PamelaIsley

It's actually very hard to make a Superman-Lite with only 400 points, particularly considering how powerful the average villain is in the 6E books. The solution, obviously, is to scale the villains down to a reasonable level, but it can be frustrating when you're first trying out a concept.

Code of the Hero is a specific complication described in detail in Champions 6E (p. 108). "Code Of The Hero (Very Common, Strong; 20 points): The “code of the hero” refers to the collection of personality traits that signify a character who’s molded in the traditional four- color superhero fashion. He always fights fairly. He treats everyone, particularly women and authority figures, with respect, and always keeps his promises. He does his best to fulfill any request for help made to him, even if it’s just to rescue a kitten trapped in a tree. He doesn’t hesitate to risk his life to stop crime, save disaster victims, thwart supervillains’ schemes, rescue hostages, and perform other heroic actions." Your suggestions are excellent.

Hero's version of Mind Control is hopelessly broken. If I were a supervillain, I wouldn't spend a single point on it (it's arguable how suitable long-term mind control is for a PC). But that's another thread. You are absolutely right, though, that at some point they should have rewritten things to make more sense. If Desolidification can apply immunity to a certain type of damage for a certain cost, just invent a power called Immunity that costs the same thing so the label makes sense to people who aren't hero experts. Same thing goes for Running/Flying I guess.

Paragon Total: 400 STR 50*, 19-, 10d6, 100t DEX 18, 13- CON 25, 14- INT 13, 12- EGO 10, 11- PRE 18, 13-, 4d6 OCV 7 DCV 7 OMCV 3 DMCV 4 SPD 5 PD 10 28 (18r) ED 10 28 (18r) REC 15 END 60 BODY 16 STUN 50 Total Cost: 168 Skills & Talents Power Skill: Martial Arts 13- Charm 13- (3) Combat Pilot 13- (3) KS: United States Air Force 11- (2) Interrogation 13- (3) Navigation (Air) 12- (3) Professional Skill: Air Force Officer 11- (2) Tactics, 12- (3) Transport Fam: Combat Aircraft, Planes (2) Martial Arts Cost Name OCV DCV Notes 4 Bear Hug +0 +0 14d6 Crush, Follow Grab 4 Break Free -0 +0 65 STR v. Grabs 4 Deadly Smash -2 +0 HKA 4d6 4 Punch 1/2 Phase +0 +2 12d6 Strike 5 Flying Grab ½ Phase -2 -1 2 Limbs, 60 STR, Flight Total Cost: 44 Powers Flight (20M, Megascale +1); (40) Super-strength (Strength 40, Half End +1/4) (50) Tough Skin (Resistant Protection 18 PD / 18 ED); (54) Self-Sufficient (Life Support: Safe in High Pressure, Safe in Vacuum, Self-Contained Breathing); (13) X-Ray Vision (Totally Penetrative for Sight Group; Blocked by Lead, Force Fields); (15) Regeneration (1 Body per turn) (16) Total Cost: 188 Matching Complications Hunted (U.S. Government, Mo Pow, NCI, Watching) (10) Psychological Limitation (Code of the Hero, Common, Strong) (15) Psychological Limitation (Arrogance, Common, Moderate) (10) Psychological Limitation (Needs to Prove Self, Common, Strong) (15) Social Limitation (Secret Identity, Steven Riker, Frequently, Major) (15) Vulnerability (Radiation Attacks, Common, 1.5 Stun Damage) (10) Total: 75 points Background: Steven Riker had always loved to fly. Growing up in Denver he was obsessed with model and remote-controlled airplanes and by the time he was in high school, he had already decided he wanted to join the Air Force. Although Steven had several athletic scholarships offers from major conference schools, the only place he ever considered attending was the Air Force Academy. After Riker graduated, he was accepted into the fighter pilot program and the young pilot was soon flying the latest in Air Force technology, including the F-22 and joint strike fighter. Although only an above average pilot, Steven’s dedication to duty and incredible work ethic made him a favorite with his superiors and he continued to draw top assignments and promotions. Riker’s life changed during an engagement with the War Machine. Warlord’s attempt to interfere with NATO operations in the Balkans drew the attention of the Air Force and Riker was part of a strike group designed to drive off the supervillain team. His fighter jet was struck by a blast from an experimental Hzeel-based weapon being used by the Warlord’s minions and seemed to disintegrate in a burst of blue energy. However, Riker wasn’t killed, or even injured. Instead the energy force infused his body with incredible abilities and the pilot found himself hovering in the air. He could fly on his own! Using his new-found powers, he helped the remainder of the NATO force drive off the War Machine. Although military doctors couldn’t explain what had happened to Steven, they could confirm that he now possessed an impressive array of superpowers. Over the next several months, Riker participated in a number of trials that tested the extent of his new strength and toughness, along with pushing the boundaries of his ability to fly and see through objects. The government wanted Riker to join one of its sponsored teams, but he politely demurred. Although he was willing to coordinate with the military, he desperately wanted to test his abilities on his own and he transferred to the Air Force reserve. Personality: Paragon is an outgoing, confident, and sometimes brash hero who is reveling in his new found powers. Driven by a strong desire to live up to the reputation of other superheroes, Paragon has adopted powerful codes of behavior, including avoiding using lethal force. The military taught Steven Riker to respect authority and be loyal, but he also has a take-charge personality and likes to be at the top of the chain of command, if possible. As a former fighter pilot, Riker loves flying. He sometimes will over use his flight power as a result. Over all, Paragon is a well-adjusted individual who has yet to learn his new limitations. Part of him would love to found and lead a superteam after finding suitable teammates and gaining more experience in his new role outside of the Air Force. Powers: As a typical flying brick, Paragon is super strong, durable, with high resistances. He has X-Ray vision and can survive in a vacuum. Steven Riker’s Air Force training included some basic martial arts that he has refined as Paragon to enhance his hand-to-hand fighting ability. Paragon isn’t subtle in his tactics. He can withstand a lot of punishment and tries to close to melee range as soon as possible Appearance: Paragon is a handsome, white man in his early 30s. As Steven Riker, he keeps his blonde hair slicked down and brushed back (making it appear darker), and dresses in upscale casual clothing. His appearance is clean cut and neat, like many veterans. As Paragon, he styles his hair differently and wears contact lenses (when possible) to try to disguise his appearance. His costume is white, framed in blue on the sides and arms, and he wears a red cape. He wears gold bracers and boots. Notes: A re-edited version. Paragonv2.hdc

I'm not sure the other players (or the GM) will appreciate an entire side adventure built around one person running around a gem. For the purpose that I envision, I think Transformation works best. Using extradimensional movement does remind me of Nebula (a villain in the 6E Volume 3 book, as well as some 5E stuff) and her ability to transport people to a sort of hellish prison dimension for eternity.

To be honest, this is a problem with a lot of Hero. P1: "I want to be immune to a certain type of attack." GM: "Ok, buy Desolidification." P2: "Well, I want to use Mind Control to make people into my slaves." GM: "Ok, buy Transform."

The ablative is very complex. In play, it might be much more annoying than it's worth. It could be one of those things that sounds great when you're thinking of the character, but then in practice is just annoying to track and fiddle with.

Wow. I really appreciate the effort rebuilding the characters. On Petal, you really made her more powerful. I'm a big fan of 300 point characters, so I've been building a lot of them lately. But I like how you scaled you up, particularly the Drain Con power and the plant summoning power. On Bluebird, I like some of the changes, but am not fond of dropping her active points down to 60 on her main powers. It just seems too weak for a 400 point standard character (going by the guidelines in Champions 6E at least). I also noticed you dropped the ablative property to her ice shield. I originally (years ago) built her as having only an ablative shield, but people said it would be too limiting. I just like the idea of ice being chipped away. I'll have to clean up my HDC files so I can start attaching them here. That's a great idea.

Makes sense. That's the thing I just wasn't thinking of.

I'm curious why in the 6E Champions book (and the 6E volume 1), there are two different ways to build a speedster's super running power. I know Hero has many ways to build the same or similar powers, but this one is confusing to me for some reason. The most common way (used on Kinetik in Champions and suggested repeatably throughout both books) is to use the Flight Power, with the limitation "only in contact with a surface." However, you can also just use Running, which is a power. What is the main functional difference between the two powers? Is there a type of super speed that is better simulated by just the Running power? I'm actually just interested in tacking super speed on to a Brick (Superman/Supergirl type) character that I'm trying to build, if that makes any difference.

Many of the Superhero teams that were detailed in News of the World would need scaled back to fit into the power scale for the world I'm imagining (this goes for villains as well, of course, but it's less of an issue since most villains are intended to fight an entire team). There are a lot of huge DC heroes in the Sentinels and Justice Squadron that are too powerful to fit in a less Silver Age setting. The biggest offenders might be the strength-based heroes, like Diamond (who can get 17d6 in some combat maneuvers) and Brawler (80 STR! and 16d6). In general, I'd want most heroes to fall in the 6E 300 point range (60-75 active point limit maybe), with the Champions being their Champions 6E versions at 400 points (and a few scattered heroes being more powerful). This would fit with the idea that a huge portion of the world's experienced superheroes (like Vanguard) were wiped out in the Battle of Detroit. The makeup of the teams would probably need a little work too, even if just on the edges. The Sentinels have two extra-dimensional members and one member who is a Fantastic Four knock-off. I'd probably at least change their backgrounds.

I'll give it to him, but I've found that the 6E people very rarely bothered to convert COM consistently. But I should have at least thought of it.

I think I did that on purpose when I was trying to bring him in at 400 points. Since I failed, I'll just push it back up.

Cavalier, 6E Version Total: 416 STR 10/45, 18-, 9d6 DEX 13/21, 13- CON 15/24, 14- INT 16, 12- EGO 12, 11- PRE 20, 13-, 4d6 OCV 7 DCV 7 OMCV 3 DMCV 3 SPD 5 PD 4 ED 6 REC 4 END 20 BODY 12 STUN 26 Total Cost: 111 Skills & Talents CS: Plasma Blasters +2 (4) Computer Programming, 12- (3) Electronics, 12- (3) Inventor, 13- (5) KS: Marketing and Publicity, 12- (3) KS: Superhuman World, 8- (1) KS: DoD Procurement, 8- (1) CK: Millennium City, 11- (2) SS: Chemistry, 8- (1) SS: Physics, 11- (2) SS: Powered Armor, 11- (2) Systems Operation, 12- (3) Contact: Agent, 11- (2) Money: Wealthy (6) Positive Reputation (Heroic, Millennium City, 11-, +2/2d6); (4) Striking Appearance +1 (1d6) (3) Total Cost: 45 Powers Onboard Batteries (Endurance Reserve, 200 END, 25 REC, 68 Active Points, OIF -½); (51) Plasma Blasters (Blast 10d6, Autofire (3 shots +¼), ½ End +½, 87 Active Points, OIF -½); (58) Powered Armor (Resistant Protection 15 PD / 15 ED, 45 Active Points, OIF -½); (30) Bootjets (Flight 50M, 50 Active Points, OIF -½); (33) Sealed System (Life Support (Extended Breathing: 1 END per Minute; Safe in High Pressure, Intense Cold, Intense Heat, Low Pressure/Vacuum); 9 Active Points, OIF -½, Costs End -½); (4) Visor (Sight Group Flash Defense, 10 Active Points, OIF -½); (7) Active Sonar (Hearing Group, 15 Active Points, OIF -½); (10) Sensor Suite (Ultrasonic Hearing Perception, OIF -½); (8) Senor Suite (Microscopic Sight x100, 10 Active Points, OIF -½); (7) Sensor Suite (+10 Range Modifier for Sight Group, 15 Active Points, OIF -½); (10) Powered Armor Strength (+35 STR, 35 Active Points, OIF -½); (23) Powered Armor Dexterity (+8 Dex, 16 Active Points, OIF -½); (11) Powered Armor Constitution (+9 Con, 9 Active Points, OIF -½); (6) Total Cost: 260 Matching Complications Psychological Complication (Showboat and Publicity Hound, Very Common, Moderate); (15) Psychological Complication (Greedy, Common, Moderate); (10) Psychological Complication (Sucker for a Pretty Face, Common, Moderate); (10) Hunted (Champions, Infrequently, Mo Pow, Watching); (5) Public Identity (Eric Trammell, Frequently, Major); (15) Negative Reputation (Glory Seeking Hero, Frequently, Known to Small Group); (5) Rivalry (Defender, As Powerful, Outdo, Embarrass or Humiliate, Rival Aware); (5) Vulnerability (Sonic Attacks, 1 ½ stun damage, Common); (10) Experience Points (16) Total: 91 points Notes: This is just an attempt to convert Cavalier from the Millennium City book to 6E. I can't take much, if any, credit for any creativity here because this was basically just a transcription. He had a lot more complications in 5E, obviously, so I chose the ones I thought best applied. I thought about tweaking him to make him a true 400 point hero, but it seems to make sense to me that he has some experience points. I intended to use Cavalier as part of a superhero team that I'm envisioning being kind of rivals with the Champions (or just trying to live up to the Champions' standards). Cavalier.hdc

I got to 90 by putting Hardened +1/4 in it. I had forgotten about that so my original post is misleading.

Poison Petal is a new build that I did a week or so ago. She's built on just 300 points and is just designed to be a simple plant controller (kind of like Poison Ivy in Batman, but maybe less flexible). I'm really loving the feedback here and will probably keep posting builds and then go back and edit them all at the end to take into account some of the broader criticisms (like OCV, REC, END, etc.). I'm sorry I can't get the text to format consistently. Pasting from Word shouldn't be this hard.

Poison Petal Total: 300 STR 10, 11-, 2d6, 100 kg DEX 18, 13- CON 13, 12- INT 13, 12- EGO 10, 11- PRE 18, 13-, 3 1/2d6 OCV 6 DCV 6 OMCV 3 DMCV 3 SPD 5 PD 6 ED 6 REC 8 END 60 BODY 10 STUN 25 Total Cost: 113 Skills & Talents Acting, 14- (5) Acrobatics, 14- (5) Charm, 14- (5) High Society, 14- (5) Persuasion, 13- (3) PS: (Actress), 12- (3) Plant Multipower +1 (5) Wealthy (6) Striking Appearance +2 (+2d6) (6) Total Cost: 43 Powers Plant Shield (Resistant Protection 10 ED / 10 PD (30 active points), Costs End to Activate -1/4); (24) Control Plants (Mind Control 8d6, Plants, (40 active points), Normal Range -1/4); (32) Phytotoxin Immunity (5) Petal Plant Powers (Multipower, 60 points reserve); (60) 1. Choking Spores (Blast 6d6, NND (Life Support: Self Contained Breathing) +1, 60 active points, Limited Range (8M) -1/4); 5f 2. Sticky Sap (Entangle 4d6, 4 PD / 4 ED, Sticky +1/2 (60 active points); 6f 3. Tangling Vines (Entangle 6d6, 6 PD / 6 ED, (60 active points), OIF (Nearby Plants) -1/2); 4f 4. Thorn Spray (RKA 3d6, Armor Piercing +1/4 (56 active points); 6f 5. Controlling Spores (Mind Control 12d6, Humans, (60 active points), Based on Con -1, Limited Range (8M) -1/4, Limited Power (Self Contained Breathing Defense) -1/4; 2f Total Cost: 144 Matching Complications Psychological Complication: Extremely Vain (Common, Strong); (15) Psychological Complication: Underconfidence (Uncommon, Strong); (10) Vulnerability: 1 ½ Stun from Fire and Extreme Heat (10) Distinctive Features: Mutant (Not Concealable, Noticed, Uncommon senses); (10) Social Complication: Secret Identity (Paula Thorne, Common, Strong); (15) Total: 60 points Background: Paula Thorne always had a special relationship with plants. Growing up, she discovered that she could talk to them and they would respond by moving in directions that she asked, or by growing faster. She kept this ability mostly a secret because she didn’t want to be thought of as weird or a mutant. However, in high school she discovered that her relationship with plants went even deeper. Her body could produce spores that made people do what she wanted. Because she was an attractive cheerleader, Thorne didn’t really need much help at getting her way. But that changed as she pursued modeling, and then an acting career after graduating. Suddenly just being a very pretty face with a well-developed figure wasn’t enough. She needed talent and connections. And the spores helped, at least to a point. But small parts in a few movies and advertising campaigns weren’t enough for Paula. And her powers were growing. Growing in ways that made her more powerful, and able to consider different options. When she lost out on a part to a more talented rival, Paula used her powers to break into the other woman’s talent agency, and steal damaging information that she leaked to the press. Now the part went to Paula, and the career of Poison Petal was born. Over the next few years, Paula used her Poison Petal identity to commit numerous crimes aimed at discrediting rivals, damaging studios that slighted her, and robbing wealthy “friends.” She enjoyed the press attention Poison Petal received, and kept up the identity even as her acting and modeling career flourished. She is in now on the verge of becoming a supervillainess full time, particularly as she becomes more daring in the types of crimes she looks to commit. Personality: Paula Thorne is petty, vain, and selfish. Completely convinced she is the most talented and beautiful woman in any situation, she quickly becomes frustrated if she thinks other people do not agree (and sometimes can’t resist using her powers to change their minds). She can be a charming conversationalist, and, as an actress, is more than capable of adapting her behavior to be pleasant, but she often doesn’t make the effort, instead relying on her looks to influence people. As a supervillainess, Poison Petal isn’t completely evil. She seldom uses her powers to truly hurt anyone. But she is quite motivated to advance her career and wealth. She uses her mind control ability to influence studio heads and others to cast her in parts or to blacklist her rivals. She also has conducted numerous robberies as Poison Petal, both to directly steal from her Hollywood peers or to seize scripts and other damaging information from studios, agents, and others in the entertainment industry. Petal doesn’t want to rule the world, but she does crave fame and attention, and even the limited notoriety she has achieved as a supervillainess feeds her ego, making the role almost as intoxicating as her main career. Powers: Poison Petal is a plant controller, with a variety of abilities related to her body’s strange biochemistry. She is able to control nearby plants (an ability she refers to as “talking” with them). She can also use plants as a means of entangling foes. Her body can produce a sticky sap that she can she secrete and shoot from her hands (or she can harden it around her wrists as a protective shield made of an amber-like substance). She can emit spores that influence the mind of her target or can be used to choke them. Her most deadly power is the ability to shoot thorns, which are incredibly sharp and can pierce light armor. Her bizarre blood also makes her immune to any poisons derived from plants. Poison Petal attempts to evade combat as quickly as possible, and definitely isn't suited for a straight up fight with an experienced superhero. She prefers to use her powers in a non-combat setting, where she can influence people’s minds at her leisure to accomplish her goals (which are frequently related to damaging other actresses’ careers or stealing from studios or wealthy friends). Appearance: Poison Petal is a tall, very attractive woman with a curvy, top heavy figure, wavy light brown hair, and pale skin. As a model and actress, Petal is very concerned about her looks and goes out of her way to emphasize her figure and accentuate her beauty. Her costume as a supervillainess is a lowcut, pink, one-piece bathing suit, with a matching partial mask that leaves most of her face and hair exposed. She uses a yellow cape, along with light purple gloves and boots. Poison Petal.hdc

Thanks! I wonder if play by forum is a possibility. The problem is that like most Gms, I think I'd rather play in my universe than run it.

I've been working a little more on this. A few other elements that I think I will discard from Champions Universe. 1. The Tiger Squad doesn't exist. Governments might sponsor an individual hero or two, but on the whole, superhumans are not organized in a way that affects geopolitical strategy. Governments don't use super soldiers, superhumans, or super technology in any meaningful way, and the balance of power in the world is almost identical to what it is in the real world. There were no superhuman deployments to any major war after World War II (allowing the wars to play out largely as they did in real life). The goal of this change is to make governments, law enforcement, and militaries function almost identically to the modern world. I single out the Tiger Squad because it is so big and seems more like a paramilitary group than a crime fighting league. 2. Superhumans can't testify in court under their costumed identity. I wonder if a lawyer could go through this and explain how this might be allowed but I simply can't accept it as plausible. Superhumans can assist law enforcement in taking down criminals, but it's up to the regular authorities to construct actual cases against the people stopped or captured by a superhero (so more like the modern take on Batman than the Silver Age / Adam West Batman). I did envision states like Nevada and Delaware (who are aggressive about hiding beneficial ownership information) allowing superheroes to form corporations and LLCs owned by their costumed identity. This would allow superhumans to cash in on their likenesses without revealing their secret identities. Superhumans could have enough of a public face to be the subject of the lurid fascination of the public, without being such an ingrained part of law enforcement and society that the legal process stops seeming plausible (or at least recognizable). I actually envision that most supercriminals are quietly whisked away by the government to a place like Stronghold without the benefit of a public (or any) trial (which is what I think would really happen). I don't mind alien ships crashing and giving super technology to someone like Warlord. I just don't want the public to be living in fear of alien invasions every day (or aware at all that there is irrefutable evidence of the existence of aliens). VIPER is a big subject. I mentioned earlier that I'd like it to look a little more like COBRA than HYDRA. What I meant by that was to tone down its supertechnology (and I do realize that the cartoon COBRA had things like weather dominators and MASS devices). Their weapons and equipment resemble real world guns and vehicles (much like COBRA's planes, tanks, and guns are mostly just repainted or slightly retooled real world versions). As for what VIPER does, how it manages to build bases everywhere, and whether it has the manpower of a first world military, those are questions I haven't really grappled with. DEMON, I think, can work just as it is. Having unknown evils lurking in other dimensions is fine, just as long as they aren't organized like interstellar empires that invade Earth all the time (so the Kings of Edom are fine, but no Istvaha, Tyrannon, etc.).

That makes sense I guess. The Brick template doesn't list PD and ED that high, but I see that you can add another template from the bottom to get it there. That is what was confusing me. Thanks!

On page 252 of Champions 6E, they list Brick power sets. They show this power (and a lot of variations): Super-Tough Body: Resistant (+½) for 25 PD/ 25 ED. They list a cost of 25 points. I can't figure out what this is. If you put this in as Resistant Protection, it costs 90 75 points. Irconclad is built with a power like this that costs basically nothing. Does anyone know what they were trying to build here?

In DnD, the body disappears and the person is trapped in the gem. Functionally, in both Hero and DnD really, I think it basically means the person is transformed into a gem.

Exactly! This is the quote that triggered the thought line. He goes out of his way to protect his identity on the one hand, but seems to cavalierly disclose it on the other (Wendy, Denise, Gravitar, etc.).

I like the idea of secret identities. I'm not criticizing them. I'm more trying to puzzle out what is going on with Defender, who wears a suit of powered armor but is frequently described as an object of attraction for the women around him (including villainesses). I do think if I worked with Bill Gates frequently (like Wendy and Denise do with Defender) that I might figure out pretty fast who he is, even if I didn't recognize him the first time I saw him outside a suit of armor.

I think I agree with Christopher.