JmOz Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Topic says it all. What would you consider to be worse than rape? I have an idea for a female hero, who has had bad things happen to her, tortured, soul destroying, etc... I have some real gruesome visuals in my head, but one thing I want is for it to have been more traumatic to her than if she had been raped (A crimelord broke her basically)...ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Hurting or killing one's friends or loved ones is usually a worse pain that rape or mutilation to that particular person. Beyond that, you might as well kill the person you aim to torment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Wow, you really want to go dark here. Is it really necessary to this characterization to find the absolute worst thing that could happen to a person? Without the experience of having been raped, it's very difficult to imagine what could be more traumatic. I mean, I could throw out some thoughts, but I'd just be talking through my hat, with nothing concrete to pin it on. Certainly women in our society seem to view it as the second-worst thing after murder. Sometimes not even second. Well, in the spirit of trying to be helpful... I'm reminded of the globally infamous gang-rape of an Indian girl on a bus a while back, which was so violent -- including the use of a metal pipe -- that she later died of her injuries, after having been dumped out of the bus to lie on the road until passersby found her. Had she survived, I'd be surprised if that hadn't left profound emotional damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Hurting or killing one's friends or loved ones is usually a worse pain that rape or mutilation to that particular person. Beyond that, you might as well kill the person you aim to torment. That sort of thing is what first came to my mind; but again, without the personal experience I didn't feel qualified to characterize it as "usually a worse pain than rape or mutilation." That might depend on the person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 That sort of thing is what first came to my mind; but again, without the personal experience I didn't feel qualified to characterize it as "usually a worse pain than rape or mutilation." That might depend on the person. This situation ultimately does depend on the individual and what their priorities/weaknesses are, yes. That said, often times in fiction, when the stoic hero is unwilling to talk as the threats of severe pain or even death are uttered their way, they usually cave in when the bad guy threatens people that are very close to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 yes going VERY dark here. However I want to emphasize that she was not raped. Lots of inspiration from a couple of comic characters (Black Canary and Jessica Jones) who both have had some very nasty experiences... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megaplayboy Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Some kind of mental torture, or physical torture. Domestic violence culminating in the death of their child. Or a sociopath abducts and kills their child. Those are all arguably worse than rape, or at least most would likely find sexual assault to be less traumatic(somewhat, we are talking about some seriously awful stuff here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 I'm thinking of a mental/physical torture that leads into a weird form of Stockholm syndrome (not quite). I imagine her being so broken from the torture that she would have done anything to be free of it. Including throwing herself at them only to be punished more. basically I want her to be at such a low point that she has mentally become a slave to her new master. This is of course so that over the course of the campaign she can come to terms with the trauma and betray her master in a truly heroic way. A story of redemption and strength to overcome the worse of life... A little more information, this is for a street level champions game, she will be a hero who has become a dirty cop, the costume id is to try to make up for what she has done. But her fear/conditioning by"The Crimelord" (Think Marvel's Kingpin) is such that she still is doing his dirty work for him. He has not found out she is the new Pixie yet, but by the final showdown he will know, and she will need to make an EGO roll to not betray her friends... Like I said, going for a mature story line here. I want to thank everyone who has and will take part in this conversation for treating it with respect. I have a relative who was raped, and I know the trauma it causes first hand. I had some concerns when I posted that it would degenerate into something juvenile, and it has not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grailknight Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 The only thing I can imagine would be an ongoing addiction of some type. Have the Crimelord be the only source of some designer drug(perhaps something that fuels her powers) and hold that over her. For true vileness, have him abduct her closest friends and/or younger siblings/teenage sidekicks and force them into addiction and trafficking. Send her photos and video for inspiration. Coerce her into being a brutal enforcer/torturer against his rivals. Breaking point should be before or after she is tasked with abducting the teen-aged child of one of those rivals/corrupt officials. Be warned. This type of scenario can only end with the tragic death of the heroine or the the brutal messy death of the villain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 We shall see how it plays out. The dirty work so far has been evidence tampering and letting him know things he should not. This is all for backstory, with her being in his pocket at the start of the campaign. He does not know about her SI yet, only that she is one of "his" cops Maybe the drugs, would defiantly fit, but really wanted this to be more Psyc than Phys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Hmm... how about being buried alive by the crimelord? Trapped alone in a coffin-sized space, no light, no way out, slowly suffocating, expecting to die. Pulled out and revived by the crimelord at the last possible moment. And he threatens to put her back there if she doesn't obey him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Is it necessary to be explicit about what was done to her? An alternate approach would be to describe her response to that ... something so over-the-top that the mind recoils that a sane entity would consider it appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 good point cancer...I am trying to avoid refrigerator syndrome here as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 I'm thinking of a mental/physical torture that leads into a weird form of Stockholm syndrome (not quite). I imagine her being so broken from the torture that she would have done anything to be free of it. Including throwing herself at them only to be punished more. basically I want her to be at such a low point that she has mentally become a slave to her new master. This is of course so that over the course of the campaign she can come to terms with the trauma and betray her master in a truly heroic way. A story of redemption and strength to overcome the worse of life... I was thinking something along the lines of what happened with members of the Manson family--that this character was so seduced and captivated by the crimelord that she would do the most hideous and unspeakable things to other people to prove her loyalty and maintain his affection. So it wouldn't be so much what was done to her, but what she has done to others in his name--destruction, torture, mutilation and murder. There would have to be an incident at some point where she would be forced to reconsider her life and the crimes she has committed, not unlike The Bride from the Kill Bill movies discovering she was pregnant. Up to that point she would have done anything for Bill--including murder a church full of innocents. (They didn't call him Snake Charmer for nothing.) But after she found that out, she realized things had to change--that she had to leave her old life and him behind. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Thanks WCW, but I don't think that would fit the timeline I have planed. 1.Good Cop 2.Captured, tortured 3. subservient ---hates what she has become but conditioned 4. Steals power suit 5.Becomes hero 6.Early adventures (On scene for 2-3 months) -------------------- Campaign starts here 7.Character still trying to break conditioning, as a cop still doing what she is told 8. Crimelord discovers SI 9. Final Showdown... To note: I plan on what she has done so far to be in the evidence tampering type of thing more than cold blooded executions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 So I think you guys are right about not really defining what happened. To just say that she was tortured until her spirit was broken. Now the question of what Complications. She is to have 50 Points worth of complications. 15: Secret ID What else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mzimwi Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 This is VERY sensitive to relate, but I barely escaped being raped. I'd had a fifth of vodka and some benzo and went outside to pee, Guy followed me and threw me down and very nearly got there before my friends rescued me. Years later I met him and he apologized. We talked and eventually I went home with him - hell, he was cute. I've been cavity searched, too. It's just medical - hell, when I was a kid, a doctor held me down and did a spinal tap. I don't get the personality damage part of that. The worst thing you could do to me is a lobotomy - knowing you're going to cut my brain and take part of me away. Or waiting to be executed. Lots of nightmares about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Psychological Complication: Obedient/Terrified of Crimelord, (Uncommon. Strong) 10pts Psychological Complication: Code of Police (Common, Moderate) 10pts Distinctive Feature: Broken (Not Concealable, Causes Major Reaction, Detectable only by Telepathy/Psychological Analysis) 10pts Dependence: Painkillers (Easy to Obtain, 1d6 Damage + Weakness per Day, Addiction) 5pts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roter Baron Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 If you really want to go over the top with trauma and sick disgust: Being forced to see the mutilation of a loved one (child perhaps) and being force-fed the cooked flesh. Why did she eat the flesh of her own child. Because of sheer and utter fear! Thus, teh heroine would be severely traumatized and deeply ashamed that she did not take a bullet to the brain but ate and ate to save her own live while her child was mutilated and cooked alive in front of her very eyes adn had to see mother eat her! If you survive such a sick and inhumane experience you are either insane and a mindless vegetable OR insane with rage against your tormentor, the world, God and - yourself. Okay, I am dizzy and feeling sick now ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 This is why I never watch Criminal Minds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothere Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 Some type of addiction? Got her hooked. Then didn't supply it so she went through withdrawl. But before she was completely clean made her do something terrible. Then gave her a few says supply, and repeated it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 A female cop and mother who is; 1.) Involved in an accidental death of a child that looks luke her own. 2.) Frank Castle event. 3.) A crime boss decides to make an example out of her. Torture, mutilation, or terrorizing of her loved ones. Giving him power over her and putting her in his pocket. Only a masked superhero could she protect her family, friends, etc... 4.) A loved one commits suicide(?) using her gun. And then the gun goes missing. The criminal uses it to blsckmail her. 5.) Sleeping with the Enemy. Set up by a crime boss and video taped. 6.) A crime boss breaks into her home. As a cop she confronts the intruder, but is surprised by a loved one instead and shoots the (Dead, In long term critical care). She becomes obsessed with taking hom down. 7.) A crime boss frames her for a heinous crime and hides the evidence to convict her. In return he owns her. 8.) more later More on shadow than dark, but safer. QM P.S.: If I ever caught a rapist. "It is better to be judged by 12, than carried by 6" Death would be to easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted March 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 I have already decided on something like number 3, except the torture was on her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trencher Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Fifty shades of dark champions? I dont really see the point of having the heroine be subservient or mind broken at all. Much easier way is to let the crime lord have a hostage. That way she would have to do some dirty things to keep the hostage alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 One idea I had was a superheroine who conditioned herself that rape was something that could potentially happen to her as she was an attractive woman. What broke her was being captured and imprisoned in half a plinth and then seeing her comrades (who were in a similar predicament) being injected and turned to stone/marble in front of her before the same was done to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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