What Do I Throw At Them?

[sinanju]

So our gaming group has been playing a "round robin" Champions game for a couple-three months now. The PCs are characters from any genre, any period. They're all caught up by Forces Unknown and dropped into a new game world, facing a new challenge, each adventure--kinda like Sliders only without even a gadget/timer. Each player has to take a turn as GM for up to three sessions in a row; when he's done (after the PCs have dealt with the situation du jour), he turns the reins over to the next player in line, who drops the PCs into a new world, facing a new problem to be solved.

 

We started as 225 point characters, with up to 50 points of Complications. We agreed (god help us) to 25 XP per session (which accumulate but can't be spent until the next GM's game)! Now we're up to 550 point characters. By the time I take over shortly, we'll be 625 point characters!

 

What the **** do I do to them?

 

We have a 21st century teenager with a cosmic power pool (100 + 75)--that would be my PC.

We have an ancient druid with Multi-form, and some hideously powerful forms.

We have a 51st century immortal Roman Legionaire with a sword/gun of death.

We have a Jedi ("I'm NOT a Jedi!") with a lightsabre, mind control, etc.

We have Not!Captain America (probably the least powerful character in the group, sadly).

We have a pseudo-Superman with STR 120, hideous defenses, and explosive eye blasts, among other things.

 

Given the phenomenal growth rate, and the plethora of points to spend, we've collectively acquired defenses for almost everything. (And whatever we might have missed initially, and had exploited against us by one or another GM, has led to PCs acquiring the missing defenses....)

 

Make no mistake--it's been a heck of a lot of fun. But I'm up next as GM and I'm not sure what to throw at them that will a) challenge the group, and not kill half the group.

 

So far, I'm thinking of starting with something like a cross between the monster from Cloverfield and the alien probe from Monsters vs Aliens. That should keep them busy for a while, but I'll still have at least two more evenings of gaming to fill.

 

Alien Invasion? (Complete with orbital death ray satellites?)

Kryptonian Conquerors (At last--foes worthy of their attention, and they were so bored!)

 

Any suggestions for concepts? Or for power builds? Anyone? Buehler?

[Hyper-Man]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

There is always the mirror-mirror option (fighting evil versions of themselves).

[Nevenall]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

There is always the mirror-mirror option (fighting evil versions of themselves).

 

Oooo, I'd second that. One of the best sessions I ever ran was in a fantasy game where the character's were faced by a family of demons who were loosely based on the PCs. It wasn't mirror images, but more like one demon per character with similar genres of powers and the head demon has tremendous illusion powers so far a long time the characters thought they were just visiting an ordinary family. Each of the demons would try to get their counterpart alone for long enough to do demony things to them using the surprise to their advantage.

[BobGreenwade]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

A staple of the older superhero TV shows is the situation where the hero can easily handle the villain in a face-to-face fight, but have to figure out where he's hiding first. Maybe they're thieves trying to cobble together the parts of an ancient, insanely powerful artifact whose sole purpose is to summon Great Beings of Evil Power.

 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, there's always the Cosmic Nuisances, the "villains" such as Mr. Mxyzptlk or Ambush Bug, who might be easy enough to fight if you could only catch up to them... and they've decided that the PCs are their Special Friends.

[AnotherSkip]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

How about they have to locate the parts of the Artifact theat summoned them here in order to 'escape' to their next adventure.

 

and the criminals are relative normals hiding in a city of 10k or so.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

You could try out Allen Varney's classic Anopheles/Horror World scenario, originally from Champions In 3-D, a sourcebook for alternate-world settings for 4E HERO. The power level of the PCs isn't much of a factor, since the main threat can't be beaten by brute force.

 

Fair warning, though; this scenario is pretty disturbing, and not for the squeamish.

[Alverant]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

I would try to think of a problem that can't be solved by turning the antagonist into a pile of goo. For instance you can have two brothers preparing to go to war over who inherits their father's kingdom. Neither brother is evil and each will have attributes that different party members find appealing (in other words, the PCs will be on different sides). Use GM's fait to keep the players from flipping a coin and blasting one brother (divine protection is always a good mc guffin).

 

You could also create a world with different physical laws reducing some powers to more reasonable levels. My first thought was a world controlled by Ego (that stat is used for everything from determining CV to how much you can lift) but your not-jedi would run rampant. Alternatively you can find their psych lims and push their buttons. Is there a gambling addict? Make a world where every purchase requires a "double or nothing" bet before you play (if you want a $10 item, you have to flip a coin to see if you get it for free or have to pay $20).

 

And remember, there's always someone bigger than you. When everything else fails there's always the "Dr.Destroyer cloned himself a thousand times" world. If that doesn't soil some tights, just add a few more zeroes to the number.

[Greywind]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

Whatever you do, make sure you include the kitchen sink.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

Since you're traveling to alternate worlds, you might drop into the "Land of the Giants," i.e. the setting of the 1960s sci-fi television series. Even your faux-Superman may not feel so tough where everyone else is 200 feet tall.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

Since you're traveling to alternate worlds' date=' you might drop into the "Land of the Giants," i.e. the setting of the 1960s sci-fi television series. Even your faux-Superman may not feel so tough where everyone else is 200 feet tall.[/quote']

 

turning your pc'into tiny morgan might work or you cuold use an urban fantasy hero and let them be super fish out of water

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

Send them back in time to an earlier point when they had fewer XP!

[Kraven Kor]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

When your players seem to be able to overcome every challenge you throw at them, it is time to get dastardly.

 

How about a bad guy who has no physical form, but instead inhabits the bodies of others, gaining their powers as well as adding his own. Defeating (or Killing) the host won't kill the parasite, only release him to find another body. Make some non-obvious way to defeat him that the characters have to figure out, and, naturally, have the parasite start by infecting oh, say, the Supes clone. And make the player play along (which is preferable to them sitting in the corner until the party manages to him free from the parasite.)

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

I would try to think of a problem that can't be solved by turning the antagonist into a pile of goo. For instance you can have two brothers preparing to go to war over who inherits their father's kingdom. Neither brother is evil and each will have attributes that different party members find appealing (in other words' date=' the PCs will be on different sides). Use GM's fait to keep the players from flipping a coin and blasting one brother (divine protection is always a good mc guffin).[/quote']

 

Now, if you could get the PCs split on who they think should win, the two princes' differences could be solved by the PCs battling it out -- against each other. You have six characters, so 3 vs. 3 would be possible (though the NotCaptainAmerica may be at a decided disadvantage, unless he has some insane dodging abilities). Since one of them is yours being run as an NPC, you could just choose whichever team has less members. This would require players mature enough not to carry grudges, but it could be interesting.

[Patriot]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

If you have the time, do a re-write of the heroes , at age 7-10 and 1/3 of their current power level along with kid level disads ( complications: bully, wimp, tattletale etc.) and Kid -fu (wedgie, pinch-de-blub, tittie twister . If you have access to CLOWN material...all the better, and the amount of humor can be a awesome change of pace.

[csyphrett]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

you can try a combination of all these ideas. It would be a little surreal I think but I dont see why it wouldn't work. you could turn it into a campaign inside a campaign as the heroes have to keep going back and fixing the problems

 

Two brothers are fighting over the fate of the kingdom

One has kid versions of the heroes

The other has anopheles

Whichever brother the heroes side with has heard of a genie who could decide the matter

And then the parasite catches a ride to get his own wish granted.

CES

[Cygnia]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

Children. Willfully evil children who are not being mind-controlled or manipulated in any way and are willing to kill -- and use their youth to their advantage.

[pinecone]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

So our gaming group has been playing a "round robin" Champions game for a couple-three months now. The PCs are characters from any genre, any period. They're all caught up by Forces Unknown and dropped into a new game world, facing a new challenge, each adventure--kinda like Sliders only without even a gadget/timer. Each player has to take a turn as GM for up to three sessions in a row; when he's done (after the PCs have dealt with the situation du jour), he turns the reins over to the next player in line, who drops the PCs into a new world, facing a new problem to be solved.

 

We started as 225 point characters, with up to 50 points of Complications. We agreed (god help us) to 25 XP per session (which accumulate but can't be spent until the next GM's game)! Now we're up to 550 point characters. By the time I take over shortly, we'll be 625 point characters!

 

What the **** do I do to them?

 

We have a 21st century teenager with a cosmic power pool (100 + 75)--that would be my PC.

We have an ancient druid with Multi-form, and some hideously powerful forms.

We have a 51st century immortal Roman Legionaire with a sword/gun of death.

We have a Jedi ("I'm NOT a Jedi!") with a lightsabre, mind control, etc.

We have Not!Captain America (probably the least powerful character in the group, sadly).

We have a pseudo-Superman with STR 120, hideous defenses, and explosive eye blasts, among other things.

 

Given the phenomenal growth rate, and the plethora of points to spend, we've collectively acquired defenses for almost everything. (And whatever we might have missed initially, and had exploited against us by one or another GM, has led to PCs acquiring the missing defenses....)

 

Make no mistake--it's been a heck of a lot of fun. But I'm up next as GM and I'm not sure what to throw at them that will a) challenge the group, and not kill half the group.

 

So far, I'm thinking of starting with something like a cross between the monster from Cloverfield and the alien probe from Monsters vs Aliens. That should keep them busy for a while, but I'll still have at least two more evenings of gaming to fill.

 

Alien Invasion? (Complete with orbital death ray satellites?)

Kryptonian Conquerors (At last--foes worthy of their attention, and they were so bored!)

 

Any suggestions for concepts? Or for power builds? Anyone? Buehler?

 

Sounds like a group thats ready for Mechanon....Alien Invasion would be good too...just use Tripods for "mooks"...

[Guest steamteck]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

Glad to hear you're running stuff again.

 

Send them over to my multiverse, where everyone suffers the local campaign limits of the dimension they're in and we'll see how tough they are. But seriously....

 

Perhaps its time to be hunted by the gods themselves. Maybe even extradimensional ones who have been tracking their exploits or Cthuloids attracted by their world hopping.

 

Maybe the multiverse cops want to stop their interferance and have equally badass agents.

 

Drop them into a universe like after Hellboy 2. Where the golden army is permantly at war because some idiot melted the crown while they were still activated.

 

With their power levels you can just go insane... imagine a world where general Ross from the movie did extract the Hulk and the foot soldiers are alll Hulks for example.

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

I did this for one such set of heroes. They were trying to solve a series of Jack-the-Ripper type murders, but it turns out Jack is a dreamshade who has found a way into this world through the dreams of a young mutant. The heroes can't kill Jack in this world (he just reforms in the dreamworld), and they can't kill his gateway (at least one would hope that heroes wouldn't kill a little girl just for convenience), so they have to face Jack in the dreamworld.

 

In the realm of dreams, Jack uses the heroes fears against them - the heroes literally create their own nightmares which are ususally monsters specifically designed to defeat the heroes; Jack feeds on the fears of others. The heroes learn (or are told by a friendly pyschic wandering the dreamworld) that the dreamworld is a realm of action and reaction. The more force the heroes use, they stronger and tougher the threats they will face. Ultimately they have to get to Jack through a maze of traps and nightmares without fighting anything - every PHA they don't attack drops the power level of their opposition until it dissolves away. This doesn't mean they can't use their powers, just not in an aggressive fashion. Jack himself is defeated in his inner sanctum by being ignored despite his attacks while the PC's sing campfire songs or recite poetry or reinact Monty Python skits or whatever - players should have fun with this (it will require EGO rolls thoguh, and Mental Defense helps).

[bigbywolfe]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

Have you used Tekafonese (SP?) yet? Undead superheroes (and/or villains) ala Blackest Night might mix things up a bit for them...

[Ranxerox]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

Nuke 'em from space. It is the only way to be safe.

[BobGreenwade]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

Nuke 'em from space. It is the only way to be safe.

That brings up an interesting idea: they land on a world where the two major superpowers (just for fun, let's say modernized Incas and Mongols) are on the brink of an all-out nuclear war, over an issue that would make the Cuban Missile Crisis seem like a schoolyard squabble. It won't be enough for the PCs to fight their way through; they'll have to step in to defuse the matter, or life on this world may come to an end (except the cockroaches, of course).

[Major Tom 2009]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

When your players seem to be able to overcome every challenge you throw at them, it is time to get dastardly.

 

How about a bad guy who has no physical form, but instead inhabits the bodies of others, gaining their powers as well as adding his own. Defeating (or Killing) the host won't kill the parasite, only release him to find another body. Make some non-obvious way to defeat him that the characters have to figure out, and, naturally, have the parasite start by infecting oh, say, the Supes clone. And make the player play along (which is preferable to them sitting in the corner until the party manages to him free from the parasite.)

 

 

Redjac! Redjac!

 

 

Major Tom

[Major Tom 2009]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

A staple of the older superhero TV shows is the situation where the hero can easily handle the villain in a face-to-face fight, but have to figure out where he's hiding first. Maybe they're thieves trying to cobble together the parts of an ancient, insanely powerful artifact whose sole purpose is to summon Great Beings of Evil Power.

 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, there's always the Cosmic Nuisances, the "villains" such as Mr. Mxyzptlk or Ambush Bug, who might be easy enough to fight if you could only catch up to them... and they've decided that the PCs are their Special Friends.

 

 

If you're feeling particularly evil, you could always sic Q onto them ("Finally...a group that promises to be even more entertaining than that bore Picard!").

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

 

They could end up on a world with a race of bodyjackers, and they suddenly find themselves in alien bodies with their own skills but no powers while other people are running around enjoying free use of their bodies. You could even make it (seemingly) simple: all they have to do to get back to their normal bodies is touch them, but this is easier said than done since the bodyjackers will be on their guard, so the players will have to use their heads and get creative. The same thing could be accomplished by a godlike being (like a Q) either just for fun, or to show the heroes what things are like for the "little people" they encounter.

 

I did this after my players went through a major anti-PRIMUS kick, ripping on the agents for being ineffective. A powerful being observing the Earth thought it might be interesting to have the heroes switch places with a team of PRIMUS agents about to face off against a trio of supervillains. It was rather eye-opening for the players.