Here's a recap of the latest session of my Sentinels RPG campaign "The Alternates"! As per usual, there's a narrative recap (written as if it was in-metaverse) and then I go over the actual running of the game, and any lessons I learned as the GM.
If you're lost, you can catch up with the previous Game Recaps! You can find links to the first "Season" (the first 12 episodes) in the Recap for Game12.
Brief Description of the Game: In the meta-verse (where Sentinel comics is a published comic book multimedia empire), there is a premium cable computer-animated (in a style similar to “Into the Spider-Verse”) television series (which itself is based on a comic series called "The Alternates"). This RPG campaign represents that show, with each game session (ideally) representing one hour-long Episode of the show. The recap below is written in-metaverse as if it was an article on a popular website that posts recaps of episodes.
Player Characters:
- Cytoblast: Dr. Douglas Hemlocke can control plants, including transforming himself into a plant form, all thanks to his mystical knowledge and his ancient magical staff.
- Dr. Comet: Possessed by a demon that travelled to earth inside a comet, Dr. Diana Aster can magically control fire and ice, though her powers often go often out of control when her emotions flare up.
- Jersey Devil: A barely human cryptid of mysterious origins, "Mr. Leeds" is both man and monster, able to teleport by way of a parallel dimension.
- Kid Radical: A highly skilled autodidact with a strict code of behavior, Kid Radical has a superhuman ability for following trends and learning new skills, although it often seems like he can't quite connect with modern society.
- Quasar Kid: A superhero teen from the far future, Quasar Kid has a cosmic metabolism, super strength, and the power of flight, but he hasn't yet adjusted to being in "the past."
Recurring allied NPCs:
- Starshadow: A retired intergalactic adventurer, Starshadow wields mighty cosmic powers, but he is now reluctant to use them.
- Bouncer: An invulnerable action movie star, Bouncer is also super-strong and capable of mighty leaps (hence the name "Bouncer"), but he hasn't been the same since the Oblivaeon Crisis.
A Very Quick Story Synopsis: In an alternate timeline where Baron Blade was killed decades earlier (causing countless changes to the world of Sentinel Comics), the heroes of the Multiverse are almost all killed in the "Oblivaeon Crisis." The few remaining heroes, especially the Alternates, are left to deal with the villains and interstellar threats that still endanger the Earth!
And now, an imaginary recap of an imaginary episode of an imaginary television show about an imaginary superhero team!
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The Alternates Episode #13 Recap:
“No, They Have Cartilage”
By Eddie Jaczerkowski
Season 2 of The Alternates kicked off this week with Episode #13 (or Season 2, Episode 1, but that’s not how they’re numbering the episodes), entitled "No, They Have Cartilage." Here’s my recap of the episode, which is, of course, full of spoilers!
Episode Recap
The episode begins in a spacious office with comfortable lounge chairs, a ping-pong table, a full kitchen, televisions screens, as well as desks and computers. This is the new headquarters of The Alternates, in a tall office building overlooking Megalopolis.
The scene focuses on a television playing in the room. A news anchor on the television is relaying a story about the Alternates - she tells us that the Alternates broke up a hijacking in international waters. As a team sponsored by the Blackleaf Corporation, the Alternates are a non-government organization, so they can act in global affairs without causing an international diplomatic incident.
The anchor then brings on Senator Graham Davis (who we met in Episode #6). The senator comments that he met and likes the Alternates, but he believes that government superpowered agencies (like the Guardians of Freedom) must be used whenever possible.
Then, the anchor asks the senator about the Superpowered Anti-Vigilante Enforcement Act (aka the SAVE Act). He says that the SAVE Act will help enforce harsh penalties on super-powered individuals who take the law into their own hands.
After he answers, the anchor asks him about a costumed crusader cleaning up Rook City. The senator begins to answer, but his voice fades away as the camera pans across the room.
The door to the office comes into view and opens, and into the room walks Bouncer. “Anybody home?” he says.
The Alternates respond and file into the room to greet their friend. “Oh, good, you’re here! I didn’t know if you’d be back from the hijacking yet,” he tells them. “And I know Starshadow is off taking care of some personal space business… I mean, personal business in space, not business about personal space.”
“We’re back,” says Kid Radical.
“And I’ve never been so happy that sharks don’t have bones,” Jersey Devil tells Bouncer.
Bouncer tells the team he has two pieces of news - first, that he’s been working out west with the West Coast Guardians of Freedom, and they have no more leads on the origins of the robots that attacked Megalopolis several weeks ago.
“Second,” he says, throwing a manila folder on the table. “This is all I know about Operation Pipeclamp.”
Kid Radical picks up the manila folder, opens it, and says, “All that’s in here is a printout of the web search results for ‘Project Pipeclamp.’”
“Yeah,” Bouncer says. “That’s all I could find.”
“But why did you print out... the web search results?” Cytoblast asks him.
“So I could put them in the folder!” Bouncer says.
“Wait, wait… what is Operation Pipeclamp?” asks Dr. Comet.
“I don’t know,” says Bouncer. “But I figured it was important.” He sits down and sighs. “A few days ago, I was laying in my bed in my house in Los Angeles, trying to sleep, when my television turned on, and the words ‘Operation Pipeclamp’ appeared on the screen. I tried to turn off the TV, but it wouldn’t turn off. I unplugged the TV, but it didn’t turn off.”
He sighs. “Look, as a person with an anxiety disorder, I think I handled this very well. But I am going to need a new TV.”
Kid Radical explains the strange electronic communications that he received, and says Starshadow had gotten them as well, and Bouncer seems relieved. The group talks about what Operation Pipeclamp could be, ask Jersey Devil mentions that he skulked around Rook City in the year after the Oblivaeon Crisis, and there he heard about a fixer named Larry “Pipeclamps” Casoni.
The Alternates decide to go to Rook City to check him out. Their hoverjet lands in the parking lot of the Rook City branch of Blackleaf Laboratories (which is conspicuously surrounded by chain link fence topped with barbed wire).
The episode cuts to Jersey Devil throwing a man up against a wall in a dark alley. “Hello again, Pushpins!” he tells the man. “Tell me how to find Pipeclamps!”
Pushpins calls out for help, and the alley fills with ruffians and enforcers from a back door in the alley. Jersey Devil flashes a cruel smile, and a fight breaks out between these criminals and the Alternates!
Jersey Devil leaves Pushpins up against the wall and joins the fight. At the other side of the alley, Dr. Comet takes to the air and summons ice, freezing two of the enemies to the wall.
Cytoblast doesn’t bother turning into his plant monster form - instead, he transforms one of his arms into a wooden, mossy fist, elongating his “limb” down the alley and punching a button man directly in the face. The hired gun, surprised by the sudden attack, pulls a gun and fires. The bullet strikes Cytoblast in the face, catching his cheek. A bloody red slash appears along Cytoblast’s face, but the wound is quickly covered by a small mossy vine, which disappears as the damage is healed.
Kid Radical presses a button on his Tech Deck, and the wheels retract. “When in Rook City, do things the Rook City Way” he says. He forgoes his normal style and simply smacks one of the crooks in the face with the board. Unfortunately, the blow is not very effective.
One of the toughs sneaks up behind Quasar Kid and breaks a pool cue over his head, to little effect. Quasar Kid sighs, spins around, and punches the guy’s lights out.
Layers of ice cover the alley as Dr. Comet lets loose. Kid Radical shifts tactics, using his Tech Deck as a snowboard, sliding along a wall and smacking two of the crooks with his devil sticks, quipping, “I better stick to doing things the Kid Radical Way.”
Meanwhile, Cytoblast has elongated one of his arms into a tangle of woody vines, raising his fist high into the air. As the button man charges toward him, he brings his heavy wooden fist down into the man’s head, knocking him to the ground.
“Did you just hit him with a downercut?” Kid Radical asks him.
With their foes dispatched, a deep, gravelly voice cuts through the alley. “What are you doing beating up criminals in my city?”
From the shadows appears a figure in dark body armor and a long, black cape. This is Night Knight (confirmed by a remark from Kid Radical), the costumed vigilante who has been cleaning up Rook City.
<<Editor's note: Here's a quick sketch I did of Night Knight.>>
Night Knight makes a comment about the Alternates “abusing sharks” (probably a reference to the off-screen hijacking) and the Alternates explain that they are tracking down Larry Pipeclamps. The vigilante informs them that he put Pipeclamps in jail two months ago, and offers to help the Alternates get into the prison where he’s held. He tells them to meet him in the visitors parking lot of the prison in an hour.
The Alternates talk amongst themselves for a moment, and when they turn to thank Night Knight, he has disappeared into the shadows.
In the next scene, the Alternates’ hoverjet lands in the visitor parking lot of a prison, between two jalopies. As the Alternates disembark, a voice breaks out from the darkness nearby - “You certainly make a conspicuous entrance,” Night Knight says.
The costumed crusader leads them to the back door of the prison where a guard lets them in (although, again, Night Knight disappears before the guard opens the door). They are led inside to an empty visitation area where Larry “Pipeclamps” Casoni sits and waits.
They have a conversation with Pipeclamps, who claims to be an unimportant man unfairly imprisoned, although he obviously alludes to his criminal connections and activities. It’s clear Pipeclamps doesn’t know anything about what the Alternates have experienced with regards to robots, strange messages, and various villains. However, he eventually spills a juicy tidbit. (He demands six boxes of Hostee fruit pies in exchange, and Jersey Devil fetches two boxes just by teleporting to the hoverjet.)
Larry Pipeclamps claims he knew a mook who was “doing some business” outside of the nation’s capital when he “saw something” about “Operation Pipeclamp.” The mook told “Pipeclamps” Casoni because he thought the feds might be doing some sort of investigation into Casoni. However, Casoni dismissed it as hot air, and had forgotten about it until the Alternates ask him about “Operation Pipeclamp.” He further admits that the “facility” where the “business” took place was some sort of secret quasi-government facility.
The Alternates exit and meet up with Night Knight outside again. They tell him some of the details, and Night Knight, in his gravelly voice, delivers a short monologue about his hatred of corruption. He implies that whatever “Operation Pipeclamp” is, it stinks of corruption, and, he says, “I am the hair that stands up on the back of the neck of the corrupt! I am the justice that they fear!” The Alternates calmly nod at him.
They part ways, and Kid Radical says, “I like that guy, but he’s laying it on a bit thick, and I realize that’s coming from me.”
When they return to the hoverjet, they’ve received a video message from Bouncer back at headquarters. On the video, all the electronic devices in the office are going haywire, and Bouncer asks for their help immediately!
It looks like they need to bounce back to Megalopolis! (This is all a bit too much city-hopping for my tastes. Pick a place and stay put, Alternates!)
The credits roll as “Town Called Malice” by The Jam plays.
Final Thoughts
I loved this episode, especially since it finally feels like The Alternates are now a superpowered hero team doing superpowered team things. The story from the end of Season 1 is continued, although it takes a new turn in this episode, which features no robots. To be fair, too many episodes in a row with robots would also get old, so it’s nice to see a more street-level story get told here. Still, it is now taking a hint of bigger things, like possibly a government conspiracy.
Most of the material in this episode has connections to the original Alternates comic, but everything is going in a different direction. These stories about robots and Baron Blade were in the comic series, but they happened in different ways at different times.
But let’s get into specifics with some nerdy notes!
- What the Hell happened with the hijacking and sharks? There are at least four vague references to it in the episode, and even the title refers to it, but there’s absolutely no clarity. I’m sure it’s on purpose, but I really want to know what happened with the sharks.
- Night Knight was in the Alternates comics, but his identity was never revealed. Producer Merv Marcus revealed in an interview this summer that Night Knight was going to be in Season 2, but also that his identity would eventually be revealed, and it would be a character comic book fans would know! So I eagerly look forward to that reveal!
- Bouncer mentions Starshadow is off on “personal space business,” and rumor has it that we’ll see a few episodes dealing with “space business” later in Season 2.
- The SAVE Act is another element that is a plot point in the comic book. It’s a federal law that tries to limit what individuals with superpowers can do with those superpowers, and it’s always left as more of a “flavor element” in the comics than a major plot - the Alternates never directly involve themselves in the legislative process or anything. That could change in the animated series - we’ll have to watch and see!
- Fans are clamoring for Hippocampus versus Freedom Train, and who can blame them? We’ll definitely see more of both those characters this season, but there’s no telling whether or not they’ll face off against one another!
Join me next weekend for Episode #14, entitled “Digital Machinations.” That sounds like it might be about robots again.
Eddie Jaczerkowski is a staff writer who loves comic books and writes about television.
Running the Game
I don't have much exciting stuff to talk about this week - we're still doing online games via Discord and GMnitron, using a screenshare, and visualizing scene trackers and NPC cards on Google Drawings.
I will say that I dropped the "hijacking that happens off-screen and no details are really given" trope on my players and they picked it up and made multiple references to pirates and sharks. We still don't know exactly what happened during that hijacking, and it's likely we'll never find out!
Here's a quick sketch of Night Knight I did. Certainly, he is a uh... pastiche of certain comic book characters we're all familiar with, so you would be forgiven for thinking he's an unoriginal joke reference and not a real character. However, I say he can be both! I promise there is some depth there that I hope to explore later this "Season" - stay tuned!
As always, thanks for reading!