Followers of Takofanes

[Lord Liaden]

We've seen some interesting responses on this forum recently to requests for who within the canon Champions Universe would choose to work with, or for, two of the more unconventional and unpredictable villains in the CU: the harmless, humorous loon Foxbat, and the equally looney but lethal sociopath Black Harlequin.

 

A suggestion came up on the latter thread that I thought deserved further exploration, because it involved perhaps the most heartless, ruthless, arrogant, inhuman megalomaniac in the whole setting. So, who (if anyone) from the CU do you think would willingly serve Takofanes the Undying Lord, and why? I say "serve" because the Archlich normally treats no one as an equal partner, but if you can rationalize him dealing with a particular villain on that level, cool.

 

I'll keep my own thoughts on the subject for a bit, to avoid coloring the initial responses.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

Willingly? Dunno, for the most part he'd simply turn them into more easily controlled undead.

 

 

He could possibly exert his control over the Crowns of Krim. That would be a n epic villain group.

 

Or just stat out his major followers.

[gmurie]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

Nobody. The whole point of him is that he's an undead monster that seeks to control all undead under his iron authoritarian grip. There's no "maybe I can pursue my ulterior goals" or "maybe it's for the best to have him in control" or "this will allow me to savor my vengeance."

 

Maybe. MAYBE someone who seeks to destroy all life in the universe with no ultimate goal in mind.

 

Not even Black Paladin would serve this guy. Takofanes would just kill him and turn him into a servitor, and Black Paladin despite his flaws seems to have a lust for life written into his background.

[Nerdnumber1]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

It would be interesting to ponder what Mechanon's opinion of undead would be. They wouldn't fall under the definition of "organic life" and thus not be part of his target group. However, undeath is a perversion of life and could be seen as a larger flaw to be corrected. Not to mention how deadly any game with such a powerful team-up would be to the players so unfortunate to face such a foe.

[freakboy6117]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

do any of your players not have a code against killing or even if they do is there anyone they might for go it for.

have the players kill on purpose or accidentally some enemy and then bring him back as a servant of takofanes.

 

If that's a little to dark for your style of game how about a villain or NPC hero with a DNPC the DPNC has cancer or other incurable disease and only a deal with the devil in this case Takofanes(though it would work for Telios or Doctor Destroyer as well) will save them now they must serve the undying lord in some task can your -players thwart the plot and save the innocent or will the villain blame them for the death of there loved one?

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

I think it's worth remembering that Takofanes had living servants back when he was Kal-Turak. I don't believe he would automatically reduce servants to undead status. His background text states that he doesn't really care whether those who serve him are living or dead; but undead in the Champions Universe, including Tak himself, have certain vulnerabilities, such as to holy objects and places, that a knowledgeable foe could exploit. It would be to the Archlich's advantage to have some living minions, particularly in the modern age of supers when so many beings come with formidable powers of their own.

 

Leaving off any undead villains of the CU, whom Takofanes could compel to serve if he wished, and the Crowns of Krim whom he's been trying to press gang, I think there are characters who would choose to join him if they fulfill certain criteria. First, they have to already be utterly evil and corrupt, willing to work for a monster. Second, they have to see some benefit, either short term or long term, to being in his camp. They wouldn't necessarily want him to succeed in his ultimate goal of ruling the world. I also think it would help their case if their powers were mystical in nature, as the Archlich doesn't really grasp technology, psionics, genetic mutations, or other present-day supers origins, and probably wouldn't wholly trust them.

 

Black Paladin, already mentioned on this thread, has the supernatural power and evil nature covered, and would doubtlessly enjoy the havoc and suffering that Takofanes brings. But BP seems to like his independence or being in charge, so it's debatable whether he'd be willing to be a henchman. OTOH I think Morningstar would be a good candidate. He's a demonic hybrid, which Tak would probably appreciate, and he's willing to work for anyone as long as he has opportunities for battle, glory, profit, and power, which he could certainly gain as a lieutenant of the Archlich.

 

Shadowdragon relishes committing evil acts, so he might consider employment by Takofanes an opportunity to broaden his experience. Blowtorch doesn't seem to care who gets hurt as long as he has opportunities to burn things, but being both unpredictable and technologically based he likely wouldn't rise high in the Archlich's service.

 

I think Rictus would be willing to serve the Undying Lord, at least for a while, as long as he was given prominence and authority. He's a powerful necromancer in his own right, and he's looking to expand his knowledge of sorcery, so serving under the greatest sorceror on Earth should give him plenty of opportunities to observe and learn. In fact, since Rictus's origin isn't given, I wouldn't be surprised if he was already a disciple of Takofanes.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

It would be interesting to ponder what Mechanon's opinion of undead would be. They wouldn't fall under the definition of "organic life" and thus not be part of his target group. However' date=' undeath is a perversion of life and could be seen as a larger flaw to be corrected. Not to mention how deadly any game with such a powerful team-up would be to the players so unfortunate to face such a foe.[/quote']

 

The potential for a Takofanes/Mechanon alliance came up here 'way back when. Pretty interesting discussion: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2908

[Nerdnumber1]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

Now that I think about it though, a Takofanes/Mechanon alliance would be fairly unlikely, but if they happened to be fighting a single (or separate) enemy(ies) in the same area, they would likely ignore each other. Takofanes might drop Mechanon a tip to a mutually benefitial target (especially after the forementioned encounter). Either way, that kind of battle would be an especially large below-the-belt shot to any mentalist PCs.

[OddHat]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

Foxbat. He'd get a kick out of being Zombat for a while. Maybe try to lead legions of Zombies in choreographed dance numbers. He'd swap out his regular costume for the number Jackson wore in Thriller.

 

Clown. Lighthearted, wacky fun, all in the service of their dread life-hating dark lord.

 

Bulldozer, because it takes a real man, a manly man, to work the ultimate dead end job.

 

I'd probably put him behind a splinter cell of DEMON. The morbane(s) in charge might be deluded enough to think they could use his backing in their own power plays, and he's senile and insane enough to ignore their yammering so long as they obey direct orders. By the time they realize just how far in over their heads they really are, it'll be too late. Also, that opens up the possibility of factional fighting within DEMON, something that goes well with its general theme.

 

For a high tech take, do the same thing with a VIPER Nest, maybe one dominated by a Nest Leader with a thing against the Serpent Priests. He figures he needs magic to fight magic, offers his allegiance to Tak, and quickly finds out just how bad an idea that was. As a bonus, you can have Viperia and a team of Viper spawned Supers show up to bring the rogue nest down, and throw the PCs into the middle.

[Legatus]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

Foxbat. He'd get a kick out of being Zombat for a while. Maybe try to lead legions of Zombies in choreographed dance numbers. He'd swap out his regular costume for the number Jackson wore in Thriller.

 

Clown. Lighthearted, wacky fun, all in the service of their dread life-hating dark lord.

 

Bulldozer, because it takes a real man, a manly man, to work the ultimate dead end job.

 

I'd love to see Zombat and Ghouldozer!!!

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

Thorn --he's gullible.

Vilsimbra (Arcane Adversaries) --she saw what happened to those who didn't get on the Kal Turak bus last time it left station.

Archimago's Zodiac Working (Frag and Evil Eye) and Bromion.

And, in a perverse way, the Edomite. For Krim is a pseudonym for someone very powerful, someone who has been working behind the scenes for a very long time indeed. The pieces are coming together, and the stars are right. When the time comes in 2012, this universe will have two choices: the Qliphotic, or the Ivory Throne. Though the consequences of that choice may not be manifest until 3000, and the being who mounts the throne will be Kal Turak's father....

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

My last posting here was blurbish. Here's another take on my thinking.

When I began buying Hero products again, I really didn't expect to take to the Hero Universe. By and large, RPG game settings have always seemed like the sandbox was a size (at least) too small. I was won over by what Steve Long calls the genericness of the setting, and what to me seems its generous and comics-like inclusiveness.

In brief, if it makes for a good plot, it's in the Hero Universe. (It's rather like writing for the Silver Age, that way.) Is Chthulhu cool? He's in. Want your supers to fight Sauron? He's in. Eternals? Got it. UFOs? In like Flin. Dormannu? Cool.

The trick for the GM, then, is to compose your own vision of the way the universe works out of these disparate elements, weaving them together in whatever way that suits you. I like Takofanes and Champions 3000, and am both disturbed and fascinated by the Qliphotic. I want to work all three together, but we know that Takofanes, like Doctor Destroyer, had a bathetic death some time around 2021AD.

So if plans around Takofanes mature in 3000AD, they do not feature the Undying King. That's okay, though, because we can shift the focus to his "uncle," Krim, and, if it is necessary, revive his father, the Lord of the Graven Spear for the Champions 3000 setting, just as was done for the DEMON 3000 plot seed.

What kind of plot is deep enough to extend 71,000 years? The big plot is the battle between normal universes and the Qliphotic. One of the odd aspects of the Hero setting is that even evil beings (like Krim) are opposed to the Qliphotic. That doesn't mean, though, that it can't be a selfish opposition. "Surrender to Krim as a price for thwarting the Qliphotic" selfish.

The idea, then, is that Krim has been manipulating both the heroes and the Edomite himself on the road towards the crisis of 2012 when the Edomite tries to engineer the Qliphotic takeover of Earth (Earth's universe?) At that point, the heroes will be given a choice of accepting Krim's aid or being defeated. Accepting his aid will lead to return of the Lord of the Graven Spear in 3000AD.

Played out, this campaign arc will take the heroes time travelling from the Turakian Age to the Galactic Champions era to the crisis of 2012.

I also infer that Krim has a presence in the modern era, but a disguised one. Knowledgeable mystics can look at Takofanes and the Crowns of Krim rampaging around and congratulate themselves on knowing that Krim is a demon god of ages agone whose creations live on after him. Meanwhile, the real Krim, under an age-appropriate pseudonym, is engineering the climax of 2012. As for who that might be, I'll just resolve an atmospheric problem I had with Vibora Bay by saying that a godlike character in that book (if you have read it, you know who I mean), is pulling our legs a little bit with his back story.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

Now that is as fine an example of selective element-weaving as I've read in a long time. Kudos.

 

P.S. Would you mind if I use this excerpt from you post as a signature? "If it makes for a good plot, it's in the Hero Universe. Is Chthulhu cool? He's in. Want your supers to fight Sauron? He's in. Eternals? Got it. UFOs? In like Flynn. Dormammu? Cool."

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

Go for it, LL.

[Ragdoll]

Re: Followers of Takofanes

 

I'd love to see Zombat and Ghouldozer!!!

 

Zombat ... Ghouldozer

 

I smell an alternate universe!