Changes for Champions

[AlHazred]

Has anyone else felt the need to tinker with the Champions?

 

I'm not talking about minor changes, like changing Defender's scientist Contact to Dr. Silverback. I'm thinking about things that should have been done to the characters before they were published.

 

I mean, from a demo-game GM standpoint, I like Sapphire. She has a simple power set and an appealing personality. However, as a "celebrity superhero" apparently modeled on stars like Shakira or Jennifer Lopez, she has no Reputation. She's supposed to demonstrate how the system works; I think a comparison between her fame and Defender's would be interesting and informative. Of course, he has no Reputation either - he's got a cop-out Social Limitation of "Famous". If he's got it, shouldn't Sapphire have it too?

 

Anyway, just felt the need to get that off of my chest. Anyone else share my opinion?

 

P.S.: Steve and co.: you guys should edit the Hero Games information over at Wikipedia.

[CrosshairCollie]

I could theoretically BS away Sapphire's lack of a Reputation and Famous by saying that, while she may be famous, she's not so utterly famous that she's harassed by it constantly, like Defender is. For that matter, Defender may be WHY she doesn't have a Reputation or Famous; he overshadows her constantly, so she remains unnoticed despite it all.

[RadeFox]

Aye, it does breakdown into HOW the Fame affects the character.

In Defenders case, the fame is a pain in the butt, so its a disad. I had a hero years back, who was similar. At the start of the game, he had his own comic book, saturday morning animated show, and did tours. He was Famous with a capital F. But because of this fame he had several limitation to his choice of actions, especially when KIDS or reporters were around. He became forced into ALWAYS being the Perfect Hero (showing mercy, being resiliant, never taking advantage of another, etc), the valiant Super-Man type, without the Superman power level. So it was a blast to play, his fame gave him both perks and hinderances so I bought both kinds, Rep and Disad.

 

Now as for Sapphire, if she has no fame at all on her sheet, it may be perhaps, that she has the 'stuff' that famous hereoes are made off, and is only just starting to generate celebrity metahuman buzz, but the folks in the know may have her pegged as the next big blue thing!

[TheEmerged]

Tinker with them? I pretty much rewrote them. Only Ironclad had DEF scores really appropriate for my campaigns, and he needed a DEF increase to be appropriate for a brick.

 

One change I made for Sapphire was to turn the Flash and EB ultra slots into "variable", allowing her to MPA them.

 

I've also added a FREd'ed Jaguar onto the team, primarily as a direct counter for one of my PC's. There's a better than even chance right now that Kinetix is going to join as well.

 

Also, I kept Solitaire instead of Witchcraft and renamed Nighthawk to Nightseeker -- so no duck-hat in NeoChampions. There's a good chance I'm going to downgrade his "detective" side since Jaguar's multiform can handle that better IMO.

[Agent X]

Originally posted by TheEmerged

Tinker with them? I pretty much rewrote them. Only Ironclad had DEF scores really appropriate for my campaigns, and he needed a DEF increase to be appropriate for a brick.

 

One change I made for Sapphire was to turn the Flash and EB ultra slots into "variable", allowing her to MPA them.

 

I've also added a FREd'ed Jaguar onto the team, primarily as a direct counter for one of my PC's. There's a better than even chance right now that Kinetix is going to join as well.

 

Also, I kept Solitaire instead of Witchcraft and renamed Nighthawk to Nightseeker -- so no duck-hat in NeoChampions. There's a good chance I'm going to downgrade his "detective" side since Jaguar's multiform can handle that better IMO.

If and when I use them I would go a little further and toss Ironclad for Obsidian. Alien Gladiators are just a tad more one-dimensional than a space royal/diplomat.

[AlHazred]

After running a playtest with the iconic Champions (Return of the Destroyer), I have to say, Ironclad works pretty well as written. That Punch can be incredibly devastating with some successful Gladiator's Eye rolls.

 

Witchcraft has an extremely complex power set, even for experienced Champions players; I'd consider forcing complete newbies to set it as Spell of Vitality to give her extra shots. I wouldn't change anything there, either; anything left out can be put in the VPP.

 

Nighthawk was extremely effective. Especially when he was "buckling swash". He's also got a ton of odd abilities, like a superhero "toolkit". I'm not sure I'd give him the 1-point weapon element for his batons; that would be hideous.

 

Sapphire has an extremely simple power set. I wouldn't change anything there. She's perfect for people who want to concentrate on other things than using the most effective ability. I'd probably remove her PS: Singing and either Seduction (she's good-looking enough that she probably doesn't need to practice any seducing) or Teamwork (as the "one who seems the least serious", she might not have trained as hard with the others to develop the rapport apparent in this Skill). I'd then spend the 6 points saved on Reputation: celebrity singer/hero (worldwide) 14-, +2/+2d6. I might just remove them all and give her +3/+3d6. After all, she's "her name and voice were known all over America, and then the world." She's supposed to be really, really famous, and that would put her on par with the All-American.

 

Kinetik was a huge amount of fun for his player. He was a good choice to add to the demo team. I'd make no changes to his powers, but I'd consider replacing his PS: Crossword Puzzles with Reputation: popular black hero (Millennium City) 14-, +1/+1d6.

[Agent X]

Originally posted by AlHazred

After running a playtest with the iconic Champions (Return of the Destroyer), I have to say, Ironclad works pretty well as written. That Punch can be incredibly devastating with some successful Gladiator's Eye rolls.

 

Witchcraft has an extremely complex power set, even for experienced Champions players; I'd consider forcing complete newbies to set it as Spell of Vitality to give her extra shots. I wouldn't change anything there, either; anything left out can be put in the VPP.

 

Nighthawk was extremely effective. Especially when he was "buckling swash". He's also got a ton of odd abilities, like a superhero "toolkit". I'm not sure I'd give him the 1-point weapon element for his batons; that would be hideous.

 

Sapphire has an extremely simple power set. I wouldn't change anything there. She's perfect for people who want to concentrate on other things than using the most effective ability. I'd probably remove her PS: Singing and either Seduction (she's good-looking enough that she probably doesn't need to practice any seducing) or Teamwork (as the "one who seems the least serious", she might not have trained as hard with the others to develop the rapport apparent in this Skill). I'd then spend the 6 points saved on Reputation: celebrity singer/hero (worldwide) 14-, +2/+2d6. I might just remove them all and give her +3/+3d6. After all, she's "her name and voice were known all over America, and then the world." She's supposed to be really, really famous, and that would put her on par with the All-American.

 

Kinetik was a huge amount of fun for his player. He was a good choice to add to the demo team. I'd make no changes to his powers, but I'd consider replacing his PS: Crossword Puzzles with Reputation: popular black hero (Millennium City) 14-, +1/+1d6.

Just for fun, why don't you have the 4E Champions duke it out with the 5E Champions and see what happens?