Champions Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams

[Dr. MID-Nite]

I finally picked this up(tired of waiting for Vol 3) and figured I'd comment on it. By and large i thought the art was better in this one than in Volume 1. There were a few stinkers...Minimax..Smoke and Mirrors...Bocal...but for the most part the art was very good.

 

Brain Trust up first. Some very nice Storn art for them, but I don't like this group much....and I'm not sure why exactly "shrugs"

 

Circle of the Scarlet Moon up next. This section seems more detailed than what was presented in Arcane Adversaries.

 

Cirque Sinister up next. some more Storn art for Flow, Cauldron, and Bobby Holmes. Flow oddly has an ED of 11 with no other defenses to back that up. "shrugs"

 

Crimelords up next...good art here too, but don't recognize the work. Decent group overall.

 

Crowns of Krim: More Storn art. This group as a whole is tough.

 

Deathstroke: Only Requiem and Frost are represented(the idea being to fill out the rest of the group yourself).

 

Devil's Advocates: No art for Golem in human form. I like the picture for Gyre. Thought the new picture for Tartarus was weaker than the one from 5th. Vilsimbra. a bit of lazy editing(they use the old text for her Friend to Foe spell, but that makes no sense now that Activation 14- is only a -1/4 limitation)

 

Eurostar: Really good Storn art here...and this group is back to being pretty scary. A tussle between these guys and The Crowns would be something to see.

 

The Futurists: Meh. Nothing to see here.

 

GRAB: Same as before for the most part.

 

Merc Force One: These guys all look new...and all pretty tough. Stareye is both a strong energy projector AND mentalist. Piledriver has VERY high defenses..40 PD/50ED. The Cahokian is the weakest member, but those 5 combat levels probably help.

 

PSI: Changed quite a bit...mostly by adding psychokinetic powers to Medusa and Psimon. Medusa is as scary as ever with that obscene mental Entangle. Mind Slayer now has 60 STR TK with Line of Sight. Add that to her tougher defenses and she's quite a bit more threatening.

 

Red Winter: Another new group. Nothing amazing, but I like theme groups.

 

Smoke and Mirrors: Didn't like the art. They're otherwise the same as before.

 

Sylvestri Clan: I've used Bocal in the past and he's still the best character in the bunch IMO.

 

Tiger Squad: More decent art. Most of these chracters are unchanged.

 

Ultimates: The new rules help Slick make a bit more sense, but I still hate the character. Orion has replaced Radium(who never really made sense with this group). I've replaced Radium and Slick in my game with Tachyon and Anklosaur and don't see any reason to change my mind right now. As presented, Orion is the toughest member of the group. I've always liked The Ultimates. I've always kind of thought of them like Flash's Rogues.

 

Vandaleurs: No real changes beyond making sure it's quite clear that Eduard and Anais are FRATERNAL twins. I'm still gonna use them as identical twins myself...lol

 

Overall, good book. Art is MUCH better...and some of the writeups had enough swerves to make it worth looking at. In my campaign, I see the Ultimates, Crimelords, and Cirque Sinister getting the most use, but they could all find a place in most campaigns.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Champions Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams

 

Brain Trust up first. Some very nice Storn art for them' date=' but I don't like this group much....and I'm not sure why exactly "shrugs"[/quote']

 

I completely respect your preference, but for me the Brain Trust is in a way the ultimate super comic-book villain team. IMHO it's a fun collection of pop-culture stereotypes which could co-exist nowhere else but in a comic-book universe: a talking gorilla, a zombie, a mystic ninja, a catgirl, and a brain in a tank.

 

Eurostar: Really good Storn art here...and this group is back to being pretty scary. A tussle between these guys and The Crowns would be something to see.

 

Incorporating the "membership drive" mentioned in several 5E books, the team is now up to eight members, giving it the muscle to really match its reputation.

 

The Futurists: Meh. Nothing to see here.

 

The concept is decent -- "villains" motivated to forcibly make the world a genuinely better place -- and having them operate stealthily is a nice change from the more overt villain threats. But naming the two core villains "Morticus" and "The Fiend" is a jarring disconnect from that motivation. (Cryptic Studios came up with them BTW.)

 

Merc Force One: These guys all look new...and all pretty tough. Stareye is both a strong energy projector AND mentalist. Piledriver has VERY high defenses..40 PD/50ED. The Cahokian is the weakest member' date=' but those 5 combat levels probably help.[/quote']

 

In fact Merc-Force One previously appeared in the 5E villain compilation Evil Unleashed, among the few new villains added for that volume. I also appreciate it on the level of recasting a classic Champions villain team, Bullet's Raiders.

 

Red Winter: Another new group. Nothing amazing' date=' but I like theme groups.[/quote']

 

I know a surprising number of gamers who can't get enough of villains from the former Soviet Union. Some of Red Winter would still prefer to be heroes, and to restore the USSR, which gives them a wider range of potential interactions with PCs than many supervillains IMHO.

[Epiphanis]

Re: Champions Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams

 

The Brain Trust: Individually, I like the members of this team, but I've never liked the obvious rip-off quality of Overbrain and Ape-Plus to Brain and Monsieur Mallah. Fine characters for seperate teams, bad together.

 

Futurists: I like the concept, but not the name. I think you guys are missing the point with this group; the Fiend and Morticus may have genuinely idealistic goals in mind, but they are clearly rat bastards in an "ends justify the means" sort of way. I like that the Fiend, for all his grandiose ideas of social reform, is in fact a sadist who enjoys using his pain powers. Also, there was a void for a good sneaky group in the CU mix that they fill. Other than the unimpressive name, my only problem with the Futurists is that they are presented as the seed of a team and not a finished product.

 

Deathstroke: I think this was a mistake. Frost and Requiem are interesting characters, but the whole "trying to get the band back together" thing seems a waste. Not least because of Slade Wilson coopting the name-- do we need more "Captain Marvel" name confusion? Frost and Requiem would be better served as solos in Vol. 3.

 

Eurostar: this was a good villain team before the European Union was established, but now they are a little obsolete. Again, the individual members are excellent, but the team itself seems to have lost its entire point.

 

Also, its notable that the most badass supervillain team in the CU isn't even included in this book: The Destroyers, which are partially documented in Vol. 1 instead. In the continuity clusterconfusion that is the Doctor Destroyer timeline, the Destroyers are ostensibly currently operating on their own under Gigaton and are not taking orders from Dr. D.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Champions Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams

 

Deathstroke: I think this was a mistake. Frost and Requiem are interesting characters' date=' but the whole "trying to get the band back together" thing seems a waste. Not least because of Slade Wilson coopting the name-- do we need more "Captain Marvel" name confusion? Frost and Requiem would be better served as solos in Vol. 3.[/quote']

 

I've discovered I'm far from alone in liking the "team seed" concept, as well as the classic Champions legacy, that the nucleus of Deathstroke represents, so I respectfully disagree with you there.

 

Slade Wilson's name always amuses me to think about. When the character first came out around the early 1980s his full handle was "Deathstroke, the Terminator." I noticed that after the publication of Champions' Deathstroke adventure module, DC Comics started calling him just "the Terminator." Then a certain movie franchise debuted; it was pretty obvious which potentially-confusing name had the higher profile.

 

Eurostar: this was a good villain team before the European Union was established' date=' but now they are a little obsolete. Again, the individual members are excellent, but the team itself seems to have lost its entire point.[/quote']

 

That's a valid point, but again, I respectfully disagree with you, at least in part. Wrangling over the recent debt crisis, and the disparity of military contributions to Afghanistan and Libya, has highlighted how far "European unity" still is from reality. IMO Fiacho still has plenty to rant over.

 

Also' date=' its notable that the most badass supervillain team in the CU isn't even included in this book: The Destroyers, which are partially documented in Vol. 1 instead. In the continuity clusterconfusion that is the Doctor Destroyer timeline, the Destroyers are ostensibly currently operating on their own under Gigaton and are not taking orders from Dr. D.[/quote']

 

At this point it's probably no secret that the original Dr. Destroyer has returned in Champions Online continuity, and Shadow Destroyer is indisposed for the foreseeable future; so any published updates to the the PnP game line will probably see Albert Zerstoiten gathering his old minions and hitting the CU in a big way.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Champions Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams

 

I like the Deathstroke idea LL. I hadn't thought about Eurostar's point being annuled. But I doubt they'd care.

[Zephrosyne]

Re: Champions Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams

 

I agree it's good to see Eurostar up to snuff again but why Visigoth? What does he really bring to the table? You already have Fiacho, Scorpia, Durak, and Pantera on the ground and in melee. Fiacho seems to be a bit picky about who he lets on his team, why not go for someone who brings something to the team they don't have. Hell, I would've been nice if they retconned Bora being killed and putter her back on the team instead of Visigoth. Then again, maybe not, the cat fights between her and Scorpia for mirror time would be unbearable. Still, they could have gotten someone who actually added something to the team.

[Matt the Bruins]

Re: Champions Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams

 

I don't know, they kind of played up the fact that Visigoth is a thinking man's brick with tactics other than just hit and keep hitting. I actually see him as both more useful in a fight and less of a loose cannon than Pantera.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Re: Champions Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams

 

Visigoth is tough..hits hard..and is hard to keep down. Plus he's an amoral sociopath. That is probably the most important reason he's with the group...he fits in personality wise.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Champions Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams

 

I like Visigoth. He actually fits even with Durak