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! There's a lot of them, but they're all in this forum!
The Premise of Our 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 possesses mighty cosmic powers that he is reluctant to wield.
- Bouncer: An invulnerable action movie star, Bouncer is also super-strong and capable of mighty leaps (hence the name "Bouncer"). Affected by traumatic stress during the Oblivaeon Crisis, Bouncer spends less time "in the field" but remains an auxilliary member of the team.
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!
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 #33 - “Snakes and Adders”
This episode takes us on a side trip through a land of comedy and references, so buckle up! Let’s jump right into my Recap of Episode #33, “Snakes and Adders”
Episode Recap
The cold open starts with the subtitle, “Egypt, circa 2500 BC.”
A man rushes through a sandstorm, taking shelter inside the base of a half-finished pyramid. Inside, an older man with an oil lamp looks at a papyrus scroll on a wooden table. The old man speaks in an ancient tongue - we read the conversation in subtitles.
“This... this will work. This will help us a great deal, stranger.” The old man turns and we see a figure in a hooded, dark wine-colored robe. We cannot see the figure’s face, but we can see them nod in the shadows of the room.
“I do not know how to repay you, stranger. Pharoah will be pleased.”
“I’m sure he will be,” says a rough, masculine voice from beneath the robes.
“Then what reward would you have?” asks the old man.
“I need only a simple favor,” says the robed figure.
The robed figure pulls out a small handheld device from far in the future, and it lights up with a modern display. The robed figure looks down at the light from the tablet, then tucks it beneath the folds of the robe.
“Happily,” says the old man. “What is it?”
“I just need to see the burial chamber...” replies the robed figure. The opening credits begin!
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The Alternates are still in the swamp near Pappy Clay’s shack. The transformed “Nightshade” (Nightmist, now in a wooden plantoid form) chats with Cytoblast about the staff and magic. While he has been channeling magical power through the staff, Faye Diamond confirms that Cytoblast has a deep reservoir of magical power within him.
Further, Cytoblast’s ability to perform magic comes from his inner humility. Once a hotshot doctor, Douglas Hemlocke’s journey to “humble practitioner” opened himself up to magic, and the staff merely served as a vehicle on that journey. Cytoblast also admits that, for some reason, he trusts Lucas Clay implicitly.
Meanwhile, Jersey Devil has a discussion with Lucas Clay. Clay tells “the young Mr. Leeds” that Clay knew Jersey Devil’s father, and knew Jersey Devil when he was still a baby. He could recognize “the young Mr. Leeds,” Clay says, because Lucius has a connection to the Leeds family. He doesn’t elaborate. But Jersey Devil wants to know about “his friends” and where they are. Lucius Clay, unfortunately, doesn’t know anything about any of Jersey Devil’s “friends.”
The Alternates say their farewells, and realize they don’t have an Alternajet or an easy way out of the swamp. Pappy Clay offers to drive them into town in his jalopy.
While on a commercial flight back to Megalopolis, the Alternates are first contacted by Bouncer and La Sorcière Sarcelle, who want to find out how they’re doing. Bouncer tells them he’s tracking down some Gloom Cultists in Europe, and he’ll let the team know how it goes. He also tells them to contact Starshadow.
When the team calls Starshadow, he lets them know that a government liaison for the Guardians of Freedom - a man named General Armstrong - wants to talk to the Alternates about a job.
When the Alternates arrive back at their headquarters, they find that Unity and Omnitron-X (who, fans may recall, had been surviving as sort of “ghosts in the machine” or some kind of electronic simulations) now exist in full physical bodies. Unity seems human enough now (before being destroyed by Oblivaeon in this timeline, she had been living as a mechanical golem) and Omnitron-X is back in his old robotic form.
Kid Radical notes the duo’s new bodies, and they explain they were tired of being virtual. Quasar Kid pokes Omnitron-X in the shoulder to make sure he’s real, and Jersey Devil tries to feed Unity (who politely turns him down). Unfortunately, there's no time to talk with them - General Armstrong is waiting!
The Alternates meet with General Armstrong, who tells them that the Guardians of Freedom (and the U.S. government) needs help against S.N.A.K.E. - a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. S.N.A.K.E. - the Secret Network of Assassins, Killers, and Executioners - has been around for a while, but only as a minor threat. However, S.N.A.K.E. has been recruiting super-powered people lately, and General Armstrong is concerned about the danger they might pose in the future.
S.N.A.K.E. is plotting to steal the Constitution, but the Guardians of Freedom are hoping to find them before they attempt the theft. The General’s plan is that the Guardians will protect the Constitution while the Alternates scout out an underwater base in the Chesapeake. The Alternates agree to join the mission.
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Back in Europe, Bouncer is talking with some authorities there about the cultist he brought into their custody. The officers reveal that the cultist was formerly a priest at a church in France. Bouncer thanks the authorities and heads off to France.
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Somewhere over the Chesapeake, the Alternates pilot the Alterna-jet (in submersible mode) under the water to find the secret S.N.A.K.E. base. They spot it under the Chesapeake and decide to go ahead in.
The Alterna-jet docks in a moon pool and, Immediately, S.N.A.K.E. commandos surround the team and level their laser rifles at the Alterna-jet.
“Members of S.N.A.K.E.!” Kid Radical says through a loudspeaker on the jet. “This is your chance to surrender! We are not here to hurt anyone!”
“Well, we are a little bit,” says Quasar Kid.
“I get to eat at least one of them,” adds Jersey Devil.
“How do you feel about snake popsicles?” asks Dr. Comet, with a chuckle.
“Ew,” says Cytoblast.
Kid Radical sighs. “Guys, I never turned the microphone off. They heard that whole conversation. Now we’re going to have to go fight them.”
And fight them they do! The Alternates leap into action against the S.N.A.K.E. commandos when the enemies are joined by a massive masked man wielding a gigantic axe. As he wades into the fight, a high-pitched, hissing voice comes over the loudspeakers in the headquarters shouting, “Welcome to your doom, you fools! You now face… the Axecutioner!”
The large man with the axe sighs deeply and says, “Please don’t call me that.” He swings his axe mightily and it sweeps a wide swath through the heroes.
Axecutioner proves a difficult fight for the Alternates. His axe, which Cytoblast calls out as being magical, is a weapon of considerable power, and the villain expertly wields it.
At one point during the fight, Dr. Comet and Kid Radical do a cool team-up maneuver to counter Axecutioner’s fiery axe - Dr. Comet freezes Kid Radical’s devil sticks so that he can successfully parry the Axecutioner’s mighty blows.
Also, Quasar Kid climbs up on Axectioner’s back during the fight, quipping that he learned it from watching Jersey Devil’s “Lil Devil” diminutive conjured monster allies fight.
In the end, the Alternates hold off the Axecutioner, who retreats with a cadre of S.N.A.K.E. soldiers and the S.N.A.K.E. commander. The base begins to flood, so the heroes retreat to the submersible Alterna-jet as water fills the room.
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Meanwhile, Bouncer is driving through the French countryside late in the night. Finally, he comes upon an old church tucked at the edge of an old forest. He parks the tiny European car in front and walks up the stairs to the door.
Suddenly, from out of the darkness, shambling forms come into view. They are clearly zombies, stumbling towards Bouncer with their arms outstretched.
“Well, crap,” Bouncer quips. “I have a bunch of zombie puns ready, and now nobody’s gonna hear them.”
The credits roll under “Cruel to Be Kind” by Nick Lowe.
Final Thoughts
This episode is a fun and silly romp through references to 1980s children’s cartoons with a dash of zombies at the end for flavor. Stealing the Constitution - who does that? Villains of a bygone era - that's who.
We do find out that General Armstrong is working as a liaison between the government and the Guardians of Freedom (the official super team of the United States government). We haven’t heard anything about Fort Adamant in this timeline, and the “Void Guard” are still “The Sentinels of Freedom” (and are currently missing in space).
The cold opens are hinting at some sort of time traveller, it seems. This whole season is hinting at a lot of time travel, with evidence the Alternates themselves may have time travelled already (or will be time-travelling soon, or both). We’ll see where that takes us - it’s still early into Season 3!
Of course, we have to wonder what’s going on with Unity and Omnitron-X? Now they’re resurrected or something? Unity is human again? How did they do that? Are we ever going to get any answers about that?
One final thing - I would have traded all the S.N.A.K.E. side-story for more time with Nightshade. I realize this series is not about the alternate versions of Sentinels main characters, but Nightshade seems like a really fun take on Nightmist, and I would definitely buy into a whole series about her. But I was always a Nightmist fan to begin with.
Be sure to join us next week for my Recap of Episode #34, titled “Petitioned for Redress”.
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 these Recaps, but it's coming along! I'll hopefully catch up before the end of the year! The last two weeks, we had a "Guest GM" and I got to play, and we had two sessions that are outside the scope of the show, so they'll probably end up being "web-only specials" or something. :D
I'm also about to run a two-part "Holiday Special", which will be fun. One great thing about running this game as a TV show in a meta-verse is the ability to do fun things like that. The Holiday Special will be one of those classic things that will end up making no sense in canon, like the Star Wars Holiday Special or basically every Dragonball movie. Then next year, we'll get back to the main storyline.
So another fun thing about this game and the genre in general is the ability to completely throw in silly stuff like S.N.A.K.E. and stealing the Constitution as tongue-in-cheek jokes without anyone batting an eye or thinking the game is devolving into complete nonsense. Everyone who's watched X-Files or Supernatural knows there are campy episodes that don't break the show. Heck, even M.A.S.H. could go from hilariously silly to "OMG THE SADNESS" in a single scene. And by glomming onto the tropes of comic books and TV shows, I can easily do the same thing with the game!
As for the actual running of this game, it was nothing very special. The combat was just a stand-up fight - we spent a lot of the episode in dialogue and scene development, so there wasn't time for a big scene.
I really recommend throwing Hero Points at the players for games where they do well at RP and scene development but there are no Challenges from which to reap those delicious buffs. I try to also distinguish between, "Wow, you all did great, here's 5 Hero Points" and "You can take 3 Hero Points" without being a dick about it. My players are great, so I just have to expect more from them to reward them with a 5-pointer. ;-)
That's all for this episode! Thanks for reading!