Lord Liaden Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hey, gang, it looks like I'll be running a high-powered Champions mini-campaign for some friends over this summer. I've decided to develop a team concept that I introduced last year when my old group closed down. I'm coming up blank on a name for the team, though, so I could use some of the creativity that abounds here. Especially from the twisted folks (you know who you are). The concept isn't so much a team as a loose alliance. Seven of the most powerful, destructive demonic entities abiding on the Earth have banded together to advance their mutual goals. Said goals aren't exactly subtle: the spreading of large-scale terror, chaos, death and destruction. While their goals aren't subtle, several of these demons are very devious and possess powers well suited to deception and manipulation, to complement their tremendous collective force. I intend to use demonic beings written up in various 5E Champions sourcebooks, gathered from around the world. This is the lineup I've chosen, with the sourcebook each monster appears in for anyone unfamiliar with them and curious: From the British Isles, Samhain, who spreads and feeds on terror and suffering (Champions Universe and Evil Unleashed). Samhain is the most subtle and charismatic of these demons, and is the one who has gathered and is "leading" them, although with creatures as evil and arrogant as these, it's all even Samhain can do to keep them going in the same direction; From Egypt, The Living Sphinx, a cunning and ferocious predator, who feeds on the spirits of the slain (Champions Worldwide); From India, Survalesh, an asura from the Hindu hells who delights in tormenting the living as he once punished the dead (Champions Worldwide); From China, Li Chun The Destroyer, driven by lust for devastation, with the blood of Chinese superheroes already on his hands (Champions Worldwide); From Australia, Marmoo, master of insect hordes from the Dreamtime, who desires the destruction of everything of beauty in the world (Hidden Lands); From South America, Eclipsar, wielder of terrible powers of darkness, who dreams of extinguishing the Sun and ending life on Earth (Champions Worldwide); From beneath the Atlantic Ocean, The Murk, an aquatic horror filled with the dark power of the inimical Qliphothic dimensions (Hidden Lands). I plan to introduce these demons to the PC heroes gradually in the early game sessions, starting with encounters with individual demons, then in twos and threes, until the PCs understand the full scope of what they're up against. I also want to foreshadow their coming through dreams and visions by the heroes and by mystics around the world. As part of that foreshadowing I would like to use a group name that they keep hearing without knowing what it means at first. Something evocative and frightening. And that's where my imagination is running dry. Does anyone have any suggestions? Feel free to ask questions if you'd like further clarification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name Sadly, Devil's Advocates is taken. I noticed that there are seven of them ... there are a lot of mythological/theological sevens, aren't there? Hmm. Something catastrophic ... Catastrophe? Apocalypse? The Alliance of the Abyss? If they were all female, they could be Hell's Belles. Just kidding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name HE77 (or HE7L or HEL7) The Unleashed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name I noticed that there are seven of them ... there are a lot of mythological/theological sevens' date=' aren't there? [/quote'] It is a resonant number, isn't it? Last time I had a game-based reason for using only six demons, but that never felt quite right. And thanks to CC and Basil for the suggestions. Keep 'em coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name The End The Prophesied The Seven Lords of Entropy The Seven Shepherds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name The End On an unrelated note, I now want to have some villain put a bunch of MMORPG and FPS gamers in power armor and dub the team Game Over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name The Seven Shepherds Mmm... that's a nice one. Full of symbolism but not too explicit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name The Last. Wrap Up. The Finishers. Finis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Johnston Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name The Circle of Seven The Angels of Destruction The Chosen Few Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name The Seven Deadly Sins/Gods/Spirits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Nytstar Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name The Seven Shadows Forces of Desolation Warriors of Despair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name How about some kind of play on The Magnificent Seven? Such as... The Maleficent Seven The Malevolent Seven The Malignant Seven etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name If they were all female' date=' they could be Hell's Belles. Just kidding.[/quote'] Now that I think of it, IIRC there's an all-female villain team in The Algernon Files by that name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name How about some kind of play on The Magnificent Seven? Such as... The Maleficent Seven The Malevolent Seven The Malignant Seven etc. That's a clever idea. It's a little more obvious than I was going for, though. I would prefer than anyone hearing the name without knowing the context would not immediately assume that it referred to a supervillain team. I was toying with "Seven Plagues," or "Seven Nights" (the opposite of the world being created in seven days), but those just don't pop out at me. Big thanks to everyone who's contributed so far. To this point I'm kinda leaning toward "Seven Shepherds" or "Seven Shadows," being a sucker for alliteration. But I know y'all have more great suggestions in you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flames Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name I'm going to have to go with Kramer's suggestion on Seinfeld, "Sons of Dad." Kind of a catch-all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name Septic Seven. Satan's Seven. Satan's Seraphim. Soulreavers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimble Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name The Unmerciful The Unforgiven Seven Agents of Doom (S.A.D.) Seven Agents of Despair (S.A.D.) The Chthonic Or The Chthonic Seven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
"V" Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name Assuming these guys consider themselves to be demonic entities and don't actually realise they're characters in a superhero roleplaying game, any name they choose is more likely to be chosen for the benefit of their own group identity rather than to please comic fans or have witty pop culture references. Also since Samhain is the leader of the group he is likely to be the one choosing the name. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with his character since I don't own the source material but given the name he's probably either going to a) Choose some Celtic Underworld reference ("Hounds of Annwn" or something) if he's an evil version of a pagan spirit, or Go for some traditional occult self-aggrandisement if he represents more of a standard satanic background ("The Magister Templi", "The Lurkers at the Threshold", "The Sons of Dispersal" etc). Hope I don't sound too grumpy or killjoy, but I don't think a group of demons would choose a name that sounds like a supervillain team. You could always call them "The Vaillians" _ By the way I'm not suggesting that the many excellent suggestions above are anything less than great - there are some very good names resonating with occult nastiness, I'm just voicing my own internal processes when I considered the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name The Beasts of Hell Lords of Urth ENRON Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casualplayer Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name Illwind. The Vicious Circle. Septacle. The Heirophant. Corrosion. Decay of Society, or flip it for Society of Decay. The Influence. Malefactors/Malevolence/Malevolent. The Cultivators. If I was a player in this game, I would call them the "Hell no, I quit!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name Assuming these guys consider themselves to be demonic entities and don't actually realise they're characters in a superhero roleplaying game, any name they choose is more likely to be chosen for the benefit of their own group identity rather than to please comic fans or have witty pop culture references. Also since Samhain is the leader of the group he is likely to be the one choosing the name. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with his character since I don't own the source material but given the name he's probably either going to a) Choose some Celtic Underworld reference ("Hounds of Annwn" or something) if he's an evil version of a pagan spirit, or Go for some traditional occult self-aggrandisement if he represents more of a standard satanic background ("The Magister Templi", "The Lurkers at the Threshold", "The Sons of Dispersal" etc). Hope I don't sound too grumpy or killjoy, but I don't think a group of demons would choose a name that sounds like a supervillain team. You could always call them "The Vaillians" _ By the way I'm not suggesting that the many excellent suggestions above are anything less than great - there are some very good names resonating with occult nastiness, I'm just voicing my own internal processes when I considered the question. And I like the way you think. For the record, Samhain is a malevolent spirit long associated with the British Isles, and actually originating from the lands of Tuala Morn many thousands of years ago; so the Celtic reference would make very good sense. (I think "The Vaillians" would probably be your personal nemeses.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name Illwind. The Vicious Circle. Septacle. The Heirophant. Corrosion. Decay of Society, or flip it for Society of Decay. The Influence. Malefactors/Malevolence/Malevolent. The Cultivators. If I was a player in this game, I would call them the "Hell no, I quit!" I'm really hoping that the PCs' realization that these demons are allied will be an "Oh, $#@+ !!" moment. I rather like Septacle. A seven-pointed star would be a good visual image to recur in visions, and has that occult association that "V" mentioned. Perhaps I could work in some cultists who have foreseen the demons' coming and seek to serve them, using that symbol as their identification. I was thinking this morning that Pandemonium would be an appropriate group name on several levels, and if I work it right the PCs won't realize at first that it refers to actual demons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catacomb Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name Call them 'Mythos' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzMike Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name Hmmm... Blood Moon Paradise Lost Sons of Morning The Rising Darkness Comes The Diabolical Demon's Club (with apologies to The Billionaire Boy's Club) The Mercy Seat (ok, so I see/hear this song by Nick Cave as their 'theme' tune...) Or a Gaelic translation fo any of these. I'm creatively fried from work. I'll come back to this later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted March 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Re: Villain Team Name Well, having considered the sound suggestions and advice I've received, to this point I've narrowed my choices down to three: The Septacle, for its occult association and readymade visual symbolism; The Hunt, as a reference to Samhain's proto-Celtic roots (in Tualan times he was the leader of the Wild Hunt); Pandemonium, both for the global origins of these demons and for what their actions will bring. I may use more than one of these names to reflect distinct elements of this group and event. I'm still very open to other suggestions, though. Hopefully the above will better illustrate the sort of thing I'm going for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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