PCs As Super Soldiers

[Leliel]

A 4E campaign idea that's been floating around in my head for a while is one where the PCs become the unwilling subjects of a process to increase their abilities to superhuman levels to combat an appropriately super powered threat.

Of course, as implied by the word "unwilling", the organization doing this is somewhere between "amoral" and "having lost sight of their goals". After escaping from the group, they have to deal with (A) the monsters who they were created to fight in the first place (Who I'm basing on the Angels from Neon Genesis Evangelion) and (B) their creators, who really want their stuff back (Who I'm basing on NERV and SEELIE from said anime).

So, what do you think of this idea? How do you think I should handle the increase in the PCs power?

[EvilElitest]

If you did that, it would make a lot of sense within game, finally giving a reason for the absurd NPC/PC realations. LIke Exalted, go for it


You don't even have to change everything, according to 4E they are already the only people with PC classes, just make them like that.
from
EE

[Nerd-o-rama]

Honestly, do you make any of these little thought-experiment threads that you aren't basing on Evangelion? You're worse than I am on the TVTropes Wild Mass Guessing pages.

As for the super-soldier thing....you could just do it as a template, or a set of similarly-powerful templates if you want the PCs to be specialized. Or, you could just give them a bunch of levels for "free", since as EE observes PC classes and near-godlike in relative power anyway, but that's probably boring. Back to the template idea, as long as you make sure everyone has approximately the same bonuses from it, you should be fine. I recommend big bonuses to two or three stats, some low-to-mid-level Spell-Like Abilities, and maybe supernatural movement (although if you give someone flight, pretty much everyone needs to have it).

Incidentally, I've been kicking around the idea of super-soldiers in Eberron as a secret project of House Vadalis. Sure, their public front is a bunch of harmless, down-to-Eberron animal breeders. But think of what they could do with humanoid genetics if they had a mind to...

[PanNarrans]

As EE says, the simplest way to do it would be to simply make the only characters with PC classes the players and their main enemies.
In 4e, is the same effect given by making NPCs minions?
If that's too limiting, then just giving them bonus levels should have much the same effect. Remember that almost all D&D abilities are superhuman.
Edit: ninjaed! Woo.

[Tengu_temp]

Damn, everyone had the same idea as me - make most of the enemies players will face mooks. You could start the game at a higher level too - that one encounter and one daily power for each character at level 1 is not that much to make them feel that powerful. My suggestion is around level 3-5.

Also, great idea. I love it.

[EvilElitest]

in a sense, 4E was designed as this, its just in denial
from
EE

[Nerd-o-rama]

Yeah, I don't know much about 4e, since I haven't really played with it yet, so my response was more 3.5-oriented. If PC classes really are that godly in 4e, go for it.

[Aron Times]

Where do I sign up?

[EvilElitest]

Yeah, I don't know much about 4e, since I haven't really played with it yet, so my response was more 3.5-oriented. If PC classes really are that godly in 4e, go for it.

4E, the PCs are unique one of a kind sort of people. in 3E, it just varies on weather you have a pC or NPC class. 4E is similiar to exalted in taht sense
from
EE

[Tengu_temp]

Well, the starting power level in Exalted is much, much higher than in DND 4e. Non-minion monsters often are tougher and have better base attack than PCs, just lack the good encounter and daily powers.

[EvilElitest]

Well, the starting power level in Exalted is much, much higher than in DND 4e. Non-minion monsters often are tougher and have better base attack than PCs, just lack the good encounter and daily powers.

I mean the whole PCs being special thing, same in exalted, except Exalted as a reason
from
EE

[Eorran]

As another possibility, the DMG has a couple of pages (I think it's towards the end) detailing monster templates, including quick ways to give monsters PC classes, but also templates based on the monster's role. I think there's one called Combat Champion, Bodyguard, etc. You could let the PCs choose a template from among some of these.
4e doesn't have level adjustments, so you'd have to figure out how PCs with these templates stack up against their enemies. Perhaps throw in an extra opponent per PC for combats?

[Xyk]

Give em a few levels? That seems like the obvious choice to me. Maybe increase their stats.