Board 8 > Scarlet Ranks 52 Characters from 52 Sessions of the DCRPG Campaign: Part II

(+) Yeah! (+)

And we finished the draft!

#100 - Count Vertigo
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/2/3/AAUHRBAAEWX_.png

In the first campaign, the character of Vertigo was mired in in a life of regrets. First and foremost anchored by the unimaginable guilt of being the prince of a country so detestably evil that it was wiped from the face of the Earth by the Spectre, the psychological toll one must endure for that iniquity simply cannot be fathomed. My mind struggles to wrap around the very description of being the being who can be blamed for the extinction of a culture. My heart breaks for Vertigo in that way. You consider how wayward he strayed from his family, spending his days as a lackadaisical floating, flipping, flying nuisance in America, how he struggled with both physical and emotional disorders that made him both a perfect career villain... Vertigo never rose to the level of being a true A-List supervillain. Yet, he was just competent enough to avoid capture as a member of dozens of teams, even serving as one of the five longest-tenured Suicide Squad member. When most Squaddies average 1.4 mission survival rate, Vertigo lasted twenty. Floating forever, unable to establish roots. A man with no country, no home.

And then, Varra came along, and the entire nature of my beloved prince changed.

Discovering that Vertigo had a son, there was suddenly a slow-gestating change in the heart of Werner Vertigo. MI really leaned into the past history of Varra and Vertigo in the first campaign. Some of my favorite, moving scenes were between the two. Willing to overlook his bipolar disorder and its more curious effects, Varra laid out the truth to Vertigo regarding his son, Brennus, and Vertigo... chose responsibility for the first time in his life. He lost his country, every member of his nation he ever met. This was the smallest amount of redemption possible in the cosmic abacus that being like the Spectre carries around. And then, for years afterwards, Vertigo began to be the father he never expected to be come.

So now, when we look at the characters who have had the largest, most enduring, undeniable impact on the PCs, Vertigo might very well be #1 with a bullet. Brennus has, over the course of the campaign, leaned more and more into his new father's legacy, and pushed away more and more from the darkness surrounding his mother's hidden history. This sets Brennus down the winding path of villainy, in a roundabout way. Yet, there's something noble about this form of villain. Perhaps a rogue by the less fantastical nature of the word. Rebellion is integral to Brennus, but it's a Sin Tzu kind of rebellion, something more Machiavellian. Brennus wants to be a prince, like his father before him. He wears the crest of his trueborn heritage. He's taken up his father's cape, only altered to match the color of his raw magical blue fist.

And with the Sortofgin story, MI and I sank so quickly into a father-son relationship between these characters. Vertigo always does so well at, as a nobleman, saying far more in his silences and his restraint than in his words themselves. You can feel that from Brennus' end - there's innate understanding, that unspoken language between the all-too-legible for an outside observer. To me, there's no greater force propelling Brennus forward than his unseen father. Now, knowing that he has both taken a seat on the High Society and forsaken it in short order... you have to wonder if like father, like son, there is a rebellious honor in Vertigo's heart still.

Or maybe he's still living that vertiginous truth, floating unbound without reference to reality still, lingering like a wild card in the tempestuous Darkseid War.

Hint: We ain't doin' hints this time around.

Vertigo is a character who, once we actually find him, I expect to reach top 10 in a hurry.

Congratulations on your dad making the list, MI!

Vertigo is going to be Justified or some shit

HanOfTheNekos posted...

Vertigo is going to be Justified or some shit

Vertigo is going to be the host of The Spectre

The Sortofgin for Brennus was so fun to get to see into the mind of Vertigo having to flee from the League is great with the little pieces of the power struggle in the League we've seen. It'll be great to finally see Vertigo for real.

ScareChan posted...

Vertigo is going to be the host of The Spectre

That'd be a surprisingly good plot twist, given Varra's prior connection to the Spectre.

Inviso posted...

Congratulations on your dad making the list, MI!

should've drafted varra

Inviso posted...

That'd be a surprisingly good plot twist, given Varra's prior connection to the Spectre.

You

You know The Spectre is the one that destroyed Vlatava

#99 - Bane
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El Presidente.

Hacking and slashing your way through the tropical jungles of Central America, you're bound to stumble across the most bananas of banana republics, a small nation nestled between fascist dictatorships called Santa Prisca. And just outside of the capital city of El Monica lies the penal island of Pena Duro, where the unnamed boy, clinging to his sole possession, a ratty, one-eyed teddy bear, would grow up to become the most fearsome brute to ever stalk the surface of the Earth. Sure, Doomsday was stronger. Bizarro is tougher. But I contend in matters of spreading fear, Bane is second-to-none.

The history of Bane carries its own infamous notoriety. I won't break your back raking it all over the coals once more. What matters in this campaign instead was the place Bane comes from - not as a villain, not even as a member of the Society with his own righteous fury and indignation. No, Bane has been burdened with a responsibility most unexpected - if you didn't know Bane.

President Bane, in point of fact, if you're nasty.

Saddling the broad, uncompromisingly chiseled muscular shoulders of Bane with responsibility presents a new facet of Bane's personality. Furthermore, I think in contemplation on the history of Central and South American governments, so many of them built and propped up by the CIA through juntas and revolutions and bloody chaos, it becomes apparent why someone who, through the lens of an American, comes across as such bloodthirsty villain actually possesses the capacity to rule Santa Prisca and even bring it some amount of prosperity. In some ways, the culture is entirely alien to us, but the clarity of Bane's vision might in many ways be a bastion of comfort for the people of his country. Instead of suffering the weak leadership of criminals or simpering wimps who hide behind the coattails of drug dealers, multinational conglomerate corporations or the big sticks of foreign presidents, there is finally a local hero to bear the standard of Santa Prisca.

Does it matter that he's willing to kill to keep hold of his power? Of course it does - his people love him for it! They rejoice in the knowledge that their home has a true defender who will go to the most extreme lengths to protect their new way of life! In that way, Bane carries a bit of the mid-80s Doctor Doom sensibility, or, more interestingly, the facet of the Shade I find most interesting: Bane is a villain everywhere but his home. And that is good enough for Bane.

Which is why, now that his country has fallen, anyone who, simply put, fucks with Bane's home, gets a squeezin'. Like Minerva, who very recently revealed her own duplicity in earning Bane's support and in fact serving as the catalyst for Bane's migration to Z'onn Z'orr, facing Bane's controlled, restrained fury. Bane could have broken the fragile fish-woman with barely the effort of a moment - he did not. This doesn't suggest that Bane has tempered himself, but rather reinforces that Bane recognizes the long-term necessity of maintaining this connection. At first, Minerva was Bane's ally in a campaign to retake Santa Prisca. With barely a few words, that relationship turned to one of a favor owed - and if not repaid in full, that favor could easily lead to Minerva's death.

And then there's this: Bane's dying. Well, the world's dyin' Cloud, this I know, but Bane's actually dying in the sense that Venom, crafted from the Miraclo of Hourman, is poisoning his blood, like leukemia. Bane may very well be weakened by the source of his abilities. And in that first hint of weakness, he has demonstrated signs that the monster Bane has always been, where we started in this write-up, my rear its head again. Spirit and Mid-Nite now contend with the animalistic side of Bane, the barbarian, the being that will kill for pride, rather than for his country.

So in that way, I believe Bane represents so many of those South American revolutionaries that are praised for their extreme methods, all in the pursuit of freedom for a common man. That freedom is born out of the blood of innocents, and any being willing to expend the torrential rivers full of blood necessary to achieve that freedom surely have a dark passenger within them, capable of killing for far less.

So, you have to ask - is Bane, an ally of Checkmate in the war against Darkseid, truly someone Amanda Waller and the spec ops team really want to prop up as a future leader in a new world order? Or will he be the bane of their existence, once Darkseid is toppled?

Of all the secret six, Bane is easily the most frightening. Not just because he is probably the strongest, but because he comes at you from so many angles.

He's a politician, and a smart one at that, but he's also the more famous part of Bane, the one that will break your back.

Look, Spirit and Mid-Nite just stumbled into the viper's nest. Minerva, fully of her own volition, chose to walk into the lion's den. And despite his posturing to a boy and his doc, Minerva is the one entirely the worser for it.

I can't help but generally play Minerva a bit timidly since I myself am a bit timid when I'm walking into general chats. Bane is one of those characters were I can see the full reason of being scared of and his convo helped me find a little more of a confident place for Minerva. That confidence is NOT TALKING TO BANE.

#98 is UNDRAFTED

I'll go with Mitchell Hundred.

Looks like it's time for Uncle Sam

Son of a Preacher Man

Would be cool to do Superbia soon and go fight along side Bane

Vertigo!

It was a conscious decision that Brennus would have resentment for Varra and favor his absent father that he met later in life, but I don't think I saw it going as far as it has.

I also feel that Brennus has some level of relationship with all the Secrer Six... except for Bane, who he's just scared of.

Yeah, Saoirse has not had any interaction with Bane, and I believe she just wants to avoid any of those complications. Working with La Dama taught her some things about how these criminal heads of state do business and, well, it can be too much to have on one's plate when dealing with other threats.

Pepper still has a favor Bane owes her. Not sure what I want to call it in for.

Predicting Fright

scarletspeed7 posted...

I won't break your back raking it all over the coals once more.

You said the thing!

President Bane remind me of Black Adam in the way he's seen negatively on the whole, but is basically a local hero at home. I also like how the recurring theme I'm getting is that Bane is scary and most people avoid him when possible.

scarletspeed7 posted...

Look, Spirit and Mid-Nite just stumbled into the viper's nest. Minerva, fully of her own volition, chose to walk into the lion's den. And despite his posturing to a boy and his doc, Minerva is the one entirely the worser for it.

Yeah, angry backbreaker Bane is merely offended for his own sake.

Politician angry Bane is offended for the sake of all of his people, which is far more threatening.

#98 - Bunny
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/6/1/AAOJ0pAADl-J.jpg
The former assistant to the third-most important Zatara clan member, Bunny's story is one of tragedy, of recovery. For me, Bunny represents that soldier returning home from war, trying to make sense of the trauma inflicted by the roadside bomb, the prisoner camp, the child left dying in her her arms. But that paints perhaps a more pleasant picture in regards to Bunny's form of PTSD. Our dear, young magician's assistant wasn't prepared to do battle. She never willingly signed up to be party to the viciousness of Lush's older form. No. Instead, she was victimized, an innocent caught in the crosshairs of someone with an axe to grind and no compunctions about killing. And so, Bunny was brutalized for the sake of sending a message, and her life was turned topsy-turvy as a result.

Having spent some time reading reports about how PTSD often manifests itself, one thing that really struck me was the idea of how many veterans returning home or victims of assault turn to self-harm to cope. The mind simply short-circuits in trying to understand that particular avenue of relief. Pain in order to blunt pain; but it's become a rather important aspect of the character for Bunny as I try to wrap my head around the very notion. As Bunny twists and cracks her own index finger, it's a reminder that the world Bunny lives in and the world the rest of the party lives in are two different places. Imagine fearing every corner as a potential avenue for assault. Lurking in every shadow is the possibility of pain, of reliving the same agony, over and over again. And all she has to protect herself is that twisted, misshapen finger, her security blanket of a sort.

There are so many little tragedies at play as a result of Zatanna's actions. Perhaps none is quite as heartbreaking as the story of Bunny, the story of a girl who might never receive her due justice for the actions of the woman that beat and maimed her and left her in a coma, broken mentally and physically. There is not an iota of revenge Bunny can manage, and as a result, her timidity might never truly be overcome. It's a bleak, stark reminder that so many of those left in the wake of the mindwiping affair who can't be healed with the wave of a hand. Still, maybe there's the tiniest glimmer of optimism to be had. Despite Bunny's PTSD, despite her self-harm, despite her recently-revealed hair-triggered rage, it seems as though Saoirse as taken a liking for the floppy bow-wearing young lass. And by championing Bunny's cause, Saoirse has begun to see that the magic which has gone away from Bunny may return.

Still, the mountain Bunny must climb is impossibly tall, its face unyieldingly treacherous. Hope is just that; the work that must be done to reach the summit may break Bunny just as easily as Lush did. But for the sake of magic, Bunny might have already been overwhelmed to the point of lifelong defeat. But with magic... maybe there IS hope.

#97 is UNRANKED.

Woo, Bunny! I would not have expected her to rank, I'm happy to see she has. Bunny helped facilitate my favoite Alice scene,

I love when Bane's intellect is highlighted. He might be my favorite DC villain (between him and Sinestro).

I totally buy Bane as a good leader for a small nation that wants security. Love that storyline of him being a hero in Santa Prisca.

I quite like Bunny. Alcatraz was full of good characters and she stood out to me.

TotallyNotMI posted...

I quite like Bunny. Alcatraz was full of good characters and she stood out to me.

More than the nihilistic Young Frankenstein or the uh... face-y Face?

Maniac64 posted...

I love when Bane's intellect is highlighted. He might be my favorite DC villain (between him and Sinestro).

I totally buy Bane as a good leader for a small nation that wants security. Love that storyline of him being a hero in Santa Prisca.

Bane has also foisted himself into the position of leader of the Secret Six, much to Scandal's chagrin, as well. And he infantilizes her and generally holds down the rest of the membership now that Catman in the time Catman up and quit.

Cases like Bunny's are the ones that make Zatanna doing what she did to Rose feel justified.

scarletspeed7 posted...

More than the nihilistic Young Frankenstein or the uh... face-y Face?

both solid! I also really liked Zachary Zatana! (sp?)

WarThaNemesis2 posted...

Cases like Bunny's are the ones that make Zatanna doing what she did to Rose feel justified.

Except it's also possible that a case like Bunny only happens because Zatanna was doing what she was doing. It's a vicious cycle.
TotallyNotMI posted...

I quite like Bunny. Alcatraz was full of good characters and she stood out to me.

You should RP with her! You're both young magicians figuring things out.

I still strongly disagree that what Zatanna did could ever be justified. It's a half-measure and a weaselly way to skirt around the mantra of "heroes don't kill", while doing the equivalent of killing someone who you feel deserves it.

Bunny is a sweetheart. Left out was how her aggression can mount as well - Stitchentyme wouldn't leave her alone so she screamed and strangled her. She has a breaking point, so there's that.

Lush needs to do more of the legwork though nod nod

Inviso posted...

I still strongly disagree that what Zatanna did could ever be justified. It's a half-measure and a weaselly way to skirt around the mantra of "heroes don't kill", while doing the equivalent of killing someone who you feel deserves it.

How do you handle, say, the Catwoman side, though?

HanOfTheNekos posted...

How do you handle, say, the Catwoman side, though?

What crime was Catwoman mindwiped for, exactly?

Inviso posted...

What crime was Catwoman mindwiped for, exactly?

I don't think we know enough of the specifics, but the implication is that it wasn't just an secret identity wipe but a personality rearrangement that Selina knows about and is glad for.

The only info we have about that though is from her message to Harley that Brennus watched with her?

#97 - Lady Quark
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Twiggy has earned this ranking for Lady Quark, our noblewoman from another Earth, limitlessly capacious in terms of the bright-burning energy she generates within. Queen of an empire; now widowed and childless. The Crisis still leaves a toll, a scarring mark on many. Lady Quark is indicative of that. In fact, her personality was a spurning, cold defense, a shield to isolate Quark in her self-imposed pain.

And then Twiggy came along, and, reminding Lady Quark of her daughter, Fern, with plant-based abilities, Quark opened up to the silent little stick.

A common refrain in this campaign is dealing with the opportunity to heal oneself. And that is not easy to achieve; first, one must escape the pervasive guilt one accrues from a lifetime of mistakes - and superheroes make that more difficult. To put on a costume oftentimes means you're more susceptible to the yoke of responsibility shouldered as a burdened just as easily as one shoulders a cape. The cape IS a burden. Lady Quark blames herself for her daughter's and husband's deaths. But Twiggy was an indicator, perhaps, that Lady Quark is ready to move on.

Quark doesn't express any sort of maudlin love for the stick - usually her reactions are just a lingering glance to the tiny fellow or a greeting. She treats Twiggy far more like an individual with independent, sovereign self-determination than most. But Twiggy also demonstrated a truly deep appreciation for Quark, a compelling display of as much empathy as the little guy can manage. And for that, Lady Quark seems infinitely grateful.

The idea that not only can you carry the burden of your family's deaths, but that their entire world can be snuffed out and forgotten by all of reality, has to do one's head in. To me, that makes Quark a fantastic character piece to study. It should drive her mad - instead, it simply drives her. Quark remains a distant, detached woman, stoic to the point of outwardly apathetic at times. Yet, when she's called on, she throws herself into her missions, whether it be the Fire and Ice debacle or the Darkseid assault planned for Gateway City. She's that kind of hero, the sort that draws upon a well of strength in order to persevere. In my mind, that makes her not only a valuable NPC, but a complex one as well. Despite weaknesses borne out of grief and guilt, Lady Quark is, for my money, one of the strongest cats in the game.

And we've got Bleed Institute built, so more diving into this Bleed team.

Lady Quark is so sad of a character, but believing her that other worlds exist is just validating to her in a way that really touches you.

I need to talk to Lady Quark, if only because Roz'etta has actually been to other worlds, so she knows for a fact Quark's not making things up.

I need to find an angle for Lush to talk with Lady Quark. That's one I've had on the back burner.

ScareChan posted...

I need to find an angle for Lush to talk with Lady Quark. That's one I've had on the back burner.

Twiggy

I don't control Twiggy!

I forgot to say that #96 is UNDRAFTED.

When that Babs drop

the undrafted Oracle probably goes... like 50s?

I almost took Oracle round 10

#96 - William Knightley
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Sometimes it only takes a singular ability and an iota of initiative to achieve great - and terrible - things.

Like the wax that drips onto a birthday cake from a lit candle, ruining the frosting, William Knightley burned brightly and obviously while masquerading as Arion, Lord of Atlantis and the founder of an Age of Magic. In reality, Knightley's deception succeeded primarily because he had managed to ensnare Arion within his own amulet, utilizing the slow leaking of magic as a source of mystical power by which he could leech from. Then, with power unearned, Knightley harassed, insulted, abused and generally lived off of the good graces of an all-too-easily fooled Shadowpact, so focused on the enemies without that they never considered the enemy within.

Honestly, Knightley lasted far, far longer than I expected in his role. A charlatan lacking the detail necessary to really maintain his facade, our dear William was doubling down on a blase attitude and an inattention to virtually anything to cement his bluff and gloss over those smaller cracks that might be recognized as the hints to a grander web of lies. But can you blame Knightley for resisting so long in revealing the truth and, furthermore, releasing Arion? I certainly don't. Survival is paramount in the magical community, moreso than normal - and normally, survival is pretty much the watchword of magic. The search for a rational reason to scribe one's name onto the annals of witches and wizards is a difficult one, for in my mind, the power one can find in strict adherence to the study of curses and enchantments really just paints a target on your back. Only a precious few will live beyond the lifespan of an average human, and far too few will be gnashed and mashed in the teeth of more dangerous, more powerful beings hunting for power in less scrupulous ways than you.

On top of that, the Spectre has decided to come a-callin' and you've got to dance with the ones that brung ya. Knightley needed people smarter than he was to survive in the now infinitely more dangerous hidden world of magic, and as Arion, he had just enough pull to sit back and watch as the rest of the Shadowpact strove to keep Oblivion hidden and protected from the Spectre, Mordru, Eclipso and a hundred other terribel things coming their way.

The relationship between Knightley and Bloodfruit, Knightley and Brennus... these are so fascinating to examine under a new lens. The mentor-apprentice relationship is now oddly twisted to be the opposite. Using the Socratic method, Knightley pulled the wool over both of their eyes and convinced them to teach HIM THEIR spells, create their potions for him. Essentially, they were juicing the false Arion from the word go. And yet I think that despite the revelations as to his true identity, neither of them have well and truly given up their perceptions of Knightley as a teacher. After all, he encouraged them, inspired them and under his watch, they DID in fact become a greater wizard and a greater alchemist.

So the question remains - what will be done with William Knightley? The true Arion lobbed threats at the Pact - and Brennus - before escaping his interminable prison sentence. The false Arion now resides in that crimson gem, himself jailed in the jail of his own creation. But that gem hangs on a peg in Oblivion still. Waiting. Waiting while William Knightley, even in defeat, still survives the Spectre's Day of Vengeance, safe within the walls of the haven he committed such terrible acts in order to earn his ticket within - like the passengers of the Titanic, waving their family jewels around in order to buy a seat on the last lifeboat off a sinking ship.

#95 is also undrafted!

All the undrafts! But on the flipside, having the undrafts come up now is better than later!