Let's Play... Civil War! (Act 1, anyway)

[BaronVonStevie]

Going to run this event. It looks really fun, but I would like to test out the first act in order to get a feel for it. I'll be engaging in troupe play; simulating 4-6 players as the book suggests. No more than six and no fewer than two characters per scene for me here at first.

Expect:

1. ACTION: Titanium Man Attacks Washington! (starring Captain America & Iron Man)
2. ACTION: The Hammer Falls. (starring Mister Fantastic, the Thing, Human Torch, and Invisible Woman)
3. ACTION: The Crusader Attacks an Airplane. (starring Wolverine & Spiderman)
4. ACTION: Appear Before Congress. (starring Cap, Iron Man, Mr Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Luke Cage, and She-Hulk)
5. Transition: Cleaning up Stamford. (starring Cap, Iron Man, Mr Fantastic, Luke Cage, Spiderman, Spider-Woman)

more to come! (subject to change depending on who ends up stressed out)

[BaronVonStevie]

Key members of the Avengers, SHIELD, and the FF are called to Washington to testify in hearings that may or may not lead to the establishment of the SHRA. Captain America discuss the pros and cons of the act on the steps of the Lincoln Monument, when suddenly a sonic boom rips through the sky and bystanders scream in terror...

Watcher: Titanium Man attacks Washington. He plows through a famous monument… (system allocation SFX: solo d10, short sighted d4, godlike strength 2d12, menace d8; shutdown flight, step up strength, +1d6 to doom pool, result 7/effect d12). Cap, you’re next.

Captain America: I leap in-between him and his target using my shield to stop him (buddy d8, sentinel of liberty d4, durability d12, combat 2d8; +1PP, result 15/effect d12). Got him! Cap adjusts his shield and gives him a flipping jump kick sort of like Guile in Street Fighter (last ditch effort SFX, 1PP to include an extra specialty: buddy d8, sentinel d8, reflexes d10, acrobatics d8, combat 2d8; 1PP for d6 to the doom pool, 1PP for an extra result die, result 19/effect d8). I land with catlike agility. Iron Man goes next.

Watcher: Let’s see how Titanium Man does against this assault (solo d10, high tech merc d8, durability d10, combat 2d6; Cap spends a PP on an opportunity to shut down his concussive beams, result 17/effect d10). You do damage, but it’s stepped down to d6.

Iron Man: It still looked awesome. I create a force field as an asset (situation control SFX: buddy d6, cutting edge tech d8, tech control d10, tech master 2d8; take d6 mental stress, 2PP for 2 opportunities, result 11/d8 effect).

Watcher: you’re up against the doom pool here (1d6, 1d8, d10; result 12/effect d10). Failure! This up to the date, latest nano-tech looks like it could be less than up to specs, Tony. Titanium Man brings the hammer down on Cap (solo d10, empty headed d4, 2d12 strength, d8 combat; add d6 to doom pool, result 14/effect d12). Iron Man’s next.

Captain America: We need to act as a team! (Born Leader: 1XP) I throw my shield up again (buddy d8, tactician d8, durability d12, combat d10, stress d6; result 15/effect d12). KLANG!!! I give him the old stars and stripes. That should be enough.

Iron Man: I’ll feed Cap some tactical info with my cybernetic senses (support action: buddy d6, hard headed futurist d8, senses d10, tech d10; 1PP for an opportunity, 14 result/d8 effect, Can’t Buy Happiness: 1XP).

Watcher: Doom pool looks pretty scary right now (1d8, 2d10; result 7/effect d10). You feed Cap a d10 asset. Cap’s turn.

Cap: Finally! I use some of Tony’s tactical data and give him a taste of some shield throwage (ricochet SFX: buddy d8, tactician d8, weapon 2d8, combat d10, d6 stress; d10 from tactical dropped for a third total die, result 20/effect d8). I throw, like, a perfectly thrown shield attack.

Watcher: I spend a d8 from the doom pool to ignore it (Heavily Reinforced; d8 spent). It banks off of his faceplate with a loud noise and goes flying. Titanium Man laughs a super villain laugh. “Your puny American shield makes an amusing noise against my superior Russian Steel, keptin…”. Titanium Man pounds the earth and shatters the street below both heroes (Area Attack SFX: solo d10, empty headed d4, strength 2d12, combat d8, stress d6 from Tony, area d6; Tony activates 2 opportunities to regain his durability and weapons, result 18/effect d6 for Cap and d8 for Tony).

Cap: I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I slide across the street as it flies at me with my shield up (buddy d8, sentinel d8, durability d12, combat d10, stress d6; 1PP for +1d6 to the doom pool, result 20/effect d8). I shake the debris from it and get up unscathed.

Iron Man: Armor up just in time… (buddy d6, cutting edge tech d4, durability d10, 2d8 tech, d6 stress; +1PP, +2PP for +2d6 to the doom pool, result 7/effect d6). Man I get blown away there.

Watcher: Take d10 physical stress. Cap, you’re next.

Cap: I give him a baseball slide to the knee caps (buddy d8, tactician d8, reflexes d8, combat d10, tactical data d10, d6 stress; result 15/effect d10). OOH! He’s going to ignore that with his SFX isn’t he?

Watcher: Yup. (Heavily Reinforced SFX; d6 spent)

Cap: Iron Man’s turn. I roll away trying to rub the strain out of my knee. “That thing doesn’t give!”

Iron Man: We just have to go around the problem, Cap. “Sonics! They may be our only way to cut through all that heavy reinforcement he’s packing. Fortunately Stark Industries has just what the doctor ordered…” (unibeam SFX: buddy d6, hard headed futurist d8, weapon 2d12, tech master d10, stress d6; 1PP to shutdown durability from an opportunity, result 16/effect d6).

Watcher: You might have gotten him at a disadvantage here (solo d10, high tech merc d8, senses d6, doom pool 2d6; result 16/effect d6). He takes d6 mental stress. You put a big dent in the doom pool too. Titanium Man tries to take Tony out (solo d10, empty headed d8, strength 2d12, combat d8, stress d10; Tony shuts down his durability with a PP for an opportunity, result 18/effect d12). Iron Man is next.

Iron Man: Oh man I’m in trouble. (situation control SFX: buddy d6, cutting edge tech d8, reflexes d12, tech d10, stress d6; takes d12 mental stress, 1pp for an extra result die, result 19/effect d10). I let the nanites help me get out of the way. That was a close one. When I land very unceremoniously, I try again to get that force field up (PP for 2 powers: buddy d6, hard headed futurist d8, senses d10, tech control d8, tech master d10; PP for an extra result die, result 18/effect d10). Take that, doom pool. Cap is next.

Watcher: Let’s see. (2d12; result 14/effect d4). You are now the proud owner of a d10 force field. Titanium Man’s armor looks overheated and vulnerable, Cap.

Cap: His armor looks to be down. My tactical data is probably telling me it’s a good time to strike (buddy d8, sentinel d8, weapon d8, combat d10, tactical data d10, stress d6; PP for a third result die, result 22/effect d10). “How’s my puny American shield sound now, comrade???”

Watcher: Boris doesn’t look too hot with his armor down (solo d10, d4 short sighted, combat 2d6; result 14/effect d6). POW!!! He takes d12 physical stress. He’ll end this now. “This is not the end, Stark! I will have my revenge!!!” 2d12 to clear out. He overloads his concussive blasters and sets off a huge explosion. When it clears, Titanium Man is gone. There’s too much static in your senses, Tony. He got away… (+2XP to each character)

Captain America: That could have been a lot worse. He didn’t kill anyone. He didn’t deface any monuments. There was property damage, but we beat him before it got out of hand. We earned our pay and they’ll thank us for it.

Iron Man: I don’t know, Cap. That was a terrorist attack on American Soil. Any way you slice it, we should have had more than a couple capes there to keep it in check. He should have never had an opportunity to take a shot at us like that. The American people saw that, and we should expect them to be worried about what happens next. This sort of thing will rush the SHRA through… and with good reason. Mark my words.

Cap: We’ll see. We’ll see.

Doom Pool remaining: 1d6

Iron Man: Can’t Buy Happiness, Lead the Charge, Charged System x4 (all), d12 mental stress, d10 physical stress, d10 force field asset, 2pp, 3XP
Captain America: Born Leader, Sacrifice for the Cause, Last Ditch Effort (strength down), d10 TACTICAL DATA, 1PP, 3XP
Titanium Man: system allocation (flight down, strength up), charged system (concussive blast, durability), d12 physical stress, d6 mental stress.

Both heroes depart the scene of the battle as the media shows up along with law enforcement. Cap and Iron Man share a contentious glance at each other.

[Shingen]

I like reading this, because it is a great example of play and how the mechanics function.

[Doc_Nova]

This is neat!

Only part I am not sure of...when Titanium Man shatters the street as an area attack on both heroes, he gets an 18 with a D8 vs. Iron Man. Iron Man's reaction is a 7. That's 11 less which should trigger two extraordinary success step ups, which should result in a D12 stress not D10, or am I missing something?

[nthmetaljustice]

Did your Players pick a side: Pro or Anti SHRA? I find the pairing to be quite interesting, considering how the story in the comics went

[BaronVonStevie]

yup! good catch. That was d12 physical stress. ouch. bad day to be Tony Stark outside the armor.

Did your Players pick a side: Pro or Anti SHRA?

right now I'm in dealer's school. I work at a casino and I'm about to start dealing blackjack. I have no off days (no off nights really). I haven't had a completely off day in like a month. No time to run a game, in other words. This is just me testing the system.

[JesterOC]

So the initial attack by T man, it looks like you are saying he attempts to destroy a monument, and the Player gets in the way. I thought that if the watcher wants something destroyed (for example to add to the doom pool), there is nothing a player can do. Are you saying the Watcher said this guy is going to destroy something and one of you has a chance to stop it? While I like the idea it does not seem that the rules state that.

[BaronVonStevie]

the idea was that if Cap couldn't stop him, then Titanium Man would have used the effect to grandstand; to increase the doom pool in other words.

[BaronVonStevie]

The FF responds to a crisis in Oklahoma where Thor’s hammer lands in a field near the town of Broxton. Doctor Doom gathers a small army and attacks a research facility built around the hammer in an attempt to claim it for himself.

Watcher: Oklahoma is doomed *snicker* Seriously, folks… the facility is HEAVILY PATROLLED and TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED. Doom’s got his eye on the prize as a wave of robotic minions descends upon the hammer. Human Torch has got supersonic flight, so he goes first.

Human Torch: I’m gonna heat things up. I create an asset with my fire control… call it HEATED UP (team d8, hotheaded hero d4, fire control d10; +1PP, result 6/effect d10). After me, let’s let Reed go.

Watcher: Doom pool is a whopping d6… here we go (result 4/d4). You’ve got that d10 asset. All right, Reed. Go ahead.

Mr Fantastic: I wonder if I can try to run interference with whatever Doom is using to send signals to his army. Let’s use the facility to come up with a virus that will disrupt his minions… complication time (versatile SFX: team d10, technologically advanced d8, stretching 3d6, Tech Master d10; result 17/effect d10). Good roll. Sue can be next.

Watcher: And not a single opportunity rolled either. Really good. Minions resist (result 9/d8 effect). Your virus is a d12 complication. Going to interrupt with a d6 from the pool. That depletes that. The minions come after you. (Attack in Waves SFX: horde 6d8, blast d10, 2d6 area; result 16/effect d10 + d8 +d8). Thing takes the d10, Sue and Johnny both take d8 apiece. All grandstanding. Doom’s laying waste to everything in sight. Doom goes next and he wants Richards all to himself.

Thing: Wotta revoltin’ development! All right, I leap into the fray and use a satellite dish to bounce off of as I take their blaster fire. It breaks (Collateral Damage SFX: team d8, wotta revoltin development d4, durability d12, stunt d8, combat d8, virus complication d12; +2PP including opportunity, result 17/effect d12, spends 1PP to turn his effect die on them). I just plow into them and start swinging.

Watcher: Cool. Limited Autonomy activated (horde dice reduced to 5d8).

Invisible Woman: I stand my ground and use my fields to repel the robotic hordes (multipower SFX: team d10, most dangerous team member d8, durability d12, invisible d10, covert d8, virus complication d12; result 19/effect d12, 1PP to use effect die in reaction). As the robots swarm in, I have them run smack dab into an invisible wall and it takes a few of them out.

Watcher: Simple, but effective. Well done (horde reduced to 4d8). Johnny?

Human Torch: Hmm… Normally I’d rely on my fiery body, but these guys are keeping their distance. What a shame. (team d8, hotheaded hero d8, supersonic flight d10, acrobatics d8, virus complication d12, heated up d10; doom die stepped up for +1PP, result 20/effect d10, 1PP to use effect die). I just move my heated up asset, which is just a space I’m working with that’s superheated, into the army of robots and begin watching them go up in flames. I say something cornball, like “burn, baby! Burn!”

Watcher: I should take away XP when you do that *laughs*. Doctor Doom himself strides defiantly across the field of battle to lock horns with Mister Fantastic. “RICHARDS!” he cries, “no doubt you fear that Doom has the strength to wield the Thunderer’s power. Stand aside and I will make your death swift and painless” (multipower SFX: d10 solo, ruler of latveria d4, strength d10, blast d8, combat d8; +1d6 doom pool, result 12/effect d10). Doom attacks you with his hands blazing from his blasters. He isn’t grandstanding. He wants blood. After this, Sue can go.

Mister Fantastic: Great scott!! Doom is out of control (versatile SFX: team d10, by the numbers d8, stretching 2d8; 1PP to step up doom die, 1PP to add third result die, result 17/effect d4). I get mobile and stretch away from his attack.

Invisible Woman: I’m gonna go help Reed. I go to separate them with a blast of invisible force… really I want to annoy Doom, so this is emotional stress (multipower SFX: team d10, compassionate d8, force blast d10, invisible d10, covert 2d6; result 16/effect d10). Thing hasn’t gone yet! Thing is next, I guess.

Watcher: Doom sees you out of the corner of his eye and barely gets to react in time (solo d10, failure is for lesser beings d4, durability d10, tech master 2d8; +1d6 doom, result 16/effect d8). Doom takes a big time d12 emotional stress (+1d6 doom). Thing?

Thing: I’d love to help Susie take out Doom, but these robots are too much fun to wallop… oh and by the way… IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME!!! (area attack SFX: team d8, it’s clobberin time! D8, godlike strength d12, area 2d6, combat 2d6, virus complication d12; 1PP for a third result die, result 18/effect d12, d12, d8, +1XP for milestone). I rolled a 6 on all four of my d6’s… that was awesome. Torch is next.

Watcher: The robotic hordes scramble defenses (horde 3d8, durability d10; result 16/effect d8). One horde die remains. Torch? You’re turn. Looks like Thing is having all the fun…

Human Torch: Not on my watch! I swoop in and crack some jokes “Bender in the corner pocket!” (multipower SFX: team d8, never grows up d8, blast d10, flight d8, virus d12; 19 result/d12 effect). Reed is next.

Watcher: I hope this works, because you made a Futurama reference that wasn’t actually bad (horde d8, durability d10, doom d6; result 13/effect d6). BOOM! The last of them is sent packing. Reed?

Mister Fantastic: I insult him for his army failing. (team d10, by the numbers d8, tech master 2d8, stress d12; result 20/effect d10). “What’s the matter, Victor? Your forces have been smashed. Is your usual plan within a plan experiencing a backfire within a backfire?? You’ve lost!”

Watcher: I actually really like that line. Doom presses a few buttons on his belt and his force field glows bright as he reinforces its power (always prepared SFX, d6 doom spent: solo d10, failure is for lesser beings d8, durability d10, tech master d10, stunt d10; emotional stress recovers, result 11/effect d8). Doom begins to gloat and laugh, but there’s something wrong. Thing, you notice that the force field is just a light show.

Thing: It ain’t Doom?

Watcher: It ain’t (You are not worthy of Doom! SFX, 2d8 doom spent). Doom eliminates his emotional stress, but he rolled low enough for Reed’s die to be stepped up and then it gets stepped up again from his epic ego (+1d6 doom pool). The fight is over. Doom is defeated, for now...

Mister Fantastic: With all this talk of registration, this is the last thing we needed. At least Doom didn't get his chance at godhood.

Human Torch: Not today, anyway. Let's go home.

Mister Fantastic: They'll expect me in Washington, Johnny. Sue? Ben?

Thing: Count me out, Reed. Ain't nobody gonna register this ever lovin' blue eyed Thing! Sue?

Invisible Woman: ...

Human Torch: world’s coolest superhero, test your allegiance, heated up asset d10, 1PP
Invisible Woman: Emotional Center, My Ally/My Enemy, 0PP
Mister Fantastic: Science Saves the World, Convert the Enemy, 0PP
Thing: Blue Eyed Boy from Yancy Street, What Time is it? 1PP, 1XP
Dr Doom: stressed out (emotional), replaced by a doombot
Minions: stressed out (physical)

Doom Pool: 1d6

[chrismountenay]

Sorry to Necro, but these were seriously great. I was hoping we might see the rest of Act 1 at some point?