How do you keep track of your villainous organizations

[Dead guy on tab]

Do you have one large organization or several smaller organizations?

How do you keep track of all of their activities or do you just have each plot being a separate thread?

How do you keep track of competing organizations?

 

I'm just looking for ideas because I want to use several organizations and I seem to be having trouble formulating the organizations as background menaces that slowly move plots forward versus being the normals the heroes get to beat up for the plotline-o-the-day.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: How do you keep track of your villainous organizations

 

My motto when using plotlines involving villain orgs is to keep them PC-centric. Ultimately these groups exist for the heroes to fight, and what occurs "off camera" is generally not their primary concern, nor does it impact the gaming sessions unless the backstory is useful for the players to know. While I may have an idea of what a particular org is working toward overall, I don't worry about figuring out the details of specific activities unless I want to involve the PC heroes in them. Nor do I try to specify how organizations interact unless the heroes will be drawn into the middle of their alliances or conflicts.

 

Consider how groups like HYDRA or KOBRA function in the comics: as far the the hero or heroes of a given series are concerned, the group is effectively dormant until the series writer comes up with an idea for using them. If the series is concerned with continuity that event becomes part of the world history, but the group retreats from the heroes' radar until the writer wants to use them again.

 

In an RPG context, as the PCs become more experienced and prominent, the GM can pit them against some of the major activities of a villain org, because they now have the power to be a major threat. You can even hold off defining focussed goals and plots of the organization until your campaign gets to that stage.

[jkwleisemann]

Re: How do you keep track of your villainous organizations

 

Yes.

Both.

Who said they're competing?

 

In more detail:

 

I have both one large organization (typically called the Takkar, going back to when I GM'ed a Dark Champions game in the 90's) and several smaller organizations... and with one exception, they're the same.

 

That exception is the Organization, a semi-sanctioned group of Ebil Guvmint Baddies in the tradition of The Centre from The Pretender. Tend to be involved in the origins of some of my recurring NPC's.

 

As for the Takkar....

 

The Takkar originated back in the 90's... the 1890's, to be exact. They started out when Dr. James Moriarity brought together the disparate criminal organizations of Europe, and was nearly shattered by Sherlock Holmes. However, Moriarity's son and wife had emigrated to the U.S., where they were largely beyond the reach of his enemies, and started the family business up over there. For as long as there has been organized crime, there has been the Takkar... and few people realize that, except for the leaders of the various groups, who don't even realize that the organization is larger than their own city.

 

The Takkar works by sending a lieutenant out to negotiate a peace (of sorts) with the local gangs and groups. They don't object to some scuffling over turf (good for ensuring that the locals stay on their toes), but major gang wars are to be generally avoided; it's bad for business. Typically, nobody is aware that the lieutenant has superiors of his own; as such, he looks to be neutral and reasonable. In this way, VIPER nests, ARGENT cells, Mafia families, Crips, Bloods, Triads, Tongs... vast networks have been forged throughout the underworld, all without the knowledge of the members of those groups. The Takkar usually leaves them to operate independently, but they claim a small percentage in exchange for their mediation and support; a gang that works with the Takkar not only has a neutral mediator, but a much larger set of resources. Those that don't, find themselves on a very long limb, one that's promptly cut off from the tree.

 

The Takkar does occasionally set up specific jobs, but these tend to be seemingly unimportant... and, in the small scale, they are. A robbery in Chicago, somebody killed in Milennium City... but in the big picture, they all work together to accomplish various goals, whether the destruction of a rival or some vast payoff that nobody lower on the totem pole is truly aware of.

 

Of course, occasionally supers interfere, which is why one of the Takkar's most treasured services is a stable of well-paid supervillain mercenaries that can be deployed, free of charge, to member organizations as long as nobody gets too greedy for superpowered help.

 

To date, I have yet to have anybody navigate up the web of interlocking groups and organizations to run afoul of James Morarity III, current leader of the Takkar and the man inside the suit of the most powerful supervillain the Takkar can field.

 

Hope that helps answer the question and gives you a few ideas.

[Mike W]

Re: How do you keep track of your villainous organizations

 

First rule: Give each one a separate niche so that they don't step on each other's toes. One is the mystic type. One is your basic, supertech take over the world type, etc.

 

Second rule: Limit it to no more than 3 or 4. Any more risks duplication.

 

Third rule: Every week, sit down and write down one thing that each organization did. It helps generate ideas. If they look like they're getting close to doing something important, then it's time for some heroes to step in - probably the PCs.

["V"]

Re: How do you keep track of your villainous organizations

 

The niche thing is vital. If two organisations share a niche they are effectively competing for resources & opportunities and will end up in conflict. This isn't a bad thing & can produce interesting plots, but it's not going to be an ongoing situation - one side will win outright (and assimilate or destroy the other) or it will develop into a full scale war - again an interesting set of plots.

 

In my last Champions campaign the major organisations were:

 

1) Typical Corporate power bloc whose aims were the covert control of the government and the destruction of opponents to this both domestic and internationally.

 

2) Classic Crime Organisation - out for the big score through theft, extortion, blackmail etc

 

3) Evil mystical group - usual "we are enlightening the world...now worship or die"

 

There were smaller groups too - but not large enough to be competitors

[Sketchpad]

Re: How do you keep track of your villainous organizations

 

I use large and small organizations ... super villain groups ... super hero groups ... many individuals ... really a ton of people. How do I keep it straight? Notes here and there, concentrating on the heroes of the campaigns I run and keeping a timeline of events (especially when doing a massive campaign crossover like I did this summer).

[Narratio]

Re: How do you keep track of your villainous organizations

 

You could use a league system, advertise it on underground radio broadcasts?\

 

"This week on VUN, Viper play Demon to see who goes through to the quarter finals of the World Domination Championship! Viper have home field advantage and Demon are lacking thier tricky left winger after a tragic accident involving a meteor. Tune in this week to the Villainy Unlimited Network, your Network of choice for all things against the law!"

 

But really, as Liaden said, they're just in the back ground and used as prop devices for the players to bounce off of. Unless you make a full campaign about thwarting the villain group over multipe evenings, it's not really neccessary to detail them too much.

 

And niches, must support the idea of keeping them in niches.