To follow up on my last post about "winging it" I just wanted to lay out the last couple of sessions real quick (yes, I am finally caught up on posting about my now several month-old Marvel Multiverse campaign) which as far as the encounters were both put together about a half hour before the sessions. Usually something that can take about an hour. And the more and more I get used to the system the faster I get with rolling off my NPC sheets and all that in combat. There is usually around 45 minutes of character stuff having nothing to do with combat (thought a little action might happen ad hoc), so this is kind of perfect without having it be a "two session arc."
I actually get online about a half hour before game time anyway. In part to just make sure my maps are ok and all that. Also, I usually during that time have a beer or a cocktail to "grease the wheels" and get myself in a fantasy state of mind. Maybe pack a bowl with some herbal refreshment.
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| Or if tasty pre-rolls are on sale at "the place" |
In last week's session the party was catching up on some things in a meeting at the Justice Incorporated offices. Guests were lined up, including "Russel Logan," a former president and director of the Science Police who was a major figure in my campaigns of yore. He gave them some inside info on what the Science Police were doing with the Manx McAllister clone
from the house party a few sessions ago (retired now he acts as a consultant to both Sci Pol and Justice Incorporated boss and friend from old campaigns Patricia Elizabetha Kyono). And also, an appearance by Manx McAllister himself who came to complain about the Just Inc. handing the clone over to Sci Pol in the first place without calling him first.
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Scruffy retirement R. Logan, who back in the
day I used a Snake Plisskin miniature for |
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Manx McAllister who is unretired since he de-aged himself
in the teleporter experiment that created the dark clone |
At the end they went into the reception area and saw out the window that there was some smoke coming from a couple floors of an office building. They went there Lickety split.
So again, whipped this up a little bit before the session, because with half the night spent in character interaction, I did not want to start an arc. So I just put some maps together and made an arsonist foe real quick.
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Igneous grew to his 100 foot form and helped rescue folk and
ultimately use his dinner table size hand to pat the fires out
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I like to use little animated affects for fire and weather effects. The players love it. Above: Seraph, Nova, and Paladin deal with the arsonist after rescuing some office workers. Below: Iggy leans into the 10th floor and pats out the fires with this big dinner table size hands.
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| The mercenary arsonist "Firefall" |
It was running late so knocked off for the night, but in the next session started right with the characters dealing with police and firemen down on the street. Paladin was handing the armored arsonist over to the police, Iggy was being congratulated by unafraid firemen for helping them by growing big and patting out the fire hotspots up on the 10th floor. Seraph and Nova also were being thanked by the victims they flew down to safety.
They were approached by a small news team of young 20 somethings, led by fresh out of college "Miranda Veracruz De La Hoya Cardinal"
If you ever watched later seasons of 90's sitcom Married with Childred, that name might sound familiar. I stole it from a recurring character on the show when Al Bundy and pals got in trouble out on the streets of the city.
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I think Al and his pals gang called themselves "NoMam"
a sort of women haters club. Yeah, TV used to be able to
do things like that without everybody getting cancelled. |
Miranda on the show was basically a parody of a thing Los Angeles local news stations were doing in the 90's (and maybe in other cities). They suddenly had all these "man in the street" ladies of Latin descent covering stories. Maybe an early DEI thing, I dunno. But they were always young and pretty. Back then the station I watched had Lauren Sanchez. You might recognize here nowadays as the wife of Jeff Bezos.
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| "Cha-Ching $$$" |
Anyway, young Miranda Veracruz introduced herself as the niece of famous New America City newsman Rodrigo Cardinal, and she is trying to make a name for herself and her team. She gets by the police taped off area, and starts doing quick interviews of the victims, quickly moving to their saviors Seraph and Nova, and asks them for some exclusive words about what happened.
They were really standoffish with the young reporter, but she managed to talk them into going to her favorite restaurant down a nearby side street, which since it was after the lunch hour would not be crowded.
What Miranda was offering was a dedicated news team situation. She can contact them with tips on things, and they can give her and idea where they might be mixing it up in places in the future. They were not especially up for the idea, some even suggesting it might be an ethical situation. But she convinced them to take her private number.
When lunch was over and they were all leaving is when I used my next "insta-encounter" low prep situation. Down the street they saw a couple or three gym meatheads come smashing out of the front windows, followed by an obese and angry patron who seemed to have recently gotten powered up by somebody he referred to as "The Power Broker." Seems like despite being a big guy, he was picked on by the fitter guys. Now he had returned with a bit of Mighty 2 and Sturdy 1.
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His butt is not really in the front. But you have
probably seen those super heavy guys who
have a big cleft in the belly. |
Once involved in the situation, the group tried to stop Front Butts rampage. Iggy mostly was busy trying to keep Miranda Veracruz and her crew from getting too close (in the image above you can see him using his big hand to keep them at bay). Nova had to dodge big 40 pounder free weights that Fronty tossed at him. Paladin jumped right in to lay blows on the guy, even after Iggy grabbed him with a giant hand grapple. But Seraph, always the heart and soul of the group, got them to back off, and talked Front Butt down from his anger so the arriving cops could take him into custody.
These were easy to put together encounters as I say, and I could get used to it. But I want to get to more meaty things. My two session arcs, as I call them. And start to do some next session. Stay tuned.
Cheers
