ken julian Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 how do you defeat someone like Takofanes ? a lich who commands a army of the undead marching across America ? even with teams of heroes how do you stop him ? thanks in advance, Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help Heck, the 80 dice (or some such number) Presence attack is really all he needs to take over the world.... Unless your PCs are all 1000 points plus, he can't be beaten through might. The most obvious scenario to defeat Takofanes is probably something akin to the way he was defeated two times before back in the Turakian Age. Your PCs go on a long quest to recover an instrument or instruments specially designed to defeat him. It is likely the sword(s) that originally helped do him in still exist somewhere.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incrdbil Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help Lots of heroes--high point heroes if you can arrange it. And a little bit of thinking. Don't underestimate the value of numbers. I just finished running Reality Storm, and I was impressed with how the PC's (who I let run the combined remants of the other NPC TEmas) laid down the beating on Dr D, Gigaton, Rakshahsa, Kruzeritter, Iron Duke, Alice , and alot of agents. They made good use of suprise, team work and won the day. Ok, they took some poundings here and there,but when you end the fight with Dr. D around -100 stun, or (Gigaton at -11 Body), you've done some major league heroing. Of course, there was a lot of suprise, and a total lack of cooperation between the villainous forces..and three ful teams of supers (and one of those teans having some really TOUGH members)..Dr D has a long memory..and the next time, the battle will be on his terms.... Make sure your team is ready for Takofones though. Unless you start off above standard level, someone like the moldy oldy bug T is a fight you should let your PC's work their way up to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help Make sure your team is ready for Takofones though. Unless you start off above standard level' date=' someone like the moldy oldy bug T is a fight you should let your PC's work their way up to.[/quote'] From a pure in-game combat standpoint, you'd have to be fast enough to go first and every character who went first would have to drop him before he went. With that VPP, Takofanes only needs one turn to defeat anything en masse. I like a high-powered game as much as anyone, but if people are playing with supers this powerful where could you possibly find steady challenges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerhouse Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help As noted, the Mystical MacGuffin that lets you take out Tak works well (or a cool sword that inflicts 25d6 on him while an amulet gives you 30 PD/ED/MD/PD against Tak's attacks only) could be the way to go. A major part of his power is the crown that he wears as well so somehow invoking an anti-Krim enchantment could perhaps render him to dust or at least make him more mangable. To make things even MORE interesting, have another group of evil mystics have the bright idea that using these artifacts could help them control Tak. Talk about playing with fire... Thinking about Krim for a second, the Crowns of Krim could be some uneasy allies if Tak is going to come after them since his crown is the dominant one of the set so they are a chance for firepower. In addition to trying to defeat Tak directly, you can also engage in skirmishes to defeat some of his armies, take out bridges to deny him easy land access, or try to get supplies to survivors/rescue people who have fallen behind enemy lines, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerhouse Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help BTW, while it is true that Tak is overwhelming, don't forget that you can always tailor him to be less or more powerful depending upon your campaign's level and needs. In my own head, Dr. D is less powerful because I want him to be an equal match to the Silver Knights, not take out whole teams of supers as he does in the battle of Detroit. To each their own though. If you want Tak to be able to hold or but not overwhelm a super team, feel free to take him down a bit. Or remove some of his cosmic advantages on the VPP ie (keep up the pressure so he can't cast the Mega Ultimate Attack!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incrdbil Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help From a pure in-game combat standpoint' date=' you'd have to be fast enough to go first and every character who went first would have to drop him before he went. With that VPP, Takofanes only needs one turn to defeat anything [i']en masse. [/i]I like a high-powered game as much as anyone, but if people are playing with supers this powerful where could you possibly find steady challenges? The PC's felt trhe same way about Dr. D initially. Remember to run him like a villain, and not an uber efficient wargaming excercise. But yes, he is powerful--a straight up fight between PC's vs Big T, when those PC's have sought no allies, no help, have no 'edge"--well, unless they are level PC's, yes, they will get their heads taken off, and join the ranks of Big T's army..as well they deserve. But even if they are high level Pc's, the Big T should be adjusted upwards to where they face the same sort of dilemma normal starting characters have now..he's not supposed to be the equvalent of Ogre, a one session straight up fight/cart off to Stronghold. Whatever edge you get, it shouldn't make him a impotent creature..heck, it may be the culmination of a campaign, reward the Pc's with the knowledge they had a real fight against Big T--not winning by saying the magic word and making him disappear. The Magic MacGuffin may have a nice effect of dispelling magic, unsummoning undead, or providing some sort of 'Holy Defense"..but it should still take a team effort to take him down, not one swing of the wonder widget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help Besides the excellent advice above, take a close look at Takofanes' character sheet and description in Conquerors, Killers and Crooks. There are elements of it that give your PCs openings to exploit if you give them clues that they're there. Takofanes is too arrogant and superior to attack foes personally; he prefers to let his minions do the actual fighting, unless they're obviously loosing or he is himself attacked directly. That can give your heroes the opportunity to clear away some of the lesser opponents before taking on Tak himself, rather than having to deal with them simultaneously. There's also an upper limit to the number of undead that he can create/Summon (125), and the most powerful ones take some time for him to fashion, so he's unlikely to have an entire host of 125 800-pointers with him at one time. If you're using "official" stats for undead (e.g. from the HERO System Bestiary), keep in mind what their weaknesses are, and give PCs access to ways to discover them. Speaking of weaknesses, Takofanes has Susceptibility and Vulnerability to "holy" attacks and locations or artifacts. Since Tak himself comes from an era before any of the modern religions, it's reasonable to broaden the concept of "holiness" beyond them. Personally I've treated any character or object which is or is empowered by a worshipped supernatural entity of basically benevolent disposition (including pagan ones) as wielding "holy power," and such are common in comics. The Archlich also remains unfamiliar with the modern world. If he has an obvious direction or destination that he's heading for, technologically adept PCs may be able to set a high-tech trap for him which he wouldn't necessarily recognize as a threat. Consider Takofanes' suggested spell list; he doesn't just throw unadulterated 30d6 Energy Blasts at people. His most powerful ones have Modifiers that sometimes restrict their use, and you might make that a theme for any other spells that you create for him. Also, his mightiest spells consume a lot of END, and Tak doesn't have the Endurance to keep throwing them Phase after Phase. If you can provoke him enough to expend a lot of Endurance (and you survive) , you may exhaust him temporarily. Takofanes' maximum OCV is 12 - very good, but not the greatest around. If you have a high-DCV character he or she may be used as a distraction to get him to waste END and Phases trying to connect. If he's using his Levels for OCV Tak is pretty easy to hit (DCV 8), and with his arrogance he's unlikely to try any defensive Combat Maneuvers like Dodge unless and until he's hit and hurt. The Archlich isn't a potent HTH combatant, so if a strong hero can get in close and Grab him he may be able to immobilize Takofanes long enough for the other heroes to pile on him. Since the default HERO rules are that all attack Powers have to have some point of origin from the character's body, you may rule that holding onto him interferes with some of Tak's spells to some extent, particularly his scepter. Takofanes' "Spell of the Fogged Mind" (Mind Control) is pretty dangerous, though, and it would be appropriate to his nature to use it to try to turn his enemies against each other. If you have a team mentalist he or she should be warned to be ready to help his teammates break out of the Archlich's control. Beyond that, standard team tactics against powerful solo villains are always the way to go: spread the heroes out so that one Area Of Effect attack won't catch all of them; Coordinate attacks whenever possible; develop maneuvers that maximize the heroes' strengths while covering their weaknesses, and code words for them so the enemy can't guess what you're up to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help I'd love to help you with Takofanes, but er. . . the cape needs dry cleaning. No, really. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Squirrel Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help That's what I like about Takofanes. He exists to some degree even in Valdorian Age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted October 23, 2005 Report Share Posted October 23, 2005 Re: Takofanes help It doesn't matter how powerful your characters are when they're fighting Tak. They will lose, unless they find the Wonder Widget. And then they will win, assuming at least some basic competence. The idea of cutting a deal with the Crowns of Krim is interesting, although Tak might well end up taking them over, which would be unfortunate, to put it mildly. And if the PCs can take Tak down in a head to head fight, the GM should probably make him more powerful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metaphysician Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Re: Takofanes help Assuming that your characters are powerful enough to legitimately oppose him. . . -Arrange for somebody else to deal with the Horde o Undead, so you can focus on Takofanes -Keep the pressure up. He's got 75% DR, but comparatively low defense, so continuous attacks can force him to spend VPP points on defense or healing. -If at all possible, have somebody play interference, using Dispels, Drains, Suppresses, or the like to mitigate the effect of whatever spells he chooses to cast -If you can get the fight onto holy ground, or better, have holy attacks, do so Trying to nullify his Crown or Staff are worthy goals, but inapplicable unless you have time to prepare and ready for it before the Undead Horde starts eating Vermont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Desmarais Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Re: Takofanes help how do you defeat someone like Takofanes ? a lich who commands a army of the undead marching across America ? even with teams of heroes how do you stop him ? thanks in advance, Ken I'll let you know after I see what my players do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Re: Takofanes help I wonder if there's some way to lead ole Tak all the way down to Arcadia in Antartica? Oh, wait, that wouldn't be heroic. *Snaps fingers* Still, a thousand 370 pt Plus immortals forced to go whole hog on the guy would be something to see. EDIT: And if I recall, Tak kicked them around in a past age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haerandir Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Re: Takofanes help EDIT: And if I recall' date=' Tak kicked them around in a past age.[/quote'] Well, he was supposed to be a lot more powerful last time around, so the rematch is still intriguing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterBaldy Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Re: Takofanes help I'm not sure...but I believe my mommy is calling me. YUP...that was her just now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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