The Book of Shriek

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Some quick thoughts on individual Savages:

Beast Man- Seems fairly neutral, not the strongest pull perhaps, but nothing problematic either IMO
Blanka- Not ideal probably? I don’t really know much about Blanka
Conan- Not ideal for Carnage II, honestly could kinda work here though given the ‘dark empathy’ bring out the worst in people thing
Executioner- Perhaps not ideal, but seems fairly justifiable in that if Enchantress just said ‘Ye Varily, go to Midgard and cause havoc with yon red puddle of goo and his wench’ Executioner would totally do it. The current Executioner feels like he’s pretty locked into that classic era for him, the later Take where he’s sort of a goodish Guy should have its own (non-Savage) card IMO
Mister Hyde- Seems like a good pull to me
Sabertooth- Ditto
Tiger Shark- Ditto
Vermin- Ditto
Weapon X- Ditto

Perhaps just throw a non-human in there? Like ‘non-Human Insane or Savage figures’ or something. That cuts out the two most questionable ones (Conan and Blanka) and seems like it could work thematically enough. Like Shriek wants to play monster mommy and Carnage is spree killer, so he’s only interested in crazies that are powerful enough to rack up a quick body count. Would also make the ‘Carnage Crazies’ faction more distinct from the ‘Arkham Crazies’ faction.

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by japes

For me vicious is a purposeful thing and Savage isn’t. It’s just a product. So where do you see them fit. Demigoblin seems Vicious ...it’s a choice to be that way. The other seems savage as I didn’t get the vibe that there anything more there than instinct. I don’t know either character well enough to know if that is fully true but I’d start there.

That's a fair analysis. In a vacuum, I'd put Demogoblin under the Vicious/Sadistic umbrella and Doppelganger under something like Savage/Ferocious. Vicious and Savage are just broad enough that I could see those working for both. Savage suits Demogoblin a bit better than Vicious suits Doppelganger in my eyes, so I prefer going Savage. (Obviously I'm not dead-set on it or closed to other opinions, though, hence the poll)

None of the alternate suggestions being thrown around by LP and Karat really have a good feel to me.

I would be okay with a non-human restriction like Soundwarp is suggesting. I do like the idea of separating Shriek from the Arkham Asylum stuff a bit (notably limiting synergy with Hugo Strange and Joker). Agreed with his thoughts on the Savage synergy set in general.

[Karat]

I'd say just go Savage then.

[japes]

Originally Posted by Ronin

Savage suits Demogoblin a bit better than Vicious suits Doppelganger in my eyes, so I prefer going Savage.

Cool. That answers the question I was trying to ask but couldn’t come up with the words.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Yeah, I'd say Savage works for Demogoblin cause like.. he's a demon monster thing.. he's not like actively choosing to be bad so much as that's just his nature IIRC.

[IAmBatman]

Non-Human Savage makes sense to me.

[Lord Pyre]

I'm good with that!

[Ronin]

So...

Originally Posted by Ronin

"KILL HERE OFTEN?"
At the start of the first round, before Order Markers are placed, if you control Carnage, you may immediately move Carnage and Shriek up to 5 spaces each.

CARNAGE FAMILY
If all of your Order Markers are on the Army Cards of non-human Heroes that are Insane or Savage, after revealing an Order Marker on the card of a Unique Hero you control and instead of taking a turn with that Hero, you may take a turn with Shriek. During this turn, Shriek rolls one additional attack die against figures adjacent to that Hero.

BAD VIBRATIONS
All figures within 4 spaces of Shriek subtract 1 from their Defense numbers for each of the following that is true:
-that figure is not Insane or Savage.
-that figure is an enemy Symbiote.
-that figure is defending against an attack from Shriek.

FLYING

Anyone object strongly enough to stop me?

[L0B5T3R]

Love it.

[johnny139]

Looks good to me.

Those power names scream "late 60s/early 70s" which may not be ideal for a 90s character... but I dig it.

[Karat]

Originally Posted by Ronin

So...

Anyone object strongly enough to stop me?

Nope, but it makes Jackal a good pairing as her can make her another bonding option.

[Ronin]

Yeah, he or Zola could hack around the human restriction. You could also get around that with N'astirh. I'm perfectly fine with all that though; thematically, if you've got mad scientists bringing Conan back to life or Joker making a pact for demonic powers, I think they're prime material for hanging with Shriek and Carnage. (And there isn't really a mechanical/balance reason for barring humans, it's a theme/faction thing)

I think "70s cheesy but with more references to murder" is exactly the right vibe for Shriek.

SP updated. I'll try and run some more games with the new direction when I can. Headed out of town tomorrow and I'd already like to hit Chief before I go, so not sure exactly when that'll be.

Thanks for helping me hash this out, folks!