Villainy Amok

[Steve Long]

Here’s our back-cover text describing VAmok:

 

VILLAINY MOST FOUL!

 

Among the thousands of adventures Champions GMs run, a few favorite types — classics from the worlds of comic books and the movies — stand out. They get run in nearly every campaign, and sometimes multiple times within a single campaign. But if you don’t watch out, these beloved classics can become stale and routine.

 

Enter Villainy Amok! This book looks at several of the most exciting “classic” types of scenarios and provides suggestions, options, and resources for using them in your campaign. That way you can keep them fresh and exciting even after repeated use.

 

Your heroes won’t know what hit them when they encouter these fiendish schemes:

 

—the bank robbery, everyone’s favorite beginner and fill-in adventure

 

—the “prelude to alien invasion” attack

 

—the wonder drug that gives ordinary people superhuman powers... but with horrific side effects

 

—the burning building, filled with threats and opportunities for heroic action

 

—the scientific experiment gone awry or perverted for evil ends

 

—“Honey, I Shrunk The Superheroes,” in which the heroes must shrink down to microscopic size to enter someone’s body, or some other unusual location, to save a life or resolve a problem

 

—“My Big Fat Caped Wedding,” in which two superheroes try to get married and many problems (ranging from the humorous to the deadly) ensue

 

Last but not least, Villainy Amok has The Plot Gallery, an enormous collection of plot seeds and adventure suggestions organized by theme. So let the adventure begin! Let the villains run amok and test the powers, skill, and bravery of the heroes at every turn!

 

Uses characters from Champions Universe and Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks.

 

ISBN: 1-58366-042-9

SKU: DOJHERO216

Price: $26.99 US

 

You can buy this book in our Online Store.

You can buy this PDF in our Online Store.

[Steve Long]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

Here’s a copy of ghost-angel’s review of VAmok. Feel free to post other reviews, or links to them, if you like!

 

The Upside:

 

Villainy Amok is a collection of scenarios for Champions. There are seven classic plots outlined in detail, plus a chapter of miscellaneous plot ideas and how to work with them. These differ from standard adventures in that the whole adventure is not written, instead this is a how-to on create scenarios. The bonus is that you can reuse the scenarios in the book with some easily changed details and new twists.

 

The first seven chapters all follow the same basic formula for presenting, setting up, running and concluding the scenarios. Since these are presented as a Build You Own Scenarios they come with lots of options.

 

First is the type of scenario you want to run (from a one shot, to comedy and other themes). Each chapter comes with several suggestions on some appropriate themes to explore or motivations behind each scenario. Second a cast of various character types is presented. Both villainous, heroic and some generic NPCs are presented as appropriate to each scenario type. Also included are some NPC write-ups appropriate to each scenario. Complications for each scenario make sure things aren't going to be predictable for the Players.

 

Ten Unusual Scenarios gives some off beat, and unexpected, plot setups and complications for each scenario as well, just to keep the PCs on their toes. Since this is presented as a Build A Scenario resource the last part of each chapter provides random generation tables to quickly put together a plot of each type. And in case you need a premade scenario on the spot each chapter comes with one of those too, all of which are pretty inventive and should keep the PCs busy.

 

With all this you could keep a group of Players occupied for most of a campaign just with this book alone.

 

Chapter One - Hands In The Air. The classic of classic Superhero scenarios - the bank robbery. Of all the scenarios this might be the most cliche, of course it can also be the most fun. If you've got half a session left after wrapping up the previous adventure why not toss in a quick and easy bank robbery. Or if the PCs have come out of a harrowing experience a simple robbery can make them feel like heroes again as the trounce a group of would be villains. But don't over look the heist as a possible gateway to a larger story. And moving beyond banks, you can use the advice here as part of a robbery for any type of place with things to steal. This chapter breathes new and exciting life into what could otherwise be an overdone cliche.

 

Chapter Two - The Threat Beyond. Alien invasions have been a stable of literature since the early days of fiction, and superheroes love to thwart entire invasions. Instead of a full scale invasion however this chapter covers the probe, or first strike to test the defenses of little old Earth. For the NPC write-ups four different Alien Probes are written-up; the all consuming Silver Ooze, the classic Tri-Pod War Machine, the plant based alien life form that sends a seed to earth, and the Vivisector designed to take apart Earth life.

 

Chapter Three - Ask Your Doctor If Metatron Is Right For You. While the first two scenarios have the potential for a lot of good old fashioned fun, this one has the potential for severe tragedy if you want to explore the darker side of Superpowers. Eleven different effects of a Superdrug are presented, since the drug itself is a plot device they're presented as Package Deals you add onto the affected person for the duration of their addiction (or permanently if that suits your game).

 

Chapter Four - Burn Baby Burn! Nothing adds to the drama, tension and danger of a situation quite like setting it on fire. The chapter starts with some rules for handling fires in the Hero System, including damage, spreading the fire, putting it out, smoke and other effects. As well as a write-up of a fire truck. The scenarios presented are for fires to be stand alone adventures - either one shot where the heroes get a chance to be heroes and save lives, or part of ongoing plots with arsonists.

 

Chapter Five - It Came From A Mad Scientists Lab. Science, Mad Science! Eighteen mad scientist experiments are presented, with variations, for over two dozen plots ideas to choose from. Along with stuff in a Mad Scientists lab. The Characters here are actually a Mad Scientist package deal with some add on Deals to specialize them, this can easily be redone to reflect any scientist in a Supers Universe.

 

Chapter Six - Honey, I Shrunk The Superheroes! This chapter provides some possible rules you can use for Heroes of various sizes, including the Microverse, a realm so tiny it's another dimension. The Characters here are a nanomachine and an anti-body for when your characters have to enter someone's body to save them from, well, there's plenty of ideas for the what in this chapter. Also as a bonus is The City Of Naldar, if you're using Firewing (from the Champions Universe) this can be used as a different kind of plot hook for him instead of his standard tropes.

 

Chapter Seven - My Big Fat Caped Wedding. Weddings are about love, happiness and if you're Superheroes a really big fight. This scenario sets up a Wedding (between PCs or NPCs) as an event to be really remembered. Of all the scenarios in the book this is the one to most likely take many sessions to complete, and can be an involved story arc. If you're into drama this is a good scenario to include in your game at some point, especially if you want a happy ending after a big event.

 

Chapter Eight - The Plot Gallery. This is a collection of plots, plans and schemes to use in your games. They are presented as generic with few, if any, outside connections presented in the plots of Hero's other books. The include interesting ways to start campaigns, some generic plot ideas, personal and moral dilemas, villain master plans, and scenarios to take advantage of characters Disadvantages (Secret Identity, DNPC, and Hunteds), Rumors and Investigation Tips. Overall there are one hundred and sixty-five plot ideas in this chapter, many of which have complication suggestions for added fun.

 

The Appendix contains two new villains to introduce into your campaigns. The Engineer is a cyborg, or sorts. He body is constantly regenerating the flesh as the machine side tries to convert her to a robot, creating one disturbed supervillainess. Invictus is a bundle of archetypes rolled into one, he's possessed by an ancient Roman sorcerer, son of a politician, a hero to the public and a senator. He's also evil to the core with ambitions of creating a new Rome, as a behind the scenes manipulator. While he's publicly a superhero he schemes to take over the United States. If you need a scheming long term arch villain who will put up a climactic and titanic battle in the end Invictus fits the bill.

 

The Downside:

 

The only thing missing from this books is maps. Full page, easily copied for handouts, maps of the seven main scenarios would have been cool. And a set of generic maps to go with the chapter of generic plots would have pushed this book into the stratosphere as far as adventure books go.

 

The Otherside:

 

The book is good for anyone running a Superhero game in any system. While a lot of the suggestion rules may be system specific all of the advice on setting up and running the scenarios is universally applicable.

 

The book is great. For a novice GM you can run an entire campaign from all the ideas in this book alone. Even veteran GMs could add a few new tools to their box of adventures and scenarios.

[Sketchpad]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

Here's my review I did a while back:

Villainy Amok is a plot book for Champions/The Hero System and published by Hero Games. Written by RPG veteran Scott Bennie, Villainy Amok collects some of the common plots that occur with the comic book genre and maps them out for the GM to use in their campaign. Of all the Hero System books I’ve reviewed, I encourage anyone that runs superhero games to pick this up. Not only are some classic ideas plotted out, but each one contains variations on the theme, stats for an assortment of items that may be broken and also offer an insert in almost every chapter discussing ten unusual suggestions for that particular topic.

In the first chapter, the scenario of a bank robbery is explored. Within the chapter, there is discussion on the general concept of a bank robbery, as well as a map, some variations on the theme, NPCs and a “Random Bank Robbery Generator”.

In chapter two, the classic alien invasion plot is detailed. Included with the “Random Alien Probe Attack Generator”, there are also a small horde of useful NPCs and creatures, an map detailing the crash site in a sample surrounding area and variations of the concepts of alien scouts and invasions.

Chapter three also follows the same formulas, but concentrates the effects of “super-drugs” that grant others superhuman powers. Additionally, there are several packages available for the effects of various drugs, ranging from animal abilities to granting someone psionics, and a map of a typical drug lab/warehouse.

Another classic scenario is explored in chapter four is the concept of a raging fire. Not only are there the methods used in the other chapters, but, in addition, there are expanded fire rules, packages for firefighters and fire fighting equipment.

In the fifth chapter, the idea surrounding mad scientists are detailed. Offering much of the style of information as its preceding chapters, there are also packages for the mad scientist and a map of his laboratory. This had to be one of my favorite chapters, as the packages and information included are both interesting and very useful for those wacky villains that you see in the comics.

Chapter six poses the question of “what if the heroes are shrunken?” Included within this chapter are expanded shrinking rules, as well as builds for both a shrinking ray and a power allowing someone to enter a subatomic universe (Micronauts anyone?). Again, I found this one interesting and very well done (so well done that it was used almost immediately in my own campaign).

Like many special issues of comics, chapter seven explores the plot of a superhero wedding. With a nice map of wedding chapel, this chapter details variations on the plot and offers a “Random Wedding Scenario Generator” much like many of the other chapters. This chapter is a fun read and really harkens back to such events as Sue and Reed Richards wedding with ideas on what kind of gifts a heroic couple may want and who might show up to the ceremony.

In addition to the stereotypical comic plots, the eighth chapter goes into various plot threads a GM could easily bring into their campaign. Covering everything from hunteds to dependent NPCs, this chapter has some great mini threads that could easily be adapted into any game. Furthermore, Villainy Amok also has two older Champions characters (who, incidentally, appeared in Mr. Bennie’s Villainy Unbound) retooled for 5th edition Hero: The Engineer and Invictus, both of which are fully statted out and illustrated.

Overall, the book is great read and offers a lot for the GM to use. As is typical with all Hero Games’ books, included with the book is a thorough index and table of contents, allowing for quick research when needed. The design of the book is also very uniform with the Hero line, as well as the black and white art within. Add to this a nice color cover by Brett Barkley and there’s a complete package that any superhero GM should have. To be honest, with a bit of work, this book could easily be adapted to any genre, especially modern, pulp or Victorian campaigns.

[Psybolt]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

I have just ordered this from the online store. Looking forward to it

[mvoncannon]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

You will not regret this. It has helped me on numerous occasions. Well written.

[Psybolt]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

You will not regret this. It has helped me on numerous occasions. Well written.

 

I have only returned to Hero within the last year. I have found most all of the 5E books enjoyable. I'm glad that this should be one more good book.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

I just got this book for Christmas, and it is a great book! One question though-last night when I rolled up the physicist in the mad science chapter, it sent me to table 2-4, which isn't in the book. Is there an errata sheet somewhere? Even with that glitch, it is still worth the money.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

Yes, there are Errata covering that missing series of tables. They can be read on this webpage from the "Errata" section of the website, although the entries are just strung-together text, not neatly laid out like the other tables in the book.

 

While we're on the subject, I should mention that if you bought the paper version of VA instead of the PDF, it might be missing a map and additional tables that were supposed to appear on p. 88. Those are downloadable as a free PDF via a link on the Free Stuff webpage, about half way down the page.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

Thanks Lord Liaden! I did find the map, but my search-fu is horrible! Now for the fiendish Physicist! Bwahahaha!

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

Since I provided links to other Villainy Amok-related resources in my previous post, it would seem appropriate to add one more item here. Scott Bennie generously provided a free PDF of additional plot seeds which had been cut from the published book for space reasons. It was originally offered on the "Free Stuff" section of this website, but is no longer there. But since it was offered for free for so long, I see no harm in Attaching it to this post. This seems like a good place for interested parties to find it.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

I wanted to say that it wasn't hard to put the errata into a workable table form. I only have the microsoft wordprocessor program, but if anyone is interested, I'll e-mail them a copy.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

If the table is in a file format that can be Attached to a post, why not just put it here? It's already a free offering, so I can't see anyone from Hero objecting.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

Two things: 1) Its not even microsoft word, but their freebie microsoft wordproccessor-which I don't know if alot of people can open. : (

 

2) How the devil do you attach it? Is it like sending e-mail? If it is, I'll try. (When I get a chance.)

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

Two things: 1) Its not even microsoft word' date=' but their freebie microsoft wordproccessor-which I don't know if alot of people can open. : ([/quote']

 

IIRC that program allows you to Save your text as either a Document (DOC) file or a simple Text (TXT) file, which pretty much anyone with a computer can open, and both of which you can Attach here. (See below.)

 

2) How the devil do you attach it? Is it like sending e-mail? If it is' date=' I'll try. (When I get a chance.)[/quote']

 

Below the Quick Reply text box is a button marked, "Go Advanced," which will open a window with many more posting options. Scroll down that page past the icons to "Additional Options," and click on the button labeled, "Manage Attachments." From that window you can upload a file from your computer or from the Internet; and the window shows you what type of files you can upload, and how large they can be.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Villainy Amok

 

No dice Lord Liaden. The computer cannot find my file. It probally has to do with my original profile is frozen so I had to create a new one, but hero website only recognizes my old profile. I think Mechanon designed Vista