your campaigns "Superman".

[Bloodstone]

A friend and I got into an interesting discussion about how every campaign he's ever played in had a superman type character. As he described these characters, some things stood out to me.

 

First of all, while there were certain common themes, not all the "supermen" had that much in common. All of them were super strong and highly resistant to most damage. Most of them flew and had some kind of energy projection power, be it heat vision or something else. Several had super speed and at least one or two other signature powers, like super breath or super senses. Origins and weaknesses and were wildly diferent. Several of the "supermen" were women. Only one looked nonhuman.

 

The role that most of these character played was "the best and brightest amongst us all" type: that hero that even other heroes looked up to. Often times he was a leader and team player, but sometimes he was a bit of a mystry man that wasn't always available to help out. Another common them was that the "superman" was often put in the position of saving the day when the PC's screwed up. Sometimes he was also the Worf of the game, seemingly there to show that the latest villian was not to be taken lightly no matter how many points the PC's were built on.

 

That was another thing that stood out to me. The range of points that these "supermen" were built on was interesting. In a 250 pt campaign with 8 players, the "superman" was built on "only" 400 or so pts. In a 350 pt game, with only 3 players, the "superman" had been built on over 1250 pts. I believe in one of the higher powered games he mentioned the "superman' had been build on well over 3000 pts...

 

So , that leads me to ask: Who is your "Superman"? What are his powers? How do you use him in the game? And how many points did you build him on?

[Enforcer84]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Atlas. I took the guy from Golden Age Champions, sent him into space shortly after WWII ended and had him come back. He was more like "Supreme" than "Superman" with bits of Captain Marvel and Green Lantern thrown in. 1500 pts about. He jumped from 1036 to his current glory when I got "The ultimate brick"

As far as how I've used him, When he returned it was to pull the world out of a rapidly corroding "Iron Age" type thing (Kingdom Come style) but he didn't try to take over. He just returned, set the example and I let my players follow or not. After that initial story was finished, he joined a JLA/Avengers class Superteam and provided "cover" fighting the unbeatable foes so that the heroes could save the day while he held them at bay, inspiration and guidance when the heroes asked him for it.

It was walking a fine line between having him "solve" things or being artificially crippled or stupid.

[Mike W]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

In my current campaign, the Superman is well, Superman(combined Marvel/DC universe). The characters are around 500 points now. Supes is built on about 1000 but because we controlled the scale carefully, there is almost nothing that can take him down. He can still mop the floor with whole teams of front line hereos. The PCs, for instance, would go down very hard and very fast. They're good characters and can take on a lot. But with no magic and no mental powers they wouldn't stand a chance.

 

In my original Champs universe(combination of my own characters and a long list of borrowed people from the large stack of Champs supplements I own), I didn't have a true Superman character. I had a mutant named Shantar that was easily the most powerful hero, but he worked on a team called Wildstrike, which lived up to its name - they were a bit volatile and spent most of their time fighting Genocide. Shantar wasn't team leader either, though he probably was the moral compass of the team. He was built on 850 or so and was actually capable of going one on one with Viperia.

[OddHat]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

I have a 750 point Superman knocking around in the deep background of my current campaign. He's Hugo Danner, born on 1895; he served in WWI, faked his own death in 1923, resurfaced under the false identity of Clark Kent in 1939, and stopped actively adventuring as Superman in 1964. His current activities and plans may become a major story arc in the near future.

 

The "fighting foes too powerful for the heroes" role is mainly taken up by a number of Supers, none of whom are traditional Superheroes.

[Savinien]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Morning Star has to be the 'Superman' of the RCU, though Captain Miracle would rank near there as well. The RCU is a massive, original Champions campaign that has been ongoing for nearly 20 years now. The numbers of player characters built ranges in the hundreds, probably. A vast number of campaigns have been created, dropped, rebuilt, and dropped again in that time.

 

Morning Star was the RCU creator's and current Continuity Cop's character. I think he is built with over 1k points. He's been a long-time member, including founding with the Champions of Justice. He's still on the Board, but is no longer the chairman.

 

Captain Miracle is more a Captain Marvel type of character and was in a different campaign that was later merged into the RCU. Both are quite powerful and fit the 'Long-time veterans' role and played by the same player.

 

Check it out if you want: www.RCUhero.net

[ghost-angel]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Not to break a treand ... but we don't have one.

[Chuckg]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

In the 'New Sentinels' campaign -- given that our team (the New Sentinels) fills the role of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", our 'Superman' figure is a PC, and the team leader.

 

Horus-Re was built on 800 points starting, and by now, with all the XP we earned, is probably pushing 875 or so.

 

(Sadly, New Sentinels has been on extended hiatus for over a year, due to the DM no longer having time to run a game.)

 

As to his campaign role -- he's the big gun and leader of the world's most powerful superhero team. His honor and integrity are legend.

 

However, unlike Superman, he doesn't embody the 'best and brightest' concept as far as mercy or CvK does -- as a demigod dating back from the Turakian Age, his morality (although largely updated to modern times) has its roots in the same type of ancient warrior code that Thor (MU version) or Black Adam (during his 'hero time' on the JSA) would possess. The 'best and brightest' re: mercy, charity, and innocence in our campaign world is my own PC, Starguard.

[Black Omega]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

I tend to do grittier games, so thus far I've not had any Superman style character. In the current game I'm playing in my character's dad (Max ULTRA) would probably fit. At least if you believe him.

[Snake Gandhi]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

In a game just about to start, I'm playing the 'Superman' character. Sentinel, built on 850 points.

 

He's got your standard Superman abilities minus the heat vision and any superspeed tricks. With him I played more the to the fact that his greatest power is his morality, his knowledge of right and wrong. He's a co-leader of the team, with Union Jack (our Captain America) being the brains of the outfit and Sentinel being the soul.

[JmOz]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

In my campeign his name is Vanguard (actualy it is the german equivilent)

 

He came in at aprox 675 points and was posted here

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21721&highlight=Centurians

 

Post 7

[Ghost Archer]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Superman? Flying brick with heat vision, or Superman the icon? Not that it makes much of a difference as I don't have either. I have been using a very slightly modified Champions Universe for twenty-three years with very rare incursions by Marvel's X-Teams and no input from DC at all.

Since my campaign revolves around the Wild Hunt, my own Ghost Archer has kinda become the most well-known super in the world. I can't call him an icon because he simply isn't, nor is he so overwhelmingly powerful that he can all but ignore Dr. Destroyer or a team like the Seven Horsemen. Even though he is 1302 points now, I haven't really increased his hitting power since he began adventuring in '82. His true talent is the versatility his small Cosmic Power Pool gives him and even this I have limited to 25 points.

Do I have plans for creating a Superman character? Yes, I do. He is currently living a life as a surfer/beach bum in San Diego and will one day be my campaigns Superman, but that is years away.

[Nucleon]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Nucleon defines a "Superman" as someone having superstrenght, invulnerability, flight and, optionnaly, "Heat Vision".

 

(Yep. Half of DC's supers are "supermen".)

 

Oh. And it's also about the ideals. But we can do without the corny power justification, IHO.

 

So yes, He has a couple in His universe.

 

There is Vanguard, "Possessor of True American Radiance", a mix of Supes and Cap, America's first Super, having becoming public in 1775. He dons a flagsuit, of course. More an E-Proj than a brick, althought he has enough STR, DEF and skills to be considered one. Vanguard is around 1000 pts.

 

There is also Captain Justice (the third of the name), a flying (or more precisely diving) brick with no projection power, and a typical arrogant attitude. People in Nucleon's campaigns have learned to loathe him. He is a cheap, but efficient "superman" at 500 pts.

 

Finally, there is Red Dawn, the atomic Russian project. His story is a bit like Hyperion in the "Supreme Power" serie, althought he is an altered being instead of an alien. A midrange "superman", Red Dawn sits at 750 pts, having an efficient "Atomic Multipower" as his projecting powers.

 

[Dust Raven]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

As a conceptual knock-off, my campaign universe has Ultraman, who is superstrong, nigh invulnerable, can fly, has heat vision and x-ray vision. He also has a Cost END DEX & SPD he can use sparingly to move rather fast when needed. He's the goody-two-shoes super boy scout of the game and a hero of honor and respect among his peers, and an icon of fairness and justice throughout the world.

 

I have him built on 350 points in a 350 point campaign. He's also a player character.

[Haven Walkur]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Our world's "Superman" was a radioactive Australian heroine called "Southern Cross." Yes, she had all Kal-El's famous powers, but hers were powered not by the light of a yellow sun, but by on-going internal fission reactions. She had to add salts of some heavy metals as "seasonings" to her otherwise normal diet, and she had a problem with graphite, which absorbs free neutrons and shuts down fission reactions -- including our heroine's metabolic processes!

 

The big irony was that SC was very ecologically conscious, but she herself was actually radioactive. Her powers also had radiation Special Effects, and the more dice of a power she used, the more radiation she pumped out, and in a bigger area. For that reason, she tended to work alone. The New Zealand government decided to treat her like a nuclear vessel, and had prohibited her from entering their airspace, sovereign waters or landing on NZ soil for more than a very brief period -- measured in minutes -- and only under extenuating circumstances. That broke her heart.

 

SC was also quite a statesman, trying to resolve problems without use of her radioactive might. She wore a dark blue and red jumpsuit with the four stars of Australia's flag in white on the center of her chest. Her gloves and boots were red, and IIRC, so was her cape.

 

For her point totals and other technical details, I'll have to turn it over to the Doctor who "built" her. Doctor Anomaly, if you would?

 

P.S. In 4th Edition Champions, she was over _700_ points.

[TheTemplar]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Mole, feel free to correct me, but Fantastic-Man (played by Mole on the boards) is our campaign's answer to Superman. He's got the super strength and the flight, and is both our team's leader as well as the embodiment of the Best and Brightest of humanity as well as supers in our campaign setting. Moral Compass, CVK, the whole silver-aged 9-yards.

 

However, instead of the other powers in the Superman suite, Fantastic-Man's powers center around density manipulation. Instead of Supe's eye-beams, superbreath, or superspeed (ye gods... Fantastic-Man at SPD 5 is awesome. Fantastic-Man at SPD 7 would be frightening) Fantastic-Man can increase his own molecular density (Density Increase) or decrease it to the point where he can pass through solid matter and vice versa (Desolid).

 

Also of note, he's the first PC I've ever played with who has a Public Identity. Everyone knows that Frank Miller - formerly agent of META, now agent of PRIMUS - is Fantastic-Man.

 

He started a little over 2 years ago at 350 just like the rest of us, and now is somewhere in the 500-550 range, I think.

[assault]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Assault is based on the 1938-9 version of Superman: strength, invulnerability to anything less than "a bursting shell", lots of running and leaping, and a bit of other stuff. His personality isn't too far off the original Superman's either!

 

The major problem with trying to play Superman-type characters is the temptation to burn a lot of points on stuff that isn't directly combat related. It's quite easy to end up with a "Superman" who is not only not the most powerful super in the PC group, but is actually the least powerful, particularly in combat.

 

To some extent, the best PC "Superman" is probably a rather single minded combat monster! The occasions on which he or she gets hosed would hopefully be more than offset by the occasions on which she gets to show how tough she is. (Memo to self: test this theory!) He can always buy extra frills later.

 

NPCs, of course, have as many points to spend as they need.

 

To be a proper "Superman" of course, you really need the personality. While, as I hinted above, the original version of the character didn't fully exhibit it, the rather overblown nobility and absolute integrity of the character is critical in winning the position of "World's Most Respected Superhero".

 

Incidentally, we should note that the closest Marvel equivalent in these terms is probably Captain America. Personality matters more than powers in this sense. We should also note that this personality was a relatively late addition to Cap! His 50s manifestation was such a fascist thug that Marvel later felt the need to say that "that wasn't the real Cap!". In reality, of course, it was.

 

There is a third "Superman" role of course. In addition to "world's most powerful superhero" and "world's most respected superhero", there is also the aspect of "world's first superhero". Again, if you note, Captain America plays that role in the Marvel Universe. On the other hand, of course, DC have voluntarily separated Superman from that role! But the role still exists. The veteran who is a role model and inspiration for younger, less experienced supers is an important function.

 

So having analysed "what Superman is", my conclusion has to be that my campaign world's "Superman" - doesn't exist!

[Blue]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Uncle Slam is the campaign's superman archetype. All strength, flight, and nobility.

 

He is also the campaign's second highest point hero. The first highest would likely take him in a fight, but since he's retired, that's unlikely. (or is it.... [dum dum DUM!])

[rjcurrie]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Actually, the universe used for my SuperSquad Amerca convention games does not really have a Superman type. Instead, the first, best, and brightest role is filled by the original Challenger, who is basically a Captain America type with about STR 35 or 40 (never actually wrote him up), a DEX of about 30 and martial arts. He was the first costumed hero and led the premier superhero team of the 1960s, the original SuperSquad America. In this universe, the space shuttle Challenger had been named after him.

[Werehawk]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Star Knight is mine. He is a Questoran. A cosmic immortal whose never ending quest is to rid all evil in the universe. Star Knight is an NPC whose scientific knowledge spans millennia and is a last minute rescuerer if things really go bad for the good guys.

[Crimson-Hawk]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

In Meriquai Falls, the closest thing to a "Superman" character was (egocentrically enough) Crimson-Hawk. But that's a bit unfair of a tag, since Crimmy is a 350-point Mystic character with power levels appropriate to that point total. He is fairly strong (stronger than the rest of the members of the Omega Legion, save for Reverb), has decent defenses, can fly decently fast (he has mega-flight in addition to standard flight), and has a couple of "energy projection" attacks. He was also a Patriot (of the Meriquai people) and had a strong sense of right/wrong and equality (due to his mixed heritage).

 

After Crimmy's "fall from grace," there really isn't a "Superman" type in the campaign anymore. Vixen and Backdraft are the only two truly active iconic heroes. Vixen is an Acrobat/Speedster built at the "Champions" power level and Backdraft is a pure Energy Projector built at the "Teen Champions" power level. Vixen does fulfill the "moral compass" role, as most new heroes will likely look up to her as the most experienced active hero in the city and she does have an strong sense of right and wrong. But she cannot fly, she is not superstrong, she does not have strong defenses, nor does she have an energy projection attack.

 

Edit: After reading Assault's excellent commentary, I've broken my answer into the three "sub-roles" that Assault discussed:

 

World's Most Powerful Superhero: This is a toss-up between Crimson-Hawk and the vigilante antihero Vengeance. Crimson-Hawk has all of the powers, but Vengeance can out-fight Crimmy any day of the week and has the "Weeble" syndrome in his favor. This says alot about the power levels of the iconic heroes of the city, since both Crimmy and Vengeance are 350-point characters.

 

World's Most Respected Superhero: This is entirely dependent on era. During the 70s and early 80s, it was Lady Freedom (a "Captain America" type with incredible physical and mental fitness and two stun pistols). During the 80s up until the mid-90s, it was Shotgun Rider (a trucker and part-time vigilante in the flavor of "Dukes of Hazzard," "B.J. and the Bear," and "Smokey and the Bandit"). Between 1994 and 2000, it was the enigmatic Bloodshadow (a Powered Armor hero who was something of a cross between Iron Man and Daredevil). Between 2000 and 2005, it was Crimson-Hawk. Post-2005, it's Vixen. Out of all of them, Crimmy enjoyed the greatest amount of respect until his fall from grace.

 

World's First Superhero: This goes to Lady Freedom, who came into her powers during the "Flower Power" era of the 60s and adventured as "Freedom Girl" until the mid-80s, when she retired to live a normal life. In 2000, when her husband died in the Great Meriquai Falls Massacre, Freedom Girl came out of retirement, changed her name to Lady Freedom, and rehashed her costume to be more stylish for the new millenium. Even today, though, Lady Freedom rarely adventures unless a truly epic crisis befalls Meriquai Falls.

[zornwil]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

I don't think we exactly have a Superman type per se. In one sense the closest is Spiderman, he's in semi-retirement, having been active for over 55 years. His powers are those of the normal comic book version. Therefore his forte isn't raw power, exactly, but his luck and his usage of powers has complemented his already-strong powers. He isn't really Superman level thoiugh, in that his power, even when most stretched, isn't at all that extreme. But in America and I think worldwide he is the most respected of all supers, so that's where I bring him up, as in that sense is the similarity.

 

In another sense there is a Superman type, though. The difference is that he hasn't been around as much and while he's a big-deal guy like Superman he isn't singly the most powerful super and to some he's more controversial in that he's been overly aggressive on a few points and also works very closely with the administration. He's actually an ex-PC, now an NPC, once played by one of our group who moved on to a different character. He is modelled on Superman, so powers are pretty similar, but the neat thing is that he gets stronger as he gets more adulation/attention.

 

The character who is really most like Superman isn't American, so it's a different dynamic from an American perspective, but he is Europe's Superman. He's the French super Liberte (too lazy to go grab the proper special character with the accent) AKA of course Liberty. He's a flying brick with energy projection and a true-blue good guy with a great reputation. He's like 2000-3000 points but it's hard to say how good a number that is as it's a purely lazy quickie build, with lots of languages and so on, no efficiency. He has recently formed Justice League Europe (there is no other Justice League, this is the first such org by this name).

[Hermit]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

One by the name Megaman, occaisionally, he's gone by Mentor. He's the beloved NPC, and wagging finger to the PCs. I've honestly tried to retire him, or even considered killing him off. Much fussing from my PCs ensued. I suppose that means I'm doing something right

 

He's really not around that much, too many times he has to go save Bogata.

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

When I ran my last game, I borrowed something from Wildcards and at the beginning of the game had a plauge sweep the world, in it's wake people got superpowers. Many were beginning to be persecuted. A guy in Ohio set up a refuge, and donned a costume (the first one) and called himself Native Sun. He had solar enegy powers, a somewhat patriotic costume, minibrick stats, and flight - I was conciously trying to model the archtype; both in powers and in social dynamic.

 

Being the first superhero, and be nothing more than sheer dint of will, he created the superhero meme in the modern world. Others followed with costumes, and the modern superhero age was born. That is one of the reasons he was the guy everyone looked up to. He was on about 200 pts higher than the starting points of the game. As the PCs grew in power they started to catch up to him. When the team was around 600-650 they basically formed the JLA and invited him to join (resident NPC on the team). The powerlevel between the PCs and Native Sun was pretty even at that point.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

In my campaign world the Superman role is probably filled by Dr. Hiroshima. As a young man he was caught near ground zero of the Hiroshima A-bomb blast, but amazingly didn't die. He was found unconscious in the ruins several days later, his body glowing with energy. He remained in a coma for several months; when he awoke he discovered his tremendous powers. The Japanese government concealed his existence for several years, wanting to use him as a "strategic weapon." But when Japan was attacked by a gigantic mutated monster in 1949, Dr. Hiroshima's battle to drive it off was too public to be ignored.

 

Dr. Hiroshima continued to serve the Japanese government as his country's national hero, but grew increasingly frustrated by Japan's resistance to intervening against international supervillain threats, and disillusioned by the institutional corruption in Japanese politics (no offense intended to any Japanese here - it's a widely acknowledged flaw in the system). In 1956 he disavowed allegiance to any nation, declaring himself a servant of the world. He's been active on the global scene ever since, actively promoting peace and cooperation, but ready to defend against any threat to the innocent anywhere in the world.

 

Dr. Hiroshima is the oldest superhero still active, and among the most powerful and respected. He has a strong personal code of honor with echoes of bushido, although he prefers to be a peacemaker and healer rather than a warrior. He's also the driving force behind a network of like-minded heroes and organizations which offers support to deserving supers: training, resources and intelligence. (It's in this patron capacity that he primarily interacts with my PCs.)

 

Dr. Hiroshima has vast nuclear powers, including tremendous strength and durability, flight, and near-immortality. He can project various energy phenomena resembling a nuclear explosion: heat, light, radiation, EM pulse, and so on. Over the years he's learned to control the discharge of energy, from massive enough to melt a tank, to delicate enough to cauterize wounds or sterilize diseased tissue.

[Trained Chicken]

Re: your campaigns "Superman".

 

Since I haven't got a current campaign, I'll go back a few years to our last one.

 

Red Cross is German Swiss, and he doesn't fight crime. He is an explorer and does a lot of good-will work in areas ravaged by natural catastrophes. He is invulnerable, and flies very fast, but he does not have traditional superspeed. His senses are all hightened. He has X-Ray Vision. One non-Superman power he has is Desolidification. He has a human partner named Medix who is a high-tech healer, scientist, and top-notch pilot. Finally, he has a vast underground cavern headquarters (the Batcave meets the Fortress of Solitude) from which he can monitor any radio broadcast on Earth or the Solar System, as well as work on inventions and ways to improve life for people in poor countries.

 

His archenemy is his own father, a Nazi type named Iron Cross, who has all the same powers, but instead of desolid, he has telepathy (and as a result, combat sense and DCV levels).

 

Both characters are built on around 1800 points in a 300-350 campaign.

 

Red Cross serves as a headline-grabber for the most part, although if I want to drop in a new piece of technology or an alien race, I can have him call the heroes to investigate a lead he's discovered (you don't say no to Red Cross). Alternatively, if the heroes want to get a question answered about an uncharted area of the world or universe, or some secret technology, he is an option. Due to his neutralilty when it comes to super-crime, though, he won't fight on their behalf unless it's Iron Cross who is the criminal.

 

Since I really don't want an 1800 outshining my PCs, I don't let that happen.

 

Or... didn't. You know what I mean.