Heroes Assemble!

[Avenger Assembled]

"We're not a team. We're a time bomb!"

Preliminary planning for this one. No chuckleheads.

An unlikely team of heroes is assembled by a mysterious backer in order to defend the world from crime, in a shiny new suburban mansion just right for a potential new superhero team. Looking for 3-5 potential PCs with a preference for characters who have reasons to have conflict with each other, preferably ones with an established, active superhero identity but who also would be financially needy in a way a well-connected backer could discover. Preference for people with flashy powers like powerhouses and energy controllers, and people not particularly technologically savvy, though secret tech geniuses may be able to slip in. No juvenile PCs. Note that there is a risk of PvP in this thread because

the mysterious backer is Saturnalia Roman, working through middlemen and patsies as always. She's placed a sonic device in the basement of the mansion that will within a matter of hours drive most of the heroes there into a blind rage that will hopefully culminate in the sort of hero-on-hero violence she has always found hilarious and her wealthy investors find delightfully entertaining. The mansion is wired with streaming video cameras and Internet feeds that will broadcast "What Happens When Heroes Stop Being Polite and Start Getting Real Angry!" to a jaded audience of supervillians and their cronies, as well as to lucky hardcore fans of the Circut Maximus.

Preliminary Stats for the Mystery Mansion are:

Size: Huge; Toughness: 20; Features: Communications, Computer, Concealed, Defense System, Fire Prevention System, Garage, Holding Cells, Isolated, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Power System, Security System 2 (DC 25).

Cost: 3 + 3 + 14 = 20/20

with the additions of

Deathtraps, Powers 2 (Emotion Control 10 (Flaw: Limited [Haaaate]) + Mind Control 10 (Flaw: Limited [One Command "Smash!"]), Self-Destruct (DC 35 DMG)

[Blue Rose]

Just to be clear, is this adventure meant to actually end in a new superteam, or is that expected to remain a farce?

[Avenger Assembled]

It depends on the PCs, B_R! I could see a group deciding to stick it out despite the mansion (probably) blowing up and having been driven to hateful violence against each other for a while, I could see a group happy to see the back of each other after such an experience. Either way no permanent harm done, and they'll at least catch the bad guy.

Ooh, maybe throw in a proper English household staff who are actually

discount Foundry robots there to make things interesting

.

[SpicyWaffle]

This sounds magnificent! Bee-Keeper III's already expressed an interest on the news about joining a super-team, so this would work marvelously in his (dis)favor! Color Baxter interested. Though, I guess a number of cruxes come into play here. Baxter is, by definition, a minor, though he keeps that bit a secret obviously. He's also lacking particular reasons for strife or conflict amongst other PCs unless they're tied-in to his legacy, which I guess might be another deterrent. So I guess, yeah, unless there's a way to finagle that, that would put Bee-Keeper out of the running.

EDIT: A few other questions come to mind. If this is in the vein of a reality show, I'm guessing some 'team building' exercises will come up, no? Likely of the sort that secretly work to undermine their very nature and pit the heroes against each other. Perhaps I'm looking at this the wrong way; are we looking at a more straight-forward sort of deal? Bunch of superheroic types get suckered into the better-than-it-really-is scheme, and just given free reign of the facility as it works its mojo?

What about our host? Will it be our mysterious backer, actually present on-site to oversee the affairs personally, or some yokel sent in to do the dirty work? If/When the heroes fall prey to the ploy, what's stopping them from lashing out on the aforementioned host if one is present at all?

Another thing that I'm mildly curious about is what happens if one or more PCs fail to be enthralled. Is there a back-up plan other than "the other heroes beat em' up," or is that what sets off the 'extra features' of the manor?

EDIT 2 (Electric Boogaloo): What about the mind control deal? Is it a more subtle effect that gradually degrades the heroes' supposed camaraderie without them realizing, or is it going to be a more overt, bombastic sort of deal; plunging them immediately into a mindless, bloodthirsty battle-frenzy?

[Raveled]

Well I'm not sure how Blue Jay going to Claremont and being a minor would affect all of this, but I would totes love to throw her in here if there's room.

[Aoiroo]

Only one I could see fitting this at all is Silhouette, who is both rather poor, and has a generally awkward disposition with other heroes (read, overly blunt or forceful nature). Not sure if it matters that she has her own independant HQ, even if it is a bit rickety (it's at least forty years old, secret basement and all).