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The Insanity Channel


Nuclear Fridge

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So, I'm about to start GM'ing a new sequence of games, and that means excavating all my old superhero books. I've been skimming a lot of villains, old and new, from a range of different publishers... and I noticed something that keeps cropping up.

 

Crazy, gadget-using villains with a Sonics motif.

 

Le Sone (or Ultrasonique) of Eurostar. Vibron of 3rd Edition's Classic Enemies. Howler, with her paranoia and superstitious hang-ups. Drill-Bit from GURPS Supers' <i>School of Hard Knocks</i>. A few others I can mention. It's as if messing around with directed-sound weaponry rots away their minds bit by bit until they snap. Which gives me ideas...

 

Say there's a subtle kind of 'radiation poisoning' effect involved with sonics tech, with repeated exposure causing cumulative damage to the user's nervous system. Given enough time, <i>anyone</i> will go off the deep end. Which doesn't bode well for a hero using sonics tech, does it?

 

Adapting the 'Sonic Squeezeplay' from <i>Villainy Amok</i>, a blanket sonic-bombardment device covering a city could have far reaching effects beyond the Blackmail Of The Week Plot...

 

I'd be interested in what other people have to say about this - what sort of sound-based villains and schemes have you faced? How have you made a Sonics villain more interesting than just a walking Energy Blast?

 

 

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One of the hallmarks of personality disorder is inappropriate vocalisations. Not talking to yourself --mostly. Instead, mild cases will manifest as frequent and public, inappropriate singing. Going beyond that, there will be random comments, or more disconcertingly, random noises. Then you have shade into more fantastic scenarios, such as the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where it almost seems like the condition turns into a contagious disease. 

 

So it is not exactly far-fetched that constant exposure to sonic technology would lead to brain damage, and the symptoms almost write their own scenarios. It's boogie night in Campaign City!

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Here's an interesting tidbit I've been thinking of doing something with, which actually fits well with your premise. VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent p. 7 describes the 19th Century physicist Dr. Victor Vulcaine, who was to sonics what Nikola Tesla was (popularly believed to be) to electromagnetism. Patronized by the direct predecessors of VIPER, he conducted experiments unmatched by modern science, such as a sub-sonic broadcast which shattered every piece of glass in London. In 1899 he was killed by an unknown assailant who stole his notes and some of his prototypes, which were never recovered. "Unfortunately during the 1890s, he experienced bouts of madness, spending days crawling naked on his belly imitating a snake."

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