L.o.v.e.

[薔薇語]

This was an idea for a Champions Villain-esc group that I was working through with other posters in the HERO chat last night and I thought I would post it on here so that we can continue that conversation. It will also be a great way to reference back to it as the HERO chat will eventually delete everything. For those Interested in the earlier parts, please view the Midnight (CST) posts on 7-19-09 (of course your time may vary ).

 

 

L.O.V.E.

 

Loyal - Order - of - Virtue's - Excelse

 

Excelse is a late Middle English - Early Modern English word that means: adj. / n. Lofty, high; rare in lit. sense; fig. of high rank, character, or quality. --- Beseeching his excelse, high, and great Majesty, that... --- Same root word as Excel.

 

 

 

 

 

Over the last few months you and your Hero comrades have been doing battle with the villains of the world; Viper, Demon, Eurostar, and countless other villains. Recently though, you have had an unknown and well trained force come to your aid when you were most in need. They show up wielding amazing weapons and on occasion a powered armor suit. Each time they get you to the finishing line in the battle and then disappear just as quickly as they came. Reports of them have not just been limited to you and your city, but throughout the nation and even across the globe. Well trained para-military fighters that come and go without a trace.

 

 

The PCs, although curious, have come to trust this group. Even the mayor wants to give them a commendation, despite the police chief's intentions. He has put out several press releases saying he wants to meet with them, but to no avail. This goes on for several months until one day. While your PCs are distracted and having to deal with a threat just outside town (perhaps a trap set up by VIPER), Viper agents rush into a bank. They intend to rob it and make off clean while the PCs are distracted. As the 7 man squad enters the bank and starts to round people up, there pops up the para-military group; and they were prepared for them. Gun fire goes on for just but a second before the Viper agents are rounded up and give up. Viper agents have grown accustomed to the routine and put their guns down and hands up; heck, their lawyers will have them back out on the streets in a couple days. Not this time, though. As the troops go to stand behind the agents in what should be an attempt to cuff them, the raise their guns and the leader looks to the crowd and says ”Evil and its protectors infest this world and can no longer be tolerated; so stand with us, for to stand against us is to side with those that prey upon a helpless world. LOVE shall prevail.” And before a captive audience the seven man team is dragged out in body bags.

 

A couple reporters got the exclusive from some of the former hostages. Two report that after hearing the speech that one of the people refers to the man giving the speech as “Excelse.” In the coming days there have been a handful more executions by the same style group, each giving the same speech. Public opinion is mixed but there is major support fort his new vigilante group. As one reporter managed to catch on camera, “About time we had someone looking out for us. These [bleep] go to jail just to be let out the next day and our cops and heroes don't do squat!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is L.O.V.E.?

 

--A brief quick history

 

They are a Secret Organization to rival any other on the word. They have been around in one form or another since before recorded history. The Five Member Council that leads the organization has a simple objective: Promote the rise of Humanity and defend against its downfall and degradation into sin. Its works have been seen throughout time and have been responsible for eradicating some of the worst pits of scum and sin the world has known. And although its membership is a secret, history has left clues to their existence. The earliest confirmable report of them is Brutus of Rome. Rumors ran wild in the wake of Julius' death, and one such story reported a tale of the last words that Brutus said to his former friend, "Excelse has judged you." Stories of correspondence between Caesar Augustus and his newly formed Praetorian Guard refer to the gift and responsibilities of the Excelse in maintaining the a virtuous Emperor. A more contemporary example was when Free Mason Franklin mentions in one letter a debt of gratitude to the Virtuous Order for helping to saving their rebellion and wished them continued luck in their European affairs.

 

 

---Leadership

 

 

At its core is the Great Cabinet of Excelsitude that dictates the path of the group. It's a 5 member cabinet that draws its origin to the beginning of the group. There are two permanent members on the council, on Atlantian and one Lemurian that have watched what happens to civilizations that fall into sin. Vowing to never let that happen again, they joined with several humans to help Humanity realize its future. Two other members are direct decedents and hold their station by birth right. These two are commonly the public face of the organization and handle making sure that they are funded and remain anonymous. One tends to be a leader of industry like Stark, and the other normally belongs to a major political family, like the Kennedys. The last member of The Council and the only non permanent (by immortality or birth right) seat is that of the Excelse. The five members choose among all their people the one that displays the greatest virtue and ability and seat him as the chair of the council. The Excelse, although intelligent and capable, is wholly devoted to the organization and takes his station with great pride.

 

 

---General Structure and recruitment

 

 

Although L.O.V.E. has existed for several thousand years, it has formalized a lot of its actions in the past few centuries. One of the biggest of these changes is the establishment of L.O.V.E. Boarding schools. Currently the US has half a dozen of these schools with each of them servicing a few hundred students in each. Originally started as a way to train their member's children it has evolved to be more 'open' and accepts children from all the elites of society. Grooming them to be initiates in the society and to help expand on their goals. Unlike some of their counterparts like Viper, This organization's members don't just exist in small cells that occasionally work together, but rather the entire school is trained cohesive unit. The headmaster of each school is individually selected by the Council to carry out their training regime. With the exception of the Headmaster and certain staff, no one else knows which other schools are in the network. Each class of students is sent off to work in a wide array of fields that benefit the society, from advanced warfare equipment design companies, university research projects, to even working in other secret groups like VIPER or DEMON. Indeed, this is the one thing that gives them such a great advantage over those groups; they have been at this longer and managed to get their people into the ground floor of many of these groups.

 

 

---Just a bit more

 

 

L.O.V.E., kind of like VIPER, is mostly filled with high tech and highly trained agents. It, however, does have more readied access to the top of the line material because of their extensive network and relative unknown status. There have been a fair share of crates that are stolen by 'viper' that even the leadership of VIPER is unaware of. Likewise, the two permanent members have given their insight in ancient tech and powers to help outfit their organization. LOVE does have their own small team of supers, whose leader is the current Excelse and chair of the Cabinet. Among these actual supers are a range of powers, but most of them are out in the open saving people. They don't announce who they are working for and work inside the law, for now, but when L.O.V.E. makes themselves know, they will announce their connections as a way to bolster PR support.

 

 

 

---Usage:

 

 

L.O.V.E. can be of a varying level of power. The concept that I'm operating under puts them as being more capable and powerful, albeit smaller, than Viper. With the hand full of supers that are members already and a few that join up with them after they make themselves know, they can even tangle with some of the highest threats on the planet. Their primary objective is to eradicate groups like Viper and Demon but have also made attempts to defeat major super villains too.

 

 

The main conflict for the PCs is trying to determine how they will react to the presence of L.O.V.E.. Do they allow a vigilante group that openly kills? Reports seem to be showing that they are beginning to hamper various organization's power bases and may even be able to cripple / destroy Viper. But what happens when they do that? Complicating the matter even more was a incident in Italy with a three man super team. They managed to get to the scene in time to try and stop L.O.V.E. agents from killing the DEMON operatives but LOVE then turned their weapons on the Supers with devastating effect. The team, now injured was simply reminded of the speech, “for to stand against us is to side with those that prey upon a helpless world. This is your final warning.”

 

 

Must the PCs put aside their differences and work with Viper to stop L.O.V.E. or work with L.O.V.E. to finally stop Viper? They know that if they oppose L.O.V.E. that it will end in a PR nightmare and even the citizens they are sworn to protect might turn on them. Same with DEMON, if even one PC is magically inclined and acts to stop the executions, the newspapers will headline with “Occult 'HERO' sides with DEMON!” or “True colors revealed, [name] works with DEMON!”

 

 

An even more terrifying thought is what happens if the groups at the top of L.O.V.E.'s list see what is coming and start to branch out and ask for aid? Will this unite Viper and Demon? Will Eurostar, knowing that their up next join with them? Even Dr. D. hasn't remained unaffected; with key members in his organization going missing he is starting to be closed in on. Will he come out of hiding and join the fray?

 

 

Truly L.O.V.E. will change the dynamics of the Game world. The real question is, will the PCs be able to make sure it favors them?

 

 

Please feel free to add to this and make suggestions.

 

 

La Rose

[HawksmoorSD]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

Got to say I love this idea. A moral high ground hard line team is a great idea.

[The Watcher]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

Man, the Lords of Villany And Evil are going to be pissed these guys stole their acronym.

[Odraude]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

You should change Who is LOVE to What is LOVE

[pruttm]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

Good stuff. I love shades of gray and this definitely has it.

[bubba smith]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

the HARBINGER OF JUSTICE would,pardon the pun"love" these guys they seem to be his kind of people

[薔薇語]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

the HARBINGER OF JUSTICE would' date='pardon the pun"love" these guys they seem to be his kind of people[/quote']

 

That is one of the reasons why they can be so devastating in a campaign. Some of the PCs (assuming Bronze - Iron age) may actually agree with L.O.V.E.. Even if the your PCs don't agree, they will likely encounter NPCs that do agree and join the bandwagon of an already tough opponent. Even some of those who toe the line would likely jump on board with them if they went after super threats like Dr. D. or EuroStar, or Menton. Even some of the more staunch CvK Heroes might rethink that stance if it was one of those three (well 7).

 

La Rose.

[wcw43921]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

Man' date=' the Lords of Villany And Evil are going to be pissed these guys stole their acronym. [/quote']

 

 

Hey--a war over naming rights is usually good for a gaming session or two. And in this case, maybe more.

[Kenn]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

What does LOVE got to do with it?

[bubba smith]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

what does love got to do with it?

ouch!!!

[Roth]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

I find this a really good idea. Though any LOVE agent involved in DEMON would probably have to be killed after they are no longer of use. Considering what DEMON puts its actual Initiates through, the LOVE agent wouldn't be of much use after their mission is over, what ever that happens to be.

[薔薇語]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

I find this a really good idea. Though any LOVE agent involved in DEMON would probably have to be killed after they are no longer of use. Considering what DEMON puts its actual Initiates through' date=' the LOVE agent wouldn't be of much use after their mission is over, what ever that happens to be.[/quote']

 

Having them go up against DEMON first, as opposed to Viper, is a good idea. If they actually know what Demon's actual goal is, then that makes them a giant threat and likely to be a #1 target. It also complicates matters a whole lot for any magically inclined PCs. Also, what happens if Demon gets backed into a corner, what devilish things will they bring out of their bag o' tricks when fighting for simple survival? Even Viper is more predictable in that regard.

 

La Rose.

[Badger]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

Having them go up against DEMON first, as opposed to Viper, is a good idea. If they actually know what Demon's actual goal is, then that makes them a giant threat and likely to be a #1 target. It also complicates matters a whole lot for any magically inclined PCs. Also, what happens if Demon gets backed into a corner, what devilish things will they bring out of their bag o' tricks when fighting for simple survival? Even Viper is more predictable in that regard.

 

La Rose.

 

Good point.

 

My character Badger has an intense hate of DEMON. Even so far as to have occasionally exchanged info with VIPER agents when they were in direct odds with DEMON (yeah, not something to be proud of, but it was "felt" to be absolutely necessary). Between the 2, he figures if nothing else VIPER gives the world a pragmatic safe buffer zone against DEMON. So, if they are determined to go more after VIPER than DEMON. This might put him in a position does Badger let them focus mostly on VIPER and let DEMON run wild. Or does he end up going rogue and actively helping VIPER (not a happy thought) against them? (which would probably let DEMON run wild too).

 

Thinking about it. Maybe he make a contact with a LOVE member to begin exchanging info with them about DEMON in effect pushing them subtly towards making DEMON hits.

 

Badger would be somewhat tempted to join them. Though the name is quite awful. But, they seem to have similar ideas on proper methods (Badger believes killing is the best option, just the boyscout leader never let him). But if they only allow the elite of society. Well this half-breed alien low-class riff-raff might be unwelcome. (though maybe being super-powered and generally a sound tactician in battle might gain some points nevertheless, as he could give them some training input* to help their other supers hone their skills further)

 

*I wouldnt go as far as to say he would be an instructor. He doesnt deal well when he doesnt get to fight.

[Kenn]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

I could see some character's joining the agency with the intent of making them less extreme and such... y'know searching for a higher L.O.V.E.

[Cygnia]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

What then DO you do with players who would want to join this group because they want to "permanently stop" villains?

[薔薇語]

Re: L.o.v.e.

 

Badger would be somewhat tempted to join them. Though the name is quite awful.

 

One can always adjust to their tastes.

 

But, they seem to have similar ideas on proper methods (Badger believes killing is the best option, just the boyscout leader never let him). But if they only allow the elite of society. Well this half-breed alien low-class riff-raff might be unwelcome. (though maybe being super-powered and generally a sound tactician in battle might gain some points nevertheless, as he could give them some training input* to help their other supers hone their skills further)

 

*I wouldnt go as far as to say he would be an instructor. He doesnt deal well when he doesnt get to fight.

 

The idea of taking the elites of society wasn't that they only accept the wealthy or well to do, but that one of their major recruitment tools is educating children when they enter their boarding schools in the ways of L.O.V.E.. This gives them the ability to have operatives placed in high places throughout the world. Children of a few Senators, Major financial movers, various sciences, and of course in Major media and educational outlets. Bringing in children of talent, who may lack the upper crust background, would also be a principle focus the moment metas became popular. Finding scores of middle class children would be of high importance so as to bulk up their numbers. Then there is all the people that are already members who will be sending their kids to the institutions for their education.

 

All that said, I doubt they would recruit people who are already adults as they are likely to be less devoted to the organization and cause. This is even more true for those who are already supers. Basically it would lead to high security risks for L.O.V.E.. I imagine their policy to people who wanted to join later in life would be one of mutual assistance and almost a one way street of communication. Similar to how "The Shadow" delt with people in his organization. They knew that they worked for The Shadow and maybe knew of one go between but otherwise never directly worked with "The Shadow." I.e., Badger would probably meet with an initiate of LOVE who would brief in on LOVE's general goals and various needs that he could fulfill. He would probably would ask for contact information from Badger maybe have a regular meeting with him, but in general it would be an indirect relationship. This allows L.O.V.E. to not take credit for Badger if he does something not in keeping with their goals and still have him as an ally that they can make good use of.

 

But again, flavor this to your tastes if you use them.

 

What then DO you do with players who would want to join this group because they want to "permanently stop" villains?

 

 

That is when the Superman parody steps in and corrects everything and the PCs lose their new found ally in L.O.V.E.. After losing their allay they may become outcast heroes who have lost the support of the Hero community. Maybe the PCs become NPCs and the Players caste new heroes to join in the battle to stop their old selves and L.O.V.E.. All would interesting choices. OR you could just kill them and explain to the Players that that was a "no-no."