Mark Rand Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 Hi all, Before Pittsburgh, even before Gotham City, the campaign city was going to be Las Vegas. We would have crossovers with CSI: Crime Scene Investigations and Tremors: the Series once I figure out where Prefection and Bixby are and how the sheriff (a county official) could give orders to the city police. Ideas and comments are welcome. Yours, Mark Rand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 Mutant For Hire had this great concept for heroing in Vegas. I repost it here. Originally posted by Mutant for Hire Las Vegas: Minor league in name and perception only. Technically most supers who've been there or study the place conclude that it is major league in terms of threat level to any super passing through. The place is a very attractive target due to all the gambling money there. The casino owners know it and so have hired the very best mercenary supers that money can get (sometimes from Miami) and then back them up with a squadron of lawyers that are very good at getting 'excessive force' charges dropped. Supervillains who try to knock over a casino have a very high fatality rate and most of the rest end up crippled for life. Of course this is done with a view towards minimizing the violence in the eyes of the tourists, so as not to scare them. That is the major reason the casino owners object to outside superheroes in Las Vegas. They are too soft on criminals and often do more property dmaage and scare tourists more. Unsactioned superhero activity in Vegas tends to be strongly discouraged, though usually its more through restraining orders than force. Oh yes, supervillains who think their telepathy, clairvoyance, precogntion or cyber/telekinesis will win them a fortune in Vegas are in for a very bad surprise. Whether its magical, technological, psionic or whatever, most government agencies consider the Vegas casinos to be some of the most secure areas on the planet. In general, supers are not allowed to gamble at those places unless they have been cleaeed with the owners and in general only famous or rich (or preferably both) supers are allowed in to do that, as tourist draws. Atlantic City and most other famous gambling centers around the planet more or less operate along similar principles. These places are in some ways not good places to set up campaigns but they are great places to send heros through, if only to give them a taste of going up against a high power, highly trained squad of supers that can scare the crap out of all but the most powerful teams elsewhere. Universities: Univerisities are breeding grounds for supers. They also tend to have a lot of resources that are very attractive to various sorts of supers on both sides of the law. The more prestigious universities probably have standing superhero teams, and not composed of undergraduates but rather a regular roster that sticks around and is paid out of university funds to deal with supervillain attacks and any disruptive origins. Of course these days universities all have college superhero teams composed of undergraduates with complicated eligbility rules. Being a high school metahuman, brilliant inventor or mystic type, is a good way to get a college scholarship these days. These teams usually act as backup to the standing superhero teams, working crowd control, making sure that a disruptive event in one spot isn't a distraction for the main team. These teams also compete against other college superhero teams as well. In fact increasingly a lot of the professional superhero teams (or the cities that back them) are paying a lot of attention to would be superheroes on the college circuit. A few supervillains as well. Universities tend to be very annoyed about outside supers coming in uninvited. It isn't too difficult to get clearance to go in to one of these places, especially if its just a scientific consultation, though due to obvious potential complications superheroes have to clear things through the appropriate office first and have their need evaluated against potential liability. Not too many universities are willing to examine a Doctor Destroyer creation. Obviously, university sports are getting increasingly good at detecting genetic/chemical alterations, cybernetic enhancements, and mystic power. Certain advanced forms of 'chi' training are currently being debated on the college and professional level. The results could have a profound impact on college and professional sports. Universities would be a great place to base a superhero team, especially the college team. Origins all over the place, but what brings them together? Their scholarship money. Or they can be the anti-team that didn't make the official team and has to use secret IDs because they're operating in violation of university regulations, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 Why the heck not! In case you weren't aware of it, Michael Surbrook has posted a writeup of the Graboids from Tremors on his website: http://www.devermore.net/surbrook/adaptionscreatures/fiction/graboids.html You might find it amusing to look at a short discussion of the Tremors TV series: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2116&highlight=tremors+hero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 Vegas is where I intend to set up my Dark Champions campaign... if I ever get around to running such a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted October 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 Hi all, Thanks for your comments. I've read the Tremors: the Series thread, but it doesn't have much game date in it. I do have the graboid writeup, the scifi.com Tremors information and the movies and series on tape. The team will be federally sanctioned. Would a hotel/casino sponsor a team for publicity/good will and to backup its in house team? Luxor's could have an Egyptian theme while Excalibur's would have an Arthurian one. Warder, the team's mage, who has a screech owl for a familiar, is a UNLV graduate and was part of their student hero team. She could act as a mentor to them and consultant to the university, and federal agencies on mystical matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterhawk Posted October 11, 2003 Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 Originally posted by Mark Rand Hi all, Would a hotel/casino sponsor a team for publicity/good will and to backup its in house team? Luxor's could have an Egyptian theme while Excalibur's would have an Arthurian one. This is exactly what I did in my 4th Edition campaign. Each casino sponsored a hero for the team: Luxor - Pharoah Caesar's - Gladiator Treasure Island - Swashbuckler Circus Circus - Highwire MGM Grand - Lioness They were very public figures, often serving as greeters and making appearances a big events like boxing matches. For my 5th campaign, I decided to use MfH's idea and had a cabal of casino's covertly hire a supermercenary on Mechassassin's level. He called Wildcard and maintains a Batmanesque 'urban legend' reputation. The last supervillains that tried to knock over a casino, were never seen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted October 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2003 My original concept was to have Las Vegas's team be a branch team of an established, federally-sanctioned team. Guardian, the team leader, wears powered armor that was built by his, now deceased father. Warder, the team's mage, was discussed in a previous post. The team's headquarters mansion once belonged to Warder's teacher. Since it's a mage's house, its bigger on the inside than the outside. Taking a concept from some post seventh-season Buffy fan fiction, the Las Vegas area is also home to the nerve center for 4,000 Slayers worldwide. Some stay in Vegas, while others are scattered throughout the world. (Buffy and Giles are in Cleveland, keeping an eye on the Hellmouth there.) The price they paid for staying in Vegas was to do things by the book, learn criminology and teach vampire-fighting techniques to various police forces. At least one Slayer helps federal, state and local agencies keep a watch at the main airport and one's usually with the CSI teams. Yours, Mark Rand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HewhoisMatt Posted October 12, 2003 Report Share Posted October 12, 2003 Vegas I was in a a Vegas game a while back with a team called the Vegas Knights. Some of the probs we ran in to were. Swinging is not a good way to get around. Nellis AFB, and Area 51 don't like strange aircraft. Never could find a good place for a base cept maybe under lake Mead. All the probs one would expect from mental powers and gambling being close to one another. Same as above but with the luck perk(now power). We get to 110 in the summer time and it hardly ever rains cold, water, and plant powers some times have a prob. Anyway I hope this helps some, if you need any Vegas info drop me a line and I'll try to help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted October 12, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2003 Thank you for the good points to ponder. I prefer mansions or estates for headquarters because they're easy to find locations for. According to the Buffy fanfic I'm getting inspiration from, their base is a former Enron compound just outside the city. There could be others like it nearby. One other option, if you're using GURPS IST as a base and have decided thay're part of UNTIL, is to build an office building in town or, if the IST has been in existance for a while, let them have a compound, like IST Kingston, Jamaica. It would serve as an R&R spot for heroes as well as a team base. As far as aircraft go, I find the ones superhero teams use fall into two catigories. Either they're prototype aircraft loaned to the team for testing or, especially with a branch office team, well-known aircraft. Either way, the air force will know about them and may even provide flight crews. With the IST, the heroes would probably follow the lead of Buffy's associates and use military aircraft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 22, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2003 How's this? PRIMUS has decided to form superhero teams at some of its bases and Las Vegas is one of them. The heroes are members of that team. Guardian, an armored hero, leads the team. Warder, a female mage, is another member. Warder's accompanied by her familiar, Amber, a Western Screech Owl. The team has two bases, PRIMUS Las Vegas and, with their permission, Warder's mansion. Like all mage's houses, it's bigger on the inside than the outside. It's also haunted and has gates to alternate realities. Aside from their housekeeper, the support staff consists of PRIMUS personal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted November 23, 2003 Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 Re: Vegas Originally posted by HewhoisMatt We get to 110 in the summer time and it hardly ever rains cold, water, and plant powers some times have a prob. Though when it rains, it's a pain in the butt. Flash Floods, etc... Though good for rescueing people. Hmm, I was about to suggest checking out Viper Net (Based in Las Vegas), but it looks like Shelley has it closed for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 I forgot to mention that the alternate realities are pocket dimensions, some as small as a room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfly Posted November 23, 2003 Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 As a diehard Buffy/Angel fan I really must ask some questions: 1) Please explain your proclivity towards turning the slayer(s) into cops?? I always thought that one of the most basic concepts of BtVS was female empowerment (i.e., Womens Liberation...from conventional *male dominated* institutions). As an Independent Woman, the Slayer herself / themselves stand as icons of anti-establishment (underground) heroism. Slayers, by Joss' design, scoff at traditional law enforcement, acting (instead) as demonworld vigilantes. 2) I wonder, is your rush to give them badges connected to Batman (the ultimate vigilante) starting to carry one? 3) I surely appreciate the impetus of including Slayers in anyones 5E world, but, why bind these women to a badge (& penal codes). 4) In this (prolific) fanfic, are the Watcher's no longer good enough [to direct Slayer efforts]? 5-6) Do your Slayer cops have to go through the police academy? Why are Slayer's suddenly adept forensic scientists (why not private investigators, etc)? In the end, if it's just a personal thing, than I guess I can understand (like if you make all your PCs have arrest powers, etc). But, nothing in either Angel or BtVS has made me think Joss was designing another CSI or Law & Order spinoff (I kinda thought that was the whole point). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 Good points, Nightfly. I'm trying to combine Buffy post season seven (where there are many Slayers and no Council of Watchers) with the CU. Since the Initiative, part of the DOD knows about Slayers, vampires, and Hellmouths, it stands to reason that they'd tell other law enforcement and intelligence agencies about them. I think that these agencies would insist on a working relationship with the Slayers. By the way, shouldn't we be discussing this on the Sunnydale thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfly Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 Originally posted by Mark Rand Good points, Nightfly. I'm trying to combine Buffy post season seven (where there are many Slayers and no Council of Watchers) with the CU. Since the Initiative, part of the DOD knows about Slayers, vampires, and Hellmouths, it stands to reason that they'd tell other law enforcement and intelligence agencies about them. I think that these agencies would insist on a working relationship with the Slayers. By the way, shouldn't we be discussing this on the Sunnydale thread? So what if the establishment pigs 'insist'?! I believe the Council of Watcher's would maintain the same stand they always have in Joss' Buffyverse. Perhaps some individual Slayers would wanna join up, but I seriously doubt any working relationship would include the Council (or their Slayers) taking orders from 'badges'. Just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfly Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 Also, I'd ask what do the official agencies think of friendly demons? In Joss' comic book Fray, about a post-apocalyptic Slayer, the titular character has a demon for a Watcher. Would the various CU law agencies appreciate demon involvement (and all that that entails)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 Nightfly, I have my copy of the Sunnydale 5E thread beside me. On page 11, after I make my proposal, you say, and I quote, "Awesome!! Excellent Integration". Have you changed your mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfly Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 Originally posted by Mark Rand Nightfly, I have my copy of the Sunnydale 5E thread beside me. On page 11, after I make my proposal, you say, and I quote, "Awesome!! Excellent Integration". Have you changed your mind? I didn't (then) realize the extent (what with the further commentary that has transpired since then) to which your intent was to make them into cops. Personally, I'm not really a true-believer of the 4000 estimate either. But its not like my opinion should stop your fun, I'm just pointing out my interpretation of what Joss would approve of (which obviously I can only guess at). But I believe mine is an educated 'guess'. The Initiative is cool to 'integrate', but I just think the Slayers should remain independent operators. If the only way Slayers can exist in your CU is to be assimilated into the law, I guess that's just a personal thing again. BTW, thanks for considering my views closely enough to be able to recall my past comments. I appreciate it, even when my qoutes are used against me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 25, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 Actually, I printed the whole thread out. The 4,000 worldwide is assuming that, if you possess the potential, you'll become a Slayer no matter what age you are. If you limit to women between 12 and 25, you'll probably end up with less. What do you think of a mage casting a spell on the Slayers that would act as a universal translater? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfly Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 Knowing that 12-25 yr olds would be less (than 4k) sounds better to me! A Universal Translator spell sounds good, but I'd ask if it'd extend to ancient (dead) languages and/or Alien species? I rather like that the Watchers are needed to (sometimes roughly) translate ancient mystical texts. If the UT-spell functioned primarily to aid the Slayers in their everyday (pedestrian) duties it'd be fun,... but I wouldn't want the Watchers to be devalued by it. Just my two cents, but I could see a UT-spell relating to all actively spoken languages on this globe - but probably only with that limitation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 25, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 Since, as I recall, the First destroyed the Watchers Council, the Trismegistus Council has been handling the research chores of the old council, but they're not involved in the training of the Slayers. Other people do that. A typical team consists of a Slayer, her teacher, an associate of the Trismegistus Council that acts as her researcher, a computer expert and a mage. The researcher and computer expert probably don't have much combat experience. The UT spell's purpose is for everyday use only. In fact, I came up with the idea after seeing the problems the Chinese potential had understanding everyone else. Any idea why nobody knew she couldn't drink milk or eat foods made with dairy products or Willow didn't cast a UT spell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfly Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 Originally posted by Mark Rand Since, as I recall, the First destroyed the Watchers Council, the Trismegistus Council has been handling the research chores of the old council, but they're not involved in the training of the Slayers. Other people do that. A typical team consists of a Slayer, her teacher, an associate of the Trismegistus Council that acts as her researcher, a computer expert and a mage. The researcher and computer expert probably don't have much combat experience. The UT spell's purpose is for everyday use only. In fact, I came up with the idea after seeing the problems the Chinese potential had understanding everyone else. Any idea why nobody knew she couldn't drink milk or eat foods made with dairy products or Willow didn't cast a UT spell? Well, here's where an element of my ignorance shines thru...what is the Trismegistus Council? Is it another element from the fanfic you've previously referenced? Only recently the issue of the Watchers Council arose on Angel (via Wesley's dad), and they didn't seem to indicate any giving up on rebuilding on the Council's part. Nor was any mention made of the Trismegistus Council? (I'm getting pretty curious about it now, cuz if its show related I really should know about it). As to a UT spell on the show, I just don't think the concept practically exists there. Perhaps something like that might exist regarding magical texts, but I'd bet the only place the Scooby Gang (or Team Angel) would've heard about UTs would be Star Trek. I like the concept though. I bet given the suggestion, Willow (s.7) might've been able to cast just such a spell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 25, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 The Trismegistus Council is from the CU, not the Buffyverse. I'm sure the Watchers, being the power-hungry group that they are, would try to rebuild their council and take over the Slayers' lives, but the girls probably wouldn't let them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfly Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 touché, good Sir Rand Though I'd assert Watchers exist to assist & advise, but turnabout...etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rand Posted November 25, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 I have five reasons for calling them power-hungry. The first is the Cruciamentum that Buffy had during season three. The second is the fact that they employ hit squads. They sent one after Buffy when her mind was in Faith's body. The third is that they believe that they think that they're the only ones that have the right to try Slayers. They took Faith from police custody to have their own trial. The fourth is the fact that they fired Giles for telling Buffy about the test and replacing him with Wesley, who was no good as a Watcher. The fifth is that they permitted Joyce Summers to be the bait in Buffy's Cruciamentum. Buffy, Giles, Willow and Xander would've told the new Slayers about these events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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