Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

To elaborate...

I'm currently playing Sludge, who is a blob-like (more of an earth elemental... still a mutant though) 200pt brick in the Redwood/Morganstern campaign (Yes, he's a teen villain... thuggish)

 

And I feel like I'm not living him up to his potential. He should be a more interesting character.

But I just don't know what to try...

[S7Michelle]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

To elaborate...

I'm currently playing Sludge, who is a blob-like (more of an earth elemental... still a mutant though) 200pt brick in the Redwood/Morganstern campaign (Yes, he's a teen villain... thuggish)

 

And I feel like I'm not living him up to his potential. He should be a more interesting character.

But I just don't know what to try...

 

 

::Ponders:: It would be helpful to know a bit more about your character, especially personality, goals, friendships, etc. After all, a lot of plots surrounding him will be based on what direction he wants his life to go.

 

But working off of what I know so far:

 

Sludge develops a crush on a beautiful girl at his school. Unfortunately, she doesn’t even know he exists, and if she does, she doesn’t care. Sludge decides to impress her by pulling a series of elaborate (pranks, heists, murders).

 

Sludge’s parents are putting increasing pressure on him to get straight As. They’ve told him that if he does so, they’ll buy him a new car for his birthday. Professor Smith gives incredibly hard tests and the next one is scheduled for a week from now. What does Sludge do?

 

A new kid has arrived at school, though physically unimpressive the kid is good at making Sludge’s and everyone else’s lives miserable. The new student has mental powers or something else that makes him an incredibly good sneak and annoyingly all of the teachers like and trust him. (Think Eddy Haskal from Leave it to Beaver). How does Sludge deal with him.

[steriaca]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Humm...let me think...

 

Did you give him a personality? If so, exactly what is it? Is it a homocidal rampager without much of a mind? Or can it think and plot on it's own?

 

If it is a blob, then prehaps it wants to polute the world. Or change mankind/mutant-kind into creachers much like itself.

 

More importently, it may be hunted by mad scientist. Like, say, Profesor Robert Steriaca, for instance.

[Southern Cross]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

One important question-can Sludge assume a human form or is he stuck in his sludge form?

[Lightray]

Well, he's a villain, an earth-elemental type, and named "Sludge". Perhaps he should have a cause?

 

Normally, earth-elemental types are environmental activists. Maybe he could be an extreme activist. But, instead of advocating all the pretty ecologies (forests, wetlands), he's more fond of the ones no-body likes. Swamps, with lots of malarial mosquitoes. Deserts.

 

Plus, he could be an advocate of all the gross critters that nobody likes because they're not cuddly. Bugs. Pests. Rats. Cats.

 

So, as an example "caper", he could use his powers to undermine the local mall with sinkholes. Flood the resultant mire, release swamp rats and billions of mosquito eggs into the stagnant water. And cackle gleefully in prison, because the heroes may think they stopped his plan, but months later all the suburbanites will be falling ill from Lyme disease and malaria.

[nexus]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Well, looks like you might be getting one of your fellow "students" out of the Redwood Detention cells...

 

She ran afoul of their security system tonight.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

He starts having nightmares of being trapped forever in his Sludge form, and becomes a neat-freak when in human form.

[nexus]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

:A new kid has arrived at school' date=' though physically unimpressive the kid is good at making Sludge’s and everyone else’s lives miserable. The new student has mental powers or something else that makes him an incredibly good sneak and annoyingly all of the teachers like and trust him. (Think Eddy Haskal from Leave it to Beaver). How does Sludge deal with him.[/quote']

 

That would be Richard. He's a mutant with ability to crawl inside people and wear them like a skin. He's also a star pupil.

[nyakki]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

[self serving plug]

 

Here are a few ideas that were created using Hero Helper v2.0

 

[/self serving plug]

 

* You discovered a deep and troubling family secret

[plot idea: A hero is your brother/father/sister/cousin/son]

 

* You fell in love. Your lover comes from a different cultural background

[plot idea: The lover could be the Mayor's daughter and she loves him too despite his appearance (he's just a nice guy deep down).]

 

* You have formed a rivalry with a retired villain

[plot idea: You pissed off a powerful, yet retired villian, who has connections - You need to seek out the heroes help]

 

* While traveling, you developed a taste for the exotic

[plot idea: You commit crimes to satisfy your tastes, and being an Earth Elemental, it could be precious and rare stones]

 

Just a few ideas from [plug] Hero Helper v2.0 [/plug]

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

:blush:

 

I'm horrible at asking for help.

 

Okay. Let's try and describe him.

He looks human (big, white; looks grown up but isn't - will be bloody huge one day); Sludge is based on what it looks like when he uses his powers (he will adopt this name at some point; at present, no pseudonym); he's strong/invlunerable, but he also 'becomes one' with things he stands on/pcks up (not always); this is why he pick up a car (or whatever) without it breaking (because he's throughout it).

 

He got his powers while covered in mud, so he's always a bit dirty, but he looks normal; he's at a sort of private school for mutants (an eeeeevil school; the Headmistress seems to be an evil Xavier, but doesn't mind control the students... I don't know the full story there).

 

Back home, he was a gang member. Here, he might just join the football team (fresh start+superhuman physique = happy boy) as the coach spotted him.

 

Uhm. He's arrogant/overconfident in his powers; since the world around him doesn't have a public record of superhumans, this really isn't surprising.

 

Anything I missed?

[Katherine]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Sludge is also one of the less sociopathic member of our little band of deliquents. Him, Eric and Stopwatch seems like ok kids. Caress, Richard, Riot and the rest....yikes!

 

Edit:Actually, Trips might be ok, but you can never tell with a guy who sweats drugs. I wonder if the Redwood kids are as screwed up.

[SKJAM!]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Hmm...the big game with archrivals Redwood is coming up, and Sludge hears about the Redwood mascot--perhaps it could be kidnapped before the game?

[S7Michelle]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Back home, he was a gang member. Here, he might just join the football team (fresh start+superhuman physique = happy boy) as the coach spotted him.

 

Uhm. He's arrogant/overconfident in his powers; since the world around him doesn't have a public record of superhumans, this really isn't surprising.

 

Alright, I see some potential for plot hooks here as well. Gangs tend to breed loyalty and close ties after all.

 

1. Something happens to one or more of the members of his gang. Sludge seeks answers and revenge.

 

2. Sludge's former gang members come looking for him. They want him to become an active member of the gang again.

 

3. Sludge misses having a gang of normal human followers around him. He decides to form a new one. Of course that will shift the balance of power in the city, and some of his classmates may not approve of him associating so much with humans.

 

4. Sludge is bored and out for a night of fun. Of course, his idea of fun may well be tearing up the city. Pulling up fire hydrants, trashing buildings, etc. I doubt the good guys will approve.

[Ghost who Walks]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

1. His old gang contacts him, and wants him to start distributed (minor) drugs to the other students. The only problem is the drugs are actually supplied by some criminal organziation, like VIPER, and will cause people's powers to go haywire. (Hunted, Old Gang)

2. As above, but the criminal organization has revealed itself and threatens/blackmails poor sludge into being their spy at the school. (Watched, criminal organization)

3. As 1, but the supplier of the drugs is the coach of the football team.

4. Nothing seems done about his family, you could make them the source of plots. Have his father be an incompetent politician, who is always saying stupid things, causing foreign leaders to send assassins after him.

5. Sludge falls in with a new gang, who admire his "whiteness". Wil lhe become a model Aryan? Or are they just using him.

6. A person who looks just like Sludge commits crimes in the nearby town. Has poor Sludge developed a form of sleepwaling, gone crazy, or is his exact double running about?

[Kirby]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

To elaborate...

I'm currently playing Sludge, who is a blob-like (more of an earth elemental... still a mutant though) 200pt brick in the Redwood/Morganstern campaign (Yes, he's a teen villain... thuggish)

 

And I feel like I'm not living him up to his potential. He should be a more interesting character.

But I just don't know what to try...

If I understand this, Sludge is your villain PC (not an NPC) in a game you are playing in?

 

This seems like you're searching for personality. I'd suggest have him either grow a garden, or become interested in geology. (Earth-related roots.) Maybe give him a 'signature' attribute. Does he rap his fingers on desks or tap his feet on the floor when irritated? Is he a 'down to earth' kind of guy. (Okay, he's a villain.) If he's a brick thug, then maybe he needs to flex more often. Have him try to solve even simple problems with strength as opposed to brains. Maybe he goes out of his way seeking peer approvement for his violent actions. If he feels bad, he beats someone up and tells the team about it. Maybe low self-esteem causes him to take nearly everything as a challenge. Maybe he's a bit like Bulldozer? Perhaps you could give him a quote/saying for combat such as "it's clobberin' time!" Maybe his can be "you're in a *heap* of trouble now!" And maybe, just maybe, he hates litterbugs.

 

Just suggestions.

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

If I understand this, Sludge is your villain PC (not an NPC) in a game you are playing in?

 

This seems like you're searching for personality. I'd suggest have him either grow a garden, or become interested in geology. (Earth-related roots.) Maybe give him a 'signature' attribute. Does he rap his fingers on desks or tap his feet on the floor when irritated? Is he a 'down to earth' kind of guy. (Okay, he's a villain.) If he's a brick thug, then maybe he needs to flex more often. Have him try to solve even simple problems with strength as opposed to brains. Maybe he goes out of his way seeking peer approvement for his violent actions. If he feels bad, he beats someone up and tells the team about it. Maybe low self-esteem causes him to take nearly everything as a challenge. Maybe he's a bit like Bulldozer? Perhaps you could give him a quote/saying for combat such as "it's clobberin' time!" Maybe his can be "you're in a *heap* of trouble now!" And maybe, just maybe, he hates litterbugs.

 

Just suggestions.

 

Yes, he is my Villain PC. And these are good; I'm adding them to my file.

Thanks.

 

Sludge is also one of the less sociopathic member of our little band of deliquents. Him, Eric and Stopwatch seems like ok kids. Caress, Richard, Riot and the rest....yikes!

 

Edit:Actually, Trips might be ok, but you can never tell with a guy who sweats drugs. I wonder if the Redwood kids are as screwed up.

 

Well, you ARE seeing his best behaviour. He's out of his element, he nearly killed someone recently, and he's suddenly had a massive opportunity. (the school). He's trying to 'be good'. Plus, he's kinda lonely.

 

On the other hand, if he wasn't afraid of Metranon he probably would have tried to kill Riot soon after meeting her. Similiar for Richard once he revealed what he can do (although, in that case, the reason he doesn't like him is the same as the reason he won't try...).

 

Also, he's... a petty criminal. He's actually got what he wants right now. (This will, of course, only be temporary). But he probably is gonna get bored/greedy on his own soon.

[David Blue]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

What's his car like?

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

What's his car like?

 

What car?

 

Hrm. Yes. Needs to steal a car.

 

 

 

Incidently, I'm actually (for now) going with separate plot idea for him that isn't here.

 

Let's just say that that anger isn't that far away from other things.

[Kirby]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

What car?

 

Hrm. Yes. Needs to steal a car.

Give him a dump truck!

 

 

 

What?

 

 

 

Incidently, I'm actually (for now) going with separate plot idea for him that isn't here.

 

Let's just say that that anger isn't that far away from other things.

Just don't make him to much like the Hulk. Keep him original!

[nexus]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Just to stir up trouble....

 

Scarecrow from Redwood Academy has a really nice car.....

[Steve]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Sludge develops a crush on a beautiful girl at his school. Unfortunately' date=' she doesn’t even know he exists, and if she does, she doesn’t care. Sludge decides to impress her by pulling a series of elaborate (pranks, heists, murders).[/quote']

 

Romance subplots can be a great way to generate plot hooks, especially when you're talking about a character caught up in the midst of puberty with all those hormones going berserk.

 

1) Perhaps Sludge gets caught up by a fellow female student, a user type, who keeps him around as her muscle boy with promises of 'favors.'

 

2) Maybe there's some loner girl on campus, and Sludge befriends her, since perhaps he's kind of an outsider himself. What secrets does she hold? What are her powers and background like?

 

3) Romeo and Juliet anyone? Maybe Sludge falls for one of the Redwood Academy girls, and he tries to walk a more straight and narrow path for her sake. This can generate lots of additional plot hooks, since Sludge's friends may try to frame him for things to get the good girl to give up on him or tearfully order him to stay away from her. Maybe one of his female teammates doesn't like the idea of some 'goody two-shoes, stuck-up girl' from Redwood poaching on what she sees as her territory (ie any boys in her class/team). Maybe the reverse happens, and the former good girl falls in with bad boy Sludge and starts taking a walk on the Dark Side.

 

4) Girl fight! What does Sludge do if two girls start competing for his attention? When you add in superpowers to a romantic triangle, things can get very interesting. Maybe there is someone else who is subtly mind controlling the two girls as a prank on Sludge?

[Kirby]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Please enlighten me, what is the Redwood/Morganstern campaign? Is it a HERO setting or is it based off of comics, or another gaming system that you've adapted to HERO?

[nexus]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Its a Homebrew Teen Champions setting somewhat inspired by the X Men Evolution and Mutant X TV shows. I picked it up and expanded it somewhat when the original GM was unable to continue.

[Steve]

Re: Help! I created a PC without thinking of good plot ideas for them!

 

Its a Homebrew Teen Champions setting somewhat inspired by the X Men Evolution and Mutant X TV shows. I picked it up and expanded it somewhat when the original GM was unable to continue.

 

Nexus, do you have a campaign write-up that you could post?