OK, not really Halloween. So that title is kind of clickbait, I guess. But the Marvel RPG in Haven campaign is on Fridays (last night), so I would count it. Because its Hween the Saturday night DnD was cancelled, so any game on that weekend can be considered a Halloween game, right?
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| That little girl's parents let her wear too much makeup, even for a witch |
Just as an aside I know in my past I ran many a session on actual Halloween over the decades. The only one I really remember was at about 17 years old. We played during the day. My girlfriend (first serious one, who I was naive enough at the time I thought I would one day marry, but of course I was the lonely mayor of "Dumpsville" a few months later) had done herself up as her MU Drow character. Silky dress and scarves, and she actually painted her face and arms pitch black. That was fun when we all went to Westwood Village to see a Mad Max marathon that night.
Anyway, I had said I would run the Friday night thing if we had three. Amber and Samantha the Kiwi could not make it, but three of the others showed up on my Discord voice, and we went for it.
Once again, it was mostly an encounter I threw together pretty quick. With greater ramifications. You see, York Industries is this evil super corporation I have long used in the Haven setting. Haven is sort of a technocracy, so there are always corporate shenanigans.
York has this superhero team it sponsors, in fact, Bolivar York jr. is secretly the armored "hero" and leader known as Aegis. And the team is called "Safeguard." I have been wanting to find a way to get them fighting with Justice Inc. But the couple of little encounters have not led to full on fighting. But that is something I want; an extended knock down drag out between the groups. Safeguard are all Rank 4 npc's compared to the Rank 3 player characters. Mathematically that should be a tough fighter for them. It's the kind of challenge I want to throw at the group. Whether they win or lose, that can be the catalyst that gets them to Rank 4.
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| Clockwise: Wind Sorceress, Mastodon, Spider-Max, Blackwolf and Aegis |
When we ended the session, it looked like I was going to get that fight. Here is the set-up. Its the wee small hours of the morning in the Beverly District, where we left off last sessions Furry Nightclub encounter. Characters would notice a box truck lose control and crash into a couple of other cars. Not at very high speed so no fatalities, but as they swooped down to investigate, they see a six-foot five combat replicant prototype exit the back of the truck and threaten some of the stopped cars with an arm machine gun turret. This is a York Industries truck, driven by two lab coated scientists.
So my thinking was this; the characters would eventually take it down. Safeguard would start showing up. They would ask the characters to stand down. The party would (probably) refuse because they will want the police, maybe the Science Police, to take custody of it. And a superhero group struggle would ensue. Some comic book meat and potatoes stuff.
By the way, the fight with the Killbot was fairly cool, and did not go on too long. It was Rank 4, and against three Rank 3's it should go down before too long. And it did but also got to display its strength by getting a couple of blows in and also using the energy Beam projector in its mouth.
But Iggy got big and stomped it for a lot of damage. Down it went. Then Aegis flew in and told them to please stand down while they collected the 'bot, since it is "propriety product of York Industries." Mastodon and Blackwolf also showed up in their "Street Tank."
That blue circle you might see in the image is an energy barrier Nova put up around the characters and the Killbot. They are going to stand their ground. Aegis is up on a bridge 4 stories up, telling them on loudspeaker to stand down. Mastodon (who is grower like Iggy and goes to his 25 feet size) and Blackwolf in his giant wolf form move in Menacingly. The other Safeguard members are likely on the way.
It looks like I am going to get that big fight next time, guys. The police are down the street closing off traffic. The Science Police may or may not show up (HQ is just a few blocks away). But I think I am going to get at least a couple or three rounds of action!
Stay tuned for next week as I rub my hands together in glee! Cheers.
