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Sidekix: GameMaster's Information
This section contains the Gamemaster information, including the plot(s). If you want to play in this, read no further!
This adventure is strongly character dependent. I'd probably get people's characters and work the backstory from that.
It might make an interesting tournament with pre-generated characters. That lets you dictate the relationships between the characters and some of their attitudes. That's a very different sort of roleplaying experience than normal campaigns.
Over the holidays, startling revelations are made. People argue. Marriages break up. Careers are ended and renewed.
Yeah, that sounds kind of thin to me too. But this is a strongly character-driven concept. Plot would depend on the characters and the backstory. For symmetry, it would probably have something to do with why the group split up.
Plot possibilities that float to mind right now include:
Through some MacGuffin, members are offered a chance to see how life would have gone if one decision had been made the other way.
The Phantom Stranger is great for this kind of thing. Suppose... The Team broke up after they failed at dealing with some bad guy, and the {JL*|Teen Titans|two guys on a motor scooter} (the villain has to be big enough to be a threat, but not so big that it clearly outclasses them) pulled their fat out of the fire. Then the Phantom Stranger or the Psychopomp offers them a chance to expiate their guilt by popping them into an alternate universe where it's about to happen -- or back in time to fix things up.
But it's an alternate universe -- the alternate selves have already been pasted by the bad guy. And he doesn't have quite the same weaknesses in this universe...or their presence in the past has already changed things.)
None of these plots are particularly original. Again, I think the originality of the idea (if any) is that it's a context that's not often encountered in superhero comics.
Here are three plots fleshed out a bit more than the earlier suggestions:
In this story, the Taskmaster, one of the Team's old foes, sets up an elaborate scheme of blackmail and betrayal in order to do to them what he believes they have done to him: deprived him of his powers.
The Taskmaster (Rene Seurer) is one of the Team's old foes. He had mind-controlling powers. Unbeknownst to the Team, their last encounter burned out his abilities. As far as he's concerned, not being able to control people is like losing a limb. He makes do with extortion, blackmail, and other forms of coercion, but it's not really the same. ("It's as if I had a hook instead of a hand. I can still touch a woman's skin, but I can't feel her.")
So he's decided to do to the Teen Team what they've done to him: He's going to cripple them all. The ones with powers will have their powers removed, and the ones without powers will be crippled in some physical fashion.
He doesn't have the education to come up with the gadget, but he's found a willing accomplice in Doctor Valerie Wolfe. Doctor Wolfe studied under Doctor Jace at one time and has met most of the DC Universe's mad scientists. She has come up with a virus that permanently suppresses a subject's metagene. It's a retrovirus, so it inserts itself into the subject's DNA. It has to be tailored to a particular subject, so the Taskmaster has already sent out agents to get skin samples from the player characters.
For characters with Public ID, the agents bribed doctors or went through garbage. For characters with a Secret ID, thugs were hired to attack the character and return with a cell sample. This was accomplished before the adventure starts; knowledge of the attacks should be given to the players at the appropriate point in the session if they make an action check against Int.
Note that this scheme works against some mystic characters: It works against anyone with the Homo Magi background advantage, but it won't work against people who have been enhanced by (say) a Lord of Chaos.
The retrovirus is pointless against anyone who doesn't have an active metagene, and it may not matter much against people with one: For example, Blue Beetle has an active metagene, but he doesn't depend on that power in combat, so this scheme wouldn't really affect him.
He's going to create a hostage situation, and force the Teen Team to respond. Then he'll use the hostage situation to force the non-powered members of the Team into some crippling actions. The powered members are involved in the negotiations, and (little do they know) that they'll be exposed to the retroviruses while they're negotiating. The retroviruses will eventually take away their powers.
He started this six months ago, when he got out of prison. He obtainedinformation on Dr. Wolfe to blackmail her, and then discovered she wanted to do the kind of research he was asking her to do.
Bear in mind that he already knows the following:
Incidentally, if you run this, you can run a sequel later, in which someone is killing old foes of the Teen Team. It eventually turns out to be the significant other of one of the Team members. The incident with Taskmaster convinced her or him that their lives together would never be safe until all of the old foes had been eliminated.
Ivory wakes up, and then someone tries to kill her. The logical conclusion is that something she knows is dangerous. Could it be a traitor in the Teen Team? And, after five years, why would it matter?
Here are the scenes:
It wouldn't be much of a mystery if everyone didn't have a motive. Here's a set of motivations for the Teen Team. These all assume that the accident that put Ivory into a coma was one of omission -- someone chose not to act fast enough to prevent it.
There's this clause in the Sidekix contracts that confines the show to true stories. (Oh, anything that would compromise a Secret Identity is fake -- for instance, Kid Frost's secret ID is supposedly a rock musician -- but the villain plots are required to be true.)
This causes the show a lot of problems. In the first place, they have to get permission from the villains. (There's a lawsuit pending by Baron Drakonyn.) In the second place, the number of actual stories that make good television is limited. In the third place, they can't bring back popular bad guys if they didn't really show up again.
So with the invitations to the party, Morgan sent new versions of the contracts which lack the "true stories" clause. If everyone signs (that's a kicker), they'll have a fine Christams. If not, Morgan will just have to create the kind of true stories that make good television.
Supervillains will attack. Note they won't be traditional DC Universe foes, they'll be mercenary DC Universe supers who are playing the part of specific bad guys. (They may also be robots, though that's tougher to pull off when there's a mentalist in the crowd...or it may be essential to the story: "My powers don't affect them!")
The following villains could be hired; most are from teh Character Roster. Whether or not they'll work well together is up to the GM, since that could lead to other plots...
If you'd like the bad guys to decide they really do want to be bad guys, add these four into the mix:
Morgan has hired Dan Cassidy to construct lower-powered versions of his original Blue Devil suit, and has equipped six stuntmen with them; they're to be "Doctor Power's Teknofuries," along with Copycat.
Dr. Power's Teknofuries| Dex | 5 | Str | 3 | Body | 3 | Initiative | 13 |
| Int | 4 | Will | 4 | Mind | 3 | Hero Points | 15 |
| Infl | 4 | Aura | 3 | Spirit | 2 | Wealth | 4 |
Skills: Artist* (Actor) 4, Acrobatics* 5
Equipment: Teknofury Suit: BODY: 7, EV: 7, Sealed Systems: 5
Each suit has different powers, and has a code name assigned:
| Name | Attack Power | Movement | Sense |
| Glowworm | 6 Flash | 6 Jumping | 6 Radar Sense |
| Heartburn | 7 Acid | 7 Gliding | 6 Thermal vision |
| Positron | 7 Energy Blast | 6 Jumping | 6 Radar Sense |
| Toaster | 7 Flame project | 8 Running | 5 Sonar |
| Web | 7 Glue R# 2 | 7 Air Walking | 6 Thermal vision |
| Zap | 7 Lightning | 6 Flight | 5 Sonar |
Each suit is sculpted to resemble a deformed, mutated person.
Copycat (Cassady Nelson)
| Dex | 6 | Str | 5 | Body | 5 | Initiative | 20 |
| Int | 5 | Will | 5 | Mind | 4 | Hero Points | 105 |
| Infl | 5 | Aura | 5 | Spirit | 5 | Wealth | 5 |
Skills: Artist (Actor)* 6
Advantages: Sharp Eye, Lightning Reflexes
Powers: 11 Mimic
Drawbacks: Catastrophic Irrational Attraction to overconfidence, Minor Irrational Attraction to practical jokes
For this adventure, he can draw on the following powers from the Teen Team (plus any used by other villains). Bold indicates the ones he's going to choose immediately.
| Awareness (5+RAPs to 11) | Magic Sense (5+RAPs to 7) |
| Broadcast Empathy (5+RAPs to 7) | Mental Freeze (5+RAPs to 7) |
| Disintegration (5+RAPs to 7) | Mind Field (5+RAPs to 7) |
| Exorcism (5+RAPs to 7) | Plant Control (5+RAPs to 8) |
| Flight (6+RAPs to 11) | Plant Growth 5+RAPs to 8) |
| Fog (5+RAPs to 9) | Poison Touch (5+RAPs to 5) |
| Force Field (5+RAPs to 7) (self only) | Skin Armor (5+RAPs to 11) |
| Ice Production (5+RAPs to 9) | Superspeed (6+RAPs to 9) |
| Icing 1 | Systemic Antidote (5+RAPs to 7) |
| Joined (5+RAPs to 8) | Teleport (5+RAPs to 7) |
| Jumping (5+RAPs to 9) | True Sight (5+RAPs to 9) |
As a GM playing Mimic, you should probably wager Hero Points to ensure that Nelson has decent amounts of Skin Armor, Super Speed, and Mental Freeze. He should have 6 RAPs, which is 0, 1, or 2 Column Shifts (depending on the Power).
There are several ways to play Morgan in this; one of them is as a complete sleazeball. If you choose to do it this way, Morgan will try everything he can to keep the rest of the Team off-balance and therefore more likely to be persuaded.
Appeal to greed: He knows some people are upset about not making any money from the deals, so he's willing to set up an alternate contract: a chain restaurant, with themes and little memento shops. "They'll be decorated with trophies and mementos from our adventures."
Shock Treatment: He's currently sleeping with Valerie Laing (who plays Ivory). He convinces her to come to the reunion in her Ivory makeup. This will probably backfire, since it will irritate the Players who still have Secret Identities to protect and it may well enrage who (like Quicksilver) had strong feelings for Ivory.
Blackmail: Morgan has the entire chalet wired for video. He invites people up for a cozy, private weekend -- or lends them the chalet -- and videotapes the goings-on. The videotapes are stored in a room blasted out of the bedrock below the chalet; the only entrances are through a narrow airshaft (a character with Shrinking could get in, though), Teleportation (which is how Morgan gets in and out), or by breaking through the rock -- which would destroy the chalet.
Even if you decide to play Morgan as a total sleaze, remember that he still regards these people as his friends; it's just that his ideas of friendship are more limited than most people's.
If you go this route, Morgan is the real villain; let the Players defeat the TeknoFuries and they will point to Morgan. Morgan can then attempt to escape...but he won't get far, not with the entire Team after him.
You can also play Morgan as the victim of his own success. He's so caught up in the money-making aspects of the television game that he's forgotten who his friends are. In this case, Morgan comes up with increasingly elaborate justifications for why what he's doing is really a benefit to the rest of the Team. ("I thought I was doing you a favor by keeping the money out of your hands until the syndication deals came in.")
If you go this route, have an actual supervillain hijack the TeknoFuries and endanger Morgan's future in a much more direct fashion by taking the McGuffin (whatever it is; haven't decided yet). After they escape, Morgan can explain the scheme (which he will, eventually), and join in with the rest of the Team to get back the McGuffin.
If you're going to do soap opera, people ought to have secrets and hidden motivations. (Well, the characters ought to have them anyway...) Here are a set for the Teen Team. These aren't meant to be Dark Secrets, they're meant to be, well, ordinary secrets. Things characters don't want the others to find out.
Other secrets are mentioned in some of the plot outlines.
Please remember that these are optional -- make up your own secrets if you want.
A minor adventure for 1-6 players with very little combat. Standard Award: 35 pts. Playtested with Mantis & Quicksilver. Details to come
If players ask, the following are the actors on the show. Bogus secret identities are shown beside the hero code name:
| Role | Actor |
| Bullseye (Evan Hesse, P.I.) | Adam Gull |
| The Fog | Nic Dowdy |
| Glamour Girl | Isabelle Giscaine |
| Ivory | Valerie Laing |
| Janet Leesk | Traci Andersson |
| Kid Frost (Luke Martin, musician) | Matt Rawley |
| Quicksilver | Tom Ito |
| Red Fang (Ford Twofeathers, teacher) | Ross Esposito |
| Scatter | Terence Kolb |
You'll see which plot(s) I went with...
Howie was in the woods after killing a Bear Spirit. Looking in his wallet to reimburse the lumberjacks for the destruction of their property, he found the invitation to the party. He began hitching a ride.
In Mississauga, Wendy was fussing. "Have you packed yet?" "I'll pack, I'll pack," said Ragnar. But they cut it close, and there was a big pileup on the 401 leading to the airport, so Ragnar cut through the city and used his powers to delay the plane (he iced up the landing gear). He groused about how the tickets are economy class and in his name this year. (Last year and the year before, it was a private jet sent for them.)
Wendy snuggled down with the headphones but Ragnar couldn't get comfortable. There was a kid behind him saying things like, "Now you will bow before the might of Baron Drakonyn!" The kid was playing with Sidekix action figures. Ragnar asked the kid's mother how much they cost. "The 6" ones sell for 8.99, the 9" ones sell for 14.99. And it depends on whether it's one of the popular ones or not. Ivory and Baron Drakonyn are hard to find, but there are lots of Kid Frosts out there. Sometimes you can find those marked down to 3.99."
The kid said, "Kid Frost's a loser. All he ever does is protect the bystanders, he never goes out and kicks butt."
Before he did something stupid, Ragnar thanked the mother and turns away. Behind him, he heard a familiar voice telling the kid, "It was very important that Kid Frost protected those people. That was something that no one else on the team could do." It was Thomas' voice.
"Well...I guess it's kind of cool to be a rock musician." This irritated Ragnar even more, since he's a fourth year civil engineering student. Only the guy on the show was a rock musician, and he's got a hit single.
Then the stewardess, who should be giving Ragnar his coffee, started hitting on Thomas, who accepted the coffee. Ragnar froze it. Thomas came to talk to him, they chatted briefly about the dolls and the money and the contracts. Wendy revealed that she passed the new contract to the lawyer and she has the comments in her purse; she didn't show it to him because he was all tensed out about finals.
In Vancouver, meanwhile, Ken finally decided to attend. (This was the first of the reunions he's ever attended.) He had his ticket exchanged for something luxury class, and arranged for a limo to pick him up at the airport. On the plane, he was served an excellent Chateubriand and chose the French red wine, not the Chilean. He went over the report his lawyers have prepared on the new version of the contract, noting that it no longer contained the "true stories" clause.
At Calgary, Ragnar, Wendy, and Thomas transfered to the plane to Banff. Ragnar and Wendy squeezed past a fat woman who was reading a romance novel. Ragnar's in a really bad mood, and he and the woman had a few sharp words, which end with him calling her a "fat bloated whore." Wendy traded him seats and tries to make piece. Ragnar eventually told the woman he was sorry ("I'm sorry you read that kind of book.") She replied, "Maybe if there were more real men around, women wouldn't have to read this kind of book."
Howie had just hitched a ride with a limo driver, who said he could stay in the back only until they arrived at the airport.
At the airport, Ragnar spotted Ken, and introduced Wendy; Ken knew her family slightly, which rankled Ragnar. ("Do you know how much those dolls sell for? Have you seen one penny from the merchandising?") All four chatted. Ken's limo pulled up with Howie in the back, and Ken, Ragnar, Wendy and Thomas got in to go to the chalet. Ken had had the limo fridge stocked with Upper Canada Dark and with Sleeman's Cream Ale. It's still morning, though, so no one drinks.
The chalet was big, about 100,000 square feet. Two hot tubs, indoor-outdoor pool, you name it.
Inside, they saw Ivory. Ken was stunned. She toasted them with a drink (it's about 11:00 am now) and giggled...which gave it away. It's Valerie Laing, who plays Ivory on the TV series, already partly drunk, and in full costume and makeup. Howie immediately fogged up the end of the hall to protect Ragnar's secret identity, and Ragnar iced over. Morgan, Janet, Elise, and Seana were already in the kitchen chatting.
They took their bags to rooms (you just claim a room and it's yours). Howie was provided with a new set of clothes, so he had a specific room. (He wasn't sure if he should be insulted by this.) Wendy told Valerie that she's really there with Red Fang but is going to spend time with Kid Frost to protect Red Fang's secret identity. Valerie thought this was fine, and if she hit on Red Fang that would just be to protect his secret identity. Ragnar was irritated...still.
In the main living room, Ken and Thomas were sitting having drinks (alcoholic and non). They spotted the memorabilia room: costumes on mannequins, and all sorts of memorabilia and trivia, as well as computers with multimedia displays.
Upstairs, Morgan assured Ragnar that Valerie would be gone by tonight, it's just that they're an item, he and Valerie, and she wanted to meet all you people. "She better be good in the sack," Ragnar growled and Morgan cheerfully replied, "She is. You want to try her before you tie the knot?"
After dressing, Ken took Seana into town. They rent a car, had lunch, and went skiing on the glacier. Howie spent his time with Janet. They talk about people they had in common. Wendy volunteered to give Kid Frost a massage, so they went to their room. As they went up, they heard Valerie hitting on Thomas, who was forced to explain about the 12-step program he's in...
At 5, Chris Kane walks in, spots Valerie, did the double-take, then realized his secret identity was in jeopardy. He claimed to be dropping off Bullseye's bags and found Morgan "to sign the waybill." A brief and inconclusive tussle ensued. Chris left so that Bullseye could show up.
Howie followed him, nearly wrecking his car. He carried Chris back, jumping all the way. They encountered Elisabet, who was also arriving. She explained some things about the television business and the Sidekix TV series to Howie and Chris. Basically, Morgan had only about eight true stories left. If he wanted the true stories clause taken out (and he did, the big money's in syndication, for which he ought to have five years), they had him over a barrel.
When they arrived, Elisabet seemed secure in the knowledge that she is loved. "Ken, I was up for a modeling position as spokesperson for your company. I did not get the position. That was because you did not know, I am sure." How can a mentalist be that blind? ...because she needs to be, suggested Ragnar.
They had the meeting. Morgan tried to reassure them that they'll be taken care of. Ragnar was insistent that they ought to see some money. ("I'm sorry it went that way. You know, I thought I was helping you. Shows lose money all the time, and I thought that by pumping the merchandising money back into the show, I could get you to a net profit position sooner.") Ken pointed out that Morgan has spent an awful lot of money. The chalet, for instance, was in his name. ("It was a tax dodge. I've fired that accountant.") Morgan repeated that they're all entitled to free samples of the merchandising stuff and offered to send one of everything to Ragnar's home. ("All the dolls. Even the hard to find ones.")
Morgan talked about how difficult it was to do truly effective television under the true stories clause. He's getting closer and closer to telling the story he doesn't want to tell -- the last fight with Baron Drakonyn and the dissolution of the Teen Team. "I don't want to see it end," he said. ("The Baron's suing you, isn't he?" asked Ragnar.)
Then Morgan talked about the memorabilia room. "Look, you're worried that we'll say something like, oh, Bullseye had a mental breakdown and killed people. That's what this is about. I was thinking, this was trying to generate some revenue especially for you people, I was thinking a restaurant chain. Planet Hero, something like that. And every restaurant would have memorabilia like this. It would be educational, and it would counteract any exaggerations that might creep into the show -- not that any would! Maybe -- this is off the top of my head here -- maybe have the serving staff wear costumes."
That got shot down quickly. "I can imagine the first time that Trinity came in and killed the waiter dressed as Kid Frost."
"Okay, maybe we won't do that."
Ken said, "You've got a profit-loss projection ready?"
"Of course."
"I want a share of the profits to go to supporting Karen."
"Your share? Sure. What happens if she wakes up?"
"Everyone's share. And when she wakes up, that share goes back to the rest of us."
Howie wanted to know who signs for Ivory. Morgan revealed info about Karen's parents ("They're dead.") and that Elliot Clarke, her parents' lawyer, had already signed the new version of the release form. "Look, just think about it. That's all I'm asking." All went to their rooms, doubtful.
In private, Howie decided that it's time to wake Ivory up. He asked Quicksilver to get him to Women's College Hospital in Toronto as quickly as possible. There, he woke her up. There was a touching reunion between her and Ken. She took a moment to realize he looked older and then realized she's been out for more than a few days. As we closed, Quicksilver was interrogating Howie: "How do you know it's really her soul in her?"
"I just do."
"How long have you been able to do this? How long?"
No answer.
White Dwarf was roused from the Region of the Unjustly Dead by a Voice, and told she has a chance to reveal her killer. Unfortunately, White Dwarf doesn't remember her killer. She appears at the chalet and decides to watch for a while, before revealing herself
Quicksilver explained the situation to Ivory, who was
taken aback. They decide to return to the chalet. As they are returning,
White Dwarf makes herself known to Quicksilver. They enter the chalet;
everyone wakes up to meet Ivory. After coffee and conversation, Ivory and
Quicksilver went to bed.
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