I've Got My Zed-Suit, I Have My Omni-Gauntlets...

[BoloOfEarth]

I'm creating a "mad scientist" character for my new Champions campaign.  A lab accident drove Dr. Zachary Argon around the bend and he now thinks he's Zarkon (alternately, Dr. Zarkon / Lord Zarkon / Dark Lord Zarkon / Baron Zarkon / Duke Zarkon).  Personality-wise, I see him as a mad scientist type villain from an 1950s sci-fi serial.  I'm aiming for "over-the-top" here.  Unfortunately, I was born too late and didn't see a lot of Flash Gordon or his ilk growing up.  (Though I do acknowledge the similarity of his name to Dr. Hans Zarkov, formerly of NASA...)

 

The picture below is what I'm using for him.

 

First I'm trying to figure out what his gear is called.  Currently, his armored battlesuit is called his Z-Suit (or sometimes Zed-Suit), and most of his attacks come from his Omni-Gauntlets.  (I'm not married to either name - if someone else has a better idea, by all means suggest something.)

 

Next, I'm trying to come up with a slew of attacks for him.  I'm not (necessarily) looking for the actual power writeups, but mainly want the names of the attacks - since of course he is going to telegraph every action.  "Ha!  You pitiful fools!  Let's see how you like a taste of Lord Zarkon's Omni-Beam!  Bwa-ha-ha!"

 

If you feel absolutely compelled to provide an actual writeup of a power, he has a 62-point Multipower.  (Why 62 points?  Because you can do a 50-point power with +1/4 advantage, 40-point power with +1/2, 35-point power with +3/4 in advantages, etc.)  But mainly I'm looking for some ridiculous "mad science" names for various attacks.

 

I'm toying with him either having a bunch of robots to throw at the heroes.  If so, I'd like a better name for them than Z-Bots.

[Duke Bushido]

35 minutes ago, BoloOfEarth said:

If so, I'd like a better name for them than Z-Bots.

 

 

 

Mechani-clones.

 

 

[Tjack]

   Cool idea.  I’m currently re-reading “Soon I will be Invincible”  where the lead character is Dr. Impossible who is powered by “Zeta Energy”.  So how about Zeta-Men, Zeta-Droids or Zeta-Bots?
   I like the armor picture but how about an alternate look for when he’s puttering around the lab?   Something more like Sivana perhaps?  Something in one of those white, mandarin collared, buttons up on the side, pulp era style Doctor’s jackets.

[Amorkca]

Does he have an accent when talking?

 

"Ve have many dangerouz tingz in my laboratory! Ze- robots are a necessary zafety zyztem to enzure all happenz az I dictate!"

 

then we have:

Z-Robots

Z-Drones

etc

 

Transform attack - Zombifier...

He should have independent Force Wallz to defend him from attacks

[Lord Liaden]

At this time I don't have much in the way of suggestions for your specific requests. The pulp genre isn't really my area of expertise. But if you'd like some examples of classic over-the-top mad scientist behavior and speech for role-playing purposes, I suggest looking at the classic Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons. Episodes 1, 2, 6 and 7 feature mad scientists as antagonists, and their styles may inspire you.

 

EDIT: The first cartoon in that series mentions an "electrothanasia ray."

[pinecone]

He discovered the Zarkon Particle! Then suffered a lab accident creating Zarkonite! The most perfect material in the universe! Everything he builds is "Powered by Zarkonite!"  "You cannot resist my Zarkonite weapons forever! My victory is in...evi...table..."Regular robots are "drones' Special robots are powered by Zarkonite! These Zee robots will conquer the world! If you already have a weird glowey rock in your game it Could be naturally formed Zarkonite that he must steal and study!

 

If somebody is weak to Zarkonite then Zarkonite rays are a real threat even in the 6 to 8 D6 range..:)

[pinecone]

Zarkonoids! Attack! The standard Zarkonite ray should be 7D6 AP, Rend. Bothersome, but hardly a threat. Then you can unleash the full power of the Omni-ray! The Zaronite ray is but One facet of Zarkinite technology!

 

The basic Zeedroid can pack a powerful but restrained 6D6 AP cyclopes blast. Later Zarkonoids can be built like Android super vills...

[Derek Hiemforth]

12 minutes ago, pinecone said:

"Regular robots are "drones' Special robots are powered by Zarkonite! These Zee robots will conquer the world!

 

Maybe the robots could be the Zarkonoids!

 

EDIT: Apparently, Pinecone and I were sharing a hive mind at the same moment... 

[pinecone]

Lol...maybe the same viewing habits?

[steriaca]

Zarkon Ice Beam!

Zarkon Heat Rat!

Zarkon Instant Death Laser! (Note: the above weapon works...only on the weakest if creatures)

Zarkon Phase Energy Suit! (When you really need to walk through walls...)

Zarkon Visability Deflector Cape! (Invisibility  Cloak.)

Zarkon Dehydrated Henchmen! (Just add water.)

[assault]

2 hours ago, pinecone said:

He discovered the Zarkon Particle! Then suffered a lab accident creating Zarkonite! The most perfect material in the universe! Everything he builds is "Powered by Zarkonite!"  "You cannot resist my Zarkonite weapons forever! My victory is in...evi...table..."Regular robots are "drones' Special robots are powered by Zarkonite! These Zee robots will conquer the world! If you already have a weird glowey rock in your game it Could be naturally formed Zarkonite that he must steal and study!

 

If somebody is weak to Zarkonite then Zarkonite rays are a real threat even in the 6 to 8 D6 range..:)

 

Sounds a bit like the Amazing Darkon.

[BoloOfEarth]

Many thanks, all, for the input.  I know much of it will make its way into the character and the game.

 

Tjack, I'll have to look for such a picture.  

 

LL, I'll have to check out those Superman cartoons.  Thanks for the link.

 

Amorkca, great idea about the accent.  Dr. Argon has dissociative identity disorder due to the trauma of his origin story (I'm giving him Accidental Change in stressful situations), so having the Zarkon identity sounding so distinctly different will be a great touch.  And the 'z' thing in his speech fits very nicely.

 

Pinecone, the idea about the Zarkon Particle / Zarkonite will be good, too.  I'm making his "science" not quite fit real-world (or even the game-world) science, so him going off about this particle / element will fit nicely.  A bit of background - this campaign world was normal and powerless until about a year and a half ago when the Paranormal Flux event happened, and a significant number of people mysteriously got powers.  And the intro adventure for Zarkon and his friends will involve them stealing a meteorite that fell to Earth the same day that the Flux happened.  (The meteorite has nothing whatsoever to do with the Flux, but they don't know that.)  Zarkon can be positive that the meteorite contains pure Zarkonite - and if it happens to contain some radioactive element, all the better.

 

Pinecone and Derek - Zarkonoids is a great name for his robotic minions.  And Steriaca - I don't know how, but somehow I have to use Dehydrated Henchmen.  It's a moral imperative.

 

Thanks again, everybody!

[Opal]

Flash Gordon was like the Star Wars of serials, OK, that's a bit obvious, because Lucas was jonesing to do Flash Gordon and settled for creating Star Wars.  Maybe the Marvel movies of the day.  Big budget, special effects (yes, you can see the wires and sparklers but, for a serial, of the day, that was top flight f/x, a lot of serials have been lost so you can't see the worst of them).

 

They're widely available.  The first series, with Priscilla Lawson as princess Aura, is the best.  It was re-packaged into Flas Gordon: ______ movies, "Rocket Ship", "Space Soldiers", Conquers the Universe.  Dr. Zarkof is the good-guy mad scientist.  He does things as diverse as turning Flash invisible or bringing him back from the brink of death, but his go-to throwaway detail for how he does it goes "I've discovered a new ray..."  Rays can do just about anything, apparently, and they don't need to be all Star Trek tech-speak, they can be quite straightforward.  The melting ray melts solid stone, the destroying ray blows space ships out of the sky, the vanishing ray turns the subject invisible, etc.  Pretty much like D&D potions, really, they do what it says on the tin

 

There are other serials & movies you could check out for great Mad Scientists.  The Phantom Creeps with Bela Lugosi, The Invisible Ray with Boris Karloff, the Vanishing Shadow has an interesting take in that the mad scientist enthusiastically helps the hero but is, well, ethically challenged.  Some other serials you could probably find - Rocky Jones, Commando Cody, etc - might have some goofy tech for you, but no strong mad scientist characters. 

 

[Tjack]

49 minutes ago, BoloOfEarth said:

Pinecone and Derek - Zarkonoids is a great name for his robotic minions.  And Steriaca - I don't know how, but somehow I have to use Dehydrated Henchmen.  It's a moral imperative.

 

Thanks again, everybody!

    I remember those from the Batman ‘66 movie.   The Penguin used them in his attack inside the Batcave.  They popped like soap bubbles because Pengy accidentally used the ionized water tap that Bats used for the atomic reactor in the ‘cave.

[steriaca]

Another thing about mad scientist.  They always have a weapon of mass destruction  either under development or already made. Even "good guy" mad scientist have one. Don't ask why a heroic mad scientist has one...they just do. (Mostly giant robots and things if used one way will benefit mankind, but used another way dooms them forever.)

[archer]

Crimson Force Field : Barrier

Meglo-Drain Effect : Absorption

Flames of the Sun : Blast/RKA with variable special effect fire

Comet Storm : Blast/RKA with variable special effect hail

Asteroid Barrage : Blast/RKA with variable special effect rocks

Gravity of Jupiter : TK only to pull down

Gravity Grip : TK

Hyper-Jets : Flight

Blindness Ray : Darkness, not some permanent blindness

Poisonous Fog : Change Environment non-damaging fog but useful to get heroes to rescue innocents

Strength Amplifier : Density Increase with SFX of looking slightly taller, larger, and bulkier. Could instead go Multiform.

Teleport Ray : SFX flash of light and he goes Invisible rather than teleporting. He's a villain so why tell the truth? Also makes it harder for gadgeteers to build specific counters to him if he isn't telling them the truth about his powers. Alternately he could tell them it's a time travel device and since he can't stop them in the present that he's going back to erase them from history. (More fun if his henchmen are outside the building putting up a big sign welcoming President Gore to the city. If the heroes are confused enough, they might even build a time machine...which would give Dr. Zarkon something worth stealing.)

Invisibility Projector : Teleport

Venusian Spider Web : Entangle

Karate Chop : HA or HKA

Hypnotic Inducer : Mind Control

Rocket Boots : Running

Body Mask : Shapeshift usable as attack (+1 1/4). If you just Shapeshift vs sight, it might be cheap enough to give it range plus add it to another attack maybe like Flash. The person is blinded plus Shapeshifted to look like a henchman or the villain himself. Could be used against one of the heroes, an innocent bystander, or the mayor according to what works with the villain's plans.

Atomizer : Shrinking

 

 

Maybe Duplication or cloned followers instead of or in addition to robots? It'd be a surprise to a hero who takes the mask off a lowly follower and finds that the person behind the mask is the "mastermind".

 

And if there's going to be any kind of followers, add 5 points of Flash to each Blast effect they use. Might as well hope to blind at least some of the enemies to set them up for the others.

 

It'd also make it difficult to convict the villain of a crime since he could create doubt over whether he'd committed some crime and he could always have an iron-clad alibi. 

[Ockham's Spoon]

I feel his suit should be powered by or made out of Zarkonium.

[HeroGM]

The world can be saved by steam!!!

[steriaca]

8 hours ago, HeroGM said:

The world can be saved by steam!!!

Man...I remember Ninja High School. 

[Tjack]

The lower left corner has the kind of jacket I was talking about.

8 hours ago, HeroGM said:

The world can be saved by steam!!!

    The lower left corner is the type of jacket I was talking about.

[Christopher R Taylor]

Now I'm humming Talking Heads

[Opal]

1 minute ago, Tjack said:

    The lower left corner is the type of jacket I was talking about.

Old-school lab coat.  Early 20th, if not Victorian.  Classic mad scientist chic.

 

 

http://i2.wp.com/www.rebeatmag.com/wp-content/uploads/RODXBnr.jpg?resize=640%2C480

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3teczhjAp1qgqj2zo1_1280.gif

[Tjack]

12 minutes ago, Opal said:

Old-school lab coat.  Early 20th, if not Victorian.  Classic mad scientist chic.

 

 

http://i2.wp.com/www.rebeatmag.com/wp-content/uploads/RODXBnr.jpg?resize=640%2C480

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3teczhjAp1qgqj2zo1_1280.gif

From the top picture, does anybody else think Kevin Spacey would be an excellent Bela Lugosi in a bio-pic?

[Steve]

I think Zarconium sounds better than Zarconite. Perhaps different beams can be color-coded.

 

Agonizer Beam-an AVLD that is resisted by Power Defense.

 

He definitely needs a “soliloquy bubble” of some kind (Barrier or Force Wall). You might review Professor Muerte’s powers for ideas.

 

Perhaps he has a DNPC love interest who finds his new identity exciting and will actively find ways to transform him to have adventures together. I’m thinking of a Harley Quinn sort of assistant, crazy but cute.

 

Another approach would be some sort of human-like apparition that only appears when he is transformed, a Summon of some kind. It’s a manifestation of his madness but solid and independent-minded.

 

If you don’t think a sexy femme works, how about an Igor? It would be like Flash Gordon crossed with Young Frankenstein.

You might want to check out a fan-made World of Darkness work called Genius: The Transgression. It’s full of this sort of stuff.

 

[Duke Bushido]

For what it's worth (and mostly for Tjack): that style of lab coat is called "double-breasted."  Old school or not, they are still readily available, and were in regular use up until the entire medical field stopped wearing actual uniforms and everyone decided that scrubs were just fine for every aspect of the field.

 

Nothing says "professional" like spending the day in rumpled pajamas, I suppose.   

 

At any rate, double-breasted lab coats can still be found (an in colors) in use in facilities where getting soaked or sprayed with something hazardous or biological is highly likely, and on personnel who are naturally "cold natured."