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Let's Build a villainous organisation !


death tribble

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Following last year's effort at a character a month, this time I am looking at building an organisation from the ground up. This will include the boss, or bosses, the agents and supervillains who work for the organisation.

The organisation itself will be bent on world domination either through force of arms or through economics.

It should be headed either by one person or a committee of upto 4 but no more.

And then there are the ones who work for it which should include some wonderfully, fulfilling jobbers. These are the crooks whose only function is to serve as the punchbags for the good guys.

 

I think we should stay away from a wholly technological group; a wholly magical group and groups which have already been done for the most part for example Genocide for anti-mutants, the X-Men for wholly mutants and Fem-Force for a women only group (Superia in Captain America). 

So what ideas shall we see first ?

Anyone familiar with the 'If I was an Evil Overlord list' is welcome to post as I would like some of those ideas to see fruition like Agents with visible facemasks and the Trusted lieutenant.

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This is an organization I created.

 

 

The Fifth Column

 

Starting as a Axis Sabotage/Intelligence organization before and during the Second World War, it later was taken over by the Soviet Union and served in that capacity during the Cold War.  After the collapse of the USSR, the Fifth Column became independent in it's goal for World subversion and conquest.

 

The Fifth Column is organized into a series of Five member teams.  Each group has five teams, and each region has five groups.  Some agents are undercover and only provide intelligence, other groups are more open and take direct action against a target.  Many of it's members are recruited under "False Flags", and don't really know who they are working for.

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Seems to me your first big question to answer is why the leaders want to conquer the world. Second is how they convince a bunch of agents to risk their lives for this goal. Third is how they acquired the resources to become a meaningful threat instead of a tiny committee of nutjobs.

 

"Nazis" has been done already. "Just plain greedy megalomaniac evil" has been done already, and is boring. Look for a new spin.

 

Dean Shomshak

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I suggest a triad of leaders. Their motivation: they are bored aliens from a far advanced civilization. Humans are nothing to them; playthings, annoyances. They are manipulating them in what is essentially a giant game of Risk or maybe Civilization with each other. Earth is the playing field, and they use political power and influence--and yes a little intimidation--to play their game.

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Interesting points. But COBRA at least in the cinema verion controlled some to do their bidding as agents.

 

For one of the operatives I am thinking of a brick. Probably STR 50 and CON 30. DEX and SPD to be determined.

He has normal level of intelligence but is easily swayed. However in order to stop the usual mental powers I had the following in mind; some mental def and three quarters reduction vs mind control only and mental def vs mental illusions only to reduce to Lvl 2. This means a Mental blast can still do mischief but the old reliable turn him on his masters would not. Similarly an illusion of him taking damage would not work but the mentalist camaflaguing themself so he does not see them would.

To make things a little tougher for the martial artists 5 lack of weakness.

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For a different spin, I keep thinking of some of the Clive Cussler novels I've read.

 

In one there was a rich guy who was building a virus that would kill of a large part of the worlds population and in the aftermath he and his organization of New Druids would rule the remainder. Another book that I read had a guy who was a descendent of the last ruler of the Ottoman Empire. So I could see someone trying to rebuild an ancient empire. Pax Nova Roma....Just my 2 cents. Remember that Star Trek episode where they had modern romans?

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The three aliens sound like a good setup to let super-detective characters (and mad thinker players) shine, as they pull together clues that the three criminal agencies that seem to compete with each other actually serve the same cause (sort of). Or the reason for the three competing branches of the one agency.

 

It still needs a "cover story" reason for trying to conquer the world. Even if most agents and supervillains are just mercs, the aliens need to tell them something.

 

If I may be so immodest, my old "Megavillains" article back in Digital Hero #3 gives a good list of motivations that can work for criminal super-agencies as well as for master villains. If you don't have it handy, I can suggest a few.

 

Dean Shomshak

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I had a version of VIPER that had them begin as anti-Communist Kuomintang remnants in southeast Asia. They got into the heroin trade, and allied with the Hong Kong Triads and the CIA. After the Vietnam War, rogue CIA elements helped them become global, toning down their Asian specific nature, and forming them into the organisation that showed up in the 1e Champions rulebook.

 

Their agenda is part greed, part far-right ideology.

 

Of course I also conflated them with Green Dragon and Dr Lirby Koo.

 

(I also rationalised the UNTIL presence in the US as being an interim measure until SAT came online, after Mechanon's first attack almost succeded in toppling the US government.)

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There's always the Cthulhu-esque motive, re-empower the old gods and bring them back into the world that the Righteous Ways are restored. With a mystery cult, a couple of the very top figures could be pure devotees with enough charisma to convert anyone. The next tier down could be more ... pragmatic? realistic? brutal? in carrying out the tasks needed to bring the Restoration.

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Honestly, the best villains have a noble goal at heart, they are just willing to draw the moral line at a different point then the rest of society.

 

I think most Villains use a noble goal to both rationalize their actions, and gather support from the uninformed.

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Might work for a "trusted Lt." or a member of a high council.

 

Agent 27  alias Henchmen 27 alias (just plain) 27.

 

Background

 

27 has been a henchman for many would be world dominators.  Although, he never betrayed them, and was very loyal, they inevitably would fail and fall into obscurity (captured or death by the good guys).  He was often the only one who survived/escaped.  But, he always learned something from them.  And he himself grew in power.  Now, he has landed into the heiarchy of this organization.

 

Appearance

 

He prefers to keep a nameless, anonymous appearance.  And prefers to remain masked.  Even keeping his name a number.  Underneath many scars will be found from misfortunes of his long service as a minion.

 

 

Other Notes

 

Given his past, he probably has many gadgets and weapons hidden in his costume from his previous employers.  Probably knows a lot on tactics and strategy.  Could know several different fighting styles.  Given his prolific record.  He could be aging much slower than a normal human, perhaps even an immortal.  He claims to have died several times before.  Whether he truly died, or this is just an allusion to his ability to survive from the collapses of various villains, and reappear later is unknown.

 

 

 

My note:  I thought of him, because I always wanted to see an unnamed minion rise through the ranks to lead, yet have some of the unnamed minion left in him.  The number was just the first that popped in my head at the time. It could any number of course.

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The Crusade (of Ludd)

 

Leader: Priest who has had a vision of a world that has turned its back on what he perceives to be the One True God because of Technology.

 

Goal: To destroy the world's technology to force man to embrace God.

 

Methods: Varies from using magic to cripple tech to building a giant EMP device on the moon. Basically using the weapons of God's enemies to fight them. (We're going to stop your house from burning down by setting it on fire).

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I did think of a trio of powered baddies one slow night at work. They could be used as a trio of operatives/mercs for a high-level mission
 

Heat Master- half demon/half human.   Is the ultimate manipulator of heat.  In addition to the typical tricks of the usual fire manipulators. Can absorb fire.  Even fire used from other fire users. Generally likes to dress in a black suit with pinstripes complete with dark red tie.  For som reason I imagined him with the face of James Hetfield from Metallica.

 

the Vampire Queen, Mileesa is his lover.   A strong vampire.  She and her clan were at their strongest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire just prior to WWI.  Shortly, after the war, she entered hibernation.  The disasters of the Nazis through Europe in WWII, followed by the Communist regimes after the war depleted the clan of members considerably before her reawakening in recent times.  Which is when she met up with the Heat Master.  Basically, I imagined her looking like the Baroness with fangs.  Prefers to wear a flowing black evening gown with red trim. I guess in a sense they could have the relationship where they could essentially be a "supernatural Destro and Baroness".

 

The Snakecharmer is essentially the loyal "Soundwave" type to them.  A ninja who was formerly of VIPER.   They had him mystically bonded to a nest of venomous snakes shortly before a mission by the couple took down the VIPER base.  He has been loyal to them for saving him ever since (of course that wasnt their mission merely a pleasant by-product of it).  Apart from the usual ninja techniques.  His big move is for the snakes that have made his body their nest to burst out of his skin to attack his foes.  Yes, not a pretty thing to see.  Though their bite seems to act as an "energy transfer" to him to increase his abilities.  Being mystically bonded, he doesnt take well to one of the critters dying. Pain and enragement can ensue. 

 

Note: To make the team bigger you could add a 3 or 4 of the remaining vampires of Mileesa's clan to it, though they would only be marginally powerful compared to her.  I did figure the most loyal/powerful would be an ex-Austrian soldier from WWI who had lost his way in the world, and she turned just prior to her hibernation, who might be her bodyguard.

 

Note: On Snakecharmer, he was built around a nightmare I had where snakes were crawling under my skin in combo with that dude from Naruto who has bugs living in him.

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