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Poll Question: How would you rate THE DAWN OF DNA?



« Last Modified by: Guardian7 on: Oct 16th, 2009 at 1:27am »
Normal Topic How would you rate the Dawn of DNA? (Read 1795 times)
Guardian7
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How would you rate the Dawn of DNA?
Oct 12th, 2009 at 10:27pm
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When you played the eigth module of V&V's sizable listing of game supplements. What did you think. Explain your post if possible.

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Re: How would you rate the Dawn of DNA?
Reply #1 - Oct 12th, 2009 at 10:36pm
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This is one I bought, but never got a chance to play,  so I don't feel it'd be right to vote on this one. But, I did read over it, I do like several of the characters, and some of the power write-ups are interesting.
  

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Re: How would you rate the Dawn of DNA?
Reply #2 - Oct 12th, 2009 at 11:34pm
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I liked the drugrunner foreshadowing at the opening of the module. The villain team was about as motley as they come, which worked to the module's advantage in this case.

The charisma-loss/bonus rules during the environmental catastrophes were too random, as they have little connection to the player-characters' decisions.

The extraterrestrials seemed to overcomplicate the module. I think the adventure have been more cohesive without them.
« Last Edit: Oct 12th, 2009 at 11:37pm by polarboy »  
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Re: How would you rate the Dawn of DNA?
Reply #3 - Oct 13th, 2009 at 9:11am
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I have to admit that my voting is a little misleading because I only played the "Tackle the T.O.T.E.M." module.  So when I vote I have to base it on how much fun it was to read and imagine using.

The one time I got to be a player, the GM wouldn't even introduce the Villains.  So it was fighting Invisible Guy #1, Unknown Girl #2, and Generic Minions #1 to 15.  I think the GM was thinking this was being mysterious and exciting but I found it very bland.  What I would have given for a Megalomaniac speech from the Villain telling me what was going on.

All the times I was GM we never made it to gaming session 4, so nothing ever really developed.

I agree with Polarboy that the extraterrestrials overcomplicated it.
  

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Re: How would you rate the Dawn of DNA?
Reply #4 - Oct 13th, 2009 at 3:31pm
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I've run this one at least three times, and I find it to be a great module!  The main villain is one of the best out there (very cool how Dr. DNA can "body jump").

I agree that it's a pretty motley assortment of other henchmen/villains.  Perhaps this is because they are based in Europe, but likely it's because most of them are a bit underwhelming.  Shee-Ariel is actually one of the tougher villains from any of the adventures, but many of the others were quite weak.

The pill factory is a bit different, as is the racetrack setting.  The storyline with the pills making more and more of Malton act like wacky zombies is quite fun to play.

Overall a very good module!
  
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Re: How would you rate the Dawn of DNA?
Reply #5 - Oct 14th, 2009 at 12:56pm
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Now for some specifics:

I've run this one at least three times, the first when I originally bought the module and put our high school-era Sentinels group through it; I don't have my original recap of that one.

The second time was in our current campaign, back in the early days of Justice Force:

#21 – It Begins – Adonis is baited by Shee-Ariel to accept an offer of riches from Doctor DNA in exchange for the Errants rendering their services in North America. When the criminals arrive in Miami, Doctor DNA gives them genetic brainwashing pills to subtly silence troublesome people. Days later, a sperm bank is broken into, but nothing appears to be disturbed. Panther, Spectre, Sinder, Mirage, and new superheroes Excalibur and Batwing investigate at Horizon Research. Though there are no signs of forced entry into the building, the door to the storage vault has been ripped from its hinges and they find a squashed cockroach inside the normally sterilized interior. Broken seals show that storage cabinets inside were opened, but seals on individual frozen sample containers are intact and show no tampering. The next day, Mirage apprehends drug-runner Roscoe Watt, who claims that 'Scuz' is the new crime boss in the city. Sinder rescues a small private plane on fire over the nearby suburb of Malton, but pilot Gavin Hart appears to be hiding something; the three other passengers are unemotional and slow. The Errants call an emergency meeting over concern that Shee-Ariel's recklessness (fireballing the plane) could bring unwanted attention; they decide to give a pill to Hart (as they did his companions). When revisited by the heroes, he is flat and bland just like the others. As the Errants give pills to more and more civilians, the problem gets out of hand. Soon people all over Malton, even police officers, are zombie-like and have no personality. Due to programming by Miragi, the affected people (even the elderly) all listen to the same electronic pop song, which is heard all over town. Shee-Ariel, furious at the Errants for their incompetence and hoping to wipe out evidence, decides to destroy Malton. The following evening, her alien Shredders set off demolitions at key locations while she wildly blasts fire from the sky. As Justice Force arrives to stop her she torches an apartment complex, then detonates charges on the water tower, diverting the rescuers so that she can fly away.

#22 – The Plot Thickens – Doctor DNA oversees his factory, where he plans to produce enough pills to alter the genetic code of every living being on the continent. The Errants scheme to eliminate Justice Force with a multi-phased plan. With Malton a smoldering ruin, the team aids in the clean-up. At night, as Carl Nasca (Spectre) goes to a movie with Jennifer Boyt, he is attacked by two Shredders! He successfully wards off the savage aliens, disintegrating one and incapacitating the other. Next, the gigantic Mongo, escorted by Cockroach, heads toward Miami and is intercepted by Excalibur and Batwing. Despite much property damage, the adventurers subdue the two. Downtown, Panther hears a scream and rushes to rescue a distraught girl, but she turns on him and attacks with a poisoned dagger! The hero fends off the ambush from the young woman (Valeri, an Errant) and a Shredder, escaping without serious injury. Through the media, Shee-Ariel demands a meeting with all local superheroes at a racetrack. While the team waits there patiently, the criminals cause disasters all over the city to create diversions. Batwing, Mirage, and Sinder depart to help the populace, while Spectre, Panther, and Excalibur remain. In grand style Shee-Ariel and Scuz drive up; they are soon joined by Adonis, Magnetron, Miragi, Valeri, and three Shredders. After a lengthy battle, the heroes force the villains to retreat.

#23 – The Dawn of DNA – Doctor DNA delivers a recorded message that is broadcast on every TV and radio station around the world. He explains that he is a benevolent conqueror of humanity, which he has been studying. He invites all paranormals to join him, claims that the Errants were a diversion, and threatens to release the horror of his DNA Deficients on the world! Cockroach reveals the location of the mastermind's Pill Factory outside Miami, so the vigilantes head there and enter via an abandoned mineshaft hidden in a cave. The six men invade the complex, taking out many armed soldiers as they penetrate deeper and descend into the facility. Doctor DNA confronts the heroes, but realizes that he is outmatched; unbeknownst to his opponents he switches bodies with scientist Ray Horn to avoid capture. Slipping away, he quickly destroys all of his notes and work (including his only DNA Deficient), then escapes through a secret slide. The vigilantes round up many guards and technicians and shut down the entire operation.

The third time I ran this one was at GuardianCon a couple of years ago; I've occasionally run the old modules for my current players, most of whom never had the opportunity to play through them.  We only got half-way through it at the Con, and we ended up meeting a number of months later to wrap things up.  I can't recall many specific details, but one part that I thought was fun was that I brought along a CD of Daniel Powter's pop song "Bad Day", which I used as the song that the zombies grooved to; I love that song, but I think we were all pretty sick of it by the end of the session, after it had played over and over and over and over...    Grin
  
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