VIPER and the Serpent Lantern. GM brainstorm

[Herolover]

Okay all you VIPER fans. Reading VIPER I am very intrigued by the Serpent Lantern. It is of course a McGuffin that doesn’t need to be written up. What I am wondering is what kind of adventures would you run with it?

You know VIPER would be interested in it.
You know some in VIPER would want it to continue to be lost.
You know Dr. Destroyer might still be interested in obtaining its secrets.

So, all that said what kind of globe spanning adventure would you involve the characters in with the Serpent Lantern as the main theme?

[Hermit]

Takofanes seeks it so as to drain the Serpent God of his power by that being's own device, and eventually steal his godhood for himself.

[Herolover]

I forgot about Takofanes.
How would you do such an adventure. How would you go about getting the players involved. Something they guard? Something they have to find?

[Hermit]

I forgot about Takofanes.
How would you do such an adventure. How would you go about getting the players involved. Something they guard? Something they have to find?

Depends on the characters in question. Any PCs who are mystic or psychic might get a dream or vision warning them of it. If none of them fit that, either an NPC that knows of them might turn to them, or perhaps a PC might have their own reason for seeking out such an item "My dad (other DNPC) has cancer? There must be SOMETHING that can cure him? Hey, here's a legend about a mystical device that grants life..."

[FenrisUlf]

If someone in VIPER wants it, the smartest thing to do would be to drop some info to either a DNPC or a PC. All the weird mystic artifacts seem to come to them anyway.

[Lord Liaden]

The Serpent Lantern was lost in space. Perhaps while it drifted out there, it encountered something: an alien space traveller, a spaceborn organism, or a drifting piece of abandoned technology. Whatever contacted it discovers the Lantern's power, may have augmented itself by tapping into that power, and can sense the source of it... and is following the trail to Earth to claim that power source for itself.

Or perhaps the Serpent of the Lantern was deliberately or accidentally released by whatever found it, and possessed its finder. With a new physical form and powers, the Serpent may decide to return to Earth to help its father Nama and Nama's minions. Or it may hate Nama for confining it to the Lantern and seek to destroy him and all his works.

The PCs may have to find a way to reassemble the Serpent Lantern in order to imprison the Serpent again and end its threat. Depending on the Serpent's motivations, they may even have to ally with VIPER!

[Captain Pants]

This is an intriguing plot idea. Here are my ideas:

We know Nama can see into the future. If he sees Takofanes or Destroyer taking his power, he's in a position to do something about it. Were I Nama, I would send the Supreme Serpent a vision ordering him to secure the Lantern before it gets compromised.

We also know (assuming you follow the book verbatim) that the Supreme Serpent knows exactly where the Lantern is... he just isn't telling anyone. So the SS faces a double threat: First, the loss of his immortality/power base (Nama), and second, the exposure of the Lantern to the VIPER High Council. If the Council gets its hands on the Lantern again, he’ll be forced to swear by it and get his hands tied. We know he’s a master tactician. So, he’ll want to be discreet. Based on all that, I came up with the following:

1) The best way to keep such a major secret is not to tell anyone, so he starts out by trying to handle it himself. He counts on subtlety and anonymity to protect him. His initial mission fails; the Lantern gets taken and he gets beaten to a pulp, but rescued by the PCs (whom you’ve already placed nearby)… but it’s not too late. The Lantern is still en route to its new master (I’m going to pick Destroyer – I chose him because Takofanes could take it to a pocket dimension, and then everyone would be screwed.)

2) Knowing he’s in over his head and becoming desperate, SS recruits the PCs to help him, presenting himself as an archaeologist. He tells them it’s some ancient Christian relic known for its terrible power… something with some historical basis, perhaps even the Mandragalore. He tells them he planted a tracking device on it before it was taken, and gives them a tracking device.

3) To get it, the PCs will need to not only chase down Destroyer’s minion(s), but also deal with the super-zombies that are ALSO chasing down Destroyer’s minion(s). An ideal single minion for this would be Raksasha, IMHO, but you could substitute an armored division or Gigaton for more combat potential…

4) In the confusion, the PCs might actually stand a chance of taking the Lantern for themselves. If they do succeed, SS will, of course, then ambush them and take the Lantern, if he can. If the PCs keep it and give SS the finger (a likely possibility, regardless of how convincing he was), the PCs will now be targeted by Destroyer, Takofanes, and VIPER… with VIPER having the edge by knowing where they are.

5) If the PCs fail and the minion escapes, all heck breaks loose. Destroyer and Takofanes now start slugging it out in different parts of the world as they try to find it. Meanwhile, the minion is hiding, now realizing how hot the item is. The world is spun into chaos. The PCs can deal with any number of disasters as a result.

6) This segement takes place off-screen. Amidst all of this, SS still has the tracking device and knows exactly where the Lantern is. Knowing he’s past keeping it secret, he takes the problem to the Council. But as always, he has something sneaky and underhanded planned so that once it gets rescued (successfully this time), he’ll make the Lantern disappear again. The Lantern can be somewhere far-off, like in Destroyer’s mobile base in the ocean, in the Mogave desert, or whatnot. It may still be with the PCs. Time to call in the heavy hitters – Dragon Squad it is, complete with Viperia. They get sent after the Lantern.

7) Combat combat, yadda yadda. Upon the mission’s success, Dragon Squad gets the Lantern, but then gets ambushed, perhaps by a space-based weapon of VIPER’s. SS takes and hides the Lantern again, then leaves evidence that the PCs now have it – killing 4 birds with one stone. Now the Council, Takofanes, Destroyer, and the PCs are otherwise engaged as he decides on what to do with it. He leaves clues to what he did, however. Those are up to you.

8) The PCs will thus fall under siege by the two most powerful supervillains in the world as well as the largest, most powerful terrorist organization. They must now try to figure out where the Lantern really went and why they’re being blamed, all before one of them gets its hands on them. You’d have to keep the pressure on, but always leave them some avenue of narrow escape. Leave them some clues to follow, enough for them to have a chance to figure out what really happened. Then, in the moment of truth, they can expose SS’s plan to the Council, ruining his standing in VIPER and causing all three organizations to go after SS instead, while also fighting amongst themselves the whole time.

9) SS now goes into hiding, and can’t destroy the Lantern for fear of retaliation. Nama contacts the PCs and tells them where SS is, that the Lantern must be destroyed, and requests that SS be taken to the caves where Nama lives so SS can face his final justice.

Comments are welcome.

[Herolover]

Wow. I mean really wow.

I had forgotten that the SS knows where it is at. I, like you, are really intriqued by the serpent lantern and know that there is a good adventure there if I can figure it out.

It looks like you came up with a really great adventure and I am going to have to read it again to see if I think I could pull it off. Very good, very in depth.

[FenrisUlf]

My complimenst to LordLiaden and CaptainPants. Those are some _great_ ideas there.