Powers and knacks you favor for your Champions characters

[Hermit]

Originally posted by McCoy

Hadn't thought about it before, but back in the D&D days I played mostly Clerics. Now many of my Champions PC's have some healing power or at least Paramedic skill.

 

Sometimes that happens because no one else will take the support role. I know I often got stuck with clerics in my early days (I enjoyed them mind you) since no one else would ever play them yet they seemed absolutely necessary for the party to survive. I didn't mind, but one group started howling protest if I stocked up on anything BUT Healing spells. Sheesh.

[Enforcer84]

I tend to play Bricks, and well, super strong guys.

 

I also tend towards two Brick Archetypes: Superman and Hercules. If my concept isn't one its probably the other...

[tkdguy]

Originally posted by Doug McCrae

Huh??!! What's wrong with a smart person playing a dumb character? A dumb person playing a smart one is problematic but not vice versa. And anyway all roleplayers are smart people. Right?

 

I is an college graduate!

 

In AD&D I almost always played an elven fighter/mage. I've actually played a lot of different types of characters in HERO, although I usually prefer martial artists nowadays.

[War Admiral]

Hmm, I've always invariably been the GM so I don't often get to be a "mere" player, therefore one would think I'd vary my style somewhat when I do get to play... but I don't!

 

When I play, my characters, although often different classes/archetypes, do tend to follow a certain pattern. I like to play confident, assertive, self-reliant, take-chargey types of guys. It's kinda weird.

 

oh yeah, I like to fly too.

[SomeAsianKid]

I have a thing for druids and shapechangers. All my D&D characters were druids, shifters, or bards that belonged to a race of shapechangers. In Hero, the two characters I have created are Paradox (a shapechanger spy) and Jade (a Chinese druid who naturally, has a shapechanging spell). Also, in Hero both my characters have spent ACTUAL CHARACTER POINTS on cell phones and laptops. I just can't rationalize how in a modern day world people wouldn't have such things (and it's pretty annoying that I actually have to spend ep on having a phone)

[Mike W]

Doug, the vast majority of people I've played were smart people, not average but above average intelligence. Some of them like playing dumb characters, which is fine. I don't though because a lot of the fun for me is figuring out what's going on and what the GM is up to - and so I want to play a character that actually could figure it out.

[Enforcer84]

I consider myself pretty smart and enjoy, well, solving the mysteries. I've done it occasionally as a hyper intelligent detective, and I also did have a lot of fun with a remarkably dim but aware (Heightened PER) and Lucky character who "stumbled" upon the clues and conclusions. That was fun.

[BobGreenwade]

Smart vs Dumb (oops!)

 

I got confused (it's very late) and posted my take on smart vs dumb here.

[Lightray]

Originally posted by Doug McCrae

Is it wrong at all? There's one gamer in my wider social group who irritates the heck out of me. He invariably plays dark, sinister outsider type characters, like a demon, vampire or supervillain in a superhero game or someone from the Courts of Chaos in an Amber game. I don't enjoy gaming with him but I'm wondering if this is just because I don't like the guy. Is there anything wrong in itself with his gaming style? It goes without saying that the GM has always okayed these PCs but y'know, GMs don't always get it right, do they?

What's wrong in this case isn't that he's always choosing the same character archetype -- but that he's always choosing the disruptive character archetype. Sounds like the kind of person who likes to disrupt the game, wants all the attention, and pouts when he doesn't get his way.

 

Or maybe I'm just projecting from my own experiences...

 

In my group, we've got Combat Guy (always must be the kick ass combat monster) and Tricky Lass (always must be the clever person who knows everything).

 

As for me, I don't stick to one type of character, but I do avoid certain types. I don't do dwarves, gnomes, hobbits, or other short-types-with-schticks. I don't do ugly or antisocial or rejected-by-society types. I'm rarely the combat guy (but had a blast recently playing a "brick" in Buffy, so that might change).

[The Mind Master]

Originally posted by Doug McCrae

It goes without saying that the GM has always okayed these PCs but y'know, GMs don't always get it right, do they?

 

WH-A-A-AT!??? Of course we do!

 

Most of the players in my groups over the years have been interested in trying different roles. But one player, no matter what his character type or powers, always had to be a source of contention among the other players. That was his playing style, who knows why. He generally tended to put a lot of points into defenses, but the characters were a wide variety without a lot in common.

 

Until I got used to it, his style of play drove me nuts as a GM. As an example, the group would all bring in new characters for a gaming session. I'd throw together some little scenario to get the heroes together before the main adventure started...some quick little combat, to let the players test out their powers and meet each other.

 

Well, with this guy's character initially refused to believe that the other PC's were really heroes, and began attacking them as villains. Okay, I thought, so this is a Marvel Comics approach to heroes meeting, that's cool.

 

But it went on and on and on...nothing the other heroes could do would make his character believe they were on the same side. No display of good will was good enough, no persuasion or logic prevailed. We spent a good half of our gaming time on this little "throwaway" episode, and in the end he still wouldn't join the other heroes. Finally they had him grabbed and restrained, helpless. They could have killed him if they had wished. But to prove they were good guys, they let him go, hoping that this would at last convince him they weren't his enemies.

 

Of course it didn't work. Finally they just knocked him out and left him, so he couldn't continue attacking them.

 

Hmm...this post may not seem exactly on topic, but that was the "common" element in his playing.

[Jhereg]

As a player, my recurring role is the Mentalist. Not so much because it’s what I like (though I do), but more because I think every group needs one, and no one else in my group is willing to play one.

 

I’ve never made a character without Ambidexterity.

 

I’ve never made a “Heroic†setting character without Fast Draw.

[austenandrews]

Originally posted by Jhereg

As a player, my recurring role is the Mentalist. Not so much because it’s what I like (though I do), but more because I think every groups needs one, and no one else in my group is willing to play one.

 

I’ve never made a character without Ambidexterity.

 

Does this mean your characters are neither right-brained nor left-brained?

 

-AA

[BoneDaddy]

In DnD I always played the theif. It's fun, and I rarely crapped where I ate (don't steal inside the party).

 

As for Champs, for a while every character turned into a martial artist eventually. Mentalist MA, Brick MA, Teleporting MA, whatever - they were all MA's eventually. I've started to get away from that, by building a brick who ISN'T an MA, even though I want him to be.

[Jhereg]

Originally posted by austenandrews

Does this mean your characters are neither right-brained nor left-brained?

 

-AA

You bring up an excellent point. I like to play well-balanced characters in every aspect: abilities, and psychologically.

 

Must be because I'm so proud of being a blanced individual myself!

[Jhereg]

Originally posted by BoneDaddy

In DnD I always played the theif. It's fun, and I rarely crapped where I ate (don't steal inside the party).

 

As for Champs, for a while every character turned into a martial artist eventually. Mentalist MA, Brick MA, Teleporting MA, whatever - they were all MA's eventually. I've started to get away from that, by building a brick who ISN'T an MA, even though I want him to be.

 

I don’t see anything wrong with that. My group pretty much considers MA as a staple of the group. Every player has at least 20 pts in MA. It’s the style where they diverge. We got boxers and dirty infighters right along with the ninjutsu.

[AtomicGladiator]

I like to play characters who can dish out hefty doses of physical damage. I like to have at least ONE powerful attack, even if I can't use it all the time.

 

But it can take a lot of forms and personalities. I've played a power-armor character who is assertive and bossy but a real team-player (and with an incredibly powerful "nucleon-energy blast".)

 

I've played a martial artist with a dark, vigilante mentality, cynical and suspicious(and a wicked offensive strike with his staff).

 

And I played a rather happy-go-lucky size-changer with amnesia, who loved to eat and who spent much of his time in combat shrunk to small size with a DCV of 17. (But who could shoot up to normal size under a foe for a devastatingly powerful attack).

 

I've never created a mentalist to play as my own character. The times I've played one in "pick-up" games, I didn't enjoy it.

 

I like to POUND.

[Doug McCrae]

My fave power is super-agility. Love any PC of mine to have it, whether or not they're a superhero.

 

I prefer to pay female characters but I only do so about 50% of the time or less. I'm worried people will think I'm weird if I always do - like that guy in Brandi's game who always played 14 year old MC porn stars.

[Hermit]

As a Player: Distrusting the protection of DCV (Ye fickle thing) I like characters with good defenses (GREAT if brick types). Nothing rips the fun out of things for me more than getting knocked out first shot and turned from a player to a spectator for the entire combat because of it. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but it is a tendency.

 

I also prefer characters that are respected (Mind you, I try to earn this in play) so I've discovered the Rep Perk is one of my favorite 5th Ed goodies.

 

As GM, I often back the players up with NPCs of archetypes they won't play. For a time, I was always making backup bricks at their request. Fortunately they expanded a bit.

[TheEmerged]

RE: kobold telepath "missmatch". You misunderstand, I wasn't talking about power. I was talking about the *attitude* of the stereotypical kobold -- snivelling cowardise and paranoia.

 

RE: Smart players, dumb PC's. You should try it some time, it's great fun to act dumb. Gives me a good chance to pull off all my "fool's wisdom" lines.

[Karma]

1 word: Female

(I'm Male)

Hey, don't look at me like that. I've only warn a dress twice. Once in a play and once at a crossdressing party.

Apart from that my characters have very little in common.

[JmOz]

Originally posted by TheEmerged

RE: kobold telepath "missmatch". You misunderstand, I wasn't talking about power. I was talking about the *attitude* of the stereotypical kobold -- snivelling cowardise and paranoia.

 

RE: Smart players, dumb PC's. You should try it some time, it's great fun to act dumb. Gives me a good chance to pull off all my "fool's wisdom" lines.

 

True: One of my FAVORITE characters was this Brick, who changed into your standard Neanderthal like brick from rocket scientist. He kept his INT however but liked to "act" dumb

[Karma]

Originally posted by winterhawk

None of the players ever plays a brick, so I invariably whip up an NPC Brick just to give the team some muscle. I've just realized they are always female. Perhaps I should consult my shrink.

 

Nothing wrong with liking strong women. If they've all been 'womanimals' or had an inhuman skin colour, then you might have a problem

[Tim]

As one guy in our group says, I play opposites

 

A Brick that isn't a brick: has brick like defenses, 30 str and an absorb to a HA, that caused him harm if he couldn't release the power build up.

 

A Mentalist that isn't a Mentalist- A Lancer clone called Psilance. Her mental power was built as EB, no range, AVLD (MentD) (think Psylocke)

 

A Super Intellegent person who was actually a Mentally handicaped person who had been given his powers in an experiment. (thinkLawnmower man)

[SomeAsianKid]

"Does this mean your characters are neither right-brained nor left-brained?"

 

You know, I took a left-brain/ right-brain test once. I scored exactly 15 questions for the left side and 15 questions for the right side.

[tkdguy]

I once played a paraplegic mentalist (think Prof. Xavier with Reed Richards' hair). He was also a pacifist, which for some reason sometimes got on the other players' nerves.

 

Edit: I think it was because whenver there was a bady guy to fight and innocent bystanders around, my character would invariably protect the innocents first.