Okay, my PBP Masks game just ended their prologue. I really like this system but have had waaaaaay too many bad con experiences to really like one-shot games so I have planned out a larger experience for my players. Here is a run down of what happened:
I started everyone out with something simple – they were investigating a bank robbery for some reason or another: My Legacy was there to represent his namesake, my Transformed was sent by her adoptive villain parents to test her powers, my Beacon was there under his mentor’s advice to get the NPC villain on their side, my Janus was trying to impress his father and other villains, and my Protege was testing out her powers. Sadly our Bull dropped but we are now replacing her with a Delinquent who seems exemplary.
The dice HATED everyone at first, no one made a successful roll until about the tenth total roll. Yet everyone did well.
First the Janus: He was blindsided by his girlfriend and knocked her out, robbing her as well to make sure he was just perfectly villainous. He then attracted the attention of a few other of the supers by botching a few rolls but was the first to work with the Team mechanics. He was fun and has great potential to see what will happen. I think he will be the glue that holds the team together.
The Legacy used his namesake to distract the cops and make them focus on the villains outside the bank instead of those inside. His name carried great weight and the eldest of the police force knew the super name and basically gave up without a fight even with the police chief demanding they try and take him out. He was then able to work with the Protege and smash into the bank to distract the villain inside.
The Protege was a monster, teleporting into the Bank and, in two moves, almost obliterating the NPC villain. She then was able to give her the slip and rob the entire bank as the rest of the group distracted everyone else and was able to teleport to her base while letting her mentor gather up the rest of the team to go to a meeting place.
The Transformed was awesome. She controlled the crowd by making her skin enlarge and flash horrific lights like some kind of debased cuttlefish. When the cops launched tear gas at the group she was able to create natural body-morphing filters for the Beacon and Janus so they could all get to the bank and when the villain exploded into bees and flew past them she protected the team from stings by becoming a living piece of armor around them.
The Beacon was the one who the dice loved. He rarely failed anything and was able to pep talk the Janus from running away or feeling like a schmuck, got the NPC villain to leave the bank peacefully so everyone could escape with the loot as well as cementing the team as more a team by having the backs of everyone he came into contact with.
The Delinquent showed up at the end when a trained “Super Negation Squad” came in, using a jet pack to make a huge explosion in the group and her cyberkinetic powers to overload and destroy the hi-tech weapons of the SNS.
Now, since this isn’t a one shot, the players are now able to set up a few goals. My Legacy wants to dimension hop and kill off everyone who shares his powers to have unlimited power. My Janus is now torn between his girlfriend and the rejuvenated mentor of the Protege who is hitting on him (poor guy just gets older women loving all over him) and is desperate to prove he is just as good as the rest. The Beacon is trying to set up a good team while seeing if he can turn the villain they faced the first time into an ally for the team. My Transformed wants to reacquaint herself with the villains she knew before her warping and is eager to try to make a name for herself as a Transformed who embraces her condition instead of hates it. The Protege is being a bit haughty and is wanting to find a reason to be on the team without being the weak link. And finally the Delinquent is trying to make a name for herself while also making sure her aunt (the only person whose opinion about her matters) never finds out what is happening.
All in all I had a great time with this and am plotting ways to get these people into more trouble with much more excitement. I love seeing their motivations and how they will pull together once the more savage modern age heroes who care little about property destruction and the lives of villains go after them.
I’ll have another update after the next chapter.
Debased Cuttlefish is my new synthpunk retro band.
Beyond that..this looks great. Did you make any specific changes to the moves or how they operate since your doing villains instead of heroes?
Yes, my Transformed has a move called “Lilith’s Delights” instead of “Not my Body” where she can exult in the discomfort her new form causes to remove Conditions or negate the altering of her self-image by anyone trying to make her feel self conscious about being a “monster.” I have a few other villain-centric moves but they have yet to be selected by the players.
NihilisticWhim awesome game, can’t wait to continue.