Cosmic Imps and other strangeness

[phoenix240]

What I call a "Cosmic Imp" is a mischievous NPC of vast, perhaps infinite power who behaves in an aggravating manner but isn't usually directly malicious. They may be childish, naive, curious, pompous or even enamored of one or all the PCs but their power combined with their childish lack of impulse control and usual near complete lack of understanding and/or concern about human society and concepts like Boundaries) can lead to problems, some times silly ones but problems none the less. 

 

The PCs can't usually just fight the Cosmic Imp but have to outwit them. They often have some Achilles Heel that can lead to their undoing if properly exploited. Or it might just be case of enduring their presence and playing damage control until they get bored and move onto the next shiny thing. 

 

Examples would include: Mr Mxyzptlk, Impossible Man/Woman and Batmite.Other more fringe example might include The Beyonder, Q (for a non comic book one) and The Infinite Man in the Champions universe though these are more serious, threatening and even sinister than Cosmic Imps are usually. 

 

Have you ever used this character type in a game and how did it turn out? Do you have any suggestions for using such a character in a superhero role playing game?

[Sketchpad]

Yup. As long as you don't overuse the imp or abuse the characters, they can be fun additions. I never stat up such characters, as they're fairly powerful, and should be used as a foil. 

[Lucius]

Yup. As long as you don't overuse the imp or abuse the characters, they can be fun additions. I never stat up such characters,

I have.

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/67165-foxbatmite/page-1

 

Of course it's fifth edition and the formatting is completely borked.

 

Minus the mechanics,

 

Batman is a serious, even grim character. Batmite exists to leaven Batman's world with a little humor and whimsy. Foxbat, by contrast, is a character often played for laughs. Foxbatmite tries to inject a little gravity and sometimes even a sense of responsibility into Foxbat's world.

 

Background/History: A powerful creature from another plane of existence, the being normally known as Foxbatmite has taken an interest in Foxbat. Most observers are puzzled as to why, but Foxbat himself of course takes it for granted that he is the most fascinating character in the Champions Universe.

 

Personality/Motivation: Wherever it comes from, Foxbatmite obviously regards Foxbat as supremely important, to the point that it consistently refers to “Foxbat's World” or “The Foxbat Dimension” or “The Foxbat Zone” to differentiate the campaign reality from the “Twenty Fourth and a Half Dimension” that Foxbatmite calls home. It seems to regard itself sometimes as Foxbat's disciple and sometimes as his mentor, and alternates between praising Foxbat's insanity as brilliance and excoriating him as stupid or careless. Although strongly approving of Foxbat's sense of fun, playfulness, and humor, Foxbatmite itself seldom laughs and almost always speaks with great earnestness.

 

Quote: (About Foxbat): "You mock him, yet the sages of Foxbat's World have said 'If it were not laughed at, it would not be the Way.' He has seen the truth of his world more deeply than anyone - and that knowledge makes him free." (To Foxbat): "Long the way I have come to help you, Fred. I was a Seeker, but I have found you, O Sacred Clown." (About Foxbat, while looking the player characters up and down): “Yes, he thinks he lives in a comic book. Have you looked in a mirror lately and thought about what gives him that impression?”

 

Powers/Tactics: The “real” Foxbatmite is probably permanently inaccessible. What the characters will encounter will be the physical manifestation of the powers Foxbatmite uses to project its consciousness into a three dimensional reality. This manifestation has 20 DEF that is twice Hardened, a BOD of 6, and OCV and DCV of 8. Whether called magic or technology, Foxbatmite also has access to a bewildering variety of Powers from the 24th and a half dimension, often in the form of devices miraculously produced from the Foxbatmite Utility Belt.

 

Campaign Use: Deus ex Machina to bail Foxbat out when he's in danger, or perversely derail Foxbat's latest "Master Plan" if Foxbatmite disapproves of the direction it's taking.

 

Appearance: Yoda in a Foxbat costume. This is not the real being of course, but who can describe something that exists in twenty four and a half dimensions? But the projection of this entity's consciousness into "The Foxbat Dimension" resembles a foxbatmuppet.

 

Adventure Seeds:

 

Where in the world is Foxbat? Foxbatmite comes to the characters for help. Foxbat is missing! Normally Foxbatmite can find always find Foxbat, but not now. Has he left the planet? The dimension? Or have sinister forces captured him, forces that can even block the perceptive powers of Foxbatmite?

 

Foxbat must not fail! Foxbatmite uses the Foreshadowing power to reveal a disastrous potential future to the player characters. This is what awaits the world – unless Foxbat's current Master Plan succeeds. Is Foxbatmite, self confessed student of tricks and tricksters, trying to fool the heroes into not interfering? If the extradimensional imp is to be believed, should the heroes play along – or try to stop Foxbat anyway and then try to overcome the foreseen catastrophes?

 

Foxbat must be stopped! Foxbatmite confesses to a serious miscalculation. Not only has the 'mite allowed Foxbat to acquire an artifact (“It's hung around his neck, you can't miss it”) that neutralizes Foxbatmite's own Powers (A massive Personal Immunity Naked Advantage, on a Focus, if you want to write it up) but also one that enhances his own abilities over time (“That one looks like a lollipop, if lollipops were made of sunbeams and rainbows.”) Worse yet, the latter is making Foxbat more powerful every day. “That kind of power is not good for him, it will ruin the Master Plan!” Can the heroes stop a Foxbat who is gaining all the powers of twenty four and a half dimensions – before it's too late?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

as they're fairly powerful, and should be used as a foil.

The palindromedary asks, "used as a foil? then they should be beaten flat and wrapped around stuff?"

[bubba smith]

 

What I call a "Cosmic Imp" is a mischievous NPC of vast, perhaps infinite power that behaves in perhaps aggravating manner but isn't usually directly malicious. They may be childish, naive, curious, pompous or even enamored of one or all the PCs but their power combined with their lack of impulse control (and often near complete lack of understanding/concern about human society or concepts like Boundaries) can lead to problems, some times silly one but problems none the less. 

 

The PCs can't usually just fight the Cosmic Imp but have to outwit them. They often have some Achilles Heel that can lead to their undoing if properly exploited. Or it might just be case of enduring them and playing damage control until they get bored and move onto the next shiny thing. 

 

Examples would include: Mr Mxyzptlk, Impossible Man/Woman, Bat Imp More fringe example might include The Beyond, Q (for a non comic book one) and The Infinite Man in the Champions universe those these are more serious and sinister/threatening than Cosmic Imps are usually. 

 

Have you ever used this character type in a game and how did it turn out? Do you have any suggestions for using such a character in a superhero role playing game?

 

isn't that Bat-MITE?

[phoenix240]

isn't that Bat-MITE?

 

Oops, you're right! Thanks

[death tribble]

I'm wary of using something like this as players might really, really hate it.

[Greywind]

[Lord Liaden]

The official Champions Universe has an analogue to this character type, in Champions Villains Vol. 3, called the Incubus. Steve Long created the character, and he's posted that yes, he knows what the standard definition of an incubus is. This character has nothing to do with that -- Steve says he just liked the name.

[steriaca]

On the other foot is Incibus, a prankster imp detailed in Champions Villain Volume 3: Solo Villains.

[DShomshak]

I created the Imp of the Perverse, who I believe got statted in The Ultimate Super-Mage (or maybe the Super-Mage Bestiary; I'd have to check, it's been a long time) and has never been seen since.

 

The Imp of the Perverse's big thing is reversing Psychological Complications. In my campaign, sometimes he hit the heroes; sometimes he hit the villains. Wackiness ensues as (say) the pompous, megalomaniac, destructive servant of Demonic Evil becomes a pompous, megalomaniac, destructive apostle of Goodness and Light and sets out to build a homeless shelter.

 

I was careful not to use the Imp too often, though, in hopes the comedy would outweigh the annoyance factor.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Lord Liaden]

I created the Imp of the Perverse, who I believe got statted in The Ultimate Super-Mage (or maybe the Super-Mage Bestiary; I'd have to check, it's been a long time) and has never been seen since.

 

The Imp of the Perverse's big thing is reversing Psychological Complications. In my campaign, sometimes he hit the heroes; sometimes he hit the villains. Wackiness ensues as (say) the pompous, megalomaniac, destructive servant of Demonic Evil becomes a pompous, megalomaniac, destructive apostle of Goodness and Light and sets out to build a homeless shelter.

 

I was careful not to use the Imp too often, though, in hopes the comedy would outweigh the annoyance factor.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

I found the Imp of the Perverse in The Ultimate Super Mage pp. 234-35.

____________________________________________________________

 

Background: The Imp of the Perverse is a powerful Chaos spirit from a Brialic dimension. It is a fairly typical example of Luvah the Anarch’s spirit minions. It is not a human spirit at all, and so lacks the weaknesses which help mere mortals cope with demons, angels, and other local supernatural fauna.

How the Imp of the Perverse gets to Earth is the GM’s problem. Once here, however, the Imp immediately starts doing what it does best: being a pest. Playtesting has shown that most sorcerers would rather fight Skarn blindfolded than deal with the Imp.

Quote: “HoohaHEEhahahaha! I KILL me!” [Whereupon the Imp “morphs” one hand into a gun, shoots itself through the head, falls backwards with a lily in its hand, and teleports away.]

Personality: The Imp of the Perverse is a ‘Toon on amphetamines, a compulsive maker of mischief. The more serious a person is, the more the Imp will torment them. It tries to enrage its victims so much that they chase it, following it into one humiliation after another. At least the Imp never deliberately does serious physical harm to its victims, although it often forgets that mortals lack its resilience—and the psychological harm it causes can be devastating.

Powers/Tactics: The Imp bedevils people in two ways. First, it uses its shape-shifting powers to pull prank and put people in embarrassing situations. Second, it reverses personality traits in its victims. In game terms, this is a Transform which reverses a single one of the target’s Psychological Limitations. Because the choice of Psych Lims is random, and the personality is not entirely changed, this Transform is considered Minor but not Variable.

The Imp can teleport. Not only does it use this ability to move, it makes small teleports—just a few inches—to avoid ranged attacks. (This is the special effect of its Missile Deflection.)

Finally, the Imp can muster incredible Presence. It seldom uses this to cause fear; it prefers to join this with its Shape Shifting to assume a role and make its victims play along. For instance, if the Imp suddenly decides to take the form of General Patton (complete with backdrop flag) it can use its Presence to make its luckless victim take the role of a private due for a chewing-out. If the Imp is cornered with no way out, it uses the Presence as a last-ditch defense: it just looks up at its angry pursuers as tears well in its big, soulful eyes.

Appearance: In its natural form, the Imp of the Perverse is a small, green-skinned humanoid with a shock of bright orange hair. It can, however, look like anything it wants. Anything. Magical senses will not reveal its true nature. Whatever its form, it may be recognized by its maniacal giggle.

 

Note: No, the Imp of the Perverse is not a serious villain. That’s the point. It is very much a change-of-pace villain. Wait until the PCs have saved the world and are feeling puffed up. Then spring the Imp on them, throw in some incredibly pompous villain as a fellow victim and try for maximum silliness.

______________________________________________________

 

Let me add that the Imp is a 400-point character (under Fourth Edition), so not designed for near-omnipotence like some of the other characters cited on this thread.

 

I also need to mention that both The Ultimate Super Mage and The Super Mage Bestiary are finally, after all these years, available from the Hero Games website store for beyond-reasonable prices:

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/669-the-ultimate-super-mage-pdf-4th-edition/

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/663-super-mage-bestiary-pdf-4th-edition/

 

Those of you who have seen Dean Shomshak's excellent mystic-themed books for Hero Fifth Edition -- The Mystic World, Arcane Adversaries, and The Ultimate Mystic -- have seen a goodly portion of the two "Super Mage" books reprinted and updated; but there is a great deal more cool stuff in the earlier books that was never renewed for the later edition. Most of it is compatible with and expands the magic side of the official Champions Universe, besides being just plain neat to add to any supers campaign with a significant mystic component.

[bubba smith]

Oops, you're right! Thanks

you're welcome

[DShomshak]

Aw shucks, I'm blushin'.

 

Dean Shomshak

[DShomshak]

Now that I have internet access again, I thought I'd post this example of how I used the Imp of the Perverse in actual play. It comes from Keystone Konjurors, my first Supermage playtest campaign. One of my players wrote the campaign chronicle. The campaign name came from the PCs' tendency to be endangered by each other more than by the villains -- the result of characters taking Activation Rolls and large Side Effects to cram everything into 250 points. Including Side Effects written on the character sheet as "Whatever the GM wants." Also, severe Psychological Complications that got roleplayed to the hilt. And... Oh, never mind.

 

For clarification, James Andrew Talmadge, a.k.a. Black Fang, was by this time using the pseudonym "Andrew Smith" after events in the previous Seattle Sentinels campaign. He was also dating psychic hero Jezeray.

 

Anyway, here it is. Guess at which point I threw away my notes for guiding the adventure?

----------------

            Once again, we enter into the fray...

 

            As you might recall, in our last episode we did battle with our ourselves - and incidentally defeated a House Haunter in the process. During the cleanup, Jezeray discovered many of the city's ghosts were missing, including friends of hers. Investigation revealed the city had been seeded with ghost traps - one of which we took home for further investigation.

            While we are investigating the bowl that acts as the lure for the spirit trap, Ian Malcom suddenly reappears among us (he had blown himself out of existence at the start of last adventure - because Cory wasn't present to play him). He has again transformed himself in the process - he is now bald and black. Also, he is wearing a large pink feathered boa. As usual, he has

no recollections of exactly where he has been or what he was up to.

            Jezeray uses her psychometry on the bowl and sees the plump, round face of a middle-aged woman who apparently made, fired, and planted the trap. She does not know the person, however. Artifex tries talking to the bowl and it tells him its creator was Madam Lola Queerduck, Exorcist. Artifex and Jezeray have both heard of her, although she is not notably famous; she is something of a traveling "ghostbuster". Jezeray suggests staking out some of the traps until she comes by to collect her victims. Redeemer runs out and buys us all walkie-talkies so we can each stake out a separate trap. Jezeray wants to smash all the traps in the city first, but the others feel this would likely alert Madame Queerduck so we don't.

            Jezeray's trap has already captured a ghost - in fact, a pair of bratty twin 10 yr. olds Jez knows. She free's the panicked pair and angrily smashes the trap. Redeemer's trap is empty when he arrives, but he actually senses it capture a ghost while he is present, although he takes no action. Victor and Artifex have no way to know what the status of the traps they are watching are, so just sit tight and wait for Madam Queerduck to swing by and check them. Ian fills his trap (bowl and bottle below it) with Lucky Charms and milk, with a sliced banana on top... except he gets confused and slices up his walkie-talkie instead. He starts eating the mixture anyway, while trying to talk to us on his banana. Why do we leave him alone?

            Of course Madam Queerduck arrives first at the trap Ian is guarding. She looks just like the psychic from Poltergeist ("This house is clean"), which is exactly who Ian takes her for. Madam Queerduck is appalled by this obvious lunatic who is messing with her work. She pulls the trap bottle out of the ground, drains the milk and cereal from it, and determines it still has a captured ghost inside. She puts the bottle to her mouth, sucks out the ghost and eats it! Then before she leaves, she angrily spits a monster out of her mouth at Ian: It is about a foot tall and looks like some horrible cross between a crab, an octopus, and the head of Alan Thicke.

            It cackles madly as it attacks Ian with a wave of fear and revulsion while clinging to his face. They then shoot Ego blasts at each other, but it takes feedback damage when its attacks don't work - and Ian has incredibly high Mental Defense. It quickly kills itself. Ian then lobs Chaos Fire at Queerduck’s escaping VW bug. He rolls low and fails to disable even the flimsy bug before it turns the corner, breaking his Line-of-sight and shutting the power down. He tries to teleport to the corner to reaquire LOS, but blows his roll. The resulting Side Effect has multiple effects, only one of which is immediately obvious - Ian's feather boa sprouts a face at one end and comes to life. It is friendly, so Ian names it Earl.

            Lola Queerduck has escaped by now, so Ian uses his banana to call us. It works, because that was another part of the side effect - all bananas within the city now act as walkie-talkies if held up to one’s head. He quickly fills us in on what happened, as best he remembers it, and Artifex and Redeemer fly to check on him. Victor hops in his '70's Lincoln and heads toward Ian as well. Jezeray, who doesn't even have a car, is forced to stay put. She is able to identify Lola as a Psychovore, a rare type of psychic who can get power by consuming ectoplasmic entities. Actually, many psychics could develop the ability if taught, but most wouldn't want to. Jezeray certainly wouldn't want to...

            Victor suddenly spots a damaged Bug pass him going in the other direction. Despite his 8- Driving skill, he successfully pulls a bootlegger and starts to follow her. Queerduck coughs up another spirit which she throws back at him. It is a Dreadling (a type of atavism), and after landing on his hood it plasters itself to the front windshield and basically screams, gibbers, and looks horrible and threatening - which is exactly what Dreadlings do best. The PRE attack panics Victor, who crashes his car into a Taurus. The Dreadling was thrown off in the crash, but it quickly returns to attack the injured Victor who is still strapped into the front seat. Victor shoots an alchemical rocket at it but misses, and it then knocks him unconsious.

            Artifex meanwhile had started homing in on the bug by following the residual magic signature of Ian's Chaos Fire (Redeemer has tried the same thing but failed his roll and went off on a wild goose chase). He has just gotten it in sight when he sees Victor's Lincoln crash into the Taurus - but he has never seen Victor's car before, so doesn't recognize who it is. After a failed attempt to magically "mark" the bug for later tracking, he drops down to help the crash victims. There, he discovers a Dreadling attacking a helpless Victor and quickly dispels it. Victor wakes up and uses healing potions on himself and the occupants of the Taurus. Victor then uses his matter magic to repair both vehicles, and then they depart.

            Once we are all back together, everyone agrees to smash the remaining ghost traps as Jezeray desires. Artifex's magic senses lead us to them, and we smash them and free the captured ghosts. We then return home to consider our next plan of attack after Ian introduces us to his new friend Earl, the feathered boa.

            Jezeray uses her occult contacts in the city to try to locate Madame Queerduck, but fails. A friend and local occult bookstore owner reports she was in getting supplies a few days ago but knows nothing else of use. Victor runs out and buys a police band radio and starts monitoring it. When we hear a report of an officer who has been found confused and disoriented, we decide to investigate. Redeemer, Ian, and Victor take off. Artifex stays behind with Jezeray, who has begun using her spirit communing powers to try to locate the collection of swallowed spirits that must be within Madame Queerduck. Despite the large area to be searched, she is successful (I rolled really well). She can tell that Lola is about 3 miles away and knows the direction. She also locates the ghost of her dead policeman friend Mark Gentry, who is very near Lola. He is in a spirit trap on a shelf somewhere, but knows nothing else.

            While Jezeray has been doing this (her Spirit Seeking power requires a trance state so she is up in her bedroom lying down), Andrew shows up at the house. Artifex explains the Jezeray is busy at the moment. About then however, Jezeray runs down the stairs, sweeps Andrew into her arms and kisses him. Artifex recognizes that this is not typical Jezeray behavior and becomes suspicious that something is wrong. When she drops Andrew to the floor and he begins screaming, Artifex *knows* something is wrong. When Jezeray laughs maniacally, Artifex knows *what* is wrong - he has recognized the distinctive laugh of the Imp of the Perverse! He aborts to Martial Run-Like-Hell, but the Imp tags him anyway. For those who don't remember, the Imp of the Perverse reverses Psychological Limitations. Artifex gets his "Contempt for Authority" replaced by "Respects Authority and the Law".

            Later, the real Jezeray comes downstairs and finds Andrew - whose mind is now Black Fang's - stalking Artifex. When Black Fang realizes he is in Andrew's wimpy body, he panics and starts howling. Jezeray tries to use her Aura Alteration to calm him down, but Artifex won't let her - he thinks it is too much like illegal Mind Control. Instead he calls the police. Jezeray contacts Terence and has him update Redeemer on our situation. The others start returning. She then goes down and puts his skull in the safe to protect him from the Imp, who is still running loose somewhere in the house.

            As she returns, Black Fang panics and - forgetting he is no longer super-tough and regenerative - jumps through the kitchen window. We run outside and discover he has cut himself badly. Jezeray talks to him and tells him she can help him but only if she gets his permission. Once he gives it, Artifex is satisfied and lets her use her Aura Alteration on him. She is eventually able to bring forth Andrew's personality - but the body shifts to Black Fang's! Andrew passes out in shock.

            The others arrive. Victor makes himself invisible, hoping to evade the Imp. Ian goes exploring through the house - the Imp whispers in his ear and lures him into a closet, and makes him believe that whoever opens the door will be the Imp so he should smash them. The Imp does not attack him with his powers because Ian is already what the Imp wants to make everyone else into.

            We analyze Andrew and determine the reversed personalities have damaged the control spell Doctor Mirabilis put on him. It is supposed to keep him from transforming into Black Fang - but it is always sensing a partial transformation, either physical or mental depending on his current state, and is trying to create a counter shift to correct it. As a result, Andrew is very volatile right now - prone to switching between his two new "mixed" forms with little provocation. Once Andrew awakens we get his permission to drop him off at the Seattle Supervillain Holding Facility for his and others’ safety - even in Andrew's body, Black Fang is dangerous if he becomes dominant again. We call ahead and Artifex flies him over.

            While Artifex is off with Andrew, Jezeray and Redeemer become concerned about Ian's absence and go searching. We hear him singing the Meow Mix theme song and track him down in the closet. Despite announcing ourselves, we guess he might still lash out so Redeemer creates an illusionary Imp of the Perverse and we stand aside as we open the door. When the door opens, Ian

smashes right through the illusion, the floor, and falls to the next level below. A pot in the closet suddenly sprouts legs, jumps on Redeemer and kisses him before fleeing. Yes, the Imp has gotten Redeemer - he has lost his "Messiah Complex" in favor of a "Corrupter Complex". He begins trying to corrupt Jezeray, telling her about all the money she could make if she sold her body, etc. She is not impressed.

            Victor sees the pot come running down the hall and quickly drops a Matter Barrier around it. The Imp has been successfully trapped. It assumes its natural form and gives the "big-puppy-dog-eyes" sympathy-based PRE attack in an attempt to make him let it go. It *almost* works... but he dithers long enough for logic to win out and he keeps it locked up.

            Redeemer has given up on Jezeray and teleported outside and then broken his Mind Link with Terence before it could be used against him. Jezeray runs outside and tries to convince Redeemer he is dead (to trigger his collapse into a pile of bones limitation), but her PRE isn't high enough to overcome his own disbelief and he teleports away.

            We wait until Artifex returns, have him hack the spirit trap that Victor had saved so that it will work on the Imp instead of ghosts. Jez channels Zontar, who stuns the ghost with his Ego Attacks and we stuff it into the trap. We then decide to search for Redeemer. Ian decides to scout from the air and promptly blasts himself half-way around the world with his super-flight. Insane mages are very annoying...

            Meanwhile, Redeemer - who knows approximately where Lola Queerduck is since Jezeray zeroed in on her earlier - has gone to see the psychovore. While bargaining with her for training in the ability to eat spirits as she does (I'm sorry - I don't remember his logic in thinking he needed this ability; I was distracted while he was roleplaying this part), he happens to discover she has a case of 11 bottled spirits in her lair - a fact that will become significant later. They agree to meet later after she has finished some business she has.

            Redeemer now heads off to the nearest church conformation class he can find. He uses his magic to KO the teacher and seamlessly replace him. As the teacher, he now begins to preach his doctrine of corruption. The children’s reaction varies between confusion and shock. One kid is a very religious Flanders-type and decides that the teacher must have been possessed, so holds out his cross and starts performing an exorcism. As it happens, Redeemer is vulnerable to exorcisms!! As he starts taking damage, he summons the Choking Tentacles against the kid. The rest of the kids panic and start to flee. At this moment, the Imp's effect wears off thanks to Redeemer's Regeneration healing the Transform on him. Redeemer is, of course, horrified at what he is doing.

            He quickly flees and starts trying to hunt down Lola Queerduck again. She has left her lair, but he quickly tracks her down where she is meeting at a quiet street corner with a Man in Black - one of the Cultists of the Doomsday Clock! She is turning over the case of trapped spirits to him. Redeemer remembers all the trouble to gain Father O'Herlahy's soul, and now they are getting 11 more for their unknown - but surely nefarious - purposes. He tries to do a surprise Move-through while invisible on the MiB from behind, but the guy is a time traveler and has some sort of future-sight based Danger Sense; he ducks at the last second and Redeemer plows into the far wall. The MiB now vanishes with the case of trapped spirits. Redeemer goes after Lola Queerduck, but discovers she also has a psychic Danger Avoidance (i.e. hellacious DCV) just like Jezeray. Lola then assumes the aspect of a spirit (goes desolid), not knowing that the Choking Tentacles can affect desolid: It is quickly over for her. Just before she goes down, she spits out a pair ofDreadlings... which can't see the still-invisible Redeemer so don't attack.

            At this moment a pair of machine guns open fire from their hidden upper-window positions. Redeemer takes a lot of damage but stays up; stray bullets have severely hurt Lola Queerduck. He gathers her up and takes to the air. A flame thrower has been set in his path as well and opens up. He is only slightly singed even with his Vulnerability to fire, but the extra damage finishes Lola off. Before any more damage is inflicted on them, however, the Dreadlings attack the targets they can see - the machine gunners! Redeemer teleports out as terrified soldiers + heavy weapons + Dreadlings turns into a real mess.

            Redeemer notices a babble of voices coming from Lola's corpse, getting louder. He hunts up a banana and calls Ian. The banana-walkie-talkies apparently work better than the real thing: Ian hears him, even though he is somewhere over Patagonia at this point. Ian in turn relays the message to us. We all head for Redeemer.

            Upon getting there we see Lola's corpse spewing fragmented and insane spirit bits - the remains of the spirits she had swallowed but hadn't fully used up. Jezeray determines that they are not really stable, but will mostly discorporate within a week. In the meantime, they are on the near astral plane so present little real risk to anyone except other ghosts. She does alert some of the friendly ghosts still left in town and has them pass warnings around to the other ghosts. Jezeray is upset to discover that the Men in Black have captured her ghost friend Mark Gentry among the 11 souls they got from Lola.

            The rest of the adventure is mostly cleaning up: The Imp of the Perverse is hauled off to the inimical plane where Skull City resides, still in the trap. Ian boosts Redeemer's Dispel, which we use to cure Artifex. We also try to cure Andrew this way, but it doesn't work - the control spell is destroyed, but we can't fix the mismatched mind/body problem. Why? Well, in game mechanics terms, because the Imp hit Andrew with complete surprise for double effect - and even boosted, Redeemer can't dispel that many active points. And while Black Fang's body has rapid healing, it is not by Regeneration, so it won't help vs. a Transform. With the control spell destroyed, Andrew is actually more stable. He now stays as Andrew in Black Fang's body except during a full moon or when he is angry/in pain - then he becomes Black Fang in Andrew's body. Jezeray thinks it is safe to let him loose, but nobody else does (including Andrew) so he stays in the Supervillain Holding Facility for now. We try to get hold of Doctor Mirabilis to help us with Andrew, but discover she vanished a few days ago while under attack by - can you guess? - Men in Black.

 

            Well, that's about where we let things go for now. Things aren't looking good for us. We stopped Lola Queerduck, but not before the Cult of the Doomsday Clock gained a lot more souls for whatever they plan. So far, they appear unstoppable to us; if we want to win, we must find a new strategy to deal with time travelers, and fast.

            One last note of interest. You might be asking "Where did the Imp of the Perverse come from?". Well, remember that blown control roll of Ian's? You know - when Earl, the friendly feather boa came to life. Doesn't that seem like a pretty wimpy Side Effect? Side Effects at –1 Limitation are supposed to be serious trouble after all! Well, if I mention that Earl was actually the Imp of the Perverse, does the Side Effect seem more appropriate? Right....

------------------

Dean Shomshak