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General Category => Role Playing Public Radio Podcast => : nekomata January 09, 2010, 07:29:49 AM
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I was listening to some old eps and heard Ross mentioning a Venture style campaign, what happened to this? It sounded like it was going to get posted...
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The Bear Swarm guys all tried to fight Dr. McNinja, remember? Unless your thinking of another Venture Brothers campaign.
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Yeah, it fell apart because the Bear Swarm guys didn't mesh with Tom and I. First session was okay but it all went to hell on the second session
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Yeah, it fell apart because the Bear Swarm guys didn't mesh with Tom and I. First session was okay but it all went to hell on the second session
Tell us more? Who threw the first punch?
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I've been tinkering with doing something different with my group and its basically come down to my group wanting something 'fun' and different, so far we've been playing D&D, Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun, Warhammer Fantasy and Sla Industries. All of which were fun in their own way but not 'different'. To this end i proposed a Superhero game and after hearing Tom and Cody singing the praises of Mutants and masterminds 2nd ed along with the Age of Masks AP i felt that this would be different enough. Thankfully the group agrees and now its down to the setting, I was thinking of the original Freedom city setting but with a Venture Brothers/The Tick twist.
My only problem is where to start...
Any suggestions?
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I ran a short lived Venture Bros. themed game. I had the players make PL 7 characters who where aspiring to either become heroes or join the Guild of Calamitous Intent. Each "team" had to share an apartment and the apartments, while in seperate buildings, are only about three feet apart because they are on the same floors in their respective building. The place was a developement style building complex so the structures where built in a half circle and very close together.
The game basically consisted of the would-be villains trying to think of things to do to build their street cred while the heroes listened to them through the window and followed the villains whenever they left, thinking they could thwart the villains and gain some standing.
It wasn't a serious game, the players bearly knew how to work the system, two out of five people never even really used their powers, and we only played once but there was some fun. Alot of time was devoted to heroes and villains shouting at each other through their windows and then me (using my wide range of colorful accents) cutting in as other people in the developement complex shouting at them for shouting. There was a quick fight right at the end becasue the heroes followed the villain group supermarket that somebody else was robbing, which got everyone involved in a fight.
Best part was the villain players started calling the heroes "The Campers", and since they where yelling it during the supermarket fight I decided the name stuck with the public.
So my suggestion is: do not mix heroes and villains into the same over all playing group unless they are experienced enough to handle it. However, do start your players off sharing an apartment. It is hiliarious, especially if any of the players have every shared living space with any of the other players.
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It wasn't a serious game, the players bearly knew how to work the system, two out of five people never even really used their powers, and we only played once but there was some fun. Alot of time was devoted to heroes and villains shouting at each other through their windows and then me (using my wide range of colorful accents) cutting in as other people in the developement complex shouting at them for shouting. There was a quick fight right at the end becasue the heroes followed the villain group supermarket that somebody else was robbing, which got everyone involved in a fight.
Best part was the villain players started calling the heroes "The Campers", and since they where yelling it during the supermarket fight I decided the name stuck with the public.
I think you've capture the essence of Venture Bros right there.
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What is this game you all are talking about??
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Ross referenced a Mutants and Masterminds game he ran, themed after Venture Brothers, in an episode of the podcast some months ago. Basically the players where villains who wanted to in good with the Guild of Calamitous Intent. The players where Tom and the cast of the Bear Swarm podcast.
We don't have much information but the details are as follows:
*The characters, as villains, need a hero to "arch".
*Ross gave them a very powerful hero to arch, assuming that they would spend most of their time trying to come up with plans rather than attack the hero directly.
*Ross was wrong because the crew attacked the hero.
*The hero was based off of the webcomic character Dr. McNinja and if you've seen the comic you probably have a pretty good idea how that would do.
*Game ends part way through session two.
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*Ross gave them a very powerful hero to arch, assuming that they would spend most of their time trying to come up with plans rather than attack the hero directly.
*Ross was wrong because the crew attacked the hero.
I gotta say, that's why I enjoy the people playing in the MnM game I'm currently running. They understand what it's like to "move at the speed of plot" as they put it. They had a prime opportunity to get into a fight they had no chance of winning but definitely realized it and opted for a more tactical solution. Of course, that tactical solution has extended into several sessions and achieving steps toward a plan is more fun than dying in one fight.
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The Bear Swarm guys all tried to fight Dr. McNinja, remember? Unless your thinking of another Venture Brothers campaign.
Not quite. The game was a lot of fun for the first session and a half. Then we went to menace Dr. McNinja. I stole his tongue depressors and jumped out of a window while Mike harassed his receptionist. Then Tom threw a bus at his clinic. Mike and I hung Tom out to dry and everything went down hill really quickly.
I just wanted to clarify, it wasn't that we weren't playing Venture style its just that we weren't prepared for Ross and Tom's style. I mean, we were bumbling super villains... and we bumbled and got our shit pushed in for it.
No hard feelings between RPPR and BS! it was fun while it lasted.
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That actually sounds like fairly normal Venture Brothers bumbling. Except for the throwing a bus thing. Did Tom's character happen to be reptilian in nature?
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Well Dr. McNinja let you go or you escaped pretty easily. I don't even remember what he actually did to you other than chase you off. I remember after that you had to fight some other villains to defend your base and you beat them pretty soundly but you got on a bus and left the city. I don't remember the specifics though.
btw I think a bumbling villain losing is a very important Venture Brothters theme - after all the Monarch loses to Brock pretty much every time and so on and so on. Hell, pretty much every Venture Brothers is defined by how badly they lose and how they respond - even Brock gets his ass kicked several times.
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It can be a little tricky to mimic with M&M though, unless everyone takes the minion feat a few times. The Monarch, for example, tends to lose a dozen or so henchmen to Brock during their encounters. Same holds true even for more physically capable villains like Baron Underbheit. Most of the villains retreat as soon as it looks like there's going to be a clear path between themselves and Brock.
Most of the 'operations' I can recall having any degree of success where undertaken when the henchmen are drunk.
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well basically they went straight up against a competent hero without a plan or any preparations even after their NPC mentor (Baron von Under bite) told them that was a bad idea. So I just ran the encounter straight.
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But yeah, no hard feelings. The first session was quite fun.
In hindsight I should have run a more traditional game with you guys so I could get a feel for your play style. This was a sandbox game and I wasn't prepared for every option.
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That actually sounds like fairly normal Venture Brothers bumbling. Except for the throwing a bus thing. Did Tom's character happen to be reptilian in nature?
Yeah, he was a giant snake man. Mike was playing a Doctor Horrible style character based off the Skullcrusher Mountain JoCo song. I was playing Detective LeFrog, an "evil" detective noir style man with a frog head.
Well Dr. McNinja let you go or you escaped pretty easily. I don't even remember what he actually did to you other than chase you off. I remember after that you had to fight some other villains to defend your base and you beat them pretty soundly but you got on a bus and left the city. I don't remember the specifics though.
We pretty much beat feet from Dr. McNinja as soon as Tom threw the bus. We were trying to scout and then BLAMO, all out attack. Then it was retreat time. Tom ripped open a manhole and fled into the sewers. Which ended up with Tom being chased by police through the city and us heading home. Then Dr. McNinja attacked us because of the whole bus thing and Mike and I tried to turn Tom over to him, double-crossing Tom. Then Baron Underbite, who was crashing on our sofa and "mentoring" us got mad and stormed out for double crossing Tom. So, Mike and I, having a pissed off Dr. McNinja, giant snake man, and Baron decided to beat feet, regroup, and eventually strike back. That was roughly where everything ended.
The big downfall was that, while Mike and I were in sync, we had NO idea what Tom was up to or why he was doing the stuff he was doing. So we played off of each other and tried our best to deal with the giant snake man. Since you knew Tom everything worked great between you two, leaving us feeling like outsiders. Then there was the fact that it was Mike and I's first time with M&M, while you and Tom knew it pretty well. In a lot of ways we felt behind the curve.
well basically they went straight up against a competent hero without a plan or any preparations even after their NPC mentor (Baron von Under bite) told them that was a bad idea. So I just ran the encounter straight.
I think that was the big misscommunication. Mike and I were trying to scout him out, see who he is, what he's about, not engage in conflict. I mean, we went into his office and faked illness to get a look at him before he knew who we were. Then once he figured it out, I stole tounge depressors and jumped out a window to flee.
btw I think a bumbling villain losing is a very important Venture Brothters theme - after all the Monarch loses to Brock pretty much every time and so on and so on. Hell, pretty much every Venture Brothers is defined by how badly they lose and how they respond - even Brock gets his ass kicked several times.
It can be a little tricky to mimic with M&M though. The Monarch, for example, tends to lose a dozen or so henchmen to Brock during their encounters. Same holds true even for more physically capable villains like Baron Underbheit. Most of the villains retreat as soon as it looks like there's going to be a clear path between themselves and Brock.
Most of the 'operations' I can recall having any degree of success where undertaken when the henchmen are drunk.
100% agreed. Failure is a HUGE theme for Venture. Everyone fails at something, Dr Venture's entire life is a failure, Brock can't get with the one women he loves, The Monarch can't take down Dr. Venture... its everywhere. It makes it a hard theme to pull off in most gaming groups. We've been conditioned to want to win and even when taking the loosing is funny it still kinda sucks.
Not to mention that no one on the show its a TOTAL failure. Dr. Venture can make a fucking walking eye! Sure, its useless but he didn't fail at making it. You know? Its a weird balance a GM needs to strike.
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But yeah, no hard feelings. The first session was quite fun.
In hindsight I should have run a more traditional game with you guys so I could get a feel for your play style. This was a sandbox game and I wasn't prepared for every option.
Totally, no hard feelings. I mean, the game turned out pretty terrible but it wasn't really anyones fault. Mike and I still joke about how poorly it ended.
Thats a big part of it. We didn't really know how each group would react to things. You expected us to do one thing, we thought you wanted us to do another, Tom and you were on the same page, Mike and I were on a different one... things just exploded.
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Actually Tom and I weren't on the same page because throwing the bus threw me for a loop.
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Alot of this sounds very Venture Brothers. The minor thefts, the sneaking around, the massive miscommunications, lack of planning ahead.
Where did Tom even get a bus, by the way, Ross? Dr. McNinja's office is practically in the middle of the woods.
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Alot of this sounds very Venture Brothers. The minor thefts, the sneaking around, the massive miscommunications, lack of planning ahead.
Where did Tom even get a bus, by the way, Ross? Dr. McNinja's office is practically in the middle of the woods.
And thats the big hurdle for a Venture game. A lot of the Venture themes are great on paper but get really shitty at the table.
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The players hijacked the bus earlier I think and drove it there.
Yeah, in hindsight a VB game is just asking for trouble. Very complex themes that are hard to handle in tabletop games.
I forgot if you guys are going to Fear the Con or not. I think not, but I'm not sure.
Either way, would you like to try gaming again with a more simple/standard game? I could run a CoC one shot or Monsters and Other Childish Things or whatever.
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The players hijacked the bus earlier I think and drove it there.
That was gonna be my next question: "did they steal it?".
How has this not been mentioned sooner? He threw the get away vehicle at the building. That's simply sublime. And again, something I would expect to see in the Venture Brothers.
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The players hijacked the bus earlier I think and drove it there.
Yeah, in hindsight a VB game is just asking for trouble. Very complex themes that are hard to handle in tabletop games.
I forgot if you guys are going to Fear the Con or not. I think not, but I'm not sure.
Either way, would you like to try gaming again with a more simple/standard game? I could run a CoC one shot or Monsters and Other Childish Things or whatever.
We didn't plan on going to FtC. It seems weird to go to a Con put on by a podcast that none of us listen to anymore. Our con schedule, as far as I know, is DrakeCon this weekend, Gen Con... Yeah. We hit VisionCon every year now, I might go back to Archon but I made an ass of myself last year so I may avoid it. If GAME happens here again we'll go.
I wouldn't be opposed in giving you a shot to redeem yourself for your FAILING at Venture. Haha. I'll check with Mike and Art, see if their interested. Scheduling will be the trick though.
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How has this not been mentioned sooner? He threw the get away vehicle at the building. That's simply sublime. And again, something I would expect to see in the Venture Brothers.
That was kinda the theme of the game, a lot of things that in retrospect feel pretty Venture but at the table feel like a crapton of bullshit.
Ross could always release the audio so everyone can hear how awkward and uncomfortable it was for everyone at the table. haha.
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Sure, I'll post it. BTW any preferences for what game I would run? I can run a lot of different games but I've had my eye on Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Hunter the Vigil, Changeling the Lost and Eclipse Phase for a while.
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I think this is one that would make a horrible Actual Play, but makes for an excellent retelling.
The more I hear about everyone being annoyed and uncomfortable, things not working, people failing at their efforts, the more and more is sounds like you guys produced an honest Venture Brothers game. And, as the characters actually involved in each show's events would probably feel, it sucked.
Ha!
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Sure, I'll post it. BTW any preferences for what game I would run? I can run a lot of different games but I've had my eye on Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Hunter the Vigil, Changeling the Lost and Eclipse Phase for a while.
I know you have a pretty solid Hunter vision. Make sure you have something similar for Changeling. The range of choice open to the players, especially with the dramatic visuals that Changeling offers, can set players to wandering. They need a powerful reason to be stuck together. Last Changeling game I ran had the characters constantly wandering apart while I tried to push them together.
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Sure, I'll post it. BTW any preferences for what game I would run? I can run a lot of different games but I've had my eye on Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Hunter the Vigil, Changeling the Lost and Eclipse Phase for a while.
I know you have a pretty solid Hunter vision. Make sure you have something similar for Changeling. The range of choice open to the players, especially with the dramatic visuals that Changeling offers, can set players to wandering. They need a powerful reason to be stuck together. Last Changeling game I ran had the characters constantly wandering apart while I tried to push them together.
Two words.
Slender. Man.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzti3xDlfk0
Found you.
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Two words.
Slender. Man.
Worked on me. I'm hooked now.
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Sure, I'll post it. BTW any preferences for what game I would run? I can run a lot of different games but I've had my eye on Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Hunter the Vigil, Changeling the Lost and Eclipse Phase for a while.
I know you have a pretty solid Hunter vision. Make sure you have something similar for Changeling. The range of choice open to the players, especially with the dramatic visuals that Changeling offers, can set players to wandering. They need a powerful reason to be stuck together. Last Changeling game I ran had the characters constantly wandering apart while I tried to push them together.
Two words.
Slender. Man.
I just spent the last hour looking up that guy.
Christ! That guy's like the Bogeyman times ten!
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Look up: Marble Hornets