Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

[Dragonfly]

Hey folks:

 

I posted some module write-ups and character descriptions for this campaign awhile back. Essentially, this is an exercise in retro. Set in 1980, this campaign aims to move through all the classic Champions adventures, allowing my new players to experience the universe as it unfolds around their characters. I'm trying to weave together (and in some cases mildly reimagine) classic elements while still keeping as much of the original feel as possible, much in the way that Batman: The Animated Series or Justice League Unlimited did with the DC Universe.

 

The first module series is, of course, The VIPER's Nest. I've chosen to weave VIPER's overall plot into a series of other scenarios that seem unrelated at first, but all converge into VIPER's grand scheme. You'll find the campaign / module timeline below.

 

As you'll see, I'm running the Tanghal Tower scenario tomorrow. I would, however, like some advice on the overall structure of things. On a macro scale, what do you think of the way in which everything is tied together? Does it work? Do you have any cool suggestions? Any constructive criticism?

 

On a micro scale, take a look at the last entry where I briefly describe what the Nest Leader's plan is surrounding Tanghal Tower. Any cool ideas for THAT scenario? I'd love to spice it up. As you'll see, the Nest Leader is planning a distraction along with the actual assault on Tanghal Tower. He'll probably use Sledge, Pile Driver, and Lazer to attack the convoy, and send Pulsar, Brick, Cheshire Cat and some VIPER agents to secure the blue prints.

 

Anyway, here's the timeline, which culminates in my plans for tomorrow:

______________________________________________________

 

1967

Criminal mastermind Dr. Lirby Koo suffers a major defeat at the hands of UNTIL. His favorite (only?) son killed in the conflict, Koo swears revenge.

 

Having infiltrated UNTIL, an American spy steals Lirby Koo’s notes on how to engineer super-beings and turns them over to the U.S. Government. These notes become the basis of the government sponsored super-soldier program that ultimately produces PRIMUS’ Silver and Golden Avengers.

 

1968

The Johnson administration announces the creation of PRIMUS. SAT is created as a stop-gap measure until PRIMUS can get off the ground.

 

1975

VIPER suffers a major defeat at the hands of UNTIL, The Minutemen, and Crusader.

 

Lirby Koo approaches VIPER and proposes that the organization back his research. In return, Lirby Koo promises to provide VIPER with an army of super-villains capable of crushing their mutual foes. VIPER accepts Koo’s offer, and the Man-Mutation Project begins. VIPER patiently begins to study the “UNTIL Problem,” watching for the right time to strike.

 

1978

VIPER’s Man-Mutation Project produces Brick.

 

1979

 

VIPER’s Man-Mutation Project produces Pile-Driver, Sledge and Pulsar.

 

VIPER’s Serpentine Computer deduces that before his capture in 1943, a Nazi spy deposited stolen blueprints for an experimental super-weapon in the cornerstone of NYC’s Tanghal Tower. Intent on securing those blueprints, and confident in the strength of its super-powered muscle, VIPER begins to mobilize.

 

VIPER’s Supreme Council appoints Mario Carelli, son of mob boss Antonio Carelli, Nest Leader of its NYC operations.

 

Mario Carelli uses his father’s political connections to arrange for the demolition of Tanghal Tower under the pretense that the building is structurally unsound. The demolition is set for February 15, 1980.

 

Using VIPER’s resources, as well as his father’s criminal infrastructure, Mario Carelli wages war on the Carelli’s rival crime families with the aim of consolidating power in the city under VIPER (and, by extension, Carelli) rule.

 

VIPER’s Supreme Council puts Mario Carelli in touch with Hank Wadsworth, a U.S. spy who has infiltrated UNTIL on behalf of the U.S. Government but is also selling secrets to VIPER. Wadsworth becomes an important source of information for Carelli.

 

Responding to Mario Carelli’s offensive, the Spumoni crime family strikes back at their enemies. A stroke of good luck, combined with some help from disaffected individuals from within Antonio Carelli’s organization, results in the Spumonis securing materials and equipment used in VIPER’s Man-Mutation experiments. Turning to the scientific criminal underworld, the Spumonis hire Professor Pythias Pomegranate to make sense of the stolen technology and materials.

 

Aware of the importance of maintaining a technological edge over VIPER’s foes, Carelli sends spies to infiltrate the offices of R&D firms in the region. Through this espionage he learns of Glass Industries’ highly advanced Project: Mechanon and its links to both The Minutemen and the U.S. Military. Carelli orders his spy, Jack Stevens, to steal Mechanon’s schematics as well as to download the AI into a subroutine of the Serpentine Computer via serpentine crystal. Mechanon, however, resists being abducted. The Serpentine Computer disengages from Mechanon, burning out the communications crystal employed by Stevens, but not before driving Mechanon insane. Mechanon captures Jack Stevens and holds him prisoner in an unused Glass Industries lab.

 

Convinced that human beings pose a threat to life on Earth and to the evolution of superior synthetic life forms in particular, Mechanon begins plotting against humanity. Drawing on proto-typical versions of the Man-Mutation Project imprinted in its consciousness by the Serpentine Computer, Mechanon begins to secretly use Glass Industries facilities to build a “Devolution Ray” capable of neutralizing the human threat by regressing the species’ intellectual faculties.

 

Secretly able to shuttle its consciousness between the linked Glass Industries and Minutemen computers, Mechanon gains control over his first robot body, which was on loan to the superhero team. Using this body, he attacks and captures the Minutemen, holding them captive in their own headquarters.

 

January 1980

Mechanon begins testing the Devolution Ray on Jack Stevens. Investigating Stevens’ disappearance, Crusader interrupts the process, causing Stevens to transform into Ogre.

 

[Campaign's First Session] Ogre busts out of Glass Industries and goes on a rampage through the streets of New York City. He is stopped by Nightshift, Sparrow-Hawk, Troyus, Rampart and UNTIL. During the fight, VIPER agents descend on Glass Industries in an attempt to secure incriminating evidence. UNTIL agents briefly engage these VIPER forces, but both are caught off guard when Mechanon attacks and makes off with what remains of his Devolution Ray. The VIPER agents escape in the chaos.

 

[Campaign's Second Session] Nightshift, Sparrow-Hawk, Troyus and Rampart rescue The Minutemen from Mechanon (with some behind the scenes help from UNTIL). Mechanon, however, escapes, Thunderbird (The Minutemen’s eldest member) dies, and The Minutemen choose to disband.

 

Despite some accusations of incompetence, the death of Thunderbird and The Minutemen’s disbanding earn Mario Carelli high praise from many on VIPER’s Supreme Council. Carelli convinces the Supreme Council that the time to strike at UNTIL is at hand. Not only is UNTIL weaker with The Minutemen out of the way, but the newly elected Reagan administration’s hesitance to give the organization free reign in the U.S. renders their old enemy less effective. Furthermore, the new superheroes on the scene are unorganized and vulnerable. Better to use VIPER’s super-powered muscle against them before the heroes pull together into a more effective unit. Finally, Carelli argues, VIPER will be unstoppable once it possesses the blueprints located in Tanghal Tower. Convinced by Carelli’s arguments, and with only a month to go before the super-weapon blueprints are extractable, VIPER’s Supreme Council commits major resources to its New York operation. Not only do they send more high-tech gear, but they also deploy Thugmaster, their most talented trainer and field commander, along with Dr. Lirby Koo and his bodyguard, the Green Dragon. Thugmaster is assigned to Carelli’s NYC Nest, while Koo heads up a hidden lab in Upstate New York.

 

Professor Pythias Pomegranate creates what he calls the Ubermachine and begins to create super-powered operatives for the Spumoni crime family. His first test subject is the brightest lieutenant in the Spumoni organization, Rocky Scaglioni. Gaining superpowers, Rocky takes the code-name Arrowhead.

 

Mario Carelli successfully vanquishes the Maroni crime family, leaving the Spumoni crime family as his father’s only serious rival.

 

[Campaign's Third Session] Antonio Carelli discovers that Carmine Del Vecchio, a trusted member of his criminal organization, is selling secrets to the Spumoni crime family. Mario Carelli responds by sending Brick and Pulsar to rob a bank where Del Vecchio keeps a safety deposit box in order to secure any sensitive documents in Del Vecchio’s possession. Brick and Pulsar fail in their mission due to superhero interference, but manage to elude capture. Carelli also deploys VIPER assassin Blowtorch to kill Del Vecchio. Del Vecchio runs to Arrowhead for protection. Meanwhile, the city’s superheroes follow clues that lead them to Del Vecchio’s safe house. A three-way battle ensues when Blowtorch attacks. Del Vecchio is killed in the conflict, but not before Arrowhead manages to secure shipping information regarding materials used in VIPER’s Man-Mutation experiments. Arrowhead also manages to negotiate with the city’s heroes, thus remaining at large to fight another day. Blowtorch, however, is captured and taken into custody.

 

Using the information he gleaned from Del Vecchio before his death, Arrowhead successfully raids a VIPER shipment of scientific equipment and materials and delivers them to Professor Pythias Pomegranate on behalf of the Spumonis.

 

February 1980

[Campaign's Upcoming Fourth Session] Demolition of Tanghal Tower proceeds to the point where the super-weapon blueprints are extractable. While the mission is simple enough and should raise no eyebrows, Mario Carelli decides to create a distraction for the city’s heroes. He decides to obtain the plans on the same night that Ogre is being moved from UNTIL headquarters to the proper U.S. authorities. One team of super-villains will strike at the convoy transporting Ogre. In a best case scenario, Ogre will not only cause a distraction, but will vanquish the heroes with help from VIPER’s super-villains, maybe even joining VIPER in the aftermath. (Carelli has a pretty good idea of Ogre’s psychology due to information provided by VIPER spy Hank Wadsworth.) A less ideal scenario involves Ogre being recaptured, while some of VIPER’s more expendable super-villains are sacrificed for the sake of securing the blueprints at Tanghal Tower. A worst case scenario involves the heroes foiling both efforts. In that case, Carelli will exploit superhero Troyus’ public identity, abducting his adopted family and using them as a bargaining chip for Troyus’ cooperation in securing the blueprints.

____________________________________________________

 

Thanks in advance for any advice that you are willing and able to give!

 

Best,

 

Dragonfly

[bubba smith]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

in re the refference to golden avengers

all the champions books i have only refer to SILVER avengers

were the GOLDEN avengers abandoned to avoid conflicts with marvels nickname for iron man

[JmOz]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

in re the refference to golden avengers

all the champions books i have only refer to SILVER avengers

were the GOLDEN avengers abandoned to avoid conflicts with marvels nickname for iron man

 

THe original PRIMUS super soldier is the Golden Avenger, because of the cost of the program to create him they decided to create a less powerful version called the Silver Avengers (Note singler to plural).

 

The golden avenger was then placed in charge of the Avenger program (He is like the 2nd or 3 man in PRIMUS IIRC)

[Cardinal]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

I like the adventure timeline. Are your players experienced in the system? If so, I am sure the sessions will have that extra retro vibe to it.

[bubba smith]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

THe original PRIMUS super soldier is the Golden Avenger, because of the cost of the program to create him they decided to create a less powerful version called the Silver Avengers (Note singler to plural).

 

The golden avenger was then placed in charge of the Avenger program (He is like the 2nd or 3 man in PRIMUS IIRC)

thanks for the clarification

[Dragonfly]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

Hey folks:

 

For those who are interested, here is a write-up of how the session went. Just so you know, I used "Normal Vision" (as described here: http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/14/normalvision-part-4-taking-it-farther/) for this session, allowing the players to run the SAT agents mentioned below.

 

The PCs are:

 

• Troyus (Troy Hallam): An alien energy projector.
  
• Sparrow-Hawk (Rebeca Glass): An engineer, martial artist, detective with a personal vendetta against VIPER.
  
• Apex (Alex Lamberton III): A mutant telekinetic.
  
• Nightshift (Dylan Price): A mutant cop with the power to teleport.
  
• Firebrand (Michael Brandeis): A scientist with lab induced fire powers.
  
• Rampart (Tom Clayborn): A mutant with a rock body and super strength.
  

 

Anyway, here it goes:

 

CLASSIC CHAMPIONS: ISSUE # 4

 

The days after their three-way battle with Blowtorch and Rocky Scaglioni (a.k.a. Arrowhead) saw the heroes settle back into their normal routines.

 

Troyus deepened his relationships with the Roberts family. Specifically, Joe Roberts began to talk to Troyus about the horrors of the Holocaust and his own father’s service as a U.S. soldier during World War II. The conversations both moved and horrified Troyus, who began to realize the depth of his adopted father’s, Tor Hallam’s, bigotry. As a consequence Troyus began to question his choice of eagle iconography for his costume, as it resembled that of Nazi Germany.

 

At school, Rebeca Glass was approached by a young woman named Lisa Avalon. Lisa asked if Rebeca was THE Rebeca Glass. When Rebeca rolled her eyes Lisa quickly apologized for intruding, but explained that as a successful female engineer, the late Victoria Ibanez-Glass, Rebeca’s mother, had been an inspiration to both her and her good friend Tara Lemick, both of whom were now engineering students at the University. Later in the week, Rebeca ran into both Lisa and Tara on campus. She apologized for being rude a few days earlier, and suggested that she might be interested in pursuing a friendship sometime in the near future.

 

As Apex, Xander Lamberton III began using his contacts among the homeless to spread rumors that a new super-villain named Aquas was interested in work. He then fashioned an alternate costume and began making himself visible on the Riverfront, hoping to draw an invitation from VIPER.

 

Focused on his professional life, Michael Brandeis settled into a pattern of working late nights at the lab, while Tom Clayborn continued to try and make it as a struggling musician.

 

Worried about the threats that “Ricky” and Rocky Scaglioni had made to the owner of his favorite bar, Nightshift intensified his patrol of the neighborhood. He also left a bundle of information pertaining to recent VIPER activities on the desk of Det. James Rourke, hoping to create a working relationship between the detective and Dylan’s Nightshift persona. The next day, Rourke, who does not much like vigilantes, expressed momentary disgust and confusion over Nightshift’s decision to leave the packet to Dylan, but agreed with his partner that there was no harm in receiving information if the self-proclaimed superhero was willing to give it. Rourke then shared an ambiguous lead that he’d run across while perusing the documents obtained from Del Vecchio’s safety deposit box: the mention of Tanghal Tower. Whereas all the other information in those files referred to docks, warehouses, truck itineraries, and other data having to do with previous shipments and deliveries, Tanghal Tower was just a building built in 1943 that had been marked for demolition last year. Rourke took a spin by the building the night before, but saw nothing out of sorts. Still, the two agreed that it was worth keeping an eye on.

 

Meanwhile, after nearly a month, negotiations between UNTIL and the U.S. Government finally resulted in an agreement to turn Ogre over to the proper authorities, and SAT was given the assignment to supervise the transfer. SAT agents Skip Gordon, Douglas T. Douglass, Scott Connor, Ryan McKinney, David Wells, and Chet Jackson arrived at UNTIL HQ on the night of February 15, 1980. After a brief conversation with Sgt-Major Hank Wadsworth and Major Juan Martinez, they loaded Ogre into their armored transport vehicle and left for Washington DC. Moments after getting on the highway, they were attacked by a squad of VIPER troopers wearing jet-packs, two squads of VIPER ground troops, and supper-villains Pile Driver and Sledge. Simultaneously, the medical equipment that kept Ogre sedated began to malfunction and the brute began to wake up. The SAT agents fought valiantly, but were quickly overpowered.

 

Nightshift, Sparrow-Hawk, Apex, Troyus, Firebrand and Rampart all caught wind of the battle between SAT and VIPER as it was reported live by helicopter reporter “Gyro Jim” Dugan. Suiting up, they all rushed to rescue the beleaguered agents. By the time the heroes arrived on the scene, the SAT agents were mostly unconscious, Ogre had recovered consciousness, and the VIPER operatives were moving to secure their target. A particularly mouthy VIPER agent convinced Ogre that they were there to rescue him from the heroes, and a battle was joined.

 

In another part of town, while the heroes clashed with VIPER and Ogre, Det. James Rourke took another swing by Tanghal Tower on his way home from work. Peering over the fence surrounding the demolished building, he was alarmed to find a squad of VIPER agents breaking open the building’s exposed cornerstone. Almost immediately, superheroes Crusader and Starburst burst onto the scene. “This is just like you snakes – pulling the old bait and switch. You may have gotten the rookies to bite, but I know how you think – don’t I? Now give it up.” The VIPER agents looked at each other and smiled. “I guess you don’t know well enough,” replied one of the agents. “Surprise!” With that, Cheshire Cat, Brick, Pulsar and two additional agent squads burst onto the scene, taking the heroes by surprise. Rourke watched in horror as the heroes were brutally beaten into unconsciousness. They might have done worse, except that Rourke ran to his car, turned on his siren, got on the bullhorn, and began ordering them to surrender. Having acquired what they came for, the villains left the scene.

 

Back on the highway, the heroes managed to vanquish Sledge, Pile Driver and the VIPER agents and were turning their attention to Ogre, when Cheshire Cat appeared next to the hulking menace. “We missed you at the party, boys!” he said with a smile, and before they could react he teleported away with Ogre. The heroes began scanning the horizon to see if he would appear somewhere nearby, but instead he teleported back into their midst and made off with the unconscious Pile Driver. Anticipating Cheshire’s next move, the heroes clustered around Sledge. Feeling lucky, Cheshire Cat decided to push his luck and test his skills. He teleported in, resorted to a series of defensive maneuvers to evade his attackers’ blows, and managed to get away with Sledge.

 

The fight over, Nightshift thought to check the police bands and was horrified to hear about Tanghal Tower on the radio chatter. He related the information to the rest of the heroes and they all rushed to the scene. An apprehensive Rourke filled them in on what happened, reporting that VIPER made off with what looked like a large, think manila envelope and a bundle of documents that they extracted from Tanghal Tower’s corner stone. Crusader regained consciousness and had a brief conversation with Sparrow-Hawk, who handed him a communicator where he could reach her. Although severely injured, Starburst regained consciousness and flew off just as the police began to arrive. With that, the heroes departed feeling ill at ease about VIPER’s success that night.

[Mr. R]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

Hey folks:

 

For those who are interested, here is a write-up of how the session went. Just so you know, I used "Normal Vision" (as described here: http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/14/normalvision-part-4-taking-it-farther/) for this session, allowing the players to run the SAT agents mentioned below.

 

The PCs are:

 

• Troyus (Troy Hallam): An alien energy projector.
  
• Sparrow-Hawk (Rebeca Glass): An engineer, martial artist, detective with a personal vendetta against VIPER.
  
• Apex (Alex Lamberton III): A mutant telekinetic.
  
• Nightshift (Dylan Price): A mutant cop with the power to teleport.
  
• Firebrand (Michael Brandeis): A scientist with lab induced fire powers.
  
• Rampart (Tom Clayborn): A mutant with a rock body and super strength.
  

 

Anyway, here it goes:

 

CLASSIC CHAMPIONS: ISSUE # 4

 

The days after their three-way battle with Blowtorch and Rocky Scaglioni (a.k.a. Arrowhead) saw the heroes settle back into their normal routines.

 

Troyus deepened his relationships with the Roberts family. Specifically, Joe Roberts began to talk to Troyus about the horrors of the Holocaust and his own father’s service as a U.S. soldier during World War II. The conversations both moved and horrified Troyus, who began to realize the depth of his adopted father’s, Tor Hallam’s, bigotry. As a consequence Troyus began to question his choice of eagle iconography for his costume, as it resembled that of Nazi Germany.

 

At school, Rebeca Glass was approached by a young woman named Lisa Avalon. Lisa asked if Rebeca was THE Rebeca Glass. When Rebeca rolled her eyes Lisa quickly apologized for intruding, but explained that as a successful female engineer, the late Victoria Ibanez-Glass, Rebeca’s mother, had been an inspiration to both her and her good friend Tara Lemick, both of whom were now engineering students at the University. Later in the week, Rebeca ran into both Lisa and Tara on campus. She apologized for being rude a few days earlier, and suggested that she might be interested in pursuing a friendship sometime in the near future.

 

As Apex, Xander Lamberton III began using his contacts among the homeless to spread rumors that a new super-villain named Aquas was interested in work. He then fashioned an alternate costume and began making himself visible on the Riverfront, hoping to draw an invitation from VIPER.

 

Focused on his professional life, Michael Brandeis settled into a pattern of working late nights at the lab, while Tom Clayborn continued to try and make it as a struggling musician.

 

Worried about the threats that “Ricky” and Rocky Scaglioni had made to the owner of his favorite bar, Nightshift intensified his patrol of the neighborhood. He also left a bundle of information pertaining to recent VIPER activities on the desk of Det. James Rourke, hoping to create a working relationship between the detective and Dylan’s Nightshift persona. The next day, Rourke, who does not much like vigilantes, expressed momentary disgust and confusion over Nightshift’s decision to leave the packet to Dylan, but agreed with his partner that there was no harm in receiving information if the self-proclaimed superhero was willing to give it. Rourke then shared an ambiguous lead that he’d run across while perusing the documents obtained from Del Vecchio’s safety deposit box: the mention of Tanghal Tower. Whereas all the other information in those files referred to docks, warehouses, truck itineraries, and other data having to do with previous shipments and deliveries, Tanghal Tower was just a building built in 1943 that had been marked for demolition last year. Rourke took a spin by the building the night before, but saw nothing out of sorts. Still, the two agreed that it was worth keeping an eye on.

 

Meanwhile, after nearly a month, negotiations between UNTIL and the U.S. Government finally resulted in an agreement to turn Ogre over to the proper authorities, and SAT was given the assignment to supervise the transfer. SAT agents Skip Gordon, Douglas T. Douglass, Scott Connor, Ryan McKinney, David Wells, and Chet Jackson arrived at UNTIL HQ on the night of February 15, 1980. After a brief conversation with Sgt-Major Hank Wadsworth and Major Juan Martinez, they loaded Ogre into their armored transport vehicle and left for Washington DC. Moments after getting on the highway, they were attacked by a squad of VIPER troopers wearing jet-packs, two squads of VIPER ground troops, and supper-villains Pile Driver and Sledge. Simultaneously, the medical equipment that kept Ogre sedated began to malfunction and the brute began to wake up. The SAT agents fought valiantly, but were quickly overpowered.

 

Nightshift, Sparrow-Hawk, Apex, Troyus, Firebrand and Rampart all caught wind of the battle between SAT and VIPER as it was reported live by helicopter reporter “Gyro Jim” Dugan. Suiting up, they all rushed to rescue the beleaguered agents. By the time the heroes arrived on the scene, the SAT agents were mostly unconscious, Ogre had recovered consciousness, and the VIPER operatives were moving to secure their target. A particularly mouthy VIPER agent convinced Ogre that they were there to rescue him from the heroes, and a battle was joined.

 

In another part of town, while the heroes clashed with VIPER and Ogre, Det. James Rourke took another swing by Tanghal Tower on his way home from work. Peering over the fence surrounding the demolished building, he was alarmed to find a squad of VIPER agents breaking open the building’s exposed cornerstone. Almost immediately, superheroes Crusader and Starburst burst onto the scene. “This is just like you snakes – pulling the old bait and switch. You may have gotten the rookies to bite, but I know how you think – don’t I? Now give it up.” The VIPER agents looked at each other and smiled. “I guess you don’t know well enough,” replied one of the agents. “Surprise!” With that, Cheshire Cat, Brick, Pulsar and two additional agent squads burst onto the scene, taking the heroes by surprise. Rourke watched in horror as the heroes were brutally beaten into unconsciousness. They might have done worse, except that Rourke ran to his car, turned on his siren, got on the bullhorn, and began ordering them to surrender. Having acquired what they came for, the villains left the scene.

 

Back on the highway, the heroes managed to vanquish Sledge, Pile Driver and the VIPER agents and were turning their attention to Ogre, when Cheshire Cat appeared next to the hulking menace. “We missed you at the party, boys!” he said with a smile, and before they could react he teleported away with Ogre. The heroes began scanning the horizon to see if he would appear somewhere nearby, but instead he teleported back into their midst and made off with the unconscious Pile Driver. Anticipating Cheshire’s next move, the heroes clustered around Sledge. Feeling lucky, Cheshire Cat decided to push his luck and test his skills. He teleported in, resorted to a series of defensive maneuvers to evade his attackers’ blows, and managed to get away with Sledge.

 

The fight over, Nightshift thought to check the police bands and was horrified to hear about Tanghal Tower on the radio chatter. He related the information to the rest of the heroes and they all rushed to the scene. An apprehensive Rourke filled them in on what happened, reporting that VIPER made off with what looked like a large, think manila envelope and a bundle of documents that they extracted from Tanghal Tower’s corner stone. Crusader regained consciousness and had a brief conversation with Sparrow-Hawk, who handed him a communicator where he could reach her. Although severely injured, Starburst regained consciousness and flew off just as the police began to arrive. With that, the heroes departed feeling ill at ease about VIPER’s success that night.

 

A) Sounds like an interesting campaign. I like how you have contingency plans if thing don't go as planned (Darn those players)

 

I like your writing style. Nice concise, but conveys the feeling of the moments. Cudos.

[Dragonfly]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

Thanks, Mr. R! I appreciate the feedback. I've really been enjoying running the campaign thus far. My only "frustration" is that the PCs are all loner types, so they haven't come together as a group very effectively. Only two of them (Nightshift and Sparrow-Hawk) are actually active adventurers / investigators. The others are mostly superheroes whenever something major happens (like Ogre rampages through the streets, or SAT is losing a fight to 3 squads of VIPER agents and two supervillains). Few of them, even the investigators, dig very deep beyond the surface. Fortunately, Nightshift's partner, Det. Rourke, can do some of that work for them. Don't get me wrong. I find most if not all the PCs to be excellent characters. They just haven't organized themselves as a team yet, which allows the well-oiled machine that is VIPER to run circles around them. For now, I'm just going to let that happen until they get the hint and change their ways. In fact, I'd rather this be the case. Let the heroes come together in ways that make sense for their personalities and motivations. My only worry is that it WON'T happen, and that the campaign will fail as a consequence.

 

One thing I'm sitting on is when VIPER will exploit the team's greatest weakness: the fact that Troyus has a public identity, works a mundane job, and is starting to build a strong relationship with his boss and his boss's family. Every agency in the book is watching Troyus' work place (a family-owned mechanic's shop) and turning their attention to the Roberts' home. UNTIL has actually infiltrated Troyus' work in the form of Joe Roberts' latest hire, Jean Moliere. Moliere was initially there to make sure that Troyus could be trusted. Now that this is evidently the case, he is there to protect Troyus and the Roberts' to the best of his ability. VIPER is definitely keeping an eye on them and is trying to track Troyus' movements. It's possible that VIPER will be able to discover the heroes' gathering place (if and when they decide on a permanent one). For now, though, they are planning to abduct the family if necessary and use them as leverage against the heroes. They were poised to do so on the night of Tanghal Tower, but things went so well that they stayed their hand. Or did they?

 

I ended the session right after the scene at Tanghal Tower because I wanted the option of beginning the next session with the realization that VIPER had struck at the Roberts' and abducted some or all of the family. Why do this? Well, VIPER might not have a better opportunity to snatch up the family. Maybe they should strike big while they have the chance, so they can have a little insurance for when things go wrong? Metagamingwise, such a move is sure to shake up the PCs. Troyus, at least, will begin to take the VIPER threat far more personally, and thus might become more active about investigating the situation. Actually, that gives me my answer. VIPER should sit on this for awhile longer. Acting now would probably nix their chances of getting more info on the heroes by following Troyus (as the young hero would probably start to cover his tracks more carefully).

 

As for Apex's attempt to draw VIPER out with the fabricated Aquas identity: VIPER won't bite. They have enough supervillains as is, and Aquas is an unknown quantity. The Spumoni crime family, however, might, as they are trying to fight back against Carelli's take over. I think that Arrowhead will approach Aquas on one of his patrols. That might give the team an in to the whole Pythias Pomegranate plot. It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out.

 

Well, thanks for putting up with my ramblings if you read this. As always, I'd appreciate any advice, suggestions or perspectives. I have a pretty good handle on this, but another set of eyes and new minds considering this stuff always helps out.

 

Best,

 

Dragonfly

[bubba smith]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

i like the sound of it very good

[Mr. R]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

My only "frustration" is that the PCs are all loner types, so they haven't come together as a group very effectively. Only two of them (Nightshift and Sparrow-Hawk) are actually active adventurers / investigators. The others are mostly superheroes whenever something major happens (like Ogre rampages through the streets, or SAT is losing a fight to 3 squads of VIPER agents and two supervillains). Few of them, even the investigators, dig very deep beyond the surface. Fortunately, Nightshift's partner, Det. Rourke, can do some of that work for them. Don't get me wrong. I find most if not all the PCs to be excellent characters. They just haven't organized themselves as a team yet, which allows the well-oiled machine that is VIPER to run circles around them. For now, I'm just going to let that happen until they get the hint and change their ways. In fact, I'd rather this be the case. Let the heroes come together in ways that make sense for their personalities and motivations. My only worry is that it WON'T happen, and that the campaign will fail as a consequence.

 

 

Dragonfly

 

I remember in an old Adventurer's Club and Article by Aaron Allston about getting your team to gel.

 

Suggestion 1: Have them go up against the villains but no agents and have the villains use code words and maneuvers to take them down. This is best done with villains that are actually weaker than the heroes by about 50 to 75 points.

 

Suggestion 2: Have one bad guy but make him so that no one hero can take him out. They will have to coordinate to beat him. An example would be Firewing.

 

Either way they learned a lesson and you campaign doesn't implode.

 

OOC have you talked to them about it. In my last campaign the PC's stayed loners because the GM was fond of betrayal plots. Stay loose so an organization(s) doesn't have a way in. Otherwise we would get raked. He also ranted why we were so distrustful of each other. Like the other PCs have it written on their forehead.

 

Just a thought.

[Dragonfly]

Re: Classic Champions: VIPER's Nest

 

I remember in an old Adventurer's Club and Article by Aaron Allston about getting your team to gel.

 

Suggestion 1: Have them go up against the villains but no agents and have the villains use code words and maneuvers to take them down. This is best done with villains that are actually weaker than the heroes by about 50 to 75 points.

 

Suggestion 2: Have one bad guy but make him so that no one hero can take him out. They will have to coordinate to beat him. An example would be Firewing.

 

Either way they learned a lesson and you campaign doesn't implode.

 

OOC have you talked to them about it. In my last campaign the PC's stayed loners because the GM was fond of betrayal plots. Stay loose so an organization(s) doesn't have a way in. Otherwise we would get raked. He also ranted why we were so distrustful of each other. Like the other PCs have it written on their forehead.

 

Just a thought.

 

Hey Mr. R,

 

Thanks for the response. I remember those suggestions from Aaron Allston. That's good stuff. I was hoping that Mechanon would serve as that powerful villain that the heroes had to beat collaboratively. Ultimately, that's what happened - the heroes did team up to defeat him, but the group hasn't gelled yet. I hope the operative word is YET. I've had some discussions with my players and thus far they seem okay with that process taking time. They, as players, realize that VIPER is kicking their butts due to their rather disorganized nature, but they feel that their characters are still sorting that out as they work through their loner personalities.

 

We'll see how it goes in the next few sessions.

 

Best,

 

Dragonfly