Running a Campaign...for Mayor

[USS Sorceror]

I'm currently running a Mutants and Masterminds campaign. Things are coming to a head as the crime lord who's been responsible for more than a few of the villains the party has been fighting is running for mayor! Furthermore, there's another ex-supervillain who has also thrown his hat into the race who is a complete psychopath in the vein of the Joker. The party is running a campaign to have one of their NPC super-friends win the election instead.

Basically I'd like suggestions for problems that the players could face in this situation outside of fighting supervillains/figuring out their plans. Also, any advice for suggestions I could give the players for running their campaign?

[Spore]

Do the Lex Luthor. ANYTHING can be turned into a political discussion. Threaten to nuke a gold club and when the heroes take exorbitant measures to protect it do something vile in another part of town. "Where were the noble heroes when the nuns burned to death in the church? Busy putting on the golf club." The heroes "win" but their reputation (plus the one of their friend) quickly goes down the gutter.

[CombatOwl]

I'm currently running a Mutants and Masterminds campaign. Things are coming to a head as the crime lord who's been responsible for more than a few of the villains the party has been fighting is running for mayor! Furthermore, there's another ex-supervillain who has also thrown his hat into the race who is a complete psychopath in the vein of the Joker. The party is running a campaign to have one of their NPC super-friends win the election instead.

Basically I'd like suggestions for problems that the players could face in this situation outside of fighting supervillains/figuring out their plans. Also, any advice for suggestions I could give the players for running their campaign?

Heh, force the characters to do phone banking with random NPCs from the city. Use your imagination to humorous effect. You can even make it a way to give feedback on the way players are handling situations.

[supermonkeyjoe]

If the opposing candidate is a complete madman there is a strong possibility that they may need to cheat to win. Maybe the PCs need to figure exactly how he intends to rig the vote/influence the voters and stop the scheme

[USS Sorceror]

@ supermonkeyjoe: Technically there are two opposing candidates, the upstanding business man and the complete psychopath. The psychopath does have a "cheat to win" plan. I'm mostly focused on possible ideas for the non-psycho crime lord and party to do.

@ combatowl: Ha I completely forgot about campaign calls. Thanks.

@ Sporeegg: This works really well, thank you.

[Grim Portent]

Evil campaign promises:

'A free robot puppy to every citizen! Guaranteed free from hunter-killer programs.'

'I will lower the crime rates drastically! (By wiping out my rivals with a veneer of legitimacy)'

'I will provide a better education for your children. Classes such as "Doomsday Device 101", "Villainous Monologues" and "Escape Tunnels: Why you need them" will teach our kids life lessons and practical everyday skills.'

'I will clamp down harshly on these vigilantes running around interfering with the police and their investigations!'

I'd suggest that the crime lord focus on things like reducing crime and vigilantism to boost his popularity. It will force the players to think carefully about what they do and when they act against him.

Say the players discover that the villains goons are running around the docks for example, so they go and check it out only to find the goons were helping the cops bust a smuggling ring. Stuff like that. Make sure that there's always a reporter nearby to take pictures of the villain shaking hands with police officers and the heroes getting into trouble for getting in the way or blowing peoples cover.

The psychopath could be played for kicks. Zany schemes and mad promises that serve as distractions for their real plan. Stuff like rigging voting machines while you have a parade dedicated to apricots or something. Declare an impromptu 'Unicorn Wizard appreciation day' parade to hide a bank robbery to get campaign funds. Remember, the looks on players faces when trying to stop bank robbers dressed as Unicorn Wizards is worth a thousand respectable schemes.