New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

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Davies
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by Davies »

I think the long history of the Dragoneye legacy counts for a lot, and there's also Dr. Spectre of the Victory Squadron. Many of the Cryptid clans have a magical side to them as well.
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FuzzyBoots
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by FuzzyBoots »

Davies wrote: Thu Jul 30, 2020 1:52 pm I think the long history of the Dragoneye legacy counts for a lot, and there's also Dr. Spectre of the Victory Squadron. Many of the Cryptid clans have a magical side to them as well.
Ah, can't believe I forgot about Dragoneye. Probably because I was looking at the Secrets book. Searching within the Players Guide, I now also see the section on magic.
Magic tends to be truly “occult” in Emerald City—secretive and behind-the-scenes—but it exists none the less and is a powerful force for good or evil, depending on how it is used. Of course, “magic” in E.C. is not always what it appears to be. Sometimes the magical forces in Emerald City are actually other effects masquerading as supernatural, from psionic and psychic powers to extradimensional or alien energies or biology. Koschei, for example (see Secrets of Emerald City Chapter 5), is named for a mythic Russian sorcerer, but his mental powers are not truly magical. Gamemasters and players can have some fun with supposedly “mystical” characters who turn out to be charlatans of some sort, particularly the first time anyone tries to nullify or counter their powers using methods effective against real magic!

So far as that real magic goes, it’s found in arcane lore from many different cultures in Emerald City. The area’s Asian population brings with it the mystic secrets of the East, from Taoist sorcery and alchemy to manipulation of chi and the Dragon Lines of the Earth. Dragoneye (see page 70) offers a good look at an Asian mystic in Emerald City. Other ethnic heritages may also have their own magical powers represented here, ranging from Scandanavian to Russian, Japanese, and Native American.

Spellcasters like Madame Macabre (see Secrets of Emerald City Chapter 5) and Abracadaver (from Threat Report) also prove the corrupting forces of evil magic are at work in Emerald City. Even stormers sometimes get in on the act, such as Lord Etheric (from the Prologue of Emerald City Knights) who, although empowered by the Silver Storm, taps into and commands “the dark forces of the ether.” Indeed, the sudden prevalence of malign magicks in Emerald City might cause the cosmic forces of balance to empower a mystic champion of good to combat them, a possible player character hero!
And I had forgotten that Abracadaver is part of Emerald City. :-P He so easily slotted into the Assault on the Nerian Nexus adventure.
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Davies
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by Davies »

I don't really see that section as saying that magic is not a "major force" in the city, though. "Good guy" magic, maybe, but ...

It's a quibble, I'll admit.
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Psion
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

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Well, this was entirely not a reaction to all this (as I started this game years ago), but to make a source of supernatural enemies for my campaign, I decided that there was a "supernatural waste dump" hidden in the mountains to the south of Emerald City. In essence, it's the Atlantean/serpent people empire equivalent of our modern day radioactive waste dumps that will remain a hazard for thousands of years. In essence, the ancient magic empire needed a place to stow away its magical hazards, and due to a mishap with some Cryptid Clans youths, now it is leaking...
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by hermes »

Sorry for joining the conversation late, but I have been a bit out of the loop when it comes to recent GR releases. I saw Abracadaver’s name come up a couple of times in this thread. Did he actually get included in one of the NetherWar adventures? He was a fun villain to create, so if he has indeed made an appearance then that makes me very happy. (Though just the fact that anyone still remembers him is good enough, as he was a rather early contribution to the Emerald City setting.)

As an aside, I have been following these boards off and on pretty much since their creation, though I confess that I am nowhere near as diligent a reader and/or poster as greycrusader. (Hi, John!) It’s nice to see that M&M still maintains its core supporters.

Cheers!

Glenn Hall/hermes
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Ares
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by Ares »

hermes wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 3:21 am
As an aside, I have been following these boards off and on pretty much since their creation, though I confess that I am nowhere near as diligent a reader and/or poster as greycrusader. (Hi, John!) It’s nice to see that M&M still maintains its core supporters.

Cheers!

Glenn Hall/hermes
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by FuzzyBoots »

hermes wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 3:21 am Sorry for joining the conversation late, but I have been a bit out of the loop when it comes to recent GR releases. I saw Abracadaver’s name come up a couple of times in this thread. Did he actually get included in one of the NetherWar adventures? He was a fun villain to create, so if he has indeed made an appearance then that makes me very happy. (Though just the fact that anyone still remembers him is good enough, as he was a rather early contribution to the Emerald City setting.)
Yes, he's is an early foe in Assault on the Nerian Nexus, adventure #1 (albeit the second adventure after #0, Master of Earth) in the NetherWar series. And yes, he was very fun to use as an NPC, dropping my voice into sepulchral tones and using as many horrible puns as I could.
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by hermes »

Ares wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 4:51 am Welcome to the party. :) Glad finally decided to join us, and I hope you enjoy your stay.
Thanks! I honestly thought I had joined back when you first started up these forums, but apparently not. Nevertheless, I have been popping in semi-regularly (especially to see what approaches people come up with in the Character Sheets section). With the decline and eventual demise of the Think Tank, your efforts here have been both fortunate and appreciated.
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by hermes »

FuzzyBoots wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 3:04 pm Yes, he's is an early foe in Assault on the Nerian Nexus, adventure #1 (albeit the second adventure after #0, Master of Earth) in the NetherWar series. And yes, he was very fun to use as an NPC, dropping my voice into sepulchral tones and using as many horrible puns as I could.
It sounds like you nailed him! (But not into a coffin... right? No, stop. No puns!)

It looks like I’ll have to pick up copies of the whole series. If I had known he was going to make an appearance, I would have offered to contribute a suitably morbid monologue for him. The adventure seems like It has a pretty epic plot with lots of cameo appearances (and room for a bit of customization). Sounds good to me. :D
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by greycrusader »

hermes wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:38 pm
FuzzyBoots wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 3:04 pm Yes, he's is an early foe in Assault on the Nerian Nexus, adventure #1 (albeit the second adventure after #0, Master of Earth) in the NetherWar series. And yes, he was very fun to use as an NPC, dropping my voice into sepulchral tones and using as many horrible puns as I could.
It sounds like you nailed him! (But not into a coffin... right? No, stop. No puns!)

It looks like I’ll have to pick up copies of the whole series. If I had known he was going to make an appearance, I would have offered to contribute a suitably morbid monologue for him. The adventure seems like It has a pretty epic plot with lots of cameo appearances (and room for a bit of customization). Sounds good to me. :D
Hey Glenn! Hope everything is well with you in these terrible times.

Your creation, AbraCadaver, is a favorite among the GR staff, especially Crystal. She suggested using him over Madame Macabre in my adventure.

All my best.
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by Psion »

The cover of Assault on the Nerian Nexus makes me want to restyle Medea as a David Bowie analog who sings to the heroes as she taunts them. My recent rewatch of Labyrinth may have something to do with that.
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by greycrusader »

Hey, for anyone who's played through or GM'ed Assault on the Nerian Nexus, I welcome feedback. Let me know what I did right and wrong as the designer.

All my best.
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by FuzzyBoots »

greycrusader wrote: Tue Sep 22, 2020 11:55 pm Hey, for anyone who's played through or GM'ed Assault on the Nerian Nexus, I welcome feedback. Let me know what I did right and wrong as the designer.

All my best.
Honestly, The Nerian Nexus is the standout of the bunch so far. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was a stronger sense of place and plot than with Master of Earth or The Pentagram Peril. The latter, in particular, seemed fall under a "This is the setting (if you want more info, buy Atlas of Earth Primes!). Here's a villain. He'll escape in five rounds if he does nothing else" which led to combats feeling very much in a void. The former was better, but there was still a feeling that nothing really existed between setpieces. This one gave just enough context to the areas where battle happened, or the corridors in between, that I felt like I could actually describe the battlefield enough for the players to make smart choices. I liked the built-in system for Medea getting more powerful if heroes dilly-dallied. It was nice to have a time limit built in even if one that the heroes were unaware of, and one that, while it had negative consequences, wasn't a "you lose if you don't finish this by this point".

Minor thing, Tom Cyprus was sometimes referred to as Tom Cypress. Not certain how that creeped in there. As with other Astonish Adventure entries, it was a bit awkward how often I page to page back and forth to keep all of the details together. I think part of the problem is that, while it's nice to have an abbreviated statblock to refer to, too many of the details require information only available at the back of the adventure. I did appreciate that there was less of the "Oh, if you need stats for this guy, look at page X of the Deluxe Gamemaster's Guide", which was nice because I have the regular Gamemaster's Guide, which has different page numbers.

I know there are space constraints, but one thing that I miss in the current adventures is the list of Expertise check results for each villain since the first things my players often ask is "What does Well-Informed tell me about that guy?" or me simply wanting to quickly read off what the average person would know without risking adding in a detail that's supposed to be secret because I'm trying to skim the villain bio.
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by greycrusader »

Thank you for the compliments.
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Re: New Green Ronin adventure paths Starting with NetherWars

Post by Psion »

I just finished running Assault on the Nerian Nexus. Some of what I say here is less a critique of the product and more an analysis of me applying my GMing style, so take it for what it's worth.

I ran the adventure over 3 short (~2 hour) sessions on Saturday on Discord. Due to player responsibilities, we had a slightly different cast of characters every time. The core group were three "leveled up" teens from NW0/Hero High (Blue Bolt, Miss Kitty, and Catalyst). In sessions 1 and 3 we also had a Mister Black, a quick-gen psychic (refugee from a psychic assassins guild). Session 3 added Hal Walsh, a quick gen plainclothes mystic with a "vampire hunter" backstory. I explained adding Hal by saying he was after Dracula, but he stumbled into the mirror trap before the rest of the group (after they dealt with Dracula).

In the hall of mirrors, Hal Walsh, our urban mystic, used dimension travel to actually go *into* the mirror where Glimpse was trapped. I rolled with this idea and described a dimensionally-smashed dimension where he could better interact with the chronozoid.

The adventure did seem a little linear to me, but I'm not sure if that's a bad thing because:
1) If players are using a fresh batch of PL 10 characters, this is likely their first outing with those characters, and it will let the players focus a little more on learning their characters' personalities and abilities.
2) There is a lot of other potentially confusing stuff going on with the hall of mirrors and the reactive nature of the Nexus, no need to complicate it even more with "where now?" discussions.

I would have liked to see the actual stats for Sallah; until I recruited new players, the group actually didn't have a magic expert, and he would have been a nice NPC consultant for the group in future episodes.

I liked the presence of "mastery points" in the last scene, in particular because I think most combats need something else going on in M&M to make them something more than simply trading blows. Though I would have been happy to fiat say that Medea has at least one even if the players do better.

I also liked the presence of Glimpse and Warden. Mutants & Masterminds often doesn't present direct avenues for PC characterization, and little quandaries like this give them a chance to make decisions in ambiguous situations and gives the players a reason to reflect on their character's traits when making those decisions, and maybe bicker a little.

I have an attitude that aspects of adventures the players never learn about is largely wasted. So I leaned really heavily into putting the "alternate reality" Tom Cypress idea on the table. Since Catalyst had Eidetic Memory, I stated that she specifically remembered seeing an alternate reality Tom Cypress in the hall of mirrors, and (for the cost of a hero point) offered the players a hint about the Tom Cypress resolution. It's a nice idea that I doubt many players would think of without making it a bit obvious. The group did eventually bring the alternate reality Tom Cypress into being, but basically spent to rest of their hero points to do it (including an power stunt use by the psychic).
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