Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

[Fazhoul]

One of the guys in my group and I were talking about possible super-hero campaigns and he suggested running Civil War as a campaign. At first I shot it down as too dark and too difficult to run but the more I've thought about it the more intrigued by the idea I've become. While I do have my problems some elements of the series (continuity errors, characters acting out of character, certain characters possibly being damaged beyond repair), I am enjoying the story and find the arguments presented compelling.

 

I was thinking that if I ran CW that I would actually like to run an arc of about three sessions in length that only mentions registration in passing. Things like news reports about excessive property damage, politicians calling for registration, things like that. But not have any of the "background noise" affect the heroes directly. This would hopefully establish some sense of normalcy before things start going to hell in a handbasket. Then, after the appropriate disaster, the law would pass and then the heroes would find themselves having to make a choice.

 

What I've been wondering about is how to GM things if/when the group splits between factions like they have in the comics. If the entire group goes one way or the other then I would simply have them fighting NPCs. But if the group splits then I have two groups of PCs as possible adversaries. Do I send one "side" out of the room while I run one plotline? (I don't like this idea.) Or trust that they won't act on player knowledge if they sit in on the other side's "planning" session?

 

Also, not knowing how Marvel is going to end their CW I've been trying to decide how I would end it. The obvious (to me anyway) is the old "someone is mind controling" people plot line. But I think that's a bit too obvious. It could just be that the government got overzealous and too many heroes went along with the law in light of the tragedy.

 

Does any one else have any other ideas for a CW campaign?

 

Please Note: I'd like to try and keep this thread a discussion of the idea of CW as an RPG campaign. Not a discussion of the comic series. I realize that it's a fine line but I don't want people popping in just to say how much they hate/love the series. I don't mean to be a dick but there are several CW threads in the Non-Gaming Discussion board. Thanks for your input and indulgence.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

 

First of all, it would be infinitely easier to run if all of the players are on the same side. Alternatively, you might have some success with everyone making characters for each different faction, and alternate which group you run with, and occaisionally have them interact. Trying to have player A and player B on opposite sides IMO is not a good idea.

 

If I were to do something like Civil War, I'd make registration a side issue, with the government as a third faction. The big conflict is between what we might call the "Silvers" and the "Irons", a conflict stemming from differences in methods. You know all those alternate worlds where all the heroes turn into Justice Lords/etc? In this campaign only some of them do.

 

Both the Silvers and the Irons don't like the villains.

 

Both the Silvers and the Irons in general want to avoid the gov't controlling them.

 

The villains don't like anyone.

 

The government would prefer to have the heroes working for them. If they can't they like the Silvers more than the Irons more than the villains. Generally.

 

The Silvers and the Irons disagree on methods. The Irons go after the villains and kill them. The Silvers drag them in to go to prison. Hard for these attitudes to work together, and eventually the Silvers will see the Irons as just a special type of villain and try to bring them in.

 

Neither the Silvers or Irons would work with villains against the other, but sometimes would still work together against the villains. The Irons generally wouldn't go after the Silvers, and probably wouldn't try to kill them, at least not in the early stages.

 

How would it end? Likely up to the players, and who they're playing. Maybe they all end up working for the government, with some guidelines. Maybe the Silvers manage to put all the Irons in jail. Maybe one side gives up and hangs up their capes. Maybe the villains take advantage of the disunity to take over. Who knows?

[Enforcer84]

Re: Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

 

Are you planning on basing it in the Marvel Universe?

[Fazhoul]

Re: Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

 

Are you planning on basing it in the Marvel Universe?

I might draw some characters from there but I was thinking of going with a version of the Champions Universe. And probably taking characters from other gaming books I have like M&M and Silver Age Sentinels. Might as well get some use out of them.

[assault]

Re: Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

 

Alternatively' date=' you might have some success with everyone making characters for each different faction, and alternate which group you run with, and occaisionally have them interact.[/quote']

 

If you can handle the workload, and sustain the pacing, this would be the ideal way to go. It does, however, require playing very regularly.

 

If I were to do something like Civil War, I'd make registration a side issue, with the government as a third faction. The big conflict is between what we might call the "Silvers" and the "Irons", a conflict stemming from differences in methods.

 

...

 

The government would prefer to have the heroes working for them. If they can't they like the Silvers more than the Irons more than the villains. Generally.

 

The government might have some heroes working for them, even if most don't. It is quite likely that these would resemble the Irons more than the Silvers. They might be more like cops, or a special forces unit, than Captain America.

[Fazhoul]

Re: Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

 

I had considered having the players make up two sets of characters so we could have the two factions already set and the other player and I have even talked about splitting the GMing duties with him taking the pro-registration side and me taking the anti-registration side. So the pro-regs would be the PCs one week (or more depending on the story needs) and then the anti-regs would be the PCs. While the thought of this experiment has me excited I can also see it devolving into chaos.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

 

I might draw some characters from there but I was thinking of going with a version of the Champions Universe. And probably taking characters from other gaming books I have like M&M and Silver Age Sentinels. Might as well get some use out of them.

Then it should work pretty good. You won't have to worry about the players saying: "So and so wouldn't act like that!"

[Fazhoul]

Re: Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

 

I've kind of been thinking about having V.I.P.E.R. be behind the plot. It was a long range plan that they set into motion years ago. They couldn't defeat the heroes in battle so they set out to do it "legally". They have deep plants in all branches of the government and even the media that started the ball rolling. Of course, maybe they didn't mean for a full blown super-hero civil war to happen. They would have been satisfied with just legislating the heroes into ineffectuality.

 

But someone mentioned to me that having a single force behind everything might sap some of the meaning from the fight between the two factions. Whereas if it really is JUST the government then the battle over personal ideologies would mean something. This is assuming, of course, that I can get this kind of roleplaying from my group.

[jkwleisemann]

Re: Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

 

Heh - that's alwasy the issue, isn't it?

 

I have to agree though - much more effective if it honestly is just the folks trying to make things better (albeit in a questionably effective way). If there's some single force behind it... well, let's face it, that just makes the whole issue boil down to "find the problem and punch it in the face." If they're honestly trying to make things better, if there's honestly backlash, then it doesn't make *either* side into 'dupes' or 'traitors' or 'heroes' in the war (not that the characters would agree.)

[Fazhoul]

Re: Marvel Civil War As A Gaming Campaign

 

Heh - that's alwasy the issue, isn't it?

 

I have to agree though - much more effective if it honestly is just the folks trying to make things better (albeit in a questionably effective way). If there's some single force behind it... well, let's face it, that just makes the whole issue boil down to "find the problem and punch it in the face." If they're honestly trying to make things better, if there's honestly backlash, then it doesn't make *either* side into 'dupes' or 'traitors' or 'heroes' in the war (not that the characters would agree.)

 

Good point. Like I said, maybe I'll use the V.I.P.E.R. angle as a sort of red-herring for the heroes. They'll think that someone HAS to be behind something like this but when they reveal the moles inside the government the heroes find out that the plot is even bigger than V.I.P.E.R. Of course, knowing my group, their efforts to reveal the moles in the government could end up looking more like attacks than efforts to expose a criminal.