Trebuchet

Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ...
 
Dreadnought, by Robert K. Massie; a history of how the European Great Powers drifted almost accidentally into World War I. Absolutely essential.
 
Castles of Steel, by the same author. A history of World War One's naval conflict.
 
D-Day, by Stephen Ambrose
 
Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen Amrose.
 
Band of Brothers, by Stephen Ambrose

Destructive Attack
A Destructive Attack is only affected by resistant defenses. The character rolls the dice of a Destructive Attack and totals them. This sum is the Stun Total of the attack. For every three stun done one body is generated with a minimum of one body per die rolled.
 
Formula: Stun = Dice Total, Body = integer (Stun Total / 3)
 
Cost: 10 Points Per 1d6 Destructive Attack
 
Options
Body Only: -0 Limitation
 
Addendum: If one wanted to use this as an Advantage instead of separate power, then it could be a +1/2 Destructive Advantage for Attacks that go against Normal Non-Resistant Defenses and do body normally. For Attacks that go against Exotic Non-Resitant Defenses and do no body normally, double the value of the Advantage.
 
Thoughts?
 
- Christopher Mullins

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread.
 

 
As they would say on FIREFLY ... Shiney!
 
PDS

Re: Your greatest Champions moment
 
As a Champions player, I'd say my greatest moments were two similar, but unrelated moments with my character Raze.
 
First moment - the team is out in space, and another character, Acoustic, has been captured by the evil alien Battacks. I manage to find him, and he's in a lab with his body on a table hooked up to various tubes and diodes, with his brain in a jar. Not having much time before enemy reinforcements arrive, I try to figure out a quick way to fix him.
 
GM: "Paramedics roll."
 
Me: "3."
 
So, I grab his brain and some fluid, slap them in, seal up the skull and we move on.
 
Second moment - we're fighting VOICE. One of the characters, an alien princess, got severely hosed by the bad guys and was at neg body. I fly over and try to help her.
 
GM: "Paramedics roll."
 
Me: "3."
 
So, I stimulate the little-known Ventoran regeneration gland, and she's stabilized.
 
Afterwards, I seriously considered buying "PS: Messiah."

Re: Your greatest Champions moment
 
Mine happened with my very first Champions character, Ranger. Ranger was a very heavily defended powered armor type I played for four years; from '82 to '86. This happened near the end of his career, when he had over 120 XP.
 
Our team, the Sentinels, had tracked down a terrorist group (VIPER?) who were planning to detonate a medium-yield nuclear weapon in the center of Manhattan. During the course of the fight, the bomb accidentally was struck by an electrical attack, and the Time to Detonation timer abruptly reset to 01:00 and started counting down.
 
...59...58...57...
 
Oh s**t! Ranger grabs the bomb (he was also our team's brick) and flies out the window with it. While he's only a SPD 4, he's still the fastest flyer on our team with 25" X4 NCM, and he immediately goes to non-combat flight.
 
...55...54...53... At his maximum flight speed Ranger can fly 4 kilometers per minute, or less than 2.5 miles before detonation. I tell the GM that Ranger is heading east out to New York Harbor to get it as far away from the city as possible when it detonates.
 
The other characters and the bad guys have basically stopped fighting, because they know they'll be within the blast radius if it goes off.
 
...30...29...28...
 
Right about now Ranger passes out of the city and is flying over water towards the Atlantic.
 
...20...19...18...
 
Right about here the GM reminds me that despite Ranger's extraordinarily high defenses (62 PD/58 ED, most of it Hardened and Resistant) there is no way he'll survive being at Ground Zero when a 100 Kiloton nuke explodes in his arms. I nod as Ranger Pushes his Flight; no need to conserve the END Battery at this point.
 
...12...11...10...
 
The GM tells me it's time for Ranger to drop the bomb and escape; making it clear that with his defenses Ranger only needs to be a few hundred meters away to survive the blast. I look up and meet the GM's eyes and smile; and I see the astonishment on his face as he suddenly realizes Ranger isn't going to drop the bomb. Every second he can carry it further away from New York will save hundreds or even thousands of lives; and with Ranger's Total "Protects Innocents" no other option is possible. I didn't even have to think about; I knew that's what Ranger would do.
 
...3...2...1...click!
 
Click?
 
Seems the hit which had screwed up the timer had also damaged the bomb's firing mechanism. Or, at least, that's what the GM claimed afterward. I've never been sure if that was really true or if he was just afraid of killing my character. I've always been half certain he cheated. I honestly wouldn't have minded a bit if Ranger had died then, because it would have been a hero's death. It would have been a glorious way for a superhero to die, saving untold thousands of innocent people.
 
Figuring anything else would be anticlimactic after that, I retired Ranger shortly thereafter and started playing a ninja. (Hey, it was the 80's!)

Re: Your greatest Chmapions moment
 

Hey! That should be my sig! Give it to me or I will fling an enormous rock at your head!

Re: Your greatest Chmapions moment
 

Hey! That should be my sig! Give it to me or I will fling an enormous rock at your head!

Re: Your greatest Champions moment
 
Mine happened with my very first Champions character, Ranger. Ranger was a very heavily defended powered armor type I played for four years; from '82 to '86. This happened near the end of his career, when he had over 120 XP.
 
Our team, the Sentinels, had tracked down a terrorist group (VIPER?) who were planning to detonate a medium-yield nuclear weapon in the center of Manhattan. During the course of the fight, the bomb accidentally was struck by an electrical attack, and the Time to Detonation timer abruptly reset to 01:00 and started counting down.
 
...59...58...57...
 
Oh s**t! Ranger grabs the bomb (he was also our team's brick) and flies out the window with it. While he's only a SPD 4, he's still the fastest flyer on our team with 25" X4 NCM, and he immediately goes to non-combat flight.
 
...55...54...53... At his maximum flight speed Ranger can fly 4 kilometers per minute, or less than 2.5 miles before detonation. I tell the GM that Ranger is heading east out to New York Harbor to get it as far away from the city as possible when it detonates.
 
The other characters and the bad guys have basically stopped fighting, because they know they'll be within the blast radius if it goes off.
 
...30...29...28...
 
Right about now Ranger passes out of the city and is flying over water towards the Atlantic.
 
...20...19...18...
 
Right about here the GM reminds me that despite Ranger's extraordinarily high defenses (62 PD/58 ED, most of it Hardened and Resistant) there is no way he'll survive being at Ground Zero when a 100 Kiloton nuke explodes in his arms. I nod as Ranger Pushes his Flight; no need to conserve the END Battery at this point.
 
...12...11...10...
 
The GM tells me it's time for Ranger to drop the bomb and escape; making it clear that with his defenses Ranger only needs to be a few hundred meters away to survive the blast. I look up and meet the GM's eyes and smile; and I see the astonishment on his face as he suddenly realizes Ranger isn't going to drop the bomb. Every second he can carry it further away from New York will save hundreds or even thousands of lives; and with Ranger's Total "Protects Innocents" no other option is possible. I didn't even have to think about; I knew that's what Ranger would do.
 
...3...2...1...click!
 
Click?
 
Seems the hit which had screwed up the timer had also damaged the bomb's firing mechanism. Or, at least, that's what the GM claimed afterward. I've never been sure if that was really true or if he was just afraid of killing my character. I've always been half certain he cheated. I honestly wouldn't have minded a bit if Ranger had died then, because it would have been a hero's death. It would have been a glorious way for a superhero to die, saving untold thousands of innocent people.
 
Figuring anything else would be anticlimactic after that, I retired Ranger shortly thereafter and started playing a ninja. (Hey, it was the 80's!)

Re: Your greatest Chmapions moment
 

 
"I have a catapult. Give me all of your money or I will fling an enormous rock at your head."

Re: Batman Begins: Batman
 
Overall, very well done!
 
Two things I'd add:
 
1) I'd build the bat-shuriken as 1d6 RKA. They clearly are sharp.
 
2) You've got to design his Batmobile before you can call him complete. Of course, it's fairly tame in Batman Begins compared to other movies or the comics. The only new thing was the jet-assisted jumping.
 
Repped.

Okay, inspired by the nice touchy feely arguments about Batman in this thread, I decided to try one of my few attempts at a superheroic character. This character is completely modelled off of the Batman Begins version of Batman. I have not nearly read enough of the Batman comics to even attempt to translate that/those version(s).
 
This is my very first try at a superhero character using 5th edition rules and my few 4th Edition Champions characters were rather generic and rarely played.
 
Just a few notes.
I realize that this character is built along the same scale as regular superheroes and not the less powerful point scales suggested by the Dark Champions supplement. I just couldn't see any way to properly represent the character with fewer points.
I haven't modelled any bases or vehicles. I figure the Resource Pools are an excellent idea for that. There are a lot of gadgets that Batman uses in the movie only once (the periscope thingie and the booby trap for Flass for instance). I think those are excellent examples of the Resource Pool rules in action.
I picture this as the Batman character at the end of Batman Begins, hence the Hunteds and Contacts. Also I gave him a few experience to both round out his skills and to represent his accomplishments during the movie. I was very surprised at how reasonable he came out. Other than a whole lot of resources, he is not much different in feel (or power level) than some of the Fantasy HERO characters I have created. That's not even counting the inflated Wheel of Time stuff I was working on a while back.
 
Please feel free to comment or critique the character. I think it came out well, but there may have been something I missed along the way. I also can't get the formatting right, but it hopefully won't be too hard to read. HERO Designer file attached.
 

[b]Batman - Bruce Wayne[/b] [b][u]VAL[/u] [u]CHA[/u] [u]Cost[/u] [u]Total[/u] [u]Roll[/u] [u]Notes[/u][/b] [font=Lucida Console]18 STR 8 18 13- HTH Damage 3 1/2d6 END [2] 21 DEX 36 21 13- OCV 7 DCV 7 18 CON 16 18 13- 20 BODY 20 20 13- 15 INT 5 15 12- PER Roll 12- 14 EGO 8 14 12- ECV: 5 15 PRE 5 15 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 14 COM 2 14 12- 8 PD 4 8/16 8/16 PD (0/8 rPD) 8 ED 4 8/16 8/16 ED (0/8 rED) 4 SPD 9 4 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 10 REC 4 10 50 END 7 50 50 STUN 12 50 6 RUN 0 6" END [1] 2 SWIM 0 2" END [1] 4 LEAP 0 3 1/2" 3 1/2" forward, 1 1/2" upward [/font] [b]CHA Cost: 140[/b] [b][u]Cost[/u] [u]POWERS[/u][/b] [font=Lucida Console] 19 [b][i]Nomex Survival Suit[/i][/b]: Armor (8 PD/8 ED) (24 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4) - END=0 60 [b][i]Gadget Pool[/i][/b]: Multipower, 60-point reserve - END= 1u 1) [b][i]Bat Shaped Shuriken[/i][/b]: Energy Blast 3d6, 8 Recoverable Charges (+0) (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Knockback (-1/4), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) - END=[8 rc] 2u 2) [b][i]Grenades[/i][/b]: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Semi-Armor Piercing (+1/4), Explosion (+1/2) (52 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), Range Based On Strength (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4) - END=[4] 1u 3) [b][i]Magnetic Grapnel with 350# monofilament cable[/i][/b]: Swinging 8" (8 Active Points); OAF (-1), Extra Time (Full Phase, Only to Activate, -1/4) - END=1 1u 4) [b][i]Memory Cloth Cape[/i][/b]: Gliding 8" (8 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) - END=1 1 Endurance Reserve (20 END, 0 REC) Reserve: (2 Active Points); 4 clips of 1 Charge (-1 1/4), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4) - END=[1][/font] [b]POWERS Cost: 85[/b] [b][u]Cost[/u] [u]MARTIAL ARTS[/u][/b] [font=Lucida Console]5 Flying Grab: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 38 STR for holding on; FMove 3 Flying Tackle: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, -1 DCV, 5 1/2d6 +v/5 Strike; You Fall, Target Falls; FMove 3 Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 6 1/2d6 Strike, Target Falls 4 Martial Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 Martial Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 38 STR to Disarm 4 Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 7 1/2d6 Strike 3 Martial Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 5 1/2d6 +v/5, Target Falls 4 Weapon Bind: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Bind, 38 STR 8 +2 HTH Damage Class(es)[/font] [b]MARTIAL ARTS Cost: 38[/b] [b][u]Cost[/u] [u]SKILLS[/u][/b] [font=Lucida Console]3 Acrobatics 13- 3 Breakfall 13- 3 Bureaucratics 12- 3 Climbing 13- 3 Combat Driving 13- 3 Concealment 12- 3 Deduction 12- 5 Defense Maneuver I-II 3 Disguise 12- 3 High Society 12- 3 Interrogation 12- 3 Inventor 12- 0 Language: English (idiomatic; literate) (5 Active Points) 2 Language: Mandarin (fluent conversation) 3 Lockpicking 13- 3 Mechanics 12- 3 Parachuting 13- 3 Paramedics 12- 5 Rapid Attack (HTH) 3 Shadowing 12- 20 +2 Overall 3 Stealth 13- 3 Streetwise 12- 3 Systems Operation (Communications Systems, Batmobile) 12- 8 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons, Ninja Weapons, Off Hand, Staffs, Vehicle Weapons[/font] [b]SKILLS Cost: 97[/b] [b][u]Cost[/u] [u]PERKS[/u][/b] [font=Lucida Console] 15 Money: Filthy Rich 10 Advanced Tech 7 Contact: Lt. Jim Gordon (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact) 13- 9 Contact: Lucius Fox (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has useful Skills or resources, Very Good relationship with Contact) 14-[/font] [b]PERKS Cost: 41[/b] [b][u]Cost[/u] [u]TALENTS[/u][/b] [font=Lucida Console]5 Rapid Healing[/font] [b]TALENTS Cost: 5[/b] [b][u]Value[/u] [u]DISADVANTAGES[/u][/b] [font=Lucida Console] 10 Dependent NPC: Alfred Penniworth 8- (Normal) 5 Dependent NPC: Rachel Dawes 8- (Normal; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills) 20 Hunted: Gotham City Police Department 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Limited Geographical Area, Capture) 10 Hunted: Rhas al'Ghul 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 10 Hunted: Scarecrow 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 20 Normal Characteristic Maxima 15 Psychological Limitation: Code vs. Killing (Common, Strong) 5 Psychological Limitation: Phobia of Bats (Uncommon, Moderate) 20 Psychological Limitation: Obsessed with Fighting Crime (Common, Total) 20 Reputation: Masked Vigilante, 14- (Extreme) 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Frequently, Major) [/font] [b]DISADVANTAGES Points: 150[/b] Base Pts: 250 Exp Required: 6 Total Exp Available: 6 Exp Unspent: 0 Total Character Cost: 406

Re: Champions Jargon
 
Good lord, I found ours from years ago.....
 
(Note: This was a group effort, and contains terms used in more than just HERO/Champions games.)
 
THE GAMER’S GLOSSARY
 
A collection of terms, phrases, and sayings
used in relation to a number of roleplaying games.
 
A
Avalon Syndrome, The: An unexplainable attractiveness to women.
 
B
Bad Spanish: Any incomprehensible language spoken by a character.
Bartalone Machine: A focused attack of 2D6+1 RKA or better. Usually auto-fire, usually armor-piercing, usually overkill. Named for Andy Bartalone, master of the art.
Big Fluffy: A term used to further reinstate the obvious. Example: “Behemoth has big muscles.†“He’s got big fluffy muscles.â€
Biggle: An event not quite big, powerful, or serious enough to boggle someone (see "Boggle"). An example would be what would happen if Zapp the Magician met Col. Brannigin.
Big Jack Attack: Term used to describe the peculiar frame of mind that causes a player to break into a fit of Kirby Perspective for no apparent reason (see “Kirby Perspectiveâ€).
Big Orange Buttsicle: Descriptive term used when your character is hit by a very effective attack or one that activates a vulnerability. (see "Ecto Up The Butt")
“Blast ‘em, blast ‘em!â€: Advice given to slow to act players when villains are everywhere.
“Bob, give me your gun.â€: Statement made by the supervillian to the agent, right after the agent does something truly stupid.
Boggle: 1) An event of such magnitude that any normal person is rendered speechless for several minutes. 2) Making the GM fall out of his chair laughing (This may be good for an experience point).
“Brain Hurtâ€: Typical reaction to the consideration of any event of boggle magnitude. Example: “What would you suppose would happen if Darkseid went to war against Mongul?†“Oohh, brain hurt.†(see Boggle)
Brick: A character whose main attribute is strength. Usually in the 48 to 68 range.
Briquette: 1) A character with a STR of 30 to 45. 2) A female brick (see Brick).
 
C
Calvalinger: To delay, usually on Phase Twelve, for no apparent reason. Also called "Doing a John."
Cerebusis Finefinefine: Typical response from being sent to -31 Stun.
Chop-saki: 1) Auto-fire Martial Arts. 2) What happens when the Martial Artist goes berserk.
Claremont Sciences: Concepts of science that go against logic, and common sense. Example 1: Genetics in the X-Men (i.e. “All mutations are beneficialâ€). Example 2: The explanation of Solarinite from Plan Nine from Outer Space.
Clarke’s 3rd Law: 1) Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. 2) Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology. 3) Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo.
Clatter: The sound of a Megadice attack being rolled. Also known as "Deafening Clatter of Dice."
Corridor Cleaner: 1) Any large Bartalone Machine. 2) Big, auto-fire weapons that do 4D6 RKA or better with 250+ shots. Useful for evacuating hallways, hotel lobbies, airplane hangers, and small foreign countries. Also known as a Street Sweeper. (see "Bartalone Machine," "Room Broom," "Splat Gun")
Courageous Friend: Cannon Fodder.
Cross-gaming: 1) Talking about your paladin while your brick storms the Viper base. 2) Any similar obnoxious behavior.
 
D
“Details!â€: Standard GM response to unanswerable questions. Useful for ignoring reality and common sense.
Deus Ex Machina Machine: Any device which, when activated will either negate, or create about 50% of the GM’s notes. Often related to Kirby Machines (see "Kirby Machine").
Dice Lice: Microscopic creatures that live on dice. Their combined weight can influence die rolls. Activated by blowing on dice prior to rolling.
Dicked: Term commonly associated with Wiz-War. Depending on the circumstances it is preceded by either of these two phrases: "I’ve been..." or "You’ve been..." Used right after particularly effective spell combinations. Example: Destroy Wall; Fireball; Reuse Spell; Fireball, Amplified; Buddy (player went from 16 health to 1). Unfortunately, this construct is no longer legal.
Dorked: (see Dicked)
Douse Louse: Singular of Dice Lice. (see "Dice Lice")
 
E
Ecto Up The Butt: Descriptive term of what happens to your character when his one vulnerability is exploited to it’s maximum potential.
Eep: 1) An experience point. Plural: Eeps 2) an Energy Projector (see Energy Projector).
Energy Projector: Any character whose main attack is a ranged energy blast.
 
F
Faw Down, Go Boom: Going from full Stun to GM’s option in one Phase.
“Flames! In my head!â€: 1) Standard explanation for why your character went Berserk. 2) Statement often made just before your character goes Berserk.
FLAZ: Fly Around And Zap.
FLEP: Flying Energy Projector. (see "FLAZ," "Energy Projector")
Flossing: Brainless or stupid actions.
Fly Around And Zap: (see "FLAZ")
Flying Brick: Any high STR character with Flight powers.
Fuzzy Little Mind: Any character that has difficulty with the most mundane concepts. Often these characters are highly susceptible to EGO combat, even if no one is using any.
 
G
“Game over, man!â€: Phrase used when ever the characters find themselves vs hopeless odds.
G.A.M.F. (God-awful Motherf****r): Truly Powerful Villains. Can also be used to describe truly devastating offensive powers. Example: Graviton’s 30D6 armor-piercing EB is a GAMF attack. It should be noted that GAMF villains usually use GOMF attacks. (See "GOMF")
Going Hudson (Hudsoning Out): Trying for your Berserk roll, and making it. Lots of screaming and flying projectiles.
Going to Bermuda: Actions that have no relation to the surrounding situations.
G.O.M.F. (Get Outta My Face): Term used to describe large scale offensive attacks. Also used to describe attacks meant to distribute characters all over the battlefield. Example: 20†Teleport Usable Against Others, Ranged. Example 2: 20D6 EB, Does Double Knockback.
 
H
Haunted Stereo, The: An entity that inhabits stereos during game sessions, causes appropriate music to play at unlikely moments.
He’s/She’s Got a Gun: A character built around a single focused attack. Usually a Bartalone Machine. Take away the focus and the character is usually powerless (see "Bartalone Machine").
Hose(d): If used in the future tense (i.e. "Hose") describes how the GM is going to treat the players. Example: “When the Troubleshooters round this corner the Vulture Squadron will Hose them but good.†If used in the past tense (i.e. Hosed) then it describes the aftereffects of a combat. Example: The Rogues Gallery Hosed Nightwatch in the Ocean City combat. Often used in relation to Paranoia games.
Hoseacles: A truly impressive Hosing. (see "Hose[d]")
 
I
Impromptu: 1) Game played with GM’s intuition and a D12 (the total game components.) 2) Any game result loosely based on a 3D6 roll. Originated by that great GM: Indiana Jones.
Instant Police: Police that show up as soon as the fight ends.
 
K
Kirby Dots: Clusters of little black bubbles generated by Kirby Machines, GAMF characters, GOMF attacks, Perez Machines, Wally Wood Machines, and just about any other similar device.
Kirby Machine: 1) Any immense primitive appearing device covered with tubes, dials, switches, gauges, and buttons. It would crush a dump truck if dropped from ten feet up. Usually uses energy in the form of clusters of black bubbles.(see "Kirby Dots") End result is often Zap! Technology, or a “Take that you fiend!†attack. 2) Any large device that takes up space for no particular reason (see “Take that you fiend!â€, “Zap! Technologyâ€)
Kirby Perspective: Examples of forced perspective that result in a character's hands being about twice the size as the rest of him.
 
L
La-la Land: -31 stun. (see "Optionland")
 
M
Megadice: Very large attacks. Presence, Energy Blast, Mind Control, etc. (see "GAMF," "GOMF")
Mice Dice: 1) 5mm dice. 2) Any dice that let you do a 12 die attack in the dent in the bottom of a Coke bottle.
Mooks: Term found in Feng Shui for agents or other low-level flunkies. Also known as Cannon Fodder, Goons, Orcs, Popcorn, Stuntmonkeys, or Swordfodder.
Mouse Douse: Singular of Mice Dice (see "Mice Dice").
 
N
Na-na-na?: Response given when player's brain is overloaded by sensory stimuli.
No Bulls**t Villain: Reason given by Jack Kirby as to what concept inspired him to create Darkseid. No further definition would seem to be required (see "GAMF").
No S**t Story: The tale of you vs the 100 Viper agents that always begins with: “No s**t, there I was...â€
 
O
“Ooooo! They play killer volleyball!â€: Response to any attack that does much more damage than normal. Example: an 8 die move-by that does 10 Body, 43 stun, or the 12D6 EB that does 17 body 68 stun.
Optionland: -31 Stun. (see also LA-LA LAND)
Optioned Out: Being put to -31 Stun.
“Orcsâ€: Agents and other low level flunkies.
 
P
Perez Debris: Junk resulting from the explosion of Kirby, Perez, and Wally Wood Machines. (see)
Perez Lighting Effects: A combination of light and shadow on a character’s face that can only be caused by holding a flashlight 3†away. Also known as Miller Lighting Effects.
Perez Machine: A futuristic, streamlined Kirby Machine. (see Kirby Machine)
Plotline (Claremont): GM inspired, improbable actions generated just to keep the game on track.
Point Mashing: Cramming a 7D6 armor-piercing killing attack into 17 points.
Popcorn: Really useless extra that show up in Martial Arts adventures. Good only for getting in the player’s way.
Pouf: When a truly massive attack goes of with minimal effect.
Power- : Prefix used to elevate a term to a level of x? (also called Mega-).
PRICE OF FREEDOM Rules: GM’s response to players who complain about game mechanics in Paranoia. Example: “Don’t like these combat rules? Use Price of Freedom combat rules!â€
 
R
Romper Room(ed): Term used to describe a cuteness-based Presence attack.
Room Broom: Nickname originally given to the Atchison assault rifle. Also used to in describing certain types of Bartalone Machines, Corridor Clearers, and Splat Guns (see).
 
S
12-Second Police: Cops that show up one turn after the fight starts.
Sensor Array: 1) A character with 5 or more enhanced senses. 2) Having N-ray, +16 telescopic, and +8 vision powers.
She/he Doesn't Have An Ego: Any brainless character, prime egoist bait. (see Fuzzy Little Mind)
Significant Kirby Pose: Any exaggerated movement for the most mundane action.
Slice ‘n’ Dice: What you get when the Martial Artist goes berserk with his katana. (see Chopsakai).
Splat Gun: Shotgun style Bartalone Machines (see BARTALONE MACHINE).
Splatticus: End result of the 100 STR brick haymakering the agent.
Splash-splash-splash: Any off-camera sex.
Still Receiving: A term used to describe any player attempting to try and interact with the other characters while in Optionland.
Stinger: A character heavy in movement and offense, low in defense.
Superbrick: STR of 70 or better.
Sword Fodder: Fantasy Cannon Fodder.
 
T
“Teach Me!?â€: Advice given to players after mindless and pathetic character actions.
Thing hug: What happens when you grab about a dozen agents and squeeze. Works best vs Mole Men.
“Take-that-you-fiend†(attack): An attack usable only once or twice a day, or at an enormous end cost, with the capability to cause immense damage.
 
V
Vaporlock: Freezing up in combat, or missing the point of the action.
(Paul) Verhoeven Violence: This is the man who directed Robocop, Starship Troopers, and Total Recall. Need we say more?
 
W
Wally Wood Machine: A Really BIG Kirby Machine. (see Kirby Machine)
We will see ________ later: Used to describe optioned characters.
Winging it: Roll 3D6 and ignore the result.
“Wings of steel!â€: Typical explanation for why the 15d6 EB failed to affect your character.
 
X-Y-Z
“You People!â€: Statement made to cover a character’s failure to extract himself out of a specific situation. Often used in relation to “Flames!â€. (see Flames)
Zap! Technology: Zap! it happens sciences. (see Clarke’s Third Law).

Re: Champions Jargon
 
Wombat: A character built with every conceivable loophole and Limitation to maximize power. Flight bought "Not Underwater", Energy Blasts and Force Fields bought with exceptionally rare Limitations (Not in Intense Magnetic Fields; Not on Odd Numbered Tuesdays) adding up to +1 or more. Our group's equivalent to "munchkin" or "cheese."
 
Combat Wombat: A PC built and optimized solely for combat. Has no non-combat skills or abilities at all; in fact may not even have a name for his Secret ID or a method of earning a living in said Secret ID. Really bad ones may not even have a superhero name (He's still "Bob's character" after two years of play.) Usually has "Current (nameless) Girlfriend 11-" as an NPC; particularly egregious ones may take this several times ("He fools around."). Often applied to characters (I use the term loosely) with totally unrelated Powers with an overarching "concept" ("Um, he's a nanotech-enhanced mutant bitten by a radioactive weasel. Yeah, that's the ticket. He fights crime!") A Combat Wombat may or may not be a Wombat (see above).

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it...
 

 
 
I read it, good as usual.
 
I am, however getting an "oh no" feeling, it has been growing for a couple books now...

Re: Rep Points?
 

Re: journal of a hero
 
Entry #7, dated July 30, 2004
Who the Hell was I fooling? Lucy will be here in an hour.

Re: Aging Campaigns
 
How many points do you pay for your characters to have the Perk: Invulnerable; PCs player sleeps with GM?

Re: Jane's Superhumans
 
Okay,
 
Merry Christmas Trebuchet.
 
Finding myself somewhat frazzled after the holidays, I worked on this today (this sort of stuff is a release for me, kind of a mental holiday thing). Based on the descriptions of the characters I have come up with the following images. I do not think that they will "fit the bill" for your PCs, but I am hoping that they come at least somewhat close for the purposes of illustration. I will be using them myself for characters of my own design in any case.
 
http://www.digitalindalo.com/rpg/Knight.gif
http://www.digitalindalo.com/rpg/Vess2.gif
http://www.digitalindalo.com/rpg/Sill2.gif
 
I also retouched the Zlf pic I did a while back, you mentioned she was somwhat more "grim" looking than the smiling image. The face did not turn out well IMHO, but you might like it better in any case, I am certainly not the only (or even best) judge as it is your character.
 
http://www.digitalindalo.com/rpg/Zlf-3.gif
 
And finally, the Blackstone Metahuman Files (I avoided "Guide to..." because there is a "Blackstone's Guide to..." series already out there. The name Blackstone's itself should not cause too many problems even though there are numerous examples of it in the marketplace (as well as evey other name under the sun), but I would not want to use it in a specific phrase that has already been "taken")
 
http://www.digitalindalo.com/rpg/midgaurd2c.pdf
 
I am not overly happy with the way the images turned out, but the print-quality file is almost 4meg and the press quality (which I use for my magazine) is obscene (in size f course, the content is the same). Once I get done, I will make the print quality available to you by email Trebuchet. I posted the above gifs so that people can see the images as they should have been.
 
Just to let folks here know, I will be starting a thread with the name "Blackstone's Metahuman File" sometime soon as the bulk of this thread has a lot of other stuff not really about this project.

Re: Jane's Superhumans
 
Thought I'd post a couple of the Blackstone's Metahumansâ„¢ writeups we came up with for our character's.
 
SILHOUETTE
 
True Identity: Unknown
 
Classification: Heavy Close Combatant
 
Base of Operations: Unknown; widely believed to be Europe. Appears worldwide.
 
Group Affiliation: MidGuard
 
Threat Level: 4
 
Offensive Rating: Very High
 
Defensive Rating: High (Comparable to main battle tank)
 
Identifying Characteristics: Solid black female form, white hair, glowing white eyes.
 
Power Description: Extremely strong and durable, Silhouette also possesses the ability to fly at modest speeds of approximately 40 kph. Her form is apparently able to endure virtually any hostile environment including deep underwater and intense radiation, and she can desolidify in order to pass through solid matter. This appears to confirm previous reports that she is able to alter her physical density at will, from totally insubstantial to considerably denser than steel. Her maximum mass appears to exceed 300 metric tons. She has been reliably observed lifting weights of over 150 metric tons. Her general agility level appears to be that of a well trained human, but does not indicate superhuman capabilities. Microanalysis of debris by Dr. Kevin Green of UC Berkeley from fights where Silhouette has been present has shown mild gravitational distortion; leading to speculation her powers may be gravity-based.
 
Physical Description: Adult female, average build, estimated height 165 cm. No apparent costume.
 
Tactical Assessment: A formidable and highly capable combatant, Silhouette is the heavy fighter for the world's premier hero team. Her ability to pass through solid walls makes it extremely difficult to successfully deny her entry to any defended position, and she is functionally immune to small arms making it difficult for troops within a building to bring sufficient firepower to bear once she is inside. Use of heavy weaponry against Silhouette is difficult due to her ability to desolidify and proclivity for passing through walls and/or the ground, but constitutes the only realistic likelihood of stopping her.
 
Psychological Assessment: An objective evaluation of Silhouette is difficult due to her apparent reticience to speak to the press and authorities. While she will reply to direct questions, her short answers to inquiries and general avoidance of publicity may indicate a certain level of insecurity or may simply show a dislike of the press. Considering her apparent central position within MidGuard (In a February 2005 interview, her teammate Elena Yurievna, AKA Zl’f, stated the two were close friends.), it is considered highly improbable Silhouette would go rogue.
 
Legal Status: No current legal entanglements. MidGuard enjoys friendly relations with most democratic nations.
 
 
Blackstone's Metahumans™ 2006©

Re: Jane's Superhumans
 

Poor punctuation and capitalization. Correct spelling:  
believe
celebrities
Reagan
their
belligerent
 
Overall grade: D+
 
You want to talk politics, take it to the NGD board.

Re: Jane's Superhumans
 

Poor punctuation and capitalization. Correct spelling:  
believe
celebrities
Reagan
their
belligerent
 
Overall grade: D+
 
You want to talk politics, take it to the NGD board.

Re: Jane's Superhumans
 

Well, I hate to come in and nitpick, but if you gave me a conventionally designed superhero and threw them against modern militaries, I think the supers would come out a little better than you think, at least if we were switching from Silver Age to Iron Age in every regard.
 
The main thing you're overlooking is that if we're going to go with conventionally designed Champions characters dropped into a realistic setting, then we get to play with more realistic equipment rules. That's right, we're not using superheroic equipment rules, we're using heroic equipment rules, which all of a sudden changes the equation considerably.
 
Take your average superdense brick like Colossus. Do you think the Russian/Soviet military, if they had their hands on him would tell him to go out and use his bare hands on the enemy? Or would they find the heaviest guns they could find and see what he could shoot while still standing upright? And remember that ammunition weight isn't an issue for him the way it is for regular grunts.
 
The main issue then becomes is the ground beneath him solid enough to support his weight or not. In situations where he doesn't sink to his knees, he's a mobile weapons platform. Not as fast as a truck mind you, but a lot more bulletproof. And able to go places that a conventional vehicle wouldn't. In urban situations, Colossus and a BFG might do very well, especially as the caliber of the weapons that would be returning fire probably wouldn't do him any harm at all.
 
A lot of conventionally designed Champions characters would end up in a more realistic sort of situation would end up taking on a lot of equipment, equipment that regular military types couldn't use or could use in ways that regular military types couldn't, and to devistating effect as well.
 
Flyers are the classic example of that. The problem that ground forces have is that they can't move fast over hard ground. The problem with airborne forces is that they tend to stand out. Helicopters make a lot of noise and they're big enough to attract attention. Now put together a squad of flying paranormal types, and give them state of the art military gear up to their carrying and usability capacity (in the case of flying bricks, that's quite scary).
 
For that matter, flying energy projectors are nothing to sneeze at as well. Able to fly close to the ground, they might even be able to blast missiles fired at them out of the air or throw up a force field to protect themselves (or carry a superhero who can shield them, remember the Dash/Violet combo in the Incredibles?).
 
Remember that even conventionally designed superheroes can be equipped and deployed in ways that normal human forces can't be. Not overwhelmingly so, but I can bet that the military right now isn't set up for human sized flying objects with the manuverability of your typical flyer, and if that flyer was carrying sensor arrays and acting as a spotter for artillery and missile launchers (ground based or flying), they could make a very devistating combination.
 
Admittedly, the powers we can't duplicate are more valuable than the powers that we can, but remember that DARPA is funding an exoskeleton program right now to give soliders greater strength and endurance than what we have now. Even 250 point bricks can put even the exoskeletons we'd like to have in 2020 to shame.

Re: Jane's Superhumans
 

 
 
You don't need 1000 pt characters to crush the military. You merely need characters designed to take them on.
 
Most Champions characters are built to fight other Champions characters according to genre convention. IOW, they trade shots on the battlefield. This type of character plays into the standard military's strength and is least effective against them while "sniper" types who can attack safely from miles away and many exotic character designs are discouraged by most GMs.
 
Here are some character types who can crush regular militaries:
 
1) Long range teleporters
2) Desolidifiers
3) Subtle mentallists
4) Anyone with a reasonably broad VPP
5) People with Danger Sense and even remotely useful powers
6) Tunnellers
7) People with Extra Dimensional Traveller
8) People with properly designed Change Environment
9) Creative uses of Transform
10) Summoners
 
There are probably a few types I'm missing.

Re: Jane's Superhumans
 

Well said, Kristopher. I only regret I can't give you rep yet.

Re: Jane's Superhumans
 
Well, this is assuming that the military totally ignores standard comic book genre conventions and actually fights like down-home dirty sonsofbitches, as opposed to doing it GI Joe style like they usually do in Marvel and DC.