GM Help: Supervillainous Death

[Weldun]

In my last Champions session, my PCs had laid a trap for Tachyon and Thunderbolt II, who were competing with each other in a high-stakes scavenger hunt set up by Utility. After very nearly having the ambush turned agaisnt them when Thunderbird decided that this was his opportunity to take out several superpowered menaces at once, the PCs were more interested in securing T-Bird than they were in the two super-thieves. So, with the two of them tried together by virtue of a steel girder, I realized something rather nasty. Thunderbolt II's powers are derived from the deposits of kelvarite within his body. Tachyon is susceptable to kelavarite. A quick check on all references to kelvarite made it clear that it generally only appears in minute quantities. So, I ruled that if there's enough kelvarite in Thunderbolt II to give him powers, then there's enough to set off his susceptablity. Seeing as he was already unonscious, he immediately started taking BODY, and unfortunately, nobody passed their Paramedics rolls to notice. (I see a lot of people putting points there in the near future, however).

 

After the team teleporter got them into the local PRIMUS base's medical center (yes, she has the medical center as a fixed point ), it started to become apparent that something was going horribly wrong. But unfortunately, with all the time it took to remove the girder, and then the failed rolls by medical staff (curse that penalty for negative body), he expired on the table. Autopsy revealed that he died of Superhuman Toxic Allergy Syndrome. An LHA team is expected to perform a secondary autopsy to confirm the results, and the local DA is not pressing any charges on the grounds that nobody even knew that Tachyon possessed such an allergy (one of his plot seeds revolves around HIM discovering this fact).

 

Now, while the PCs aren't to blame for this outcome, I admit that I'm a little stumped as to what to do here. Basically, they got unlucky. These two guys are litterally made to go up against one-another, and the PCs had a few unlucky dice rolls thrown into the mix. But it feels wrong to give it the ol' shrug'n'handwave approach. The only definite points will be that the DA doesn't want to prosecute and that the teleporters next class at the PRIMUS academy will cover Superhuman Toxic Allergy Syndrome, and why it's important to know it's signs (duty-of-care, for one thing).

[Korvar]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

There's always the Radiation Accident. As Kelvarite can give people powers, it's not beyond the realms of Comic Book Rubber Science that Tachyon's Kelvarite exposure didn't actually kill him, but mutated him into some other form. I can't recall Tachyon off-hand, but some kind of energy form sounds appropriate, given that his body "died".

 

Tachyon could then look for some way to put his body back together enough that he can get himself restored to his original form, no doubt using some more wacky science.

[Chimpira]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

Well. My only problem with that scenario is that both the villians recieved their powers at the same time from the same source. As well as the fact that they both have the same susceptibility to Kelvarite. So if that was the case they would have died from the amount of Kelvarite already in their bodies before they were tied together as it would be more than enough to kill each other or at the very least both would have perished when they were tied together.

 

So I think that given the fact that they both recieved their powers at the same time from the same source it might not have worked out that way. Now Thunderbolt did recieve more of a concentrated blast than Tachyon did but I find it hard to believe that it would trigger the result you had happen in your game. Of course as it is your game, you are the best judge.

 

Of course what is done is done and given the animosity of these two towards each other, it would be fairly simple to construct a murder mystery out of this scenario. Maybe Thunderbolt knows more than he is letting on? Why was he not affected? So on.

[Doug McCrae]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

If it was comics, Tachyon's sister would blame the PCs for his death, get superpowers and seek revenge.

[Manic Typist]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

I think it is fine. An interesting little twist, that could be spun into further stories.

[jkwleisemann]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

Shrug 'n' Handwave? Nope. However, they were not responsible for this. Chimpira's questions are all valid ones (and valid ideas for places to take it). The characters with CvK's will be doing a lot of soul searching after this, I should think.

 

Now, I'm going to assume that it was just the fact that T-Bolt II had more Kelvarite in him than Tachyon that made him trigger Tachyon's susceptibility, but not the other way around. First off, it occurs to me that T-Bird is going to be oh so very smug about this.

 

Beyond that, I have to agree about the "Tachyon back with new powers" sort of thing. After all - he's a supervillain. If you don't have a body, he ain't dead. If you do have a body, and somebody points out "he couldn't have survived that," he ain't dead. If he died by virtue of something that gave somebody else powers? He. Ain't. Dead.

 

I'd take a page out of Metroid Prime: Echoes, and have them run into Evil Radiation Form Tachyon. All the powers of the original, a Desolid, and a few powers out of USPD's Radiation segment... and a few extra Psych Lims to pay for it, reflecting his desire to destroy the people responsible for doing this to him, and to feast on more Kelvarite to increase his powers further, possibly in the belief that doing so will let him regain his original form.

 

His first victim? Why... Thunderbolt II, of course....

[Weldun]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

Ah. My bad. I didn't say Thunderbolt II took any damage from his own susceptability, which he did. It's just that a couple more 6's were rolled on Tachyon's side, and Thunderbolt II has that one extra point of BODY. It could of become lethal in both cases, but it didn't. Such is the case with the Toxic Allergy Syndrome.

 

I've been doing a little reading on this "Comic-Book-Age" concept, and I've pegged my campaign at a Bronzy-Iron. I choose to call it the Orichalcum-Age. As such, I want death to actually mean something. To be honest, I was little disappointed at how the PCs handled the death of one of their team-members earlier, but I chalked it up to it being ,I think, the third session so they were still shaking out the wrinkles in their own characters.

 

This isn't to say that a villain coming back from the dead isn't going to happen, but I don't want to dillute it's impact when it does happen.

[Stone]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

You could the DA take the case to a grand jury. Make the heroes answer some questions and then the grand jury refuses the case. The DA can say he did his job and system cleared the heroes. I agree w/Doug McCrae, have Tachyon's sister/brother/cousin/pet goldfish swear vengence upon the PC's and have he/she/it show up a few times over the next couple sessions until the heroes can capture he/she/it. Make it good, the heroes have to rescue he/she/it from a major villian.

[Drhoz]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

You've said that the DA doesn't WANT to prosecute - but what if he isn't given a choice? Political pressue from an anti-super politician, or an insurance company, or a Kelvarite-Victim Disability Group...

 

 

and cliched as it is , Tachyon coming back as a energy being (Speedo Ghost? any 2000AD readers out there?) is reasonable...

[Weldun]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

...As such' date=' I want death to actually mean something...This isn't to say that a villain coming back from the dead isn't going to happen, but I don't want to dillute it's impact when it does happen.[/quote']Oh, and kelvarite is exceedingly rare, so no support groups I'm afraid.

[Fireleaper]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

I think that both the "dead supervillan comes back even more powerful than before" and the "You killed my lover/boyfriend/girlfriend/goldfish/brother/sister so I will have my vengence" ideas are both quite classic, sometimes they might get combined "Damn I died and now I have had to merge with my lover/friend/goldfish so we are more powerful etc."

Or you could explain where Kelvorite came from "ack, kelvorite comes from Mars - turns out the martians were exploring earth by the 'accidental' exposure of these two superbeings."

As for the DA or other organisations, they might need to make some inquiry to ensure that it was an accident, maybe some other individual or organisation can use that to their advantage? Then again at least it is easier for them to locate avatar since he pretty much lives at the base at the moment.

Of course how will the group try to explain to avatar that Tachyon is dead?

 

Sorry if i sound like i am rambling but i just wanted to get these idea's out of my head.

[Drhoz]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

Rarity doesn't stop support groups.

 

Hell, Tachyon's death could become a cause celebre for groups all over the political spectrum. And the conspiracy nuts, too, especially with that assassin's involvement.

[Weldun]

Re: GM Help: Supervillainous Death

 

Rarity doesn't stop support groups.

 

Hell, Tachyon's death could become a cause celebre for groups all over the political spectrum. And the conspiracy nuts, too, especially with that assassin's involvement.

Hmm. Actually I'm starting to see it. Most superbeings don't have a susceptability to such a degree that it kills them, and it's mainly some bad luck that offed Tachyon. But, certain groups might take this opportunity to raise public awareness of (now newly named after a suggestion by Sundog) Superhuman Toxic Allergic Reaction Syndrome. Several Heroes have known susceptabilties that could probably become spokespeople, urging superbeings to seek assistance in managing (and possibly identifing) S.T.A.R.S. symptoms and triggers, especially the mutant population, which in my campaign is decidedly larger than the superbeing population would otherwise indicate, most of them having relatively low-level mutations.

 

One example of low-level mutation from my campaign is the speedster of the local Corporate Sponsored team, who's powers are actually based on a suit that places every muscle in his body into a neuro-cybernetically controlled seizure. The only reason that this doesn't kill him through damage to his temporal lobes is that he is a mutant with an unusually resilient neurological make-up. (25% PD and ED Damage Reduction, Stun Only and 25% Mental Damage Reduction).