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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8244996" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/vjOZa2p.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Part 3: Adventure TimeThe final non-appendix section of this book details advice on running superhero-flavored adventures in 5th Edition along with 3 sample adventures.Chapter 9: Running Supers AdventuresThis slightly brief section is all fluff, suggesting sample campaign styles. The first are Teen Heroes, which involves setting up common premises (are they part of a school? Do they have mentors?) along with a suggested campaign arc that focuses on personal development as they come to terms with their place in society. How they measure up against or differentiate themselves from the older generation of superheroes is another important aspect.The second suggestion is the typical Superteam a la Avengers or Justice League. Beyond asking whether the PCs are part of, allied with, or replacing the Portaleers, it also asks questions like who is a PC’s archenemy, a time they saved the city, and the life they have beyond superheroing.The final suggestion is Grimdark Heroes, which beyond the typical scene-setting advice suggests that players have “more freedom to lean into blatant parody or satire.”I dunno about this one chief. Rob Liefeld can be pretty amusing and cringy, but if your gaming group wants to do a serious Watchmen-style game it may not be very fun having a PC named Bloodpouch spoiling the mood.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/Wsq6ksf.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Chapter 10: Secret Origin!Moving on to adventures proper, we have a 1st level adventure dedicated to introducing our players to Beacon! Equal parts investigation and action, the backstory is that a pair of scientists researching the effects of mind control on brain chemistry had a falling out when they both had different ends for their means. Professor Faulkner wanted to use it for psychological aid to help alleviate the guilt of mind control victims by proving objective evidence that it wasn’t their fault, while Professor Alder wanted to pursue this research to gain power over others.The research project ends up scuttled of funds once Faulkner shared his worries with an ethics board, propelling Alder to take ever more drastic means of completing his work by turning himself into a ghost and discovering means of possessing multiple bodies at once. He plans on submitting his findings to Beacon’s various criminal masterminds to gain the power, money, and recognition he so craves.The adventure has three major Issues, or sections of plot and the PCs level up after each one’s completion. The first issue opens up with an ancient red dragon mind-controlled by one of the Ghost’s devices attacking Argentum Square. The Portaleers are already on the case, fighting the wyrm while collateral damage threatens civilians below. The PCs (once they find a convenient excuse to slip out of their secret identities if they have any) face a variety of challenges, from falling glass shards to opportunistic looters to people trapped in a burning building. None of these challenges have any suggested damage/saves/skill DCs, unfortunately. The PCs do get to fight a dragon wyrmling who has a mind-controlling device on its neck that can be spotted by a passive Perception of 10 or more and can be targeted and damaged on its own (but have 4 rounds to do so before it flies away). PCs who fail to notice will have one of the Portaleers quickly call out the weak spot while passing by during their fight with the bigger dragon. After this encounter, the ancient red red dragon falls into a crater and the Portaleers call for the PCs to help take it down. The adventure mentions that the dragon may try to attack and even kill the Portaleers, but we don’t have stats for said heroes which is a rather big oversight. The PCs have 4 rounds to remove or destroy the mind-controlling before it takes to the skies and retreats. If the beast is freed, he’ll introduce himself as Carl (I love that name for a dragon) and be horrified at the damage he caused, offering to help with the rebuilding.In the aftermath, Intellect of the Portaleers gives praise on the PCs’ quick and brave actions during the chaos and asks them to meet at the Atrium of Lights tomorrow. And then they level up.I’m not a fan of this opening. 1st level is a terrible one to start at for a superhero-style campaign, and it feels rather anticlimactic to be fighting a baby dragon while the ‘real heroes’ are dealing with the greater danger above. Beyond the stats already provided in the Monster Manual this Issue has no useful mechanics for dealing with the collateral hazards or stats for the relevant Portaleers. Furthermore, the fight with the ancient red dragon will either be a non-issue (as the GM pulls their punches) or can end up killing one or more PCs as the creature is CR 24 and even a single attack with a minimum damage roll can cause Instant Death to the average 1st-level character.Issue 2 has the PCs meet with the Portaleers at their headquarters. The level of Paragon’s Peak can provide worldbuilding infodumps on Ghaistala if the PCs need it via guided tours, and they can socially interact with Intellect. As the rest of the Portaleers are busy reinforcing city defenses for a future attack, Intellect asks the PCs if they can help follow leads as to whoever was controlling the dragons. There are 3 people and locations the PCs can check out: the Green Dragon Gang who recently stole items that can create such technology, Professor Kedrick Faulkner who was researching mind control, and Doctor Amano who is an ally of the Portaleers and can find out useful information about any technology the PCs find.The Green Dragon Gang hangs out at a seedy jazz club in Lowcity, and the crime lord Ed Jorino can tell the party that they accepted a burglary job from a new supervillain known as the Ghost for a future terrorist attack on Beacon. The PCs can get this information either by beating up his goons, by offering to take out a rival up and coming mob boss (who has Gladiator stats and will be a big challenge for 2nd level PCs), or some other manner where they pull a fast one on Ed. Informing the Portaleers of this plan will help reinforce the city further, minimizing casualties in the climax.The second lead is in Argentum Square where the party meets Faulkner, whether on campus or his home or somewhere else. He can tell the PCs about his history with Alder as well as his home address in Lowcity, asking for the PCs to retrieve any research notes they find as they can help stop whatever scheme he’s up to. The PCs can find more clues there, but will be attacked by Alder. He will exit his own body astrally as the Ghost  if the PCs subdue him or find a special collar device which is keeping his body and soul attached. If the PCs lose the fight Alder will destroy his notes (but not the collar) and escape, but PCs who manage to secure the notes can get special protective devices from Doctor Amano that give them advantage on saving throws vs the Ghost’s powers. At this point the PCs advance to 3rd level.Doctor Amano can reverse-engineer the collar found in the lab to act as a tracking beacon to find the Ghost’s hidden lair deep in the Ivory Wilds forest. Arriving there, the PCs will have to fight possessed animals (ranging from apes to black bears) along with a giant guardian plant monster known as That Which Lurks at the entrance to the base. Mind-controlled civilians are building collars, and PCs must take care to subdue them with minimal injury; those who are careless can cause them to end up heavily injured, and they may lead a campaign to turn public opinion against the heroes in the future. There’s also a giant scrying projector being watched by three mastermind-style characters (CEO of Asha Trading Company, Count Abramovich, and the Marquis of the Shattered Sons), viewing a scene of mind-controlled dragons attacking Beacon. The Ghost is showcasing his work to them in another room, and the trio won’t interfere with the PCs; the Ghost is a newcomer to the world of supervillainy, and is still in the process of being judged.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/0a501qF.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />I have a few minor complaints about this. First off, it is totally within the PCs’ rights to go “you’re all under arrest” and try to take down the three masterminds. But the Count and the Marquis are quite high CR; even if they prioritize escape, a few of their attacks can put a dent on PCs when the party’s at a level where resources and spells are more precious than ever. Additionally, the Marquis is Chaotic Good; it seems quite out of character for him to be okay with widespread civilian casualties. I can get the idea of “break a few eggs to make an omelet” mentality, but in such a case he wouldn’t be well...good-aligned in a typical comic book morality, or at the very least be persuaded to take down the Ghost.The PCs can fight the Ghost in a final battle. Such a clash is timed, for the longer the party takes to dispatch him the greater the casualties mounted on Beacon. PCs have various means of resolving this. If Professor Faulkner and Doctor Amano are present they can help the PCs appeal to the Ghost’s better nature and call off the attack, instill doubt in him during the fight (manifesting as disadvantage on his next attack or saving throw), or help free one character from the Ghost’s control or outright damage the Ghost by operating the lab’s machinery to shock him with lightning.Statwise the Ghost is a CR 6 humanoid who can move in an incorporal manner, as well as take over people as thralls and fire Ecto Blasts from their line of sight.PCs who manage to stop the Ghost’s plans win the gratitude and sponsorship of the Portaleers, earning one of their number as a patron.So my thoughts about this adventure are mixed. It has the good set-up of a typical superhero plot, with the right mixture of action and investigation. I like the concept of the Ghost, and how the adventure’s nonlinear style provides additional boons for successful investigations (fewer casualties, protective devices, etc) rather than stopping the party in their tracks if they fail to find some clue.That being said, the low-level nature hurts things more than it helps, even if the party is gaining levels at a rapid rate. I wonder why the adventure didn’t just start at 3rd level, at a time when classes earn their archetypes. The business of the Portaleers is answered regarding the dragon attacks as to why they’re not doing the adventure themselves, but even so it stretches credibility when the PCs are so...well, hapless against some of the threats. There’s even an optional encounter of the party having to hide from a purple worm in the Ivory Forest, which doesn’t feel very superheroic.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/ElNnMaZ.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Chapter 11: A Study in LifeThe next adventure is a significant bump from the last one, starting at 10th level and advancing to 13th over the course of 3 Issues. Presumed to take place at a time when the party are now respected and established superheroes, the party is attending the funeral of the superhero Lifewake. But she is brought to undeath by unknown means and starts attacking everyone present! It’s clear that there’s internal conflict going on, as during the battle a confusion-style d8 random effect table causes her to struggle against herself, manifesting uncontrolled necromantic attacks, or doubling over in pain while screaming for help among other regrettable results. During the fight, a successful Insight check detects that she looks over to Heart frequently, and if the PCs point this out then said Portaleer can lead her away into a more desolate battleground to minimize civilian casualties. PCs can also insta-KO her by ridding her of her pained emotions with the appropriate ability or spell.Once Lifewake collapses, Intellect and Heart asks the PCs to investigate why this happened, including a list of her known associates. During their investigation they learn that a craftsperson known as Jon was stalking Lifewake a week before her death. They also learn that she was last seen near the docks upon suspicion that three of her friends were press-ganged into service at sea.Jon is in fact Lifewake’s father, and is resentful of the Portaleers encouraging her into the dangerous lifestyle of a superhero. He does mention that he spied her meeting with what appeared to be Docent, the Portaleers’ golem assistant, somewhere down at the docks.All the while, the PCs are being spied on as they investigate. An airborne scrying sensor shadowed by a robe gives the appearance of a ghost-like cloaked figure which the PCs will see in the street outside. Following it causes the scrying spell to abruptly disconnect, the cloak falling to the ground.As all leads point to the docks, the PCs will find a warehouse that is actually one of XX’s safehouses. One of his creations, Docent 2.0, is a near-perfect facsimile of the Portaleers’ construct, only evil and now in an upgraded stone golem body. Inert bodies hooked up to equipment will transform into ghasts during the fight.The final Issue puts the PCs on the trail of XX the Sciencelich, and is open-ended in how they confront him. The adventure suggests placing NPCs who mysteriously disappeared over the course of the campaign as undead thralls, and if the PCs are in danger of a TPK then Intellect will swoop in to fight alongside them. This time we have stats for the one of the Portaleers: Intellect’s an Assassin but with 20s in various ability scores and 3 more special abilities: he can Disengage/Hide/Dash as Legendary Actions, can Slow Fall as a Monk, and can Stun creatures if they fail a Con save whenever he sneak attacks them.PCs victorious over XX can discover through his research notes that he was trying to find ways to create arkwave-empowered individuals at will rather than waiting every 20 years, and Lifewake was the greatest key to his experiment.PCs will be rewarded with guild coins that can be redeemed for magic items and/or services up to 10,000 gp, 10,000 gp in actual money, and membership as honorary Portaleers if they aren’t already.I like this adventure better than the first, even if it is a bit shorter and more straightforward. I like that Lifewake’s battle had alternative means of winning, and making use of one of the cooler supervillains in Supers & Sorcery is another plus.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/eZKTUfT.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Chapter 12: Hatred of the Hyper-DemonThe final adventure is a 20th-level one where the PCs have to save not just Beacon, but reality itself, from a demon lord who seeks to reawaken Nul! After the Portaleers mysteriously disappear, the Hyper-Demon’s giant spherical orb-fortress floats above the bay, accompanied by a kaiju known as Cavsoi* the Wavemaker who is being controlled by the Hyper-Demon. The first Issue involves shepherding civilians from the quickly-flooding Lowcity docks, while the second Issue involves breaking through the orb’s outer layer into the Hyper-Demon’s lair. These tasks are rather open-ended given the powers and abilities possessed by high-level PCs, but the orb’s defenses (both inside and out) are well-detailed with contingent traps.*the text also calls him Cavois, don’t know which one’s correct.Throughout the lair the Hyper-Demon will taunt the PCs, indirectly informing them of his evil plan with sample lines. In a processing room filled with paragite-infused water the PCs can find the fate of the Portaleers: trapped and unconscious within Wall of Force-sustained glass pods. The Hyper-Demon will pretend to be angry and fearful as the PCs enter, trying to trick them into thinking that interacting with glowing panels will help free them but in reality is intended to make them waste their time, magic, and resources. The Hyper-Demon may even cause a single pod to open up to further reinforce the ruse. During this time hordes of demons will pour into the rooms to fight the heroes in waves, starting with a lot of weak demons at first but then smaller numbers of stronger ones. There’s also an illusion-guarded secret control room the PCs can find, which contains machinery the PCs can use or sabotage to rescue the Portaleers and set the kaiju free of the Hyper-Demon’s control.Issue 3 begins when the PCs manage to rescue the Portaleers, shut down the lair’s defenses, or otherwise happens at a dramatically appropriate time. The entire fortress starts tearing apart and falling through the sky in irregular-sized and shaped chunks. The tears in reality and their counter effects cause much of the debris to fall far slower and/or be pushed back up in a loop, and the PCs come face to face with the Hyper-Demon. The PCs have 12 rounds to stop the supervillain before he summons Nul to the world, resulting in an Instant Game Over. Every time the Hyper-Demon uses Energy Drain an additional round is lost, and he’ll use this whenever he can. It’s a rechargeable move on a 5-6 on a d6, so it’s entirely possible that PCs will have much less time to defeat him due to factors out of their control.But beyond this, the Hyper-Demon also bears a Control Rod which he can use to make Cavsoi attack the PCs. PCs can disarm or destroy it, causing the kaiju to turn his wrath on the Hyper-Demon or retreat back into the oceanic depths respectively. Cavsoi has no stats but he’s given a list of damaging attacks performed on initiative count 20 on every round. The Hyper-Demon also positions himself under paragite-infused water that heals him every round but nobody else (and the waterfall comes from an extraplanar portal that can be dispelled).Stat-wise the Hyper-Demon is a CR 23 humanoid (not fiend strangely) who has two forms. His first regular form has a variety of radiation-themed attacks, from a Plasma Blast to an Atomic Fist and an exhaustion-inducing Energy Drain attack. He also has Legendary Actions including an AoE pulse of Nul energy dealing necrotic damage. Once he’s reduced to 0 HP he willingly lets a piece of Nul into his soul, gaining 300 hit points* along with new Legendary Actions that can reduce a target’s maximum HP, blind multiple targets for one turn, and an AoE glimpse of a damage-dealing nightmarish hellscape.*he had 241 in his first form, so 541 total.Hatred of the Hyper-Demon has a very cool set-up, although I don’t like the swingy nature of the “countdown combat” where rolls of a d6 may very well make it impossible for PCs to win. Besides the final fight the only other bit of combat are the waves of demon hordes which may be tedious, and the gauntlet of traps may also be equally tiresome as they’re very clearly meant to whittle down the party’s resources. I get the fact that it’s a climactic adventure where time is of the essence, but it could have benefitted from more variety in enemy types. It also doesn’t take into consideration the possibility of dealing with the kaiju first independently, making the lack of appropriate stats even more of a glaring omission.Thoughts So Far: The adventures are a mixed bag for me. A Study in Life is one that I like overall, although Secret Origin left a cold taste in my mouth and Hatred of the Hyper-Demon could use more variety. Secret Origin has a good plot and adventure structure set up, which on its own is perfectly fine. But within the confines of low-level 5th Edition it is a very poor fit for the superhero genre.Join us next time as we wrap up this book’s final chapter and appendices, covering magic items, lairs, and kaiju!</blockquote>

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