Champions Begins - the GM Starter pack

[Tasha]

Spellbinder being a male to female super is only an "extended option". Same can be said of Vulcan (but female to male, of course). This simply involves a paragraph on the option, with the warning that it is an advance roleplaying technique and unwise for novice and immature players.

 

I would just mention it. Don't call it out by having a warning. If people are going to have an issue with PC's that could be played as one gender or the other, then there's nothing you can really do. Those are the kind of people who will complain if the PC's aren't all as white as paper. Besides these aren't even thinly disguised homages. They are new characters with no history ex what they are given as part of their write up. So if we say that the essence of Vulcan and The Patriot have inhabited various people of all backgrounds/religions/and Colors though the years. Who can really gainsay that.

[Christopher R Taylor]

Well I think we have to make a decision here: recognizable avatars and equivalents of existing characters, or being careful not to lock any one character into a single gender.  Because it can't really be both, can it?

 

I don't want to use any Hindu gods because oh, a bout a billion people worship them and that would be at best disrespectful, and a bit obscure.

[Tholomyes]

For beginning players, this might have already been suggested but keep power frameworks like multipower to the bare minimum and avoid having too many limitations on powers.

 

For example, Storm God could have his hammer as a HTH Attack with an OAF limitation and the standard HTH limitation and that's it. Flight would be bought as its own power rather than a slot in a multipower.

 

The more straightforward a build is, the easier it is to walk new players through it.

 

Just my two cents.

 

I would agree that avoiding too many Limitations is probably ideal, but I don't think Multipowers would be all that problematic, so long as the players don't see how the sausage gets made (so to speak). Just have all slots be fixed slots and all powers be powers that either have no combat utility or are attack powers. All they need to see is that they have the option of some list of attacks. They don't need to know why they have those attacks, in terms of building the character, they just need to know what they can do.

 

Likewise, they don't need to see the Hand to Hand attack limitation. They just have to know that the hammer is a melee attack that does Xd6 damage. If it can be thrown, then they need to know that it can be used in melee or up to a range of Y meters. That's it.

 

 

Well I think we have to make a decision here: recognizable avatars and equivalents of existing characters, or being careful not to lock any one character into a single gender.  Because it can't really be both, can it?

 

My two cents is that if people are sitting down for a game of champions, even as a "let's test out this system" thing, they're likely to have a general idea about Superheroes, even if it's only indirect pop culture knowledge. You don't need direct expies of Thor, Batman, Wolverine, ect, just something that fills the recognizable tropes, which can be done without locking the characters down into a single gender (or more broadly a single characterization; playing Vulcan doesn't need to be the same as playing Thor, and while it's close enough that the tropes can be used as a crutch if need be, there's also more room for roleplaying beyond just playing NotThor or NotBatman)

[Pattern Ghost]

I don't want to use any Hindu gods because oh, a bout a billion people worship them and that would be at best disrespectful, and a bit obscure.

 

Fair points. Could just go with female Vulcan then. I think going for a gender-swapped sample character is a stretch for introductory material, though. Just have a male and female version as with the other characters.

[Christopher R Taylor]

I would agree that avoiding too many Limitations is probably ideal, but I don't think Multipowers would be all that problematic, so long as the players don't see how the sausage gets made (so to speak). Just have all slots be fixed slots and all powers be powers that either have no combat utility or are attack powers. All they need to see is that they have the option of some list of attacks. They don't need to know why they have those attacks, in terms of building the character, they just need to know what they can do.

 

Right, the level of complexity of these looks more intimidating in the full character sheet than they will in the player sheet.  Stripped of all the modifiers and rules complexity, they are pretty simple characters.  The only concern is that a beginning GM needs to understand them as well and that's where some could probably be a bit simpler.  

 

Conceptually, Honey Badger makes a lot more sense with damage reduction/negation so he's not really super tough, just nothing much gets through.  But stripping it to just defenses makes the character a lot simpler.

[Christopher R Taylor]

STREET KNIGHT

The Batman/Moon Knight/Daredevil type.  The costume will have to be pretty "Batmanny" to get the point across I think, because the name is not exactly clear.  At least dark armor with maybe a cloak.  He's mostly skills with gadgets with light body armor, and I gave him a collapsible staff to fight with instead of a billyclub, for example.  He's not an independent billionaire, rather a private detective. He's got martial arts but when presented right that's not particularly difficult to play even for a beginner, its like picking skills from a list.

 

BASIC STORY: The Street Knight has no special story to tell or trigger event.  Growing up in the city exposed this character to corruption in the wealthy and crime in the poor, and the Street Knight always had a basic need to see justice done and wrongs righted.  Time spent in the police department in their youth just proved to the Street Knight that justice was all too often not found there, either.  Becoming a private investigator, Street Knight tried to fight for justice, but quickly realized something more had to be done.  After a particularly big payoff from recovering a stolen painting, Street Knight purchased and had built equipment that enabled them to take to the city and more directly bring justice to its streets.  Now, working days as a PI and nights as Street Knight, this character is a scourge on crime at any level and in any place.

 

The male and female stories are the same.

 

Street Knight

 

Val Char Cost

 20 STR   10

 18 DEX   16

 15 CON   5

 18 INT     8

 14 EGO   4

 20 PRE   10

  6  OCV  15

  6  DCV   15

  3  OMCV  0

  5  DMCV  6

 14 PD      6

 12 ED      4

  4  SPD  20

  8  REC   4

 25 END   1

 10 BOD   0

 30 STN   5

 

14m RUN   2

  4m SWIM 0

10m LEAP  0

Characteristics Cost: 131

 

Cost Power

 12    Body Armor: Resistant Protection (6 PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); OIF (-1/2)

  2     Visor: Sight Group Flash Defense (5 points) (5 Active Points); OAF (-1)

  6     Visor: High Range Radio Perception (Radio Group) (12 Active Points); OAF (-1)

  2     Visor: Infrared Perception (Sight Group) (5 Active Points); OAF (-1)

  2     Visor: Nightvision (5 Active Points); OAF (-1)

 10    Flash Bombs: Sight Group Flash 5d6, Area Of Effect (4m Radius; +1/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4) (37 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), OAF (-1), Gestures (-1/4), 10m Range (-1/4)

  8     Smoke Bombs: Darkness to Hearing Group 5m radius, Conforming (+1/2) (22 Active Points); OAF (-1), 4 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (-1/4), Dispersed by winds (-1/4), 10m range (-1/4)

  2     Lock Crack: +5 with single Skill or Characteristic Roll (10 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), -1 1/4), OAF (-1), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Gestures (Requires both hands; -1/2)

  3     Glass Cutter: Killing Attack - Ranged 1/2d6, Armor Piercing (+1/4) (12 Active Points); OAF (-1), Only on glass (-1), Extra Time (Extra Phase, -3/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4)

 

  7     Grapnel Gun: Multipower, 15-point reserve,  (15 Active Points); all slots OAF (-1)

 1f     1)  Swinging 20m (10 Active Points); OAF (-1)

 1f     2)  Stretching 15m (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Clumsy (no fine manipulation or extended use) (-1/4)

 1f     3)  Flight 12m (12 Active Points); Only for ascending and descending safely (-1), OAF (-1), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2)

 

  1     Collapsible Staff: Stretching 3m (3 Active Points); Only for use with staff (-1), OAF (-1)

 25    Collapsible Staff: Multipower, 40-point reserve, all slots Difficult To Dispel (x2 Active Points; +1/4) (50 Active Points); all slots OAF (-1)

 1f     1)  Staff strike: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6 (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4)

 1f     2)  Pole Vault: Leaping +6m (10m forward, 5m upward) (3 Active Points); OAF (-1), Requires Acrobatics Roll (Skill roll; -1/2)

 1f     3)  +3 with block and disarm (9 Active Points); OAF (-1)

 1f     4)  Deflection (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited Range (3m) (-1/4)

Powers Cost: 87

 

Cost Martial Arts Maneuver

  5     Defensive Block:  1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +3 DCV, Block, Abort

  4     Fast Strike:  1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, 6d6 Strike

  4     Martial Dodge:  1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort

  3     Martial Grab:  1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 30 STR for holding on

  4     Martial Escape:  1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 35 STR vs. Grabs

  1     Weapon Element:  Empty Hand, Use with staff

Martial Arts Cost: 21

 

Cost Skill

  3     Acrobatics 13-

  3     AK: The City 13-

  3     Breakfall 13-

  3     Climbing 13-

  3     Concealment 13-

  3     Contortionist 13-

  3     Deduction 13-

  3     Forensic Medicine 13-

  3     Interrogation 13-

  3     Linguist

  1     1)  Language:  French (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)

  1     2)  Language:  Italian (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)

  2     3)  Language:  Russian (completely fluent) (3 Active Points)

  2     4)  Language:  Spanish (completely fluent) (3 Active Points)

  1     5)  Language:  Street slang (basic conversation)

  3     Lipreading 13-

  3     Lockpicking 13-

  3     Paramedics 13-

  2     PS: Investigator 11-

  3     Security Systems 13-

  3     Shadowing 13-

  3     Stealth 13-

  3     Streetwise 13-

Skills Cost: 60

 

Cost Perks

  1     Private Investigator's License

Perks Cost: 1

 

Total Character Cost: 300

 

Pts. Complication

 10   Dependent NPC:  Secretary Velma Infrequently (Normal; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID)

 25   Hunted:  Various street criminals and gangs Frequently (Mo Pow; NCI; Harshly Punish)

  5    Negative Reputation:  Vigilante, Frequently (Known Only To A Small Group)

 15   Psychological Complication:  Fascinated by mysteries and the unknown (Common; Strong)

 15   Psychological Complication:  Driven to seek justice (Common; Strong)

 20   Psychological Complication:  Code against killing (Very Common; Strong)

 10   Social Complication:  (Secret Identity Frequently, Minor

Complication Points: 100

Base Points: 300

Street Knight.hdc

[Deadman]

How is this for Street Knight?

 

[Christopher R Taylor]

I like that a lot, got a kind of modern knight feel

[Deadman]

Here are a couple that I have been working on that haven't been coming out quite right.  Please let me know your thoughts...

 

Ambassador

 

Patriot

[Amorkca]

I like them both...

 

The blunderbuss is awesome!! But does it fit with the beret?

[Christopher R Taylor]

Yeah I like both of those better, good designs.

[Deadman]

I like them both...

 

The blunderbuss is awesome!! But does it fit with the beret?

Patriot is supposed to have been in armed conflicts since the US was an English Settlement, so the disparity of the two is intended.

[Deadman]

Yeah I like both of those better, good designs.

Thank you.  The only one I haven't done anything for is Spectre since you wanted to put something together for Ironmonger.  So before I start on the female versions, which characters should I polish up?

[Christopher R Taylor]

So is anyone other than Deadman and I actually working on this?  I mean, I can write it and all but I have other, paying stuff to work on.

[BoloOfEarth]

So is anyone other than Deadman and I actually working on this?  I mean, I can write it and all but I have other, paying stuff to work on.

 

I had responded on the Yahoo group about the writing preferences, but hadn't heard anything back after that. 

 

I said I would prefer writing the adventure, or maybe the Running a Game part, but wouldn't be a good choice for the brief rules explanation section.

 

rjd59 said he'd also prefer writing the adventure.

[Christopher R Taylor]

You two should collaborate on it.  I know I suggested the Viper's Nest bit because its so established and would be easier to do, but if you can and want to come up with something unique and new, I'm fine with that.  It might even be easier to fit into the proposed sequence of revealed rules and bits as a tutorial.

[Deadman]

How is this for Spectre?

 

[Christopher R Taylor]

Maybe some more accessories, like pouches and armor plates, a few more bandoliers or whatever, some Image-style extras?

[Deadman]

According to her character sheet she has nothing to support having any of that which is why I went with a stripped down leather body suit..

[dmjalund]

And we wouldn't want her looking too nineties

[Christopher R Taylor]

Yeah I think you can get carried away, but the modern trend is to have a layered, textured effect even where it makes no sense - look at movie costumes.  If the characters look too dated, modern younger players will think they suck.

[Deadman]

Here is another run at Lightning...

 

[Christopher R Taylor]

Yeah I like that one.

[BoloOfEarth]

How does this sound for the intro to the VIPER's Nest adventure?  I'm trying to both give a very brief synopsis of each section's plot (as was done in the original VIPER's Nest) while also explaining the gist of what each section will cover rules-wise.

 

VIPER’s Nest is an introductory adventure for a beginning hero team, originally written by George MacDonald and revised to help teach new Champions players the basics of the HERO System.  The heroes are trying to stop VIPER from creating and using a weapon of mass destruction.  This scenario, with slight modifications, has been a part of previous editions of Champions and is revised here for sixth edition.  It is divided into six episodes, each designed to cover different parts of the HERO System.

 

Part 1 is “Memories,” where the heroes race against time and VIPER to locate a retired costumed crimefighter from the 1930s and learn the fate of a prototype stolen by Nazi spies.  This prototype is the basis for the Doomsday device, the central plot element of VIPER’s Nest.  This section has only low-powered agents as foes, to teach the basics of skill use and simple combat.

 

Part 2 is “Assault on the Tanghal Tower,” with VIPER attacking a demolition site to steal the plans for the Doomsday device from the cornerstone of the old building.  This section covers using elements of the environment in battle (as both cover and impromptu weapons), as well as advanced skill use and combat maneuvers.

 

Part 3 is “Microfilm Madness,” putting the heroes in the middle of a multi-sided brawl with VIPER, UNTIL, and supervillains.  This section includes the heroes’ first superpowered foes and teaches about Powers that don’t cause direct damage while still affecting combat.

 

Part 4 is “I Love a Parade,” where VIPER disrupts a parade honoring the heroes in retaliation for their past interference, while simultaneously looting stores.  This section includes plenty of innocents and potential hostages, with ways for the heroes to deal with that challenge.

 

Part 5 is “Combat in Christopher Park,” with the heroes trying to stop VIPER from assassinating a VIPER defector who has crucial information about the Doomsday device.  This section introduces Mental Powers and Presence Attacks.

 

Part 6 is “Doomsday,” where the heroes raid the VIPER Nest to destroy the Doomsday device and stop VIPER’s plot once and for all.  This section is the heroes’ final exam, pitting them against the full power of VIPER and a full team of supervillains.

[Christopher R Taylor]

Might move presence attacks up to Part 3, but yeah that looks like a good breakdown.  By Part 6 I think the characters should have their full bloc of xps, bringing them up to 400 point full heroes.

 

Along side this we need the experience blocs and tips on spending them, tips on GMing for the sidebar with ideas on storytelling and how to handle situations, and the rest of the story: character stories, using complications, bringing background and non-heroic activity into the game with the sample characters.