Viper Rebellion

[Polaris]

Greetings,

 

My FLGS told me that they expect the Viper book to come in Monday or Tuesday. I am looking forward to getting this book... some of the people in my group have long liked to fight Viper, but I have not really known much more about them (other than what they have told me, and if all my info is based upon the players, then there isn't likely going to be a lot of suprises).

 

I was thinking about running a story of a Viper global rebellion (I mean an active guerrilla war in open rebellion against 'civilization' or the 'powers that be'). It might start out somewhat secret... doing "normal" viper type activities... the players come to expect it is another viper storyline... then... BAM! The big rebellion begins! Perhaps it can cause some of the players to think that Viper isn't necessarily what they thought it was (that it would be in open rebellion).

 

Is this a foolish idea?? Any other ideas for Viper, or how to modify the idea?

 

Polaris

[Bartman]

I think this is a workable idea. Viper's basic motivation is greed. They want money, power, etc. And they don't particularly care exactly how they get it. So the top levels of Viper would probably be open to trying to take over the world if they thought they could do it successfully. However global spaning actions would work great with Viper. Imagine if they started insurgancies all across the board. They could use local causes in a suprising number of locations in the first world and almost everywhere else. Imagine Viper getting involved in Norhtern Ireland, the Basque region in France/Spain, Quebec, and hundreds of others all simultaniously. They might not even want or expect any of these to succede. But as long as they are active they could sell arms, information, and other supplies to the insurgents. And use the chaos to advance any of their own plots. After all it might be signifcantly easier to pull off some fraud or basic theft while the authorities are focused on trying to defend public spaces from insurgents.

 

You may want to allow the heroes a chance to detect and stop much (most?) of the damage before it all goes to hell in a handbasket. Players get uptight if major changes take place in a campaign without them having and chance to prevent or repair it.

[assault]

We discussed this a few months ago. We also talked about Dr Destroyer trying something similar a while back too.

 

The key points are that VIPER will lose if they try to take on the world head on. They've got lots of kewl stuff, but countries like the US have superior resources and have stuff like: armoured divisions, nuclear weapons, agent groups like PRIMUS, and superbeings of their own. Then there is UNTIL. On top of that, of course, are freelance supers.

 

That's just on the side of "Good". Then VIPER has to consider the fact that it has rivals like ARGENT, DEMON and Dr Destroyer, each of which may decide to interfere to eliminate an obstacle to their own attempts at conquest.

 

Therefore, I think, VIPER will usually have to work behind the scenes. Limited exceptions may exist, in various out of the way corners.

 

On the other hand, if they aren't in the gun-running and mercenary supply businesses, they are ripping themselves off. They will, of course, have to compete with people like the Warlord, but they can still make big bucks. In addition, of course... it is quite possible that a group that they support might win. If this occurs in a dirt-poor, war-ravaged country, VIPER might find an opportunity to provide support to rebuilding attempts. That means that they get to send in lots of technicians, set up facilities, laboratories, factories, and all the other infrastructure that a world conquering conspiracy would like to have.

 

And it would all be legitimate. In fact, if VIPER plays its cards right, it could even eventually transform the new government into a puppet... Or, of course, the new leaders could have been VIPER agents all along - why not? Why shouldn't a Nest Leader also be leader of the National Liberation Army?

 

VIPER can easily run a number of puppet governments. And once they have one, it would be easy to establish more...

 

This brings us back to VIPER's rivals. They are probably trying to do the same thing!

 

And you thought the Cold War was nasty...

 

Alan

[Lord Liaden]

Allan, you hit on a point that has always seemed significant to me: if these various criminal/terrorist conspiracy groups actually co-existed in the world, they would be as much an obstacle to each other as any superheroes or law-enforcement agencies. They'd be jockeying for position, undermining each other's attempts to gain power, perhaps even tipping off the heroes to their rivals' activities. This could be a major reason why none of the various organizations and mastemind villains have succeeded in their nefarious goals. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" and all.

 

Of course, the real problems for the heroes would begin when two or more of these rivals decide to join forces...

[Enforcer84]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

Allan, you hit on a point that has always seemed significant to me: if these various criminal/terrorist conspiracy groups actually co-existed in the world, they would be as much an obstacle to each other as any superheroes or law-enforcement agencies. They'd be jockeying for position, undermining each other's attempts to gain power, perhaps even tipping off the heroes to their rivals' activities. This could be a major reason why none of the various organizations and mastemind villains have succeeded in their nefarious goals. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" and all.

 

Of course, the real problems for the heroes would begin when two or more of these rivals decide to join forces...

 

 

Defender crumpled, his armor helpless against power of the Morbane before him.

 

"Foolish hero, " the Morbane sneered, "This is but a fraction of the lords of Edom's power. Soon the world will bow at the feet of my Mas-"

 

KRACKK!

 

Pain lanced through James Harmon's neck and shoulders as he forced his battered body to spin and see the new player in the game. His pulse quickened as he saw five men dreassed in all-too-familiar uniforms.

He struggled to get to his feet.

 

The Viper agent turned to face him.

"Well, well, well. I guess that's one you owe us, Defender. We may be murderers, but we aren't interested in being slaves to some wanna be god any more than you do."

Then he raised his gun.

"Ofcourse, this would be the perfect opporotunity to - "

 

"FREEZE!'

Several blue and white uniformed agents stormed the area, the Viper agents quckly made themselves scarce.

 

Defender slumped to his knees, it was going to be a long night of recuperation tonight.

[Bartman]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

Allan, you hit on a point that has always seemed significant to me: if these various criminal/terrorist conspiracy groups actually co-existed in the world, they would be as much an obstacle to each other as any superheroes or law-enforcement agencies. They'd be jockeying for position, undermining each other's attempts to gain power, perhaps even tipping off the heroes to their rivals' activities. This could be a major reason why none of the various organizations and mastemind villains have succeeded in their nefarious goals. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" and all.

 

Isn't this the plot for every published Dr Destoyer adventure? Day of the Destroyer gave a brief synopsys on how the good Doctor was keeping the various big time players busy or had recruited them to join him.

[DoctorItron]

Polaris, I think your idea is workable, but (depending on your game world and players) I think the rebellion has to move slower, and would likely be the focus for an entire campaign.

 

As others pointed out, VIPER could not grab the entire world at once. Too much opposition.

 

VIPER could instead focus on taking over weak nations first. Portion of Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and other areas with lots of turmoil. The rebellion could consist of VIPER openly sending a large strike force, or it could be more subtle like staging a military coup, bribing an heir to the throne, forming an alliance with the current ruler, etc.

 

VIPER would have to use subterfuge against stronger/larger nations. VIPER might be able to gain control of the USA by infiltrating VIPER agents into the governement. There's the cliched plot of a VIPER undercover agent getting elected President, but you could opt for a lot of other variations. Imagine if the governors of all the states in one portion of the US were loyal to VIPER. Those governors could use their clout to back Senators who were loyal to VIPER. And so on...

 

Or, VIPER might realize that the true path to power is to control the minds of the people. VIPER might start to take surreptitiously (sp.) gain control of media (news and entertainment) companies. Imagine if all news broadcasts were in fact controlled by VIPER...

[Cyragnome]

Originally posted by DoctorItron

Or, VIPER might realize that the true path to power is to control the minds of the people. VIPER might start to take surreptitiously (sp.) gain control of media (news and entertainment) companies. Imagine if all news broadcasts were in fact controlled by VIPER...

Hrm...my bet is that Rupert Murdoch is one of the Council of Thirty

 

I think your idea is interesting, Polaris, and I'd second pretty much everything above.

[Ndreare]

Polaris has a good idea

 

I think Polaris has a good idea. After all the whole point of being a GM is that you can "Create, Modify & Destroy" at will. How hard should it be for the person who is controlling the universe to get the adventure he wants?

 

I say not very. Plus the facts that your players already know more aboute the published version of the villians than you do. (I would consider this a big no no and precedence enough to immediately change most of them.)

 

Go for it. I believe it will make the players feel they are fighting a Bigger Than Life enemy and as such their characters victories will feel Bigger Than Life.

 

All too often people believe that because the book says one thing or because they have it one way in their game that it should be that way for every one. This is wrong if that was the case we would only have one game system with one campaign setting.

[Broblawsky]

Actually, I could see ARGENT teaming up with Viper. Their collective resources - ARGENT's technology and Viper's manpower - would give them what they needed to start multiple insurrections across the country. ARGENT wants money and power too, but they don't have any experience in the world domination game; thus, given a fair agreement with Viper, they would probably be willing to fully cooperate.

[Ghost who Walks]

Couple thoughts

1. An open rebellion might be cover for another operation (a big diversion, basicly)

 

2. In the modern world, population centers aren't very important to controlling an area. Have VIPER target transportation centers (to control food shipments), and power generation, and they can control the populace.

 

3. VIPER may use blackmail or ethics charges against politicians to neutralize of remove them.

 

4. If the goal is theft, remember that "paper" currency is essentially worthless (especially during a revolt/rebellion). Anything they steal will have to have real value (Gold reserves, stocks, gemstones, inventions, junk like that)

 

5. The big advantage VIPER should have, is that they are able to apparently ship stuff around secretly around the world. (smuggling VIPER outfits and gear everywhere) This might get them allies with other groups, that may not have such a developed network (I doubt Destroyer does)

 

6. Use local supervillains as "strongmen" for cities/countries they get control over. A return to dictators, with themselves pulling the strings, would sit very well.

 

I once did something like this, for NYC a numbe of years ago. The local VIPER baddie (King Snake), staged a massive breakout of all the supervillains on Rikers Island (where they held supervillains and normal criminals). He then loaded all the villains into a bus, and had them assault the local PRIMUS HQ.

 

Street gangs he had recruited did drivebys on local police precincts, and neutralized the police. The nearby military base was raided (a navy base), and nuclear weapons were stolden.

 

King Snake then proclaimed himself the "King of New York", proclaimed the independence of Long Island, and held the UN delegates hostage until they recognized his nation. (This would neutralize UNTIL, but I never used them in my campaign)

 

He also held a fun press conference, where all the real world news anchors were forced to ask him predetermined questions, live, on national TV. One of the players just happened to be a reporter...he was forced to ask King Snake's position on Health Care.

 

He was defeated when the supervillain he had hired to steal the nukes took them home instead (Ah, Shamrock).

 

The heores also got help from VIPER, it seemed the Supreme Serpent didn't care for Mr. King Snakes new popularity with the other nests. This amounted to a number of phone calls, where an anonymous voice addressed them in a serpentine voice.

 

Regarding villains fighting villains...I once had a villain in my campaign, dress up as Dr. Destroyer, and sieze control of the UN. Destroyer then delivered a speech to the assembled delegates, where he delivered his manifesto (along with global nuclear disarmament, he callled for reducing global population by 95%, and the extermination of the Irish)

 

A gadgeteer villain once built a dozen robots that looked like Destroyer, and had them engage in petty larceny across the city. The good Doctor was not amused.

[assault]

Originally posted by Ghost who Walks

1. An open rebellion might be cover for another operation (a big diversion, basicly)

 

Yep. The only issue would be to ensure that VIPER's losses are manageable. This wouldn't be too difficult if they use proxies and "expendable" Nests.

 

2. In the modern world, population centers aren't very important to controlling an area. Have VIPER target transportation centers (to control food shipments), and power generation, and they can control the populace.

 

Hmm. I'm not so sure about this. It seems to be one of the military theories floating around these days, but it hasn't been adequately tested in practice.

 

It seems even less likely if there are supers hiding about in the population centres.

 

King Snake then proclaimed himself the "King of New York", proclaimed the independence of Long Island, and held the UN delegates hostage until they recognized his nation. (This would neutralize UNTIL, but I never used them in my campaign)

 

Would it really neutralize UNTIL? I would think that they would have some kind of plan for such a hostage situation.

 

It also implies an increase in the UN's importance over the Real World.

 

He was defeated when the supervillain he had hired to steal the nukes took them home instead (Ah, Shamrock).

 

Shamrock is a long term favourite of mine. He's one of the leading contenders in the "supervillain my character is most likely to ally with" stakes. And good fun at parties.

 

Regarding villains fighting villains...I once had a villain in my campaign, dress up as Dr. Destroyer, and sieze control of the UN. Destroyer then delivered a speech to the assembled delegates, where he delivered his manifesto (along with global nuclear disarmament, he callled for reducing global population by 95%, and the extermination of the Irish)

 

As you would.

 

Alan

[Supreme Serpent]

There are lots of possibilities to work with.

 

First of all, decide what YOU as a GM want VIPER to be, and how YOU as a GM want them to act/operate. If this is not the same as how they have been appearing in your game so far, change them. The big plot or the aftermath/restructuring from the big plot is an easy excuse to change them around.

 

So you don't know much about VIPER. Familiar with similar groups from the comics? Hydra, AIM, COBRA, Intergang? Use them as starting points.

 

Second consideration - does Viper's leadership expect this grandiose plan to succeed? If so, do they have "fall back" positions just in case? What are they? If they do not really expect to succeed, what are their real goals? What do they hope to gain? Was this grab for power a desperation move sparked by some other event -(such as: the head of Viper discovers that he has an incurable illness and will die in 2 years - he throws everything into one massive last gamble, consequences be damned. Of course, his illness is a secret, and no one else in Viper knows...or do they?)?

 

More to follow...

[Supreme Serpent]

Is Viper relying on one thing to win the day? One superweapon used for blackmail/protection? Allowing Viper to consolidate territory without fear of massive reprisals? "If Greater Viperstan is attacked, the world will feel the might of our CoreCracker bomb!"

 

How do they expect to hold so much territory? How do they plan to defeat the world's armies/police/other agent groups/supers? What is their edge? An army of super robots? A sudden breakthrough in the Man Mutation Project? Some combination?

 

Will the world know it's Viper at first? Or will it be a series of seemingly unrelated threats that all coordinate at once?

 

Here's how I see an example of a serious attempt by Viper to take over after having gotten very lucky and laid serious groundwork. This could be the culmination of decades of work.

 

1) Viper has a nest stages some big global blackmail plan, which of course fails. Evidence from that nest leads to VIPER HQ! Authorities smash the central HQ, but it is destroyed by massive explosion. From interrogations and telepathic scans of captured agents, the good guys feel VIPER has taken a major blow. (In reality, this was a setup. The first nest was rebellious, and Viper gets it removed without getting its own hands dirty. Info was planted to lead to the "HQ", staffed with a massive self destruct system and agents who really believed they worked at Viper's HQ, so they are effective misinformation even under psionic probing.)

 

2) Viper itself lies low, gathering its strength. The war via proxy begins.

Various parts of the world blow up over the course of several months. Coups by Viper pawns, local rebellions, economic collapses all secretly staged by Viper. Individual Viper agents may be found with various groups, working with their "new masters" now that Viper itself is "on the ropes". The world's powers get deeply involved in the many world messes, heavily committing their troops/resources etc to the various conflict areas/trouble spots.

 

3) Now that the major powers are overextended far from home, trouble hits locally. Local villains who have been secretly funnelled resources by Viper strike at the heart of the major powers and their allies. These second-tier threats and the authorities bleed themselves fighting each other.

 

4) Disaster! The US, Japan, China and elsewhere are hit by a devastating series of earthquakes and tidal waves that stretch resources to a breaking point. (Caused, of course, by Viper's Seismatron)

 

5) Viper reveals itself. The reason Viper has long avoided trying for magical power is revealed - they have long been in possession of the Six Serpent Stones of Skirax, which in concert can drain most of the magical energy on Earth! Most of the world's mages, magic weapons and such are powerless. Massive EMP weapons hit as well, burning out most high-tech devices that have not had special, specific protections built in (such as Viper's own have). The devices maintain a field around the planet, continuing to interfere with high-tech gear. Viper demands the world's surrender, and several hard-pressed minor countries give in.

 

6) The assault. Viper agents come out of the woodwork in the major powers, who are still tied up overseas, and have been drained by fighting local threats and disasters. Spearheading the assaults are legions of Viper Warbots and hundreds of previously unseen supervillains with similar powers - the result of a very successful line of Man Mutation Project research. With their high-tech weapons useless, the good guys are hard-pressed to handle them. Viper makes many gains, concentrating on destroying the opposition while they are off-balance. They reason that they will have all the time they need to consolidate control once their foes are defeated. In their wake, Viper leaves devastation, chaos, and anarchy - which furthers their plans and weakens their foes further. Prisons are liberated, and inmates drafted into service in Viper's armies. The tide rolls on...

 

Possible problems:

 

Someone gets wind of the plan, causing Viper to reveal itself and strike directly earlier than planned...

 

Someone links the seemingly separate threats together...

 

Someone cracks the secret of the Viper EMP protection from a captured Warbot, and begins mass-producing them, enabling the battlesuits, etc of the good guys to function again...

 

The location of the Serpent Stones is discovered, and the good guys destroy them, enabling magic and magical heroes to work again. Needless to say, every mage on Earth is upset with Viper...

 

The Serpent Stones are NOT discovered, and an extradimensional magical threat immune to their effects sends a demon army through to invade Earth itself, now that Earth's mages are powerless to stop it...

 

The new legions of supervillains, having a common origin, have a common weakness, which once discovered makes them much easier to deal with...

 

...and so on. Of course, once VIPER fails in it's real attempt, the world will crush it utterly. Or so they believe...

[Polaris]

Supreme Serpent,

 

Wow! Thank you very much for the ideas!

 

I printed out your posts, and will definitely include the ideas and questions in the planning of the overall story arc.

 

Your help is most appreciated...:)

 

Polaris

[tiger]

Don't forget about Fantasy Hero

 

The Campaign I run has gained a snake cult

[Supreme Serpent]

Originally posted by Polaris

Supreme Serpent,

 

Wow! Thank you very much for the ideas!

 

I printed out your posts, and will definitely include the ideas and questions in the planning of the overall story arc.

 

Your help is most appreciated...:)

 

Polaris

 

Glad you liked it. Just doing my part for Nests everywhere...