Hello, readers!
As an addendum to the previous post, I thought it would be interesting to share a few of the Marvel Heroic specific things I've developed for this campaign.
For many people, milestones and unlockables are the trickiest part of running this particular system if you are not going through an already published adventure. This is understandable, since this bit is all at once one of the best and worst things about the system. The idea of milestones is an amazing storytelling incentive, a way for the player to tell the GM how he wants his character to grow and focus on through the story, and it encourages character-based roleplaying, which I absolutely adore. However, I've never been a fan of experience points (I don't use them at all, usually) and with a system that encourages you to build a character at or near their peak, using XP for advancement usually seems wrong, which gives the incentive to develop unlockables. Only problem with that is, unlockables are a tricky beast to develop, and there aren't a whole ton of examples to work off from.
Milestones are also tricky to develop sometimes, but there are more than enough examples throughout all of the books that you get the pattern and feel for them relatively quickly.
That being said, here are my unlockables and milestones for this event so far. I'm always adding more... At least as far as milestones are concerned. Feel free to steal, edit, etc. Some aren't perfect, but they've been working quite well so far.
(My favorites are Bane of the Future, LexCorp Conspirator and Titans Go!)
Teen Titans Modern Milestones:
World's
Greatest Assassin? -
1 XP When: You
confront the world's greatest assassin, Deathstroke.
3 XP When: You
best Deathstroke in one-on-one combat.
10 XP When: You
join the League of Assassins to usurp Deathstroke's famous legacy, or
dedicate your life to shutting down the League.
Joke's on You -
1 XP When: You take emotional stress from the Joker or Harley Quinn.
3 XP When: You deal emotional trauma to the Joker or Harley Quinn.
10 XP When: You kill the Joker in a disturbingly amusing or ironic
fashion, taking a step towards continuing his legacy, or you
effectively stop one of the Joker's most devastating gags or jokes.
Blood War -
1 XP When: You witness a ritual of the Cult of Blood or see evidence
of one that has occurred.
3 XP When: You break up, disrupt, or prevent a meeting or gathering
of the Cult of Blood.
10 XP When: You form a temporary alliance with the Cult of Blood to
learn more of their power and get rid of Deathstroke, or you wage a
personal crusade against the Cult.
A
Raven in the Flock
-
1 XP When: You reach out to the mysterious outcast, Raven.
3 XP When: You confess a secret to Raven, or she confesses one to
you.
10 XP When: You save Raven's life from extreme danger, or she does
the same for you.
We're Not Gonna
Take It
1 XP When: You have a confrontation with VATOR forces.
3 XP When: You successfully destroy a VATOR taskforce or evade
capture.
10 XP When: You avoid VATOR capture forever by illegally getting onto
the coveted “Override” list, or you become a figurehead in the
movement against VATOR.
Bane of the
Future
1 XP When: You discuss technology's effect on society.
3 XP When: You defeat a tech-based villain and use his actions as an
example of how technology is harmful, or you defeat a non-tech based
villain using modern technology to show how it can be used for good.
10 XP When: You take up the Neo-Luddite cause and join Bane's
crusade, or you confront and defeat Bane using your own philosophy on
technology.
Lex Corp
Conspirator
1 XP When: You make a connection between current events, Lex Luthor,
and Lex Corp.
3 XP When: You discover concrete evidence linking Lex Luthor and his
company to an immediate situation and follow-up on it.
10 XP When: You confront Lex Luthor with your conspiratorial evidence
and show his hand to the authorities, or you agree to keep silent and
give up the evidence to Lex Corp. in order to obtain something.
Titans, Go!
1 XP When: You take charge of a situation and give orders to your
fellow teammates.
3 XP When: You settle an inner-team dispute, coordinate a training
session, or push the team towards a common goal.
10 XP When: You are officially recognized by your teammates as team
leader during a monumental situation, or you decide to give
leadership to a better qualified team-member at a critical moment.
Cleaning the
Streets
1 XP When: You take action against one of the various city gangs or
the mob.
3 XP When: Your actions are able to topple the power of a reigning
gang or arrests an influential mob leader.
10 XP When: You're hailed as a hero by crippling gang activity and
decimating the Mobs influence in Detroit, or you end your crusade
against organized crime and gang violence to save yourself from the
retribution to come.
Super Celebrity
1 XP When: You are thanked by a citizen for a specific heroic deed,
or asked for an interview by a reporter regarding your current
super-heroics.
3 XP When: Your fame creates trouble, causes a situation to get
worse, or distracts you from doing your duty.
10 XP When: You use your fame to solve an impossible situation or
generate support and adoration for superheroes everywhere, or you
give up the superhero lifestyle out of guilt or in order for someone
else to be saved.
Good Student
1 XP When: You relate something you've learned in school to a current
situation.
3 XP When: You choose to study instead of participating in an
important event related to your superhero career.
10 XP When: You use something you've learned to defeat a major
villain at a critical point, or you flunk out of High School in order
to further pursue your superheroics.
Mentor
1 XP When: You approach a significant member of the superhero
community for help or advice.
3 XP When: You work closely with your chosen mentor to overcome a
significant obstacle.
10 XP When: You choose to partner up with your chosen mentor in a
more permanent fashion, becoming an heir to their legacy, or you
dismiss the teachings of your mentor and abandon them completely.
Love and
Spandex
1 XP When: You flirt with another member of the superhero community.
3 XP When: When you begin a relationship with another hero during a
stressful event.
10 XP When: Your love is an important factor in overcoming an
impossible situation, or you break up in order to better focus on the
task at hand.
Teen Titans Modern Unlockables:
[Green Arrow's
Arsenal] 5/10 XP: For 5 XP, you can unlock the use of the Green
Arrow Arsenal power-set. However, if it is ever lost, stolen, or
broken, only Oliver Queen can repair it. Spend 10 XP to learn how to
repair it yourself, gaining it as a normal powerset.
Green Arrow's
Arsenal:
Enhanced Durability d8
Weapon d8
SFX:
Shoot to Kill: Add a d6 to your dice pool for an attack action and
step back highest die in pool by -1. Step up physical stress by +1.
EMP Arrow: Target multiple robot or computerized opponents. For every
additional target, add d6 to your pool and keep +1 effect die.
Armor Piercing Arrow: Step up physical stress you inflict by +1 when
your target uses a Durability power in their reaction pool.
Tear Gas Arrow: Target multiple opponents. For every additional
target, add d6 to your pool and keep +1 effect die.
Explosive Arrow: Step up or double Weapon for one action. If the
action fails, add a die to doom pool equal to the normal rating of
your power die.
Limit:
Gear: Shutdown Green Arrow Arsenal and gain 1 PP. Take an action vs.
doom pool to recover.
[Police Support] 5/10 XP: For 5 XP, you can unlock some
support within the local police department. When you spend 5 XP, you
are able to create resources at a Master level for the following
disciplines: Crime, Vehicle, Covert. For 10 XP, you can call in the
police to assist you for an action scene, gaining a squad of cops to
fight at your side.
[Super Hero Club] 5/10 XP: For 5 XP, you start a Super-Hero
club at the local High School, which attracts the attention of some
local teenage heroes who are "still in the closet," so to
speak. You can call upon them for support in one action scene. For 10
XP, you can unlock one of your choice as either a playable character
or an NPC'd permanent team-member.
[The "T" Car] 10 XP: For 10 XP, you can have Green
Arrow whip you up a souped up and incredibly advanced vehicle for
your team.
The "T"
Car:
Durability d10
Speed d10
Gun Turret d8
Cybernetic Senses d8
SFX:
Oil Slick: Spend 1 PP to introduce the Slick Streets scene
distinction to the action scene.
Turbo: Step up or double Speed (spend 1 PP to do both). Stepdown
Speed -1.
Room for Everybody!: Spend 1 PP to remove you and one other character
from the Scene. Other characters may tag along for 1 PP from each of
them.
Limit:
Just a Car: When the player takes d12+ physical stress while driving
the "T" Car, step down physical stress to d8 and Shutdown
The "T" Car powerset.Bring the hulking mess back to Oliver
Queen during a recovery scene to get it back.
Mutually Exclusive: Shutdown your current powerset to activate The
“T” Car. Shutdown The “T” Car to recover your powerset.
[Connections
with the Big Leagues] 5/10
XP: For 5 XP, you can call into
the scene one of the big-name Superheroes that you are allied with
who will offer support for the remainder of the scene. For 10 XP, you
can call them in to take out one villain, then leave.
[Heroic/Dangerous
Superhero] 5/10 XP: For 5 XP,
you can earn the reputation in the city and the world for either
being a noble hero in the eyes of citizens, or one that is dangerous
and destructive. This will grant a fourth distinction that can be
used until the end of the Act. For 10 XP, this distinction lasts
until the end of the Event. Some examples of distinctions include:
“One of the Good Ones” “Public Liability.”
[Hacked into
VATOR] 5/10 XP: For 5 XP, you
or a close ally has broken into the VATOR network, able to track
communications and look up database entries. You can create a Master
resource in preparation for a future encounter. For 10 XP, you can
call in VATOR forces once to end a scene in your favor.
And, there you go! Hope you enjoyed this look at milestones and unlockables. If you didn't, here's a funny picture.
-Wes