Behind the Mask: High-tech Snakes and Ladders
VIPER is one of the most misunderstood villain groups in the Champions lore. This isn't entirely the fault of the players; the fact is that almost everyone who has played Champions Online for any length of time has beaten the snot out of dozens of VIPER soldiers, if not hundreds or more.
VIPER is a complex, multinational organization bent on world domination. It's one of the single most powerful organizations in the Champions lore, second only to big hero organizations such as UNTIL. VIPER's web of intrigue extends even into the first-world governments. The snakes are literally everywhere and have their hands in everything.
One of the troubles in producing a superhero MMORPG is creating large numbers of bad guys for heroes to beat down while also keeping true to the lore, which paints most of the villain groups as less overt, operating in the shadows outside of the world's public eye. When VIPER's air transports cruise the skies above Millennium City unmolested by the military or local police, we have to wonder whether the interpretation was... a little off.
The history
VIPER as an organization is older than history, particularly because its founder, Nama the Spirit Serpent, is a creature born in the ages before even myths and legends. Nama is a creature of godlike power, and he created many serpent-themed cults and organizations over the millennia prior to the modern day. However, the organization VIPER as we know it was founded in 1954, after the discovery of the Serpent Lantern.
The 30 men and women who discovered the lantern were all descendants of Nama's prior followers, and the majority of them were wealthy -- most owned multi-million dollar companies or were extremely rich investment bankers. Each of the members swore to follow Nama's vision of a united world led by a powerful government. The magic of the Serpent Lantern sealed the oath, giving each of the Thirty Founders an extended lifespan.
The following years led VIPER to consolidate its power, gathering wealth and influence around the world. Willem DeVries, the de facto leader of VIPER, established the organization as a well-trained terrorist army with the best in military weapons and expertise. In 1962, VIPER made its world debut, assassinating numerous world figures, including politicians, criminal leaders, and corporate executives.
VIPER would continue to engage in numerous ploys over the next few years, but a series of gross failures caused DeVries to lose favor among the Founders. Although the Founders could not betray him, they also did not have to help him, and when he was tried and sentenced to death, VIPER did nothing to help him.
VIPER had its successes over the following years, but its greatest failure would come from a plan hatched in 1979 with Dr. Destroyer to implant all of the world's leaders with mind control devices. Dr. Destroyer betrayed VIPER, using his closeness to locate and seize the Serpent Lantern, and in the chaos that followed, the Lantern was launched into space. Since then, Destroyer has become the most hated enemy of VIPER, and any followers of Destroyer are mercilessly hunted down and killed by VIPER agents.
In 1986, VIPER would be mobilized in force for the first time in history, to combat the events of Operation Demonflame. Nama, sensing the imminent resurrection of one of the Kings of Edom, directly contacted the Founders and ordered VIPER to intervene for the first time. DEMON had defeated the Justice Squadron and summoned Sharna-Gorak through the Edom Gate when VIPER arrived en masse, gunning down the DEMON cultists and stopping the ritual. Since then, DEMON and VIPER have been in a state of open war, although most of the losses have been on the DEMON side.
In 1990, an ambitious Nest Leader named Frank Detweller attempted to invade Washington D.C., and when that failed miserably, the resulting investigation nearly tore VIPER apart. Access codes to VIPER's secure network were leaked, and numerous powerful members of VIPER were indicted. Nama responded by awakening one of his followers (held in suspended animation since the 1900s) and christened him the Supreme Serpent. The Thirty Founders became the Council of Thirty, and the Supreme Serpent brought VIPER into a modern age.
The people behind the organization
VIPER's agents are well-trained, in peak physical condition, and armed with high tech weapons and armor. A small team of VIPER agents is a reasonable match for an average superhero in the PnP. It's probably wise to play up VIPER's performance a bit in roleplaying, even if they're dime-a-dozen MMO villains. Even in CO, VIPER is almost uncontested as the toughest enemy group in the game, and this should probably be played up a little. VIPER agents aren't on the same level as the average street thugs or even low-level DEMON cultists, so keep this in mind when you're roleplaying.
Viperia is among the toughest superhumans in the Champions universe, tougher than virtually every other supervillain who is not a god or at least god-like. Given that she's the child of Nama, she is at least a little godlike herself. There's not a whole lot of information about her because she is somewhat of a weapon of last resort for VIPER.
VIPER-X has no superpowers, but he's an expert in modern martial arts and a master of modern weapons. The name, VIPER-X, comes from the legacy of VIPER's first superpowered operative, and while the current VIPER-X has little in common with his predecessor, he is a force to be reckoned with. He's formerly a Silver Avenger of PRIMUS and has been exposed to PRIMUS' supersoldier treatments, giving him better than human strength, reflexes and perception.
Ripper is one of the most powerful of VIPER's operatives, possibly even on the level of Viperia. Of the villains in VIPER, he has been given one of the better treatments in CO; he's nigh indestructible and hits like a nuclear missile. His armor is the product of Dr. Moreau's experiments. In CO the technology has been reverse-engineered to create the Draysha Enforcers; while not as powerful as Ripper, they attack in numbers and are some of the deadliest normal foes in the game.
Freon is a general-purpose mutant supervillain with no interesting backstory. He controls ice and was recruited by VIPER. He was mostly written as a "mid-boss" kind of villain and is not very memorable. It's kind of fitting that he appears in the Serpent Lantern adventure pack as a mid-boss, although his powers make him rather difficult and noteworthy.
Draconis, more than anyone else, does not belong in the story of the Serpent Lantern. He's a loose cannon, a rebel, and the exact opposite of the kind of villain VIPER would trust to handle any business involving the Lantern's recovery. His force powers are psionic in nature, and it's only his delusions that hold him back from unlocking his true telekinetic power.
The Supreme Serpent is a leader, businessman, and political figure within VIPER, but he also has immortality granted by Nama and an impressive degree of martial arts skill. He rarely deals with heroes and such himself, so his actions in the Serpent Lantern are somewhat unsurprising.
Nama, the Spirit Serpent is, simply put, a god. He rarely interferes with the affairs of VIPER, only granting the occasional premonition or guidance. I can only assume that the battle with him during the adventure pack is with a fragment of his divine essence, as Nama is extremely powerful (he's so powerful that he doesn't even have a stat block in the PnP).
VIPER in Champions Online
As mentioned before, VIPER is more of a secret terrorist organization. VIPER agents wander the city streets, but it's more for gameplay concerns. In real life, people don't see villains populating every street corner, waiting for a hero to beat them up, so it's fairly reasonable to assume that VIPER is not as overt as it appears in CO.
One of the most dangerous things about VIPER is not its military might, but rather its sheer economic wealth. Multiple members of VIPER are owners of Fortune 500 companies, and VIPER's military research is outsourced to governments and corporations. VIPER has its roots in many Sub-Saharan African nations and has influence in world hotspots like North Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
VIPER is one of the furthest-reaching criminal organizations, and even in spite of the events of the Serpent Lantern (actually, we're not exactly sure how that was resolved), VIPER is one of the most dangerous villain groups on the planet.
This is just a primer, and there's far more info in the Hero Games sourcebook VIPER: Coils of the Serpent. Some of this information can also be gleaned by playing through the VIPER-related arcs. Remember, VIPER is one of the toughest villain groups out there. Heroes beware!
When he's not touring the streets of Millennium City or rolling mooks in Vibora Bay, Patrick Mackey goes Behind the Mask to bring you the nitty-gritty of the superhero world every Thursday. Whether it's expert analysis of Champions Online's game mechanics or his chronicled hatred of roleplaying vampires, Patrick holds nothing back.
