So I'll say the crypt Karma had been using as her base is in Northpoint in the family crypt of someone wiped out by the invasion.
I think instead of spending 2 SPP on Pace, I'll upgrade her Flight power from 2 to 4 SPP. That will give her faster flight speed (12 instead of 6) but the standard d6 run die. Maybe later I'll add Maneuverable if I find she needs more range in tactical situations.
Should we specify a location for the lair on the Star City map? Is the lair located in turf controlled by the Slashers or The Family or neither?
Judging by the Graffiti (see Neighborhood description on the Campaign page) you are in Slasher turf. (note. Tweaked Family/Slashers info)
Unfortunately the Star City map in the campaign page is the best one I could find. Feel free to place the lair anywhere south of the ring road border with Downtown. I suggest somewhere midway down the point but this is a player decision.
Taking flight over pace is fine. Just remember to make the changes to your sheet.
We have lost Ah-Rekmire at least for the time being.
So that leaves us with 5 little supervillains. Do we want more?
I can run either way. 5 is a tight group but more people mean more capability. With 6-7 the option of trying more than one mission at the same time becomes more viable.
just saying......
I agree. Tumbler would be a great add.
More the merrier. Make it so.
We could say the the spot marked on the map as Hazel Cannery is the location of the Lair, unless that is part of some future mission. If so, then I suggest a block marked on this map.
Should we have a map of the lair? I can make one when I get a chance and when we've decided some of the things that have to be decided.
Karma will claim the room that is the most remote from other rooms, in the basement if available.
Is there a storm drain system that can be used for subterranean travel? If so, where is the closest access point to the lair and could we connect a tunnel to it?
I like this "Connections" edge, but I'm leery that it will work here because, it is another "Once per Session" thing that can get wonky on PbP. I would like a rather generous interpretation of that lest I use it once and then forget about it.
So too, I don't think asking local friends about things that are obvious to them but not to someone out of the loop uses up a favor in the same way that asking for high-grade military weapons and gear does. I should like them to be generous with the talking words.
I'm of course thinking about some kind of South-side gang. The kind that hates the Man as much as me and with goals that would align with the desires of our merry little band right here.
Possibly some of the people used to run and do
crimepersonal enrichment drives with Imagine, but then had to find other patrons when she got herself coughted. Then we can always have interludes about "the good 'ol days" along with dreams of "getting the band back together".
I'm good with the more generous "minor favor" interpretation. Abuse it at your peril however. Unless you want to create a new faction then I suggest that "The Family" might fit the bill. Your other options are of course infinite as usual.
Let me know.
Please note if you are taking an Omega Comlink. Going to have to be a stickler about this one for plot reasons.
New people Right that is 3 yeas. I'll give it until 4:30 tomorrow for any neys to make their voice heard. Barring a ney which will cause further conversation. I will reopen recruitment for 1 or two more folks.
I will be tweaking the question list but barring a ney vote if you want to give your friend a head start you can point them at the old list.
Karma's Lair questions
Either the cannery or the marked block will be fine. Your choice.
A map of the Lair would be lovely if you feel so inclined.
Plenty of rooms. The basement smells of concrete and lacks any natural light but there are rooms.
Re:Storm Drain. There is such a system. In fact Star City is a bit of a maze underground with multiple tunnel systems and natural caverns. A common knowledge success will find a nearby entrance to the storm sewer.
Adding a connection to the storm sewer to the base can be an upgrade (Hidden Entrance or Exotic Location) or a project involving the Repair and Science skills if you want to tackle it.
Hello everyone. I think someone said my name 3 times, and I showed up here.
I believe I understand that we are playing the Necessary Evil campaign framework, so I should create a super villain who is fighting aliens who have conquered Earth. I have some experience with Savage Worlds, but not with the Super Powers Companion. What are the build rules? And what would be useful to have.
I'll probably try to do something simple to avoid some confusion.
Welcome, Tumbler. Avoid the "Switching" rule in the SPC and you'll be fine. ;) Also, although we are intended to be villains, so far we have not really exercised that muscle. The one guy who was hardcore about it left the game, unfortunately, but that made space for you, which is fortunate! That being said, I think we just need to steal the keys to daddy's Ferrari and we're off and running on a wild adventure of theft and debauchery.
Wait, did we opt for the Ferrari or something less impractical? I remember voting for a 1983 GMC Vandura but I forget how that washed out. Is it weird I stopped writing this post to watch youtube videos of 80s conversion vans?
PWGM - more people is fine, but I'm kind of leery about us splitting up and doing two missions at once. First, that would be much more work for you, and second, we would have to recognize which of your posts apply to our particular mission. I'm using an Omega Comlink.
Tumbler - in general, it's good to beef up your Parry, Ranged Attack TN, and Toughness/Armor with super power points (SPP) first, maybe up to 10-15 total (after calculating your "regular" values from your PC's build, from Fighting and Vigor). After that, look thru the available Powers and see if any of them inspire you to say "yeah, I want to be able to do that". Or you can pick any superhero from any media, and try to mimic them with the available Powers. But while you may be able to mimic their abilities, you may not be as powerful as your model due to the cap on the number of SPP you can use. The character building guidelines are in the Campaign Info page at the very bottom. The book you need to get is the "Super Powers Companion" for SWADE - its cover is two women fighting each other, one in red, one in blue.
Hello everyone. I think someone said my name 3 times, and I showed up here.
I believe I understand that we are playing the Necessary Evil campaign framework, so I should create a super villain who is fighting aliens who have conquered Earth. I have some experience with Savage Worlds, but not with the Super Powers Companion. What are the build rules? And what would be useful to have.
I'll probably try to do something simple to avoid some confusion.
Greetings, hop on over to the recruitment page for this game and we can get started.
I am also poking a couple of folks who were approved as players but hit a time crunch.
Take a look at the first post in recruitment to get an feel for the game. I am updating the questions now and will post them in the recruitment thread soonish.
The build rules are on the Campaign page and it is strongly recommended that you have access to SWADE, The Super Powers Companion SWADE edition, and the Necessary Evil Players guide.
Ok. New recruitment post is up. Tumbler if you want to head on over and answer a few questions we can get this party started.
RE:Comlink Sorry I was not clear. Please not on your character sheet if you are taking an OMEGA comlink. Sorry to be picky but I want to head off any questions later. It is not a permanent choice but I want to establish the habit of recording when you are carrying one of these and when you are not.
Karma will have a Omega Comlink, but if there is a way to deactivate it when she does not need it, she will do that, worried that it can track her. She'll use telepathy when possible. She'll activate it only when working on a mission where some of the team will be using it to communicate with other team members.
Dave has no concerns at all about the Omega commlink. Free stuff!
Dave has no concerns at all about the Omega commlink. Free stuff!
Perfect! All hail Dave!
Karma will have a Omega Comlink, but if there is a way to deactivate it when she does not need it, she will do that, worried that it can track her. She'll use telepathy when possible. She'll activate it only when working on a mission where some of the team will be using it to communicate with other team members.
There is certainly a button that deactivates all the displays and functions you can access. If there are other functions you cannot confirm then by examining the comlink unit.
At least without telling me how you are looking.
Karma will have a Omega Comlink, but if there is a way to deactivate it when she does not need it, she will do that, worried that it can track her. She'll use telepathy when possible. She'll activate it only when working on a mission where some of the team will be using it to communicate with other team members.There is certainly a button that deactivates all the displays and functions you can access. If there are other functions you cannot confirm then by examining the comlink unit.
At least without telling me how you are looking.
Is there a way to do the equivalent of removing the battery of a cellphone to be sure it is not sending out any kind of signal?
Is there a way to do the equivalent of removing the battery of a cellphone to be sure it is not sending out any kind of signal?Karma will have a Omega Comlink, but if there is a way to deactivate it when she does not need it, she will do that, worried that it can track her. She'll use telepathy when possible. She'll activate it only when working on a mission where some of the team will be using it to communicate with other team members.There is certainly a button that deactivates all the displays and functions you can access. If there are other functions you cannot confirm then by examining the comlink unit.
At least without telling me how you are looking.
Not easily. The Omega comlinks are sealed. You can try breaking into one but that is Skill roll and action for the gameplay thread.
Meh. Imagine has had her commlink for some time and sees no reason to part with it now.
Check. You didn't need access to V-Map anyway.
Steven Colbert just did a Dave Finsterman and kicked through a wall.
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It seems like we should do the Milk Run first mostly because its time sensitive and also because it's easy enough where we can get used to working together and using our full power.
I agree.
As for the commlinks, if we have a non-Omega commlink will it work with the Omega ones?
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Steven Colbert just did a Dave Finsterman and kicked through a wall.
I remember when he was funny. Man that was a long time ago.
Steven Colbert just did a Dave Finsterman and kicked through a wall.I remember when he was funny. Man that was a long time ago.
Yes a long time ago, all the way back to yesterday. That opening was genius.
Yes a long time ago, all the way back to yesterday. That opening was genius.Steven Colbert just did a Dave Finsterman and kicked through a wall.I remember when he was funny. Man that was a long time ago.
I didn't watch. Haven't since he tried to run for congress when he was still with Comedy Central. That was the moment Colbert turned into a "reality" TV game show.
As with food, so with comedy; there is no accounting for taste. I tend to agree with the criticism that's embedded in lots of Colbert's jokes about the major politicians. I enjoy many of the late night hosts, but I try to catch Colbert and Seth Meyers first.
Regarding the Comm units, once this Shake Shack event is done, Karma will ask Psiclops if he can determine if the comm units can be disabled in some way or to see if they are transmitting anything other than communications, like a tracking signal.
If we cannot determine that, Karma may try to find a small metal case she can keep the unit in when she does not need it. That assumes someone explains to her what a Faraday Cage is and how a comm unit/cell phone in a metal container cannot send or receive signals. I doubt that's something Karma would know.
Her suspicious hindrance will keep her from trusting the Omega units until it can be established that they are not set up to monitor the individuals using them.
I didn't watch. Haven't since he tried to run for congress when he was still with Comedy Central. That was the moment Colbert turned into a "reality" TV game show.Yes a long time ago, all the way back to yesterday. That opening was genius.Steven Colbert just did a Dave Finsterman and kicked through a wall.I remember when he was funny. Man that was a long time ago.
Fair. I catch him every now and then. Mainly online. I think his skill with satire has grown over the years.
Hmmm Wikipedia does not mention a run for congress. It does mention his joke run for the Presidency in 2008 that was a thinly disguised drive for South Carolina based charities. And a few jokes about a second run in 2012 mainly focusing on the fact that Cain was still on the SC ballot despite dropping out of the race by then. odd
Dave is a paragon of OpSec
Hmmm Wikipedia does not mention a run for congress. It does mention his joke run for the Presidency in 2008 that was a thinly disguised drive for South Carolina based charities. And a few jokes about a second run in 2012 mainly focusing on the fact that Cain was still on the SC ballot despite dropping out of the race by then. odd
Not surprising, given Wikipedia. It was a running gag on the Colbert Report for a couple months. He didn't actually run but he did legitimately inquire. I think the reason was that he did not qualify as a legal resident of South Carolina, where he grew up, since he was living year round in New York. Part of the gag that was not a gag was that he was filing as a Democrat.
Dave is a paragon of OpSec
Dave's alignment is True Neutral.
Hmmm Wikipedia does not mention a run for congress. It does mention his joke run for the Presidency in 2008 that was a thinly disguised drive for South Carolina based charities. And a few jokes about a second run in 2012 mainly focusing on the fact that Cain was still on the SC ballot despite dropping out of the race by then. oddNot surprising, given Wikipedia. It was a running gag on the Colbert Report for a couple months. He didn't actually run but he did legitimately inquire. I think the reason was that he did not qualify as a legal resident of South Carolina, where he grew up, since he was living year round in New York. Part of the gag that was not a gag was that he was filing as a Democrat.
Oh right the Wiki does mention that. I think that was part of the 2008 Pres run. The Republican party wanted 35K as a registration fee for the SC Republican primary and the Democratic party denied him a primary slot considering him not a serious candidate. Which was the correct call I think. We have open primaries here and occasionally you get some VERY odd candidates.
Dave is a paragon of OpSecDave's alignment is True Neutral.
Seriously though. Do you dislike the whole "Secret organization" aspect of the game? Because that seemed like a serious, purposeful, and specific hit to your cover/secrecy.
So this is me checking in.
Here's how I answered your last chargen question:
The greatest thing in life? If Dave were honest with himself, he'd say affection and a sense of pride from one's parents. But since he never experienced that, it's Internet porn. And then the stupid V'sori robbed him of that minor indulgence, so he's got nothing. Hopefully by showing the world he can put his fist through a V'sori armored breastplate and tear out its still-beating heart he can be famous, and people will like him. What's better than that?
Dave has no interest in secrecy and will be inconsiderate of desires to remain secret. I stopped short of giving a bunch of randoms his phone number and address, but I thought about it.
Here's how I answered your last chargen question:
The greatest thing in life? If Dave were honest with himself, he'd say affection and a sense of pride from one's parents. But since he never experienced that, it's Internet porn. And then the stupid V'sori robbed him of that minor indulgence, so he's got nothing. Hopefully by showing the world he can put his fist through a V'sori armored breastplate and tear out its still-beating heart he can be famous, and people will like him. What's better than that?
Dave has no interest in secrecy and will be inconsiderate of desires to remain secret. I stopped short of giving a bunch of randoms his phone number and address, but I thought about it.
Sweet. I was afraid we were getting into passive aggressive trolling/sabotage. But this is a legitimate in character issue that I do not have worry about. Go Dave!
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Oh yes the way Dave has been played that would be completely in line with his character.
Had one of those randoms been a cute girl I would even have understood conflict. more.
Mind you, Dave, I've got a while plan of action just waiting on knowing what happened. So if you could IC tell me, that'd be super.
Karma will be back soon and will truthfully describe what she witnessed, but I want to wait and see if she learns anything observing who responds to the scene.
I'll post in the morning. It's late and I want to put some RP into the post.
Perhaps finding ways to play for laughs that don't mess with people who want to take it more seriously would be better.
Clearly I'm playing the game with a different mindset than everyone else. It was never my intent to mess with people or detract from anyone else's fun. Quite the opposite. Anyway, I'm not sure where Dave fits in to a group where a PC can literally kill a NPC with basically no exposure to risk and then threaten to murder Dave for the high crime of offering to help cleanup the neighborhood. I had reservations about the villain concept and I guess I didn't buy in. My mistake. I'll leave you to it.
Clearly I'm playing the game with a different mindset than everyone else. It was never my intent to mess with people or detract from anyone else's fun. Quite the opposite. Anyway, I'm not sure where Dave fits in to a group where a PC can literally kill a NPC with basically no exposure to risk and then threaten to murder Dave for the high crime of offering to help cleanup the neighborhood. I had reservations about the villain concept and I guess I didn't buy in. My mistake. I'll leave you to it.
I am sorry you feel unwelcome. If it helps that casual killing is about to bite Karma, and the group, rather hard. As far as no exposure to risk, that is part of the supers power-fantasy. No one in that scene could hurt either you or Karma barring some truly unlikely die rolls combined with some foolish mistakes by the players. One of the themes in NE is revealing that to only be a fantasy and everyone has choices and faces consequences. That said how does Karma killing the driver differ from Dave killing the drone frozen in Doc's goo?
Again from my perspective the crime if one exists was not in cleaning up the neighborhood it was in risking the group without the groups consent.
If it helps at all I see both you and Karma as playing your characters as established. Dave is seeking a big early confrontation and the self-validation or self-destruction that will come with it. So of course you don't care about security. Karma is grief motivated and seeking isolation and safety above all. This led her to greatly overreact to a minimal/nonexistent threat. Karma only has one tool in her tool box. The only way they have been solving problems is by killing them.
Both Dave and Karma will have to change if they are to survive. In fact I can see Dave becoming the heart of the group as it does, maybe not a full heel-face turn but at least becoming less heeltastic. I Would like to see what will happen.
It is of course up to you if you do not think this would be fun. But I will miss you if you leave.
If there is anything that I or the group can do to influence this decision please let me know.
I am open to any ideas here. I will happily hit the big red restart button and remove the player as villains element if that is what the group desires. I don’t even think many of you would have to tweak your characters very much.
Karma how opposed are you to retconning the murder?
The heel part was not an issue. It was revealing the group. If you'd have just whacked them and headed off that would have been fine. Still a bit risky, but less so than announcing things.
I realize that Dave is designed to be a simple and funny guy. I just think that there might be other ways to channel this.
We could recton:
* the whole situation
* Dave announcing himself
* or we can have one of our stealthy people or mindbenders deal with the witness.
Honestly, I don't understand what's so valuable about the Lair. We got it for free. If we lose it, are we worse off than before we got it? Destructo has used it before; How dumb do the V'sori have to be to not already have eyes on the joint? Also, if they didn't care enough to kill us with all the stronger supers, nothing's changed except that we're all in one place. I could argue the lair is a net negative.
As for Dave giving away business cards at the Shake Shack: Dave is a known quantity to the police; it's part of his backstory. They think he's a joke. No reason why they would take him any more seriously now for getting a couple hits in against some gangbangers. It's basically Dave's MO. The V'sori wouldn't exactly be impressed by that either. If Karm hadn't murdered the driver he would have let them all get away.
Dave thinks the drones are robots. I think the drones are robots. They're not robots?
Dave is legitimately scared of Ghost now. She threatened to kill him and he knows there's nothing he could do to stop her if she decides to make good on that threat. People live with abusers all the time but it usually doesn't end well.
I'm open to having ghost retcon her outburst and not be all blamey. Maybe if someone would like to explain IC why the Lair is actually valuable and not some place where we're all a lot more likely to be rounded up and hauled back to prison, that could help him, and me, understand your (and your characters) motivations.
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Honestly, I don't understand what's so valuable about the Lair. We got it for free. If we lose it, are we worse off than before we got it? Destructo has used it before; How dumb do the V'sori have to be to not already have eyes on the joint? Also, if they didn't care enough to kill us with all the stronger supers, nothing's changed except that we're all in one place. I could argue the lair is a net negative.
Maybe if someone would like to explain IC why the Lair is actually valuable and not some place where we're all a lot more likely to be rounded up and hauled back to prison, that could help him, and me, understand your (and your characters) motivations.
I can take a try and fielding this.
It's a stable place to live and sleep between missions that is not in some gov't projects surrounded by gang activity. It's in a sketchy part of town, yes, we just saw that, but it's not a one-bedroom apartment in a multi-tier complex where we'd have to step over neighbors just to get in and out. We'd have no chance at secrecy then.
The way things are now, all the people who aren't invisible never have to be seen leaving. We all pile in the car, the car exits, it comes back, no one's the wiser. It's not perfect, but we can make it work.
The alternative would be...what? A one-bedroom apartment? What else can our characters afford right now? That would eliminate any chance for secrecy and end the trip real quick.
If we knock over a bank, then maybe we can have other options.
2) Private eyes. Watching you.
I disagree that the place would already be watched. The place has been cleaned out an abandoned for quite some time. The V'Sori are strong, yes, but they don't have unlimited resources. Hence, they have no motivation to keep tabs on just another abandoned building.
3) We dance Underneath the radar.
Imagine has the Hindrance: Dependent. So, her mom. It is a source of great comfort to be able to keep tabs on her. So too, she can be a benefit as we have an inconspicuous non-super who can go about and do normal business and be almost wholly unnoticed. We know they can't watch everyone, so Red, the Mother may as well be as invisible as if she had a Somebody Else's Problem field on her.
Also, with a common lair we can keep upgrading it. Not to mention where we would park the vehicle we need so much, but later we can make it more stronger/secret.
Hmmm GM stuff. Not sure if this will help or not.
First I am instituting a no non-consensual PVP rule. If one party does not say yes then no attacks from either side will happen.
The lair is 5 power-points. Loose the lair loose the points.
Story stuff: Also not sure re: help.
There is no evidence that anyone has used B&H Meats since well before the invasion. It might be on a list somewhere or knowledge of this place may have vanished when the Alpha Squadron HQ burned.
The Drone you punched squished. You didn't stick around to find out more.
One of the more popular theories is that they are robots.
Re: police. I can understand Dave's thinking. You all haven't had time to adjust to life outside chokey. You do not know how tight or loose V'sori control is. Do they care about someone punching a car? How interested are they in meta-humans? When you get some down time I'll need to but together some cultural info.
With all of that I think an appropriate reaction to Dave's minor social media moment would be, "Hey Dave, don't be a boner. At least make sure you're not being followed. Or get your own place. Don't call us, we'll call you."
Also, Karma, I read your hindrances. You seem to be pretty well focused on not being a bully, so the threat to gut Dave in his sleep seems like something you didn't really mean. He wouldn't know that though, because we don't know each other yet. If you don't want to retcon that you could cool off and apologize. An apology will go a long way for Dave.
Also GM: How long would it take Doctor Toxic to dissolve a body? Asking for a friend.
So long as the body is hardness 20 or below, I can get rid of it in a few minutes. Oh, and it's best done somewhere with good drainage.
I had a long day yesterday and had trouble sleeping last night, so I'm getting a late start on posting. I haven't read the 8 posts that came in since my last post, but before reading them, let me say my response to the following Gameplay post:
I take the game seriously to the extent that I am roleplaying a character who is in a very dangerous situation. I don't see the roleplaying we are doing as a comedy, although some comic relief is welcome. I do identify with my character and when my character is threatened, it affects me at an emotional level that is, IMHO, the heart of why we role play, to get that vicarious thrill of danger while being safe and sound.
But the danger should come from the GM, not other players. When one player does something that puts other PCs at risk, it feels like a betrayal of the generally unspoken agreement that players best hope of success is teamwork. It makes the game less fun. I hope Dave can stay in the game, but find a reason to not reveal the location of our lair and our identities to those who are trying to destroy us. Karma's threat could give him an in character reason to do that. Then it's all good RP and we can all continue to have fun.
With all of that I think an appropriate reaction to Dave's minor social media moment would be, "Hey Dave, don't be a boner. At least make sure you're not being followed. Or get your own place. Don't call us, we'll call you."
Also, Karma, I read your hindrances. You seem to be pretty well focused on not being a bully, so the threat to gut Dave in his sleep seems like something you didn't really mean. He wouldn't know that though, because we don't know each other yet. If you don't want to retcon that you could cool off and apologize. An apology will go a long way for Dave.
From Karma's perspective, it was not a minor social media moment but a serious security problem for everyone on the Omega team. Read Karma's background and you will see why she would react the way she did to someone needlessly threatening her life or her freedom. She did not grow up as Dave did going to high school and dealing with issues with school authorities or parental neglect or the rest of the high school scene. She's been a lone wolf, but that proved a weakness because no one had her back when she got captured. She has had no friends her own age, no parents, no support structure. She's not likely to understand Dave at least until some time passes and interactions allow for learning each other's story.
Now that she's free, she will guard her more secure situation jealously and zealously. In time, she may retract the threat, although only after Dave admits he made a bonehead move that endangered everyone, including himself and makes a promise to guard the group's security going forward. If Dave gives her evidence his attitude has changed, then she may apologize, although she is socially immature about such things and may not think to do that.
You are right that she wants to reserve her vengeance to those who are very evil. She has sympathy for ordinary people sometimes doing bad things and she normally moderates her response to those kinds of things with non-lethal punishments. So, she doesn't want to hurt Dave, since she knows he's not truly evil. But she also doesn't want the V'sori surrounding the lair and sending in storm troopers in to take us out.
If push came to shove, Karma would leave the group and look after her own security rather than actually hurt Dave. Dave may not know that, so let's assume Karma and Dave will be walking on eggshells around each other for a while, wary of each other.