VILLAINS - Marvel Minions

[Hand of Vecna]

I don't know if psychotic, would apply as the weakness. But maybe the fact he takes nothing seriously, and thinks life is a game? I mean, I doubt if he going out of his way to save anyone. Ally or not, afterall to his mind, thier liable to get right back up. I don't think he realizes that he is unique in that regard. As far as that goes, he won't be careful of himself either, regardless of the risk. He's likely to walk into an active nuclear reactor. Its all meaningless.

True... but I'll leave it up to the GM to determine how much that would be worth as a Weakness.

 

[Kevin Perrine]

gimme the weekend folks and I'll have everything done to wrap this and start the game (hopefully).
I get slow online at the end of the week 'cause of my two table top games (Claremont Academy and a Midnight D&D campaign).

I have the Villain Point variant almost complete then I just need to confirm character stats. I have Excel sheets for Porcupine and Batroc (jesus you guys rock with your choices!!) and I'll go through them soon.

quickly - Porcupine.... I saw incorrectly costed out his Power Stunts under powers as 1 point each (6 points total)


and not that you NEED to but neither really fully use the character sheet stuff - like noting in your other speeds (like leaping) and melee damage or protection types, etc...

looking good though.

I have a bunch of background for the original Enforcers, Eel, and several others everyone chose.
The only one I'm having trouble finding is Spiderwoman, in fact she's the only one I'm not really familiar with. (I remembered Oddball afterall!!)

I'd rather you go with Typhoid Mary or even Diamondback if you're not stuff with Spiderwoman. but if you heart is set I can deal...

things you guys can do prior to me getting stuff back.......

- start figuring out WHO knows whom on the "team", who's heard of whom and who knows little to nothing of each other. any are cool.
Since there's little info on these relationships feel free to make stuff up in the spirit of the 4-color fun.

also all should assume that their characters are familiar with (in name if not having fought them) nearly all the major Marvel Heroes and Villains.... so when we roleplay you can talk/complain about them.

I'll list out some other villains (C & B tier) that you'd probably all know below...

you'd all know either by name or having worked with OR fought with the following, you can choose how you feel about them personally and professionally:

- Trapster
- Stiltman
- Taskmaster
- the Wizard
- all of the villains from the Thunderbolts
- most of Spiderman's rogue's gallery
- Mister Hyde
- Whirlwind

more later...
ask if you want to know if you'd know someone specific...

thoughts?
-kev-

 

[Kevin Perrine]

Originally Posted by rangerjohn
I don't know if psychotic, would apply as the weakness. But maybe the fact he takes nothing seriously, and thinks life is a game? I mean, I doubt if he going out of his way to save anyone. Ally or not, afterall to his mind, thier liable to get right back up. I don't think he realizes that he is unique in that regard. As far as that goes, he won't be careful of himself either, regardless of the risk. He's likely to walk into an active nuclear reactor. Its all meaningless.

True... but I'll leave it up to the GM to determine how much that would be worth as a Weakness.

I like Rangerjohn's interpretation of his "mental state", sounds closer to the MadCap I knew and loved (man you're a lucky dog for getting to play him!! but then again so is EVERYONE in this game, I love'm all... maybe someone can GM a story in this campaign sometime so I can whip out a C-tier myself... heheh)

Okay...
I'm gonna bank on this weakness to CAUSE you and the group problems now and then and give you a MODERATE WEAKNESS +5 for it since I dig it so much.

PS...
I REALLY loved the Enforcers flaw I saw noted BTW!!
sorta like Unlucky but directed a little more (that's a full 10 point flaw!)
-kev-

 

[Kevin Perrine]

Here's a start to some of my notes and ideas (I'm working on a How to Play Villains idea)

I'm working on some details for character building, see if you folks have any suggestions or thoughts for these below and see if they work to CHOOSE ONE for your villain character.


Villain Archetypes (choose the best fit, or 2 if needed)
o Avenger
o Brute
o Chameleon
o Crazed
o Insecure
o Letch
o Loyal Henchman
o Manipulator
o Savage
o Rampager
o Selfish
o Zealot
o Assertive
o Conniver Creator
o Fanatic
o Flamboyant
o Foil
o Manipulator
o Masochist
o Perfectionist
o Sadist
o Sycophant
o Assassin
o Sage


Villain Motivations (choose the best fit, or 2 if needed)
o Corruption
o Greed
o Ideology
o Knowledge
o Madness
o Nihilism
o Power
o Pride
o Revenge
o Survival
o Thrills
o Explorer
o Thrill Seeker
o The Chosen One
o Judge
o Achievement
o Affiliation
o Agression
o Autonomy
o Exhibition
o Safety
o Nurturing
o Order
o Power
o Succor
o Understanding
o Fallen Heroes
ß Betrayal
ß Broken
ß Cowardice
ß Love
ß Magic Control/Tainted
ß Mind Controled
ß Revenge
ß Servitude


Please detail your Personality
o Attitude toward others
o Behaviour toward others


Objectives (choose 1 to 3 if needed)
o Immortality
o Wealth
o Military Power
o Political Power
o Super Powers
o Revenge
o Self Agrandisement
o Love



Power Archetypes
o Acrobat
o Elemental
o Martial Artist / Fighter
o Gadgeteer
o Metamorph
o Psychic
o Skulker / Scorge
o Speedster
o Powerhouse / Brick
o Mage



I'm thinking of some new or altered skills and feats... See if what you think of the ideas, and feel free to help me develop them if you'd like!


Skills
o Bluff (play dead)
o Craft (make shody equipment)
o Intimidate (torture for info)


Feats
o Grovel (+3 to Bluff/Diplomacy, can only apply to a minion/sidekick)
o Feint (deceptive combat moves. Prereq: +3 BAB, +4 Bluff)
o Lead Ranged Attacks
o Redirect Attack

 

[Kevin Perrine]

genre conventions

Next up...

I'm working on

GENRE CONVENTIONS
The conventions of a particular genre are commonly accepted elements that frequently appear in that genre. For example, it's a common superhero genre convention that heroes dress in brightly colored costumes and that any effort toward disguising one's secret identity (even just a domino mask or a pair of glasses) is sufficient to fool pretty much everyone. The villianous genre has some particular conventions of its own. Gamemasters running villain campaigns may want to keep these elements in mind and include them in games as a way of making the campaign feel more like the original comic book stories.


what do YOU folks consider common (or not so common) Genre Conventions for Villains that players should remember to make a Villain Campaign work best?


EXAMPLE...
here are the examples for a Teen Genre campaign to give you ideas of what I'm looking for:
- DON'T TRUST ANYONE OVER 20
- KEEP YOUR POWERS TO YOURSELF
- FRIENDS COME FIRST
- TEEN ISSUES MATTER

 

[Kevin Perrine]

Villain Points

I'm still not satisfied with how to award Villain Points completely... I want to emulate the flow of Villains having plenty of points early but not being a continuous resource.
Please read and give me feedback and any thoughts you might have for using these rules for Villain Points...




VILLAINS - the COWARDLY LOT
Villain Points in Mutants & Masterminds are intended to provide an edge to the villains, allowing them to go that extra mile when it really matters. The various uses of Villain Points are described on page 154 of the M&M rulebook. What this article looks at is a new way for heroes to acquire rather than use Villain Points and new ways for the Gamemaster to use them to encourage roleplaying and to give their games a "comic book" feel.

The default Mutants & Masterminds rules assume that the player characters are superheroes battling against evil supervillains controlled by the Gamemaster. In the comics, however, a supervillain might be a fallen hero, and some villains might be struggling to do the what society deems the “right thing” and mend their villainous ways. Players interested in "switching sides" might want to playa villain, and this is the goal we strive to satisfy here, there's no reason the rules should get in the way of a good time.
That’s where this game idea comes in…

VILLAIN POINTS
Just as heroes have Hero Points to allow them to overcome problems and push themselves further, your villains have luck of their own!
Normally Villainous Player Characters have a number of Villain Points based on their power level (see Chapter One: Power Level, p. 20) and Villains may gain additional Villain Points using the Villain 's Luck feat (p. 115, Crooks). With this system Villains regain all spent Villain Points at the start of each adventure (or each game session for long adventures, at the discretion of the GM) back to their starting total. Villain Points that aren't spent during an adventure don't carry over to the next adventure.

The following is a varient of the standard rules for awarding Villain points based on the ideas presented in the M&M Annual #1.

EARNING VILLAIN POINTS
In the standard Mutants & Masterminds rules, villains start out with a number of Villain Points based on their power level and can acquire more through the Villain's Luck feat. Each villain starts out an adventure with a set number of Villain Points. Likewise, the GM starts out with a set number of Hero Points. Ideally, in the comic book genre, the villains run out of points before the heroes do, ensuring that the heroes have a few points left over to spend on the climactic scene of the adventure.
In playing villainous characters there should be a strong desire for players to spend their Villain Points early on in the adventure, either to overcome setbacks or to perform power stunts using extra effort. While the need to conserve Villain Points for the end of the adventure may encourage some players to be more frugal, to play to the villainous genre convention players should be encouraged to spend more Villain Points up front to get see the GM collect more and more Hero Points for the hero’s last stand during the story’s climax. Then, when the villains really need their Villain Points, there aren't any left.
To replicate this villainous convention one option is to change Villain Points from a standardized resource the villains always start with to a more customized resource under the Gamemaster's control, based on the events of the adventure and the actions of the villains. In essence, the villains earn Villain Points, but not exactly in the way you'd think.

Rather than earning Villain Points for their great successes, villains get Villain Points for the failures and embarrassments forced on the heroes and the different challenges they cause for the heroes that face them. These challenges should be of the indirect variety in accordance with the villain’s style, personality and motifs. A perfect hit in battle deserves a Villain Points but we’re also talking about deathtraps, pompous tell-all speeches, and any other devious bits that are common with comic book villains... Rarely will the comic book villain outright kill a hero without gloating, setting a deathtrap and leave the scene, create distractions to allow a villain to his work, destroying the hero’s lives, or going after the sidekick or girlfriend first!

HOW IT WORKS
In comic book stories, heroes often confront the villain(s) and deal with several setbacks. Perhaps the villain defeats them in the first couple encounters. Maybe one or more of the heroes has to overcome a weakness or a personal problem. The villain may have a secret the heroes need to discover, and so forth. By the end of the story, the heroes have overcome these challenges and they're ready to take on the villain. Mutants & Masterminds can reflect this kind of story structure through the awarding of Villain Points for the villainous players and Hero Points for the GM. Villains and the GM under this system start out with no Villain or Hero Points at the beginning of the game (unless a character has the Hero’s or Villain’s Luck feat). The GM gains additional Hero Points as the adventure progresses. When the going gets tough, the heroes get tougher, because the GM get Hero Points to help them overcome the villainous player’s future challenges.
A villain’s number of Villain Points decreases as the adventure progresses.
A character gets a Villain Point for any of the following:
<sum> When the GM heroes roll a natural 1 on a check. (trivial checks, like Knowledge or Profession skill checks should be ignored unless they really benefit the villains)
<sum> When a hero is knocked out or disabled by an opponent, the villain directly causing the KO recieves a Villain Point.
<sum> When a hero is captured or otherwise defeated by a villain player. When a hero is mind-controlled by an opponent and forced to take an action normally against the hero's nature.
<sum> When a villain chooses to put the hero in a comprimising situation, deathtrap or other embarassing moment.
<sum> When a villain delivers an appropriately eloquent dialogue or speech to degrade the hero.
<sum> When a villain spills the beans on details of the villainous plot – all Villainous Players gain a Villain Point! (can’t keep a secret)

The GM gets Hero Points for any of the following:
<sum> When a villain player spends a Villain Point to affect the hero in some way.
<sum> When a villain rolls a natural 20 on a check.
<sum> When facing the villain in each addtional meeting.
<sum> When a villain kills a hero – the GM is awarded 10 Hero Points! (paybacks a bitch villains)

A newly acquired Villain Point can be used to eliminate the circumstances that granted it to the villain!
The only obvious exception to this rule is you can't get knocked out and then spend the Villain Point immediately to try to wake up. You can however spend a Villain Point to aid your getaway in some manner. You can spend Villain Points that you already have (from previous circumstances), but if you eliminate a circumstance by spending an existing Villain Point-such as rerolling a natural-then you don't gain an additional Villain Point for that circumstance, since it didn't "really happen."
This means that villains who force heroes into difficult situations early in an adventure can begin with more Villain Points toward for the adventure. This works much like a comic book story: the heroes face difficulties and setbacks early on, but the more that they struggle, the stronger their resolve and determination become until they're able to overcome the obstacles and defeat the villain.

PLAYING ALONG
One benefit of the system of assigning Villain Points based on setbacks given the heroes is that it allows the GM to reward players for creating the suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune can have against a hero. It in fact encourages them to do so, since the players know that they'll get Villain Points for the difficulties that their characters force. With this system, the GM can bribe the player, saying "Okay, if you give clues to Spiderman prior to leaving him beaten in act one, you get an extra Villain Point for this scene." Likewise, it can serve as a reward for players who choose to endanger civilians to aid your get away without needing to directly effect the heroes. Gamemasters may even choose to apply a "GM's Fiat" rule: the GM gets to "cheat" on behalf of the hero(s), and deduct Villain Points.

SUBPLOTS
Another option open to Gamemasters is to introduce Villain Point awards for subplots in the campaign. A subplot is a personal story involving a villain, dealing with things like relationships, family problems, addictions, the villain's secret identity, unraveling the mystery of the villain's origin, and so forth. When a player roleplays the villain's struggles with a particular subplot, the hero gains a Villain Point for use elsewhere in the adventure. It's often best if the subplot ties into the overall story in some way, but it doesn't have to. In fact, some subplots may have nothing to do with the overall story, they're just parts of the hero's life that intrude at inopportune moments, like a villain trying to distract a hero so she can escape to meet a dinner date on time across town. One possible subplot is the nemesis or archenemy character, a hero the villain especially dislikes or has a personal stake in overcoming. Any adventure where this hero shows up, the villain gets a bonus Villain Point (after the hero's first appearance in the adventure). Note that a villain should only have one archenemy a time. Rewarding subplots with Villain Points encourages players to create and roleplay them for their villains, although, like weaknesses, the Gamemaster should be careful not to let subplots dominate the game. It's difficult to include more than a couple subplots in an adventure, so every player may not get to take advantage of this option in ever adventure. As GM, you should rotate through the villains' subplots over the course of several adventures to give each player a turn in the spotlight and an opportunity to earn some extra Villain Points (which tends to reinforce the player's opportunity to take the spotlight and run with it).

GOOD PLAYER AWARDS
Although Villain Points in this optional system are usually awarded to villains for creating some sort of challenge or setback for the heroes, the Gamemaster can also hand them out as rewards for things like good roleplaying or a clever plan to overcome the hero in a novel and interesting way. This can serve as "good idea insurance," since a Villain Point at the right time makes it more likely that clever plan will succeed (or at least won't be thwarted by a bad die roll).

MAXIMUM HERO POINTS
Using this optional Villain Point system, the Gamemaster can still set a limit on the number of Villain Points characters can accumulate during an adventure. Typically this is half the character's power level, plus any extra Villain Points granted by the Villain’s Luck feat. Players should be encouraged to spend some Villain Points if they reach their maximum before the end of the adventure, since they will be unable to acquire any additional Villain Points and any unspent points are lost at the end of the adventure.

VILLAIN POINTS AND GADGETS
Gamemasters using this optional system of awarding Villain Points may wish to take into account characters with the Gadgets power (or other powers with a variable effect that requires Villain Points). Since Villain Points are required to use the power, and villains start out with none, how can the character use the power early in the adventure? Allow the player to "set" the gadgets power in a particular configuration for free at the start of the adventure, costing no Villain Points. Changing the power's configuration to a new gadget still requires Villain Points, however. So the character has one or more gadgets "on hand," but they mayor may not be the right ones the hero needs in the first encounter. This allows the character to earn a Villain Point or two and reconfigure the Gadgets power to be better prepared in future encounters, which is exactly the sort of things gadgeteers do in the comics.


SPENDING VILLAIN POINTS
Players can spend Villain Points on any of the following:
Re-roll a die roll:
One Villain Point allows you to re-roll any die roll you make and take the better ofthe two rolls. If both rolls are below 10, treat your roll as a 10. You can spend only one Villain Point per roll.
Improve your Defense:
Once per round you can spend a Villain Point to increase a character's Defense by 5. This bonus lasts until the beginning of that character's next action.
Recover from stunned:
You can spend a Villain Point to allow a character to immediately shake off a stunned condition.
Ignore fatigue:
Any time a character would be fatigued by taking an action, including extra effort (above), you can spend a Villain Point to allow the character to ignore the fatigue result.
Overcome injury:
If a character is disabled (see Damage and Injury, p. 128), you can spend a Villain Point to allow him to take a strenuous action for one round without his condition worsening to dying. Characters still can take only a half action each round and their condition doesn't improve, they're just able to overcome the pain and injury for a few moments.
Escape death:
If a character is dying, you can spend a Villain Point to automatically stabilize and prevent him from dying, although this doesn't protect the character from any further damage.
You also can spend a Villain Point to allow a villain to escape from otherwise certain death, such as a spectacular explosion that destroys his headquarters.
Inspiration:
Finally, you can spend a Villain Point to give your villain a sudden burst of insight or inspiration in the form of a hint, clue, or bits of help from the GM. It might be a way out of the heroes capture, a vital clue for committing a crime, or an idea about the heroes weakness. It’s up to the GM exactly how much help you get from the inspiration.
PLAYING FOR THE MOMENT
An additional option is to allow players to choose to play for the moment. At ANY TIME during the adventure, except the final climactic scene, a player may choose to spend multiple Villain Points in a round. Normally players can only spend a single Villain Point per round, but while playing for the moment a player can spend multiple Villain Points, up to all the Villlain Points that the hero has remaining. These Villain Points have their normal effects, but can be applied to different uses in the round. So a player could spend three Villain Points in a round: one to eliminate the fatigue of extra effort, one to shake off a stun result, and one to re-roll for success.

Unlike Hero Points,
Villain Points do not allow a villain to do certain things the hero can.
No elimination of stun hits:
Villain Points do not allow a villain to eliminate stun hits, decreasing your stun hits by 5 giving yourself a second wind.
No faster recovery:
Villain Points do not allow a villain to recover faster from being knocked out or disabled, getting an immediate check to recover.

 

[Hand of Vecna]

Spider-Woman IV's a fairly new character, so it's quite possible none of us have heard of her. Madcap probably knows of Batroc & Porcupine, since both have fought Captain America on numerous occassions (Porcupine was in fact a member of Batroc's Brigade at one point). He's probably heard of Oddball, since Oddballs' faced off against both Cap and Hawkeye (plus, he's odd enough to warrant Madcap's attention anyway ). He'd probably know of The Enforcers, since they are (or were at one point) well-known as being the Kingpin's Chief Goons. Batroc, Oddball, and Porcupine have probably all shared a beer or three at various "Villain Clubs," though I doubt they'd invite Madcap over (what with their being a good chance they'd go crazy if they made eye contact). The Enforcers may've heard of Madcap -- Madcap was being experimented on by Dr. Karl Malus at one point, and Kingpin may've seen that as a threat (after all, if Malus isn't working for the Kingpin, and is working on making superpowered criminals, he's a "business rival"; then again, maybe Malus has been working for Kingpin all along....).

"All the Villains from the Thunderbolts"? You mean the T-Bolts themselves, or the Villains they fought (like Graviton)? Graviton's as big a threat as Magneto, power-wise (he killed most all the Redeemers single-handedly), he just doesn't have the Charisma/chutzpah to be an effective leader.

Madcap's insanity if a Moderate (+5 point) Weakness? Groovy, and, yes, Weaknesses should cause problems (else they're not really a Weakness). Oh, and, technically, he is psychotic -- a psychotic is "marked by or affected with psychosis," while a psychosis is "a fundamental mental derangement characterized by defective or lost contact with reality." Madcap's Uber-Nihilism & Hebephrenia (a form of schizophrenia characterized especially by incoherence, delusions lacking an underlying theme, and affect that is flat, inappropriate, or silly) would qualify him as being a Psychotic

Madcap's Villain Archetype: Crazed, but with a touch of Fanatic & Flamboyant.
Madcap's Villainous Motivation: Madness/Nihilism... and a touch of Ideology.
Personality: Mad as a March Hare & crazier than a sh*thouse rat. "There is no cause & effect, no purpose for anything, no rationality, no Higher Power to be accountable to. It's all a Cosmic Joke, and the sooner you clue in to that, the better off you'll be!"
Madcap's Objectives: Hrm... of the ones given, I suppose Military & Political Power is the closest one. He doesn't want military or political power for himself, he wants to disband them, b/c, ultimately, there is no reason for their existence. Of course, Love isn't out of the question...
Power Archetype: Very hard to pin down for Madcap. He's sorta a Brick (it's not hard to knock 'im down, it's getting 'im to stay down that's the trick), and he's sorta a Psychic (due to his "Gaze of Absurdity").

Genre Conventions for this Campaign? Hrm... we're playing as Villains, not as Villains-Masquerading-as-Heroes, not Villains-Seeking-Redemption, right? And this is going to be more a Four-Color thing, not Grim-&-Gritty, right? Hrrmm... only two I can think of is Always Remeber to Gloat and Never use a gun when an overly-elaborate Death Trap will suffice (and never stick around to actually see the Death Trap kill the Hero -- you've got better things to do, like commit more crimes!).

By the by, why can't we use VP's to eliminate Stun hits or to recover faster?

Oh, and I still need that help with Excel, so I can use the Simpson's Char Sheet....

 

[Velmont]

I have updated the enforcers. They are completed. I have given them a bit more background than my two arcs of Ultimate Spiderman told me.

Montana was an ex circus performer, Fancy Dan an ex street rat and Ox an ex boxer.

The Enforcers
Villain Archetypes: Loyal Henchmen
Motivation: Servitude
Objective: Wealth
Power Archtype: Figther (Whip master, two-hand gunner, fist figther)
Personality: The Enforcers have seen themselves to be upgraded in the Kingpin hierarchy when Mr Big has been killed. They first care for there skins, which include defend Kingpin interest, as if they do otherwise, it is sure the Kingpin will have them. Outside that, they take the life ligthly, as these moments are somehow rare.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Spider-Woman IV's a fairly new character, so it's quite possible none of us have heard of her.

Appearances are peter parker spider-man vol2 #5, amazing Spiderman vol: 5-6, 14 and I think spider-girl/woman #9 (maybe more...) (mostly of the books where published around 1998)

I'd rather you go with Typhoid Mary or even Diamondback if you're not stuff with Spiderwoman. but if you heart is set I can deal...

I know next to nothing about Typhoid Mary... I'm not even sure if I have even read a comic book that featured her.

Diamondback, I know a little more about... Or I know that she tried to come clean out of love for Captain America. I'm not sure how villainous I could player her, I see her a being a very reluctant villain cause of this, it would almost need to be her past coming back to haunt her... Maybe a relative is kidnapped and an ultimatum is delivered.

I would need to read on her background some, but I just don’t see her associating with any of the others…

As for Spider-Woman, rather untouched, very obscure, I have little to work with and that means the changes of not roleplaying her correctly are slim to none.

(I’ll need to read on the rules later…)

 

[Hand of Vecna]

Typhoid Mary's Marvel Super Heroes Stats. She suffers from Disassociative Personality Disorder (aka split personality). As "Typhoid", she's a psychopath with low-level psychokinetic abilities, but as "Mary", she's a sweet innocent. Which made her the perfect instrument for the Kingpin to employ to destroy Daredevil -- Mary could seduce him, Typhoid could shatter him.