don

Re: A new Enemies book: What would you want to see? I've been developing a project for a rival supers game that's a roster book, and i won't get into details since that's just not kosher on the HERO boards, obviously. But I will say I feel vindicated in several of my design decisions by the things requested in this thread. Multi-Comics Age material, backbone themes, story seeds, and several other posts make me feel good. And I echo all of that sort of thing for any new Enemies books from the HERO rules. I love versatility, and any way to make a character in a book do two or three or more directions depending on a campaign's needs is a big plus to me as well. Take care Don

Re: Questions about the Champions 6E core rules book For the record, I can totally sympathize with where this guys is coming from. The back cover is utterly unclear (and the second bullet point contradictory) about it being a sourcebook for another toolkit game. And keep in mind that it refers to "Hero System" constantly on the back cover, but many RPGs use a special name for their rules systems: White Wolf Games uses "the Storyteller system"; the d20 System for D&D (and it's relatives); the Tri-Stat system; so on and so forth. So to see "Hero System" on the back cover repeatedly just implies the name of the system without really directing the buyer to the "Hero System core rulebooks, of which Champions is not". It's written kind of like the way the Harry Potter movies were filmed: for those already in the know. Take care Don

Re: Paging Dr. Mid-Nite! The original Doctor Mid-Nite kind of sort of comes in two flavors. His actual Golden Age appearances make him as decent a fighter as the average masked mystery man, with only his dark vision, coupled with blackout bombs, giving him the biggest edges in combat. He didn't really use other gadgets at the time, other than the goggles that permitted his blind eyes to see in the daylight. NOT incorporated into his civilian ID glasses note. He was as competent a detective as his masked ilk at the time. Keeping in mind that puts him beneath Batman as a detective and Wildcat as a fighter (in my opinions, anyway). He was always very smart, and a skilled surgeon, first and foremost. Later on, in the most recent iterations of JSA (particularly the Nineties effort drawn by Mike Parobeck) they did add medically-oriented gimmick devices to his repertoire. Those are late additions to his abilities, and so really, whether or not he has these gimmicks depends on how you wish to interpret the good doctor. The current Dr. Mid-Nite, Pieter Cross, definitely utilizes gadgets and gizmos, and his goggles seem much more capable than the old Doctor's as well. Hope this helps. Sounds like fun, good luck with the write-ups. Take care Don

Re: Viper/Demon and organization in other fiction like them An interesting momentary analog for DEMON over in Marvel would be the Six-Fingered Hand, a united group of cults following six demons that united to unleash Hell on Earth for Satan (from the Defenders 90-100). Not a great match, but an interesting run of Seventies comics and fairly close. The Sons of Satannish also have a DEMON-like element to them, despite just worshiping Satannish. Anyone able to keep Doctor Strange busy definitely deserves a decent look-over. Oddly, one potential DEMON-like group from Marvel is the Hand from Miller's run of Daredevil. I know, I know, they're ninja, but look at it from this perspective: relentless and brutal cult-minded killers, with access to some decent mojo, and operating towards some unseen agenda (keep in mind that DD was never really clear what and why the Hand was doing any particular action, and they went out of their way to keep it that way, even to the point of utilizing some bizarre ability to disintegrate failed members to avoid capture and revelation). With a few modifications here and there, it's easy to see grafting them over a DEMON-like orientation, I'd think. As for not being sure if Trigon is in King of Edom class, I'm not so sure. I have no idea how badly he's been jobbed in recent years, but that first five part storyline in the Teen Titans' Baxter paper series unleashed a monstrous evil that turned Earth to stone (including the Tower) and effectively wiped out nearly all resistance on Earth...just by his being in our reality. That's pretty much what happens with the Kings, or any other Lovecraftian threat, really. Take care Don

Re: Champions Multiverse Maybe you can base the numbering index on the typical number of character points characters were supposed to start with in each game/iteration? LOL Or you could go with which Destroyer they have for a threat, a la "Earth Island-Destroyer", "Earth-Day of the Destroyer", Earth-"Wiped out Detroit Destroyer", etc. Or maybe index them based on who put the iteration/game out? Earth-Hero, Earth-ICE, Earth-DOJ, Earth-GOO, Earth-RTC? I like the notion though, being a fan of the multiverse of DC. Let's have fun with this. Take care Don

Re: Creepiest/Sickest superhero concept ever? One of the ones that still grabs my attention is the Headhunter, from one of Villains & Vigilantes Most Wanted books (volume 3 I think). He's just that, a stone age cannibal tribesman who discovers that he has powers like Super-Adaptoid or Amazo (can manifest the powers and skills of many different people at once)...but to do so, he has to wear their shrunken heads on his belt. ANd he has a mystical axe that helps to sever said heads. And there's a picture...a good one, because it's Jeff Dee doing the art, and he's a solid artist, so you know it conveys exactly the concept being written up. Yeah, that one scores high for me. Modern squickiness factors come in with Swordsman, Penance's T-Bolt team-mate. Who was once Andreas von Strucker, who had Wonder Twin powers (could fly and manifest energy blasts when holding his twin sister's hand). She was killed, but so Andreas could continue using his poweres as teh Swordsman, she was flayed, the skin tanned into leather and then wrapped around the hilt of his sword...so he's always in contact with his sister when necessary. And people wonder why I don't read many modern comics anymore. Take care Don

Re: Signs your Champions GM is now (fill in the blank) I've only tossed in a couple of add-ons, but if you'd like to post them up, feel free, I'd be honored to be passed around the web. Take care Don

Re: Signs your Champions GM is now (fill in the blank) Signs Your Champions GM is now George R R Martin: 6)The PCs fear being invited to a wedding much more than having to go battle Dr. Destroyer, as the odds of survival are far less; 7) However, the feast will be described in such great detail, that the players' stomachs will start to growl in hunger. Take care Don

Re: 007 7.0 You're thinking of the series "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" from Crossgen. I can't remember the agent mantle that it used, but I remember that the hook of the series itself was that a woman was assuming the agent mantle at the start of the series. Take care Don

For me, it's all about not really liking PDF products. I'm a dinosaur, who really prefers to read paper and ink. Printing out a PDF is more work and money and time then I'm willing to give, seeing as I can buy a book and read it THEN. Too bad, because I have been liking Hero products, and I'm tempted to purchase SoB. It might happen. But...doubtful at its size. Don

In my game, there are two. One is a good guy who spooks the HELL out of the players. His name is Agent Smith and imagine him being active from the pulp era (the twenties). He has grown into a combination of Nick Fury (more likely the Ultimates version, who is more like Shaft, via Sam Jackson) and Dr. Strange. Whenever they contact him, he tends to send a fragment to talk with them, because he's several dozen dimensions away battling hideous reality devouring entities, and only has a spare moment for chat. The second is a villain. His name is Intellect, and he's my world's equivalent of Dr. Sivana. He's been dead over a quarter century, as far as the world knows. But he casts a long shadow. On a recent adventure, when several terrorist groups were using high-tech weapons to destabilize African nations (like they need much help), they ran suspects, and every one of the players shuddered when it occurred to them that Intellect might be behind the scheme. None of them wanted a piece of that. Could be because he was responsible for apparently killing my world's equivalent of Captain Marvel. Could be because my players are always more afraid of my playing an intelligent opponent. Don Walsh

Yep. Because it wouldn't be fun for the players. heehee Don

The other possibility,and standard construction I've seen used in reference to her in the past (and Cap's shield, too, for instance) is to make it Armor (or maybe Force Field) with a high activation roll. High activation allows it to work on a regular basis, and with an additional flaw of needing to see the attack, means the power will be cheaper than insanely high levels of Missile Deflection. Don

It's difficult to avoid meta-gaming, but goodness, to embrace it like this guy did? That's an impressive set of brass ones, I must say. Granted, I've done similar things to what others on the board have mentioned about making my knowledge somewhat accessible to my character, if appropriate to the concept. The most blatant version of this was in the LARP I play. I had lost my character of over a decade, and was making a new one. Now I have a memory like a sieve for small details, and I KNEW that there was no way I was going to keep track of what I knew, what my previous character knew, and what my knew character would end up knowing. So, as he was a young man with visions of starlight in his eyes, viewing the other adventurers as the greatest heroes of the day (he's really starstruck and naive, it's entertaining), I decided he had been told a lot about things in the area. One of the skills I bought my character, as a result, was Ravenholt Lore, so that I could know everything (or nearly so) my previous character knew. It's actually been fun unnerving the other characters (and players at times) with this knowledge. Don

I too liked Champions in 3-D. It has a lot of good advice for setting up and running alternate dimension games, and a fun run of weird and truly neat ideas for places to go. Underworld Enemies was good for low-level, street-level campaigns, and even has a neat, develop to your tastes storyline running through it. Strike Force is tops, and a lot of great things to lift from it. And I also liked High-Tech Enemies, which had a neat thrust to many of the villains, and interesting ideas for tech-based characters. Kind of related, because of the primary master villain of High-Tech and his company, is Corporations...underrated, I believe, but a great rundown of corporations and companies in the Champions Universe, and very useful advice on using them in campaigns. Indeed, with the 5e focus on applicability and versatility, this is a product that could be done really well in a souped-up version. Finally, I would recommend against the previous Champions Universe sourcebook. An admirable attempt at unifying the CU, it really does tend to ramble, and fall apart in places, although some neat things can be lifted from it. Ultimately, though, 5e CU and Champions sourcebook itself do the job better. Don Walsh

I understand what is said in Origins, but I am also aware of interviews and talks given by the creative team behind the recent Darkseid episode, and some of their direction choices. To me, it seemed weird to have the world all ga-ga after Superman following Legacy, but hey, there's only so much continuity allowed in episodic animated tv, I guess. ::shrugs:: Don

Also keep in mind a few things with Superman. The follow-up to his series two-parter with Darkseid, where Turpin was killed, was Legacy, where Supes was brainwashed into conquering Earth for Darkseid. It's this incident that Batman is referring to in the recent JL episodes "Twilight". It's also this episode that has Superman burned out and demoralized in season one, accounting for his somewhat lackluster performance. Thanks to Darkseid, many of the people of Earth, including former friend Emil Hamilton, no longer trust the Man of Steel, and it's been shown to Superman in no uncertain terms that the military is ready to consider him public enemy number one at a moment's notice (at least some elements). However, in season two, thanks to Twilight, the old Superman is supposed to make some of a comeback, getting back up to snuff and unleashing. So that could be interesting. Also, Superman is seen to be nearly, if not as, fast as the Flash. The two ran a race in Superman TAS, and the two were neck and neck for much of it. Personally, I'd let Flash have the edge here, and also chalk up Superman's lack of superspeed action to being a team player and not letting anyone feel like they can't contribute. Let's face it, Flash in JL is a major loser and one-trick pony. If anyone needs to be mended, it's this guy. My thoughts, anyway. Don

Let's see, my choices for villains: Of those already selected, Dr. Doom definitely makes it. Magneto is very cool, especially when his relationship with Prof. X is involved in the story. Personally, I'm a big fan of Dr. Octopus, and view him as the main arch-enemy of Spider-Man (as opposed to JJJ, who is without question, Spidey's main nemesis). I mean, really, a fat guy who makes Spidey afraid? That's cool. The Master is an absolute must, although I am equally enamored of Anthony Ainley as I am of Roger Delgado. And Fu Manchu can't be left out, and he did make it into comics, thanks to Shang-Chi. Now, my own selections: I really like Mordath, the main villain (a lich, as far as I'm concerned) from Sojourn (by Crossgen). Wicked, casually cool, determined, and when his main officer fails to capture the heroine because of Mordath's own failure to size her up as a real threat...the officer offers his life up to Mordath, who pardons him, since it was Mordath's own fault, authorizes the officer to launch a full-scale assault on the heroine, and sums it up with "I'm not in the habit of giving second chances. Don't make me regret it." Also on my list: Mordru (both as Legion villain, and now JSA heavy-weight bad guy), Deathstroke the Terminator (from Teen Titans) and since some mention of the Big G was brought up, how about his most succesful enemy, King Ghidora (really, gigantic, monstrous force of nature with three heads AND destroys planets). My offerings, anyway. Don

ckc-footnote characters I also enjoy Nebula. She is meant to be disliked, and that is exactly where she sits in my game. One of the characters was a former "team-mate" of hers on a Defenders like non-team in the past. Nebula screwed them over by reneging on her promise not to "Duress" a certain villain, leading to the group's break-up. Now, the PC works with Nebula's son, a hybrid she felt compelled to have with a human due to prescient information that he would stop four great evils. When the pair were involved in a battle against villains including Vibron (the last villain she has to collect), you should have seen the PC put everything she could into screwing Nebula over when she arrived. That to me means the character is doing its job. The fact that a major iconic hero of the past, thought lost for years but apparently summonable by a pair of underpowered twins, is believed to be trapped in another pocket realm also adds to things. It hasn't occurred to them yet that the two dimensions might have some connection, but I'm sure it's all amatter of time. And I'm not sure if that's actually the case. I'm kind of waiting to see how the PCs react to that thought before settling on things. Don

Off the top of my head, my favorite so far has been Trilogy, a heroine like Triad from Legion, able to split into three, with a special martial art that she used to devastating effect, but only when triplicated. Don

See the "New CKC villains" thread if you want to see what I did with Nebula on this front. In this thread, I'll mention that the Sivana-type I'm using (The Intellect) was made for my timeline. My player, yet to see what I had done was doing with Intellect, wanted to be his son. He thinks he is, and created a power armor and became Redeemer, to make up for his dad (with nobless oblige, as well, so that he has this real, I'm better than others, my duty to protect them thing going). In actuality, in the timeline, Intellect creates a clone "son" called Intellect, Jr. to help him destroy his enemy (Captain Thunder, take a wild guess where he comes from ). Now, Redeemer thinks he's the clone. He'll learn soon that he's the clone's son, by way of his love for Lady Thunder. How's that for overly-complex? God, I love super-hero gaming. Don

Also of note for you, is the fact that Burlington (as you said, just north of Boston) is a major high-tech corridor for Mass. Along with the colleges everyone has come to know and love. Burlington also has an incredibly busy turnpike and highway area, and a major mall, across from a lengthy strip mall, a cinema and a huge Barnes and Noble. SO when the fight in the northern area breaks out, plenty of collateral damage and innocents all around. Don

I've used several of the new villains, and they've been quite useful. I really like the additions, and think CKC is one of the better books Hero has put out. I've used Nebula, and found her neat. I have no problem with NPCs having powers the PCs aren't allowed to have. One of my players wanted a half-alien, half-indian (american indian). His father saw a vision that this son would have a special mystic destiny, and the alien also saw this, and the two had the character, Sky Hunter. I used Nebula, because I loved the idea of this hardcase supercop being a mommy (not a great one, that's for sure), and the results have been very cool so far. I made Black Harlequin (without the Black in his first appearance) the son of the Idiot King, who launched his last scheme against his arch nemesis, American Eagle in a recent arc I just ran. Now, the King is dead, and his "jester" will be taking over for him, and the players are very nervous about that. And yes, my players are living in fear of the idea that Dark Seraph has a team...I'm using a variant of it in due time, without all the characters used in the CKC book, but that's not for them not being cool. They are. Don