adventure ideas?

[Oneway]

So... almost the entire team is built with a -1/2 lim (OIF).

 

I would like to bring the limitation in to play (after all, a limitation that isn't a limitation shouldn't be worth any points), but i want to keep things fun for all the players.

Now (out of the power suits) the team ranges from Buff Super Agent to Normal Guy w/ High Soceity.

 

any thoughts on senerios envolving the team (sans armor) that could keep it interesting for everyone?

[BobGreenwade]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

The only thing I can think of is: VIPER steal all their gear (possibly without even knowing who it really belongs to -- that is, without knowing their Secret Identities), and the PCs have to use their Skills and wits to get it all back.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

I'm assuming from your wording that the OIF is a powered armor or some other type of battlesuit. Some of these will only work if they are similar in nature, too.

 

Some ideas off the top of my head:

(1) a technological villain manages to "infect" the battlesuits with some type of computer virus that causes powers to turn on/off when the heroes least expect it. The heroes find out the villain got the virus from a (normal) programmer who is now in hiding, and the heroes must find her before the villain does, so she can provide the cure.

 

(2) The heroes are at a high-society gig in secret ID, without their battlesuits handy, when a group of VIPER agents take the entire place and everybody there (including the heroes) hostage.

 

(3) A villain equips his troops with battlesuits ripped off of the heroes' suit designs, and the heroes (and villains) discover to their dismay that any time the heroes and villain troops are in proximiity (say within 5 game inches), the suits' neural links generate a feedback loop that locks both sets of suits up (stops all systems from operating).

[Oneway]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

the "neural feedback" is a wicked idea, i'm sensing a rewirte for tonight's adventure.

[Tech]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

1) Have the team outside their armor in a formal party, perhaps one of their friends is having a big social event. Normal thugs break in and the team has to stop these normals thugs. Suddenly, these thugs with a Speed of 2 aren't so slow and their PD of 2-5 isn't so wimpy..

 

2) A normal but brilliant scientist infects half of the team's armor with a virus. At a crucial time when this brilliant scientist's thugs are about to be stopped from stealing something, half the team finds out the other half is unwillingly having to fight their friends.

[clsage]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

So... almost the entire team is built with a -1/2 lim (OIF).

 

I would like to bring the limitation in to play (after all, a limitation that isn't a limitation shouldn't be worth any points), but i want to keep things fun for all the players.

Now (out of the power suits) the team ranges from Buff Super Agent to Normal Guy w/ High Soceity.

 

any thoughts on senerios envolving the team (sans armor) that could keep it interesting for everyone?

 

Hmmmm....South Pacific Vacation (provided by Mr. High Society perhaps ?)

Turns Bad !!!

 

Shipwreck ? Plane crash ? Either way, the team find themselves on an

island with virtually nothing and must begin by simply surviving....Oh, and

did I mention that the island also happens to be a training site for

major para-military villain organization from your campaign world here> ?

So as they work to escape being stranded, they also have to decide

between hiding from the "baddies in training" or taking them on and perhaps

using the baddies own gear to escape, as well as cleaning out a nest of

evil !!

 

My $.02US. YMMV.

 

-Carl-

[Pariah]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

Here's an idea, if we're talking about powered armor and such:

 

Some high-tech villain or organization has finally had it with the heroes' interference. They put all their plans on hold while they develop and execute a plan that will not only keep the heroes out of their hair, but local law enforcement, too.

 

They design and build robots whose appearance, powers, tactics, and special effects mimic those of the heroes perfectly (or almost perfectly, well enough to fool all but the most observant investigative reporters and cops, anyway). Then they turn the robots loose on the city, and a highly publicized crime wave ensues. Eyewitnesses testify that it's the heroes who are doing all the plundering: "I know it's Metal Man! He was using the same solar blast I saw him take out all those VIPER agents with at City Hall last spring!"

 

Obviously, with both the police and the press after them, the heroes can't go out in costume until this situation is resolved.

[Certified]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

Hope this helps…

 

 

In out last Champions game we had a scenario that involved a High Society function. As such the power armored player was there in her Secret ID. When the function was attacked she spent the first half of the combat running to her car to get into her suit.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

A nasty one for an extended story arc is to be displaced into the past and trying to figure out how to get home. Suddenly, the focus damage rules become scary, charges become precious, and the only ready made source of high tech materials for your supergenuis inventor types are, guess what, your own foci.

 

I played through a campaign of the sort once. It was hard on my gadgeteer, but our teams "I can do everything in my armor" power armor guy was in sorry shape by the end.

[pinecone]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

I once based an adventure in a nudist colony...power armor guy was unhappy...

[freakboy6117]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

if only to steal from the best how about using one of the sub plots in Ghost-busters.

 

now all those guys with unlicensed particle accelerators strapped to their backs get a visit from the EPA and have to shut down until an environmental impact and safety assessment of their power source is carried out

[Pschic Avenger]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

Well my idea is even more Evil since it is a Focus have major Villian Start focusing there Armor and Break them but also have a nuclear Bomb planted somewhere so that the characters have to defeat the Super villians plans With just there skills.Also it would take time for the Characters to get replacement Armor....Or take all those points and have that old nuclear reaction Instant Mutants.I can recall haveing power suit and my foci kept getting stollen or broken it made me pay close attention to my skills they want the cost break show them why its a Disadavantage...Or have a Viper agent steal characters Armor and use it for some Drug running or bank robberies....

[Sketchpad]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

Again, under the assumption that the OIFs are power suits ...

 

A 3rd rate tech villain decides to up the ante a bit and attempt to make himself a major tier villain. Creating a modulator to negate the armors of the PCs, the device surges and, instead of de-powering the heroes, causes their suits to become sentient ... and evil!! Now the heroes must find a way to survive, as well as stop their own gadgets before its too late!

 

Tech heroes often have troubles with magic, so throwing them up against Demon might not be a bad idea. Perhaps Demon's attempting to summon forth one of the Kings of Edom and the PCs have to stop them and cancel the ritual before the creature crosses to this world.

[Karmakaze]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

You could have a villain who attacks via dreams or the astral plane -- the heroes, in the astral plane would only have their intrinsic abilities...

[Kirby]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

As suggested previously, having the characters at a social event in Secret ID is a great way to go. I would put the major emphasis on the event as interaction. This way, those paranoid players who are expecting something bad to happen will be constantly disappointed. Then, perhaps at the end of the gaming session, have the villains attack.

 

Other places to be in secret ID:

1. The zoo
   
2. A museum
   
3. The bank
   
4. Grand opening or special day at an amusement park (water-themed one would be even better - saving the day in your bathing suit!)
   
5. Called on for jury duty
   
6. Wedding of a non-superpowered friend
   

 

Another idea is to have an evil mystical group conducting a "suppress technology, revel in the magic" spell. Technology stops working, but mystical powers are enhanced (perhaps and extra die or just 1/2 End).

 

If you have Arcane Adversaries, then say that Tezcatlipoca (p.113-116) has being summoned in the city/neighborhood. While he's manifesting, the land is changing into a recreation of Aztec society. To stop this from happening, the PCs have to beat up a whole bunch of 183 point Nagual Cultists (which means the PCs get to save people from being sacrified!).

 

I do find the nudist colony one funny. You just have to think of a way to convince the players/PCs that they need to be there.

[Balabanto]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

1) If the armor all comes from the same source, the armor is addictive/injects drugs into their bloodstream/somehow creates a need for it's presence.

 

2) A metal consuming virus ravages the city, or a plastic consuming virus if all the suits of armor are plastic. (This can be particularly funny if it's contacted transmitted, watch thousands of boob jobs die)

 

3) A villain LIVES IN THEIR ARMOR! There are two possibilities here. The villain lives in a dimension of engineering and construction that is only accessible when the armored suits are close together. The second is that some sort of disembodied machine entity lives in the collective suits of armor, and thus tries to force the PC's away from their loved ones, friends, etc... Try to avoid Tony Stark=Ultron. If you think I hated that as a READER, think about how much your players will.

 

4) Robots. Robots are wonderful foes for armored people.

 

5) Never forget the iconoclasts. Some people just HATE armor. And will do anything to get rid of this. Remember, a hero with super strength is no different from a guy with a prostate condition. (Which is why Civil War style mandatory registration is stupid. The nature of your body should not be a required reporting unless it NATURALLY presents a hazard, in which case the government agency in charge of you is the CDC) But powered armor is MILITARY HARDWARE. Anyone, most of the time, unless it's stupidly complex and difficult to operate, can use powered armor, and the more advanced the technology, the easier it is. They may not be as good as Iron/Tin/Steel/Gold/What's His Metal Man when they do, but the possibility of mass production exists. A GOOD argument can be made that men shouldn't be allowed to run around in armored suits without registering with the government, and their serial numbers locked down. All it takes is one politically powerful guy with a chip on his shoulder and the PC's will have an enemy that they will have to defeat with diplomacy. Plus, if he really wants his agenda to be pushed forward, he can hire people to steal their foci, and use them against the PC's.

 

6) Well, remember just above where I said "Some people HATE armor?" Well, some people LOVE it too. For every guy who wants to shut their armor down, there's a guy who either wants to take their armor and find out how it works, or take it and build his OWN suits of armor and mass produce them, selling them to third world countries. One of the best Iron Man villains ever was Justin Hammer. He wasn't a powered armor guy. He wasn't a supervillain. He was a greedy man with a lot of money and a business suit. The showdown with Hammer and his hired goons on his floating island? Still one of the greatest battles in Iron Man history.

 

7) The industrial spy. A great villain for a group of heroes who are mostly armored is to wait until they are out of armor, and have them fight a martial artist. Remember, Spymaster is still an Iron Man villain. Ghost is still an Iron Man villain. Without the armor, guys like these who are trained combatants and have a ton of gear themselves can be DEADLY. Plus, training and gear are cheap. Armored suits are expensive. Who's to say there's only ONE?

[Kirby]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

[A]ny thoughts on senerios nvolving the team (sans armor) that could keep it interesting for everyone?

Whatever you do, don't do a "railroad surprise" for the armor being gone. Having the PCs "wake up" captured and their armor is gone is not going to be fun. IMHO, screwing with the armor (viruses, defects, decay) just to screw with it is screwing over your players. Doing anything Marvel-like can ruin your game. Remember, the PCs paid points for their character, they shouldn't have to "justify" having the armor or its upkeep - this is part of the genre.

 

I've been in a game before where the PCs went "undercover" to rescue someone, which meant no super hero costumes. My character was the "skilled normal" with a BFG. We were at a vacation resort on a private island, so if we suddenly showed up as supers, someone might recognize this. While I was the only one truly affected power-wise (no armor, no weapon), I still enjoyed this and the other players couldn't overtly display their powers. All in all, we had fun with this.

[jtelson]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

Oddly, I was going to suggest having the PC's 'wake up' captured as it is very much a part of the genre. I've had it happen to my characters and never once felt screwed over. It can, for the right group, make for a challenging and enjoyable evening. Where are we? Who's doing this? What resources do we have available? How do we make these villians wish they'd never been born (or if they are more clear minded that we'd never been born). The game's not about the points, it's about the, well - the Game.

As with almost any adventure, foreshadowing and lead-up can be key. My suggesstion would be to scatter a few alien abduction stories through a few weeks of adventures (Weekly World News article "ALIEN ABDUCTIONS ON THE RISE", crazy guy ranting about having been grabbed outside of the Socialite's favorite coffee place, that kind of thing). If the characters have the time and inclination to investigate give them the opportunity to find more people who are willing to talk about their experiences (This may provide clues once they themselves are abducted). If this is mixed in with normal peril and other randomn weirdness it shouldn't distract too much from normal play. Then when they wake up in the cell it won't come as a total surprise and they may even have some valuable info (The paperboy said he got into a strange hallway by ...). The "aliens" can be anything world appropriate - I would probably go for normal spacemen, testing Earth's defenses, learning from the city'e people who it's protectors are and bringing them aboard to study.

[Kirby]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

There are events that are genre for the comics that you cannot do in the game because the GM doesn't control the protagonists like a writer does.

 

If you make the whole experience something that affects everyone in the city/state/country/world, that might be less annoying to the players. If I were to do something like that, I'd make the aliens and scenario more like the ones from ST:TNG Schisms episode.

[jtelson]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

An abduction scenario isn't about controlling the protagonists it's about controlling the setting and removing easy avenues of resolution.

 

I'm curious, because as a player I've never been annoyed by having focuses, powers or options temporarily removed and as a GM I've never recieved any negetive feedback for doing so, would the majority of Champions players out there really be bothered by the occasional abduction/power removal/amnesia type scenario?

[Alverant]

Re: adventure ideas?

 

Send them to a magic-based dimension where their technological based powers start breaking one by one. Save any boosted STR for last, or at least reduce it so they can still wear it without dropping dead from over-exertion (like the gladiator in Monty Python's Life of Brian). Now they have to fight with swords, arrows, and magical artifacts to find a way home.