Help With Suphero RPG Ideas

[BentonGrey]

Howdy folks, I'm finally running the superhero RPG I've been wanting to do forever, and our first session is next weekend.  I'm putting together all of the resources this week, and I was hoping that our awesomely creative community could help me brainstorm about some of my villains and NPCs.  The setting is a modern, major Southern city, an analogue of New Orleans.  It's a world that has had supeheroes, but I'm taking the usual (they went underground during the McCarthy era) copout to explain why the PCs are still pretty new and such.  Meanwhile, organized crime has been winning a superhuman arms race of sorts with the authorities.  Specifically, the players' main threat in the beginning of the campaign is the local mob in this city, to be superseded by more four color threats eventually.  Anyway, I've got a good deal of the initial bad guys pretty well conceptualized and created, but I could use help sharpening a few of them up.

The local mob boss (I need a nice, mob-ish name) has a few superpowered or just exceptional human lieutenants:
Brimstone - Made a deal with a demon, transforms into red-skinned powerhouse.
Deadeye - Gun-totting assassin with one eye...yeah, I know, it's cliche, but I couldn't help myself.

I need help with the other two lieutenants.  The first is a fellow with probability control who runs a casino as a front for the mob.  I just need a name for this guy.  I'm calling him Mr. Chance, but it seems a bit flat.  He's something like an old fashioned gambler, an older fellow with white hair and a van [expletive deleted], wearing a red suit and carrying a cane.  He looks a bit like a less....fabulous...version of DC's Gambler.

The other character I've got much less defined.  I don't have a name or a look.  These guys are all mobsters rather than standard supervillains, so I'm trying to avoid some of the more standard four color troupes for them.  The last lieutenant is a psychic/psionic who's running a lab manufacturing a new drug that grants low-level psonic abilities and is highly addictive.

So guys, what do y'all think?

[Cyber Burn]

The other character I've got much less defined.  I don't have a name or a look.  These guys are all mobsters rather than standard supervillains, so I'm trying to avoid some of the more standard four color troupes for them.  The last lieutenant is a psychic/psionic who's running a lab manufacturing a new drug that grants low-level psonic abilities and is highly addictive.

Kind of makes me think of Bane with mental powers instead of physical.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I agree with Mr Chance being a bit flat, not to mention, there have been a number of heroes and villains with the name Chance over the years.

Names that have to do with gambling (which might be cool names for your character)...

Pit Boss (a supervisor of a game floor)

Jack Potts (kind of corny, I know)

Mr Wynn (also kind of corny)

Some gambler synonyms (which might be cool names)...

Cardsharp

Highroller

Those are all I could come up with for him.

As for the local mob boss, maybe...

Bigshot

Imperatore (Italian for emperor)

I dunno...

Dana

[BentonGrey]

Yeah CB, I suppose so.  He's got the similar drug kinda' thing...plus, his abilities could come from the drugs themselves.

Dana, great ideas man!  I like several of them, but Highroller seems to stick out to me.

I like the Imperatore for the mod boss....that's a nice, distinct title. 

Any ideas for what to call this group?  I was thinking "The Outfit," but I'd be admittedly stealing from the Dresden Files if I went that way. 

[hoss20]

For Mr. Chance, perhaps Fortune, Kismet, or Risk? Maybe stick in a catchy first name or "Mr." in front.

For your psychic/psionic, I really like The Mentalist, even though there's a popular TV show of that name right now.  How about Mr. Augur? (augur meaning to predict or foretell)

Edit: What about La Vestizione for the group name? It's the Italian equivalent to "The Outfit".

[cmdrkoenig67]

Hey Benton,

I'm glad you like Highroller (gimme some money...LOL) and I thought Imperatore would be a great mob boss name (especially if the guy has a gigantic ego, which most boss badguys do).

I forgot to offer any names for your Psionic character...

How about...

Forethought?

Foresight?

Prophet?

Sir Mize (surmise, get it?  LOL)?

Previsionary?...Wait, scratch that one!  LOL!

As for the mob's/group's name?

The Body?

The Monopoly?

The Syndicate?

The Heavies?

[BentonGrey]

Ohh, good ideas Hoss!  I sorta' like Kismet...if the character was a woman, that would totally be her name...I had actually considered Mr. Fortune, but I like Mr. Risk.

I thought about using the Mentalist, but had rejected it for just that reason!  I do like the name, though...

I think I'd embarrass myself trying to say Vestizione, but I love the idea of using an Italian translation of a title.  I played around with Babel Fish a bit and came up with this: Principi del Sud: The Princes of the South.  What do y'all think?

Haha, sorry Dana, this is purely a probono brainstorming session! 

Hmm...I like Foresight...Prophet too.

I thought about the Syndicate, but a podcast that I listen to used that, and I'm trying not to steal TOO many of their ideas.

[hoss20]

Sounds good, Benton. I also like Forethought and Prophet, Dana I can't believe I didn't think of this other name earlier. You could have either your mental control guy or even the boss, if he's some sort of master planner/manipulator named Machiavelli.

[Cyber Burn]

The Weatherman - Able to predicit what is to come (I was watching NCIS and heard the name and liked it).

[Hero2006]

For your Psychic, give him an eyepatch and call him Psyclops

[Kommando]

I had to laugh as I thought the name Snake-Eyes would be good for your probability manipulator.

[Cyber Burn]

Every group needs a female. How about a female knife wielder named "Butterfly".

[cmdrkoenig67]

No, call her Stabinda Bach...LOL!

Dana

[BentonGrey]

Haha, good stuff guys.  Hero, I've already got one eyepatch sporting villain; I don't think I could get away with two!

I like the idea of Butterfly CB...maybe "Madam Butterfly."

Kom, if it weren't for the Joe of the same name, I would SO use that.

Hoss, I really like the idea of the Machiavellian! 

Well guys, this is coming together pretty well.  Now, looking ahead a bit, I intend to have the government crack down on the players eventually, and I need a good name or acronym for a government superhuman taskforce.  Any ideas?

[Hero2006]

Haha, good stuff guys.  Hero, I've already got one eyepatch sporting villain; I don't think I could get away with two!

I like the idea of Butterfly CB...maybe "Madam Butterfly."

Kom, if it weren't for the Joe of the same name, I would SO use that.

Hoss, I really like the idea of the Machiavellian! 

Well guys, this is coming together pretty well.  Now, looking ahead a bit, I intend to have the government crack down on the players eventually, and I need a good name or acronym for a government superhuman taskforce.  Any ideas?

National Organization of Paranormal Eradication or N.O.P.E.   Seriously, would you like it to be an actual word or is something like FBI or CIA acceptable?

[Amazo Version 2.2]

The League Of Soldiers Erasing Rogue Superheroes.

[BentonGrey]

A cool codename is okay, but I would definitely like an actual acronym if I can find one I like.

[Hero2006]

all I got is GERMs. Genetic Eradication and Regulation of Meta-Humans or substitute Genetic and add Global. That gives you Global Eradication and Regulation of Meta-Humans.

[Cyber Burn]

C.O.M.A. - The Central Organization of Meta_Human Affairs.

[hoss20]

This is a design I made for some preview cards for my heroes I showed over on Trinity of Freedom. In my universe, the Federal Bureau of Metahuman Activities is a government organization that actually recruited heroes to combat the rising threat of supervillains. Being that I've lost everything from my hard drive (including the mod I've been working on for years) and my universe will never see the light of day, you're welcome to use the name, if you like it.

[Deaths Jester]

Gads..if I had known you were looking for stuff like this earlier Benton I'd have loaned you Wild Card for your gambler and also come up with a whole list of useful names...as it is...well you get nothing from me....HA!  (j/k...just not able to think up stuff right now nor really int he right mood either...that mood being drunk)

[BlueBard]

I don't have any specific ideas, but I know where you can look for inspiration...

"Wearing the Cape" and "Villains, Inc." by Marion Harmon, available as ebooks through Amazon.  They're reasonably priced.  The background is well thought out and explores the roles superheroes would fill in present day society if they were real.  How they'd relate to law enforcement, military, and the government, disaster response teams, superhero actors, a superhero union, superhero pop culture, "villain rap", etc.

"Wearing the Cape" also describes a superterrorist organization called "The Ring" and is the foundation for the whole series.

"Villains, Inc." specifically deals with an organized crime syndicate called "The Outfit" that created a superhuman team called "Villains, Inc.".  Some of the supervillains splinter away from the Outfit and it escalates into a super-powered gang war with the Sentinels stuck right in the middle of it.  You'd probably need to read the first book to get the full impact of this one.

[BentonGrey]

I'm running our first session this afternoon, and y'all have really helped me put everything together.  Thanks!  Hoss, I really like the Federal Bureau of Metahuman Activities.  That's perfect.  I'm sorry the name comes my way at the cost of your hard drive, though!  That's terrible.

DJ, fine, I didn't want your stupid help anyway!

BB, those sound interesting.  I'll have to check them out.

[hoss20]

I'm glad you like the name. By the way, what game are you running? I thought you started a thread somewhere discussing it, but I couldn't find it. Let us know how it goes.

[BentonGrey]

I hadn't actually discussed the campaign itself too much, but sure, I'll be happy to let y'all know.  I finally settled on the B.A.S.H. RPG system because I found the other superhero options far too complicated, though I may give Wild Talents a look one day...Anyway, I got a hold of the book, and I've been working on the setting and characters for a while now.  The first session was a smashing success, and the guys and I are all pretty excited for the next session. 

As for the setting itself, I'll go ahead and post the preface email I sent out to my players:

Spoiler

Our game world is one in which superpowered beings are not unknown.  However, these days they are far from common.  While a variety of colorfully costumed vigilantes took the stage during the 40's and 50's, even joining allied forces in World War II, the paranoia and increasing governmental control of the McCarthy era drove most of them underground.  Many who refused to retire were killed or captured in the ensuing years, as the nation turned against its heroes.  These days the U.S. government possess a good deal of hyper technology and maintains the F.B.M.A., the Federal Bureau of Metahuman Affairs.  They keep a tight lid on super powered individuals, both would be heroes and villains.

The game will largely be taking place in Vanguard City and surrounding environs.  Vanguard City is a very old and storied port town in the Southern United States.  Sitting at the mouth of a major waterway, VC was founded as a trading post in the early days of exploration, and it has flourished ever since.  Think modern day New Orleans with a few twists.  It's a pretty cosmopolitan place, supporting a diverse populace.  It's built in the style of many Southern metropolises, out rather than up, but it has its own character because of the influence of its early French settlers on its architecture.  It's been a prosperous town, but the last few years have seen times begin to change.

Things are getting darker in VC, and in the world at large.  There are wars and rumors of wars abroad, and strange things are afoot in the city itself.  There's been a frightening rise in crime rates, and the police seem helpless in the face of this surge of violence and corruption.  What's more, people are beginning to whisper about mysterious figures with abilities beyond those of mortal men.  There are rumors of conflicts between rival gangs that may have involved super powered combatants.  The people are beginning to lose hope, and it seems that the city may just be the first piece of the country to drown in this rising tide.  Even a newly acquired suit of powered armor has not been enough to bolster the forces of law and order in VC.  It is in this environment, for one reason or another, that your characters will have begun to act, and it is here that we'll begin our tale.

So, this is a world where super beings have been aggressively policed.  Something (or someone, dun dun DUN!) is moving behind the scenes, pushing the world further into chaos and conflict, and as the players investigate the growing crises they will eventually discover that there is indeed a carefully hidden intelligent hand behind these events.  Someone set up a lab in the city to provide a previously unknown criminal organization with powerful weapons and metahuman lieutenants.  This has allowed them to rapidly grab power, pushing the city further towards the abyss with their power plays.  Strange and powerful artifacts have begun to fall into the hands of the worst of the human refuse that haunts the streets of the city, and city officials are being quietly indoctrinated to follow a hidden agenda.  All the while, a new drug is sapping the very soul of Vanguard City's populace, corrupting young and old alike. 

Eventually they'll learn that the figure behind all of this is a reclusive industrialist, a billionaire with a reputation as a philanthropist.  He's known as the Darwinian, and he is trying to envelope the modern world in chaos in the hopes of a stronger humanity arising out of the ashes.  Their immediate threat, however, will be the criminal organization, the Principi del Sud, the Princes of the South.  And the government, both local and Federal versions, is not going to sit still while these unlicensed vigilante metahumans run around taking the law into their own hands.

In our first session the guys all responded to a report of an armored car robbery gone wrong.  One of them, playing Blue Shield, a decorated police officer with the VCPD's only suit of powered armor, arrived first and found a bunch of well dressed gunmen surrounding the car and engaging the police, making no real attempt to escape.  The other heroes eventually arrived, unable to ignore the danger, and the cops were so busy trying not to die that they accepted their help.  The leader of the gang transformed with a word, a thunderclap, and the smell of brimstone into a raging red monster, and it took all three heroes to bring him down.  Eventually they did, and they began to realize, as reports came in from all around the city, that this was not the only activity of the Princes that day.  In fact, the robbery was a distraction, carefully calculated to delay the police, especially Blue Shield, while the Princes robbed several different banks, gathering funds for...something!  The heroes found leads at the scene that point them to the Prince's three major areas of operations, their money laundering setup aboard a riverboat casino, their drug making operation, and the kidnapping and brainwashing of city officials.  Blue Shield, knowing that he'd be in trouble for letting these vigilantes go, had them knock him out and "escape" after seeing to the wounded officers at the scene. 

I didn't see that last one coming, so that player managed to have his cake and eat it to, as the heroes established a connection, created a way to communicate, and he doesn't have to face any hard choices just yet.  The minions in this first encounter were probably a bit too easy, so I'm going to make them a bit tougher in our next session, but other than that, everything went really well.

[Deaths Jester]

DJ, fine, I didn't want your stupid help anyway!

Geez...what the 'ell is this...beat up on DJ month or something?