oops .. he's dead

[Deathwatch]

An interesting issue arose this week in our fine game of champions. a hero killed a normal .. and he has a code vs. killing. what would you do to this poor fellow?

 

The events were basicly they had been fighting several low power type villans that night and he did not see a reason to scale it down.. even after a judge warning that "they dont look uber" thus opened up and well ... ooops thug paste all over the floor.. for now i have made him take a 8- ativation roll on the power that inflicted the death saying you are afraid to use it.

 

In addition he left the scene quickly so that he would not be connected to the death, so the only ones who know of this crime is the other hero's who are of a more loose moral fiber than him so will do little more than taunt him for his lack of honor. the police will discover the sight and investigate .. i have no clue where i want that to go .. the player is mentally unable to handle the concept of being the hunted villian in town tied to this dark act.

 

So...

 

what do you think this poor hero's lot should be.

 

Deathwatch

[Blue]

Frankly, I see how he roleplays it. By definition a disadvantage has to be limiting. If the action doesn't cause him to behave differently (being hesitant to fire around anyone who might really be hurt by a blast; acting guilty; any other good roleplaying related to the action) then I start considering "doing something" to the hero.

 

I would first select a respected hero who is not on the team and assign him the duty of tracking down "the culprit". That should make him nervous.

 

If that doesn't work, I'd make the deceased a relative or friend of a known vigilante. Now the hero has a "loose canon" looking for him.

 

If that doesn't work, a villain is rumored to have "surveillance tape" taken nearby (ATM cameras, traffic cameras, what have ya) and is taunting the media that he knows the murderer. He may ultimately not have it, but that should cause the heroes to have to go after the villain anyway, just to make sure.

 

Funny how just role-playing out your disadvantage could keep all this from happening

[Speedball]

I couldn't agree more with Blue's assessment. Ultimately, players should use psych lims as role playing guidelines. Ifthe player doesn't torture his character a little bit, play out some anguish, then the person running the game has to give the player a nudge.

All of Blue's suggestions make perfect sense to me. Keep us posted on how it goes--I'll be curious to hear what happens.

[Storn]

Talk to the player about it. How does the player see the repurcussions? Ask him/her what a good subplot/storyline should be.

 

My PC killed 37 people as a telekinetic gone Akira-level explosive in Grand Central station. My PC, having just sat thru a trial for another PC commiting murder, ran to Europe. The guilt of that event has driven that PC for the rest of his life... to the point where he has saved millions. That one moment of weakness allowed me to get to all kinds of depths of role playing (btw, the PC didn't have his powers and accidently and without foreknowledge tripped a device he was supposed to activate somewhere remote..to reactivate his missing powers).

 

Maybe your player will want to explore the guild ridden hero... maybe he will decide to turn himself in. But what does he have to say?

[Magmarock]

Yeah, if the player isn't going to honor the Disad, you can change it into a nasty Disad that he'll discover at a most inopportune time. (Like X2 STUN vs Electricity or something...)

 

You didn't say how many points he has in the Code vs Killing, but if it is the full 20 points, you could make him buy it off completely before he can spend any XPs on new powers. That'll make him (and all the others players) think twice before ingoring their Disads again!

 

Mags

[BobGreenwade]

Blue's assessment is, as Speedball was saying, pretty much right on the money. Give the player an opportunity to role-play the psychological repercussions; otherwise, impose them. And discussing the matter with the player can be a great help.

 

A decent game-effects result could be an OCV and/or Damage Class penalty of up to -5 versus anyone who doesn't clearly have strong defenses (mostly bricks, energy projectors with visible force fields, and armor wearers), or when normals are nearby.

[Beetle]

Just remember that this player is only one member of the group. Before doing anything drastic or campaign altering, ask yourself what effect will it have on the rest of the players.

[Tech]

You should talk to the player first - no sense getting hard feelings. Make the player realize what's going on with not RPing the disadvantage and the repercutions of the death. If the player won't accept the responsibility, make him realize you'll be doing something about it. Changing the disadvantage to a surprise Vulnerability, have a respectable hero hunt the 'hero' down, the hidden camera seeing the act or even a homeless man who comes forth are good ideas.

 

Just because he fled doesn't mean someone or something else didn't see it.

[Supreme]

This came up in a game I played in years ago. A player shot an electrical RKA at a villain device. Unfortunately, the device was half-submerged in seawater as were three technicians. One of them didn't make it. Narrative-wise the PC had to undergo a hearing to determine whether or not he used excessive force. Rules-wise the GM ruled that the PC has his EGO reduced to 3 until he did something to atone for his sins.

 

How would I handle it as a GM? First, I'd find out whether or not the player wants to keep playing the same character. If he doesn't then fine, the PC retires feeling unfit for duty and the player writes up a new character. If he does want to keep playing, then I'd have them go through similar hoops as mentioned above. Naturally, as GM I'd throw the player some plot-lines to help the process. I might even have his powers ebb due to psychosomatic illness (see early issue of Spider-Man -- first appearance with Sinister Six to see what I mean).

[CrosshairCollie]

Psych Lims are 'Role-Play' Disads, moreso than any others. If a hero with a CvK kills accidentally, there should be serious alterations in his behaviour. I had something similar come up (he didn't kill anybody, but he did fire-blast Icicle), and the first thing he did with his XP was buy a Stun-Only blast and an NND, and he went into counseling with the Super-Shrink from Normals Unbound to 'get that scream out of his head', and scraped up some money to pay for Icicle's medical bills.

 

Contrast with the reaction to this event that another PC had ('Eh, she ain't dead or dying, no sweat'). (For more on this guy, see 'It Was A Setup!' elsewhere on this forum.)

[Deathwatch]

unfortunatly this player does NOT have any skill as a player and falls much more into the Power-gamer range of point use. he had to make 3 characters before I passed this one. at this point i fear the character will end up being hunted or outcast in some way and the PLAYER will try to blame me as targeting him to be removed from the team.

 

He was warned the tone of the game was less supervillian and more villain oriented but only time will tell. thanks for your suggestions.. ill let you know what happens.

[Farkling]

unfortunatly this player does NOT have any skill as a player and falls much more into the Power-gamer range of point use. he had to make 3 characters before I passed this one

 

OOOPS.

Okay. Here's my plotline (cliched)

 

Setup) Supervillain/Mastermind has copies of surveilance tapes. (Forged or not, your pick)

Villain begins blackmailing so-called hero. Folded notes are left for him with threats to release the tapes (actually pass these notes to the character at appropriate moments)

Hero has to choose, villainy or facing up to the crime.

 

Villainy will eventually be uncovered by the team or detectives. Treat his Disad as "Harmful Secret" and "Paranoid" if he worries about geting caught...

 

If he turns down the villain demands;

1) Police/FBI get ahold of surveillance tapes

2) Press gets ahold of tapes from disgruntled officer (anti-vigilante)

3) Run it on the local "Investigators" program. "See how your heroes act while out of sight. Good for humanity or bad?"

4) Police/FBI get involved in monitoring the character and tracking actions. Possibly unearthing other questionable activities.

5) See how campaign develops from here.

At the end of this sequence, you can trade out his "Code vs. Killing" for "Watched by FBI/Local Police" and "Reputation:: Killer"

 

My favored plot. help yourself.

[RDU Neil]

Originally posted by Deathwatch

unfortunatly this player does NOT have any skill as a player and falls much more into the Power-gamer range of point use. he had to make 3 characters before I passed this one. at this point i fear the character will end up being hunted or outcast in some way and the PLAYER will try to blame me as targeting him to be removed from the team.

 

He was warned the tone of the game was less supervillian and more villain oriented but only time will tell. thanks for your suggestions.. ill let you know what happens.

 

I normally don't get into these conversations, because in my mind the real issue is the above.

 

The player sucks.

 

The player is a power gamer, wants to just throw around dice and play out their power fantasies.

 

I just don't have time for that. If your players don't agree that ROLE PLAYING is the point... and that is what you, the GM, do want... then "sayonara!"

 

Find better players.

 

I've gamed with both Speedball and Storn. These guys are into exploring "who" their character is, and how they live in the world. The superpowers are just the thing that makes them "different" and stand out in the world.

 

You ask either of these guys about their characters, and they are more likely to say "He's an ex-junkie who got thrown in the super-life and is trying to turn his world around and make something of himself." (Speedball) or "He grew up in a family of heroes. He's always had his powers and his whole life has been about making a better world..." (Storn's character.)

 

Only after they talk about WHO their character is, do you get to "oh... he's a speedster..." or "oh.. he's a telekinetic..."

 

Until you have players who understand that the game is about character and exploring an alter-ego's life, and not about rolling dice and adding damage (though that is fun)... you'll never really solve this problem.

 

(All of this is based on the fact that you seem to want the player to role play out an appropriate response to an event. If you really don't care what happens, and are just trying to enforce the "rule" of the disad... then I can't help you.)

[Deathwatch]

at this point i plan for the story to go something like this:

 

Local News reporter finds notes in an ongoing investigation into corruption that lead to the idea that the police are covering up the "excessive force" complaints of villans thus violating rights Etc..

 

another death or 3 will happen where the body will be found in similar condition to the one he killed. this will then make the police look at it as a problem ( he will not be the killer). he and I have a one-on-one game this weekend. the others know of the game but are not going to be there.

 

then i will let the others know another body was found.. pulped in a similar manner.. I know this will drive one of them to start questioning the "hero-ness" of the other teamate. the hero will deny he did it .. the others will not belive him and turn him in to the authorities for the deaths. then while their friend is in jail they will find the real killer .. but by then the Hero should confess thus taking him out of the picture.. its a cruel world but then not all heroes have happy endings.

 

I have many who are wanting spots in the game so he will be given a chance to recreate a better character before he is dropped for a while.

[Farkling]

Good Luck. I'm curious to know how it turns out.

[lfseeney]

My .02

 

I would as a GM, wait for the next session, and see how the player works with it.

 

I would expext him to really hold back power in the next fight, to be unsure of himself.

 

Perhaps holding of attacking until someone else starts.

 

As a player, if it was my char

 

I would do a quick write up, with having nightmares, ask if -2 to all actions do to lack of sleep seem right.

 

I would play him as timid, and unsure of himself and worried about using his powers.

 

I killed, a criminal, but I killed.

Am I worthy of of calling my self a Hero, or have I failed.

Should I hang up my cape and retire?

Should I turn myself in?

SHould I flee?

 

I killed, WHAT right do I have to take a life?

Did he have a wife, childeren, is his mother looking for him.

 

Have to find out who his family is, have to help them, try to make it up to them.

 

But How...

 

 

 

Stuff like that

Lee

[Deathwatch]

the story continues ..

 

the police have pinned the murder of the thug to someone other than the hero. placing the blame on one of the other heroes has called his personal honor into question. he has confessed to the crime but then fled from the authorities fearing what his fate would be.. he has fled so he thinks that the he will make a new character and the old one will be retired to the judge.

[Blue]

Sounds like you've got a good story going there!

[CarlSagan]

A Truly EVIL plot idea

 

I realize that I am replying a little late to this post, but I had an idea that I thought was too good to not share.

 

It is based on a short story by Stephen King. In the story, a young college student who wants to be a writer plagiarizes a story from a fellow student in his writing class. The other student is a great writer, but is very poor, so he ends up dropping out of school, is drafted into the Army and dies in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the protagonist presents the story to his writing class as his own. It is a very good story. He wins a prize, and the story is published.

 

Jump ahead 20 years. Our protagonist is now a very successful author. He has written several books and countless short stories. His publisher has decided to put together an anthology of his writing as a celebration of his career. There is just one little problem. The publisher INSISTS on including THE STORY, the one our protagonist plagiarized. Our protagonist does everything to try to keep the story from being reprinted, but the publisher insists. After all, it was his very first successful piece of writing and, in some ways, his best.

 

Our protagonist has never owned up to plagiarizing the story. (There were rumours floating about at the time of the original publication, however.) He just goes absolutely BESERK whenever this story is mentioned. He is EXTREMELY sensitive about it. In fact, he is in such an extreme state of denial that he has actually convinced himself that he didn't actually plagiarize the story at all. However, the story is reprinted. That's when ALL SORTS of wierd things begin to happen to this guy.

 

First, his house burns down. He KNOWS that HE didn't do it, but he doesn't have a good alibi, so the insurance company puts their top investigator on the case. Next, our protagonist's pet cat is butchered, and the bloody corpse is left on his doorstep with a note attached. The note demands that he confess his plagiarism of 20 years ago, OR ELSE. Now our protagonist is really frantic. He tries to find out who is blackmailing him, who is stalking him, but things just keep getting worse and worse the more he struggles. His friends turn up dead, etc., etc. Meanwhile the investigator is closing in on the arson case, and our protagonist is getting really, really desperate.

 

Here's the punch line. Our protagonist has been stalking HIMSELF. On the one hand he has had this extreme need to deny his guilt. On the other hand, his conscience is driving him to repent and confess. In the strain between the two, his mind has actually split asunder. He has created another persona. His other persona is cruel, ruthless and determined to see to it that he, the protagonist, is PUNISHED for his crime!

 

When our protagonist slept, his other persona emerged and went to work: burning, killing and destroying. At the climax of the story, our protagonist is confronted with THE TRUTH, and at that moment, the other persona takes over COMPLETELY. At the very end of the story, our protagonist attempts to kill the insurance investigator, who shoots him and kills him. SBC (Suicide by Cop)

 

It's a GREAT story! I'll bet you can see where I'm going with this, too! If your player absolutely REFUSES to come clean with the authorities, then his own conscience begins to hunt him down. He starts getting blackmail notes demanding that he confess. The authorities could get an anonymous letter claiming to know the guilty party. Perhaps the local TV station gets one, too. Perhaps the investigation was put into the cold case files, but after the note was received it was reopened.

 

You (the GM) could start dropping clues at this point. Perhaps someone realizes that all of the notes are in the player's handwriting. (The player, of course, insists that he is being framed. He will, naturally, pass any lie detector test - hands down.) If the player still won't confess, however, then bad things start happening at night. A new super vigilante, or even a new "Super Serial Killer" is loose. Random drug dealers start turning up dead. Even better, perhaps random prostitutes are butchered in as bloody and gruesome a manner as possible. The press goes beserk with "Jack the Ripper" stories. The mayor and the city council start screaming for blood. The police start putting some real manpower into the case. Perhaps your superhero team is asked to assist.

 

As the murders proceed, more and more intriguing clues are found leading to the identity of the killer. Meanwhile, the player keeps getting blackmail notes. At one particularly grisly murder scene, the word "CONFESS!" is written out in blood in letters three feet high right above the butchered corpse of a teenage prostitute. This picture runs on every TV station at every news break for the next week. It is on the front page of every newspaper. It hits the national wire services. It actually hits the international news. (It would be page one in London. "An American Ripper!") The case is featured (repeatedly) on "America's Most Wanted". John Walsh arrives in town to personally assist in the case.

 

The FBI is called in on the case. They send in their number one profiler. (Perhaps he is a mentalist of some sort!) The local chief of police vows to find the killer or resign. (Perhaps it is an election year. In that case, the opposition candidate for mayor could use the case as a cudgel to beat over the heads of the current administration.) The head of your superhero team pledges his 100% cooperation. This case is now PRIORITY ONE for every crimefighting agency, public or private, in the area. Psychics start phoning in tips, and (since this is Champions) the psychics might actually know something.

 

Meanwhile, your player is starting to exhibit some bizarre symptoms. He is, of course, the killer. Each night, or at some other opportune time, he undergoes a MENTAL TRANSFORM. He might be tired all the time. (This might actually translate into some OCV/DCV/Skill Roll penalty.) He might develop a nervous tic, or a quick temper. His ever more desperate denials of guilt have driven him insane. He now has a split personality. The public personality becomes ever more self-righteous and defensive, while the "Other" becomes an implacable and ruthless avenger: absolutely determined to see that JUSTICE is done. At one point, perhaps, some crackpot could confess to the crime. The "Other", the true avenger, however, would be certain to kill again to demonstrate that the real killer was still on the loose!

 

If your player is determined to play it out, then the Avenger will see to it that he is punished. Perhaps the killer could start striking closer to home. (If the player has a DNPC girlfriend, she could become a target.) Either your player will be killed, or perhaps captured. Perhaps he could be committed to a psychiatric ward for supers (the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, perhaps?). One way or another, unless your player decides to come clean at some point, you will be rid of that character (and perhaps the player as well). (The character might then make a great NPC Villain.) You can be sure, however, that if you do your job right, the other players in your campaign will be talking about it for YEARS (maybe DECADES) to come!

 

It would be a great session (maybe two or three)! It could combine elements of Dark Champions, horror and psychological thriller. You could even string it out for a long time - gradually dropping little bits and pieces of it into other sessions - foreshadowing the torment to come. Eventually, of course, it will become the central focus of the entire team. When will the others begin to suspect the truth? What will they do? If it becomes public, what will happen to the team? If it does NOT become public, the mystery could fester in the public consciousness for decades, just as the "Jack the Ripper" murders have. Books would be written. Movies would be made.

 

Sub-plots could spin off of this for years! Someone's mother or wife or daughter could be killed, working it into a super hero (or super villain) origin story. Perhaps the super hero team could be investigated afterwards. What did they know, and when did they know it? Perhaps every other character will pick up a new disadvantage: "Watched by Local Police" or even "Watched by FBI". If one of the other heroes witnessed the original crime that set all of this off, but didn't come forward to the authorities, then perhaps he will pick up a new Hunted by some victim's relative. (The hunter could be a super, or perhaps the family could hire a bounty hunter to exact revenge. Perhaps the hunter could even be the mafia!)

 

Think of the possibilities! If I were your player, I think it would be worth it to have my character snuffed (or committed) just to play out the story!

 

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" Buwaahaa Haa Ha Ha Haaaah!!!!

 

[levi]

Very nice CS! Most original suggestion yet.

[CarlSagan]

Schizophrenia

 

Thank you. I'd love to play this out in some campaign!