Schemes and plans for a Scientific/Technological based team

[Mr. R]

Plans for aliens from another planet or dimension-- no problem

 

Schemes for those magically inclined persons -- I can think of a few

 

Scientific/ Tech based Masterminds,  insert plans for world domination.

 

But those villain teams based around science?

 

On another thread an old villain called Beamline was mentioned, and his desire to have a world controlled by a scientific elite.  Now I can see a villain organization built around this complete with a group of mercenary agents (armed with cutting edge weaponry) and a cadre of supers.

 

BUT.....

 

What do they do?

 

What are some plans?

 

Any ideas?

[Stanley Teriaca]

57 minutes ago, Mr. R said:

 

BUT.....

 

What do they do?

Scientific experiments.

57 minutes ago, Mr. R said:

 

What are some plans?

Getting unwilling subjects for there unwilling scientific experiments. Performing said experiments, no mater the cost.

57 minutes ago, Mr. R said:

 

Any ideas?

Mass abductions among the homeless population of the campaign city. Distribution of strange weapons among the criminal underworld.. New designer drugs flooding the city streets. Respectable people acting strangly, as if hit by a mind control device. (Insert plot here.)

[Tom Cowan]

corner the market on rare earth metals for there new tech

[Stanley Teriaca]

Use huge robots to rob banks for precious metals to make  curcit boards and other devices for even more huge robots.

[Lord Liaden]

TBH I'm a little surprised you find this problematic. There's no reason the schemes by "Scientific/Tech based Masterminds" can't be applied to villain teams. One of the earliest Champions adventures, Deathstroke, revolved around the eponymous team trying to blackmail the world with a device that caused nuclear reactors around the globe to melt down. The histories of Doctor Destroyer and Mechanon are littered with such schemes.

 

The tradition of villains using technology for robbery goes back at least as far as the old Fleischer Studios animated Superman short films. E.g. giant flying robots robbing banks and other depositories of riches; a high-tech aerial "bullet car" fast enough and with strong enough armor to smash through bank vaults.

 

One of the go-to plots by tech villains is to steal advanced technology from others, to turn into weapons and equipment they can either use themselves for their crimes, or sell to others. Iron Man's "Armor Wars" story line involved him trying to confiscate powered armor based on designs stolen from him. In the CU that's a significant part of ARGENT's business model.

 

Specific schemes will often depend on the scientific specialties of the villains involved. Cyberneticists/bionicists may kidnap people to convert to cyborgs under their control. Geneticists may release a virus that mutates humans, dogs or cats, rats or raccoons, etc. into monsters as a distraction from some other activity. I assembled a team of scientifically adept eco-terrorists, Gaia's Wrath, out of published Champions solo villains, whose varied plans were inspired by the expertise of each of their members.

 

There is also no bar to converting some plots by magic villains for tech villains, just by changing the means by which their goals are achieved. For example, the Champs villain Cadaver resembles an undead monster of some kind, but his origin was actually scientific rather than supernatural. He desires to turn humans into obedient mind-controlled "zombies," but his instrument to do that is a technological "zombification pistol."

 

 

[BoloOfEarth]

I have a supervillain group in my campaign, named SCIENCE! (which stands for Society for Comprehensive Investigation and Exploration of Natural Causes and Effects).  Their primary goal is to uncover the universe's secrets, without regard to insignificant things like laws and ethics.  So their nuclear science expert, DeCay, might want to see the variety of effects caused by exposing groups of people to various levels of radiation.  Their psychiatrist / mentalist, Psyche, could conduct thought experiments like the Trolley Problem in real life, to see how people react.  Or heck, combine those and set up a nuclear reactor meltdown to see how the reactor crew / staff reacts to the impending meltdown, along with how the neighboring populace fares with the eventual release of radiation.  Though half the members have Codes Against Killing, so they would work to make sure the effects of such "experiments" aren't fully lethal.

[BoloOfEarth]

On 5/28/2024 at 6:46 PM, Stanley Teriaca said:

Use huge robots to rob banks for precious metals to make  curcit boards and other devices for even more huge robots.

 

Not trying to give you crap about spelling - I just wanted to say that when I saw "curcit" boards I mentally sounded it out as "curse-it" and found that immensely humorous.  "Damn it!  Why won't my computer work right?!"

[Stanley Teriaca]

35 minutes ago, BoloOfEarth said:

 

Not trying to give you crap about spelling - I just wanted to say that when I saw "curcit" boards I mentally sounded it out as "curse-it" and found that immensely humorous.  "Damn it!  Why won't my computer work right?!"

Auto correct can't read minds or control how thick ones thumb is.

[LoneWolf]

How about using mind control devices to gain power.   This could be disguised and something helpful like curing addictions, educating people, or making them healthier.  Don’t forget things lick psychology and sociology are also sciences.  

 

Another obvious plan would be gaining control over computer-controlled resources.  Much of our economy and infrastructure is computer controlled.  They could even gain control of companies by manipulating the stock ownership.  

 

Introducing technology that solves problems, but controlling who gets access to it.  
 

[dougmacd]

On 5/29/2024 at 12:51 AM, BoloOfEarth said:

I have a supervillain group in my campaign, named SCIENCE! (which stands for Society for Comprehensive Investigation and Exploration of Natural Causes and Effects).

 

Holy crap that's a great acronym.

 

 

Doug

Doesn't sound awkward or forced at all.

[Lord Liaden]

For my organization of scientist supremacists who sought global domination, I borrowed the name of a group briefly mentioned in an old Champions supplement, the International Scientific Elite, or ISE, which I pronounced "eyes." Because they're the ones who see most clearly, you see. 🤓

[Lord Liaden]

When the villain organization RAVEN first appeared in Aaron Alston's classic Super Agents supplement, their primary M.O. was the "Secret Plan Base." This was a facility, usually set up in some isolated location, devoted to pursuing development of a single concept for a super-weapon or similar radical breakthrough with which to blackmail the world into accepting their rule. RAVEN had multiple Secret Plan Bases running at any given time.

[BoloOfEarth]

10 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

When the villain organization RAVEN first appeared in Aaron Alston's classic Super Agents supplement, their primary M.O. was the "Secret Plan Base." This was a facility, usually set up in some isolated location, devoted to pursuing development of a single concept for a super-weapon or similar radical breakthrough with which to blackmail the world into accepting their rule. RAVEN had multiple Secret Plan Bases running at any given time.

 

When I wrote up the Malachite Islands for the Haymaker!  APA-zine (back in the 4th edition days), I put a RAVEN base there.  Even gave them a super-powered operative (Interphase, with microwave powers) who resided there.  IIRC, I had some sharing of science and technology between Malachite and RAVEN.

[Lord Liaden]

1 hour ago, BoloOfEarth said:

 

When I wrote up the Malachite Islands for the Haymaker!  APA-zine (back in the 4th edition days), I put a RAVEN base there.  Even gave them a super-powered operative (Interphase, with microwave powers) who resided there.  IIRC, I had some sharing of science and technology between Malachite and RAVEN.

 

Sounds reasonable. That reminds me of the cozy relationship between ARGENT and the fictional Middle Eastern state of Awad.

 

When dealing with a group of amoral actual scientists, you can't rule out actions by them taken for pure research purposes, just to see what would happen. For example, Teleios created an eight-foot genetically perfect human male and released it into the wilderness with no real or programmed memories, to observe how it would develop without human contact.

[Stanley Teriaca]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

When dealing with a group of amoral actual scientists, you can't rule out actions by them taken for pure research purposes, just to see what would happen. For example, Teleios created an eight-foot genetically perfect human male and released it into the wilderness with no real or programmed memories, to observe how it would develop without human contact.

And of course Teleios couldn't keep Landsman away from human contact anyways.

[Lord Liaden]

It might have worked if The Land itself hadn't intervened. The Landsman has only ever been someone's tool since before he was born.

[Stanley Teriaca]

37 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

It might have worked if The Land itself hadn't intervened. The Landsman has only ever been someone's tool since before he was born.

True. But that involves hindsight.

[DShomshak]

Speaking of Teleios... Probably the biggest project of my setting's top criminal biologiest, Helix, is The Hot Zone -- a series of caverns in Africa that he filled with synthetic life-forms. As yet, the PCs know only of the first cavern, a death trap full of organisms ranging from Lightning Trees to Plague Puffballs, protecting Helix's chief lab. Mayvbe someday they'll find the rest of the network where Helix tests possible replacement species for humanity.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Lord Liaden]

I did something similar based on a element of Mechanon's background, his periodic attempts to replace organic life forms with "robotic" analogues. He had created an entire ecosystem of self-replicating electronic "plants" and "animals," code-named Steel Eden, in a particularly harsh region of Death Valley. Both animals and plants were physically superior to, and hostile and aggressive toward organic life, and as they spread (they reproduced rapidly) would eradicate and supplant the indigenous life forms.