New Gladiators #19: Wheel of Destruction

[jkcarrier]

Episode 19:
"Wheel of Destruction"
Played on 3/23/2024
Resources used:
Wheel of Destruction - DC Heroes module by Matthew J. Costello
Opponents Unlimited - Villains & Vigilantes module by Stefan Jones, art by Jeff Dee
Additional images by:
D.A. Trampier
David C. Sutherland III
wikipedia.org
cincinnati.com
ew.com

Roll Call:
Claw Master
The Dude (with Donny Kerabatsos)
Hulk
Sonic Boom
Walter Sobchak
Weather Wizard

The Gladiators received a call from the Chief of Police. Famous game show host Pat Sajak, who was in town for a charity event, had been kidnapped from his hotel room. The kidnapper left a note addressed to the heroes, instructing them to tune in to a particular webcast that evening.

Upon logging in, the team saw a dilapidated old theater, decked out like a classic game show, complete with a giant wheel and a puzzle board. A colorfully-garbed host introduced himself:
"It's time for America's favorite game show! WHEEL! OF! DESTRUCTION! I'm your host, The Prankster, and tonight we have a special guest -- the one and only PAT SAJAK!"
The camera turned to the audience, where Sajak sat alone, bound and gagged, but apparently unharmed.
The Prankster continued, gesturing towards the big wheel: "Tonight, one of these famous landmarks will be utterly destroyed! But which one? There's one way to find out!"
With that, he spun the wheel, which had images of six Cincinnati-area landmarks on it.

But before the wheel could stop spinning, the camera pulled away again. "Ah-ah-ah! I'm not going to make it that easy on you! But I will give you a clue!" The Prankster motioned towards the puzzle board, showing a "Hangman" type word game. The heroes would have a random number [d6+10] of chances to guess letters in the phrase, which would give them a hint towards which landmark was being targeted. Putting their heads together, the team deduced that the phrase was "A MAN'S HOME IS HIS CASTLE". At that point, the Prankster told them they had until midnight to stop the destruction, and ended the broadcast.

There was some debate over the exact meaning of the clue, and the heroes first went to the Cincinnati Observatory, thinking it somewhat resembled a castle. When that location proved to be deserted, they hastened towards their second choice, the King's Island amusement park.

At first, it seemed King's Island might be another red herring, but suddenly lights came on around the park's famous roller coaster, "The Beast". As the Gladiators approached, they heard the sounds of drunken revelry. Two men were riding the coaster, yelling and laughing, while several others staggered around the supports of the coaster at ground level, apparently trying to complete some project. Confronted by the heroes, the strange-looking men immediately attacked.

SATYRS
[Pipes (Emotion Control, Sonic Blast)]

Despite their state of intoxication, the Satyrs proved to be nimble opponents, and at one point the Hulk briefly fell victim to their hypnotic piping. But finally, the team apprehended them and confiscated the explosive they had been trying to plant. One of the Satyr's handed them a torn piece of paper, saying it was from their boss. The paper contained what appeared to be part of a poem: "THE DEER HAVE STOPPED RUNNING..." Not sure what to make of that, the heroes elected to call it a night, resting up for the next night's broadcast.

[Loot Drops: Coaster Car (Speed), Satyr Wineskin (Heightened Attack, Fumble-Prone)]

The following evening, the Prankster appeared on his livestream once again, with another spin of the wheel, and another puzzle-clue. With some experience under their belts, the team cracked this one in short order: "OVER TROUBLED WATERS". This time, there was no doubt that the reference was to the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Racing to the scene, they did indeed find another group of men in monster suits planting explosives around the bridge.

TROLLS
[Armor, Regeneration, Size Change (9' Tall)]

The Trolls' ability to heal damage made them tough to knock down, but the Gladiators finally hit them with enough force to take them out long enough to strip away their power suits. Another torn piece of paper was found, this time with the line "...THE ASHES ARE BLUE...". Still unsure of the meaning, the heroes chalked it up as another victory. But they were no closer to actually finding and stopping the Prankster.

[Loot Drops: Bridge Fatigue (Unprotection), Troll Blood (Healing)]

Night 3 arrived, and the puzzle was a rather blunt and simple "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST", perhaps reflecting their opponent's growing frustration with their victories. Again, the target was obvious: The Solid Rock Church, with its large "Hug Me Jesus" statue out front. Upon arrival, the team spotted multiple winged figures flitting about, draping the now-familiar explosive devices around the statue's base.

ERYINES
[Flight, Grapnel, Special Weapon (with Chemical Blast Carrier)]

With only knives to attack with (albeit envenomed ones), and not a stitch of clothing in the way of protection, the would-be demonesses proved to be no match for the Gladiators. A final scrap of paper completed the bit of doggerel from Prankster: "...8024 IS THE FINAL CLUE"

[Loot Drops: Erinyes Knife (Special Weapon with Chemical Blast Carrier), Jesus Hug (Armor)]

Plugging various combinations of "Deer", "Ash", "Blue", and "8024" into Google finally brought up an answer: The abandoned Deer Park Theater at 8024 Blue Ash Road. After many skirmishes, the heroes were ready for a final confrontation.

Charging inside the dilapidated building, the Gladiators saw Prankster (and his hostage, Pat Sajak) at the front of the theater, protected by a thick barrier of some plexiglass-type material.

PRANKSTER
[Flash (Wand), Force Field, Invisibility, Telekinesis, Teleportation]

SPECTRES
[Devitalization Ray, Heightened Defense, Heightened Expertise, Invulnerability (Entropy)]

A thoroughly-fed-up Hulk cracked the glass barrier with a single mighty punch, and proceeded to pound the living daylights out of the Prankster. The mastermind of the last several days' mayhem couldn't get his defenses up in time, and folded like an accordion. The rest of the team had a few scary moments, thanks to the Spectres' ability to drain life-energy, but ultimately they triumphed, rescued Sajak, and brought peace back to the city.

[Loot Drops: Bonus Die (d6 bonus to any die roll), Spectre Cloak (Invulnerability to Entropy)]

[The characters received 3 Character Points, giving them each a total of 172]

NOTES:
* I was a little worried that the puzzles would be a turn-off to my combat-lovin' players, but they seemed ok with the change of pace, and the difficulty was about right...they had to think about it a little bit, but they never got completely stuck.

* The final fight was a bit of an anti-climax. I expected that glass wall (SR 6, 5' thick) to last long enough for Prankster to get his Force Field and Invisibility going, but alas, Hulk steamrolled right through and it was pretty much all over for Pranksy. Hopefully, it was at least amusing to see the annoying little twit get one-shotted.

* Yeah, I know, I had "Seed of Destruction" and "Wheel of Destruction" practically back-to-back. Sue me.