Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Reconciling Agents Of Shield and Thor Dark World For Your Old School Super Hero Campaigns Part II

Tonight's Agent's of Shield episode 'The Well' stood on its own but its roots ran very deep indeed all the way back to the first Thor movie.
There were some scenes in tonight's episode that tied into the film Thor The Dark World but instead reached into several areas of the the first Thor movie.
The Well on its own ties into itself and the greater Marvel Movie universe. This wasn't so much an episode about Thor Dark World as it was an episode about the Asgardians and their interaction with the Movie universe. 
The Well doesn't play shadow games instead it digs deep into the Marvel Asgardian Mythology and it does it with one of my all time favorite character actors. 

 Deep in the Norwegian woods, a pair of bitter protesters find a silver staff buried in a tree. Etched with Asgardian runes, this alien artifact gives the hikers super strength and legendary "berserk" levels of rage. The end result is an angry 'Heavy Metal The movie' style army rampaging through the streets of Oslo. I'd like to know who or what gave them the knowledge of the whereabouts of this staff. I have my suspicions. 
Coulson and crew visit Professor Randolph (the great Peter MacNicol), an expert in Asgardian mythology. He claims that the fragment found in the woods may be a piece of the power source of legendary Asgardian Warriors, the Berzerkers.
The implication here is that for some reason the Asgardians not only visited Earth long ago maybe 2,000 to 5,000 but there was a huge conflict on Earth. 
After this conflict was over many of the weapons, artifacts, and technology might have stayed behind. The reappearance of the Asgardians might have awakened not only these items but some other things that might have been left behind. 
The gaming possibilities of this episode are far and wide reaching. We've got alien gods walking among mortals, technology of god like proportions, and a metric ton of gaming tie ins here.
The implications here for doing a Marvel Super Hero game are pretty staggering.
The fact that there was a more mysterious past tied to some ancient war and Earth might have been more then a mere battle ground but ground zero in the Marvel universe has epic and legendary adventure tie ins. Could this be the first hints of a possible Celestial like race or entities that have providence in the Marvel Movie universe. We've seen Thanos. So who is too say. 
The staff it turns out isn't some artifact ala The Dungeon Master's Guide first edition or anything but a rank and file tech item belonging to the Asgardians. 
Warning if your looking for the Norse Mythology here. Forget it. You'd be better digging through Deities and Demigods from first edition AD&D. 
If your looking for Marvel Asgardian action and how it can tie into a weird 'real' world like setting this might be it. The Marvel Super Heroes game had a wide reaching tie in with this sort of thing. 
The Well so far is one of my favorite episodes. If all of the future episodes kept this sort of pace, energy, and attitude. Well they might have a chance to keep folks watching.
 Many of the plot holes in this episode could be exploited by a DM looking to create his own source of mercenaries, covert Asgardian operatives, possible clean up crew for the Dark Elves, and much, much, more.
The ideas laid out here include what possible other artifacts have been left behind, what the hell were the Asgardians fighting 2,000 to 5,000 years ago, are there more artifacts waiting to be discovered(could there be a globe trotting Indianna Jones style modern adventure campaign in the wings), what or who was supplying the Occupy Style villains (rubes) of tonight's adventure and are there more cells waiting out in the Marvel movie universe?
The only bit I didn't like was the quick throwing away picking on the misguided pagan villains. Its a minor point for another blog post. But its an interesting one and I didn't feel that it actually fit the episode at all but that's just me. 

Using some of the Elements of the Well 
In Your Marvel Super Heroes Game or 
Old School Supers game


 

The implications of the Asgardian and Earth realms connection in tonight's episode show just how strongly they're connected. In the Marvel Super Heroes game they're even stronger. 
Thunder Over Jotunheim from the basic game throws the PC's deep into the Marvel Asgardian universe and allows the PC's to deal with some of the minor 'big bads' of the Marvel Asgardian universe.
 Available right over
HERE

For many of the deep connections between the Avengers and The Asgardians, "Avengers Coast To Coast' is your go to book with a metric ton of history, stats, and interactions making stuff like tonight's Agents of Shield episode much more accessible.
Available right Over
HERE

Many of the possible implications in tonight's episode bring to mind the ME series. Starting with "Cosmos Cubed". This is where the rubber hits the pavement. This series of modules hits on the cosmic powers of the Marvel universe.
According to Wiki: 
Some of the universe's most powerful super heroes have been selected and assembled by the WATCHER. He sends them on a mission to a faraway planet, where they discover a secret that threatens the very universe! Cosmos Cubed is the first of a three-part series of modules that pit your favorite super heroes against the greatest forces in the universe! ~ Two booklets (32 pages and 16 pages) and a fold-out map.Get It Right
HERE

Use this one sparingly and while I have run this series of modules with other super hero games. Tonight's episode also brings to mind the trope of Ancient Aliens as gods.
The ideas of Clark's law are in spades here. There could well be many more applications.
Tonight's episode neatly side stepped the whole worshiping the gods bit and simply cast the Asgardians as aliens with very advanced technology. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.