Advice on how to run an idea : rpg is for meaningful discussions, questions, and help for tabletop/pen & paper RPGs and LARPing. on how to run an idea : rpg on how to run an idea, 12 Dec 2012 14:06:06 -0800<!-- SC_OFF --><div class="md"><p>So my group and I were discussing potential ideas for future games. During this I threw out the idea of playing the HEROES system but the players are villains who are trying to, what else, RULE THE WORLD! The idea sparked a lot of interest and it looks like I might end up running the game, but I&#39;m not too sure about how to go about it.</p> <p>Usually in comic books the Villains are the ones to initiate a story. Some villain tries to rob a bank or blow up the city or whatnot and the heroes come in to stop them. One idea I&#39;ve had is I try to fully flush out the world (Heores, other villains, armies, politicians, ect) and just let the players think up plans on how to conquer each country. I like this because it has a sandbox feel to it, letting the players take the story where they want it. MY concern is if the players have trouble making good plans or if they keep using the same plan over and over again, then the game becomes stale. </p> <p>That&#39;s pretty much everything I&#39;ve come up with so far. I&#39;m not sure if handling it this way will work well or if there are better methods. I&#39;m looking for any ideas or constructive criticisms that can help. </p> </div><!-- SC_ON --> submitted by <a href=""> Scottwms </a> <br/> <a href="">[link]</a> <a href="">[14 comments]</a>[deleted] on Advice on how to run an idea them power for creativity. I ran sessions where all experience given was purely driven by their roleplaying and ingenuity - killing stuff was just part of the action. People get creative when game power is on the line. on Advice on how to run an idea idea. If they keep using the same plans then not only will their opposition eventually learn to counter them, but they won't gain experience. on Advice on how to run an idea was reminded of [Better Angels]( a game where the villains are super villains for a good reason. Maybe that's not the route you want to take but my first thought was you should give them a reason to want to control the world. * Maybe they're eco-terrorists * Maybe they link an alien horde is coming and will only leave the world alone/unmolested if they see it ruled by strong, iron fisted rulers * Maybe the source of their powers is another evil which will kill off those &quot;infected&quot; and at the lower end of the success chart.. sometime in the next few years Actually, have you read Mark Millar's Supercrooks? Fed up of the superheroes beating them all the time, a gang of super villains go to Spain to arrange a heist because no one's ever heard of a Spanish superhero. on Advice on how to run an idea Better Angels game sounds amazing. Maybe when I get some money together I see about getting myself a copy of that. Also the Supercrooks comic sounds hilarious. I'll think about the whole &quot;Evil for a cause&quot; angle. Initially I was going for something with an almost Dr.Doom feel where they are making grabs for power for the sake of power, but that could work too. I think it will partly depend on what the players build as characters. on Advice on how to run an idea can check out the Savage Worlds Necessary Evil supplement for a few ideas. Also, check out some good anti-hero comics. DC's Kingdom Come series and Marvel's Civil War come immediately to mind. Also, Dark Horse's Comics Greatest World and Howard's original Conan serials would be inspirational. People don't always realize that Conan is one of the only True Neutral characters in literature. on Advice on how to run an idea have Necessary Evil and I love it. It might not really be sandboxy, but its still a great campaign. on Advice on how to run an idea you are having trouble with how to start the game, my fiance did something similar with Mutants &amp; Masterminds where we all played villains. It started off with all of us in prison. We had to form alliances and a plan to break out of a maximum security prison. From there, we were allowed to continue being villains and do that whole thing while still avoiding heroes who were hunting us down for being fugitives and the like. And trust me, when you are a PC villain, the ideas will not become stale with what to do. Unless no one in the group is creative...then there is a problem. on Advice on how to run an idea might not be a bad idea to remember that other countries will get wise to reality: there are a group of bad guys trying to rule the world. Make sure more challenges pop up. Be it an alliance of heroes, armies of mortals, apprentices who are double agents (Or change alliances based on how they're treated?), or whatever else you can throw at them. Some places won't mind your guys ruling them, others will be fight it completely, still more will bend over but have rebels constantly warring against the oppressive overlords. The objective isn't to make it impossible or too easy for them, rather just to make it an enjoyable experience. One thing I might try is to have the players take less combat based powers (Not knowing the system, I don't know if that's a possibility) and try to have the majority of players try to conquer through cronies with a few players being the &quot;Muscle&quot;. Just a thought, but it might serve you well. on Advice on how to run an idea'm thinking the main reason they got together is the Legion of Doom thinking, the heroes keep beating us separate so lets gang up on them. Heroes will be a regular enemy for them to fight. Armies too, which may be a problem for them if they don't have their own army. HERO has skills like bureaucratic, oratory, and tactics for doing leadership stuff, I'd totally let someone be a social villain that leads their followers. on Advice on how to run an idea all honesty, that's the kind of gamer I am. I usually play rogues in order to use subterfuge and a little metaphorical &quot;Backstabbing&quot; to get the job done. I think at least one of the players should go that route as well, possibly even the one who takes the skills you mentioned. It'll definitely be a fun game for your players though, no matter how you run it. Good Luck! on Advice on how to run an idea've played a couple chronicles of vampire the masquerade, where backstabbing is par for course. :) on Advice on how to run an idea fleshing out the world before the game starts is a daunting task. I'd suggest doing it together with your players. Spend the first session working out a plan, starting from the end state. They want to rule the world? Great, they'll need 3 things. What are those things? Lets say they answer &quot;mind-controlling satellites, giant death robot and a deal with the devil&quot;. What 3 things do they need for a giant death robot? Again, lets say they respond with &quot;rare metal&quot; (vibranium), &quot;designs for a hero's armor&quot; (Iron Man), &quot;power source&quot; (alien artifact which Hitler used). This fractal structure can branch further down, until you arrive at the adventure ideas: break into Iron Man's tower; track down Hilter's heir, etc.. Simply working these plans out should give you plenty of world details to build around, while letting your players demonstrate what it is they actually want to do. Essentially, each adventure results in a plot token of &quot;alien artifcat&quot; or &quot;armor blueprints&quot;. And of course, things don't always go according to plan, and they may decide to swap around these plot tokens or use them for some other scheme. on Advice on how to run an idea really like that idea. Have the players list their primary motives and flesh out their methods, then use that to build the story. I already know what one of the players will play. He's basing his character on Fenrir from Norse mythology. A prophecy said he'd caused the death of Odin, so they imprisoned him and basically tortured him for a crime he didn't do. Now he's out and angry. I could read some into Norse Mythology, about how Fenrir goes about killing Odin, and base an adventure or 2 on that. on Advice on how to run an idea people are going to suggest inspirations, I am surprised they didn't mention these. As far as comicbooks go, you can go with a [Suicide Squad]( feel. *An anti-hero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.* However, a good structure in which to run an all villains is one where they aren't top dog, and there is a heiarchy in which they must work under. Working towards a common goal is going to help detract them from stabbing each other in the back eventually. But there is also the short comic series called [Wanted](\)). Unlike the movie with Angelina Jolie where there is a secret faraternity of bullet-twisting assassins that are killing each other off. In the comicbook, all the super-villains team up, change reality, and the superheroes think they were just actors in tv shows and movies. The world is controlled by this secret cabal of super-villains. The story is about Wesley realizing he's inherited all the wealth amassed by his unfamiliar father who was one of these super-villains. (*I say Mr. Rictus got off too easy.*) If there are villains and powerful beings out there, why haven't they already taken over? Your players are going to have to climb that ladder with some resistance.