Who would make a good team mentor?

[novi]

I've started up a pbp game over on rpol, and worked out with the players that the reason that the team formed is that an older, somewhat retired hero is sponsoring and mentoring them as a team to fight crime in [tbd campaign city].  At one point, I had memorized enough setting books to pick one myself, but it's been a while.  Are there any existing characters that, given the passage of time, would work well in that role?  I could just make my own, but why reinvent the wheel?

 

And by passage of time, I mean that some characters have fixed dates on their timeline and have actually gotten older.  For instance, Defender founded the Champions back in 2001.  But not every character; is it really Champions without Foxbat and the Ultimates?  And who cares how old Grond, Ogre, and Pulsar are?  I'll probably start a different thread to ask for suggestions on that once I have a campaign city.

 

A wheelchair-bound Night-duck has occured to me, but he's just not a character I'd enjoy playing.

[Tjack]

  The original version of Seeker might make a good choice for that role.  He was always very well connected and had a good temperament what with that whole seeking seeking the ultimate question/ the “glow” thing. 
 Put Mel Gibson in a wheelchair for a character reference your players can latch onto immediately and you’re good to go.

[Gnome BODY (important!)]

Why not Foxbat? 

[Greywind]

40 minutes ago, Tjack said:

  The original version of Seeker might make a good choice for that role.  He was always very well connected and had a good temperament what with that whole seeking seeking the ultimate question/ the “glow” thing. 
 Put Mel Gibson in a wheelchair for a character reference your players can latch onto immediately and you’re good to go.

 

Mad Max in a wheelchair? Does the motor come with a blower?

[Lord Liaden]

Hmm... I would suggest the martial-arts crime fighter Nightwind, last written up in the Millennium City source book. Steve Chase is one of the world's premier martial artists, having trained at the legendary Yengtao Temple; but his official background history says he watched David Carradine's Kung Fu television series when he was a kid, so realistically he has to be in his fifties by now. He fled the destruction of Yengtao in 1996, with his mentor from the temple, Zhu Hsaio; and they opened a kwoon (martial arts school) in Millennium City in 1998. Nightwind was a reserve member of the Champions, but mostly adventured alone. Zhu Hsaio may have died by this time, prompting Chase to seek such a role for himself, and maybe find companionship. The kwoon that he owns and runs can make an informal team headquarters. His nemesis, Jade Phoenix, could have taken a parallel course as he himself has grown older, recruiting a criminal gang.

[DusterBoy]

6 hours ago, Greywind said:

 

Mad Max in a wheelchair? Does the motor come with a blower?

 

No, but it does come with a flamethrower and a sawed-off double barreled shotgun

[Ninja-Bear]

I’ve used Seeker as the Martial Artist mentor. I’ve used Defender as the overall retired crime fighter, bag o’ money mentor. No reason why Defender can’t be a legacy hero. James Harmon is the mentor and a young buck takes the reins.

[dbcowboy]

Dr. A. Zerstoiten (though they should only know him as Dr Z for a while)

 

What?  He's a hero.  Just ask him.

 

[Tjack]

18 hours ago, Gnome BODY (important!) said:

Why not Foxbat? 

    ‘Cause he’s Foxbat crap crazy?

[Tjack]

12 hours ago, DusterBoy said:

 

No, but it does come with a flamethrower and a sawed-off double barreled shotgun

     I always connect that Australian martial artist thing with Gibson in the first Lethal Weapon.

[Sketchpad]

If you have access to the old VOICE of Doom supplement, Black Phantom would make an awesome mentor. 

[DusterBoy]

On 5/11/2020 at 2:16 AM, Tjack said:

     I always connect that Australian martial artist thing with Gibson in the first Lethal Weapon.

 

The fight between Riggs and Joshua at the end of Lethal Weapon is one of the best fight scenes in movies.

[segerge]

In the TASK FORCE universe, I've connected Starforce and Ladyhawk's youngest child Jillian (a superherhoic computer hacker) with the supervillain Utility (disabled by the Qularr invasion in 2009 in-universe).

 

Also, the former in-universe supervillain Biomaster is the sponsor for the 2010's era DFW superhero team "Texas Guard:."  Mostly because he is the in-universe doctor on record for the birth of Starforce and Ladyhawk's children....

[phydaux]

From the Champions I-II-III days, an old and retired Crusader.  You could even use a retired Marksman as a foil for Crusader, undermining his authority with the PCs behind his back, and placing doubt and mistrust in the PCs minds.

 

After all, when Dark Champions first came out Crusader moved to Hudson City and became the street-level vigilante Dark Crusader.  So maybe Crusader has an ulterior motive in gathering and training a crew of young super heroes.  Who knows?  But that definitely sounds like something the PCs should investigate...

 

On a related note, I had a PC based on Silk Specter II.  In her backstory, her mother was a retired hero who was the team mate and occasional lover of both Crusader and Marksman.  The mother had the character trained from a young age by her retired ex-hero ex-boyfriends.

[Mr. R]

I'd go with Defender.  Money, tech, connections and he can be the guy who stays at the HQ analyzing everything and finding answers.  Add Witchcraft as his wife and a "Mystic" consultant.  There you go!

[novi]

Black Phantom would be cool, but I'm going to say that he's too old, and likely dead without shenanigans.  Which, admittedly, comics, but that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

 

Likewise, Defender would also work, but he would be setting us up as a junior Champions franchise.  My group eventually choose not to go that route - they're going to be their own team, without a famous name to use and live up to.

 

I haven't looked at Nightwind or Seeker in a while, but they hold promise.

 

As a bit of an update, our choice of city has come down to Boston, Chicago, or San Francisco.  Is there any more information on the New Paladins, the California Patrol, the Peacekeepers, the Bay Guardians, or the Freedom Patrol beyond what I can find in Champions Universe?  There might be something there I can use.

 

And as always, thanks for any replies.

[Duke Bushido]

On May 10, 2020 at 2:28 AM, Gnome BODY (important!) said:

Why not Foxbat? 

 

 

That's twice in a row I've been in total agreement with you.

 

One of us is off our game!  

 

 

Seriously, though:  I pictured Foxbat as having some long-term plan-- some reason to guide these new heroes and help them master their powers and their teamwork tactics--- maybe to defeat someone who is actively pursuing Foxie's death or is perhaps a serious impediment to a real plan Foxbat has in motion---

 

An entire campaign devoted to building this team from scratch (in an alter-ego of some sort, maybe; maybe not), culminating in the heroes defeating FB's long-time foe, at which point Foxbat drops the act, thanks them for their help, returns to whatever it was he had on hold while he was training this team, and is _genuinely surprised_ a couple months later when they nab him before completing some all-important next step in his master plan......

 

 

[Lord Liaden]

7 hours ago, novi said:

As a bit of an update, our choice of city has come down to Boston, Chicago, or San Francisco.  Is there any more information on the New Paladins, the California Patrol, the Peacekeepers, the Bay Guardians, or the Freedom Patrol beyond what I can find in Champions Universe?  There might be something there I can use.

 

And as always, thanks for any replies.

 

Now that you bring up San Francisco, Champions Universe pp. 15 and 76 mention a solo crime fighter code-named Brainwave, active during the 1980s in that city but since retired. No other details of powers, history or personality are given, which can work to your advantage in developing him as you like; although with a name like that, I get a strong potential Professor X vibe from him.

 

Although never a team member himself, Brainwave may see a need for a new generation of heroes in the Bay Area. The Bay Guardians are heavily focused on mystical threats, while the Freedom Patrol has almost certainly disbanded by now. And unlike the former Patrol members, Brainwave would have no vested interest in perpetuating their name and legacy.

[Ninja-Bear]

I’ll also go with Phydaux and recommend Crusader. Or how about Starburst?

[Ninja-Bear]

Novi, how about a heroic version of Mechanon? It could be a rebuilt body that realized it’s original programming.

[Lord Liaden]

Pursuing my earlier suggestion of Brainwave, if this was to be a character in my game for the purposes Novi specified, I would adapt some premises from DC's Doom Patrol, and make him a bit of a blend of Niles Caulder/The Chief, and Steve Dayton/Mento. In my concept, Brainwave was a brilliant young scientist with latent psychic potential, which he amplified to super-level with a helmet he invented. Brainwave joined the heroes in the Battle of Detroit in 1992 against Dr. Destroyer's forces, and although he survived was crippled in the fight. He retired to concentrate on building his own successful electronic engineering company.

 

That would give you a veteran hero with financial resources and scientific expertise as support for your PC team, who could monitor and guide them mentally, but can't join them in the field.

[Matt the Bruins]

I'd go with Dr. Silverback. Who could be a better mentor than a super-genius gorilla inventor who speaks with a British accent and is the toast of the talk show circuit?

[Lord Liaden]

4 hours ago, Matt the Bruins said:

I'd go with Dr. Silverback. Who could be a better mentor than a super-genius gorilla inventor who speaks with a British accent and is the toast of the talk show circuit?

 

Generally speaking I agree with you, he's an incredibly useful and fun NPC. And officially, he's rich from patents. The only potential complication, if novi is using the default CU, is that Silverback is already associated with the Champions, and novi sounds like his group wants more independence.

[novi]

What Lord Liaden said.  A brand new team with its own PR.

 

Anyway, Mel Gibson in a wheelchair versus Timothy Dalton in a wheelchair.  Oh, the choices...  And the ham.

[Lord Liaden]

Unless I'm overlooking something, Dalton's public image is less compromised.