Music-themed groups

[novi]

Among the many campaign concepts I've got simmering and want to do something with someday is the music group game.

Basic concept? The PCs and every group they run into are musically inspired. I'd plan to play it for comedy. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement issues in the game.

A couple examples that have inspired me:

The Abbey Road Gang (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1632215&postcount=1046)

Feedback! (http://s8.zetaboards.com/The_Fusion_Fighters/topic/141054/?author=64171)

So, does anyone else have any ideas along those lines?

[Susano]

Well, there's this archive of music-based characters:
http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationsmusic/musicchar.html

[Matt Holck]

Ma Baker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv53gKx0cyo)

[ghost-angel]

We had a thread somewhere around here that was a "Name That Band" by creating a group of characters (Villains or Heroes) named after song titles... I'm way to lazy to find it. :p

[Blue]

White Gold would so own. ;)

Jukebox Hero seems to be the most popularly created in this vein. I've known lots of people who used this name at some point in their campaigns.

I made a group long ago and I remember nothing about it now. It would be interesting to re-explore this.

[Lord Liaden]

Digital Hero #24 includes full background and character sheets for an entire music-themed villain team called the Choir, created by our own Denver "Hermit" Mason: Bridge, Caterwaul, Crescendo, Dirge, Duet, Songbird, Soprano, and Virtuoso. Very interesting and diverse group, although some of them aren't well suited to comedy.

Here are free samples from the article of two members of the Choir, Duet (http://web.archive.org/web/20050312053428/www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh24duet.jsp) and Dirge (http://web.archive.org/web/20050102122929/www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh24dirge.jsp).

If you can get your hands on the 5E HERO version of The Algernon Files by BlackWyrm Games (an overall excellent character sourcebook for Champions), you'll find full write-ups for an all-female superpowered punk/goth rock band known as Hell's Belles. They're certainly competent enough to be a real threat to superheroes, although they're mainly interested in making music, so easy to use in lighter-hearted adventures.

[matrix3]

Digital Hero #24 includes full background and character sheets for an entire music-themed villain team called the Choir, created by our own Denver "Hermit" Mason: Bridge, Caterwaul, Crescendo, Dirge, Duet, Songbird, Soprano, and Virtuoso. Very interesting and diverse group, although some of them aren't well suited to comedy.

Here are free samples from the article of two members of the Choir, Duet (http://web.archive.org/web/20050312053428/www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh24duet.jsp) and Dirge (http://web.archive.org/web/20050102122929/www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh24dirge.jsp).

If you can get your hands on the 5E HERO version of The Algernon Files by BlackWyrm Games (an overall excellent character sourcebook for Champions), you'll find full write-ups for an all-female superpowered punk/goth rock band known as Hell's Belles. They're certainly competent enough to be a real threat to superheroes, although they're mainly interested in making music, so easy to use in lighter-hearted adventures.

I really like Dirge's background and concept. I wasn't even thinking of adding music-based villains, but I might have to adapt him. Thanks for the link!

[Certified]

There's always Kissmyanthia.

[Matt Holck]

I have a whole Bast Mafia built around Cats

mostly martial artist
an interesting trick was Mongo Jerry and Rumple Teaser could switch places with each out and indeed teleport loot that way

[Narratio]

Hey novi, as you've got everything music based, do you have an overall campaign arc? Like your mastermind villain is a Phantom of the Opera type? Secret genius, failed musician after some nasty accident seeking revenge upon the world. Tried with punk , then rap, now probably J-pop...

Or it's really a hidden war between two or three competing factions of musical creators. Sort of Chinnichap vs SAW vs independent music writers. Or, still with the secret war, major recording studios vying for cash (situation normal then) or maybe it's Satan's way of drumming up business - 'Devil Came Down To Georgia' style.

Some factions (Viper / Demon etc) trying out low level mind control techniques - who can promote a no talent bum into a position of fame and... hang on a minute... hasn't this already been done?

[BoloOfEarth]

Some factions (Viper / Demon etc) trying out low level mind control techniques - who can promote a no talent bum into a position of fame and... hang on a minute... hasn't this already been done?

American Idol?

America's Got Talent?

[Naanomi]

Some factions (Viper / Demon etc) trying out low level mind control techniques - who can promote a no talent bum into a position of fame and... hang on a minute... hasn't this already been done?

And thus, Grunge music was born... oh you don't mean that kind of bum.

[novi]

Hey novi, as you've got everything music based, do you have an overall campaign arc? Like your mastermind villain is a Phantom of the Opera type? Secret genius, failed musician after some nasty accident seeking revenge upon the world. Tried with punk , then rap, now probably J-pop...

Or it's really a hidden war between two or three competing factions of musical creators. Sort of Chinnichap vs SAW vs independent music writers. Or, still with the secret war, major recording studios vying for cash (situation normal then) or maybe it's Satan's way of drumming up business - 'Devil Came Down To Georgia' style.

Some factions (Viper / Demon etc) trying out low level mind control techniques - who can promote a no talent bum into a position of fame and... hang on a minute... hasn't this already been done?

Ah, if only I were so far along. I'm more in the initial brainstorming area, trying to get enough character ideas to put together the game. I haven't even started on a plot, thought all of your suggestions could make a good game.

Okay, maybe having a plot would help me figure out what groups I need. But at this point, I don't have a venue for he game, and it's mostly just brainstorming. The proper context is essential for a game like this, since the joke will probably get old after about 5.27 sessions, give or take.


also, thank LL. T should take a look.

[BoloOfEarth]

Digital Hero #24 includes full background and character sheets for an entire music-themed villain team called the Choir, created by our own Denver "Hermit" Mason: Bridge, Caterwaul, Crescendo, Dirge, Duet, Songbird, Soprano, and Virtuoso. Very interesting and diverse group, although some of them aren't well suited to comedy.

Here are free samples from the article of two members of the Choir, Duet (http://web.archive.org/web/20050312053428/www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh24duet.jsp) and Dirge (http://web.archive.org/web/20050102122929/www.herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh24dirge.jsp).

Having used The Choir, I can endorse them wholeheartedly, though I agree that some of them may need to be modified for comedy or dropped entirely.

As for both comedic and music-based, I've used the 4E heavy metal supergroup Road Kill to great effect in the past.

Edit: In case you hadn't heard of Road Kill, they consist of Heavy Metal, Axeman, Boomer, Screech, Sparks, and Ted, plus their Roadies.

[Lord Liaden]

Road Kill is far from my favorite 4E Champs adventure -- I don't get the impression the author really understood much about rock sub-culture -- but it does contain the germs of some decent characters and ideas. Come to think of it, for those reasons the group might even work better for a comedy game!

And wonder of wonders, it's still available from the Hero Games website store, reasonably priced: https://www.herogames.com/viewItem.htm?itemID=73042

Along similar lines, you might be able to use Michael "Susano" Surbrook's 5E updates and "debugging" of the supervillain punk band Argent Anarky, from the otherwise wretched 4E Champs book European Enemies: http://surbrook.devermore.net/revisedhero/herorev.html

[moquif]

I remember a villain from early Gold Digger comics. An Elvis impersonator who learned magic. His supervillain name was Spellvis!

[BoloOfEarth]

Road Kill is far from my favorite 4E Champs adventure -- I don't get the impression the author really understood much about rock sub-culture -- but it does contain the germs of some decent characters and ideas. Come to think of it, for those reasons the group might even work better for a comedy game!

I never ran the adventure from Road Kill, but I have used Road Kill as a villain group several times. One time in my game I had Weird Al Yankovic do a parody of one of Road Kill's songs, to which they objected and tried to take out his tour bus (and the heroes of course saved him). The players got a huge kick of having the Perk "Favor: Weird Al" on their character sheets.

Edit: IIRC, they even called in that favor to get Foxbat off their backs once. :D

To tell the truth, I don't know much about heavy metal rock culture either. I took Road Kill as an in-game parody of that culture, and played them that way.

I forgot entirely about Argent Anarky, but frankly I tried to forget much of European Enemies. :p

[Susano]

Only one flaw in that plot... Al normally asks before making the parody.

[BoloOfEarth]

Only one flaw in that plot... Al normally asks before making the parody.

Maybe he talked to a business manager of some sort, who didn't clear it with the band beforehand.

But yeah, I didn't consider that before I ran the game. Besides, if there's a group just begging to be parodied, it would be Road Kill.

The worst part, for the players, was that I wrote a Road Kill song so I could "sing" it during play. Fortunately for the world, the lyrics were lost when my computer crashed.

[Susano]

Maybe he talked to a business manager of some sort, who didn't clear it with the band beforehand.


Which fits what happened between Weird Al and... whoever did Gangster's Paradise (which Al parodied as Amish Paradise). He thought he had the okay only to have the original artist throw a fit.

[Lord Liaden]

Which fits what happened between Weird Al and... whoever did Gangster's Paradise (which Al parodied as Amish Paradise). He thought he had the okay only to have the original artist throw a fit.

That was the once-hot Coolio.


I never ran the adventure from Road Kill, but I have used Road Kill as a villain group several times. One time in my game I had Weird Al Yankovic do a parody of one of Road Kill's songs, to which they objected and tried to take out his tour bus (and the heroes of course saved him). The players got a huge kick of having the Perk "Favor: Weird Al" on their character sheets.

Edit: IIRC, they even called in that favor to get Foxbat off their backs once. :D

To tell the truth, I don't know much about heavy metal rock culture either. I took Road Kill as an in-game parody of that culture, and played them that way.

I forgot entirely about Argent Anarky, but frankly I tried to forget much of European Enemies. :p

I did run the suggestion from the 4E Champions Universe book of a "battle of the bands" between Road Kill and Argent Anarky. It was organized by rock star Leo Lowe (secretly Leo of the Zodiac -- see The Zodiac Conspiracy) as a diversion for one of the Zodiac's plots.

[Doctor Agenda]

One band can provide a lot of hero and villain names, my age may be showing but Steely Dan and R.E.M. come to mind. Crimson Tide, Deacon Blues, Orange Crush, Electrolyte, Daysleeper, etc.

[Matt Holck]

Well, there's this archive of music-based characters:
http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationsmusic/musicchar.html

those are fun

[Mantis]

Doe: Martial artist with superleap, fast running, and levels with a move-through attack.
Ray: solar-powered energy projector.
Me: a mimic, so characters fight themselves.
Far: speedster, with heaps of Combat Skill levels vs Range.
Sew: has a device that fires small spikes with rope entangles.
La: a Follower for Sew.
Tea: boils water vapor from the air to create energy blasts and steam clouds.

[Susano]

those are fun

I hope to add more in the future. And many of those were created by other people; I'm always open for donations.

[BoloOfEarth]

Doe: Martial artist with superleap, fast running, and levels with a move-through attack.
Ray: solar-powered energy projector.
Me: a mimic, so characters fight themselves.
Far: speedster, with heaps of Combat Skill levels vs Range.
Sew: has a device that fires small spikes with rope entangles.
La: a Follower for Sew.
Tea: boils water vapor from the air to create energy blasts and steam clouds.

I think Doe needs to be a duplicator -- doesn't it also end in "Doe"?

[Narratio]

You might throw in odd spurious threads. An encounter with "Josie and the Pussy cats" perhaps? Or "Wyld Stallions" from Bill & Ted? Or that band Howard the Duck played with in the movie.... (Bwwaaaha haaah hahahah)

It's a comedy run, you might as well go all out, hold nothing back including the Phantom of the Opera and possibly the Abominable Doctor Vibes. :)

[Matt Holck]

MY NAME - OLIVER (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzBrwdY-GA)