Nothing can stop me now!

[Certified]

Devastom The All Consuming: Behold foolish peasants I have obtained the Guaffmin'C Shard! Now there is not power in the world that can stop me!

 

(Pew pew pew)

 

One Turn Later

 

GM: Okay, Devastom is knocked out and the Guaffmin'C Shard is shattered. Once again the day is saved by (Insert team name here).

 

- - -

 

Sound familiar? GM's tired of seeing your ultimate arch-villain being brought low in just twelve seconds flat? Does time seem to slow down as the beat down ensues? Ever try so hard to craft a master villain that can hold their own that by Segment 3 you're quitely changing that 15d6 to 5? Hero Boards has the cure!

 

- - -

 

This thread is for ideas that can be used to mitigate players and guide a battle with a master villain so that they don't just come off as invulnerable or out right cheesy. Post your thoughts, builds and concepts you've used to set the stage for a memorable battle. Everything's game from Powers and builds to the setting itself. Whatever tricks you've come up with let's see em!

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

re: Invulnerability

 

A Force Wall with either the Ablative and/or Feedback Limitations can go a long way towards giving the Big Boss some initial staying power with a time limit.

[Heckus]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

A couple of options I use:

 

- Don't have the villain 'achieve ultimate power' in the same room as the PCs. Let them see it via closed-camera or telepathic broadcast. Make them work their way to him through a wall of minions or a maze of traps. It makes the villain "seem" to last longer and adds a few fun encounters before thrashing the bad guy. It might even wear them down a bit so that the villain seems tougher without the cheese.

 

-CONDITIONAL ultimate power. Yeah, the villain might have 75% resistant PD/ED hardened Damage Reduction and 40 mental defense, but he also needs a weakness. Maybe there's some item that nullifies his uber-defenses or a certain attack type that his power doesn't defend against. But you also need to make the PCs work to find it so that it feels "earned".

 

-Give the Ultimate power some unexpected downside that the villain wasn't expecting. Turn the adventure into a testament about how "absolute power corrupts absolutely". This way he gets to rampage around for a little while before the downside kicks in and consumes him.

[jkwleisemann]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Really, that resistant damage reduction is the main trick. Even just 50% or so keeps your villain on his toes a good long time, the heroes can still hurt him, but if he goes down in just one turn you need a higher grade of master villain.

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Really' date=' that resistant damage reduction is the main trick. Even just 50% or so keeps your villain on his toes a good long time, the heroes can still hurt him, but if he goes down in just one turn you need a higher grade of master villain.[/quote']

 

Is Damage Resistance really the answer? Sure it works for some Tank types but if every the players go up against a major bad guy it seems like this tactic would get stale quickly.

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

re: Invulnerability

 

A Force Wall with either the Ablative and/or Feedback Limitations can go a long way towards giving the Big Boss some initial staying power with a time limit.

 

Nice. The Ablative effect adds a nice sense of wearing them down over time as well. This can make for some interesting visuals.

[pinecone]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Really' date=' that resistant damage reduction is the main trick. Even just 50% or so keeps your villain on his toes a good long time, the heroes can still hurt him, but if he goes down in just one turn you need a higher grade of master villain.[/quote']

 

I agree Damage reduction is my favorite trick for a Villian that can take a entire teams hits and (maybe) still be standing...a very high REC helps alot too (if you make it to post 12 you reset...)

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

I find how the fight is being described can make a big difference in how the players respond to the threat of the villain. For example, don't always reveal to the players if the high-DCV villain isn't getting hit by the PCs. Sometimes you can describe a miss as a "glancing blow." Even if the near-invulnerable villain isn't seriously hurt by a player's attack, and no Knockback is done, mention that the villain is "rocked back on his heels" or something similar. This lets the players feel like they're making some headway.

 

Conversely, you don't have to let the dice turn the climactic battle into an anti-climax. If a PC's attack does a massive amount of damage, you needn't let on how badly hurt the villain is -- let him sneer and mock his "puny" opposition. If a series of flukey rolls is going to make the villain go down too easily and spoil the fun of the battle, cheat the rolls a bit.

 

I gave one particular villain a massive AOE attack capable of devastating a huge area... but built into it the same Limitations that a Haymaker has, reflecting that the villain has to visibly take the time to "wind up" in order to use it, and is more vulnerable while doing so. That gave the PCs opportunity to try to stop him before he could unleash the attack, or try to get out of the way (or get innocent bystanders out of the way).

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

One tactic I've used for a Regenerator styled villain is to give them some limited Speed: Only for Recoveries along with an actual Regeneration Power. They didn't have a huge Recovery stat but the added speed kept him from going down for a while and lead to a well timed attack that enjoyed the reduced DCV.

[Heckus]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Is Damage Resistance really the answer? Sure it works for some Tank types but if every the players go up against a major bad guy it seems like this tactic would get stale quickly.

 

REDUCTION, not resistance. Reduction means that any damage that gets past regular defenses get reduced by 25/50/75%.

[Zac]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

One tactic I've used for a Regenerator styled villain is to give them some limited Speed: Only for Recoveries along with an actual Regeneration Power. They didn't have a huge Recovery stat but the added speed kept him from going down for a while and lead to a well timed attack that enjoyed the reduced DCV.

 

I think a "Master Villian/Archvillian" is not a one stop encounter. The players have to make their way to him thru his traps/minions/lair/etc. When they finally get to him, throw in a mix up.

 

1. Master Villian has some [robot clones/hard light holograms/whatever] so now the party has to fight a handful of Dr. ABCs. Now, you don't have to worry about the Arch Villian being all that, just some of that.

 

2. Master Villian choses his battlefield. On more than one occasion I have but the Arch Villian inside a deathtrap that he knows all to well. I have the battlefield all mapped out beforehand with nasty traps and tricks. All that Danger Room nastyness in preset little packages all across the game field. I also love putting the villian on a big pressure plate with a timer, so when he does run... the area may not be as safe as it once was.

 

3. Players get to the Master Villian and about 1/2 way thru the fight, the villian gives the players an ultimatium. You can continue to fight me OR you can save X. This works well when the players are inside something delicate: Nuclear Reactor, Power Transfer Station, Large Damn, etc. The players can continue to fight Dr ABC but the room is gonna get a lot hotter when those rods start coming out of the water Or when the regulator vales in the damn above the city start opening up ALL THE WAY (hey, big flood). Or when all the power to the city is cut. This seems pretty weak until the villian mocks them "Surely not all of the backup generators in the nearby hospitals could be damaged" and he pushes a small button. He then mocks, "Oh, they can!"

 

4. ArchVillian is at the helm of a mush bigger threat. When the Master Villian takes the helm of some huge monstrosity (could be a robot, could be a Super Size Mole that is going to burrow under the city, whatever). I personally like the big robot. Now the players get to fight somerthing that is compromised of LOT of body parts. Disabling the parts are hard enough and when a part goes offline, the robot takes a big penality (like 1/2 move for a leg). I give a standard 50' humanoid looking robot a 4 speed, but gets an attack (with a ton of reach) with each arm, maybe a gun turret in its chest and a missle battery in its head. Plus as it walks it does an "explosion" of damage for the hexes is stomps over (Go Go Godzilla). The center of the body is all but invulnerable, but taking out an arm may give the players a way into the suit.

 

Now the players get to foil the villian's master plan and it is a better win than just putting Dr ABC in the slammer. Dr. ABC could get away, but the players get all the karma and bragging rights for defeating the 50' Power Ranger wannabe that attacked Liberty City.

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

REDUCTION' date=' not resistance. Reduction means that any damage that gets past regular defenses get reduced by 25/50/75%.[/quote']

 

Typo, Reduction is what I meant.

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

re: Invulnerability

 

A Force Wall with either the Ablative and/or Feedback Limitations can go a long way towards giving the Big Boss some initial staying power with a time limit.

 

"Fools my Dartanium Shielding makes me immune to your pathetic weapons!"

 

Dartanium Shielding: Force Wall (17 PD/17 ED), Transparent to [no types selected], Hardened (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (149 Active Points); Ablative BODY Only (-1/2), Self Only (-1/2), IAF (Dartanium Shielding Generator; -1/2), No Range (-1/2)

 

Cost: 50

 

The build presented here runs a bit below the normal Defense Cap for the current campaign I'm running but coupled with even a basic Armor with 10 PD/ED this foe would seem almost impervious for the first few attacks. Not that it matters on the GM side but at 50 point it's a steal...

 

Mwa, mwa, mwa hahaha

 

(Sorry had to say it.)

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

"With my Adaptation Field your powers are meaningless to me!"

 

Adaptation Field: Force Field (25 PD/25 ED), Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4) (62 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about a fourth of its effectiveness (Only Applies to one damage Special Effect (Fire, Cold, Acid etc...) Requires 1 Phase to change the Special Effect.; -1/4)

 

Cost: 50

 

As a counterbalance to Hyper-Man's Force Field here is a Defense idea that only activates after the hero/heroes get in their first few good hits. Depending on the character this could easily force them to constantly switch tactics. Having an attack work well only once. This power becomes much more potent if the villain already knows what to expect. *ahem*

 

"Why Firelad, I've been expecting you..."

 

The limited on this power is priced based on the existing limitation Only Works Against coming in at half the value. The total cost was again set to 50 points just for some fun.

[Asperion]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Here is an interesting concept for the for the ultimate villain. Instead of one ultrapowerful villain, the villain is actually a team of low powered villains. Each one would not possess the power to stand up to one hero, but using the concept of might in numbers, several villains band together for some common goal. Each individual villain will possess some ability that compensates for another's weakness. This will be in addition to any traps and minions that they have developed to deal with those nasty heroes.

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Here is an interesting concept for the for the ultimate villain. Instead of one ultrapowerful villain' date=' the villain is actually a team of low powered villains. Each one would not possess the power to stand up to one hero, but using the concept of might in numbers, several villains band together for some common goal. Each individual villain will possess some ability that compensates for another's weakness. This will be in addition to any traps and minions that they have developed to deal with those nasty heroes.[/quote']

 

This sounds like a variant of the "Evil team twins" where the players face off versus twisted versions of their own characters. It seems like in this concept they would have to be a very tight set of builds. Being almost impossible to take down together but as each one fell it would become progressively easier to defeat the whole. A set up to this might be fighting one or two of the Master Team alone and racking up some early easy victories then at the climax coming back to these same villains the took down so easily and seeing them using complementing powers and teamwork could provide quite a shock. Do you have a sample group available?

[Chronosnight]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

I had a villain that a force wall with a linked flash attack, this really slowed the party down...

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

"You fools! I will not be balked so easily!"

 

I will not be balked so easily : Aid STUN and END 7d6+1 (standard effect: 22 points), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger requires a Turn or more to reset, Character does not control activation of personal Trigger; Reduced to 0 Stun; +1/4), [two powers] simultaneously (End and Stun; +1/2) (128 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Can only be used with Trigger; -1), Self Only (-1/2)

 

Cost: 51

 

This one seems to run a bit on the expensive side but may be worth it for a late game surprise. The 22 Stun assuming the villain has the Defenses to back it up can add a bit of a bit to characters that can/should already be a bit worse for wear. The End gained is enough to put most characters back into the fight but the fade rate was left unchanged so if the fight does go long the villain's second wind will slowly loose it's value. Also, to keep it from being to intimidating it's only a one time deal.

[jkwleisemann]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Another little trick, similar to the adaptation field - I designed a character once as a mental exercise that used a VPP setup to accomplish much the same thing. Any one attack would hurt, but it'd also generate a 'counter response' - fire turns Our Character into an ice-projector, that sorta thing. It made for a character who was hurt the first round, but generally invulnerable against at least one of the projector's for a little bit after that - and usually packing what said projector was vulnerable *too*, given standard "fire man has vulnerability to ice" logic.

 

Never got a chance to use her 'in the field,' as it were, but it was reasonably effective on-paper, and forced tactical approaches (the high-SPD projectors would have to hold off until a slower partner had 'changed the polarities' on the villain before firing, that sort of thing) rather than 'hit them until they stops wiggling.'

[Grimble]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

I've given up on the Big Bad Guy showing up alone to fight the group. Now my BBGs always have at least 2 lesser powered minions and a bunch of lightly armored henchmen with guns or blasters. One too many of my pivotal Master Villains DIED at the hands of my "heroes", so now they go in with backup.

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Another little trick, similar to the adaptation field - I designed a character once as a mental exercise that used a VPP setup to accomplish much the same thing. Any one attack would hurt, but it'd also generate a 'counter response' - fire turns Our Character into an ice-projector, that sorta thing. It made for a character who was hurt the first round, but generally invulnerable against at least one of the projector's for a little bit after that - and usually packing what said projector was vulnerable *too*, given standard "fire man has vulnerability to ice" logic.

 

Never got a chance to use her 'in the field,' as it were, but it was reasonably effective on-paper, and forced tactical approaches (the high-SPD projectors would have to hold off until a slower partner had 'changed the polarities' on the villain before firing, that sort of thing) rather than 'hit them until they stops wiggling.'

 

Spread Rep Bla Bla ... someone hit this guy for me will ya?

 

It seems like this build along with a Variable Special Effect Energy Blast on a Trigger (SFX tied to whatever the VPP is currently doing) would really throw players for a loop. Even without a high speed the Triggered EB would make for a major "tenderizer" then on the actual vilain's Phase they could let loose with whatever's currently cued up.

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Based on some of the suggestions here and one made in the you make the call thread here is what I think could qualify has a solo class villain (although he seems like he could stand on his own due to the personality I wouldn't call him a master villain.) The character sheet is hidden to add that element of temptation and because I know some of my players read this board. Hope you enjoy the Gray Hunter.

 

 

 

GRAY HUNTER

 

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

13 STR 3 12- Lift 151.6kg; 2 ½d6 [1]

18 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6

15 CON 10 12-

18 BODY 16 13-

20 INT 10 13- PER Roll 13-

23 EGO 26 14- ECV: 8

15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6

14 COM 2 12-

 

3+25 PD 0 Total: 3/28 PD (0/25 rPD)

3+25 ED 0 Total: 3/28 ED (0/25 rED)

5 SPD 22 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

20 REC 28

62 END 16

65 STUN 32 Total Characteristic Cost: 206

 

Movement:

Running: 10"/20"

Leaping: 4"/8"

Swimming: 4"/8"

Teleportation: 20"/160"

 

Cost Powers END

45 Armor of the Hunter: Armor (15 PD/15 ED) 0

 

30 Energy Manipulation: Elemental Control, 60-point powers

 

30 1) Force Blast: Energy Blast 12d6 (60 Active Points) 6

 

41 2) Take Em' Down: Energy Blast 9d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger resets automatically, immediately after it activates; When Hit; +1) (112 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Can Only Be Used Through Trigger; -1) 0

 

30 3) Rorce Cage : Entangle 5d6, 7 DEF (60 Active Points) 6

 

18 4) Force Aura: Force Wall (15 PD/15 ED), Transparent to [no types selected] (75 Active Points); Ablative BODY Only (-½), Self Only (-½), No Range (-½) 7

 

30 5) Reposition : Teleportation 20", x4 Increased Mass, x8 Noncombat (60 Active Points) 6

 

1 Life Support (Longevity: 200 Years) 0

 

30 Energy Focus: Multipower, 30-point reserve

 

3u 1) Power Blast: Energy Blast 6d6 (30 Active Points) 3

 

3u 2) Never Let em' Go: Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF (30 Active Points) 3

 

3u 3) Force Protection: Force Field (10 PD/10 ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (30 Active Points) 0

 

3u 4) Penetrating Blast: Penetrating (+½) for up to 60 Active Points of Force Blast (30 Active Points) 3

 

3u 5) Sniper Blast: No Range Modifier (+½) for up to 60 Active Points of Force Blast (30 Active Points) 3

 

3u 6) Big Blast: Area Of Effect (up to One Hex; +½) for up to 60 Active Points of Force Blast (30 Active Points) 3

 

3u 7) Punishing Blast: Does x1 ½ Knockback (+½) for up to 60 Active Points of Force Blast (30 Active Points) 3

 

Perks

7 Contact (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has extremely useful Skills or resources, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact limited by identity) 12-

 

7 Contact (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has extremely useful Skills or resources, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact limited by identity) 12-

 

7 Money: Wealthy

 

Talents

3 Bump Of Direction

 

44 Danger Sense (self only, in combat, Analyze, Discriminatory, Targeting Sense, Tracking) 17-

 

8 Lightning Reflexes: +5 DEX to act first with All Actions

 

2 Trackless Stride

 

Skills

15 Evasive: +3 with DCV

3 Acrobatics 13-

3 Animal Handler 12-

3 Breakfall 13-

3 Bugging 13-

3 Climbing 13-

3 Concealment 13-

3 Deduction 13-

10 Defense Maneuver I-IV

3 Interrogation 12-

3 Linguist

2 1) Language (fluent conversation; literate) (3 Active Points)

2 2) Language (fluent conversation; literate) (3 Active Points)

2 3) Language (fluent conversation; literate) (3 Active Points)

2 4) Language (fluent conversation; literate) (3 Active Points)

3 Lipreading 13-

3 Lockpicking 13-

3 Security Systems 13-

7 Shadowing 15-

7 Stealth 15-

7 Survival 15-

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 444

Total Cost: 650

 

450+ Disadvantages

15 Enraged: Embarrassed (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 11-

15 Watched: GEO 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)

20 Watched: Atlas Group 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)

20 Hunted: MCPD 11- (Mo Pow, Capture)

15 Psychological Limitation: Personal Code of Honor (Common, Strong)

10 Psychological Limitation: Overconfidance (Common, Moderate)

20 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Many Enemies) Frequently (11-), Severe

20 Social Limitation: Subject to Orders Very Frequently (14-), Major

15 Social Limitation: Mercenaries Code of Conduct (Frequently, Severe, Not Limiting In Some Cultures)

50 Experience Points

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 650

 

Background/History: Bloodhound and tracker, the Gray Hunter was once a big game hunter. In the African planes a chance run in with London Fog and British troops deployed to the region triggered the Metahuman change inside him. A footnote in the war the big game hunter was conscripted into serving for Queen and Country.

 

After the Second Great War Gray Hunter dropped out of sight, some believing he may have died. The truth was he could not escape the hunt. Tracking down Nazi survivors sated his lust for a time but as their numbers dwindled his desire for tougher game continued to grow along with the control of his own Metahuman powers.

 

At some time during the nineteen seventies reports began to emerge about a Metahuman tracker and hunter using the same name as the World War II hero Gray Hunter. This man had no sides, no affiliations only the lust for the game. Working for whoever needed his skills. Today within the Metahuman community few know of the man known as the Gray Hunter but those that do speak in hushed tones as if he were more legend or ghost story.

 

 

Personality/Motivation:

 

Quote:

 

Powers/Tactics: Relying on his powerful Force Aura Gray Hunter prefers to rely on stealth using his Sniper Blast to feel out opponents before using one of his more deadly attacks. Should his Force Aura fail him, such as in an extended battle Gray Hunter will shift his Energy Focus to Force Protection long enough for him to escape. A master hunter Gray knows when to run and wont endanger himself to make a kill or capture.

 

Campaign Use:

 

Appearance: A stout man of six feet Gray Hunter sports a trimmed beard and trimmed white hair. Wearing what may have been the height of fashion for game hunters of the thirties and forties the Gray Hunter often seems happy even amused.

 

 

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

"With the Amulet of the Mountain King I am invulnerable! Fall to your knees fools!"

 

Armor of the Mountain King: Aid Armor 6d6 (standard effect: 18 points), Can Add Maximum Of 60 Points, Continuous (+1) (144 Active Points); IAF (Amulet of the Mountain King; -1/2), Requires A Skill Roll (Magic; -1/2), Self Only (-1/2), Physical Manifestation (Rock formations spur from the character's body.; -1/4)

 

Another take on adding staying power to the villain this power grants an extra 6 PD and ED each time they take an action. Granted they're be giving up their first one to turn it on and at a -14 to their Magic skill but hay you want to concor the world you better study hard. Okay, granted this one takes a bit more prep work than just plugging it to any given villain but what self respecting bad guy isn't already going to already have some armor to start with. The build requires a Magic skill although a name change can easily remove that limitation.

[CGlied]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

I have found that more times than not, teams aren't always built with the best balance and the arch-villain is the best time to make them pay. Whether its by mental attacks, a high speed or attacking at range there's one or two holes that every team has that can be exploited for fun and profit.

[Certified]

Re: Nothing can stop me now!

 

Here is an interesting concept for the for the ultimate villain. Instead of one ultrapowerful villain' date=' the villain is actually a team of low powered villains. Each one would not possess the power to stand up to one hero, but using the concept of might in numbers, several villains band together for some common goal. Each individual villain will possess some ability that compensates for another's weakness. This will be in addition to any traps and minions that they have developed to deal with those nasty heroes.[/quote']

 

I've started a thread here for a full team based on this idea.