S7Michelle

I currently running a game based on the Marvel Runaways series. For those not familiar with the series, the basic premise is that a group of teenagers discover that their parents are supervillains and shortly thereafter discover that they have powers of their own. Since it was a teen game, I initially gave the characters 250 points (150 + 100 points in flaws) and stated that no power could be over 50 active points. This seemed fair to me. The game has run for quite a while now and the players have received somewhere between 75-100 exp. (I’ve been giving out larger than usual exp rewards.) In the game, the group decided that instead of confronting their parents immediately they would run away to another city. While there, they met, became friends, and started romances with a group of super powered NPC teenagers—the Morlocks. The group has been away from home for about a month and quite a few sessions now. Oddly enough for a superhero-esque game during all of those sessions the has been no combat. I had decided early on to attempt to focus on creating a well designed world, with a few interesting plot hooks and then standing back and letting the players decided what they wanted to do. And none of them showed much interest in using their newly found powers to stop crime, to commit crime, or really to do anything much other than hang out. After a short fast forward and the translation of a book they found in one of their parents homes, they discovered that their parents actions would bring about the end of the world in about two more years. So they decided to head home and stop their folks. The Morlocks, of course, went along with them. They started out by raiding two of their parents houses and obtained a time machine (one of the sets of parents are time travelers) and a few more magic books (one set of parents are mages). Though in the process alerted their parents to the fact that they are back in town. Which brings us to the current fight and the current rather substantial problem. The group is currently trying to get the soul crystal from the next parents house. However the parents were expecting them and slightly more than half of the parents were there. This was meant to be a challenging, dramatic, and fun fight scene. Instead, I rapidly discovered that the PCs are standing no chance at all against their folks. In the first turn, one went down after a single reduced powered hit. And a second mentioned she’d have gone down equally fast if she’d taken that hit. Obviously I need to reduce the powers of the parents in order to make things a bit more balanced. After all, I really don’t want to have the Morlocks (NPCs) end up saving the day. However I’m not sure where to set the power levels. The parents should be a bit stronger than their kids. I want my players to have to think a bit. BUT, I want them to stand a chance. I’d given each of the parents something along the lines of a 60 point multi-power. (A bit higher than the 50 points I’d limited the teens to, but I didn’t think 2d6 would make a huge difference). The parents have OCVs and DCVs that are equivalent to the groups: 5-7 for the most part. And I had started out by giving the parents on average PDs and EDs of around 12. I really did think I was being fair. I think the main problem is that the PCs power levels are very spread out and almost none of them have any type of armor. PCs are as follows: Jamison: Air Powers. OCV 7, DCV 6; 2 PD, 2 ED. Most common attack does 3d6 and double knockback. He does have missile deflection. He has not spent any of his experience points. And took almost no flaws to start. Is basically playing a 190 point character. Rigel: Magic Powers/gadgets. OCV 7, DCV 9; 2 PD, 4 Ed. Has a couple of VPP pools. Took full flaws and has spent her exp. Mostly spent exp on getting more VPPs. Most flexible power set and most intelligent character and player. But doesn’t see herself using direct attacks. Mostly would use a 2d6 transformation attack (anything to anything). Marie: Mini-brick with flight and mimic powers. OCV 4, DCV 4, 23 PD, 8 ED (part of that resistant). STR 40. Took almost no disadvantages and started out as a 170 point character. Has spent no exp and almost never shows up to the game. Selica: Group brick and most powerful member by far. OCV 9, DCV 7, PD 23, ED 16 (part of that resistant.) STR 50 with a multi-power of STR power advantages. Has spent no exp but started out with the full 250 points. Currently Selica and Jamison are in the middle of the fight along with the Morlocks. Rigel separated from the group and is planning to try to sneak into the house during the confusion. Marie is there but the player isn’t. Jamison is the one that went down with one punch. And to be honest I’m not sure what I should do now. Do I let the parents win and capture the group? The parents have no intention of killing their children though they are planning to use mental powers to modify there memories. Do I lower all the parents powers and if so by approximately how much? Do I let the Morlocks end up saving the group? (I’d rather not have the NPCs as the heroes). Any suggestions would be extremely helpful.

Re: "Essential" Graphic Novels / Trade Paperbacks Ironically enough, my feelings about comics are a lot like yours. In fact, I only started reading them about 6 months or so ago. I started really enjoying our super villain champion game and picked up a few graphic novels to get quotes from, and well its snowballed from there. I’m definitely going to be writing down the various titles suggested here. So, my knowledge is based on a good background of superhero movies and cartoons and a couple hundred dollars worth of graphic novels picked up at random or on the recommendation of comic book retailers. A lot of the What If comic books are fun to read. While they aren’t out in graphic novel form, each of them stands on its own. Some of them didn’t make any sense to me because I was unfamiliar with the event they changed. But if you pick the titles carefully, its easy to find ones that are based on events you will remember from cartoons/movies etc. AVOID the ones that are titled What If and then just a name, rather than a title with an event in it like “What if Storm had remained a thief.†The What Ifs with just a name came later in the series and instead of being about what if an event when differently are about putting the character in a much darker world. They are depressing, and mostly equate to killing off characters in new and supposedly interesting ways. (Mind you there may be exceptions, but I think I enjoyed maybe one of the What If names of the ones I tried.) The DC universe also has an alternate universe series called Elseworlds. But, due to the fact that comic book store owners seem to steer me away from those, I’m assuming they aren’t as easy for a neophyte to understand or enjoy. However, I did pick up “Superman, Red Sonâ€. Its premise is a what if Superman had landed in Communist Russia rather than the US. It is good and definitely is understandable even if you just have a very basic knowledge of Superman’s history. The Exiles series is another alternate universe series and somewhat resembles Sliders or Quantum Leap. It stands on its own and I’ve enjoyed it enough that I’ve picked up every single graphic novel so far. I’d also suggest at least looking into the Ultimate universe series. They are more iron age than the original stories and they do make changes to the way you picture some of the characters. But, a lot of the books are fun to read. And more importantly, it is a chance to start in an all new continuity where you don’t need to know decades worth of back story to understand what is going on. I’m not sure that its definitive, but X-Men Children of the Atom was a neat look at how the X-men were initially formed. Personally, I didn’t much care for Scab and I’ve enjoyed others more, but I don’t feel like I wasted my money buying it either. Runaways is a new relatively new Marvel series and looks to be a neat concept. Its about a group of kids who find out their parents are super-villains and run away from home and try to stop them. I’m planning on continuing to buy it. Another new series that seems to be fun and that you don’t need a background in comics to understand is “Common Grounds.†Each of the books contains one or two short stories about the more personal aspects of being a hero. For instance the first one contains an interview with a speedster about what his life is really like and an amusing conversation in the men’s room between a hero and a villain. And you can read them in any order you want since each story is complete in and of itself. On the other hand, I’d suggest being cautious about picking up graphic novels from the “Extreme X-Men†or “Uncanny X-men.†They seems to be the current X-men series and while they may well be good, they lost me very quickly. Apparently over the years a lot of new characters, that never were on TV or in the movies were introduced AND a lot of other characters changed in ways that I’m not sure I like. Rogue and Gambit apparently don’t have powers any more. Storm is crippled. Etc. I’ve also had very bad luck with DC novels in general, at least thus far. The Justice League series may well be good. I’ve noticed a few people have recommended them. But they are HARD to get into and I honestly wish I’d not bought them. They seem to contain a lot of characters I don’t recognize and I think you need to have a good background in the DC world to really understand what is going on. If you do get them, make sure not to get them out of order. That may be one of the reasons I disliked them so much. I wasn’t able to get number 1 and just started with one at random. On the be careful side, be wary of Batman graphic novels. It seems as if the Batman of the comic book world is quite a bit different from the batman of the cartoon and movie world. So far I’ve had very bad luck in finding Batman comics that I enjoy. And especially watch out for the “Arkem Asylum†one. I wasn’t even able to finish it. The art and text formatting gave me a pounding headache before I was half way through it. And while its not a Superhero comic, if you like Fairy Tales at all, take a look at the Fables graphic novel series. I’ve enjoyed the first three and am planning to pick up more later. On a more general note, I’ve discovered that most comic book store owners are more than happy to make suggestions and will try to steer you to stuff you will enjoy. After all, if you like the stuff you buy, you’re likely to come back. Also, as one of them told me and it is true, pick up the stuff that “caters to the masses†and that the hard core critics don’t like. If it “caters to the masses,†you probably won’t need a decade worth of experience to understand what is going on.

Re: [Challenge] The Ultimate Champions Universe The was an Ultimate Champions thread a while back, but unfortunately it went down in flames. Hopefully this one will work a bit better. Since none of the names under the Ultimate Champions (Amalgam) are familiar with me, I'll just stick with the core Champions. As in the regular Champions Universe, the formation of the Champions would still be inspired by the battle of Detroit. Though in this universe, rather than Defender deciding to create the team, the team is created by a government agency devoted to dealing with Metahuman Issues (probably Primus though it could be another agency). Ultimate Defender would probably be the teams poster boy and example of the perfect hero. I can almost see him as a former military officer as well. I'd be very tempted to make him with a Public ID, the agency would want to take advantage of his charm and his connections with society to give the group legitimacy. However, the conflict with his family has a lot of potential as well. Not sure the best way to handle it. I'd definitely have him keep his code against killing and be very much the True Hero. He is attracted to Witchcraft but is being pushed to develop a relationship with Sapphire. (See Sapphire for details). His primary flaw would be an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and having to deal with tons of pressure from both his superhero life and his private left. Ultimate Nighthawk is the team rebel and in many ways Ultimate Defenders opposite. The rivalry between the two of them will play a major part in the series. I would start by just barely tweaking Ultimate Nighthawk's background, in this universe, not only would Nighthawk be injured in the Viper attack but someone he cared greatly about (friend, girlfriend, mentor) would be killed. Even in the regular universe he is known as a vigilante and doesn't have a code against killing. In the Ultimate universe, he is even more ruthless and frequently makes use of lethal attacks (especially against Viper agents). This is a major source of conflict between him and Defender and has at times badly hurt the reputation of the group. Defender is strongly attracted to Sapphire and is jealous of all the time that she spends with Nighthawk. Oh and of course, he has a very different costume, perhaps something in shaped Kevlar without the bird head or cape. His primary flaws are vengefulness and a strong tendency to focus on dealing with the bad guy rather than protecting the innocent. Ultimate Ironclad wouldn't appear until a little bit later in the series, the dramatic introduction of an alien race to a world that isn't aware of the existence of aliens is too good a storyline to pass up. His entrance be very dramatic and done in a way that the government couldn't cover up. Due to the fact that he is an alien, and can't pass as human, Ironclad had few options but to agree to work for the government. Outside the Champions, he is the victim of subtle and not so subtle discrimination. He's far too different for average people to be comfortable around. There would definitely be an arc where he has to deal with the Malvans showing up searching for the "fugitive and thief." His primary flaw is being too different for people to be comfortable around. He may well also have some disturbing cultural beliefs. Ultimate Sapphire is currently the team's poster girl and is frequently thrown into social settings and photo ops with Defender. The teams agents and handlers are pushing for a romance between the two of them, since it would provide tons of good publicity. For added interest, she isn't actually attracted to Defender, but does enjoy the publicity she gets when they are photographed together. She might be attracted to Nighthawk or even Ironclad, or maybe she is just the type that doesn't want to settle down with a single person at all. A popular singer, she joined the Champions to boost her career and has a tendency to be the teams glory hound. She often endangers herself and teammates by pulling stunts just because they will look good on camera. If we follow the true Ultimate Universe, anti-mutant prejudice is rampant. Sapphire has been hiding the fact that she is a mutant and claiming she got her powers from an accident. However, she is frequently torn about whether or not to take the risk and come out. She dreads the thought of losing her popularity and worse possibly being hated. But, she also realizes that she's in a position where she could makes a significant difference. Her primary flaw is being a showoff. Ultimate Witchcraft is still dealing with issues from her very dark and abusive childhood. Growing up she saw things that no child should have to see and experienced darkness that no child should have to experience and it has left its mark on her. Her childhood left her with a darker side that she fears and tries to suppress, but that comes out under certain circumstances. At those times, her magic gets a good bit darker and she tends to use a nasty killing attack. She can't use the killing attack at all unless she releases her darker impulses. In truth, Witchcraft doesn't have a split personality or a demonic side or anything else that she fears. Rather, she is bottling up her very natural anger and the darker emotions that we all deal with and sometimes they manage to get out. Witchcraft is attracted to Defender, but fears that if he knew about her darker impulses he would be ashamed of her and reject her. Thus, she is unwilling to tell him how she feels. Witchcraft is very active in an organization geared to protect children from abuse and speaks out about those types of issues regularly. Her sister Talisman is a straight out sociopath who has since killed their parents and is torn between killing and corrupting Witchcraft. Witchcraft's primary weakness is her inability to deal with the darker parts of her nature. (This probably isn't necessary, but since Witchcraft being abused set off the last flame war, I'm going to try to lay down some preemptive water. According to the Champions Universe, Witchcraft was raised by evil witches and with the goal of turning her and her sister to evil. Additionally, her sister is described as cruel and spiteful. Frankly, that type of background implies at least some abuse to me. It might not have been physical abuse, or molestation, or anything quite that dark. But bad things did happen behind that normal suburban fascade. And in the Ultimate Universe, that would be dealt with. Hopefully subtly and with sensitivity.)

Re: WWYCD #123? (No one is acting their 'age') It takes Sailor Io a bit of time to realize that she is has been transported to a Silver Age world since the iron age aspects of her world tend to be subtle. Her suspicions would grow gradually. First she’d begin to notice little things. Everyone is just a bit too nice. Bladestar is more relaxed (since he no longer has a dark side to worry about). Usagi is no longer planning to drop out of school and marry Darien, is getting along with her parents, and is thinking before she speaks. As time passes, other more dramatic clues appear. The monsters the Senshi are facing just drain energy from people and turn into cards once they are defeated. And the other Senshi at her with confusion when she attempts to reason with the Youma instead of just attacking them. She discovers to her concern that Vash’s grave is no longer there. Things come to a head when, Sailor Io runs into Puck. Not only is he alive, none of the other Senshi understand why she’s reacting the way that she is. Worried, Hotaru tries to heal her, Mitzy makes her go to bed, and Zane feeds her chicken noodle soup. While part of Sailor Io would be tempted to stay in this world, where everything is so straight forward and everyone seems happy, she’d began searching for a way to fix it or return home. After all, while this is a nice illusion, it’s not real. And she would feel vaguely dissatisfied and worried about the fact that everything is too easy. She’d be fairly certain that this was some sort of distraction meant to keep her attention away from what was really going on. Cannis awakens to find herself in a much more revealing costume and holding a whip instead of her staff. All of her packmates look similar but just a bit crueler and there are several dead bodies laying around. A bit nervous, she’d remain quiet about the change, claiming partial amnesia if need be, and just watch to see what is going on. Over the next few days, she’d realize that while they are darker, her packmates are still the people she calls friend. The extra level of brutality would bother her a bit, though she’d remain quiet about it. On the other hand, she’d find herself enjoying the fact that in this world she and Adam’s relationship is a good bit more physical but feel a bit embarrassed about the fact that she also enjoys the traces of dominance involved. (No matter what universe, Cannis is very attracted to power.) She would still try to find a way to get things back to normal or to get back to her own world. I have a feeling that if she stayed in the iron age world long enough, she’d end up picking up her packmates values and turning into a more true villain herself.

Re: WWYCD #125: The Turn-Coat For Sailor Io, remove the deal with the feds part and instead assume that one of their enemies has surrendered to the Senshi, perhaps offering to provide information in exchange for protection. The Senshi are already sort of dealing with this situation, in that Vash’s followers are now all living on an island outside the city, and one of his dying requests was that the Senshi look after them. Sailor Io has every intention of keeping that promise, but we haven’t seen yet in game how it is all going to work out. But, lets assume that one of their other Supernatural enemies became a “turncoat.†The first thing the Senshi would do is insist that their new ward give an oath that she would not harm any of the Senshi or any humans except in self defense. Even with that oath given, the Senshi are going to be a bit wary. They won’t be revealing their secret ids any time soon. 1. The “turncoat†would probably be a Mah-ki, since that is the group we’ve primarily dealt with. I’d say, seventy-five percent chance she is sincere, twenty percent chance it is a scheme. 2. Protecting our ward is going to be somewhat challenging since we don’t have a base and since we are going to be protecting our Secret Ids. If the ward doesn’t have a safe place to stay, will either see if he or she can stay on the island with Vash’s followers, or if not, try to pay first months rent on an apartment. That will leave Io allowanceless for a while. Hopefully the ward will be able to afford her own place without relying on the Senshi for financial support. Next, Io will create a limited communicator for the ward. The communicator will be set up to allow the ward to reach the Senshi in the event of an emergency but won’t let her listen in on the conversations the Senshi don’t want her hearing. Depending on circumstances, Io may also try provide her with a portable force field, though it will have a backdoor built into it so that Io can disable it if needed.. Additionally, for the first few days at least, a rotating shift of Senshi will remain close to the Mah-ki, just in case the other Mah-ki show up looking for revenge. 3. Sailor Io will first get all of the facts and then try to get them to talk things out and negotiate some sort of fair and non-lethal settlement. If that fails, she will try to find some way to bring them before a trial of their peers. She will act as defense council if needed and provided that the judgment is at least reasonably fair, will stand by it. Cannis (Criminal Team) 1. The most likely of the City’s Champions to turn renegade and join our side are Wheeler or McCray. And while, I can see them agreeing to collaborate with us for a common purpose, if they actually turned bad, it would be a scheme. 2. Wheeler has a fairly good relationship with Cannis and has flirted with Kono. McCray appears to be taken with Southern Belle. The most probably reason they would give for wishing to join us would be love. Other options would be some sort of dramatic fight with their teammates over something or just “allowing us to convince them that we are right.†3. Our group will be somewhat suspicious of him initially and won’t be willing to reveal our secret identities or take him back to our base. However, Adam probably has a safe house where he can stay. And most likely, Cannis and her packmates will be assigned to keep a close eye on him. Cannis’ personal feelings are going to depend a lot on the attitude the “turncoat†shows about his former teammates. If, he states something like, “I’ll work with you and stand beside you against the police and other groups. But I won’t betray my former team and I won’t fight against them,†Cannis will be pleased and have a lot of respect for him. If on the other hand, he is willing to completely turn on his friends, Cannis will still be polite, but her opinion of him will drop dramatically. And yes, we probably would help protect them against the law. After all, if we could bring him to a point where we could totally trust him, he would make a great addition to the team. And even if not, having an extra villain around certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Re: WWYCD? #126: For Whom the Bell Tolls Sailor Io, “If at all possible, I think my parents would like to have the chance to bury my body with the usual ceremony.†Her gaze goes to Sailor Saturn, “But, if circumstances make that impossible, you know what to do. Either way, let my family know what happened, don’t leave them to wonder. At least they know the truth now, we won’t have to hide it from them.†Preferred funeral: A small traditional Japanese ceremony with all of her family and friends there. And perhaps later, a second smaller ceremony at her grave with those friends who for whatever reasons weren’t able to attend in secret id (the animal companions, Sphinx, possibly some of the friendly mystical allies who just aren’t comfortable around humans). Likely “funeralâ€: Sailor Saturn says a few solemn words over the fallen Sailor Io’s body ending with the statement that she is certain that Sailor Io will be reborn into a better life. The other Senshi weep around her. Magnus has to restrain a devastated Bladestar as Saturn releases a blast of energy, destroying Io’s body. Bladestar, and the others, seek a painful retribution against whoever killed Io. An empty coffin is buried in the family plot after a traditional Japanese ceremony. And there is a better than average chance that some of the other’s Senshi’s families will be burying them too. Also, with his beloved Io dead (and not around to help him restrain it), Bladestar's dark side is likely to come into dominance. I'm not quite sure what that will mean for the world, but doubt its going to be a good thing. Cannis, “I never really thought about it. Something nice, with plenty of music and flowers. I'd like for my pets to be there if that could be arranged.†Preferred funeral: A non-religious ceremony for her secret id with all of her packmates (both human and animal) there. Her family has already passed away and she doesn’t have a lot of friends outside her pack, so it probably will be a fairly small. She’d enjoy something somewhat lavish with lots of music and flowers and a nice coffin. Likely funeral: Very similar to the one she would prefer. Considering Adam is both a multibillionaire and very fond of her, lavish may be an understatement. Later at her grave site, she will be told that the person who killed her is dead, and that his body will never be found. ( This was depressing. Especially the Sailor Io one.)

Re: Wedding Bells Are Ringing! Sailor Io politely thanks Warp or Flippant for being so kind as to bring her back to the Champion Universe dimension for the wedding and then heads to the nearby mall to check the gift registry. Once there, she discovers to her dismay that someone has already bought everything on the registry. She quickly changes her plans and heads several other stores. After a few busy nights, Sailor Io is pleased to be able to present the happy couple with a lovely, hand made, music box topped by a red rose that moves from bud to fully open and back again in time with the music. Cannis wouldn’t be invited, and wouldn’t show up at a wedding full of heroes. The mind control would have to overcome her mental defenses and a fairly high level of resistance. After all, she knows its stupid to try to steal wedding presents or for that matter attack a wedding when there are dozens of heroes there fully prepared to stop her. And, she has nothing against the bride or the groom.

Re: Super Villainy on a Budget? The primary goal of a non-powered villain living in a city with Superheroes is to avoid attracting their attention while he is committing his crimes. In other words, DON’T grandstand or be flashy. Superheroes can’t be everywhere at once after all. This works especially well for thieves, serial killers, or regular murderers, etc. Force the Superheroes to use their detective skills to determine who was guilty of the crime rather than just listening to the police radio and swooping in to stop you. (Personally, I think a non-powered serial killer could be a very creepy opponent. Especially if it takes time to determine exactly what criteria he is using to select his victims. Even if you do work out his pattern. Knowing that the killer will attempt to murder a redheaded woman on Tuesday night really doesn’t narrow the field down all that much.) If you have to do something big and attention gathering, plan ahead. Use your contacts in the underworld to find out when a different Supervillian is planning to cause havoc, and use him as a distraction. The Heroes are likely to go after the guy that throws energy balls and leave the cops deal with you. If, for whatever reason, your goal is to eliminate one of the heroes, once again, plan ahead. Don’t start following them around wearing some distinctive costume or call them out on national TV. First research them, find out their strengths and weaknesses. Then, sneak attack. One thing to seriously consider is NOT wearing a special costume. Dress normally, with maybe a wig and makeup to conceal your identity. Superheroes seem to focus on costumes and may well assume you are just an ordinary citizen. Being ignored is to your advantage. If despite your careful plans, the superheroes show up during one of your jobs, remember, running away isn’t a sign of cowardice, it’s a sign of intelligence. This especially holds true if you’ve already achieved your goal. If you can’t run, grab a hostage. Most heroes will back off if an innocent’s life is in danger. If you do run and are being chased, try to lead them into a trap or dangerous area. Distract them by endangering innocents. Get lost in a crowd (this works better if you aren’t wearing a distinctive costume). If they show up at your home, or try to capture you when you aren't in the middle of commiting a crime, let them. Fighting or running away only makes you look guilty. Remember, it is going to have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty of whatever crime the Superheroes think you committed. And if you get a good lawyer, not only might you not have to serve any jail time, due to double jeopardy, they can never try you for that crime again. (If the Superheroes are the type that are more likely to try to kill you than turn you into the cops, running makes since. As does running straight to the police. DON'T confess to everything, instead claim. "These idiots have me confused with someone else and are trying to kill me. I demand protection and I want to press charges.") Don’t try to compete with Superheroes in a standup fight. You can’t win. Instead, outsmart them. Let them underestimate you. You want to be underestimated. Remember you are there to achieve your objective, not to try to outmacho some idiot in tights.

Re: Is a politician a good secret ID? I agree that this would be easiest to get away with if you are in one of the political positions that aren’t constantly in the spot light and where you don't have bodyguards assigned to protect you. Local or state level politicians will have an easier time than national ones. Individuals that were appointed to an office, act as assistants, or just work for a government agency will have an easier time than elected officials. I remember a fairly fun TV show about a judge that acted as a vigilante by night, dealing with the criminals that he’d had to release due to technicalities. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the title of it. I could see that being an interesting character concept to play though. On a more “from direct experience†level, there are certain jobs in the government where it would be incredibly easy to slip away during the day long enough to deal with any menaces that threaten the city. A coworker of mine could have been a perfect example of someone with a secret id. The man was constantly disappearing and no one ever thought twice about not being able to find him. It wasn’t surprising since he could have been in any of three buildings, or driving property to DRMO, or just in another part of the building, etc. Though I still find it suspicious that he could vanish from sight when I was no more than 15 steps behind him.

Re: WWYCD #122 (or so): Strange Visitor Sounds as if Sailor Io and Mask of Justice are going to have an interesting week. Of course, since she will think she's in an alternate dimension, she could easily come out of it thinking that her view of history was still accurate and that this dimension was just different. This isn't the first dimension she's been to where things were backwards after all.

Re: WWYCD #122 (or so): Strange Visitor Sailor Io would be in an unusual position in that her home country, Japan, is actually one of the axis nations. The fact that I don't really know what Japanese students are taught about WWII, and as a culture what they think about the fact they allied with Hitler, makes it a little hard to be entirely accurate. However, knowing Io's personality, I am positive that she would agree that the things Hitler did were wrong. And of course, she would feel an urge to attempt to prevent Hiroshima. I'm fairly certain that Io will see enough differences between this world and hers to be fairly sure that she is in an alternate dimension rather than her own past, which would let her conclude that she can help without changing her own timeline. However, she would also realize that she will have a very hard time making a significant change, especially in just a week. The Japanese government is very unlikely to listen to a teenage girl, especially one that ended up in America. And, I sort of doubt the American government would listen either. Additionally, she has only a high school knowledge of history. And of course, since it is a different dimension, the history she learned won't be entirely accurate. Furthermore, I very much doubt anyone is going to be willing to put a sixteen year old girl in the middle of combat. Even if they did, while she is very effective against a single or small group of foes, her powers don't work well in an army type setting. (She's made with a different system than Hero. But assume powerful attacks that take a lot of end. Slow end recovery. Very high body and stun. But no armor.) And it would be next to impossible for her to get overseas to fight without help. Ultimately, I see her sharing information with Mask of Justice and helping him out while she is there. But I don't see her as making any huge changes. Still, Mask of Justice would be wise to keep her from finding out about the Japanese internment camps. The same would be true even if Io felt that this might be her own past. Keeping her life and the lives of her friends the same wouldn't be worth the cost of the thousands of lives that could be saved if she could stop Hiroshima, Hitler, etc. Cannis would be less certain about whether she was in her worlds own past or in an alternate dimension and as such would be a bit more wary about helping. She is trying to change her world's future for the better in her own time line and doesn't mind the fact that her group's leader is a time traveler from the future. But, she would just as soon not end up accidentally negating her own birth. Still, I think the thought of concentration camps and all the horrors she knows happened during WWII would motivate her to help after a bit of hesitation, especially if she was offered an incentive. Cannis wouldn't have the ability to get to the front lines on her own, and frankly would be poorly utilized in mass combat even if she was sent. While she could be very helpful in a war type setting (enhanced physical abilities and skilled with her staff), she doesn't have the pure power to make a definitive difference against an army. She would be much more useful at obtaining items or information. Ultimately, provided she was getting along well with Mask of Justice and everyone else there, she would share her knowledge of history and help if requested. Though, she wouldn't set out on her own to stop Hitler, etc.

Re: When I Am the Benevolent Ruler....

One thing that makes Superheroes and Supervillains stand out is that they have a larger than normal impact on the world. How would the world be different if your character (or team) had NOT been there? Your choice as to whether this was because he wasn't born, never got his powers, or decided not to become a hero/villain.

Sorry. Duplicate post. I could have sworn there was a way to delete these.

Re: Crime and Punishment

Re: WWYCD #124 or so:Peace on Earth Sailor Io would approach her day with Nemesis/ Nicolayus with a mixture of hope and fear. One of Sailor Io's major goals is to find a way to end the civil war between the Mah-ki and the Senshi and Humans and, since Nemesis is the leader of the Mah-ki, this might be her best chance to do so. However, she knows how hard it is going to speak with someone who has spent over the last 2,000 years hating them and the Moon Kingdom she represents. She's also not entirely sure how literal the statement, "He has been driven mad at being chained for all this time" is. The pressure is going to be incredible, but as always, she will try her best. Its hard to know exactly what she will say, since we've yet to actually see him in game and since she will be responding to his statements rather than just giving a lecture. But it will probably be something along these lines. "I am sorry for everything that you and your people have suffered through the years. I know that what happened both to the Mah-ki and their families during the Inquisition was horrible, and I wish with all my heart that the Moon Kingdom had been able to find a different and better way to deal with what was going on. I'm also sorry that you and your people were forced to spend the last two thousand years trapped in Archon. Though I doubt you will believe me, that was never suppose to have happened. From the information we've been able to obtain, their Majesties had been attempting to send you and your families to a sanctuary, to a pleasant and comfortable Earthlike world where you could live in safety and peace. I don't know why things went so horribly wrong, how the realm world was twisted into the horrific place that it is now. It is one of the things that my friends and I have been trying to discover." Her tone grows a bit more firm, "But you know something, you and your people weren't the only ones that suffered during the war. The Moon Kingdom is GONE. It is destroyed, its people were killed. And while you lost family members to the war, so did our original selves." She pauses for a second and adds, "Not only did each of the Senshi lose family and friends, our original selves died in that war. That's the nature of war, both sides suffer.†“There is another thing that is true about wars. Neither side is every completely in the right or completely in the wrong. Both the Mah-ki and the Moonites were trying to do what they thought was right. Trying to solve the problems they were facing as best they could.†“Both sides made mistakes. The most devastating one being the order for the Mah-ki to return to the Moon and the refusal to allow them to bring their families with them.†She holds his gaze for a moment. “Not because we blamed your spouses and children for what happened. And not because we feared they would taint us. But because they couldn’t survive on the moon. The Magicks of the Moon Kingdom that allowed our kind to survive and flourish there, would not work for humans.†She waits a moment and then continues, “Compared to humans, Moonites are incredibly powerful. And the senshi are more powerful than the average Moonite. But our powers are limited. I may be able to bend lightening and ice to my command, but I can not force a single flower to bloom. The situation was probably similar back then. I’m certain that their Majesties were far more powerful than we are. But, perhaps they could find no way to bend or manipulate the magicks of the Moon Kingdom so that humans could survive there. I’m not certain how those events played out exactly. Perhaps they weren’t willing to explain their reasons. Perhaps they did and weren’t believed.†She pauses as he states that they Moonites shouldn’t have betrayed them. That they Senshi should have fought beside them, protected them from the humans. “Emotionally the decision their Majesties made not to send the Senshi to your aid seems so wrong, intellectually and strategically, I think I can understand why it was made. Yes, we would have been able to help you in the short term. Our strength combined with yours, would have allowed you to defeat the first band of hunters, and perhaps even the second, and the third. But....in the long term, it would not have solved anything and perhaps would have made things worse. The Mah-ki were unwilling to leave their families and come to the Moon. That wasn’t going to change. And, by fighting and defeating them, humanity would have had their perceptions of us as monsters reinforced. Perhaps, for a while, they would have been too frightened to attack you. But, as time passed, and as they developed and learned more, the attacks would have begun once again. There are only so many senshi, we wouldn’t have been able to protect and keep protecting all of you indefinitely. And even if we could, the cost in lives would have been devastating. Perhaps their majesties also feared that humanity, in their fear and anger, would launch an attack on the Moon itself.†She sighs slightly, “I’m not saying it was a good decision. But maybe it was the best decision that they could make with the options and knowledge available to them.†“Perhaps in the end, it doesn’t matter why things happened as they did. They happened and we have all had to live with the consequences. But, focusing on the past, the cycle of pain and death isn’t going to enable us to end it. What matters is the present and the future. This war has already had such a high cost. Its time to bring this to an end. To stop this never-ending spiral of destruction." She nods in response to his reply, "Yes, yes. I know that you think that the best way to bring it to an end is to kill all of the Senshi and get your revenge on humanity. And, you are right, we are still young, inexperienced, still learning about who we are and everything that we can do. You do have the power to destroy us." Her voice grows more firm, "But, it won't be easy and the cost to you and yours will be high. We are growing and maturing, becoming the force we used to be and were meant to be. We've already dealt with four of your generals. More significantly, we succeeded in bringing two of them to our way of thinking before they died." Her voice catches for a moment and a tear glistens in her eye, as she memories flood her mind for a moment. "Vash. You probably never will realize what a truly great person your general was.†Anger flashes in her eyes, “Don't you dare call him a traitor. He sacrificed himself to save his people. He was set an example, taught us more than…he was a hero. A Hero for both the Senshi and the Mah-ki.†She allows a few tears to flow unashamedly as she continues, “I will honor the promises I made to his spirit. The Senshi have extended their protection to Vash’s people and will help them find a place in the world. And we will be willing to do the same for any other Mah-ki that is willing to live in peace with us and humanity. Vash’s actions proved to us that the path of peace between our people is the right one. And we WILL fight for it. We are going to find a way to end this circle of violence. Join with us. Help us. Or if you must oppose us. But the will forge a new path for our peoples or we will die trying.†It's a little bit harder to determine who Cannis would spend the day with. She doesn't have a specific nemesis yet. Really I see two possible options. 1. She spends the day with someone that she doesn't know yet. Options would include: The man who ordered her father's murder, someone that is a leading force in bringing about the future she and her group are trying to prevent, or the leader of the alien race that is planning to invade Earth. The day would probably start with, "You are my greatest nemesis? Who are you anyhow?" She would spend the day trying to gather information and figure out why the being of power decided to put her with this person. Additionally, she would be very careful to provide him with as little information as she could. Once the day was over, she would definitely due further research and keep an eye on the person. 2. She spends the day with one of the members of the local superhero group. She would allow them to set the tone of the encounter. If they wanted to be friendly, socialize and just talk, she would be perfectly comfortable doing so. Probably dragging them off to a park so they could walk and do some stuff while talking. That's most likely to happen with Wheeler or McCray. If they decide to just ignore her, as Santana might, she will deal with it and find other ways to amuse herself. If they are insulting, which Stokes might be, she will be annoyed and while she will try to be polite for a while. Eventually, she will respond to insults with insults of her own. Best case scenario, she'll have a pleasant day, get some useful information, and the hero may think he made some progress. He may have. Worst case, she'll be thinking about how nice it would be to hit someone with her staff a few times.

Re: Alternate Earth #25 National Capes Sailor Io and the rest of the Senshi are the protectors and defenders of Mystic Tokyo, a shining city where humans live and work side by side with a wide assortment of mystical beings and legendary creatures. Mystic Tokyo is one of those places where no one would be overly surprised to have a cat walk up and say "Hello, would you mind sharing that ice cream." The Senshi, beloved idols of many, attempt to act as role models while balancing their responsibilities to the city and their school work. They probably are all stuck dealing with more than their fair share of otaku as well. Cannis and her Pack mates serve as the enforcers for Adam Zero, President for Life and CEO of a Small Country in California. In this city, where everyone is in some way associated with the Zero Corporation, mutants are the elite. Humans, though technically second class citizens, are still able to have a perfectly good life in the city. Cannis and her pack mates are very open about being mutants, and probably don't bother to maintain a secret id. Cannis is a respected researcher in the R&D department while being given the freedom to set her own hours and deal with any other issues that Adam needs resolved. And occasionally gives gymnastic performances at company events. However, by night, she and her teammates still occasionally engage in assorted "deniable" activities as needed by Adam.

Re: WWYCD #122 (or so): Strange Visitor I had misinterpreted Takion's abilities slightly. Based on the new information, I've updated the Senshi's response to him. I've also updated Cyrande, added a minor note about Menagere. And added another 7 visitors. Doing over 40 of these is going to take forever. But I'm making progress. Don't think I have the willpower to do all this for Cannis though. If I do hers, I'm keeping it simple.

Re: Common Grounds & Sanctuary for the New CU I freely admit that my knowledge of comic books is very limited. But I think I've seen (or heard about) at least a few bronze age type examples as well. I know I've seen or read scenes where Professor X talks to Magneto or one of the other memebers of the Brotherhood and then allows them to leave at the end of the conversation rather than trying to capture them and take them to jail. I don't think I ever saw a Batman/Criminal version of Catwoman date written. But I have no difficulty picturing it. And I know I've seen episodes where they worked together. And, I think I read a post here about She-Hulk occasonally going to some island with a villian (Abmonination maybe?) becuase she couldn't find anyone else she was able to safely have sex with. I may be remembering that one wrong though.

Re: Common Grounds & Sanctuary for the New CU I have mixed feelings on this one. On the pro side, I think they could be an incredibly fun addition to a game. I know I would enjoy having them in our games. For instance, in our supervillains game, my character actually got taken out to dinner by one of the heroes. He spent the evening trying to understand her motives and trying to convert her to the right side. And of course, she did much the same with him. ::Grins:: And of course, both of them were also trying to do a little subtle mining for information. I loved that session. It gave me the chance to get a better feel for my character, and it was just all around fun. And to be honest, I’d love the chance to do it again. Just like I’d adore the chance to see our characters debate the heroes about mutant rights issues, etc. Something like this would be a good setting for those types of things. The same holds true in our Senshi game, where we are the heroes. On more than one occasion, we’ve attempted to convert our foes rather than just destroy them. And we’ve had a few successes. I could easily see us abiding by the house rules of neutrality, just so we could get the chance to try to talk things out with some of our foes. Sure, we'd be tempted to use it as a chance to deal with some of our enemies that we are sure can't be saved. But maybe sometimes, its better to let them get away for the moment in the hopes that we can achieve a bigger goal of actually bringing peace. Violence isn't always the right choice, sometimes, talking and listening works much better. (Of course that setting is far from a the normal super hero setting. Primary difference being that everything is hidden from the mundain world and we DON'T have the option of turning enemies over to the cops or putting them in jail) In addition to attempts to convert on both sides. There are other benefits to this type of place as well: • They provide a place to gather information. • They provide a safe place for negotiations or exchanges to take place. • If a group of heroes and villains are cooperating against a greater foe (something that’s far from rare in comics), they provide a neutral ground to meet. After all, do you really want your enemy in your secret base? • Plus they are just a fun place to exchange threats and blusters. And I think that several people have made valid points about supers just being a bit different from normal people. There was a very good thread a while back on the problems with having powers. (Things like speedsters being frustrated with how slow the world is. Bricks being afraid of accidentally hurting someone. And how even real world martial artists run into certain problems relating.) And, of course, depending on if you have a secret id, etc. You may well be constantly dealing with crowds of people, reporters, etc. Supers might find it relaxing to be with other with others who share a similar type of life to them, even if they are opposite sides of the coin. On the negative side, there is the whole, problem with realism factor. Questions such as, why are the heroes not attempting to arrest (or kill) the villains and vice versa, have to be dealt with. In the case of a powerful person preventing fights inside the building you have to consider ambushes outside as well. After all, if those occur regularly, it sort of negates the benefits of the neutral ground. And of course, some types of heroes (and players) would find the whole thing incredibly frustrating. Ultimately, I suppose it comes down to the general tone of the game and the types of heroes and villains. I do think I want to read that comic book series though.

Re: WWYCD #122 (or so): Strange Visitor

Re: WWYCD #122 (or so): Strange Visitor I truly pity Talion.

Re: Alternate Earth #25: What's up, Doc? Cannis: Probably a cute humanoid dog that is a gymnast by day and a thief by night. Sailor Io: Sailor Mercury (from the Sailor Moon series) only planning to be an engineer rather than a doctor and with weather powers rather than ice powers.

Re: WWYCD #122 (or so): Strange Visitor

Re: WWYCD #122 (or so): Strange Visitor In the case of Sailor Io, its actually "neither of the above." The primary villains are the Mah-ki. And at first, we reacted to them much as Sailor Moon did to the yoma in her universe. Namely-destroy. We have since discovered that the Mah-ki were former members of the Moon Kingdom and were on the losing side of a civil war. They were banished to a realm that was meant to be a sanctuary. Instead, somehow it was turned into a barren and lifeless place that twisted them. Some of them were stealing energy because they could make their home better for a while. And others so they could escape and return to earth. Some want revenge on both the senshi and on humanity. Others are fundamentally decent. The Civil war was about Earth. From the legendary through the Middle Ages, the Mah-ki had chosen to live there and had lives for themselves. But problems started developing as humanity grew jealous of the power of the supernatural groups and started gaining more knowlege than was safe. The Queen insisted that the Mah-ki return home after humanity managed set off Mt. Vesuvius as part of a ritual to impress the Mah-ki. The Mah-ki were unwilling to leave their families and lives and were branded as traitors. Ultimately, the Inquisition came and humans began killing the Mah-ki and members of the other supernatural groups. While the Mah-ki were more powerful, humanity had greater numbers. Ultimately, the Mah-ki asked to return to the Moon with their families. But they were not allowed. Humans couldn't surive on the Moon, a fact the Mah-ki were unwilling to accept or believe. The Mah-ki and memebers of the other supernatural groups went to war against humanity. The Senshi, designated by the King and Queen as Mankinds protectors, fought to defend the humans. The war ended in massive deaths. The Senshi and most of the Moon Kingdom Moonites were killed, though the King and Queen found a way to ensure they would reincarnate in the future. The Mah-ki were supposed to be banished to a pleasant sanctuary realm where they would be safe from the humans and humans would be safe from them. But something went wrong and the sanctuary realm the Mah-ki were banished to instead was a horrific prison. The Mah-ki are escaping/have escaped from it now and many of them are seaking revenge both against humanity and the Senshi. Its still extremely personal to the Mah-ki since most of them actually lived through all of these events. Apparently Moonites are nearly immortal (the don't age kind not the can't be killed kind). There are a wide range of other groups that we have met, fought against, or know of. This includes the Fae (both Selee and Unselee), legendary animals, a mirror realm where people are opposite of those in the campaign world, a group of potent spirits, and probably some others I'm just not remembering at the moment. We have not yet met a true demon. Though, I have a very strong feeling that there is a truly evil and dark force that is stealing the energy from all of the realms and that was responsible for ruining the Mak-ki's realm. I just have no clue what or where it is yet. I admit, its a very grey world and quite a bit different from a standard superhero game. We enjoy it though.