Savinien Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 It's the 50's in Las Vegas and you're a reporter/photographer. You've ticked off the mafia with your no nonsense stories and the law enforcement by catching more than your share of bribes on camera. 150 + 100 pts in disads What sort of powers do you have for a gray silver age game? I'd like possibly to include the camera somehow, but can't decide what the powers should be or how they are built. Freeze frame sort of power? Mind Control, only those you've taken a picture of? Help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McManus Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... Hero or villain? Hero in Las Vegas might not take the camera as a theme. He might take a gambling theme (Roulette or Blackjack both make good hero names). A villain (the Shutter Bug or FreezeFrame) could have camera based powers. I picture a comic book cover with the villain peeling off the picture backing to show a print with the hero on it as the hero, chained to the set, begins to disappear. Or a Puppet Master kind of villain with the Photo Gallery of Doom. If I was going to do a camera themed hero I might do flashbulb grenades, boxing glove cameras (Smile for the picture! WHAMMO!), paralysis, laser lenses, enhanced senses, even teleportation (stepping through the frame). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savinien Posted April 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... This would be a HERO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... Since you haven't named a Super origin, I'd first go with Superskills, especially the Cinematic Invulnerability family of powers. Boxing & Wrestling Martial Arts (he covered the sports scene and was trained by the great Joe Greenstein himself), luck based 50% Damage Reduction and some combat luck on top (explains how he survives in the Hero business), Flash and Eidetic memory using the camera as an OAF, Retrocognition defined as super-sleuthing, etc. Something like The Question basically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... I was thinking something like Sam Spade. A hard boiled detective who lives by his wits and his fists. Not sure what powers though. Boxing, + hand attack, lots of skills and contacts. My other thought was an actual psychic detective, and stage magician. Might work well with the whole Las Vegas theme, aka Mandrake the magician. Mind Control, Telekinesis, Telepathy, trick gadgets and Combat Luck. In both cases, his camera is just a camera. It's equipment, and not a power. Maybe buy perception bonuses for spotting clues in a picture (any picture) if you want to make this a little more power-y. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... What if he could look at photos he's taken, and use the to divine what the subjects are doing at the moment? Sort of a crystal ball on film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... What if he could look at photos he's taken' date=' and use the to divine what the subjects are doing at the moment? Sort of a crystal ball on film.[/quote'] See them rolling side by side across the bridge at midnight Heads turning as the lights flashing out it's so bright Then roll right out to the fourline track There's a camera rolling on its back, on its back And I sense the rhythm humming in a frenzy all the way down the line Balls on film, balls on film, Balls on film, balls on film Er...never mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savinien Posted April 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... Interesting ideas and I enjoy the creativy, Oddhat. One of the other players *COUGH* Tom *COUGH* is already playing a Private Detective type, so I'm trying to steer clear of stepping on those two. Stage magician a la Mandrake might be cool, too. :thumbsup: What if the camera was atomic-ized. I'm thinking about Pesci's weegee movie here. He didn't have powers, but he did see his pics in black & white. And, "Everybody wants their picture taken. Everybody." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... What if he could look at photos he's taken' date=' and use the to divine what the subjects are doing at the moment? Sort of a crystal ball on film.[/quote'] Sounds trumped up to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psm Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... Maybe for starters, give him the ability to see through any camera/security device within a .5 mile radius. Or for something even a bit hokier give him the ability to teleport to any location that he has a picture of. Admittedly, they're not stellar powers but they might be nice additions to what you come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... It's the 50's in Las Vegas and you're a reporter/photographer. You've ticked off the mafia with your no nonsense stories and the law enforcement by catching more than your share of bribes on camera. 150 + 100 pts in disads What sort of powers do you have for a gray silver age game? I'd like possibly to include the camera somehow, but can't decide what the powers should be or how they are built. Freeze frame sort of power? Mind Control, only those you've taken a picture of? Help? Have you ever seen a Speed Graphics camera? First, it weights about 15 pounds and is almost bulletproof when closed up. Possibly armor, requires DEX roll, or an OIF for missile deflection. + 3d6 HTH attack. That flash gun, which is detachable btw, uses 4 "D" cell batteries. The flash bulbs are about the size of golf balls, and look like they are filled with steel wool. It is actually one, very long filiment. I believe it is an alloy of magnesium, but could be wrong. They are single use, much brighter than modern strobe flashes (3d6 Flash on charges?), and in a 60th of a second get hot enough to cause a second degree burn on human slik if it happens to be in contact with it when it goes off (1/2 d RKA, no range, vs ED). Never seen one ignite fabric, but would not be surprised. IIRC the negatives are about 4x6 inches, maybe 8 times the size of a 35 mm slide, with a corresponding gain in detail and resolution. These were the work horses of the news photographers from the 30's through the 50's, into the 60's when they started to be replaced by 35 mm cameras. [edit]You may recognize it as the camera Jimmy Olson and occasionally Lois used on the old live action Superman TV show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... Oh, and don't forget that in those days most photographers developed their own film and printed there own enlargements. (The viewfinder on the Speed Graphic was not usually used for action shots, point and click, then use the enlarger to crop to the composition you want.) This would include a working knowlege (11-) of optics, chemistry, and possibly a combat sense from being used to working in the dark. (Prints can be processed under a red safe light, film has to be developed in total darkness.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
input.jack Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... Oh' date=' and don't forget that in those days most photographers developed their own film and printed there own enlargements. (The viewfinder on the Speed Graphic was not usually used for action shots, point and click, then use the enlarger to crop to the composition you want.) This would include a working knowlege (11-) of optics, chemistry, and possibly a combat sense from being used to working in the dark. (Prints can be processed under a red safe light, film has to be developed in total darkness.)[/quote'] Not to mention what can happen in a Supers world when you routinely stick your hands into chemicals..... Imagine what might happen if he had been developing a batch of pictures with his own "special chemicals" in the darkroom when the Mafia blew up his house. Maybe he no longer -needs- a camera; anything he sees he can "transfer" onto a blank film frame by Mental Power. That way he doesnt need to lug a camera around; he can just slip into a hidden location, watch waht occurs nearby, and then later transfer the images he saw with his own eyes onto film in the safety of his (now armored) home. Call him The Witness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savinien Posted April 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... This last idea somehow (don't ask me how) seems more plausible or believeable power. How would you build it in HERO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMiller Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Re: Building a Hero... Maybe something like this. I didn't put in all the disads and left some points for elsewhere. Also, where the heck is the Export Format people are using for the forums??? For some reason I apparently don't have it, or I'm just looking past it. The Witness - VAL...CHA...Cost...Total...Roll......Notes 13....STR.....3...13......12-.......HTH Damage 2 1/2d6 END [3] 15....DEX.....15...15......12-.......OCV 5 DCV 5 13....CON.....6...13......12- 12....BODY....4...12......11- 15....INT.....5...15......12-.......PER Roll 12- 15....EGO.....10...15......12-.......ECV: 5 13....PRE.....3...13......12-.......PRE Attack: 2 1/2d6 14....COM.....2...14......12- 5....PD......2...5.............5 PD (0 rPD) 5....ED......2...5.............5 ED (0 rED) 4....SPD.....15...4.................Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 6....REC.....0...6 26....END.....0...26 26....STUN....0...26 6....RUN......0...6"................END [1] 2....SWIM.....0...2"................END [1] 3....LEAP.....0...2 1/2"................2 1/2" forward, 1" upward CHA Cost: 67 Cost...POWERS 20.....There's No Body There: Invisibility to Sight Group - END=2 15.....Just Another Face In The Crowd: Shape Shift (Sight Group), Instant Change - END=1 15.....Seeing The Truth: Telepathy 3d6 (Human class of minds) - END=1 5.....Here's What I Saw: Cosmetic Transform 2d6 (blank photo paper into photo paper with an image) (10 Active Points); Can Only Create Images Of What He Has Seen (-1) - END=1 5.....Night Vision Lens: Nightvision - END=0 5.....Telephoto Lens: +3 versus Range Modifier for Sight Group - END=0 POWERS Cost: 65 Cost...MARTIAL ARTS ......Dirty Infighting/Fisticuffs/Cinematic Brawling 4......1) Punch/Backhand: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 4 1/2d6 Strike 5......2) Roundhouse/Two-Fisted Smash: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 6 1/2d6 Strike 3......3) Tackle: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, +v/5; You Fall, Target Falls 4......4) Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 23 STR to Disarm roll MARTIAL ARTS Cost: 16 Cost...SKILLS 3......Concealment 12- 3......Conversation 12- 7......Deduction 14- 7......High Society 14- 4......KS: The 'Beautiful People' 13- 3......AK: Las Vegas 12- 3......Lipreading 12- 3......Lockpicking 12- 3......Persuasion 12- 2......PS: Photographer 11- 3......Security Systems 12- 7......Shadowing 14- 7......Stealth 14- 3......Streetwise 12- SKILLS Cost: 58 Cost...TALENTS 3......Absolute Range Sense 6......Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) 5......Eidetic Memory 10......Speed Reading (x10,000) TALENTS Cost: 24 Base Pts: 150 Exp Required: 80 Total Exp Available: 0 Exp Unspent: 0 Total Character Cost: 230 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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