"He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

[GoldenAge]

As a GM (with many years under my belt) I've been lucky enough to run scenarios that have far reaching goals and many subplots. Often the heroes never even know what they're getting into until they’re already waist deep in the muck. It's always fun to surprise your players... especially with climactic endings.

 

However, once or twice, my players (many of whom were excellent - best I've ever met) were able to totally surprise ME! Oh, sure, it's tons of fun. I love that feeling of panic as I see 3 months worth of game prep going down the drain after I'm blindsided and my master villain is captured early by excellent player strategy.

 

But what then?

 

Have you ever had a master villain (or even a subordinate who’s important for future games) teleport away… Even though he didn’t have Teleportation?

 

Have you fudged so poorly to keep things in line that your players can only laugh along with you instead of getting angry?

 

When it happened to you (and I know it has) were you so good at lying your way out of the situation that you surprised yourself… and later had to seek counseling?

 

When the plot line is ruined… How do you pull your fat outta the fire?

[jkwleisemann]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Have you ever had a master villain (or even a subordinate who’s important for future games) teleport away… Even though he didn’t have Teleportation?

 

No master villain - I repeat, no master villain - should be designed without Teleportation.

 

More seriously... I usually fall back and punt. And make the players regret it even more in the future.

 

Case in point: In one of my games, a player with Heal short-circuited a mad scientist who had been about to accidentally create a monster and embark on a career of mad science by using his Healing on the accident victim he'd been about to heal via genetic tinkering (The Great Beast, for those of you who've read Creatures of the Night).

 

Now, this guy was a power-suit jockey with nanotechnology that could do just about anything. I let him get away with it (and sat through a tirade about how the GM should never run a game when he hasn't done sufficient scientific research to incorporate recent RL medical experiments as common medical practice in a campaign set in the modern day), but didn't let him get off scot free.

 

A few months later, The Great Beast was indeed in action; his research having been ignored by the scientific establishment, he hybridized it with the nanotechnology and ended up becoming an even nastier threat thanks to the nanites left behind by the hero responsible.

 

The moral of the story: Just like a true Master Villain, you should always have a backup plan that takes into account everything coming to a grinding halt 5 minutes into the game.

[Haerandir]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Robot Duplicates, my friend. They're the only way to fly.

[TheRavenIs]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Solid Light Holograms, with a image of a 'real' mind.

[Cold Steel]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Clones.

[Enforcer84]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Tinfoil hats.

 

 

 

 

 

no wait...

[Manic Typist]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Twin Brother!!!!!!!!

 

But, if this is a twin.... is he the EVIL one, or the GOOD one?

 

And if he is the GOOD one... imagine how nasty his EVIL brother is.

[Pyre-Archer]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Slight twist:

 

There is no evil mastermind; just a red herring cooked up by one of the underlings.

 

Or, teleport, only over phonelines, useable against others, IIF: Hero's DNPC phone number .

[jkwleisemann]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Slight twist:

Or, teleport, only over phonelines, useable against others, IIF: Hero's DNPC phone number .

 

Oh, now that power is just eeeevil. Must incorporate into next electrically based villain.

[Pyre-Archer]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Oh' date=' now that power is just [i']eeeevil[/i]. Must incorporate into next electrically based villain.

FWIW, it's not mine; way back in the heyday of the LNH newsgroup, there was a character called Decible Dude who could transmit himself over phonelines (sound conversion, IIRC). THis is just a reversal of the power.

 

Come to think of it, that could make a very scary campaign all by itself. Just imagine, the heroes not being able to trust their own communications systems.

 

And the other idea is courtesy of an old B&W Green Hornet serial. And now you know...the rest of the story!

[death tribble]

Re: "He just DISAPPEARED!... I SWEAR!"

 

Simple. Instead of the master villain have one of the minions have undetectable, invisible power effect teleportation usuable against others.

Then there is the Collector in the Avengers route when they were fighting a number of menaces that lead upto Korvac. The Collector made some appear at just the right time to help teammates and the person appearing most notably Thor had no idea why and how they had suddenly appeared.

In the long run you have to explain why someone is interfering but not in the short run.