"Grond smash!" and other Grond plots

[tusaboss]

Grond in love
Grond wants to date with a girl or perhaps his ex-wife and turns to the PCs for advice.
(Adaptation of a classical D&D plot)

[Kirby]

I think the 5e version of Grond is a little underpowered myself. Not to mention the 'fire' weakness. IMO that's a huge weakness. Some little kid with a match could 'shoo' Grond away.

I believe the "kid with a match" example is quite a bit of an overstatement; however, as strong as Grond is, he does need or could use a weakness, especially since he has reptile/amphibian characteristics; at least it fits his concept.

Compared to another long-time villain, like Dr. Destroyer, Grond hasn't (in my opinion) really been upgraded enough, except perhaps in The Ultimate Brick.

Dr. Destroyer has gone from a low-end of 1300 points, high-end 1932 points in Classic Enemies [1989] to a stand-in for Dr. Destroyer of 1529 points in Day of the Destroyer [1990]. In CKC [2002] Dr. D is 2516 points. So from his 1300 to 2516 version, that is a 93.5% increase! Even from the high-end 1932 point version he's had a 30% increase in power.

Grond, on the other hand had 352 points in Enemies II [1982], to 334 in Classic Enemies [1989] (a drop in points?], to 410 points in CKC [2002], to 459 in The Ultimate Brick [2004]. So from his low points of 334, to his high of 459, that's really only a 37% increase.

Considering that Grond's 334 write up was when characters were based on 250 points and now they are based on 350 points, a 40% increase, Grond's character does get a raw deal overall.

[Kirby]

Grond's Future

IndentGrond is a name that in it's time brought fear and, for those who knew his sad story, pity to the minds of people. Before the terrible war that struck the world, Grond was captured during a battle with Primus and the American Avenger. The Avenger was one of those who pitied Grond. When the call went out he used his contacts to obtain permision to put Grond in suspended animation. He did so in a location know only to him, in hopes that one day a cure may be found for him. Years went by and Grond was all but forgotten. 350 years later Grond was found by a group of Enforcers, after a search through the military historical archives they discovered his identity and quickly decided to try and use him as a pawn. Grond awoke from his long slumber to find himself strapped to a experimentation table with all sorts of wires attached to him. A man in a lab coat came over and began speaking to him. Grond did not fully understand what he was being told, but his old memories of the experiment that made him the way he was surfaced and he got angry. Grond managed to break the restraints and quickly pummeled the scientist into a bloody pulp. Several Enforcers flooded into the room but their weapons didn't even slow him down. Grond battled his way out of the lab and into the wastelands of what was once Washington D.C.. Unable to comprehend the changes to the world, Grond moved constantly and eventually managed to make his way to New Los Angeles. It was there he managed to find some acceptance. Grond was hiding in a large building when he saw a group of people being chased by the Enforcers. He heard one of the 'metal men', as he refered to the Enforcers, yell "Freeze or you will die, Rebel". Grond suddenly remebered how these same type of men had tried to hurt him and he smashed through the crumbling wall. The Enforcers were caught off guard and were quickly dispatched. Grond turned toward the group and began to walk away. The youngest, a little girl who was about 8, came over and tocuhed Grond's hand. "Thank you for saving us, friend."
IndentGrond was confused. He remebered what friend meant. He looked towards the others who were all nodding and smiling at him. Grond knelt beside the small girl and gently stroked her hair with his massive hand.
Indent"Grond friend?" He asked.
Indent"Yes," the little girl replied "I am you friend, my name is Hope."
IndentGrond smiled and said, "Grond and Hope friends."
IndentHope nodded. "Would you like to come live with us and protect us from the Enforcers."
IndentGrond nodded, "Grond smash metal men for Hope." He stood and accepted the small girl's hand and they walked off together. Since that day Grond has protected Hope and the underground resistance group that her parents were part of.

This is actually the background for my PC in a PBeM.

[zornwil]

That's cool, I like that a lot, very nice.

Thinking about that, you could do a related plot where a team member among the PCs learns somehow about this side of Grond, perhaps a mentalist picking up his mental projection or such. Of course it would have to be a PC compelled to help. Anyway, the team then deals with helping the real Grond get out.

[Kirby]

Proditor has a Doc Sampson & Grond related plot here that some might enjoy.