Invaders from another dimension...

[Epiphanis]

Poll.

[Grailknight]

Voted for 7 but would've voted for 3 also.

[assault]

7 has easily convertable character sheets.

[Hyper-Man]

3 all the way

[bigbywolfe]

You had to make it a single choice pole!   

I voted 1 but like 3 as well.  I would avoid 6 altogether unless the group had experience with those settings and could appreciate the homage. 

[drunkonduty]

I voted for 3 because my players would get a kick out of going up against a few famous heroes.

I would also vote for 2 and 7.

[Scott Baker]

7, 'cause it was such a nostalgia trip when the group I'm in got to play former heroes who have faded away through the IP years.

[freakboy6117]

I voted 3 as its probably the easiest and most obviously fun version. 1 sounds intriguing but i think would be difficult to role-play well. 2 could be a very interesting if your players are into character development  fining out how the other them became that way not to mention trying to beat there own allies might be fun. unless the players are into obscure or golden age heroes i doubt it will be that interesting for them equally unless they are long time players i doubt the older version heroes will; be interesting plus more work to convert than to use the many versions of mains stream heroes available.

[Lord Liaden]

I voted 1 because, if you have Vol. 2 and 3 of the Champions Villains trilogy, and Book Of The Empress, you have everything you need. Pp. 54-58 of BOTE provides alternate names and (often very) brief changes to the backgrounds and SFX of every villain in those books, to make them members of V'han's Imperial Battalion. You can mix-and-match to make them appropriate foes for any group of PCs.

[bubba smith]

I voted the champions of previous eds

[Lord Liaden]

I have to admit, just from a "coolness" POV it would be pretty awesome to go up against V'hanian versions of the Protectors, Strike Force, or Freedom Squad. Even the 4E or New MIllennium Champions.

[Epiphanis]

I'm really just interested in the coolness factor, I can work out logistical/mechanical issues well enough. I suspect the prevalence of Champions grognards here skews the results toward option 7.

 

One thing I considered was a "Squadron Sovereign", a version of Marvel's Squadron Supreme/Squadron Sinister, which are themselves pastiches of DC's Justice League. That way I could infringe on the IP rights of both Big Two companies simultaneously!

[Scott Baker]

I'm really just interested in the coolness factor, I can work out logistical/mechanical issues well enough. I suspect the prevalence of Champions grognards here skews the results toward option 7.

Could be.  

 

Since you put it as an option I thought it was an option you thought your players would enjoy.

[bubba smith]

the options for previous ed doppelgangers and golden age heroes could they be mixed ?

[Epiphanis]

This is for a future pickup game, I don't know who will be playing. I would like the team to be thematically unified, whatever it is.

[Steve]

Well, since she's a time traveller, the enemy team could also be from an alternate future or past. Instead of Justice League analogs, they could just as easily be Legion of Superhero analogs.

 

But you can count me as a grognard.

[Lord Liaden]

I'm really just interested in the coolness factor, I can work out logistical/mechanical issues well enough. I suspect the prevalence of Champions grognards here skews the results toward option 7.

 

One thing I considered was a "Squadron Sovereign", a version of Marvel's Squadron Supreme/Squadron Sinister, which are themselves pastiches of DC's Justice League. That way I could infringe on the IP rights of both Big Two companies simultaneously!

 

 

This is for a future pickup game, I don't know who will be playing. I would like the team to be thematically unified, whatever it is.

 

Given the above, I would choose #3. Characters familiar to anyone who knows comic-book superheroes, with the serial numbers filed off, will probably elicit the strongest response.

[Lucius]

"Doppelgangers" might be interesting, IF -

 

Either

Names and costumes and so forth are changed enough that the players will take a while to recognize their own characters underneath cosmetic changes (if they ever do)

 

or

Both groups are SO identical it causes confusion on the battlefield as people hit their allies and help their enemies constantly.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary says, we can have golden age public domain heroes? That's Amazing, Man!

[massey]

If you're going to use Marvel or DC characters, I'd suggest throwing the PCs up against the group one at a time.  They likely can't take on the Justice League, but maybe the group can take out Wonder Woman by herself.  The high-powered heroes should scatter to the corners of the Earth, each one doing some major important task to aid the invasion.  That will give the players a "holy crap!" moment when they see DynaMan (or whatever you call him) throwing Dr. Destroyer's unconscious (lifeless?) body to the ground on live TV.  They realize how powerful these guys are, and that the only people who are left to stop them are the PCs.  Seeing Amazon Woman holding an aircraft carrier in her hands and flying over the US Capitol, demanding surrender, should drive home exactly what kind of threat they're facing.

 

Of course they can't handle them all at once, so you have a series of sessions where they try to beat them one at a time, find out their weaknesses, etc.  Maybe the Ultra League are mind controlled, or they're actually still heroic but they're invading because otherwise their own world will be destroyed.  Or maybe the players will have to travel to the Ultra League's homeworld to find a piece of the rare radioactive element that can harm DynaMan.

[kjandreano]

But V'han is the hero come to liberate Earth, the PCs are just unwitting pawns of evil, oppressive governments that want to stay in power at any cost. 

[Lord Liaden]

But V'han is the hero come to liberate Earth, the PCs are just unwitting pawns of evil, oppressive governments that want to stay in power at any cost. 

 

And the V'hanian Empire is rife with innumerable citizens, soldiers, and superheroes, who sincerely believe almost exactly that. Given the significant benefits that Istvatha has brought to countless worlds, their viewpoint is neither ignorant nor unreasonable.

 

So mind-control, brainwashing, coercion, or deception are unnecessary for even true heroes to serve V'han. (Although she's certainly not above using those methods if necessary to press-gang someone she wants.)

[DusterBoy]

Went with 3.

[Enforcer84]

Gosh Yes. All of the above.