Favorite Master Villain

[Enforcer84]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

The Three Mentalists that Rival Menton in my universe (4 if I paid more attention to my UNTIL Book) are:

 

Soul Warrior: A psychic gladiator from an alternate Earth. He's not quite at Menton's level, but give him time.

 

Mind Titan; much different from the one in 4th ed CU. But a Telepath of huge power that watches from the sidelines. He's a good guy but he fears becoming a puppeteer.

 

And another, whose name escapes me. She's claims to be an ancestor of the Medina Twins.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Hmm ... I've always been a big fan of Doc D ... I've always played him a bit differently than the book (borrowing a lot from Doom). Menton and Gravitar are on the list as well ... but I also have a few major ones in my own campaign I've always been a fan of PSI and Genocide/IHA and use them in a similar way.

That proves (or at least reinforces) my point: If you play him differently than he is in the book, then you're essentially playing a different villain with the same name. Playing him more like Doom makes him a more interesting villain because Doom is a more interesting character.

 

The big villain in my (or rather our) campaign is the Emerald Mage, an extremely powerful immortal sorcerer (350 point cosmic VPP) who currently rules Columbia and possesses a strict code of honor (He once broke off a fight with the heroes to heal an underling who had been critically injured). The team's relationship with him is more than a bit complicated; he was an invited guest at the team leader's wedding in 2003!

[Lightray]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

I don't use the CU, but I've got a version of PSI in my campaign, and they're one of the major baddies the PCs have faced.

 

Oh, and they ran into Slug, but that was while in another dimension that's connected to a parallel Earth.

 

My favorite is probably Tyrannon, although I've never had the chance to really use him, yet.

[Metaphysician]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

That proves (or at least reinforces) my point: If you play him differently than he is in the book, then you're essentially playing a different villain with the same name. Playing him more like Doom makes him a more interesting villain because Doom is a more interesting character.

 

The big villain in my (or rather our) campaign is the Emerald Mage, an extremely powerful immortal sorcerer (350 point cosmic VPP) who currently rules Columbia and possesses a strict code of honor (He once broke off a fight with the heroes to heal an underling who had been critically injured). The team's relationship with him is more than a bit complicated; he was an invited guest at the team leader's wedding in 2003!

 

Sounds fun. Dr Yin Wu has a bit of this attitude, himself.

 

I like "honorable" villains, ranging from Firewing to Istvatha V'Han to Dr Yin Wu.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Sounds fun. Dr Yin Wu has a bit of this attitude, himself.

 

I like "honorable" villains, ranging from Firewing to Istvatha V'Han to Dr Yin Wu.

The Emerald Mage is an interesting character. The first time our team fought him it was on Easter Island just after he'd returned from his 800 year exile in another dimension. Since he wasn't in the best of shape, the team fought him to a standstill, so he transformed into a giant feathered serpent and fled the island.

 

Two years later they ran into him again in the jungles of Belize as he was gathering Mayans to his service in one of his old cities. While he and his deadly Jaguar Women defeated the team in combat, the discovery of his plans forced him to stop that particular scheme.

 

The next time they ran into him he was campaigning for the presidency of Columbia. He won the election fairly (!), exterminated the drug cartels, and is now the enormously popular President of a booming Columbia. He's currently trying to get Venezuela to join with Columbia in a South American United States, and it looks like he'll do it this year.

 

The next time was when the team leader was meeting his fiance in Monaco, and when Cyberknight, in his Secret ID, went to meet his fiance for lunch at a sidewalk cafe he found the Emerald Mage and one of his apprentices seated at a table chatting merrily away with Cyberknight's fiance. Seems the apprentice had been the fiance's roommate in college, and the Emerald Mage poured on the Latin charm. That ended up with the fiance inviting the EM and her old freind to the wedding. Of course poor Cyberknight couldn't do anything but grit his teeth and smile, especially since the Emerald Mage made it perfectly clear that he knew who he really was.

 

It's a lot more fun than just "Blast him!"

[Hawksmoor]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Now that Trebuchet was a cool anecdote.

 

Hawksmoor

[Southern Cross]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

True.Poor Cyberknight.What he had to put up with....

[Trebuchet]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Now that Trebuchet was a cool anecdote.

Thank you, sir.

 

The look of stunned disbelief on Mentor's face as all that was happening in Monaco was utterly priceless. (Mentor plays Cyberknight in our campaign.)

 

And the Emerald Mage even danced with the bride at the reception. The wedding in Norway was the social event of summer 2003.

[Jhamin]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Menton in my campaign is biding his time. There are two or three mentalists whose power approaches his own and he wants to eliminate them. He also wants to avoid a "Mentalist Hunt".

 

I introduced a slighty older, slightly more-in-control version of Howard Brody from The Mutant File as a foil to Menton.

The kid has the mojo to make Menton worry, and he has enough of a sense of right and wrong to step up if Menton ever acted openly.

 

The fact that he just wants to pretend he is normal and live a normal life keeps him from stealing too much of the Player Character's thunder.

[Bengal]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Is this discussion limited to CU villains? Most of the great bad guys in my old campaign are originals or lifted from Marvel and DC, and some other comic book sources.

[Lord Liaden]

Countering Menton

 

My players have been warned of spoilers in this post, so they have only themselves to blame if they peek :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my campaign there's been something of a behind-the-scenes chess match going on for years between Menton and the Mind-Master Complex (from Creatures of the Night). Both are powerful mentalists who manipulate others to do their bidding, but the two of them often counter each other, and have remained largely deadlocked.

 

One of the PCs in my current game, Harbinger - a telekinetic with minor telepathy and technical skills - has no memories of her past, which is a mystery to this point. She is actually one of the MMC's "remote units"; a person that the Complex can possess and completely control at a distance, and through which it can channel a portion of its vast psionic power. The MMC erased Harbinger's memories and stimulated her latent powers, maneuvering her into joining the heroes' team.

 

The Complex has already started steering the heroes toward disrupting Menton's plans, and hopes to eventually provoke a direct confrontation with Menton. At that point the MMC will take full control of Harbinger and strike at Menton with all its power. Without Menton's competition the Complex would become a much greater threat.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Re: Countering Menton

 

My players have been warned of spoilers in this post, so they have only themselves to blame if they peek :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my campaign there's been something of a behind-the-scenes chess match going on for years between Menton and the Mind-Master Complex (from Creatures of the Night). Both are powerful mentalists who manipulate others to do their bidding, but the two of them often counter each other, and have remained largely deadlocked.

 

One of the PCs in my current game, Harbinger - a telekinetic with minor telepathy and technical skills - has no memories of her past, which is a mystery to this point. She is actually one of the MMC's "remote units"; a person that the Complex can possess and completely control at a distance, and through which it can channel a portion of its vast psionic power. The MMC erased Harbinger's memories and stimulated her latent powers, maneuvering her into joining the heroes' team.

 

The Complex has already started steering the heroes toward disrupting Menton's plans, and hopes to eventually provoke a direct confrontation with Menton. At that point the MMC will take full control of Harbinger and strike at Menton with all its power. Without Menton's competition the Complex would become a much greater threat.

 

Wow....I did something very much like this last year. The Mind Master Complex made the heroes' lives a living hell and made all the clues lead to Menton. The players were shocked to find out the guy they were fighting really DIDN'T know who they were were.....

 

 

Rob

[Shikarr]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

My favorite Villans are Dr D, Yin Wu, Red Dragon of Voice, and PSI. Although not in that order. My favorite is probably Red Dragon, one of the few who survived my Immortal Wars subplot. The Dragon is just so good as a villain with layers of Chinese inscutability all over the way I run em that it is just a joy to do.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

I think I've fallen in love (metaphorically speaking) with "Mechanon 3000" from the upcoming Galactic Champions. If only I can figure out a way to work him into my current-day campaign!

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

I think I've fallen in love (metaphorically speaking) with "Mechanon 3000" from the upcoming Galactic Champions. If only I can figure out a way to work him into my current-day campaign!

 

Now...is that because he's obscenely powerful....or because he's got some undetermined new "coolness" factor?

 

Rob

[Metaphysician]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

When exactly is GC shipping?? The last update didn't mention it at all.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Now...is that because he's obscenely powerful....or because he's got some undetermined new "coolness" factor?

 

Rob

 

A little of both, actually. I don't want to give too much away before Galactic Champions actually hits the shelves. Now that the playtest is over, though, maybe it would be all right to give a hint:

 

SPOILER WARNING!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Imagine the Death Star as Mechanon's head.

[Metaphysician]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

A little of both' date=' actually. I don't want to give too much away before [b']Galactic Champions[/b] actually hits the shelves. Now that the playtest is over, though, maybe it would be all right to give a hint:

 

Spoiler Removed

 

. . .

 

*can't wait for GC*

[Powerhouse]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Interesting comments about Dr D... all of them true sadly.

 

I used to think that DD was ubercool but now he's just sad. Sure he's got intellect and power but that's it. In fact he's far too over the top now for me. Admittedly, in Classic Enemies we could see how he could make the earth shake but the 5th edition pretty much states that he can point and take out even the most powerful hero. Just not good.

 

Someone posted that in a campaign, a PC actually left the campaign with the backstory that she had a romantic affair with DD. Interesting but I can't see it, at least with the current incarnation. The character has only the ability to hate and destory, rather than love or create. It becomes so boring.

 

The two most interesting villains that I can think of: Dr Doom and Magneto, were interesting for having some shreds of humanity, charm, or nobility. lacking any of these, DD is now just a walking plot device.

 

Oh well.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

A little of both' date=' actually. I don't want to give too much away before [b']Galactic Champions[/b] actually hits the shelves. Now that the playtest is over, though, maybe it would be all right to give a hint:

 

SPOILER WARNING!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Imagine the Death Star as Mechanon's head.

 

Two words: HOLY CRAP!

 

 

Rob

[Trebuchet]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

The two most interesting villains that I can think of: Dr Doom and Magneto, were interesting for having some shreds of humanity, charm, or nobility. lacking any of these, DD is now just a walking plot device.

My point exactly. I'd be hard pressed to come up with a supervillain who is as uninteresting and uninspiring as DD. Even if I did, I'd owe my players profuse apologies for anthromorphizing a plot device by putting it in a costume:

 

"Great Scott, that's not Doctor Destroyer at all, Silhouette!"

 

"What do you mean, Prodigy?"

 

"It's merely a plot device, cleverly disguised as a supervillain."

 

"Aw crap. We're hosed."

 

[Twilight]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Well after reading The Turakian Age, I'd have to say Takofanes the Undying is right up there amongst my favourite master villains but then I always did have a fondness for ancient evils. If only somebody would strat up Auralia, the sort that killed him the first two times, I'd be a happy guy with a cool character concept.

 

Other favourites of mine include Archimago, Mechanon, Dr. Yin Wu and Malachite.

[death tribble]

Re: Favorite Master Villain

 

Of the ones around I would say Dr Destroyer, Gravitar, Menton and Mechanon.

 

Partly due to prejudice on my part against the others. Vhan came over badly and I didn't like the write up or the art. So I would go with those who say retool her and use a different picture, the one that Storn did for someone.

And the fact she is associated with one of my all time least favourite Champions or Hero characters, Tyrannon.

 

There's just something about Tyrannon that irritates me to the core of my being. I am waiting to see what the new artwork of him is like though. May be I can adapt him.

 

The Warlord. Had a character called this in home brew which I liked. Fault with the CU one. The art really doesn't do the character justice and again I don't like the write up. The CU one just doesn't come over as evil enough.

 

Takofanes. Don't like the art for one. And the concept of Unkillable Lich has limited appeal. Mechanon with magic basically.

 

Dark Seraph on his own. Fair enough. But linking all the crowns and then link to Takofanes ? No.

 

Adrian Vandaleur. Pompous, nasty twerp originally. No change in the rewrite.

 

I am going with Menton still working for Dr D.

Gravitar is the only new one I like (Mastervillain wise) although she will be more active.

And Mechanon is up to his usual stuff but hunted by the Engineer (from earlier incarnations of Champions) and assisted by Mechana.