Which of these Champion Campaign ideas sounds best to you?

[Lawnmower Boy]

I voted for Bad Blood, as I find single-origin stories unnecessarily constraining, and also what Chris said. Terraforce would  make a good movie, but I doubt that the players would be able to turn the premise into something different. 

[mrinku]

Well, it looks to be official. No one much lies the idea of killing off a stadium full of innocent spectators in order to create a handful of superheroes.

 

[sinanju]

I appear to be the sole vote for Color of Survival. I like the concept, which reminds me strongly (perhaps intentionally) of the Wild Cards universe. An Event (tm) happens; most of those exposed die, some acquire physical and/or other complications, a lucky few gain superpowers. I've used that premise a couple of times in various campaigns, and I always enjoy it.

 

Edited to add: *I* like killing off a stadium full of innocent spectators to create a handful of heroes. If you're looking for angst, it's ready-made for that. Even if not, the lucky few may well feel obliged to try to make an omelette now that all those eggs are already broken.

[mrinku]

Yeah, Wild Cards occurred to me too. I ready the early volumes, but it never really clicked with me personally.

[Hermit]

I liked some of the early wild cards stories a great deal, later books less and less but there were gems at all times.

 

Looks like Baddest Blood pulled ahead

[Christopher R Taylor]

Wild Cards never worked for me because its too much an intentional deconstruction of Superheroes rather than telling stories of people with powers.  They're deliberately trying to overturn standard tropes and themes instead of simply telling a good tale.

[sinanju]

3 hours ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

Wild Cards never worked for me because its too much an intentional deconstruction of Superheroes rather than telling stories of people with powers.  They're deliberately trying to overturn standard tropes and themes instead of simply telling a good tale.

 

Tastes vary. I like the Wild Cards universe very much because it is more grounded in reality--very few characters put on costumes go out to "fight crime" just because they've got Ace powers. And those that do, generally do it for specific reasons (the anti-Ace laws of the 50s and 60s led to some keeping their identities secrets, or the Great & Powerful Turtle, who only ever appears in public in his armored flying shell because that's how his power works). I also like the fact that death in the Wild Cards universe is for keeps; unless your power specifically has to do with surviving death (Demise, for instance), if you get killed, you're dead.

[Grailknight]

Baddest Blood for me. It allows the most variety in the heroes and who doesn't like angst-ridden teens being manipulated by shadowy government agencies.

[massey]

We're getting ready to start a campaign that is somewhat like Color of Survival, but without the body count.

 

In a previous campaign, several years ago, the heroes were fighting a villain who had a magical artifact.  We chased him into the San Diego Comic Con (I think it was San Diego, it's been a while), somebody blasted the artifact, energy went everywhere.  Suddenly everyone who was wearing a costume became the character they were pretending to be.  Instantly you've got like 30,000 supers in one little area.  Chaos ensues.  Turns out that a lot of the people have their personalities resurface after a while, and not all of them are permanent (and some only get a fragment of the character's full power).  Closer you were to the artifact when it went kaboom, the more power you're likely to keep.

 

So we're starting the game 6 months later, and we're people who were empowered by this event.  There are other heroes who were out there before, but this has really increased the supers population by a lot.

[pinecone]

On 11/27/2017 at 2:13 PM, Hermit said:

Okay, I'm sorting through a few ideas for my table top group, which we'll probably never have time to play anyway, but I wanted some opinions on if any of these appealed to folks in general. So, in a 'shared origin' selection for a Champions game, which of these would appeal most to you? (Yes, there will be a poll) Each has some inspiration from one source (or many sources) or another. I'm sure you'll recognize a few

 

The Baddest Blood- (Teen Champions) Some say Project Good Apple should never have gotten approval. Supervillains rarely make good parents, but that doesn’t' stop them from procreating. Rather than immediately transfer the children of supervillains to the foster system and wait for them to possibly inherit powers and become villains themselves, some Smartguy in Primus had the idea of letting a select few agents raise the very young ones as their own through adoption. At the least, it was a hope that the kids would have a better chance to grow up right than usual. At the best, some hoped it would lead to a new generation of registered superheroes that were a lot more willing to work with the government than many of the maverick teams of the time. Budget cuts happen, former agents start to become true parents who aren't as crazy about their kids being fast tracked to a life of violence even for a fed job, and somehow, Good Apple and its kids got lost in the shuffle. You're in your early teens, and you and your fellow PCs are about to learn they aren't just gifted, they get those gifts from the baddest blood.

 

The Color of Survival- (Champions) When a modern day terrorist cell discovers notes on something that killed with light and has a maybe twelve percent survival rate, they figure it's radioactive or something, and that's fine with them. They set the bomb to go off during a concert, and it does, in a cascade of lights of all the colors of the rainbow. The terrorists have unwittingly used a device meat to grant powers not kill. Fashioned by the villain Prism, it was how he made his supervillain Spectrum (See the Excellent Champions Presents #1). That was the 80s. Prism now serves four consecutive life sentences in Stronghold along with most of his buddies. However, few can survive the effects of it, and few did. Out of a nearly hundred people there, only a dozen survived. The survivors were also transformed forever. Some more obviously than others, but each gained powers along with a tendency towards a particular hue. For those who are not too badly deformed, it might be a dream come true- Except, of course, for the ugly fact any family and friends they came with likely died horrible deaths while they didn't. Some of the NPCs may become villains yet, others may just want to pick up what they can of their lives and grieve. The PCs? There are terrorists out there to capture, victims to avenge. Justice first, grief after, and a whole lot of survivor's guilt in between

 

Iconic Man checked the Donor Box- (Champions) You've been on the waiting list for an organ transplant for a while. Truth to tell, you were getting worried. Then, in anbotherwise dark time (One of the cities most beloved superheroes had died) you got the go ahead. A man had passed away, and his organs were going out. Maybe you got a kidney, a lung, or even a heart? The important thing is, you had a new chance at health! The transplant was surprisingly smooth, recovery time was swift. And then? Then you began to develop superpowers! You see, Iconic Man was one of those shapeshifting super strong telepaths with freaky supervision you hear about. You have just one of those aspects. But the other organ recipients? They've gotten his other powers, and, you appear to be able to talk to each other in your heads through a funky mind link. None of you are as powerful as Iconic Man was, but when the city still faces his old foes? Maybe you owe it to the man who saved your lives to work together, as a team?

 

Terra Force Reunited- (Champions)  During the 80s, there was horrible and cheesy attempt to make a Superhero themed TV show. With outdated special effects, cheesy lines, and let's be honest, not the greatest acting, it was a modest success and ran for two years. The actors split up after the show, and while one or two went on to bigger things, most of them had to settle for weaker and weaker parts, and some just quit show biz entirely. Meanwhile, in a highly advanced planet, the lessons of Terra Force, about truth, honor, justice and the Terran way have become a part of their culture mainstay! It has revolutionized their planet over the last two years. It took a while for the signals to reach. Space probes were sent out to find out what happened to their heroes, only to learn the horrible truth. This, Terra Force, practically, a religion to the aliens now, was based on mere pretense? Did this mean their ethics were now a lie? No! said one brave scientist of that world. There was a way to make it right, to make it true! The Actors were found, and 'borrowed' for a time, when they woke up, each one of them was young again, with the same powers they had on the show, and released back onto Earth! With rediscovered youth, super powers, and warp bypass transmission devices implanted in their brains, a group of very confused actors can only wonder what happened and what will they do now? Meanwhile, the Aliens in question have no idea they have just exchanged a Cheesy early 80s show for a new Reality one. All involved are in for quite the learning process. Each Player plays a character who was a former actor, and they can talk it over with the others which ones are still loved by obscure fandoms, moved on to 'real roles', or just shucked it all to help sell used cars back in their home town.

 

 

Baddest Blood sounds very cool...Teen angst, nature vs nurture, freedom vs control....just sounds fun.

[Tech]

Baddest Blood: I like the idea of being able to redeem yourself from the shadow of your background, and the teen years can be quite turbulent.

[dsatow]

It was choice between Baddest Blood and Terra Force Reunited.  Given I am a teen champions fan, I went with Baddest Blood.

 

Both are fairly open to the kind of powers I'd have the most fun playing and have role playing opportunities which can be both serious yet fun.

 

The color of survival just seemed like a downer.

Iconic man seemed like it would limit what I wanted to play.  ("Hey everyone, I got a new spleen.  Pull my finger...")

[TheQuestionMan]

 Oddly enough none of the above appeal to me usually you’ve got me hooked line and sinker but not this time   

[Hermit]

13 hours ago, TheQuestionMan said:

 Oddly enough none of the above appeal to me usually you’ve got me hooked line and sinker but not this time   

while I wish something had clicked for you, I appreciate the honesty. 

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Baddest Blood seems the best concept for an ongoing campaign. Lots to work with for many sessions to come. 

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

I liked Iconic Man myself. Feels very old school, silvery-bronze age. (aka The Best Age.)