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View Full Version : [M&M] The Raven (Poe-inspired Villainy)



vartan
2010-07-15, 10:24 AM
I am hoping to start a Mutants and Masterminds campaign that takes place at the turn of the 20th century (inspired by things such as LXG, 5FoS, etc). I am trying to come up with twelve capers for "The Raven" to pull off that are at rooted in the writings of Edgar Allen Poe.

The first such one will have the heroes investigating the mass murder of a bunch of rich folks by a henchmen of the Raven's known as The Masque. I've come up with a nasty Drain Con / Paralyze effect with the Poison modifier as his weapon of choice and then for giggles made him as speedster as a non-powered person could get (lots of feats reflecting agility and such).

In investigation I want the group to find a bizarre ebony clock that (wait for it) indicates how many times The Raven has struck. It will be found pointing to I, but I want the anticipation to grow as it strikes II, VI, and XI (think of the urgency at the 11th hour not knowing what the stroke of midnight will bring).

tl;dr If a supervillain was doing things based on Poe works, what would he do?

AlterForm
2010-07-15, 10:49 AM
Look into Poe's works (especially well known ones), like The Raven (duh), the Pit and the Pendulum, The Telltale Heart, etc. Find some way to turn them into scenarios the heroes have to overcome or stop somehow; bonus points if they can research Poe's works in game (possibly under an expy name) to get an idea ahead of time what to expect.

I like the clock idea, though. Very creepy. :smallbiggrin:

Example: The Pit and the Pendulum
The heroes enter [location], where they expect to find Raven doing [nasty evil thing]. Instead, they are gassed upon entering [hero point for everyone], and wake up strapped to a table and unable to look around or move (like the short story). Give them a couple rounds to escape somehow, then once they do, make the walls start moving inward. A couple rounds later, the middle of the floor starts opening up to reveal a nigh-bottomless pit. Through in a civilian to babysit through the whole thing for bonus evil points.