Difference between revisions of "Some Assembly Required (an Avengers PBP game)"

From RPGnet
Jump to: navigation, search
(Cast)
(Cast)
Line 35: Line 35:
 
[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?159021-drreamscape drreamscape] as '''Wasp''' (inactive)
 
[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?159021-drreamscape drreamscape] as '''Wasp''' (inactive)
  
[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?4541-Fred Fred] as '''Thor''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19178773#post19178773 FASERIP) and '''Gray Hulk'''
+
[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?4541-Fred Fred] as '''Thor''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19178773#post19178773 FASERIP]) and '''Gray Hulk'''
  
 
[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?3797-Ryan-L Ryan L] as '''Iceman''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19257523#post19257523 FASERIP]/ICONS AE)
 
[http://forum.rpg.net/member.php?3797-Ryan-L Ryan L] as '''Iceman''' ([http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760750-FASERIP-Avengers-Some-Assembly-Required&p=19257523#post19257523 FASERIP]/ICONS AE)

Revision as of 07:47, 6 March 2016

Art by Ziven of Nine

Some Assembly Required is an Avengers PBP game set on Marvel Universe Earth-2015 and run using TSR's Marvel Super-Heroes RPG (FASERIP). The original pitch by Bellerophon is:


I want to do a game about the Avengers as an organization - during the course of the game, players might play three or four different heroes. This rotating cast of characters allows for a diverse array of stories and settings - you can have the stories where the Avengers go into space, and the stories where they go into the sewers. To compound this idea of the team being more than any single person, maybe there's some focus on the workings of the Avengers - staff meetings around the table, votes on new members, courts martial - the general everyday life around the Mansion/Compound/Hydro-Base/Tower (Wow they've had a lot of HQs...).

That's not to say that superheroics will take a back seat - far from it. The Avengers have an incredibly diverse rogues gallery to draw upon, in re-interpretations of old stories and new ones as well.

Now, my thought is to set the game in a new, parallel universe, called 617 or 618 or something like that, that is practically quite close to the mainstream continuity (Cap is Steve Rogers, Wasp and Ant-Man helped form the original team) but is different enough that we won't be slaves to the continuity, while still having that baseline level of familiarity with the iconic characters (Not that any real knowledge of the books is required. Your characterization of, say, Dane Whitman might be totally new). One thing I do want to stick to, despite the AU nature of all of this, is having players play pre-existing characters (or new interpretations of them); there's a certain cachet in being able to instantly know something about the other characters on the team, rather than having to deal with original characters and fit them into the narrative, especially in a game with a large ensemble cast.


Recruitment Thread

IC Thread

OOC Thread


Gamemasters

Bellerophon


Cast

Bullwinkle J. Moose as Spider-Man (FASERIP) (inactive)

Bunch as Moon Knight (FASERIP/ICONS AE)

Captain Astounding as Dr. Druid (FASERIP/ICONS AE)

Dogr_Dollarsson as Titanium Man (FASERIP/ICONS AE)

drreamscape as Wasp (inactive)

Fred as Thor (FASERIP) and Gray Hulk

Ryan L as Iceman (FASERIP/ICONS AE)

ScottL as Scarlet Witch (FASERIP/ICONS AE)

Sonsaku as Kid Loki (FASERIP/ICONS AE) (pretended to be Namor)

Sharon MacGuire as Captain Marvel (FASERIP/ICONS AE)

Timeline

2004 - The mutant terrorist known only as Magneto makes his first public show of force, his terrorist group the Brotherhood of Mutants triggering an EMP in Lansing, Michigan that leaves thousands of Americans without power for weeks. Federal response is heavily criticized for its unpreparedness for the disaster. Public opinion is dire for the rising Mutant Menace, with reports of more mutants appearing every week. Geneticist Charles Xavier urges caution, claiming that "we know so little about these mutants, considering them a threat would be premature."

2005 - The original five X-Men, teenagers at the time, are formed to help give a counterpoint to this anti-mutant hysteria following Magneto's attacks. Note: the general public isn't aware that blue-furred Avenger Beast is a mutant, or that he was a member of this original team.

2009 - Four amateur astronauts return from the first privately funded space flight with mysterious abilities granted through cosmic radiation. They save New York from subterranean invasion and begin careers as "Science Adventurers," dubbed the Fantastic Four. This marks the beginning of the so-called "Age of Heroes".

2010 - Teenager Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, changing everything for him.

2011 - a new, non-teenager incarnation of the X-Men is formed. Key members include Storm and Wolverine, as well as a young girl from Deerfield, IL.

2012 - The Avengers are founded to combat Loki, the would-be Conquerer of earth. WW2 Era hero Captain America is unearthed from the ice.

2012 - The Avengers defeat the homicidal AI Ultron, who planned to take control of the world's nuclear stockpiles and erase humanity from existence.

2012 - The Avengers defeat Heinrich Zemo and his Masters of Evil, unfortunately leading to his accidental death.

2013 - The Avengers defeat the time-traveller Kang, who attempted to hold the United Nations captive until they voted him into a "supreme sovereign," based on his flawed understanding of how the 21st century UN worked.

2014 - The Earth's heroes defeat the world-eater Galactus, saving the entire planet from certain destruction.

2015 - Present Day.


Story Arcs

Summaries by Captain Astounding.

A Day Unlike Any Other

There was an official meeting of the new lineup under Chairwoman Van Dyne (the Wasp) to vote on Spider-Man's membership. He had been sponsored by Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers) who abstained, Dr. Druid who was seemingly annoyed about some change in official software was against but talked into abstention. The Vote hinges on Namor...

Unbeknownst to the team the government is dispatching one Henry Gyrich to look into team practices.

The vote is abandoned when Skurge breaks in, he's battered by the automated defences and stands down when the Avengers all stand ready to fight him. He is without his Axe and tells a tale of the Enchantress gone mad, dealing with forces she could not control. He was taken into custody and gave Spider-Man a letter saying she had headed to Stonehenge. Druid lectures people on the importance of protecting the place, then has a premonition of great danger there.

Scarlet Witch arrives called in by Wasp to help with the situation. Druid declares a plan to protect the team with Wanda's help. He's told they need to do it on the Quinjet and goes to get supplies. Wasp pulls Ms Marvel aside and tells her she's been made acting chair while Wasp goes to make a West Coast branch.

Druid and Wanda manage to complete the ritual on the plane.

For a while Spider-Man and Moon Knight have had suspicions something's up with Namor. The rest of us are unaware.

We arrive to find missiles fired at us that Scarlet Witch deals with, our ritual drops the mask that hid The Enchantress and her mercenaries, including Nathan Garret, The BLACK KNIGHT! (the famous one's villainous uncle) wielding the Executioner's Axe!

Druid stands around pretty uselessly while the rest of the team start to deal with the threat. Enchantress is revealed to actually be MORGAN LE FAY! who awakens a hill Giant to help fight us, leaving the Black Knight to attack Druid.

Druid continues to be utter useless and is saved by Wanda while the rest of the team fight Morgan, and defeat the mercenaries and hill Giant in grand style.

In the confusion those no preoccupied see that Namor was actually... some kid... not like a teenager either, like tween at best. but Thor says he's LOKI GOD OF MISCHIEF! which is weird given Loki's a grown adult imprisoned in Asgard.

Being thoroughly schooled by Scarlet Witch Black Knight whinges to Morgan to give him his money. which she does, as he starts voomiting it, falling from his flying horse and dropping his sword. It doesn't look good for him, but Druid thinks he needs to deal with the possibly C'Thon powered sorceress before he can try to save the villain and uses his mastery of the mind to fire a mighty psionic blast at her.

She is less than pleased by this and summons flames, ready to engulf Druid.

The whole God of Mischief thing caused some concern when Loki tried to pick up the Ebony Blade that Garrett had dropped, Wanda cast a hex to stop it, and Spider-Man stepped in to take up the sword, but will it be safe?

3 Days of the Maggia

For those following at home we somehow survived the battle against a C'thon-powered Morgan Le Fay and the combined skills of Dr. Druid, and the mysterious medical skills of Thor saved The Black Knight (...the villainous uncle of the famous one...) from death by internal bleeding. The mysterious Kid Loki was remanded into Avengers custody until they could uncover the secrets he held. This meant he was forced to be babysat by Dr. Druid when the Avengers investigated a series of disappearances, including Wonder Man and Dane Whitman (the famous Nephew of the villainous Black Knight) and some woman called Alicia Masters? A-list guest star The Thing seemed pretty fond of her. He told neighbourhood heroes Thor and Spider-Man that her dad was some kind of master of Puppets? It's probably not important...

The Avengers looked into matters and discovered the mercenary group from Stonehenge seemed to have some kind of financial links to a lot of disappearances.

Mysterious Billionaire Steven Grant arranged a meeting with one Luchino Neferia as a favour to Moon Knight. He seemed to be behind all these Frost Holdings, and Mr Grant was brave enough to look into matters for us. He arrived alongside the beautiful Marlene Alraune. Mr Nefaria took Mr grant down to see the machinery of his latest project. You see, while he was interested in funding hospitals, he as much more interested in pulling the moon out of orbit to create a biblical flood that washes away the unworthy.

Luckily, he happened to have machinery for siphoning energy from the kidnapped people into one Dr. Franklin Hall!, seemingly Alicia Masters' father was the Puppet Master and he was controlling Dr. hall.

Meanwhile, unlikely Detective duo Dr. Druid & Kid Loki find little at the apartment of Dane Whitman, but a search for witnesses uncovers a representative of Janus (formerly Frost) Holdings trailing them. Druid talks the man into taking them back, telepathically informing Ms Marvel.

They find the lovely Marlene tied up by one Guilietta Nefaria who points some manner of blaster at the pair. Dr. Druid's trickery was overcome by an act of supreme will, Druid and Loki are led away.

When they are led into the base where the machinery is kept billionaire Steven Grant leaps bravely into action, knocking out Mr Nefaria. This angers Guilietta who casts her gun down and smashesa Mr Grant like a Mack Truck. It seemed she had undergone some treatments giving her the powers of COUNTESS NEFARIA!!

While Dr. Druid scrambles desperately to stay alive in the face of her fury, the secretly invisible Kid Loki frees the prisoners, it seems they may be winning when Whirlwind, Blizzard, and Grim Reaper appear Blizzard quickly proves a non factor but Grim Reaper lands a nasty blow, and Countess Nefaria turns to finish the job when...

The Desolation of Fin Fang Foom

tk


House Rules

Advancement

You can buy straight to the next rank. Stats that aren't already superhuman are kept at human limit.

Body Armor

A common criticism of this system is that the Body Armor power, granting damage reduction essentially, is a bit too powerful, and outright prevents certain characters from being useful. As a compromise, I propose that attacks with Red results ignore Body Armor, representing finding a critical weak point in its structure. Additionally, attacks with Yellow results ignore Half of the Body Armor score. If this proves a bit too much, we can revise it, but I think it will, overall, allow for more fun battles.

Defensive Actions

Defensive Actions - A common criticism of FASERIP is that it's too easy to hit dodgy characters, like, say, Daredevil. ;) We're going to rectify that by reducing the hefty penalty given towards taking multiple actions when taking defensive actions (Dodging, Evading, Blocking, Shielding). Usually, this gives a -2 CS to all other actions taken that turn, which can be a real drag. I'm reducing this penalty to -1 CS. Additionally, characters with a power that might apply towards this sort of manuever may substitute their power rank for that ability rank. Therefore, Daredevil for instance could use his Enhanced Senses power rank of Monstrous to roll for Dodging rather than his Incredible Agility. I'm not super sure how these changes to Defensive actions will work out in play, so this is subject to change, but let's see.

Karma

Traditionally, Karma serves the double-purpose of being both an in-game resource and an advancement resource, which leads to somewhat crappy situations where the characters that need Karma least are the ones using it for advancement. I propose that there be two separate pools of Karma - one normal pool for use in-game, and one of "spent" Karma which then becomes available to be used for advancement. This encourages heroes to be heroic, and I think fits the genre better than hoarding Karma.

Karma Awards

This includes only the general awards. Individual gains due to roleplaying, game contribution, etc. are not listed.

OOC Post #179

Everyone gets (for the Mansion)

-10 Karma Each for the meeting

-5 Karma each for humorous writing I greatly enjoyed (check the book! It's there!)

-75 Karma each for defeating a Monstrous Foe (the giant)

-50 Karma for defeating an Amazing foe (Skurge... Let's face it, bringing him along would've resulted in some treachery)

-20 Karma each for stopping a destructive crime (the Frost Mercs are no longer in a position to harm the monuments)

So that's 160 each.

OOC Post #283

Morgan ended up being a Monstrous threat, so that's 75 karma each, and I'd classify her intentions as a Global threat, so we'll call that 50 more.

OOC Post #481

Countess Nefaria is an unearthly threat, so that's 100 Karma Each. Plus 120 each for her minions (40, 40, and 40 for Grim Reaper, Blizzard, and Whirlwind).

That's 220 Karma for the Avengers.

OOC Post #639

Loki and Thor: 350 for Each of you (3 Wendigos and the Leader), plus 25 each for rescuing kidnapping victims you didn't even know about!

Druid and Moony: 155 for each of you, plus 25 for each of you for rescuing Arnie, plus another 25 when Dr. Strange removes his tumor via your actions.