I used the "DefaultPrintTemplate6e.hde" that is in my main HeroDesigner directory and did an Export/Preview Character. That opens it up in a browser window. From the browser with that preview displaying, I select Print. From print I have the option to save it as a PDF. Might sound a bit roundabout, but it takes seconds.
DefaultPrintTemplate6e.hde
Not my experience. Most starting characters from 4th translate to close to 300 pts. What will throw you off is now Force field is folded under Resistant Defenses so active points went up. When I updated Neon (a blaster), he was made with an elemental control which is really cheap compared to unified limitation. Still though no understanding how your character is deficient or not. Deficient compared to whom? Yeah if you compare to book villains they might be cause in 6th, the villains are still written up the same old DEX and CVs that were pre 6th. That’s the one complaint about the latest edition they divorced the CV from DEX but no character has really taken advantage of it so as they are backwards compatible. Btw 6th considers 400 pts the new starting point however if 300 is too tight for you consider going up to 350 pts.
You can if you just want to use the older material as is. I’ve been mucking about with some of my older write ups and I was considering this question too. I came with around CV 7 and here’s why. With sixth divorcing CV from DEX you can have agents now with a DEX of 15 and still have only CV of 3. I lowered both DEX of my characters from 20 to 14 & 12 and still keep a OCV of 7. For me I figure if agents are OCV 3 and only one CSL that gives you an OCV 4 and DCV 3. If you figure a good spread of CV between agents and PCs is 3 then a DCV of 7 is rather good.
That's been what I've seen in the games I've played in. If the GM sets a point/dc/stat cap. THAT is what the players build too.
Even if the GM gives a stat range of say, 20-35 . . . the players, or certain players, will build to 35. Same with attacks. 12D6 attack, character has 12D6 attack. X active point limit? Powers are at X active points.
Usually the same in the games I've played in. Unless there's a conceptual reason as to why one or the other should be lower, they're always bought to the same levels.
I read through and mostly ignored the dice values listed since that is pretty much up to the GM and their personal decision on point caps. By saying 12d6 you ensure that new PC's will have 12d6 attacks. If you said 10d6, they would build to 10d6.
I do have a couple small comments.
You said:
This might imply that Energy Blast always affects ED. EB can be designated to affect either PD or ED.
Also there is not mention that the game power names (Darkness, Energy Blast, etc,) are simply a way to identify the game mechanic effects. While Darkness can be bought for the obvious effect of making an area dark, it can also be used to create an area where one can see easily but has no sound.
You might want to include a paragraph explaining how to determine a potential ability/power's end game effect and special effects and then look at which game mechanic/powers actually achieve the concept. Consider the Flash (or any speedster), in the comics we see him run past a line of thugs, punching each one in a flurry of super-speed punches. Trying to buy up the PC's speed to the point they can punch out 10 or 12 henchmen is far too expensive. So what are we really doing here? Flash is punching each thug as he runs past at super-speed.
As an example: Super-Speed Punches: 3d6 EB (vs PD) Area Affect (line), only in hexes Flash moves thru in this phase, selective target.
Lets say Flash has 20 inches of Run. I move Flash 10 inches through the bank, ensuring I move adjacent to as many robbers as I can. Then at the end of my move I attack with Super-Speed Punches and do 3d6 to every mook I had moved past, yes because it is selective target you will have to make a separate attack roll for each mook, but Flash isn't sloppy. Rules requirements are met. move half and then an attack ending my phase. Narrative description of my turn: Flash unleashes and torrent of super punches as he zips past the bank robbers.
Somewhere in your paper I would try to convey this concept. If you don;t then you will miss out on some truly creative Heroes and mostly see straight power buy blasters and smashers.
Just a thought triggered by my own failures to get the concept across to new players
They are built using the martial art rules for creating Standard maneuvers which you could have done since Ninja Hero first came out. It’s just now they’re listed for anyone with the core rules. So yeah let’s keep the rules.
Duke, a good number of your objections are rooted in the fact that you've never updated to later editions and haven't stress tested the rules for 6th especially. People who came into Hero in 4th, or later probably look at the earlier rules and are glad for the added detail. I am a 1st edition player but I appreciate all views and contributions. Anything that makes me think makes my game better even if I don't use it.
Are all the changes through the years for the better? No, but most of them are. Those changes to Martial Arts that you disparage are just proliferation of maneuvers not CV"s/CSL's disguised as such. The OCV and DCV attached to the basic moves haven't changed much throughout the editions. There are just more moves and greater detail. Damage has been changed to make it more genre neutral but the CV's have not.
Duke I ain’t either in the mood to argue. First is the martial arts system the best? Probably not but I’ve been looking now for years and well Hero system is still the best. Second I’m really over people overly analyzing certain things and say “ this is too efficient and this is not” . The pints are a guideline but doesn’t tell the whole story. Third since this is a generic system and you can (usually) buy things on your own and none of the game designers are omnipotent, someone somewhere can figure out how to game the system. That doesn’t mean it’s broke per se just means that you need to use restraint. Fourth personally over the years some things that I didn’t like about Hero gave me fits but in the end either the work around was more of a PIA than it was worth or the rules ways wasn’t that bad. (I’m still pretty much a rules follower). I have no problem saying “hey caution cause this can be abused and here’s how”. I just say ok how can it work for my game?
Those are all _great_ questions, and the answer is "yes."
To all of them.
No; I'm not trying to be funny-- hey! My "return" key is working again!-- sorry. Where was I?
These are questions best addressed to your GM, because he may have specific guidelines he wants you to follow, and we are all going to do things differently from each other. Just as an example, I'm the only person on this entire board who thinks that Aaron Allston's martial arts system was fun as campaign thing, but has absolutely _no_ place in the official rules, and am baffled as to how it has managed to remain in them generation after generation. Does that make me right? No; of course it doesn't, but it doesn't make me _wrong_, either. The GM will do that.
One helpful thing would be to know what genre this character is intended for. If it's a super-serious non-supers game, then the GM will probably want you to build a weapon appropriate to the setting (or chose one from a list), and at least buy Skill Levels or such appropriate to give the end results you are looking for.
If it's supers, then all you _really_ have to do, at the very bare bones of the thing, is buy an appropriate hand-to-hand attack (Killing or otherwise: remember that it is suggested that Killing Damage represents guns and swords and pointy things shoved into your entrails, but it is not _mandated_ that guns and swords and pointy things be built with Killing Damage, so you really either need to get with your GM to find out his expectations or, if you have carte blanche, make that decision for yourself.) and declare that this attack a sword / tonfa / sharpened stick with splinters / boat anchor with a razor's edge-- whatever.
Remember that there are pros and cons to whatever you _do_ chose: if you don't take the Focus limitation, your weapon will always be available. That may not be appropriate for the game your GM has in mind, so again-- check with him.
If you _do_ take the focus limitation, the weapon / attack costs you less, but be prepared to not have ready access to it whenever you want it, either.
The list goes on and on, but I see GB(i) has pre lied, so let me stop there before I duplicate anything he might have already said.
At the most basic level, you'll see a sharp divide between "combatants" who invested relatively heavily in fighting and "noncombatants" who invested relatively lightly. The same will follow for other areas, but this is where it will stand out the most.
Combat will either suck for the combatants as they steamroll everything, suck for the noncombatants as everything trivially defeats them, suck for you because you have to build elaborate multi-level encounters, or some combination of the above. The same will follow for other areas, but this is again where it will stand out the most.
No, because a significant balance problem can result from rational actors with differing investment priorities. Other significant problems arise due to differing investment efficiencies, player execution skill, or ability to predict the obstacles presented by the GM.
Additionally, "rational and balanced" characters require useful information as input to the character design process. Being just a couple DCs or CV off from the rest of the party can cause serious problems. Caps and baselines provide that needed information while also communicating the expectation of "these numbers shall be adhered to".
I don't think Gandalf is the leading example of the type of character you seem to aim for, but I do see your point. The issue here, to me, is party balance and fair play among the players. If the arch-mage wizards are so powerful and awesome, why would anyone want to play anything else? And if only one of the players would be allowed to have such a character, couldn't this lead to resentment?
The answer would be to throw the heroic style of play out the window and go full-on fantasy superhero, maybe á la The Atlantean Age. All equipment and all spells and everything would be bought with points, so martial and arcane heroes would begin on equal footing; no Hit Locations or Bleeding or Impairment rules ... The AA did really go full tilt on the High Fantasy, too much so for my taste, but it is definitely a solution to the balance issues.
On the one hand, bat'leths are stupid. On the other hand, for inventing a Klingon-looking weapon out of thin air, and creating something that looks like a martial art to go with it, I have to give credit to the creators. There are real-life martial arts weapons that are stupider than a bat'leth.
I don't know HOW many times I've been in a game where there's been this "Grand Mystery" that the GM has set up yet, the only "clues" that could/would have been available are those that exist in his/her own head or things that the characters would understand but the *players* have no concept of.
Then having to sit there and listen to the rant and rave about how no one appreciates the time and effort they go through to prepare things like "this" is infuriating.
Even more infuriating is when they try and tell you that they explained and/or dangled clues in front of you and the general response from the gathered players is "No, you didn't".
It's really easy to pat yourself on the back and tell yourself how much of a genius you are when you're the one with all the clues . . .
@Spence
Very nicely written.
I agree with you on the Sandbox campaign. I've been in one or two and they don't last long. I mean, not more than one or two sessions because there's absolutely nothing for the characters to do. There's no focus or drive to move the characters forward. Those type of campaigns may sound like they're going to be good because "no ones' tied down!" but i've yet to play in one, or hear of one that amounted to anything.
At various times I've mentioned here that, since the official Champions Universe is a hobby of mine, I found myself becoming a sort of unofficial "lore-master" to the Champions Online player community, answering their questions on the game's forums about elements of the setting. That has sometimes prompted me to compile information on particular topics for their easy reference. Occasionally I've transcribed some of that info here for our tabletop gaming community when I thought it might be of general interest, and that has been received positively.
The Champions Universe, being inspired by the major mainstream comics companies, embraces the full range of classic super character origins you see in those comics: mutagenic accidents, genetic mutation, radical scientific inventions, mystic martial arts, aliens, sorcery, gods and supernatural creatures, cosmic entities, etc. However, there are a number of origin concepts described in Champions books that IMHO are more original and distinctive to the setting, but don't require characters with backgrounds so unusual that players would need a lot of information or elaborate setup to use them. Even if you don't use the official CU, these origin concepts can be inserted into most original four-color super campaign worlds without much effort. So I thought outlining origins in that category might inspire some of my fellow Champions gamers.
I'd be happy to flesh out more details on any of these origins if anyone asks; but every entry cites the published books in which folks can read more about them. I hope some of you find this useful.
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Alien Gene-Tampering: Superhuman powers resulting from aliens mucking with Human DNA is a well-established comic-book trope. On Champions Earth the repeatedly-invasive Qularr are one likely candidate. The main reason the Qularr invaded Earth in the first place was so they could study the Human genome on a large scale, to understand why and how Humans manifest superpowers with greater frequency and average power than nearly any other species, including the Qularr. They hope to engineer that capacity in themselves. At least one experiment along those lines has yielded a super-powered hybrid, although by accident. It's highly likely other similar experiments are being conducted by Qularr currently on Earth, or perhaps on Humans kidnapped and brought back to Qularr space.
What virtually no one knows is that one reason Humans do manifest powers more often, is because that genetic potential was placed in them by incredibly ancient and advanced aliens called the Progenitors. Two million years ago the Progenitors advanced the evolution of Humanity's ancestor species to the next stage of sapience. Half a million years ago they experimented on Homo erectus, creating the first of the ageless superhuman Empyrean race. Champions Universe suggests they might also be responsible for the creation of the Birdpeople of Thaar twelve thousand years ago.
In any case, the Progenitors still exist, continuing their experiments and periodically monitoring the progress of past ones. It's not unreasonable to assume that they would do some "followup" work on Human DNA.
You can read much more about the Qularr and Progenitors in Champions Beyond. The Birdpeople of Thaar are described in Champions Universe.
Coruscations of Power: In the worldwide accidental cataclysm which devastated the alien planet Ashraal centuries ago, and gave birth to the awesome cosmic villain Xarriel, discreet bursts of energy from the main explosion were cast across space and time, emerging in random locations in the space-time continuum. To date at least five of these "coruscations of power" have appeared on or near the Earth in recent years, and affected humans in their vicinity, creating the supervillains Photon, Stareye, Sunspot, and Vector, and the superhero Victory.
The coruscations can manifest as bursts of light from space, but in the past have been mistaken for solar flares or lightning storms. Powers induced by them can, but not must, include various forms of energy projection, flight (usually very fast), mind-affecting abilities, enhanced physical strength, speed, and durability, and the ability to survive in hostile environments (even space).
Xarriel is fully detailed in Champions Beyond, while the other villains mentioned are in the Champions Villains trilogy, and Victory in Champions Universe.
DEMONic Experiments: One of the classic superhero origins is the person unwillingly subjected to villainous scientific experiments who uses their newly-gained powers to escape. In the CU quite a few official supers came about that way, particularly due to actions by VIPER and ARGENT. But DEMON, the worldwide supernatural villain org, often conduct their own magical analogues to scientific research, which have spawned magical superhumans.
One official villain, named Riptide, was a young runaway girl before a member of DEMON found her and turned her over to his Morbane. The Morbane attempted a magic experiment to bind the girl to a water elemental, hoping to create a strong but mentally pliable minion. But Riptide's crazed fear at what was done to her was now backed with elemental powers, enabling her to force her way to freedom. The supervillain now called Morningstar was the result of a tactic that DEMON often uses since it became estranged from the rulers of Hell: forcing a summoned demon to temporarily occupy the human body of a DEMON Brother, giving the Brother a measure of demonic power but with the human personality in control. For unknown reasons, Morningstar's possession proved permanent. He fought DEMON's enemies for some time, under enchantment to ensure his loyalty, until a battle with magical heroes severed the control spell and returned his free will. Morningstar left DEMON to become an independent supervillain. (Both characters are detailed in Champions Villains Vol. 3.)
Another villain in the service of DEMON, Professor Samedi, was a minor DEMON member, and lackluster musician, before his Morbane had him try to play an enchanted fiddle the Morbane had acquired. Samedi found he could cast several potent spells with the fiddle's music, but it changed him physically, making him look almost skeletally gaunt; and changed his personality, to more actively, confidently malevolent. So there's precedent for a Morbane to have one of his disposable minions "test drive" a magic item. Perhaps a given item would change the wielder's personality in a more positive way. (Prof. Samedi is detailed in DEMON: Servants Of Darkness.)
Department 17: Since World War II, the United States government has researched ways to safely and reliably create superhumans, as well as to more effectively control them, with few successes. Their efforts have often resulted in severe, even fatal physical and mental side effects to their subjects, and produced as many supervillains as superheroes. During WW II the US military set up Project Rainbow for this purpose, at Fort McLaughlin (now McLaughlin Air Force Base) near the small town of Haynesville, Kansas. After the war the Project was declassified and officially shut down, and McLaughlin AFB appears nearly abandoned today.
This was a ruse. Project Rainbow was never shut down. Still secretly based at McLaughlin, what is now titled Department 17 is the Defense Department's hub for research into superpower generation and superhuman control. Under its current director, General Clarence Smith, it conducts a wide variety of research involving drugs and chemicals, radiation treatments, genetic engineering, and other exotic methods. Much of the Department's current research focuses on refining the Cyberline procedure used for PRIMUS's Avenger program. The Department's scientists are also very interested in investigating any reports of new manifestations of superpowers.
General Smith might go to great lengths to keep 17's existence and activities secret. He's also used some "creative" accounting to keep his department funded. Department 17 is described in Champions Universe, as are PRIMUS and Cyberline.
"Divine" Intervention: In the Champions Universe, all the gods and demons of myth and religion that humans still remember actually exist. Although very powerful in their home astral dimensions, a metaphysical barrier called the Ban prevents them from manifesting on Earth with their full power. But there are a few ways divine beings can create lesser-powered Earthly agents to champion their causes.
One of these ways is to infuse some of their power, and sometimes personality, into a deserving human host, creating a superhuman reflecting the qualities of his or her patron deity. Quite a few official Champions heroes and villains have been empowered in this way. In keeping with comic-book origin conventions, their empowerment typically comes under unusual and dramatic circumstances, often at a key turning point in the life of the hero. For example, the first Johnny Hercules was given an amulet by an "apparition" of Zeus when the circus he worked for toured Greece, containing the "Hercules Force," the power of Hercules as a demigod which he abandoned when he became fully a god. The Nigerian hero Ogun gained power over metal after being beaten near to death by criminal thugs, when he received a vision of the Yoruba god of the forge of the same name.
Ogun is thoroughly detailed in Champions Worldwide, while the current Johnny Hercules is featured in the PDF book The Hercules Force, available from the Hero Games website store. Much more on CU gods and the Ban can be found in The Mystic World.
Empyrean Heritage: For hundreds of thousands of years, the immortal superhuman offshoot of humanity called Empyreans have existed alongside their human cousins. While they maintain their own city of Arcadia in Antarctica, hidden from human discovery by advanced devices, the majority of Empyreans choose to live incognito among humanity. The general population is ignorant of their existence; only a few superheroes have been trusted with the secret, although the Lemurians know of Arcadia and have been enemies of the Empyreans for many millennia. A few Empyreans have acted as superheroes or villains in the modern era.
Empyreans sometimes have children by humans, who are always either normal humans or full Empyreans. These children may grow up unaware of their true heritage; but the Empyreans' leaders scan the world for any new Empyrean offspring, and when they discover one induct him or her into their society. But individual Empyreans can follow whatever activities they like, provided they don't reveal their race's existence to mankind.
All Empyreans are ageless, physically superhuman to a greater or lesser extent, and can fly. They can manifest a wide range of mental or energy powers, although the type and degree varies based on innate ability and the interest a given Empyrean has in developing specific powers, usually related to their preferred pastimes. The Empyreans and Arcadia are extensively described in Hidden Lands.
Golden Age Legacies: In the real world the earliest comic-book superheroes appeared starting in 1938, and continued to be created over the course of World War II. Champions Earth's first actual superhumans also began to appear during this period. Most of those heroes eventually retired, to be replaced by newer generations; but often those newer heroes were inspired by their predecessors, in many cases even to the point of adopting their code names as an homage. Most such "legacy heroes" were either the relatives or proteges of the originals, or sought their blessing to carry on their names. However, certain lineages originating in the Golden Age have been particularly fertile in continuing to produce new heroes to uphold the family tradition.
In the winter of 1939 Kiril Lenskii was a young officer in the Soviet army serving in his country's war against Finland. Badly wounded in an attack that wiped out the rest of his unit, and overcome by the severe winter cold, Lenskii collapsed unconscious over underground caverns which released strange gasses. As they entered his lungs his body began to change. He awoke to discover that not only was his body healed and stronger than before, but he was now immune to the cold, and could even create intense cold, snow, and ice over limited areas. Given the code name, General Zima ("winter"), over the course of World War II Kiril Lenskii became the Soviet military's leading superhero, and remained so for many years.
The three sons of fisherman and former naval sailor Morimoto Takashi (by a mysterious woman who may have been a supernatural spirit) were each born with extraordinary abilities: enormous strength and durability (Ichiro); incredible speed (Jiro); and probability manipulation (Saburo) manifesting as phenomenal luck for himself, and phenomenal misfortune for his opponents. The three young men were recruited by the Japanese government to fight their country's foes, first China in the 1930s, and later the Americans and their allies during WW II. They were among Japan's most prominent superhuman champions during and after the war.
Each of the three Morimoto brothers had more than one superhuman offspring, while all seven of General Zima's children developed super powers. Today there are over two dozen "super" members of the extended Morimoto family, and descendants of General Zima, active in their respective homelands. It would be reasonable to expect a few of their relatives to have emigrated to other countries at some point.
Although the histories of these characters don't explicitly state it one way or the other, there's no reason to assume superhumans from their lineages necessarily manifest the same types of powers as their ancestors. The mutations of all three original Morimoto brothers were radically different from each other; while General Zima's origin implies his abilities resulted from his body adapting to a specific environment.
The full write-ups for General Zima and the Morimoto brothers appear in the latest edition of Golden Age Champions (for Hero System Sixth Edition).
Hzeel Biomatter: Champions Earth has experienced several alien invasions in the past, and is currently dealing with renewed intrusions by the Gadroon and Qularr. What no one on Earth knows yet, is that another aggressive species, the Hzeel, also have the Earth in their sights. These short, blue-skinned humanoids have scouted Earth for nearly two decades, wanting it as an advance staging area in their war against the Dorvalans (Ironclad's race).
At least two Hzeel scout craft have crashed on Earth and been discovered by humans. One of these was salvaged by Roger Warwell, aka the Warlord, and its technology became the basis for his own weapon designs. Hzeel technology is partly biological, and can have radical unpredictable effects when it comes in contact with human tissue. Two humans, the solo supervillain Howler, and the Warlord's minion Warcry, gained superhuman vocal powers when Hzeel communications devices were implanted in their throats (this happening spontaneously on contact in the case of Howler).
The effect also extends to tissues from Hzeel themselves; VIPER's staff supervillain Oculon gained his powerful eyebeams from eyes from an Hzeel corpse transplanted to his sockets. (Hzeel don't have eyebeams, they're the result of interaction between the two species' biologies.) Anyone using recognizable Hzeel materials would undoubtedly be of interest to both the Hzeel and the Warlord.
The Hzeel have a whole chapter in Champions Beyond, as do the Qularr and Gadroon, and the Dorvalans are also described there. The other villains mentioned are in the Champions Villains trilogy, except Oculon who's written up in VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent. Ironclad and the rest of the Champions superhero team get full write-ups for their beginning careers in the Champions genre book, with more experienced versions in Champions Universe.
Kelvarite: This mysterious, green-glowing extraterrestrial mineral has been found in meteorites from several falls. It's a powerful source of energy, but is extremely unstable and prone to explosion when disturbed. Some people who have been bombarded by radiation or fragments from exploding kelvarite have gained superhuman powers, typically (but not exclusively) superhuman strength and durability, and some type of enhanced movement capability, e.g. super-running or -leaping, flight, or teleportation. They also acquire a susceptibility to radiation from other samples of kelvarite. Known superhumans with this origin include the solo villains Tachyon and Thunderbolt II, Dr. Destroyer's servant Meteor (all in the CV trilogy), and the African superhero Gazelle (in Champions Worldwide).
Large organizations such as the US government and UNTIL have secured all the kelvarite they can find, but sometimes lend samples to research laboratories. Other kelvarite meteorites remain to be discovered. However, what no one is aware of is that what they call kelvarite is actually impure samples, which is why it's unstable. Pure kelvarite doesn't resemble the impure mineral, and is extremely rare on Earth. Its energies respond to the will of intelligent beings in physical contact with it, allowing them to wield formidable and versatile energy-projection powers. (It isn't obvious that the power comes from the kelvarite itself.) The only pure kelvarite discovered so far was made into rings worn by the four men who have used the superheroic identity, Meteor Man.
Kelvarite is described in Champions Universe, while the first Meteor Man is written up in Golden Age Champions.
Martial-Arts Temples: For centuries, hidden enclaves have existed in the Far East where dedicated monks have practiced the most advanced physical and spiritual martial-arts techniques, including virtually superhuman abilities for those with the skill and determination to master them. Several official Champions heroes and villains were trained at such enclaves. The most legendary of these sites among knowledgeable martial artists are Yengtao Temple, somewhere in the mountains of China; and the city of Shamballah, in a cave beneath a mountain in the Himalayas. Both sites are hidden from the outside world both physically and magically, so that only those already highly disciplined in body and mind can find them. But those who do can study almost any martial art that has ever existed, and perhaps achieve abilities like the heroes of legend.
Various students at Yengtao Temple have returned to the outside world to become heroes, or villains. In the present day the Millennium City superhero Nightwind, his bitter rival Jade Phoenix, and the Hong Kong hero Golden Dragon Fist, all learned their extraordinary skills and ch'i powers from Yengtao. Jade Phoenix was responsible for the destruction of Yengtao Temple and murder of the monks in 1996, but there may be other former students alive in the world. And Shamballah, second only to Yengtao as a repository of mystic martial-arts secrets, still stands.
But Shamballah also guards a dark secret even further beneath the mountain: its evil twin city, Agharti, prison of the Dark Monks, also extraordinarily skilled but utterly corrupt. While the Shamballans prevent the Dark Monks from escaping, they don't forbid outsiders from visiting the city, or leaving afterwards. The villain Zhua Teng ("grasping vine") received training in Agharti.
The story of Yengtao Temple, and description of some of its unique techniques, appear in Champions Universe. Shamballah and Agharti are described in considerable detail in Hidden Lands. Nightwind's latest write-up is in Millennium City, while Jade Phoenix is in Champions Villains Volume Three. Zhua Teng is fully written up in Martial Enemies Volume 1.
Mythic Forces: Under the entry for "Divine" Intervention, above, is the story of how circus strongman Johnny Hercules received the Hercules Force in an amulet bestowed by Zeus. Johnny died in the Battle of Detroit, and his amulet, apparently powerless, was buried with him. But the Hercules Force continued to exist, and over a decade later "chose" another human vessel for its power, a student of Classical culture, who became the second and current Johnny Hercules. One of his greatest foes is the monstrous Typhon, once a bitter, angry archaeologist who was the recipient of the Typhon Force, a sort of balance to the Hercules Force.
The PDF book, The Hercules Force, which fully writes up both characters, suggests that other "forces" could exist based on other gods, demigod heroes, or divine-level monsters. The examples imply that these would be mythic figures who are either dead or imprisoned, e.g. Achilles, Python, Baldur, or Ymir. Powers granted would be consistent with the legendary abilities of those entities. The forces are most likely drawn to people with personalities similar to the original source being and/or familiarity and strong attachment to the culture it comes from. They would differ from empowerment directly by a mythic god in that there would be no potential meddling in the character's life by their patron divinity.
Professional Armorers: One of the staples of the superhero genre is the gadget-using super, with no actual super-powers but employing equipment made of special materials and/or incorporating advanced technology. Most comic-book heroes build their own gadgets, or have them designed for them by benevolent patron inventors or agencies. Some heroes acquire prototype devices by accident, including "liberating" them from their villainous makers (often earning them pursuit by the vengeful villain). But it's not unheard-of in comics for a scientist -- usually one of criminal bent -- to sell his technological services to whoever will pay.
In the official Champions Universe there are several possible sources of scientific expertise for hire to aspiring supers. Most of these are considered criminals by most world law-enforcement, so don't typically contract with anyone of obvious heroic bent who might cause them trouble. But for another criminal, or a mercenary or vigilante of grey morality, they're often the route to quick super status.
Millennium City is the home base of Wayland Talos, a brilliant inventor with a pathological hatred of superheroes. To strike back at them he supplies villains with everything from questionite hand weapons, to energy blasters or jet packs, to full suits of powered armor. He's considered one of the underworld's premier armorers, with few individual competitors. One of those competitors is known as Brainchild, a telepathic gadgeteer who primarily supplies tactical and technical support to other criminals, rather than take the risk of committing his own crimes.
On the international front, the Warlord is a powered-armor villain and would-be conqueror who's also a major dealer in high-tech armaments, and who has created super-class weaponry and armor for individuals for the right price. The unscrupulous corporation called ARGENT does a thriving business in service to criminals; not just supplying gadgetry, but even physically augmenting a person through bionic implants or experimental biochemical treatments. The independent city-state of Larisagrad was once a center for the USSR's classified scientific research, including advanced weaponry, and experiments to create true superhumans. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and thus their funding, the scientists of Larisagrad chose to freelance to the highest bidder.
The only truly benign inventor engaged in remotely similar activity is named Ralph Polarewski. Formerly the full-time technical supervisor to the famous Sentinels superhero team, Ralph left them after a bitter argument with the team's leader. He's become a well-known freelance contractor to members of the superhero community who use gadgets but have no technical skills of their own. As written he primarily works for people already established as heroes (and would never sell his services to someone of questionable morality), but would be well able to supply an equipment-based origin to someone who could convince him of their sincerity and dedication.
ARGENT and Larisagrad are described in Champions Universe. The Warlord and his organization are fully written up in Volume One of the Champions Villains trilogy, while Brainchild and Wayland Talos get the same treatment in Volume Three. Ralph Polarewski is detailed in the book, Everyman.
Project Sunburst: In 1994 a group of American "rogue generals" assigned over 200 volunteer soldiers to what they were told was a war game. In fact the generals were experimenting to try to create superpowered soldiers resistant to radiation, by detonating a nuclear device near them while they wore protective suits. Most of the volunteers soon died of radiation poisoning, while a handful slipped into comas. Most of the comatose were placed into a secret holding facility, codenamed "The Crypt," while a few were stored at other sites.
In the intervening years, several of these survivors have developed superhuman physical and energy powers. A few, such as the master villain Sunburst and his follower Radium, awakened spontaneously. Others, like Dr. Destroyer's security chief, Gigaton, were aroused with help from other villains. Some escaped the Crypt on their own, while others were "liberated." All the active survivors except Gigaton and the powered-armor villain, Armadillo, have joined Sunburst. However, the remaining comatose subjects are still being kept in secret in the Crypt, not just from the public but from the generals' own superiors.
Most of these villains are fully written up in Champions Villains Vol. 1: Master Villains, although Armadillo is in Vol. 3
Radium-X: This radioactive element has been known to science on Champions Earth since at least the 1930s. It's well known for its radiation's mutagenic properties, able to induce radical, even super-empowering mutations in living organisms under certain conditions. For example, it's a critical component of Dr. Phillippe Moreau's process for creating Manimals. The late superhero Tiger, a former leader of the famous Sentinels superhero team, was a former UNTIL agent who became a man-tiger hybrid through accidental exposure to radium-X and some of Moreau's chemicals during a raid on the Doctor's lab. In 1940 a Bulgarian laboratory researcher gained formidable magnetic powers after the failure of an experimental magnetron being powered by radium-X flooded her lab with radiation. She took the code-name Leitstern ("lodestar") and was drafted to fight with Germany during WW II.
The preceding examples suggest that the specific mutations caused by radium-X are thematically linked to the environmental conditions applying at the time. The origin of Leitstern also highlights another major use for radium-X, as a concentrated high-energy power source for various devices. The Golden Age villain Liquifier needed that element to power his Matter-Liquifier Ray, which could change any inanimate solid matter to a liquid state. It's possible that other radical technology can only be powered by radium-X's unique radiation.
Radium-X can be purchased legally. Various research laboratories are noted as studying or using it. However, the clear implication of references to it is that it's rare and expensive, leading to attempts to steal it by people with less than upright intentions for it.
Dr. Phillippe Moreau and his followers are fully written up in Champions Villains Volume One: Master Villains, while both Leitstern and Liquifier are detailed in Golden Age Champions. Tiger has never been given a full background story or Hero System character sheet, but is mentioned and briefly described in CV Vol. 1, Champions Universe, and Book Of The Destroyer.
The Swords of Nama: During the Dark Ages the serpent-god Nama, who is today the patron deity of VIPER, set out to become a great power among Men. He gathered six mighty warriors from across Eurasia to be his agents and generals, to conquer an empire in his name. For each warrior he forged a powerful enchanted sword. But before they could achieve any major successes the warriors quarreled, which ultimately led to all their deaths. The Swords of Nama were scattered. Over the intervening centuries some of these legendary swords reappeared, and a few were destroyed; but others remain to be discovered in ruins across Eastern Europe.
The story of the six "vipers upon the land" appears as a small part of the history of Nama and VIPER, on p. 6 of the book, VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent. Aside from being called "serpent-blades" the Swords of Nama aren't described, nor are any of their qualities defined, which leaves a player free to imbue a particular sword with any powers desired. Note that Nama is neither good nor evil, and has helped heroes or villains as the mood struck him; so there's no inherent reason for his Swords to be one or the other.
Teleios, the Perfect Man: The foremost genetic engineer on Champions Earth today, Teleios is infamous for being a cloner of people, and a creator of animalistic monsters, but the range of his genetic expertise goes far beyond that. More than half a dozen official supers, villainous and heroic, owe their powers or very existence to The Perfect Man.
Teleios has the skill to induce almost any super power in any human, whether or not that person already has powers or the potential for them. Teleios will do this for pay, or in exchange for services or favors, as he did for the supervillain-turned-hero Flashover (Champions Universe: News Of The World), and her brother, the villain Hurricane (Champions Villains Vol. 3: Solo Villains). Teleios has been known to bestow powers on someone on a whim, whether or not they want them, like after a dalliance with the Indian woman now known as Monsoon (Champions Worldwide).
The Perfect Man can grow completely original, humanoid or human-looking superhumans with any abilities he chooses. He sometimes sells his creations, as when he supplied VIPER with the powerful monster named Obelisque (Champions Worldwide). Sometimes Teleios turns a creation loose in the world uncontrolled (although not unmonitored), to see how it responds and develops. He did this with the beings labeled the Landsman, and the Lodge (both in Champions Of The North).
The master geneticist can program his creations with whatever skills he or his employer desires. He can even implant elaborate false memories, to the point where the person has no idea he or she is artificial or has any connection to the Perfect Man. This is how Teleios programs the cloned soldiers he sells to other villains and groups. The superheroine called the Teen Dream (Teen Champions), whom Teleios designed as an experiment in social manipulation, is unaware of her real origin and considers herself a true hero. When he makes a creature Teleios implants controlling genes that make it psychologically impossible for that creature to harm him, or may even make it a loyal follower (although those controls have been known to fail on very rare occasions). Those controls can be so subtle that a person isn't consciously aware of them. Although the lore doesn't specify it, it may be possible for Teleios to do this to humans he augments. He definitely is known to build exploitable secret weaknesses into their genetic code, should they turn against him.
Teleios is fully written up in Champions Villains Vol. 1: Master Villains.
Vandaleur Bloodline: Founded a thousand years ago by their immortal progenitor, Adrian Vandaleur, this widespread clan of sorcerers is one of the premier occult dynasties in the Western world. Although the majority of Vandaleurs have no more talent for magic than most people, the gift for spell casting is far more common among them than in the general populace; and their ranks include some of the most powerful mages in the world.
Members of the family are aware of each other, and sometimes cooperate, sometimes conflict. But Adrian Vandaleur, whose power dwarfs that of his kin, keeps any factionalism from descending into violence. Otherwise individual Vandaleurs are free to follow whatever activities they like. Their personalities and morality vary widely. Some are benevolent, even heroic; others are amoral and ruthless, up to megalomaniacal psychopaths. Most are simply concerned with their own interests.
Any Vandaleur with magical ability and desire to develop it could find family members able and willing to train him. The Vandaleur family are described in detail in Champions Villains Vol. 2: Villain Teams.
The Vita-Man Clan: Percy Yates was born in Los Angeles in 1910. Brilliant but sickly throughout his youth, he studied biology, chemistry, and nutrition to find ways to improve his own health. In 1939 he discovered a compound which when administered in a pill had a miraculous effect on him, transforming his body to one of perfect health and exceptional physical vigor. Further experimentation led to additional pills granting him true super-powers, including X-ray vision, invisibility, flight, growth to giant size and strength, or shrinking to the size of a mouse.
Yates's discoveries had two major drawbacks. Their effects were only temporary -- his main vitalizing pill lasted about an hour per dose, while his additional abilities endured for only a minute. Yates was also unable to make them work for anyone else -- they interacted with his own unique physiology. Nonetheless he used his new abilities to fight crime under the costumed identity of Vita-Man. Vita-Man was recruited by the Drifter as one of the founding members of the Justice Squadron superhero team, protecting the west coast of the United States during WW II.
Percy Yates's health continued to deteriorate over time, leading to his retirement as Vita-Man in 1948, and his death in 1964. But in the intervening years he learned that several of his family members shared the biological factors which would allow them to use his empowering treatments. Today half a dozen of his kin are using "variations of his discoveries" (wording suggesting that other powers are possible).
Vita-Man's full background and character sheet are included in the Golden Age Champions Secret Files, a PDF collecting outtakes from the manuscript for the latest edition of Golden Age Champions.
The Zodiac Working: In 1979 the late master villain Archimago, greatest sorceror of the Twentieth Century, attempted this fearsome ritual, to impregnate twelve women by twelve powerful demons. The resulting hybrid children could be used by the demons as hosts to incarnate themselves on Earth with all their power. The ritual was interrupted and the women rescued by the superhero team, the Fabulous Five. The women seemed unharmed and weren't pregnant, so returned home.
Two years later one of these women married and gave birth to a girl who later manifested powers of destructive energy, as well as a propensity for rage and vandalism. She grew up to become the supervillain Frag (fully written up in CV Vol. 3). She has no knowledge of her true origins, thinking herself a mutant. Although she usually appears human, when enraged her form becomes more demonic-looking.
Another of these women gave birth to a son, who now acts as the superhero Pagan (described in the book The Ultimate Mystic). In his superhero identity (resembling a satyr) he's physically superhuman and can project powerful mystic light. Pagan discovered his true heritage when his demonic father Belial attempted to seduce him to his service. Although his diabolical inclinations are strong, Pagan's inherent decency has so far won out.
To date nothing has been revealed about the other ten victims of the Zodiac Working.
FATE Core isn't set up any different than any other RPG when it comes to deciding on a campaign. The difference is in the rule structure with games like FATE being far broader and less specific than systems that drill down the details.
Collaboration was always a part of building a campaign. At the beginning it also included figuring out what the rules meant as well.
But building a campaign has always meant that the GM/DM/Keeper/whatever has needed to work with prospective players on their build. The actual issue is the rise over the last 10 years of the idea that players are everything and GMs are door matts and should be thankful for it. It is also why games that have solid support in pregenerated adventurers/campaigns dominate the market. It is far more palatable to run a pregenerated adventure when it flames out, than to see your personal hard work get destroyed.
This idea that somehow rules lite games have invented one of the foundations of the RPG is actually pretty amusing. The reality is we are simply cycling through and the newer gamers are "discovering" old ideas as new.
In a very broad sense, there are two types of GMs. The ultra miniscule micro percentage that always GM to the same people in their private gaming group for decades. And the bulk of GMs that routinely have new players in their games. The latter deal with far more a$$hattery that the private group types.
The core reason it is so hard to find and keep GMs is that for years players were all take and no give. Routinely lying to GMs about playing in their campaign, and then trying to reshape it when it starts. This type of problem seldom occurs in the private game. But is fairly common in more open games.
The neverending issue with finding people willing to GM is not because no one wants to build settings and run adventures. It is because of the small but crappy minority of a$$hats that seem to revel in destroying a game. I was fed up and just stopped running games because I was tired of people agreeing to one thing and then trying to do something completely different. I mostly run one-shots for a small select group, though I was planning to run something at Dragonflight this year. If it happens.
But if people want RPG gaming to truly expand, one thing that they need to grasp is you can't keep screwing over your GMs and expect them to come back.
It is actually very very simple.
If you agree to play in a game, then play in the game you agreed to.
If the game doesn't appeal to you, decline and don't play.
If you start a game and discover you don't like it. Let the GM know and leave the game.
Ok short of beating a dead horse, for those whom have 6th ed vol 2 pg 266. Has 2 points which I was trying to make earlier in this thread. Principle 1, the rules are designed to have fun, you can ignore the letter of the rules in order to have fun. Principle 6. (Which we seem to to do too much on these boards, me included) Don’t waste time worrying about the “exact right way” to build an ability. Build it for your game and it works the way you make it work.
Also, the GM and players need to be on the same page. The GM needs to explain how he/she runs the game, and the players need to give their input. I've found all too often that assuming everyone is thinking the same thing leads to a bad night of gaming. I'm as guilty of this as anyone else, both as a player and as a GM.
If that had been the case, the plot threads and hooks, then I don't think there would have been any problems getting the game moving. The thing was that there wasn't. We had literally 2 sessions of just sitting around while the GM read a book/futzed around on the PC.
Giving the players hooks/ideas/hints of goings on out in the world and then letting them pursue whatever interests them instead of having a more traditional campaign set-up is good and, like I said, probably would have worked. But just plunked the group down "in the world" and then letting them flounder around isn't the way to start the game.
Note: APG rules are subject to GM allowance as they aren't "normal" rules but they do have some really neat ideas in there. Also, just like in the main books it has a Stop Sign.
If that had been the case, the plot threads and hooks, then I don't think there would have been any problems getting the game moving. The thing was that there wasn't. We had literally 2 sessions of just sitting around while the GM read a book/futzed around on the PC.
Giving the players hooks/ideas/hints of goings on out in the world and then letting them pursue whatever interests them instead of having a more traditional campaign set-up is good and, like I said, probably would have worked. But just plunked the group down "in the world" and then letting them flounder around isn't the way to start the game.
Many times I've linked to Keith Curtis's magnificent Savage Earth campaign setting website -- a magical post-apocalyptic Earth evocative of the old "Thundarr the Barbarian" cartoon, but more serious and sophisticated, and far more complex. One of the defining elements of post-apoc is that it takes recognizable features of our familiar world and alters them through whatever agency ended our civilization, giving us the shock of seeing something well-known in a distorted guise. Keith used many of the techniques that are classics of the genre, such as ruined real-world cities and mutated animals. But IMO his most brilliant touch, that turned the whole effect up a notch, was having the catastrophic event turn the axis of the planet nearly 90% from what it was. Essentially the whole world map we know is turned on its "side." His campaign is based in a former North America bordering what was the Arctic Ocean, which is now the equatorial Middle Sea. What was arctic and sub-arctic is now temperate to tropical. The land masses are recognizable, but aren't where they're "supposed" to be, and their climate is completely different.
Vanguard reacted to Panpiper in OCV/DCV ranges for starting characters.
Vanguard got a reaction from LoneWolf in General Advice When Creating Champions/Hero System Characters
Vanguard got a reaction from Lee in Fantasy Immersion and the Things that Ruin it.
Vanguard got a reaction from ScottishFox in Fantasy Immersion and the Things that Ruin it.
Vanguard got a reaction from Hugh Neilson in Fantasy Immersion and the Things that Ruin it.
