Villain Changes
I have noticed some of the playbooks are (obviously) geared towards heroes. I have altered one move for 5 playbooks to represent a more maniacal bent.
Janus – Replaces “I’ll Save You!”
“It Was Me All Along!”
When you reveal your identity to an NPC or PC you have been misleading roll Mundane, on a 10+ you choose 2, on a 7-9 choose 1.
– This person gives you Influence over them.
– This person gives you Influence over someone else.
– This person won’t stand in the way of your plan.
– This person blurts out a secret of some important person.
Legacy – Replaces “Fight the Good Fight”
“Open the Gates of Abaddon”
When engaging a mob or group of mooks you may roll with Savior instead of Danger to directly engage a threat. On a 10+ they disable the leader and most of the mob/mooks. On a 7-9 they get the same but must expose themselves to consequences, put the team in danger, or take -1 Forward on their next roll.
Outsider – Replaces “The best of them”
“On My Homeworld” (Honestly just a rewrite)
When you tell a teammate that on your planet they would be dredges, slaves, or otherwise useless and they should be lucky to be on Earth use Freak instead of Mundane to reinforce their self image.
Transformed – Replaces “I am not my body!”
“Lilith’s Delights”
When you see an NPC is repulsed by you or a PC tries to change your self image, you may reinforce your monstrosity to them. Roll Freak and on a 10+ clear a condition or gain Influence over that person. On a 7-9 choose one but also face unforeseen consequences or infuriate a person with means to do you and/or your team harm.
Beacon – Replaces “Won’t Let You Down”
“Better Than Normal”
When you ignore an NPC or innocent in favor of seeing to a teammate first, add 1 to the Team Pool before you roll to interfere with that teammate.
Well, yeah, it’s a game about heroes…
Aye but we’re doing a game about young villains, some of which are the children of villains.
THE BULL: Replacing There When It Matters:
YOU OWE ME: When you defend someone, roll +Danger. Instead of gaining influence, you may choose to remove their influence over you.
PROTEGE: (Additional Skill)
MANY CLAWS, ONE BODY:
When you bring an innocent under the control of your Mentor, mark potential. If this later suits YOUR needs, take +1 forward when you reveal your plot.
THE DOOMED
Add these Options to your Cause:
To Corrupt, to Abolish, To Destroy the Faith of.
THE BEACON:
Replace C’mon, Lucky!:
BOUGHT MY WAY HERE:
When you drop loads of cash, roll +Superior. On a 10+, hold 3, on a 7-9, hold 2: on a miss, hold one but you’re tapped out for the adventure and have to handle your money issues.
Spend Hold 1-for-1 to:
–Get the temporary obedience of someone greedy;
–Get access to somewhere off limits
–Gain something that doesn’t require clearance. (Spend another hold to grease the right palms).
Also, NihilisticWhim , how do you encourage the Team dynamic? I feel like supervillains work together more out of convenience, unless they TRULY hate a good guy (Superior Foes) are under a thumb (Thunderbolts) or are well known opponents of the good guys (Legion of Doom).
On your Team Move, I’d change something like “Everyone is on the same page” to something “Everyone’s dedicated to the same level of maliciousness”.
I think it depends on outlook. With the Gold age, villains banded together for as much camaraderie than selfishness, Silver Age saw villains join together for more selfishness and cruelty, while the Bronze age blurred the line between hero and villain.
In the current MASKS set up I have I’ll give you some of what bands the team together: Our Protege is under a rejuvenated Silver Age villain who is so popular more modern age villains are coming under the banner. The idea (after we get the team meets prologue out of the way) is that single handedly they might get caught, they might disappoint their villain parents, they might be stupid. Together they learn and can stand up against the celebrated goody two shoes when sometimes that is not how heroism works.
Basically, I think a good dash of anti-hero and neutrality makes villains work, not playing those that JUST want to see the world burn.
I’m also trying out a new “Villain Team Mechanic” where things like distracting a hero by threatening an NPC or monologuing your plot to a hero can restore team pool.
I’d look at the Deliquent’s moves for things that involve Wasting People’s Time, i.e. monologuing. But if everyone’s a villain, I’d reverse the Gimmick so you get bonuses for doing things Legalistically instead of Criminally. (“I have a permit for this death ray! My minions have a right of free assembly!”)
That’s a really good idea! But sadly no Delinquent made it to the team. I have a Bull, a Beacon, a Janus, a Legacy, a Protege, and a Transformed to work with and they all seem great. Like my Janus just knocked his girlfriend out to save her from seeing him be a villain…and robbed her at the same time.