The companion adventures, of which I have done two (one is exclusive to KS backers) is working under similar conditions; these are long enough to represent an individual comic book issue, but short enough that I don't get bogged down in getting halfway through a draft and then giving up. I have a model in place that I can keep building on, and that was important to me to keep the game growing. If all I do is Stalwart Philes and short adventures, there's a solid foundation for the game to grow going forward.
Act 1 - Decades ago, on one of their final missions, Freedom's Four defeat Doctor Voltus in his castle by trapping him in a closed cicruit system within his castle; they know it is a temporary fix.
Cut Scene 1 - In the present, the modern-day heroes (or Doc Stalwart if playing solo) meet with the retired older Liberty Lass and Bronze Beacon 2, who recount one of their final battles; we learn that Captain Reicher is up to something, and that something might be bringing back Doctor Voltus. Liberty Lass dons her gear for one last mission...
Act 2 - Travel to Doctor Voltus' old castle; a battle with Captain Reicher and minions. (Modern hero team with Liberty Lass).
Cut Scene 2 - Set up a device that can 'trap' Doctor Voltus; create mechanical keys in play that must trigger to permanently trap him so he can face trial for war crimes.
Act 3 - Final battle with Doctor Voltus with some triggered events built into the battle.
Cut Scene 3 - Funeral for Bronze Beacon 2? Something to finalize the events. Maybe have an event where the wrist bands he carried are donated to the museum his neice works for... set up the future Bronze Beacon? Historical comment about how this event was later ret-conned to include BB 3 even though that was never
Hmm. I solved a lot of this as I was blogging. I know that I spoke about this at some point, but writing is really a thinking process as much as it can be a process of revelation; I talked to my students earlier this year about how I don't use writing to put down the things I already have in my head. Sometimes, I sit down with only the vaguest idea, but the PROCESS of writing it down and getting it out in front of my eyeballs allows me to see how the dots connect. That is exactly what happened here. What I ended up writing down is a lot more than was in my head, and much better organized, than when I started. Writing process for the win!
Last week, in my Wednesday Comics post, I accidentally left off one comic, the issue of Vigilante from April 5, 1984:
Vigilante #8: Wolfman brings his Electrocutioner vigilante over from Batman #331, presumably so he can continue to clarify Vigilante's previously murky stance on where he draws the line regarding killing. We are also treated to a renewed examples of criminals getting off on pesky technicalities like illegal searches as Adrian Chase's friends try to convince him to become a judge. There's the issue of a mysterious microchip that the Controller is after. There's a nice sequence in the beginning where Vigilante is pursued by a guy in a mini-copter that really showcases the talents of Andru/DeCarlo.
In other news perhaps of interest to longterm readers of this blog...
In any case, it's supposed to include 1st Issue Special #8, Warlord #1-50, and Amazing World of DC Comics #12. For a volume 2 (if there is one) that leaves the non-backup stories from Warlord #52-71 (#51 is a reprint), Warlord Annual #1, Warlord (1992 limited series) #1-6, and Warlord (2009) #1-16 for a total of around 1005 pages in that one, by my count.