GMs tips on Mutant March

[Guest Blizzard]

Hi,

 

I'm running a champs game set in San Francisco. The FAA just anounced that they are going to be installing mutant detectors at SFO. The Gay, Lesbian & Mutant Alliance has decrared that they will be have a march from Justin Herman Plaza to the Federal Building the next day. I have a dozen or so mutants writen up, Figure that Primus will be there at the federal building and MARS police units oversing the event.

 

Now I wasn't really planing anything to happen unless the PC provoked it, but the the PCs are getting paranoid that something will happen since earliar last session I had an emesary from Vatican City with his Swiss Guard body guard, warn that Demon maybe up to no good in the area.

 

Now a splinter group of Demon is doing something in the city but not anything with the mutants... at least not yet.

 

So what ideas do you folks have on making things exciting for my barely forming group?

[assault]

Re: GMs tips on Mutant March

 

Originally posted by Blizzard

So what ideas do you folks have on making things exciting for my barely forming group?

 

Cool setup.

 

On the march: it would be fair to assume that most mutants would have very little in the way of "useful" powers. Most could be treated as plain vanilla human beings. Some might have visible mutations, even if they are without "real" powers, so make sure you describe the "freakshow" in vivid terms. Then again, many will just look like plain old folks, which is the point for the detectors, after all.

 

You can also safely assume that there will be contingents of straight, non-mutant supporters. This will be true even if anti-mutant sentiment is generally very strong.

 

To sum up: you don't need to knock yourself out designing lots and lots of superbeings. Most of your marchers will be normals, even the ones with multiple heads and fur.

 

OK, now, DEMON...

 

The most obvious thing is the possibility of "something" escaping and going on a rampage. But of course that's too easy.

 

If we go back to the march idea, it is quite likely that there will be mutants from out of town around, and even resident mutants will have higher than usual profile.

 

That means that there will be more than the usual number of guys in cloaks, big purple worm-critters and slimy demon-y looking things running around San Francisco. The possibilities for mistaken identity is unlimited!

 

Some ideas:

The PCs see someone lurking suspiciously. (It's a mutant.)

Demon are doing something bad. When the PCs attack, nearby mutants assume that this is an attack on fellow mutants!

 

and so on...

[freakboy6117]

well if its a mutant solidaity march you can bet they have thare parents partners children and siblinsg along. wouldnt it be intreasting if one of the youngsters expressed there

X factor right there in the middle of the crowd grew to 60 feet tall and freaked out shot out dangerous eye beams or what have you.

 

other situatiosn police harressment institute for human advancment counter march. crazy sniper. majopr earthquake during the middle is blaimed on the mutants by religious leaders but CNN has great footage of the more freakish mutanst attending to injured and trapped good for PR

[Chuckg]

Let's not forget attempts to stage provocations.

 

And that doesn't necessarily mean "dress up as a mutant and commit an act of terrorism". It could just as easily mean "manipulate some other dumb bigot to go publicly taunt/provoke a participating mutant known to have an Enraged or a Berserk until the guy flips out and starts smashing people... and 'coincidentally', a camera crew is just on the scene."

 

(With thanks to David Weber's upcoming novel _Windrider's Oath_, where anti-hradani bigots -- the hradani being a race who have a racial /curse/ of Enraged -- used precisely this tactic to cause a lot of trouble for the hradani's attempts to forge alliance with a neighboring kingdom.)

[Bengal]

I'm not sure why homosexuals would want to ally themselves with mutants. What is the platform of this group, and what sorts of ways do they promote it?

[Bunyip]

There are close enough analogies between the two groups if you look for them. If I recall correctly from an article I read at the time, it was just such similarities in worldview that attracted Sir Ian McKellen to the role of Magneto in the X-Men movie; all they want is a world that will accept them and their 'abnormalities' without demur...

[Battlestaff]

In the game I run, mutants are seen much the same way that gays are seen: a social group that is emerging into the mainstream after being kept quiet for so long, and are pushing for their rights and for recognition by the law and society at large. However, I don't see the gay rights movement adding mutants to their organization. Mutants have several other problems that don't apply to gays (registration attempts, etc), that I see the gay movement as telling the mutants "that's your problem, you handle it," so the mutants are forced to form their own organizations.

[Redmenace]

Mutations of course can be passed on to one's children. The normal humans or the politicians who wish to sway them would be bringing up the fact that there are superhumans, that are in competition with you, whose superhuman children play alongside and get into fights with yours.

 

Add the inevitable radical mutant fringe and things can get violent quick. Just becouse they are mutants, homosexuals etc doesn't make them any smarter or less bigoted.

 

I know you aren't planning to do anything unless the PCs initiate it but I can't help but think of the possabilities. Particularly if just one accident happens, A Primus guard trips and some one ,protestor for or against, misinterprets it as an attack would get things spinning out of control and if the pcs don't have a post cog or other surveiliance they might never now what started the riot.

 

I like the idea of never knowing, say a shot rings out from somewhere.

[Highwayman]

I could easily see both groups making common cause. Of course, there's also likely to be homophobic mutants and mutaphobic homosexuals who would object. Maybe they would make trouble, or be manipulated into making trouble.

 

If something does go wrong, DEMON could see it as a stroke of good luck for them and use it to advance their plans. Maybe they could use the disorder as cover for something they have to do, or they could have some mystical use for all the negative emotions generated. Since they'd be improvising to take advantage of the situation while it lasts, it would be the perfect chance for them to slip up and give the PCs some clues about their ultimate plan.

[ChuckB]

Could always have Minutemen robots show up looking to kill/capture mutants and/or maybe pro-mutant supervillains looking to recruit.

[Guest Blizzard]

Not too bad guys.

 

Assault, I do intend to play up the freak show aspect, and trust me not all of the freaks will be mutants. Ever hear of Dikes on Bikes or the Sisters of Perpetuial Motion?

 

Bengal, I was wondering when someone would pick up on that. If you live near The City as I do, you learn a bit of the city's politics. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance is a very strong voice in The City. So say the very liberal politics of SF that drew the the large population of people of differnt sexual preferances (and a large number of homeless people) would also draw Mutants as well. That and no doubt that there would be a few gay and/or lesbian mutants. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch that the two factions would find enough common ground.

 

Redmenace, I'm toying with the idea of having a cyberpath mutant take brief control of a heros battlesuit, or maybe a PRIMUS Iron Guard unit.

 

ChuckB, I was thinking of sending the Minutemen into Mutant Town during the march to rase hell and to grab a particular subject that will not be marching. Sendinf them to the march just seam to be a way to lose expencive equipment (even if they are out dated ones from Enimies II.

 

Blizzard

[freakboy6117]

have a pro mutant villain join the march incognito and word get around. now do you bust the guy and cause a riot or not and let him get away. how do you stop the local police or primus wading in mob handed.

[Ghost who Walks]

If its not too late...

 

Have a couple of mutant activists show up, and make speeches. Due the classic arguments, for the different speeches:

1) We are better than normal humans, and should be in charge.

2) We should coexist with humanity

3) The government should give us support to deal with our mutie teenagers.

 

And of course, you need to have the mutant conspiracy nut who claims the government made him a mutant.

[Rechan]

I really like Freakboy's suggestion.

 

DEMON may have some sort of Entropy entity, which could feed on the negative emotions, and likely crank up the anxiety and bottled anger/tension, so that the smallest thing WOULD start a riot.

 

A group like PSI or some other Mutant/super badguys may be searching minds/et al looking for those less reputable to recruit.

 

This would also be one of the Best times for some supervillain team to go bust up some place and steal crap. Imagine all the cops that are there, and thus would be distracted from stuff elsewhere.

 

Also, I imagine you'll have some BDSM community people show up; they are loosely affiliated with GLBT causes, and are a strong subculture in SF, so you could have lots of overlap.