Secession Squad Needs New Members

[Ninja-Bear]

Note that Secession Squad members no longer need to have names beginning with "S" - still don't know why I did that before. Young Me apparently wasn't the brightest guy.

Glad Im not the only one who did things that later made no sense

[Ninja-Bear]

The Southern Knights aren't an existing team in my world. However, being a big fan of the Southern Knights comic books, I would be hesitant to use that name for a villain group.

 

Plus, four of the seven players in my current game were in my very first Champions campaign when I used the Secession Squad. Keeping the same team name has a certain nostalgic appeal.

 

Thank you all for some excellent ideas. (I ran through all my Likes today in this thread.) Some of the suggested characters are absolutely going to be used. (I especially like Plantation and Steel Magnolia.) I'm imagining Stars & Bars and Bonnie Blue being a couple, perhaps having some playful competitiveness in combat.

 

Not sure if it would feel too repetitive having both Stonewall and Stone Mountain in the team, but I really like the idea of a brick with growth to be the team's damage sponge.

 

I also thought about having an invisible recon specialist as a riff on J.E.B. Stuart. (General Jeb? Any suggestions for a better name?) But I feel like I would be overdoing the Civil War generals bit if I had Stonewall, General Lee, and "Jeb" Stuart.

Grey Ghost comes to mind.

[Hugh Neilson]

Seems like an undead Southern general considering himself (un)living proof the South shall rise again could make for an interesting leader. Maybe he has subtle mental powers that stimulate that Southern patriotism, or attract those already under its influence, explaining why a team that may have otherwise mixed views and goals stays together.

[Anaximander]

Someone mentions an aquatic character, here is an idea for one.

 

The Gator - A Cajun from Louisiana who breathes underwater, swims fast and can control mind control over reptiles, fish, and amphibians.  He is also a tough scrapper.

[The Arc]

Awhile back I had an idea for a group called the Free Birds...However, the only one who got far was Running Rebel, a speedster.

[Ninja-Bear]

Which iron ship was for the South? The monitor or the merrimack? Thst could be your Power Armor guy.

[Tom Cowan]

Which iron ship was for the South? The monitor or the merrimack? Thst could be your Power Armor guy.

the Merrimack

[Tom Cowan]

here is one

King Cotton - cotton TK

[BoloOfEarth]

Which iron ship was for the South? The monitor or the merrimack? Thst could be your Power Armor guy.

 

I thought about this.  However, the USS Merrimack was the steam frigate that was scuttled by the North, and then the sunken, unburnt part of her hull was raised and built up with armor to make the famous ironclad ship -- which was officially re-christened the CSS Virginia.  The North ignored that and called her the Merrimack.  Though some papers in the South did refer to her as Merrimack (or occasionally Merrimac), I'd think a true southerner would call her the Virginia - which doesn't strike me as a great powered armor character name.  At least, my players would have a field day with it.

 

But y'know, on doing a little research, I see that the actual first ironclad ship in the Confederate Navy was the CSS Manassas.  (Also, the two Civil War battles known as Bull Run by the North, were called the battles of Manassas by the South -- and both were won by the Confederates.)  Perhaps I'll use Manassas as a character name -- though my players would probably have fun with that name too.  ("Hey, Man's Ass!"  "Yo, Molasses!")

[pinecone]

Maybe, swap things around...call Him/her/it Iron Duke  and make it a strong "steam punk" vibe...it could be a Mecha, or a power suit, or a Robot...nobody knows.. But it Looks like a cross between an ironclad, and a steam train.....

 

 

Not so much obsessed with the Confederacy, but wishing for a return to a "simpler time".

 

 

 

Late thought..."Iron Spirit of the South"...or "Iron Spirit" for short...

[Christopher]

I thought about this.  However, the USS Merrimack was the steam frigate that was scuttled by the North, and then the sunken, unburnt part of her hull was raised and built up with armor to make the famous ironclad ship -- which was officially re-christened the CSS Virginia.  The North ignored that and called her the Merrimack.  Though some papers in the South did refer to her as Merrimack (or occasionally Merrimac), I'd think a true southerner would call her the Virginia - which doesn't strike me as a great powered armor character name.  At least, my players would have a field day with it.

When somebody ridicules your name, stomp him/her/it into the ground till they stop finding it funny - Supervillain moto for naming.

Merrimac could also be ridiculed to "Merry Mac".

[Anaximander]

The South also had a submarine called the Hunley, but I don't think that would be such a good name for either a hero or a villain.

[BoloOfEarth]

My campaign is set in Boston.  Nothing says the Squad can't steal a submersible they then rename the Hunley. 

[Tjack]

I'm not quite sure what powers to advise, but if the South shall rise again why not under its greatest defender. General Lee.

That would be the Haunted Muscle Car. Don't forget to include Superleap.

[st barbara]

"The Grey Ghost": a man with ghostly/desolid powers (from the nickname give to Confederate partisan leader John C Mosby).

[薔薇語]

Being a Missouri man myself, I feel the need to add a couple Missouri themed folks into the mix. Missouri was, prior to having our governor chased out of office by federal forces under Lincoln's order, not part of the war. We tried to pull a Switzerland and stay neutral on the whole affair.  But there were and are sympathizers. 

Teh Bomb! : Taking his name from Missouri's only US president and his infamous decision to drop Nuclear bombs on Japan. He was a moderately 'good-ol-boy' nuclear physicist working at the University of Missouri - Columbia until an experiment went wrong. He was left changed, given nuclear radiation based powers and a split personality pulling him between Good and Evil - Union or Confederacy - Restraint or Indulgence. A nice Jekyll and Hyde, Banner and Hulk dynamic. 

The Express: A speedster type character who drew inspiration from The Pony Express that started in St. Joseph, Missouri (North of KC). 

 

Gateway: Missouri is partially famous for our Gateway Arch in St. Louis which was built to commemorate the journey westward. Gateway could be a Missouri born man who has Southern leanings but is generally not involved with the Session Squad. His biggest contribution is in helping some of the baddies get away with his teleportation powers. 

Showtime - A Branson, Missouri, born fellow who is actually a second tier stage magician. He mostly does shows in the south. His actual power set would be some illusionist power sets. He often works out of Branson, New Orleans, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, etc. 

Tornado: This one is fairly obvious. ^^

 

Soar. 

[BoloOfEarth]

Thanks again to all the great suggestions.  The new Secession Squad put in an appearance last week, with the heroes facing off against the following members:

 

Bonnie Blue -- flying brick

Johnny Reb -- Civil War re-enactor with gravity powers

Manassas -- battlesuited gadgeteer

Rebel Yell -- antisocial sonic blaster

Southern Belle -- scientist with a self-made serum giving her psionic powers

Stars & Bars -- flagsuit type with shield and throwing stars

Steel Magnolia -- cyborg with cyberkinetic powers.

Underground Soldier -- former US Army green beret weapons master with a stealth field and the ability to make his own attacks invisible

 

I also drew up Southpaw and Stonewall, though they haven't put in an appearance yet.  Still need to write up Gray Ghost, Plantation, and Stone Mountain.  Plus the Secession Agents and Dixie, the Squad's AI.  But that's all down the road.

[Badger]

Steel Magnolia - a cyberneticly enhanced belle of the south.

Rebel Yell - sonic powers

Star and Bars - a detective/gadgateer and his kid sidekick

Johnny Reb

 

Other ideas could be more idealistic sounding names since they view themselves as noble and just.

 

Also, ideas based around specific states that were apart of the South.

 

Names borrowed from historical figures might also work.

 

If they are specifically racist, concepts from the Klan could work.

 

If they are purely political and not specifically racist, you could throw a little shock and awe by tossing in an African American into the crowd.

 

I'm from Oklahoma.  Oklahoma was still the Indian Territory at the time, but many of the Indian tribes were as divided over the North vs South sides especially the Choctaws and the Cherokees, my tribe.  Also, I have known people in real life who consider themselves Confederate.  I will try to recollect what I know and see if I can come up with more ideas.

 

Yeah, I was going to mention the Indian territory angle.  You could also name a brick after the ship involved in the Monitor vs Merrimac  (I always get which is which mixed up   )

 

Could also go with the MOseby angle, and have a behind-the-lines, sneaky guy.

 

Edit:  Battle names could also work, at least ones that were COnfederate victories or epic stands were made. General names. 

[BoloOfEarth]

See my earlier post about the Merrimack / Virginia, which is how the ironclad Manassas inspired the team's battlesuit type.

 

Oh, and I went with Johnny Appleseed's suggestion for Underground Soldier being an African-American. 

 

Gray Ghost covers the Mosby angle, though as I said I haven't drawn that character up yet.

 

I don't have anything for the Indian territory yet.  Definitely a demographic the team should cover.  Suggestions are welcome here.

 

I also still need to cover the Texas angle, as there are occasional rumblings of Texas seceding from the US. 

 

Looks to be a big team.  Since 5 of them are now imprisoned (though intentionally so as part of Southpaw's plan to get allies who owe him big), a fairly large team isn't a problem, and would reflect large chunks of the public's displeasure with the federal government.

[Badger]

Well you could look up Stand Watie, who was a Confederate general (brigadier general, I think) from the Indian Territory, who I think was one of the last holdouts from surrender.  You might could find something from that.  (maybe even a distant descendant takes the mantle)

[TheQuestionMan]

The Outlaw Jessy Whales

[JohnnyAppleseed098]

I have done characters such like the Indian Territory. I once did this:

 

 

Chief Stone is an auramancer that gains different power sets from the different paints he puts on his face. One gives him life magic. One gives him death magic. One gives him holy magic. One gives him demonic magic. So on and so forth.