Your Character's Costume?

[steriaca]

Lady Heart.

 

Pink, white, and red Valentine theamed sweet lolita dress, kinda superhero uped. Hair is red and in ringlets, with the ends shaped like valentine hearts.

 

Paradox Timely.

 

She wears a blue and white outfit with many modes. Her first mode is a dress uniform with a skirt which is remisented of 50's pulp sci-fi stories. Her other mode changes the skirt to blue and white pants. Since the outfit is made out of manomachiens (nanoweave), it can be altered in an instant to appear like anything.

[steriaca]

Sunburn.

 

He started his adventure life nude (because his teleporting ability was not enough to transmit his costume/clothing). Soon after, he was provided a white costume with a red sun on the chest and yellow sun rays from it made with Unstable Molicues. He later learned how to carry things and transmute them to light to take them with him, so he gained a non-UM version of his costume.

 

His current costume, since he is retiered and a media guy, is a white shirt and sockes, yellow shoes, pants, and jacket, red tie, and sun cufflinks.

[GoldenAge]

What about damage to regular costumes and armor?

Many of my players have some sort of reinforced clothing (a super suit with 5PD/5ED) or actual armor. When in battle I rule that those suits don't take significant damage unless they are broken per weapon/armor rules (surpass their creation cost) in Body. If that does happen, I rule tahat they've been torn or damaged but still provide sufficient protection (unless Ablative, of course)...

 

Thoughts?

[steriaca]

Thoughts on costume damage? Not a problem. They are covered by the Comic Code Authority, and only rips/tears if the plot calls for it. 'Indestructible' clothing does not exactly provided protection. (Reminds me of The Damsel, a crossdressing gadgetear in a indestructible hoop dress.)

[JohnnyAppleseed098]

I really don't worry about costume damage unless, of course, it is appropriate for the game. For BB above, his robe never gets damaged, his spikes never get rusted, and his black clothes don't fade. It is a staple for him, and I never remove his "signature" because it is a part of his character. 

[Sundog]

Fireflash. Standard uniform is a sports-bra style top and shorts with ankle boots - all of which are connected and laced with cooling conduits, heat dissipation via the boot soles. Character generates far more heat than normal (body temperature 62 degrees celsius) and is severely uncomfortable wearing too much - before the cooling suit, she basically wore a bikini. Which did not prove overly robust...

[GoldenAge]

Thoughts on costume damage? Not a problem. They are covered by the Comic Code Authority, and only rips/tears if the plot calls for it. 'Indestructible' clothing does not exactly provided protection. (Reminds me of The Damsel, a crossdressing gadgetear in a indestructible hoop dress.)

See my first post.

[Duke Bushido]

What about damage to regular costumes and armor?

 

I know this sounds like a cop-out answer, so let me first say that this is most possible (and acceptable) because our play group is more or less static: new faces are very rare, and those that stay stay a long time, so it's easy to get familiar with what they do or not see as "right" for their character.

 

With that in mind, you can tell how I handle it: what's appropriate to the character is what happens to the character. If someone sees their character as the calm, cool, awe-inspiring type, then their costume can likely be brushed clean and wrinkle free without a second thought. If someone sees their character as the tough, rough-and-tumble type, then tears and scrapes happen. That sort of thing.

 

As for armor specifically, that's a bit more complicated, as it varies considerably from genre to genre. If it's supers, then again-- it's really comes down to what the Player would like to see for his character. With supers in particular, I handle it like this for two reasons:

 

First, what's fun for the player is good for morale. A happy player contributes to a happy group.

Second, at least in supers, it makes absolutely no difference. Therefore, there's no harm in a little bit of catering, and as there's plenty of up side to it....

 

 

The exception to this in supers is powered armor. Even then, things like "only in hero ID" and the like means, again, it's more or less at the whim of the player. If the powered armor is bought as a Focus, however, then we follow the Focus rules: BODY destroys (albeit temporarily) Powers in the Focus, at least until the Focus can be repaired. And we've had players who chose the Focus route particularly because they like the realistic feel or the challenge of that particular drawback.

 

 

Now in heroic level stuff, that's a bit different. It's more important that there be "real" physics that are consistent. Even if they tend to dip in the Players' favor, they should be at least cosmetically consistent. Therefore, clothes get ripped and stained and ruined, usually relevant to the damage: an explosion is more likely to produce filth and rips; a gun shot is more likely to produce small holes (and blood stains). Amor gets scratched, dented, etc. If enough BODY damage consistently gets through, then a particular suit of armor may pick up an Activation or even an Ablative (less common) until it can be repaired. Once in a while, perhaps after a really big amount of BODY gets through, I may pick a random hit-location and declare that the armor there is, for now, much less effective there. When the Character is hit, a quick check of the Hit Location determines how much armor is applied against the attack.

 

Now please understand: as a general rule of thumb, we don't use the Hit Location chart. It slows combat, and it adds a "dark and moody" flair that none of us really care for: we're here to have fun. If we wanted dark and moody, we'd hire someone to kill our parents then dress like rodents and brood on the rooftops of Gotham between battles with random circus freaks. So in these instances, we don't use the damage multipliers or track damage based on location: we just use it as a means to add a little bit of flavor and push the feeling that the armor is badly damaged and in need of repair.

 

 

I apologize for the wordiness, but I hope that perhaps I've better-addressed the original question than I did in my previous post.

 

 

 

Duke

[Duke Bushido]

Oh---

forgot to add this little bit:

 

As far as powers in a focus being lost when the focus takes too much BODY damage:

 

I tend to cheat there a little bit, too, for the benefit of the Character:

 

I tend to make sure that the last thing to go is the Character's biggest Movement Power. The next to the last thing to go is his most-relied-upon offensive Power (not usually his biggest, but it tends to be the one that is both his most skilled (those Players that by Skill Levels, anyway) and something akin to the Character's signature attack.

 

In this way, the most noble Character can continue to fight even when the sparks are flying and his onboard computer is screaming at him, etc. And he will _always_ have the option to ... uh... "regroup" and strategize.

 

 

 

Duke

[segerge]

I've never explicitly modeled loss of powers due to BODY damage in the TASK FORCE stories.  The two times I probably should have?  I hand-waved power losses away at the climax of "Leap Day" as the Destreum-Killer nanovirus begins to gain traction on Doctor Destroyer's battlesuit, and only described Starforce's battlesuit as having taken horrific damage at the hands of both Feuermacher and Fiacho in "A Week at Davos" without going into particulars.

 

(Of course, Starforce had bigger problems on his hands in that story, being KO'ed and down to 1 BODY after Fiacho was through with him...)

[GoldenAge]

I always thought costuming in hero level campaigns to be a missed opportunity. Imagine a Shadowrunesque HERO game filled with street samurai in their coolest leather coats and whatnot... It makes me laugh that an entire nights haul of Yen ($) could be wasted replacing expensive clothing that is rife with rips and tears form grenades, gunfire and flames. It always makes me giggle (those Tag Heuer sunglasses run over $500/pair). 

 

Like (almost) everyone else, I've always hand-waved such minutia... But lately, as we reach a certain level of gaming (hell, almost all of us are over 40 and have been gaming since high school), I'm looking for new ways to inspire roleplaying and interaction with NPCs over senseless combat. It seems like costuming is an easy way to introduce real world problems into a campaign.

[GoldenAge]

BTW: according to this site: "You have reached your quota of positive votes for the day"  
Otherwise, everyone would have received a "Like"
 
 
Oh, I forgot to mention Crusade!

In our campaign there is the leader of a group of heroes called The Paladin Project (sponsored by the Catholic Church) named Crusade. He's a gold and white vision of inspiration. He's purchased an Always On Transformation (based on magic) to keep his (mostly white) suit clean and in pristine condition. It's crazy how many times it's come into play when in conjunction with Presence Attacks/Orations.

[Cassandra]

What about damage to regular costumes and armor?

 

Many of my players have some sort of reinforced clothing (a super suit with 5PD/5ED) or actual armor. When in battle I rule that those suits don't take significant damage unless they are broken per weapon/armor rules (surpass their creation cost) in Body. If that does happen, I rule tahat they've been torn or damaged but still provide sufficient protection (unless Ablative, of course)...

 

Thoughts?

 

Men might have their shirt torn off.

 

But even the She Hulk managed to end up in a tattered leotard during her first comic book series.

[Matt the Bruins]

Real men RIP their shirts open before jumping into the fray!
 

[GCMorris]

In my current Champions campaign, two of the heroes combined their talents (Fashion and teleportation) to create costumes that are stored extra-dimensionally and swap out with their normal clothing on demand. (This is the justification for many of the heroes' Instant Change powers.) As to damage during fights, we don't typically cover that, though I probably should (if for no other reason than to add some flavor to the battles).

A Super-Wardrobe?

[GCMorris]

I have an NPC in my campaign who basically sells his gadgetry skills to anyone. For a reasonable fee of course. He usually takes money from villains and rich heroes plus favors whilst he usually only asks for favors from poor heroes. He's a mercenary with a small sliver of a heart.

[Cassandra]

Black Cat

 

Black v-neck sleeveless leotard.

 

Long Black Boots and Gloves. 

 

Black "Pointy Ear" mask.

 

Black Hair, Green Eyes, 140 lbs., 5'9"

[Cassandra]

Dryad

 

Red Hair, Green Eyes, 5'8", 130 lbs.

 

Dark Green Leotard and Boots

 

Light Green Mask, Weapons Belt, Gloves, and Tights.

[TheQuestionMan]

Blindside - Matte Black, Hot Weather Motorcycle Armor Suit, Boots, and Gloves. A stylized Combat Mask.

 

Superhero costume on the cheap.

 

 

 

[BoloOfEarth]

A Super-Wardrobe?

 

Actually, the fashionista has her Instant Change able to create any outfit, and is Usable By Others (so she can remake someone else's costume on the fly).  So yeah, Super-Wardrobe would be a completely appropriate term for it.

 

Maybe I should suggest she make it Usable As Attack so she can give captured villains a fashion makeover.

[freakboy6117]

For my UK hero project I have various costume materials.

 

Stratton Fibers. An almost indestructible artificial polymer developed in 1951 early versions could not be coloured so heroes who where active in post war Britain often wore white suits. Stratton fibers used to break up over time but advances in the technology have not only made them last longer but allow them to be dyed.

 

Thorson Wool. There is a small island in the far north of Scotland in middle ages it was settled by a small colony of Norse men. One day the God Thor came to midgard riding his chariot the myth is well known Thor killed the goats and shared their meat with the family before instructing them to leave the skin and bones by the fire. When they arose in the morning the goats where renewed. Thor left the goats with the family over the generations since the visit the descendants of Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr have multiplied now the thorson clan make the finest tweed from goat wool. The goat wool is extremely tough and repairs its self from any damage.

 

Valkirium an silvery alien metal that is super strong and nigh unbreakable.

 

CH'LL'OBH Silk a culture of giant alien spider scholars they have lived under the Bodleian library at oxford since there ship crashed during Elizabeth the Firsts reign.

 

There silk is significantly stronger than steel. Since their arrival gifts of their silk have been made to the crown and defend the monarch from assassination.

 

It wasn't until the 20th century that a linguist from Pembroke college managed to translate their written language.

[TheNaga]

My main character the Naga does not have much of a costume since he cannot wear any bottoms and footwear which would be used in costume.  That is due to the fact that the lower half of his body is that of a twenty-six feet long constrictor.  I have not even thought of my posthuman technopathy as wearing a costume as of right now.

[JmOz]

On Centurian Earth a company called Cleaver Solutions came up with a miracle material that is naturaly clear, nearly indestructable and stretches well, in it's natural state.  However there is a solution that can turn it into something similar to normal cloth (with a little bit of work) for a few hours.  While in it's altered state it can take dyes and be shaped, cut, etc...  Due to how it handles attacks and the commonality of it it is considered OIF (Technicaly it should be IIF, but...)

 

SynthTech Costume 5/5 resistant Protection

LS: Intense Heat, Intense Cold, High Pressure

[TheQuestionMan]

On Centurian Earth a company called Cleaver Solutions came up with a miracle material that is naturaly clear, nearly indestructable and stretches well, in it's natural state.  However there is a solution that can turn it into something similar to normal cloth (with a little bit of work) for a few hours.  While in it's altered state it can take dyes and be shaped, cut, etc...  Due to how it handles attacks and the commonality of it it is considered OIF (Technicaly it should be IIF, but...)

 

SynthTech Costume 5/5 resistant Protection

LS: Intense Heat, Intense Cold, High Pressure

Thought it said Cleavage Solutions  

[JmOz]

No, but I can see some jokes in world about that considering super heroine costumes...