Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

[yamamura]

Just an idea that came to me while I was thinking of certain Champion characters (Icicles and Lady Blue). So here is a question to all the GMs out there.

 

In alternate universe, a cartel of very powerful men has developed a method of creating super-powered being (including giving power to themselves). They plan to use this army of super powered warriors to over throw the governments of Earth. But one rogue scientist, who was researching trans-dimensional travel, has rebelled. After searching the multi-verse he has stumble upon the dimension fill of super powered individuals. Not wanting to deprive that world of its heroes, he looks to those who are in the twilight between good and evil and offers them a clean slate to help out a world on the verge of tyranny.

 

So who are the villains in your campaign world that would be willing to throw off the mantle of villain and step into the boots of a hero?

[MitchellS]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

My new campaign will have many villains who live in the gray area. While not really portrayed that often in the genre I think many villains would become villains due to economic necessity more than a power-rush. If your choices are work at McBurger's for $5.25 or use your powers to steal $2,000 a week I think a lot of people would choose stealing.

[Powerhouse]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

"My new campaign will have many villains who live in the gray area. While not really portrayed that often in the genre I think many villains would become villains due to economic necessity more than a power-rush. If your choices are work at McBurger's for $5.25 or use your powers to steal $2,000 a week I think a lot of people would choose stealing."

 

Depending on your campaign, powers, and prevelence of superhumans, a super powered being might be able to make a lot of money through legal means though. I believe that GURPS touched on this. So did another system that took a rather realistic look at the home thing. It was a game that had to undergo a name change in fact. Anyway, it might make someone question if it is a power rush or something else that makes them "go bad."

 

Of course, YMMV and it's your campaign. Using powers to illegally enrich yourself *is* a genre staple after all .

[MitchellS]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

Depending on your campaign, powers, and prevelence of superhumans, a super powered being might be able to make a lot of money through legal means though. I believe that GURPS touched on this. So did another system that took a rather realistic look at the home thing. It was a game that had to undergo a name change in fact. Anyway, it might make someone question if it is a power rush or something else that makes them "go bad."

 

Of course, YMMV and it's your campaign. Using powers to illegally enrich yourself *is* a genre staple after all .

There will definitely be people in the game who have chosen their profession based on the powers they have. I plan on having a very publically popular Hispanic firefighter who is immune to fire in the game. There well also be a clairavoyant who works with the police to help solve murders and missing-person cases.

 

What I was really referring to above were inner-city residents, many of which are under-educated and currently only see 3 avenues of escape for themselves: sports, music, and crime. Unless being a super-hero can pay the bills [security, for example] most of these people will live in that gray area. Some will commit small crimes to get by [and try to balance it out with helping local people when possible], others will become full supervillains, and some small group [hopefully a PC] will choose the Peter Parker route.

[Black Rose]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

I've said this in some bygone thread on getting superpowers yourself (and what you'd do with them), but if I had powers suitable to the task (either damned hard to hurt or easy to avoid damage) I'm not sure I could avoid being a "villain". I'm not saying I wopuldn't do nice things -- probably a lot of them, too -- but I know me, and I'm lazy and a bit of a jerk at times; if I could get away, I'd be quite a bit more of one. Also, I like certain things (books, games, food) and if I could get them without any real trouble, I'd probably do it.

[Kyle A.]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

I've said this in some bygone thread on getting superpowers yourself (and what you'd do with them)' date=' but if I had powers suitable to the task (either damned hard to hurt or easy to avoid damage) I'm not sure I could [i']avoid[/i] being a "villain". I'm not saying I wopuldn't do nice things -- probably a lot of them, too -- but I know me, and I'm lazy and a bit of a jerk at times; if I could get away, I'd be quite a bit more of one. Also, I like certain things (books, games, food) and if I could get them without any real trouble, I'd probably do it.

 

Heh, heh. You sound a little like me. If I could shoot flames or lasers out of my body my temper would probably get the best of me sooner or later and I'd hurt or kill someone. And then after you've done something like that then its hard to live with in the law. Your face would be on AMW, at the Post Office, on the nightly news. You wouldn't beable to go to work, or to the store. You'd have to steal things to survive and then you'd start resenting the people after you and so on and so on.

[hooligan x]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

Flashpoint got into the villian thing to pay for her gambling adiction. She's currently incarcerated and ashamed now the world knows her secret ID. She'd jump at a chance of redemption.

 

Vendetta is an arrogant sociopath who enjoys hurting people. Not a great recruiting prospect.

 

Donna Windham is currently out of her coma and enjoying her Presidential pardon and cushy new job. There's no way she'd blow that to help people. So, that Lilith chick brain zaps her everytime she sees her. Some people take being shot way to seriously!

 

Mad Angus MacCrae had already given up the life and is working as a celebrity bodyguard. Of course he'd help.

 

Ashtoreth is busy with her duties as Queen of Hell. She still needs to open a portal to Earth so she can exact her vengence on our PCs. She'll get to your universe soon enough, worm!

 

Dr. Nemesis was executed by lethal injection. He'd like to help but...

[Kyle A.]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

The only villians I have who would be recruited would help out and after the Cabel that could make supers on demand was dead, would kill the rogue scientist and anyone else involved in the project and would set up shop as the new big bad.

[Marketeer]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

"My new campaign will have many villains who live in the gray area. While not really portrayed that often in the genre I think many villains would become villains due to economic necessity more than a power-rush. If your choices are work at McBurger's for $5.25 or use your powers to steal $2,000 a week I think a lot of people would choose stealing."

 

Depending on your campaign, powers, and prevelence of superhumans, a super powered being might be able to make a lot of money through legal means though. I believe that GURPS touched on this. So did another system that took a rather realistic look at the home thing. It was a game that had to undergo a name change in fact. Anyway, it might make someone question if it is a power rush or something else that makes them "go bad."

 

Of course, YMMV and it's your campaign. Using powers to illegally enrich yourself *is* a genre staple after all .

 

 

One of the big subthemes I would love to see explored is the second-iteration effects of having superhumans in the workforce.

 

Taking my easiest example, Bulldozer:

 

1) So he sets up shop as a one-man wrecking crew. To make the example simple, we'll assume he's competent (or hires competent aides), so that demolitions where he's involved go off more or less without a hitch.

 

2) Ok, so he's essentially put a lot of construction and demolition people out of work. He's also hurting sales on heavy equipment.

 

3) Well, several of the other skilled professions (electricians, for example) have decided to weigh in on the issue. Suddenly building contractors get blacklisted for retaining Bulldozer's services.

 

4) Because of the PR nightmare ("you're putting good men and women out on the street!") as well as labor-dispute issues, many potential employers start declining Bulldozer's services.

 

5) Now, Bulldozer is finding he can't even make a decent living, let alone a cushy one, thanks to his powers.

 

6) NOW you start looking at being a supervillain...

 

 

It doesn't add a lot to your typical fight scene, but I find fleshing out the gameworld like this makes it feel more alive, and easier for players to relate to and navigate within.

 

 

It also leads to more villains who are at least somewhat sympathetic. In the example above, Bulldozer could probably have kept looking for alternatives, after all. But it's all so overwhelming, particularly when media types are reporting how he "lost his shirt" to labor pressures...

[lemming]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

Nice sidetrack. I'm enjoying the discussion.

 

Original question: Of my villians, I think I'd catagorize them depending on origins and methods.

 

The ones into power may accept the offer to replace the cartel with themselves.

The ones who are villians due to economic or some mistake, might go for the redemtion route.

The really evil ones probably wouldn't be recruited.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

I don't think it would work too well using villains. As soon as you take them over, a good many would bolt and go join the bad guys. I think you'd get better results from a group of misunderstood heroes - actually are heroes, but world doesn't see them that way. X-men at various stages, team of heroes that have been framed but keep trying to fight the good fight, etc.

[OddHat]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

Off Topic portion of the thread: One of the genre-conventions I most dislike is the idea that Supers can't compete in sports or otherwise make money off of their powers. We pump billions of dollars every year into watching men who are only 2-4 times stronger and faster than the average run, jump, throw things and punch each-other. If there were enough Supers to go around, Super Sports would replace human based pro-sports darn quick.* Bulldozer always wanted to be a pro-wrestler; in my campaigns that's exactly what he'd become...unless he accidently killed someone before he got the job. Then there's the cash the military would fork over for access to a bullet proof soldier who can flip tanks. Then there's industry. Oh well.

 

On Topic: I could see many of my villains going for this. Characters like Fausta or an older, saner Diana Bol don't see themselves as villains at all, even though the decisions they've made (or, in Diana's case, being a complete sociaopath in her youth) have put them into the Black Mask category. A chance for a clean slate would appeal, though how "reformed" they would really become is up in the air.

 

*Right now we have anti-steroid hysteria, fueled by concerns that children will look at steroid using athletes and start injecting testosterone. We also may have something close to 40% of American high school athletes actually be using steroids, and occasional scandals where coaches are the dealers for their teams. In a world with Super Athletes, we'd have coaches dunking players in vats of radioactive chemicals.

[Nucleon]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

In alternate universe, a cartel of very powerful men has developed a method of creating super-powered being (including giving power to themselves). They plan to use this army of super powered warriors to over throw the governments of Earth. But one rogue scientist, who was researching trans-dimensional travel, has rebelled. After searching the multi-verse he has stumble upon the dimension fill of super powered individuals. Not wanting to deprive that world of its heroes, he looks to those who are in the twilight between good and evil and offers them a clean slate to help out a world on the verge of tyranny.

 

So who are the villains in your campaign world that would be willing to throw off the mantle of villain and step into the boots of a hero?

 

First, let it be know that Nucleon is impressed by the idea.

 

In Nucleon's universe, those vilains who are themselves heads of states would surely rise to the call, albeit in an interested, un-trusting way; Not that there are so many, thought.

 

Those "vilains" who are somewhat happy with how the systems "works" are able to be employed, if that requires a mercenary fee in many cases.

 

Also, all these vilains who are themselves idealists, if crazy ones.

 

Those who would be a danger would be the revolted, fatalistic ones; they might end up selling the World!

[Guest Beastialist]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

I Would Rub A Cows Penis

[Lethosos]

Re: Clean Slate or What Would Your Villain Do?

 

I would stop right there, Beasty. That's TMI, and very off topic...