The History of Venture Comics!

[Chief_Lackey_Rich]

@FrivYeti

That’s a fair summary, but I’d have three counter-arguments.

The first one got me curious, but I’m going to take the results of that curiosity off a new thread to minimize derailment.

@FrivYeti

The second is that rolling a single d8 instead of a spread means that the Berserkers are far more likely to be on the high or low end, and being on the high end doesn’t help their defense.

I don’t understand why not. It could completely block an Attack they might otherwise have to save against, or significantly reduce even a strong Max die Attack to the point where saving is possible. In an ideal world someone will burn that big defend with a throwaway Attack, but the PCs only have so many actions to use, and they might very well be outnumbered by Morbloxians if the GM took a couple of groups of them as easy elements filling medium slots using the trade-in rules without thinking about the likely impact.

A group with a sweeper Attack will burn off all the Defends at once even with just one damage, but not every team has those despite how important they are - and unless they’re played dumb, a hero who does that will become the berserkers’ prime target the next round.

@FrivYeti

It only takes a single 1-pt Defend to put them in a position where they’re getting battered.

Sure, same goes for just flubbing an easy save. The smaller your dice are the more likely extremes become - but once they degrade the first time, they’re never getting a one again, since that built in +1 comes into play. d6+1 is pretty close to just being a d8 with a higher floor and lower ceiling, so they’re almost getting their first hit for free.

They are much more likely to get smashed for 12 damage and lose out on their d4 step than an actual d8 would be, though, so it’s not truly equivalent when big numbers are flying around.

@FrivYeti

And the third is that they’re pretty Hinder-vulnerable. Since they’re using the result of the Attack to Defend, a Hinder hits both numbers at the same time.

Granted, but the same is true of any bonuses they’re picking up from allies or the environment. If it’s nothing but Morbloxians that’s not much of an issue (they aren’t likely to Boost much, if ever) but any kind of mod is doing double duty. Might be kind of a wash here unless the PCs are leaning hard into Hinder abilities or the villains just aren’t getting bonuses from anywhere.

[FrivYeti]

@Chief_Lackey_Rich

I don’t understand why not. It could completely block an Attack they might otherwise have to save against, or significantly reduce even a strong Max die Attack to the point where saving is possible. In an ideal world someone will burn that big defend with a throwaway Attack, but the PCs only have so many actions to use, and they might very well be outnumbered by Morbloxians if the GM took a couple of groups of them as easy elements filling medium slots using the trade-in rules without thinking about the likely impact.

Ah, what I meant by that was: If your Defend is higher than the Attack it’s Defending against, it doesn’t matter how much higher it is. If it’s lower than the Attack, it matters a lot.

The result of that is that over a few hits, Attack will beat Defend if they’re both using the same dice, even though the median result doesn’t care.

As far as the easy elements thing - frankly, that’s going to be true for most lieutenants. Stacking up d8 lieutenants is a really good way to wreck any group that doesn’t have the tools to fight them, especially if they outnumber the heroes; the Berserkers just use a slightly different set of tools. Six Battalion Commanders pretty much make their troops nigh-invulnerable and astonishingly deadly while also having enough counter-attack damage to potentially drop a hero outright who tries to sweep them.

I think “don’t ever have more than two of a given lieutenant ability, because ability stacking becomes a problem” is a pretty good rule in general.

edit Oh, and minor detail:

@Chief_Lackey_Rich

Sure, same goes for just flubbing an easy save. The smaller your dice are the more likely extremes become - but once they degrade the first time, they’re never getting a one again, since that built in +1 comes into play. d6+1 is pretty close to just being a d8 with a higher floor and lower ceiling, so they’re almost getting their first hit for free.

Saves aren’t actions, and the +1 is only for actions, not all rolls, so a d6 Berserker isn’t getting +1 to its damage saves. The bonus will apply to the Defend, but not to any follow-ups.

[FrivYeti]

Rick Wilson

Real Name: Rick Wilson**, First Appearance:** Covert Tactics #20, September 1941
Lieutenant Type: Ally
Die Size: d10
Relation: Romantic, Approach: Mental

Traits:

• Tactical: When Rick Attacks, he also Boosts an ally with the result.
• Foreign Intel: As an action, Rick can activate a minor environment twist in the current zone, choosing its target.
• Danger Magnet: A villain can take an Overcome to place Rick in Danger. While in Danger, Rick cannot take actions until someone else succeeds at an Overcome to save him.

Madame Liberty was not alone in her fight against evil. She quickly developed a supporting cast of fellow Resistance members and local civilians who would feed her information, help her in her missions, and provide her with social interactions and problems to deal with. Most of these characters were relatively short-lived, appearing only occasionally or vanishing after a year or two, but the most enduring was Rick Wilson, American super-spy.

Rick Wilson was introduced in Madame Liberty’s third appearance, before the United States had even formally entered war against Germany. He was an undercover agent who had been inserted into France shortly before war broke out, with the goal of preparing for the possibility of Nazi conquest. His mission was only to observe the situation and feed intel back to the American government, but who was quickly overwhelmed by the scope of German atrocities. Taking matters into his own hands, he defied orders in order to sabotage an arms shipment intended for a second Blitz, only to be captured after succeeding. Madame Liberty learned of his capture and intervened, saving him before he could be interrogated, and the dashing spy quickly aligned his cause with hers, providing her with foreign support for her fight.

Rick and Marianne were partners both on-mission and romantically, quickly falling in love and taking part in romantic dinners and strolls when they weren’t busy punching Nazis. Although Rick didn’t have any powers, he was a stalwart ally, impressed by his girlfriend’s abilities and always ready to have her back. Although he wasn’t officially allowed to help her, his superiors often quietly sent him information that they knew would be valuable to Madame Liberty, and when America finally entered the war formally, he was able to provide her not only with his skills as a spy but with support in the form of smuggled weapons, intelligence, and a cadre of fellow operatives to help bring freedom to France.

As a character, Rick proved decently popular, although he also sparked a certain amount of dismay in more conservative circles. A square-jawed secret agent openly deferring to a foreign woman wasn’t what they had in mind when they wanted more American war stories. But despite this, Rick and Marianne’s relationship remained strong, with him frequently taking on the role of damsel in distress for her to save, then turning around and lending a hand in critical moments.

Behind the Scenes:

Speaking of supporting cast, say hello to Definitely Not Steve Trevor.

I mentioned ages ago that Rick Wilson is a supporting cast member who sticks around for the entirety of Venture Comics, with his son and grand-daughter gradually becoming major characters as well. Because of that, it only made sense to write him up properly, discuss a little bit about his motives, and make it explicit that he went to Berlin with Madame Liberty after the end of the war.

Rick is a bit of a multi-purpose ally, but for the purposes of this I’m tagging him as mental. He mostly uses his brains and spy skills to get things done; he can shoot or punch, but those aren’t his primary skill sets.

I think that of the Golden Age heroes, only Madame Liberty and Flatfoot have much in the way of a supporting cast that persists into the 1960s. There are, of course, two more allies to come, and I spent some time thinking about them, but as it stands it made sense that the early ones were people I’d already mentioned.

[Chief_Lackey_Rich]

@FrivYeti

Ah, what I meant by that was: If your Defend is higher than the Attack it’s Defending against, it doesn’t matter how much higher it is. If it’s lower than the Attack, it matters a lot.

Oh right, I see the reasoning now.

@FrivYeti

I think “don’t ever have more than two of a given lieutenant ability, because ability stacking becomes a problem” is a pretty good rule in general.

A good rule of thumb. You also need to be careful about the effects of rounding H/2 in general, which winds up being pretty harsh with smaller groups IME.

@FrivYeti

Saves aren’t actions, and the +1 is only for actions, not all rolls, so a d6 Berserker isn’t getting +1 to its damage saves. The bonus will apply to the Defend, but not to any follow-ups.

Oop, I misread the ability there. That does balance them out a fair bit.

@FrivYeti

Speaking of supporting cast, say hello to Definitely Not Steve Trevor.

Hi Steve! I’m glad your image is larger over here than on the purple site, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out that was a camera you were holding.

Environment manipulators are always fun, at least in restrained numbers. Supporting cast and bystanders who have explicit rules for getting into trouble are nice too, saves the GM having to remember that villains can and should do that sort of thing now and then.

[TakeWalker]

@FrivYeti

Speaking of supporting cast, say hello to Definitely Not Steve Trevor.

I Do Not Know Who That Is Or Why You Would Even Mention Them :V

[FrivYeti]

Sluagh

First Appearance: Cryptic Trails #31, October 1941

Lieutenant Type: Enemy
Die Size: d8
Motive: Destruction, Approach: Magical

Traits:

• Hidden Mischief: When Sluagh Hinders, apply the result to multiple nearby targets.
• Cloak of Night: When Sluagh Defends, she may Defend both herself and one nearby target.
• Light-shy: When in direct light, takes -2 penalty to all rolls.

While most of Skybreaker’s early foes were people who were tempted by Fomorian promises or corrupted by their dark magic, there were a handful of directly magical foes that he was forced to deal with. The most powerful Fomorians were all trapped in the Dark Sea, but once the Huntsman established that it was possible for the lesser powerful ones to slip through the cracks in their bindings, others began to appear. The most common and pernicious of these enemies was Sluagh, a dark whisperer and mischief-maker who served several of Skybreaker’s more dangerous enemies.

Sluagh was not a human, and never had been. It wasn’t even entirely clear if she was a single being, or a species who retained each other’s memories; she would often seem to be struck down, only to appear again. The truth was that this was more a reflection of the attitude that the various writers of Cryptic Trails had than a pre-determined fact; Slaugh was interesting, and she was an easy approach to give a human Fomorian power, so she would be used without much care for how she’d been left behind in a previous issue. She lurked in the shadows, playing tricks on mortals to fill them with frustration and anger, then approached them to offer power to get revenge on the people they deemed responsible. Once her target was filled with Fomorian power, she would stay nearby, helping them to accomplish their goals and making life difficult for their enemies. Her mastery over the shadows and fae nature allowed her to slip unseen between the cracks of the world, and while she wasn’t much of a fighter, she was a very accomplished meddler.

Even after Skybreaker killed her for the first time, Sluagh seemed to be as much amused by him as offended. She would give her all to try to stop him, but she didn’t care much for the people that she was offering power to, and on a few occasions even betrayed them and helped Skybreaker kill them after they became overly domineering towards her. She served the Fomorians, but she had no loyalty to them, or to their release – only to her ongoing desire to spread chaos and misery among the mortals she both loved and sneered at.

Behind the Scenes:

When I got ‘magical’ for a Skybreaker enemy, I figured it was a good chance to introduce a proper fae being. The Huntsman looks at this relationship from the other side, but Sluagh just likes to fuck with people. In later years, she probably actually helps to keep Balor contained at least once, because if the world is drawn into the Dark Sea she won’t be able to keep messing with it, but she’s still bound to the Fomorians and has to be careful how much she pushes. They expect a certain amount of backstabbing from each other, but it can still get you killed.

[Chief_Lackey_Rich]

Suitably malicious. Going to hate heroes with Radiant powers.

[FrivYeti]

Night Bird

First Appearance: Champions of Truth #5, August 1943
Lieutenant Type: Enemy
Die Size: d8
Motive: Obedience, Approach: Technological

Traits:

• Night Owl: When Night Bird strikes from surprise, she gets +2 to Attack or Hinder.
• Rybadium Plate: Night Bird has +1 to damage saves.

By 1943, Cryptic Trails was becoming overloaded with superheroes – Skybreaker and Cormorant, the Steward, and Greenheart were now all popular heroes featuring exclusively in the title, and the line didn’t have any space left for anything else. Venture’s editorial team decided to debut an eighth title, which would provide focus for Greenheart and the Steward to expand while allowing Skybreaker to remain the headliner of Cryptic Trails.

The result was Champions of Truth. Launching in April, every issue featured either the Steward or Greenheart as its main story, and most issues contained a small backup story for whichever hero wasn’t featured. These expanded stories allowed the two to begin building up more supporting cast members and recurring foes, and one of the first that the Steward faced would be the Deadly Night Bird!

Night Bird had been a simple owl living in the woods, until she was acquired by an alien scientist looking to run experiments on Earth, away from the prying eyes of galactic society. The scientist uplifted the owl into a humanoid form, equipping her with technological wings and gear and assigning her to guard his lab, but died in an accident not long after. Still obedient to his memory, Night Bird began to protect the surrounding woods, attacking any human who came near. After she killed a hiker, the Steward learned that something was amiss and investigated, only to be attacked himself. Ultimately, he realized that he was dealing with a dedicated animal in alien form, and sealed off the lab so that Night Bird could live in peace without being a threat to others.

The owl-lady, however, was too popular to leave alone, and soon Night Bird was loose again, stalking prey through the streets of an unnamed city. This time, it transpired that she was working to gather specimens for another alien race, who wanted samples of different sorts of humans; the Steward was forced to fight her again, with her stealth and low cunning pitted against his science and cosmic might. This would prove to be a common thread in their encounters; Night Bird was not very intelligent, but she was crafty, and she looked for masters who reminded her of her long-dead scientist. Fierce and vicious, she was a ruthless killer who often evaded the Steward, working for faraway masters who she would never meet, or joining forces with a larger threat such as Mr. Ferris, who would ‘pay’ her by repairing her gear or providing her with samples for other masters.

Behind the Scenes:

Uplifted animal-lady is a little bit weird, but it’s the 40s, a lot of things are weird! We’re not that far off from the real world’s “Hi, I’m Giganta, I’m a gorilla that a scientist turned into a lady because why not.”

I think that after Champions of Truth is cancelled, Night Bird makes a few minor appearances in Flatfoot stories, then starts popping up against the Vanguards or Covert Tactics in the 60s. She’s a simple character with a neat design, so she’s likely to appear on villain teams more than as a solo foe.

[Chief_Lackey_Rich]

Yeah, not even a year before Giganta’s first appearance. Hootie here is less weird, if anything - the first Giganta story had her trying to overthrow civilization with an army of cavemen.