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Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character


Hermit

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You know you game a lot when you listen to a song and feel inspired to make a character for Champions, or even a team of NPCs...

 

or is it just me?

 

I'm betting not.

 

An example

 

"Mr. Roboto", Vincent Kilroy is a brilliant scientist, now laying in a coma ward recovering from severe burns, or is he?His creation, Mr. Roboto fights crime and helps the common man even as it evades a mysterious cabal of powerful men and seeks to bring them down. His secret? Kilroy's mind is in his own creation transfered during the attack that nearly killed him.

 

I'm going more by lyrics than the videos that they're often with myself, but whatever works. Anyone else ever use music for a character making muse?

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Re: Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character

 

I don't get direct inspiration to build a character based on a song, but sometimes a title or lyric will become a character's name.

 

A couple examples:

 

For my drug-based villain group, the Cartel, an egoist named "Dr. Feelgood".

 

When thinking of names for a weather-controlling mastervillain and his organization, the (at the time, newly released) song and album "Stormfront" was a natural fit for both.

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Re: Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character

 

There is an artist little known here in the states named Chris DeBurgh... most famous here for a song called "Lady in Red" and "Don't Pay the Ferryman" but he has done many great albums. I have used him several times... including a characters based on the song "A Spaceman Came Travelling." I've also done many things with Don't Pay the Ferryman.

 

I had a villain who based many of his campaign themes on Styx songs. Grand Illusion was a key adventure.

 

I've done more, I know. I'll think about it.

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Re: Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character

 

Pat Benatar's "We Will Be Invincible" (okay thats probably not its real name, but its the line people recognize) became the theme song for an X-Men style game I ran a little while back.

 

I also created a character named Cyclone Ranger from a line from "Im Turning Japanese"....

 

Im sure there are more.

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Re: Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character

 

There's a background character on my campaign world I created who has a Daredevil-like "radar sense" but not only is he unable to see, he's also a deaf-mute. His other power is the ability to bounce around like Speedball. He's also a teenager.

 

He's Pinball Wizard... and he's a deaf, dumb, and blind kid.

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Re: Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character

 

Usually, I do this the other-way-'round, building the character and then finding a theme tune for it.

 

I did build a Martial Artist from Jethro Tull's Black Satin Dancer, though.

 

And way back when (not quite far enough back to trigger the Hero System's Psyche Exclusion Principle regarding time travel, though :P), I based some scenarios around songs. A travelling vampire Champions adventure from The Doors's Peace Frog in particular.

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Re: Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character

 

Where to begin. At the beginning.

Hermit's Mr. Roboto.

 

I made a whole (very brief) campaign using song based characters. Originally it was only Styx songs...

 

Dark future. Yadda yadda. My main villains were: Dr. Righteous and the Queen of Spades.

 

Dr Righteous had Henchmen: Lt Hyde and Mr. Vanish (more from the Kilroy was Here tour than the songs;

 

The Queen of Spades had agents too.

Homewrecker (gadgeteer evil clone of heroic character)

Fallen Angel

Witchwolf

Mr Roboto

Snowblind

 

 

My heroes (NPCs)

Man of Miracles

Renegade

Superstar

Blue Collar Man

Lorelai

The Earl of Roseland

 

 

From the Bards Twisted Sister:

 

The King of Fools (heroic street lord)

Captain Howdy (evil evil evil)

The Price

The Power & The Glory (duo)

 

 

More as I recall them. I posted alot of the characters.

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Re: Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character

 

My Step-father used the whole of Loreena McKennitt's The Highway Man (and the G.M. found the original poem and was using plot twists from it as well), for the back story of a man who has been brought back to life and is under a journey to kill/come to terms with the men that killed him and his beloved. Very cool character.

 

I tend to find the songs after the fact. Though a few I do love for characters I'll post below:

 

 

"Another war to fight

There’s no regard for life

How do they sleep at night

How can we make things right

Just wanna make this right

...

So this world is too much for you to take

Just lay it down and follow me

I’ll be everything you need

In every way"

-"We Believe" by Good Charlotte

 

It's a very good song for an epic style character, but not necessarily heroic. I always imagined some one who was your normal guy, but decided enough was enough he was going to fix up Gotham... er I mean the campaign city. ;)

 

 

"Pain, without love

Pain, I can't get enough

Pain, I like it rough

'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all

Pain, without love

Pain, I can't get enough

Pain, I like it rough

'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing

Rather feel pain"

- "Pain" by Three Days Grace

 

This is a background song for one of my characters, Tanya, who on the outside is very fun and social. She has an addiction to vampiric bites (this as in a short lived BtVS game I was a part of a while back. Mind you in this world, every vampire (barring two notable exceptions) are completely evil. She just managed to find one that didn't want to kill her yet.

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Re: Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character

 

"Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi

(Was a maggot-ridden skeleton on the left side, immortally beautiful on the right side. An elf exposed to Death Magics.)

 

"She's Come Undone" by The Guess Who

(A half-human effit that would take damage from using her powers without restraint and an Enraged that triggered by seeing the heroes and believing that they killed her mom.)

 

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" by The Beatles

(A magically possessed and evil silver hammer hears the song and decides to re-enact the song. It possesses a poor cop and he goes on a killing rampage. It taunts the players that it will kill Joan next and the players learn that there are four possible victims. A co-worker, a recovering drug addict, and two relatives...)

 

"Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down

"Knock On Wood" by Mighty Mighty BossTones

(Guy with no-range telekinesis, flight and uncontrolled empathic powers. Runs himself ragged as he keeps sensing people needing his help. Believes his powers are gravitic rather than psychic in nature.)

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Re: Songs that inspire(d) you to make a Champions Character

 

Captain Howdy (evil evil evil)

Oh yeah, this one really begs for it. I came up with several ideas though I never formally wrote them down. Other inspirations include

 

  • King Nothing, Metallica
  • Dr. Bones, Cherry Poppin' Daddies
  • The Traveller, Alan Parsons Project
  • Macavity, from Cats (In fact, I did write up several characters from Cats; Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer, Growltiger, Mr. Mistoffeles, etc.)
  • The Fool on the Hill, The Beatles
  • Saint Jimmy, Green Day
  • God of Thunder, KISS
  • Mr. Fahrenheit, Queen

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