WW2 Superheroes Brainstorming

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, he could be like nearly every other green LT depicted in the movie- so insistent on doing things "by the book" that he causes more problems than he solves.

And instead of rewarding initiative, he punishes those who find innovative solutions to the situations he exacerbates because they didn't follow procedure.

When told that the old LT wouldn't have done things "by the book," he would, of course, respond "look how well that worked out for him, too!" and assign someone some KP or latrine duty for insubordination.

He could also put repeat offenders "on point."

Key movies: Southern Comfort, Aliens, Big Red One.

 

[ArghMark]

Of course!

Man, why in the world didn't I think of that. Of those movies I've only seen Aliens, but I seemed to have suffered a mental blank.

Thanks again, Dannyalcatraz!

Here's a question for you and everyone - what do you think would be a cool encounter/campaign idea for use in WW2?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The most obvious design would be to center the campaign around a superheroic Special Forces Unit- lets call them something cool like Liberty Arrows (wearing black berets or caps w/a silver arrowheaded lightning bolt pin or helmets with the symbol painted on it)- attached directly to a particular branch of the military.

For added realism, you could have team draw from all branches of the military and have skills packages based on backgrounds. Make sure the players design their PCs with appropriate skills- they are soldiers after all.

With the right PC design, someone could even come from a "spook" background, being trained in espionage rather than soldiery, but still attached to the group and part of its internal hierarchy.

Think about how they're supposed to get to their assignments- do they parachute in? Do they have specialized vehicles (motorcycles, perhaps)? Are they trained in amphibious assaults?

Equipment matters too. Do they get any of the standard military gear- fatigues, sidearms, grenades, or special weapons (flamethrower, mortar, bazooka, etc.)- or are they expected to operated in superheroic costumes and depend upon their powers to do what they do? Personally, I like the first idea better. They are soldiers after all, and giving them standard gear helps reinforce that thought AND lets you adjust the power level of the game in a meaningful and sensible fashion- a player can't dump all of his PC's build points into a "Nova Blast" if he also has to buy skills & equipment appropriate to his rank and expertise.

For adventure ideas, I'd just rip off anything I've seen in a military movie or TV- M.A.S.H., Big Red One, Firebase Gloria, Platoon, and the old classic Sahara (w/Humphrey Bogart) spring to mind- or any historical battle that you know about. To that end, I'd tune into a bit more Military History Channel or the like. You can either have the PCs show up in those historic battles or do a bit of DM fiddling and have battles similar to those of history show up in a more convenient location.