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What does a Champion campaign really looks like ?


Tryskhell

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11 minutes ago, assault said:

 

That wasn't in the 2e version. My copy of the 3e Campaign book isn't handy, but I'm thinking that both versions are essentially the same.

 

The defector happens in the Combat in Christopher Park scenario, which happens after the Tanghal Tower encounter (and before storming the Nest).

I don't think there's any particular evidence for the scenarios to be derived from each other other beyond being part of a matched set. No evidence has been presented that Microfilm Madness was published before Vipers' Nest. The most likely situation is that it was written afterwards, or perhaps at the same time and not used when 2e was published.

On the thread topic: the extended Vipers' Nest sequence, and the comparable adventures in 4e Champions, provide a basic framework for the beginning of a campaign. They're not especially sophisticated, but any GM worthy of their salt will start trying to expand from and improve on them. You have to start somewhere though.

 

Even if the Defector is killed the heroes can capture a couple of VIPER agents to get a location from them.

 

 

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7 hours ago, assault said:

 

That wasn't in the 2e version. My copy of the 3e Campaign book isn't handy, but I'm thinking that both versions are essentially the same.

 

The defector happens in the Combat in Christopher Park scenario, which happens after the Tanghal Tower encounter 

 

Quite right; not sure why I called it the other way around, save that I like the sound of Tanghal Tower so much it exists as an old-school "people live here" hotel in our pulp games.  :lol:

 

But yes; the defector is in Christopher Park

 

Quote

I don't think there's any particular evidence for the scenarios to be derived from each other other beyond being part of a matched set.

 

And I believe that that one was derived from the other.  However, more strongly than that, I _don't_ believe that it matters, and I _can't_ believe it's worth arguing over. ;)  The end result is two adventures different enough that a seasoned GM or anyone with experience telling a story can make them both unique enough to never be an issue.  The whole thing is a non-issue, really.

 

We don't know what month the 3e book was published (unless someone actually _does_ know and can confirm it, of course), but Microfilm Madness was published in March of '82 while the 3e books were published in '84.  The Christopher Park scenario is longer and a little more fleshed out, but considering that one was in a book being written and published by the authors and with their money and the other was being published as a short article in someone else's magazine, the difference in length and detail doesn't really help us determine which may have been first, and I think we can all agree that a publishing date has little relation to when something was actually written.  And above all else, it really doesn't matter: they both work on their own, they can both be used in an existing campaign or as stand-alone one-shots, and they are both in similar style, allowing them to blend seamlessly into an ageless universe of the author's creating.  It's not at all like George Lucas re-releasing Star Wars and adding "Episode IV" into the scroll so he could pretend he already had plans for three other movies (cha-ching$!)

 

 

 

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No evidence has been presented that4 Microfilm Madness was published before Vipers' Nest. The most likely situation is that it was written afterwards, or perhaps at the same time and not used when 2e was published.

 

Correct.  I was suggesting the progression between Combat in Christopher Park; Viper's Nest was undoubtably written first: it's nearly a dungeon crawl.

 

 

Quote

On the thread topic: the extended Vipers' Nest sequence, and the comparable adventures in 4e Champions, provide a basic framework for the beginning of a campaign. They're not especially sophisticated, but any GM worthy of their salt will start trying to expand from and improve on them. You have to start somewhere though.

 

3e?  I'm going to assume you meant 3e and let this go, though I'm sort of curious as to why the suggestion that one _may_ have been derived from the other didn't set well with you-- unless it was my calling it by the wrong name, of course.  :lol:

 

 

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6 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

We don't know what month the 3e book was published (unless someone actually _does_ know and can confirm it, of course), but Microfilm Madness was published in March of '82 while the 3e books were published in '84. 

 

The relevant edition is 2e, copyrighted in '82. The 3e version of Vipers Nest is basically the same as the one in 2e, but with prettier maps.

 

Microfilm Madness was published in March '83.

 

Incidentally, my reference to "the comparable adventures in 4e Champions" was to the adventures in 4e Champions.

 

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5 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

Okay, so now we are completely clear on everything except why Viper's Nest is involved.

 

Involved with what?

If you are referring to the 4e adventures, the connection is that both they and the Vipers Nest adventures involve starting characters going up against VIPER. In other words, they can be mixed together. The only major issues are which Nest layout to use, and which Nest leader.

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27 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

I see. 

 

That's what was throwing me.  I thought we were simply comparing combat in Christopher Park to Microfilm Madness. 

 

For the life of me I couldn't figure out what Viper's Nest or anything from the 4e campaign book had to do with that!   :rofl:

 

The Tanghal Tower and Christopher Park scenarios are parts of the three part Vipers Nest adventure. The actual attack on the nest is the third.

 

Microfilm Madness is designed to slot in as a fourth part.

 

At least some of the 4e adventures can be dropped in as additional parts, although they were designed as a different, although similar, sequence. They function as the 4e equivalent to the 2e/3e Vipers Nest adventure.

There was no equivalent sequence published for 1e. (Or 5e or 6e, come to think of it.)

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"When we left our story last time, things were in _terrible_ shape!  Some of the nations smartest geniuses were being turned into _complete_ idiots!  It was all the result of a mean little man from a mean little country--"

 

Back to our show: What does a Champions campaign look like?

 

First: Yes.  I have been starting Champions games with that old Bullwinkle quote for thirty years now.  There's more to it, but generally the group comes to order before I get all the way through it, so, it's all good.

 

"Session Zero" or as I call it "the character party" had come and gone, and we were all stoked for the game itself, which was to commence the next Sunday.  When Sunday arrived, I sat patiently, working on my still not-quite-finished plans, seeing what could slot in or out as needed, and adjusting things for the characters we ended up with.

 

Not that it mattered, because four out of seven players didn't show up.

 

That pretty much tanked what I had right there.  Still, the three in front of me were excited, and wanted to play.  I hid my disappointment and we chatted and goofed around with the characters for a few minutes in the hopes that the rest would show up.  We talked-- _lightly_ -- about rules, actions, the Speed Chart, "just how fast am I?" and "am I really invincible to guns?"  You know: try to keep that enthusiasm up!  The back of my mind reeled and whirled.  These kids wanted to play, and I wanted them to play.  What I had lined up would crush three heroes.  Granted, I could tweak it on the fly, but what if everyone else showed up next time?  How to re-inflate it in a way that made some sort of sense?

 

Finally I chucked it completely, opting to run something more simple from memory.  I ran them through an old standby for new players we call "the Boneyard Scenario."  It's a total schlep, hitting _all_ the cliches, but it's got a lot going for it when it comes to new players.  I won't bore you with the details, but I would like to explain why it's great for new players (particularly those with no sort of tactical gaming experience.  I don't run tactics-heavy game for _any_ age group (they aren't the most fun thing in the world for me), but I _do_ use a map, particularly when there is either a large group or a McGuffin at a particular location.  I had several sheets of hex paper and tape for "emergencies," so I pulled it out, taped together a field, and rough sketched the playground onto that.  I then had the players select the little miniatures they liked best, and I placed them pretty much where I wanted them on the map (this is the easiest way to avoid that "how did you get together / why are you here / howcum all you kids are in this here tavern?!" problem).

 

The Boneyard scenario is a bank robbery (again: it touches all the cliches   ;)   ).  One or two players are in line at the bank in their secret ID (try to pick characters who have Instant Change, if possible.  It's just easier).  The guy a couple of people ahead of them seems nervous.  He will look all around, exhibit signs of stress and worry, toss glances everywhere, and generally try to hide his face.  His behavior is making one of the guards nervous, who signals to a second guard, and the two open their holsters (but do not draw their weapons!) and take strategic positions to flank him and an unobtrusive distance.  

 

Seeing this go down, as the person at the front of the line leaves and the nervous guy moves up to the counter, a scuzzy-looking guy from the back of the line races toward the guard nearest him (doing a move-by), snatches his weapon, and fires at the other guard, hitting him in the thigh and effectively removing him from play.  He is bleeding profusely, and needs first aid immediately.  The nervous guy begins to "Hulk out," making terrifying roaring noises, increasing in mass, and shredding his clothes as spikes, claws, and armored plating of high-density bone begin to erupt from his flesh; the man with the gun screams "nobody move!" while his buddy (no buddy if think it's too much for your new players) kicks the unarmed guard and moves to get the weapon of the downed guard.  Both these men are normal thugs from a local street gang.  Both silent and audible alarms are triggered.  The hero(es) patrolling nearby should now be aware there is a situation.

 

This is really more an exercise than an actual scenario.  However, it lets you, the GM, get a real good feel for who your players are and how they see their characters.  Let them handle the situation any way they see fit.  Seriously.  See if anyone moves to offer first aid (any successful attempt will stabilize the guard, but he will still be "out."

 

Sit Rep:

 

Two armed normals and a super.

Two casualties, one serious.

A small number of hostages (you decide)

 

What the GM knows, but should not let the players know immediately:

 

The nervous guy has nothing to do with the bank robbery, other than raising the hackles of an over-zealous, under-cautious guard who let himself and his partner get caught up short.

The two gang bangers simply took advantage of the bad placement of the guards and the distraction at the bank counter (which they will not appreciate for a few phases yet; they are focused on other things).  They grabbed the weapons, toppled the guards, and expect to clean out a till or two-- or possibly just grab some wallets-- and run like Hell.  If they make it to the street, down the block, and into an alley, the will have effectively escaped. (they will enter through a broken fire escape door on the ground level of a tenement; from there they can access a number of exits or hiding places. They are _gone_)

 

Seriously: it doesn't really matter how the resolve this, as it doesn't have to go anywhere else.  It's just a chance for new players to do a bit of Heroing, and maybe get into the papers or onto the news.

 

Here's what the players will have to decide:

How to handle the thugs.  How to protect the hostages and assist the wounded guard.  What to do about the super who _appears_ to be part of the robbery.  Don't push them in any particular direction (but be clear about the situation and answer all questions as honestly as possible.  For this scenario, don't rush them.  You are in Bullet Time, and a Phase can take as long as it needs to take. Remember, they are learning how to play.  The only thing you want to really caution them on is to remind them that they are the good guys (once; maybe twice. Don't push it)

 

Why I like this sad, uninspired cliche:

 

It's got everything a new superhero would expect: obvious crime, guns, hostages, and a super-powered someone else.

It's got _borders_.  That is to say, safety margins:  Back in the late 80s, with the increase in super-crimes, the Campaign City Council instituted a municipal law that banks, liquor stores, and other cash-heavy institutions be built such that, at a minimum, their exterior walls be completely bullet-proof, and preferable proof against up to whatever weapon you might want to create that can deliver up to 20 points of BODY.  If that institution was not free-standing (this one is in a strip mall), then the shared walls are considered to be exterior walls.  Insurance companies and construction companies cheered while bank presidents screamed "no fair!" and people working in the stores next to the banks felt a lot better about catching a stray bullet or optic beam simply by being too close to the wrong place.  For what it's worth, doors and windows are exempted, simply because there may arise an emergency requiring the people inside the building to break out of it.

 

Anyway, no matter how badly the players do here, they don't have to juggle the current interior situation _and_ the possibility of making things worse by breaking (or shooting through) a wall and hitting something / someone completely outside of the situation.

 

You have a test of how the players prioritize:  who wants to aid and protect before tackling the bad guys?  

Who wants to tackle the bad guys immediately?  Which ones?  How do(es) (t)he(y) propose to do it, and what regard does there plan make for the hostages?

How do they handle the terrifying super grabbing the counter and roaring incoherently at the tellers?

 

As I said: let it play out.  It's just practice for them, but it's also giving you some insight into these new players that may lead to you tweaking your planned adventures to make them more palatable for them, you, or something in between.  Besides, it's nice to find out early if you are dealing with sociopathic murder hobos.

 

At any rate, when the heroes have wrapped things up, they step into the streets to be mobbed by grateful bystanders and a half-dozen reporters, anxious to get interviews with these new heroes, push them for a team name, and all those other cliches.  Ham it up, and make them feel like they really were there.  :D  

 

 

Here's a thing:

 

The super at the front of the line is Herman Sellers.  He is a twenty-eight year old construction worker, currently working a job in demolitions, brining down an old tenement block, and he is here to deposit a bonus check.  This is the very first manifestation of his powers, and he is absolutely terrified.  The roaring is primarily from pain, as his skeleton is literally changing shape and structure inside him, and he can feel the spikes, claws, and plates rip through his flesh.  He is frightened, confused, and pretty certain he is going to die.  Currently, large tusks are deforming his jaw and mouth box, making speech almost impossible, even if he could focus long enough form a coherent thought.  He will not institute an attack (though his actions might be construed as threatening, given his appearance), but if attacked, he will fight back, using his now-increased strength and long, sharp sword-like claws growing from his knees and forearms (think "Guyver" and not "Wolverine."  They're long and heavy and dangerous).  He won't fight like a pro villain, but he does have some boxing skills, as it's his sport of choice for staying in shape.  Stat him out appropriate to your new players: I recommend noticeably less powerful, but definitely threatening-- go somewhere between "agent" and "intro level PC."  

 

If approached carefully and calmly, , he will not attack.  If the PCs make overt gestures of aid, he will _gratefully_ accept, immediately.  At any rate, by the time the heroes have calmed him (if this is the approach they choose), he will have finished his metamorphosis and be able to speak, spilling his story and begging for help.  Further resolution is up to the GM and the players, and will largely be decided by what is or is not possible or available in your campaign world.

 

One way or another, the next time Herman pops up, he will have developed a small reputation as "Boneyard," a play on both his powers / appearance combo and his day job.  If the PCs handled him as a victim and rendered assistance to him, he will pop up from time to time as a street informant: he was so impressed with how the heroes protected the hostages, stopped the bad guys, and still found a way to help him through the scariest thing in his life that he took inspiration from them and decided to become a small-time hero on his own, primarily at the street level (remember he's far less powerful than the heroes are, but he can still help people).

 

If the PCs simply lumped him in with the bad guys and went after him with Fists of Pounding, not caring (or perhaps not noticing) that he wasn't _actually_ doing anything dangerous-- just scary--- then the next time they see him, he will be the night-stalking super villain Boneyard, bent on revenge against the high-and-mighty self-righteous bastards who decided to wreck the heist he had been planning since his powers first appeared last summer _and_ caused him to get a criminal record.  (This version of Boneyard should also be at least as powerful as any one of the PCs; powerful enough to easily take out any two PCs, if the group is large).

 

 

Another thing:

 

you will _never_ tell this to the PCs.  Never.  _NEVER_!  Do you hear me?  Never!

 

Why?

 

Well because they were _right_.  No matter which way they play it out, they were _right_; do you understand?  It was their very first adventure with a brand new game-- perhaps a brand new experience for those who have never role-played before-- and you will NOT dick up their satisfaction and their pump at the success of their very first outing by going "oh, if only you had paid more attention" or "but you never realized...."  You will _not_ come back at them ten session later with something that effectively says "Well, you totally screwed _that_ up!"   Remember the happy people in the street?  Remember the reporters?  Remember how much they appreciated the gratitude of the rescued hostages inside the bank?  Do NOT take that away from them, _ever_!

 

You can do it all you want when they get some experience under their belt, but you're not going to kick them in their fond-memory gonads with this:  if they treated him as part of the robbery, then he was indeed the mastermind behind the robbery.  If they treated him as a victim of circumstance, then he was indeed a victim of circumstance!  Always!

 

At any rate, I opted to run them through this scenario as an opener.

 

It went _wonderfully_, and played out pretty much as I expected, since they were a younger group.  I have noticed something over the years with the Boneyard Scenario:

 

younger players will _always_ notice that something isn't right and assist poor Herman.

Older players will _almost always_ start punching him in the head, even before dealing with the armed thugs.  Not every time, but damned near.

 

The three kids who ran through this scenario (including Neil, who you may have "met" earlier this evening ;) ) came through it with flying colors:  the high-defense sport brick stayed between the thugs and the and the crowd, urging them to huddle tightly behind him, all the while dancing and dodging to stay in the line of fire.  The Speedster (who is an MD in her secret id) swept up first the injured guard and placed him behind the crowd and began to shout orders for helping him, then drew fire until she could move the thugs away from the other guard while the sport brick used his laser vision to blast the vestibule open and began urging everyone through to the outside, cautioning them to not run straight away from the building.  In the meantime, the magic-wielding wild card showed up in time to place a force wall between the thugs and everyone else and used his hypnosis to put Boneyard into a calming trance.

 

Seriously: it went _beautifully!  If I have to be completely honest, it went easily three times as smoothly as it has _ever_ gone before, even with HERO veterans running through it.

 

I wasn't really sure where to go from there-- as I said, I had _nothing_ prepared for over half the characters not showing up, but it worked out well, because the players were so tickled with the media circus that we hammed that up for nearly an hour, and I decided to break off on a high note, go home, and figure out how to roll this in front of the adventure I had planned....   :lol:

 

 

 

 

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Suggestion, if you do intend to ever use something like the Boneyard Scenario:

 

If you are concerned that your players may cause hostages to get shot, or may not be able to prevent it from happening, replace the guards' pistols with taser pistols   (assuming your heroes aren't immune to tasers, mind you: they need to feel threatened, too)

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In fact, I hereby declare that I, D.E. "Duke" Oliver, freely give "The Boneyard Scenario," detailed above, and without request for remuneration of any kind (though a byline might be nice-- hint, hint ;) ), to any and all who would use, publish, or otherwise distribute it in any HERO System-compatible product or website, with the understanding that I give exclusive rights to no one, as I _want_ there to be good stuff out there for HERO, and I _want_ to see HERO become the well-supported entity it once was.  I give these rights with the understanding that while this scenario may be published or distributed in a form compatible to any or all editions and genres of the HERO System, I deny the right to convert it to any non-HERO game format, and I require that the name "Boneyard" not be changed.

 

 

There.  It belongs to all of you now.  Use it far and wide, and use as much as you can: make our fandom the glorious thing it used to be.

 

 

Duke

 

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Okay, 

 

While it was fun for a few days, it's beginning to drive me nutty. That is to say, attempting to create an image whole cloth from nothing using only my phone's software (and accursed touch screen) for editing photos. Like, _lightly_ editing them.

 

To explain:  I can't just draw it because my scanner thinks the printer is busy.  The printer hasn't been busy in nearly a month, and this is the _last_ damned time I _ever_ buy an all-in-one: "You are unable to scan because your magenta is too stupidly expensive to buy right now."

 

Frikafrakafraggilfrak _that_ stupid crap!

 

And my computer has been dying a slow death and no longer recognizes photoshop, so the easy options are all taken out.

 

And while it _was_ fun, it's becoming an exercise in creative swearing, and I already have a day job for that, so .....

 

An unfinished map.  I mean, more unfinished than I intended.  

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kicTqOKt9aj8He_Tejqc7uIiJu6Z5Ca5

 

Amusingly enough, I started with an extremely _large_ canvas.  I had managed to kind of trick the camera a bit, then the image software.  Well, let's be honest: the whole thing is the result of tricking the image software.  :lol:

 

unfortunately, it compressed into a seriously tiny image anyway.  :rofl:

 

The image software-- being exclusively for photos-- had no way to add text, so if you will bear with a bit more tedium, I will pretend that someone is actually interested  and give you a rundown, the light version.

 

To start with, remember that in Campaign City, Tanghal Tower is still a thing / was still a thing (depends on the era) simply because I _really_ liked the name. ;)  I never ran the adventure, but I _loved_ the name.  It was just "hunh?" enough to be believable.  Thus, I located this introduction to Champions / Campaign City in the remains of Tanghal Tower: all the action occurs in a city block referred to locally as Tanghal Square.  When I run this for my new players, what you're seeing is / was part of the ground floor of the tower.  When the tower was razed, the property owners opted to keep the ground and second floor (making demolition much more expensive) because of the ostentatious and deco design, figuring to convert the second floor to loft apartments and leaving the existing shops available.  The bank was the source of the Tanghal family's money, and there was a branch right here in the tower, where it remains to this day.

 

Because of the conditions in which I was working, this version of the map does not have the entire remaining block of the tower.  In fact, there is an alley directly behind this row of strip mall instead of a continuing ring of strip mall and large central courtyard, because damn, getting this far was sort of impressive to me.  In fact, there's not even much of the Square demonstrated. :D

 

So quickly, from the top:

 

large four-lane road.  Not a highway, just a city street that is rather busy during rush hour, but not too terrible at other times of day.  There is a a strip of on-street parking and a generous sidewalk.

 

The empty section upper-left is a smallish but upscale restaurant that becomes important  from time to time in our games.  It was inadvertently named many years ago by another forum member, who in the course of an unrelated discussion mentioned Le Piege Evidente (forgive me; I can't remember where the accent marks and all that go).  I fell in love with that name, too, and it stuck. :)  Put the windows (yellow bars in the walls) anywhere you want, because I'm done with it.  In addition to the entrance doors (silver bars in the walls), the restaurant has an exit from the kitchen to the back alley for sanitation purposes.

 

Next to that is Gelato's Ice Cream, which was Tony's Gelato a couple of decades ago, then bought and re-styled in that retro-fifties kitsch by someone who completely misunderstood that Tony's name wasn't Gelato (though in recent years, gelato has re-appeared on the menu).  These days it's mostly a coffee and sandwich shop, though when the weather's nice, since the neighborhood isn't terrible and there's a large expanse of sidewalk (due to the removal of a large fountain that once filled the corner-- Tanghal Square was once known for its fountains) that is dotted with covered tables (yellow circles) and benches (under the red awnings), it's not uncommon to find people milling about enjoying a frozen treat or a good cup.    As with all the blank stuff, finish it out anyway you find appropriate.

 

Moving down, you find the bank (and more on-street parking).  A wide two-lane frontage road separates it from the large parking lot (that once serviced the old hotel when the Tower was still a Tower).  The first thing you notice when you walk in the bank is the marble tile floor, massive slabs  cut into six-sided geometric figures, two meters across (how fortuitous!) and grouted with a bold aquamarine color.....  The next thing you notice is that the ceilings are very high-- sixteen feet or so, with eight whisper-quite ceiling fans to ensure that everyone gets to ingest the tiniest bit of historic dust and to keep the air moving.  The obtrusiveness of the fans detract considerably from the beautiful moulded plaster ceiling.

 

Same pattern: left to right, top to bottom, inside the bank:

 

Upper left corner is a small private room with a table and three chairs set at it; three more are stacked in the corner.  This room is for those who wish a secure private area to work with their safety deposit boxes.  to the right are restrooms, one seat each, accessible behind the privacy / sound-deadening upholstered wall.  To the right again is a sub-lobby consisting of a couple of couches and a large mirror-and-chrome low table. Magazines (banking, investing, and fishing from your yacht) are stacked neatly on it.  The dotted line to the right (and counting down and to the right, save the large 20-ft opening, indicates a knee wall.  

 

For those who don't know,  a knee wall is any half-height or lower wall.  A few potted ficas trees (dark green) suggest privacy and serve to remind you that this is a bank.  On the topmost wall is a large horizontal filing cabinet, adorned with a potted fern (light green) so that you know this part is an office that receives people.  Center of this area are two desks, set front-to-front so that the employees at these desks sit more-or-less adjacent to each other buy face opposite directions.  There are two chairs in front of each desk.  in the lower right corner is another filing cabinet.  The knee wall at the bottom of the area is mostly open, having only enough wall to provide attractive stanchions.

 

 The next office is the assistant manager's office; the branch manager's office is the larger one with the two windows.  While the fixtures of the office show they've been in use for at least twenty years, they are clearly much newer than the rest of the building, and no attempt has been made to match the style of the rest of the stately and beautiful interior.  As before, this was tedious as hell with the equipment I had at hand, so decorate them any way you would like.  As business at this location is not what it once was, the branch manager actually manages two locations; the manager and assistant manager are rarely both present.  As the current remodel made no allowances for it, breaks are usually taken in whichever office is empty.  There is a guard stationed outside and more-or-less between these offices.  By order of the current Mrs. Tanghal, the guards are charged with greeting patrons as they enter and wishing them well as they exit.  The guards don't mind terribly, if only because it helps pass the time.

 

Back to the left side:

Below the private room are two private "cabinets", each with two chair and a mounted bench, again for those wishing to work with their safety deposit boxes.  To the right of that is a very, very, _very_ large lobby, mostly to give new players some room to move around in and to give some practice with range modifiers and panicked civilians running around.  More on the lobby later.  For the record, the largeness in here was created by the removal of yet another massive bronze fountain that was once the jewel of this, the flagship branch for Tanghal B&T.

 

Below the alcoves is a cleverly-concealed (not hidden; just dressed up to look like a very old mahogany door) vault door that opens to the safety deposit room.  Both walls are lined with safety deposit boxes (undrawn for reasons you already know.  Feel free to do what you want.  Put a toilet in here, for all it's going to matter).  The small alcove between the security deposit room and the private chambers is accessed through a security door (again, nicely appointed) that opens from the inside, but must be opened with a key from the outside.  Directly outside that is a service counter with stools for two employees, one of whom will accompany a security deposit box holder into the alcove and open the vault or the private rooms (if one is available).

 

Across from this counter is the collection of movable brass poles about 30" high (brass-ish circles) from which only the finest and most luxurious of red velvet faux ropes will be clipped to create guidelines for cueing up to the various teller stations and suggest a direction of travel toward the exit for those leaving the tellers.  in a space on the floor created almost by accident of necessity stand two dozen more brass poles and worn, slightly faded velvet ropes, used on heavy traffic days to create a cattle walk leading up to the teller chutes.  It seems nothing makes bankers more nervous than large crowds moving aimlessly about. ;)  Except maybe ski masks.

 

Back on the left, this time at the bottom.

 

The mother lode --, err.. vault.  While the employees unanimously agree the the direction of the door swing makes opening it in the morning and closing it at night unnecessarily complicated, they understand the discretion of blocking line-of-site from anywhere on the floor to the interior of the vault (can't be too careful with Mind Control and Teleport in play; that's what the security pros say).  Because of the rise of super-crime, this vault features a mechanism that any alarm-- silent or audible, or even fire-- has been raised,  will close and secure within within ten seconds.  The door is far too heavy to move much faster than that.  unfortunately, the motors groan under the strain, and anyone making a PER roll (hearing) at -2 (if there is a noisy panic; otherwise no penalty) will hear...  "something...."

 

The massive counter in the corner is the original teller's counter from the twenties, real mahogany, and a victim of the last few remodels.  Cut down to its present size and moved to several locations over the years, it was _clearly_ not meant to sit where it now sits.  However, the craftsmanship of the last remodel team was above average, and while it looks clearly out of place, one has to look closely to see where the mistakes or joinery problems are.  Besides, most are simply admiring the craftsmanship of those who originally built it, for it is an ornate piece of history.  There are only four teller locations now (identified by the narrowing of the counter), each with an oversized cabinet (the "squarey" sections between the windows) that reach upward to a height of seven feet and provide privacy for patrons to conduct their business.  In keeping with the original style and in an attempt to maintain as much of the feel of the original decor, there is no glass barrier between teller and patron.  However, the counters are quite deep and are higher than usual (about four-and-a-half-feet high) making leaping over them difficult.  The last remodel saw steel plating installed behind them (hidden on the teller's side), giving the tellers a somewhat more secure area to hide should something go wrong.

 

While the door granting passage between the lobby and the tellers' area can be freely opened from inside, like the door to the security deposit area, it is a heavy-duty security door and must be unlocked to open from the lobby side.  on the lower wall is a desk used by the head cashier (made from some of the mahogany salvaged from the last remodel of the teller counter) and a maroon leather vintage desk chair behind it.

 

The bottom right corner:

 

Note the lovely dark green of the ficas....es?  on either side of that brown thing, then two smaller ficases on the step.  There is no doubt that you're in a bank.

 

The two-step platform is all that remains of the original manager's / owner's office.  At some point in the seventies, after the death of the old man Tanghal, the wood-and-glass brick walls were taken down...  and nothing was ever put back in their place.  The eye-catching raised platform created originally to give the manager a better view into the lobby and of the tellers' counter (in the original floor plan) was left as it was attractive. Unfortunately, the practice of placing potted plants here and there has resulted in stains, discoloration, and a bit of wood warpage here and there, but your players are probably not going to notice that for a while.  Or ever, unless one of them continues banking here (living in one of the upstairs lofts makes banking here quite convenient).  Eventually a more practical office was created, and this space used for various purposes.  Today, there are two small desks, topped with simulated marble that doesn't quite match the floors but does manage to be completely out of place on the wooden platform.  Two customer chairs are placed across from each desk, and again the magnificent ficas is used to create the illusion of privacy.  Along each of the two walls are long wooden counters, underneath which are various books and a few filing drawers.  In the corner these counters flow seamlessly into a massive book shelf that rises up ten feet above the floor upon which it sits.  Note the light green ferns, which are here to bring you comfort and remind you that your own houseplants may be a bit dusty, too.....  In front of the book case is another chrome-and-glass low table (smaller than the other in the opposite corner), a burgundy couch, and two burgundy chairs.

 

Suffice it to say that the entire place-- with its authentic period by mis-matched furnishings, clearly "recycled" original components and modern-but-no-longer-modern structures added with each remodel, lights and outlets cut into or through plaster features in places they were clearly never intended to be, the entire bank oozes not the encapsulated original glory of the building that the remodelers were hoping for, but rather drives home a subtle "fall from grace" feel.  It's not unpleasant or tragic, but it is just a bit melencholy.

 

Leaving the bank:

 

In Campaign City, there's a second-run movie theater here, but you do whatever you want.  Below that there is a long, wide hallway leading to the bank of four elevators that lead to the upstairs apartments.  Below that is a mini-storage (used mostly by residents of the apartments).

 

But again:  it was such a massive pain in the rear, that this is as far as this particular map is ever going to get.  And honestly, it's all you need.  Just wing the rest of it.

 

Funny trivia:

 

The original design of this map (which I have hit pretty close) was laid out to slot into any corner of the classic "Rose's" map from the early editions, and add a bit to it to boot!

 

 

Good night, all.

 

 

Duke

 

 

 

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All right then:

 

Much overdue, but I've been busy.  Of course, being busy has made me tired and sleepy, so I may not get as far into this as I thought I might.

 

If, of course, OP is still curious.  It seems that wreck of a map has successfully killed this thread.  :lol:

 

 

Moving right along:

 

The next session, three of the players who had not shown up the week before _did_ show up, and asked if they were "still allowed to play."

 

Well of _course_ you are!  Come on in and join the party!

 

Turns out that they _were_ the party, because no one else showed up.  :lol:

 

What to do?

 

I seriously toyed with the idea of running _these_ kids through the Boneyard Scenario, stoked with its success with the previous kids and of course, it would stall getting into what I had prepared.  However, it hit me that this would set a dangerous precedent:  I would be running _two_ different groups on alternating weekends.  Couldn't let that sort of nonsense get started!  I'd have to re-write the whole outline for the campaign to match the much, _much_ smaller groups, and given that the mixtures of powers and defenses were built around at least five people making it regularly, well....

 

What to do?  What to do?   I had a few thing on tap, but nothing so short and sweet as to guarantee it could be done in a single scenario.  I wanted something that would do what the Boneyard Scenario would do, as well: give them a safe space to learn the rudiments of combat and movement (notice the bank ceilings were high enough for leaping and flying--- sort of?)  and give them a victory to celebrate.

 

Crime spree!

 

What is Crime Spree?  Is it a well-practice and honed-through-experience scenario like Boneyard?  NO!  Of course it isn't!  Crime Spree is merely a suggestion I read in an article that was titled something along the lines of "what to do when you don't know what to do?"    Let's call it the super-hero equivalent "a man with a gun walks into the room."  Something to get the action going.  I have no idea if there is a wrong way or a right way to do this, but I decided to give them _something_ to get things moving (you now, while they were excited and curious) and figure out how to draw it together as we went.

 

So we start off with Silk Dragon gliding about on patrol (say what you want about comic book tropes, that's a great one for just putting someone where you want them ;)  ) when she sees two armed men fleeing a stop-and-rob and leaping into a running car.  She immediately gives chase!

 

Feral, who enjoyed the scents and tranquility of the wooded garden (all native species, groomed, but left relatively natural) in Daedalus Park, has found a badly beaten mugging victim and begins using his super-senses to find clues.  He finds three distinct shoe prints and can make out two distinct human scents amongst the gagging stench of Axe instead-of-bath.  There's a third scent, but he's not sure he'd recognize it it's so polluted here.  He wants to shift into his wolf form to gain a better sense of smell and faster running.  I point out that he is in a public park on a pretty day, and he opts to go with a bloodhound instead.

 

[note:  I have commented before that we don't use Shape Shift and _rarely_ use Multi-form.  Mostly this is because I run a much older edition, and I still do it the way we "faked it" back then.  There are two options we use.  The second method-- and I really only recommend this for experienced players-- is a power pool from which you pull appropriate powers; the shift in shape is just special effects.  It helps if you have some pre-built lists handy.  Unless you just want to build some custom disads, this gives you the advantage of having your actual intelligence and knowledge skills as well.  Win-win.  The first (chronologically) was derived from the old "Only in HERO ID" power limitation:  only in X form.  I allow it a bit larger bonus, depending on the power and the frequency with which he will have it (flight gets a bigger bonus than Tracking Scent, because fewer animals have Flight).  From there, make three or four "generic" forms:  Dog.  Bird.  Fish.  Big Fish.  Weasel.   it doesn't matter enough what kind of dog you pick: you get the "only in dog form" powers, and an unlimited amount of dogs to turn into. You know: because it's just special effects.  Now if there was an additional something with a more specific limitation:  Only in Wolf form, well first, the bonus is bigger, and of course, he will not have it as any other kind of dog.  I digress, but it's so you understand that this kid isn't running around with a nine-hundred point character).

 

He sprints off, hot on the trail of the muggers.  He asks for regular PER checks, and at one point I tell him that he has seen a couple of young punks looking at the display of a video camera, but their scents do not match those he is looking for.

 

Was that part of anything?  The punks with the camera?

 

NO!  No; it was _not_.

 

But remember two things:  A world is _full_, and it is full of people doing stuff, most of it totally random from the outside.  You have to keep that world _full_, both to maintain the illusion of a living, breathing universe, and because you don't know what you're going to need later.  Don't worry about adding too much unless you see the game is actually slowing down.  If the players key on something that bites you in the butt-- it's _fine_.  Roll with it, because it means that they are both paying attention and that they _want_ to _interact_ with your world.  (there's a hilarious story on youtube about this sort of thing where he particularly creative D&D players weaponized a whale.... :rofl:  ) 

 

As he went on, he saw people jogging, people having picnics, and a stain of burnt transmission fluid in the parking lot where he lost the scent.  Reasoning that the muggers had gotten into a car with a bad transmission, he sniffed and snuffled until he was certain he could recognize the scent of this particular burnt fluid and started out toward the road.  I suggested the road was dangerous for a dog, and he said "oh, right!  Okay, I go elephant."  Then he walked calmly down a four-lane thoroughfare, causing quite a commotion and traffic problem.

 

Firefly is drawn to this scene by a report on her police scanner of a possible accident and major traffic problem.  She never quite makes it,  because before she can see the elephant, there is another call on her radio about a smash-and-grab robbery at a nearby jewelry store.  She shrinks down to power up (she gains a considerable amount of flight speed in her miniature form) and rockets off toward the address given, just a couple of blocks away.

 

She arrives in time to see a car, stuck in the sudden traffic problem, swerve onto the sidewalk and begin to accelerate through pedestrians.  As she gives chase, I tell her "you see the traffic problem:  There's an elephant walking down the northbound fast lane, trunk probing all along the road, sniffing here and there, changing lanes randomly, but always moving forward."  She replies that she wants to take a closer look at that; why there's an elephant here. (during the character generation party, it was established that she and Feral knew each other as superheroes, but not as civilians)  She wants to know if it's acting "like an animal" or more like a person.  I tell her "it doesn't seem to be paying any attention at all to the horns or the shouting, and seems to be taking care to not bump the cars that are edging around it."  On a whim, I added "you also notice two young guys with their phones out, filming.  There are _lots_ of phones out-- hundreds!  Even the people in the cars are trying to film the elephant in the street!  But these two guys....   They don't seem to be interested in the elephant.  They're filming something else....."

 

Announcing that she's pretty sure the elephant is Feral, she turns her attention back to the fleeing car, which has forced its way back onto the road to get around an open basement elevator in the sidewalk.

 

 

We now have three people doing things.

 

Because I steer the bad guys, I have managed to push two of these people into close proximity.  That's going so smoothly that I figure it's time to ease Silk Dragon over this way.  Her fleeing car is southbound on the same road.  Traffic isn't as snarled (yet) coming from that direction.  Meanwhile, Firefly has grown back to her regular size directly in front of her quarry and fired a bolt of "biophosphene"  directly in front of it; the driver swerves deeper into traffic.  (Firefly's EB isn't particularly strong in her full-size state, but it is easily the most visually-impressive attack of all the players, looking like nothing less than pure plasma with an almost-painful yellow/green glow.  Cranked to it's max, it has a Flash linked to it).    "Feral!" she yells, counting on his big elephant ears, "I can use some help!"

 

Feral turns to look to see who called him and why, and we cut back to Silk Dragon, who's quarry is now encountering traffic problems.  She drifts up higher to make sure she isn't spotted, and isn't too worried about losing the car as she has carefully marked the roof with considerable amounts of silk.   As traffic grinds to a halt, the hoods inside start looking around for a better route.  Silk Dragon takes the hint and dives, making every attempt to entangle the doors and seal the criminals inside.  She has already called for police assistance (shame Spock-like's player hadn't shown yet, since you know...  THAT WAS HIS ACTUAL JOB!    anyway, the police are inbound, but are slowed by traffic conditions.  Silk has managed to get the driver's door sealed with her Entangle, and the hoods now notice her.  Panic begins as the driver floors it and tries to jam between the two lanes of traffic.  The passenger opens the door and bolts.  Silk Dragon is concerned about "that poor elephant!" but gives chase.  They end up inside a garage (mechanic's, not parking), and Silk Dragon has a chance to shine with her Martial Arts and soundly defeats her opponent, in spite of his gun.

 

Meanwhile, Firefly herds her quarry toward Feral, who thinks he understands what's going on, though he is unaware of the second "bad guy car."  Feral charges the first car as Firefly fires another EB to encourage the driver to swerve again, allowing Feral to approach it broadside and flip it onto it's roof.  unfortunately, everyone is now on the southbound side, where traffic is moving much better, and the panicked criminal is bearing down on them.  Intent on pulling the criminals from the overturned car and getting them disarmed and out of harm's way, they fail to see the reckless abandon with which the other vehicle approaches!

 

Silk Dragon has taken to the air again and sees the car smashing its way forward through traffic and hurtling toward the crowd milling around the overturned car, the superhero, and the elephant.  Concentrating, she draws in a deep breath and exhales a column of flame, not into the crowd or at the car, but low enough to attract attention.  Everyone looks up, and with relief she changes from fire to silk and attempts to entangle the crowd beside the car.  Feral grabs the entire entangle with his trunk and runs for the sidewalk, pulling the dozen or so people with him while Firefly shrinks down and powers up her EB to maximum, turning on the Flash.  She fires at the car, melting the grill and radiator and doing some small amount of damage to the engine behind (the power steering pump will have to be replaced).  Blinded and panicked, and poisonous steam spilling from the radiator, the driver reflexively jams the brakes out of self-preservation.  Silk Dragon is on him in an instant, pulling him through the broken windshield and entangling him.  She breathes a quick flash of flame onto the entangled bystanders, harmlessly flash-burning the entangle itself (no dice; it's all special effects, folks ;) ), smiles and does a slight curtsey for the two guys on the sidewalk filming everything......

 

 

 

Yep.

 

 

Tired.

 

See you folks later.

 

 

 

 

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The crowd begins to disperse after fawning a bit over meeting superheroes (kids love this sort of thing ;) ).  The heroes set about checking out the health and condition of the three men the pulled from Firefly's overturned car (the two thieves and the driver), waiting for the sirens to draw closer. They line them up with two men from Silk Dragon's car.  To ensure they won't bolt, Silk Dragon binds all five together with her silk.  During the "get them out of the car" fiasco, just to keep tossing things out (and figuring this was just a straight-up busy, busy day for petty criminals everywhere), as Feral (in scary wolf form! ;)  ) snuffles through the cars looking for clues, I mention that there is a distinct third person's scent that is just as fresh as that of the two men currently awaiting the police.  No; I had no plans, and nothing to run on:  I am giving myself plenty of set up:  This may ultimately just be filler information, with nothing to come of it, or I may be glad I threw it out.  Seriously: there is no such thing as a world too rich, because sometimes you can reach backwards and pull yourself out of a bad situation.  Problematically, you can't grab anything you didn't put there, so just keep tossing until you can---

 

 

"you know..."  says Feral, there were three scents at my crime scene, too!  Can I tell if this is the same scent?"

You should be able to tell if they are the same.  Give me a quick Skill Check on INT  (if you don't know why I say "Skill Check," we can go over it later.  Just roll with it for now).  Meanwhile, I'm hastily trying to decide if it actually _is_ the same guy.  Not seeing an advantage to the story (or to my lack of an adventure!  :lol:   ) either way, I figure it just seems to keep things simpler if all the scents at the crime scene belongs to criminals (see?  I had the "mystery man" at the crime scene, and I could have done anything I wanted with that, if I had come up with something that needed him to have been there.  What is that?  The future past pluperfect or something like that?  Too many years; I don't remember) who were in on the crime.

 

So sure:  "Oh yeah, even without your elephant form, you won't forget this scent for a while.  It's all Axe body spray and flaming hot cheetos.  There's a strong smell of gun oil, too...."  That last was just to put an element of potential danger around our mystery man.  I could have just as easily decided, had he pursued it, that there were guns hidden in the car.  I never had to decide, because he didn't pursue it:

 

"Ah, CRAP!  One of them got away!"

 

"Hey wait!"  says Silk Dragon.  "What about my car?  How many people were in my car?"

 

You guys arrested two people-- well, you've detained two people.  They will be arrested shortly.  You can see the lights on the patrol car now, and traffic has started to move a little better.

 

"I mean how many people _were_ in it?  Can his character check that?"

 

I know that he _can_, but I don't know if he _will_.  You'll have to ask him that:  you be your character, and talk to C. as if it was Silk Dragon talking to Feral.  Go ahead.  That's how you play this game.  It makes it more fun, because when you think like that, you actually know everything about how your character thinks, too.

 

Self-consciously at first, "Uhm... that was pretty cool....  can you check and see if there were extra people in my car?"

 

"Yeah, I can do that!"  can i do that?  

 

Yes you can, but only if you want to.

 

"Sure; I can do that!"  and do it he does.

 

I make a PER roll behind the screen; he fails by one, but the kids have sort of keyed to this idea that someone got away.  I fudge it, and reply with "there was indeed someone else in the car, laying low in the back seat.

 

"But I glued the driver door shut, and then I chased that passeng--- OH NO!  He must have run away while I was chasing the passenger!

 

 

yes...  yes.  he must have....    (  :winkgrin:)     

 

"Wait a minute!" says Firefly's player, a light coming on.  "There were three people in _all_ of the cars!"

(well yeah, because I was frantic to get things moving, try to line everything up to some sort of cohesion, and I didn't get real creative: two guns and a wheelman in Firefly's car and Silk Dragon's car.  The rest was just working with stuff I had already tossed out.)  "Two of the backseat guys got away!"

 

The kids perk up, waiting to see where this is going.  They're also a bit nervous, with that "are we doing this right?  Is this what we're supposed to do?" vibe we all remember so vividly.  :D .   E (Silk Dragon) has an epiphany: "Oh my gosh!   Those two guys who were filming us!  I bet that was them!"

 

"Why would they be sticking around to record us?"

 

You know: like one of those "I'm so cool I fooled the police" videos all those guys put on youtube or something like that.  Maybe their going to put up the video to show how the fooled the superheroes!"

 

yes...   yes, maybe that.....

 

"Maybe they're studying us!"

 

ooh.  I like that better.....

 

"Can any of you guys hack the internet and see where they put the videos?"

 

I'm pretty sure that's not a real thing, but I don't say anything.  I like where they are taking this, and now I know how I can swing this back to my planned story.  I'll have to tweak it (again!  :rofl:  ) but I've got something I can work with.

At this point, since they're getting interested in things, I start jotting down notes almost spastically before I forget something else I may have thrown out.

 

Okay.  going to turn in.

 

 

(to explain:  as we're going to be closed up for five days for the holidays (hooray!  I get three days off!) we've been putting in a lot of extra effort to get everything done.  My job is physically demanding anyway, and I'm nowhere near young anymore.  I'm pooped.

 

 

Once around the board then to bed.  Later, folks.

 

 

 

 

 

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All righty, then; where were we?

 

Ah yes: Crime Spree.  Thus far, it has been pretty mundane: a mugging and a couple of robberies?  This isn't really the fare these kids signed up for!  We need something....  super....

Just for the absolute heck of it, I threw a monkey wrench into the works:  "Feral, something is really bugging you about this whole thing.  You can't put your finger on it, but there's something very strange about the missing people...."

 

"okay, I want to re-check the cars!  Can I recheck the cars?"

 

Sure.  The police have just arrived on the scene, and Silk Dragon is giving her statement.  Two other officers are directing traffic and one of them is calling for a two truck or two.  No one is giving any real attention to the cars just yet.

 

After re-investigating the cars, he realizes that the missing guy from both cars is the same guy.  Neither scent is noticeably older than the other, so either he had just left one group to join the other then disappeared, or--

 

"What?  It's the same guy?  Like he has a clone or something?"

 

(I was thinking a teleporter, or possibly just a duplicator (which I really didn't want to use, as I plan for them to meet an NPC duplicator (Shout out to Doc D for hooking me up with the perfect picture a year or so back!   :D  ),  but something in "clone" strikes my fancy-- don't know why, but I file it away for later)  "Possibly.  You really don't have anyway to know for sure, but you do know that you have the same identical scent at two places, and all signs show they were here at or near the same time.  That's about all you can tell without some serious forensic work.

 

He reports to the other PCs that he suspects they are looking for clones and tells them why.  The police get all their statements and they head off to live the rest of their lives.  Feral resumes his bloodhound form and tries to pick up the scent, but there's just too many background scents and other people on the sidewalks.  He doesn't get too terribly far before he has to give up (bad streak of rolls, but all in all, it worked out great for building mystery and suspense).

 

Being paged; guess we'll do this later. :D

 

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back.

 

 

So the players are making "tell us everything about everything on this map (I had broken out a blank map once the cars moved within map range of each other and hastily scribbled some things on it: buildings, etc)" noises, so I detail the buildings, really kind of winging it, because 1) I had never fixed a particular neighborhood in mind and 2) this has never, _ever_ happened before.  I spend a few minutes making things up, deciding to put this in an area near the docks, sort of between the Hollows and Chinatown.  (The Hollows being subsidized housing projects properly named Holland Gardens but referred to by the inhabitants and most of the people in the area as "the Hollows.")  So I give them the rundown of the area, which leads to "neat!  Tell us about everything else!" (which they don't really want; they are new to roleplaying, and the idea that there is a detailed bit of imagination fascinates them more than it actually _interests_ them. I decide to use the reporters arriving on the scene to give some more life and history:

 

Are you a team?  Are you related to [retired hero x]?  Where are the rest of you?  There are seven, right?  You are the heroes that are going to replace The Seven, aren't you?"  We role-play all through this, and they emerge curious about the Seven and some of the other events and situations the reporters have mentioned.

 

Brief run-through:  Campaign City has been home to many, many superheroes and even superhero teams over the years, none of which were as high-profile as The Seven.  (The Seven were the PCs we used the longest, building their legacy across a couple of decades.  As a player "retired" a character, invariably his new PC would end up being indoctrinated into the Seven.  After we were too geographically dispersed to meet regularly, that original group-- well, players drifted in and out and one day you just sort of realize that none of your original people are left, and people are moving in and out a faster pace.....  Anyway, post-OG players would form their own teams-- and usually unofficially-- and there was never another "Seven."

 

The last big get-together of the original players was an all-out war to save Campaign City, in which all but one of The Seven fell, as did many other PCs  (we knew this would be the "last hurrah" for our group:  one was being transferred (military), one was headed to med school, one was getting married and moving to Vegas---  anyway, the campaign was coming to climax, and we all sort of agreed to make it the biggest, most spectacular, most memorable game ever-- Jim (GM of that campaign, who was the one moving to Vegas) really ramped up the stakes and seventy-two hours of non-stop brawl lead to the most heroic stand ever taken, and cleared the stables of a lot of characters (including many villains, who came to the aid of the city) that we knew we would likely never use together again.  It was _spectacular_, and led to a recurring bit in Campaign City that two of us (one of my fellow players also became a GM when he moved off; I don't think Jim has ever found another Supers group, but he _does_ still play: mostly westerns now.  I _think_ Boot Hill, but I'm not certain) still use:  A big memorial service called "Seven Day."  A parade, a memorial, a service of thanks, and remembrance of all those who gave  everything when they were needed most.  In recent years, it's become a popular place for politicians to be seen, etc, as well as something of a festival.)

 

Well you guys are in luck, if you really want to learn about the history of super-heroes in Campaign City, because it's almost Seven Day!  (apparently....  :/    )  A festival honoring super heroes, police, firemen, and all those people who stand up for those people who can't stand up for themselves!  There will be lots of other super heroes there, and it's kind of a chance for you to interact with the public without them trying to shoot at you!

 

The kids are all excited, we talk a bit about some of the heroes and their escapades in the past  (at this point, I am one of the police officers, who is something of a Super's fan, and loves to meet and talk to (and about) super heroes and the city.  I don't want to go too far into any kind of plot without a larger portion of the group, so I let the session end with us discussing the history of Campaign City, and a quick stop at Truck's Tacos across the street from Daniel's University, where the food is cheap, plentiful, tasty, and unique (choose any two).  No one wants to try the chocolate-covered mayonnaise balls or the mustard ice-cream, and only one (Feral) is interested in a two-for-one on crab tacos.

 

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The next Sunday, I have _six_ players:

 

Red Cloak, Kinetica, Magnificent (accidentally called "Magnus" in an earlier post), all of whom had come through the Boneyard Scenario, as well as Silk Dragon and Firefly from Crime Spree, and I finally get Spock-like.  To be fair, Spock-like had a name: Mycroft something-or-other, but it sounded a _lot_ like "Spock-like," and the player seemed to be pushing the personality of his police detective / superhero liaison so hard into a cold, emotionless, "just the facts" Joe Friday sort of guy that someone called him "Spock-like," and it just _stuck_.  :rofl:  Fortunately, Spock-like's player has a great sense of humor with it, and just ran with as "yet another reason to dislike super-heroes."  Feral is absent, but I'm stoked about the attendance: _first_, because everyone here has played before and decided they were interested enough to come back at least one more time, and second, because I've got almost all of them here at once!  I can start steering toward my plot!

 

Except that I _can't_, because Red Cloak announces he has to leave in an hour because his folks are out of town until very late and his older sister will be picking him in an hour or so (turned out to be about ninety minutes, because she was late getting out of work).  And I admit: the first big clue was meant for Feral.  Yeah; I've been doing this a long time, and I could have very easily-- almost without thinking about it-- have changed that and rocked on, but across the last four weeks, I have learned some things about Feral's player.  I won't go into the personal details of an adolescent on the internet, but suffice it to say his wall-flower nature has lead to him being bullied at school, and if he makes any friends here in this group, well-- they'll be his first.  

 

(turns out he's the grandson of an old acquaintance who actually called me right after Feral's player went home and started talking up the game--  then he was all "I don't want you near this Dungeons and Dragons nonsense--!"  right up until he found out that it was my doings, then he called me and said "I don't want him near this Dungeons and Dragons nonsen--!"  Hold it right there, C!  I don't want _me_ near Dungeons and Dragons nonsense.  This is a game of superheroes-- you know: just like the Spiderman movie he was watching on the table _you_ bought for him.  All the kids will be playing superheroes: they will be the good guys, doing their best to stop bad guys, to save lives, and to serve as shining examples of excellent citizenship and concern for your fellow man.  In fact, you know what?  Some of the kids have played already, and they happened into a bank robbery where two men had guns and there was a man turning into a monster at the teller's counter!  And do you know how they handled it?  They placed a barrier between the armed men and everyone else and got all the people in the bank out to safety.  And the big scary monster man?  Do you know what they did there?  They _talked_ to him!  That's right:  They didn't take out a sword and stab him; they didn't rob him blind.  They _talked_ to him, made sure he was okay, then they took him to a hospital to try to _help_ him!  You can scream about murder and mysticism all you want, but I think these kids have a great outlook on things, I think they are being raised to understand that even if they are stronger than anyone else, there is still a _right_ way to act and a _wrong_ way to act.  I didn't coach these kids or teach them anything: these kids are good people, and they are playing a game that gives them a chance to _prove_ it.  You're welcome to sit in and watch yourself if you don't believe me."

 

"Oh.  I see.  Okay, then; we'll see how it goes."  It went well, apparently, because Feral would return, and I never got another phone call.)

 

 

At any rate, it was important to _me_ that Feral find the big clue, at least the first time, and especially with him being so stoked about discovering that they might be looking for clones!  :D

 

The kids from last week are stoked about Seven Day, which made me a bit giddy, too.  It also disappointed me, as I was really hoping they'd be raring to go for more adventure and more superhero-ing; you know: _doing_ instead of _watching_.  But I suppose they are essentially the result of being raised by phones, tablets, and TVs built into car headrests; "watching" is all they know to do.  :(   So I've not only got to get this story on track (session 3 at this point, and still nowhere _near_ the stuff I have planned!  :cry:

 

The Boneyard crew wants to know what Seven Day is, and the two kids from Crime Spree are falling all over themselves trying to explain it and how amazing it's going to be!  (no pressure, Duke; no pressure at all.....)   I'm not at wit's end, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't both disappointed that I can't advance the plot _and_ I am now expected to produce something "amazing!" straight out my _nose_ at this point.  :/

 

I launched into Bullwinkle and hoped they settle down before they get each other so worked up that there was zero chance I won't disappoint them like Star Wars fans walking into Phantom Menace. 

 

 

"Detective Mycroft (because Spock-like is a nuisance to type, and I swear at this point I really do not remember the character's last name! :lol: ), you are standing in the auditorium of Campaign High 202.  You are in a starched white shirt, bullet-proof vest, and gray BDU pants akin to what the SWAT team wears.  Your army boots are polished to a black mirror shine and your police jacket is draped over the edge of the podium.  Before you, the hide-away bleachers have been pulled out from the walls and are about one-quarter-filled with a collection of costumed weirdoes, wackos, and potential dangers to the city and the people you love.  Spread here and there through the crowd are actual SWAT members, ready at a moment's notice should something go bad.  Flanking you is a pair of flag poles, one bearing the American Flag, one bearing that same flag in black-and-white, save for a single blue bar.  In a tight line behind you are four more SWAT officers, two patrolmen, and a couple of functionaries from the mayor's office.   Directly behind you stands Magnificent (his player _beams_ at this ;)  ), and directly behind him, lined up abreast, is a group of five people in costume.  You stare intently at the crowd, your most "unimpressed" face periodically breaking into your "I hope even _one_ of you nut jobs just _tries_ something" face.  Periodically, you glance down at the short speech you have prepared and then resume scanning the colorful crowd assembling in front of you.  You note that you recognize most of the costumes here, and you take your time to study those that you don't."

 

(to the rest of the group) Most of you saw the add in the paper a week-and-a-half ago; it was hard to miss, being two pages wide.  Those of you who didn't certainly saw the endless mention of it on the local news programs: all supers intending to attend the Seven Day celebration as regular guests are encouraged by both the Campaign City Police Department, the Campaign County Sheriff's department, and the Campaign Chamber of Commerce to attend a brief orientation being held Friday morning at 9:00 AM.  The Chamber of Commerce assure you that it won't take long, and it will be worth your while.

 

Those of you who have been to anything sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce are fairly certain that it _will_ take long, but you are all pretty new to this super-hero thing-- "Not ME!"   No, Magnus; not you.  That's why you are standing with the police.  Remember the things you decided about your character?  You've lived here nearly ten years, you have a reputation as being good person, through and through, you have a code of conduct that requires you to obey the legal system as best you can, and you have police powers both in the city and in the county.  Not that there's much difference anymore, as the city nearly fills this small county.  Now, as I was saying:

 

You are curious to know why superheroes are singled out for a pre-game ceremony, and you have all, for whatever reasons you may have, decided individually to attend. You are sitting on nearly antique bleachers in the gymnasium at Campaign High 202, watching other people filter in. Some are clearly police officers-- SWAT members specifically-- and others look like just people.  Apparently not everyone decided to show up in costume, or maybe some of the regular folks thought they were missing out on something special that was being reserved for super-heroes only.  There is a low roar as everyone seems to be talking to someone else, and a very impatient-looking police officer standing behind a podium, staring intently at each face in the crowd -- "I'm glad I came in costume!"  (Firefly's costume features a face-concealing helmet)  Right; there is no chance he can see your face with the visor down.  The police officer doesn't look happy to be here; perhaps it's because he's missing some of the set up at the park, or maybe he's in charge of traffic later that day.  Most of the financial district has to be blocked off, as do a great deal of the roads  leading to various apartment complexes.  At any rate, the crowd finally settles down, and he begins to speak--

 

T, in this case, since you haven't played before, I will deliver a speech as your character.  I am going to try to imitate what you said about your character, and you tell me if I mess up, okay?  This is because there are things you don't know yet that your character needs to know to give the speech, and to give you a chance to learn a little bit about what's going on, okay?  Great!  I'm serious, now: let me know if I mess up.

 

As you are all no doubt aware, at noon today, the Seven Day Memorial Festival will begin, celebrating the twenty-first (yeah; I pulled a number out of the air, because it's all new for these players, and I want it to be _in the past_, so it doesn't over-shadow their own adventures) anniversary (I also hastily jot that down, because for this group, I may have to remember that!  :lol: ) of the defeat of the villain who called himself Master Mind.  We celebrate this horrifying battle because of the brave men and women who put their lives on the line-- JUST LIKE THE UNIFORMED MEN YOU SEE BEFORE YOU DO _EVERYDAY_-- to save then men, women, and children of Campaign City.  Many of these unauthorized civilians put themselves in grave personal danger-- _JUST LIKE THE UNIFORMED MEN YOU SEE BEFORE YOU DO _EVERYDAY_-- and in the end, gave everything-- even their lives-- to save people they likely never knew, and likely would never even meet.  This is the sort of valor you can see _everyday_ from men who work selflessly, tirelessly, and passionately to ensure the safety of absolute strangers.  On that day, many of the _self-appointed champions_ of Campaign City found a strength of character not often seen _outside the police force_, or the _fire department_, or any of a dozen other services that work _everyday_ to do what those costumed---

 

Magnificent, at this point, you step forward, put your hand on Spock-like's shoulder, and whisper something to him-- "Yeah.  I'm gonna tell him he's being a jerk!"

 

No; you're not.  Remember your background: you are one of the most famous heroes in this part of the country.  You are well-liked, and highly-regarded.  You have worked with Spock-like for several years now, and even he has a grudging respect for you.  You have simply mentioned to him that he is alienating the people he is hoping to put to good use, and that you think your celebrity might have better results.  You are extremely respectful because you take your position as a role-model seriously, and because you know that your police powers can be revoked, and because, in a strange way, you and Spock-like are somehow almost friends.  Spock-like, you're not happy about this-- "Dang right I'm not!"--

 

Excellent!  That's the spirit!  (Spock-like and Red Cloak were the only two high-schoolers I had, if it matters, and Spock-like's player was "too cool for tights," which is how we ended up with a police liaison)   What do you do about it?

 

Well I guess I'm going to tell him--

 

Not to me.  To Magnificent (I point at the player).  Tell him.  (This was extremely awkward, as it was a first for the High School-aged player, and it goes against the grain for a high-schooler to even _talk_ to a twelve-year-old (this was my youngest player), let alone "play" with him or treat him as an equal.  I didn't judge; I just congratulated them for "getting into it." In the end, they had a quick and half-hearted "sort of" conversation, and I cheered like it was broadway)

 

Magnificent took the podium, and followed with "What my friend is trying to say is that these super heroes acted just like the police or the firemen, and they knew that they had to stop the bad guy no matter how dangerous it was, and that a lot of them got killed, and that the police were very proud that the superheroes were as police are!"

 

(the crowd cheers, and short burst of applause to this incredibly inspired speech! ;)  ).

 

And I think my friend wants to be proud of you guys, too, and wants you to be as brave as police---

 

No!  That's not what I want!  I want them to be _safe_!  I want them to not cause problems!  I want them to let the _police_ handle any problems--!

 

So anyway, because there's a lot of super heroes here, there will probably be some super bad guys, too

 

Yes!  That's why I want them to alert the police---

 

So you are all deputized!

 

 

(this was getting hilarious, so I let it ride)

 

You can't deputize!  You have police powers of arrest--!

 

I have deputy powers, too!  See? (holds up character sheet)  You are all deputized, and if you catch any bad guys, make sure to bring them to the police!  You can't just beat up people because they're the bad guys!  You have to catch them and take them to the police....  (and it went on some more, but got repetitive, so...)

 

Spock-like:  That's it!  I'm taking that microphone back!  (and does)

 

So anyway, my friend Spock-like will take all your prisoners, but he won't let you just beat them up, or you become bad guys, too.  You can hit them if they start it, but you can't just beat them up.  Remember that.    (moves back behind Mycroft)

 

Excellent! Mycroft, you're just in time to introduce Strike Two!

 

Who?

 

The super heroes standing behind Magnificent are all reformed super villains.  They met certain qualifications to get a special kind of parole if they work as super heroes while they are still prisoners.  (it's a sign of the times, I suppose, but even the twelve-year-old knew all about parole and probation  :(   ).  The governor likes to have them trotted out at big events to show off the success of a program he authored while he was in the state senate  (probation they knew; state senate threw even the high schoolers.  What's the world coming to?).

 

"So my character doesn't trust super powered people, _and_ he has to say good things about actual super villains?!"

 

Yep.  I'm afraid so.

 

Man, this sucks!

 

No; this _rocks!_

 

HOW?!

 

Because this is a role-playing game.  You have to actual pretend to be someone else.  You have to take a character _you_ created, and decide how he would handle a situation that he finds himself in.  You have to remember that your character is not just someone you get to control, but someone who has a job he mostly loves, and certainly wants to keep, and that he has bosses he has to make happy, but he still has to be true to himself.  How does he handle it?  Decide.  Try it.  See how it feels.  Think about it a minute if you want.

 

Can you do this part, too?

 

I can't.  I am not your character.  I am not you.  I don't know how you really believe your character would react.

 

He'd get mad!  He would tell them all that he wasn't going to do it!  He would refuse to do it!  He would tell everyone that these are super villains, and that they are proof that people with super powers can't be trusted!

 

Well think about that:  Your character _knows_ that he has been ordered to do it by his boss, and that this same boss has been ordered by the governor.  You might lose your job--

 

I'm not going to tell people how great a bunch of super villains are!

 

You _love_ your job: you _love_ protecting the city, and teaching super heroes how to work _within_ the law.  You used to hate Magnificent, but now you respect him, because he does things "the right way" since you've been working with him.

 

I'll get another job!

 

How soon?  How much money does your character have saved so that he can pay his bills until he gets another job?

 

Enough!

 

Okay.  How long do you think it will take you to get another job when each police department finds out you were fired for refusing to follow orders _and_ embarrassing _your_ boss?  What if your boss gets fired, too?!

 

Wait!  I've got it!

 

??

 

He begins to speak.  I wish I remembered it better, because it amused me, but something along the lines of "I want to bring out Strike Two now."

 

Magnificent, you stand aside and gesture grandly toward Strike Two, who file out around you and in front of the podium.  Mycroft, Strike Two lines up in front of the podium, facing the audience, as the audience cheers and applauds.  It dies down quickly, if only because the people-- and really even the team, are relatively unknown outside of a few other supers and the police force here in Campaign City.  Clearly you have a lot of tourists who have come in for Seven Day.

 

Great!  Just what I need!  They're shipping in dangerous weirdoes from outside!  Anyway, I start my speech:  I am sure most of you know about Strike Two.  These people are reformed criminals.  They had to go through all kinds of tests and challenges to get this small chance at freedom.  While they are serving their sentences, they have done a lot of good here in this city, and probably it was so they could go outside!  They are trying to _earn_ the trust of the people here, and it's hard work!  It's very hard work!  Not just out here being all super, but the weeks and weeks and weeks they spend locked up in prison are _tough_!  Time goes by real slow when you stuck in a cell, doesn't it, Strike Two?

 

The members of Strike Two are uncertain where this is going, but most of them nod a nervous agreement.

 

You see, people, you can still wear colorful tights and break the law.  And once you break the law, you are a _criminal_, and criminals go to _jail_, and they stay there for a really long time!  If you are lucky-- if you work really, really hard and you are very, _very_ lucky, then maybe you can get a spot on Strike Two in a few years, and they'll let you out a couple of times a year to get shot at by Doctor Whacko and his eye lasers of death before you get locked back up again.  Criminals can regain freedom, but it takes a lot of work and a lot of years and a lot of luck.  Criminals can regain trust, but it takes a lot of work and a lot of years and a lot of trust!  The best thing you can do is DONT BE A CRIMINAL!  DON'T TAKE THINGS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS!  If a problem comes up, let the REAL POLICE handle it!

 

Then I walk off.

 

Magnificent:  Dude!  That sucked!  You wrecked the whole party!

 

Are they quite and confused and sad?

 

(both players look to me)  Yes; everyone is a bit shocked and disappointed.

 

Good!  That's what I want!  I want you people to be quiet, respectful, and stay out of trouble!

 

But they're _deputies_!

 

Aw, CRAP!

 

 

 

We then went to reactions from the other players, who were confused and didn't like Spock-like and wanted to make sure they were actually deputized.  "just temporarily" Magnificent assures them.  "For Seven Day."

 

The mood is down, so I bring in a character who has proven to be popular with other players in the past.

 

The double doors at the far end of the auditorium open, and a massive frame enters, face darkened by the sun streaming in.  The figure turns and pushes the doors further until they lock open.  The silhouette is a hulking muscular form, standing easily seven feet tall, shoulders easily three feet wide or more.  Even Magnificent is dwarfed by the newcomer.  The silhouette steps back out the door, and returns, pulling a car by the rear bumper.  Once it's inside, the stranger closes the doors, hoists the car up onto a shoulder, then overhead, and walks across the auditorium.  The glare of the sun shut out, you can see curly silver and gray hair cascading to the shoulders, cut just short enough to to keep it from sweeping forward into the tan face, which seems to have an almost-permanent smile.  Black boots and gloves are a slight contrast to the one-piece charcoal-colored leotard, and on the unbelievably-broad chest is a large logo: a black outline of a chess piece--

 

"Rook!"  Screams Firefly's player.  (remember that part of the character generation party where I recommended sparring?  it's not just practice: it gives your players a chance to "meet" people from the universe before the game actually starts ;)  )  The other players look at her.

 

Magnificent, you and Spock-like both know Rook as well.  She was the only survivor of the original Seven.  She was originally with a government-sponsored anti-terrorist strike team codenamed The Chessmen, where she was given the call sign "White Rook."  After the disappearance of Martin Power, she was recruited to the Seven, where she used the name "Titania."  She was the only one of the Seven to survive the battle against Master Mind,  and only because she was being supported by Tree, who kept her alive even as he.... whatever it is that made him like he is now.  (the players are aware, from last week's discussion, of who Tree was and how he is now.  At least, some of them are).  After she recovered, she briefly went back to the Chessmen, but many of the Chessmen had also been lost in the battle, and the losses all around had been too much for her.  She left again.  She fashioned a new costume, something between the one she wore as Titania and as the White Rook, but in black to signify her mourning for all her fallen comrades.  She doesn't really "hero" much, but she does patrol regularly, deterring street crime, and quite frequently works with the police when they have a special need.  For the most part, --

 

Wait--- she's a woman?

 

Yes.

 

But she's seven feet tall and built like the Rock!

 

No; she's much larger than the Rock.

 

But she's a _girl_!

 

And she's an _extremely strong_ girl!

 

But why is so so buff?  Wonderwoman isn't all buffed up!  I watch Supergirl (God help you, Kid), and she's SCRAWNY!

 

Right.  I am not the player who first created Rook, but I _do_ agree with him.  Superman is super-strong, and he's all stacks and stacks of muscles, right?

 

Yeah.

 

The Hulk is super-strong and _he's_ all stacks and stacks of muscles, right?

 

Ho-Yeah!

 

So what's different about women?  Why are the super-strong women still supposed to look good in a bikini?

 

---------

 

Right.  It's _stupid_.  Now to be fair, I don't disallow you to have super-strong characters who aren't all slabs of muscle, if that's what you want, but I _do_ insist that at least think about just how "right" it is that as a whole we expect women to look great in swimwear no matter what else they might actually be able to _contribute_ to the world.  You don't have to do it now; you don't even have to tell me you did it, but I want you to think about how right it is to expect women to look or act a certain way because they are women.

 

(for the record: I am not a social activist of any kind: I really just happen to agree with my buddy Craig the idea that super-muscular woman aren't allowed to be-- well, super-muscular-- is incredibly stupid)

 

No.  I guess it _does_ make sense  (his tone says it does _not_ make sense).

 

Well, she's also sixty-eight years old, and you know what?

 

She's tough?

 

She looks like she's sixty-eight years old.  Now let's get back to the show.....  

 

 

Rook walks into the center of the auditorium, places the car on the ground in front of Strike Two, and announces in her characteristic gravelly but-not-baritone voice "I am _so_ sorry I am late, but things are getting _busy_ out there already!  Parking is _murder_!"  She turns to Mycroft and points at the car.  "Can I leave this here?"

 

Mycroft's player looks at me, questioningly.  

Rook is quite possibly the only super you trust more than Magnus.  You almost _wish_ you _did_ trust her completely.  You don't get along especially well, mostly because she's ... well, just like this.  You remember when she was different, when she was all-business, the way you are, but something in her changed after Seven Day.  It's like it's impossible for her take anything too seriously, other than her grand-daughter or the occasional wanna-be superheroes she takes under her wings now and again.  No; you can't say you have a special _like_ for her, but you understand her, and you respect her, and you've been through more than one of these "orient the supers" things, and you know it's all part of some goofy routine she likes to do.

 

Mycroft:  I nod; I wave a little (gives a "go ahead" with his hand) and nod.

 

Rook turns to the audience: For those of you who don't know me--

 

Firefly: "ROOOOook!"  I wave at her.

 

Oh, _Hi_, Sweetie!  How've you been?!

 

 

The talk briefly, but when Firefly starts wanting to tell the whole Crime Spree story-- "Goodness, Sweetie; you've been busy!  Look me up at the Festival; Magnificent and I have been drafted for security detail.  You can tell me all about it then.

 

Magnificent, proudly: we are _all_ drafted for security!

 

What?  Really?  Mycroft went for that?

 

_I_ deputized them!

 

_oh,_ Sweetie.....  Well all right, Rook announces, stepping up onto the car in front of her.  In that case, I've got a different speech.  She steps to the roof of the car, which crumples inward.  "It's okay; it's okay!  It isn't mine."  Some laughter from the audience.  "No, really.  Did anyone lose one of these?" she points at the car beneath her.  "Well, if you own one, and you parked by a fireplug, you might want to look for it here...."   More laughter, less, and much more nervous.  "So you've been deputized?  Okay, do you know what that means?

 

Magnificent:  You can't just beat people up for no reason!

 

That's right!  You have to have a very good reason to beat people up, and you're not allowed to enjoy it too much.  No, seriously:  that means that you use _restraint_.  You do not barge in because you're a hero.  You evaluate a situation, and you _report it to someone in authority_.  In fact, I think it would be better if you just remembered that you are not trained, and that should anything come up, the absolute _best_ thing for you to do is to aid in any evacuation or rendering any first aid, if you know how to do that.  Keep people safe, but don't make a problem worse by rushing in.  Call a cop; call me.  Be careful.

 

Okay, I know this is a formal thing and the Chamber of Commerce promised it would be short, so get your butts out of here.  Pay your respects.  I lost a lot of friends here, as did most of those men in blue you see with Magnificent over there.  There's a lot of fun to be had here, and a lot to see, but do _not_ forget that the reason we are alive to see it is because of all those people who are not.  Now go on-- see the sights!

 

With that, Rook steps off the car and moves over to the policemen.  Firefly, she beckons to you:  ""Sweetie!  Come over here!  I want you to meet a friend of mine!"

 

 

Okay, too late to keep going.  Short version, she introduces everyone (except Magnificent) to Mycroft, encourages them to keep in touch with him and work with him when possible, and in so doing a lot of ground is covered toward answering the players' questions about the history of Campaign City.

 

Damn.  I should have cut that shorter several pages ago.  :lol:

 

 

 

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Fast forwarding:

 

Seven Day provides an opportunity for them to learn a bit of the superhero history of the setting and to mingle with NPCs.  They elect to serve as impromptu security, and they seem to be having a great time.  This whole time, I am floundering for how to keep this exciting for them, because this isn't going to hold their interest.  They learn about the battle with Master Mind, leading to MM's death and the death of over half the then-active supers: heroes and villains both.  The players are fascinated with Tree.  This kind of took me by surprise: no one in my existing campaign took Tree as any more than a set piece in a number of years.

 

Short explanation:  Tree was a player character at one time, and had some unusual UBO Life Support builds in addition growth and stretching and a few other things.  MM's final assault was wave after wave of missiles launched from his flying assault ship.  Rook leaped onto one, attempted to rip it apart, only to discover that this last wave had poisonous gas warheads. Overwhelmed, she tried to scream a warning as she fell to the earth, was caught by Tree, who understood what had happened and extended tendrils into her mouth and nose and began using his L/S on her.  He pumped all his END into Growth, Stretching, and Life Support, using all of them far beyond his ability, running out of END and then burning STUN and even most of his BODY to push and push and push.   When he can go no more, he is literally a tree-- a gigantic tree a couple hundred feet high with limbs spreading out for nearly a mile in every direction, using his size to envelope as many of the missiles as he could and filtering as much of the atmosphere as he could.  The character continued growing, stretching, filtering-- to death.  No longer the sentient plant man he was, he is now and forever one of-- if not the-- largest trees in the world.  (several streets were re-routed owing to his location and girth)  Notably, the air is always fresher and cleaner in his shade, and the Seven Day Memorial festival is a big community picnic under his branches.

 

Personally, I think they like Tree because they're young: still at an acceptable age for climbing and playing in trees, and this is a gigantic one!  Now they don't have their characters running around and playing in Tree, but they ask lots and lots of questions, and the fliers all want to fly "around" him to see how big he is, etc....

 

Something goes "ding" in my mind!

 

All right, OP: here's something you might want to keep in mind.

 

Most of the GMs here-- myself included-- prefer to create our own adventures.  Not only is it something that we take so much pride in that she should be ashamed, but it lets us build _custom tailored_ adventures: adventures that suit our over-arching story plans, yet are crafted to provide moments that alternately spotlight and challenge the unique characters our players have created.  I know we all want to see published adventures, but honestly, with the open-endedness of HERO, it's damned near impossible to design an adventure for supers that can do both of those two things.  So, we build our adventures, taking huge pride in our drive and out ability, all the while downplaying the fact that we really don't have any other choice.  :/

 

I've stated elsewhere on this board that I would _love_ to have some prebuilt adventures, as the older I get, the less time I have to actually craft things.  Fortunately, I have for years enjoyed _reading_ adventures, even those that aren't specific to HERO or even work with any particular genre I intend to play.  I think the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books back in -- what?  The early 80s?   They were like solo adventure modules for non-gamers.  I read them with that sort of thing in mind: simple plot that players could complicate all by themselves.  Seriously:  keep your plots simple.  Complicated, intricate stuff?  You'll be playing for _years_ before you get to the end of that (don't cast any really old characters!  They won't be around to arrest!)

 

At any rate, the combination of my need to do _something_, particularly now that they are off the jag of big celebration, the history lesson, and the introduction to regular NPCs in this setting, and are starting to be finished even with Tree (the quote "I had fake sex on graph paper" comes to mind) and Tree himself brings something to mind:

 

Some time ago, one of my players had picked up one of the modern "light weight" RPGs and a couple of adventures.  I can't remember what it was called (great artwork and layouts, though, but a lousy system for doing more than hour-long one-shots), but one of the adventures-- one that I dismissed as ludicrous (but read anyway) as it revolved around "the tree of life."   I started reading it, but ultimately it was just to bizarre.  The second one featured an out-of-control duplicator, and actually could have been turned into a interesting plot for Champions with a few setting changes.

 

So what did I have?  The players were curious about Tree above all.  I need something simple, something that they can _do_ to get that "I'm a superhero!" pump before falling to boredom.  On the plus side, this should be the last "off the cuff" thing I have to do.  Everyone should be here next session, and we can get on with the game I had planned in the first place!  Also, OP:  I can't recommend enough reading short adventures.  Even if you never use them, they are _ideas_, and ideas are tools that can be used when you need them.  For example, this very "campaign" so far:

 

Rather than delay the game, we used a short and well-used scenario of my own devising to keep a session going.  Then we used a short 'intro' scenario ("Crime Spree") I found in a gaming magazine _way_ back when (slightly tweaked to make it appeal to kids playing supers).  Today, because yet again the planned adventure isn't going to happen, we are using an adventure that I don't remember the title of (nor the game for which it was written), because it's short, and because it has some slight surface resemblance to the setting we are in right now.

 

We're in action!

 

I ask for "skill checks" against Perception.  

 

 

Which everyone failed.   :lol:

 

Well what to do?

 

As Chris Goodwin has stated, "clues want to be found," so without hesitation, I make plans to have them slapped with the clue:  time for a little callback..

 

(to Kinetica, the speedster) BOOOM!  A thud shakes the ground behind you!  Startled, you whirl around and see wall of charcoal-clad muscle standing just a couple of feet in front you.  Her right arm is raised to balance a load on her broad shoulder, where she is carrying a demon made of bony spikes and plates of ridged armor-- "Boneyard!  I didn't know he was coming!"

 

Rook, rolling Boneyard off her shoulder: "Does this belong to you, Sweetie?  He says he knows you..."

"Hi, Boneyard!  I'm glad you came!  I bet this feels a lot different now that you're a superhero, doesn't it?!"

 

"Kinetica!  They're everywhere!  I need your help!  And Red Cloak and Magnificent and--"

Slow down!  What are you talking about?

"Yeah, Sweetie; take a breath..."

Get everyone, Kinetica!  I can't stop them all!

 

Kinetica takes the hint and zoom-zooms around, gathering all the PCs.

 

Short version (if you haven't read the little adventure I'm pulling from):

 

silver spidery robots are flooding the park, pouring in from several directions.  There are hundreds-- possibly a thousand!-- of these cat-sized robots, marching into the park, all head for Tree.  Several of the first ones have made it and begun to climb or drill in turn.

 

Summing it up, everyone got to use their "deputizing" powers and organize the NPC heroes into teams under the direction of Spock-like as well get in some "guilt-free smashing," since they were obviously robots.

 

Totally stoked, Magnificent (his alter ego is a technology wizard) declared he would take three or four of the better specimens "for study" to see who might be behind them.  Other players follow suit, offering what help they can in researching the robots, while Spock-like both grudgingly thanks them for controlling things, agrees that his old friend magnificent had made a good call in deputizing the other heroes, and makes a few calls to various agencies to arrange clean-up then sets about claiming particular specimens for the police to study.

 

 

ends on a high note with players still stoked about the game, so I have high hopes for next week and _finally_ getting the adventure off the ground!

 

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"Lightly?!"   

 

:rofl:  :rofl:

 

 

Well this started as a serious reply to "what does a Champions Campaign look like," and as I not-too-terribly-long-ago concluded a campaign-- and for beginners, no less!-- I thought it might be well-suited as a sort of "it looks kind of like this" reply.   

 

Granted, I could be completely wrong, as it was geared for kids aged 12 to ... 15?   16?  I can't remember how old the oldest was; it was one or the other of those, though.  Most were 13 and 14.  Anyway, kids or not, trust me when I tell you I have found the attendance problem is actually _worse_ with adult players.  :(

 

 

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