Terminax

Yes it was. It means Panther in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. So as I said before, the sexual slang version of it I thought it was a stretch but I'll take her word for it that it's true. I have zero reason to distrust her commentary or think she's making a crack. And I'm surprised so many of you can't accept that other people can have different opinions than yours, trying to dismiss them in so many ways. I hardly think these people were just waiting to be offended. None of them expected me to hit them up for their thoughts. They just read the material I handed them which was verbatim from the books and by and large all viewed them as shallow stereotypes or bad jokes. I can see their POV, even if I don't wholly agree with them. I'm not shitting on anybody for having views here that differ with mine, it's supposed to be just conversation. Be glad I didn't show them 4E European Enemies. Even if Eurostar gets a pass for whatever reason from you guys, 4E European Enemies is just chock full of ethnic/national stereotypes and I sat on sharing bits of that book with them after I got such a negative view about Eurostar.

I'm not familiar enough with Major Disaster (DC character?), to combine him with (Marvels) Helmut Zemo to get Fiacho. I think the earlier mention that he was a bit of a Utopist is pretty bang on. He got angry at the disunity of the European parliament and cracked, leading to his change of tact. Zemo is a Nazi (well the comic version, the cinematic version is... something else), and I don't get that vibe from Fiacho. But beyond that we haven't had much detail about him which led to all this discussion.

I actually try not to do much right after a game, but chill out. I like to de-stress and come back to things in a day or two, collect my notes (if any) and I'll gradually assemble them in Libre Office. I try to have office hours between games, so I can deal issues, paperwork or side RPing then rather than at the formal game time. When I was making the transition from 4E to 6E, I was particularly rusty and didn't do particularly well as GM but I've shaken out the cobwebs since.

I like the more modern look, simply because tacti-cool is the in thing and will sell better to the more modern set. I'm sure 70s/80s fashion choices may become in-vogue again in the future but they aren't right now. I do agree with the sentiment it looks a little too close to GI JOE/Cobra esthetics but design choice can be tweaked right? Also depends on the artist. The technical 5E outfit drawing definitely gives off that Cobra Viper look, but other illustrations have a slightly more stylized appearance with blackish fang "sideburns" coming down over the sides of the visor part of the helmet and that brings it closer to be agent wear.

I told you exactly what material I gave them - the 4E Classic Enemies entry on Eurostar and 6E Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams entry on Eurostar. I let them go over the canon presentations as written and simplify solicited ideas of how they could be used with actual European viewpoint. Nothing more, nothing less. I've simply relayed their remarks back. And, just in case it isn't obvious my interaction was with each of them individually and there was no group discussion between us. In your first reply you've flat out said they must be defensive and/or don't understand things because they don't have a superhero tradition. I called you out on that already. So let's not keep attacking people you don't know, much less interact with. Stick to discussing the topic. My own use of Eurostar, clearly shows I've tried to use them pretty straight out of the books with a few changes from how they've worked out in canon to fit my needs, but I've explained those changes and why and they're not particularly super different. I do find it difficult to label them as pure terrorists because... well honestly, they've got no particular ideology other than Fiacho's desire to rule Europe and make it the pre-emanant power in the world. If you read the rest of the group in either 4E or 5/6E aside from Mentalla and Ultrasonique, they're all thugs of various stripes, only united because Fiacho (and Mentalla) manipulating them or giving them an outlet for their thuggery. Mentalla as I said before, joined the group for protection because Eurostar thugs are powerful enough to presumably protect her from Doctor Destroyer. Ultrasonique is the odd man out considering his severe mental disease - he's certainly dangerous and quite capable of destruction but he's doing it because Fiacho's manipulations of his condition than out of a desire to commit thuggery that the others are. They have no subtlety, no base of followers, etc to work with. All their plot seeds and history show they've got very little substance as a group. They're a steam hammer being tasked with forging a new order and only capable to smashing everything to bits. Fiacho is supposed to be smarter than anyone else right? There's very little evidence of this in progression of the Champions Universe story. Professor Muerte, if we're going to use him as a counterpoint I'd say is not too different than Fiacho except Fiacho has managed for all his negative traits not be prone to melting down like Professor Muerte was. Both are men who've focused themselves, using technology for death and destruction but Professor Muerte always came across as a flawed, lesser Doctor Destroyer (which is I believe the point!) - a man who views himself as a God of Death, where Fiacho is more a man driven to see his will done, brutal and vicious but still considerably more grounded than Professor Muerte.

Let's start with the easy ones. Bora is the exact stereotype of a demanding, extremely vain Italian blonde, Le Sone / Ultrasonique is French paranoia personified, Durak is a big dumb angry Slav and Scorpia is the murderous red hair, pale beauty Irish terrorist stereotype. We've all seen these stereotypes in popular culture and media. Digging deeper, Fiacho is seen as a joke character, no matter how "serious" you present him because of his schtick of trying to shove Esperanto down people's throats. Esperanto, being a made up language that has gone precisely nowhere since it's introduction except diehard nerds keeping it "alive" much in the same way diehard Star Trek nerds keep the phony Klingon language alive. I'm not going to try and relay precisely why Pantera was found to be insulting but it's basically comes down to a sexual innuendo joke. Now that one might be a stretch, but I'll accept it. As for them finding offense, it boils down to the same kind of offense I feel when Canadians get stereotyped for talking slowly, say "yeah buddy" allot and have flappy heads as per South Park. It's funny, I guess in a low-hanging fruit sort of way, and kept in short bursts but if it keeps up especially if you're trying to present something in a more serious tone it quickly gets annoying and eventually insulting. The idea that Europeans don't have superhero comics/culture is false from the get go. It's not as rabid or developed as it is the USA but it certainly exists, and all the people I spoke with are familiar with Marvel/DC/Image superhero comics - far more than we are of theirs, because American media content believe it or not, is shown there. Shocking! I know! (Light sarcasm :D) Beyond that, the notion they're terrorists is pretty thin. Fiacho wants to lead a United Europe. Okay, fine. That's it to his motivation. No reasons why Europe would be better under him, no policies explained or detailed. Bow before Fiacho coz that's all that's there. Pretty much everyone else in the group is there as muscle, except Mentalla who's there because of the protection Eurostar's muscle provides. Most terrorist groups are divided between ethnic or economic, or some combination of both. Us vs them. They have a cause that they use to appeal to people who they think, think like them and hope they'll join up while at the same time, dividing and demoralizing the opposition in order to achieve their goals. Thing is, most groups at least have an agenda a bit broader than just "Hey, Fiacho's our leader now. Be praised!" That's the problem with Eurostar. They're really a group of thugs led by a smarter than the rest thug. Their goal is so broad that it's impossible to achieve and what little guidance that is given, these guys are subtle as a rock. At the end of the day, they're more destructive pests than anything that'd drive people to wanting their rule or even be willing to work with them.

I think I feel the same as the OP, in wanting better guidance with Eurostar because they feel awfully clunky as is. I shared Eurostar's backstory with several European friends (Dutch, French, German, Polish and Spanish) and they were all pretty much of the opinion "These must be the creation of an American, with no understanding at all about Europe except to make insulting stereotypes and give them the thinnest of backgrounds." so I couldn't get them to give me any input on how to flesh them out better. At my table, Eurostar is usually setup more of a dark mirror supervillain team to the player's superheroes. They have all the power that any superhero group could want, but instead of doing good with it they act as a destructive force. Europe is portrayed as a mostly already ordered place with Eurostar as a significant threat on the continent, actually a step below VIPER and counterparts to real world situations like Brexit, the Ukrainian/Russian tensions and the (refugee/"worker") migration from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. (I prefer to fictionalize real-world conflicts a bit, in order to give space to my players to not feel they are getting political discussion pressed on them.) Anyhow, Eurostar is less grim dark terror and more professional thuggery. Interfere in their plans, and they WILL come after you. I have mostly adopted the 6E version of the group, with the exception that I had the 4E version White Flame and Whip killed rather than Bora and the Whip by VIPER and replaced by Scorpia and Feurmacher. I've also expanded the team with three more members: Výrobca - a dieselpunk engineer/magical smith who commands a force of magical constructs/vehicles from Slovakia, Cadavru - a cold war era "zombie" super soldier from Romania, the Extremist (Szélsőséges in Hungarian, and no I don't make anyone try to say it!) - a superboy clone from Hungary who survived on the mean streets of Budapest as a gang member until his powers grew in his later teenage years and he suddenly went on a rampage killing friends, rivals, criminals and law enforcement alike before Fiacho got his (and Mentalla's mind control) claws into him. Eurostar also has a small agent corps, split between infiltrators and a cadre of terrorists/soldiers - somewhat increased in capability and numbers since the end of the Eurostar-VIPER war. In their last use in a campaign, they massacred a governmental team of Turkish supers while conducting attacks across the country before retreating back into Europe causing the Turkish government to collapse and be replaced by an anti-EU military junta and a hardening of the borders. Turkey's sole surviving super, a poor man's Iron Man tried to go after Eurostar himself but got torn in two by the Extremist while flying illegally through Europe.

I like the modern look of Viper. Nothing against the older costumes, but they're products of a different time.

Sliding time scale vs dates is just a preference. It's pretty easy to adjust dates if needs be. I'm not focused on DEMON's probable decimation because of a date, but because if the events of Luther Black proceed as expected that's going to be the end result. If we get a new product with DEMON, surely it'll be after Luther Black fails his apotheosis because otherwise what's the point?

I dunno. I like plots to have consequences and Luther Black being destroyed/DEMON devastated is the likeliest outcome to me. DEMON should be able to renew itself into a new direction and style, remaking itself in the process. I also liked the 4th version. Baba Yaga and the Rose will always have special places in my heart. Even if it's cut out on a table...

I have pretty much everything Champions and it's all welcome. Regardless if I use it or not. The modern takes of Doctor Destroyer and Mechanon are pretty decent and livened up the original takes considerably. Modern VIPER... it's okay but it's not my VIPER. Similarly COIL and King Cobra modern take isn't bad but I'll never use it. I preferred both their 4th Edition incarnations but I've extensively reworked them for my own campaigns so it's not like it's gone. I'm more mixed over DEMON... the original take was okay with 4th Edition's definitely interesting but the changes in 5th Edition weren't bad either, but given the organization as written then should be gutted presently and I don't know how to feel about that. Out of the groups that never made the cut, RAVEN (or Raven...) and it's relationship with VIPER was always a cornerstone at my table. The VIPER-RAVEN war where RAVEN loses, is taken over by VIPER only to be reborn as Raven, a Bond-esque criminal conspiracy was a great arc. Terror Inc being murdered so two of it's members could be transferred over to Eurostar kind of sucked but it made sense. I know Professor Muerte was reborn in one of the 3rd party updates and I appreciate that was done, but it's one of those stories I'll never use and would do it another way. How Crusader went from his roots to a dark Vigilante was another great arc. Funny how Dark Champs had some of the best comic feeling stories but by 5th, descended into either edgy realism for edgy realism sake or edgy cartoon for edgy cartoon sake and didn't maintain the balance that made Dark Champs special. I'm honestly very glad VOICE and the Geodesics did not make it into the modern game. VOICE isn't the worst of concepts but that team wasn't all that great for how deadly their reputation was. Geodesics had Dr Kirby Loo in the background and both him and the VOICE's leader were yellow peril menaces and I'd like to think we could get better these days.

Tucker struck a nerve when he started ranting about Canadian internment camps the other day. I realize Trudeau isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and that his government has it's problems, but to call sending travelers refusing to quarantine properly upon entering the country, to guarded hotels to complete said mandatory quarantine is somehow akin to Nazi deathcamps makes my blood boil. This is from a guy who supports the open air caging of illegal adults and children in terrible and unjust conditions!

I dunno if I've mentioned this, but I was among the first in Ontario, Canada to get Covid-19 back in mid-December 2019. Couldn't prove it at the time, because tests didn't exist yet at that point and I've since had two more bouts (both with positive test results). I worked as a cleaner regularly up to March 2020, and very infrequently on a temp basis since. Always wore protection and kept my distance, but my cleaning jobs have always been at the commercial/industrial variety. The first time, I was very ill and bedridden for ten days and have never quite recovered physically from it. The two later times weren't half as bad but still not fun. Pretty similar if you got the worst pneumonia ever combined with flu. It's a misery and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I'm in my mid-40s, so I'm not going to see a vaccine for at least a month, probably well into June at the rate my area of the Province is going. Anti-Mask/or anti-vaxx people are idiots at best, and complicit killers at worst to me. The governments could do a hell of allot better but it could have done allot worse too. The CERB saved me economically when it came out, but the inability to continue onto the follow up program has forced me to work dangerous gig stuff and my Province is doing it's best to even make that impossible. So it's all a very mixed bag here but it could be allot worse.

Very late to the conversation, but I would have no interest in an all encompassing Action HERO style supplement vs an updated 6E Dark Champions. HERO already is already effectively Action HERO and it boggles my mind to push for something in that direction. The splitting of 5E Dark Champions into Dark Champions and Dark Champions the Animated series really sucked IMO. On one hand, you went into a really dark gritty action hero setting that emphasized soul sucking overcomplicated "realism" and the other cartoony street action superheroes. The original 4E Dark Champions and it's sourcebooks was a much better presentation overall, combining gritty action with superheroes, most of whom were street level and you could lean either way without it being overdone.

Back, I'd guess either around '89 or 90, I was part of a Champions group in Grade 9 and one of the other guys we invited to the game was a recent Iranian immigrant. Nice guy, but limited English and was still acclimating. He played a robot character named Jet who was basically a flying brick. Anyhow, we're playing and trying to stop a criminal group from robbing an armored car - nothing complicated at all. On our phases we each declare what we're doing. When it comes to his turn, our Iranian friend declares loudly and with such sincerity... "A crime is taking place. .. I CALL THE POLICE!" that we're all dumbfounded and laughing our butts off. After a couple of games, he pretty much decided the game wasn't for him and left, and Jet... well poor Jet was killed off and his body repurposed into a vehicle for one of the other team members.

It is, and is based on an existing power from

At my table I currently start at the Standard/Important Superheroes for 400 points and 75 points of complications level as outlined in Champions Complete. Even after a few years of transitioning from 4E to 6E, I get tripped up on certain parts. For starting games, I aim for a 60 to 75 active point limit, though I'm quite willing to entertain more on a case by case basis. I'd like to do a Champions Beyond style game at the 500 point and 100 points of complications level with a 100-120 active point limit, but anything beyond that as a starting point I feel isn't satisfying a place to go because it leaves little room for growth save in topping up already fairly high dice levels.

It could work quite well for a more Bronze/Iron Age Champions game in addition to a more upscale Dark Champions game save for the high redefined combat luck. Depends more on your GM's tastes than ours though.

I don't mind paying for content, just felt it was a little short for the price increase. At the moment, $7.50 USA = about $10.00 CDN, including the currency exchange fee so for all the CI PDFs to date, that's $37.50 USD or about $50.00 CDN. Pretty stiff for just 99 pages. Anyhow, still good stuff. Been wanting material on Otanga's country for ages. Lugendu fills a hole. Tariqistan not as much but I've never lined up well with Argent since coming to 6E from 4E but maybe this will give me some inspiration to change that. Next payday, I'll get Costa Azul and Transnistria and see how they turn out.

Just got the three new powers books and the Lugendu and Tariqistan Champions international books. The powers books are all pretty good, especially liked the Aquatic one. Lots of useful stuff all round. That said... the Champion International ones were a disappointment. For the price, they're kind of short as compared to the power books. Would have been nice to have some sort of map included to show their position in the world a bit better.

As much as I appreciate a few chuckles and the slapstick offered by Foxbat, CLOWN and other less serious characters in Champions, I am not the right GM for that kind of chicanery. So I generally don't do allot of goofy humor stuff. Lighter tone for my table is silver age/4 color style vs my typical bronze age or darker iron age super heroic stories.

The differences I usually see are in the use of Power Modifiers. Gadgets are usually foci and often uses charges etc. Magic generally uses concentration, gestures and uses END etc. Gadgeteers are more relatable because their powers are quantified more in our grounded real world experience where Magic users require more imagination and a suspension of disbelief than can be difficult for some people to wrap their heads around, especially on the fly. Magic's reach can also be broader than Gadgets, with a Gadgeteer having to focus his talent on a narrower path and Magic user able to pull a wider diversity because "... it's magic!". The typical issue with VPPs, particularly powerful or versatile ones is of course it's seen as a cheat sometimes that the player can circumvent the GM's carefully orchestrated plotting and plans by whipping up a gadget or spell during a session that the GM wasn't prepared for. Or it leads to at the table theory crafting that can slow the game down as players or the GM has to deal with a random element suddenly tossed into the game. What can be said about those other than it's a pain but if you as a GM aren't prepared for, then you should limit or ban VPPs beforehand or learn how to take a wild card on the fly and not take it personally. There are so many tools within the system that you can adapt to changing situations pretty elegantly. For my table, I prefer to have the players be sure to have a good list of pre-designed Gadgets or Magic spells/rituals/whatever and allot them one-ten minute OOC break per session for at the table theory crafting. Or if it's one of those things that is a regular occurrence (say a weekly or biweekly game), give them two-three tokens which they can use to get quick theory crafting break (per month) of sessions to encourage limited monkeying around. Or if it's a really bad habit require the spending a precious XP to buy an extension beyond the once a game break. I'm sure there's many other solutions, just have to be creative and flexible about these things. On the character side, I frequently keep a couple of agents or a low-powered adjunct character handy with a hard counter to a specific VPP just to throw in as a road bump if need be. Can't always do it, you've got to know your timing and can't be a dick about it but if you find you're in a situation where you to throw a bump in the path of the players, it's much more organic to have a sudden reinforcement show up and well, throw a spanner in the works.

Will do, thank you.

I'm trying to be fairly precise to 6E Champions Complete, as this is being developed for the Hall of Champions. Point value is set around the 400 Standard - 500 High Powered Superheroic scales with it probably being a bit bumped up since this is intended as a powerful, single villain capable of taking on a team on his lonesome. I apologize on getting a post-able version out. It's mostly because RL work has suddenly picked back up and I've been running around doing quotes and it's hard to switch back and forth between game math and work math. Since things are quiet today thanks to poor weather I'll be able to work on that. Anyhow, the intent is to have a character with two cybernetic left arms, each with a shared/unique multipower able to operate in conjunction with or independently to the attached character whose right arm has a similar gauntlet/bracer based multipower. My current figuring is each multipower will be 55-65 AP based around an energy blast slot, a ranged killing attack slot both of which will be the same on each limb plus 2-3 unique slots per arm, like a specialized EB or RKA (Autofire or Armor Piercing), flash, an entangle, or drain etc etc. Some attacks will all feed from the END Battery while others will be set of charges of a limited nature (4-8 let's say). Each of the cybernetic arms will also having the same 25 Strength plus +2 HA and a very limited missile deflection so if he has the ability to whirl around with each limb offensively and defensively. Each arm will also one or two unique flourishes specific to that limb. The character will also be ambidextrous. Think of him as a powerful, all in one equivalent to squad of heavy duty agents.

The reason I had asked, is checking my version of Champions Complete, is that you specifically can't use Combat levels to counteract the penalty of Multiple Attacks plus you can't use Autofire or powers with Extra Time, among other restrictions.