Viper goons personality a couple of times. How often do adult supers pay attention to the nameless Viper thugs around them?
I've got a few other ideas of how to refocus on a superVILLAIN in a different way, like turning Freakshow in a slasher villain, horror type that can threaten an entire swarm of teens when he usually runs away from the adults who could easily tear his nutts off.

Point is, by refocusing their opponents i think it would encourage Pc's to refocus a little, get into their characters a little more.
Any thoughts?

GJ:D

[Remjin]

If only all my stories sounded like Harry Potter stories...

Jo Rowling is a friggin' billionaire, after all. :D

Yes, don't remind me... I'm not a fan because I'm still angry that they pass off her bastardizing other people's stories as original work and the illiterate public is eating it up...

On the other hand it isn't blatant plageurism and at least it gets the illiterate to read... and it has helped open up the genre's acceptance...

Very mixed bag. Apologies to fans, I'm just unimpressed and even more annoyed by a children's book obsessing adults that were shortly before haters of fantasy as a genre.... I'll stop now.

[Remjin]

Oopps! It's just been pointed out i spelt villains wrong on my posting.

Still, it would probably snarky to wonder if the person who posted it hasn't got better things to do...like join the debate.

Have to agree with the 'Teen heroes fight Bulldozer' suggestion, just to give them a shock.
Also the PC's could end up seeing the same villains they fight as Adult heroes differently.
Having a run-in with the same squad of Viper goons a couple of times, maybe flesh out the Viper goons personality a couple of times. How often do adult supers pay attention to the nameless Viper thugs around them?
I've got a few other ideas of how to refocus on a superVILLAIN in a different way, like turning Freakshow in a slasher villain, horror type that can threaten an entire swarm of teens when he usually runs away from the adults who could easily tear his nutts off.

Point is, by refocusing their opponents i think it would encourage Pc's to refocus a little, get into their characters a little more.
Any thoughts?

GJ:D

I think refocusing any character into something different and changing them to suit the setting in a new and interesting way is a good idea. Heck, Frank Miller is famous for it (Batman, Daredevil) and it certawinly can work well.

[Derek Hiemforth]

Yes, don't remind me... I'm not a fan because I'm still angry that they pass off her bastardizing other people's stories as original work and the illiterate public is eating it up...

On the other hand it isn't blatant plageurism and at least it gets the illiterate to read... and it has helped open up the genre's acceptance...

Very mixed bag. Apologies to fans, I'm just unimpressed and even more annoyed by a children's book obsessing adults that were shortly before haters of fantasy as a genre.... I'll stop now.No comment. :)

[Spence]

No comment. :)

Ditto.

But my no comment is better :eg:

[Kirby]

Sounds like someone has a rabbit up their donkey. Too spiteful to realize the meaning of illiterate, or just too jealous of another's success? Not to mention a lot of assumptive characterizing. :thumbdown

As to actually posting on topic, godjam, your idea about personalizing/ fleshing out the mundane or "nameless" VIPER agents sounds pretty good.

It seems that the responses so far for the Teen Champions game is to not concentrate too much on school, strangely enough.

[Supreme Serpent]

It seems that the responses so far for the Teen Champions game is to not concentrate too much on school, strangely enough.

(shrug)

It's not like teens concentrate on it either. ;)

[Spence]

It seems that the responses so far for the Teen Champions game is to not concentrate too much on school, strangely enough.

Most comics (New Mutants, etc), manga (Full Metal Panic, etc) , TV shows (V Mars, Smallville, X-Men, etc) or anime (Full Metal Panic, GateKeepers, etc) I have read/seen that involve "teens in school" really don't have much that revolves around "school". At the most, things may take place on the campus, but that is mostly for a common location or a step off point, rather than the story centering around the school itself.

Of course this in no means can characterizes ALL teen style games/books/shows, the wee bit I have seen/read.

[lapsedgamer]

School and/or work take up most of your life. School is the center of your life at that age. NO matter how well you get along there or feel about it. It would be very hard to avoid some scenes and plot points based on the high school experience.

The only other thing I could think of would be a Runaways/early Cloak and Dagger type campaign where the characters are playing street kids. That actually would be fun come to think of it.

[Remjin]

Sounds like someone has a rabbit up their donkey. Too spiteful to realize the meaning of illiterate, or just too jealous of another's success? Not to mention a lot of assumptive characterizing. :thumbdown

I think I'm more bittee because I'm more a fan of the author(s) who originally wrote the story. I realize I'm not using illiterate in its literal form.

Again, sorry for the rant, I wasn't trying to pee in anyone's soup, juist a kneejerk reaction on my part, emphasis on the jerk. Interesting metaphor to describe it, though. :D

[The Doctor]

Is it just me or does this really really sound like a Harry Potter story? No offense meant, just seems to have all the elements...


None taken and I fought that myself, suffice it to say when all the elements are together it doesn't come off as an x-men rip off with a venerable Headmaster/mistress w/ a dream of what the school will be. I try to use a little more of the hand that they are being dealt in the form of seeding relationships that may follow the characters when they're out of school and 26. Think about it, life taught us so many lessons between the ages of 14 to 18. What kind of power insecurities, trust and coping with failure issues the characters must go through.

[Gideon]

Most comics (New Mutants, etc), manga (Full Metal Panic, etc) , TV shows (V Mars, Smallville, X-Men, etc) or anime (Full Metal Panic, GateKeepers, etc) I have read/seen that involve "teens in school" really don't have much that revolves around "school". At the most, things may take place on the campus, but that is mostly for a common location or a step off point, rather than the story centering around the school itself.

Of course this in no means can characterizes ALL teen style games/books/shows, the wee bit I have seen/read.I think that if done correctly having plots that do revolve around the school (or being in the school) can be tons of fun.

School dances, sports events (especially homecoming), and the school play can all be great places for plots to occur or even plots in themselves.

School activities influencing plots is especially cool when one of the PCs is directly involved. If a character is on the football team then a conflict durring a game can provide tons of fun (and problems for that PC). The same goes for any school activity, club, or sport.

[Remjin]

None taken and I fought that myself, suffice it to say when all the elements are together it doesn't come off as an x-men rip off with a venerable Headmaster/mistress w/ a dream of what the school will be. I try to use a little more of the hand that they are being dealt in the form of seeding relationships that may follow the characters when they're out of school and 26. Think about it, life taught us so many lessons between the ages of 14 to 18. What kind of power insecurities, trust and coping with failure issues the characters must go through.

Hey, it sounded like fun to me... I'm not one to claim any sort of real originality, just vague attempts at it, and it sounds like a fun game.

Heck, just thinking of the number of times I made characters for just another series of dungeons makes me cringe nowadays, but lots of others are lining up for the same experience... this genre is interesting in a lot of ways, perhaps more so to those of us with some age on us as we can look back at it in a more nostalgic light which allows us to really enjoy the various attributes that can be brought to it.

It didn't sound much like the whole X-men mansion or anything of the sort, so bravo for having some interesting things going on. The multiple elements pooling into a singular plot is always a nice device for some complexity and confusion, all the better if some of them are actually mysteries that go unanswered...

[jkwleisemann]

Personally, when it comes to running Teen Champions games... I, like many people, largely ignore the school.

Or, at least, the boring parts. Classes and such... kinda hard to turn into an interesting RP session, y'know?

The big thing with a Teen Champions game is that you need to focus on the *characters*. Which means, to me, that you need characters who have interesting things to focus on.

Usually, this turns into the "discovering your powers" sort of thing. Personally, for reasons others have mentioned, that tends to be a little dull to me. I prefer one of two approaches:

1: Discovering how to *control* your powers. For this reason, I developed a "Limited Control" limitation for my Teen Champions games; it's not No Conscious Control, but it gives the GM many of the same benefits without *totally* keeping the character from using the power when they want to.

For those who are interested:

Limited Control (-1): Power tends to activate itself in times of stress, or even at random. If the character doesn't want the power to 'turn on,' they can make an Ego roll at -1/10 active points, or pay the Endurance cost of the power. If they want to turn it on at a particular time, the same conditions apply - however, to turn it on despite a failed Ego roll, twice the END cost must be spent.

2: Personality. This is trickier - it's a lot easier when the GM can control what everybody is, but that's not an RPG, it's group writing. Teens, as pointed out in TC, are overly dramatic, prone to even the smallest things being disasters. That's all well and good... but why keep it to the small things?

Personally, I like it when my Teen Champions games play out about *one* step shy of As the Stomach Chur - err, As the World Turns. After all - the teen years aren't just ones of overblown melodrama; for some people, they're ones where *everything* about who you are changes. And, when you're dealing with comics, sometimes the melodrama isn't just in your teen's head.

What if the jock quarterback (who happens to have superpowers) is figuring out that he's gay?

What if your character - beyond just discovering superpowers they can barely control - is also going through a gender identity crisis (did this one once... sadly, the GM and player both got distracted by shiny things before we could get too far with it)?

What if your character gets pregnant, or finds out he's about to become a teen father?

What if you find out that your boyfriend or girlfriend is secretly your half-sister by some quirk of fate?

What if you find out that your parents are really supervillains? And then they come after you?

What if the guy behind your team is slowly starting to reveal their true colors as a villainous (or at least questionably virtuous) sort himself?

Now, obviously, many of these things rely *strongly* on mature players. Fortunately, I've had a number of them to work with, myself, so plots like the above (when discussed and figured out in advance) can end up creating massive amounts of (melo)drama for a campaign.

Beyond that... personally, I also agree with what some others have suggested. Don't "kiddy it up" just because the players are "kids," unless you're *looking* for a more light-hearted game.

Heroes don't get that way unless they overcome real threats. Sure, let 'em fight Bulldozer and Foxbat and some of the other "wimp" or "joke" villains and see that they're a serious threat to them at this level... but also let 'em deal with DEMON, Doctor Destroyer, whatever threats you'd normally consider for the higher-end heroes. Nerf them a bit so they're at a manageable power level, but it's even sweeter when the underdog teens that nobody took seriously are the guys who save the world - and not just quietly, behind the scenes, but by taking on the Mastermind just as publicly as the "real heroes" ever did.

*Those* are the scenes, IMHO, that make Teen Champions really worth playing as supers... the ones where they go through the crucible, and come out stronger because of it.

[jkwleisemann]

I think that if done correctly having plots that do revolve around the school (or being in the school) can be tons of fun.

School dances, sports events (especially homecoming), and the school play can all be great places for plots to occur or even plots in themselves.

School activities influencing plots is especially cool when one of the PCs is directly involved. If a character is on the football team then a conflict durring a game can provide tons of fun (and problems for that PC). The same goes for any school activity, club, or sport.
Now these, I'll agree with. :D School *events* can be tons of fun. I just hesitate to put the classes themselves on-screen, so to speak....

[Spence]

I think that if done correctly having plots that do revolve around the school (or being in the school) can be tons of fun.

School dances, sports events (especially homecoming), and the school play can all be great places for plots to occur or even plots in themselves.

School activities influencing plots is especially cool when one of the PCs is directly involved. If a character is on the football team then a conflict durring a game can provide tons of fun (and problems for that PC). The same goes for any school activity, club, or sport.

You are missing what I meant, which means I was probably not clear. Imagine that :eek:

School activities are not actual "school" as in learning and academic achievement. They are OTHER things done by students besides actual class, clubs and so on. They happen around and in between the real part of school. Of course at that age, I placed much more interest in "activities" than Mr. Renalds English class too. ;)

So I'll rephrase.

"Most comics (New Mutants, etc), manga (Full Metal Panic, etc) , TV shows (V Mars, Smallville, X-Men, etc) or anime (Full Metal Panic, GateKeepers, etc) I have read/seen that involve "teens in school" really don't have much that revolves around "school" or classroom work. At the most, things may take place on the campus in clubs or non-academic activities, but if the actual classroom or instructor is used/mentioned it is mostly for a common location or a starting point, rather than the story centering around the school itself.

Of course this in no means can characterizes ALL teen style games/books/shows, the wee bit I have seen/read."


I have read/seen many "teen" adventures where the characters have a meeting between classes, use the school computer room or newspaper office, are watching the clock for class to end so they can get out and stop villain X, or trying to see if X really has powers without revealing themselves to the other student or faculty. Those all may use the campus as a background.

But I have never heard of an adventure where the character must use their super math skills to get a "A".

A campaign about a police detective squad will have the PC's playing detectives and working on actual "cases". Many adventures will take place at the precinct and actually involve "police" as a central component of the game.

A teen champions game will take place on campus, but except for using the classroom as a backdrop for "between class" meetings, establishing urgency " when will the bell ring already" or using "extra curricular activities" as a backdrop, it has very little to do with actual school.

In the end very very few “Teen” adventure involve the PC’s sitting in class for the session. It may start in the classroom, “You finish passing in the Tests and Mr. Teacher reminds you all about the assignment due next week, as the bell rings and you rush out of class to meet X.” But it will never consist of, “Susie cannot solve the algebra problem, can Bob (secretly MathWonder Boy) do it without anyone noticing his amazing powers?”.

School and it activities are a backdrop and a way to channel the game and have a ready plausible way to intro NPC’s and sessions.

School as “School” figures in very little.

Even in the X-Man movies, the few times they showed the "New Mutants" in "class" was for flavor or to "prove" it was a school. Nothing "happened" in class that was important to the storyline.

In Full Metal Panic (the anime and manga), much of the story happens around or in the school Kaname attends. She has been targeted for kidnapping and/or murder and Sagara has been inserted to the school to be her bodyguard. Initially she doesn't know this or him. All kinds of things happen from funny to serious, Sagara preventing assasinations to trying to guard her on her first date without her knowing. There is none of the catwoman or swimsuit power armor nonsense that many on this board assume all anime is. Just a good solid story that is works as a good template for handling a TC game in a school environment.

[clsage]

<Snippage of many good points>
Even in the X-Man movies, the few times they showed the "New Mutants" in "class" was for flavor or to "prove" it was a school. Nothing "happened" in class that was important to the storyline.....

Not to be a contrarian (tho' I probably am :D ) but in one of the scenes
from the extended release of the first X-Men movie, there is a scene where
Storm is leading a class discussion about how Christians were persecuted by
Rome...Till Constantine was converted and "became one of them..." Which
is, of course, the evil plot that Magneto has in store for the worlds leaders.
Just a little subtext and it wasn't in the original theatrical release but still.....

Ok. So I am a contrarian. :ugly:

That said, your post makes some really solid points and I agree with you:
in most of the genre (Teen Champs), classes are held "off camera" and are
really only tangental to most of the storylines.....

-Carl-

[Remjin]

I do sometimes like the short snippets from class where whispering/note passing are conducted. S'long as the actual lecture/lesson is omitted, those scenes could work and helps reinforce the school setting some.

[Spence]

Not to be a contrarian (tho' I probably am :D ) but in one of the scenes
from the extended release of the first X-Men movie, there is a scene where
Storm is leading a class discussion about how Christians were persecuted by
Rome...Till Constantine was converted and "became one of them..." Which
is, of course, the evil plot that Magneto has in store for the worlds leaders.
Just a little subtext and it wasn't in the original theatrical release but still.....

Ok. So I am a contrarian. :ugly:

That said, your post makes some really solid points and I agree with you:
in most of the genre (Teen Champs), classes are held "off camera" and are
really only tangental to most of the storylines.....

-Carl-

I will actually have to re-watch the scene. But I didn't even pay attention to Storm talking, the scene focus was the young mutants goofing off with their powers. The Ice flower and such, introducing the characters and their powers. Kind of like the scene were Wolverine goes to talk to the Professor and he has some students in the office. The entire scene was set up to show us Kitty Pride and her phasing power. The "teaching" was just academic "background noise" supporting the scene.

Opinions are great, ain't they :D

[lapsedgamer]

Not to be a contrarian (tho' I probably am :D ) but in one of the scenes
from the extended release of the first X-Men movie, there is a scene where
Storm is leading a class discussion about how Christians were persecuted by
Rome...Till Constantine was converted and "became one of them..." Which
is, of course, the evil plot that Magneto has in store for the worlds leaders.
Just a little subtext and it wasn't in the original theatrical release but still.....

Ok. So I am a contrarian. :ugly:

That said, your post makes some really solid points and I agree with you:
in most of the genre (Teen Champs), classes are held "off camera" and are
really only tangental to most of the storylines.....

-Carl-
Minor spoilage, but I figure everyone on this board has seen these movies before...








This same type of foreshadowing is used in the second movie in the series. When the kids are in the museum, Storm is talking about the Neandethals and the Cro-Magnons. The replacement of the older speacies by the newer through extinction was the major sub-plot of that movie. The writer on both those movies was actually pretty good. He put in little mofifs like that in both movies. My favorite:

In X-Men, Rogue is riding in Wolverine's truck and he asks her what her name is. She replies, "Rogue." He then asks her what her real name is, in that charming way only Logan can manage. She softens and answers Marie.

In X2, while everyone was on the X-Jet, Pyro is being seduced by the aura of Magneto. Mageneto asks for his name. He says John. Ian McKellan nails the delivery of the next line as he asks for the boy's real name. The answer is Pyro. At that moment you know he's going to the dark side.

I thought it was a great bit of writing showing the difference between the two camps. One group considers themselves to be human beings first, while the other is more proud of their mutant powers.

I like to think that the screenwriter must have set up in his mind early on and jealously guarded it until it made it to the screen. Little moments like that make or break genre movies. Without them you get stuff like Ghost Rider, or the third movie in that series for that matter.

[Remjin]

He put in litle to mofifs like that in both movies.

I can't remember his name, but there was a totally different fellow who did the 3rd movie, as well as the writers. The guys from the first two moved on to do... uh... darn... Superman Returns, I think. I definitely liked the first two better, done much better, the 3rd was okay but hardly of the same caliber. *sigh* I was hoping for much better.

Maybe it was for Spiderman? Crud, I just can't remember.

And, just to say this, I really like the scene in Superman returns where the guy fires his pistol at Superman (what was he thinking?!) and you actually watch it hit Sup's eye, flatten, and drop... the moment where they both look down and watch it drop was just a great moment in that movie. Alas, the rest wasn't as exciting in some ways, but it was better than I had actually expected as a whole despite the various complaints of the critics.

And boy am I looking forward to Spiderman 3. It could be terrible, but I hope it isn't. I loved the scene with the subway/train deal in the 2nd movie. I know its hokey, but it just hit that nerd spot on me where I have feelings... stupid feelings... *scuff*

[transmetahuman]

And boy am I looking forward to Spiderman 3. It could be terrible, but I hope it isn't. I loved the scene with the subway/train deal in the 2nd movie. I know its hokey, but it just hit that nerd spot on me where I have feelings... stupid feelings... *scuff*
Aw... I just watched that on TV last night, and I'll happily admit that (like always) my eyes got pretty wet during that scene. And a few others. Best superhero movie, ever.

[Gideon]

Spence: You are absolutely right. I did partially miss your point.

Now I do like the short scene in the class room sometimes, but the curriculum can't really be the focus of the scene. The only exception would be if has something to do with the overarching plot (like learing about the civil war and then figuring out that the ghost that poltergiest haunting the town library is a civil war soldier) and the lesson lends some hints to how to defeat the current villian.

Homeroom, lunch, Gym, and study hall can all be RPd through to some extent, because they are not the same kind of classes as English, Math or Science. But for the most part school should be a backdrop, a place to meet, and the time spent there should not be time in class (unless your substitute teacher is a supervillain).

[clsage]

<snippage>
But for the most part school should be a backdrop, a place to meet, and the time spent there should not be time in class (unless your substitute teacher is a supervillain).

For a sort of fun spin on this idea (the villain in a position of authority) take
a gander at (and yes, I know I'm opening a can of worms here.... :rolleyes: )
Power Rangers: Dino Thunder (based on the sentai series "Bakuryuu Sentai
Abaranger"), in which the new principal at the high school is actually the
"human form" of the primary villains' chief lieutenant, Elsa.

My $.02. YMMV.

-Carl-

[jkwleisemann]

On the subject of authority figure as super-villain... one of these days I should post Dr. Black, Professor White, and Mr. Grey, the principal for one of my Teen Champions games.

Basically, Professor White and Dr. Black were both very, very powerful mentalists (supervillain and superhero, respectively) who had 'killed' each other in mental combat. With their bodies dead, their spirits went off to find a suitable host... and they both found the same host, Mr. Grey, a high school principal who had one particular mental ability.

Mental/Power Defense up the proverbial Whazoo.

At any rate, Mr. Grey ended up becoming the battlefield for the two of them, who spent their time with subtle machinations either trying to defend Grey's mind and maintain the stalemate (Dr. Black) or to distract Grey long enough that he could take over (Professor White).

These machinations ended up involving both sides of the hero/villain divide in the school - Dr. Black (and Mr. Grey) ran the semi-official school for heroes, and Professor White provided training and resources for the more disturbed, villainy-inclined members of the student body (well, okay, the more villainy-inclined ones... disturbed, not so much. The villains were generally more stable than the heroes in that one....)

Personally, I loved the building suspicions that the heroes were having about their principal, since they didn't *know* he was their benefactor, and there were hints that he was the guy backing the villains... since, of course, he was.

[Niles]

I think I'm more bittee because I'm more a fan of the author(s) who originally wrote the story.

You mean Thomas Hughes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brown%27s_School_Days)?

[Kirby]

You mean Thomas Hughes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brown%27s_School_Days)?Hmm, maybe it's a different book or something, but reading that entry, I just don't see the Harry Potter story at all.

[Niles]

The first true school story may have been Tom Brown's Schooldays, which was followed by innumerable Victorian era imitations, and magazine series. The Harry Potter series of novels has spectacularly revived some of the generic conventions. These include the idea that the action should be described, almost exclusively, from the pupils' viewpoint.Clearer?

[Spence]

Spence: You are absolutely right. I did partially miss your point.

More of a "my fault" than anything on your part. I get carried away plunking at the keyboard and wind up not being clear :o


Now I do like the short scene in the class room sometimes, but the curriculum can't really be the focus of the scene. The only exception would be if has something to do with the overarching plot (like learing about the civil war and then figuring out that the ghost that poltergiest haunting the town library is a civil war soldier) and the lesson lends some hints to how to defeat the current villian.

Homeroom, lunch, Gym, and study hall can all be RPd through to some extent, because they are not the same kind of classes as English, Math or Science. But for the most part school should be a backdrop, a place to meet, and the time spent there should not be time in class (unless your substitute teacher is a supervillain).

While I know that some people have rabid uninformed kneejerk spasms at the mere mention of the word “anime” (along the same lines as if I would rip out my TV and destroy my DVD player because the movie “SAW” is “proof” that “all movies are garbage”, condemning an entire media because of a narrow selection of “samples”. But that is another rant ;) ). If you can get them there are several decent anime that concern “teens” possessing “powers” while in school. Full Metal Panic and Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars are two that are great examples of this. Some of the episodes revolve around school activities, but most do not.


For a sort of fun spin on this idea (the villain in a position of authority) take
a gander at (and yes, I know I'm opening a can of worms here.... :rolleyes: )
Power Rangers: Dino Thunder (based on the sentai series "Bakuryuu Sentai
Abaranger"), in which the new principal at the high school is actually the
"human form" of the primary villains' chief lieutenant, Elsa.


I wouldn’t have picked Power Rangers as an example myself :sneaky: . But there are many anime that can be much better examples. Remember PR (the Americanized version) is a “live action” kids show aimed at the young and pre-teen ages. The same target audience as Puff the Magic Dragon years ago, if you can remember that far back . But is a valid example of one way to handle it.

[Kirby]

Clearer?No. While it may be the same writing style/perspective, I don't see where Rowling ripped off his story.

[Supreme Serpent]

No. While it may be the same writing style/perspective, I don't see where Rowling ripped off his story.

But he's British! And young! And male! How much clearer does it have to be? ;)

[Remjin]

Hahaha... well, while I did actually read a Hughes novel or two, it was another couple of authors. I read them in gradeschool, I believe, and cannot remember the names of them, honestly, or I would have said that from the beginning. The theme of kids in schools is certainly not a new one, but neither is magic school and being a witch/warlock/sorcerer in that field.

I think Lloyd Alexander wrote one, I cannot honestly remember the other. I went through books like a banshee as a kid. Heck, I waded through the Arthurian tales in old english (gaelic english?) at one point... but, if naught else, refer to the defunct Hariet the Witch television show from Nickelodean not too far past (didn't watch it, but it had same premise though differing problems). I wish I could remember... but, in any case...

Let me also reiterate that Rowlings has done what many have done in the past: taken a basic premise or story idea and revived it in a new form. I am not accusing her of plageurism at all. In fact, I'm probably just being a jerk because the other author's story somehow struck me as a better iteration.... and that author probably also got the story from somewhere else for all I know. The sudden flare of interest and accolade for originality and all that just got my jaw clenched, as does just about anything where celebrities try to be the authority on anything. That is why I apologized, I just kneejerked, and it wasn't appropriate. Its not like Rowlings went around talking about how great she was or anything. =)

[Niles]

No. While it may be the same writing style/perspective, I don't see where Rowling ripped off his story.

I don't see where she ripped of anyone else either, which is why Remjin's comment confused me.
Sure there are clear influences, but it's not like the Shanara books or anything.

[lapsedgamer]

I don't see where she ripped of anyone else either, which is why Remjin's comment confused me.
Sure there are clear influences, but it's not like the Shanara books or anything.

I've always thought that Harry Potter was composed of equal parts Tolkien, Roald Dahl and Ursula K. LeGuin. I don't know if you call it "ripping off" so much as referring back to influences. I just don't like her stuff is as good as that of the people who came before her. Is she adding something to the genre, or is she just cashing in? Everyone steals a little.

[Kirby]

Equal parts Tolkien? :confused: Wow, never considered that a possibility. I see her characters taking a lot from mythology (namely monsters), such as Harry, Ron, and Hermione taking after King Arthur, Lancelot, and Gueniverre (sp?), as well as Dumbledore referencing Merlin.

Anyway, the fact that she got thousands of children not just interested, but motivated to read, as well as having an abundance of adults returning to reading, I'd say she's done a lot of good there.

[SKJAM!]

New anime series to grab ideas from: Kamichu. Shy junior high student Yurie wakes up one morning to discover she's become a kami ("god" in the dub.) She doesn't know what kind of kami, but everyone with the right senses can tell she's potentially very powerful. With the help of her friends (the pushy shrine maiden and the pessimistic/realistic girl) Yurie is working to become the best kami she can be.

It's basically a magical girl series, with the twist being a lack of secrecy. Everyone in the village (and later, pretty much everyone in Japan) is aware that Yurie is a kami, and they calmly accept this fact and treat her pretty much the same way they always did.

The early episodes don't have villains as such, unless you count the Prime Minister of Japan.

[Kirby]

New anime series to grab ideas from....Say no more.



:)