My First Game of Champions!

[JakSpade]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Nice

I had a guy who I forgot to buy any resistant defenses for. He was shot by a thug in the first adventure and almost died.

 

Then a cyber crocodile bit him...

 

He bought armor asap...

 

Oooo... that's my story... first character didn't have resistant defenses, much less any defenses... got taken out before first Post Segment 12.

 

jak

[Enforcer84]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Seeker?

Captain Tempest.

[Theron]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

= priceless. I wish I could shake my head and say, "Huh? What's he talking about?" Alas...

 

The second character he ran in one of my games was a mentalist whose powers manifested at age 50. The character was this cranky old man who rode around on a moped, mouthed off at everyone, constantly told the other PCs what they were doing wrong, and was far more inclined to throwing a rock at a bad guy than using his powers on him. Surprisingly, we actually kept him around.

 

The last character he played in one of my games was a direct response to my constantly telling him his characters weren't heroic: Hero-Man, a big, strong shiny happy Superman knock-off (who was actually an android created by a paralyzed boy genius who wanted a father figure). That was one of the best characters I ever had the opportunity to GM for.

[Kevin Schultz]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Unfortunately, Champions is the LATEST game I play, rather than my first; I got into it a couple of years ago. The group I was in was founded for the express purpose of playing different games that we hadn't before, and when 5th Edition came out, we decided to give it a try. Thus, by the time I cracked open HERO, I was already an accredited rules lawyer for GURPS, Mage, Changeling, Legend of the 5 Rings, Deadlands, and Ars Magica.

 

In my first game session, everyone assumed that I had already read the rules and understood it, and was asking me for help designing their characters. Which was actually true, so we did fine. I ended up playing Anansi Goodfellow, child of the universe's Greatest two heroes, and reluctant teenage deity to an otherwise atheist alien race.

 

I still like that backstory - the premise was that there was only one Trickster god - he just played a great trick on all the other pantheons, and convinced them that there was more than one of him. However, the trick backfired, and now no one will believe him when he tries to tell the truth.

Thor - "So, Loki. You're telling me that you're actually that Raven fellow, as well as Robin Goodfellow?"

 

Trickster - "yep. Good trick, huh!"

 

Thor - "Sure, pull the other one."

 

Trickster - "dang it."

 

The other trick he pulled was that he boasted (one drunken night) that he would trick Earth's mightiest Hero fall in love. Unfortunately he forgot to check who that was. Turned out to be Citadel, kind of an armor-clad Superman homage. Also, no one knew that underneath the armor Citadel was, in fact, a female of her species, and her species had killed off their gods a couple of million years ago for being too weak. Thus, the Trickster fell into his own plot, and after a series of coincidences found only in Shakespearean comedies, ended up married to her. Anansi (named after her grandmother) was the product of their union.

[Foxiekins]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

It was in 1982, I think... The problems of getting summer jobs to pay for college had resulted in my joining the National Guard, which called for me to go to Fort Dix for Basic, and Fort Knox for AIT...

 

The first weekend our training company got leave, there was a small gaming convention onsite... I had been exposed to AD&D back in 1979, so I wandered, and chanced across a paperback book titled "Champions"... Having cash sitting around in my pocket, since in Basic there really wasn't that much for you to spend money on, really, I bought it... I also bought a substantial number of six-sided dice on the advice of the person I bought the book from...

 

After reading through the rules, some bored fellow trainees asked what I was reading... After explaining what an RPG was, and then explaining what *this* RPG was all about, they wanted to try it, and so I wound up GMing since I was the only experienced Roleplayer... Which makes Champions the second RPG that I had run into... Somehow, I took to it like a duck to water, and when I got back from training I was GMing... Trying to DM AD&D seemed intimidating, but I could GM champions with both hands tied behind my back, so to speak... Huzzah...!!!

[OzMike]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

I don't remember the first game I played really well, but I do remember the first game I ran. It was 1986...

 

A friend of mine had made a character (well, I had made it according to what he wanted) called Sureshot - basically a normal soldier-type with body armor and a big-big-big gun.

 

The scenario involved him chasing down some thugs and a couple of super villains (I think it was Pulsar and Ogre) who'd just robbed a bank and were hiding out on the docks amongst some containers (or a junkyard - I forget). Anyway, the thugs were firing at him and bouncing off his 20rPD/ED armor and Pulsar was taking potshots with his NND and Ogre was throwing things but missing and Sureshot's having trouble hitting them because of their cover when he says:

 

"I use my grenade to try to get them".

 

Now remember that I had built this character with him and for him, but hadn't really considered what the numbers meant. Also the gun was a multipower back in the pre-4th time when the slots were based on real cost (and if they weren't - it's been a while - we at least thought that they were bought that way).

 

I'd drawn the map on some hex paper and he pointed at a place basically in the middle of the group, centered on Pulsar who had hit him and hurt him with that damn NND. And I begin marking the hexes for the explosion.

 

All 18D6 of it.

 

By the end of it pretty much the entire map was marked out, bar a few hexes on the outside, and the environment was toast. Needless to say there was a quick re-write and I learnt that there was a big difference between what a character COULD afford to buy and what they SHOULD be allowed to buy.

[Shoutybloke]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

I remember my first game of champions. I was the GM. I helped to create the characters. Unfortunatly I had no idea how to create a balenced character.We ended up with one character who spent 75 points on charaterisics and skills, and 175 points on guns from the dark champions sourcebook, and a mentalist with ecv 4. I put these two vastly outclassed characters through the grim and gritty varient of "mob rule" the adventure in the big blue book.The assesinos massacred them.

Ah, good times

[Karmakaze]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Hm. Would've been my freshman year in college, so 1990. GM was one of those sad geek types that interprets basic courtesy from any female as a sign of true love and clings like a limpet. I spent the rest of the year trying to find a way to scrape him off without hurting his feelings. After the one module he ran though (staqndard bank robbery) I got invited to game with some of the other players, which worked out.

 

The University of Hellenback dates back to that year, as the setting to the first campaign I ever ran. (It was Phuc U at the time, merely set in the city of Hellenback - I changed it for the purposes of convention play.)

[jkwleisemann]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

That sounds like a heck of a story!!! Care to share?

Eh, what the heck, I might as well.

 

Remember, my players were all in 7th to 8th grade or so, and very new to gaming... moreso than myself, who had at least a couple years experience.

 

At any rate, perhaps the attitude of most of my players can be summed up as follows:

 

Player: "Could my Wizard make a Glove of Charming?"

 

Me: "I suppose so."

 

P: "A one-fingers Glove of Charming?"

 

M: "Well... I don't see why not...."

 

P: "Cool! I could make a condom of charming!"

 

M: "Hold it!"

 

As you might expect, there was a certain amount of... difficulty... in keeping the characters more or less on topic... or from just going off and causing random trouble anywhere there were women about.

 

One of my players, the guy who went on to play Radar, seemed to revel in being annoying, and had the tagline of "I find and shave a rabid (insert animal here)." His favorite being moose or badgers. During one of those incidents, he ended up in the Temple of Thor, and was reminded that having a mythril helmet on does not protect one from divine lightning strikes after blaspheming the local priests. (Blasphemy!)

 

Another of the players had his minotaur wizard (I was young!) end up knocking up one of the local barmaids, courtesy of his favorite Charm spell... he was eventually tracked down by vengeance-seeking offspring. (Scandal!)

 

The character played by Radar's player was a popular target of intra-party plots, to the point where the Rod of Resurrection was christened "Andy's Rod." (Homicide... multiple times...!)

 

Shortly after this... and a few inter-dimensional jaunts to try desperately to *avoid* further carnage and chaos of this sort (wherein the flying decapitated head of a cat ended up becoming a running gag... please, for the love of God, don't ask... and blame my players, not me.), I ended up developing an ulcer that I carry to this day....

 

I *like* to think it was because of school, but the timing was... suggestive. Is your first gaming-related ulcer some sort of a landmark? Anyways....

 

I was out for a few days while we figured out why my gut was twisting into knots. Eventually I heard from them... and we had to roll up new characters. I'd made the mistake of leaving the only other *serious* player in the group as my backup GM... largely at random, the players decided that their characters would commit mass suicide by lighting their hair on fire. (Suicide!)

 

I got back, and wisely switched to Champions until the end of the school year. I've tried never to speak of that game since then, but hopefully others will take my experience as a warning... never play D&D unless somebody *else* expresses interest in a plot too (a lesson I was reminded of some time later, but that's a nightmare for another time... this is off-topic enough!)

 

(Oh, and shame! Largely related to the fact that the game got that far in the first place....)

[Theron]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Hm. Would've been my freshman year in college, so 1990. GM was one of those sad geek types that interprets basic courtesy from any female as a sign of true love and clings like a limpet. I spent the rest of the year trying to find a way to scrape him off without hurting his feelings. After the one module he ran though (staqndard bank robbery) I got invited to game with some of the other players, which worked out.

 

The University of Hellenback dates back to that year, as the setting to the first campaign I ever ran. (It was Phuc U at the time, merely set in the city of Hellenback - I changed it for the purposes of convention play.)

 

Did you publish some of that Hellenback stuff on Red October back in the day? The name sounds familiar.

[casualplayer]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Eh, what the heck, I might as well.

 

Remember, my players were all in 7th to 8th grade or so, and very new to gaming... moreso than myself, who had at least a couple years experience.

 

At any rate, perhaps the attitude of most of my players can be summed up as follows:

 

Player: "Could my Wizard make a Glove of Charming?"

 

Me: "I suppose so."

 

P: "A one-fingers Glove of Charming?"

 

M: "Well... I don't see why not...."

 

P: "Cool! I could make a condom of charming!"

 

M: "Hold it!"

 

As you might expect, there was a certain amount of... difficulty... in keeping the characters more or less on topic... or from just going off and causing random trouble anywhere there were women about.

 

One of my players, the guy who went on to play Radar, seemed to revel in being annoying, and had the tagline of "I find and shave a rabid (insert animal here)." His favorite being moose or badgers. During one of those incidents, he ended up in the Temple of Thor, and was reminded that having a mythril helmet on does not protect one from divine lightning strikes after blaspheming the local priests. (Blasphemy!)

 

Another of the players had his minotaur wizard (I was young!) end up knocking up one of the local barmaids, courtesy of his favorite Charm spell... he was eventually tracked down by vengeance-seeking offspring. (Scandal!)

 

The character played by Radar's player was a popular target of intra-party plots, to the point where the Rod of Resurrection was christened "Andy's Rod." (Homicide... multiple times...!)

 

Shortly after this... and a few inter-dimensional jaunts to try desperately to *avoid* further carnage and chaos of this sort (wherein the flying decapitated head of a cat ended up becoming a running gag... please, for the love of God, don't ask... and blame my players, not me.), I ended up developing an ulcer that I carry to this day....

 

I *like* to think it was because of school, but the timing was... suggestive. Is your first gaming-related ulcer some sort of a landmark? Anyways....

 

I was out for a few days while we figured out why my gut was twisting into knots. Eventually I heard from them... and we had to roll up new characters. I'd made the mistake of leaving the only other *serious* player in the group as my backup GM... largely at random, the players decided that their characters would commit mass suicide by lighting their hair on fire. (Suicide!)

 

I got back, and wisely switched to Champions until the end of the school year. I've tried never to speak of that game since then, but hopefully others will take my experience as a warning... never play D&D unless somebody *else* expresses interest in a plot too (a lesson I was reminded of some time later, but that's a nightmare for another time... this is off-topic enough!)

 

(Oh, and shame! Largely related to the fact that the game got that far in the first place....)

 

Anyone who was gaming during that "confusing" time of development had similar experiences. Clothing hardly ever made its saving throw versus, well, anything.

[Foxiekins]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Anyone who was gaming during that "confusing" time of development had similar experiences. Clothing hardly ever made its saving throw versus' date=' well, anything. [/quote']

 

Clothing gets a saving throw...?

[SatinKitty]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

I was introduced to Champions in 1988 by the Illustrious OddHat.

My first character, Firestorm, was based on Stephen King's "Firestarter". Her first adventure was a slugfest with Shamrock during a Bank Robbery. Her SO was OddHat's old character, Harlequin. I can't remember any of her adventures well, but I do know she retired from Superheroing and became a B movie Actress. My second character was Mindflair; a Mentalist I played until she got too powerful to be legal. Other players were our late great friend Mike, who played Paladin, a Power Armor character with a big gun, lots of skill levels and a VTOL shaped like a golden dragon, and Kaptain Kaos, played by K. , who was a flying brick. We were the Supergroup Paradox, Inc. When K. moved away (both K. and Mike were Navy) Kaptain Kaos retired to create the Kaosburger Franchise. Paladin was most notable for his Quote: "Die, Scum !!!!" Invictus was his Arch-foe.

 

We miss Mike a lot. Never even got a chance to say goodbye.

[TheRavenIs]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

I was in collage at UK in '82 and I was in the local gaming shop when I saw this small blue book with what looked like a Superhero......I had to have it. I bought it and the rest is history.

 

My first C was a Space Ghost rip-off, and I do mean rip, expect he was an alien scientist that was on Earth to see if these bipeds were advanced enough for first contact.

 

Well the GM, a real jerk, didn't like the C, but he did let me play him. The GM had an enemy of my C's people show up and start attacking people. Well my C was watching, invisable, nearby. He flew over to the enemy, who the GM forgot to buy IR Vision, my C wasn't invis to it, so the C just found some cover and started taking pot shots on the guy.

 

Well the GM forgot something about my C's build, I had bought two different Multipowers, one had all attacks being fully invis. So my C stayed invis and when the local Heroes showed the bad guy was almost out. They show up and one of them, GMNPC: read GM god C, had IR and well he was convinced that my C was also a bad guy bc I was staying Invis.....

 

He attacked my C, I dropped my Invis and then used the other Multipower, I KOed the GMNPC in one hit, and go on to stop the bad guy. I had Pres'ed the HEROes with the attack. I KOed the bad guy and the others on the team asked my C to join.

 

GM wasn't happy with that, but the players told him I'd earned a place on the team. Yes, the GM didn't have a complete grasp on the system, neither did I, but I did understand it better.

 

So the others playing in that group left he's and started playing in one they made me run.

 

Ahh the simple days of youth. To be in my 20's again....and know the system like I do now.

[Chris Goodwin]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Summer of 1985, between freshman and sophomore years in high school. My first two characters were made just to learn the system; Feline, a mutated cat, and Dolphin, a riff on a shark-like villain in one of the V&V enemies books. I can't remember the first character I actually played.

[Amused]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

My first game was when I was about eight playing Mechwarrior with a bunch of people in their 20-30s (two of which were my parents) and I was playing a twelve year old, mentalist, based on the little girl from the anime Baoh (sp?).

 

I don't really remember it, though I suppose that's because I was kind of a quiet child and didn't really interact with the other players as much. I'm trying to break myself of the habit (as I'm sure my new group can vouch for ).

 

It's strange, but the first character I ever came up with on my own without parental guidance or teaming up with another player for the background is the one I'm playing right now.

[Karmakaze]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Did you publish some of that Hellenback stuff on Red October back in the day? The name sounds familiar.

 

As a matter of fact, I did. See here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34669

[Theron]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

As a matter of fact' date=' I did. See here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34669[/quote']

 

Nice to know the creeping dementia hasn't completely destroyed my memory. It's remarkable how many of the old Red October folks are still floating around.

[McCoy]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

So what was your first day like?

A friend came over with the grey covered second edition book. We photocopied character sheets and got creative.

 

I had had an idea for some time for a speedster with limited super strength and (what I leared the game called) focused armor.

 

"Let's see, 30 STR, he can pick up a car but not a bus, that's about right. 9 SPD, between four and five times as fast as a normal person, it'll have to do. Armor in his gauntlets and helmet, give that a 14 or less activation. Oh, and he's a speedster, let's put an autofire advantage on his punch."

 

And so Cheeta was born. Now let me remind you that under 2nd ed rules autofire was x10, and END was 1 per 5 active points.

 

First time out he ran toward the villian, and unleased the autofire punch. Burned 60 END. But he didn't have 60 END.

 

"As God is my witness Officer, I swear I never touched him! He ran up, started hitting me, and had a heart attack!"

[lapsedgamer]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

This wasn't my first game of Champions. That game was played with some friends in The Bronx H.S. of Science cafeteria during study hall circa 1984. However, it is my most fondly remebered gaming experience.

 

I went to college with Steve Metz of Ultimate Metamorph and Pyramid in the Sky fame. We played a mixed Marvel Superheroes/Champions/V&V game after hours in the computer rooms. Everyone had a version of the same character for each system and we would rotate through GMs and systems throughout the school year. I ran Champions and Steve was more partial to Marvel Superheroes. This was 1985 or so, so it was the original verion of that game. Originally we used V&V to roll the charcters, and then converted them when we switched. Alternately, people just came up with a concept and built the Champions version and ported him to Marvel supers.

 

You could change characters as oftenas you wanted, so over the course of two or three years I played a speedster called Jetstream, an immortal paladin named Myrmidon, and a Ultra Boy rip-off called Omni.

 

Omni eventually went rougue and became the agent of an evil evangelist with mind-controlled superpowered minions when I stopped playing him. He was called Omniscient at that point. A briliant stroke by Steve who was a very good GM. I was only ever average, but liked to try. Had a great time playing with him.

 

Also in this group was Sean Fannon, who went on to write Mutant Files. Our own Bigdamnhero was in a Fantasy Hero game that I ran for about a semester.

 

Basically, I claim all three of these folks as my disciples. I turned them on to Hero and they went on to great thing, leaving me behind in the dust. I'm so proud I feel a tear coming on. I have to go now.

[Era Scarecrow]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Well, my first experience in RPGing was in a AD&D2 game my younger brother was DMing. (The two hour session a few days before was a general introduction to get me understanding minimal rules).

 

I ended up playing a short, female Halfling, Nearly non exsistant strenght, Decent defense, and below average skills.

 

Then she did a minor 1-on-1 dungeon where she was in a desert town, opened a building up and found a zombie trying to chase and kill her. She just out ran it and kept missing on all her thrown daggers, finally killed the thing; went something like this.

 

DM: The zombie's dragging it's feet towards you.

Me: I run back 10 feet and hurl a dagger at it's face

(Dice roll) 16

DM: You miss. The zombie continues dragging it's feet toward you.

 

Then my brother determined my character would die on her own and had me join another game he started.

 

When she joined the group, she was 'sneaking' very unsuccessfully, when called out, she stepped forward and declared 'i'm a thief'. Course, after interrogating her good-natured-truthful-answers-very-friendly-playful-was-new-to-playing self, they determined she would join the party.

 

It ended up taking 6 weeks before i actually fully fleshed out the character and actually had a background on her, then she started living her own life in the games.

 

I miss those days. Maybe i'll rebuild her in a C game if i come across one sometime when i get back to Oregon. (anyone in that area, PM me and perhaps i can get in it in a few months )

 

My first Hero's game is a Fantasy hero's game, Playing a Pirate/werewolf/animal trainer. Just ending up rolling the 3d6 and trying to do the number in my head gave me a headache, and ended up just going along with it, and letting each few weeks get a better feel on the system, alter the adv's Disadv's, powers and the like to come as closely to what it should be without making it seem i was changing the game and powers to best suit myself.

 

I am going to miss this game soon..

 

Era

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

My first Champions game, 1983...

 

The GM, Martin, had bought the game but never run or played it, so it was a learning experience for all. One of my housemates, Ted, had been invited and knew I played RPGs, so he invited me along. Other players that first game were Brian and Richard.

 

The first session was spent solely in creating characters. Brian created a blind super-strong martial artist (Midnight); Richard made a stretching swordsman (Slash); Ted created a wind-controlling character (Silicon); and I came up with an M-16 wielding super soldier (Gregory Ichabod Jones, or GI Jones).

 

None of us understanding the rules, we pulled my character's M-16 cost straight out of the book.

 

First battle was on the quadrangle at the University of Michigan, a nice open area surrounded by the grad library, Angell Hall, the chem building, and various other university buildings. We fought some VIPER villains, including Brick.

 

So, my first chance to attack:

Me: I autofire at Brick.

GM: Roll 3d6.

Me: (roll) 8.

GM: (hasty figuring) Okay, you needed a 13 to hit. That means you hit with... three bullets.

Me: Okay, how much damage does this thing do?

GM: (looking it up in the book) It says "2d6K (6d6)". So, I guess that's a 2d6 Killing attack.

I rolled 2d6 three times, followed by three STUN mods, hurting Brick but not knocking him out.

Me: What's the (6d6) part?

GM: I dunno. Knockback, maybe?

So I then rolled 6d6 three times, added it up... and sent Brick through the Chem building, across State Street, then into a jewelry store adjoining Nichol's Arcade. The process of smashing through three different walls put Brick into La-La Land.

 

A total misreading of the rules, which ended up being figured out by the next time we played. But by that time, as others said, I was hooked.

[clsage]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

And so Cheeta was born. Now let me remind you that under 2nd ed rules autofire was x10, and END was 1 per 5 active points.

 

First time out he ran toward the villian, and unleased the autofire punch. Burned 60 END. But he didn't have 60 END.

 

"As God is my witness Officer, I swear I never touched him! He ran up, started hitting me, and had a heart attack!"

 

Yeah...I recall my first character, ACI, often fighting a phase,

being "self-stunned" for a couple more phases, then back in action....Sigh.

 

-Carl-

[Remjin]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

My first time... I think it was back when I got heavily involved in the BBS thing. I got hooked up with a bunch of college kids and joined a game. That was... 1991-2. We played one of those games where you wake up, an amnesiac, and eventually discover who you are and what you can do. I'd played a little D&D before, so the entirety of it wasn't totally foreign.

 

I discovered, eventually, that time moved differently to me, everyone standing still while I moved around and did what I wanted (his description of superspeed) and had experience with guns.

 

The most memorable scene at the time was a simple one. Two crooks burst into a room we were in, wielding shotguns. Someone disarmed one of them while the rest of us were surprised. During my turns I grabbed the shotgun out of the other guy's hand, flipped it around and shoved it back at them or something... then there was some joke, after subduing them at gunpoint, with the punchline of "okay, now I load the gun." Details are all fuzzy, but in essence, it turned out we were playing Champions... and I went and bought the book that week. Swallowed it whole in a day, and had my own group playing it within another week. (the other game was a one-shot, I think)

 

Played many others over the years, but Hero has always been my favorite.

[bigdamnhero]

Re: My First Game of Champions!

 

Our own Bigdamnhero was in a Fantasy Hero game that I ran for about a semester.

Remember it VERY vividly. You had shoved FH at me, as I recall, in a desperate attempt to stop my rant about the inadequacies of D&D character creation. My first character was a fantasy version of Brett Maverick. (I'm 99% sure I still have the character sheet somewhere.) Highlights I remember:

• My introduction to Hit Locations was making a called shot to nail the Bad Wizard in the face with a thrown dagger.
  
• Later, fighting the Big Warrior who I knew was way out of my league. But I managed to hit him in the leg (armor stopped at 14) for an Impairing wound. After that I kept circling him, forcing him to put weight on his injured leg, for which lg was nice enough to give me an OCV bonus. Still just barely took him out.
  
• At the end of the first story arc, I had recovered several valuable magical gems. But having no magic ability myself I couldn't really use them, and I wasn't sure of my ability to defend them against the Bad Guys who were hot on my tail. So I picked up a big rock and smashed them rather risk letting them be used for evil. I can still see the look on lg's face...
  
• Another character in that campaign had a Teleport UAA spell that still ranks as the Most Broken Power Of All Time in my book. It's amazing how many problems in a heroic game can be solved by teleporting people 100' straight up.

Good times, man.