Help me with my Champions plot

[Dragonblade]

Ok, so I have 4 PCs as follows:

 

One character has time based powers and like Bishop in X-men, he has come to the past to prevent his dark future world from coming to pass.

 

One character is essentially a Superman clone, who came to Earth on a space craft and grew up in Kansas, etc.

 

Another character is a martial artist/ninja type. He wields a magical katana and illusion-based ninja magic.

 

The last PC is a telekinetic.

 

My current plot is that the PCs are all young and have been recruited as part of a semi-secret academy to train future heroes. Similar to the Xavier Institute.

 

They are currently on a mission to find out why VIPER has taken over a museum downtown, and then help the police take VIPER down. My current story idea is that VIPER agents have taken the museum because they believe an important artifact is there.

 

The artifact in question is the Seal of Gilgamesh. My basic thought was that VIPER is interested because Gilgamesh was an ancient Babylonian king who was supposedly superhuman.

 

The thing I'm stuck with is why is it so important to VIPER that they send an assault team to take over the museum?

 

Also, I haven't exactly decided what the Seal of Gilgamesh is or does. Any thoughts?

 

One idea I had was that the artifact was a Kryptonian artifact and that Gilgamesh was an ancient Kryptonian. But if so why was he on Earth?

 

If possible, I'd like to throw in another powerful NPC villain or group that is also interested in the Seal of Gilgamesh. And whether the PCs get this item, or whether VIPER agents escape with it, I need to have enough of a plot hook to lead into a second adventure.

[Southern Cross]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

Well,seals are a symbol of authority-perhaps it's some kind of mind control device.

As your world has magic,I'd recommend making the Seal of Gilgamesh a magical device once used by the ancient king Gilgamesh.I'd have it function as follows:

Anybody who reads a piece of writing with the seal on it is forced to obey whoever possesses the seal.However,the victims are not mindless slaves,and can do things that the existing instructions do not cover.

(I'm also assuming that if the seal is destroyed,the victims are freed from it's control).

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

Gilgamesh was a warrior, IIRC, not a sorceror or a wise leader. So his Seal would be unsubtle.

 

I'm thinking if you have 'Gilgamesh' be a 'Kryptonian', he was part of an early invasion/colonization attempt. A small group of them came here in antiquity with advanced tech AND physiques. Gilgamesh was one of their leaders, ad so he had the Seal made: it can nullify the strength of 'Kryptonian' when presented before them.

 

VIPER knows it is advanced technology, not magic, so they're interested in reverse engineering it to increase their technological edge.

 

Of course, there's a little more to it all than that... Turns out the Seal is a voice activated Universal Remote for the 'Kryptonian' outpost.

 

And (insert villain here) would much appreciate having the key to the door to THAT particular trove of information and tech.

[David Blue]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

I love to help people with their Champions plots.

 

Let me try this in reverse order.

 

If possible' date=' I'd like to throw in another powerful NPC villain or group that is also interested in the Seal of Gilgamesh. And whether the PCs get this item, or whether VIPER agents escape with it, I need to have enough of a plot hook to lead into a second adventure.[/quote']

DEMON, a magic oriented evil super-agency, wants the Seal of Gilgamesh. They want everything magical - and they are deadly rivals with VIPER. (No honour among thieves!)

 

One idea I had was that the artifact was a Kryptonian artifact and that Gilgamesh was an ancient Kryptonian. But if so why was he on Earth?

Gilgamesh was on Earth looking for the secret of immortality. (Assuming even Kryptonians can eventually age and die.) He found it - and lost it. But that's another story.

 

Also' date=' I haven't exactly decided what the Seal of Gilgamesh is or does. Any thoughts?[/quote']

The Seal of Gilgamesh is the magical key that opens the Tomb of Enkidu, the mighty Beast Man. (Gilgamesh "froze" him so that his friend Enkidu would not age while he, Gilgamesh, tried to get the secret of immortality back. Instead, he died trying, leaving Enkidu, ever young, in suspended animation.) That's your hook to lead into a second adventure.

 

The thing I'm stuck with is why is it so important to VIPER that they send an assault team to take over the museum?

A top DEMON agent, a Morbane (with nasty mental powers), is present to steal the Seal. He insisted that he be there to do it, because the legend of Gilgamesh relates to immortality, and if it's anything related to immortality, he wants it, nothing that may confer immortality is going to go off in the hand of some worthless DEMON Agent. Unfortunately, delaying the snatch till he could be present gave VIPER time to react to what a traitor in DEMON's ranks told VIPER: a top DEMON, a Morbane, will be there. Viper is not there for the seal, or they'd just go straight to it. All they know is a hated enemy is there - and they have agents on hand to lock the whole place down, find the Morbane, and capture or kill him - no matter what they have to do to civilians in the process.

 

The artifact in question is the Seal of Gilgamesh. My basic thought was that VIPER is interested because Gilgamesh was an ancient Babylonian king who was supposedly superhuman.

As soon as they find out that this is about the Seal of Gilgamesh, and one way or another they will find out soon, one of their experts on mythology will tell them the tale:- Gilgamesh found the secret, but a serpent stole it. So he had endured his mighty labours only to make serpents immortal. To Viper, that can have only one meaning: the secret of immortality belongs to them alone!

 

The Morbane, who knows from the legend that the serpent will steal the secret of immortality, is not a happy DEMON agent at this point. How much does VIPER know? And can he cheat destiny? He wants to grab the seal and run, first chance he gets, he won't take the chance that if he leaves without it VIPER may know what to grab (or take the right thing just by random looting and getting lucky) and his shot at immortality will be gone.

 

They are currently on a mission to find out why VIPER has taken over a museum downtown' date=' and then help the police take VIPER down. My current story idea is that VIPER agents have taken the museum because they believe an important artifact is there.[/quote']

Sure. A Morbane will not be present for anything unimportant. Their must be something (or someone?) he wants that presumably VIPER, not DEMON, should have. But which is the important piece, and why? VIPER wants the Morbane to tell them this, between his screams under interrogation.

 

Ok, so I have 4 PCs as follows:

 

One character has time based powers and like Bishop in X-men, he has come to the past to prevent his dark future world from coming to pass.

 

One character is essentially a Superman clone, who came to Earth on a space craft and grew up in Kansas, etc.

 

Another character is a martial artist/ninja type. He wields a magical katana and illusion-based ninja magic.

 

The last PC is a telekinetic.

 

My current plot is that the PCs are all young and have been recruited as part of a semi-secret academy to train future heroes. Similar to the Xavier Institute.

Cool. OK, you need something for each of these guys to do. They all need to fight of course. (Don't insist they do it this way, because players always baffle you - these are just examples of cute ideas you should cooperate with if the players come up with them.) The Telekinetic probably needs to get the Seal out of there while the Ninja leads VIPER and the DEMON Morbane on a wild goose chase. (An illusion of the Seal should be very easy and convincing - the bad guys probably don't even deserve a perception roll to detect any difference between the illusion and a seal they've never seen before anyway.) The Kryptonian will be able to decode the Seal (in Kryptonian) at the end: "By this seal, awaken the Beast!" And the time guy needs to have and find clues or remember prophecies that will put his team-mates ahead of the game so they can do clever things at the villains' expense. "The Serpents servants will seek to steal the seal from the hero they robbed before and always will again; the eye of the DEMON is ever covetous: beware its cloaked malice." Well, that's a start anyway. It doesn't have to be epic poetry, just as long as the team gets enough information so they can do this scenario.

 

Does that help?

[David Blue]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

PS: Even if the Morbane (with or without DEMON Agent help) gets away with the Seal, or even if VIPER gets away with the seal, the Kryptonian should still be able to read the seal's message from the photos of the artefact, so you still have the lead-in to the next scenario, unless your heroes don't care whether VIPER or DEMON awakens "the Beast". (I think they will care.) Also, whichever bad guys get the seal, the other bad guys will still want it, which can give the player characters a second chance to catch onto the hunt, if that is necessary.

 

But it's probably more fun to have the heroes win this one (if only because the heroes should usually win) - and then have both VIPER and the Morbane hunting them, while still taking shots at each other.

[hooligan x]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

Two great story ideas... I'd combine them. Use DavidBlue's suggestions for Viper and Demon's motives but have the Seal be lost Kryptonian tech. Viper and Demon would believe the legends to be fact and not be aware of the Kryponian connection.

 

Enkidu is in stasis in the Fortress of Gilgatude, protected by Kryptonian super-tech. If Demon or Viper get away with the seal, the PCs could decipher the writings on the seal and deduce the whereabouts of the Fortress, beating Demon and Viper (perhaps setting a trap for them). I'm sure Demon and Viper have enough moles in each other's organizations to both show up at the same time.

[CBikle]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

Maybe Viper is sending in an assault team because they're expecting opposition. Perhaps the seal provides its own guardian to protect it and Viper is just taking that into consideration (maybe the guardian is an avatar of Gilgamesh who battles anyone trying to possess the seal to determine their worthiness.).

 

If you go this route, it could lead to a situation where the PCs battle Viper, them wind up fighting the guardian. Or you could just have the guardian assess them as the greater challenge and attack the PCs , while Viper takes pot shots at both.

[Vanguard00]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

I sometimes tend to overcomplicate things, but here's the first thing that came to my mind.

 

The "Seal of Gilgamesh" opens something up--a hidden room (yet to be discovered), or an ark or a chest, or something along those lines. VIPER wants it because they have had a spy tell them that DEMON is after it, and if DEMON wants it, VIPER wants it.

 

What's in the room/ark/chest/whatever that the seal opens? Could be ultimate power. Could be nothing. Could be something in between. Rumors have abounded for years, and no one is quite sure.

 

Introduce a "Dr. Jones" like NPC who believes that the gods of old (Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Thor, Zeus, Ra, etc), were indeed superhumans, if not actual aliens. He believes the Seal opens up an ark (or somesuch storage device) that contains irrefutable proof of this (at least for the Babylonian mythos), and perhaps a way to summon the Babylonian gods again. The Seal not only opens the storage device/room, but allows control over those beings summoned. That would be quite a coup for VIPER or DEMON or anyone else.

 

Lastly, the Seal provides a clue that sets the PCs to hunting for the actual location of the ark (one piece at a time). This could be a great opportunity to do some world traveling, or (since it's Champions), you could simply research much of it online or via library, with an imminent prized display of Babylonian artifacts coming to the campaign city very soon, or even in the hands of a private collector who doesn't know what he has.

 

By the time the PCs reach the ark (or room, or whatever), you should have had time to work in both VIPER and DEMON in the general sense, and perhaps bring a nemesis-style NPC (either from VIPER, DEMON or yet another source) to plague the PCs in the future.

 

The Seal has some magical powers, but when the ark is finally opened the scrolls that tell how to summon the gods flake and fall apart. They are thousands of years old, after all. Alternately have them accidentally destroyed in a climatic battle with the appropriate villains.

[Dino]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

Gilgamesh was a warrior' date=' IIRC, not a sorceror or a wise leader. So his Seal would be unsubtle.[/quote']

 

According to his PR, he was all of these things.

 

When in doubt, go to the source.

[garou]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

Gilgamesh was on Earth looking for the secret of immortality. (Assuming even Kryptonians can eventually age and die.) He found it - and lost it. But that's another story.

 

The Seal of Gilgamesh is the magical key that opens the Tomb of Enkidu, the mighty Beast Man. (Gilgamesh "froze" him so that his friend Enkidu would not age while he, Gilgamesh, tried to get the secret of immortality back. Instead, he died trying, leaving Enkidu, ever young, in suspended animation.) That's your hook to lead into a second adventure.

 

As soon as they find out that this is about the Seal of Gilgamesh, and one way or another they will find out soon, one of their experts on mythology will tell them the tale:- Gilgamesh found the secret, but a serpent stole it. So he had endured his mighty labours only to make serpents immortal. To Viper, that can have only one meaning: the secret of immortality belongs to them alone!

 

Or, Gilgamesh did indeed find the secret, and used it. Unfortunately, a latter adventure (which was not recorded) causes him to lose his memory. Since then, he has been wandering the Earth. While he is immortal, he has no recollection of his past life (indeed, his current state could be that of a derelict, unable to recall yesterday, let alone the days of Uruk.)

 

Using the seal has two immediate results: one, it opens up the tomb of Enkidu, and he is set free. Two, Gilgamesh recalls who (and what) he is, and he wants his property back. Now. He's not interested in the excuses of "it belongs in a museum" or "we're the good guys" - all he knows is that someone else has what's his, and he wants it back.

 

So, you have Demon and Viper fighting over the seal, with heroes intervening, until someone actually uses it. At which point, you now have Demon v Viper v heroes v Gilgamesh, oh, and by the way, a wild man is rampaging through some town, tearing up cars and babbling in a long-forgotten tongue.

[garou]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

According to his PR, he was all of these things.

 

When in doubt, go to the source.

 

Isn't that always the case though? I mean, if you've got some hero who can level mountains, uproot rivers, kill demons, etc - are you going to call him stupid? Or contradict him if he says he has magical powers? I doubt it.

[Dragonblade]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

Awesome stuff everyone!

 

This helps me out a lot. I'm saving DEMON for another story arc down the line so I don't think I'll hint at them right now.

 

This is how I'll play it: VIPER archeologists have actually been searching for the Seal of Gilgamesh for some time. Only now have they tracked it down to the museum. Worried that DEMON or others may find out about it, the local Nest leader overreacted and sent in a full on strike force to secure the museum while they search for and find the Seal of Gilgamesh. VIPER isn't really sure what the Seal is. They just know that its better that it falls under their control than anyone else's.

 

The Seal itself is an ancient Kryptonian artifact that Gilgamesh used to imprison Enkidu in a state of suspended animation in a small pocket dimension not unlike a mini version of the phantom zone. Gilgamesh was an ancient Kryptonian prince who hid out on Earth to escape a coup among the royal family. While on Earth, enemies of the royal family sent Enkidu as an assassin. However, after a titanic battle, Gilgamesh and Enkidu ended up becoming friends. Unfortunately, Enkidu was a genetically engineered beast (think Hulk) and was designed to die shortly after his mission was accomplished. Gilgamesh used a stasis crystal to preserve his life while he sought out a cure.

 

What happened to Gilgamesh is lost in the mists of time. However, if the Seal is opened, Enkidu will be released. He will still be in somewhat of a weakened state but will pretty much go wild trying to figure out what has happened.

 

On top of that, messing with the item sends a signal back to Kryptonian space. In my universe, Krypton was once a mighty empire, not unlike ancient Rome, that ruled a large chunks of the galaxy. Not a difficult feat when your people are veritable gods under any yellow sun. However, civil war between the Senate and the general who would be dictator (General Zod, of course) ended up destroying the Kryptonian homeworld and a large chunk of the population. The Kryptonians that remain are scattered throughout the galaxy. However, supporters of Zod are still out there and hope to free him from the Phantom Zone so that he might one day unite the scattered Kryptonians and once again build a mighty empire to rule the lesser races.

 

Anyway, the signal from the Seal will be recognized and intercepted by a group of Zod supporters who will come to Earth to investigate and thus run afoul of our heroes. The Kryptonian in the group is a surviving member of the nobility, sent to Earth as a baby before Krypton was destroyed.

 

Anyway that should be enough material for a couple of adventures. Then I plan on running Time of Crisis (converted to HERO from M&M) or Champions Battlegrounds. After that I'm going to run the whole Battle of Detroit with Doctor Destroyer (He hasn't destroyed Detroit yet in my world).

[Phil]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

For what it's worth, here's my completely contrary take on things.

 

Sending an assault squad to a museum to carry out a theft is crazy. It's absolutely guaranteed to result in a maximum response from either special law enforcement teams or supers. VIPER are, by-genre, pretty dumb but this seems extra-special. Therefore, it stands to reason that they are doing this in order to attract supers.

 

Why? Well, perhaps they know that someone else has already stolen the seal (DEMON, as suggested above is a good one, or maybe a VIPER splinter group), and so they're doing this in order to draw some supers onto the scent. Then their plan will be to charge in when the supers confront the real thieves, and pick up the seal for themselves.

[Checkmate]

Re: Help me with my Champions plot

 

Maybe Gilgamesh is still around. Maybe all his time on Earth has made him a little loopy and he wasn't to take over the world because he can rule it better. To this end he became the Supreme Serpent and is in charge of Viper (wouldn't that be an interesting twist).

 

Viper is actually trying to help, as Gilgamesh learned where his seal was and some unsuspecting Museum Worker has accidently activated the seal and released the Beast. Viper is trying to re-capture the beast. When the heroes arrive and defeat Viper, they in actually allow the Beast to escape.