Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that I allow players to pool their inventing points for things like team vehicles and/or HQ, as I think that it's fair for them to pool resources for items that everyone will use.

I agree that players should certainly be able to pool their inventing for such things.  Customarily I've/we've just provided bases for the teams, or the teams have acquired them on their own.

Which is why in my case using the Crusader Citadel is boon for game play.

Anyone ever try to do a team from the ground up?
Building a base... securing the property, gaining government approval, building it, furnishing it, creating defenses for(defending) it and ultimately repairing or improving it?

What about vehicles? particularly any manner of aircraft. Anyone ever lose one (Though not permanently destroyed... damaged)? What about fixing it? Who does that? Do the chara oversee every detail of it's repair (or do it themselves)? Even something as silly as repairing dents and paint jobs?

I know this sounds incredibly elaborate... but in a functioning world these are things to consider.

My Crusaders team basically had a internal task force of PC/NPCs that dealt with this. Everyone had to help (Cause they were a team).
I actually did a side-story where Dreamweaver extended herself too far... and ended up collapsing during combat (even though her End was good in my game). She had been attending school, trying to have a social life, helping battle villains, the Citadel had been damaged and was helping with that and she just pushed herself TOO far with too many projects.
Dreamweaver probably would have been fine... if not for the fact that the Citadel had to be taken care of... they couldn't just have ANY ole repairman come in and fix the place (masked heroes don't tend to trust very easily and of course spying is a huge threat to that mask).

Eventually in my game the Crusaders got heavy assistance from C.H.E.S.S. and M.E.D.U.S.A.- Even though for a short time an Agent Henry Gyrich kind of story played in the background (See Avengers in the #175-upper 180s).

Bases are important. It is the one safe refuge the PC/NPCs had. It is a vital piece for any group that calls themselves a team.

G7

Bases are always fun.
The amount of varied bases out there is staggering in the superhero world (Both for them and villains).

I wonder how many (villain) charred bases there are that SHIELD or STAR Labs had to clean up after?

If I had to choose my favorite bases...

JLA orbiting sattilight would have to be one of my all time favorites.
The Avengers Mansion is gorgeous (Especially when Perez drew it).
The Fantastic Four's Baxter Building is a pinnacle base. Just the ultimate in urban cooliness! With Reed having what seemed like 1/3 as his toyroom! Trez COOL!
The Titan's Tower is just as cool and I loved it being close yet isolated.
X-Men's Mansion is cool... but it just became too much as they became more popular. I never felt like a school except for the early days.
Avengers' West Coast Compound... possibly the worst in the Marvel Universe. I hated it.
Champions Building. much like the Baxter Building... though not nearly as cool (and certainly with it's problems).
The Justice Society's Brownstone was cool. Just not really all that fleshed out.
I loved the concept of the Liberty Legion's base... only it was even less fleshed out than the JSA's.
Challengers of the Unknown ALWAYS had an underrated base. I think it was an absolute marvel... and I always wished after the JLA had lost their sattilight that hey had used it (with the Challengers there). Course I wouldn't have minded seeing Doom Patrol use it as well.
Iron Man's secret hideaway on Stark Enterprise property was so well done by Bob Layton. I loved that place with all the armors adorning the walls.
The Presence's base (in russia) is pretty cool from the Defenders.
Dr Doom's Latveria castle is as well.
Magneto's original astroid M was super cool.
So was Brainiac's flying Octo-base.

But the cake truely has to go to the ultra cool base of the Legion of Super-Heroes (and the Legion Training Academy).

There are some truely great examples of bases for heroes (and villains) to be inspired by.
Though making them function and workable is a wholly different story for a RPG.
All those cool drawings in a Comic can remain pointless... in a game... they have to have some sort of meaning. Cause they are actual fixtures (to be at times thrown) in a game.

Fun stuff. I could go on and on about the world of superheroes and the importance of stuff of this manner.

G7

sounds reasonable. I like the idea of team mates helping to pay for upgrades and such on bases and vehicles

Ryxis47 wrote on Oct 14^th, 2010 at 8:21pm:


Sounds like a good (and realistic) way to start a campaign!   

Dr.Demented wrote on Feb 10^th, 2011 at 10:05am:


It's brilliant (and it allows one to have the base fully fleshed out and defined, already done by somebody else!).

I daresay that the Guardians' current base - located underground and under the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., where they've been for well over a decade - has yet to be defined and drawn out.

The first base the Guardians had was similar (in that it came in an adventure module), though it was taken from the bad guys instead of the good guys.  They took up residence in the Organizer's base from Organized Crimes.

While I'm thinking about it, would you guys like to see some ideas for some equipment/gear bases could be outfitted with. Say things like a training/danger room, hanger bay, submarine pins, AI computer system, defense system, holding/detention cells, med bays, etc.? As I've got some ideas about how they could be worked out.

dsumner wrote on Apr 12^th, 2013 at 10:49am:


Certainly!  I'm using this for my NEW GOD'S game...

Flood sections of the HQ with a paralysis or devitalization gas as non lethal method to handle intruders. Totally admit to it being a Star Trek rip off

Gee, my last group just adapted a disused fallout shelter to their needs. The price was right. But then, the campaign world didn't have any "super-tech," just what was available in the real world with maybe a couple upgrades but nothing wacky like invisible jets and teleportation tubes.