Blending Superheroes with D&D (My players stay out)

[Silver Moon]

Our present DM is doing a long module with our western campaign (Boot Hill/D&D hybrid) that is very heavy on the role-playing but light on combat. Another player plans to DM soon using the same campaign, and her style is also heavy on role-play and light on combat. To contrast these I'm thinking of running a short module in between with characters from our higher-level D&D campaign.

I'm toying with the notion of bringing the adventurers to the Marvel Universe Earth and having them work alongside The Avengers. Our D&D world has both the Norse and Greek Pantheons, and a situation has recently come up where the characters need a favor from both Asgard and Olympus. So this module plot would center around a rescue mission, with the Avengers Thor and Hercules having recently been captured (by Dr. Doom & Magneto) and needing the combined might of everyone to free them using two simultaneous groups, each group being an even mix of the two hero teams.

The module would run around four to five games and would be combat heavy and very fast-paced, using Mutants and Masterminds rules. Each player would have character sheets for their D&D player and for an Avenger, playing one with each rescue team. I think it would be a lot of fun, especially for the players in the group who are big comic-book fans. It would also give me a chance to use some Marvel resources that are otherwise gathering dust (several hand-painted Marvel hero lead miniatures, some recently acquired heroclix, and several old TSR Marvel modules).

Anyway, I'd be interested in your thoughts and comments. Have any of you ever done anything similar to this?

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

I've never done anything like this, but I certainly am a big comic book fan, so I'd be very inerested in hearing how this turns out. Keep us all posted!

 

[Steverooo]

I've always regretted that my RPing friends were never interested in Super-Hero RPing, as I enjoy it. Higher-level D&D characters are basically super heroes like the Black Knight, anyway (Magic sowrd & armor, pegasus as a mount, etc). Mages are kinda Dr. Strange. I've tried to get some RPing friends to create "SuperKnight" style characters for a game, but it's never sold.

When going to the modern age, don't forget that no one here speaks Common... You might want to have whoever sends them here provide Amulets of Tongues (which can get lost), or somesuch. These might also be "the way home", as well. Also, the few times that I've gotten to play stuff like this, I have had great fun with TV news, firearms, and running the newly-arrived, weapons-toting PCs into a bunch of NYC Police officers intent on "disarming" them... Hee! The cops never last long.

Anyway, D&D characters in the modern age are always fun, and will generally mop the floor with NPCs. Super heroes might be another matter, though...

The problems I foresee are "Power Interactions". Does Dr. Doom's Whatsit device affect the Wizard's Shield spell, or whatever. That can take a lot of preparation.

Technology should also not work "back home", and magic have a lower chance of working, here. Something like Spell Failure on a sliding scale, where first level spells ALWAYS have a 5% greater chance of failing, second 4%, fifth fifth 1%, and sixth or higher always work... It may not come up, but it will be an additional booger for the PCs, if every once in a while a spell just... FAILS, for no apparent reason... This helps drive home the fact that Earth is a different place!

Good luck with it, and... HAVE FUN!

 

[Silver Moon]

I've never done anything like this, but I certainly am a big comic book fan, so I'd be very inerested in hearing how this turns out. Keep us all posted!

Will do. Expect to see it as a ENWorld "Story Hour" (probably in May) under the title "Avengers Assemble".

 

[Silver Moon]

When going to the modern age, don't forget that no one here speaks Common.

They've actually adventured to modern worlds a few times before, and we didn't use a language barrier then so I probably won't this time either.

Also, the few times that I've gotten to play stuff like this, I have had great fun with TV news, firearms, and running the newly-arrived, weapons-toting PCs into a bunch of NYC Police officers intent on "disarming" them... Hee! The cops never last long.

They've gone to great lengths to avoid the authorities in prior encounters like this. In fact, they were once in the midst of a heated battle with enemies from their own world inside of a closed K-Mart at night (a had a large store blueprint that we used as the battlemap) and they actually called a temporary truce and hid alongside their foes when the cops came around.

Does Dr. Doom's Whatsit device affect the Wizard's Shield spell, or whatever. That can take a lot of preparation.

The best preparation for situations like that is my quarter-century of both playing D&D and reading comics from my 10,000+ collection. I should be able to wing it as I am more concerned with keeping the game pace fast and fun than getting bogged down in detailed rules.

Technology should also not work "back home".

Actually we have let them bring modern things back (even people), but there have always been strict constraints placed (finite amount of ammo for guns, etc.) to keep these modern items rare and of only limited use on a D&D world.

This helps drive home the fact that Earth is a different place!

That's something my gaming group is great with - they play it as their characters would, dismissing most modern things as being just a different flavor of magic. In past encounters on modern worlds they have been far more interested in things like Pop-tart pasteries and beer in cans than stuff like guns or communication devices.