Jump to content

About to start an Atomic Age Supers game


Dr. Hercules

Recommended Posts

Hey, everybody. Its been awhile since I posted anyhthing here but now i'm back.

 

So,  I was running a D&D game on Skype that got put on a three month hiatus leading up to Christmas becuase of real life scheduling issues. While we were down i started thinking of doing a Champions game on Skype. It worked so well with D&D i thought I would see if my four players were up for it. Since most are veterans of the Defenders Congregate game i knew they would be.

 

So all I said to them was I need you to have a shared origin, matching costumes, and...oh, you all have to be brothers. Except for that  you can  choose any era or setting to play in and i'd roll with it.

They chose the Atomic Age, and mostly in space. So, i decided they would split their time having adventures in space and in 1950's Earth. So with a little Brainstorming, this is what we all came up with.

 

Year: 1954

Setting: Default Champions Universe, at the end of the Golden Age and just before the dawning of the Silver Age. Assume  the timeline is accurate up until 1954. after all the Players might totally change everything from that point on. LOL.

Place: Las Vegas, Nevada (specifically in the Groom Lake area as the old abandoned air base will be their HQ, Yes they will be the start of Area 51)

Shared Origin: Since most of the PC's will be scientists, they decided they would build a super telescope but when they tried it out they were hit by some strange space ray and gained super powers.

Wealth: Not only does their family have a share in one or two silver mines in the Groom Lake area, but the PCs all invented stuff  like Super Glue, Velcro, and Scothgard, some a few years before it was actually invented in the real world.

 

The PC's so far:

 

Rex Atom, The Molecular Man:  The oldest of the Atom boys and world renowned Chemist who gained shrinking powers. Rex is a no-nonsense, straight laced fella that believes Beatniks need to get a job and McCarthy needs more funding.  He was in the Navy before being pulled into the Manhatten Project as one of  Openhiemer's interns before getting his degree in chemistry at Harvard.

 

Unknown Atom: no name yet. but is the second oldest and world renowned Pyhsist who gained gravity/density manipulation powers. Not much more to go on than that yet.

 

Brock Atom:  The Youngest of the Atom Boys and world renowned Engineneer who is looking at a TK teleportor.  Brock fought in the Korean War, probably in the Army Corps of Engineers, but  being the youngest he doesn't listen to the squares.

 

The fourth player hasn't gotten back to me yet but was talking about some supporter type role.

 

And I picked up a fifth player, another Defender's veteran playing James Atom,  The World's Best Pilot who gained cosmic energy powers as a flying blaster. Probably flew missions in WWII and Korea but I havent got a background yet. but  he is the first one to send me a Character Sheet.

 

Anyhoo, I'd appreciate any thoughts, plot hooks and adventure ideas you guys might have. The plot ideas can be one to five players, becuase sometimes not everybody can show up, so a variety of plug and go adventure ideas would be good.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ghazla Ghoozgoo: The available Atom brothers are brought in because of an appearance of a strange alien giant crawling and toddling around. Nothing the army can throw at it can harm it.

 

Turns out, the alien is an alien toddler, and all they really have to do is babysit it till it's parents come for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These are great! Thanks Guys!

 

Since others might find use for these plot hooks too, here are a few I will definitey be using:

 

The Mad Scientist Convention: Remember all those mad scientist that got put away in the 30's? Well,  the government gave them a chance to commute their senteces if they contributed to the war effort. Some that took the option turned their lives around and became productive citizens. Those that  took the option but didn't reform,  found comaradarie with each other and after the war formed the Scientific Society of Evil. And they just hit Vegas for their first ever annual convention!

 

Flying Purple People Eater: A strange flying monster has hit town, terroizing the populace. Will the heroes discover that it is music that soothes the savage beast?

 

Red Hood: Trick-arrow bowman and American Communist Party member,  The Marxman, has gathered around a team of like-minded souls to commit robberies for the revolution. And what better place to start then Vegas, the epitome of captiolistic debauchery and greed!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dr. Hercules said:

The Mad Scientist Convention: Remember all those mad scientist that got put away in the 30's? Well,  the government gave them a chance to commute their senteces if they contributed to the war effort. Some that took the option turned their lives around and became productive citizens. Those that  took the option but didn't reform,  found comaradarie with each other and after the war formed the Scientific Society of Evil. And they just hit Vegas for their first ever annual convention!

 

If I ever the get opportunity, I am so stealing this one.

 

I ran an Atomic Age campaign awhile back, ironically set in Las Vegas.  Here are some suggestions based on my research on the time period:

 

Atomic tests were a regular occurrence in the Nevada desert, so much so that casinos would motor people out to the desert, complete with a picnic lunch, to watch the mushroom clouds erupt.  A perfect opportunity for instant superpowers for the spectators or a mutated desert hellbeast to snack on innocent bystanders.

 

Las Vegas itself was a company town, the company being the Mafia.  Casinos were covertly under the control of the Mob.  It sounds like you are running a higher powered game, but a mobster could gain powers (maybe from one of those regular atomic tests) and try to take over the whole operation.  The Mafia could come to the heroes with hat in hand to beg them to stop their former associate.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nuclear scientists are disappearing the only clue is a large hole in the ground next to each disappearance.

 

After three power plants are mysteriously destroyed radios throughout the city are taken over by a sinister voice declaring all the gold in the city must be surrendered or the Golden Shadow will plunge the city into darkness.

 

Radoor A killer who was executed and body was sold to a strange scientist. Now lives again and glows but his touch leaves behind glowing corpses unless he's in his lead suit. (alternative the doctor faked the death.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depending on tone, you could throw in an ex-Nazi scientist or two now working for the Government. Reformed? Never a real Nazi? Just hiding in plain sight while working on his master plan to start the Fourth Reich?

 

In German or English

I know how to count down

Und I'm learning Chinese

Says Werhner von Braun

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/17/2018 at 7:52 PM, Nothere said:

Nuclear scientists are disappearing the only clue is a large hole in the ground next to each disappearance.

 

After three power plants are mysteriously destroyed radios throughout the city are taken over by a sinister voice declaring all the gold in the city must be surrendered or the Golden Shadow will plunge the city into darkness.

 

Radoor A killer who was executed and body was sold to a strange scientist. Now lives again and glows but his touch leaves behind glowing corpses unless he's in his lead suit. (alternative the doctor faked the death.

 

I remember the Indestructible Man.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Winterhawk, great stuff. Yea, though they want a lot of space adventures, I'm going to throw the mob at them occasionally. Even have an idea for a mob enforcer, a young man who turns to stone named Rockabilly.

 

Nothere, I like all of those and probably will use them too.

 

mrinku, oh that's good. I was going to have them face off against left over nazis but that is a good idea, having the villain hide in plain sight. 

 

Cassandra, yep, got a giant ant adventure planned. It's an Improbable Tales adventure for the Icons! Game that I plan on tweaking.

 

Again thanks for all your ideas, everyone! Keep them coming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Dr. Hercules said:

Winterhawk, great stuff. Yea, though they want a lot of space adventures, I'm going to throw the mob at them occasionally. Even have an idea for a mob enforcer, a young man who turns to stone named Rockabilly.

 

Nothere, I like all of those and probably will use them too.

 

mrinku, oh that's good. I was going to have them face off against left over nazis but that is a good idea, having the villain hide in plain sight. 

 

Cassandra, yep, got a giant ant adventure planned. It's an Improbable Tales adventure for the Icons! Game that I plan on tweaking.

 

Again thanks for all your ideas, everyone! Keep them coming.

 

See the movie Them! for Giant Ants.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How about this?

 

The Mad Machinations of the Madams:  A bevy of women mad scientists, angry that the men get all the credit, have decided to show just how good women are at the mad scientist game!

 

Leader: Molly Queen, aka MollyQ, has the her Matter restructuring ray gun.

Muscle: Dee Nascitee, aka Density, has the ability to increase her mass to the weight of a battleship using her white dwarf powered gloves and belt.

Face: Hedy Kiesler Markey, aka Spectrum, has invented various light emitting devices and is the communication center of the team.

Workforce: Lise Meitner, aka Miss Fission, has the ability to split into dozens of duplicates.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, dsatow said:

How about this?

 

The Mad Machinations of the Madams:  A bevy of women mad scientists, angry that the men get all the credit, have decided to show just how good women are at the mad scientist game!

 

Leader: Molly Queen, aka MollyQ, has the her Matter restructuring ray gun.

Muscle: Dee Nascitee, aka Density, has the ability to increase her mass to the weight of a battleship using her white dwarf powered gloves and belt.

Face: Hedy Kiesler Markey, aka Spectrum, has invented various light emitting devices and is the communication center of the team.

Workforce: Lise Meitner, aka Miss Fission, has the ability to split into dozens of duplicates.

 

 

Oh, I like that! Bonus points if one or two of the Atoms are dating a couple of the girls in their  civilian ids. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/16/2018 at 10:21 PM, Dr. Hercules said:

Hey, everybody. Its been awhile since I posted anyhthing here but now i'm back.

 

So,  I was running a D&D game on Skype that got put on a three month hiatus leading up to Christmas becuase of real life scheduling issues. While we were down i started thinking of doing a Champions game on Skype. It worked so well with D&D i thought I would see if my four players were up for it. Since most are veterans of the Defenders Congregate game i knew they would be.

 

So all I said to them was I need you to have a shared origin, matching costumes, and...oh, you all have to be brothers. Except for that  you can  choose any era or setting to play in and i'd roll with it.

They chose the Atomic Age, and mostly in space. So, i decided they would split their time having adventures in space and in 1950's Earth. So with a little Brainstorming, this is what we all came up with.

 

Year: 1954

Setting: Default Champions Universe, at the end of the Golden Age and just before the dawning of the Silver Age. Assume  the timeline is accurate up until 1954. after all the Players might totally change everything from that point on. LOL.

Place: Las Vegas, Nevada (specifically in the Groom Lake area as the old abandoned air base will be their HQ, Yes they will be the start of Area 51)

Shared Origin: Since most of the PC's will be scientists, they decided they would build a super telescope but when they tried it out they were hit by some strange space ray and gained super powers.

Wealth: Not only does their family have a share in one or two silver mines in the Groom Lake area, but the PCs all invented stuff  like Super Glue, Velcro, and Scothgard, some a few years before it was actually invented in the real world.

 

The PC's so far:

 

Rex Atom, The Molecular Man:  The oldest of the Atom boys and world renowned Chemist who gained shrinking powers. Rex is a no-nonsense, straight laced fella that believes Beatniks need to get a job and McCarthy needs more funding.  He was in the Navy before being pulled into the Manhatten Project as one of  Openhiemer's interns before getting his degree in chemistry at Harvard.

 

Unknown Atom: no name yet. but is the second oldest and world renowned Pyhsist who gained gravity/density manipulation powers. Not much more to go on than that yet.

 

Brock Atom:  The Youngest of the Atom Boys and world renowned Engineneer who is looking at a TK teleportor.  Brock fought in the Korean War, probably in the Army Corps of Engineers, but  being the youngest he doesn't listen to the squares.

 

The fourth player hasn't gotten back to me yet but was talking about some supporter type role.

 

And I picked up a fifth player, another Defender's veteran playing James Atom,  The World's Best Pilot who gained cosmic energy powers as a flying blaster. Probably flew missions in WWII and Korea but I havent got a background yet. but  he is the first one to send me a Character Sheet.

 

Anyhoo, I'd appreciate any thoughts, plot hooks and adventure ideas you guys might have. The plot ideas can be one to five players, becuase sometimes not everybody can show up, so a variety of plug and go adventure ideas would be good.

 

 

 

People getting superpowers from a space ray channeled through a telescope, eh?

 

Sounds a lot like the origin story of Dr. Light II...

 

 

Major Tom 2009 :sneaky:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/25/2018 at 2:03 PM, Dr. Hercules said:

Well, looks like we going to try to get together tonite. Two guys are out though, and at least one guy still needs to stat out his character. Sounds like a session building...er, session!

 

So how did things turn out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...