Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

[Herolover]

According to Champions rules players must spend points in order to have a base, vehicle, etc.

 

I have only 2-3 players at a time and we normally play 350pt supers. In order to keep them from having to spend points on bases I build very light generic bases with some very light equipment and vehicles.

 

I wonder if anyone else does this kind of thing for their group? Do you require players to spend points for group bases and vehicles or do you "help" them?

[concord]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

In the original Wardens Campaign, experience was awarded 50% to character and 50% to team pool... this allowed the team to build their base, vehicles, group membership perks and staff without too much of an impact on character growth...

 

In the later editions of the campaign since the base, vehicles and staff are already in place, experience is awarded 75% to character and 25% to team pool... this allows for acquiring group membership perks as well as improvements to the base, vehicles and staff...

 

Now if a character wants a personal vehicle, hideaway base, etc... then they have to pay for it with their own points...

[Guzalot]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

According to Champions rules players must spend points in order to have a base, vehicle, etc.

 

I have only 2-3 players at a time and we normally play 350pt supers. In order to keep them from having to spend points on bases I build very light generic bases with some very light equipment and vehicles.

 

I wonder if anyone else does this kind of thing for their group? Do you require players to spend points for group bases and vehicles or do you "help" them?

I usualy give my players a basic base and some sort of non combat team vehicle for "free" after their first couple of adventures. By "free" I mean that usualy there are some DNPC's that come with the base (receptionist, cook, etc.) and usualy they are answerable to their sponsor (the mayor, a rich philanthropist, a retired super, etc.).

[Kyle A.]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I've started handing out 40pts that can only be used to make a base, or a follower, or a vehicle. Its worked for me and it hasn't made any of the PCs unbalanced. One of them elected to not take the points just becauseit didn't make sense for him to have a vehicle, or follower, or a base.

[Kirby]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I do make the PCs pay for the base, but not all at once, and I do help them out. In my current campaign the PCs have joined an already existing team. The pre-existing team has paid points for their base and when the PCs get XP, they allocate 1 to the base each time XP is awarded, until the base is paid off.

 

Now, for PCs that are their own team, I still have them set aside an XP or two each time XP is given out. The base is already made, but the PCs are paying it off (just like real houses, but without interest). The only difficulty is actually creating the base. In the current campaign, there is no base on paper, but I've been fortunate enough that my players are inexperienced enough to not ask for one. I may just use the 4th Ed version of Homestead, but add more bedrooms and bathrooms to it. The team currently has eight members (only two of which are PCs), but should have ten relatively soon (there's a 3rd PC in the game that the first two haven't thought to ask , and a 4th player might be able to join by the end of July/start of August).

[Vondy]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I run a high-powered heroic game with powers. The players, as a part of their "operations officer" perk, have access to bases, vehicles, and any standard mission appropriate gear in the armory. This includes some body armor, com-links, and the standard issue sidearm (all universal foci). The only equipment they pay for is truly exotic stuff, or stuff that is unique to the character. I've been toying with equipment allowances, but my players have never abused it (and it all just forwards the plot, anyways). Of course, they work for the government, and they have subject to orders and watched...

[caris]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

This is just a matter of personal taste, but if there is anything I expect every PC to have, than I give it to them as "everyman" whatever. Mind you, I don't usually let them "sell it back" for points, but if I want the team to have a base or a vehicle, they have one. It is usually pretty basic and generic, unless the rare player offers to design it and do the floor plans, than I'll tell the player the points to work with.

[Red Knight]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

My group recently got a base and it was done by splitting the XP between the characters and the base. When enough XP had acrued, we were given the base.

 

It also came with a "supervisor" and a rocky history....

[Fox1]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

Points don't matter, so I give out all that stuff free. Just has to be in concept.

[nexus]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I tend to give out bases, non combat vehicles, etc for free. The base is ususally just a place to meet and plan, the vehicle a means to get somewhere quickly. Plot stuff. If they want something that is going to have major, constant impact on the story I have them pay points. There are exceptions for specific games, such as Redwood Academy but the players don't "own" the school they are merely being given access to it.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I've always viewed bases and vehicles as at least as much for the benefit of the GM as for the characters. It allows the GM to move the story along and get the PCs to where they need to be for the adventure. So I've always given out both for free, although they've been very minimalist. (The security system at our HQ is no better than you'd expect to find at a typical large corporation or billionaire's residence: Cameras and standard motion sensors, a few guards, and trained dogs. The PCs are the real defense. None of our 3 (thus far) vehicles have been armed; the first one was brought down by an EMP pulse from a nearby nuclear explosion which fried the plane's electronics while the team was aboard over the Mediterranean Sea. It gave our PC pilot Cyberknight a chance to demonstrate his Combat Piloting skill before he crash landed it in the Algerian desert.)

 

We do charge the PCs for their team communicators because those have tactical application.

[Hermit]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I tend to eventually give them out for free.

 

I'm such a soft touch.

[Kirby]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I tend to eventually give them out for free.

 

I'm such a soft touch.

And a nice caress it is.

 

 

 

What?

 

 

 

 

Don't tell my players, but I tend to give them a bonus XP or two and then tell them they have to spend 1 XP on the base. That way, they aren't really losing any XP over it, but it seems that way to them. I think I'll have this group stop at 10 XP for the Base.

[Vondy]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

 

We do charge the PCs for their team communicators because those have tactical application.

 

The funny things about my group is, when they converge on the battle scene they tend to have a very loose plan and act like a bunch of lone wolf stand alones during the fight (only working together when they can actually talk without the communicators), but when they break up to do leg work their constantly calling eachother on their cel-phones, which is basically a free piece of equipment. Observing this trend, I decided that expanding my previous policy to all standard equipment (and only a few of them have ever actually used the not-too-shabby guns they are issued) wasn't going to have too big an impact.

[Mike W]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I make them pay for the base, but they have an NPC sponsor that kicks in points too, to alleviate some of the cost(though he was originally a PC). I also occasionally throw in something for the base if they play it well(lately they've been hanging around the Avengers a lot so I gave them a Computer Link to the Avengers system as a freebie). Players started at 375 in an old campaign, but the long running players are nearing 500. A good base is very expensive. Avengers Mansion, Xavier's or the JLA Watchtower are easily 100 CP after the 1/5 division.

[Troll]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

In the last four supers games that I ran I gave a base and vehicles to the team. I did this because I started the characters out at 250pts instead of 350pts and didn't want the players to worry about spending points on a base.

 

I designed the base and vehicles and found this worked out great for me as the players had no idea that the Nazis had built a secret base under the the building that Freedom Force had it's base in. I also ran a game for my 1950 Avengers where the Skrull had planted technology in Avengers Mansion and triggered it just before thier invasion fleet showed up. Since the players didn't need to spend points on the base I felt it was easier to run these plots without having to argue about how the players had designed the base.

[Sketchpad]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

As the players want bases, vehicles and other goodies, I assign a tithe to their experience. For example, one of my players is playing a street hero with a mutant dexterity. She decided that the character needed a motorcycle ... soooo ... on the average, I usually give about 3 pts per adventure, so I shaved off 1 here, 2 there ... I make sure that the players know that they're being tithed and they usually get the equipment upfront

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I had a Patron offer the Heroes the use of a small island estate near the middle of the Campaign City(Urban Sprawl). With a resident Mytic/Feng Shui Steward.

 

If they decide to stay I will deduct a point a session to pay for the facilities. One of the Characters is an UNTIL constructed Cyborg who currently lives on base, but he will have to pay for a Computer Link and Contact UNTIL.

 

Cheers

 

QM

[Tamashii2000]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I tend to use the backgrounds of the characters to determine if they get a 'free' base or not. If one or more of the characters has Wealth (especialy at 10 or 15 points) then I will give them a free 'basic' base. The more points spent on wealth the better that basic base.

 

Mainly because I always figured that if the guy is rich...he/she should be able to use his 'money' to buy things like that.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

My bald friend has the same Idea I usually use. I have used the 'patron' idea too, shaving points from later adventures to pay for big purchases.

[Mentor]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

Major USA called out the team.

 

"Revengers assemble."

 

"Titanium graphite billionaire dude, present"

 

"Pagan Storm Diety, hereby abides"

 

The patriotic leader of the revengers continued, "Listen up, team. Ecuador has asked for our help. It seems that the giant statues on Easter island were just the heads of stone giants waiting to exact there vengence on the squishy human world. They have started with the Easter island and are walking to the South American mainland. They are expected to surface in four hours."

 

Titanium graphite billionaire dude responded, "As you all know, the supercomputer in my power Armor has access to all the worlds data bases. United doesnt have a flight to Ecuador or Chile until tomorrow morning. Pagan Storm Diety would take until midnight to carry us there. And my corporate jet has been locked up by that 15 point Disad."

 

"Verily" the Thunder god comfirmed.

 

"Bummer. Oh well, maybe next time."

 

The moral of the story is never, never let the team miss the confrontation with evil because they lack a ride. Spending hours of investigation and bureaucracy might interest some players but most really want to beat up supervillains.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

The funny things about my group is' date=' when they converge on the battle scene they tend to have a very loose plan and act like a bunch of lone wolf stand alones during the fight (only working together when they can actually talk without the communicators), but when they break up to do leg work their constantly calling eachother on their cel-phones, which is basically a free piece of equipment. Observing this trend, I decided that expanding my previous policy to all standard equipment (and only a few of them have ever actually used the not-too-shabby guns they are issued) wasn't going to have too big an impact.[/quote']While our team seldom bothers with a plan in combat, we do support and cover each other once the fight starts. One thing our members can always count on is that if they go down a teammate will cover them or get them to safety.

 

As with your own group, the radios tend to get more use out of combat or when the team has split up to search ("Zl'f, Silhouette isn't answering her hypercom. Can you look for her and make sure she's OK?"), so I'm not real worried about the communication issue being unbalancing. Charging each PC points for a team communicator was really just a sneaky way of forcing the PCs to communicate. Funny how once they've actually paid points for something, they want to use it.

[zornwil]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

Usually I will give something minor in the beginning to help out, it has few capabilities and is basically just a safe haven to hang out in.

 

PS - I also use a Reputation System, and at a certain level, players receive points specifically for a base, which is another reason I only give something minimal at first.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

Depends on the game, but usually I give them something.

[TheRavenIs]

Re: Do you give out Bases, Group Vehicles, Group Equip etc

 

I am about to start a new champain and in it I plan on giving my C's access to a basic base that they will be able to upgrade over time. I have had bases many times in the years I'ved GMed, in that time I've had my C's buy them, pay for part of them and now seeing that my C's start out at 250pt C's with 30 pts (active powers).

The champain will start in 1995, semi-real world, that has had low powered heroes in it's past that most people believe were nothing but fictional. I hope that it works. I also will allow them to buy with weath equipment. If they have the skills I'll allow them to modify them over time. I use a non-point system, one takes into consideration of skills, time and money.