Things I Learned From Champions

[KawangaKid]

I began blogging a series of posts on my gaming blog on the things I'd learned from playing Champions with my old gaming group, and at conventions. It's partly nostalgia, partly a push back against the detractors of the system, partly geeking out on the joys of playing in the genre and related subgenres, and partly thinking about the style of gaming that Champions and the Hero System is really about.

 

Here are my posts so far.

 

A Power Fantasy Has A Cost

It's Okay to RetCon, Reboot, or Even Re-Invent!

Sometimes the JLA Is Busy

Exactly The Character You Want

Sometimes You Just Wanna Fight

 

But even if you don't read them, I wanted to hear what other folks learned about RPGs, play styles, the genre and themselves through playing Champions.

[Hyper-Man]

Great stuff!

[IndianaJoe3]

I've been reading them sporadically when someone links them to a G+ group I follow. Very interesting.

[KawangaKid]

Thanks for the feedback, folks!

[GhostDancer]

At some point, perhaps in a flash of grudging insight or in a slowly evolving philosophy of character creation, you accept certain things, like:

• you don't have enough points to realize your character as he / she would be at the zenith of his / her power, but you can build him / her at the beginning or early part of his / her career;

or you can build him / her as recovery from injury or illness.

[KawangaKid]

 

At some point, perhaps in a flash of grudging insight or in a slowly evolving philosophy of character creation, you accept certain things, like:

• you don't have enough points to realize your character as he / she would be at the zenith of his / her power, but you can build him / her at the beginning or early part of his / her career;

or you can build him / her as recovery from injury or illness.

 

 

True. This triggers a memory of a friend's character called Swordsman, who was a former master swordsman who gave up the sword because he killed someone and now only wielded a club... until, I suppose, he earned the right to wield a sword again.

[Tasha]

I played a character who was hosting a Ghost of an expert Martial Arts master. She would channel that Master to be in Hero Form. In the Master's original life she was way more powerful than the PC. But this PC needs to learn how to channel her Ki Better and is working to gain the proper Muscle memory. That means that the PC operates at a lower powerlevel than the Ghost she is host to.

[GhostDancer]

Long ago, I played Captain America, with less BODY (12) then I would have preferred (15).  I indicated his ribs were injured.  In a suggestive scene, a Player Character hottie taped his ribs for him.

[KawangaKid]

I played a character who was hosting a Ghost of an expert Martial Arts master. She would channel that Master to be in Hero Form. In the Master's original life she was way more powerful than the PC. But this PC needs to learn how to channel her Ki Better and is working to gain the proper Muscle memory. That means that the PC operates at a lower powerlevel than the Ghost she is host to.

 

Interesting. I had a similar approach to an Energy Projector who was a host to sentient alien metal -- it was changing him physically (not spiritually and physically as in your example) to better channel the energies. Of course, that was rife with story potential for the GM.

 

Btw, may I reference your article on building balanced HERO characters in my next set of posts?

[GhostDancer]

I learned a kilogram is 2.2 pounds, which was handy when a Mongolian lady and I were entering Customs in Hawaii, and the guard asked how much she weighed.  Neither of them could do the conversion immediately, so I helped them.

Edited May 2, 2014 by GhostDancer

[assault]

I learned a pound is 2.2 kilograms,

 

Other way round. 1 kg = 2.2 lb.

 

Getting this wrong can get you in serious trouble when you are talking about Mongolian ladies' weights.

[GhostDancer]

Better wrong this time than when it happened.  Thanks, assault.

[Houston GM]

This ties into one of the blog posts, but I think it bears repeating:

 

If you're role-playing your character well, your psychlims aren't something your GM uses to torment you. They're what makes your character fun to play.

 

Example #1:

At a recent convention, I played Tony Stark / Iron Man in a one-shot. One of his psychlims said: "Must make an Ego roll to avoid acting like an eccentric billionaire." My first thought was, "Why would I want to avoid acting like that?"

 

Example #2:

In another one-shot, I played an attractive teenaged vampire. One of the psychlims said: "Must make an Ego roll to avoid using his looks/charms to do things the easy way." I didn't need to make any Ego rolls. In the process of gathering information, I used those charms with several cheerleaders, the gay cheerleading coach, the 70 year old school librarian....

 

 

The same can be true of many disadvantages / limitations. If the GM uses your DNPC or your Hunted as a plot hook, why treat this as a punishment. Your character gets extra time at center-stage for this adventure.

 

In the past, I've invited my DNPC to accompany the team in dangerous situations. It was good for some laughs.

 

Heck, I should probably make a PC who is hunted by Bulldozer someday. It might not be worth much in points, but it would be great for comic relief.

[Old Man]

I am now really good at working out percentages in my head, especially percentages that are in multiples of 25%.  (I've often wondered if Hero would be a bit easier for new players if advantages and disadvantages were expressed in percentages instead of fractions.)

 

I've also learned that martial arts are worth every point.  Even in real life.  Literally one of the reasons I started taking MA was to increase my real life 'point total'.