Monkey House Games

That's great stuff, grey. I love hearing about other people's campaigns, especially ones that focused on the Classic V&V villains!

Kubera is named after the Hindu or Buddhist god of the same name; of the top of my head I think it's the Buddhist one, but I'm double-checking with the player to see.

As I write these summaries up (of each hero), I'm often condensing things. Their origin is sometimes quite long (sometimes a full-page), and some of these characters have also been played for 1-2 decades as well.

So to flesh out Quiasar's info, I've added to his story (above), which should also make it closer in length to the others.

I know it's been a few days since I've posted anything; it's been because I've been working hard on preparing for "Ancient Evil" (which the Guardians will be tackling tomorrow night).

Makeshift is one of the coolest characters I've ever played, and a big part of that is because he was created by Bill Willingham! I got to name him and add some of his gadgets/gizmos (the first few working with Bill as the GM), but the main creation of him was by Bill. I just said that I'd like to play a gadgeteer, and Bill took things from there.

One of the most fun things about him is that he's this absent-minded professor type that constantly makes things, but then forgets how he did so! So to repair or replace things, he has to make an Intelligence save (at each Level) to remember!

There's been a bunch posted about his first adventure and some on his creation on these very forums, so here are some links:

You can view his character sheet, see how he was named (Dom first suggested it on page 10), and read some of his early logs (as well as view many pictures of his first adventure).

I always found Mystico one of the more "sympathetic" of the Most Wanted villains...and when I re-read the sourcebook when I was a little older and more savvy about the world, I wondered if there wasn't a "subtext" between Mystico and the construction worker friend, meaning he turned to dark sorcery to bring his lover back to "life". Not as edgy today, especially after the Buffy series, but too bold in the Bronze Age to be stated explicitly.

I have to say again, Majestic, these adventure summaries are taking me back...I remember my good friend Pete running a scenario where a D&D style Lich/Evil Arch-Mage crossed over into our V&V universe, and was building an army of were-wolves, vampires, and other such creatures, kidnapping and converting homeless people, along with two or three other "supernatural" villains. I think Pete used a house rule where the "mook" creatures couldn't roll with damage, meaning we knocked them out pretty quickly, even though the sheer number of them gave us a scare at first.

Lots of fun.

I haven't posted any of these in awhile, so I'll update to our current point (since I'm now caught up). Lots has happened. 4 of these 6 summaries are from Ancient Evil (which I posted in its own thread), as well as 2 newer adventures (played over the last month during our last two play sessions).

We even just had the death of a long-standing hero (Kubera, who was Level 24, our most experienced character in the campaign!).

#366 – Ancient Evil – Ragnarr resigns. Enigma, Rune, and Goliath attend a G.I.A.N.T. conference in nearby Kingstown, Maryland, and meet up with old friend Sigurd (former Head of Security for U.S.A. Robotics) as they check into their motel. The next morning, the main speaker at the conference, Dr. Floyd Capek, suggests that the four investigate the scene of a recent burglary, where a paranormal named Slithe was mysteriously incapacitated. Allies Angelus and Summoner arrive and join them, and at the home the group discovers an ancient spearhead with magical powers. The party is unable to convince the homeowner, Roy Ronson, into surrendering the Spear of Daedalus for further study. Summoner spends the day fashioning a shaft for the blade, while Angelus seeks out local occultist Robin Todd and visits the intolerant Revelation Church, meeting head pastor James Gregson. Throughout the day Angelus senses a growing feeling of dread, and as the weather deteriorates Warp arrives to assist. At night the team divides and covers the town, then responds to a break-in at the Ronson home. They arrive to find a young, strangely-clad girl, Seraide, held at gunpoint by Roy. She explains that the magical item is needed to defeat Profundis, a mythical being that Todd mentioned to Angelus; Sigurd confirms this information based on his own recent dream. Ronson finally agrees to surrender the artifact to the party, and Summoner fashions it into a spear. Seraide joins the heroes, and as the group begins to return to their posts they are attacked by Psyclone, Necroscope, Mnipre, Animus, Cannonmouth, Gutter, and a swarm of rats. Goliath fells many of the villains, but Cannonmouth arouses hatred in a number of the Guardians, turning them on each other. Angelus swipes the Spear from Summoner, but is then pulled (along with the enchanted weapon) into a Hellmouth portal created by Psyclone!

#367 – Black Sunday – The Hellmouth closes, and Mnipre flees as the rest of the villains are taken down. Several of the team fight each other, but eventually all snap out of their madness. After securing their adversaries, the group takes measure of an immense energy dome that covers the town. Warp is able to teleport out, so he visits the GamesMaster for possible future aid. Rune strains his magical abilities and retrieves Angelus from thousands of light-years away, where he had been stuck at the event horizon of a black hole! Mnipre rescues the captive Psyclone, Cannonmouth, and Necroscope by teleporting them out of their cell at the police station. The Spear is given to Summoner, who fashions facsimiles of it for his duplicates. Realizing that Cannonmouth is Reverend Gregson, the team assails the Revelation Church, overcoming the security guards inside. They find technicians assembling psicasters, strange devices for translating psionic impulses electronically, and Angelus destroys them. He then discovers a secret tunnel that leads to an underground chamber, from which they rescue Sigourney Heard, a witness who Gregson had kidnapped. The party gets some sleep, and the next morning begins to search Kingstown. They find and dispatch a pair of fish-like Ychthyon guarding the grave of Noah Albertos III in the cemetery. Enigma then peers into the unlit brazier atop the grave and slowly disappears! Angelus does the same, followed by Rune and then Goliath.

#368 - The Strange, High House in the Mists - Summoner races back to the motel to find Seraide, while Enigma, Angelus, Rune, and Goliath find themselves in a small room with a teleport pad. They overpower two Leftand sentries, then are attacked again in the corridor outside. After again defeating Psyclone, Mnipre, Necroscope (identified as Robin Todd), and Cannonmouth, as well as three ghostly shades, the heroes find living quarters for the four villains. All but Rune travel through an airlock into a water-filled area, where they fight off Ychthyarch and her many Ychthyon children. As Summoner and Seraide return to the cemetery and Rune deciphers the teleporter, the underwater trio makes their way up a level. Angelus scouts ahead and finds another teleport pad, but is knocked unconscious by another pair of Leftands. Enigma and Goliath rush through the airlock, but before they are able to intervene one of the androids teleports away with their teammate! Enigma and Goliath follow and arrive underwater in a massive dome deep underground, where they face the ancient titan Profundis sitting upon a humongous throne! Goliath dispatches the Leftand and recovers Angelus, but Profundis sends sharks to attack him. Rune arrives and creates a doorway back to the cemetery, through which Summoner and his duplicates come through. After defeating the sharks, the vigilantes assault Profundis, who ignores all but the Spear. With everyone attacking, Summoner plunges the artifact repeatedly into the creature’s singular eye, eventually dropping the gigantic beast. After destroying the life support controls in the throne, the Spear is plunged into the monster, destroying it for good! Unbeknownst to the team, the spaceship Charon removes the energy dome and departs. The group returns to Kingstown and lends aid to the populace.

#369 – Razor’s Edge – Neutron confirms that Kubera was indeed killed while on a routine mission for A.R.T. After the Vai’Kesh make numerous attempted incursions through the Alpha Site gateway, Neutron alerts the Guardians. Scion becomes sick for the first time and is examined by Phase and team physician Dr. Kenveis. A message is received from the Vai’Kesh, and Rune is able to use Latin to decipher that “emissaries” want the “false prophet Leech”. Paradigm returns and flies in the Guardian Angel with Araneae, Goliath, and Compass to Alpha Site. Meanwhile, Scion begins compulsively building a machine, so the team quarantines him in a research room. They soon ascertain that his DNA is in a state of flux. He finishes creating the strange device and begins speaking in another language. Majestic and Kageryu meet with Leech at Foundation Headquarters and tag him with one of Araneae’s trackers. Phase alerts the others that Scion, who continues to change, is becoming more primal and instinctual. Portal and Rune assist in assembling a squad, and after Scion jams a second device into the console of the Guardian Angel, Jerry Hammond flies Majestic, Quiasar, Phase, Scion, and Neutron to a small island in international waters off the Atlantic coast. Razor, in contact with his mentor Watcher, joins them there. The heroes follow Scion into a small shack, and the whole party descends into an underground facility, where Razor’s scarred and wheelchair bound contact reveals himself to be Mindbender (formerly Nemo/Black Talon). He explains how he used the crashed ruins in the past to build a cryo-unit; it wrecked his body but allowed him to survive until the present. During the last year he has been secretly aiding the Guardians and monitoring the N.I.D. and Freedom of Chaos. He shows them the original prototype Havoc, and Scion attaches a device to its underbelly. The five adventurers board, and Scion uses his constructed machinery to pilot the craft into space and across the galaxy! Razor is questioned about why the Vai’Kesh might want him, but reveals little. They travel through a dense nebula and land on a volcanic planet. The Havoc cuts a hole into a dome, allowing them to drop into a huge city underneath the surface, and an energy dome reforms over them. They follow Scion into a building, where he lays on a bed. Energy crackles over him as his DNA is resequenced and reset. As Neutron and Majestic explore (and learn that the planet is a giant ship), the travelers interact with a holographic human who explains that Scion has been away for too long. The ancient city begins to crumble around them, and five Vai’Kesh warriors and a cloaked man approach. Phase and Frostpaw get the unconscious Scion into the Havoc as the others square off with the threat. Razor is told that the young man is his son, and when his daughter joins them they learn that the two humans are the emissaries that were spoken of. The pair implores Razor to return to the Vai’Kesh, but he rebuffs them. They warn that the Vai’Kesh are coming, but Majestic responds that when they do they will be destroyed. The aliens leave, and the champions depart as the planet/ship self-destructs. Scion recovers, but is found to have new abilities.

#370 – All Hallows’ Eve – When an earthquake strikes Japan and further threatens the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor, the team assembles to lend aid. They are called off, however, when legendary Japanese hero Tamonten suddenly appears and rescues the robot Kintetsu and saves the plant! Quiasar and Neutron view a DVD left by Jay Harris and deduce that Kubera was the Time Guardian who saved the team months earlier. The team decides to have a statue made in their fallen teammate’s honor. The drugs Mind and Body are acquired by more aggressive organizations. New Babylon declares itself a sanctuary for any paranormals seeking refuge. Scion and Neutron inform everyone that they have begun work on a large-scale project to build a construction facility on an asteroid in the solar system. They plan to work with many nations, build an army of androids, and construct a massive starship for Earth’s protection. Scion informs the team that a powerful mastermind, Doc Negation, is now active in the U.S. with his team, the Universals. The spirits of Dale Max (Warp), Edmund Drake (Rune), Johnnie Many-Eyes (Summoner), Sigurd Helmholtz (Tarnhelm), Rey LaCosta (Spirit), and Ryan Henderson (new hero Helios) fall through their beds, then find themselves alone in darkness. Each man discovers that he is in the upper room of a hunting lodge (in rural West Virginia). They scramble to find light sources and improvised weapons, but are startled to hear the sound of a chainsaw downstairs! Manslaughter moves up the stairs and attacks, but most of the men rally together and fight back against the madman. Chainsaw arrives and also assaults the heroes, while Manslaughter hones in on a fearful Warp and chops off his left arm! Manslaughter disappears, and Chainsaw appears to drag the unconscious Warp outside. The team flees through a window, then are beset outside by Samhain and Chainsaw. They rush for the woods, where Rune is able to protect them with trees. The six suddenly awaken back in their own beds, and Warp finds that his arm is whole but disabled. The villain Nightmare claims credit for terrorizing past and future Guardians, and asks to join Freedom of Chaos; one of the leaders of the organization is revealed to be a tattooed man (the teenaged boy met years earlier).