OFF THE BEATEN PATH - BREAKING FROM YOUR CAMPAIGN'S NORM

Modern comics have created a perception of intense planning and forethought with their interconnected crossovers and prescriptive metaplots. This, however, is not, nor has it ever been the way for the majority of comic book history. Even heavily themed, more focused books, like X-Men, have had their disconnected, seemingly random encounters. Comics often had to insert filler stories between major events, to keep books going or while they were trying to find their legs. This was, of course a purely business-based decision as many comics literally struggled to stay in print, often getting cancelled and restarted before they finally found their voice. 

As gamemasters, this gives us a lot of wiggle room with what you can plot for your campaigns. As mentioned in previous posts, seeming;y random things often happen in any given title but this randomness can be controlled and planned for and not quite as odd and slapstick as some of the previous examples. Where that post was written to give permission to have simple, dumb fun happen in your games, here I am talking about being more intentional with side quests outside the normal theme of your game. 

Taking your players outside of their usual themed plots and stories is a great way to allow them a break from their usual. In addition, such adventures often introduce the characters to new obstacles and situations that put their powers to the test and provide opportunities for them to expand upon those powers. As a GM, these side adventures will let you expand you storytelling and character design. Spider-Man may spend most of his time duking it out with a constant run of quirky villains but he occasionally gets chucked into another dimension, to another planet or finds himself tangling with enemies outside his usual rogue's gallery.

Side adventures are great ways to introduce new elements for your story as well. While they don't need to carry over beyond the initial adventure, they can certain provide a lasting element to your campaign. Just as the X-Men discovered a supply of Vibranium in the Savage Land, along with introducing heroes like Ka-Zar or villain such as Sauron, a side quest into a new space provides seeds and questions to later exploit in your games. The Ihumans and their expansive story were introduced through an encounter with the Fantastic Four. In these cases, the comic book universe and the setting of the particular titles were broadened beyond their normal focus, making for a more interesting story and ultimately providing elements that could be called upon later just asv GMs can in their games. 

As a GM, it is important to consider what you hope to accomplish with these side adventures. Consider tying them into your players desires - things they may have mentioned in passing along the way or even specifically asked for. If you have a player who is hoping to expand their powerrs in a new direction, perhaps consider how one of these side adventures might help with that? You may have an upcoming eneemy planned for your players that might present them with a challenge that they normally have no means to deal with and a side adventure to a new place or with a new character could allow them that means, if tey are crafty enough to make the connection. Side adventures are also great ways to foreshadow upcoming events in your campaign. A seemingly random encounter with an alien species could just be the tip of the iceberg of a massive event in your universe. 

Whatever you do with side adventures, make sure that, while they seem outside the norm for your heroes, they still do something to enrich the game and story of those heroes. Too many totally random "What The..?!" moments will leave your players feeling there isn't any sort of direction to the game and while this may be okay for more casual campaigns or with certain kinds of characters, mostp layers are going want a little more meaning in their campaigns. 

STUFF HAPPENS - RANDOM ENCOUNTERS

Comics are full of deep plots, interweaving plots, metaplots and ongoing stories but there are also a massive number of seemingly random, short-term, or even one-off encounters that occur in nearly every title. While this tends to be the province of solo heroes like Spider Man or the Incredible Hulk, just about every hero and team of heroes has had encounters with enemies outside their usual cast of characters. 

To a great degree, these sorts of randomly encountered characters serve to allow comics creators to experiment with new ideas play around, and have fun. They are often less defined, sometimes less well thought out and sometimes very silly. Quite often these character are introduced with the intention of having them become recurring characters should they prove popular enough but in many cases, they come, go and are never heard of again, that is until another creator decides they want a crack at the character.

This is one of the greatest benefits of these characters for GMs. GMs are notoriously creative, constantly coming up wth new NPCs and characters. With many games it can be tricky to find a believable, useful place for all this creativity but superheroes games have it written int othe very fabric of the genre. Leaning into this will only serve to make your games feel more like the comics they are based on. If you have an idea, jot it down, scribble together some quick stats and file it away in you folder of random encounters to use when you and/or your players need a break. That woodchuck-themed villain may only show up for one ill-fated fight with your players' heroes but he will be remembered. 

Random encounters need not stay random though. As I have pointed out in several previous posts, these characters are right for creating questions, rectonning, seeeding. A seemingly random hero may develop over time, returning as a lost relative, an alternate self, connected to a character's origins. Random encounters can spin off into new player characters even much in the same way that Peter Parker's styslistc costume change in Secret Wars became the pehenomenon that is Venom and then all the symbiote maness that came out of that. the key is that they never have to though, allowing  GM to create and use them freely. 

PRODUCTION DELAYS

 

Apologies for there being no From The Folder Friday this week. I got behind on posts and wasn't able to have it ready for today. Will get it posted next Friday. 

ALIEN SPECIES - ANOTHER CLASSIC RECURRING ENEMY

 

Last time, I wrote about recurring enemies and how they are a great way to world-build and allow yourself, as a GM, some easy filler or convenient opponents to slip into your campaign, from time to time. This time, I'd look to look at another sort of recurring enemy that is also not a named team or villain - alien species. 

Whether it is the Skrulls, Kree, or Badoon, comic book universes are filled with nearly endless examples of alien empires, all with their own agendas, special powers, equipment and often even named characters. Many of these alien empire are framed as distant, warring factions who occasionally appear on Earth to cause trouble while others are shown to have machinations on Earth itself or, even better for the GM and your players, the PC heroes. they can come, go, stay or disappear as your cmpaign needs as well, only as present a you want them to be but often able to appear out of nowhere, despite seemingly gone.

When choosing which alien species to use, spend a little time considering what it is that you want them to do. Larger alien empires will have greater resources to bring to the fight, sometimes even having their own sperpowered operatives, like the Super Skrull or Captain Mar-Vell. While any race can be sneaky or warlike, different species are goign to play into this better than others. The Skrulls ae definitely a better fit for a secret invasion than say the Kree or Brood, even though any of them have shown an ability to hide among humans. 

One of the nice things about using alien species in your games is that they afford your the same scaleability as organizations, even more so in many cases. Additionally, their alien nature and often unimaginable technolgy can allow them to come and go freely and appear from nowhere, much like ninjas or secret organizatons can. When doing any of these, you needn't worry too much about the specifics of how they are doing what they are doing as comic book aliens are often given great leeway when it comes to the exact nature of their abilities and technologies, often coming up with previously unrevealed weapons and even powers as their presence progresses in the stories. 

Alien species, much like organizations are not confined to the role of enemy either. You can have them be as monolithis or complex as you like. Comic books are full of turncoats, traitors, subversives and subfactions among alien species and their empires. These anomalies add depth to the recurring aliens, allowing the players' characters to make friends and allies even while fighting the majority of the alien menace. the exact motivations and reasons for these anmalous characters can be as simple as differing opinions, politics, or even a person agenda that goes against the overall motivations of the species such as love, revenge, honor, or any other personal expression of emotion or intelligence. 

One last consideration with using aliens is that the universe is massive and comic book aliens often travel not just between planetary systems or even within the same galaxy but often from entire other galaxies or dimensions. Because of this, you can invent new alien as freely as you like without ever feeling like you have explain their existence. Even if they are from an area of "known space" such as the Shi-ar empire, you can explain them with just a few waves of your world-building wand. An alien may be from the farthest reaches of space or just around the cosmic bend and just simply never discovered or even kept hidden from detection. They might have simply blipped into existence or awakened after eons of slumber, or slipped into this universe through the fabric of time and space.

Aliens provide a rich tapestry of options for a GM to come up with endless encounters fo their players. They will provide characterful opponents that the players can love, hate, or love to hate. They can even provide the spark for new characters to be played by your players. The next character at your table may be a rogue member of a species or an advanced scout sent to prepare the world for a coming threat. 

What are some of your favorite comic book aliens?

How have you used aliens in your games?

Have you ever had any players make character from alien species you have brought into your games?

RECURRING ORGANIZATIONS - EASY ADDS FOR GAMEMASTERS

 

Comic book universes are full of organizations who have massive resources to bring to bear against the heroes and their enemies. Often, these are meant to be recurring, high stakes enemies that are constantly harrassing the protagonists at every turn. Other times they are a looming threat, popping up just when it's most inconvenient.

We see the latter with the Sentinels in the earlier days of the X-Men comics where they seemed ot pop up all the time. Other groups that tend to do this in more recent years are groups like SHIELD and HYDRA who frequently show up as part of long-running stories. Other organizations, such as The Hand or AIM seem to pop up less frequently, showing up when the twisting coils of the protagonists's lives bring them back into conflict, then dispappearing back into the shadows again when the latest plot twist is finished. 

Many times these enemies float from title to title, often connecting along themes such as martials arts, spy thriller, or simply mutant team members but no organization need be limited to their original or intended adversary. The Hand certainly came into conflict with the X-Men through both Wolverine and Psylocke and SHIELD shows up to deal with any superpowered threat. Organizations such as AIM or HYDRA might seek to capture a member of a team for their uses and Sentinels are notoriously dumb and innefective, often confusing non-mutants for mutants or even getting hijacked by other villains for their own uses. 

The use of recurring organizatons in games is a crucial tool for a GM. Not only do they make convenient, easily insertable opponents for your players but they also help you, the GM, establish a sense of place and world. Ruccuring enemies are like landmarks in a game, they remind players where their character are. They can guide players toward particular conclusions or they can be used to subvert the players' expectations. The Hand may be trying to kill the players at one time but later show up to save them, thus creating a strange dichotomy that keeps the players guessing. Even seemingly beneficent organizations such as SHIELD can suddenly be turned against a heroic team, either over some misunderstanding or even as fallout for the heroes' actions.  

It is important to distinguish these recurring enemies from the named teams and villains that heroes tend to encounter. Almost every team has a roster of named villains that the clash with in a seemingly endless loop of conflict. Organizations are great because they do not require you to come up with complex reasons for them to clash with the heroes. Simple goals and motivations are the trademark of these organizations. That is not to say that they don't even have deeper goals and they most certainly do, but you can throw a mob of ninjas or hi-tech agents at the heroes and give it the most basic reasoning andh ave it fly. Your players will enjoy a chance to throw agents around and break expensive equipment without having to pull too much strategy out of their hats to defeat a more complicated enemy.

Another thing to rememeber about organizations is that encounters with them are easily scaleable. you can have a hand full of agents show up, a single ninja, or a strike team with battlesuits, flying cars or mega-lasers. You can even scale on the fly if the fight goes too easily. That initial tactical team sent by SHIELD may quickly be handled and call in backup. The single ninja, leading the team on a merry chase may have only been the lure to get the heroes into an ambush situation. Organization encounters also scale into encounters with named enemies. Sure you may have started fighting AIM agents but next thing you know the Super-Adaptoid shows up and amps up the fight. We've all see nthe classic ninja fight where a mob of ninjas it thrown all over the place, only to have the music change, a door open, and out steps  much more impressive martial arts opponent, this time with special powers or techniques. 

When it comes down to using organizations as enemies, you should never feel hesitent to do so. Like anything else you do in your games just make sure it makes sense but also remember that what makes sense in comic book universes is a very broad and often ill-defined, so be cool with yourself. I find that, in the beginning, it is best to stick to a single organization as their primary organization to encounter. This will allow you to establish the teams connection to the organization as well as their rivalry. It's still okay to throw in other groups but do so sparingly until the first organization seems like it may be losing effect. But, once you get a few into rotation, you can mix and match as you like. Just remember. Anything can happen in comic books.

What are some organizations you have used in your games?

How have your players responded to recurring appearance by organizations?

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENTAL #1 - MORE STICK

In last Friday's post, I posted my old character Stick. In that post, I talked about how she went through a few stages in her career, including a brief bit as a mind-controlled villain. Below are images of the various costumes she used at those times. They are posted in order. All these pictures were created using outlines taken from published works with details drawn over. 

STICK AS NIGHTENGALE, COSTUMED SIDEKICK TO NOSFERATA 

    STICK AS A MIND CONTROLLED ASSASSIN

STICK AS BLACK DRAGON, MYSTIC WARRIOR

FROM THE FOLDER FRIDAY - STICK (NO NOT THAT ONE)

 

Jokingly refered to in our games as the "West Coast Stick" this character was made for a street-level crime-fighting campaign that took place in Los Angeles. As the power level of that campaign was low, she has no powersand just a lot of fighting abilities. As you can also see, some ofthe language in the character write-up is perhaps a bit dated but it reflects the time when I wrote up the character and my limited experience and knowledge at the time. Stick went on from this humble beginning to become a costumed sidekick ala Robin and then to becoming her own solo costumed street hero and even ended up being a mind controlled villain at one point. 

STICK

Tracy Yin, human hero

F    RM (30)

A    IN (40)

S    TY (6)
E    RM (30)

R    TY (6)

I      RM (30)

P    EX (20)

Health: 106

Karma: 56

Resources: TY (6)

Popularity:  -5

Known Powers: 

Stick has no special powers. 

Weapons: Stick fights with her staff mostly and is skilled enough that it inflicts Good (GD) blunt damage. she also carries a number of knives, for both melee and throwing, that inflict Typical (6) edged damage. 

Talents: Stick is skilled in the use of all martial arts weapons, thrown weapons, blunt weapons, sharp weapons, and thrown objects. She specializes in fighting with a staff. She knows Martial Arts A, B, C, D, acrobatics, tumbling, crime, trance, artist (painting), language (Chinese). 

Contacts: Bronze Dragons (street gang), Dragon, LAPD.

Background:

Born Tracy Yin, the hero known on the streets as Stick lived a very typical life for a girl of her age. Born to immigrant parents, she was raised on stories of the American dream and parents that sought yo raise their daughter with a combination of traditional Chinese values and American ideals. Much to her family's dismay, she found kinship among the Bronze Dragons, a local street gang in LA's Chinatown. 

The gang was not a criminal gang, but more so a guardian gang, protecting locals from predation by other gangs, criminal organizations, racist neighbors and the police. She spent most of her time with them training and mastering several martials arts and weapons, all under the tutelage of an aging master known simply as Dragon. Dragon had been a costumed crimefighter in China when he was younger, bringing his ideals and system of honor to Chinatown when heremigrated to the United States. 

Stick eventually became the sidekick to a costumed hero named Nosferata, a dark avenger who stalked the city streets at night. This is when she picked up the itendity as Nightengale, a homage to her heritage but distinct from her uncostumed street identity. As Nightengale, she benefitted from an arsenal of high-tech equipment provided by Nosferata including a staff made of advanced materials and capable of several tricks. 

As her career progressed, she eventually found herself in Asia, tracking down a killer who had murdered Dragon and decimated the Bronze Dragons. Her missions led her to Madripoor where she found the killer had been sent by an enigmatic woman knowned as Madame Shimaze. It is here where Tracy fell to the villainess, ending up her mind controlled minion. during this time, she served as a hired assassin.

Tracy was later freed from Madame Shimaze's control by the spirit of Dragon who came to her, inhabitting her body and bestowing mystical  powers on young Tracy. Tracy was able to defeat the evil Madame. After that she returned to the United States, having avenged her master and, her new powers at hand, took up a career as a costumed crimefighter, this time going by the name of Black Dragon. 

Notes: I could provide additional profiles for her later incarnations but some notes here should allow those interested in using her to do so. As Nightengale, she had equipment very similar to the Tim Drake Robin from DC Comics. Her staff could taze enemies, create bright flashes to blind, had restractable hooks that could also be fired as a grappling line. She also carried numerous throwing knives, secdonary blades as well as flasckbangs, smoke bombs, gas pellets, and a full climbing kit. 

As the Black Dragon, she possessed chi-based powers allowing her to energize her body and weapons for greater striking ability as well as stealth powers that shrouded her in darkness. She was also resistent to damage and could used her chi-based powers to heal herself.