Thread: The Investigators vs. Eternia!

The intrepid PCs intervene moments too late to stop the cultists' ritual. A gate to elsewhere opens. But things don't turn out exactly as the evil Professor Simonton, the heroes' recurring nemesis, planned. Instead of contacting the Plain of Leng or the Nameless City or Unknown Kadath, the cosmic portal leads to ... Eternia. Yeah, that Eternia. Suddenly Skeletor and his minions are loose in 1920s Boston (or wherever your campaign is set), and it is up to the player-characters to stop him. He-Man's stuck in his own dimension, puzzled but relieved to get a break from the Big Bad's endless schemes.

Skeletor's got high-tech gadgetry, a sorceress, and mutant musclemen on his side. (So far, par for the course for a typical CoC encounter.) His energy weapons and vehicles will eventually run out of juice and ammo, and he'll have difficulty compensating with Twenties Earth tech. As usual, his ambition exceeds his competence and that of his goons, who may have their own agendas. On the other hand, there are surely mouldering tomes and ancient artifacts in the adventurers' world that could prove useful to him.

Could it work? Magical super villains might make an interesting break from the usual Mythos opponents. On the other hand, CoC focuses on suspense and mystery, and subtlety isn't Skeletor's strong suite. Try keeping this one out of the papers, guys.

You sir, have failed one too many SAN rolls.

So, Skeletor is all about scheming and consolidating power. The problem is he’s about as subtle as a hammer to the skull.

If he shows up, he’s going to assess the scene. If he’s impressed, he’s going to want whoever is present to take them to whoever’s in charge. If he’s unimpressed, he’s going to loudly set up shop. There’s room here for Skeletor to be swept up by a government agency, keyed in conglomerated corporation or a secret society.

It’s very possible he shows up and makes a big noise, resulting in military action. Skeletor’s not above running tail between legs when he’s outclassed, so there might be a big dust up, Skeletor retreats, reassesses the situation, then makes his move.

Skeletor is fine with entering into alliances with those he views as equals or betters as he’s got an angle on betraying them anyway. If Skeletor lands, he’s going to be very loud. A Skeletor event is likely to destroy a large city or two or a small country or two.

Evil Lyn is much more circumspect. She’s more likely to blend in, take stock, and then start with the nasty sorcery. If she lands without Skeletor, she might construct a ritual to bring him through to Earth. Alternatively, she might decide to leave the bonehead and set up shop herself.

If she decides to bring Skeletor over, it’s likely because she wants to use his raw power to consolidate gains herself. There’s plenty of fun to be had with Evil Lyn as the head of a new cult as she pulls together the resources to open a dimensional gate. Should she ignore Skeletor, she’d likely focus on building her power base. She had a few infernal contacts in Eternia, she might want to make some on Earth.

Evil Lyn is powerful and dangerous and Skeletor knows it. Should she disappear, he’s likely to get paranoid and start looking for her. Skeletor might make his way to Earth whether Evil Lyn wants him to know about it or not.

If they come over together, Evil Lyn might get Skeletor to think a bit more before blowing things up. They would likely be a lot more dangerous to the PCs but would also provide an avenue for the PCs to play one against the other.

Also, in the old comics, Evil Lyn was really Evelin Powers, an astronaut that crashed on Eternia in Queen Marlena’s space ship. Evil Lyn would have Earth knowledge and be very dangerous.

Now, if one or more of the goons show up with Skeletor or Evil Lyn, they’re likely to go along with whatever plan is put forth. On their own, they could be a lot of fun too. Much less planning and much more terrorizing. Easier to take down as well.

I would suspect that if I sprung this on a group that hadn’t bought into the premise, I should be very wary of thrown objects.

"I would suspect that if I sprung this on a group that hadn’t bought into the premise, I should be very wary of thrown objects."

The key might be just to have the plot thread begin, confront the PCs with an encounter or two, without naming names but vividly describing their opponents' appearances and the consequences of the baddies' actions (as you would with any unknown CoC monster). See how long it takes for the group to figure it out, if they ever do.

Plus you've got Professor Simonton, the local bad guy, too. Will he join forces with the newcomers, worshiping them as gods? Pretend to be subservient while scheming to gain arcane power from the visitors? Or will he rally his cultists against these unwanted rivals, possibly seeking the PCs as allies against this new, greater threat to his long-term plans?

Yeah, it always occurred to me that Evil-Lyn was powerful enough to have set up shop for herself. Why she always chose to turn over awesomely powerful magic items to Skeletor after first testing them out herself had me scratching my head. Loyalty among thieves? It couldn't have been old Skull Face's good looks. As to the other typical members of the crew:

Beast Man -- He's got bestial strength, senses, and agility as well as the ability to talk to and control animals. Not the brightest tool in the box, he's still an excellent stalker and tracker, uses technology freely, and has plenty of ambition. He tends to react emotionally rather than thinking things through. Although always intimidated by Skeletor, he'd be the minion most likely to turn on his boss and stab him in the back if he thought he could get away with it. Other than Mer-Man, he's the most likely to come off as a typical CoC monster at first ... except he's got plans to make himself Somebody.

Mer-Man -- Typical Deep One type, except he can speak plain English and has pretensions of being King of the Sea (like Aquaman or the Submariner). Like Beast Man, he resents Skeletor's domination. He's less likely to buck the big boss directly however, more liable to run off to the depths and start his own projects. Ironically, although he loves water, he hates mud as he was forever being tossed into deep puddles of it by He-Man. He carries either a trident or a magic sword that can shoot water like a fire hose. Instead of seeking a human mate or sacrifices, Mer-Man is likely to collect some goons of his own and begin to boss folks around and steal things ... like a typical '20s gangster boss.

Trap Jaw -- Cyborg, master inventor and weaponsmith, his missing right forearm is an attachment point for his various devices. He also has heavy metal jaws which presumably could be used to bite people a la the James Bond villain Jaws (although the cartoon never had him attempt this). Despite his genius, he's a follower, subservient and loyal to Skeletor. How he'd make do with local Earth gear would be interesting. He'd be a scary but much more comprehensible opponent for the PCs, sort of a cross between the Terminator and Lex Luthor but with less brains when it came to pulling off his schemes. Plus his gadgets, awesome when they work, don't always function exactly as planned.

Tri-Klops -- A muscular swordsman with a rotating helmet with three lenses that give him super vision and the occasional ability to shoot energy beams. He presumably has dark hair and a normal pair of eyes beneath. Tri-Klops is mere hired muscle, but he is strong enough to toss around boulders and never questions Skeletor.

There were many more evil minions, most of them robotic or animal-like humanoids, but these were the main, original goons. On the other hand, perhaps some of the lesser-known antagonists would make better CoC opponents if you play up the scary and play down the gimmickiness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rse_characters

Besides, what's truly more scary -- facing the Mythos or re-living your '80s childhood?

Well, Evil Lyn knows Skeletor's got the raw power. That's why she rolls in skull's crew. She might call him over because she wants to do some strong arming of Earth. She might call him over because it would stretch him too thin and she could then double cross him.

She might be the one contacting the players. Skelemeister could be in transdimensional psychic contact wiht Professor Simonton to set up the Earth end of the portal to bring Skeletor to Earth. Evil Lyn might just be happy being the mystic big dog on Earth and might want this stopped.

Don't get me wrong, I behind your idea all the way. Just be ready for the groans and the hurled objects.

Originally Posted by seneschal

Besides, what's truly more scary -- facing the Mythos or re-living your '80s childhood?

And at the end of the session, you should do a recap stressing the valuable life lesson learned.

"And at the end of the session, you should do a recap stressing the valuable life lesson learned."

Heh, heh. Watching some Filmation episodes (He-Man, Bravestarr) back-to-back, even the villains sometimes got into the act, essentially saying, "Don't be like me." I don't know how players would react, but it would be appropriate.

Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman should really all have cameos if you ever do this.

Originally Posted by Max_Writer

Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman should really all have cameos if you ever do this.

Naw, all my campaigns are G-rated, or at least the cleaner side of PG. Besides, isn't Kenny ... dead?

In any event, here's initial flavor text for a Skeletor write-up. I've tried to make him a little more mysterious and menacing as befits a CoC monster. I'll probably use the super powers rules instead of sorcery when building him since he just points and shoots like a Polaroid camera, no incantations, spell books or nasty spell components needed. Even the artifacts he collects act more like technological power tools than magic items. They each do one thing reliably without a lot of fuss or preparation, only they never run out of ammo or battery power.

The Hooded One

The sinister schemer known as The Hooded One is a power-hungry would-be conqueror seeking to enslave whatever worlds and beings he encounters. A master of arcane knowledge, he employs both weird science and sorcery to achieve his ends. He’s equally comfortable turning foes into frogs or sending robotic soldiers against them. Despite the fantastic abilities he has accrued during his long quest for universal dominance, The Hooded One is at heart a bully and a coward. He blithely threatens his minions but hesitates to strike a competent opponent until he can be sure of having an unquestionable advantage. Not content with gathering power a little at a time, The Hooded One is forever in search of the ultimate gadget or magic item which will enable him to seize his target in one fell swoop. He’ll opt for a grand, convoluted master plan when simpler, slower, or quieter methods might serve him better.

The Hooded One rarely tackles opponents one-on-one. He almost always is accompanied by up to five subservient minions, each of whom has powers and ambitions of his (or her) own. This goon squad is occasionally augmented by The Hooded One’s robotic “knights,” squat hovering cylinders equipped with grasping mechanical arms and laser projectors. The Hooded One usually has his minions attack first, stepping in once he’s assessed the situation.

Although he displays numerous abilities, The Hooded One most commonly fires magical blasts from his hands. These can damage or immobilize a foe, or control the victim’s mind. He also can teleport and isn’t ashamed to abandon minions and allies when the tide of battle turns against him. (When in a more generous frame of mind, he can teleport his allies with him.) The Hooded One proudly brandishes a staff as long as he is tall and topped by a ram’s skull, which he is loathe to part with. However, his magic powers seem to function perfectly well whether he has it in his possession or not. He also variously carries a sword, a double-headed axe with a crystal ball embedded in the top, or an energy pistol. The arch-villain inevitably has some sort of hold-out weapon or device hidden upon his person which he can pull out when defeat seems certain. Since he’s normally almost naked, the ability to conceal these items is apparently yet another evidence of his mystic prowess.

A tall, muscular humanoid, The Hooded One possesses the blue skin and clawed fingers and toes of a Hindu divinity. His face is a yellowed skull, which sits within a voluminous hood without visible neck, although his head movements are normal. His Stygian eye sockets glow red when he is excited or angry. In addition to the hood, kept in place by a chest harness, he wears a matching breechcloth. He occasionally complements these with knee-length boots and/or a flowing cloak.

Despite his impressive appearance, The Hooded One’s voice is high-pitched and rather squeaky, possibly as a result of the injuries that destroyed his face. He has a tendency to throw back his head and cackle maniacally when he’s sure he has the upper hand.

No Battlecat???

Originally Posted by Max_Writer

Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman should really all have cameos if you ever do this.

Don't forget the raging clues.

Originally Posted by eric71

No Battlecat???

Skeletor rides a purple great cat called Panthor, Battlecat's evil equivalent (but without the headgear). But he's equally as likely to ride one of Trap Jaw's hover sleds or simply teleport where he wants to go. Apparently he's not fond of aerobic exercise. For my final write-up, I'll probably have to include supplemental write-ups for The Hooded One's feline mount and his robot guards.