loraxxx Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? Also, you don't see enough non fighting types, frex Raven from the orifginal Teen Titans. She was a high point character and a badass, but all her powers were healing, empathy, and the occasional such you into my dark soul. Everybody likes being able to hit things, I guess. Or, maybe, characters like that are too complex when it comes to char gen. Reynard a player in my group likes to play non-fighting-type champs characters and she suffers a lot of frustration for it--they're hard to play, as they require a goodly amount of systems knowledge to set up and play effectively.... but they're not that hard to create, e.g.--give a character descent OCV+DCV, 4/5 spd, some resistant defences, and a multipower or VP3: alteration powers; ranged; area effect; delayed return.... i haven't crunched the numbers, but a character with those capabilities would enhance almost ANY superteam, no matter what their power level.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loraxxx Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? Now, where is the comic book about the super-charismatic non-combat hero who infiltrates a corrupt institution to bring it down from within? And that being the whole point of the storyline (instead of a brief subplot). Or the superhero/scientist series showing the exploration of new trade routes with the newly-discovered other-dimensions? Even the occasional story with the superdetective not throwing a single punch is rare. This is the type of situation I'm refering to, and it's pretty rare in superhero comics. You can find it in science fiction, in fantasy, in non-superhero modern games. In superhero fiction usually it's all about winning the big fight. And non-violent solutions are one more option in the hero's list of how to win the big fight. you should try reading any of several of "AMERICA'S BEST" comics, written by that BRITISH guy, ALAN MOORE.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loraxxx Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? but back to the main topic--for some reason i'm fixated on "mystery men"-type characters right now.... ....you know, guys with maybe one or two powers, a weapon, or power object that through creative usage allows him or her to fight crime/evil--IN A COSTUME, WITH NON-LETHAL WEAPONS... what i mostly like about these characters is that they are more vulnerable--a gang of thugs, or a mad robot are credible threats to them.... i also think these types of campaigns generally encourage players to use skills more and to roleplay.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost who Walks Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? Responding to the above posts, at random. I wouldn't mind seeing some more stupid heroes. Not stupid in concept, but in mind. Heroes with the power of Grond, and the brains to match. Heroes who are to stupid to be villains, so they become sidekicks of Heroes. I'd like to see a short, out of shape brick once. Preferably with a Canadian accent who smokes cigars. A gadgeteer who invents one thing...then retires. So far as the fat hero: I have Dioneyseus, the ancient Greek God as a hero. Originally the patron of wine, and athletics, he was ruined by TV dinners. Very different than Thor. (Who in my campaign is a drunken, 8th century pillaging barbarian) Strangely, I ran Bulldozer the same way. I once had my players help me design a military team, for kicks. Not Special Farces military, bu the other guys. They all had to have a military specialty, and less than 50 points of powers, below 150 points of skills/characteristics, and the rest in equipment. They came out very interesting...they all carried guns, flew around in helicoptors, and bombed their enemies. All were NPCs. The best was the leader, whose only power was 10 str Telekinesis, who carried a bag of grenades. There were over 75 of them, at one point. Later, the unit they were in got disbanded, and they all became civilians...the PC heroes had "to retrain" them for civilian superheroing. So far as skills vs powers, I've run entire campaigns (lasting several months in real time), where the PCs used no powers, only skills. I've found players like using skills, when they have an effect on the plot. They rarely have an effect in comics, however. On ethnicity: Maybe I should try and right up my Whizzard character. He was the black teenaged genius who made billions off the dot com industry and decided to become a superhero. He bought/made a bunch of gadgets, hired some trainers, and fights the problems all the other heroes ignore. His costume is made out of "solar blnaket" material, as he found tights too cold. Agree that the comics are stuck a bit on this, but so is most of the entertainment industry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapsedgamer Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? Yeah, I admit I was just venting a little there. Golden Glove, that's right. By that way, we keep going back to Steeljack, another Busiek character. Astro City is a class act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? Keep in mind that I basically dislike the superhero genre, but I've recently had some thoughts on superheroes who use their powers, but pay the price. Maybe they already have some limitations that explain the powers. Examples include; a speedster that strains muscles whenever he goes too fast (I actually did one once and lost the character sheet. Rebuilding now.). A mentalist that had to go through some arduous experiment to get his power. ( A friend of mine did one with projected Mental Illusions based on whatever hallucination he was currently having. The process which gave him mental powers also broke his mind.) I know that most people don't like that kind of limitation on their characters, but I get real bored with the flying, invulnerable brick schtick. I would also just love to see more characters that wear real clothes as opposed to spandex. One of the reasons I liked Nomad about a decade ago. I would love to see more characters that undertake their duty to protect with some level of seriousness, without coming off as angst-ridden. I would love to see a player take it upon himself to design a character that had a comparable number of points spent to flesh out the secret ID as opposed to the hero one. Not so much of a character thing there, but I digress. Speaking of breaking the racial stereotypes. (This is a bit off topic, sorry.) Tyr Anasazi from Andromeda was one of my favorite characters of all time. Intelligent and articulate. He violated all the norms. He was still angry, but in this case it had to do with his clan being wiped out than because his skin was dark. Absolutely great job. The show suffered much with the loss of him as a protagonist. Also, there was an episode (one of the last ones) of X-Files that had a schizophrenic black guy that was psychic. Again, broke the stereotype to bits. A good sign from the entertainment industry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? I would also just love to see more characters that wear real clothes as opposed to spandex. Aren't superhumans (not necessarily superheroes) wearing more conventional clothes pretty much standard procedure by now in comics? They're at least as common as spandex types, I think. Not to mention heroes who "oficially" are spandex types but go hundreds of issues without ever wearing them? Particularly I don't care strongly either way. I *DO* care about the set of traits that usually go hand-in-hand with the clothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? Aren't superhumans (not necessarily superheroes) wearing more conventional clothes pretty much standard procedure by now in comics? They're at least as common as spandex types' date=' I think. Not to mention heroes who "oficially" are spandex types but go hundreds of issues without ever wearing them?[/quote'] Couldn't tell you. I haven't read an issue of any comic book in over a decade. If that IS a trend in modern comics, then I applaud it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vex Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? After the first Xmen movie, the comic books went to their "almost normal clothes" leather outfits. In the next month or so, they will start returning to their superhero outfits with the "reloading" of the comic books. Basically, some of the comics will be going away with new ones taking their place. The X teams will get divided up and some of their motivations and agendas will change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? you should try reading any of several of "AMERICA'S BEST" comics' date=' written by that BRITISH guy, ALAN MOORE....[/quote'] I'm a fan of most of America's Best line, actually. Tom Strong, Promethea, and Tomorrow Stories (but for the First American, that I don't like). The one comic from ABC I don't really care for is Top 10, and I think that is the one with lots of superhuman characters using their powers for other stuff, right? Satire just isn't my favorite genre, so I've never warmed to Top 10. BTW, I didn't say I would necessarily LIKE to see lots more non-combat characters. I was just saying that I think we can't blame the players for not making non-combat characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakboy6117 Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? oh top ten is brilliant its not that they use there powers for other stuff is that everyone has superpowers in neopolis so you get seemingly normal jobs being handled by peopel with super powers and teh police force for a city of super heros is justifiably a bit weird. personal favorite bits, in the second TPB the hypermice and ultra cats continuity cross over apeing the amalgam comics was absolutly brilliant and had me laughing out loud for a full 5 minutes. also in the second teh brilliant robot officer and hsi way of dealing with the anti machine sentiments of his co-workers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allandrel Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? Top 10 is great. (Of course, since it is by Alan Moore, that should go without saying.) It manages to both satirize comics while telling a serious story at the same time. It also features some of Moore's best dialogue ever, which is saying something. Patrick J McGraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? I've read the first 3 or 4 issues of Top 10. Like I've said, I'm not much of a fan of comedy and satire, I'm bitter and depressed. And the "serious" stuff in the comic never really connected with me either, because I've found this mix of superhero satire and hyper-realistic police show just too weird. To top it all, I find the artist's style weird too. I enjoy all the other ABC titles though and I'm a big fan of Alan Moore. I think Top 10 is the only stuff from him that I didn't loved (and the First American in Tomorrow Stories). PS: One superhero meets cops comic I really like is Bendis's "Powers". But it treates the superhero elements more seriously and the cop part is more old noir than modern TV cop show. More to my tastes, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loraxxx Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? oh top ten is brilliant its not that they use there powers for other stuff is that everyone has superpowers in neopolis so you get seemingly normal jobs being handled by peopel with super powers and teh police force for a city of super heros is justifiably a bit weird. personal favorite bits, in the second TPB the hypermice and ultra cats continuity cross over apeing the amalgam comics was absolutly brilliant and had me laughing out loud for a full 5 minutes. also in the second teh brilliant robot officer and hsi way of dealing with the anti machine sentiments of his co-workers yeah--i wish they would come out with more issues--although the recent SMAX mini-series was funny and just plain DISTURBING.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakboy6117 Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? and even had a hidden refrence to strongbad from homestarrunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loraxxx Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? and even had a hidden refrence to strongbad from homestarrunner ?????????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakboy6117 Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? sorry i was talking about smax issue 3 page 8 when they arrive in teh city to go to the department of quests trilogies and sagas but that page is full of refrences mc esher sandman harry potter willywonka and a load of other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakboy6117 Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? sorry i was talking about smax issue 3 page 8 when they arrive in teh city to go to the department of quests trilogies and sagas but that page is full of refrences mc esher sandman harry potter willywonka and a load of other things. the refrence is to the burninator strongbads dragon comic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomGM2602 Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? The opposite of the "What super hero concepts are you tired of" debate. Which ones would you like to see more of? either in comics, or (More relevantly for this board I guess) in your games? I can't really complain too much in the game department, my players are pretty versitile. I do notice a strong bias against the 'ugly hero' ala the Thing etc. if one appears, they'll try to cure it fast even if the campaign doesn't have the resources to do so. They're just not big on it in NPCs, and they never play them as PCs. It's not a big thing, just about the only one I can think of. How about some Femlike mystery characters or some cutesy anime type supers like those from the anime Magic Knights Rayearth? That would be Ultimate to the max! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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