We are continuing with villain motivations today. There are four more here to go along with the four from last page. First up, we have Seeking Power. This is a lesser version of Conquering the World; the villain is power hungry, and is trying to control a nation, other villains, even a city. But they aren't world-beater villains.
Then there's the villains who are just having fun. This can be as innocuous as Bat-Mite's antics trying to get Batman to look good, or as deadly as the Joker's version of 'fun'. Or, it could be villains just getting thrills from beating up heroes, or stealing things, or causing property damage. This covers a wide range of things.
Some villains are treating this as a game, Matching Wits with the heroes. The Riddler, of course, is a classic version of this archetype. So is the Wizard from the Frightful Four, seeking to match wits with Reed Richards. These guys are usually not quite as deadly as the more serious villains, although they certainly don't have to be easy-going, either. The Riddler, after all, has amassed a bit of a body count of his own.
Finally, there's the catch-all motivation of 'Accomplishing a Goal'. This can be literally anything that isn't covered by the other motivations. Maybe the villain is trying to build a spaceship to return to his home planet, or seeking to recover something stolen by another villain (or even, unwittingly, a hero). This one covers a lot of ground.
There's a recommendation to borrow liberally from comics as well as pulp magazines, science fiction, detective stories, etc. Super-hero adventures can be as small as a mystery requiring problem-solving and clue-finding, or as big as stopping Darkseid from conquering Earth and subjugating every living soul on the planet. Each adventure is up to you to figure out.
Alright, now we get classic "bits" from comics, things that appear so often that they are basically superhero clichés. Things like deathtraps, where the villain captures the hero, but instead of killing him on the spot he cackles with glee about how impotent the hero is to stop his plans, monologuing about his greatness and placing the hero in an impossible-to-escape deathtrap to finish him off. Of course, the hero escapes and the villain gets some insight into his powers and skills. Deathtraps can be as simple as throwing the hero out of an airplane (assuming he can't fly or glide), sealing the room and filling it with water (this won't work very well on Aquaman), or recreating the Star Wars garbage chute scene where the walls are closing in. These are just a few examples; deathtraps are limited only by the villain's (and your) imagination.
Then there's threatening the innocent. Villains do this all the time; grab a hostage and use them as a shield or to warn off the hero long enough for the villain to escape. This can also involve more dramatic gestures, like toppling a building or throwing a car at a crowd of people. All of these things are sure to get the heroes to react in a way that let's the villain gain some advantage.
Some villains will play possum, pretending to be stunned or knocked out in hopes that the hero will be distracted by another villain or rescue situation. This can also be used to draw a hero in for a sneak attack. Whatever works; there are no rules for the villains.
Ah, soliloquies, or monologues. Yes, all villains are basically required to do this at some point. But they aren't the only ones; Spider-Man is notorious for his constant chatter during fights. Wisecracks, epic speeches (Hi, Thor!) and the like are just as important as the villain's step-by-step explanation of his evil Master Plan. Use them wisely.
Exclamations are a subset of soliloquies; this is just catch phrases uttered by heroes and villains to show how serious the situation is, or to express surprise at a sudden change. 'Great Caesar's ghost!' is an example from Superman lore; He-Man has 'By the Power of Greyskull!' to keep him warm, and of course, Captain America's legendary 'Avengers Assemble!' battle cry. All of these are examples of exclamations that characters can use to give themselves a bit of an identifying mark.
Okay, so that's some of the common 'bits' you can use to spice up the adventure. Next, there's the problem of getting the characters involved in the scenario. This is especially important for the first scenario, where it's entirely possible the heroes don't know each other at all, and maybe haven't ever met before. This can be as simple as superhero coincidence magic, where several heroes will just happen across the scene of a crime at the same time, or perhaps the characters are contacted and made to work together to solve a particular problem on behalf of the token Rich Guy. There are tons of ways to get them together; just don't use the 'mysterious stranger at an inn' routine. That's a whole different game.
Now we get some general notes on playing, or how to conduct the game. Since Champions characters can be rather complex (especially in later editions), it's recommended that players only play a single hero at a time. This not only gives them more screen time in the game, since they are only sharing the spotlight with one other character per player, but it also gives more time to develop that character's personality and history as they are the player's sole focus for the duration of the game.
Unlike Traveller, this game doesn't recommend a lot of players. Even a single character can get into all sorts of trouble on his own, so beginning GMs shouldn't run too many players. They don't give a target number, but considering the typical size of a superhero team is about six people, that would seem to be a reasonable number of players, as well.
It's also recommended that the GM take copious notes to keep track of the small details. Consistency isn't always going to be perfect, but it's something to consider keeping track of. Furthermore, those little details can end up being quite important later on. Besides, you know the players are going to be taking down notes on every odd thing they encounter, so give them something to play with. Plus, it's possible that in a future supplement, someone will produce a running record of their game sessions so people can marvel at a well-run superhero campaign.
Finally, on this page at least, we have a discussion of background information. If miniatures are available, they are recommended. If not, it's on the GM to describe not only the scenario, but also the scenery in case fighting happens. After all, it doesn't do anyone any favors if the brick hero doesn't know about the park bench just sitting there, waiting to be used as a club on a bad guy's head. So, give them some property to destroy.
And that's it for this page. Next time, we'll learn about experience points and how they work, and get our first example of game play. Can't wait!
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