Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

[Tech]

With the Book of the Destroyer out, Destroyer's current stats probably leaves him out of range for most heroes to fight. However, I am still curious if anyone actively uses Dr. Destroyer in their campaign.

 

In the campaign I'm in (which is staying 5e for now), I'm still pretty much using the original stats from the Island of Dr. Destroyer. I have updated those stats somewhat with more powers and defenses. Taking into account his age and touching on something mentioned in the BotD, he's feeling his age. He's still themastermind of the campaign but not the only one. His reputation in the campaign is such that he waltzed into a hero team base, told them to assist him regain control of his own base from Mechanon and had them fly him in their jet to the base.

 

Here's a scenario I ran as GM:

Destroyer is aware that there are some heroes that simply beyond even superheroes, in terms of their aging. That being the case, it could be possible for him to take their lifespan from them - or at the very least siphon some of their youth to him. Originally, Menton followed Dr Destroyer but this would be the last time. Destroyer tracked down one heroine and had Menton kidnap her - not an easy task even for him. However, the heroine had a mindlink of sorts and led the heroes to herself. When the supergroup got there, both she and Destroyer were hooked up to a machine. The machine would transfer as much as possible of her longevity to him, ensuring he would live longer. Mention battled the heroes while deciding whether what to do: if they disconnected them from the machine, would the heroine be harmed or even die? Eventually, they destroyed the machine and freed her. Destroyer stood up and thanked the heroes sarcastically for their generous donation and left. Menton himself would leave as well. The heroine survived of course but now Destroyer would live even longer.

 

I'd like to hear from you on recent Destroyer scenarios he's appeared in.

[Steve]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

In my Icons campaign, Doctor Destroyer will be making an appearance (but hasn't yet). His armor and abilities will be the starting armor version. It will be a different person inside the armor, possibly the grandson of Zerstoiten.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

I have not had the opportunity to introduce Dr. Destoyer. I do not think he ever will. II have never had a group of Superheroes capable of confronting him and for some reason the PCs in my campaign become focused on One-Shot Master Villains I introduce in game. They never play according to plan.

 

On the rare occasion I get to play he rarely makes an appearance and in only The Brigade Universe Campaign have I ever faced a Master Villain and a Master Superhero (Lobo meets Superboy).

 

QM

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

I've never used him directly, but I have had situations where PCs have run into plots instigated by him, encountered underlings, agents, robots and flunkies. That sort of thing. I did run the 4e 'Island of Dr. Destroyer' adventure once before, but that doesn't really count because the Destroyer in there isn't Zerstoiten.

[GestaltBennie]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

I've run classic Destroyer, and he's made cameo appearances in my CO RP runs. (As well as fighting alonngside Thundrax and Harbinger in the LoH Resistance run).

 

I'll gladly use him again, though I play him at a lower power level than the currnt version.

[phoenix240]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

We may use a verion of him in our game as the mastermind behind the 4th Reich eventually if that counts. Probably one of the lowest powered incarnations since I don't think even Free Spirit could tangle with high end versions.

[Orion]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

As a GM, I dislike the overwhelming, cannot be defeated, type of villain. As a player, I despise them and the GMs that inflect them on me. Masterminds are great, but the power level and abilities of DD and his ilk are just too much. Once they get to that point, they are a plot point, and no longer have powers and characteristics - they just do anything the GM needs them to do at that point.

 

DD is an important part of my campaign, but he has very little in common with the canon version. I have only seen the official write-up for him this spring. Years ago I made my own DD based on the name and picture in old books, and a few rumors I saw on the web. Of course, I guessed totally wrong. Mine is a Nazi scientist specializing in genetics. He escaped with most of the mystical artifacts after the war, along with the few pieces of superscience that actually worked. He has stopped his own body from aging, but hasn't bothered to reverse it yet. He has a suit of armor, but it's to protect him during dangerous experiments, and is nothing special. Combat is something he considers beneath himself. He is the premier scientist working on cloning and genetic engineering, and has a loyal cadre that are all at the pinnacle of human ability. This cadre, and the few metahumans he has created, is what the players fight. Only one base, but he's just about to the point to try and re-created the Third Reich. Once he does this, I'd be very surprised if he's allowed to live after his eventual defeat.

[Greybook PLayer]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

Seen as the original that I loved to hate was 'killed off' and replaced with one using magic I was thinking of kicking off my Champions 'A million stories in Millenium City' campaign with the old tech version hiding away and watching....then have this new arcane version turn up from a quantum universe..two? YES, TWO DR Detroyers...OR have they already done that and I've been subconsiously influenced by something I've read?

 

Hmmmm, how would the original DD react to a quantum universe imposter???

[patransom]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

Seen as the original that I loved to hate was 'killed off' and replaced with one using magic I was thinking of kicking off my Champions 'A million stories in Millenium City' campaign with the old tech version hiding away and watching....then have this new arcane version turn up from a quantum universe..two? YES, TWO DR Detroyers...OR have they already done that and I've been subconsiously influenced by something I've read?

 

Hmmmm, how would the original DD react to a quantum universe imposter???

 

Yep, that's almost exactly what they've done, as of about 2-3 months ago in the online game. The original DD does not react well.

[Mister E]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

I once let a player play a light version of Doctor D (largely based on Doom 2099) for a "superheroic" cyberpunk campaign. The PC was pre-built by me @ 350 cp.

 

The villain, suffering from amnesia, mysteriously wakes up in a vat in the year 2112.

 

No armor or other resources.

 

He "thinks" he's the doctor. He has all of the doctor's "old" memories.

 

What he can't figure out is how his body ended up rejuvenated back to that of a fit & energetic 18 y/o.

 

[edit]: What ended up being the coolest part of the character was how (even a hundred "plus" years in the future) he was still way ahead of the technology curve.

[clsage]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

I've never used either him (Doctor Destroyer) or his fanboy imitator Professor Muerte. Though they both may see some play at a future date. In my home-brew universe, their role(s) are partially (but not fully) filled by the Golden Age villain Adamant and the more recent Warstorm (both home-brew NPC's).

 

-Carl-

[Greybook PLayer]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

Yep' date=' that's almost exactly what they've done, as of about 2-3 months ago in the online game. The original DD does not react well.[/quote']

 

Bloody hell! I thought i was being really clever *hangs head in disappointment*

[hfergus]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

I've used him (sorta) in each group I've Gm'd. Day of the Destroyer scenario both times, the most recent updated to 6th ed. He' one of the two (the other being Mechanon) villains that the players go "O #$%@, He's involved" when they hear about it. (All my players think I do a wonderful arrogant Destroyer voice.) They foiled the plot but they never even saw the real Destroyer. He's plotting something big, but it'll be awhile.

[Tech]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

I should state that the Dr. Destroyer I'm using is from the original 1st version of the Island of Dr Destroyer. The current, ridiculous powermonger version of him is a joke. I understand that a few campaigns may actually be of the kind that is powerful enough to fight him but those are the exceptions. From what I've read on these boards over the years, the majority of campaign levels simply cannot fight him or have a hope to fight him. It's a montyhaulish version - a deus ex machina.

 

Having said that, I like the original 1st edition version of him.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

The fact that he's hard to fight directly is kind of the point. He's not a villain you beat, he's a villain whose plans you thwart.

[Balabanto]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

I wrote him out of continuity after he died.

 

That's all I have to say about that. It was easier to just get rid of him and treat those plots like they never existed. I wage an eternal battle against copyright laws. Anything I can do to make it easier makes my life less stressful.

[Andrew_A]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

Never got around to the campaign I was planning, but I did leave myself a note in my Classic Enemies book.

 

The note said, "What if Doctor Destroyer took over the world and nobody knew it?"

 

Make of that what you will.

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

He did. In 1984, appropriately enough, for three months. It's in Book of the Destroyer, and would make a great Iron Age mini-campaign.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

I once used him(the low-end 4th ed. version, IIRC) in a scenario where he showed up to menace the PCs...then immediately "jobbed" to a more menacing home-brewed mega villain, who then proceeded to to life-and-death with the PCs.

My current campaign (well, my dormant campaign which currently exists only on paper and inside my head) wouldn't use DD, since it's all home-brew stuff now.

[Andrew_A]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

He did. In 1984' date=' appropriately enough, for three months. It's in [i']Book of the Destroyer,[/i] and would make a great Iron Age mini-campaign.

 

I don't have BotD. What happened?

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

Per BOTD, 18--19, Destroyer used mind control satellites launched by cloaked rockets to take over the world. From March 30 to June 24th, Destroyer ruled the world, opposed only by a few psionic heroes. Two of whom he captured and "killed by experimentation." That Albert. Just one big cuddle-wuddle! Then he told his old enemy, Vanguard, to destroy the Statue of Liberty, causing Vanguard to break the mind control and pull the mother of all movethroughs on the good doctor.

 

Now, bearing in mind that the history of Doctor Destroyer seems to be told from Zerstroiten's perspective, I take it that it as full of the usual self-justifications and excuses as the average narcissist's life narrative. That, to me, opens up the possibility of a Dark Knight Returns storyline in which some avenger of the night pushes Destroyer into his little psychotic break. Anyway, that's part of the backstory I have in mind for my Champions Universe fanfiction.

[Andrew_A]

Re: Do you use Dr Destroyer in your campaign and if so, which version & how?

 

Per BOTD, 18--19, Destroyer used mind control satellites launched by cloaked rockets to take over the world. From March 30 to June 24th, Destroyer ruled the world, opposed only by a few psionic heroes. Two of whom he captured and "killed by experimentation." That Albert. Just one big cuddle-wuddle! Then he told his old enemy, Vanguard, to destroy the Statue of Liberty, causing Vanguard to break the mind control and pull the mother of all movethroughs on the good doctor.

 

Now, bearing in mind that the history of Doctor Destroyer seems to be told from Zerstroiten's perspective, I take it that it as full of the usual self-justifications and excuses as the average narcissist's life narrative. That, to me, opens up the possibility of a Dark Knight Returns storyline in which some avenger of the night pushes Destroyer into his little psychotic break. Anyway, that's part of the backstory I have in mind for my Champions Universe fanfiction.

 

Not quite what I had in mind. I think (it's been 10+ years after all) what I planned was for Destroyer to secretly control government and business behind the scenes with life proceeding as normal. Or at least as normal as you can get in a superhero universe. How he was going to accomplish this, and why his ego wouldn't get in the way, never got past the idea stage.

 

I think I might check out Book of the Destroyer at some point. When I have the time and money.