How would you use Gravitar?

[Lord Liaden]

Since we ended up soliciting many good ideas for using Takofanes in a previous thread, I thought it would be fun and beneficial to start one for another of the CU's more maligned and underused "master villains," Gravitar. This is a villain who, based on her character sheet, has a lot of potential to be a major menace. However, there's been very little published about her activities since her infamous butt-kicking of Eurostar. I also notice a distinct lack of respect for the character here on the discussion boards. I daresay this has been contributed to by the way her activities are described in Conquerors, Killers And Crooks: essentially she tries to show how unstoppable she is by beating up heroes or villains and devastating property, perhaps assuming that this will persuade everyone to grovel before her. Not exactly a grand plan for world conquest.

 

OTOH CKC also notes that Gravitar is still young, and that with time should gain maturity and focus. Since she's been active for a few years now, one could assume that her slightly lower profile reflects a growing seriousness toward world conquest. Also, Champions Worldwide notes that she had a rematch with Eurostar which ended inconclusively; perhaps that event helped persuade her that even her raw force isn't sufficient by itself for her to achieve her goals. I've decided to extrapolate from those assumptions as to what Gravitar might decide to do if she puts some real thought into her plans.

 

It's easy to focus on Gravitar's Powers, because she has both great raw might and great versality. However, she's also very intelligent, strong-willed, and charismatic (high INT, EGO and PRE). After learning a little more self-discipline, these qualities would make her well-suited to leading a team of villains. Gravitar would benefit from the support of villains who could cover some of her own weaker areas, such as rapid Movement for tactical assaults or for escape, or mental powers to deal with mentalist opponents. (Although she lacks Mental Defense, with her high EGO Gravitar is not as vulnerable to mental attacks as some have assumed; but she's at a significant disadvantage against a mentalist in her weight class.) If you were interested in forming an all-female supervillain team, Gravitar would be a natural to lead it, and there's no shortage of CU villainesses who would be sympathetic to her goals of conquest, or at least to squeezing as much of the good life out of the world as they can get away with.

 

Gravitar has another often-overlooked asset: she's loaded with filthy lucre. She can easily afford to hire mercenary supervillains, agents, scientists, construct bases, and add all the other trappings of a typical would-be world conqueror. Speaking of scientists, Gravitar herself is a very competent scientist and inventor, especially in fields related to her powers. I could definitely see her developing a world-threatening device based on gravitic principles, possibly enhancing her own native abilities, which she could readily pay to have constructed. If she surrounded herself with other capable super-scientists she might start turning out sophisticated weapons, vehicles and other devices for her operatives. She would likely make it a priority to develop devices to compensate for her lack of Mental Defense, grant her Enhanced Senses and Defenses to deal with sense-affecting Powers, and perhaps modify her Powers to deal with Desolid opponents.

 

In her secret ID of Erica d'Monstressart, Gravitar travels in the highest social circles. It would be prudent for her to start cultivating Contacts, Favors and Followers among the economic and political elite, to enhance her intelligence-gathering capability and noncombat influence to use against foes for whom force would not be a practical option.

 

I'm going to stop here for the time being, to see what comments and ideas you creative folks will come up with.

[WilyQuixote]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Gravitar saw some mild off camera use in our Millenial Men campaign a year and a half or so back. The Mill Men member Gravitic is actually her half brother! In our campaign she realized that their respective father had many children spread across the globe due to his jet setting playboy life style. While not all of these children were mutants at least one other beside Gravitar and Gravitic did have super powers which were of course based around gravity. His name was Massive and he was the first recruited by Gravitar for the suppossed reason of uniting any of the other siblings into a powerful team to take over the world together and rule as a family dynasty I would guess.

 

Unfortunately for Killer Shrike and the rest of the Players looking for a good story line the player of Gravitic didn't seem to like that idea and so didn't play along. I mean that in a literal sense, the player literally said something along the lines of I don't want to do this and stopped playing! Granted at this point in the game we had in an effort to accomidate most of the groups odd work schedules switched to playing on Hero Central. The player of Gravitic only voiced his dissent at the idea of Hero Central after we had all switched over and started up again. It was frustrating in the extreme and a total wash of using a great villain!

 

So that was how we were going to use the mighty Gravitar. Alas it just wasn't meant to be. Shrike if he is so inclined and has a spare moment (rare these days with a two month old new born and ever increasing insane work hours) might just elaborate more on his plans for the villainess.

[Victim]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Charismatic and wealthy? Sounds like she has a future in politics - after all, she might as feel get some practice for after she takes over the world. If her ID is blown, she may be able to spin her battles against Eurostar and other foreign supers/military into some kind of pro nationalist thing to get people to back her.

 

Besides, inventing devices based on gravity, she could use her gravitic powers to fuel inventions. She could use her powers to create controled mini singularities for power sources, or to create gravtic lenses, manufacture super dense materials, etc by using them as a kind of shortcut. That deathray only looks half finished...

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Great stuff already!

 

WilyQuixote, that sounds like a grand concept for a major plotline. Imagine a whole family of gravity manipulators! It's a shame you never got to run with that, but the notion of the jetsetting father spreading his seed is still a great premise for a hero or villain origin.

 

Victim, good suggestion for a political career. Gravitar could end up as a more-stable version of Holocaust, if she develops the discipline to exploit her assets effectively. As for inventions, I've considered pairing her with Tesseract, another brilliant scientist and formidable supervillainess with ambitions of conquest. With their combined expertise, and Tesseract's power to warp dimensions added to Gravitar's mastery of gravity, it's frightening to contemplate what they might come up with.

[Trebuchet]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

I converted Gravitar (I called her Graviton; with a couple of extra powers) into an Ackalian meta who was in command of an asteroid sent through hyperspace to destroy Earth by the then-Empress of the Ackian Empire. Our team MidGuard narrowly defeated her and her troops, loaded them onto ships, and sent them on their merry way. Then they destroyed the asteroid with fusion bombs from the base.

 

When Graviton found out the order to destroy Earth was due to the Empress' fear that human metas might threaten her clan's hold on the empire (Only her clan, Iron Hand, had metas) and not because it was a secret base of the Xenovores, she challenged the Empress for leadership of the clan (and hence empire) because it was a dishonorable act. The empress, lacking that kind of power or skill in combat, was humiliatingly forced to resign, and Graviton is now the new Empress. Thanks to the "clean" way MidGuard had fought she views Earthmen as beings having honor and potential allies against the Xenovores (whom they've been at war with for over 50 years).

 

We'll undoubtably see her again. And the former empress and her friends too.

[OddHat]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

I've always wanted to use the Gravitar and Viperia gal-pal plot seed, growing it into a full fledged villain team in over-the-top mass destruction rather than subtle plan mode. Both are emotionally young women with vast personal power and only a limited grasp of how to use that power to get what they really want (Viperia, who I've come to like far more over the years, is almost childlike). Team them with the Ultimate Brick version of Grond and a few more overpowered and fairly dim villains and you'd have a fun team to attempt absurdly impractical plans for world conquest. Foxbat, Gravitars new boyfriend, could be their chief advisor.

 

Alternatively, Gravitar is actually a good candidate for partial redemption. She's not heartless and she's very aware of her social status; let her witness a tragedy with a clear cause, say a genocide or something like the Bhopal chemical spill, and watch her go into Dark Heroine mode. Let the PCs try to keep her from overthrowing a vile government and thust throwing a chunk of Africa or the Middle East into chaos, or let them protect corrupt American politicians from her righteous but murderous wrath.

[Bloodstone]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

How would I use Gravitar?

 

Imagine the Paris Hilton sex tape scandal, only staring a woman that can move mountains and destroy whole cities....

 

Run Holocaust. Run and don't look back!

 

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

I submitted this idea a while back to the Plot Seeds thread:

 

Born Again

 

Gravitar has suffered a thorough and humiliating defeat at the hands of the heroes, and has had her confidence and self-identity badly shaken. She has started to question her obsession with conquest. At this vulnerable time Gravitar is contacted by a charismatic individual who claims to be the leader of a new religion/philosophy/political movement. This person convinces Gravitar that her failure was due to a lack of a worthy cause to fight for, a purpose and focus to her life.

 

When Gravitar next appears, she proclaims her allegiance to this cause which will bring about a new Golden Age, with her help. Moreover, her attacks are no longer random, but clearly working to a plan at the direction of the movement's leader. But is this person legitimate in his or her intentions, or merely manipulating Gravitar for some more insidious purpose? And what will Gravitar do if she discovers she's been someone's pawn?

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

I've always wanted to use the Gravitar and Viperia gal-pal plot seed' date=' growing it into a full fledged villain team in over-the-top mass destruction rather than subtle plan mode. Both are emotionally young women with vast personal power and only a limited grasp of how to use that power to get what they really want (Viperia, who I've come to like far more over the years, is almost childlike). Team them with the Ultimate Brick version of Grond and a few more overpowered and fairly dim villains and you'd have a fun team to attempt absurdly impractical plans for world conquest. Foxbat, Gravitars new boyfriend, could be their chief advisor.[/quote']

 

If Viperia was allowed some "time off" from serving VIPER by her father, that might actually work for a while. It would suit the beginning Gravitar's way of thinking to just apply more power until the obstacles to her ruling the world fall. However, I doubt that she could control the group you're proposing beyond, at most, one big smashup. You lost me at "Foxbat, Gravitar's new boyfriend," though. Unless you redefine her as being loony as well as immature.

 

Alternatively' date=' Gravitar is actually a good candidate for partial redemption. She's not heartless and she's very aware of her social status; let her witness a tragedy with a clear cause, say a genocide or something like the Bhopal chemical spill, and watch her go into Dark Heroine mode. Let the PCs try to keep her from overthrowing a vile government and thust throwing a chunk of Africa or the Middle East into chaos, or let them protect corrupt American politicians from her righteous but murderous wrath.[/quote']

 

I could certainly see Gravitar shifting to a "noblesse oblige" attitude toward protecting people, or avenging them. One of the features of the character is that her current attitudes are in flux, so there are several ways she could go.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

How would I use Gravitar?

 

Imagine the Paris Hilton sex tape scandal, only staring a woman that can move mountains and destroy whole cities....

 

Run Holocaust. Run and don't look back!

 

 

As long as his face was hidden to protect his secret identity, I can actually picture Holocaust doing this. According to his writeup he really is that big a jerk.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Here is the character WilyQ was talking about.

 

Gravitic

 

The back story is when the player made the character he wanted to be related to Gravitar in some way so we cooked up the basics of the jetsetting father, etc etc.

 

He took Gravitar as a mild hunted and we got down to playing. Eventually I felt it was time for that particular disad to kick in, but I didnt want to pitch Gravitar in directly due to power scaling concerns...so I came up with the idea of Massive, yet another half-sibling that Gravitar had already turned to her service.

 

I was intending for this to be a key plot element for the character over the next arc, but as WilyQ said it happened literally on the cusp of switching the campaign from a F2F to HERO Central -- the intro of Massive happened at the very end of the last F2F game. The player made the switch to HERO Central, and the campaign really took off in that environment, but the player decided he didnt like Play by Post and dropped out of play right in the middle of the resolution w/ Massive, which basically really sucked and was very dissapointing.

 

I was going to lead up to having Gravitic have some encounters w/ Massive where he was at first outmatched, but eventually improved to be more effective than Massive and almost defeat him. Whenever that happened, Gravitic would put in her appearance and offer Gravitic an ultimatum, Darth Sidious style if you know what I mean.

 

Gravitic and a recovered Massive would fight it out some more, Gravitic would win, refuse to serve Gravitar, she would proceed to trounce him, Massive would have a change of heart seeing her true nature, and together the two brothers would team up to defeat her / drive her off / or even capture her. Massive would stop being a pure villain, and begin a process of transitioning to being more heroic, or at least be more "grey". Helping his brother keep from backsliding / serving as a Jimminy Cricket would become a reoccuring element for Gravitic.

 

I think it would have been a great story element, but alas and alack, the best laid plans of mice and GMs often go awry.

 

I've been meaning to get around to posting Massive; Ill try to make that happen tonight.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Nice story arc, KS. And thanks for the link. A few potential Gravitar relatives would be very appropriate to add here.

 

Anyone remember Deadweight, from Enemies of San Angelo? Attitudes similar to Bulldozer, and just as dim, but with the power to tremendously increase the pull of gravity in an area. IMO it would be amusing if he was one of Gravitar's kin, and she tried to recruit him. Deadweight might end up running to the PCs to protect him from his exasperated half-sister.

[bigdamnhero]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Haven't used Gravitar yet. I always thought if I did use her, I would make her more interested in personal power & celebrity/noteriety than conquest per-se. In other words, she doesn't want to actually rule the world; she just wants everyone to acknowledge her as the biggest & baddest and admit that she could conquer everyone if she really wanted to, and then basically let her do whatever she wants. Haven't put a whole lot of thought into exactly how I'd play that out tho.

 

Also, for some reason I tend to view Gravitar as quite a bit older than CKC says; more like early-mid 40s. Not sure if that's something in her CKC portrait, or just because I keep mentally thinking of her as "the CU Magneto" and can't picture the Big M as a 20-something.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

I see Holocaust as more of the Magneto parallel, and use him as such. I tweaked his build a bit to make him more capable of fighting down an entire group to support that purpose as well.

[bigdamnhero]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

I see Holocaust as more of the Magneto parallel' date=' and use him as such. I tweaked his build a bit to make him more capable of fighting down an entire group to support that purpose as well.[/quote']

In terms of motivation & goals, definitely. But Gravitar's power suite is closer to Magneto's IMO.

[Metaphysician]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Taking some of the thoughts mentioned here and mixing them, it seems to me Gravitar would make a very good candidate for a "villain who grows with the heroes", at least in more powerful campaigns. Even if the heroes don't actually interact with her especially, design her character development around the themes of the PCs, either in similarity or contrast.

 

For example, if the PCs are big into defending mutant rights, have her grow into a leader in the burgeoning mutant supremacy movement. If the PCs engage in alot of ambiguous activities, have her actions be likewise ambiguous, with noblesse oblige good deeds thrown in. If the PCs set very public examples of nobility and power put to the good of all, have her question whether she really should try to conquer the world. If the PCs encounter baseline ingratitude and envy, and repeatedly refuse to try and do anything about it, have her grow hateful of humanity and inclined towards vast destruction.

 

This works all the better if she is a regularly encountered villain/NPC, hence why it is best for higher level games.

[Twilight]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

If Viperia was allowed some "time off" from serving VIPER by her father, that might actually work for a while. It would suit the beginning Gravitar's way of thinking to just apply more power until the obstacles to her ruling the world fall. However, I doubt that she could control the group you're proposing beyond, at most, one big smashup. You lost me at "Foxbat, Gravitar's new boyfriend," though. Unless you redefine her as being loony as well as immature.

 

I think I have a scarier idea then Gravitar as Foxbat's boyfriend, and that idea is indeed scary. What if the Supreme Serpent, or indeed Nama himself, tried to use Viperia's friendship with Gravitar to try and bring her into the fold of VIPER? They let her pretend to run the place, have her draw the fire of all the superheroes while they conduct business as usual and perhaps even take out Eurostar with her help.

 

Thoughts? Comments?

[Killer Shrike]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

In terms of motivation & goals' date=' definitely. But Gravitar's power suite is closer to Magneto's IMO.[/quote']

 

Oh, sure. More like a petulant world dominating Polaris really though -- I think Magneto would weigh in more powerful than Gravitar.

[bigdamnhero]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

More like a petulant world dominating Polaris really though

Yeah, that pretty-well sums her up.

[Weldun]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Actually, I'd noticed the recent gap in her appearances latey also. I have already planned (Dhroz and Terminus, tremble now) to use her as a Magneto-like figure. A highly intelligent and charismatic mutant with great power and a vision of a New World Order, one with mutants in control. Nevermind that she's also been working on a fiiber-powersuit (IIF) that amplifies her powers even further, but not without cost.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Haven't used Gravitar yet. I always thought if I did use her' date=' I would make her more interested in personal power & celebrity/noteriety than conquest per-se. In other words, she doesn't want to actually rule the world; she just wants everyone to acknowledge her as the biggest & baddest and admit that she [i']could[/i] conquer everyone if she really wanted to, and then basically let her do whatever she wants. Haven't put a whole lot of thought into exactly how I'd play that out tho.

 

In fact, that's pretty much the way she's described as motivated in CKC. As for playing it out, you might as well go with what's attributed to her in that book: take on supers, the military, and anyone else who's really tough, and stomp them into the ground. She seems to figure that if she does that often enough, everyone in her way will just give up and accede to her wishes.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Taking some of the thoughts mentioned here and mixing them, it seems to me Gravitar would make a very good candidate for a "villain who grows with the heroes", at least in more powerful campaigns. Even if the heroes don't actually interact with her especially, design her character development around the themes of the PCs, either in similarity or contrast.

 

[sNIP very good suggestions]

 

That's a well though-out program, Meta. Have to owe you Rep for it, though.

[Metaphysician]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

That's a well though-out program' date=' Meta. Have to owe you Rep for it, though. [/quote']

 

Thank you. Inspired by a previous campaign by my current GM. The character who ended up being the ultimate villain of the setting, Endymion, sought to answer the question of whether the universe was ultimately good, or ultimately evil ( more or less ). As the campaign progressed, the PCs consistently ended up choosing to the pragmatic, as opposed to noble and good, choice to any given situation. Thus, he ultimately concluded the universe was an evil one, and needed to be. . . 'modified.'

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

I think I have a scarier idea then Gravitar as Foxbat's boyfriend, and that idea is indeed scary. What if the Supreme Serpent, or indeed Nama himself, tried to use Viperia's friendship with Gravitar to try and bring her into the fold of VIPER? They let her pretend to run the place, have her draw the fire of all the superheroes while they conduct business as usual and perhaps even take out Eurostar with her help.

 

Thoughts? Comments?

 

I can see this plan working for a while, particularly if the operatives of VIPER play on Gravitar's vanity. She would in particular make a powerful and easily-aimed weapon against Eurostar. Long-term association with VIPER is a different proposition IMO. Gravitar is very far from stupid, and would eventually twig to the fact that she was being manipulated by VIPER. When that happens her wrath would be fearsome. The Supreme Serpent and Nama are both shrewd enough to perceive this, so I think they'd cut all ties to Gravitar as soon as she was no longer needed for their immediate plans.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How would you use Gravitar?

 

Actually' date=' I'd noticed the recent gap in her appearances latey also. I have already planned (Dhroz and Terminus, tremble now) to use her as a Magneto-like figure. A highly intelligent and [b']charismatic[/b] mutant with great power and a vision of a New World Order, one with mutants in control. Nevermind that she's also been working on a fiiber-powersuit (IIF) that amplifies her powers even further, but not without cost.

 

Same sort of concern as for Menton's apparent quietude of late. When a major villain drops below the radar for an extended period, it's time to start looking over your shoulder.

 

In fact I subsumed those developments for both villains into my proposal for a new RAVEN.