Secret Origins of the Champions?

[OddHat]

Which of the Champions has a back story that just doesn't work for you? How would you change it?

 

Witchcraft as cynical bad girl trying to do good?

 

Ironclad as Obsidian?

 

Nighthawk as Foxbat?

 

Thoughts?

[Jeff]

Sapphire's the only one with enough verve to her to make the exercise of creating a better origin worth the effort to me, and I don't really mind hers. The rest range from bland placeholders - Defender, Ironclad - to mildly annoying placeholders - Witchcraft, Nighthawk.

[Stephen Mann]

Some musings....

 

Witchcraft

Somewhere near or on the Indian sub-continent, there used to be a religion that revered the Nine Ideal Men, who functioned as role models and ideals for mortals to follow.

 

Witchcraft is the unwilling host, possibly picked at random, of the Ideal Magic-User. This spirit, the perfect example of The Mage, seeks to revive's Mankind's awe of and reliance on Magic. Witchcraft is merely the tool to and end.

 

With such a spirit empowering her, Witchcraft should be the Sorcerer Supreme. Except that there's the part about "unwilling".

 

Why the spirit chose an unwilling host, why it allows resistance to weaken it's powers, why Witchcraft is unwilling - all that is up to the GM.

 

Is she a normal (making her background story a lie or partial truth) wanting only to be normal again? Is she a bad girl (if her background is true, this is a good possibility) who resents having to act goody-goody?

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Similarly, other members of the Champions could be hosts to other Ideals. After all, why *are* they called the -Champions-?

 

Either Nighthawk or Ironclad are the Ideal Warrior. Defender is the Ideal Artisan. Etc.

[Chuckg]

As I said before in the other thread, Witchcraft/Witchfire/whoever really needs a new origin.

 

I'd just take Solitaire's from 4e and give it to her. Now *that* was a good origin, at least IMO.

[Mark Rand]

Interesting thread. Since, in my campaign, the character concept counts, not the point total, none of the characters are that great. Witchcraft needs a new background, maybe a young woman who, as a runaway teen, was rescued from a mugger by the Archmage. In gratitude, she decided to become a mage and asked him to train her. Discovering that she had the ability to use magic, he agreed. Now, she's a superheroine and destined to become the next Archmage.

[JmOz]

I like that, can I use it for the origin of my campeigns Heir Apparent "Oracle" ?

[Mark Rand]

Permission granted for anyone who wants to use this idea to do so. That's what its here for.

[Hermit]

That's pretty cool, Mark. Nice one.

[Mark Rand]

Thanks, Hermit. Glad you like it. That backstory would work for some supers. However, a magical threat might work better for a mage. Here's Lady Arcane's. Lisa Thompson and her parents were coming home from a society party when they were kidnapped by a dark coven. When she awoke, she and her parents were tied to altar stones.

As the High Priestess plunged her dagger into Mr. Thompson's heart, Dr. Arcane felt the rising dark powers. As he arrived, and saw the High Priestess becom a demon, the others in the coven attacked the Doctor. Fortunately for Lisa, a being of light sensed what was going on, merged with Lisa, awakened her latent magical powers and helped Dr. Arcane defeat the coven and send the demon back where it came from.

After the being left, Lisa, wanting to use her new powers for good, asked Dr. Arcane if he could train her. He agreed to.

Now, as Lady Arcane, Lisa and fer familiar, Joy, a Western Screech Owl, battle the forces of evil in her home town, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Lady Arcane's costume is taken from a strip that ran for several years in I]Dragon[/i] Magazine. It consists of a long-sleeve green tunic over light-brown leggings that are tucked into dark-brown boots. A dark-brown belt with pouches and gloves and a hooded green cloak complete the coufit.