Mythic Supers - Session 0

 For Session 0, I'll be introducing my characters. I have 2 main heroes, and I'll be jumping back and forth between them. For the first, I already have a backstory for because I used him in a Marvel RPG years ago, along with TWERPS. This game will basically be his early years.

For the other, I'll use Mythic to create his backstory and everything.

Since these are street-level super heroes and villains, we'll stick with Level 0 and 1 characters, with one exception. Starting characters are Level T for Training. They start with 3 Ability points and no Skills.

One other note: I don't distinguish between how a character gets a power. a +2 to Heart for electricity is the same whether it's in the person's blood or from a weapon.

1. Vyper - Level T Hero; Body: 0, Agility: 0, Mind: +1, Talk: 0, Heart: +2.

So named by the media because of his dark green clothing and mask, Vyper can control force fields in manners such as using force fields, flying, turning invisible, and pushing opponents away. The unwilling product of an illegal experiment, he seeks to destroy the company and stop any others created in similar ways. While not a genius, he is smart enough to figure out his powers, not to mention genre savvy and street smart.

2. Mr. Flex - Level T Hero; Body: +2, Agility: +1, Mind: 0, Talk: 0, Heart: -1.

A former college wrestler who was infused with superhuman strength. He tries his best to be a hero, protecting the weak from the bad in the city.

We'll start with Flex's background. I'm going to use the Backstory Generator in Mythic Variations to create his background.

Here goes: 

Number of Backstory Events: 1 (Hmm, a rather simple fellow).

Backstory Focus: PC Negative (Well, we have to start somewhere.)

"Excitement," and "Love."

So let's see . . . 

Brad Muggs loved wrestling in college and hoped to either compete in the Olympics or in pro wrestling. After suffering a severe injury, Brad volunteered for experimental treatment, not realizing his was nothing but a lab project. After recovering, and noticing his superhuman strength and reflexes, Brad realized he'd have an unfair advantage when competing. Wanting to help others, he began calling himself, Mr. Flex.

I'm curious.

(Q)  Does Flex keep his identity a secret? (Likely) Yes

Wearing a mask to protect his loved ones, he became a superhero. He also believed that criminals would fear Mr. Flex more than they would Brad Muggs.

There we go, a few rolls and we have our first hero, created from the ground up.

Now let's add a villain.

Zapman - Level T Villain; Body: 0, Agility: 0, Mind: +1, Talk: 0, Heart: +2.

(Q) Does he wear typical hero/villain spandex? (Very Likely) Yes

Wearing black and yellow spandex, along with a mask, this young man was another subject of illegal experiments. The only difference is he embraced it for a life of crime. Cocky and sinister, he delights in harming others and thinks nothing of the consequences.

(Q) Does he have any other ability than firing his zap bolts? (Likely) No

Still getting used to his power, Zapman can fire short bolts of electricity, stunning and possibly injuring others. 

I figure we also need basic people for them to fight:

1. Cop - Level 0 Hero.

Body: 0, Agility: +1, Mind: 0, Talk: 0, Heart: -1.

These are your basic street cops. They're skilled with firearms but have little to no defenses against powered individuals.

2. Crook - Level 0 Villain.

Body: 0, Agility: +1, Mind: 0, Talk: 0, Heart: -1.

Street thugs who can take down threats with a pistol but find themselves vastly overwhelmed against superheroes.

For Session 0, I'm going to run a few scenes to test out the rules while hopefully giving my characters easy starting fights.

1. Zapman

Zapman wants to test out his new powers so, watching from an alley, he looks for a victim.

(Q)  Is there a cop nearby? (Likely) Yes

(Q)  Is he alone (Likely but hopefully not) Yes

Zapman notices a lone cop wandering through the area. Stepping out into view, he holds up his glowing fist. "Get ready to confront the wrath of zappy zappy!" (Hey, I didn't say the guy was great with words).

Zapman will be firing his zap bolts at the cop, which requires using Heart. The cop, on the other hand, would be pulling out his gun and firing. This requires Agility. So it's Zapman's +2 for Heart vs. the Cop's +1 for Agility. I'm choosing to roll for Zapman.

(Clash) Does Zapman win the Clash? (+1 makes it Likely)  No

Zapman spends too much time grandstanding. Pulling out his pistol, the cop opens fire.

Damage from the cop's pistol is +2, vs. Zapman's Body of 0. Since the damage is equal to or higher, Zapman suffers a -1 RS.

Furious that his victim would dare defend himself, Zapman tries again, but the cop is already firing again.

This time, the -1 RS reduces Zapman's Heart to +1, vs. the cop's +1 Agility. 

(Clash) Does Zapman win the Clash? (50/50)  No

Again, the cop stops Zapman's flashy assault with another bullet. At this point, our villain begins to think that living to fight another day is a better idea.

This time, instead of Damage, Zapman will be using the Clash roll to Escape. Maybe he's zapping the lights to blind the cop. Unfortunately, with -2 RS, his Heart is now 0, vs. the Cop's +1 Agility. The cop, meanwhile gives chase, hoping to tackle and arrest this electricity-shooting weirdo.

(Clash) Does Zapman escape? (-1 makes it Unlikely)  No

The cop tackles Zapman and tries to restrain him.

Now, Zapman is at -3 RS so we roll on the Incapacitation chart. The Cop is using his physical strength in a nonlethal manner, so we'll start with 0. Zapman has a 0 for Body for his toughness, -3 RS. This actually makes it a +3 for the roll.

(Incap)  Is Zapman Incapacitated?  (Nearly Certain)  Yes

"You won't stop me, copper!" Zapman holds up his hands, fingers shimmering.

The cop though punches him right in the face, knocking him cold. After slapping cuffs on the villain, the cop calls for back-up to take the villain away.

Not the best start for our villain's career.

Now onto our next character.

2. Mr. Flex

Flex is walking to the gym to hone his new skills. On the way, he sees a crook in an alley threatening a young woman. "Leave her alone!" he shouts.

The crook turns his pistol on our hero. "Make me!"

 This time, for brevity, I just created the scenario instead of rolling for it. 

The crook wants to fire his pistol at Flex (Damage). Now Flex is too far away to fight back, and his has no way to attack from a distance. He could duck behind a wall, but I think it'd be more fun for him to throw caution to the wind and race towards the crook. If the crook wins, he scores a hit. If Flex wins, he avoids the shots and ends up right in the villain's face.

The crook has an Agility of +1, and so does Flex.

(Clash)  Does Flex win the Clash?  (50/50) Exceptional Yes!

Sprinting forward, Flex reaches the crook before the shocked man can fire.

Now since Flex was going for an Effect instead of Damage, he doesn't cause harm to the crook, but he does gain a +1 RS to his next roll. 

The next Clash will be a hand-to-hand fight between the two. The crook has a Body of 0 while Flex has +2, +3 with the RS boost.

(Clash)  Does Flex win the Clash?  (+3 makes it Near Certain)  Exceptional Yes again!

Flex pummels the hapless criminal, who drops his gun and covers up.

Let's look at the Damage. We'll start with Flex's Body, which is +2. This is higher than the crook's Body of 0 so he suffers -1 RS. However, he scored an X-Yes, so that's another +1 RS. Finally, the previous roll's +1 RS actually brings his Body to +3. Normally, I wouldn't do this, but since it's melee combat, I'm saying Flex gets a boost from charging forward. This brings the crook's RS to -3, requiring him to roll for Incap.

(Incap)  Is the crook Incapacitated?  (Near Certain)  Yes - and Random Event.

I'm ruling that Flex used nonlethal damage. A punch to the ribs ought to do it.

With one single punch, Mr. Flex caught the crook in the stomach, sending through the air and crashing into the far wall.

That's not the end of it though. We now have a Random Event to roll for. Normally with One Page Mythic, you’d roll on the Discover Meaning chart once, maybe twice, or as many times as needed to generate an event. I tend to roll twice no matter what, rolling more only if needed  

So let’s see what I roll:

“Uncertain,” and “Move.”

To Flex’s surprise, the crook immediately leaped to his feet. Raising his trembling fists, he glared, but at nothing specific. “Is that all you - ” 

Before he could finish his sentence, he collapsed, face-first to the ground.

So both characters had their starting, 'training' scenes. Since this post is pretty long, I'll give my third character his own post. So one more Session 0.