Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

[Spidey88]

Hey, folks! I've got sort of a poser for the lot of you, based on recent events in the Champions game I'm playing in. We're in a difficult situation, and I figured I'd pick your brains for a little input.

We've got some decent ideas on the table, but I'd like to hear some other viewpoints.

 

I'll frame it in the first person perspective, for the sake of the usual "WWYCD" exercise:

 

 

Over the last several weeks, your character has been participating in what is essentially a huge reality-TV program designed to find the best candidates for a U.N.-sponsored superteam, to be known as the "Global Guardians". The base campaign world is very close to the 5th ed. Champs universe, but with a race of apparently benevolent aliens that have made themselves known to the people of Earth, and are partial sponsors of the Global Guardians competition (and suppliers of the team's high-tech vehicles and base). The overall feel of the campaign is fairly Iron-Age, at least in the sense that it's fairly realistic (aside from the whole metahumans + magic + aliens stuff). Not everything is black and white - there's a lot of gray to deal with.

 

After the first phases of the show, the team consists of (coincidentally enough), your character and the other PCs. The final phase of the testing consists of this: your fledgling team needs to select a villain (or villain group) from UNTIL's most wanted list, capture him, and bring him in to face justice.

 

The target selected: Tamerlane, a man who takes his name from the famed Asian warlord of the middle ages. With an inner circle of powerful metahumans (including one who, through supertech enhancement, can shut down all electronics and complex machinery in a radius of several kilometers), he's taken over most of Uzbekistan and has his sights firmly set on the entire region. Many metahumans in the region have fallen under his banner - perhaps due to natural charisma + potent propaganda, perhaps superhuman presence and power of influence - regardless, even many the outside world might call "heroes" are working alongside him, claiming that his rule would be better than any number of other tyrants that would fill the vacuum upon his departure.

 

Important tidbits:

 

1) Tamerlane's path to power has thus far been rather bloody in places - though he claims his primary general (who's been captured already) was to blame.

 

2) The Trikari (the alien sponsors) have proposed creating small fusion generators to increase the standard of living in the region, and are ready to do so pending your team's approval.

 

3) The U.N. has taken a "hands-off" approach to this - basically, "we'll do it your way", and aren't offering any suggestions.

 

Tamerlane's put some spin out after his general's capture, saying that he's grateful for the help the Global Guardians have rendered, and has invited you and the team to his central stronghold (The Registan).

 

 

Essentially, my question is: what do you do to fix the situation? This is far more complex than just "beat up the bad guy".

 

How would you deal with Tamerlane? If Tamerlane is defeated or pacified, how would you deal with stabilizing the region (rife with organized crime and scumbags ready to fill his shoes)? Would the Trikari fusion plants be of any lasting good, or just another precious commodity to fight over? The politicians and diplomats are staying out of it - the decisions and primary execution of them are all on your team's shoulders.

 

(Hopefully this setup isn't so specific that it's irritating to answer - feel free to request more info if you want it, though.)

[Lucius]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

I have questions.

 

Why was Tamerlane chosen as the person to capture?

 

Who is to prosecute him, for what crimes, and under what authority?

 

What are the exact terms of the mission - "bring him in" to who or where, and how do we define "face justice?"

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary can face justice and face away from justice at the same time.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Suppose that the PCs accept Tamerlane's proposal for a visit, on condition that they can broadcast it on their reality TV show. If they can find proof that Tamerlane was actually the one directing his general's actions, or has committed or is planning other illegal or immoral actions, they can use their television equipment to broadcast the evidence, giving them legal justification and international sympathy to take Tamerlane.

 

Tamerlane will probably count on his supertech minion to prevent any such transmission, so the PCs will need to neutralize him.

 

As for dealing with the aftermath of Tamerlane's removal: frankly, these sorts of issues are a lot more complex than any superhero team should be expected to deal with, unless they're willing to "pull an Authority" and take direct control of world affairs. Given that the campaign is more realistic and Iron-Agey, it would be entirely appropriate for the heroes to one day be dispatched to Uzbekistan again to deal with the chaos following Tamerlane's overthrow.

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

I have questions.

 

Why was Tamerlane chosen as the person to capture?

 

Who is to prosecute him, for what crimes, and under what authority?

 

What are the exact terms of the mission - "bring him in" to who or where, and how do we define "face justice?"

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary can face justice and face away from justice at the same time.

I'll do my best to answer:

 

1) Tamerlane was chosen as he was essentially the biggest target that the PCs thought they'd have a chance at handling on their own. He's got a lot of resources, but he's far below "master villain" power levels as far as we can tell - same goes for his minions. He was the biggest bite we figured we could chew, so to speak - and one that would get us noticed (not to mention we'd potentially save a ton of innocent people caught in the conflict). We've captured his general and one of his loyal metas already, so he's lost a few teeth - but Tamerlane is the guy calling the shots, so he's the primary target. We're still potentially outnumbered, as far as superhuman elements are concerned.

 

2) We're a little fuzzy on the prosecution end of things. Admittedly, we were focusing more on the mission itself, rather than the specifics of legality. Suffice to say, he's overthrown a quasi-legit government and has commanded an army that's killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people; and committed many war crimes. There's any number of nations that want to get their hands on him - I've got the impression that the U.N. has a little more teeth in this campaign world than in ours, and UNTIL may be involved in prosecution too. Bottom line - we're being given international jurisdiction to deal with superhuman threats, and this is an area that's almost completely lawless (so no local law enforcement or military can hinder/help us). Basically, we've got about as much jurisdiction as UNTIL does - we have to work alongside local law/military when present, but aren't tied to any one country. Hopefully that's a little clearer now.

 

3) The parameters of the mission are extremely open-ended - essentially, we need to capture him, kill him, or otherwise stop him before more innocent lives are lost. Killing him will not go over well with about half the team, by the way. "Face Justice" is nothing more than a conceit of my own. Once we've caught Tamerlane, we place him in our own hotsleep facility at our high-tech base and call the U.N. - they'll handle things from there. At the very least, that's what the GM has told us - take that as you will.

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Suppose that the PCs accept Tamerlane's proposal for a visit, on condition that they can broadcast it on their reality TV show. If they can find proof that Tamerlane was actually the one directing his general's actions, or has committed or is planning other illegal or immoral actions, they can use their television equipment to broadcast the evidence, giving them legal justification and international sympathy to take Tamerlane.

The real tricks will be a) gathering sufficient evidence quickly enough to accept his invite, and managing to out-talk Tamerlane (all evidence points towards some sort of super-charisma/brainwashing). We fully expect he's got an airtight alibi (or sympathetic propaganda cooked up) and that the invitation is a trap, in which he or one of his loyal mentalists will turn one or all of us into brainwashed minions. We'll never know unless we actually show up!

 

Still, a good idea that should be factored into our decisions for sure.

 

As for dealing with the aftermath of Tamerlane's removal: frankly, these sorts of issues are a lot more complex than any superhero team should be expected to deal with, unless they're willing to "pull an Authority" and take direct control of world affairs.

Not likely to happen - two characters (including my own) would be nowhere NEAR cool with that. Not to mention the fact that we're nowhere near powerful enough! There's 6 characters, all sitting at 310 pts + 150 disads - we'd get stomped in fairly short order when the rest of the world got sick of our shenanigans.

 

Given that the campaign is more realistic and Iron-Agey, it would be entirely appropriate for the heroes to one day be dispatched to Uzbekistan again to deal with the chaos following Tamerlane's overthrow.

We fully expect it, actually. Assuming we don't fail miserably, we're going to try and establish a peacekeeping presence in the region when we're done, with lots of humanitarian aid set up for the "common folk". Frankly, the big picture is WAAAAY too big for us to handle - we have to focus on what we're capable of. We're basically a strike force - not diplomats, politicians, economists, or any of that - but we don't want to just wash our hands after the fight is done and leave things worse than when we started.

[assault]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

The overall feel of the campaign is fairly Iron-Age' date=' at least in the sense that it's fairly realistic[/quote']

 

OK, so it's "realistic" rather than dystopian. That makes things easier.

 

he's taken over most of Uzbekistan and has his sights firmly set on the entire region.

 

"Most" of Uzbekistan. Who controls the rest of it? Are there any remnants/survivors of the government he overthrew? Putting together a "legitimate" replacement government is a good idea. Even better if it's not made up of scumbags, of course, but you have to work with what's available. Once you have something in place, elections can be organised, and so on.

 

If Tamerlane is defeated or pacified, how would you deal with stabilizing the region (rife with organized crime and scumbags ready to fill his shoes)?

 

See above. Make sure the new state is strong enough to survive against these threats.

 

---

 

That said, I wouldn't have gone near this situation if I was one of the players in a game. Too much like "Afghanistan with superheroes" to be fun or interesting, for my tastes.

[wick]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Sounds like a black ops mission to me. Go in and assasinate the dictator and his lieutenants covertly and be prepared to have peace keepers step in. Maybe use the invite as an opportunity to case the joint. Or if political assassinations are against your team's ethics you can try to gather evidence.

 

You can always meet him and decide for yourself if he is the real deal or just another mass murderer and decide your course from there. I don't think it would be a good idea to attack him during the invite. Too many eyes on you, but going back in covertly a week later would be better.

 

An interesting thing is the technology blackout. This means little communication in or out of the country. You could always take out their tech suppressor so that bad news can leave to convince the world to act and good news can enter the country to perhaps influence the people to revolt. Once the situation degenerates you may have cause to act openly against him.

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

"Most" of Uzbekistan. Who controls the rest of it? Are there any remnants/survivors of the government he overthrew? Putting together a "legitimate" replacement government is a good idea. Even better if it's not made up of scumbags, of course, but you have to work with what's available. Once you have something in place, elections can be organized, and so on.

No one really "controls" the rest of Uzbekistan - it's pretty lawless. There's pretty much just out-of the-way places Tamerlane hasn't bothered with yet. That being said, there may still be remnants of the old government that are still alive, hiding under a rock somewhere.

 

That said, I wouldn't have gone near this situation if I was one of the players in a game. Too much like "Afghanistan with superheroes" to be fun or interesting, for my tastes.

Fair enough - it does come across as pretty dark and hopeless. I trust our GM, though. In other games he runs that are far darker and more "realistic" (eg. modern Call of Cthulu), he never goes too far. I have faith that we aren't going to be in a situation that's too unpalatable or depressing. So far, the mood of this game has been Bronze age-ish, at worst (with the realism at an iron-age level).

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Sounds like a black ops mission to me. Go in and assassinate the dictator and his lieutenants covertly and be prepared to have peace keepers step in.

Yeah, not really an option - at least not one for the whole team to know about, as my character and another one have an ironclad CVK. Practical, though - the thought had occurred to me. One of our players has a ninja assassin who can teleport, become invisible in shadows, and has mental invisibility - so she'd be ideal for that sort of thing. She's enough of a loose cannon that she might go off on her own and try and kill Tamerlane - just making sure that the rest of us don't find out.

 

You can always meet him and decide for yourself if he is the real deal or just another mass murderer and decide your course from there.

We're considering it, but we've got little assurance that Tamerlane won't be able to brainwash us into joining up with him! Considering that one of our party can force people to tell the truth (ideally on camera:rolleyes:), the prospect may be too good to resist anyway.

 

You could always take out their tech suppressor so that bad news can leave to convince the world to act and good news can enter the country to perhaps influence the people to revolt. Once the situation degenerates you may have cause to act openly against him.

If we could GET to the tech suppressor, that'd be the thing to do. Tamerlane's whole battle strategy relies on her, and he knows it - consequently, she's extremely well-hidden and protected (as confirmed by a mentalist plumbing through the captured general's memories). As for inciting a revolt - Tamerlane's so charismatic, I don't know what our chances are. He's playing up the patriotic angle well enough that many people are flocking to his banner of their own accord. Still, if we are able to get enough dirt on the guy that sticks, it'd be a great way of ensuring his image is so tarnished that he can't try the same grab for power at a later time (assuming we stop this one, anyway).

[Lucius]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

I'll do my best to answer:

 

And another one. Is this "technology blackout" something that is a constant effect centered on the capital or something, or only invoked when, say, someone tries to hit them with a cruise missile or a neighbor sends in an armored column?

 

I guess you don't have any powersuit characters.

 

While I'm asking questions,

 

Do the international media have any access to the country? How are foreign journalists treated, and what do they report on the situation?

 

Do the Red Cross or other nongovernmental agencies have any access to the country? Is there an ongoing humanitarian crisis (refugees, failed infrastructure, etc?)

 

1) Tamerlane was chosen as he was essentially the biggest target that the PCs thought they'd have a chance at handling on their own.

 

So out of curiosity, what happens if you discover one of

 

1. Tamerlane actually sought to control the excesses of his General, and without Tamerlane's influence the recent civil war would have been a lot bloodier?

 

2. Tamerlane has quietly dismantled his nation's nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and has not publicized the fact because their deterrant value helps keep his neighbors on their own side of the borders, as long as they think he still has them?

 

3. Tamerlane is actually a figurehead and someone in the shadows is really in control?

 

4. Any other scenario that means Tamerlane is not really the bad guy, or at least not the "big bad" guy they want?

 

Would it be too late to pick another villain?

 

3) The parameters of the mission are extremely open-ended - essentially, we need to capture him, kill him, or otherwise stop him before more innocent lives are lost. Killing him will not go over well with about half the team, by the way.

 

WWYCD:

At least one of my characters would be arguing strongly that covert assassination should not be taken off the table so easily. Of course, he's the same character who would be least likely to have wanted to take on this target at all...

 

If Tamerlane controls the country except for "a few out of the way pockets he hasn't gotten to" then how is it that innocent lives are still being lost?

 

"Face Justice" is nothing more than a conceit of my own. Once we've caught Tamerlane, we place him in our own hotsleep facility at our high-tech base and call the U.N. - they'll handle things from there. At the very least, that's what the GM has told us - take that as you will.

 

I take it as: the ostensible mission is to get Subject "S" to Point "P" preferably alive.

 

Or is the real mission, "stop him before more innocent lives are lost?"

 

Where is the base geographically, and what is the base's status in international law?

 

edit: I see the General has been subjected to telepathic probe. I take it you learned enough to confirm that Tamerlane himself is actually guilty of war crimes?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary buys Life Support: Diplomatic Immunity

[Wyrm Ouroboros]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

I'd offhand say that you're screwed, unless you have Absolute Proof that Tamerlane was the guy giving the orders for the cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment of the people of Uzbekistan. Simply put, if his people -- who still match the racial profile of Uzbekistan's previous governmental bodies -- approve of him, and if the previous government was worse than Tamerlane in the eyes of the world, then Uzbekistan is on the way up, and its new government (superpowered dictator though he may be) is on the international 'level'.

[Cygnia]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

I'd offhand say that you're screwed' date=' unless you have Absolute Proof that Tamerlane was the guy giving the orders for the cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment of the people of Uzbekistan. Simply put, if his people -- who still match the racial profile of Uzbekistan's previous governmental bodies -- approve of him, and if the previous government was worse than Tamerlane in the eyes of the world, then Uzbekistan is on the way up, and its new government (superpowered dictator though he may be) is on the international 'level'.[/quote']

 

Yeah, certain govts. will ignore/forgive a lot of atrocities so long as the "resources" keep flowing/ideologies they despise/distrust/don't care about are the ones getting oppressed.

 

You may be a (soon to be) UN-sponsored team, but even the UN butts heads with itself. What will your characters do if the UN says/wants one thing, but the US wants Tamerlane still in charge (as an example)?

[assault]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

You may be a (soon to be) UN-sponsored team' date=' but even the UN butts heads with itself. What will your characters do if the UN says/wants one thing, but the US wants Tamerlane still in charge (as an example)?[/quote']

 

Cygnia is right. This is what paralyzes the UN in the real world.

 

The thing that is really interesting is the reality TV show. Who is making the show? Who is making money from the show? Who are making the decisions about who is in the team?

 

More to the point: who is authorising the PCs to invade Uzbekistan and overthrow its (de facto) government?

 

The whole thing has Scandal! written all over it.

 

And, as a GM, I'd take advantage of that.

 

Expect everything to come crashing down right when the PCs are in the middle of Uzbekistan. The PCs are likely to find themselves disowned, outlawed and on the run in the middle of hostile territory.

 

Getting themselves out of this mess would be, of course, the point of the game. And that would involve making deals...

 

Not classic superheroics, but potentially a fine game.

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Whew! It's been a long day. I'll do my best to respond to you fine fellows, starting with Lucius:

 

And another one. Is this "technology blackout" something that is a constant effect centered on the capital or something, or only invoked when, say, someone tries to hit them with a cruise missile or a neighbor sends in an armored column?

The effect is created by a single metahuman individual (hereby referred to as "The Princess"). While typically short-range in scope, technological doodads created by a mercenary gadgeteer in Tamerlane's employ increase the range so much that it blankets out tech use in a radius measured in kilometers. So far, we've disabled one such device (a large, stationary system), and stolen another (a smaller, portable one installed in a souped-up APC). Our Trikari gadget monger, Dr. Cobalt, has been given the task of analyzing it (and discovering a counter for it) as his highest priority. Thus far, he's stumped as to how this tech-nullifying effect could even work - hopefully a detailed analysis of the amplifier will result in something tangible.

 

If memory serves, Tamerlane possesses at least one more such device in his stronghold in the Registan - possibly more, but not many more. We're under the impression that it's taken his gadgeteer some time to create it.

 

I guess you don't have any powersuit characters.

Not a one - the tech suppressant doesn't really impair any of the PCs, save for our alien super-communicators/wrist computers which can teleport us back to our base once per day. If Dr. Cobalt can counter the Princess' powers, we'll obviously try to modify the communicators. That instant escape clause is definitely handy for saving our skins!

 

Do the international media have any access to the country?

Presumably at their own risk. The whole country is essentially a demilitarized zone.

 

How are foreign journalists treated, and what do they report on the situation?

Unknown. The source of our computer file on Tamerlane is a blank at this point. We've only got so many details so far, but it's something I can ask at our next session.

 

Do the Red Cross or other nongovernmental agencies have any access to the country?

Also an unknown quantity, but this ties into the next question:

 

Is there an ongoing humanitarian crisis (refugees, failed infrastructure, etc?)

You bet - there's more than one village that's been obliterated to its foundations. We haven't got any good intel on how many survivors and refugees we can expect, but there's bound to be tons considering the scale Tamerlane's forces have been working on.

 

So out of curiosity, what happens if you discover one of

 

1. Tamerlane actually sought to control the excesses of his General, and without Tamerlane's influence the recent civil war would have been a lot bloodier?

 

2. Tamerlane has quietly dismantled his nation's nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and has not publicized the fact because their deterrent value helps keep his neighbors on their own side of the borders, as long as they think he still has them?

 

3. Tamerlane is actually a figurehead and someone in the shadows is really in control?

 

4. Any other scenario that means Tamerlane is not really the bad guy, or at least not the "big bad" guy they want?

 

Would it be too late to pick another villain?

 

1) If we actually find this out, so be it - we do our best to break bread and help out with humanitarian efforts, and perhaps get direction from Tamerlane's forces as to where we could be of assistance softening opposition in a non-lethal capacity. I don't think it's too likely, though - all signs so far (without going into all the petty details) point towards Tamerlane being a power-hungry con man. Nothing absolutely conclusive, mind you - so we can't really risk going in all guns blazing (just in case).

 

2) Doesn't change too much, save for perhaps a little more leniency when he's taken to a tribunal for his war crimes. Emphasis on "little". Nukes, bioweapons, etc. haven't been on the table so far - Tamerlane's relying on a) his metahuman agents, and an army that's well-trained in primitive weapons and melee combat that capitalizes on the tech-suppressing effect. Very, very bloody.

 

3) Definitely a possibility. Robot puppet, mind-controlled slave, etc. are all things I've been keeping at the back of my mind. Not much we can find out about it until Tamerlane's captured, though.

 

4) Ties in a little with 3. Android minion of Mechanon, appropriated body of Menton, henchman of someone else behind the scenes - pretty much all of those lead down the path of "more than we can likely deal with at our current group size, power level, and resource level". Again, not much we can plan for until it pops up - just maintaining an open mind, and not taking everything at face value.

 

4a) Not necessarily - we're fairly committed at this point, but more in spirit than in resources. If we realize we're completely, irrevocably in over our heads (and survive ), there's nothing stopping us from backing out. At this point, we've already captured the head of Tamerlane's military force and one of his primary metahuman agents; so he's at least been dealt a pretty major blow, and we have something to show for our efforts.

 

If Tamerlane controls the country except for "a few out of the way pockets he hasn't gotten to" then how is it that innocent lives are still being lost?

Simple - he's not stopping at Uzbekistan's borders. Mind-reading the General backs this up.

 

Where is the base geographically, and what is the base's status in international law?

The base is totally mobile, and actually is sort of an extradimensional construct. A "garage door" exists to our reality - said doorway can move about the planet at our whim, within certain limits. Its legal status? Poorly defined as a result. We've got nebulous "UN support", none of us have given much consideration to the specifics - we just want to "get the job done (properly), and leave the paperwork to the bureaucrats".

 

I see the General has been subjected to telepathic probe. I take it you learned enough to confirm that Tamerlane himself is actually guilty of war crimes?

The telepathic probe was a quick-and-dirty affair at the end of the last session - we didn't get the time for too many specifics, but all signs point strongly to "yes". More telepathy will no doubt follow, once we've had the chance to think of more pertinent questions (and the GM devise answers to them).

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

I'd offhand say that you're screwed' date=' unless you have Absolute Proof that Tamerlane was the guy giving the orders for the cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment of the people of Uzbekistan. Simply put, if his people -- who still match the racial profile of Uzbekistan's previous governmental bodies -- approve of him, and if the previous government was worse than Tamerlane in the eyes of the world, then Uzbekistan is on the way up, and its new government (superpowered dictator though he may be) is on the international 'level'.[/quote']

 

Our single biggest priority is finding as much direct, irrefutable evidence that Tamerlane is a vicious tyrant as possible. As long as we can be sure of the righteousness of our actions, we can hopefully spin the world's opinion against him (mystically compelling him to tell the truth while being recorded for TV, as per LL's suggestion, would be the fastest way to do so). The people of Uzbekistan, however, will likely be a harder sell.

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

You may be a (soon to be) UN-sponsored team, but even the UN butts heads with itself. What will your characters do if the UN says/wants one thing, but the US wants Tamerlane still in charge (as an example)?

Then we go with the UN's wishes. They're our bosses, not any one country (and all of our PCs are from different countries anyway, eliminating some potential for mixed allegiances). Besides - we're not politicians, and don't have much place dealing with them. The exception would be if some country takes some extremist stance against what we see as the common good - a press conference, headed by Frostbite (our team's voice of experience, esp. involving dealing with the media), would be held to explain our position. We're intended to be international law enforcement, not law-breakers, so I can't see us going completely "Authority" and doing things "our way, and d@#! the consequences!"

 

Hopefully we're not forced into that kind of position, either!

 

Assuming the UN is bogged down in petty bickering, then we just have to go with what seems like the right thing to do by our own moral compasses.

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

The thing that is really interesting is the reality TV show. Who is making the show? Who is making money from the show? Who are making the decisions about who is in the team?

The Trikari, for whatever reason, are making the show. I, for one, can't help but be a little suspicious of their motives. The decisions about the team are made by a panel of judges, which includes respected superheroes (such as Tetsuronin), and a single Trikari representative.

 

The details of the show are a point of frustration with me - our GM is very good at dealing with interesting plots, good action, and compelling mysteries - but he runs games that are very light on the actual in-character roleplaying. Thus far, I've tried to ask the judges and the Trikari such questions as "Reality TV? Really? Why?", and haven't got much of a response. I'll have to keep pushing when we aren't quite so in the thick of things.

 

On the other hand, a reality TV show is a great way to a) raise resources for the group (extradimensional bases don't pay for themselves), and raise awareness of the group in a short timeframe (as long as the editing isn't manipulated to make us look like jerks or idiots). What little we know about the Trikari seems to indicate they're more than a little naive as far as their understanding of Earth's culture goes, so they may feel that this is perfectly dignified and appropriate anyway.

 

More to the point: who is authorizing the PCs to invade Uzbekistan and overthrow its (de facto) government?

Again: the concept of this campaign is that the UN has empowered us to act as international law enforcement to deal with metahuman threats. Much like UNTIL, we have to work with local law enforcement (assuming it actually exists - which it doesn't in the case of this mission). We have their support - the testing is merely to see if they will give us a thumbs-up and continue to grant us said legal enforcement powers. This mission is basically our first field test. That's what we've got, take it or leave it.

[dmjalund]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Am I the only one who finds it ironic, that they are using technology to enhance an anti-tech power?

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Am I the only one who finds it ironic' date=' that they are using technology to enhance an anti-tech power?[/quote']

 

At least I'm not the only one who thinks it's kind of an odd idea...

[Nuclear Fridge]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

At least I'm not the only one who thinks it's kind of an odd idea...

Hmm. It's a bit less implausible than the super-powerful mutant spellcaster whose powers are enhanced by exposure to chaos energy, has multiple nervous breakdowns, re-orders reality beyond all recognition, then does an abrupt about-face and erases 99% of the world's mutants in a fit of psychotic pique... and you KNOW 'things will never be the same'!

 

Still, the 'what's REALLY going on' angle has me wondering. I can see a huge pile of consequences developing from this Tamerlane situation.

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

and you KNOW 'things will never be the same'

Because they'll all be changed completely in under a year by the next big, stupid "event" that is never properly dealt with or explored!

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Still, the 'what's REALLY going on' angle has me wondering. I can see a huge pile of consequences developing from this Tamerlane situation.

 

Our GM is the absolute KING of "plots within plots within plots", so there will no doubt be some loose ends to wrap up for some time to come...

[Nuclear Fridge]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Because they'll all be changed completely in under a year by the next big' date=' stupid "event" that is never properly dealt with or explored! [img']http://www.herogames.com/forums/../../images/smilies/ugly.gif[/img]

 

Oh sure. I'm just waiting for the bit where the beloved patriot/super soldier who was gunned down like a punk returns - but is revealed to be a genetically-modified alien shapechanger that THINKS it's the real deal...

Ah.

They DID that already, didn't they?

[wick]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Has the new country created by Tamerlane been recognized by the UN and the world as a country?

 

I would not take Covert OPS off the table, just abduct rather than kill. Of course if you are identified or captured that will be egg on the UN's face. I mean you are talking about illegally removing a contry leader and that can have major political repercussions and toppling countries is not the UN's line of work. You should probably get more intel first by going to the inivitation and doing some mind probes, if your poweres are known he will be prepared for this and maybe even if your poweres are not known. It may not stop you from scanning his staff or servants or just questioning them normally.

 

And don't forget you are constantly being filmed which cannot be good and will be used against you.

[Spidey88]

Re: Sort of a WWYCD: Overthrowing Charismatic Conqueror

 

Has the new country created by Tamerlane been recognized by the UN and the world as a country?

Not even remotely - which is why we've been sent in. Tamerlane's a conqueror, not an elected official.

 

 

I would not take Covert OPS off the table, just abduct rather than kill.

3 of the 6 characters are well-designed for this sort of thing, but only one of them is likely to be able to get past Tamerlane's mentalist lieutenants without being spotted.

 

Of course if you are identified or captured that will be egg on the UN's face. I mean you are talking about illegally removing a country leader and that can have major political repercussions and toppling countries is not the UN's line of work.

Fortunately, we seem to be on pretty solid ground as far as the legitimacy of our mission is concerned. There might be some objections here and there, but I don't expect the global community as a whole will take issue with us.

 

You should probably get more intel first by going to the invitation and doing some mind probes, if your powers are known he will be prepared for this and maybe even if your powers are not known. It may not stop you from scanning his staff or servants or just questioning them normally.

As long as the tech suppressing field isn't up, we can make the attempt in relative safety - but we've got no way to ensure that. With the field up, we'll likely be sitting ducks in Tamerlane's stronghold. Still, it's looking more and more like accepting the invitation may be necessary. Besides - walking into a trap you know is a trap is a very comic-book thing to do!

 

And don't forget you are constantly being filmed which cannot be good and will be used against you.

I'll need to check with the GM on this one - but I think only select parts of the competition are being filmed. I might be wrong; but if not, that gives us a little wiggle room.