novi Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 I should be running a Champions game (IRL) in the near future, and I've been asked to build all the characters for it. Which simplifies some things, but leaves me getting overly worried about properly balancing the team. (I know that I overthink and overly worry about things, but stopping myself is easier said than done. Oh well.) Also, there will be 7 or 8 players, which is pushing me towards lowering the team power level a bit so that I can keep combats from getting overly bloated. Anyway, the core of the team: Quote Delicious Rick: pretty boy front man, blessed with a voice that literally can bring mountains to their knees, he sends villains flying with his powerful wails... Spandex: the elastic woman. She can stretch her body to magnificent lengths, but few things are bigger than her hair... bondage: leather clad technological mastermind, armed with nothing more than a whip, a brilliant mind, and extreme brute strength; this big fella is a force to be reckoned with... Aqua-net: under water hero, big haired ruler of the deep, his hair stays thick, even when trapped many leagues beneath the sea... chronic: high speedy heroine, moving at blinding speeds, this crazy young lady fights crime with the power of angst and teen rebellion... After some discussion, the 6th-8th players will be crew members for the band, to be hashed out at a future date. Such concepts as 'a hypercompetent roadie', 'the sound and lights guy', 'a duplicating back-up dancer', and Max Lord'the manager with psychic powers' have been floated. And while not necessarily connected, the band is relatively new, so the characters will still be rookie heroes. So, I'm trying to work out a good power level for the team. In particular, I'd like to be able to run classic Ultimates, with Plasmoid and Charger updated 6th, against the PCs as a fair fight without too much buffing or fudging. Not sure if that is a reasonable goal, though. My thoughts so far are: Aquanet: 10 DC, 5 SPD, 7/7 CV, +1-2 HtH Bondage: VPP – 50 or 60 control cost, 4 SPD, 6/6 CV, +2 Overall Chronic: 8-10 DC, 6 SPD, 7/9 CV Delicious Rick: 12+ DC, 4 SPD, 5/5 CV, +3 Powers, +2 v Range Spandex: 9-10 DC, 5 SPD, 7/7 CV What advice can you veteran GMs and players give this worry-wort? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 I would start them off against Foxbat myself. Foxbat and his crew (5th edition stats for his crew in Foxbat For President). The Ultimates should be the second group they face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novi Posted March 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Derp. Let me rephrase that. They'll probably start off against VIPER agents. The Ultimates would be many adventures in, a tone shift as the serious bad guys. I bring them up as a benchmark for the opposition. I'm asking, because I'm pretty sure that balancing the fights isn't as simple as 8 * 300 point PCs = 5 * 480 point villains. Not that points are meaningless, but they're not the whole story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Democracy Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 My usual idea is to measure the characters against a standard straw man and see how they stack up. In your case I think I would construct a straw man SPD 5, CV7, 10DC attack defences 20 and CON of 20. Aquanet: Makes 5 attacks with 84% chance of success (both levels in offence) doing 15 STUN and 0 BODY. That comes to an average of 63 STUN per round with little chance of stunning. [could use skill levels for damage - 58 STUN per round still with little chance of stunning]. Bondage: Makes 4 attacks with 62% chance of success doing 15 STUN and 0 BODY. That comes to an average of 38 STUN per round with little chance of stunning. [could use NND to get 52 STUN and a reliable chance of stunning] Chronic: Makes 6 attacks with 62% chance of hitting doing 12 STUN and 0 BODY. That comes to 43 STUN per round with little to no chance of stunning. Delicious Rick: Makes 4 attacks per round with 62% chance of success (2 levels in offence) doing 22 STUN and 0 BODY. That comes to an average of 55 STUN per round with reliable chance of stunning an opponent when he hits. [bumps damage to 65 per round by pushing all levels in offence) Spandex: 9-10 DC, 5 SPD, 7/7 CV Makes 5 attacks per round with 62% chance of success doing 15 STUN and 0 BODY. That comes to an average of 46 STUN per round with little chance of stunning. I am not able to do much speculation about how much damage they would be taking with these stances, nor on how much END they would be spending. I think I would rather be playing Rick or Bondage with these numbers but there should be other factors coming into this. Doc novi and Scott Ruggels 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 Mountains have knees? Maybe they can come to Muhammad after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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