This material was originally developed in 1999-2000 as a supplement for Gold Rush Games’ San Angelo. This book was supposed to be part of a line of GRG projects that were going to support the eminent release of Pulp Hero. Unfortunately, Pulp Hero got massively delayed and wasn’t actually published until 2005, so the project got killed. I’ve done some minor reworking of the original pitch document here to present a setting that could be easily used with Pulp Hero, the Trinity Continuum’s Adventure, or any number of other pulp adventure RPGs.

One thing I would recommend: The original material was written to be compatible with the extant background elements of the Argonaut Society described in the history of San Angelo. If you were actually going to run this material, I’d recommend ditching the existing roster of Argonaut members and their exploits, rewind the timeline, and set up the PCs as the core of the Society, with their globe-trotting expeditions slowly uncovering the secret history of Atlantis and Lemuria.

The flux radiation caused by the creation of singularities did not result solely in the creation of superhumans. Their ability to wildly effect the laws of nature and make the improbable probable, stretching through time itself, has lead not only to the creation of supers, but the realization of some of the wildest fantasies. In the world of San Angelo not only can men fly and women learn the ways of sorcery, but the pyramids truly possess mystic powers; Atlantis sank beneath the ocean waves millenia ago; dinosaurs and woolly mammoths still roam in forgotten valleys; and enclaves of ancient civilizations exist unto the present day, preserved in isolation. To explore these strange and wondrous places, the improbabilites of flux radiation have also created a group of elite explorers – the Argonaut Society.

The men and women of the Argonaut Society captured the hearts and minds of a generation. They were the best of the best when it came to exploration in the modern era. Their membership boasts an amazing number of World Records and major achievements. They were the first to scale some of the tallest mountains in the world, the first to make contact with ancient tribal societies, the first to uncover the most spectacular archaeological sites ever discovered. These exploits, particularly by their founder Tyler North, imprinted them in the memory of millions.

But there is another side to the Argonaut Society, a side which the wider public remains ignorant of even to the modern day: The exploration of the fantastic; things which dwell only within the pulp literature of the real world. To understand how such things could exist it must be understood that there was an age of prehistory, driven by the pre-effects of flux radiation, in which mankind achieved heights of technology and mysticism which was both superior to our own science and also alien to our way of thought. This Age of Advanced Prehistory (as members of the Society came to refer to it) lasted a millennia and ended with the sinking of Atlantis beneath the waves.  The great civilizations of Egypt and Babylonia, thought by most to be the dawn of western civilization, were actually nothing but the dim remnants of the proud Atlantean and Lemurian civilizations.

The Age of Advanced Prehistory continues to affect mankind down to the present day. The mythic Camelot truly existed, made possible through the wizardry of Merlin – one of the few Atlanteans to survive to the modern day. The Bermuda Triangle is nothing more than an effect of the sunken continent of Atlantis. Magicians trace their heritage back to the Egyptian Priests of Na’toth.

REALMS OF THE FANTASTIC

Atlantis and Lemuria: Atlantis and Lemuria were the hegemonic powers of the Age of Advanced Prehistory (also known as the Atlantean or Lemurian Age). The continent of Atlantis was found in the modern day Atlantic; the continent of Lemuria in the Pacific. They were the greatest civilizations mankind has ever known and the vistas of the world were spread out beneath them. But they were also the greatest of enemies, and their conflict would end their millennia-long hegemonic rise and return the world to primitive darkness. Atlantis and Lemuria both slipped beneath the waves of the sea, reduced to ruin. The majority of their citizenry were placed in some form of suspended animation, although some used their science to adapt to life under water and served as caretakers to the rest. The citizens of Atlantis would be briefly awakened (historically speaking) by the Argonaut Society, allowing for some Atlantean heroes to make an appearance during the Golden Age. Both Atlantis and Lemuria, however, are on the verge of awaking entirely from their 5000 year sleep; prophecies gleaned from their crystalline time-viewers have posted the date of their rise to 2012.

The Lost Valley: On the continent of Antarctica there exists a lost valley of creatures whose time upon this world was supposed to have ended millions of years ago. It is certainly possible that members of the Argonaut Society successfully reached this place before Tyler North’s fateful (and final) mission.  As for North’s true fate following his disappearance, the Society has never been able to determine it. The icy entrance they originally used to gain access to the Valley collapsed, and no other entrance has been found.

Forgotten Civilizations: The Argonaut Society has discovered enclaves of several ancient societies, often found among inhospitable mountain valleys or the depths of primeval jungles, but also sometimes within stable time pockets established by Lemurian dimensional scientists for as-yet-undetermined purposes. These prominently include Mayan, Incan, and Tibetan socities (including the one destroyed by a volcano in 1928).

The Ruins of Camelot: The legends are true. Arthur, son of Uther, did arise to the throne of Camelot with the help of the mysterious wizard Merlin. Merlin was a son of Atlantis who survived its destruction and Camelot was his attempt to bring that wonder back to the world. Morgan Le Fey, on the other hand, was a daughter of Lemuria and attempted to seize that dream from Merlin and Arthur – resulting in the destruction of it all. As a result of their final mystic battle the ruins of Camelot slipped partially out of this reality. Now it reappears, from time to time and in various locations.

The Bermuda Triangle: The Triangle is the result of forgotten Atlantean technology. The Argonaut Society attempted to understand the phenomenon better after they lost one of their own to it. Although they regained their missing member, they were unsuccessful in powering down the machinery behind the Triangle.

Egyptian Pyramids: Pyramids were one of the architectural trademarks of the Atlanteans and Lemurians, and their influence can still be seen in some of the great stoneworks around the world. Egypt, in particular, was a place many of the Atlanteans fled to (just as the Mayan and Incan civilizations were born from the refugee movements of the Lemurians). The Egyptian Pyramids are centers of power and the Great Pyramid (which wasn’t built by Cheops at all, but was a remnant of Atlantis itself) contains many hidden passages in which ancient secrets are kept.

Stone Circles: The stone circles of England – the most famous one, of course, being Stonehenge – were actually built by the Druidic traditions and have some important connection to stellar motion. The Druidic traditions were a confused ideological mix of primitive superstition and Atlantean technology and mysticism. Although the Society has had several interesting run-ins with the circles they’ve never been successful at completely understanding their secrets.

Center of the Earth: While exploring the Tibetan steppes explorer Tyler North came across local legends of a forgotten tribe which lived beneath the surface of the mountains. Although North knew that many such legends are nothing more than rural superstition, he also knew (from personal experience, no less) that they often had a grain of truth. He returned later that year with a group of dedicated society members. Passing through a maze of caveworks which seemed to descend ever deeper into the subterranean world, North and his band of explorers eventually emerged into what appeared to be the hollowed out center of the globe in the middle of which floated a small sun – a world at the Center of the Earth.

Amazed by this seeming contradiction of modern science North spent over a month exploring the strange and amazing cultures found there. Eventually he discovered that he was not truly within the Center of the Earth, but the center of some other planetoid which was somehow linked to our Earth through various subterranean passages. All of this was powered by the great tree Ygg, which served as some form of mystical conduit between our worlds. North was planning a future exploration to this place to learn more, but after his disappearance the plans were postponed. World War II permanently set them to one side.

Far Side of the Moon and Mars. Although the details remain unclear, the Atlanteans and Lemurians did seem to possess some form of travel between the stars. They formed habitable zones on both the far side of the moon and the Martian surface.

TOMORROW: Mysterious Artifacts, Strange Creatures, and Secret Societies!

Go to Part 1

San Angelo, like the rest of the world, is very different in the year 2070.

The most noticeable change, of course, are the two arcologies which now dominate the area. These massive structures were erected by the massive conglomerate corporations which came to dominate the world economy in the aftermath of the war. They are controlled ecologies, designed in response to the worsening conditions of the outside world. Like the gated communities of the late-20^th century they are the result of those with power and resources wishing to control the environment in which they live, free from the influences of those people and things which they consider to be “negative”. Like the corporate towns of the 19^th century they are a way for companies to exert massive amounts of control over the lives of their employees.

In the early part of the 21^st century Stephen Bow – also known as the supervillain Photon – succeeded in taking over Eclipse Industries. Bow proved adept at charting a course through the turbulent times and succeeded, through means both legal and illegal, in guiding Eclipse Industries to a preeminent position in the global marketplace. After swallowing up many other regional companies, Eclipse Industries was one of the pioneers of the arcology concept. Initially the idea was sold as a public works project designed to reclaim the urban areas which were disintegrating under the economic and population pressures placed on it. Later Bow would take advantage of his political ties in a time of increasing destabilization to put Eclipse Industries in place as the sole owner and authority over the arcology – cementing the company as a preminent power in the region. Bow died in 2050. The company is now run by his son, Christopher. Christopher inherited his father’s superpowers and adopted the moniker Neutron when supers began to reappear.

During this same time the only company which came even close to keeping pace with Bow and Eclipse Industries was Orion Labs, run and operated by Franklin Colt. As the local economy slowly disintegrated Colt found himself forced unwillingly into a position of direct competition with Stephen Bow, a person he considered contemptible. He had little choice, however, because without the continuing strength of Orion Labs – maintained primarily through Colt’s adeptness at landing military contracts during the war – Eclipse Industries would have quickly beome the sole corporate interest in the area (a trend which was being followed in most of the urban centers around the country). Colt eventually even embraced the emerging arcology concept – due to his influence, however, the Orion Arcology remains the largest member of the ANAA, primarily because of the miles-long park and nature rehabilitation area which runs down its center (known as Central Park). Colt supposedly died in 2012 during an accident in his laboratory. Unknown to all except a select few, Colt’s research was an attempt to expand on the work of Hal Revette. An accident in Colt’s experiments caused the instability in the singularity which would eventually cause it to collapse. His son, Laurence, took over the company. Laurence made some bad choices during his tenure and lost controlling interest of the company, which is now run by the board of directors. Laurence was killed under mysterious circumstances in 2067. His daughter, Elizabeth, is attempting to retake control of the company, which has broken down into several different factions which are largely unaware of what the others are doing.

Elizabeth, for her part, was the one who reopened her grandfather’s research into Revette Singularities as a potential energy source. In 2064 she succeeded in creating a stable singularity which could be harnessed for energy production. Much to her surprise, however, this action resurrected her grandfather – who had been saturated with flux radiation and captured in a pocket dimension during his accident. So far Franklin’s existence has been concealed, but he is secretly helping Elizabeth to retake the company. Franklin is also helping his granddaughter in another way: He has the ability to channel flux energy directly, but only through a secondary host. With his help, Elizabeth has assumed the identity of Sunflare.

THE OUT-TOWNS

Urban areas outside of the arcologies have come to be known by the term “out-towns”. In most cases these areas have been almost wholly abandoned by the corporate interests within the arcologies, except insofar as they are either necessary to provide necessary supplies, serve as markets, or act as potential threats. The dynamics of the inter-corporate interplay between the Orion and Eclipse Arcologies, along with several other factors, means that the out-towns of San Angelo are a little more rife with activity than might otherwise be the case. The one thing both arcologies can agree on, however, is that the out-towns cannot be allowed to descend into complete chaos. Corporate Security forces (known as CorpSec), therefore, are the law of the land. CorpSec is only concerned with maintaining the law insofar as it supports the corporate interests. If you’re poor and without anything of value, going to CorpSec is probably a waste of your time.

The area known as Old San Angelo during the late 20^th century is now a ghost town living in the northern shadow of the Eclipse arcology, seeing only the briefest glimpses of sunlight. The sole residents are the biker gangs known as the Rovers. Although these gangs are often thought of collectively, in truth they are composed of many different “clans” – sharing a common cultural base, it is certain, but also possessed of wide divergences, allegiances, and interests.

On the other side of the Eclipse Arcology, just south of the old city border, is the area of town known as the Shacks. The Shacks were originally the site of the tent camps which are formed up at the end of the Third World War. Since then some formalization has taken place – the tents have been replaced largely by wooden shacks and shanties of various varieties – but the overall living conditions in this wide expanse of slums is downright primitive. Common conveniences such as plumbing and electricity are absent from large expanses of the area.

Nestled between the two arcologies are the Shadows. This neighborhood retains many of the original buildings which would have been found here in the San Angelo today. Although little new building has taken place, the Shadows are possessed of some technological sophistication – largely due to the fact that they are home to the most of the San Angelo underworld of 2070. The old Riverfront remains as part of the Shadows, but has sunken to new levels.

During its construction the Eclipse Arcology displaced the residents of Chinatown, which has ceased to exist. Most of the members of this community ended up moving to Poverty Gulch, whose residents were generally moving into the new arcology. This area became known as Little China and inherited the spirit of Chinatown; a reputation which it maintains to this day.

Where the old Government Center and East Side neighborhood stood is now Hightown. Here can be found those corporate interests which are still independent from Eclipse Industries and Orion Labs. Such areas in other North American communities are generally composed almost strictly of branch offices of other arcologies which have an interest in keeping close relations with the local companies, but in the case of San Angelo several subsidiary megacorporations have managed successfully over the decades to play the interests of Eclipse and Orion (as well as others) off each other, maintaining their independence.

In the 2050s Eclipse Industries created the Out Towns Housing Project (OTHP) in an effort to gain some control over the chaos of the out-towns by creating tightly controlled housing projects. Brackett Park became the center of this project. The old buildings were razed and largely replaced with clone-like apartment buildings which resembled nothing so much as rows of concrete blocks. Although the OTHP still ostensibly exists, it is rife with corruption. The entire project has become a disaster, in many ways attracting specifically those types of individuals whose behavior was supposed to be discouraged and controlled by the effort.

Most of the rest of the city is a patchwork of various sorts, with two important exceptions. The University area has become a heavily guarded compound – maintained primarily so that corporate brats can take advantage of its facilities. The La Vista neighborhood, on the other hand, has become the ritzy area of town. Executives who want it and can afford it have purchased massive estates in the area, which is tightly guarded by a special security force.

BEYOND THE CITY

The urban areas which previously surrounded San Angelo have been largely deserted. Individual farmers or organized collectives occasionally attempt to make out a meager living on the rural land, but they are constantly harassed by roving bands of raiders. North America has turned inward onto itself – the rural areas abandoning themselves to the urban centers and the urban centers, in turn, abandoning themselves to the corporate arcologies. A few notable exceptions should be noted, however.

The Oro Dam has become the central headquarters of the Undergang. The Undergang is an anti-corporate militia army of sorts. Although it would be nice to think that they are united in their opposition, they actually spend almost as much time fighting amongst themselves over what their true goals are than they do fighting corporate interests. Some believe that mankind should be removed from the face of the world entirely; others want to retreat to nature; some embrace terror tactics and others do not; a large group (with the majority of control) imagines a return to the glory days of the United States of America when a constitutional government ruled over all (what their particular version of those glory days might be, however, tends to vary wildly as well). Whatever their differences, however, Undergang is united in their hatred of the corporate arcologies and well organized enough to produce their own counter-propaganda and similar efforts. The Undergang is also notable for their formation of the Low Riders, a group of “lawmen” who attend to those who CorpSec ignores.

The Canfield Indian Rancheria has become a land unto itself. Following the aftermath of the Third World War it became a gathering point for many local Indian tribes. Since then it has gained an enclosing cement wall with constantly manned guard posts. Few outsiders are allowed inside the walls. Those that do enter and return speak of a highly communal, cooperative society – but one which is wary of letting the chaos of the outside world within their walls. The residents of Canfield are extreme isolationists.

Finally, Lakeview was the site of the last major showdown of the Pogroms. The supers who refused to either quietly disappear or surrender to government forces made their final stand here. Much of the town was destroyed in this final confrontation and was never rebuilt.

Today San Angelo has again captured the heart and mind of the world as it has resumed its role as the center of superhuman activities. The supers are idealized by many around the globe as the bright hope of the future (although some of those hopes have been dashed with the assassination of Savior). The Neo Justice Foundation has its main headquarters in London, the capital of the new League of Nations; but its primary field branch is located in San Angelo and they are often seen in the city. The New Liberty Corps, rumored to have been founded by a super who somehow survived the pogroms and all the chaos which followed, has become the hometown team, so to speak. The Rogue Squadron also makes San Angelo their home, but are still generally mistrusted by the general public. Although many supers have appeared elsewhere, San Angelo has been home to the largest number of appearances – a fact no doubt connected to the fact the new singularity is being secretly maintained by Elizabeth Colt in the Orion Arcology.

The Third Age of Heroes has come to the world and a new light has appeared upon the horizon. The question which must be answered is whether that light will be embraced… or snuffed out.

In 1998, the sadly defunct Gold Rush Games published Patrick Sweeney’s excellent San Angelo, a wonderfully detailed superhero city supplement for Hero. (You can read my 1999 review of the book here.) For a very long time, I was under the impression that this fantastic supplement had become completely unavailable. But I recently became aware that it is, in fact, available through DriveThruRPG in a version adapted for Mutants & Masterminds and the Action! system. That discovery, in turn, caused me to go digging through my archives and dig out the proposal I wrote for a San Angelo 2070 supplement back in 1999 or 2000. That project ended up going nowhere, but the proposal was quite detailed and I think you might find it of interest.

My goal with San Angelo 2070 was to combine the superhero genre with the techno-corporate elements of cyberpunk to create a setting which would evoke Marvel’s 2099 comics, the various mutant futures (such as Days of Future Past), and Machine Man; a number of DC’s Elseworlds titles; the then-recent Jack-in-the-Box storylines for Kurt Busiek’s Astro City; and similar supehero fare. However, I also wanted the setting to possess the strengths of San Angelo itself — a living, believable, detailed setting where the supers aren’t the only important characters.

San Angelo 2070 takes a look at the future of San Angelo. A future plagued by famine and war, this is the future which Ren Westlake and another mysterious time traveler fled in order to return to their past, our present. This future is merely one possible future for the world of San Angelo – Westlake and the other time traveler may introduce changes which will completely alter the outcome of history – but it is a fascinating one which time travelers might visit or in which an entire campaign might even be set. The heroes of the late-20^th century are gone, their memory fading amidst the famines, wars, and plagues which have cursed this dystopian future. Their successors are nothing but a dawning hope.

GLOBAL FUTURE HISTORY

2002. NATO and the UN intervenes when the small eastern European country of Haradika invades the neighboring nations of Salavar and Tehtan and engages in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the ethnic populations of Salavs and Tehts.

2004. The Salavar Peace Accords fall apart when a rogue superhero assassinates a Haradikan official in the name of the Salavan Liberation.

2005. NATO succeeds in overthrowing the Haradikan government with the help of the Justice Foundation. A regional government is put into place, but it is subservient to UN command.

2007. Haradikan nationalists, having raised their anger to a fever pitch by inciting the global domination over their homeland, declare themselves a sovereign nation once more. A newly resurgent Russia sides with the Harads, along with Syria. The so-called “Syrian Initiative” is soon joined by a hodgepodge collection of Middle Eastern nations. The world begins to draw lines.

2009. After two years of tense international relations the Haradans reveal a new development. Spurred on by the humiliation of their armed forces seven years earlier by the Justice Foundation they have engaged in a series of secret genetic tests, creating an elite force of uber-soldiers: The Haradan Saviors, supers loyal to a Greater Haradika. After several months of propaganda touting their new heroes, the Saviors begin a genocidal purge of the ethnic Salavs, earning the moniker “Haradan Savages” by those on the opposing side.

2010. Hesitant to engage a superforce, the world pauses as the Salavs are slaughtered. American superheroes succeed in destroying the research which created the Haradan Savages. Without the threat of new uber-soldiers being produced, the world finally responds. World War III ensues.

2013. After three years of war Haradika and her allies are losing badly. They engage in a limited nuclear strike, bringing the war to an end, but wreaking havoc on the global environment and creating vast stretches of radioactive wasteland. The superpowers are no more – Russia has been broken in half (roughly along the line of occupied territory); China has fallen into disarray, ruled over by feudal warlords; Europe has endured much during the war; America suffered heavily from the nuclear strikes, rendering it into a much more provincial place. Soldiers returning home from the war bring with them the First Plague, a biological virus with a prolonged incubation time.

2014. Although most of the Savages were killed during the war, one of them, having been driven insane, goes to London and engages in a massive killing spree. Thousands die. Combined with the horrific consequences of super activity during the war this event triggers the Pogroms – a systematic attempt to rid the world of unlicensed supers. Unbeknownst to anyone the singularity which had fueled the second age of heroes was becoming unstable and would soon collapse.

2017. A cure is finally designed for the First Plague (still known as the Great Plague), but this is only followed by more hardship. Food reserves established during the war run out and failing agricultural lands throughout the world are no longer capable of providing food for the population. Africa, in particular, is struck by severe famine.

2020. The Pogroms come to an end – supers are, for all practical purposes, eliminated from the world.

2021. A combination of global population declines and scientific advances allow for the problems of famine to be mitigated, but not entirely. Massive war debts and the decade-long degradation of industry has bankrupted almost all of the nation states. As a result regional governments gain increasing amounts of authority, particularly in the United States.

2025. The international community has broken down. Tribal warfare plagues Africa; Europe has engaged in multiple border skirmishes; Russia has disintegrated into a set of squabbling political ideologies; China is ruled over by feudal, anarcho-communist / pseudo-capitalist warlords; South America has been severely depopulated by continued famine; North America has regionalized with the national governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States becoming increasingly weaker. The UN continues to exist, but less than half of the nations are recognized as current members. Into this chaos came the Second Plague. Developed as a biological weapon somewhere in China no one is even sure which brushfire war it was unleashed during, but was soon out of control on a global scale.

2028. Corporations in America develop a cure to the Second Plague, but negotiate sovereignty in exchange for it. A weakened United States government collapses within the year and corporate arcologies became the supreme authorities of the land. The UN is disbanded.

2032. A mutated strain of the Second Plague incubates in the African jungles. The Third Plague devastates Africa before burning itself out.

2039. The Alliance of North American Arcologies (ANAA) is formed. While not being a true government, it does provide a central decision making body through which corporate cooperation can be forged.

2042. The Northwestern League of Russian States launches an imperial campaign to reforge the lost glory of the Russia’s heritage.

2046. The remaining Russian States form the Eastern Russian Alliance (ERA).

2047. ANAA invades South America to secure natural resources. Although they meet with some success at first, the campaign quickly bogs down.

2052. Led by Saudi Arabia the remnants of several Muslim nations join together to form the Confederation of Arab States (CAS).

2055. The Northwestern League of Russian States renames itself the Russian Empire as it recaptures over half of the land once held by the Soviet Union. The Ukraine, one of the few European powers with any strength left, enters an alliance with the ERA, opening a western front in the Russian Wars.

2056. CAS overruns Israel.

2058. The Chinese Warlord Su Ling begins a campaign of conquering in an attempt to unify Southeastern Asia.

2060. Su Ling attempts to invade Japan. Japan repels the attack and several non-Chinese states align themselves with Japan in order to repel Su Ling’s imperialism.

2061. The Asian alliance against Ling formalizes itself, becoming the the Asian Freedom Force (AFF).

2062. Su Ling forms an alliance with the ERA to fight against Russia. The world is perilously close to a fourth World War.

2063. Ren Westlake, after spending close to a decade forging political and military ties among South American and African states, attempts a military coup designed to bring an authoritarian government to the world. Westlake sees himself as a savior to a world gone mad and this vision of a return to order over the chaos of modern reality appeals to many. Despite this the European, North American, and Asian powers all unite against this threat and Westlake’s force is quickly decimated. He finds himself, practically overnight, transformed from savior to fugitive. In his flight he finds a prototype time machine and uses it to return to the year 1988 in the hope of “making things right”.

2064. Ironically Westlake’s legacy changes the world, just not in the way he anticipated it. Although Su Ling threatens to renew the violence of the Asian and Russian Wars he finds little or no support from other nations, making it a hopeless cause. An uneasy peace settles over the world. In North America research into alternate energy sources leads to the creation of a new singularity.

2065. Su Ling finds himself deposed by a group of his mandarins who no longer wish to pursue his overtly violent agenda. Su Ling, in a fit of pique, launches his nuclear arsenal. He is stopped before he can completely to succeed, but missiles are already on-route to commit massive destruction. A hero appears and stops the missiles. Although he comes without a name he is quickly assigned the moniker of Savior. Under his guidance and inspiration a League of Nations is formed, uniting most of the European, North American, and Asian powers.

2066. A group of young heroes known as the Rogue Squadron appears. Unlike Savior they don’t capture the hearts and minds of the world’s people, but other supers begin to appear soon afterwards.

2067. The League attempts to expand its membership to include the CAS, but rogue elements of the CAS sabotage the arrangement. The world balances on the thin edge of war, but the intervention of Savior pulls everyone back from the edge.

2068. Savior creates the Neo Justice Foundation, an elite group of supers attached to the League.

2069. Savior is assassinated. Everyone in the League blames everyone else and peace totters on the edge of oblivion.

2070. The current year.

Go to Part 2: The Future of San Angelo

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPIRE

Session 8B: Meeting Tor

During Session 8, the party had its first interactions with two very influential citizens of Ptolus: Malkeen Balacazar of the Balacazar crime family and Lord Zavere of Castle Shard.

At this point in time, the PCs were either 2^nd or 3^rd level (depending on whether or not they had earned XP in the prelude sessions). Malkeen was 14^th level. Zavere was 20^th level. Obviously, in terms of puissance, the PCs were completely dwarfed. If they’d decided to pick a fight with either one of them, they’d most likely have been crushed like bugs almost instantaneously.

“Don’t antagonize someone who has a fang-faced, void-mouthed guy to order around.” – Elestra

This, of course, was entirely intentional. In a zero-to-hero game like D&D, I think it’s really important for the PCs to have interactions with the very powerful. It gives them something to aspire to and is also integral to establishing that the world they inhabit is a large and complex place with concerns which extend beyond their daily lives. Doraedian is another prominent example of this, as are any number of denizens of the common room at the Ghostly Minstrel.

In some ways, this is kind of the inverse of Revisiting Encounter Design: Just as you want to increase the dynamic range of your encounters by designing them with a wide variety of creatures of varied powers, you also want to make the dynamic range of your entire campaign as broad as possible.

Agnarr cracked a sunrod and observed that they were now doing the same job (retrieving the girl) for three different employers: Zavere, Linech, and the man with the star-tattoo.

This high level of power is not, of course, a necessary quality for a patron. (During these same sessions, Linech is an example of a patron on par with the PCs’ power level.) It’s obviously not a requirement for every villain. But these characters allow you to open doors that would otherwise remain closed.

On the other hand, this liberty must be carefully balanced against the inherent threat of the disparity in power: The ability to squash the PCs like a bug is not only problematic because they might actually end up getting squashed; it’s also problematic because it can make the players feel helpless, manipulated, and coerced. (That can be okay some of the time, but in most campaign it becomes a major problem if the players feel that they’ve become completely de-protagonized or that the GM is railroading them.)

The precise way you accomplish this balancing act is always pretty heavily dependent on the specific circumstances of the campaign. But there are a few general principles you can keep in mind:

Balance the Interests of the Powerful: Counter-intuitively, you can often reduce the PCs’ sense of powerlessness by including even more powerful people. These powerful factions can be used to checkmate each other. You can see an example of this with Malkeen Balacazar and Lord Zavere: The PCs were being sent up against a really powerful crime family, but they were doing so at the best of a very powerful patron. If things got dicey, they should be able to fall back on their powerful ally to provide protection.

Keep the Distance: You can have the powerful get involved with the PCs’ lives without them constantly invading the PCs’ personal space. Lord Zavere, for example, reached out to them through the intermediary of Mand Scheben. Malkeen Balacazar, on the other hand, was not actually supposed to directly interact with them: At the first sign of trouble, he was supposed to clear out under the mistaken belief that someone was bringing the hammer down and he would be in person jeopardy. (Allowing the PCs to perhaps glimpse him during his retreat.) The campaign obviously went a different way than that, of course.

“Tee! I was just writing you a letter!” He crumpled the paper and shoved it to the side.

You can usually tell that you’ve been successful in striking the right balance, however, when you discover that you can’t keep the powerful at arm’s length because the PCs are actively seeking them out. You can see evidence of that in this week’s campaign journal with the “crumpled letter” gag: I hadn’t actually anticipated that Tee would actively seek out Mand Scheben or Doraedian that morning, so I’d actually prepped letters that they were supposed to have delivered later that day. (I literally crumpled up the props and tossed them aside.)

Making the PCs Vital: If powerful individuals are taking an interest in the PCs, it means that the PCs have something to offer them. Crank that dial up. Make the PCs vital to the interests of one or (preferably) more of the powerful. This not only serves as a layer of protection (“I can’t kill you, I need you!”), it also, by definition, prevents the PCs from feeling powerless or irrelevant: Their choices matter. What they do matters.

The importance of this last point, in my opinion, cannot be over-emphasized. The reason to bring the powerful into the PCs’ sphere isn’t so that the PCs can goggle at the amazing antics of the powerful. It’s so that the PCs can get tangled up in their affairs.

And as the PCs seek to untangle themselves, over time they will slowly discover that they have become the powerful and the affairs are, in fact, their own.