CrosshairCollie Posted June 21, 2003 Report Share Posted June 21, 2003 The subject may be a bit inaccurate, but it's as close as I can come up with. The topic/question: Have any of you ever used any of the variety of real-life pop-culture icons against your PCs? In the old Strike Force (I think), there was a loopy villain called The Producer who created robotic versions of movie characters and sent them out to cause trouble. My own take on this was 'The Cartoonist', who had magic paintbrushes that could create anything he painted, and bring it to life ... thus, he drew cartoon characters and used them to bedevil people. Sometimes classic Looney Tunes, sometimes action cartoons. The crowning achievement for me, though, I think would be the time I had some kids get ahold of a magical tome of summoning. They started messing with it, and summoned Golem spirits; spirits who possessed inanimate objects and brought them to life. The spirits wound up in the kids' Pokemon action figures, which sprang to life at full size. Anybody else done stuff like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balok Posted June 22, 2003 Report Share Posted June 22, 2003 Years ago, I created "The Missile Commander", a gadgeteer obsessed with video games. He had remarkable skills at building devices -- but was literally unable to conceive of anything he hadn't seen in a video game. In his early career, his compulsion required him to build the same weaknesses into his devices as were possessed by their video game inspirations. Later, he overcame this part of his obsession. I also created "The Director", a character based on the goofy character from EPIC, an episode of "The Avengers", a British TV series. The Director was obsessed with creating a movie about the characters. The Sportsmen, a villain group, consisted of members like Fastball, Slapshot, Gridiron, Lucky Strike (bowling, not cigarettes) -- all former sports stars whose careers were cut short, requiring them to seek other means to keep their extravagant lifestyles going. Their leader, a shadowy figure they knew only as "Front Office", supplied them with their equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunyip Posted June 22, 2003 Report Share Posted June 22, 2003 Re: Pop Culture Villains Originally posted by CrosshairCollie The crowning achievement for me, though, I think would be the time I had some kids get ahold of a magical tome of summoning. They started messing with it, and summoned Golem spirits; spirits who possessed inanimate objects and brought them to life. The spirits wound up in the kids' Pokemon action figures, which sprang to life at full size. Anybody else done stuff like that? [/b] Yes, in similar vein - a child's pet terrapins, used to house minor hellions by her demonologist father. He named them Constable, Gainsborough, Turner and Stubbs.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted June 23, 2003 Report Share Posted June 23, 2003 I've had a couple that come to mind. There was the Game Show Host with his Models and the invisible Announcer with his booming voice. Then there's Bud Girl who of course is fashioned after the Budweiser ladies. Later on I thought she probably should have raelly been "bud" as in "pot" but it was too late then. So instead she spent her criminal career walking around with a keg on a rolling cart when a little baggie would have been so much easier! Bud Girl appears to have reformed, though her mutant pheremone powers run roughshod still over mortal men, while the Game Show Host and his crew are in prison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted June 23, 2003 Report Share Posted June 23, 2003 Oh and I don't know if this really counts but in a villainous team composed of tool/hardware-oriented villains Home Despot and Office Despot, a husband-and-wife team (respectively) used the tools of their trades to make money the illegal way - in their case working for the Kingpin. The Home Despot was killed in combat, a rarity, while Office Despot has been put in jail. I have a feeling she'll make an extra effort to break out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 I had the Animator who brought comic book characters to life and then lost control of them thus Dr Doom went on to rule Latvia as Latveria did not exist. Then there was the Game Show Host Lou Dacerous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Arrow Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 Originaly posted by zornwill There was the Game Show Host with his Models and the invisible Announcer with his booming voice. I like this. It reminds me of one of my all-time favourite Judge Dredd stories, "The Gameshow Show". It was about an incredibly boring man who loved quiz shows. His one failed miserably and he vowed vengeance. He got his chance when he inherited a fortune. He invested the money in a deathtrap-ridden game show set, then he kidnapped every host from Mega City 1 and made them go through the maze, which incorporated parodies of many British quiz and game shows from the early 1990s. I remember putting some friends' characters through a maze which ripped off, uh, paid homage to some of the traps from that show. Did the Host and the models have any actual powers, or was it like the villains from the 60s Batman show? Then there's Bud Girl who of course is fashioned after the Budweiser ladies. Later on I thought she probably should have raelly been "bud" as in "pot" but it was too late then. So instead she spent her criminal career walking around with a keg on a rolling cart when a little baggie would have been so much easier! I actually like the idea you went with; it's surreal. Any chance of seeing stats (or at least a more detailed outline of the powers) for these characters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEmerged Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 Re: Pop Culture Villains Originally posted by CrosshairCollie The subject may be a bit inaccurate, but it's as close as I can come up with. The topic/question: Have any of you ever used any of the variety of real-life pop-culture icons against your PCs? In the old Strike Force (I think), there was a loopy villain called The Producer who created robotic versions of movie characters and sent them out to cause trouble. For me, the villain's name is the Imagineer or Summoner. Haven't updated him to 5th Edition/NeoChampions Universe yet. However, you may note that the real name of the (female) Golden Avenger in my NeoChampions Universe is... Bridgette Pike. Believe it or not, that's a standard character name for my campaigns dating back almost 20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 Originally posted by Crimson Arrow Originaly posted by zornwill I like this. It reminds me of one of my all-time favourite Judge Dredd stories, "The Gameshow Show". It was about an incredibly boring man who loved quiz shows. His one failed miserably and he vowed vengeance. He got his chance when he inherited a fortune. He invested the money in a deathtrap-ridden game show set, then he kidnapped every host from Mega City 1 and made them go through the maze, which incorporated parodies of many British quiz and game shows from the early 1990s. I remember putting some friends' characters through a maze which ripped off, uh, paid homage to some of the traps from that show. Did the Host and the models have any actual powers, or was it like the villains from the 60s Batman show? I actually like the idea you went with; it's surreal. Any chance of seeing stats (or at least a more detailed outline of the powers) for these characters? I read that Judge Dredd, I'm sure that's where I got the idea ultimately even if not consciously. I'll see what I can dig up, the stats will be shakey because I don't worry much about points-balancing or any efficiency whatsoever, they're written just so I can glance at the files and run them during the game. I have considerable notes on the Game Show Host's background from my game - I'll try to dig up more and put it together, but you can see the "meat" of his and the Announcer's story in their own words if you browse through http://www.asterick.com/realschluss/x-champions/x-champions_issues/10_5_by_5_by_5_supplement_notes.htm. Also, you can see how they played out in action at http://www.asterick.com/realschluss/x-champions/x-champions_issues/02_you_bet_your_life.htm and http://www.asterick.com/realschluss/x-champions/x-champions_issues/02_you_bet_your_life_supplement_notes.htm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levi Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 I recently came up with a game thread that involved a company that made holographic projectors for trading card games so that players could have holographic battles in the streets with their cards. Black Harlequin created a device that stabilized the holograms and put them under his control. He then used them to attack the children / teens playing the card games and eventually the heroes with their own game monsters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 Night of the Living JLo's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted June 25, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 You have scarred me for life, D-Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Arrow Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 Thanks for the info zornwil, although I could only get the middle link to work. I take your point about balancing; I don't see a lot of purpose in spending ages balancing points for NPCs. About the only use for that exercise is trying to make sure the villain balances the hero's level of power, but even that does not always work. Originally posted by D-Man Night of the Living JLo's... I now have an unshiftable image of how those particular holograms would attack. How many dice of HA do you think it would involve? Would you give it Area of Effect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterhawk Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 Originally posted by D-Man Night of the Living JLo's... Too...much...butt...can't...reach...utility...belt... Back to topic, I was in a game in which the GM had a wacky Toyman styled villain that used a Poke-Ball as a weapon...it did not conjur too-cute pocket monsters, it caused seizures, much like the show was accused of doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 Originally posted by CrosshairCollie You have scarred me for life, D-Man. Glad I could help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 Originally posted by Crimson Arrow (stuff snipped) Any chance of seeing stats (or at least a more detailed outline of the powers) for these characters? [/b] Okay, finally, here's the stats that I have now. Please note these are just GM versions so they're not fully fleshed out and some rules may be broken. They should just give you an idea. Also, in my games I have Mental Defense and Supernatural Defense. I didn't tweak the HTML output to include those, but i don't think anyone cares since it's particular to my games anyway. Game Show Host Val Characteristic Cost 10 Strength 0 15 Dexterity 15 15 Constitution 10 10 Body 0 25 Intelligence 15 25 Ego 30 35 Presence 25 16 Comeliness 3 2 Physical Defense 0 3 Energy Defense 0 8 Speed 55 5 Recovery 0 30 Endurance 0 23 Stun 0 Characteristic Rolls: STR: 11‑, DEX: 12‑, CON: 12‑, INT: 14‑, EGO: 14‑, PER: 14‑ Run: 6", Swim: 2", Jump: 2", Lift: 100kg Cost Powers END/Roll 10 Elemental Control (10‑pt reserve) a‑42 9d6 Mind Control; Communication: Verbal, +0; Reduced END: Zero & Persistent, +1; No Conscious Control: ‑2; Area Effect (Radius): 9" radius, +1 0 b‑8 6d6 Energy Blast; Range: 185; Versus: ED; Conditional Power: Usually, ‑¼; Reduced END: Half, +¼; No Conscious Control: ‑2 1 c‑3 4d6 Aid (Fade/turn, Max. 24); Range: 0; Affects: Single Power, +0; No Conscious Control: ‑2; adds to STUN 4 d‑10 Shape Shift (Limited Group); Game Show Hosts 4 30 Armor (10 PD/10 ED) Cost Skills, Talents, Perks Roll 40 Follower (4, 148 pts, 0 Disad.); Number: 4, +10 3 Concealment 14‑ 17 Conversation 23‑ 23 Gambling 21‑ 3 Inventor ??? 3 Acting 16‑ 7 Persuasion 18‑ 3 Seduction ??? 7 Sleight of Hand ??? 150+ Disadvantages 25 Berserk (14‑, 8‑, Berserk); Circumstances: Uncommon, +5; When people don't participate in his game shows 25 Believes Own Hype (Very Common, Total) OCV: 5; DCV: 5; ECV: 8; Mental Def.: 0; Phases: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 PD/rPD: 12/10; ED/rED: 13/10 COSTS: Char.: 153 Disadv.: 50 Powers: + 209 Base: + 150 Total: = 362 Total: = 200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 I can't get HTML tables to function here, really weird. So anyway here's another text version. This one is Bud Girl. Bud Girl Val Characteristic Cost 8 Strength ?2 8 Dexterity ?6 8 Constitution ?4 8 Body ?4 20 Intelligence 10 40 Ego 60 30 Presence 20 30 Comeliness 10 2 Physical Defense 0 2 Energy Defense 0 4 Speed 22 4 Recovery 0 16 Endurance 0 16 Stun 0 Characteristic Rolls: STR: 11?, DEX: 11?, CON: 11?, INT: 13?, EGO: 17?, PER: 13? Run: 6", Swim: 2", Jump: 2", Lift: 76kg Cost Powers END/Roll 30 Elemental Control (30?pt reserve) a?30 8d6 Mind Control; Communication: Verbal, +0; Reduced END: Zero, +½ 0 b?37 3d6 Drain (Return/turn); Range: 0; Affects: All Powers of Special Effect, +2; Focus: Obvious Accessible, ?1; Reduced END: Zero, +½; Drain on INT, EGO, DEX ? but must convince to drink "Bud" first 0 c?165 12d6 Mind Control; Communication: Telepathic, +¼; Area Effect (Radius): 14" radius, +1; Reduced END: Zero & Persistent, +1; Area mind control, no one wants to harm her. 0 Cost Skills, Talents, Perks Roll 3 Acting 15? 13 Disguise 16? 3 Persuasion 15? 15 Seduction ??? 150+ Disadvantages 20 None?too?bright (Very Common, Strong) 20 Coward (Common, Total) OCV: 3; DCV: 3; ECV: 13; Mental Def.: 0; Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 PD/rPD: 2/0; ED/rED: 2/0 COSTS: Char.: 106 Disadv.: 40 Powers: + 296 Base: + 150 Exp.: + 5 Total: = 402 Total: = 195 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebuchet Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 Originally posted by zornwil I can't get HTML tables to function here, really weird. So anyway here's another text version. This one is Bud Girl. Bud Girl Val Characteristic Cost 8 Strength ?2 8 Dexterity ?6 8 Constitution ?4 8 Body ?4 20 Intelligence 10 40 Ego.... Great idea, Zornwill. I picture a chick that looks suspiciously like Starlord's avatar... Mmmmm... Bouncy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Re: Pop Culture Villains Originally posted by CrosshairCollie In the old Strike Force (I think), there was a loopy villain called The Producer who created robotic versions of movie characters and sent them out to cause trouble. Personally, I see Teleios as being something of a cross between Malachite and the Producer. Both Teleios and the Producer are more or less totally insane critter builders. (Geneticists, incidentally, rather than robot builders.) The main difference is the nature of the insanity. Teleios is more like Malachite in this respect. If you could talk him out of some of his more dangerous experiments, the Producer would be a very useful ally. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 An interesting post to be sure. It's given me an idea for a villain. An as yet unnamed fellow who can summon monsters and villains from videocassettes and DVDs. He could be a comedic villain or an exceptionally scary one depending upon what movies he has at anyone time. Any ideas on how I could build such a character? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Originally posted by Twilight An interesting post to be sure. It's given me an idea for a villain. An as yet unnamed fellow who can summon monsters and villains from videocassettes and DVDs. He could be a comedic villain or an exceptionally scary one depending upon what movies he has at anyone time. Any ideas on how I could build such a character? Shouldn't be too tough. VPP for summons only, requires easily replaceable expendable focus (assuming the DVD is destroyed by use), maybe bulky if the DVD or video must be played (but not if he can play it on a hand held DVD player), maybe extra time, gestures and concentration depending on how long he has to play the tape and or fiddle with the player. A few levels with EG0 vs EGO contests will let him build more powerful summons on fewer points in the VPP, as he'll be able to drop "amicable." Not that important for an NPC though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Originally posted by OddHat Shouldn't be too tough. VPP for summons only, requires easily replaceable expendable focus (assuming the DVD is destroyed by use), maybe bulky if the DVD or video must be played (but not if he can play it on a hand held DVD player), maybe extra time, gestures and concentration depending on how long he has to play the tape and or fiddle with the player. A few levels with EG0 vs EGO contests will let him build more powerful summons on fewer points in the VPP, as he'll be able to drop "amicable." Not that important for an NPC though. Honestly, hadn't thought about wether the DVD or videocassette would be destroyed by use. Considering the movies he picks are reasonably easy to find, is it really that much of a limitation? Anyway, thanks for your help. I'm looking forward to players reactions for when I sic Darth Vader on em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Confusinator Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Christopher Walken I had plans to bring Christopher Walken in as a powerful telepath villian. He was going to be introduced as the spokesman for the corporation that was the front for my main evil Dr. Doom type villian. Unfortunately, I moved, and haven't gotten into a Champs game since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Re: Christopher Walken Originally posted by Confusinator I had plans to bring Christopher Walken in as a powerful telepath villian. He was going to be introduced as the spokesman for the corporation that was the front for my main evil Dr. Doom type villian. Unfortunately, I moved, and haven't gotten into a Champs game since. Fantastic idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Originally posted by Twilight Honestly, hadn't thought about wether the DVD or videocassette would be destroyed by use. Considering the movies he picks are reasonably easy to find, is it really that much of a limitation? Nope, at most it's worth another -1/4. That's where "easily replaceable" comes in. The main value of the limit is that it keeps him from sending an endless stream of Godzillas or Jasons against the party. Incidently, have you ever read Woody Allen's "The Kugelmass Episode"? Magician builds a machine that allows the protagonist to enter books; works fine, however every copy of that book is altered to show exactly what the protagonist did. In a lighter campaign, that would make an interesting side effect for the villain's power (maybe limited to video tapes and DVDs in the campaign city). "Kid Miracle, we must find out who kidnapped the mayor!" "The A team did it." "What the heck are you talking about?" "Seriously! I was watching my old A Team tapes and I saw the whole thing! Look..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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