Campaign Idea: Robur the Conqueror in the 21st Century.

[Werehawk]

I have a campaign that I run occasionally at Origins called Captain Nemo and the Nautilus Nine. ​ The players are a members of a parahuman underwater commando unit under the command of none other than C​aptain Nemo who was found in suspended animation along with a dormant "Nautilus" largely intact. With some modern upgrades, the "Nautilus" is still more than a match for most modern submarines and on several occasions Captain Nemo has proven that he is still master of the ocean depths.

 

I would like to run a similar campaign for Nemo's aerial rival Robur along with a flying version of the Nautilus Nine ( tentatively named "The Clippers of the Clouds" or Clippers for short). When Robur is awakened , he finds out that he no longer possesses the secret of powered flight nor is his ship the "Albatross" ( like the "Nautilus", is found largely intact) the doomsday weapon it once was. How do I reintegrate this aeronautical super-genius and his ship into a world where, unlike Captain Nemo, he is no longer the master of his element?

 

I've read both "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Robur the Conqueror" so I'm familiar with both the characters and their ships.

 

So how do I fix it where a giant gyrodine helicopter can operate in modern aerospace without having to rename the "Albatross" the USS "Dead Duck"? ​

[TheQuestionMan]

Pulp Hero by Hero Games (Submarines & Airships) - Sourcebooks have Maps for both.

 

The Fires of War by Blackwyrm Games (Submarines $ Airships) Maps for both.

 

Digital Hero #? by Hero Games

 

 

More Later

 

 

QM

[Lord Liaden]

Option 1: Arm and armor it to the teeth. For example, the upgraded Helicarriers in the Winter Soldier movie were essentially flying battleships. The main reason no contemporary military still uses battleships is because they're too vulnerable to aerial bombardment. Let them operate in the same three dimensions and comparable speed as aircraft, and it's a new ball game.

 

Option 2: Add stealth technology. Perhaps all the way up to invisibility, like the original SHIELD Helicarrier in Avengers.

 

Option 3: Supersonic sub-orbital flight capacity. If an attacking force is too strong, bug out to where no current military aircraft can follow.

 

Option 4: Advanced long-range weaponry, to pick off attacking fighters or missiles before they close to a dangerous proximity. Rail guns, lasers, particle beams, etc.

 

Combine any or all of the above for a true flying nightmare.

[Mister E]

Strategic deterrence.

 

Corbomite is a protective substance that automatically kills any attacker by destroying everything for hundreds of km.

 

The device is utterly terrifying but totally useless if nobody knows about it.

[TheQuestionMan]

The Canadian Rocket Brigade by Scott Bennie.

[Major Tom 2009]

Where the Nautilus is concerned, the '80s TV show The Return of Captain Nemo had an episode where Nemo

revealed that his sub had a laser weapon (even if he didn't call it that).

 

As for the Albatross, why not make it a gigantic extreme-high-altitude balloon-borne airship with thrusters that

can operate at such altitudes (and able to support fighters and other aircraft types like the Helicarriers do)?

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Werehawk]

I​ did come up with a possible deterent option.

 

According to the book, the "Albatross" is largely battery powered. Replacing the batteries with a nuclear drive might make some air forces think twice before shooting it down in or near a populated area but unless they know that for a fact, they will more likely shoot first and ask questions later.​

[tkdguy]

Don't forget that the Albatross was made of paper, albeit specially treated paper. It may not be detectable by radar.

[freakboy6117]

Ok one of the Uk hero villains i haven't got to writing up yet is the Raven he is a classic pulp villain with a jet pack and a flying platform that drops his army of goons on unsuspecting targets his Teather men are dropped using fast line abseiling and recovered by a winch system

 

hmmm replace the Dirigible with a cavorite based antI grav system for speed perhaps only partially but still allowing wayyyyy more thrust and canopy size to weight stealth would be good too

 

 

use a high altitude Emp or jamming device to block communications while your agents use tight beam lasers. those same agents can cut key phone and data lines to isolate target areas further.

 

then your storm troopers fast rope from the sky and seize whatever it was you came for.  start by seizing some nukes from Los alamos or sandia labs, all the gold in fort Knox or the President from Camp David

 

meanwhile air superiority fighters and tactical bombers prevent any relief force from arriving. use your high altitude position to jam and overwhelm communications channels to issue your demands.

[Werehawk]

It's been awhile since I read "Robur the Conqueror" but I'm not sure if that was the materiel for its construction although it was mentioned in the film "Master of the World"​ which was the name of the sequel to "Robur the Conqueror" and the movie combined both books. Also, the book "Master of the World" used a different vehicle entirely.