The Alternates Episode #34 Recap - “Petitioned to Redress”

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 #34 - “Petitioned to Redress”

We’re back for another week of The Alternates! Let’s dive into it!

Episode Recap

The episode opens in Italy in 1503. In an artist’s studio, a man paints the Mona Lisa. Clearly, it’s Leonardo Da Vinci. A model poses for the painting, but only her back is visible. A figure dressed in noble garb, all in black, walks into the studio. We don’t see his face, but his voice is familiar from previous episodes’ cold opens.

“Leonardo! So good to see you,” the mysterious man says.

“Ah, my friend! Did you bring me the pigments I asked for?” Leonardo Da Vinci replies.

“Of course I did, Leonardo. I believe these will allow you to finish your masterpiece,” the man says.

Leonardo chuckles. “Masterpiece? This is a simple portrait.”

“Just promise me you’ll finish it, my friend. And you can have the pigments gratis.”

-----

The episode opens with the Alternates at the National Archives, standing around the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom (where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution are displayed). General Armstrong addresses them, saying, “The American government thanks you for your efforts! Thanks to you, S.N.A.K.E.’s threat against the Constitution has been stopped! We will, of course, be forwarding payment to Blackleaf Incorporated…”

The General’s phone rings, and he excuses himself to an antechamber to take the call.

Quasar Kid wanders over to the display of the Declaration of Independence, and he furrows his brow. Kid Radical notices this, and comes over to give Quasar Kid a little historical context for the document.

But Quasar Kid isn’t listening. Using his cosmic senses, Quasar Kid sees that there is an otherwise invisible message written on the old document. He stares intently, allowing him to see microscopic glowing letters on the document.

The glowing letters read, “To the Alternates: First, Strong.”

Meanwhile, Kid Radical is finishing up his monologue, saying, “...and life, liberty, and independence.”

Quasar Kid tells the Alternates about the message and says, “I think… I think I did this.” He explains that the invisible message is written in quantum particles which are tuned to the exact electromagnetic frequency where his power primarily operates - an impossible coincidence.

After he explains the message, Kid Radical tells him, “Write your messages to be less cryptic! In the future! When you will have written it cryptically!” He pauses, then says, “Now check it again. Is it less cryptic?”

Cytoblast interrupts. “No!” he says. “You have to write it cryptically when you write it, because we’ve already read it! Otherwise, you’d change the spacetime continuum!”

Quasar Kid raises an eyebrow at his teammates. “I don’t think that’s how this works,” he says.

Jersey Devil steps into the conversation, asking “Can we write a cosmic message thing on it now that says, ‘What does that mean?’”

“I could write it,” Quasar Kid says, “But I don’t think it would work, because on this item’s timeline, the first message has already been written.”

The team all nods, although it’s clear they don’t really understand.

Suddenly, Kid Radical whips around, and we see two ghostly figures standing nearby, arguing with one another. The figures are yellow and faintly glowing, and none of their features are clear.

“I thought you said you could contact them!” one ghost says. 

“I’m working on it,” the other ghost says.

“Who the heck are you guys?” Kid Radical shouts at the two apparitions.

“Do not be alarmed!” the second ghost says. “I am not a ghost!”

“Me neither!” says the first non-ghost.

Cytoblast focuses his magical senses to better see the spirits, but their features are still very blurry.

“You need to look out!” shouts the second spirit being. “There are dynaphages on the way here!”

-----

In France, Bouncer has finished fighting a small horde of zombies. He turns and enters the church through the front door.

Inside, he finds a group of Gloom Cultists performing a ritual.

“More cultists?” he says, interrupting them. “Stop what you’re doing. I’ve got you dead to rights.”

The cultists turn and look at each other furtively.

“Get it? Dead to rights. Dead. On account of the zombies.”

The room is silent.

“Maybe it doesn’t translate,” Bouncer says.

He leaps towards the Gloom cultists.

-----

“Dynaphages?” Quasar kid exclaims. He explains that dynaphages are a galactic threat in the future - they are intangible beings who feed off of light and energy. He gives the team some quick tips on how to fight them, and in moments, the beings appear in the room.

The dynaphages are like constantly shifting, shadowy monsters, and they swarm all over the room. The Alternates rush to fight them. Energy blasts of fire and light shoot around the room, burning the dynaphages with their intensity. Cytoblast turns into a cloud of spores, which sucks energy magically from the creatures.

During the fight, Kid Radical gets struck by a dynaphage, and he flips backwards over one of the display cases, and it crashes to the ground. He pops back up, saying, “Don’t worry! It was just the Magna Carta!”

“Hey dynaphages!” Quasar Kid says. “How about a light snack?” He then blasts the monsters with a beam of bright light, and chuckles at his own joke.

Finally, the dynaphages dissolve, and Cytoblast casts a spell that reveals the “ghosts.”

It turns out, the yellow energy ghosts were actually The Scholar and Guise! The Scholar explains that, to escape from Oblivaeon on Dok’Thorath, The Scholar transmuted them both into energy forms. But, because The Scholar’s connection to the ley lines was unstable, because of Guise’s unique physiology, and because of Oblivaeon’s effect on the universe, the result was permanent, and the duo were stuck as energy beings. It took them some time to get back to Earth.

“Well look, you guys,” says Guise. “You gotta help us!”

“Us guys, or you Guise, Guise?” Cytoblast asks.

Guise nods slowly. “Yeah, good one,” he says.

The credits roll under “Ghosts” by Ladytron

Final Thoughts

That was a fun episode! This Season has been a bit more of a comedic ride so far, but I expect there to be some drama eventually.

First off, The Scholar and Guise are back! This happened in The Alternates comic series as well, and it’s a welcome addition to the show. I love The Scholar and I’ve missed him!

Second, Bouncer’s solo adventures are interesting. He’s fighting zombies and finding Gloom cultists. Meanwhile, somewhere in England in the 19th century, it seems like Gloomweaver was doing something (glowing green skull in Episode #32). So the mysterious figure who seems to be travelling through time is possibly related to Gloomweaver, who is related back to Bouncer in the present. I don’t know where it all goes from here.

But of course, as this episode points out, when time travel is involved, it’s not like anything really makes sense.

Be sure to join me for my recap of Episode #35, titled “Ghosts of Future’s Past”

Eddie Jaczerkowski is a staff writer who loves comic books and writes about television.

Running the Game

These episodes do have a lot more comedy than drama, but a nice mix is important. The Alternates are pretty funny on their own, but now you add Guise to the mix and... well, you'll see in the next episode.

SPOILERS: The Alternates don't really like Guise.

This episode was pretty straightforward, with some combat against some intergalactic space monsters who want to eat energy (so they were chasing "Mortal Form to Energy" versions of Guise and The Scholar). It was a fun, but easy beat-em-up.

That's all for this episode! Thanks for reading!