Superpowers and time travel

[AlgaeNymph]

I'm aware this is a controversial subject, but it's one I feel can be discussed calmly.  Besides, I'm neutral about it.  I mainly see it as something to solve -- and exploit.  ; )

 

Officially, the source for superpowers, which is apparently magic...fluctuates over time.  Though even when the magic goes away, as it does in 2020 according to Galactic Champions, genetic immortality still works (See: Cateran, Empyreans), as does low-level psionics (see: Star Hero).  According to Champions Beyond, the Lawbringer destroys the Qularr in the early 2200's so cosmic energy seems to still work, at least for Galaxars.  The cosmic energy of those empowered by Xarriel's coruscations* (Photon, Stareye, Sunspot, Vector, and Victory) are unmentioned, but likely fizzled out.  Teen Champions has a pair of (possibly senile) time travelers implied to have visited the Valdorian Age, though nothing's explicitly stated.

 

So...what works and what doesn't in what age?

 

* P.S.  "Coruscations" is spelled with two 2 r's in Champions Beyond.

[archer]

I'm no expert on the Champions Universe but I can give opinions.

 

Magic might be the source of why people get superpower rather than, for example, dying in radiation accidents. But once someone actually gets a superpower, they have the superpower regardless of the level of ambient magic. (assuming the superhero isn't a magician, of course)

 

So immortal superheroes are still powered even if they live into an age which has a lower level of ambient magic. If they time travel to an age with low magic, any powered person is still powered.

 

Existing technological inventions if rediscovered will still work. (So if you find power armor designed by the mutant Re-Forger, the armor he made still works, even though superpowered mutations no longer exist due to low levels of ambient magic.) If existing tech is taken into the past, it still works.

 

The vast majority of extra-dimensional demon/angel beings and powers given in those realms will still work regardless. A superstrong demon will still be superstrong. If he breathes fire, he still breathes fire. If he has a magic sword, the sword still works because it is powered by its internal magic rather than ambient magic. His magic spells likely don't work in times with low levels of ambient magic, which could easily mean he's stuck here for centuries until the ambient magic level increases once more.

 

Personally, I'd say that cosmic energy still works in the future. But the ways that humans previously attempted to access it and give it to lab subjects no longer work (the science was unknowingly accessing the cosmic power in ways which necessitate high levels of ambient magic in order to be successful). So if any of those people discovered a way to become immortal, they'd remain immortal and powered. 

 

 

Personally, I thought putting the end of the superhero age in 2020 was a mistake since the sourcebooks of players wanting to continue playing Champions would still be used by players in 2020. Making the date 2050 or 2060 would have been better and less frustrating for players.

 

I guess maybe the writers thought the company would still be thriving in 2020 and they could simply release a book containing an adventure which forestalled the end of the age of superheroes then another book containing the new timeline. But if that was the plan, the company's crystal ball was obviously broken.

[Lord Liaden]

3 hours ago, archer said:

Personally, I thought putting the end of the superhero age in 2020 was a mistake since the sourcebooks of players wanting to continue playing Champions would still be used by players in 2020. Making the date 2050 or 2060 would have been better and less frustrating for players.

 

I guess maybe the writers thought the company would still be thriving in 2020 and they could simply release a book containing an adventure which forestalled the end of the age of superheroes then another book containing the new timeline. But if that was the plan, the company's crystal ball was obviously broken.

 

Or that the company wouldn't still be thriving in 2020, or they might not be publishing Champions Universe supplements, or they might want to reboot the setting and start fresh. Or what you suggest. Remember that time line was first publicized in 2002, so I suppose eighteen years seemed far enough away that they felt no need to prognosticate that finely. Hey, we were all considerably younger then, so eighteen years seemed a lot longer to us too.

 

In the CU, rising magic "loosens" the laws of physics, which not only increases the probability of empowering origins, but in most cases allows the resulting powers, super-technology, etc. to function. These things are explicitly stated to not be magic in themselves; magic just creates more potential within physics that can be exploited. The way I look at it is, quantum theory allows for the possibility of events we'd normally consider impossible to occur, but on the macroversal level the probability of them happening is so minute as to be practically impossible. Magic greatly increases that probability.

 

But all the CU sources make it clear that all super-powers, super-technology and the like which was based on exploiting that potential, cease functioning when magic falls below a certain level. In the official Hero future post-2020, creatures whose life-functions depend on magic, like the Atlanteans, have to flee Earth's universe for other dimensions. However, even after that happens, the advanced tech of older races in the galaxy, like the Malvans and Mandaarians, does not appear to be significantly impaired. While I'm not aware of any official explanation for that disparity, I've been rationalizing it as those civilizations having had more time to study the universe and develop a more profound understanding of the principles of science. In many cases their tech can still create effects as fantastic as any "supertech." As one example relevant to this topic, the Malvan called Tateklys discovered the principles of how to traverse time and dimensions even when and where magic is at its lowest ebb, and does so aboard his personal star ship, the Aurelius. (Tateklys' relevant write-up appears in Scourges Of The Galaxy, a book of NPCs for Hero's future "Terran Empire" setting.) OTOH during the galaxy's magic nadir, the powers of the Star-Staffs wielded by the Star*Guard will be substantially diminished, implying they were at least partly dependent on magic's effect.

 

Pursuant to archer's theory above, I've been assuming that the "cosmic energy/power" wielded by beings like the Galaxars is the ultimate expression of the laws of science, the manifestation of the elusive Grand Unified Field Theory, the fundamental force underlying all others.

[Duke Bushido]

One brief interruption:

 

It's twenty-twenty one!  Wee-heeee!  I am finally free of Atlantis!

 

Suck it, Plato!

 

 

 

 

I now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion.

 

 

[DShomshak]

IIRC, we had a threead on this a year or two ago. Prenise was that the decline of magic wouldn't be instant, like flicking a switch, but a gradual dimming. Super-powers gradually weakened; new origins declined and eventually stopped. I don't remember the thread's title, but you might search for it.

 

For story reasons, I would presume that super-powers do not instantly stop working if a super time-travels to a low-magic epoch. Magic, after all, involves the mind, the soul and the self, not just ambient quasi-physical energies. Each super carries a bit of their own reality with them that keeps their powers running... for a while. But if Defender travels forward in time to a low-magic period, his armor eventually breaks down beyond repair even though the tech is more advanced and repairs should be easier -- because the principles on which his armor is based are subtly wrong, with magic disguising the flaws.

 

Other PCs in such a scenario would likewise see their powers become weaker or less reliable, until they reached the level that was generally considered possible at that time.

 

Like I've said before, logic is a slut that will do anything for anyone, at least where imaginary worlds are concerned. Decide what story you want, invent whatever metaphysics you need to justify it. IN this case, I think the most dramatic option is a gradual but perceptible decline as a way to put time pressure on the characters. Though other options are possible. Just try to keep it consistent if you do more than one time travel adventure.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Lord Liaden]

I'm out of Rep for today, Dean, so I'll have to owe you. But that is both logical and probably the most dramatically fruitful route to take in most cases.

 

But I do have to make an objection to your Defender example in which you characterize his armor's principles as being "wrong." IME in regards to these magic fluctuations, the implication that their super-genius PCs are actually deluded fools really rubs players the wrong way.

 

I prefer to frame it as their taking advantage of the potential inherent in broadened physical laws brought on by higher magic. When that magic drops and their inventions stop working, it's not that they were wrong, it's that the potential they were exploiting has ceased to exist.

[AlgaeNymph]

21 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

Pursuant to archer's theory above, I've been assuming that the "cosmic energy/power" wielded by beings like the Galaxars is the ultimate expression of the laws of science, the manifestation of the elusive Grand Unified Field Theory, the fundamental force underlying all others.

Hm...

 

So would it be fair to assume that somebody with a true Cosmic Gem would still have their powers?

 

5 hours ago, DShomshak said:

[T]he decline of magic wouldn't be instant, like flicking a switch, but a gradual dimming. Super-powers gradually weakened; new origins declined and eventually stopped[...] I would presume that super-powers do not instantly stop working if a super time-travels to a low-magic epoch. Magic, after all, involves the mind, the soul and the self, not just ambient quasi-physical energies. Each super carries a bit of their own reality with them that keeps their powers running... for a while.

Very useful to know, and should provide sufficient buffer for a time traveler, particularly if they're not in a strictly magic-dead age.  Power took a year or two just after 2020, so something like the Valdorian Age would be a lot longer.  (In particular, magic does work just fine there...if it's from an external source.)  The Atlantean and Turakian ages would likely be just fine for superhumans.

[dmjalund]

I would introduce "realWorld' limitations to high tech. Things wear out, gum up, and any Tools the gadgeteer carries get harder and harder to use to fix the tech, and breaks down themselves

[Lord Liaden]

57 minutes ago, AlgaeNymph said:

Hm...

 

So would it be fair to assume that somebody with a true Cosmic Gem would still have their powers?

 

Very useful to know, and should provide sufficient buffer for a time traveler, particularly if they're not in a strictly magic-dead age.  Power took a year or two just after 2020, so something like the Valdorian Age would be a lot longer.  (In particular, magic does work just fine there...if it's from an external source.)  The Atlantean and Turakian ages would likely be just fine for superhumans.

 

To your first point, I think it would depend on a Game Master's interpretation and intentions. Let's take a current wearer of one of the Gems, the villain Galaxia. Most if not all of her superhuman qualities derive from the Gem -- she's much weaker if it's taken away. When in contact with it she can wield its power proportionate to her will. Is that something anyone can do, regardless of the state of physics in a given universe? Think of it like radiation. Radiation is a real power in our universe and the Champions Universe, and can be controlled and utilized through technology. In our universe exposure to radiation causes sickness and potentially death. In the CU it causes super powers in rare cases. So, the answer could be whatever a given Game Master thinks will yield a better story for his group.

 

Dean's hypothesis above is not a statement of any official pronouncement, just an extrapolation from precedents and discussion among us fans. But Dean created most of the multiversal cosmology and manifestations of magic in the CU, so his opinion can be considered an expert one.

[archer]

4 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

I prefer to frame it as their taking advantage of the potential inherent in broadened physical laws brought on by higher magic. When that magic drops and their inventions stop working, it's not that they were wrong, it's that the potential they were exploiting has ceased to exist.

 

That's exactly what I was trying to say with "the ways that humans previously attempted to access it...the science was unknowingly accessing...in ways which necessitate high levels of ambient magic in order to be successful".

 

You worded it much better than I did, thanks.

[AlgaeNymph]

On 1/29/2021 at 6:42 PM, Lord Liaden said:

Let's take a current wearer of one of the Gems, the villain Galaxia. Most if not all of her superhuman qualities derive from the Gem -- she's much weaker if it's taken away. When in contact with it she can wield its power proportionate to her will. Is that something anyone can do, regardless of the state of physics in a given universe? Think of it like radiation. Radiation is a real power in our universe and the Champions Universe, and can be controlled and utilized through technology. In our universe exposure to radiation causes sickness and potentially death. In the CU it causes super powers in rare cases.

I'm...afraid I don't understand your analogy.  Radiation, in a universe with flexible physics, either grants superpowers or (more often) super tumors.  Conversely, a Cosmic Gem grants power proportional to a user's will (and whatever character points they've invested in it), but doesn't have any harmful effects.  My understanding is that anybody can use one (making them likely pretty coveted, assuming you know where to find one, but I digress).

[Lord Liaden]

Oh, sorry. What I meant was that radiation exists in both the real universe and the Champions Universe. It has essentially the same properties in both. But in the latter it can also function differently, and it can do more.

 

The Cosmic Gems channel great cosmic power, and if we accept my theory that said power is fundamental to scientific laws, then they should continue to do that independently of ambient magic. They grant powers to someone in contact with them... in the Champions Universe. Is that quality also independent of magic? Not necessarily. For all we know that might not even be their intended function, assuming they were deliberately created.

 

Let me give you another example: the supervillains Warcry and Howler (Champions Villains Vol. 1 and 3 respectively) gained superhuman vocal powers from technological communication devices from the alien Hzeel implanted into their throats. A superhero, Dr. Vox, also acquired sonic powers after exposure to a burst of energy from Howler's device. (Dr. Vox is written up in Champions Universe: News Of The World.) That's certainly not what those devices were made to do, although one can see the thematic connection. The potential scope of their capabilities was expanded, almost certainly due to the probability-altering effect of magic.

[Steve]

I don’t have my books handy at the moment, but I recall that there was one Turakian Age wizard using a time travel spell and ending up in the Valdorian Age. They then didn’t have sufficient magical power to leave it. I can’t remember if this was from the Turakian Age or the Valdorian Age sourcebook.

[Lord Liaden]

That's from The Valdorian Age p. 143, expanding on the history of the Colossus of Elweir. The Colossus was actually raised by the Turakian Age wizard Lanarien, who led a group of refugees from Aarn in three ships to try to escape the cataclysm wracking the world in the wake of Takofanes' fall. "The magics Lanarien wrought to protect these refugees were powerful almost beyond measure — so powerful they bent time and space around the three ships. Lanarien transported them across numberless millennia until the world calmed itself." But the world they found themselves in was changed and ruined, and civilization had collapsed. The text mentions that Lanarien's magic was "vastly weakened" in this era, but it's unclear whether he could have gone back in time if it wasn't, or even if he wanted to. Lanarien left the refugees on the coast of Abyzinia, then wandered the world in despair. He used much of his remaining magic to raise the Colossus as a monument to his grief and a warning to Men of the future, but his final fate is unrevealed.

 

So according to this history, at some time during TA magic was discovered that could carry people at least forward in time. The effect sounds similar to the Einsteinian time-dilation effect of accelerating a mass toward the speed of light. That's also similar to how the Lemurians survived the later Atlantean cataclysm, by using a mighty Clockwork Engine to freeze Lemuria in a moment in time untouchable by the global upheaval, until it had passed and the Earth had settled down. (See Hidden Lands for details.) They're both examples of one-way trips; but they leave a potential escape open for characters from the future who end up in VA or other eras without the ability to return on their own.

Edited April 11 by Lord Liaden

[Lord Liaden]

Over on the Champions Online discussion forums, I outlined what I was able to glean about the principles of time travel within the CU based on statements and examples in various books. Perhaps this is an appropriate place and time to transcribe that info.

 

I'd just like to stress that some of the assumptions I make below are only extrapolated from the available examples, and can't be considered definitive statements from the creators of those examples. Also, as I always say, this is a comic-book world. The needs of a given story, or what would be "fun" to play out, often supersede adherence to precedent.

 

Let me open with a brief outline of the nature of Time from Book Of The Empress pp. 23-24, dealing with Istvatha V'han, perhaps the most accomplished time-traveler in the Multiverse: "According to her perceptions, as influenced by the research conducted by her scientists, there’s a single overall Stream Of Time that applies throughout the Multiverse... but each dimension’s “branch” of the overall Stream “runs” at its own speed. In some dimensions (such as two or more alternate Earths), time flows along at nearly the same rate, with the same events happening at more or less the same time. But in other planes time moves faster, or slower, or “curves” in unusual ways...

However, again according to her perceptions, every branch of the Stream Of Time has chronal nodes — dates/events/incidents of such importance that their outcome can affect the future flow of time by splitting off a new “branch” of the Stream (and thus creating a new dimension in the process). The typical events in the life of a typical person don’t create or involve chronal nodes; they can be changed by time travelers without affecting the overall flow of time in any meaningful way. But events of great significance, or the actions of extremely important persons, are/create chronal nodes. Interfering with a chronal node thus can “change history” going forward from that point.

Some chronal nodes are very specific and discrete — such as whether a certain person does or does not cross a certain street at a certain time. But others are very “broad,” such as whether a particular war is fought and who wins it. (Some scientists consider the latter merely a large collection of specific chronal nodes, rather than a single large node; research is ongoing.)"

What I believe is implied by those statements is that it's possible for someone whose life and the events in it don't form a "chronal node" to go back in time and change those events for him/herself without causing a new branch of the Time Stream to form. Hence for everyone in that branch those changes would become the "new reality" which has always been that way. However, if a node is meddled with, rather than changing that branch, a new one is formed creating another "alternate" universe.

One example of the former case may be Istvatha V'han herself. In meddling with the past of her own home dimension, V'ha-1, for her benefit, V'han discovered she had inadvertently erased her own family from having ever existed, even though she continued to exist and V'ha-1 was mostly unchanged otherwise.

As to the second case, interfering with chronal nodes seems to be the M.O. of another time-traveling conqueror, Korrex, a Human and ruler of Earth of the 51st Century (who is fully described in Golden Age Champions). Korrex travels to a past era of Terrestrial history, conquering it and creating a new alternate Earth dimension. Korrex sets one of his followers to govern that new Earth, then moves on to another era.

OTOH not all dimensions have alternates like Earth or V'ha. Istvatha's scientists call those which do "keystone dimensions," but the majority of dimensions are unique. So changes to time in those may actually alter those singular dimensions without creating alternates. The fate of the dimension containing the planet Koratho may be illustrative of that. The Korathons were all immensely physically superhuman. When V'han's armies attempted to conquer their dimension, the Korathons crushed them. Istvatha was concerned that now they knew about other dimensions, the Korathons would eventually invade her own empire; so she traveled back to before Koratho coalesced into a planet, and prevented it from doing so. There's no indication that any alternate version of Koratho exists.

 

Istvatha V'han has taken steps to secure her empire from interference by other time travelers. Her Temporal Security Patrol (officers of whom are called "Temporal Sentinels") use imperial technology to monitor the timeline in search of unauthorized time travelers, possible undesired changes to imperial history, and the like. They’re also in charge of overseeing all imperial time travel technology (and related devices) and authorizing trips to the future or past by imperial personnel.

Otherwise, there is no official body of "time police" maintaining the integrity of Time across the Multiverse. However, Time is not simply a condition that can be infinitely molded at will, as noted on p. 40 of Champions Beyond, which describes the "space/cosmic" side of the CU: "The cosmic entity Chrono controls/is responsible for the orderly flow of Time and existence of Space. He ensures that one second keeps ticking after another, that galaxies and universes continue their cosmic pirouettes, and that the dimensions of the Multiverse remain in their proper place. In short, he’s the one who makes sure that all moments in time do not occur simultaneously (or in incorrect order) and that all places and objects do not occupy the same space at once.

Chrono has complete control over time — he can travel through it, reverse it, speed it up, and otherwise alter it as necessary to fulfill his duties. It’s thought that he keeps a close eye on time travelers and covertly steps in to stop them if their activities become too dangerous...

Chrono rarely interacts with other beings (cosmic or otherwise). When his work would require that, he usually sends a proxy: his servant (child? ally? alternate form? projection?) Entropus, sometimes referred to as “the Time Elemental.”

As long as Chrono/Entropus is allowed to do his job properly, not even superheroes are likely to become aware of his existence. But if something goes wrong — for example, if another cosmic entity or a crazed supervillain... attacks him, or he gets “sick” — all of Reality is in danger." [CB then describes a couple of examples in which this occurred.]

It's tough to say at what point Chrono/Entropus might intervene with meddling in time, but precedents for these cosmic beings suggest it may have to be something that effects entire universes or multiple dimensions. Even then, though, setting it right may require intervention by superheroes. One outstanding example is the so-called "Secret Crisis," described as "a war across space and time involving almost all the heroes who had ever existed or will exist," precipitated by the aforementioned Korrex stealing the power of Entropus and becoming a time "god." The heroes managed to overload Korrex's power, causing him to discorporate. (Korrex survived and subsequently recovered, returning to his previous activities.)

It would seem that Istvatha V'han's meddling in time isn't extensive enough to draw Chrono's ire... unless some of her failures, or even her successes, could be attributed to his influence. (That's not official, mind you.) 😉

[Lord Liaden]

I should deal with the example of Captain Chronos, because in some ways he appears to counter the precedents detailed above. While CC is fully written up in Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains, his true origin is revealed in Book Of The Machine, detailed source book for the genocidal robot Mechanon. The Captain comes from the 61st Century, an era when the Earth is devastated and Humanity is reduced to surviving in a few domed cities. Chronos wants to alter the future just enough to prevent that disaster from happening. The way his actions are expressed in those books imply that he seeks to actually transform the world he came from by altering its past, and its inhabitants would remember only its new history, not the way it was before. But the principles I transcribed previously on this thread would seem to assert that the best he could do would be to create a new alternate version of Earth.

As I see it there are two possibilities to explain the apparent contradiction. Perhaps Captain Chronos's understanding of Time is so sophisticated that he knows how to profoundly alter a specific time line without creating a new branch. His extremely carefully calculated modifications to the present day would suggest that's at least possible. The other explanation is that he doesn't understand Time as well as he thinks he does. Personally I think that's more likely, since BOTM reveals that

Spoiler

Mechanon is the result of an earlier, failed attempt to change the past of the 61st Century, corrupted due to incomplete comprehension of the temporal physics involved. Mechanon itself has no knowledge or suspicion of this, and evinces no desire to learn of its own origins. Captain Chronos pointedly avoids Mechanon for fear of disruption to the timeline from their mutual anachronistic proximity (which might even precipitate an origin). Istvatha V'han's research has identified Mechanon as one of those critical chronal nodes I mentioned in my earlier post.

 

Or, as I pointed out earlier, maybe it's different just because the Captain's creator wanted him to be part of a different story. 😇

Captain Chronos is also a fine example of how flexibly "time powers" can manifest in Hero System. Here are the Special Effects of the Captain's time Power constructs:

Temporal Acceleration — Captain Chronos accelerates a person through time so rapidly the victim ages, withers, and eventually dies/collapses.
Temporal Disharmony — Captain Chronos “jerks” the target backward and forward through time, stressing the target’s system to the point where he passes out.
No Sleep ’Til Brooklyn — Captain Chronos rapidly accelerates the target through time for about a day, until the target is too sleepy to remain awake.
Age Manipulation — Captain Chronos reverses or accelerates the flow of time around a person or object, making it younger or older.
Temporal Ambush — Captain Chronos stops time throughout reality, puts a big physical object (like a rock) over his target’s head, slightly redirects an attack or moving object, or otherwise puts his target in harm’s way. Then he returns to where he was standing and starts time again. The rock falls (or the like), hurting the target. To the target and everyone else, it’s as if the rock appeared out of nowhere to fall on him!
Fast Time, Slow Time Bubbles, Rapid Healing — Captain Chronos can put a person in a bubble of fast time (to make him move much more quickly, though this tires the subject out quickly) or slow time (to keep him from moving at his normal speed). He can also put someone in a bubble of fast time so they heal from their injuries in the blink of an eye.
Stop Time Bubble — Captain Chronos can put the target in a bubble of stopped time, preventing him from moving or doing anything. Only people with temporal or dimensional manipulation powers can escape until Captain Chronos chooses to disperse the bubble.
Rapid Transit — Captain Chronos stops time throughout reality, walks up to 60m from where he started, and then starts time again. To others, he seems to have vanished from his starting point and reappeared instantly at his destination.
Walkin’ To Jerusalem — Captain Chronos stops time throughout reality, walks across Earth to get to wherever he wants to go, and then re-starts time. If he wants to cross the ocean, he selectively reverses time around Earth until he reaches the point where the continents are joined together, walks to where he wants to be, and then fastforwards time back to the present day.
Gone Out For Food — Captain Chronos stops time throughout reality, walks to whatever restaurant he feels like eating at, starts time so he can get something to eat, then reverses time and walks back to where he was. He often brings food back to his friends, keeping it in a stop time bubble so it remains fresh:
“I sure could go for some Greek food,” Defender said.
::Captain Chronos gets up:: “One second....”
::Captain Chronos doesn’t appear to move, but suddenly there’s a basket of food in his hand::
“Here, I got this from this great little place I know in Athens — in 1869.”

[Lord Liaden]

The strangest manifestation of time in the CU is on Multifarian Earth. What makes Multifaria unique is that time is completely fluid there. Past, present and future can all co-exist at the same moment. Hence the name, derived from "multifarious," meaning "many and varied." For example, walking through London one can pass in a moment from the early-21st Century city, to Victorian London, to Roman Londinium, to the megalopolis of the far future; and bump into Winston Churchill, William Shakespeare, Jack the Ripper, or a reptilian tourist from the planet Mon'da. This can obviously be very disorienting for visitors, but the natives aren't discomfited by it at all. (There are more details about this world in Book Of The Empress.)

However, the logical question is, how did Multifarian Earth come to be this way? The fact that the various discrete eras from more linear Earths can be distinguished amid the jumble, suggests that those eras must have existed in a normal progression at some point. My own theory, which has no official confirmation, is that this world's timeline was scrambled as a result of the cross-temporal Secret Crisis caused by Korrex the Conqueror, which I outlined on an earlier post.

 

There's another detail about Istvatha V'han's temporal activities which could make for an interesting PC or NPC. When she prevented the planet Koratho from coming into being (as I described on an earlier post), she was unwilling to completely waste such a resource. So she captured one Korathon, a distinguished military officer, and placed him in a "time shield field" in another dimension so he wouldn't be erased with his planet. V'han subjected the Korathon to extensive brainwashing, turning him into a loyal minion. Karrl Korathon is now widely known as "the strongest man in the Empire."

I used that precedent to create an NPC for one of my games, a female Korathon scientist who was experimenting with some dimensional transport equipment her people captured during Istvatha's invasion, when she accidentally cast herself out of Koratho's dimension, and eventually landed on Champions Earth. At first her people's natural aggressiveness and "machismo" led her to become a supervillain, as she sought the means to return to her home. But when she learned what had happened to them she became obsessed with vengeance against V'han, ultimately joining a rebellion movement against her rule. (I'd like the opportunity to revisit that character one day.)

A plot device like that could be used to introduce one or more Korathons to anyone's Champions campaign. Korathons are humanoids who stand up to eight feet tall, with superhuman musculature, light blue skin and dark blue hair. Karrl Korathon is very nearly as tough and strong as Grond, but he's also a trained soldier. Smaller males or females, and/or those whose primary activity isn't fighting, may be less so (although all Korathons love to fight).

 

Let me close by mentioning that BOTE also describes and writes up a fearsome monster called the Time-Beast which deliberately hunts and devours time- and dimension-travelers, and often causes disruptive changes to the time stream. Some theorize that it's an avatar or "pet" of some sort of cosmic entity, but its actions appear random.

[Ninja-Bear]

Captain Chronos is a great reason why any older version of any character in Champions is still around.

That and why characters changed during an edition change too. 

[archer]

4 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

Temporal Ambush — Captain Chronos stops time throughout reality, puts a big physical object (like a rock) over his target’s head, slightly redirects an attack or moving object, or otherwise puts his target in harm’s way. Then he returns to where he was standing and starts time again. The rock falls (or the like), hurting the target. To the target and everyone else, it’s as if the rock appeared out of nowhere to fall on him!

 

I really wince at these kinds of powers.

 

If Captain Chronos can stop time throughout reality, he could cut the head off of everyone in the team.

 

To the target and everyone else, it's as if their heads just fell off their bodies for no reason!

 

 

[Lord Liaden]

Good thing he's an NPC, then.

 

EDIT: Okay, okay, I know. But IMHO there's a solid rationalization for why Captain Chronos doesn't do that. He's trying to change the future. Every action he takes, every bit of information he gives, is carefully calculated for its impact on the time stream. The Captain isn't going to kill anyone unless and until he's sure the result won't impair his mission.

[Ninja-Bear]

1 hour ago, archer said:

 

I really wince at these kinds of powers.

 

If Captain Chronos can stop time throughout reality, he could cut the head off of everyone in the team.

 

To the target and everyone else, it's as if their heads just fell off their bodies for no reason!

 

 

I feel the bigger point of Captain Chronos is more of showcasing how Hero system works with powers and SFX.

[archer]

2 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

Good thing he's an NPC, then.

 

EDIT: Okay, okay, I know. But IMHO there's a solid rationalization for why Captain Chronos doesn't do that. He's trying to change the future. Every action he takes, every bit of information he gives, is carefully calculated for its impact on the time stream. The Captain isn't going to kill anyone unless and until he's sure the result won't impair his mission.

 

So the first mentalist he teams up with Mind Controls him into doing it.

 

It's just that fiat powers, the extent of which are limited by the character's self-control or mental state, induce an uncontrollable wincing in me.

[Lord Liaden]

I do get that, such unbalancing Powers have to be carefully managed. Captain Chronos is really more of a plot-device character than a foe or ally in a fight. Game-mechanically it helps that he has a Total Code vs Killing on his character sheet, and that his sheet lacks a Killing Attack option.   Role-playing wise, any villain's tactics would be under GM's control; while if a "hero" allied to the Captain tried to pull a stunt like that, there would probably be some serious questions and repercussions, not least of which would be pissing off CC himself.

 

But I do suspect Steve Long intended to introduce the potential for misuse of the Captain's tech if stolen, as a potential plot. For example, Dr. Destroyer is on his sheet as a Hunter.

[Jhamin]

Even though he was left behind in the edition switch from 4th to 5th, I think that Captain Future from the 4th edition Golden Age Champions is another interesting take on time travel in Hero.

TLDR: He doesn't have time powers at all and just knows about time.  Being from the future is his origin.

His backstory is that he is a time cop from the future who was assigned to "walk the beat" in the US of the 30s and 40s as that was a period of intense temporal interest. 

His job is to 1) Protect the time stream (It isn't mentioned specifically, but all the people who time travel back to stop WWII come to mind) and 2) Maintain his cover as a crimefighter of the era. 

 

The thing of it is, other than some future history skills and a Sense: Temporal Anomalies gadget in his costume, his powers aren't time related at all.  He has some futuristic technology like his ray gun and fish bowl helmet life support as he needs to seem "futuristic" to the natives but beyond that he is expected to figure it out on his own.  Actual Time Travel seems to be limited to GM Fiat.  For a golden age hero, that isn't too unreasonable.  He mostly fights Nazis.

Where it gets weird is *why* he was assigned the Captain Future identity.  He was made Captain Future because history said that there has always been a Captain Future fighting crime throughout history, so impersonating him won't disrupt time.  There is a mention that it's possible all the Time Cops posing as Captain Future are the reason there has always *been* a Captain Future, but its played more for jokes than taken seriously.  It is ambiguous if all Time Cops are as confused as he is or if he just flunked Temporal Physics at the academy.

[Lord Liaden]

As long as we're casting further afield for useful precedents, a series of Digital Hero issues describe the Temporal League, an Earth-based organization founded in the near future when technological time-travel had been discovered (not dependent on ambient magic), and devoted to preserving Earth's timeline from various threats. Issue #26 describes the origin and organization of the League, and some of its resources. #23 writes up the League's "super-class" operatives, the Temporal Champions, drawn from different eras of the Hero Universe. While #33 details more NPCs, allies or enemies of the League.

 

Although the Temporal League is set in and inspired by the official Hero Universe, Steve Long decreed that no DH article should be considered "official" unless and until it's been transcribed to a published book. That doesn't stop any of us from using it, of course. Moreover, Steve's not in charge any more.

 

EDIT: Here are links to free samples from those articles that used to be hosted on an earlier version of this website.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20050905011514/http://www.herogames.com/digitalhero/Samples/d23temporal.jsp

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20051126232409/http://herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh26temporal.jsp

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20051225071626/http://herogames.com/digitalHero/Samples/dh33unchanged.jsp