What is YOUR favorite Champions character?

[Qelan]

What is or was your favorite champions character and why is it your favorite?

I really love to read a well developed character. I don't mean a character who is only powerful or versatile. I am talking about those character that as you read them you start getting goose bumbs because they are just that cool! A lot of times I can just get this just from reading the powers and the special effects but sometimes its the background information that kicks in the "cool" factor.

 

If anyone feels like sharing their favorite character here and maybe a reason why it is their favorite I would love to hear about it.

[mattingly]

My favorite was Night Archer, because he mixed so many cool archetypes. He was the trained normal on the team; he used "real" arrows, not goofy trick arrows (his gimmick was the poisoned tips); he was the oldest team member in his early 60s; he was a reformed villain; and he was grumpy.

 

in Champions: The Movie, he'd be played by Sean Connery.

[Zaratustra]

Figures you'd like Night Archer.

[JohnTaber]

Hi Qelan,

 

Since I run 100% of the time and since you did not specifically say this chracter had to be a hero I'll describe my favorite villain.

 

My favorite villain is a guy called Mad Merc. He is sort of a Bullseye like character except he is a bit more madcap. As his name suggests he hires out for pay but only takes bids from someone who has an original job. Money is no longer an attraction. He has been know to use the following objects to dangerous effect depending on the venue for the fight:

+ Teddy Ruxpin dolls.

+ Garden hoses (imagine whips and grabs).

+ Two tunas (imagine nunchuks).

+ Leg warmers from a super heroine (image garotte)

 

Fun stuff...

[death tribble]

One of my favourite ones was Rainbow Archer. Liked the origin and what she could do.

 

To play, I had the Flame my first character, founder member and namer of our hero team, The Protectors. Because I built him from the ground up.

[MisterVimes]

I have two.

 

My first Champions character was:

The Stranger. Stranger was wealthy cyberneticist and amateur race-car driver Douglas Allen. Doug was developing a heavy suit of equipment for industrial work (think about the cargo lifters from Aliens). A friend of his was gambling at the race-track and got into debt with the mob. When the mob killed his friend he went after them with the power-suit. Afterward, Doug decided to patrol the streets in a spiked suit of battle-ship gray power armor (more like a gray ironman with spikes). Because of his racing background he drove a souped up armor plated car: The Roadmaster.

 

Stranger was a cross between Batman and Ironman with a real mean streak.

 

The second was Bushmaster. We were running a campaign where the world's metahumans DIDN'T dress up in long underwear, nor band together in groups. FILE 13 was a team of government agents that hunted Metahuman criminals and dissidents (and ANYONE foolish enough to call themselves a 'Superhero'). Bushmaster was a 'snake' from the CIA (Snakes were assassins, birds were spies). His codename was Bushmaster from the Largest and most venomous snake of the new world, found in the tropics of Central and South America.

Bushmaster was a real jerk, his power was to leech and absorb kenetic energy from people he touched. The more you hit him(or he hit you), the stronger and faster he got. He could also mimic 'natural' metahuman powers of those he touched (regeneration, speed and so on). No one was ever sure of what Bushmaster's real name was, but he called himself James Marsden.

[Qelan]

I can't tell you guys how much I love to read this stuff.

[mattingly]

C'mon, you can tell us... Who are we gonna tell...?

[Qelan]

Originally posted by mattingly

C'mon, you can tell us... Who are we gonna tell...?

Ok, I will tell.

 

Mattingly, could I get a critique from you about the Prof. Cyrrius story? I didn't make the character but I liked the core concept. By the way I know it's a little tedious but I wanted to try and develop the character right away.

[mattingly]

Planning to read it over this weekend.

[Qelan]

I know this sounds wierd but my favorite was a mutant origin (so I wimped out hehe) who could control and manipulate dangerous radiation. He could fly, forcefield, and release a terrible force from his hands as a RKA. Since he was a comic buff as a kid and he could fly he called himself Stellar Knight.

 

Here's the wierd part. He could control the energy but he was not immune to it. Everytime he used his RKA he would take a random amount body damage. He didn't have regeneration or any type of healing so he always had to find other ways to try to stop the villans. So many times he had to risk using his Stellar Beams at risk of death. Thinking about that character now I can hardly understand why he was so fun to play but he was. I think it had something to do with having to try to find other ways to stop the villans but also having access to a very destructive attack that my character was very afraid to use... heck, I was afraid! hehe

[Tech]

Here he is - my first character

 

One of my favorite characters would be my hero from Champions: Neutron. Now, my character was created well before Enemies I ever hit the stores so you don't think I grabbed the Conquerors 'Neutron' name. My first character and yes, I still play him.

 

His background was that he joined Viper and although not in the fighting field, was one of their best agents at that time, superior skill in the computer field. He didn't join Viper due to hating someone or something psychotic; no, he was just selfish and went for the money. His powers materialized after he was promised more money in exchange for a simple test. Shyeah, right.

 

Later, after his powers became second nature to him, he started the superhero business, realizing that Viper was not so great. Viper didn't care about people and didn't care about him. He also realized his own smugness and selfishness could have cost him his life. He hunted Viper and Viper hunted him - Viper lost the vast majority of the time and for those times Viper got the upper hand, well, that's why you have friends.

 

Time passed and the first New York superteam was formed and he joined it. Steel Fist was the first leader, a brick and a genius, not to mention innate flight. Neutron thought this guy was cool. Later, after Steel Fist stepped down from leadership, Neutron became leader. He didn't feel particularly fit for it but accepted. Surprisingly, he led very well and despite the team's individual 2-year call for leader nomination, he held onto the leadership role. (Yeah, the characters in the team get to vote for who will lead by secret ballot. It's loads of fun!)

 

A lot of changes occurred in the team, members came and went but he still retained leadership, becoming better skilled, more powerful and confident in his leadership abilities. He met a superheroine and married her. This further made him see the necessity of being a model citizen, brave, courageous, defending the public from supercriminals. With time, the group was granted status as Federal agents. It was time for him to face his past and made a meeting with the President for a private meeting. He told the President about his past and was willing to accept any punishment for his crimes in his past. (As player, I was sweating.) The President pardoned him, for all the good he and his group had done - too many times to count, allowing him to keep his identity secret. He also let the government know everything he knew about Viper - ouch!

 

Much more time passed. The team membership changed again. He is looked up to by the new(est) members nowadays for leadership and guidance. In a recent leadership election, the election lasted less than 30 seconds: he was unanimously kept as leader. He leads now with confidence, yet relies on the groups many skills - he knows his limitations. He is well-known by many other hero teams and is known for his competence.

 

Still, not all of his roughness from his Viper days is gone. In a simple test of martial skill against one of his team members names White Shadow, W.S. tried a Nerve Strike on Neutron - to no effect. Neutron promptly punched him at full strength. After the session was over, W.S. commented, "I know that we were practicing but you struck me rather hard. I was trained to take my opponents down quietly and without harm."

 

Neutron replied, "And I was trained to take your opponent down as hard and fast as possible." This greatly surprised W.S.

 

Neutron is still one of my favorite heroes and even though I retired him for awhile, he came out of retirement even more determined than ever to work at ridding the world of Viper. His most feared attack is his Neutron Explosion (though not really an Explosion).

[Hermit]

I rarely get to play as a PC anymore.

 

I have grown pretty fond of Surge that I play/write on a PBEM. Powered Armor electricity wielder who not only inherited his father's armor, he's trying to sheild the fact the first Surge is dead from the rest of the world. Bad enough HE knows he's a rookie, the villains sure don't need to

[winterhawk]

My namesake, Winterhawk, is a real Good Guy. So when I was making a character for our new 5th campaign, I decided to go in a different direction. The origin for Hellion:

 

"Pay up, Grandma!"

 

Daniel 'Red' O'Bannon didn't know when the curio shop opened, but it was on his 'route' and the street tax needed to be paid. He began smashing the odd objects on display to the floor. The old woman didn't seemed to be phased. The little bell over the door rang, and in walked a teenaged boy. By the resemblance, Red knew they were related.

 

"Well, if your stuff don' mean anything to you, maybe the kid does!" Red threw the kid a beating, not a bad one; Red had suffered far worse at the lad's age. The old woman dug into to the till for the payoff. As she handed over the money, she grabbed Red's wrist (strong grip for an old gal), looked into his eyes, and simply said "May you live forever".

 

Red didn't give the incident much thought until he was shot five times over a twenty dollar game of pool. He knew he was a goner. There was no bright light or feeling of floating, just wailing...horrible, horrible wailing. And the Devil didn't have horns and a tail like the nuns taught, he wore a tailored suit, and talked like a corporate shark, about Red being his new 'special project'. Red thought he was about to spend an eternity in Hell when he awoke on the slab at the morgue. Not entirely convinced of what had happened, Red went to settle the score with his pool-playing chum. 12 stab wounds and another trip downstairs later, Red realized that he was in trouble. The old woman damned him to an existence of painful death, followed by a short stay in Hell, only to be completely regenerated to start the whole process over again. He went back to the curio shop to apologize, but it and the old woman were gone. Red even tried to drown his sorrows in drink, but alcohol no longer had any effect on him.

 

Half-mad at the thought of his existence, Red was living on the streets when Santeria found him. "You must redeem yourself for all that you have done", she told him. "I have seen that you can saved from damnation." If Red was going to have to pay the Devil his due, he was going to make sure He had a hard time collecting. Now, one of the Damned would tread where angels feared, and God help anyone who stood in the Hellion's path to redemption.

[Mayday]

...

 

I like characters for their personality primarily, and fun times had with them.

 

One of my first was Carmen, she had a minor power but I can't remember now what it was as she rarely used it. She was the boss tho, simply because she had the ability to mediate between the rest and keep them all moving forward.

 

Mayday is my only nobility character and has a wonderfully positive outlook coupled with maturity beyond her years. Plus its great fun to ZAP people.

 

Wraithe because she's PRIMUS and I love that stiff government agent patriot bit.

 

Sabre because she's smarter than everyone around her and it was fun to manipulate them to get her own way without them noticing. Plus Speed 9, how can you not like Speed 9.

 

ShadowCross is one of my few Dark Hero characters for a Dark Knight style Gotham campaign. I don't usually give charcters a trauma past but I wanted her to be split personality.

 

One not mine that I really like is Vengeance, she works as a coroner or used to. Something happened to her civilian ID that she could not have survived, so she is now believed 'dead' and exists solely in Hero ID. She has some mild stats but is a foci 'hero', guns and chains and a shotgun... But its not what she has as what she does with it. She is extremely brutal in a brutal dark campaign and very effective in unique ways.

[Lord Liaden]

Of my original characters, my personal fave to play was Deadeye. Deadeye was originally Frank Caine, a private investigator with a personality remiscent of those classic film noir P.I.s like Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade: tough, jaded, cynical, but with a rough code of honor. He got involved in investigating a series of ritual killings, which culminated in him stumbling into a scene of a fancy-dressed guy using weird lightshow powers to apparently attack three helpless women. Frank shot the man from behind, killing him instantly. The women showed their gratitude by transforming into demonic monsters and ripping Frank to shreds.

 

Awakening in Limbo, Frank heard voices that claimed to be Higher Powers who informed him that the man he shot was a powerful white sorceror and that the "helpless women" were three succubi responsible for the ritual killings whom the sorceror was trying to banish. They told Frank that his murder of the sorceror had incurred a great karmic debt which he would have to repay through benevolent acts on Earth. They sent Frank back; thing is, they didn't send him back alive. He looked and sounded normal, but to any close examination he was in effect a walking corpse.

 

Deadeye (as he called himself) had classic detective and brawling skills, the power to detect supernatural forces, to strike blows at the souls of his opponents rather than their physical bodies, and the toughness and resilience to physical damage that comes from being, well, dead. His naturally dark sense of humor got even blacker as a result of his new status, which was a lot of fun to play. I remember the first time someone in our PC team cracked a joke, and I as Deadeye said, "Ha! You kill me... Oops." Everyone fell on the floor.

[Glen Sprigg]

My favorite Champions character? I've had so many...Mountie, Comet, Skyrider, Snowbird, Nautilus, Disciple...and that's just a sampling. Man, I've made a zillion heroes, I think. But then, who hasn't?

 

I'd have to say that my favorite (currently) is Snowbird, a 'legacy' hero whose grandfather was a WWII-era hero. I'd LOVE to actually get to play him in a game, but apparently there is absolutely no one in Barrie who plays Champions. So I'm screwed.

 

Anyway, when the original Snowbird died, his grandson inherited the amulet that gave him his powers. He also gave him a notebook explaining how the powers worked, so he could train himself. His parents know about the amulet, although they don't approve.

 

I really need to play this character; he's a lot of fun, and the addition of the legacy aspect makes him more intriguing, I think.

 

Glen

[Lord Mhoram]

It's gotta be Black Cat - the characters who's face adorns the space to the right.

 

She started as a basic martial artist with some "darkforce" powers (pretty much a la Marvel) for some serious defense and some special attacks.

Her personality was intense. She was a driven woman, always striving for improvement, whether it be her training, her powers, or team tactics. She was build as a combat martial artist - no stealth skills, just combat, tactics and background stuff. I love playing her... and then one day I had an idea for a plot, and dropped it on the GM..."I want to have Cat die, come back from the dead possessed by the evil nature of her powers, go bad guy- kill someone, get depowered, go to stronghold and get pardoned". The GM said "OK"- and started a subplot/overplot that ran almost a year. And it was fun after Cat came back from the dead- every couple of sessions playing her a little nastier, a little more dark. Had her start swearing.. the other players had no idea what was happening and kept giving me funny looks when I did things like that. Just some of the best roleplaying I have ever done, and some of the best situations for it from the GM. The night of the climax of the second phase of the plot (after she got depowerd, because they found out she had been possessed by her powers) one of the other characters, after Cat started sobbing about what she had done, said "You didn't do it, it wasn't you". I then went to write a little "story" - rather more a tone piece that is still one of the best things I have done, all about her. The whole wonderfulness of the play session lasted me all through my shift at work (I worked graveyard then).

 

The character herself was fairly basic, it was all in the interaction and the play.

[Enforcer84]

I like the legacy hero concept alot too.

My current fave character is known as Bravestorm. His mother is the immortal embodiment of the United States of America. She has operated at one point or another along our history as Maiden America, Miss America, Americanna, etc. She has seven children and Keith is her youngest. Each of her children has been a costumed adventurer, although her two eldest turned villains.

Bravestorm is a fairly typical "Original" archetype to use the Mutants and Masterminds vernacular. In addition to superhuman strength, speed, senses, flight and toughness, he can control weather in a local area or even merely generate lightning from his hands.

He is one of the only scions of Americanna not to take a patriotic persona. He doesn't really get along with his siblings, even the heroic ones. He has a bunch of contacts and "DNPC's" who are as powerful as he is. He is hunted by his oldest brother, and sister (who work separately).

He has an odd cynical idealism about him. He is more for what America stands for than the "My country right or worng" nationalism. I was inspired by the song "Fields of the Brave" on the new Styx album, but I couldn't figure out how to use the title in his name, he was originally just "Brave" but he doesn't really have a Native American Background.

(BTW, he, his siblings, and his mother all share the same birthday, July 4th).

[Merlin273]

Re: What is YOUR favorite Champions character?

 

I have to get in on this, 'cause it's so kewl.

 

Okay, my favorite Champions character is the villain, Foxbat! Freddie just is sooo fun to play with his Foxbatmobile, his ping pong gun, his Foxbat-this & Foxbat that.

 

AS for MY fav character, it would have to be a 14 year-old Teen Champion (the name of MY teen group YEARS before HERO came up with it, I might add! Way back in 1985, in Berlin!) named Stephanie Nymph, codenamed: Spellbinder.

 

Spellbinder was a Journeyman Sorceress from the Dimension of Ix (a small 'pocket dimension' like Xanth where everything is magical). Her father was a Bard named Kevin, who was eaten by a dragon. Her mother is a tree spirit (a dryad) named Laurel. Stephanie's special ability(ies) was Teleportation. She could teleport in space/time/dimension. This was in addition to her Magic VPP. She was smart, precocious, mischevious, arrogant, and had a Disadvantage: Weirdness Magnet. Her basic personality was like a toned-down Tasselhoff Burrfoot from DRAGONLANCE.

 

One of the best stories she was the center of was "History Lesson". Steph and the TC's (her fellow students) got bored listening to their teacher going on about history, so she "borrowed her Master's spellbook, cast a time-travelling spell, and took all of the kids on a little "History Lesson" of their own, where they travelled in the past (her powers enhanced by a spell) and skiied with Gen's. Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge, nearly got hanged at the Salem Witch Trials, hitched a ride with Columbus to find the New World, and a few other "wacky stunts". It was a mad romp through time. Eventually, Chronos (Father Time) contacted their teacher (who's name was Warlock, the Sorcerer Supreme/Dimensional Guardian of Earth) and told him what his little 'apprentice' had done, and how bad she'd cocked up the timeways, and that it would take him a while to get things back to normal. Well, we ended it like in the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

 

Ouch!

[BcAugust]

Re: What is YOUR favorite Champions character?

 

Hard to say which is my favorite out of the three champions characters I play. Likely Nox, by a thin margin.

 

She's fun(Shadow mage/MA type), mainly because she is so tied to her team. She's mainly been a support character(Darkness, entangle, and teleportation.), though she may develop some more offensive powers in the future. Right now, she's dealing with the fact that all her powers are from her being possessed by a creature of evil, while she's basically a paladin sort. First reaction to finding this out "How do we stop it from hurting anyone else?" Second reaction to it... well, the team hasn't found that out yet.

 

She's also very much against type for me in a lot of ways. Total CvK, a very "Hero for it's own sake" type, shy, underconfident, unlearned, and very much a follower person. It makes her far more of a challenge for me, and makes it so much more rewarding when I get her "right"

[Tech]

Re: What is YOUR favorite Champions character?

 

You didn't mention published or personal so I'll pick both.

 

Published: Foxbat. This guy is crackers but loads of fun. I've had him actually make some serious moves (in a serious manner) on a heroine who almost reciprocated but decided the hero/villain combo was a bad idea so he went back to being his usual self. Need a somewhat nutso villain scheme? Foxbat fills that role.

 

Personal: Black Hole. I created him back in 3rd edition rules and later updated him to 5th edition. He's possibly the most durable villain around, period. I had him go toe-to-toe with another villain my brother used - who threw 22d6 EB - and the battle lasted several turns but turned into a draw. He's able to suck in almost any form of energy (hm, can't think of any he can't) even those energies not directed at him. What's so fun about him? Despite heroes running into him now and then, he's actually helped them out a few times and spends his free time helping kids in the slums better themselves. 'Course, weighing 200 tons means special technology to get around and it doesn't come cheap so..

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: What is YOUR favorite Champions character?

 

Shortly following his first excellent showing he had a terrible showing against a VIPER bank robbery team, but that's another story (ugh).

 

Guardian II (A Legacy Hero)

 

Background/History: When Kaspian was 7yrs old he watched the media coverage of the “Battle of Detroitâ€. In the days and weeks that followed he watched the as events unfolded and the world learned that UNTIL had was ready and equipped to help deal with Doctor Destroyer and his minions, but the US denied them entry. In the media storm that followed it was revealed the final body count was over 60,000 civilians and nearly 50 superhero fatalities.

 

Shortly afterwards the US signed the treaty allowing UNTIL to deploy on US territory. Those events shaped a young boy’s dreams. He convinced his parents to let him study Martial Arts.

 

Kaspian matured quickly and graduated from high school with honours and was accepted a scholarship to Simon Frasier University. He enrolled in Criminology and Kinesiology as a double major. On Kaspian’s 17th birthday he wrote his applied for a position with UNTIL as a Defender Agent.

 

But the Fates had other plans. Kaspian was 17 when he attended a benefit concert by the superstar superhero “Sapphire†of the Champions. Mid way through her send song Minute Man VII robots burst through the back of the concert hall and attacked her. The crowd panicked and stampeding for the exits Kaspian tried save a young woman knocked down by the mob. Under the stress his mutant powers manifested allowing him to save her and many others.

 

Kaspian did not have time to be surprised, but with the mob out of the way one of the Minute Man VII robots sensors detected him and attacked. His mutant powers changed to protect him. They changed their attacks and Kaspian instinctively changed his powers to protect himself and protect innocents from getting caught in the cross fire.

 

The battle seemed to last for hours. Finally he began to notice men with high tech weapons, armour, and equipment. UNTIL’s Defenders and the RCMP’s SERT had arrived. After that the battle ended rather quickly.

 

When he looked up from his last opponent the battle was over. The fire department and paramedics arrived to take care of the injured. He was dazed and only snapped out of it when a Fireman handed him a blanket. The battle had shredded his cloths.

 

He was just deciding what to do next when Sapphire walked up and started talking to him. She was even more beautiful up close, if shorter.

 

“Thanks for the help man. It didn’t look too good there for minute.â€

 

He mumbled a “You’re welcomeâ€.

 

Before she could speak again the UNTIL and RCMP Commanders marched up and started asking questions. When they asked him his name Sapphire interrupted.

 

“Gentlemen, I think a better question is what are you called? As my friend Witchcraft is so fond of saying; “True Name are Powerâ€.

 

Kaspian smiled at that. He turned away, thinking for a moment. When he turned back he smiled and offered his hand to them still smiling. “You can call me Guardianâ€

 

Vancouver’s newest superhero has had run-in’s with VIPER, more Minute Man Robots, and several organized crime groups. He works closely with the RCMP and UNTIL through out the Pacific Rim.

 

Personality/Motivation: The Battle of Detroit created in Kaspian a need to protect the Innocent from the evils of the world and as a member of UNTIL he could. When his mutant powers manifested he needed to change his focus from joining UNTIL to becoming a Superhero. A dream comes true.

 

Quotes:

 

Powers/Tactics: Kaspian is a Mutant Metamorph. He has the power to become a Brick, an Energy Projector, a Speedster, a Telekinetic, and Mentalist. He has adopted a martial arts technique for each of his forms. UNTIL Scientists have determined that Guardian’s Powers are Psionic in origin could potentially become more powerful. However he hasn’t been able to switch forms as quickly as when his powers manifested.

 

Campaign Use/Plot Seeds: 1.) Institute for Human Advancement (Anti Mutant), 2.) Campaign Villain or Group (GMO), 3.) Organized Crime (GMO), 4.) VIPER, 5.)???

 

Appearance:

 

Cheers

 

QM

[Lightray]

Two-year thread necromancy?

 

Aw, heck with it. My favorite character was, well, Lightray. He was a light-based energy projector: flight, flash, energy blast, desolid to light, etc. It was old skool Champions (before Champions 2, etc. came out), so we let him FTL using Desolid; now it would be Megascale flight.

 

Anyway, the reason he was fun to play was because one of my teammates was Solar Sailor - a silver guy who flew around on a silver sailboard (yeah, I know). Lightray used to bounce his energy blasts off Solar Sailor. And then the villains would think SS had attacked them, and he'd get shot instead of Lightray.

 

It was fun, although for some reason SS didn't think so...

[Lord Liaden]

Re: What is YOUR favorite Champions character?

 

You didn't mention published or personal so I'll pick both.

 

Published: Foxbat. This guy is crackers but loads of fun. I've had him actually make some serious moves (in a serious manner) on a heroine who almost reciprocated but decided the hero/villain combo was a bad idea so he went back to being his usual self. Need a somewhat nutso villain scheme? Foxbat fills that role.

 

 

Judging by the frequency of similar comments that we see on the boards, Foxbat should be the trademark character for Champions. The lovable loon seems to be most people's favorite comic-relief villain. He's also IMHO a true original. Published comics have other absurd hero-villains, like the Creeper and Ambush Bug; but they're aware that they're acting absurd, and do it deliberately. Freddy Foswell hasn't a clue.

 

For all of that, he's actually very capable and versatile, and can even be helpful in the right circumstances.