AlgaeNymph Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 It only gets a long paragraph each in Champions Universe 6E (p.38) and Millennium City 5E (p.43), and much has already been said about misinterpretations of the place, but what is the place like? It's a nightclub popular with heroes and groupies, there's a superhumans-only section, and upstairs private rooms (hmm~), but nothing else about the atmosphere or floor plan. I suspect the answer is "whatever fits your game" but I am curious to read about what's likely (and plausible). And very curious about those private rooms... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 It's a location you can go to in Champions Online. Look into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 3 hours ago, Greywind said: It's a location you can go to in Champions Online. Look into it. Or don't. If you've ever spent any time role-playing in an MMORPG social instance full of horny power-fantasizing adolescents... it's like that. Chris Goodwin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 It was a place I rarely frequented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlgaeNymph Posted January 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 4 hours ago, Lord Liaden said: If you've ever spent any time role-playing in an MMORPG social instance full of horny power-fantasizing adolescents... it's like that. I know how it's like in the MMORPG, thus the linked text. I mean how is it in the pen-and-paper RPG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 4 hours ago, AlgaeNymph said: I know how it's like in the MMORPG, thus the linked text. I mean how is it in the pen-and-paper RPG? It's however you want it to be. It is whatever you decide it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 5 hours ago, AlgaeNymph said: I know how it's like in the MMORPG, thus the linked text. I mean how is it in the pen-and-paper RPG? Probably a lot like it is in the game only replace the adolescents with twenty-somethings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 11 hours ago, AlgaeNymph said: I know how it's like in the MMORPG, thus the linked text. I mean how is it in the pen-and-paper RPG? AFAIK the info in the books you cited is all that's been released for that side of the setting. I'm not aware of any published exchanges in the club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlgaeNymph Posted January 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 3 hours ago, Lord Liaden said: AFAIK the info in the books you cited is all that's been released for that side of the setting. I'm not aware of any published exchanges in the club. 10 hours ago, steriaca said: It's however you want it to be. It is whatever you decide it is. About what I figured, but it's in my nature to exhaustively make sure. If nothing else, it's something for the search engines to find. Thanks again. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 It's actually interesting to see how the definition of Club Caprice has changed between Fifth and Sixth Edition. Take the following passage from the 5E book Millennium City, p. 43: "One restaurant/club thriving on its superhuman cachet is Club Caprice, an upscale cocktail club in Rivertown owned by Lewis (Masquerade I) Frey, a thief and master of disguise who battled Black Mask in Chicago in the 1950s and ’60s. The Mask defeated Frey in 1971 and sent him to jail. He got out in 1985, and after apprenticing in a couple of Chicago restaurants opened Caprice in 1995. With clever marketing and deft menu planning, he maneuvered the Caprice into one of the genuine hot spots of Millennium City. Part of the Caprice’s popularity derives from the frisson of danger patrons get from dining in the establishment of a known supervillain. Rumors say shady deals and criminal activity go on in the private rooms upstairs at Club Caprice, and Nighthawk reportedly watches the place closely." And then, from the GM's Vault of the same book, p. 97: "The rumors are just that — Frey is truly retired. He just goes out of his way to foster the notion that untoward things go on at his club, especially to the press, to keep his patrons pleasantly on edge. The idea has taken such deep root, however, that some criminals have begun hanging out at the Caprice. Frey may soon find himself playing with fire." Now compare the description of CC from p. 38 of the 6E version of Champions Universe: "The two primary socializing spots for superheroes take very different approaches to resolving that problem. The first is Club Caprice, located in one of the buildings in the City Center complex of Millennium City. Parts of Caprice are open to the public in general (and are very popular, especially with “hero groupies” hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite “cape”). But other parts are off-limits to anyone who doesn’t have superpowers. Built by Trans-City Construction to be extra-durable, equipped with security devices designed by Dr. Silverback, and staffed by extremely competent personnel (several of whom have low-level superpowers themselves), Club Caprice is the perfect place for a hero to unwind. It’s jumping nearly every night of the week, though things don’t really “get started” until after most heroes have finished patrolling their cities and decided to stop by for a drink. A few socially acceptable villains, such as Lady Blue, have even been allowed in from time to time." I'm practically certain the change was made after the sale of the Champions IP to Cryptic Studios, to conform to their vision of what they wanted to use Caprice for in Champions Online. However, I gave some thought as to how one could reconcile the transition within continuity. What I would propose is that criminal elements did start to make Club Caprice more of a regular hangout, in turn leading heroes to frequent it more often to investigate their activities. Lewis Frey may even have passed information on to the heroes about particularly dangerous criminal activities, earning him some respect and goodwill. As a consequence, superheroes began frequenting the club more often just to relax and enjoy themselves. That inspired Frey to make Caprice an establishment catering especially to superheroes, redesigned to accommodate their special security concerns and the need to protect civilian patrons. Mind you, in play in Champions Online the club doesn't cater just to superheroes and normal restaurant-goers. The PCs who frequent it include many vigilantes, supervillains, and outright monsters, as the fiction by Scott Bennie that AlgaeNymph linked to highlights. I'm afraid it's just a reality that players of a MMORPG are going to play what they want, regardless of whether or not it makes sense within the game's setting. Besides a frequent maturity level less than adult, the online game's clientele also includes a high percentage of gamers with little to no experience with the comic-book genre and its themes and tropes. They often come to CO from other computer RPGs, particularly in the fantasy genre, where such characters are common. (I've noticed quite a few elves and wizards in CO as well.) AlgaeNymph 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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