New Champions campaign idea... Earth, 2030 - Whatchya think?

[Echo3Niner]

In our fifth exciting episode -->

 

The heroes traveled back to Earth and collected the imprisoned Europaite Drone, and asking Golden Girl to join them again.  By this point, Silvercloud had built a powered armor suit capable of sustaining her in space.

 

The team traveled to Europa and returned the drone, though Capt. Force was disappointed, as the Europaites didn't really seem to care (again their alien culture being difficult for a Narrai {or Earthling} to comprehend).  Golden Girl was successful in at least getting the Europaites to understand the concept of 'cooperation' a little better; though, they made it clear if everyone would just open their minds and join the collective consciousness of the Europaites, everyone would 'cooperate' so much more efficiently.

 

While they were busy speaking to the Europaites, an alien they've never seen before, with 6 eyes, dressed in purple and black, with a staff, that has a ball of energy at the top, lands next to them all.  He releases a bag on his belt, and throws it at Capt. Force's feet; the bag contained the mummified heads of Kings {with crowns} who had turned down his liege.

 

"I am Garras Dron, Herold of Tyrannon the Conqueror - I am here to broker peace and offer you salvation." he announced.

 

Unfortunately the Europaites immediately attempted to command him mentally; with the striking of his staff on the ice, black tendrils lashed out and disintegrated the Europaite warriors that were present...

 

Solar put the Herold in a spherical force field and Capt. Force explains that the Europaites didn't mean it as an offense, and the heroes successfully stop the situation from escalating.

 

The heroes and Garras Dron spoke for a while; with Garras explaining the offer: the heroes of this sector of space would fight the Empress, and when she thinks she won, and eventually shows up in person, they would ambush her and kill her, liberating this sector!  They would of course then become one of Tyrannon's controlled sectors - but, they would be free of the Empress' yoke!  What a great offer!

 

The heroes didn't see it as such a great offer...  Though, they did good to keep that close to their vest, and not show their hand.

 

During the conversation, the Herold explained that "Already, the Tyrant of Earth makes plans to be the Vassal of the Empress and rule Earth, and a ruling House of Lyrissi barter with the "Air band" to assume complete and maintain control of the Lyrissi system with the Empress.  So, he explained, they were already losing...

 

The heroes convince the Herold they will consider his offer, and he extends them a communicator to contact him.  The Herold leaves, and Solar follows him (as she is much faster) - he eventually arrives at a huge amassed fleet, with a flagship larger than Earth - she takes that as her queue to return....

 

The heroes return to Earth and speak to Col. Rage; they learn the reference to the House of Lyrissi, is the House of Pan Tuo - which is one of the ruling houses of Lyrissi - they have not made public that they have the Air Band, but in the pit of vipers that is Lyrissi, many know.  The house assumes (having no idea who they are messing with), that they will be able to use the band to barter with the Empress, and retain control of Lyrissi…

"The Tyrant of Earth" - is Khan Manas II, of Kyrgyzstan (based on an alternate history I created).  Basically a cross between Vladimir Putin and Dr. Doom.  He is a petty dictator, who politically out maneuvered all his opponents by 2011 and took over Kyrgyzstan (which became independent in 1991), then solidified his rulership.  (Though no one knows it, he wears what appears and is assumed to be powered battle armor, but is in fact, a containment suit, because his Z-rad powers are so uncontrollable.)

 

The heroes provided specs to Silvercloud and asked him to make containment suits for a few of the Europaites, so they could come to Earth for a summit with the sector's governments, to try to start building the political bridges needed to unite the sector against the Empress.  They also told Col. Rage to "do his thing" to start interfering with Khan Manas II attempts to communicate with the Empress.

 

They also had Solar use her Detect (from her VPP) to find any surviving Lemurians; which she did on several Pacific Islands (Tasmania, Samoa, among others).  They also asked Col. Rage to find the most powerful Lemurian.

 

They then decided they needed to 'procure' the "Air band", to secure it.  Using Capt. Force's contacts in the Narrai government, they met a contact, Zypherian of the Lyrissi on a secluded mining asteroid base.  Capt. Force asked Solar to use her Detect Power (from her VPP) to find the band; she did, on Lyrissi 3 (there are 3 habitable planets in the Lyrissi system).  Zypherian offered a way to sneak them into the compound, but no further assistance - the heroes agreed.

 

The next day, a House Pan Vox shipping container had arrived and Zypherian explained that the shipment would get them into the estate.  The heroes climbed aboard and they were indeed deposited next to the estate.  Solar used various enhances senses from her VPP to locate two very strong Z-rad sources; she then used Clairsentience from her VPP to view both.

 

In the first they found one of the android Herold's of the Empress in a negotiation with the House Pan Tuo leadership.  In the other, they found the band.  Continuing to use Clairsentience, they reconnoitered and determined the best way to the vault.

 

Capt. Force used the "Earth band" (remember, basically a 500 point VPP for any matter that is solid) to shrink himself very small, so he could ride/hide in Solar's pocket.  She then used her VPP to inviso them both from just about any and all detection types, and they carefully flew to the point of entry of the vault.  Capt. Force used his band to simply create a hole in the middle of the stone door, and knowing it would set off alarms, Solar flew in circles around the room until she had reached her maximum flight speed, then simply grabbed the band and they flew out of the estate.  The Lyrissi on the grounds attempted to give chase, but could not perceive them (as she still had her inviso going), and the Herold attempted to give chase as well, but Solar was far too fast for him to catch her, once she could engage her FTL flight - and they successfully escaped.

 

Arriving back on Earth, having discussed it; with her own VPP generated mental defense, and Golden Girl helping as well, Solar put the "Air band" on, and did not go insane...

 

They then spoke to Col. Rage about the Lemurians; he said he had found one, but he was gonna be difficult.  His name was Arthur Curry (The Aqua Man) - but, (just like the scene from Justice League), he wanted nothing to do with joining a group, or fighting a war...

 

With that, the heroes decided to have a "memory movie" - they called together The Peacekeepers, Col. Rage, and the ambassadors (including 3 Europaites in containment suits); Golden Girl convinced Capt. Force to give The Aqua Man another shot, feeling if he saw the threat, he would join.  So, they included him as well.  Once they had everyone together, they used mental projection and showed everyone the memories of the bands, the first battle with the Empress, the scenes from the Eurupaites Oracles of her preparations, the fight with Outrider and his ships, and finally the scene of the other cosmic conqueror that Solar had seen.  It was finally enough to get everyone to understand what they were up against.

 

Capt. Force then asked Wuxing how he would fight in space, and he smiled, simply turning his body into pure photons...  They asked The Aqua Man how he would, and Wuxing explained that he could use the power of the band to encapsulate himself in a water bubble and propel that through space.

 

The heroes decided, now that they had a team, they needed to train, and since Wuxing was the only one who had trained and prepared to wield the band, he should teach them.

 

They also decided they would have to deal with Khan Manas II...

 

And that is where this exciting episode ended!

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Echo3Niner
Adding additional thoughts

[Echo3Niner]

In our 6th exiting episode -->

 

Our heroes (including The Aqua Man NPC) spend the beginning of the game, with Wuxing - training and learning how to control and use the bands.  The result to symbolize their training is that they spend some of their points and purchase CSLs for using the bands.

 

The PCs then approach the UN through Col. Rage and the Peacekeepers.  After much discussion, they eventually get a "Red Notice" (warrant) from the UN for the capture and arrest of Khan Manas II.

 

They work with the UN's intelligence agencies to learn what they can about the Khan and Kyrgyzstan.  What they learn is that Khan Manas II has a powerful team of henchmen; The Forty (based on Kyrgyzstan history), The Leaders of the Orda (which means Horde) of Manas:

• Led by Battle Steel - his most decorated soldier, who the Khan has bestowed a suit of very powerful Z-rad powered battle armor.
• The Knight of Chains - a Z-rad powered individual with armor that provides great defense, and animated chains that surround his forearms, which can be used for various attacks and defenses
• Crag - a Z-rad mutated mountain of a man, who is incredibly resistant to damage and hyper strong - but, he is a well-trained warrior (martial-brick)
• Baba Yaga - the most powerful Witch on Earth - able to wield very powerful Z-rad powered "magic"

 

The PCs decide that a surprise frontal assault on his palace is the simplest approach.  So, they fly down from orbit at max speed and land at the palace front door.

 

As they begin beating the Khan's normal henchmen, they are initially confronted by Crag, and battle him.  The battle raged for a while, as Crag is hard to damage; eventually, Solar used her VPP to gate Crag to a desert in China.

 

The PCs then entered a large room, with two sweeping stairs around half the parameter (the big fight scene from Matrix 2, with the Merovingian's henchmen).  Suddenly they were assaulted from an unseen assailant, who was attacking them with magic.  Eventually, Solar turned the air into a blue gaseous substance with her band, allowing the PCs to "see" Baba Yaga, even though she was invisible.  With a single strike, Capt. Force knocked her unconscious (injuring her as well).

 

At which point the Knight of Chains and Battle Steel entered through the upper double doors and began to battle the heroes.  This battle raged for some time, but both were eventually defeated as well.

 

Finally, the heroes entered a large super tech room, with Khan Manas II sitting behind a desk.  He was supremely confident...  Capt. Force scanned the Kahn and learned that his suit was actually a containment suit, and that he was a being of pure Z-rad energy.

 

The heroes started to approach, and Khan Manas II tapped an icon on his desk - at which point two huge nullifiers dropped from the ceiling and drained the heroes of several hundred points of Z-rad.  Both heroes were severely crippled, with only Solar having a small portion of her VPP still at her disposal.  However, both bands were only at about half their power.

 

Solar used her air band to hit both nullifiers with a powerful blast of air, destroying them.

 

Capt. Force used his band and began transforming the Khan's containment suit into lead, in order to trap him in his suit.  It took two phases, but he was able to do so and eventually the Khan was trapped!

 

The heroes used the Khan's own defenses to hold off the Orda of Manas, while their Z-rad powers returned; then simply turned invisible and flew away with the captured Khan.  They even saw Crag returning (via great leap) as they were leaving...  Eventually turning the Khan over to the UN.

 

While they were in the Khan's systems, they learned that he learned about the Empress from his moles in the UN.  He eventually contacted a Herold for the Empress, who gave him a frequency to communicate with her.  He had agreed to be her Vassal, ruling Earth; in exchange, he would work against earth's defenses, sabotaging the earth's chances to resist her.

 

The heroes then decided that their next move would be to investigate the rebel forces that are against the Empress.

 

And that is where our last exciting episode ended!

 

Edited September 18, 2021 by Echo3Niner
Typos

[DreadDomain]

On 5/30/2021 at 6:51 PM, Echo3Niner said:

P.S.  We also learned, which the book tells you (and I should have taken to heart); that we need to premake several power-cards up for Solar's VPP, so we're not having to do the math on the fly as she comes up with them...

I was about to say just that.

 

I am catching up but good write-up so far.

 

On 6/13/2021 at 7:41 PM, Echo3Niner said:

I give you 'ZERK (The Berzerker!) (3-page character sheet attached.)

 

Gonna be a tough fight! (If they go head-to-head with him...)

'Zerk.pdf 128.6 kB · 14 downloads

 

Holey Moley!! This guy is seriously overpowered!!!

 

[Echo3Niner]

1 minute ago, DreadDomain said:

Holey Moley!! This guy is seriously overpowered!!!

 

As I mentioned, this is a cosmic powered game!

[DreadDomain]

6 minutes ago, Echo3Niner said:

 

As I mentioned, this is a cosmic powered game!

Clearly! I have yet to read how the heroes defeated him. I assume they are not built on 2,000 points (or are they? I may have missed that). Sounds like a lot of fun so far.

[Echo3Niner]

3 hours ago, DreadDomain said:

Clearly! I have yet to read how the heroes defeated him. I assume they are not built on 2,000 points (or are they? I may have missed that). Sounds like a lot of fun so far.

 

Almost - 1500 points.

[DreadDomain]

16 minutes ago, Echo3Niner said:

Almost - 1500 points.

 

It explains a lot! My write-up of Superman comes at 800 points!!!

 

I am only at Episode three but...

 

Quote

Director - Col. Richard (Dick) Rage (OG Nick Fury)

Colonel Dick Rage... hilarious...

 

Quote

...Solar uses her VPP...

At this point I get the feeling she has a fairly powerful or at least versatile VPP

 

Quote

The Fearsome Foursome

🤣 

[Echo3Niner]

In our 7th exciting episode -->

 

The heroes discussed plans with Col. Rage and the Peacekeepers.  Col. Rage described Project Citadel, and how UNTIL was working with various groups to prepare for the coming invasion.

 

The heroes decided to start by speaking to the Milky Way's Core Lord (who they saw in the memories of the bands, as he created them).  They flew to the center of the Milky Way and encountered Laktarian (in my gameworld, Laktarian looks like a baby Buddha).  As wielders of the bands, Laktarian did speak to them; however, he also explained that he would not help them, as invasions by conquerors were not something he troubled himself with.  He explained that the bands were created, to be wielded by heroes, and that if he ever needed aid to protect the very integrity of the Milky Way, he would call on them.

 

He did offer that there were many ways to tip the balance, and that the heroes should go to Somewhere to find more information.  Capt. Force realized that "somewhere" was an actual place, so asked where it was; Laktarian put the place into their brains.  After some more discussion, the heroes left to find Somewhere.

 

When the heroes arrived at the coordinates, they found the head of an ancient android, the size of a small moon (akin to Nowhere in the MCU).  They landed and were astonished at the plethora of alien species walking around...  Acting like tourist and walking around in awe, they also saw some aliens in uniform; eventually seeing what appeared to be a human.  They approached and asked his name (they both have Universal Translator) - he introduced himself as Bin-Dar'in, a Marshal in the Inter-Galactic Quasar Corps (the IGQC; my analogy to the Star Guard - are cross between the Nova Corp and Judges from Judge Dredd).  He also shocked them when he explained that he was a human from earth, from 500 years ago!  When the heroes started peppering him with questions, he offered to buy them a drink at a bar.  The heroes sat and spoke with him for some time, learning about his history, the IGQC and the larger galactic community.

 

Eventually the heroes explained that they were trying to make contact with rebel forces aligned against the Empress, so they could learn intel from them.  Bin-Dar'in explained that all three major factions (The Exrandal’rian Revolt, The L’sandron Army, and The Ta!ra Freedom Fighters) all had agents in Somewhere.  The heroes asked about each, and he explained what he knew, which was only the basics.  Capt. Force felt that the L'sandron's sounded like a good place to start, and Bin-Dar'in explained that a Pawn Shop owner up the way, was a good place to start.

 

The heroes went and spoke to Mandron, the owner of the Pawn Shop.  After some discussion, and Solar taking offense at his surprise that she was an Earthling, he eventually offered to reach out to the L'sandrons, and that they should stay at a hotel a couple levels up, and they would contact the heroes, if they chose to.

 

The heroes went to a money exchanger - who explained that Narrai money could be exchanged for 1000 to 1 in galactic credits, Earth dollars were almost worthless, and he might exchange them for 10,000 to 1, as Earth was not part of the galactic community, and thus their money was of little value...  Capt. Force went into an alley, gathered some trash, and used his band to transmute it into Narrai dollars - with that they went back in and exchanged it for 1000 galactic credits.

 

They then went to the hotel and got a couple rooms - they also ate at the hotel restaurant; after Solar called Bin Dar'in and asked what she should eat (since she had no idea).  The scene played out with their food was pretty entertaining in itself...

 

After a couple days of them milling about, using the IGN (Inter-Galactic Network) computers in their rooms to read and learn about much of the galaxies history and various aliens, including the Empress; they were eventually contacted by the L'sandrons.  They went to meet, and after some discussion, offered to help the L'sandrons with their efforts, in exchange for intel and learning about how they fight the Empress.

 

As a test, the L'sandrons offered that if the heroes would transport a shipment of arms to the L'sandrons, they would have the chance to speak to one of their cell leaders.  Capt. Force used his band to shrink the huge shipping contained down, so it could be put in his pocket, and they flew to the coordinates, with Solar making them invisible.  Meeting with the cell leader, the heroes accompanied them on several raids and assisted them in a couple battles, in order to see what the inner workings of fighting the Empress entailed.  They also collected samples of D-Soldier armor and weapons, along with a computer and communications equipment from the Empress' Legion, and teleported it back to Project Citadel for study (especially by Silvercloud, as he could use it to make effective weapons against it).

 

After basically conducting a successful reconnaissance; the heroes returned to earth, with ideas and thoughts on how they would use this information to begin to counter the Empress' invasion plans.

 

And that, is where this exciting episode ended!

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by Echo3Niner
Adding additional thoughts

[drunkonduty]

Still enjoying the updates!

 

But I need to ask - how cumbersome is it running for characters this powerful? I assume they're throwing around 20-24 dice worth of attacks as rule.

[Echo3Niner]

Yeah, I'm just glossing over the "normal" 400 point'ish characters, as they really can't hamper the PCs too much.  I basically stop to roll dice when it's a bad guy I've built, or it's a mob of "normal" super-bad-guys.  If the PCs doing something silly, I'll roll that out.

 

It's been working fine; I've got mature players, who are in it for the story, so they don't need to play out stomping some henchmen.

 

I haven't decided how I'm going to play out the "war" against the Empress completely - likely, I'm going to focus on some specific battles, "turning points" in the war and story tell the rest...  We'll see.

[Echo3Niner]

In our 8th exciting episode (after a 6 week "real life can suck" break) -->

 

The heroes, having returned to Earth, after being gone for 6 weeks (in game as well), began by discussing the progress that Project Citadel had made, and where the other two local systems were in the process of preparing for the invasion.

 

What they learned was not comforting to Capt. Force or Solar...  As isolationists, the Narrai had decided to focus on preparing their system for the invasion, by basically preparing for a siege, while the Lyrissi being a trading culture, believed there was still an opportunity for diplomatic solutions; basically their thoughts were if we could only make a trade-deal with the Empress, then everyone would profit, and no one would be oppressed.  Earth had decided since it was clear they were in the weakest position, and had no opportunity in a direct conflict, that they would wage a gorilla war of espionage and sabotage, hoping to weaken the Empress prior to the final conflict.

 

Capt. Force and Solar discussed at length, how to get the three systems united, and focused on actually trying to win or prevent the war.  There were discussions of how historically people were rallied for war; a Pearl Harbor or 9/11 type of event was discussed and discarded, "Weapons of Mass Destruction" arguments to the leaders of the systems (which they felt they basically had already done), dictatorial command or some other type of force, or anything else they could think of.

 

Eventually, it was decided it was up to the Band Bearers to go and stop the Empress, potentially taking the battle to her, causing so much chaos that they would eventually take her gaze away from invading the three systems.

 

Capt. Force spoke to Col. Rage, explaining that he needed to continue to leverage Project Citadel and try to basically create the "Men in Black" type of organization across the three systems, to work to continue to unit them.

 

As the discussion was coming to an end Solar's UNTIL space-phone rang - Bin-Dar'in was calling to tell her that the L'sandrons had reached out to him, to contact the heroes, for their help.  The heroes schedule to meet him and the L'sandrons on Somewhere, in a week.

 

They spoke to the other two Band Bearers, and asked if they wanted to come along; not knowing the details of what was going on?  The two decided they should go, as they needed to see Somewhere and the greater Galactic Community, so they could start to acclimate themselves and help the team in their efforts; they could also took the opportunity to speak to the Core Lord of the Milky Way, as Band Bearers.  They asked for a couple hours to make arrangements - gating back to their homes and doing so - they returned a few hours later, and the team took off, flying first to the Core Lord, where Wuxing had a long conversation with him, then to Somewhere.

 

They arrived, and after giving The Aqua Man and Wuxing time to gawk and be tourist on Somewhere, they met with Bin-Dar'in; the L'sandrons followed soon after.  The leader of the local L'sandron cell explained that a contact of theirs had reached out for help; a former member of the Empresses inner circle who had defected, had in essence become a "Coyote", helping others defect.  She has successfully aided the family of one of the senior scientist of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Empresses empire, defect, but the scientist himself did not make it.  She now had a chance to help liberate him, but it was high risk, and she needed help getting him away from the Empress.

 

After a bit of conversation, Capt. Force asked the L'sandrons why they had asked for the heroes help; not knowing how difficult this would be?  The answer was simple; the L'sandrons had seen the heroes in action, and knew they were super-powerful, and also, it may be a trap, and frankly, the heroes were disposable assets to the L'sandrons...  The heroes agreed to go.

 

They gave the heroes coordinates to rendezvous with the contact.  Upon arriving, they met Katarina, a Kalishari.  She explained that the scientist was on a campus, where there were several buildings he worked in the labs, and dorms that he lived in with other single scientists (other scientists lived off-campus and came and went as needed) - however, due to his attempt to defect, he had D-Soldier guards with him at all times; they basically worked like a body-guard escort, driving him and following him wherever he went, but instead of simply protecting him, they were also ensuring he did not attempt to defect again.

 

She had a plan; every evening he would take a walk on campus, and only two of the guards would accompany him.  She had found utility tunnels that ran into the campus from the city, that would get her into a utility building for the campus, which was near the path he walked.  She would sneak in, approach him from stealth, then reveal herself to him, he would recognize her as the "Coyote" who rescued his family, and she would take him back through the utility building, out of the city.  She had sensor arrays in place around the campus, and drones prepared to harry the guards.  The heroes would then get the scientist off planet, and out of the Empresses territory.

 

Capt. Force explained that they could help; they had powers that could help her and the scientist escape quicker, with less exposure.  The plan became that Solar and Wuxing would invisibly accompany Katarina and stay in the utility building.  She would get the scientist, and then they would all gate out of there, directly to the planet with the scientists family.  Capt. Force and The Aqua Man would be on a building top in the city, watching from afar, in case they were needed to come as reinforcements.

 

The plan began fine; however, as Katarina moved into position, Solar's Danger Sense went off, and they saw several D-Soldiers hiding in ambush.  Solar initially used her force field to put around Katarina, to protect her, while Wuxing opened a portal under the scientist, depositing him right next to them in the utility building.  As the soldiers began firing at Katarina (none of their blasts could even scratch the force field), Solar then also opened a gate under Katarina, also depositing her next to them in the utility building.  They had been instructed to take any electronics from the scientist, so he could not be tracked; however, he explained he must take his hand-held computing device, so they let him.

 

The guards were scrambling to determine what happened; meanwhile, the heroes decided they wanted to know how the bad guys knew what was going on.  So, Wuxing gated Katarina, the scientist and himself to the planet with the scientist family.  Meanwhile, Solar flew out and dropped a 40D6 STUN only punch on the leader of the ambushing force, then before any of the enemy could react, she gated him and herself to an alley behind the pawn shop on Somewhere.  Capt. Force and The Aqua Man also gated to the same alley.

 

They tied up the Lieutenant, and put him in a room to interrogate him later, with The Aqua Man standing guard.  Capt. Force then teleported to Wuxing, and explained what all had happened.  After being thanked by the scientist, he gave Capt. Force his hand-held computer.  He explained that he had discovered the theoretical physics behind two breakthroughs, both using Gravitons.  One would allow almost instantaneous travel across almost any distance of space, the other could potentially open black holes at any point the "Graviton Gun" was pointed; black holes large enough to destroy whole star systems.  He was so troubled by this, that he refused to develop it - until the Empress had his family abducted and was holding them as ransom to ensure he continued his work - this is why they defected.  After his family was saved, he had been dragging his feet, and slowing any work done.  After he had gotten a message from Katarina, he had started keeping the only true copy of his real work on his hand-held computer; everything the Empresses Science and Technology Ministry had, was flawed.

 

The heroes regrouped on Somewhere and interrogated the Lieutenant; with Solar using her VPP to compel him to tell the truth.  They found out he was a squad leader of the RRAF (Rapid Recon Assault Force).  He explained that Katarina had a double agent in her network, which is how they had found out about the defection and planned the ambush; they didn't know the heroes were even involved (had they known, they would have been better prepared).

 

Having learned everything she needed to know, the heroes gated Katarina to one of her safehouses.  She is a valuable contact for the heroes, as she operates clandestinely in the Empresses space, and has a vast network of supply stashes, safehouses and knows how to maneuver in the Empresses "back yard" without being detected...  It was also clear by her green skin color, that she found Capt. Force attractive...

 

The heroes then turned back to the Lieutenant and interrogated him for hours; learning everything they could about the structure of the military, what he knew about the Empresses plans, etc.  Though not high enough level to offer much insight into her plans, he did know a few things, as the RRAF had been training for the invasion.

1. That the Empress had whole planets of human populations and had studied them exhaustively; and, that they were loyal to her and would fight in her army against their own kind.
2. Having studied the Narrai as well, the Empresses did not plan a direct conflict; as they are an engineered species, she had engineered a genetic bio-weapon 'virus' that she would simply seed the planet with spores, and it would wipe out the Narrai resistance without a fight.
3. And finally, having also studied the Lyrissi, she had developed "air dispersion" weapons, that would obliterate Lyrissi forms.

This was news both terrifying, but also good to bring back and hopefully help unite the three systems against the Empress.

 

Then, Capt. Force and the heroes discussed the information on the hand-held computer.  While the technology on it could help them against the Empress' invasion, it was also terrible.  The scientist had explained that you couldn't really have the transport tech, without the weapon, because the theoretical physics behind them allowed for both - there was a brief discussion of what Silvercloud could do with such information, and if he couldn't be trusted with it, could Col. Rage, or anyone else?  Eventually, it was decided the tech was too terrible and Capt. Force destroyed it.  (This was a great moral dilemma for the team...)

 

So, the heroes had several plans going forward; they were going to take the news and intelligence they discovered back to their home systems, in hopes of better galvanizing them.  Capt. Force was also going to go back to Narrai Prime, and meet with his old resistance colleagues, to modify his teleportation belt, so he could take others with him (spend some character points).  Capt. Force is also trying to figure out how he may get the Malvans involved on their side, or at least some of their tech...

 

And that, is where this exciting episode ended!

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by Echo3Niner
Adding additional thoughts

[Echo3Niner]

In our 9th exciting episode (actually in person thanks to the Thanksgiving break!) -->

 

The heroes returned to Earth and told Project Citadel (UNTIL) and the Narrai and Lyrissi about the intelligence they had gathered; specifically about the terrible plans the Empress had for combating the Narrai and Lyrissi.  Both those governments retreated to determine how this news would impact their strategies.  Capt. Force and Solar continued to work with Col. Rage on the strategy of creating the "Men in Black" type of organization, to protect the sector's three systems from galactic threats.  Capt. Force connected Col. Rage with the resistance forces on Narrai, who might be open to align with the MIB concepts.

 

Capt. Force also worked with the resistance to increase the power of his teleport belt (spent CP), so he can now teleport his considerable mass plus himself (2x mass), allowing him to teleport the entire rest of the Band Bearers (and then-some).

 

The Band Bearers then started discussing their strategy with the Malvans:  They teleported to Somewhere and used the IGN (Inter-Galactic Network) to read up on the Malvans.  The first thing they learned was that all the Malvans cared about were the gladiatorial games.  The second thing they learned was that both Wuxing and The Aqua Man had fought on the Moon, even though they didn't remember it!  (Learning about how they kidnap heroes and make them fight, then return them with no memory of it.)

 

They also learned that there was really no other way for them to quickly ingratiate themselves into the Malvan society.  They learned about the Forum Malvanum on the Earth Moon, and leaned that the only way they would be able to gain the respect they needed, was to go through the gladiatorial system, and become champions - because the Champion was allowed to ask the Phazor for a reward.

 

After much discussion among the team; they decided on three strategies to ask the Phazor once they won (yes, they are that confident):

1. They wanted Malvan planetary defenses for their sector; with such, the Empress would not be able to attack.
2. Second, they wanted an advanced ship, to use as their base to wage war against the Empress.
3. Third, they wanted Malvan tech.  (They eventually learned that they would not get access to Malvan tech; but, upon further discussion, realized if they simply took Silvercloud on a tour of the galaxy; they could start in Somewhere, he would be able to copy everything they needed to match the Empress' tech - in fact, they realized that with their ship/base, they could provide him access directly to the Empress' tech, which he could simply copy.)

So, off to the moon they went - arriving outside the Forum Malvanum, they spoke to the robot sentries, who called Kovarl.  After Kovarl received the scan data from the robots, and asked the Band Bearers why they were there.  After a quick conversation, where they explained they were volunteer gladiators, he noted that Capt. Force and Solar were type 36 gladiators, while Wuxing and The Aqua Man were now type 18...  He started by pitted them against battle-bots in one of the side arenas to test them.  Once the heroes quickly dispensed with the battle-bots, they moved up to challenge some of the more famous gladiators.

 

(So, I actually confused the gladiators from Malva vs. the Forum Malvanum on the moon; so, even though they were on the moon, they initially fought the gladiators from Malva, then fought the gladiators from the moon, while on Malva...)

 

Solar was put up against Dawn Bird - who she very quickly defeated in a flying, energy projection only fight.

 

Capt. Force was pitted against Scarmaker and Halberdier.  Capt. Force did a quick multi-attack and struck both major damage initially.  They both tried to hit him and failed - Capt. Force's second multi-attack knocked them both out.

 

Finally, Solar was put up against Plasmarax.  She was able to knock him out with a couple energy blasts; he never laid a finger on her...

 

So, after defeating their best gladiators quickly, they were taken to meet with Tatekyls; who asked them what they wanted (he simply wanted them gone, as their battles were too short and not entertaining enough, but they were too powerful to trifle with).  Once they explained they wanted to go to the Phazorum on Malva, to fight the champion, he simply had them teleported directly there (relaying the information he had on them to Malva).

 

There they met Goreum, one of the fight arrangers, who explained that they would have to all face challenges to face the champion.  He also explained, they needed to make the fights more entertaining, if they were to gain any chance of really ascending the ladder.

 

As Capt. Force awaited his first match, Lady Terala Shain came to him; she spoke to him about honor, and wanting to "clean up the games", eliminating the corruption.  He explained what they wanted, and she asked if she could help them get it, would they demand from the Phazor (assuming they won), that he clean up the games?  Capt. Force agreed, as long as his goals were met.  She said she would be there when they met with the Phazor, if they won.

 

First, Capt. Force went up against both Malachite and Talon in a ground battle with melee only - the battle was entertaining, in that Capt. Force never threw a punch (remember, his fighting style is based on Steven Seagal) - blocking a punch from Malachite, he then grabbed and threw him at Talon; though he missed Talon, Malachite was stunned from the throw (80 meters away!).  Talon then tried to claw Capt. Force, but missed.  Capt. Force then grabbed Talon and threw him at Malachite (who had just recovered from his stun) - this time he hit, and knocked them both out!

 

The Aqua Man and Wuxing having won both their matches as well; it was now up to Solar to face Zpartykys in a ground battle, with only HTH and energy blasts allowed.  The battle started with Solar using a large fireball of a blast, which injured Zpartykys some.  He then charged to hit Solar, but with a held action, she simply used the wind from her Band to knock him down.  She then hit him with another fireball, which knocked him out.  Just as she thought the fight was over, she was attacked from behind by an energy blast (she had her full DCV, due to Combat Sense) - the energy blast did nothing to her however.  She turned to see Frostbite!  In what will surely cause Frostbite more mental injury, he was up against another fire user (though Solar's is literally the energy of a star!).

 

Frostbite had attempted to hit her with Deepfreeze II, but her defenses protected her completely, so she started with simply walking over and cooking him with Solar heat - this took about half his stun after his defenses.  She then let him recover, and waited for him to strike, to entertain the crowd...  He hit her with Freeze your Flesh, but again her defenses were too high (though it would have been close, if she hadn't had her force field up also).  Solar then ended the fight by cooking him one more time, this time knocking him out.

 

With the battles over, the crowd began chanting "Firewing, Firewing, Firewing...", as they wanted to see the true Malvan Champion against these new interlopers.

 

Goreum took the Band Bearers to relax with the gladiators, while they arranged to send word to Earth, and try to lure Firewing back, with a test that could finally offer him a challenge!  (They of course would also like to get him back in their clutches...)

 

And THAT is where our exciting episode ended!

 

The plan next game will be to bring in Firewing, who I'm going to boost with a few hundred more points, to put him on equal with Solar (who the Band Bearers feel is their champion).  Hopefully, after a good fight, if the heroes are successful, I'm going to have Warmonger appear and tell them they haven't really bested the TRUE Champion, until they've defeated him!  That should give the whole team a challenge, and really raise their awareness to the Malvans...

 

Then, we'll see how the politicking (role-playing) with the Phazor and Lady Terala Shain plays out...  Can't wait!

 

[Echo3Niner]

In our 10th exciting, Giant-sized, Annual episode -->

 

The heroes lounged around the gladiator lounge and did several press junkets - with Capt. Force working as a wrestling (Randy Savage) cheerleader, hyping up Solar as the new champ.  They were careful in explaining their histories and purpose for being there; not lying, but omitting where they thought it would cause issues.

 

When they were back at the gladiator lounge, enjoying a meal; a small (4-5' tall) alien approached them.  He was odd looking; like a tall, red Yoda.  In a dark black hooded robe, with a driftwood cane, red skin, a pug nose, wispy black hair, and yellow eyes.  He introduced himself as "Warmagandr", and asked the team about their desire to fight.  As they discussed it, he spoke about how Firewing had the heart of a champion; because he was willing to do anything to win.  Capt. Force disagreed, saying that because he was willing to compromise his integrity, that he was no true champion.  Warmagandr noted that without the heart of a champion, when faced with adversity, they would fold...

 

Warmagandr's words had an affect on the team; so the team decided they should do some research; so they watched several of Firewing's matches from before he became Firewing, then also watched coverage of his fights on Earth as Firewing; to get an idea of his tactics (they watched tape on their opponent).

 

Eventually, they decided to take a trip to the temple, to see if they could learn more about what happened in his transformation.  There Solar used some of her earned XP to buy damage reduction - she also built an absorb template to use with her VPP.

 

After returning to the gladiatorial lounge, the team finally heard what they wanted to hear - Firewing was lured to return!

 

The team discussed strategy; determining what was the right mix of powers from Solar's VPP she should have active at the beginning of the fight.  Then, Solar entered the arena...

 

It was configured as a 300 yard across circle, and the gladiators began hovering 30 yards in the air...  Finally the bell rang.

 

Both gladiators have the same speed and dex, so it came down to dice rolls each phase.  Firewing won the first roll.  He started by moving a half move to his left, and throwing a no-end blast at Solar, to feel her out, and see what she could take...  Solar blew it off completely.

 

Solar started by doing a half move directly at Firewing, and throwing a no-end blast of her own at Firewing, to feel him out - he also blew it off completely.

 

The next phase, Firewing again won the roll.  He moved a half move back to the outer center of the arena, and decided it was time to test Solar's chin - he threw his Armor Piercing blast, and Solar did take a little stun, but not much.

 

Solar moved her half move again directly at Firewing, and threw her more powerful blast; this time Firewing took a little more stun than Solar had.

 

The next phase Firewing won again!  This time moving to his right a half move, he then threw his Penetrating blast; and while Solar did take some stun, it was  less than the Armor Piercing, and cost Firewing more END.

 

Unbeknownst to Firewing, Solar had her absorption working, so every time he hit her, she was getting more dice to her blast...  She moved another half move, and hit him again with her more powerful blast (with the extra dice) - and Firewing felt that one!  Taking more stun.

 

This went on for a couple more phases...

 

The last phase of the round, and Firewing won again!  He continued to move to his right and hit Solar with another AP blast - doing a bit more damage this round.

 

The team decided it was time to press the action, instead of continuing to let Firewing dance around the edge of the area and "nickel and dime" her to death.  Changing some allocation of her VPP, Solar dumped a bunch of points into flight, and burned the whole phase on a full move, closing the distance dramatically.

 

The full turn ended, and both fighters were a bit winded.  They both had sustained a decent amount of stun and had both burned a good amount of END; they both welcomed the recovery at the end of the turn.

 

As the new turn began, Firewing got off another blast, doing some more stun to Solar; but now she was close.  Solar closed the final distance, and reconfiguring her VPP, did a massively powerful 60D6 punch, sending Firewing back into the arena barrier; and that was it, Firewing was knocked unconscious and was even injured (BOD).

 

THE CROWD WENT CRAZY!!!  About half were cheers (from all the other aliens) and half were boos from the Malvans...

 

The announcer was making a point of the great victory, when he was cut short.  A booming voice announced that heroes had defeated Firewing, but hadn't proved they had the heart of a champion!!!

 

The team was teleported from their box to the floor of the arena below Solar...  The doors to the arena opened, and Warmagandr slowly walked in; but as he did, he transformed into a 4 meter tall monster and his tiny walking stick into a giant axe.  Standing before everyone was War Monger!  He demanded that the heroes prove they had the heart of a champion, by facing the TRUE CHAMP!

 

The proceedings had provided Solar enough time to fully recover, so the team prepared to fight (having Solar use some of her VPP to allow them all to speak telepathically, to coordinate); when War Monger teleported into the air in front of Solar, hitting her with his mighty axe Star Splitter (aptly named for striking a hero powered by the stars!).  The strike was damaging, and Solar was heavily wounded.

 

War Monger and the team had some back in forth, with War Monger using his VPP to heal himself a couple times, to keep from suffering too much STUN...

 

Solar returned fire, but War Monger mostly blew it off...  But then it was Capt. Force's turn...  Capt. Force happens to have a mental power that can force opponents to attack him via melee; and he setup to block and successfully used it on War Monger.

 

War Monger teleported in front of Capt. Force who successfully blocked his attack.  Then The Aqua Man used his band to ice the insides of War Monger's hands and the bottom of his feet, while Wuxing put up a shield on Capt. Force.  The team had a plan...

 

Finally, War Monger swung his mighty axe at Capt. Force again, only Capt. Force grabbed it and they locked into a battle of strength!  With his iced hands and feet, it was difficult for War Monger to retain his grasp, and Capt. Force was able to wrest away the mighty axe Star Splitter from his grasp; just as Solar dropped on top of War Monger with all her VPP put into her punch - a full 75D6!  (Plus knockback into the ground.)

 

It was more than even the great War Monger could take - he was knocked out cold!

 

AND THAT IS WHERE OUR SUPER SIZED, GIANT ANNUAL EPISODE ENDED!

 

Next game we'll pick up with the roleplaying of defeating War Monger and speaking to the Phazor...

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by Echo3Niner
Typos

[Echo3Niner]

In our 11th exciting episode -->

 

As the cheers of the crowd died, our heroes were taken to the Gladiatorial Lounge, where their wounds were attended to, and they reveled in the accolades of the other gladiators and hanger-ons...  They did interviews and had some time to relax.

 

Lady Terala Shain found the team, and after congratulating them on their victory, she asked Capt. Force if he intended to keep the agreement they had; which he said he would.  She then said, "I have fought in the arena as you did, but now fight in a different one.  The arena you left was dangerous, the one you're entering is deadly…"

 

Eventually, Goreum arrived, and informed the team he was there to accompany them as their sponsor, to the Palace, for their meeting with the Phazor.

 

They traveled to the Palace and were impressed by the majesty of it.  As they traveled, Capt. Force asked about the proper etiquette to use - to which Goreum explained, "The Malvans are used to peoples from across the galaxy, and all their cultures, so they are not easily offended, nor do they put too much importance on etiquette rules for new-comers - the Phazor is both title and name, use it as such - the guests and people who are there are guests of the Phazor, at his behest, so treat them as such, and you should be fine."

 

The hall was full of around 2000 guests, but the Malvans use of dimension-warping technology allowed everyone to have a discussions as if only the two were speaking and there was no other noise regardless of how far apart they were, so it was oddly hush for such a huge number of people.

 

The team was lead to the bottom steps of the dais, on which the Phazor and about 50 of his most honored guests milled about.  Upon the teams introduction, there was a pleasant chime which sounded, and everyone took their places - tables and chairs appeared out of nowhere, covered with food and drink, and everyone sat.  As the crowd parted that the Phazor was speaking with, and he walked to his throne, the team was shocked to see the Empress among the people he was speaking with.  She took a chair with the rest of the honored guests, in a row flanking either side of the throne (a discreet distance apart, as it should be, of course).

 

As the Phazor spoke, his speech overrode the other conversations, so that only the Phazor was heard.  "I welcome the Band Wielders, Champions of the Arena, to our humble gathering in your honor."  And the crowd cheered, for a moment.  "What would the Champions of the Arena ask of the Phazor?"

 

Capt. Force spoke for the team; "Great Phazor, thank you for hosting us.  What we would ask for, is honor.  As you may know, the Empress has designs on the Sol Sector (to which the Empress feigned surprise); and we have no intentions of joining her empire.  So, one way honor can be shown, would be to provide for our sector, planetary defenses, so that we may focus our attention on the Empress.  Another way honor can be shown, is to ensure that the games are honorable, so that everyone in the galaxy will know that the Champion has become so honorably."

 

"And what..." said the Phazor, "would we get in return?"

 

"I'm glad you asked..." said Capt. Force, "we would like to offer entertainment.  We would like to provide the opportunity to broadcast our war against the Empress, as a reality show, to entertain Malva!  Perhaps you've heard of some of our shows?  What great spectacle this would be!"

 

"I have heard of some of these reality shows..." the Phazor said.

 

The Empress stood, "Surely you are not considering this Grand Phazor?  These back-water beings do not deserve your intervention!  The Malvans do not concern themselves with the trivial machinations of minor galactic empires."

 

Capt. Force interrupted her, "I'm not asking them to; I'm simply asking that they provide protection to our sector so that we can provide them more entertainment!"

 

"But what of the games?"  The Phazor asked Capt. Force?

 

"We would be willing to return, once a new contender has proven themselves worthy for us to defend our championship of course."  Capt. Force noted.

 

Lady Terala Shain seized the opportunity, "I would be happy, Grand Phazor, to organize tournaments to culminate in arriving at a contender to provide great entertainment challenging these new Champions!"  The Phazor slightly raised an eyebrow to this, but, with everyone watching, he allowed it.

 

Before any further discussion could continue, War Monger (in his smaller guise), spoke up, "As the Band Wielders have proven to me that they do indeed have the hearts of a Champion, what would you ask of me for reward?"  All could read the surprise on the faces of everyone present...

 

Capt. Force leaned over to Goreum, "What type of request is typical?"  Goreum said with incredulity, "He has never offered this before..."

 

Capt. Force spoke to the rest of the team telepathically real quick; and they arrived at a thought...  "We would be honored to have you as our coach, as we waged war against the Empress."

 

The Empress spat, "I object, this is ridiculous!"

 

Capt. Force says, "I think the Empress should speak plainly; do you plan to conquer our sector?"

 

"You mean bring you peace, prosperity and into the greater galactic community?  Yes." she retorted.

 

"This is boring me already..." the Phazor said, "Let us eat and celebrate."

 

During the dinner, Capt. Force took the opportunity using the discussion link to speak to the Empress, "Why do you want our sector?" he asked.  "To help the people of the galaxy.  Your people are a lawless, warlike bunch, who do nothing but fight each other.  You have rudimentary technology, hunger and poverty.  You would have none of this in my empire.  You shouldn't be fighting me, you should be thanking me!" she replied.  "But we do not want to be ruled." Capt. Force shot back.  "Perhaps not now, but once you've lived in peace and prosperity, that would change." she noted.  "OK, enough, I see there is no reasoning with you; you are crazy." and with that Capt. Force cut the link.

 

After dinner Lady Terala Shain thanked Capt. Force for keeping up his end of the bargain, and ensured them that they wouldn't have to worry about being called back too often.

 

One of the Phazor's assistants told the team that they could simply notify them when they were ready, and they would send Melvan drone cameras to shoot the show.  Then War Monger told them if they simply spoke his name out loud and told him they were ready, he would join them.

 

The team then went back to Earth and told everyone what all had happened.  By the time they arrived, the Malvan planetary defenses had already shown up in the sector.  They were also happy to hear that Col. Rage had successfully linked UNTIL, the rebels on Narrai and the smugglers of Lyrissi together to begin forming the "Men in Black" organization.

 

They then grabbed Silvercloud and took him to Somewhere, so he could start copying all the advanced technology, and they took a couple week's vacation (downtime); where Solar went on a date with the human Marshal, and they both spent some points.

 

And that is where our exciting episode ended!

 

Next game, THE WAR BEGINS!

 

[drunkonduty]

Thrilling stuff!

 

Two questions. The first about the story: is Silvercloud trying to copy Malvan tech? I hope not, the Malvans have very few laws but no one using their tech is one they enforce ruthlessly.

And second: Your team is throwing around some huge damage, are you using a dice rolling app? Just taking the average? Or throwing actual bucket loads of dice?

[Echo3Niner]

2 hours ago, drunkonduty said:

Thrilling stuff!

 

Two questions. The first about the story: is Silvercloud trying to copy Malvan tech? I hope not, the Malvans have very few laws but no one using their tech is one they enforce ruthlessly.

And second: Your team is throwing around some huge damage, are you using a dice rolling app? Just taking the average? Or throwing actual bucket loads of dice?

 

Glad you're enjoying it!  I'm actually using this to chronical our game - because a couple to several weeks pass between games, we actually read these at the beginning of each game, to remind us all where we left off.

 

Your questions:

1. No, I made that clear to the team - so they have taken Silvercloud to Somewhere, to copy other alien tech, to at least give the sector a fighting chance.
2. My buddy, who is remote most the time and on Zoom uses a dice rolling app.  My wife, who is sitting in the living room with me, in front of our trusty folding gaming table, is seriously rolling huge hands full of dice into a nice wood and felt dice rolling tray-thing and counting them out!  They both get a thrill out of it.

It's been great fun.  We have started talking about our next game, since we're likely only a few games from the end now...  Doesn't sound like it's going to be Champions; more likely Shadowrun or something like that.

 

Anywho, glad you're liking it, and I'll post them all here until we're done.

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Echo3Niner
Adding additional thoughts

[drunkonduty]

I appreciate the convenience of the auto dice roller, but I love the idea of rolling buckets full of dice. Glad everyone is having such a blast.

 

Looking forward to the future exciting installments. 👍

 

 

[SCUBA Hero]

An excellent example of a Galactic Champions campaign!  Huzzah for you and your players!

[Echo3Niner]

In our amazing 12th episode -->

 

THE WAR HAS BEGUN!

 

The marshal called Solar and told her, though she "didn't hear it from him", that an Empress Strike Group is racing to Sol Sector, to decimate the sector's fleet, before the hero's can intervene.

 

The team rushes to Empress space, so that Solar can experience the drive signatures of one of their Strike Groups.  With that, the team use the bands to augment her Detect power, so she can determine where the Strike Group on it's way so Sol is.

 

Once they determine where it is in hyperspace, they race to get in front of it - then, using all the bands, they create a gravity well to force them out of hyperspace.

 

The Strike Group is made up of the following (all with their OCV and DCV at +10):

 

1. 1x - IVV (Imperial V’hanian Vessel) Heavy War Ship; The Vae Victus
2. 1x - IVV War Cruiser; The Fidelis
3. 1x - IVV Carrier Cruiser; The Dies Irae
   1. 30x - Fighters
4. 3x - IVV Escorts; The Fata

The battle begins by the team splitting up; Solar and Wuxing focus on the Vae Victus, while Capt. Force and The Aqua Man tie up the rest.

 

Solar is first - using her band she turns the air in the top two floors of the command tower into chlorine, effectively knocking out C&C (Command and Control).  On her second round, she turns the air into Nitrous Oxide, so the enemy crew wont die, but will remain unconscious.  We discussed that some of the aliens may not be susceptible to either or both gases, but the chaos would be enough to cause the same effect.

 

Wuxing turns himself into an energy being (desolidified) and flies into the ship - there he finds the largest power source, and turns the energy off; in his next round he shuts down the second power source - effectively shutting down the ship.

 

Meanwhile, the Fata all got missile shots off on the other two heroes, but it did little damage to them (some stun).   And The Aqua Man used his bands to turn all the liquid in one of the Fata into Nitro Glycerin - so when the ship attempted to fire, it actually blew itself up!

 

Capt. Force used his band to expand the bay doors of the Fidelis, so they could not open, so the fighters could not launch.

 

Eventually Solar joined the team and turned all gases used in all the super lasers into oxygen, disabling all the lasers.  While Capt. Force, flying along the surface of the Fidelis to prevent other ships from targeting him, moved around to the back of the ship - then using his band, grew to 640 feet tall, and simply crushed the engines in the back of the ship!

 

The Aqua Man did his Nitro trick on the last of the Fata, which blew itself up, and the fleet was defeated!

 

The heroes allowed the crews to abandon ship, then the destroyed all the ships.  They then transported the shortrange lifeboats to Somewhere, where the crews would have to buy their way back to the Empress' territory.

 

As the team was enjoying their victory, Col. Rage contacted them and asked that they come home immediately - there was an issue.

 

The team teleported home, where Col. Rage explained that they had a problem; either their communication had been cracked (which Silvercloud insisted was impossible), or they had a mole!  Every major operation had been countered by an elite squad of D-Soldiers, and they always seemed to know where to strike to do the most damage.

 

The team reviewed various possibilities, but couldn't determine definitively if it was compromised communication or a mole.  Eventually, their investigation led them to Mars.

 

There, Capt. Force and Solar did a recon, and found a base the D-Soldiers were operating out of, and to their surprise, they found out how the Empress' team was planning their attacks so effectively.  They had a super-powerful alien mentalist, who was reading the minds of Col. Rage and his teams, allowing the D-Soldiers to always have the tactical advantage - but, that wasn't all; as they watched, the villain Outrider was leading the team, but he had been augmented since they last saw him, with huge, tech gauntlets, boots and a belt.  Additionally, they brought up on a huge screen, their commander, who they referred to as, the Praetor!  (Gladiator from Marvel.)

 

In our next episode, we will pick up with the heroes having to deal with the Martian base and Empress' team.  Then, the final battle will ensue, with the Praetor himself!

 

AND THAT is where our exciting episode ended!

 

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by Echo3Niner
Typo

[Echo3Niner]

I can't wait to see them fight the final fight against The Praetor!

 

To say Gladiator (Praetor in my game) is Marvel’s superman, is underrated…  From Wiki:

 

Gladiator's name, Kallark, is a combination of Superman's Kryptonian and human names: Kal-El and Clark Kent.

 

Powers and abilities

Gladiator possesses a number of superhuman capabilities as a result of his unique alien physiology including superhuman strength (capable of shattering a planet, ripping apart a black hole, and holding off the Destroyer armor), superhuman speed, stamina and durability (capable of withstanding the heat emitted from the Phoenix Force, a blast comparable to the full power of Odin, direct attacks from Thor and Mjolnir, point blank planetary explosions, and an explosion equivalent to a supernova), reflexes, microscopic and telescopic vision, X-ray vision, heat vision (stated as "hotter than a star"); super-breath, "frost breath", super-hearing (capable of hearing sounds from light years away in space), a regenerative healing factor, psionic resistance (capable of withstanding mental attacks from telepaths to a certain degree), and warp speed flight (measured as "a hundred times the speed of light", and shown moving across galaxies before Heimdall could blink). Gladiator's abilities increase and decrease in accordance with his level of confidence and he is vulnerable to a certain form of rare radiation. Gladiator also has advanced longevity, having survived for centuries with very little aging.
 

His character sheet is attached...

 

Praetor.pdf

Edited February 26, 2022 by Echo3Niner
Typo

[HeroGM]

And he, along with the other Imperial Guard were based off of the Legion of Super-heroes

[Echo3Niner]

In our exciting 13th episode -->

 

The team discussed whether they should regroup and how they should deal with the Mars base - eventually deciding they needed to deal with them now, to reduce the possible deaths in the mission the bad guys were about to intercept.

 

Solar and Capt. Force waited until the D-Soldiers left to attack; then, Solar desolidified and inviso'd them both, and then snuck into the base.

 

When they were ready, Capt. Force attacked the console with his band, turning it into Styrofoam.  Then Solar dropped a massive STUN only blast into the mentalist alien, knocking him out.

 

Capt. Force then stepped up and challenged Outrider; throwing a big punch.  Outriders armor reacted by putting a helmet on him (making him look like a massive Juggernaut {slitch}!), and he was able to withstand Capt. Force's first shot.

 

As the fight started, a speedster zoomed into the room and started running around the parameter, creating an area of effect entangle (whirlwind).

 

Solar, trapped in the entangle, used her bands to turn the air in the path of the speedster into Aerogel, slowing him to a stop...  She then pulled all the oxygen out of him, knocking him unconscious (NND attack).

 

Also entering the room, was a desolidified mentalist (one of my favorite bad guys types).  But, Solar created a desolidified affecting STUN only blast from her VPP, and knocked him out too.

 

Meanwhile, Outrider had thrown a couple punches at Capt. Force, but missed; while Capt. Force had landed a couple more, continuing to whittle him down...

 

Solar used telepathy to warn the Men in Black team on earth, so they could defend themselves against the D-Soldiers.

 

Finally, Solar turned visible just in front of Outrider as she flew at him, saying "Heeeeeere's Johnny!" and landed a super heavy punch, which didn't knock him out by itself, but when Outrider flew into the wall, the knockback rendered him unconscious.

 

And with that, the crew was finally defeated!

 

In our upcoming final episode, the team will take the final battle to the Empress' massive space-shipyard, the Star Forge - where they will finally face, THE PRAETOR!!!

 

Edited March 12, 2022 by Echo3Niner
Corrected her one liner...

[drunkonduty]

The Praetor is... impressive. Good luck to your heroes.