Review of Hidden Lands

[Doctor Agenda]

Re: Review of Hidden Lands

 

As I said, I pretty much picked and chose among the skills in the Teens templates (geek, popular boy, loner) in my playtest copy of Teen Champions. I was guilty of not being able to choose a single clique at the time, so I left in there skills fitting for 2-3 teen social backgrounds. OK. My fault for gorging in Skills.

 

Here, do you think this is going to be more acceptable for an Empyrean superhero upperclassman or college freshman ?

 

KS: The Empyreans 8-

KS: Music 13-

KS: Pop Culture 13-

KS: The Superhuman World 8-

 

And:

 

Oratory 14-

Persuasion 14-

Seduction 14-

for a popular boy/girl

 

Or:

Computer Programming 13-

Electronics 13-

Mechanics 13-

for a geek

 

Maybe even a brief career in superheroics at the cosmic power range might justify buying a familiarity with KS: World Politics, much like you tend to get KS: The Superhuman World, I'm uncertain about it.

 

Looks interesting, I'm looking forward to seeing Teen Hero myself. That first set looks especially appropriate for a typical Empyrean teenager.

[Doctor Agenda]

Re: Review of Hidden Lands

 

This is no real difficulty for me, since I am persuaded that the canon writeup of Archon is quite underpowered anyway. A character like that, one of the most important members of the CU Avengers' equivalent, one of the most prominent and battle-worthy Empyreans, the CU equivalent of Ikaris or Gilgamesh, should definitely be in the Thor/Silver Surfer range, and should clock at 1000+ pts. range.

 

I agree Archon should be 100 or 200 points more powerful than most of the other Sentinels. Is he not?

[Wanderer]

Re: Review of Hidden Lands

 

You definitely took care of the discrepancy between Irithion and Archon!

 

Yep, though I took a long hard look at Irioth and managed to join a couple MPs and drop a couple powers, plus massively slashing the Skill list as you people have suggested, so he now clocks at 660 pts. Now he is on the same point level as canon Archon (well, notwithstanding his massive Skill and Perk lists

 

I think Johnny's pretty reasonably powered for a New Mutants/Sky High or Low-powered Champions game. The point was really to bring a Young Empyrean down to 250 points...start with Johnny as a base (reworking the skills) and you can have a perfectly playable 350-point standard hero. It's a heck of alot easier to add points than take them away. It also means that not every Empyrean is going to overwhelm a 350-point opponent.

 

Yep, as I said he's a pretty solid character. He just happens not to fulfill my peculiar obsession about the criteria for looking truly "super" (as 30 STR, 10/10 Resistant Defenses, 10d6 Energy Blasts and 10" Flight aren't nothing any wuxia fighter couldn't manage nicely, too), but apart of my bias (blame my growing up gorging on the outlandish comic stuff only, such as Avengers, FF4, Thor, Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange), he's fine.

 

I don't think Conversation implies refined speech patterns, I think it implies the ability to get people to talk about themselves, but another social skill would have been fine. Johnny is just good at getting people to open up.

 

Yep, skill customization from character background, beyond "class" template. I see the rationale. Conversation just didn't strike as the most typical social skill for a teen to have.

 

I avoided Seduction cause he's so pretty the girls are after him, he never had to learn it.

 

If you do something all the time, you proably end up rubbing some of the expertise from the exposition, so a 11- or 12- in Persuasion and Seduction might be justified, since Johnny isn't going to have very high rolls in social skills anyway (maybe I'd balance him a bit more between PRE and COM, or he risks to be a bit too much of "only skin deep".

 

I was dubious about Empyrean as a separate Secret ID too, that's why I combined them.

 

Hmm, IMO it's pretty much the same issue as whether it is justified to get Hunted (employer): Watching and Subject to Orders. IMO there is ample justification for getting double disadvantages in both cases. However, none of the canon Empyrean characters have the double Secret ID, so I did not use it, whileas as lof of canon characters are both Watched and Subject to Orders.

 

I haven't seen Teen Hero yet, is it any good?

 

Rather good, the first part has a lot of discussion on the teen mindset and way of living (though IMO it delves a bit too much on the "insecure teen" and too little on the "cocky teen" viewpoint)and high school social dynamics; I dunno how much it will be truly useful for the younger slice of the fanbase, but it's rather good. What truly shines, IMO, it is the second part, where you get a lof of setting info on the CU signature Superhuman School (can we say Xavier and on a more general sense, about the Super-School subgenre. Anyone willing to do this angle of the genre will find it quite useful.

 

After reading Invincible and the Pact, I got wondering about doing a teenager cosmic-powered supergroup; though the suggested power level is way different from what I wanted, I found the book rather useful. I look forward to getting my hardcopy fondly.

[Doctor Agenda]

Re: Review of Hidden Lands

 

Yep, as I said he's a pretty solid character. He just happens not to fulfill my peculiar obsession about the criteria for looking truly "super" (as 30 STR, 10/10 Resistant Defenses, 10d6 Energy Blasts and 10" Flight aren't nothing any wuxia fighter couldn't manage nicely, too), but apart of my bias (blame my growing up gorging on the outlandish comic stuff only, such as Avengers, FF4, Thor, Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange), he's fine.

 

Yep, skill customization from character background, beyond "class" template. I see the rationale. Conversation just didn't strike as the most typical social skill for a teen to have.

 

If you do something all the time, you proably end up rubbing some of the expertise from the exposition, so a 11- or 12- in Persuasion and Seduction might be justified, since Johnny isn't going to have very high rolls in social skills anyway (maybe I'd balance him a bit more between PRE and COM, or he risks to be a bit too much of "only skin deep".

 

Hmm, IMO it's pretty much the same issue as whether it is justified to get Hunted (employer): Watching and Subject to Orders. IMO there is ample justification for getting double disadvantages in both cases. However, none of the canon Empyrean characters have the double Secret ID, so I did not use it, whileas as lof of canon characters are both Watched and Subject to Orders.

 

Rather good, the first part has a lot of discussion on the teen mindset and way of living (though IMO it delves a bit too much on the "insecure teen" and too little on the "cocky teen" viewpoint)and high school social dynamics; I dunno how much it will be truly useful for the younger slice of the fanbase, but it's rather good. What truly shines, IMO, it is the second part, where you get a lof of setting info on the CU signature Superhuman School (can we say Xavier and on a more general sense, about the Super-School subgenre. Anyone willing to do this angle of the genre will find it quite useful.

 

After reading Invincible and the Pact, I got wondering about doing a teenager cosmic-powered supergroup; though the suggested power level is way different from what I wanted, I found the book rather useful. I look forward to getting my hardcopy fondly.

 

Thanks for your insights, Wanderer!

 

I'll be glad to see TH if only because my campaign is set in North Detroit and one of the PCs is a benefactor of RW, and I've been kind of avoiding it while waiting to see what comes out. Just like I held back on revealing one of the characters is an Empyrean until the Hidden Lands came out. It is actually kind of good for my game, keeps me from rushing subplots.

[Wanderer]

Re: Review of Hidden Lands

 

Thanks for your insights' date=' Wanderer! [/quote']

 

Never mind. Besides, if you were to share insights of your own about my character, too ? Apart from all the things that might be completely outside my notice, I'm uncertain about things like: a) the general power concept is "high on potential and raw power, low on fine control" (AR/RSR and environmental SE on almost all powers); is a Power like Missile Deflection too "refined" ?) given that I want him largely "tankproof", is it fitting to make all of his Defense Resistant ? c) Not following mine own advice on Johnny, I did not gave him social skills, since he has rather high PRE (he's quite cocky) and he would end up rolling them at 14-, but are they appropriate for a teen ? d) I set up the Psych Lim area to conform to the anime archetype of the "angry/cocky/lusty young hero", but maybe he's a bit too one-sided, perhaps a bit of inner insecurity, or a former geek-y personality that got largely submerged into outgoing extroversion once powers awakened, a la She-Hulk or Farchild from Gen-13 ?? e) no contacts with Empyreans (he'd rather die than running home to daddy Archon and aunt Eshima, even if he fancies them) and therefore no big Money, but maybe being Watched by Eshima and/or Archon; likewise, given his destructiveness, is a Watched (or even Hunted) by the authorities appropriate ?

[Doctor Agenda]

Re: Review of Hidden Lands

 

Define the Missile Deflection as bracing for impact and it won't require finesse.

 

20 resistant hardened Def should be enough to make him tank-proof, the remaining non-resistant PD & ED should be enough to take care of the Stun.

 

He already has enough skills.

 

His technical skills imply a level of former geekiness.

 

A Watched by Ashima, Archon, or/and the authorities would all be appropriate, IMO.

 

I'm unclear as to what effect he actually has on his surrouding environment when he uses his powers?

[Wanderer]

Re: Review of Hidden Lands

 

Define the Missile Deflection as bracing for impact and it won't require finesse.

 

I meant it to include Reflect to any target as well, that's way I defined it as telekinetic point defense. Then I got doubts that maybe even with RSR with a Dex roll 13- and environmental side effects, it was a bit too finesse for the concept. I'm uncertain.

 

20 resistant hardened Def should be enough to make him tank-proof, the remaining non-resistant PD & ED should be enough to take care of the Stun.

 

20 maybe is a little too tight taking into account how badass the writeups of tanks, combat airplanes and military helicopters are in Ultimate Vehicle. Anyway, Ah, then with 40 D/30 rD and Damage Reduction he should be fine. I want him to be as invulnerable to non-super, non-WMD military stuff as his inspirations (Invincible and Superboy). With the stun lottery, a lucky tank cannon or air-to-air missile shot might still be stun him, though.

 

He already has enough skills.

 

His technical skills imply a level of former geekiness.

 

On this point, others in the thread criticized the former skill list, so I temporairily curtailed it to the barest essential (KS on leisure stuff, empyreans and the superhuman world; plus, for a upperclassman teenager with 18 Int who paid attention in classes, IMO at least KS: High School Humanities and KS: High School Sciences should be appropriate (and for a college freshman, maybe full skill in "general culture" KS and science skills) . I'm rather uncertain whether to bring back social skills (Oratory, Persuasion, Seduction) and/or geeky technical skills (Comp Prog, Electronics, Mechanics).

 

A lot of my RL geeky high school pals had at least familiarities, if not 11-/12-, with tech skills by 16-17 y.o. I'm more uncertain about RL high school comparisons for social skills, though there were people that would have sported them by college fresh(wo)man age.

 

I'm unclear as to what effect he actually has on his surrouding environment when he uses his powers?

 

He has Activation Roll (13-) on all of his attack powers, including super-STR, and Extreme Side Effects, on environment only, plus Requires a Dex roll (13-) on Missile Deflection/Reflection and same Side effect (provide I decide to bring back this power), plus Requires a Dex roll (15-, no active point penalty; I made it a bit more competent than attack powers since I do not want him to look too goofy at flying, only rough; you know, to avoid the Greatest American Hero comedical incompetence effect) and same S.E. Pretty much any time he uses a non-defense or sensory power, he risks to wreck something in the environment (punches miss, energy or TK bolts scatter, too much or too little force is applied, he flies into buildings, and so on). Plus, he has Enraged, Loves Combat, and Arrogant/Overconfident, (and maybe Thrillseeker, provide I d onot drop it to make space fro some other Disadv) so he's not going for the cautious appraoch in a fight (though he'd avoid to *purposefully* endanger innocents).

 

A Watched by Ashima, Archon, or/and the authorities would all be appropriate, IMO.

 

I'm thinking on whether the character concept might justify a full Hunted by Law Enforcement, not just a Watched. He would certainly try to lend all the help he can to people or stuff he may have inadvertely damaged in a fight (Honorable, Protect Innocents; that's the "signature" Psych Lims I typically use to earmark a character as an "heroic good" superhero PC, since I purposefully loathe to use CvK or Code of the Hero, as other people do, to the same scope). Too bad he is still too inexperienced to have the Healing and Transform powers (and the Money perk) he might naturally develop as an extension of TK powers later in life. But certainly he wouldn't meekly submit to civil or criminal lawsuits of any stripe (Arrogant/Overconfident, Dislikes Authority). And he would instinctively go for the "judge, jury, and executioner" approach when facing casually murderous opponents like the Black Harlequin, except maybe when given prompt and ample garantee that he culprit might be effectively neutralized otherwise.