Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

[phoenix240]

Do you normally create an NPC to be the team leader (even if only ostensibly) or does a Player character normally take that role. If so, how do you player decide on who's leader? In either case, please share your experiences and preference on the subject?

[Rholio2]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

It really depends on your goal for the campaign. If you need to 'railroad' your PCs into a certain direction at the start of the campaign, then an NPC team leader works well. I've used it that way several times, although the NPC always meets a tragic end fairly early on.

 

If it's a standard 'team A' in 'city B' then there's no need for an NPC to lead the way... they aren't really going anywhere, they're protecting a place.

 

An NPC mentor / founder works well in that scenario, someone that brings the team together like a Professor Xavier.

 

As far as PC team leaders, usually there's a leader type in the group of players, or someone that wants to play one in the game. When there isn't, steal an idea from the Avengers and say "Okay, Charlie's turn to lead this month, look out everyone."

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

I definitely prefer a PC be team leader, though I have sometimes done the NPC patron/mentor/trainer/mission control kind of guy (like old Bruce in Batman Beyond).

 

Unfortunately, none of the players I have are leader-types, or want to play characters who are, so ... yeah. Things tend to be kind of unfocussed.

[Ranxerox]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

NPC mentor/benefactor/government liaisons are good. However the team leader should be a PC. Not all teams have to have a leader though. As long as the characters have shared goals and the players can agree upon each other roles, no formal or even informal leader is required. Characters can just take the lead naturally as circumstances fall under their field of expertise.

[Christopher]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

NPC mentor/benefactor/government liaisons are good. However the team leader should be a PC. Not all teams have to have a leader though. As long as the characters have shared goals and the players can agree upon each other roles' date=' no formal or even informal leader is required. Characters can just take the lead naturally as circumstances fall under their field of expertise.[/quote']

Most of the time in comics, the leader is needed so the others can work togehter at all. With thier normal personalities, they would just keep hitting each other.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

My leaders have always been GMPC's built on 3x the points of the players. Works fine.

 

 

 

 

[Ranxerox]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

Most of the time in comics' date=' the leader is needed so the others can work togehter at all. With thier normal personalities, they would just keep hitting each other.[/quote']

 

Hopefully your gaming group gets along better than your average comic book super team.

[GoldenAge]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

I've used the PC leader (according to team vote as prescribed in the team charter) coupled with an NPC benefactor and government liaisons for decades. Usually works out GREAT (Heterodyne's tenure as a government assigned leader notwithstanding - The PC, a really nice guy, was surprisingly great at being a g-man @hole and, despite my fears, it lead to great group roleplaying)

[Zen Archer]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

The games I either ran or played in only ever had PC leaders. Sometimes the leader was determined upfront through a vote (or GM fiat), sometimes one or more developed through role-play. We had the occasional NPC government contact, but no indy benefactor that I can recall.

[Christopher]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

Hopefully your gaming group gets along better than your average comic book super team.

So far they did.

 

Unlike the Comics/Cartoons/Animated Series, you can't "plan" the drama the same way. So the personalities don't tend to much towards butting heads.

[GoldenAge]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

I've used the PC leader (according to team vote as prescribed in the team charter) coupled with an NPC benefactor and government liaisons for decades. Usually works out GREAT (Heterodyne's tenure as a government assigned leader notwithstanding - The PC' date=' a really nice guy, was surprisingly great at being a g-man @hole and, despite my fears, it lead to great group roleplaying) [/quote']

Hmmmm ... Interesting revelation... That PC joined the military not long after his stint as Heterodyne. I'd never really put 2 & 2 together until I wrote the post above.

 

Sorry for the interruption. please carry on.

[Orion]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

I think it was always a PC as leader, but the GM always had as many PCs in operation as the players. We didn't do much social roleplaying, and never any romantic stuff, so NPCs and DNPCs were sorta rare. Having characters (we almost always had multiple characters in play) in the group at the same point level as us gave the GM more to do during all the intra-group roleplaying we did, and could be used to give us a clue when needed. I don't think they were ever mentors or leaders though.

 

Leaders were almost always chosen by their character and skill set. Usually it was obvious who should be leader, but if not, that just enabled more fun roleplaying as we argued with each other. If a player really wanted to be the leader, they would just bring in a character that could do it, and the players would all agree to follow them.

 

As a GM, I would never play the leader unless the players specifically told me to do so. I do like to always provide a character, though they mostly just hover in the background and pick up the slack as needed.

[GoldenAge]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

I actually find it virtually impossible to play an NPC leader and run him as if he's clueless of the story I'm GMing. I just wrote the the adventure, for cripes sake. It'd be an incredible struggle to NOT lead them down the right path, which would force me to play "stupid" (the end result being a leader who is almost always wrong).

 

The only circumstance I can imagine that would require me (as GM) to play a team leader is one wherein I needed to set an example for a bunch of noobs with the expectation that, once they get the hang of things, a PC would take the reigns.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

Do you normally create an NPC to be the team leader (even if only ostensibly) or does a Player character normally take that role. If so' date=' how do you player decide on who's leader? In either case, please share your experiences and preference on the subject?[/quote']

 

Field team leader is always a player (Cyclops), though often times if the PC's belong to an organization there will be an NPC boss (Professor X). Otherwise, the railroading tends to feel strong, even when there is none. An overly wise and vocal GM pet NPC can cause the same problems sometimes.

 

Leadership is generally determined by roleplaying and PC background, but I've seen people decide ahead of time out of game who it would be.

 

In one of my groups, we have a player that tends to favor being the older, more experienced PC, while everyone else playes teens and 20 somethings. He also usually has backgrounds that lend themselves to positions of leadership already (ships captain, former military man, etc). I don't believe he actually LIKES being leader, he just get's saddled with it...

 

The same thing happens to ME in another game group. Force of personality and a desire not to sit around waiting for obvious plot hooks to attack us conspire to always make me leader in that group. It's how a 16 year old street urchin became a knights squire and eventually a general in his nations army... in the end it made for a pretty cool rags to riches type story, but in the beginning it was creepy and more than a little stupid.

[Laundry Knight]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

I'm thinking of going with a NPC strategic leader who pretty much points the characters were to go but leave the tactical leadership up to the players once they get to where they are supposed to go.

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

I always prefer PCs to be team leader. The position is usally determined through roleplaying. I will occasionally use an NPC mentor/benefactor, but they're more often than not just there for exposition.

[Opale]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

Interesting topic.

 

From my own experience, NPC do better leader of the Team when it comes to keep the game balanced and stick to a concept. It's a great tool to control players when there is a need to.

 

On the other hand, it makes some players feel they are not "in command"... well in fact there not in command, but I'm not blonde enough to tell them so I'm open to ideas and suggestions, but you can't trust a group of players to keep the game balanced for their own sake, at least it's this way in France...

 

A good balance is to have a NPC leader for the campaign setting and morality rails, and a PC leader for the action scenery.

 

Leading Opale.

Sir, yes Sir !

[Pariah]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

In the last campaign I ran, there was an NPC team leader/liaison who got killed several episodes in. It worked out pretty well.

[Balabanto]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

Well, it depends. In some games, the GMPC is the team leader. In some, not. It depends on roleplaying. Some PC's naturally gravitate to the role of leader. Some don't.

 

In my Knight Rangers game, the GMPC's a secretary. Not a good leader type.

 

In my San Diego Knights game, the GMPC is team leader because she's kind of like a den mother. A much better leader type. It depends on how the personalities fall out.

 

Cybervulture: Awesome character. Much fun. Not a leader. Would rather watch football and have a beer. GMPC? Yeah. But a good leader? Cybervulture would rather eat glass than lead his team. Plus, he's kind of a jackass.

[Laundry Knight]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

On the other hand, it makes some players feel they are not "in command"... well in fact there not in command, but I'm not blonde enough to tell them so I'm open to ideas and suggestions, but you can't trust a group of players to keep the game balanced for their own sake, at least it's this way in France...

 

That must be a human thing and not a French thing. Either that or this part of America has a lot more in common with your part of France than I would suspect. Of course, the big question is how to best deal with that trend?

[Balabanto]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

I've discovered it's easier in groups where character development is more important than what you're beating up.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

IMO, you should avoid the urge to inject a NPC / GM sock puppet / closet Mary Sue into a group and start bossing, directing, leading, or otherwise nudging the group from a position of special privilege as anything other than a very short term solution.

 

Let the players be the focus. If they are too fractious, inept, quarrelsome, or otherwise disorderly for your tastes, deal with it by other means.

 

Injecting a proxy character into the group in a position of authority with the intent to basically get the group to follow your plot is an inelegant / heavy handed approach and at best should be used only as a last resort when the option is that or having a group completely implode for lack of ability to get anything done. And arguably, you should let such a group implode and get a new group rather than prop it up by trying to run the game from both sides of the screen.

[Hermit]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

IMO The field commander should be a player character if possible. I have worked with NPCs who are more the 'desk' jockeys or 'generals behind the lines' to good effect. Ironically though, one of my current campaigns has two active senior superhero NPCs in the game who can order the new blood around. One of my players liked the NPC heroes from the supplements and WANTED to interact/work with them so I tried to oblige for a bit.

 

But except for rough outlines, they are being fairly hands off. Two PCs have been declared field commanders of sorts while the senior NPC heroes are off handling other things etc. Part of this IS because I want the PCs to be the stars but storywise

 

 

Both Captain Thunder (Formerly Renegade) and Ace will be retiring soon as well, but want to give the 'new guys' every chance for experience and teamwork on their own before going gently into that good retirement themselves.

 

[Beazulbob]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

My group would refuse to follow an NPC leader. Then again, running the PCs is akin to herding cats.... luckily there a fun lot to GM

[Shadow Hawk]

Re: Superhero team Leader: PC or NPC?

 

I never used a npc as 'leader'. I've used them as information sources (Spock), mentors (Professor X), mysterious sponsers (Howard Hughes)...