The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

[Susano]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

THE BASTION OF BUDAPEST

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
13	STR	3	12-	Lift 150 kg, 2 1/2d6 HTH Damage
15	DEX	15	12-	OCV:  5/DCV:  5
18	CON	16	13-
10	BODY	0	11-
18	INT	8	13-	PER Roll 13-
23	EGO	26	13-	ECV:  8
10	PRE	0	11-	PRE Attack:  2d6
8	COM	-1	11-

8	PD	5		Total:  8 PD (0 rPD)
8	ED	4		Total:  8 ED (0 rED)
5	SPD	25		Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
7	REC	0
36	END	0
26	STUN	0		Total Characteristics Cost: 101

Movement:	Running:  6"/12"

Cost	Powers & Skills
35	Telekinetic Powers:  Elemental Control, 70-point powers
177	1) Entangle 6D6, 6 DEF, BOECV (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) plus RKA 
1d6, BOECV (+1), NND (defense is Self-Contained Breathing; +1), Does BODY (+1), 
+1 Increased STUN Modifier (+1/4), Continuous (+1), Reduced Endurance 
(0 END; +1/2); Linked (-1/2)
35	2) Force Wall (14 PD/14 ED), Hardened x2 (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2)

Perks
2	Contact:  Hungarian Government Official 11-
3	Fringe Benefit: Federal Police Powers

Talents
3	Absolute Time Sense
5	Eidetic Memory
3	Lightning Calculator
4	Speed Reading (x10)

Skills
2	AK:  Hungary 11-
2	CK:  Budapest 11-
13	Bureaucratics 16-
3	Cryptography 13-
2	Language:  English (Fluent Conversation)
0	Language:  Hungarian (native)
3	Lip-reading 11-
292	Total Powers & Skill Cost
393	Total Character Cost

200+	Disadvantages
15	DNPC:  Adopted Niece 8-(Incompetent)
25	Enraged:  When children hurt (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 8-
15	Hunted: Hungarian Government (MoPow, NCI, Watching) 14-
10	Physical Limitation:  Nearsighted, Wears Glasses (F, S)
20	Psychological limitation:  Always Obeys Orders of Superiors (C, T)
10	Psychological limitation:  Frightened of Losing Custody of Niece (U, S)
15	Psychological limitation:  Never Endangers Children (U, T)
10	Reputation:  Hungarian National Hero, 11-
15	Social Limitation:  Public ID (F, M)
58	Experience

393	Total Disadvantage Points

Designer's Notes:

1) Bastion paid 6 points for 13 STR. Corrected to 3 points.

 

2) I placed Bastion's Force Wall and Entangle into an Elemental Control. I also placed the Linked RKA into the first slot of the Elemental Control, and properly spelled out the NND defense (I hope) as all the original states is "Life Support."

 

3) The errata sheet states that Bastion should only pay 3 points for Absolute Time Sense (instead of 13 points). I made the correction.

 

4) No die roll was given for Bastion's Area Knowledge's. As he only paid 2 points per skill, I gave him and 11-.

 

5) Bastion paid 5 points to have Bureaucratics on a roll of 16-. This was adjusted to 13 points. ([10/3] +9 = 11- for 3 points. +5 to the roll for +10 points.)

 

6) Bastion's Cryptography roll was originally a 12-. His INT makes it a 13-.

 

7) Removed Bastion's Distinctive Features. "Short and Bald" is no longer valid in 5th Edition.

 

8) Edited all other Disadvantages. In some cases, this meant a change in Disadvantage point value as I went with the wording of the Disad and not the listed point value. I'd like to point out that a "proper" 5th Edition adaptation of Bastion should have his Reputation as a Perk, not a Disadvantage. The author of European Enemies handed out Reputations like candy, and often used them as another form of character description. Shrike is a perfect example, with her Reputation(s) of bridge player and speedster.

 

9) The original version of Bastion cost 477 points. He now costs 393, an 84 point decrease. Almost all of the savings came from placing his telekinetic powers in an Elemental Control. The original version of the character sank 322 points into his Entangle, Forcewall, and Linked RKA. This version spends 247 (a 75-point difference).

 

10) Assessment: Meet Bastion, who believe it or not, is probably the most solid character concept in the entire book. His powers have a logical set of special effects, and his personality shows some creative thought. The biggest flaw is how over powered he is. He doesn't pay any Endurance for his powers and his Force Wall is Hardened twice! Personally, I'd drop his SPD to 3, give him 1/2 Endurance on his powers, remove the BOECV off of his Entangle and make it Area of Effect (Hex). Also, his Force Wall could loose a level of Hardened and the savings should be pumped into making it larger, so he can protect more people. This would make him a far more balanced (and hopefully 350-point) superhero.

 

Oh, as a final note, Bastion is listed after Black Druid and Blackjack in the book, despite the individual characters supposedly in alphabetical order.

[Guest Worldmaker]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

So it is... I must of read it as "Agent" and never really questioned the absurd sounding name in the face of everything else EE threw at me.

 

You're not the only one whose been doing that since the book came out.

[Katherine]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

They have really cracked down on what is considered a distinctive feature in Fifth Edition, haven't they?

[Susano]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

They have really cracked down on what is considered a distinctive feature in Fifth Edition' date=' haven't they?[/quote']

 

I honestly think its a case of "your-milage-may-vary."

 

Ripper (VIPER) does get a DF for being 10' tall, purple, and having grafted on armor. Takofanes doesn't, despite being a withered walking corpse (granted, he does get DFs for an aura of evil and his magical aura). I think it more depends on your campaign setting. Personally, I'd allow some of the DFs in EE, and disallow others. The updates you see here are done with CKC in hand, and I am using that as my basis for many decisions.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

Katherine wrote:

They have really cracked down on what is considered a distinctive feature in Fifth Edition, haven't they?

 

No, not really. And I'd disagree with a few of the cases here.

 

I personally don't think the fact that Distinctive Feature was left off the character sheets of characters like Halfjack and Takofanes suggests that appearances like theirs don't warrant the Distinctive Features Limitation. I think the authors just decided they'd already piled enough Disadvantages on those characters, and stuck with more interesting ones. I'd certainly treat Halfjack as having Distinctive Features (he just didn't get points for it). Same with Takofanes (like he needs more points anyway...).

 

Even a cursory glance will show that the books themselves aren't particularly consistent on this issue, as Halfjack doesn't get a Disad for being half-robot, yet in the same book (VIPER), Oculon gets it for having odd-looking eyes, and Freon for having an unusually low body temperature. One can't assume a general rule from some specific instances, given ample numbers of other instances to the contrary.

 

At the same time, yeah, Bastion's "short and bald" probably shouldn't cut it unless we're talking "midget" here - and that's more of a Physical Limitation.

[FenrisUlf]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

Isn't Glacier the Ice-Monster a part of the current Champs Universe? I seem to recall he helped Doctor D level Detroit.

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

ECLIPSE

SHRIKE

 

To which Terminal Velocity says "Mom!"

 

Nice work Mike.

[Susano]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

Isn't Glacier the Ice-Monster a part of the current Champs Universe? I seem to recall he helped Doctor D level Detroit.

 

I presume not, as Steve Long game me permission to do what I am doing with the understanding that nothing in European Enemies will ever be used as part of the HERO System universe. Granted, CLOWN falls in the same boat, but EE is so bad that Steve doesn't really care what people do with them.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

I am still waiting for my true love Carpathia.

 

I love tall woman

 

QM

[Guest Worldmaker]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

I am still waiting for my true love Carpathia.

 

I love tall woman

 

I loved the idea of a united Eastern European team, though some of the concepts in that book were lame.

[Gary]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

THE BASTION OF BUDAPEST

Cost	Powers & Skills
35	Telekinetic Powers:  Elemental Control, 70-point powers
177	1) Entangle 6D6, 6 DEF, BOECV (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) plus RKA 
1d6, BOECV (+1), NND (defense is Self-Contained Breathing; +1), Does BODY (+1), 
+1 Increased STUN Modifier (+1/4), Continuous (+1), Reduced Endurance 
(0 END; +1/2); Linked (-1/2)
35	2) Force Wall (14 PD/14 ED), Hardened x2 (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2)

 

9) The original version of Bastion cost 477 points. He now costs 393, an 84 point decrease. Almost all of the savings came from placing his telekinetic powers in an Elemental Control. The original version of the character sank 322 points into his Entangle, Forcewall, and Linked RKA. This version spends 247 (a 75-point difference).

 

The Force Wall should be 140 active points. 70 pts base for 14/14 defenses, and +1 total advantages. This increases the EC to 140 base point powers, and adds 35 pts to the character cost (+35 on the EC, +35 on the FW, and -35 on the Entangle).

 

Entangle Based on ECV must take the following advantages:

 

Takes no damage from physical attacks (+1/4), and Uses Ego not Str (+1/4). There is also an optional but highly recommended limitation, Mental Defense adds to Ego (-1/2). Also, I don't believe you can take the Linked limitation for a combined slot in an EC.

 

As an aside, you may want to add extra inches of FW to those characters with FW such as Bastion and Nether. Under 5th edition, you only get 1" coverage unlike 4th edition.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

I presume not' date=' as Steve Long game me permission to do what I am doing with the understanding that [b']nothing[/b] in European Enemies will ever be used as part of the HERO System universe. Granted, CLOWN falls in the same boat, but EE is so bad that Steve doesn't really care what people do with them.

 

Glacier was definitely mentioned in 5th Champions Universe. Maybe there's no current plans to ever post his character sheet. I used Glacier precisele because of his status as a Destroyer minion...for reasons I won't mention further in case my players are on the boards.

 

Rob

[Susano]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

The Force Wall should be 140 active points. 70 pts base for 14/14 defenses, and +1 total advantages. This increases the EC to 140 base point powers, and adds 35 pts to the character cost (+35 on the EC, +35 on the FW, and -35 on the Entangle).

 

Entangle Based on ECV must take the following advantages:

 

Takes no damage from physical attacks (+1/4), and Uses Ego not Str (+1/4). There is also an optional but highly recommended limitation, Mental Defense adds to Ego (-1/2). Also, I don't believe you can take the Linked limitation for a combined slot in an EC.

 

I worked on Bastion at around 3:00 AM as i couldn't sleep. Apparently this meant I forgot to add as well. Anyway, I have made the changes and you will find Bastion's character sheet reposted here with all corrections made.

 

As an aside, you may want to add extra inches of FW to those characters with FW such as Bastion and Nether. Under 5th edition, you only get 1" coverage unlike 4th edition.

 

That's too much like work.

 

Okay, I'm not trying to be a smartass here, but, simply correcting them is my goal, not rebuilding them to be more useful or combat effective. I figure people can add or subtract powers as needed using these versions as a basis. Or in the case of some people, start over from scratch.

 

Anyway, the revised Bastion:

 

THE BASTION OF BUDAPEST

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
13	STR	3	12-	Lift 150 kg, 2 1/2d6 HTH Damage
15	DEX	15	12-	OCV:  5/DCV:  5
18	CON	16	13-
10	BODY	0	11-
18	INT	8	13-	PER Roll 13-
23	EGO	26	13-	ECV:  8
10	PRE	0	11-	PRE Attack:  2d6
8	COM	-1	11-

8	PD	5		Total:  8 PD (0 rPD)
8	ED	4		Total:  8 ED (0 rED)
5	SPD	25		Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
7	REC	0
36	END	0
26	STUN	0		Total Characteristics Cost: 101

Movement:	Running:  6"/12"

Cost	Powers & Skills
70	Telekinetic Powers:  Elemental Control, 140-point powers
174	1) Entangle 6D6, 6 DEF, BOECV (+1), Takes No Damage From Physical Attacks (+1/4), 	Works Against EGO, Not STR (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) plus RKA 
1d6, BOECV (+1), NND (defense is Self-Contained Breathing; +1), Does BODY (+1), 
+1 Increased STUN Modifier (+1/4), Continuous (+1), Reduced Endurance 
(0 END; +1/2); Linked (-1/2)
70	2) Force Wall (14 PD/14 ED), Hardened x2 (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2)

Perks
2	Contact:  Hungarian Government Official 11-
3	Fringe Benefit: Federal Police Powers

Talents
3	Absolute Time Sense
5	Eidetic Memory
3	Lightning Calculator
4	Speed Reading (x10)

Skills
2	AK:  Hungary 11-
2	CK:  Budapest 11-
13	Bureaucratics 16-
3	Cryptography 13-
2	Language:  English (Fluent Conversation)
0	Language:  Hungarian (native)
3	Lip-reading 11-
359	Total Powers & Skill Cost
460	Total Character Cost

200+	Disadvantages
15	DNPC:  Adopted Niece 8-(Incompetent)
25	Enraged:  When children hurt (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 8-
15	Hunted: Hungarian Government (MoPow, NCI, Watching) 14-
10	Physical Limitation:  Nearsighted, Wears Glasses (F, S)
20	Psychological limitation:  Always Obeys Orders of Superiors (C, T)
10	Psychological limitation:  Frightened of Losing Custody of Niece (U, S)
15	Psychological limitation:  Never Endangers Children (U, T)
10	Reputation:  Hungarian National Hero, 11-
15	Social Limitation:  Public ID (F, M)
125	Experience

460	Total Disadvantage Points

Designer's Notes:

1) Bastion paid 6 points for 13 STR. Corrected to 3 points.

 

2) I placed Bastion's Force Wall and Entangle into an Elemental Control. Using the rules for a BOECV Entangle found in 5th Edition, I added the Advantages of Takes No Damage From Physical Attacks (+1/4), and Works Against EGO, Not STR (+1/4). I also placed the Linked RKA into the first slot of the Elemental Control, and properly spelled out the NND defense (I hope) as all the original states is "Life Support."

 

3) The errata sheet states that Bastion should only pay 3 points for Absolute Time Sense (instead of 13 points). I made the correction.

 

4) No die roll was given for Bastion's Area Knowledge's. As he only paid 2 points per skill, I gave him and 11-.

 

5) Bastion paid 5 points to have Bureaucratics on a roll of 16-. This was adjusted to 13 points. ([10/3] +9 = 11- for 3 points. +5 to the roll for +10 points.)

 

6) Bastion's Cryptography roll was originally a 12-. His INT makes it a 13-.

 

7) Removed Bastion's Distinctive Features. "Short and Bald" is no longer valid in 5th Edition.

 

8) Edited all other Disadvantages. In some cases, this meant a change in Disadvantage point value as I went with the wording of the Disad and not the listed point value. I'd like to point out that a "proper" 5th Edition adaptation of Bastion should have his Reputation as a Perk, not a Disadvantage. The author of European Enemies handed out Reputations like candy, and often used them as another form of character description. Shrike is a perfect example, with her Reputation(s) of bridge player and speedster.

 

9) The original version of Bastion cost 477 points. He now costs 460, an 17 point decrease. Most of the savings came from placing his telekinetic powers in an Elemental Control. The original version of the character sank 322 points into his Entangle, Forcewall, and Linked RKA, while this version spends a "mere" 314 (an 8-point difference).

 

10) Assessment: Meet Bastion, who believe it or not, is probably the most solid character concept in the entire book. His powers have a logical set of special effects, and his personality shows some creative thought. The biggest flaw is how over powered he is. He doesn't pay any Endurance for his powers and his Force Wall is Hardened twice! Personally, I'd drop his SPD to 3, give him 1/2 Endurance on his powers, remove the BOECV Advantage from Slot 1 of his Elemental Control and make it Area of Effect (Hex). Also, his Force Wall could loose a level of Hardened and the savings should be pumped into making it larger, so he can protect more people. This would make him a far more balanced (and hopefully 350-point) superhero.

 

Oh, as a final note, Bastion is listed *after* Black Druid and Blackjack in the book, despite the individual characters supposedly in alphabetical order.

[Susano]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

Glacier was definitely mentioned in 5th Champions Universe. Maybe there's no current plans to ever post his character sheet. I used Glacier precisele because of his status as a Destroyer minion...for reasons I won't mention further in case my players are on the boards.

 

Rob

 

Champions Universe says (on page 157) Glacier (super-strong cold-manipulating villain). My guess is that it's a case of same-name, different-guy.

[Susano]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

BLACK DRUID

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
13	STR	3	12-	Lift 150 kg; 2 1/2d6 HTH Attack
18	DEX	24	13-	OCV:  6/DCV:  6
28	CON	36	15-
26	BODY	32	14-
18	INT	8	13-	PER Roll 13-
30	EGO	40	15-	ECV:  10
18	PRE	8	13-	PRE Attack:  3 1/2d6
12	COM	1	11-

7	PD	4		Total:  7 PD (0 rPD)
7	ED	1		Total:  7 ED (0 rED)
4	SPD	12		Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
9	REC	0
60	END	2
47	STUN	0		Total Characteristics Cost: 171

Movement:	Running: 	6"/12"

Cost	Powers & Skills
81	Druidic Magic: Multipower; 122-point reserve, all Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4)
5u	1) Air Blast:  EB 8d6, Double Knockback (+3/4); Gestures (-1/4), 
Incantations (-1/4), END 7
7u	2) Water Blast:  EB 8d6, Double Knockback (+3/4); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 
plus RKA 1d6, NND (defense is Life Support [Expanded Breathing:  Breathe 
Underwater or Self-Contained Breathing; +1), Does BODY (+1), Reduced Endurance 
(0 END; +1/2); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), Linked (-1/2), END 7
3u	3) Stone Blast:  EB 8d6; Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4). END 4
4u	4) Fire Blast:  RKA 4d6; Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 6
3u	5) Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF; Requires Sufficient Plants (-1/2); Gestures (-1/4), 
Incantations (-1/4), END 6
6u	6) Sight Group Flash 12d6, Are Of Effect (Hex; +1/2); Gestures (-1/4), 
Incantations (-1/4), END 9
3u	7) Mind Control 8d6 (Animal class of minds); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 4
3u	8) Dispel Nature or Elemental Related Powers 8d6, any such power one at a time (+1/4), 
Area Of Effect (Hex; +1/2); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 4
5u	9) Force Wall (20 PD/10 ED); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 7
3u	10) Healing 5d6 (Regeneration; 5 BODY per Turn), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), 
Persistent (+1/2); Extra Time + Increased Time Increment (1 Turn; -1), Self Only (-1), 
Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4)
7u	11) Alter Weather:  Change Environment 16" radius, +/-4 Temperature Effect, Multiple 
Combat Effects, Varying Combat Effects, Varying Effect (any form of weather; +1); 
Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 5
1u	12) Shape Shift (Sight Group and Touch Group; any naturally occurring animal); 
Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 2

50	Life Support:  Total (including Longevity:  Immortality)
5	Infrared Perception (Sight Group)
10	Tracking (Smell/Taste Group)

Skills:
2	Animal Handler (choice) 13-
3	Concealment 13-
4	KS:  Ancient Britain 14-
4	KS:  Druidic Religion 14-
4	KS:  Natural Phenomena 14-
0	Language:  Celtic (native)
1	Language:  Modern English (Basic Conversation)
2	Navigation (Land) 13-
4	SS:  Botany 14-
4	SS:  Zoology 14-
2	Survival (Temperate/Subtropical) 13-

226	Total Powers & Skills Cost
397	Total Character Cost

200+	Disadvantages
35	Enraged:  Berserk when he sees people polluting the environment (Common) go 14-, 
recover 11-
15	Enraged:  Berserk when he sees animals mistreated (Common) go 14-, recover 11-
5	Hunted:   Duchess Industries (MoPow, NCI, Capture/Kill) 8-
25	Hunted:   English Government (MoPow, NCI, Capture) 11-
10	Hunted:  London Watch (AsPow, Lim Geo, Capture) 11-
10	Hunted:  New Knights Of The Round Table (AsPow, Capture) 11-
0	Hunted:  Lyoness (MoPow, LimGeo, Watching) 8-
5	Psychological Limitation:  Claustrophobia (C, S)
25	Psychological Limitation:  Hates Technology And Progress (VC, T)
20	Psychological Limitation:  Rabid Environmentalist (VC, S)
10	Reputation:  Fanatic Ecologist 11-, Extreme
10	Vulnerability:  2 x BODY Cold Iron attacks
27	Experience

397	Total Disadvantage Points

Designer's Notes:

1) I had to break down Black Druid's Multipower and semi-start over. Slot 2 had the Linked power listed outside of the Multipower, which is legal, but left me with two identical powers with the only difference the special effects. I decided to place the Linked RKA in the same Slot as the Energy Blast, and thus create a power that was easy to distinguish from Slots 1 and 3. I also had to rewrite the NND RKA, adding "Does BODY" to make it work properly under 5th Edition rules.

 

2) By stating Black Druid's Mind Control worked on the Animal class of minds, I dropped the need for the "Animals Only" (-1/4) Limitation.

 

3) Black Druid paid 3 points to get a 14- roll with his Knowledge Skills, but paid 5 points per Science Skill to get the same die roll. I made each Skill cost 4 points each using the 5th Edition rule that the base roll is INT/5 + 9, and +1 to the roll is +1 point.

 

4) I edited and fixed the point values for all of his Disadvantages. I'd like to point out that he tops out (reaches 50 points) on three different sets of Disads -- Enraged, Hunted, and Psychological Limitation. As a side note, Lyoness is a 0-point Hunted regardless, as the Limited Geography and Watching cancel out the More Powerful base.

 

I removed the Psychological Limitation of "Worships Gaea," as I wasn't sure how that was a limitation per se, and besides, his other Psychological Limitations fairly summed up whatever behavior modifications "Worships Gaea" would make on his life style. I also dropped the point value for his Vulnerability from 20 points to 10. Cold Iron weapons are not a common item after all.

 

9) The original version of Black Druid cost 392 points. He now costs 397, a 4 point increase. I'm fairly sure all the changes in the Multipower explains the low point difference, especially as his Life Support now costs 20 points more.

 

10) Assessment: I find it interesting that Black Druid worships Gaea, who was a Greek and Roman goddess, not Celtic. Also, evidence shows that Stonehenge wasn't a Druidic site, but predates the druids by sometime (although that has never stopped the comics). But not to worry, Black Druid is so overloaded with Hunteds, I don't see him running around active for very long and upsetting anyone's theological apple cart.

 

Please note that Black Druid has a 122-point Multipower pool, all his powers are ultra slots, and only once of them cost 122 points. He can use two slots at the same time, but need to be careful about which ones they are. A suggestion is to break up his Multipower into separate Multipower or other Power Frameworks.

[Enforcer84]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

I honestly think its a case of "your-milage-may-vary."

 

Ripper (VIPER) does get a DF for being 10' tall, purple, and having grafted on armor. Takofanes doesn't, despite being a withered walking corpse (granted, he does get DFs for an aura of evil and his magical aura). I think it more depends on your campaign setting. Personally, I'd allow some of the DFs in EE, and disallow others. The updates you see here are done with CKC in hand, and I am using that as my basis for many decisions.

"Hey, that's not just any walking corpse in ruined finery, that's a malevolent, magical walking corpse in ruined finery!"

[Enforcer84]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

Katherine wrote:

 

 

No, not really. And I'd disagree with a few of the cases here.

 

I personally don't think the fact that Distinctive Feature was left off the character sheets of characters like Halfjack and Takofanes suggests that appearances like theirs don't warrant the Distinctive Features Limitation. I think the authors just decided they'd already piled enough Disadvantages on those characters, and stuck with more interesting ones. I'd certainly treat Halfjack as having Distinctive Features (he just didn't get points for it). Same with Takofanes (like he needs more points anyway...).

 

Even a cursory glance will show that the books themselves aren't particularly consistent on this issue, as Halfjack doesn't get a Disad for being half-robot, yet in the same book (VIPER), Oculon gets it for having odd-looking eyes, and Freon for having an unusually low body temperature. One can't assume a general rule from some specific instances, given ample numbers of other instances to the contrary.

 

At the same time, yeah, Bastion's "short and bald" probably shouldn't cut it unless we're talking "midget" here - and that's more of a Physical Limitation.

Didn't VIPER agents get DF for their VIPER uniform? OR was that strictly 4th ed?

[JeffreyWKramer]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

Didn't VIPER agents get DF for their VIPER uniform? OR was that strictly 4th ed?

 

Nope, VIPER agents get Distinctive Features (EC/Noticed and Recognizable = 5 pts) for their uniform in 5E, too. Which doesn't bother me at all, really... the uniforms are distinctive, and are worn by a known terrorist/criminal organization. Given that, I think one could even justify bumping the value up to 10 (Strong Reaction), assuming VIPER and its tactics are well-known in the campaign world.

[Enforcer84]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

Nope' date=' VIPER agents get Distinctive Features (EC/Noticed and Recognizable = 5 pts) for their uniform in 5E, too. Which doesn't bother me at all, really... the uniforms are distinctive, and are worn by a known terrorist/criminal organization. Given that, I think one could even justify bumping the value up to 10 (Strong Reaction), assuming VIPER and its tactics are well-known in the campaign world.[/quote']

Well then I'll fix Takofanes and Halfjack...

they now have DF in my campaign.

[Susano]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

BLACKJACK

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
13	STR	3	12-	Lift 150 kg; 3 1/2d6 HTH Damage
26	DEX	48	15-	OCV:  9/DCV:  9
20	CON	20	13-
15	BODY	10	12-
18	INT	8	13-	PER Roll 13-
20	EGO	20	13-	ECV:  7
18	PRE	8	13-	PRE Attack:  3 1/2d6
20	COM	5	13-

6	PD	3		Total:  14 PD (8 rPD)
6	ED	2		Total:  14 ED (8 rED)
5	SPD	14		Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
8	REC	2
40	END	0
50	STUN	18		Total Characteristics Cost:  161

Movement:	Gliding:  10"/20"
Running:  6"/12"

Cost	Powers & Skills
35	Trick Playing Cards:  Multipower, 80-point reserve, all OAF, Expendable (-1 1/4)
1u	1) EB 4d6, Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Double Knockback (+3/4); 4 Charges (-1), 
OAF, Expendable (-1 1/4)
2u	2) Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Sticky (+1/2); 4 Charges (-1), 
OAF, Expendable (-1 1/4)
2u	3) Sight Group Flash 8d6, Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2); 4 Charges (-1), OAF, 
Expendable (-1 1/4)
1u	4) Darkness to Sight Group 1" radius; 4 Charges (-1), OAF, Expendable (-1 1/4)

16	Kevlar Suit:  Armor (8 PD/ 8 ED); OIF (-1/2)
5	Hand and Knee Pads:  Clinging (normal STR); OAF (-1)
7	Glider Vanes In Suit:  Gliding 10"; OIF (-1/2)
2	Goggles:  Infrared Perception (Sight Group); OAF (-1)
50	Knows When To Hold 'Em, Knows When To Fold Them:  Luck 10d6

Talents
34	Danger Sense (any danger, immediate vicinity, acts as a sense) 15-

Skills
5	Acrobatics 15-
3	Acting 13-
2	AK:  Monaco 11-
5	Breakfall 15-
3	Bugging 13-
5	Climbing 15-
5	Combat Driving 15-
3	Concealment 13-
5	Contortionist 15-
3	Conversation 13-
3	Disguise 13-
3	Electronics 13-
2	Gambling (Card Games) 13-
3	High Society 13-
2	KS:  Monaco Casinos 11-
2	Language:  English (Fluent Conversation)
0	Language:  French (native)
5	Lockpicking 15-
3	Persuasion 13-
3	Security Systems 13-
3	Seduction 13-
3	Shadowing 13-
5	Sleight of Hand 15-
5	Stealth 15-

236	Total Powers & Skills Cost
397	Total Character Cost

200+	Disadvantages
5	Hunted:  Detective Klosu (AsPow, Capture) 11-
25	Hunted:  Interpol (MoPow, NCI, Capture) 11-
20	Hunted:  Monaco Police (MoPow, NCI, Lim Geo, Capture) 11-
20	Psychological Limitation:  Compulsive Gambler (VC, S)
15	Psychological Limitation:  Leaves Behind Playing Cards (C, S)
15	Psychological Limitation:  Overconfident (C, S)
0	Psychological Limitation:  Thrives on Excitement (C, S)
5	Rivalry:  Cockney (Professional)
15	Social Limitation:  Secret ID (F, M)
77	Experience

397	Total Disadvantage Points

Designer's Notes:

1) The errata sheet states Blackjack needs to pay an extra 4 points to have his 5 SPD. I added this in.

 

2) Blackjack only paid 2 points to have a 50 STUN, this was corrected to 18 points. ([13/2 = 6.5 (rounded to an 7)] + [20/2 = 10] + 15 = 32. 32 + 18 = 50.)

 

3) Placed his trick playing cards into a Multipower. I am unsure as to the need for the "Expendable" Limitation added to the OAF, as I figure Blackjack gets more cards from the same place Godfather gets his 2 1/2d6 Armor Piercing RKA bullets. However, the write-up had them, so I am presenting it as-is. However, I did remove the "STUN only" Limitation from Slot 1, as STUN-Only attack do no Knockback.

 

4) All of Blackjack's Agility skills were prices at 3 points for a 15-. As a 26 DEX gives one a 14- base ([26 / 5] + 9 = 14.2), in agility skills, I bumped the cost of each one up by 2 points and +1 DEX to get the correct values.

 

5) Fixed the point values for all Disadvantages. Note he is Hunted by "Inspector Klosu" [i.e. Kluso] the Secret ID of The Napoleon of Crime. I figured that was good enough for "As Powerful". He also has a rivalry with Cockney, while Cockney lists him as a Hunted. But Cockney doesn't have Gambling, and isn't a fellow thrill-seeker, so I'm not sure how they can be rivals (all Cockney wants is to get rich).

 

9) The original version of Blackjack cost 385 points. He now costs 397, a 12 point increase. Although he saved over 20 points by placing his cards in a Multipower, he's paying 25 more points for Characteristics, and roughly 10 more for all those Agility skills to be at 15-.

 

10) Assessment: I personally think that somewhere down the line Blackjack was dropped from 30 DEX to 26. His 10 points for a 5 SPD, and his 3 points for a base 15- on his DEX Skills supports this. He is also woefully under- and over-powered. His 4d6 Energy Blast is pretty useless, while his 4d6 Entangle seems to be overdoing it (what with it being Stick and AOE (One Hex). And let's not talk about having 10d6 of Luck....

 

It has been pointed out that his name shouldn't be Blackjack. On the continent the name of the game is strictly "Twenty-One" (Vingt-et-un), while Monaco itself is known for Baccarat. The game James Bond plays whenever he is in town.

 

Next up?

 

Carpathia.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

BLACK DRUID

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
13	STR	3	12-	Lift 150 kg; 2 1/2d6 HTH Attack
18	DEX	24	13-	OCV:  6/DCV:  6
28	CON	36	15-
26	BODY	32	14-
18	INT	8	13-	PER Roll 13-
30	EGO	40	15-	ECV:  10
18	PRE	8	13-	PRE Attack:  3 1/2d6
12	COM	1	11-

7	PD	4		Total:  7 PD (0 rPD)
7	ED	1		Total:  7 ED (0 rED)
4	SPD	12		Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
9	REC	0
60	END	2
47	STUN	0		Total Characteristics Cost: 171

Movement:	Running: 	6"/12"

Cost	Powers & Skills
81	Druidic Magic: Multipower; 122-point reserve, all Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4)
5u	1) Air Blast:  EB 8d6, Double Knockback (+3/4); Gestures (-1/4), 
Incantations (-1/4), END 7
7u	2) Water Blast:  EB 8d6, Double Knockback (+3/4); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 
plus RKA 1d6, NND (defense is Life Support [Expanded Breathing:  Breathe 
Underwater or Self-Contained Breathing; +1), Does BODY (+1), Reduced Endurance 
(0 END; +1/2); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), Linked (-1/2), END 7
3u	3) Stone Blast:  EB 8d6; Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4). END 4
4u	4) Fire Blast:  RKA 4d6; Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 6
3u	5) Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF; Requires Sufficient Plants (-1/2); Gestures (-1/4), 
Incantations (-1/4), END 6
6u	6) Sight Group Flash 12d6, Are Of Effect (Hex; +1/2); Gestures (-1/4), 
Incantations (-1/4), END 9
3u	7) Mind Control 8d6 (Animal class of minds); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 4
3u	8) Dispel Nature or Elemental Related Powers 8d6, any such power one at a time (+1/4), 
Area Of Effect (Hex; +1/2); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 4
5u	9) Force Wall (20 PD/10 ED); Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 7
3u	10) Healing 5d6 (Regeneration; 5 BODY per Turn), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), 
Persistent (+1/2); Extra Time + Increased Time Increment (1 Turn; -1), Self Only (-1), 
Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4)
7u	11) Alter Weather:  Change Environment 16" radius, +/-4 Temperature Effect, Multiple 
Combat Effects, Varying Combat Effects, Varying Effect (any form of weather; +1); 
Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 5
1u	12) Shape Shift (Sight Group and Touch Group; any naturally occurring animal); 
Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), END 2

50	Life Support:  Total (including Longevity:  Immortality)
5	Infrared Perception (Sight Group)
10	Tracking (Smell/Taste Group)

Skills:
2	Animal Handler (choice) 13-
3	Concealment 13-
4	KS:  Ancient Britain 14-
4	KS:  Druidic Religion 14-
4	KS:  Natural Phenomena 14-
0	Language:  Celtic (native)
1	Language:  Modern English (Basic Conversation)
2	Navigation (Land) 13-
4	SS:  Botany 14-
4	SS:  Zoology 14-
2	Survival (Temperate/Subtropical) 13-

226	Total Powers & Skills Cost
397	Total Character Cost

200+	Disadvantages
35	Enraged:  Berserk when he sees people polluting the environment (Common) go 14-, 
recover 11-
15	Enraged:  Berserk when he sees animals mistreated (Common) go 14-, recover 11-
5	Hunted:   Duchess Industries (MoPow, NCI, Capture/Kill) 8-
25	Hunted:   English Government (MoPow, NCI, Capture) 11-
10	Hunted:  London Watch (AsPow, Lim Geo, Capture) 11-
10	Hunted:  New Knights Of The Round Table (AsPow, Capture) 11-
0	Hunted:  Lyoness (MoPow, LimGeo, Watching) 8-
5	Psychological Limitation:  Claustrophobia (C, S)
25	Psychological Limitation:  Hates Technology And Progress (VC, T)
20	Psychological Limitation:  Rabid Environmentalist (VC, S)
10	Reputation:  Fanatic Ecologist 11-, Extreme
10	Vulnerability:  2 x BODY Cold Iron attacks
27	Experience

397	Total Disadvantage Points

Designer's Notes:

1) I had to break down Black Druid's Multipower and semi-start over. Slot 2 had the Linked power listed outside of the Multipower, which is legal, but left me with two identical powers with the only difference the special effects. I decided to place the Linked RKA in the same Slot as the Energy Blast, and thus create a power that was easy to distinguish from Slots 1 and 3. I also had to rewrite the NND RKA, adding "Does BODY" to make it work properly under 5th Edition rules.

 

2) By stating Black Druid's Mind Control worked on the Animal class of minds, I dropped the need for the "Animals Only" (-1/4) Limitation.

 

3) Black Druid paid 3 points to get a 14- roll with his Knowledge Skills, but paid 5 points per Science Skill to get the same die roll. I made each Skill cost 4 points each using the 5th Edition rule that the base roll is INT/5 + 9, and +1 to the roll is +1 point.

 

4) I edited and fixed the point values for all of his Disadvantages. I'd like to point out that he tops out (reaches 50 points) on three different sets of Disads -- Enraged, Hunted, and Psychological Limitation. As a side note, Lyoness is a 0-point Hunted regardless, as the Limited Geography and Watching cancel out the More Powerful base.

 

I removed the Psychological Limitation of "Worships Gaea," as I wasn't sure how that was a limitation per se, and besides, his other Psychological Limitations fairly summed up whatever behavior modifications "Worships Gaea" would make on his life style. I also dropped the point value for his Vulnerability from 20 points to 10. Cold Iron weapons are not a common item after all.

 

9) The original version of Black Druid cost 392 points. He now costs 397, a 4 point increase. I'm fairly sure all the changes in the Multipower explains the low point difference, especially as his Life Support now costs 20 points more.

 

10) Assessment: I find it interesting that Black Druid worships Gaea, who was a Greek and Roman goddess, not Celtic. Also, evidence shows that Stonehenge wasn't a Druidic site, but predates the druids by sometime (although that has never stopped the comics). But not to worry, Black Druid is so overloaded with Hunteds, I don't see him running around active for very long and upsetting anyone's theological apple cart.

 

Please note that Black Druid has a 122-point Multipower pool, all his powers are ultra slots, and only once of them cost 122 points. He can use two slots at the same time, but need to be careful about which ones they are. A suggestion is to break up his Multipower into separate Multipower or other Power Frameworks.

 

 

When I redid Black Druid, I tried to base him off the D and D version of a druid. So...he has shapeshift as a standard ability. I replaced the Multipower with a VVP. It just seemed a lot easier. I also altered the stats and powers so they made a bit more sense. I lowered the EGO from 30 to 20...as this guy doesn't use that many mental powers and in any event...I didn't think his EGO should be as high as Menton's. I altered the Life Support a bit. I didn't think being a druid or being in tune with nature would make you immune to radiation...or a vacuum....so I got rid of both of those. I gave him some barkskin armor to round him off and left him at that. My version totaled 438 points...so the "point inflation" wasn't too bad.(The original spent 392.)

 

Rob

[Susano]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

CARPATHIA

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
70	STR	60	23-	Lift 400 tons; 14d6 HTH Damage
25	DEX	45	14-	OCV:  8/DCV:  8
33	CON	46	16-
26	BODY	32	14-
5	INT	-5	10-	PER Roll 10-
8	EGO	-4	11-	ECV:  3
20	PRE	10	13-	PRE Attack:  4d6
20	COM	5	13-

38	PD	24		Total:  38 PD (0 rPD)
30	ED	23		Total:  30 ED (0 rED)
5	SPD	15		Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
21	REC	0
66	END	0
78	STUN	0		Total Characteristics Cost:  251

Movement:	Running:  6"/12"

Cost	Powers & Skills
17	Immense Strength:  Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) on 70 STR, END 5
35	Immense Fists:  Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2) for up to 70 STR, END +3
24	Immense Weight:  Knockback Resistance (-12")
8	Long Arms:  Stretching 2â€, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Always Direct (-1/4), No 
Noncombat Stretching (-1/4), No Velocity Damage (-1/4)

Perks
2	Contact:  Czechoslovakia Government Official 11-
3	Fringe Benefit:  Czechoslovakian Police Powers

Skills
2	AK:  Carpathian Mountains 11-
6	Animal Handler (Choice) 15-
3	Climbing 14-
2	KS:  Farm Animals 11-
2	KS:  Farming 11-
1	KS:  Riding Animals 8-
0	Language:  Czech (native)
2	Language:  English (Fluent Conversation)
3	Mechanics 10-
3	Riding 14-

113	Total Powers & Skills Cost
364	Total Character Cost

200+	Disadvantages
10	DNPC:  Grandfather 8- (Normal)
25	Enraged:  Berserk if an animal is hurt (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 11-
10	Hunted: Czechoslovakian Government (Mopow, NCI, Watching) 8-
15	Physical Limitation:  It Is Difficult For Carpathia To Think For Herself (F, G)
20	Physical Limitation:  Enormous, 8 meters tall with a 400,000 kg mass 
(-4 DCV, +4 to PER Rolls to perceive) (A, G)
20	Psychological Limitation:  Always Obeys Orders Of Her Superiors (C, T)
10	Psychological Limitation:  Hates Cities And Being In Them (UC, S)
15	Psychological Limitation:  Refuses to Endanger Animals (UC, T)
10	Reputation:  Hero of Czechoslovakia, 11-
15	Social Limitation:  Public ID (F, M)
5	Unluck:  1d6
9	Experience

364	Total Disadvantage Points

Designer's Notes:

1) Carpathia's 70 STR was originally listed as paying 35 points for a 70 STR. However, as she had 6 levels of Growth and 6 levels of Density Increase, her STR cost should have been 0. The 35 was due to the writer adding in her Area Of Effect (One Hex) in the Characteristics section, as opposed to Powers. I moved the Area Of Effect (One Hex) Advantage to the Powers section. I would like to point out that The Ultimate Brick gives the One Hex Advantage to characters with 60 points of Growth, not 30. It also makes the Advantage cost 0 END, which makes sense. I didn't do that here as the original didn't (the original paid 17 points for her 1/2 END on her base 70 STR alone). But, if you presume that Carpathia's One Hex STR is due to her performing a double handed slap or some such, I think the extra END is justified.

 

2) Carpathia paid 5 points for a 5 SPD. Corrected to 15 points. I note that the errata sheet comments that the illustration shows her new costume "since the opening of Eastern Europe" as opposed to the "simple work clothes" mentioned in her description. No mention is made of the error in her SPD (or in her original REC or STUN scores),

 

3) I removed her 6 levels of Growth and 6 levels of Density Increase (Always On), per the accepted 5th Edition way of creating heavy and large characters. This makes her extremely powerful REC and STUN wise (but not as bad as Chromedome). You could down power her by buying 30 points of her STR with with the limitation of "No Figured Characteristics" as well as +6 PD and ED.

 

4) Fixed the point values for all Disadvantages. I removed the Distinctive Features of "Giantess" as that doesn't seem to qualify under 5th Edition. I added in the Enormous Physical Limitation per The Ultimate Brick, and bumped up its value to account for her great weight.

 

5) The original version of Carpathia cost 380 points. She now costs 364, a 16-point decrease. She saved 80 points by removing the 6 levels of Growth and 6 levels of Density Increase, and another 24 by not having to buy her STUN up. Granted, her Characteristics now cost about 50 points more and she had to pay 32 points for her Knockback Resistance and Stretching, but she's a for more effective character.

 

Although he saved over 20 points by placing his cards in a Multipower, he's paying 25 more points for Characteristics, and roughly 10 more for all those Agility skills to be at 15-.

 

6) Assessment: Upon further review, Carpathia strikes me as being an almost decent character. Her origin needs work and her 5 INT makes it hard to see her as a superhero, but one could easily adjust the character to fit campaign needs. I do question the validity of her having Police Powers in her current state, I mean, who would entrust someone with "the mind and manner of a small child"?

 

At 364, Carpathia is 14 points from being a 350-point starting superhero. I'd drop her STR, her Knockback Resistance, and eliminate the presumed 6 levels of Density Increase. Bump up her INT to 10, and edit her Disadvantages, and you're ready to go.

[nexus]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

6) Assessment: Upon further review, Carpathia strikes me as being an almost decent character. Her origin needs work and her 5 INT makes it hard to see her as a superhero, but one could easily adjust the character to fit campaign needs. I do question the validity of her having Police Powers in her current state, I mean, who would entrust someone with "the mind and manner of a small child"?

 

That is a really good point...

 

Man that book was buggy as Hell.....

[TheEmerged]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

Mark me down as eagerly awaiting your take on Sir Gawain -- I used Multiform for my rewrite, you going that way or partially limited?

 

And I agree that Carpathia is one of the "diamonds in the rough" of EE.

[levi]

Re: The horror, the horror. European Enemies "debugged."

 

The only Villain I really remember from that EE Book was...Facet! Can't wait to see your update. Thanks Susano!