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 Game 12. "Season 2" will encompass Episodes #13 through #30. Here is the Recap for Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, Episode 19, Episode 20, Episode 21, Episode 22, Episode 23, Episode 24, Episode 25, and Episode 26.
Brief Description of the Game: In the meta-verse (where Sentinel comics is a published comic book multimedia empire), there is a premium cable animated television series (in a style similar to “Into the Spider-Verse”), 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/Protagonists:
- 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/Supporting characters:
- 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.
- Night Knight: A costumed, armored vigilante who has taken over the protection of Rook City, despite the country legislating against super vigilantism. With a gravelly voice and endless gadgets, Night Knight has sort of picked up where the Wraith left off.
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!
Also, some important villain stuff going on - Unbeknownst to the heroes, Baron Blade has reappeared (after being presumed dead), and was secretly striking at the heroes during the last season. He has assembled a Vengeful Seven team, which is being lead by Hippocampus (the Hippo, except now he's super-smart). They are working behind the scenes on some sort of revenge plot.
I've also done some very amateur sketches for the game! You can see them in this Google Photos album.
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 #27 Recap:
“Encore Presentation (12-inch Club Remix)”
By Eddie Jaczerkowski
This week, the Alternates revisit an old foe - the disharmonious DJ Doctor Dancefloor! This episode is pretty light on new reveals, but it’s not a bad episode on the whole. Let’s jump into it!
Episode Recap
The cold open of Episode #27 starts in a hospital hallway. Two young people lean against the wall outside the door to a hospital room - one is recognizable as New Wave of the West Coast Guardians of Freedom (aka Alicia Miller) who we met in Season 1. The young man with her has only been seen briefly in the background before - he is her twin brother, Joshua Miller, aka Honky Tonk of the Midwest Guardians of Freedom. These two are the younger siblings of DJ Doctor Dancefloor, in case you’ve forgotten that tidbit from earlier episodes.
Unsurprisingly, we see DJ Doctor Dancefloor (Raymond Miller) walking down the hospital hallway towards them. All of them look several years younger, so we can assume this is a flashback into the past. They are dressed in each of their individual styles - Joshua in jeans and a brown leather jacket with fringe, Alicia in a ripped t-shirt and jeans, and Raymond in a shiny red tracksuit and bucket hat and sunglasses.
Raymond walks up to his siblings and they nod silently to him. “Hello Ray,” his sister says to him. Raymond asks, “Is dad in there?” His siblings nod, and he enters the room.
Inside the hospital room is an older man attached to a half dozen machines. He seems barely conscious, and Ray comes to his bedside, sits down, and speaks with him.
“I don’t understand your choices, Raymond,” the old man says, “But I love you. I hope you know that.”
“They aren’t my choices, dad. It’s who I am,” Raymond responds.
“Well, I always liked who you were,” says his dad. “You just be who you are, then, son.”
We see Raymond exit the room and stand near his siblings.
“Dad’s right,” Raymond tells his siblings. “I gotta be who I am. I think you two should take the same advice.”
The twins look at each other, then back at their brother, silently.
“We’ve kept a family secret for our whole lives. I think we need to be who we are. We shouldn’t hide our powers any more.”
“Ray, I mean… they’re not really powers…” Alicia begins.
“Oh, they are far more powerful than you realize,” Raymond responds. “I’ve been practicing, and I’ve pushed what we can do to new limits. And I’ll push beyond those limits, too. If you two ever want to learn how to really use your powers, just come join me out in San Francisco.”
“Wait, Ray,” Joshua says. “We heard you were getting yourself into some trouble out there. Maybe you should come back home. You can start fresh.”
“I’m not getting myself into trouble, little brother,” Raymond replies. “I’m getting myself out of trouble. And I can get the whole family out of trouble, too, if you two work with me.”
The twins look at each other silently again, then they turn their eyes down to the floor.
“Fine,” Raymond says. “Trust me - the day is going to come when you wished you’d followed me out of this town today. But go ahead and pretend you’re normal kids. It won’t last long, I promise you.”
Raymond walks past them and down the hallway of the hospital.
The Alternates are on the roof of their headquarters, where Dr. Comet has a large telescope inside a cylindrical shelter situated on top of the building. Jersey Devil asks, “So what are we doing up here?”
Dr. Comet explains that Unity (who still exists inside a computer network as a kind of “uploaded personality” alongside Omnitron-X) had been tracking Starshadow’s energy signature, and had followed his pattern from his orbital base above Jupiter to somewhere in Earth’s orbit, but then the signal disappeared. Unity has passed on the coordinates to Dr. Comet, who is now trying to see if she can find something at those coordinates.
“Uh oh,” Dr. Comet says.
“Is it sharks again?” asks Jersey Devil.
“Uhm, no... that’s... not how sharks work,” answers Dr. Comet.
“Well,” adds Quasar Kid, “There are the cosmic carcharodons, but those are at least 30,000 light years away.”
Dr. Comet explains that she’s located the coordinates, but there’s only debris there. She identifies the remains of a small space station, now obliterated by an internal explosion.
The Alternates come back downstairs to their office to find that someone has slipped a flyer under their door. While it’s just a cheap photocopy of a poorly made announcement, the flyer clearly states:
ONE NIGHT ONLY - DJ DOCTOR DANCEFLOOR!
FEATURING:
- Acid Jazzy Geoff
- MC Lil Go Go
- Mzz Sk1ffle
Kid Radical reads the flyer aloud, and the Alternates mostly roll their eyes and sigh.
However, Dr. Comet interjects when Kid Radical finishes. “Mzz Sk1ffle!” she says. “I love Mzz Sk1ffle! How did I not hear about this?”
The other Alternates eye her oddly for a moment, but they soon decide to go to the show (which has already started) and see what’s going on. Dr. Comet insists they all go get dressed for the club.
Dr. Comet returns from her room in chrome tights, a pink fuzzy top, a pacifier necklace, and star-shaped sunglasses. Quasar Kid comes back wearing a retro-futuristic red shiny suit with fins over the shoulders and glowing rings floating around the ankles. Cytoblast puts on a dated leisure suit from the disco era. Jersey Devil wears a dusty top hat and tails, but no one really notices.
Kid Radical, however, does not change outfits. “No,” he says. “I am absolutely not going to indulge DJ Doctor Dancefloor in his nonsense.”
The team heads down to the club, DBDB’s (Drum and Bass and Delicious Beats), where Dr. Comet leads them around back. Some roadies are outside, smoking, with a brick holding the door open.
“Whoa, it’s Dr. Disaster!” one roadie says when he sees Dr. Comet. She smiles at them as she and the other Alternates casually walk in the back door.
They make their way out to the audience, near the front of the stage, where Mzz Sk1ffle is currently DJing. Mzz Skiffle winks and points at Dr. Comet as she crosses the busy floor. Quasar Kid, noticing the wink, comments, “This is so weird.”
As Mzz Sk1ffle’s track finishes, DJ Doctor Dancefloor appears on stage and grabs the mic. Speaking with his terrible patois, he says, “I’ve got some special friends here tonight, down in front - the Alternates! I want you all to show `em a good time tonight!”
Suddenly, the audience and all three DJ performers turn toward the Alternates, a glazed look in their eye. Somehow, DJ Doctor Dancefloor has hypnotized them all, and they all jump the Alternates!
Meanwhile, in some far away laboratory, Dr. Vitruvius (who we’ve seen before in flashbacks), is working at a table with a number of vials and tubes. A screen behind him turns on suddenly, and Baron Blade’s face appears on it.
“Dr. Vitruvius,” the Baron says coldly.
The doctor straightens up and smiles to himself. He slowly turns to face the screen, saying, “Baron Blade. It’s good to see you again.”
“Hrm. Indeed. I will say this, doctor - your subjects have turned out to be quite helpful.”
“It’s a pleasure to serve you, Baron,” Dr. Vitruvius replies.
“Is it?” the Baron asks with a note of anger. “Imagine my surprise when I discovered my scientific discoveries being used by a secret organization in the United States government, and imagine my absolute shock when I finally tracked it down to you, Dr. Vitruvius. When I rescued you from that Russian prison, you pledged your loyalty to Mordengrad. I was disappointed to find that you betrayed us.”
“I beg your forgiveness, Baron,” the doctor says. He does not seem surprised or frightened, but rather amused. “They told us you were dead. Mordengrad without Baron Blade is not Mordengrad at all.”
“Perhaps,” the Baron says. After a moment’s pause, he continues. “Nonetheless, you have done your penance, Vitruvius. Your experiments have filled out my Vengeful Seven nicely. I wanted to contact you to tell you that, as far as your betrayal of Mordengrad is concerned, we will consider the matter settled.”
“Oh, really? Are you already so close to completing your plans, Herr Baron?” Dr. Vitruvius asks.
“Yes,” the Baron replies with a wicked smile. “Let us put this all behind us.”
The two villains both have strange smiles, as if each one thinks he’s outsmarting the other. It’s not entirely clear what each one is hiding, but it’s clear they both are keeping secrets.
Finally, the screen shuts down, and the image of the Baron disappears. Dr. Vitruvius smiles broadly and turns back to his tubes and vials.
The Alternates try their best not to do serious harm to the mystified moshers and the delirious DJs, but a few punches and ice beams do hit the civilians here and there. Fighting their way past the audience, the team tries to make their way to DJ Doctor Dancefloor and get him directly. However, Mzz Skiffle, MC Lil Go Go, and Acid Jazzy Geoff all strike at our heroes with various turntables and speakers at their disposal.
Kid Radical dons his special “DJ Doctor Dancefloor Buster Armor” (at least, that’s what he calls it), which is a heavy pair of noise-cancelling headphones. He mentions that he designed them with the help of New Wave and Honky Tonk (DJ Doctor Dancefloor’s siblings). At one point, Kid Radical stuffs earplugs into Mzz Skiffle’s ears in an attempt to counter the effects of DJ Doctor Dancefloor’s powers.
Finally, once the heroes are up on stage, Quasar kid goes toe to toe with DJ Doctor Dancefloor. He charges up a great deal of his quantum energy, then lays into DJ Doctor Dancefloor with a punch so hard that it overloads the dance doctor’s sound powers and blows out every window in the place!
Down on the dance floor, Jersey Devil is teleporting around so fast that he starts to take up about half of the mosh pit. Finally, he summons a number of his “Lil Devils” that leap up off the floor and grab onto DJ Doctor Dancefloor.
Back on stage, Kid Radical is hitting DJ Doctor Dancefloor over and over again with his Tech Deck skateboard, until the gadget starts to spark and fume. He throws the device into the mob on the dancefloor, where it explodes and stuns the audience. With “Lil Devils” distracting him, DJ Doctor Dancefloor is not ready for Quasar Kid’s charged-up attack. He clasps his hands together and drives his fist downward into DJ Doctor Dancefloor, channeling a massive amount of his quantum energy and knocking the doctor out.
The hypnotic effect on the crowd and the DJ’s breaks, and everyone starts to mumble as Quasar Kid picks DJ Doctor Dancefloor up off the ground.
The credits roll as Cobrastyle by The Teddybears and Mad Cobra plays. However, the credits are interrupted by a mid-credit scene:
Back at Alternate’s HQ, Bouncer is standing in front of the Alternates, who have brought an unconscious DJ Doctor Dancefloor with them. They’ve apparently just told Bouncer the whole story, because the scene is just him almost-shouting, “Wait, you’re telling me you went and bounced a whole club and I wasn’t there? Come on!”
Final Thoughts
This episode is mostly just another fight, but it seems to me the Alternates were kind of lead by the nose to a fight with DJ Doctor Dancefloor when they should probably be tracking down Baron Blade. Of course, I don’t really blame them - they have no leads on Baron Blade, and DJ Doctor Dancefloor (being one of the Vengeful Seven) might just! I guess we’ll find out next episode.
We also got some insight into Dr. Comet’s hobbies outside of science and heroism - she’s into electronic music and clubbing, apparently.
Dr. Vitruvius reveals a little more of himself in this episode (and apparently, he’ll appear in the next episode, too). The scene between him and Baron Blade hints at both of them hiding big things from the other - they way they smile and the way they talk in villainous double-speak. We’ve been aware that there’s a link from Mordengrad to Operation Pipeclamp and then back to Baron Blade, and this scene lays it out - Dr. Vitruvius served Baron Blade, left Mordengrad when the Baron died, worked inside Operation Pipeclamp, but then ultimately had some of his subjects - Highwire and possibly Atomic Dawn - working for Baron Blade. In a way, that’s a full circle for him.
But if Dr. Vitruvius has been creating superpowered people, and he lent some of his subjects to Baron Blade, one wonders what he originally planned to do with those subjects. Why was Atomic Dawn in that cryogenic tube? Are there others? What is Dr. Vitruvius doing? Was it Operation Pipeclamp’s agenda to create superheroes? Were some of the new powered heroes that have popped up in the Guardians of Freedom part of Operation Pipeclamp?
I think Dr. Vitruvius has an important part to play in this show. It’s worth noting that Dr. Vitruvius and Operation Pipeclamp were not in the comic book series of The Alternates. The progression and resolution of the “Baron Blade Lives” plot was very different, although I won’t say more for those who want to read the comic series and enjoy the surprises there.
Final note - DJ Doctor Dancefloor's Jamaican patois is extremely off-putting.
That’s it for this week - only three episodes remain! So join us next week for a Recap of Episode #28, titled “The Third Law of Thermodynamics.”
Eddie Jaczerkowski is a staff writer who loves comic books and writes about television.
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Running the Game!
I'm still way behind on writing Recaps and stuff for the game! Oh noes! I've got a weird brand of writer's block where I can easily come up with all the ideas, but I just can't seem to execute on typing out the words and stuff that go along with the ideas. If you experience the same thing and are looking for advice, I have none.
Increasingly, I'm realizing that the "Television show" structure of this game I'm running needs to take over more and more of how the game is run. For instance, it's good to stop the game in the middle of a scene and just narrate a different scene happening to NPCs, especially if that scene doesn't involve the PCs and they have no way of being aware of it. It really does help sell the narrative structure.
With that, though, comes two rules - first, don't narrate that scene for a half-hour. It should be short and sweet, unless the players are involved in creatively writing the scene (which happens for us sometimes). Second, be very forgiving of accidental metagaming. I'm bombarding the players with stories, so it'll be easy to mess up what they know versus what their characters know.
At the end of the day, though, this is totally worth the trouble. It made me realize that when I run other games, I should create a narrative conceit for them as well. For instance, I always try to infuse tons of story into my Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, but the traditional structure of the D&D game is one of dungeon-crawling and combat adventures. And that's fine. But the next time I run D&D, I'm going to figure out a way to do it within a narrative structure. A novel? Maybe. Maybe I can tell the whole thing like it's tales being told by a bard in a tavern. I don't know, but I think framing an RPG in an external narrative structure is a really good way to help make the transition from "rolling dice" to "telling a story."
Anyway, that's what I think.
Thanks for reading, as always!