-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Fantasy "The Boys" for SWADE
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
MarkB
Legend
It feels like this approach is missing out on some opportunities for smart play. There's an anime series that came out several years ago, Aldnoah Zero, whose USP was that it took the stereotypical Gundam-style giant mecha premise and turned it on its head - the amazing super-prototype mechs were all driven by the bad guys, while the good guys just had the crappy prouction-line models that usually get gunned down in droves. So they would always have to analyse the bad guy's particular superpower, figure out its downside, and then come up with a way to exploit that weakness to the hilt.
Just going out and finding win-button artifacts to use against these guys feels like it misses out on some gameplay potential - though a combination of the two would also work.
I guess I would ask how you thought the PCs were going to know what McGuffin to get, if not by analyzing the Champions and do research, etc?
MarkB
Legend
Fair. I just feel like going and finding super-powered stuff to defeat the supervillains doesn't quite play to the disparity of the set-up the way that having to find ways to defeat them via mundane means would.
Defeating them via cleverly utilized mundane stuff isn't a terrible idea but it does pose the question of why someone else hasn't done it already. At least if it is super-powered equivalents then there is some logic to them getting out of hand in the first place.
MarkB
Legend
If non-mundane options also exist, the same question arises.
But either way, it sounds like a cool campaign concept.
Here is the first draft of my design document:
-----
The World
Note: This document is not intended for player consumption. It is just my working document for building the world and figuring out how all the pieces work together in order to make for an interesting game.
Note 2: All the vague terms like “Crown” and “Realm” and whatever are just placeholders and will be replaced with acceptable Proper Nouns.
The Setting in a Nutshell
This is NOT a fantasy setting. This is a super-hero setting in its early modern aka late medieval era. The world looks mostly like it did somewhere between the years 1300 and 1600 AD, depending where in the world you are. There is long distance ship travel. There are early firearms. There are Empires and Churches and trade networks and the very beginnings of science. It isn’t Earth, but it looks enough like it that the differences in names and languages don’t amount to much more than flavor.
I haven’t decided yet whether it is worth having non-human races. If so, the assumption will be that multiple hominid ancestors developed into related but separate human species. So no immortal elves or fire breathing dragon men, just different kinds of humanity we might call elves and dwarves and goblins.
The Champions
Since the earliest records and probably stretching back to the beginning of humanity, there have been Champions. In ancient days, they were called demi-gods and heroes and assumed to be the offspring of the gods themselves. They threw lightning, lifted immense boulders, shrugged off deadly missiles, ran faster than the wind and soared higher than eagles. They are Achilles and Heracles and Samson and Gilgamesh.
They were never many, but always appeared in number at given eras, then seemed to “die out” for centuries. Then new Champions would arise again, clustering in both space and time and creating an era defined by their presence. Many philosophies tried to determine when and why the Champions arose and some got close but none quite figured it out. The truth is a cosmological mystery of such complexity that it is likely none shall ever know, even if history stretches into the far future of stellar cities and time defying explorers.
Not all Champions are human, at least in appearance. Some are twisted and seemingly come from animal stock or out of nightmares. When the Champions are not fighting one another because of religious or national ties, they form alliances to eradicate these Monstrosities. Monstrosities are every bit the equals of Champions and their battles are the stuff of woeful legend.
People
Humanity is a fragile, mortal race that, individually, have no chance against either Champions or Monstrosities. But humans are fecund and their numbers are overwhelming. They are also good at assessing the right side to be on. Thus, Champions are almost always on the side of humanity in some form or another, pitted against the Monstrosities who desire only destruction. Many religions deem this is out of some cosmic order and that Champions are Good and Monstrosities are Evil, but it may simply be that super-powered entities that desire only death and destruction are labeled Monstrosities and all others are simply labeled Champions.
Over Millennia, humans have built much religion, philosophy and statecraft around the Champion and Monstrosity cycles. Although each varies depending on time and location and the impact of history, all have one thing in common: they acknowledge that these eras are always temporary, and Champions and Monstrosities both will die out or at least fade away and slumber. Therefore few societies build their entire identities around Champions (though some do, forming cults built around the resurrection or rebirth of specific Champions).
The most modern nations and Churches have come to resent the Champions, despite needing them to fight the Monstrosities. Invariably, Champions are products of their times and imbued with not just great power in the physical world, but importance in the social and spiritual outlooks of the world as well. Crowns and Temples must often bow to the Champions, since what good are 1000 knights when both missile and blade shatter upon touching the skin of a Champion?
The Conspiracy
The engine that drives the adventures in question are the linked but independent desires of the Crown and Church in the most recent era of the Champions.
For many years the Realm was under attack by hordes driven by heathen Champions and their Monstrosity allies. The Champions of the Realm, inspired and supported by the Crown and the Church, fought a long and bloody war to push back the hordes. Hundreds of thousands of mortal soldiers filled the ranks that followed them and a great many died ignominious deaths. In the end, though, the Champions of the Realm won the day, destroying, driving off or imprisoning the evil Champions and Monstrosities. They returned to the Capital to bask in their victory and indulge in the fruits of their labors. And indulge they did.
In the decade since the end of that great war, the Champions of the Realm have become a cancer -- at least as far as the Crown and Church are concerned. The people love them but the Champions have become dangerous in their idleness. They indulge their greatest vices and exert their influence with abandon. They threaten and cajole the Crown and the Church.
This behavior would be a horrifying revelation to the masses of the Realm that adore the Champions, but to the soldiers that served under them during the great war it is no surprise at all. In the camps and on the battlefields, the Champions revealed themselves for what they were: capricious and volatile and indulgen and corrupt. That they defeated the evil Champions and Monstrosities is not so much a matter of morality as of hubris and bloodlust. It was mortal soldiers that suffered the most in the wake of these battles, and even worse in the aftermaths when the Champions would “celebrate” their victories with whatever they desired.
So it is no wonder then that when the Crown and Church hatched their plan to eliminate the surviving Champions and end this era prematurely, it was to the veterans of the great war that they turned.
The Player Characters
The Player Characters in this game are veterans of the great war that have made lives for themselves in the Capital and have recently been drawn into the conspiracy to eliminate the remaining Champions by the Church and the Crown. While the PCs may not agree with the goals of the Church and Crown (ie maintain their own power) they are all people that have been terribly wronged by the Champions and are willing, even eager, for some payback against them.
It is important to note: the PCs are NOT super powered characters. They absolutely cannot stand toe to toe with a Champion and have any hope of victory. That is not what the game is about. Instead, they must uncover the weaknesses of the individual Champions and find some way to exploit that weakness. They might seek out a legendary weapon, or summon a great demon, or ally themselves with a monstrosity, or figure out a subtle poison. Whatever it is, that is the adventure: target a Champion, find out that Champion’s weakness, and find the way to overcome that weakness, before the Champion finds out the PCs are gunning for them and shows up to kill them all.
-----
The World
Note: This document is not intended for player consumption. It is just my working document for building the world and figuring out how all the pieces work together in order to make for an interesting game.
Note 2: All the vague terms like “Crown” and “Realm” and whatever are just placeholders and will be replaced with acceptable Proper Nouns.
The Setting in a Nutshell
This is NOT a fantasy setting. This is a super-hero setting in its early modern aka late medieval era. The world looks mostly like it did somewhere between the years 1300 and 1600 AD, depending where in the world you are. There is long distance ship travel. There are early firearms. There are Empires and Churches and trade networks and the very beginnings of science. It isn’t Earth, but it looks enough like it that the differences in names and languages don’t amount to much more than flavor.
I haven’t decided yet whether it is worth having non-human races. If so, the assumption will be that multiple hominid ancestors developed into related but separate human species. So no immortal elves or fire breathing dragon men, just different kinds of humanity we might call elves and dwarves and goblins.
The Champions
Since the earliest records and probably stretching back to the beginning of humanity, there have been Champions. In ancient days, they were called demi-gods and heroes and assumed to be the offspring of the gods themselves. They threw lightning, lifted immense boulders, shrugged off deadly missiles, ran faster than the wind and soared higher than eagles. They are Achilles and Heracles and Samson and Gilgamesh.
They were never many, but always appeared in number at given eras, then seemed to “die out” for centuries. Then new Champions would arise again, clustering in both space and time and creating an era defined by their presence. Many philosophies tried to determine when and why the Champions arose and some got close but none quite figured it out. The truth is a cosmological mystery of such complexity that it is likely none shall ever know, even if history stretches into the far future of stellar cities and time defying explorers.
Not all Champions are human, at least in appearance. Some are twisted and seemingly come from animal stock or out of nightmares. When the Champions are not fighting one another because of religious or national ties, they form alliances to eradicate these Monstrosities. Monstrosities are every bit the equals of Champions and their battles are the stuff of woeful legend.
People
Humanity is a fragile, mortal race that, individually, have no chance against either Champions or Monstrosities. But humans are fecund and their numbers are overwhelming. They are also good at assessing the right side to be on. Thus, Champions are almost always on the side of humanity in some form or another, pitted against the Monstrosities who desire only destruction. Many religions deem this is out of some cosmic order and that Champions are Good and Monstrosities are Evil, but it may simply be that super-powered entities that desire only death and destruction are labeled Monstrosities and all others are simply labeled Champions.
Over Millennia, humans have built much religion, philosophy and statecraft around the Champion and Monstrosity cycles. Although each varies depending on time and location and the impact of history, all have one thing in common: they acknowledge that these eras are always temporary, and Champions and Monstrosities both will die out or at least fade away and slumber. Therefore few societies build their entire identities around Champions (though some do, forming cults built around the resurrection or rebirth of specific Champions).
The most modern nations and Churches have come to resent the Champions, despite needing them to fight the Monstrosities. Invariably, Champions are products of their times and imbued with not just great power in the physical world, but importance in the social and spiritual outlooks of the world as well. Crowns and Temples must often bow to the Champions, since what good are 1000 knights when both missile and blade shatter upon touching the skin of a Champion?
The Conspiracy
The engine that drives the adventures in question are the linked but independent desires of the Crown and Church in the most recent era of the Champions.
For many years the Realm was under attack by hordes driven by heathen Champions and their Monstrosity allies. The Champions of the Realm, inspired and supported by the Crown and the Church, fought a long and bloody war to push back the hordes. Hundreds of thousands of mortal soldiers filled the ranks that followed them and a great many died ignominious deaths. In the end, though, the Champions of the Realm won the day, destroying, driving off or imprisoning the evil Champions and Monstrosities. They returned to the Capital to bask in their victory and indulge in the fruits of their labors. And indulge they did.
In the decade since the end of that great war, the Champions of the Realm have become a cancer -- at least as far as the Crown and Church are concerned. The people love them but the Champions have become dangerous in their idleness. They indulge their greatest vices and exert their influence with abandon. They threaten and cajole the Crown and the Church.
This behavior would be a horrifying revelation to the masses of the Realm that adore the Champions, but to the soldiers that served under them during the great war it is no surprise at all. In the camps and on the battlefields, the Champions revealed themselves for what they were: capricious and volatile and indulgen and corrupt. That they defeated the evil Champions and Monstrosities is not so much a matter of morality as of hubris and bloodlust. It was mortal soldiers that suffered the most in the wake of these battles, and even worse in the aftermaths when the Champions would “celebrate” their victories with whatever they desired.
So it is no wonder then that when the Crown and Church hatched their plan to eliminate the surviving Champions and end this era prematurely, it was to the veterans of the great war that they turned.
The Player Characters
The Player Characters in this game are veterans of the great war that have made lives for themselves in the Capital and have recently been drawn into the conspiracy to eliminate the remaining Champions by the Church and the Crown. While the PCs may not agree with the goals of the Church and Crown (ie maintain their own power) they are all people that have been terribly wronged by the Champions and are willing, even eager, for some payback against them.
It is important to note: the PCs are NOT super powered characters. They absolutely cannot stand toe to toe with a Champion and have any hope of victory. That is not what the game is about. Instead, they must uncover the weaknesses of the individual Champions and find some way to exploit that weakness. They might seek out a legendary weapon, or summon a great demon, or ally themselves with a monstrosity, or figure out a subtle poison. Whatever it is, that is the adventure: target a Champion, find out that Champion’s weakness, and find the way to overcome that weakness, before the Champion finds out the PCs are gunning for them and shows up to kill them all.
Here's the blurb I ended up with:
----------
The war has been over for years but you still carry scars. The super-powered Champions returned victorious, only to descend into vice and corruption. The masses still believe them true heroes, but you have seen and experienced their depravity first hand. So when the Crown asks for your help to end this Age of Champions prematurely, you eagerly agree. It’s payback time. “Die, Heroes” is a dark fantasy inspired by “The Boys” and “The Black Company” told in three episodes. It is not necessary to play more than one slot but multiple slots will enhance the experience.
----------
The war has been over for years but you still carry scars. The super-powered Champions returned victorious, only to descend into vice and corruption. The masses still believe them true heroes, but you have seen and experienced their depravity first hand. So when the Crown asks for your help to end this Age of Champions prematurely, you eagerly agree. It’s payback time. “Die, Heroes” is a dark fantasy inspired by “The Boys” and “The Black Company” told in three episodes. It is not necessary to play more than one slot but multiple slots will enhance the experience.
Blue Orange
Gone to Texas
Neat idea--commoners and experts and warriors against fighters, clerics, wizards, and rogues. And it nicely addresses the whole 'high-level characters are the most powerful monsters' problem.
I wonder if they could get help from the races of goblins, etc. the Champions exterminated.
I wonder if they could get help from the races of goblins, etc. the Champions exterminated.
moriantumr
Explorer
Vaesen is a system I really enjoy that has players dealing with supernatural entities that usually cannot be dealt with by brute force. I think it may give you some ideas on maguffins, rituals, research, or whatever to counter or deal with an otherwise overwhelming enemy. I am inspired to do something like the boys next time I do run it.
Similar Threads
