Alibear

I'm GMing a Supers campaign for a bunch of ex AD&Ders and this is thier first time playing a "Cape". My problem is enforcing the genre. My players are too quick to initiate combat with a love of attacking from surprise and not indulging in the very "in-genre" soliliquays and banter that normally proceeds violence. In so many comics and films do the bad guys explain some very complex plots to the PCs before trying to "off" them. Or how often to small pieces of information, which would shed light on what is going on, fall into the investigators hands during chance encounters or glib remarks? My players are snuffing these roleplaying oportunities out, here is my solotion to the problem, tell me what you think of it. A little background before I explain the current goings on.. Foxbat was released from jail on parole with the previso that he spent 1 year, the time he would have served in jail, doing good. He was released into the care of the local superteam, The Avatars of Justice, and he would become a temporary member of that group. After about a month of game time, in which Foxbat had, on film, kicked the bejesus out of a pushy PC. ( I'm also running the Great Supervillain Contest, pointsa for F.) Anyway, Foxbats lawyers have filed a motion, which the judge upheld,(and ordered a secret investigation into AoJ methods) to scrap the scheme as Foxbat had witnessed one PC tortuing a villain for more information. Anyway, the plot. F. has aquired, from Telios, a chemical which inhibits the muscles in the face that allow smiling and laughter. After poisoning New Yorks water supply he has made a fake ransome demand from GRAB. Kowing that the PCs know his address, he has left an "issue" of the Amazing Foxbat # 35 featuring the Avatars of Justice, which shows GRAB poisoning the water and Foxbat racing to "Ground Zero - visitors centre" where GRAB capture him. In actual fact Foxbat gets one of his goons to tie him up and dump him in the Ground Zero visitors centre and then contacts GRAB to let them know that the false demand was made by Foxbat and where he can be found. The Avatars of Justice arrive just after GRAB turn up and are questioning Foxbat. The players, as I correctly assumed, don't stop to ascertain facts, just plow straight into combat. Next time I plan to award Foxbat and the Avatars a televised award for saving the City and perhaps a plot of ground that they can build a base on. In a few weeks I plan to let the PCs find out that they have been duped by F. and see what they do about it. Will they go public and ruin they're good press? Will they cover it up and seek revenge on F.? Is this fair on the PCs?

I love this part. If you get surprised out of combat you automatically go into "cat stance" or whatever. I have seen myself do that before but with my "gaurd up", not cat stance obviously.. Yep real nice way to greet long lost aunt May.

What was the team transport, a Reliant Robin? (Don't ask)

Coincidence? I played in a campaign called The Agents of Fortune in the 80's and one of our main threats was The Knights of Genetic Purity . I have recently used them in the same campaign +20 years and the main group has called themselves The Avatars of Justice Can I ask where you got your idea for the KoGP?

Dr. Photon has been used. She was one of Lung Hungs bad girls...

My brain must be in a wierd place right now but... Perhaps Duplication is the way to go? Stick an activation roll on his speed, you might need invisible power effects as well. Perhaps with the limitation that "he" could not leave your hex etc. ? But "he" would go on the same phases as you. Cool way to sweep and not get any of those nasty penalties though.. Pre-coffee ramblings....

Ah my eyes, my poor eyeses. Turn off the spotlight writing NOW or feel my wrath! (at half ocv)

You have to pay extra for that right?

I would reccomend the villain roster entitled Conquerers, Killers & Crooks. Lots of great characters and a nice blend of new and the best of the old characters, updated for the 21st century.

Helpful hints for a new fellar? First off welcome aboard. Well, my advice would be to keep it simple to start with. Don't try to do too much too soon. Get a grip of the basics before going crazy with more exotic concepts. I would add any optional rules that you plan on using one by one and explain them before you intend to introduce them. Another thing would be to use us. This very Discussion board is a handy resource, you can fire off a question and we'll try to help and are usually friendly enough.

Dynamo, keep up the good work, you da man.

Peronally I think that one fast drawskill is suffient, otherwise it becomes hell of expensive real quick.

Which character Rob?

I did a write-up of Bill Kings Gotrek (Trollslayer) for the 5th and it is posted on his site if anyone cares to critique it.. http://www.trollslayer.net/Gotrek.html Btw I used the supers rules and not heroic as he is nearly a 300 point combat machine.

When I am GMing, and I have done this nearly weekly for 15 years, I let the players work this out on thier own. Experience counts. How many times in the media do we see characters lose the first battle, learn from thier mistakes, and ultimately win out in the end? Oh, and BTW I would not allow the blue balled alien in my campaign. All powers should look a little different to people that have seen thier effect. Perhaps I am being strict, but, do we have any comics, or other sources, which support the one special effect, lots of powers, example?

You are typing about the US civil war, right? I would say Tom has it pegged, but I would also insist on single power/special effect characters. No Multipowers or Elemental controls without express GM permission.

Me I agree with this up to a point. I always make sure normals are normal. 2-3pd. When supers start wading into normals with 10d6N attacks they're will be deaths, injuries, disabilities etc.

I don't know if this happens often in other campaigns, but it is a staple of the comics. Players come and go but characters don't always have a good excuse to leave a campaign. Sometimes the demons that the characters have been wrestling win. One character in our campaign, Cyclone, was the half-human daughter of Ithaqa the Wind Walker. All campaign she was wrestling with her personal demons, and her father was trying to turn her to the dark side. Heard this before? Anyway, when the player, picked up sticks and moved away from our home town, it was the perfect excuse. She lost the final battle with her father and she turned. Enter Dark Cyclone. Steppenwolf was the next to turn and so it went. Is this normal? Or was our campaign wierd in this respect?

I played in a long running supers campaign called The Agents of Fortune. We used to spend an xp every scenario on our base, agents, standard issue equiptment etc. It was very cool playing a 5o+50 agent, an Agent Agent and if and when we got in over our heads we could call up Superpowered back-up.

Is that the "one" which makes the sufferer constantly use foul language almost all the time? Not a very heroic disadvantage, you must be playing in an adult comic, right?

Is there no down-side to making a dive for cover roll? I always make the diver at 1/2 dcv until he has a chance to get up.

The thing that I noticed is that if you spend your points as a "fighter type" 25+25 can be made to be quite tough escpecially when you add a sword, shield and armour. The girly elf and wizards aprentice were chewed up nicely by the gobos though. The elf was the proud recipient of a 11 body move through! Another took a blow to the neck, only four body but still enough to make that impairing roll.

Not so expensive really Steve, perhaps you could sell back some of your less useful skills to help pay for the life support? What are you doing with your KS Law anyway?

Maybe but if you are GM you set the guidelines, right? 25+25 reminds me of starting level D&D or Warhammer FRP characters.

Would you like another scone with that?