Teen Champions Villians

[Captain Emu]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

I like the School of Hard Knocks. Something really cool about the warrior nun imagery of the leader and the default uniforms of the students. Most of the characters concepts work for me.

 

I do recall running a Teen Team game way back before I got into any of the published systems. The game actually revolved around two rival schools created by a buddy and me. Mirroring normal hometown high school rivalry through super-powered antics and the occasional big power brawl, it was really fun with each of us controlling the members of one of the schools.

 

Some of the plots that were used were the usual dating games, teen drama. Throw into this the local street super teens and the dangers of trying to go through puberty with an atomic bomb rushing through your veins and it was great fun. I do recall a scenario that placed the usually second-string teen heroes as the defenders of the city when a plot took out most ofthe major adult heroes. There were also the usual seductions, corruptions and implications of the youths in the campaign.

 

What happens when a kid with super-strength and the need to keep face in front of fellow teens gets cornered into a fight with the local bully? How do you cool the heels of an angry super-jock. When you super genius joins the Mathletes, is it fair to the other schools? A lot of fun can be had just by taking a scenario from your own childhood or those of kids around you and throwing a super into it.

 

Thanks all,

 

-CE

[Basil]

Re: Teen Champions [Villains]

 

To me' date=' Anime is a dementia obsession, so I want to avoid it at all costs.[/quote']

 

I just wanted to say AMEN!!

[OddHat]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

I ran a Teen Supers campaign that went well about five years ago, and I just ran a Teen Titans homage convention game that went well.

 

I kept the campaign and the homage game centered on the theme of the path to adulthood, though other themes (especially family, first love, sex and friendship) came into play. I didn't set much of the game in a classroom, except a few scene starters here and there. School life was there, but the important things were what happened outside of class time.

 

I'd say don't go for funny, don't go for cute, except as comic relief from real tension (of course your tastes may vary). Don't simulate genre elements you don't enjoy just because they're "teen". The teen years are arguably the core of the heroes journey, as the hero discovers who he really is and who he could become. Threaten lives, build relationships, endanger those the character loves, go for all the drama you would in a regular campaign. Let the characters save their world.

 

My preferred Teen Supers sources are the Legion of Superheroes, Eiko Eiko Azaraku (live action horror movie series from Japan), the good seasons and episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the good Teen Titans (comic, not TV show), X-Men and New Mutants arcs. Which were the good and which were the bad bits of those series will again vary by taste.

 

I'd also advise against making discovery of powers a core plot element, though I don't mind it as a side bit. I gave a lot of XP to reflect how fast the young characters were learning, but learning how to use your powers was never as important as stopping the bad guys.

[Derek Hiemforth]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Is it just me or does this really really sound like a Harry Potter story? No offense meant' date=' just seems to have all the elements...[/quote']If only all my stories sounded like Harry Potter stories...

 

Jo Rowling is a friggin' billionaire, after all.

[naturaltwenty]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

While it's for Mutants & Masterminds there's a plethora of ideas at http://www.mecha.com/~conkle/mm/index.html , which is Christian Conkle's Ultra Teens are Go!

 

I've used the premise for a Sadie Hawkins dance one-shot that worked out very well.

 

Later

[Derek Hiemforth]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Just wondering if anyone else is interested in more Teen Champions villians

What are "villians?"

[godjam]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Oopps! It's just been pointed out i spelt villains wrong on my posting.

 

Still, it would probably snarky to wonder if the person who posted it hasn't got better things to do...like join the debate.

 

Have to agree with the 'Teen heroes fight Bulldozer' suggestion, just to give them a shock.

Also the PC's could end up seeing the same villains they fight as Adult heroes differently.

Having a run-in with the same squad of Viper goons a couple of times, maybe flesh out the Viper goons personality a couple of times. How often do adult supers pay attention to the nameless Viper thugs around them?

I've got a few other ideas of how to refocus on a superVILLAIN in a different way, like turning Freakshow in a slasher villain, horror type that can threaten an entire swarm of teens when he usually runs away from the adults who could easily tear his nutts off.

 

Point is, by refocusing their opponents i think it would encourage Pc's to refocus a little, get into their characters a little more.

Any thoughts?

 

GJ:D

[Remjin]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

If only all my stories sounded like Harry Potter stories...

 

Jo Rowling is a friggin' billionaire, after all.

 

Yes, don't remind me... I'm not a fan because I'm still angry that they pass off her bastardizing other people's stories as original work and the illiterate public is eating it up...

 

On the other hand it isn't blatant plageurism and at least it gets the illiterate to read... and it has helped open up the genre's acceptance...

 

Very mixed bag. Apologies to fans, I'm just unimpressed and even more annoyed by a children's book obsessing adults that were shortly before haters of fantasy as a genre.... I'll stop now.

[Remjin]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Oopps! It's just been pointed out i spelt villains wrong on my posting.

 

Still, it would probably snarky to wonder if the person who posted it hasn't got better things to do...like join the debate.

 

Have to agree with the 'Teen heroes fight Bulldozer' suggestion, just to give them a shock.

Also the PC's could end up seeing the same villains they fight as Adult heroes differently.

Having a run-in with the same squad of Viper goons a couple of times, maybe flesh out the Viper goons personality a couple of times. How often do adult supers pay attention to the nameless Viper thugs around them?

I've got a few other ideas of how to refocus on a superVILLAIN in a different way, like turning Freakshow in a slasher villain, horror type that can threaten an entire swarm of teens when he usually runs away from the adults who could easily tear his nutts off.

 

Point is, by refocusing their opponents i think it would encourage Pc's to refocus a little, get into their characters a little more.

Any thoughts?

 

GJ:D

 

I think refocusing any character into something different and changing them to suit the setting in a new and interesting way is a good idea. Heck, Frank Miller is famous for it (Batman, Daredevil) and it certawinly can work well.

[Derek Hiemforth]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Yes, don't remind me... I'm not a fan because I'm still angry that they pass off her bastardizing other people's stories as original work and the illiterate public is eating it up...

 

On the other hand it isn't blatant plageurism and at least it gets the illiterate to read... and it has helped open up the genre's acceptance...

 

Very mixed bag. Apologies to fans, I'm just unimpressed and even more annoyed by a children's book obsessing adults that were shortly before haters of fantasy as a genre.... I'll stop now.

No comment.

[Spence]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

No comment.

 

Ditto.

 

But my no comment is better

[Kirby]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Sounds like someone has a rabbit up their donkey. Too spiteful to realize the meaning of illiterate, or just too jealous of another's success? Not to mention a lot of assumptive characterizing.

 

As to actually posting on topic, godjam, your idea about personalizing/ fleshing out the mundane or "nameless" VIPER agents sounds pretty good.

 

It seems that the responses so far for the Teen Champions game is to not concentrate too much on school, strangely enough.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

It seems that the responses so far for the Teen Champions game is to not concentrate too much on school' date=' strangely enough.[/quote']

 

(shrug)

 

It's not like teens concentrate on it either.

[Spence]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

 

It seems that the responses so far for the Teen Champions game is to not concentrate too much on school, strangely enough.

 

Most comics (New Mutants, etc), manga (Full Metal Panic, etc) , TV shows (V Mars, Smallville, X-Men, etc) or anime (Full Metal Panic, GateKeepers, etc) I have read/seen that involve "teens in school" really don't have much that revolves around "school". At the most, things may take place on the campus, but that is mostly for a common location or a step off point, rather than the story centering around the school itself.

 

Of course this in no means can characterizes ALL teen style games/books/shows, the wee bit I have seen/read.

[lapsedgamer]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

School and/or work take up most of your life. School is the center of your life at that age. NO matter how well you get along there or feel about it. It would be very hard to avoid some scenes and plot points based on the high school experience.

 

The only other thing I could think of would be a Runaways/early Cloak and Dagger type campaign where the characters are playing street kids. That actually would be fun come to think of it.

[Remjin]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Sounds like someone has a rabbit up their donkey. Too spiteful to realize the meaning of illiterate' date=' or just too jealous of another's success? Not to mention a lot of assumptive characterizing. [/quote']

 

I think I'm more bittee because I'm more a fan of the author(s) who originally wrote the story. I realize I'm not using illiterate in its literal form.

 

Again, sorry for the rant, I wasn't trying to pee in anyone's soup, juist a kneejerk reaction on my part, emphasis on the jerk. Interesting metaphor to describe it, though.

[The Doctor]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Is it just me or does this really really sound like a Harry Potter story? No offense meant' date=' just seems to have all the elements...[/quote']

 

 

None taken and I fought that myself, suffice it to say when all the elements are together it doesn't come off as an x-men rip off with a venerable Headmaster/mistress w/ a dream of what the school will be. I try to use a little more of the hand that they are being dealt in the form of seeding relationships that may follow the characters when they're out of school and 26. Think about it, life taught us so many lessons between the ages of 14 to 18. What kind of power insecurities, trust and coping with failure issues the characters must go through.

[Gideon]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Most comics (New Mutants, etc), manga (Full Metal Panic, etc) , TV shows (V Mars, Smallville, X-Men, etc) or anime (Full Metal Panic, GateKeepers, etc) I have read/seen that involve "teens in school" really don't have much that revolves around "school". At the most, things may take place on the campus, but that is mostly for a common location or a step off point, rather than the story centering around the school itself.

 

Of course this in no means can characterizes ALL teen style games/books/shows, the wee bit I have seen/read.

I think that if done correctly having plots that do revolve around the school (or being in the school) can be tons of fun.

 

School dances, sports events (especially homecoming), and the school play can all be great places for plots to occur or even plots in themselves.

 

School activities influencing plots is especially cool when one of the PCs is directly involved. If a character is on the football team then a conflict durring a game can provide tons of fun (and problems for that PC). The same goes for any school activity, club, or sport.

[Remjin]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

None taken and I fought that myself' date=' suffice it to say when all the elements are together it doesn't come off as an x-men rip off with a venerable Headmaster/mistress w/ a dream of what the school will be. I try to use a little more of the hand that they are being dealt in the form of seeding relationships that may follow the characters when they're out of school and 26. Think about it, life taught us so many lessons between the ages of 14 to 18. What kind of power insecurities, trust and coping with failure issues the characters must go through.[/quote']

 

Hey, it sounded like fun to me... I'm not one to claim any sort of real originality, just vague attempts at it, and it sounds like a fun game.

 

Heck, just thinking of the number of times I made characters for just another series of dungeons makes me cringe nowadays, but lots of others are lining up for the same experience... this genre is interesting in a lot of ways, perhaps more so to those of us with some age on us as we can look back at it in a more nostalgic light which allows us to really enjoy the various attributes that can be brought to it.

 

It didn't sound much like the whole X-men mansion or anything of the sort, so bravo for having some interesting things going on. The multiple elements pooling into a singular plot is always a nice device for some complexity and confusion, all the better if some of them are actually mysteries that go unanswered...

[jkwleisemann]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Personally, when it comes to running Teen Champions games... I, like many people, largely ignore the school.

 

Or, at least, the boring parts. Classes and such... kinda hard to turn into an interesting RP session, y'know?

 

The big thing with a Teen Champions game is that you need to focus on the *characters*. Which means, to me, that you need characters who have interesting things to focus on.

 

Usually, this turns into the "discovering your powers" sort of thing. Personally, for reasons others have mentioned, that tends to be a little dull to me. I prefer one of two approaches:

 

1: Discovering how to *control* your powers. For this reason, I developed a "Limited Control" limitation for my Teen Champions games; it's not No Conscious Control, but it gives the GM many of the same benefits without *totally* keeping the character from using the power when they want to.

 

For those who are interested:

 

Limited Control (-1): Power tends to activate itself in times of stress, or even at random. If the character doesn't want the power to 'turn on,' they can make an Ego roll at -1/10 active points, or pay the Endurance cost of the power. If they want to turn it on at a particular time, the same conditions apply - however, to turn it on despite a failed Ego roll, twice the END cost must be spent.

 

2: Personality. This is trickier - it's a lot easier when the GM can control what everybody is, but that's not an RPG, it's group writing. Teens, as pointed out in TC, are overly dramatic, prone to even the smallest things being disasters. That's all well and good... but why keep it to the small things?

 

Personally, I like it when my Teen Champions games play out about *one* step shy of As the Stomach Chur - err, As the World Turns. After all - the teen years aren't just ones of overblown melodrama; for some people, they're ones where *everything* about who you are changes. And, when you're dealing with comics, sometimes the melodrama isn't just in your teen's head.

 

What if the jock quarterback (who happens to have superpowers) is figuring out that he's gay?

 

What if your character - beyond just discovering superpowers they can barely control - is also going through a gender identity crisis (did this one once... sadly, the GM and player both got distracted by shiny things before we could get too far with it)?

 

What if your character gets pregnant, or finds out he's about to become a teen father?

 

What if you find out that your boyfriend or girlfriend is secretly your half-sister by some quirk of fate?

 

What if you find out that your parents are really supervillains? And then they come after you?

 

What if the guy behind your team is slowly starting to reveal their true colors as a villainous (or at least questionably virtuous) sort himself?

 

Now, obviously, many of these things rely *strongly* on mature players. Fortunately, I've had a number of them to work with, myself, so plots like the above (when discussed and figured out in advance) can end up creating massive amounts of (melo)drama for a campaign.

 

Beyond that... personally, I also agree with what some others have suggested. Don't "kiddy it up" just because the players are "kids," unless you're *looking* for a more light-hearted game.

 

Heroes don't get that way unless they overcome real threats. Sure, let 'em fight Bulldozer and Foxbat and some of the other "wimp" or "joke" villains and see that they're a serious threat to them at this level... but also let 'em deal with DEMON, Doctor Destroyer, whatever threats you'd normally consider for the higher-end heroes. Nerf them a bit so they're at a manageable power level, but it's even sweeter when the underdog teens that nobody took seriously are the guys who save the world - and not just quietly, behind the scenes, but by taking on the Mastermind just as publicly as the "real heroes" ever did.

 

*Those* are the scenes, IMHO, that make Teen Champions really worth playing as supers... the ones where they go through the crucible, and come out stronger because of it.

[jkwleisemann]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

I think that if done correctly having plots that do revolve around the school (or being in the school) can be tons of fun.

 

School dances, sports events (especially homecoming), and the school play can all be great places for plots to occur or even plots in themselves.

 

School activities influencing plots is especially cool when one of the PCs is directly involved. If a character is on the football team then a conflict durring a game can provide tons of fun (and problems for that PC). The same goes for any school activity, club, or sport.

Now these, I'll agree with. School *events* can be tons of fun. I just hesitate to put the classes themselves on-screen, so to speak....

[Spence]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

I think that if done correctly having plots that do revolve around the school (or being in the school) can be tons of fun.

 

School dances, sports events (especially homecoming), and the school play can all be great places for plots to occur or even plots in themselves.

 

School activities influencing plots is especially cool when one of the PCs is directly involved. If a character is on the football team then a conflict durring a game can provide tons of fun (and problems for that PC). The same goes for any school activity, club, or sport.

 

You are missing what I meant, which means I was probably not clear. Imagine that

 

School activities are not actual "school" as in learning and academic achievement. They are OTHER things done by students besides actual class, clubs and so on. They happen around and in between the real part of school. Of course at that age, I placed much more interest in "activities" than Mr. Renalds English class too.

 

So I'll rephrase.

 

"Most comics (New Mutants, etc), manga (Full Metal Panic, etc) , TV shows (V Mars, Smallville, X-Men, etc) or anime (Full Metal Panic, GateKeepers, etc) I have read/seen that involve "teens in school" really don't have much that revolves around "school" or classroom work. At the most, things may take place on the campus in clubs or non-academic activities, but if the actual classroom or instructor is used/mentioned it is mostly for a common location or a starting point, rather than the story centering around the school itself.

 

Of course this in no means can characterizes ALL teen style games/books/shows, the wee bit I have seen/read."

 

 

I have read/seen many "teen" adventures where the characters have a meeting between classes, use the school computer room or newspaper office, are watching the clock for class to end so they can get out and stop villain X, or trying to see if X really has powers without revealing themselves to the other student or faculty. Those all may use the campus as a background.

 

But I have never heard of an adventure where the character must use their super math skills to get a "A".

 

A campaign about a police detective squad will have the PC's playing detectives and working on actual "cases". Many adventures will take place at the precinct and actually involve "police" as a central component of the game.

 

A teen champions game will take place on campus, but except for using the classroom as a backdrop for "between class" meetings, establishing urgency " when will the bell ring already" or using "extra curricular activities" as a backdrop, it has very little to do with actual school.

 

In the end very very few “Teen” adventure involve the PC’s sitting in class for the session. It may start in the classroom, “You finish passing in the Tests and Mr. Teacher reminds you all about the assignment due next week, as the bell rings and you rush out of class to meet X.” But it will never consist of, “Susie cannot solve the algebra problem, can Bob (secretly MathWonder Boy) do it without anyone noticing his amazing powers?”.

 

School and it activities are a backdrop and a way to channel the game and have a ready plausible way to intro NPC’s and sessions.

 

School as “School” figures in very little.

 

Even in the X-Man movies, the few times they showed the "New Mutants" in "class" was for flavor or to "prove" it was a school. Nothing "happened" in class that was important to the storyline.

 

In Full Metal Panic (the anime and manga), much of the story happens around or in the school Kaname attends. She has been targeted for kidnapping and/or murder and Sagara has been inserted to the school to be her bodyguard. Initially she doesn't know this or him. All kinds of things happen from funny to serious, Sagara preventing assasinations to trying to guard her on her first date without her knowing. There is none of the catwoman or swimsuit power armor nonsense that many on this board assume all anime is. Just a good solid story that is works as a good template for handling a TC game in a school environment.

[clsage]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

 

Even in the X-Man movies, the few times they showed the "New Mutants" in "class" was for flavor or to "prove" it was a school. Nothing "happened" in class that was important to the storyline.....

 

Not to be a contrarian (tho' I probably am ) but in one of the scenes

from the extended release of the first X-Men movie, there is a scene where

Storm is leading a class discussion about how Christians were persecuted by

Rome...Till Constantine was converted and "became one of them..." Which

is, of course, the evil plot that Magneto has in store for the worlds leaders.

Just a little subtext and it wasn't in the original theatrical release but still.....

 

Ok. So I am a contrarian.

 

That said, your post makes some really solid points and I agree with you:

in most of the genre (Teen Champs), classes are held "off camera" and are

really only tangental to most of the storylines.....

 

-Carl-

[Remjin]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

I do sometimes like the short snippets from class where whispering/note passing are conducted. S'long as the actual lecture/lesson is omitted, those scenes could work and helps reinforce the school setting some.

[Spence]

Re: Teen Champions Villians

 

Not to be a contrarian (tho' I probably am ) but in one of the scenes

from the extended release of the first X-Men movie, there is a scene where

Storm is leading a class discussion about how Christians were persecuted by

Rome...Till Constantine was converted and "became one of them..." Which

is, of course, the evil plot that Magneto has in store for the worlds leaders.

Just a little subtext and it wasn't in the original theatrical release but still.....

 

Ok. So I am a contrarian.

 

That said, your post makes some really solid points and I agree with you:

in most of the genre (Teen Champs), classes are held "off camera" and are

really only tangental to most of the storylines.....

 

-Carl-

 

I will actually have to re-watch the scene. But I didn't even pay attention to Storm talking, the scene focus was the young mutants goofing off with their powers. The Ice flower and such, introducing the characters and their powers. Kind of like the scene were Wolverine goes to talk to the Professor and he has some students in the office. The entire scene was set up to show us Kitty Pride and her phasing power. The "teaching" was just academic "background noise" supporting the scene.

 

Opinions are great, ain't they