Board 8 > Scarlet Ranks the Top 52 Characters of the Last 52 Sessions in the DCU RPG Campa

(+) Yeah! (+)

Since 2019, I have had the unparalleled privilege of hosting a campaign that features ten excellent players and fantastic friends, each of them coming together in one of two sessions nearly every week. At first, we began in the city of Gotham, winding our ways through the wreckage of an earthquake rated 8.1 on the Richter Scale, patching up broken territories and uniting disparate tribes under the banner of the one true leader Gotham could trust, the last bastion of civilization in a godless, orderless wreckage, a man with the capacity to effectuate the change needed to save a million men, women and children...

The Cluemaster.

Then, after all was said and done, goodbyes were had, and a fellowship parted ways, ten characters, some new and some old, came together once more, this time to survive the Day Evil Won - the Final Crisis, a moment in time called A-Day, where Darkseid took control of every communications network for three minutes and enslaved the world. Now, Scare, Ermine, MI, Wickle, Inviso, War, Han, hombad, JB, and Raven must operate under the auspices of the organization hiding at the edge of the world - under the icy shelf of Antarctica - Checkmate. Every effort they make is in keeping with the mandate of their leader, Amanda Waller: assess, reclaim, exit. These are the last days of humanity, and a desperate last gasp in the struggle for existential survival is all that stands between Darkseid's thorough dominance, and a hope for the beings of Earth.

This is the Final Crisis.

Every 26 weeks of play-sessions, I've been ranking - because they enjoy it and there are prizes involved in having the best guesses for what my list will be - the top 52 characters of those 52 sessions (plus any outside one-shots or RP Days). These characters MUST have debuted in person and been given a name in those 26 weeks, so all of these are fresh, untouched, delicious new characters that my players have encountered and shaped in some way. Maybe, perhaps, these characters have shaped their own as well. I can only hope.

Anyways, this go-round, prizes range from a FREE solo one-shot of a player's choosing to hours of solo RP Days all to a players' self, and in between, everything from a Radio Tuner track to having to put up with Artemis-2 berating a player for being stinky. And we'll kick off the list with #52... tomorrow.

My first post however will be the LAST FIVE OUT, the honorable mentions who, in a class of 400+ new characters, really deserved a shot at the big time. Who knows? Maybe some intrepid player will give them the boost they need to hit the top of the all-time list, which comes out later this month. But for now, Honorable mentions.

As a hint for those of you who like them - of the five honorable mentions, FOUR were guessed in our draft board today.

Sup

Woo!

Guesssing
Patroklos and Bleez

These rankings, where ARE they?

Tag

gonna guess Inchie and Kreaven

ranKING
ranKING
give us a ranKING

or else!

Auto Chef for surprise unpicked HM

I did not pick Bat-Boy

The Goriak likes this

Four Hundred Characters

More, actually. In over 50 sessions of this campaign, we've run into everyone from the iconic to the obscure. And when you tally them up, the heroes and villains, men and women from throughout time, the possibilities of the Story Line, aliens from beyond the grid of Earth, and even former beloved pets, we talled up a whopping 417 characters, including Aa, the Lantern who has decided that his name, first among all, should always be accompanied by hundred-foot tall block letters summoned out of emerald. But today, we're focusing on the five characters who almost made the list - five that represent a wide range of this campaign's sensibilities. There's humor, there's heart, and there's...

Orlando
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/4/6/AAUHRBAAEPye.jpg
who entered this campaign on what I like to consider the Giant Pegboard. From time to time, half of our players visit the Hogwarts Express, a train barreling into the unknown, fueled by possibility. In the process, by traveling up the train from car to car, our heroes spend brief snippets of time throughout history, playing both detective and tourist. As more of the train is visited, more of the hidden history of this campaign is revealed. The Story Line is my favorite section of the campaign, and I really love to watch how the players try to determine where they will go or what the focus of the campaign will be. They are literally rewriting the campaign - most of these railcars are, in fact, created BY THEM, by choosing items they've collected in various other locations. In sacrificing these items to the Story Line, new doors open. Raven gave up a bottle of a rather potent, magical ale as presented to him by the bartender of Oblivion (a refuge for magicians on the run from a magical apocalypse as rendered by the Spectre). This bottle poured the party out into the Vietnam War, and for a brief snippet of time, they had opportunity to visit the Oblivion Bar of the 1970s, where they encountered the father of Flippy, Ronson; a giant nude blue man who had been exploding enemy combatants with just a thought, the Brazen Man; the Doctor, straight out of Doctor Who; and Orlando.

Who is Orlando? Well, that's still a mystery to the party, but what they do know is this: tens of thousands of years old, Orlando is one of a very few immortal human beings. But immortality has its drawbacks, and Orlando has burned all of the bridges he's ever had, including at Oblivion. And she knows it. Orlando is also transgender in the most literal way possible. Throughout the course of the session, as Orlando veered further and further away from his military position with the US Army, he began to take on more and more feminine characteristics until she arrived at Oblivion, drunk and demanding attention. And being dragged away from Oblivion by the proprietor and bouncer, she began to shift once more... but not before Han, in a moment of brilliance, changed the narrative. Providing a location in the present day, he planted a seed of change that may very well bear fruit...

This was supposed to be a short honorable mention. I'll do better with the next one.

Orlando was great. Love that LXG stuff.

Constantly switching between male and female... I wonder which version we'll see in the present day!

Also in that portion of the Story Line, Roz'etta got the Sonic Screwdriver, a gift from the Doctor, and so she has begun to learn that the Doctor was there at the beginning of Oblivion Bar, or so he claimed when he was last there...

I look forward to seeing Orlando again next time we get to London.

Then there was Peter Pufferfish
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who came from one of my favorite scenes with Wickle's character, Minerva. While visiting Gibraltar in a Christmas one-shot alongside her dear brutish companion, Loose Cannon (or "Eddie" as she calls him), Minerva espied a school of puffer fish! And how could she resist visiting with them, hoping to learn what the rush was? In what ended up being a great example of how Minerva is rather fascinated with her marine companions and has a truly endearing wide-eyed innocence at times, Minerva utilized her still fledgling ability to communicate with animal life to question their leader. This was Peter Pufferfish, at the lead of the best non-character of the campaign - a school of fish that constantly lob their opinions and grousing complaints at Peter, no matter what he says. Minerva determined quickly Peter's purpose, providing problem-solving to prevent potential problems further along the way. The school's response? To complain some more. "But Peter... that's so far away!" "Peter, we'd never make it to the Southern Hemisphere..."

Nevertheless, Peter (who is functionally voiced as Murray from Flight of the Conchords) defied his charges and rush bull-headed from Spain to Antarctica, his school sustaining few if any losses along the way! Thanks to Minerva's convincing, Peter's friends now live in the brackish waters between the spring and river of Z'onn Z'orr, where they bask in the peaceful currents.

This is a character predominantly added simply because I so greatly enjoy doing a silly New Zealand voice. But equally as important? The chemistry Minerva has with Peter - the pair just go so well together, and it's nice to explore the entirely wholesome Disney princess aspect of Minerva as a result.

Tag

Orlando was also on my shortlist

Motherfucker

But Peter! You can't go off being an honorable mention!

Peter, where are we?

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention Libra
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/5/6/AAUHRBAAEPyo.png
though this mention is not entirely honorable.

Libra has had only two brief in-person appearances, but his role in the campaign has loomed large since near the very beginning. The man who committed the publicly televised ritualistic execution of Martian Manhunter, Libra is a new face in the Society, one that has fast risen in its ranks thanks to his unabashed zealous worship of Darkseid as God on Earth. New God on Earth. The old one is dead. It's a long story.

While Libra's existence has been known for months, the first appearance of Libra came in Slaughter Swamp, where the party, having been chased for nearly a mile by Zor the Time Tailor, was pulled into the bushes by unknown assailants. Held fast and told in hushed tones to be quiet, a man who up until that point had been holding the party captive in fear was in moments brutally murdered. Zor, who had been aided by the Sheeda, miniscule bridesmaids to the terrible fiance of Darkseid named Gloriana, was suddenly turned on by his legion of winged aides and carried into the headquarters of the Legion of Doom, where awaited a horrible fate. Libra had arrived, and with swift dispensation of authority changed the complexion of the Society for the party.

Still, there was time to breathe a sigh of relief and reassess this threat in Slaughter Swamp... until Libra reared his hooded head again, this time in Keystone City. And that seemed to have a real impact on the players. Now, this powerful, unreasonable acolyte of the Dark Lord was in their backyard. This is where they'd developed relationships with every side of an intramural gang war, an inter-city rivalry within the Society's ranks. Now, the worst possible player had inserted themselves into this narrative.

Libra has appeared twice, and both times, the players' reactions have really sold it to me that they felt the danger, the foreboding presence, the evil of Libra. I cannot wait to see especially how Rosetta will handle it when she has a chance to confront the murderer of her spiritual cousin, J'onn J'onnz.

A neat little Libra thing is that Manitou Dawn wanted to see her friend J'onn's death, and as such she asked Roz'etta to how her the video of it.

Dawn, the ancient wise person she is, recognized the spear Libra used, and it is a close match for the Spear of Destiny, which performed such actions as the killing of Jesus Christ, and falling into the hands of the Nazis during WW2, which necessitated the entire creation of masked teams that would eventually become the modern style of superhero.

So one of the mysteries of Libra is how did this powerful relic fall into his hands...and what else has he done with it?

It's hard to believe that Kathy Kane is an honorable mention,
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/6/4/AAUHRBAAEPyw.png
but that's the universe we live in.

Don't get me wrong - the story of Kathy, still largely untold, is one of my favorites in the space corner of the campaign. Taut, filled with unfathomable mystery, and largely revolving around the intimate story of a hero in crisis, Kathy's plot thread currently belongs largely to Rosetta through one RP session.

Once known as Batwoman, Kathy arrived on the scene as a secret astronaut in service to a global espionage agency known as SPYRAL. What is Spyral? Kathy's not sure. How did she get in space? She doesn't know. Didn't Kathy Kane get murdered by the League of Assassins? She thought so, too, but here she is.

As you can imagine, this is a hell of a headache.

First encountered frozen in stasis aboard the Auctioneer's menagerie-ship alongside a dozen other notable historical luminaries, Kathy represents that classic retrofuturistic ideal of space from the 1930s and 1940s. Bearing the trappings of old school hard sci fi - a jet pack, a blaster pistol, and a great damned hairdo, I think Kathy has the potential to play a huge role in the war in space. And so does War, through Rosetta, who has begun to develop a budding relationship with her. I think it's a potentially strong story - War loves to play detective, and Rosetta is a cerebral character with a vested interest in solving this particular mystery.

More interesting, however, is what Kathy Kane may represent in space. Alongside Bizarro and Wonder Woman Robot, the former Batwoman is one of a set of off-brand members of DC's Trinity. What use can the players find for the Almost World's Finest?

WarThaNemesis2 posted...

A neat little Libra thing is that Manitou Dawn wanted to see her friend J'onn's death, and as such she asked Roz'etta to how her the video of it.

Dawn, the ancient wise person she is, recognized the spear Libra used, and it is a close match for the Spear of Destiny, which performed such actions as the killing of Jesus Christ, and falling into the hands of the Nazis during WW2, which necessitated the entire creation of masked teams that would eventually become the modern style of superhero.

So one of the mysteries of Libra is how did this powerful relic fall into his hands...and what else has he done with it?

I fully expect Libra to play a starring role in this campaign, now that you and others have put together this portion of the story.

I should have drafted Morisca

Libra is a major character that had been talked about so much, so he was a perfect one to finally encounter.

We've heard so much about him. More than Black Adam and Doctor Psycho, even

And the last honorable mention goes to Molly O'Reilly
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/2/0/AAS3NhAAD_Dw.jpg
of Books of Magic fame. A close confidante of Bloodfruit, Molly was rescued from the Cult of the Unwritten Book, who held her hostage between two clock-faced bishops who sought nothing more than to decreate the world. With quick wit from Saoirse, Bloodfruit and Rosetta, these bishops were convinced that in order to unmake all reality, they, too, would have to enter oblivion. And in a puff of logic, the Cult's towering leaders offed themselves, freeing Bloodfruit's close ally.

We haven't seen much of Molly as of yet - just two appearances, both relatively brief. Yet Molly plays off of Bloodfruit well. Both have been swept up in the sad yet enchanting saga of Tim Hunter. Both have been hurt by Tim's largely oeuvre, the magical miasma that always manages to grab hold of and harm anyone that comes within close proximity of it. Yet Molly also has a truly sweet, wholesome persona, not entirely corrupted by the tragedies of her magic-ridden existence. In that way, her optimistic personality fits like a glove around Bloodfruit's largely quixotic goals and desires. Molly clearly has a larger role to play in the revolutionaries' story in London, but for now, simply seeing Bloodfruit have her friend again has really provided a rare spot of unspoiled happiness in a largely grim nation - the United Kingdom, where Apokolips looms and the Tories reign.

And a hint for #52 - a character in the throes of metamorphosis?

JB in shambles atm

Roz'etta chasing the Kathy thread has led her on the following path:

The existence of Kathy Kane has convinced Amanda Waller that these alternate worlds are no longer the ravings of a madman, with Waller sending Roz'etta on a little journey with the purpose of investigating, and hopefully finding, the Psycho-Pirate.

The Psycho-Pirate could supposedly see into other worlds and claimed that Katherine Kane, the red-haired Batwoman, was a fake daughter. When in Arkham Asylum he was under the surveillance of Roger Huntoon, the man who chose to die when the players chose to take Tomorrow Woman out of Haven. However, Huntoon did have an old schoolmate who could understand a bit of his writings, John Constantine.

Through Constantine, Roz'etta learned that Huntoon seemed to believe the Psycho-Pirate was legitimately seeing things rather than just crazy, and Huntoon had someone who could attest to it, one Budrick Baker, aka Animal Man.

Roz'etta asked Buddy's wife, Ellen, about it, and through her learned about a second Crisis (not to be confused with The Crisis, or The Final Crisis) involving Huntoon and the Baker family, wherein Ellen and Buddy's son Cliff died, but a cosmic author undid it.

...It's a trip.

I love Molly.

But yeah, she needs more time before she hits as high.

In the throes of metamorphosis... can't be Lucky! Sounds like, uh, Mera?

...Inchie?

WarThaNemesis2 posted...

Roz'etta chasing the Kathy thread has led her on the following path:

The existence of Kathy Kane has convinced Amanda Waller that these alternate worlds are no longer the ravings of a madman, with Waller sending Roz'etta on a little journey with the purpose of investigating, and hopefully finding, the Psycho-Pirate.

The Psycho-Pirate could supposedly see into other worlds and claimed that Katherine Kane, the red-haired Batwoman, was a fake daughter. When in Arkham Asylum he was under the surveillance of Roger Huntoon, the man who chose to die when the players chose to take Tomorrow Woman out of Haven. However, Huntoon did have an old schoolmate who could understand a bit of his writings, John Constantine.

Through Constantine, Roz'etta learned that Huntoon seemed to believe the Psycho-Pirate was legitimately seeing things rather than just crazy, and Huntoon had someone who could attest to it, one Budrick Baker, aka Animal Man.

Roz'etta asked Buddy's wife, Ellen, about it, and through her learned about a second Crisis (not to be confused with The Crisis, or The Final Crisis) involving Huntoon and the Baker family, wherein Ellen and Buddy's son Cliff died, but a cosmic author undid it.

...It's a trip.

Rosetta opened a rabbit hole and has discovered it might actually be a rabbit's labyrinth - but I think that's honestly what makes you happiest, War!

Yeah I figured Molly wasn't making the 52 given her brief appearance but I didn't feel right but drafting her

rip my Libra pick. But at least it was an HM.

Tag! I'm excited there's still one more list for now, I had no idea the rankings were so frequent.

And of course Maniac and I will cap off our lists as well.

Man, if it turns out I should've picked Shift, just to get on the board.

WickIebee posted...

rip my Libra pick. But at least it was an HM.

In any o fthe other 26ers, this would have landed low 30s, I think.

Also 417 new characters in 26 weeks is insane. The campaign is massive.

I got punished for strategy picking Kathy.

So sad

Cody11533 posted...

Tag! I'm excited there's still one more list for now, I had no idea the rankings were so frequent.

And of course Maniac and I will cap off our lists as well.

I'm booked to do another Top 100 for the entire campaign as well, and the winner of those guesses gets a Story Line session! You guys might be able to jump in on that one for guesses as well... hell, if you win, I might let you guys make one-shot characters for the free session!

scarletspeed7 posted...

Rosetta opened a rabbit hole and has discovered it might actually be a rabbit's labyrinth - but I think that's honestly what makes you happiest, War!

Two of my favorite toys as a kid were nesting dolls and those little handheld mazes where you get the ball from one corner to the other, so this checks out.

Cody11533 posted...

Also 417 new characters in 26 weeks is insane. The campaign is massive.

Admittedly, you get a lot of one-off characters, like minor informants or one-shot villains who appear for a single combat.

scarletspeed7 posted...

Admittedly, you get a lot of one-off characters, like minor informants or one-shot villains who appear for a single combat.

It really speaks to how widespread the campaign is, where you can now travel anywhere on Earth, into space, and well beyond that. I've never seen a campaign cover so much ground.

Wait until we can travel to other Earths

Or even stranger, Australia.

I barely know those honorable mention characters!

For observers, these predictions get stressful to me who really only knows a lot of what happened in my sessions, so half the characters have me going 'who is this again?'. I'm trying to get better and learning what happened on the other session lately - hopefully I can keep that going.

Hey, last time you drafted really good, even still!

Molly, Kathy, Libra are all characters I thought had a chance to make top 52. Gonna be a strong list

Actually reading the honorable mentions, it still cracks me up that things like The Hogwarts Express and The Doctor gave me a Sonic Screwdriver are actual things the party has experienced. In my head I think "that's silly, those are fictional in the DC Universe" before I mentally slap myself because all of it is fiction lol.

So it's time for #52. Let's talk about...
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/1/4/AAUHRBAAEP1G.png https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/1/5/AAUHRBAAEP1H.png
Jimmy.

A man with a license to... well, for something, I'm not entirely sure. His wallet was full of condoms, after all, and we never quite saw the thing did we? In the hidden history of the Story Line, one thing is slowly becoming clear - there are connections to the Checkmate of the old world that involve skullduggery, espionage, and an occasional assassination. One aspect of a hidden history I admire is the cover-up. Major movements are happening, but history doesn't recognize them. Only the witnesses can tell the tale.

Jimmy is MI6's finest. He dispatches his missions with aplomb, and in some instances, he sports panache and debonair style. Furthermore, he seems to be the muse to a number of talented artists - according the Story Line, his laissez-faire philosophy, to live and let live, was the fuel that created a classic Paul McCartney track. We all share a certain bond of fandom when it comes to Jimmy.

More to the point, however, the man known as Jimmy also has his hands deep in Checkmate's ever-expanding lore. Alongside the enigmatic Prince Henry, Jimmy was there when the League of Assassin's most valuable informational asset was captured and dragged back to HQ. In the 70s, Jimmy cultivated the Bocor as an asset - a fact that ultimately provided Adam Susan's Tory administration some serious black magic, decades later. The more the Story Line barrels on, I can guarantee, the more we will hear from Jimmy. Just what is the nature of this long-lived man, his multiple identities, his connections to every nook and cranny in the spy community? Time will tell.

In the meantime, the party has to survive the Story Line to find the next stop in Jimmy's story. I guess they'll just have to die another day. After all, you only live twice. The Living Daylights.

Hint for #51: Fiscal fascination forged fellowship.

+2

There is only one person named Jimmy. Ever.

Also this is...Grim Accounting...?