GenCon GM report 3: Fiasco -- Science Comics

The third GenCon game was another round of Fiasco. This time we used Nick Wedig's Science Comics playset.

Not this one, the evil one.

Our characters were:

• Sir Captain Super Tight Pants, a superhero with the power to create clones of himself
• Sir Captain Super Tight Pants 3, one of SCSTP's clones
• Thuddy, the son of the evil Dr. Thunder who doesn't know who his mom is
• Tear Duct, one of Dr. Thunder's minions
• Static Cling, another of Dr. Thunder's minions, who SCSTP has declared his archnemesis (not realizing he's just a minion)

Our story begins as SCSTP-3 is driving his getaway van, having just stolen the Unobtainium that is necessary to power Dr. Thunder's weather control device. He is roaring down the highway through the Arizona desert outside the trailer park where Dr. Thunder has his lair, when he runs into construction and traffic grinds to a halt. This allows Thuddy, Tear Duct, and Static Cling to approach on mopeds. SCSTP-3 tries to escape through the sun roof, but Tear Duct's power of inducing weeping causes him to lose his footing and drop the Unobtainium into an irrigation ditch beside the highway.

SCSTP meets up with Static Cling at a cafe to brag about having defeated him, but Static Cling reveals to him that he has more Unobtainium.

Static Cling installs more Unobtainium in the weather control device. Dr. Thunder stops by to make sure the device will be operational for the church picnic on Sunday, as he wishes to make the weather mild and sunny.

Tear Duct worries that Dr. Thunder is going over to the side of Good. She sets the weather control device to make it rain on the church picnic.

Thuddy goes to the picnic, having been told by his dad that he would finally get to meet his mother there. But the picnic is rained out, so he doesn't get to meet her.

SCSTP-3 calls SCSTP from the traffic jam and swears that he has the Unobtainium. SCSTP concludes that Static Cling must have more Unobtainium, and therefore he needs to organize another mission to steal it. SCSTP-3 agrees to do so, as soon as he can get to a place to turn around on the highway.

SCSTP goes to meet Dr. Thunder at the picnic to accept his promised conversion to Good. But the rain, and the fact that Dr. Thunder isn't at the picnic after all (he's back in his lair trying to find the weather control device so he can fix it), convince him Dr. Thunder was lying about his conversion.

Static Cling attempts to fix the weather control device, but his static powers make it malfunction, causing snow. Tear Duct is happy about this, and puts on her heavy fur villain cloak that she's always wanted to be able to wear. SCSTP-3 spots Static Cling from the highway, and steals the weather control device from him. Thuddy sees SCSTP-3 running to his car with the device, and blames him for raining out the picnic.

Dr. Thunder assembles his minions to demand an explanation. He blames Tear Duct for the weather control device's malfunctions, and de-minionizes her.

Thuddy looks through his father's contacts and finds the phone number for one "Sally Lightning," who he suspects is is mother.

SCSTP-3 gets stuck in traffic again. He pulls up next to a police car, and the officer recognizes the helpfully labeled "Weather Control Device" in the passenger seat. The police don't buy the "costume party" excuse, and they lock SCSTP-3 up.

SCSTP assembles a team of clones to attack Static Cling's lair. Just as they are about to depart, they get a phone call from SCSTP-3 asking them to come to the jail to bail him out. So they head there instead.

Static Cling sneaks into the police station and steals the weather control device from the evidence room.

Tear Duct files an anonymous tip to the police, blaming SCSTP and his clones for the weather mayhem. The police arrest SCSTP and the clones as they arrive at the station.

Thuddy calls up his mother, who hangs up on him.

In the end, SCSTP-3 takes the blame for the weather problems and serves a long prison sentence. SCSTP gets off on the weather charges, but an ethics panel orders him to stop using his cloning powers. Static Cling is apprehended with the stolen weather control device and goes to jail as well. Tear Duct tries to build her own weather control device, but it goes wrong and causes a huge drought, which (since she's still wearing the fur cloak) causes her to die of heat stroke. Rejected by his mother, Thuddy sinks into a deep dispair and takes to watching anime gerbil porn to deal with his trauma.