DA:
"Well done Mr. Krier. I suggest you find yourself a bigger gun then." he responds, before terminating the call.
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Cash Out:
"Welcome to your new 'family'. The ugly one calls them his Harem, I don't really give a s!+& what they call themselves, as long as they do what they're told. I suggest you make nice and play along unless you want to find yourself in the V'Sori's tender care again." Everyone else: Your communicators buzz to draw your attention. Checking the devices reveals an updated roster for Mus'ad's Harem, and a new message from Doctor Destruction. The roster lists the Harem having shrunken to 5 members; Belledonna, someone named Cash Out, Devil's Advocate, Happy-Jack, and Mus'ad.
The message simply reads:
Cash Out: "Excellent. Please sign for the package when it arrives then." Cash feels a strange sensation which tips him off--if he hadn't figured it out already--that Doctor D. appeared to have be interfacing with his own broadcasting power somehow without simply broadcasting his message out into the city. Assuming Cash stays put, about 10 minutes later a courier van pulls up, the driver looking him up and down a couple times before climbing out and grabbing a smallish box from the back. "Cash?" he queries, waiting until you confirm your moniker before handing over the package and asking you to sign his tablet.
Cash Out: As cash flees the scene he feels unusually clumsy and awkward, tripping over the curb as he crosses the street and ascends the other footpath, and bumps into people. He sees no sign of the hobo, but considering it wasn't a blind alley he could simply have gone out the other end. He makes it 'safely' to the more crowded streets a few blocks away and collapses onto a bench to catch his breath.
"Well that could have gone better."
Scanning the area reveals no one near enough to have said something so clearly. A moment's reflection causes a chill to run down Cash's spine as he recognizes the voice; Doctor Destruction.
Only a few short hours after emerging from the sewers, a brief trill from the communicators, and a slowly pulsing light indicates the arrival of a message. The noise ends quickly but the light continues to pulse intermittently. The Omegans are left to their sleep thereafter. When they do finally check the communicators they recognize a still image of Doctor Destruction's metallic mug on the screen before a few short lines of text appear. "Well done Musad's Harem. Thanks to your efforts I was able to extract some information from Alpha Force's old computers that will prove useful to our efforts. If you manage to keep this up you may even find out what that information is one day." The message fades leaving the Omegans to their own devices once again. The ever present V-Map continues to tick away with V'Sori sightings, troop movements and other items of interest to the Omegans. V-Map:
Recent additions to V-Map:
Late in the evening of the third day (approx 08:40pm) after the prison break the communicators provided by Doctor Destruction indicate an incoming message. When activated, the below message plays. "The information Mindjack brought me reveals that there is a power source located deep beneath Star City that the aliens haven’t discovered. I need access to that power source for my own purposes. "Finding it won’t be easy, however. It was created by the villain named Terron some years ago, and its exact location died with him. It is my firm belief that the Undergrounders who live beneath the city know its location. Persuading them to share this information is another matter. "You’ll need a very heavy piece of equipment to make the power terminal useful to me, it should be delivered shortly. You'll need Mus'ad to carry it, or else find another way to transport it. "Since Bad Penny and Masque seem have reconsidered my offer, I'll be sending someone along to replace them, his name is Happy Jack." Approximately 10 minutes later there is another message from the Doctor, only text this time. "You've been busy; good. Collect the device from the storage facility at <address>, unit E28; the code is 4723" the provided address is to a storage hire site a few blocks away. Happy Jack: You can't quite seem to find the address Destruction gave you, but after some examination of the surrounding area you spot some suspicious looking fellows traveling the street in the darkened evening. You're not quite sure where they came from, but by the size and appearance of the hulking brute you'd guess these are who you're after.
Belledonna becomes Anathema to the rest of the team as she pulls Ozzy in and settles onto the bench. The trip is exceedingly uncomfortable, Destruction's attention eventually slipping from Belledonna to the still dazed Mind-jack, while the minions remain tense and alert, their weapons ready. It is blessedly short jump however, as those familiar with Star City are able to recognize the dingy structures of Southpoint passing beneath the craft, rising up towards it. It's forward movement halts and the craft lowers onto the street in front of an abandoned looking warehouse, much like dozens of others in this section of Star City's slum-like district. "I thank you for your service tonight. You performed better than I thought you would. I suggest you come up with a team name for yourselves. You're an Omega cell now, whether you want to be or not." Belledonna:
The effect should wear off shortly... Destruction's voice sounds in your thoughts... your dreadfully slow thoughts. As his voice fades you become all to aware of being that odd sensation nagging you, that of being trapped in your own head; a condition you had only so recently been freed from. "I'll be in touch." The minions gesture insistently for you all to exit the vehicle, and as soon as the last steps out the rear hatch closes, and the transport tacks off into the night.
Opposed Smarts:
Belledonna:
As the good Doctor turns away from her, Belledonna sends out her mental barb, sinking it deep into Doctor Destruction's psyche and though she feels his mind try to repel the assault the barb burries deep. The first thing she notices is that this mind is not human, she instead recognizes the thought patterns of an Atlantean. She senses a deep sorrow and weariness, but also a flicker of hope, a hope she discovers targetted primarily at herself, but spreading to the other members of her new 'team'. She begins to probe deeper receiving odd flashes; an aged, but still fit looking man with grey hair, laying on a slab, unmoving; a great underwater city, it's magical domes and ancient buildings being destroyed by great blasts from above; the city again, intact, full of life and other Atlanteans--until suddenly the connection is severed.
As the light flares around Belledonna' and Destruction's heads, the weapons of the three minions in the transport are already being raised, the green suited men taking aim at Belledonna. The transport continues to rise into the air as Devil's Advocate leaps into the craft, and the motion causes one of the men's shots to pass over Belledonna's head. The other two men shift their stance, adjusting for the motion and hit her with blasts of energy from the unfamiliar guns. The energy does not seem to have any noticeable effect however, simply washing over her, leaving her unharmed, not even causing her to stumble. More dice:
Doctor Destruction raises his arm, the blaster held in it starting to power up, the tip glowing softly as he points it past Belledonna to the two following her. "Return to the others, you will be collected shortly." dice:
The two gauntleted supers stop instantly, eyes going wide, a liquid sound drawing Belle's attention to the puddle forming beneath the short, scrawny one. The other manages a bit more dignity as he gives Belle both a reluctant and apologetic glance, before he turns and heads back to the others, giving nervous glances over his shoulder. The other manages to stumble a few steps away before his legs give out. Oz meanwhile, seems to be torn between hiding behind Belledonna, and stepping in front of her, finally doing the latter as Destruction's attention shifts elsewhere. -=-=-=-=-=- A loud howl draws attention to Valerie and her group as they hoof it towards the fenceline, not bothering with the gate, just heading to the nearest section. As all attention turns in the direction you are able to watch as the first man Bad Penny rescued, who was subsequently freed from his cuffs by Devil's Advocate, seems to be sprouting fur all over his body, his clothes tearing to ribbons as he does so. The transformation--straight out of a werewolf movie--swiftly completes, and he bounds quickly ahead of Valerie, leaping at the fence and tearing it to ribbons before Devil's Advocate has gotten more than a few metres from the transport. It's a smaller group than Belledonna might have hoped, but a lot of the prisoners who remained to see what your promised transport would be are seriously reconsidering their options now they know who is providing it. After a moment 3 or 4 people do break from the group and start running after Valerie and co. Moments later there is a low rumble from just past the group waiting on Doctor Destruction's mercy, as suddenly the other un-nullified super blasts into the air in a shower of dirt, a few moments later a loud sonic boom announcing his disappearance into the night sky Bad Penny (or anyone else with a knowledge skill related to the super villain world)-Common Knowledge check (standard success needed):
You finally place the odd fellow after seeing his transformation, a former hench of villain Dr. Devolution. He went solo after a surprisingly effective experiment turned him into an honest to god werewolf, or at the least gave him all the appropriate powers. You hadn't heard that he'd stopped aging however, so his relative youth threw you somewhat. You think he was a couple years older than you back in the day. A sigh comes from Doctor Destruction's helmet speakers as the sounds of both the howl and sonic boom echoes through the surrounding area. "Get on, or be left behind. It doesn't matter to me, either way you will serve my purposes." he turns away from the remaining villains as his minions help Mindjack into the transport, walking into the back of the transport, grabbing a handhold as the repulsors grows louder and the ship starts to raise into the air giving Belle, Oz, Devil's Advocate mere moments to jump inside. Oz looks nervously at Belledonna, but holds his position at her side.
The craft comes in fast, it’s repulsors stirring up the dust in the courtyard as it swiftly decelerates. It doesn’t land, simply hovering a few feet above the ground, the rear opening up to reveal Doctor Destruction framed against the internal lighting. He takes you all in with a single glance as you lurk inside the building. ”Look at the villains playing the hero! How disappointing. I don’t suppose you bothered to check if any of them are actually useful?” he doesn’t seem to care for any answers, glancing to the side at his masked minions four of whom hop nimbly down from the craft as the lot of you hoof it out to meet the carrier. Two of the minions head straight to Mind-Jack grabbing his arms and helping him into the back of the transport, while the other two walk past you to the group milling nervously about behind you, one of them talking into some sort of communication device. The iron mask of Doctor Destruction meanwhile simply stares impatiently at you as he waits for you to board.
Devil's Advocate:
As you face upwards, watching as the carrier levels out, you think you spot something else fall out of the rear. It's hard to judge with your swift descent, but it looks about the size of a medium dog. As Masque glances downwards her cuffs blow as well, instantly returning her connection to the spirits. As far as the landing goes, the group seems to be heading right for a building the size of a warehouse. It is the larger of two buildings on opposite sides of a large courtyard. She doesn't have much more time to take in the view as the roof swiftly rushes up to meet them. 3...
As Devil's Advocate is thinking those things there is a loud bang as the detonator receives the signal, and blows his cuffs, shrapnel flying up into the air above him, left behind as he continues to fall blindly towards he knows not what. 4...
It seems the doctor is not interested in your witty quips and observations. When the last of you gives your agreement he turns and strides from the vehicle, while a number of green-suited masked minions intercept you before you can take more than a staggerign step. They roughly grab hold of the lot of you--pulling you to you feet as necessary--and hurry you into a larger vehicle, some sort of Anti-Grav personnel carrier, clearly not one of the alien's more curvacious designs. The large hatch closes promptly behind the last of you and the carrier jolts swiftly into the air as you are pushed into seats along the wall. The green figures move amongst you despite the rocking of the ride as the vehicle zips away from the scene, pressing small lumps of clay onto the nullifier gauntlets which still hold your hands and arms bound together, and your powers at bay. "You might think I rescued you because I'm in awe of your amazing powers. You'd be wrong. You can all be cut into flank steaks on a V'Sori examination table for all I care." he says, walking down the line of you , pausing momentarily to touch each of you on the forehead, as if giving some kind of benediction. "No I rescued you for two reasons. The first is because it draws the fins away from my real target. The second is because I can always use a new Omega cell. If you want in, and can prove yourself to me tonight, you're in. If you're not interested... well let's just say you will be." At that, Doctor Destruction slams a button on the wall. The back hatch opens, the carrier goes into a climb, and each of you plummets out of the carrier and into the darkness below. In your minds you hear the Doctor's voice continue. You've got precious few seconds before you hit the ground. Since I've touched each of you, I can now communicate telepathically at the speed of thought. One of your few seconds will be gone by the time I finish my offer. I suggest you think fast. There's a prisoner in the holding pens named Minjack. You might have heard of him--he pulled the Amij Diamond job last summer. He's in there somewhere, and I want him. If you agree to break him out and bring him to the centre of the camp--ALIVE--I'll bust open your nullifiers so you can survive the fall. If you tell me to go stuff myself, I can only say that I hope you hit a Fin on your way down. Find Mindjack, bring him to the centre of camp. I'll pick those who survive up after I deal with any remaining V'Sori that fly in. It won't end there though. I can find you wherever you go now. I can help you and show you how we can defeat the invaders who took over our playground, or I can point you out to them like wounded prey to a hound. It's your choice. You have 7 seconds.
Some cushions would indeed be fortuitous, as suddenyl the M'buna flies into the air! It flips end over end, sending you tumbling into the other captives. The world is a jumble of colour, and cursing before you finally come to rest. The M'buna is ripped wide open and you see blood and smoke everywhere. You briefly spot a speeding rocket, moments before a massive explosion rocks the wreck, killing the Fin guards as they stagger forth from the cockpit. You're stunned, trying to gather your senses, choking on smoke and wincing from your injuries, but the nullifiers keep you weak and useless. Then a familiar figure strides through the smoke holding a massive gun. There can be no mistaking the famous form of Earth's most powerful supervillain, certainly not after he's been plastering himself over the tv since the moment the invasion began--Doctor Destruction! "You want to live?" Destruction asks, his harsh voice filtering through the steel faceplate as he looks expectantly at you all.
“Welcome villains, to Star City, a once wondrous city held in the grip of the V’Sori and their underlings, the vicious K’tharen. The Heroes who have plagued us so in the past are gone, eliminated through the alien’s treachery, or else captured and taken aboard their ships for whatever unpleasant purposes they may have devised. Well you may have reveled in the destruction of Champion of Alpha Force—the world’s greatest superhero and super team respectively—when the alien’s blasted him from orbit on live television in the opening salvo, but now almost three years later they are still here, and show no sign of leaving. They hunt us like dogs, crushing any opposition; they are everywhere, in every country, every government, looming behind every person of power—if they have not simply done away with them as they did the world’s leaders, putting in their own toadies, or taking such power for themselves. We will not stand idle any longer, the earth is our’s, not some alien scum from the back corners of the galaxy! You know me, I am Doctor Destruction, Champion’s nemesis, but even I cannot defeat the V’Sori alone; we must put aside our squabbles, our rivalries, and our hatreds and work together. Join me, join Omega, and together we will wipe the aliens from the earth, and send them back into the depths where they came from!” So ends the most recent of the Doctor’s broadcasts, his powerful voice accompanied by the latest scenes of the alien’s atrocities, broadcast on every channel, every television across northern America. It’s almost funny—watching the aliens squirm helplessly as they try to track down the iron-clad face of Destruction, only to raid some empty warehouse, or break down the door to some alien sympathizer’s mansion and drag him off for questioning. The interruption of the first superbowl since the V’Sori’s invasion was a particularly brilliant stroke, though it did rather spoil the match when an enraged fin blasted the stadium screens, sending them tumbling onto the field. Almost funny… Destruction’s words have grown tired, you’re not interested in sticking your neck out for the Fins to chop it off, you’re a villain! What do you care for the rest of the world? Of course, it doesn’t really matter now, the cuffs are on, your powers are useless, and pretty soon you’re going to disappear, just like all those shmucks in Dr. D’s videos. Maybe you should have paid more attention… -=-=-=-=-=- This thread is for the recruitment of Super Villains to play in a Necessary Evil campaign, using the Savage Worlds Deluxe rules system. The above is a rough summary of the campaign world, and a hint about how the game will start. One thing not mentioned is that Atlantis existed (up until recently) as a magical society of telepathic ocean dwellers, and though generally separated from humans by the depth of the ocean, there were peaceful relations between it and the surface world (including interbreeding between the two). It was largely destroyed by the Ktharen (or Fins as they are commonly known) in one of their initial attacks, when they bombed it from orbit. Players should be familiar with the Savage Worlds system (previous versions of the rules are fine, Deluxe hasn’t changed too much), and if possible have access to the Necessary Evil setting book, and Super Power Companion for Savage Worlds (at least one of them, I'm not going to spoon feed everything to you guys, if it isn't in this post then you'll have to look it up somehow. They both contain lists of powers for use with this setting, if there is a conflict between the two I will most likely be favouring the Super Power Companion, as it is the more up to date). Character Creation::
As per normal character creation with a few setting related differences:
Race – Choice between Human, Atlantean, and Hybrid. There will also opportunities to play other weird races once you reach the super powers section, but pick a base race here. Traits - 5 Attribute Points to be split amongst Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strength, and Vigor as usual. Traits - 15 Skill points to be split amongst the normal skill list. Necessary Evil adds no new skills, but some of the weirder ones like Knowledge (Xenobiology), and Spellcasting may actually see some use. Hindrances – Generally work like normal Savage Worlds, up to two Minor hindrances (1 point each) and one Major hindrance (2 points). Savage worlds also allows characters to take a second Major hindrance, in order to gain an additional 5 power points (see Powers below) at character creations (which combined with the Power Points edge, allows characters to start with 20 power points). Necessary Evil introduces the following new hindrances: Alien Form (Major), Allergy (Major or Minor), Dependant (Major), Disability (Minor or Major), Distinctive Appearance (Minor), Gimmick (Major), Gloater (Major), Heartless (Minor), Power Negation (Major), Servitor (Major), Terminally Ill (Major), Weakness (Major or Minor)
Necessary Evil introduces the following new edges: Combat Sense (Combat), Jack-of-all-Trades (Professional), Mechanical Genius (Professional), Take the Hit (Combat) Gear – Purchased like normal, $1000 to spend, though Necessary Evil has it’s own gear list (a brief comparison leads me to believe the gear list in the Super Powers Companion is very similar if not the same barring flavour). You’ll have to refer to the book, though I may be convinced to copy the tables of items listing costs from it if it seems necessary. Any purchases after character creation will be facing a heavy multiplier, as most of the stuff you’re going to be interested in will be heavily restricted and you’ll have to find someone willing to traffic on the black market, which is a dangerous proposition these days. Anything you buy with starting cash is to reflect purchases and spoils of war from before or during the invasion. Setting Rules:
As previously mentioned, all characters get Arcane Backgrounds (Super Powers) as a free edge, if you wish you may swap this out for another free edge of your choice, but I really don’t recommend it.
The Unarmed Defenders rule is inappropriate to the setting and is ignored. Recurring Roles – Necessary Evil is based on comic book style super heroes and villains, which are virtually immortal. In effect any normal rule which would result in the death of a character (such as from bleeding out) is ignored, and the character instead falls into a coma, is temporarily dispersed, or some other side effect as appropriate to their ‘demise’. They will generally regain consciousness in under a week, though in some cases special treatment or rituals may need to be performed as appropriate to the character and the injury in order to recover. This also works both ways, the aliens (at least the important ones) get similar benefits. This is not to say that your characters are truly immortal however. If a character goes out of their way to put an end to someone (and assuming they know how to do so), then that character will die. The speedster may go down to a hail of gunfire and be up and about the next day, but if the enemy Fin commander wraps his hands around the speedster’s throat and squeezes until his head pops off… that’s probably going to be it. Special Knockback rules are in effect, if you get hit by a character with a d12 or greater Strength, then you’re going to go flying (generally 1d4”, plus 1d4” per raise) House Rules:
I’m stealing some rules from other systems here, and experimenting with one of my own as well.
Beliefs and Instincts – Taken from the Burning Wheel system, I think this will work fairly well with Savage Worlds. You character can choose to have two Beliefs and two Instincts. Beliefs are descriptions of your characters current goal or motivation, for instance “I’ll find the bastard who snitched on me, and make sure he pays.” or “The V’Sori watchpost in the Docks is getting in the way, I’ll find a way to take it out.” Or even “(Insert fellow teammate) crossed me, I’ll teach him a lesson by (plan)”. These beliefs should be posted openly, as great as it is to have a big dark secret about your character, it’s actually more interesting if your party knows about it, without allowing it to affect their perceptions too strongly; it’s rare you’ll ever get that ‘Ahah!’ moment when the players figure it out, it’s just how RPGs go. Instincts are a mechanical cheat. If you’ve ever had the argument with your GM about whether or not you had your sword and/or blaster pistol drawn, Instincts are the answer to that. Instincts allow you to define something about your character to give a slight mechanical advantage. “When I sense danger, draw my (weapon)”, “Always know where the exits are.” or “Always carry a knife”, and “Never trust a pimp” are all examples of potential instincts.
I should also remind everyone that Knowledge skills cover languages (as found on page 26 of the Deluxe Rulebook (Explorer’s Edition)) :) Super Powers:
There are faaaaaarrrr too many powers to list them all here with what they do, so please refer to the Necessary Evil or Super Power Companion to find the full descriptions. Players start with 10 power points, which can be bought up to a maximum of 20 power points at character creation by purchasing the Power Points edge, and taking the optional second Major Hindrance (5 points from each). The list* of Powers is found below:
Absorption, Ageless, Altered Form, Animal Control, Animation, Animated Object, Aquatic, Armor, Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, Awareness, Broadcast, Burrowing, Chameleon, Construct, Copycat, Damage Field, Darkvision, Decay, Deflection, Duplication, Earthquake, Energy Control, Ensnare, Explode, Extra Actions, Extra Limbs, Fear, Fearless, Flight, Force Control, Gifted, Growth, Headquarters, Healing, Heightened Senses, Illusion, Immunity, Infection, Intangibility, Interface, Invent, Invisibility, Jinx, Lair (See Headquarters in SPC, not NE), Leaping, Malfunction, Matter Control, Mind Control, Mind Reading, Minions, Negation, Paralysis, Parry, Regeneration, Shrink, Speak Language, Speed, Storm, Stun, Super Attribute, Super Edge, Super Skill, Super Sorcery, Swinging, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Teleport, Toughness, Undead, Vehicle, Wall Walker, and Whirlwind.
Characters will be chosen primarily on concept and backstory, yes that means you have to write a backstory, the more interesting it is and the more things you give me to play with, the more likely you are to be chosen. On a related note, here is some very helpful other helpful advice if you want to get chosen to play in this setting. I’m going to copy and paste it from the book word for word for you guys :)
Interparty conflict is welcome, and perhaps even encouraged, pvp is less so. I’m not saying don’t fight, I’m not even saying don’t attack each other, or kill if it’s appropriate, but it should be appropriate; don’t attack a fellow party/cell member because he ate your turkey on rye from the base fridge. If you character has Bloodthirsty and Vengeful as Major hindrances (or some similar combination), then you should consider the concept carefully, I certainly will be. Some other things to consider for your concept as suggested in the Necessary Evil book:
Standard sort of rules for the pbp will apply. Try to post (or at the very least check) the threads once a day. If you are going to be absent for more than a day then please notify me ahead of time. If you have unexplained absenses or delays in posting I may post for your character in order to keep things moving. Submissions will close in approximately a week, give or take a day or two depending on my availability, my selections will be up a short time after that. I look forward to playing with you guys, I know I had a lot of fun playing this campaign, and I hope I do it justice for those who are selected. |