This is the second-last article in the great character giveaway of 2016. Today I present a pair of more traditional supervillains whose main interest lies in the way the character’s abilities are structured to make them exceptionally effective. These won’t translate as well as some of the past offerings into other genres, I’m afraid, but the general principles definitely will.

As a standard of comparison, this pair were more effective as a partnership than a villain with a straight 25 dice in an attack power. That’s a force multiplication through clever design of at least four-to-one.

Preliminary Sidebar: Force Multiplication

Not familiar with the notion of force multiplication? It’s a measure of the effectiveness in combat when deployed with support from another unit of some weapon or force of men relative to the sum total of the weapons or force in a pure and isolated setting. The military use it when discussing the effectiveness of air and artillery support, tactics, and so on. For example, adopting a defensive position within a castle, in the Middle Ages had a force multiplication effect on the defenders of anywhere from 2-4, depending on who’s performing the analysis. That means that for an attack against the defenders to be just as likely to succeed as if they were simply standing out in the middle of a field (with weapons at the ready, of course), you need to attack with from 2-4 times as many. Personally, because they were such a game-changer, I think the 4 comes from a pre-gunpowder era and the 2 is a post-gunpowder era when both sides have cannons – but that’s only an opinion; it makes sense to me that way, but others might disagree.

It’s often helpful to think of tactical situations in this way. For example, surprise generally has a force multiplication factor of x1.5-2. That’s the same, in D&D terms, of a CR one-to-two less. So if the intent is a surprise encounter while the PCs are sleeping, and you would normally use CR12 to give them a fair fight, use CR10 or CR11. On the other hand, using CR12 keeps the encounter (just) within the usual bounds of permissible threat – the PCs will probably win, but it will be a much harder fight.

The math of Force Multiplication is complicated and largely devised after-the-fact to reflect real-world military experience. Two factors, each of which double the effectiveness of a force don’t multiply – they combine to something closer to x3. Some factors can interact to increase one or both, and other factors can mitigate an advantage even while providing it’s own force multiplier. Some of the relevant factors can be what would normally be considered intangibles, like esprit de corps. I haven’t studied the subject, and don’t think it’s particularly relevant; what I know about it comes from General Knowledge, some boardgames, and mentions in books like Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising. What’s important is the concept, and adapting it for RPG use.

I have adapted the concept for use in designing and constructing superpowers & weapons AND the adventuring context in which they are used. The encounter with Maxima and Minima took place in a crowded stadium, and the effects of their powers on the crowd definitely handicapped the PCs while increasing the pressure on them to perform quickly, and not to make mistakes.

Click on the thumbnail for a full-screen image (2Mb). Created using the online Hero Machine and some digital editing.

The Set-up: Matthew Müller

It’s important to the origins, motivations, etc of these characters that you have a little bit of background. In recent times, the team has come under fire from the religious right in the USA, and in particular from the most popular televangelist in the world, Matthew Müller.

“Last week”, the subject was the relationship between Zenith-3 and Exodus 22:18, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”. Runeweaver is a “self-confessed” practitioner of black magic, and, according to the Televangelists, you only have to look at Blackwing to know he is a demon given flesh, and that’s all proof that Vala is an agent of Satan and Z-3 are in league with the devil. Leading the charge was televangelist Matthew Müller, the single most prominent fundamentalist Christian on the planet. But there were opinion columns in several fundamentalist newspapers by several different authors, letters to the editor in mainstream media, and a number of callers to talk-back radio, and it quickly becomes a trending story on social media which was then picked up by the 24-hour news services. There was an immediate public reaction: Hostile telephone calls to the team, none threatening directly, nothing that was actionable, but all predicting doom and gloom for the team, eg variations on “The lord will punish you” or “The fires of heaven will smite you”.

As a result, the team were glued to the transmission as they wait to find out what the “operating environment” will be for whatever confronts them this week.

The sermon was more indirect than they expected, but even more worrying. “Salvation” is the core subject, and the primary message is, “What good does it do to save your life if it imperils your soul?” Although it is never said outright, the implication is clear – Matthew Müller is telling his followers to refuse Zenith-3’s aid, even if it puts their lives at risk. Flipping through the other channels, it’s once again clear that this is a concerted effort by the Televangelists and their Roman Catholic Master in the Vatican, Pope Gregorivich the second.

Things went from bad to worse as the government went to bat in support of the team (who enjoy an official relationship with them), done in a way that helped further the government’s agenda at the expense of making matters worse for the team, as the team’s AI informs them:

“Prince Richard”, the heir to the Imperial Throne, has just issued a press statement from his Cambridge home, deploring the interference in civil matters by quote “certain self-appointed evangelists” and incitement to civil disobedience. However the language of the statement overall has inflammatory overtones.

He goes on to state that ‘I have communicated this opinion to the Champions [which is what the team are known as, locally] on behalf of the Crown, and that St Barbara is of like mind on the matter. We feel that while the souls of their congregations are a matter of legitimate concern to such zealots, the *LIVES* of those congregations are the jurisdiction of the civil authorities entrusted to protect them such as the military services, diplomatic corps, police services, fire brigades, ambulance-men and doctors, IMAGE – and the Champions. I have directed Lawyers within the relevant public prosecutor’s offices to determine whether or not inciting refusal to be rescued from a dangerous situation constitutes being an accessory to any criminal act that injures a citizen through the refusal of timely assistance.’

(While it was true that he discussed the subject with St Barbara, the leader of Zenith-3, she did not authorize any public statement, and the Prince specifically requested that *she* not make one. It follows that she cannot now make a statement in contradiction to this without accusing the Prince of deliberately lying to the public. Moreover, the statement implies that Champions policies are determined in consultation with the Palace, and that the team is implicitly an arm of the Crown, rather than an independent body, and that the two consult frequently).

Meanwhile…

One of the team’s members, Blackwing, was preparing to “kick out the ball” at a Soccer Game (in this reality, “Football” (Soccer) is the number one game in the world, including the US, but it has acquired some strange traditions from Baseball (this is the equivalent of “throwing out the ball”), some strange terminology for the positions and plays from “Football” (Grid Iron), and permits full-body tackles of the player with the ball as an incentive to keep the game moving).

At the same time as Blackwing makes his way out to the center with the ball, to kick it to the defending goalkeeper in an appropriately show-business way, the team’s headquarters are monitoring a conversation on talk-back radio that has just taken place:

Announcer: “…and good morning, you’re on the air on WBAP Texas talking to Alan Salcedo, What’s your name, listener?”

Feminine Voice: “My name doesn’t matter, I’m calling to give you a tip on a breaking news story, Alan.”

Alan: “Okay, what’s this hot tip?”

Female: “I just heard two people talking about an attack on the Demon Blackwing at the Mercedes Superdome in New Orleans this afternoon. I don’t know any details, but I thought someone should know about it.”

Alan: “And where did–” There is a click as whoever the caller was, hangs up. “Hello, Caller? Caller? Can you hear me?”

Third Voice, heard in the distance: “She’s off the line, Alan. I’m calling the Police.”

Alan: “The voice you just heard, listeners, was that of Patrick Franks, my producer. So, to recap, we have an unconfirmed report that there will be a religious-extremist attack launched against a member of the Champions who we already know is making a public appearance in just a few minutes. And remember that this afternoon you can hear the Dallas Cowboys take on the Indianapolis Colts, live on your Sports Central Radio, WBAP! And now, let’s take another call. Good Morning, you’re on the air…”

“That conversation was broadcast one minute ago”, reported the AI. “According to my data-banks, WBAP operates on a two-minute delay, so the threat was actually received approximately three minutes ago. I have accessed the live coverage of the game at the Mercedes Superdome, and Blackwing made his public appearance a few seconds ago, right on schedule. There appears to be some sort of public reaction…”

Minima and Maxima

Profession:

• Minima: Farmer, Eastern Texas
• Maxima: Assistant D.A, San Antonio

Personality:

• Minima: Submissive to Maxima, Generous, Honest, Religious
• Maxima: Dominant, Determined, Ruthless, Religious

Family/Relationships:

• Minima: 5th generation USK* farmer, European origins (German/English/Norwegian)
• Maxima: Spanish/Mexican, Daughter of a former USK Ambassador to Spain
  * USK = Kingdom Of The United States Of America

Faith:

• Minima: Roman Catholic, Devotee of Matthew Müller
• Maxima: Roman Catholic, Devotee of Matthew Müller

Abilities:

• Minima:
  Passive:
  • Reduce Dice of Effect per Active Pt to 20% normal, round up, affects all unprotected characters.
  • Reduces PD & ED to 10% normal, round up, affects all unprotected characters.

  Active:

  • Reduce air resistance to electrical potential over a progressively larger volume – first attack 1d6 electrical, second 2d6, third 4d6, and so on. Maximum is 12d6 electrical.

  Gadgets:

  • One on each wrist: Left: Minima is protected from the effects of Maxima’s Powers.
  • Right: Maxima is protected from the effects of Minima’s Powers.
    NB: Gadgets supplied by Matthew Müller’s “Christian Science Institute”.
• Maxima:
  Passive:
  • Multiply END cost x6, affects all unprotected characters. Excess END cost is paid by all conscious allies of the affected character within Line of sight and by the affected character equally. (Effectively 5x Normal END cost, divide by # PCs conscious to get extra END cost each).

  Active:

  • Super-STR (STR 60)= 3d6 Kill + Concussive Force Release (3d6 Kill), Reroll 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, Stun Multiplier d8+4, all Vs PD.
  • Flight (Platform), Usable with others, 30”.

Ambitions:

• Minima: To destroy the Witches and Demons and their allies in “The Champions” (Zenith-3) more because he wants Maxima’s approval than out of personal conviction.
• Maxima: To destroy the Witches and Demons & their allies in “The Champions” (Zenith-3) because she believes the teachings of Matthew Müller & the RC church.

Desire:

• Minima: Minima is totally besotted with Maxima, and will do anything to protect her.
• Maxima: Maxima has a crush on Matthew Müller, and will do anything that she thinks he wants. She is intelligent enough to realize that this affection will never be consummated and has accepted Minima as the substitute choice ordained by God.

Weaknesses/Flaws:

• Minima: Psychologically vulnerable through his relationship with Maxima. His physical stats are above human norms but he relies heavily on Maxima’s passive protection in combat and staying back from the front lines.
• Maxima: Maxima is psychologically vulnerable and can be manipulated by her “relationship” with Muller. While her physical stats are above human norms, she relies very heavily on Minima’s protection in combat, despite being the front-line attacking force of the duo.
• They both lose their abilities if too far removed from each other’s vicinity, but don’t really know what the maximum separation that can exist between them is.

History:

They say that opposites attract, but this is an extreme case. Minima and Maxima met via an online dating site for Catholics and discovered a mutual respect for the teachings of Matthew Muller. They began dating and attended church services together. At a virtual service which Muller conducted by televised link – something he does regularly, enabling him to “be” in 50 places of worship at once – they experienced what they describe as “an ecstasy,” a vision of heaven, standing side-by-side before “God”, who told them that a painful time was coming for the world and that he was going to grant them powers to represent him on earth in the battle to come. When the vision faded, their powers had awoken. After the service, they reported to the local priest and representative of Muller, who arranged for them to be tested at Muller’s “Christian Science Institute”. While they never got to full grips with the powers the two now posses, they consider this a bona-fide miracle and developed – by trial and error – mechanisms that grant the duo immunity to each other’s powers, based on designs shown to them but not understood by the pair whilst “in Heaven”.

What’s Missing

Can you spot the elephant in the room?

I didn’t – not until we were actually in play.

Aside from their nom-de-plumes, what are their names? I had to come up with the answer on the spot so that they could use appropriate levels of intimacy and emotion in their dialogues with each other. Rather than foist my choices – which weren’t created with my usual forethought and rigor – upon anyone else right away, I’ve decided to come clean here – and to preserve the write-ups just as I used them in play – just to show that no matter how much experience you have behind the table, you can still fail your “spot the blindingly obvious” check.

Ready for this? He’s a hick farmer, and the subservient partner (though he does most of the pre-scripted talking for the pair), so I named him Larry Hicks, Jr – Larry for the flavor of the US South, Hicks for the background, and Junior for the implied subordinate personality it carries.

She was Americanized Latino, a self-made professional, educated, independent, and the fiery dominant member of the relationship – so “Maria Conchita Gomez,” pronounced Marr-iah at her insistence. Three Latino names, presented in a stylized and individualistic way, and she always spoke in a very firm, very calm, tone of voice.

Discussion

Minima’s powers are the critical ones to the effectiveness of the pair – you don’t have to know a lot of the game mechanics to see that.

His first power reduces the effectiveness of every power or weapon that could be used against the pair. This is a passive ability, meaning that it just happens around him.

His second power increases the PCs’ vulnerability to attacks ten-fold. It’s also a passive ability.

His third power starts off being equivalent to an electric fence and rapidly increases to the output of a small electrical plant – which is nowhere near the power levels of real lightning. But the side effect on ordinary people is lethal from about 3d6 on – which is roughly equivalent to a bullet.

Her first ability means that anyone who attacks, or tries to run away, will become exhausted far more quickly. It also means that the first attacks of the PCs – which, given a threatening buildup and the crowd, should be near the top end of what they normally use – will have virtually no effect, being reduced first by her ability and then by his.

The result is that her 3d6+3d6 strike definitely ‘rang the bell’ on the group’s toughest single member, the guy they stick in the front lines to soak up damage, and a character who has shrugged off 40d6 (rolled a little poorly) in the past. That’s an attention-getter.

So it’s a pair of 1-2 punches: one ability makes the characters vulnerable and the second exploits that vulnerability; another pair of abilities makes the PC counteroffensive far less effective, and sticks the more vulnerable member of the partnership behind the protection of the other member, to boot.

Judo Construction

This is an example of what I think of as “Judo construction” – taking a character’s strengths and using it against them. How would you apply this principle to D&D?

Consider the impact of heat-based attacks on characters in frigid conditions who are dressed appropriately to those conditions. Or heat-based attacks on characters in very hot conditions that they are already struggling to cope with, if it comes to that. Or a situation that makes characters in frigid conditions think that it is suddenly very hot.

A character who relies on Elven equipment might come up against a character whose equipment is invulnerable to the effects of Elvish Weapons (the Dwarves would make those, if they could, given the usual relationship between the races). This is Magic, the “rules” can be anything you want them to be.

Of course, familiarity breeds contempt; so you don’t give such equipment to every Tom, Dick, and Troll that stumbles through the door, you save it for an encounter where it is both logical and it matters. You need, for the sake of plausibility, to give the hostile character an in-game reason for having this as his preferred equipment, and you need a suitable backstory for how this equipment came to exist in the first place, because it is uncommon.

The effect is akin to a dwarfed Goblin wearing a Belt Of Giant Strength – it’s the last thing anyone expects, unless you drop hints that give the game away.

Similarly, I won’t be using characters with the type of abilities displayed by Maxima and Minima in every battle. This was a one-off (and there’s more to the story to come, of course – the writeup is very vague about how they came to posses these powers, while explicitly implying that Matthew Müller’s “Christian Science Institute” is actively researching ways to oppose the PCs. That is what makes their use in this (otherwise meaningless) encounter significant.

The only other reason for this encounter is as a trigger for the further development of the PCs ‘relationships’ with the Crown Prince and Roman Catholic Church under “Pope Gregorivich II”. In other words, I had a plot development that as a byproduct led inevitably to an encounter of some sort, and this fitted the bill.

As with several other characters that I have presented recently, I could have made this duo weaker but I wanted them to be able to go toe-to-toe with the whole team of PCs, and gaged their combat capabilities accordingly.

He sounds nasty. He looks nastier (I don’t think I can show you the images, but if I can find them again I can link to them!) His name is almost unpronounceable. And he is the last in this line of Character Giveaways. He is Mictlan-tecuhtli, and he is the subject of the intended final part in this character giveaway – next week!