Beazulbob

Re: New heroes for Century City Character Archtypes prefered? I'm open to what I'm accepting - though no magic for the beginning of the game (you could have a magic character, but he shouldn't realize it's magic until later in the game). The technology of the world is limited, although individuals with super-tech do exist. It is ok to have a character that will kill on special occasions, but not on a regular basis. I will be using some dark story material - for instance, there is someone kidnapping children and a serial killer on the loose. Arson with buildings full of people, drug dealers and such - but I also plan on having 4 color villains and occasions of clear right vs wrong.

Re: New heroes for Century City Describing the world requires understanding a few things prior to the explanation. 1st: Viruses attach to proteins, but not at just any location. The virus and protein have unique topologies, limiting whether or not the virus can attach to it, where it does attach, and the type of protein and how it interacts with the virus determine the result. 2nd: A still body of water will have all heavier then water sediment sink to the bottom, limiting the surface area of contact between the sediment and water. 3rd: Superstring theory has variations, one of which includes the assumption that there are 11 dimensions. It is assumed we do not interact with these extra dimensions, having a curled or atrophied non-contact with them. Hence, although the dimensions exist, they do not effect our daily interaction with physics (hence classic physics covers daily life, but fails to describe certain attributes of our universe). Put together – Our planet’s contact with these extra dimensions changes over the years, settling down till there is almost no interaction. Occasionally, though, the Earth passes through an area that is active on one or more of these dimensions and in fact just recently (about 65 years ago) passed through a dark-matter cloud and our planet was struck by multi-dimensional meteorites. Almost entirely unnoticed, it started a change in our galaxy, and more importantly, our world. It stirred up the sediment, making interaction with these additional dimensions more common. These extra dimensions didn’t affect everyone – just as a virus is limited in what it can contact, so to is a human’s ability to connect to these other dimensions. Even when a contact is made, the effect can vary from person to person. This introduced mutations that were dormant before – they existed but didn’t connect to the dimension as it was ‘settled’. Hence mutants now exist. Also, certain environments and energies can be required before changes occurred, so accidents can now produce heroes in rare cases (most radiation accidents still just kill you). Finally, there are cases of people able to create incredible technology that only works in their, or a limited number of, hands. These people connect to dimensional zones that have different constants and altered physics, allowing them to build devices that only work for people connected to those dimensions. Magic does exist, although the world governments mostly deny its existence to avoid what could become a religious melt-down. It is under study, and until they have to, most governments actively squelch any news stories about it.

Re: New heroes for Century City The universe is not used, it is my home game. Groups... Current groups ACE (Alien Contact & Containment) A secret agency with a black bag budget, it has ties with 2 other agencies: DUST and NASA. It focuses mostly on predicting the actions of and making contact with aliens, diplomacy efforts with other planets, and the containment of hostile aliens. Not shared with the public is the fact several alien species have been encountered and 3 aliens are currently jailed. The prison cells used to contain the aliens is being considered as a prototype for cells used for super villains. Alien technology is forwarded to the DUST organization for their scientific value. NASA and the Special Forces are the primary enlistment sources for ACE. The agents are literally the Men in Black, regular agents armed with some deciphered alien technology. The agents operate with a license to kill in order to prevent the truth from becoming common knowledge, although some mind wiping tools do exist. ACE is centered in Idaho, with agents abroad most of the time. The location was chosen for its isolation and innocuous appearance as a pesticide plant. There are 100 ‘local’ offices, spread through the US, located in metropolis areas, each with a different cover. CHESS (Criminal Hunting and Security Services) CHESS is a private organization with locations in the US and Europe. CHESS efforts are in collecting super-villain bounties and mercenary activity. While they advertise the benefits they offer the cities they operate in, there is question as to what CHESS will evolve into. It maintains several paramilitary action groups, has several super-humans working for it, and specialized agents for field work. CHESS has, at one time or another, crossed paths with Primus, UNTIL, Viper, and PSI. They have avoided political pressure with well placed bribes, donations, and their high success rate. The agents are armored with Kevlar and armed with standard firearms. The paramilitary groups under their command included suburban assault vehicles, recoilless rifles, grenades, and helicopters. The agency has a few blasters and flight packs but does not have the manufacturing ability or license to produce their own. Demon Spread throughout the world, Demon focuses on the growing magic, a recently established force that has for centuries defied scientific inquiry. Practicing black magic and demonology, they are a small but powerful group with locations in several countries in Europe, Asia, and the US. Reputed to be led by the Devil, with warlock regional commanders and their bases defended by demonic servants; Demon has remarkable resources and powers that belie their size. Agents are typically armed with automatic weapons and covered in mystic tattoos that provide protection. It isn’t unusual for an agent to use an enchanted item, nor for them to have supernatural aid. Demon has very few super-humans working for them, but many super-non-humans. DUST (Department of Unusual Science and Technology) A black bag budget supports this secret organization. It works hand in hand with NASA and ACE. When dangerous or technology beyond current understanding shows up, it gets shipped to DUST, including from Primus and SAT – though most members of those organizations have no idea where these items go. DUST is sometimes referred to as the Warehouse. Most of the technology goes into secure storage, with a select few items out for examination by the science teams. Agents focused on defense of the Warehouse are armed with experimental weapons and defenses and are rarely sent into the field. When they are sent, it is to recover a specific item. Individuals who find out about DUST are remanded to ACE for memory wipe or imprisonment. Genocide Backed by the US government, Genocide is a black bag operation that continues on from an initial program assigned to determine the threat mutants and superhero’s represent. While instigated as a limited life program, it has metastasized into a permanent organization. SAT and Primus are officially told to be ‘hands off’ when dealing with Genocide, though the US government will eventually have to deal with them. Part of Genocide’s long life is its collection of blackmail material, giving them enough clout to keep their budget rolling in and protect them from the government agencies that should confront them. Agents typically are armed with lasers or standard fire arms. They have received a fair number of flight packs, giving Genocide agents the edge when dealing with most others. Genocide can legally raid the US Army depots for supplies. Primus Performs UNTIL’s job in the united states. Special duty revolves around talents and mutants. Agents are sent in response to crimes being committed by super villains. A hero not signed up with Primus is considered a vigilante and is technically committing a crime while acting heroic. They maintain a hero and villain registry. Agents use blasters, armored suits, and have paramilitary vehicles at their disposal, as well as official police powers and the responsibility to maintain captured criminals. A project by ACCU is under development to aid Primus in this goal, although technically, the ACCU is noted as a military unit unrelated to SAT. PSI (Psionic Study & Investigation) Formed by a scientist who made breakthroughs with the mind, the nucleus of the group formed around the initial faculty and students involved with the study, and the two dozen participants. The test subjects quickly turned the tables on the teachers and students, putting PSI under the control of the psychics. A small group with a limited pool of agents, PSI has the highest percentage of super-beings as members, most with subtle powers, allowing them to operate more openly then most groups. The agents, while few in number, are fanatic (having been ‘modified’ psychologically), willing to lay down their life and sacrifice their families for the good of PSI. They mostly use normal firearms, though they do have access to chemical weapons (personal, not mass destruction). SAT (Special Assault Taskforce) Military arm, special forces only, intended as a reaction force to super villain activity. They tie in with US military and the CIA, respond to super-villains assaulting the US’s armed forces, and are available for special missions. SAT technology is very limited, with special orders needed to have blasters brought to the forefront, though what they get (military grade weapons) is most often more then enough. Membership in SAT is considered being in an armed service. Spider A US based mob that managed to gain a few super-villains as operatives, their focus is on crime. They do not hesitate to hire Viper for support should they find themselves in trouble, but they do not pursue non-profitable crimes. They have been active in South America in order to take over the drug export business, though with limited results. Unlike most groups, Spider has little interest in technology, having better things to do with the money. They will use the technological items they find, though. Agents tend to be mercenary or drug lord troops, armed with standard firearms. Tarot Tarot is a European organization that has just recently started activity in the US. Both Viper and Demon oppose Tarot, as does UNTIL and Primus. Tarot has the second highest percentage of super-beings to agents. Practicing magic, Tarot’s leaders are steeped in the occult, although they typically do not have demons working for them. Tarot’s focus is white collar crime, not the high profile attacks many others pursue. Tarot is the second smallest organization, being roughly twice the size of PSI. Tarot agents are armed with blasters and when they are sent to take action, at least 1 super-being is sent to accompany them. UNTIL (United Nations Tactics League) International, with branches in almost all of the UN member countries. The most notable exception is the US – UNTIL has very limited power to act in the US, has jurisdiction only over international forces that flee to the US, and must act in concert with either Primus or SAT when active in the US. While the US limits UNTIL’s access to her lands, the US provides most of the budget for UNTIL. UNTIL is involved in European politics and is attempting to gain a foothold in Asia and the US. UNTIL, as an extension of the UN, has a limited conventional army, fielding tanks and planes when needed. Viper An international terrorist group, they fight for profit, topple governments, begin wars, and otherwise keep things off balance to allow them to reap the largest rewards. Viper actually has weapons and vehicles of war. The primary enemies of Viper are SAT and UNTIL. Viper actively pursues a cutting edge super-powered program and they are the most advanced of the groups in bio-technology.

Re: New heroes for Century City I'll answer your questions over several posts - Century City Population 670,000 2 Business districts – minimum 8 floors, maximum of 30, average of 12 2 Separate high rise projects (1 is slum like and poor construction, the other is expensive) – each w 20+ buildings, ea is 9 stories Commute is handled by bridge access to highway via bridge and ferry fleet Century line, buses, and 5 taxi companies provide public transportation 3 Hospitals – St Mitchell, Conway Memorial, and Century Hospital 2 Harbors – Facing North and West. The west port can handle large trawlers, the North port is for smaller ships. Higher Education – (4+ year colleges) CC State College, Abalam Medical School, Century Art School Higher Education – (2 years or technical) CC Jr. College, Monotech, and Labellum Jr College Trade Schools – several trade schools exist in the city. 1 Prison, modern, with several cells made to house super villains Industry includes fishing, underwater mining, electronics, chemical manufacture, and a weapons plant. Some tourist attractions in the city Century Zoo – a normal zoo Crowly’s Bug Farm – a zoo of spiders, scorpions, insects, and more! Century Aquarium (parts of the aquarium are underwater The Museum of American History – a museum dedicated to the history of North and South America The Wax Museum – modern and historical figures, a smaller museum The Museum of Ancient Humanity – dedicated to early human cultures, their art, and tools The Dinosaur Park – Covers fossil remains from the Palaeozaic and Mesozoic eras. The Science Academy – much like the Exploratorium, but with a mineral and crystal section The Academy of Technology – a technology school and museum dedicated to inventions (small) The Couture Academy – a fashion school and museum dedicated to clothes (small) Belmont’s Water Park – a normal water park The Hawkings Observatory – atop a 30 floor building (the Xenon Corporation), the tallest building in the city The city has 1 large park, Bulgus Park, and 6 smaller parks A stadium for baseball is under construction Some unusual building features and city design Most of the city rests on an artificial island No business building is under 8 floors No private residence is under 2 floors (house on top of a house), and a maximum of 6 houses are stacked adjacent & atop Many private residences have a garden on the roof, shared by the 2-6 families living there Solar and gas powered turbines provide enough energy to run the city on sunny days Tube-work, mostly at 6th floor, as high as 13th, runs between some businesses and one high rise housing project About 10% of the businesses have either solar collectors and or aluminum windmills to defray power cost Rather then a regular airport, Century City boasts 2 Heliports. The Century Line, a modern subway system with an electro-magnetic rail (quiet) Several garden parks dot the city Heroes A city this size usually has a minimum of 15 super heroes, but Century City only has 5 registered heroes so far. They are Mr. Malleable, Rebound, Rocket Man, Star Castle, and Ursa Major. Century City, named after the island it is on, which was a dumping ground for faltering ships with little or no cash value. Later in the 20th century, it was used as a garbage dump for concrete, asphalt, and damaged construction materials. The little island grew large enough that it became a habitat for sea lions, and the growing California population began looking for a place to expand to. By the 70’s, a concerted effort was made to gather these waste materials from all over the state and redirect them to the island, expanding it. City planning engineers began examining the growing structure and planning for a city that would take over twenty years to build. As it turned out, it took twice that before Century City truly began functioning as a city. Unlike most modern cities, this one grew up with advanced technology in mind, so pipes running fiber optic, phone, power, and open lines were placed beneath the city from the start. Attempts to take into account traffic flow, parking needs, and mass transit were made a top priority. Then again, no one is perfect. Century City suffers from traffic congestion, some contractors skimping on materials, and the intended Utopia showed its feet of clay. While the majority of industry on the island isn’t heavy with pollutants, several companies taking advantage of the situation have been caught shipping in waste, the traffic snarls from people commuting too and from the city contribute to the smog, and the location draws scavengers from the ocean and sky.

Re: No magic? Ironically, I'm starting a game that begins with "no magic". The idea being that magic does exist, but it hasn't successfully reared up its ugly head (yet). Later in the campaign, magic will be acknowledged, but until then, no PC magic. Also, as mentioned, magic shouldn't be allowed as a blank special effect, it should be a defined type with a specific range of powers and definitions. Even then, it will have a wide range of effects. For what it's worth, I do not allow cosmic powers either - define them and you can have them.

Re: Complete your "Ultimate" collection! Do you have the link to this page?

I'm just starting a game on Herocentral (my first one there), and am trolling for players. It is a 5th edition game, 250 points, 150 base, 15 minimum skills - and is halfway between dark champions and a four color game. There are unfortunate events that will occur. I will be supplementing the game with a yahoo group page, and the game takes place in the same city (and same time) as my home game, so what the groups do will affect the city and each other. I am looking for 6 players total.

I'm running a game and have some questions for folks about power limitations Must use maximum movement (full or half move, straight line, may not use less then the maximum movement (say he has 15" flight, his half move MUST BE 8", his full move MUST BE 15". What would you give this limit? Invisibility, only against those the character perceives? A MP that requires a 14- to turn it on, cost end per attempt (per the cost of the MP), and the character has the susceptibility of taking 2d6 for each attempt?

Re: Galactic Champions: Federated Super Teams Well, I've thought about the origin and figure he could have left in modern times and due to time dilation (and not being able to achieve the same velocity when first learning to use it), he arrives in 'modern times'. This gives him the fish out of water aspect. I'm also working on converting him to 6th. I have ordered a copy of galactic champions (5th edition), and as soon as funds become available, I'm buying the 6th edition core book.

Re: Converting from 5th to 6th Ok - here is Sequence with unified limitation, coming in at 750 pts.[ATTACH=CONFIG]40042[/ATTACH]

Re: Converting from 5th to 6th Ok, here's round two. I tried to take the sheet you filled out and tried to merge it with the theme/power range I intended (mostly making everything a 150, 90, 60, or 30 so with my brain at half mast, I should be able to juggle the MP). The MP gained 1 limit (the half phase penalty for not staying with a given descriptive - but if this is not enough of a limitation for your taste, I can throw in a 14- to succeed at the change as part of a combined 1/4 limitation. I lowered the total cost to 765 instead of 778, and if need be I can trim some more. Per the statement by christopher, do I have too many disadvantages? Also - I thought that damage reduction was no longer available, but I noticed you used it, thus I made a bad assumption. Boy, is umption going to be pissed off at me.

Re: Converting from 5th to 6th I noticed that the limitation unified was dropped - is it in bad form? I was hoping to take the 1/2 phase limit for changing/adding to the stellar phase I am in (I like the flavor & required judgement calls to mix powers). Assuming I can get another 1/4 on the MP, that would bring it up to 168, as the goal of the MP was to have multiple powers in discrete point costs to make mixing of slots easy to track and visualize. I also noticed that the flashes effect hearing - they should effect sight and radio (sun spot activity too close). On the other hand - wow! This is awesome! Thank you for doing the conversion! I'm tinkering with it now to try to regain the buffet MP type, but with all the work you did, my understanding of 6th jumped up leaps and bounds! I can't wait to get the 6th book - I am budget limited, but do intend on getting it once money begins flowing again. Thank you again!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]40008[/ATTACH]I am trying to convert a character from 5th edition to 6th - but I do not own the 6th edition book. So - I'm hoping to find my errors and fix them. I am hoping to play in 6th edition and have heard that it is fairly easy to make the switch in play, but the write ups can be more difficult. Among the questions I have - I know that FF and armor are no longer the same, I wonder about the damage resistance, and need to know if damage reduction still exists. Thank you for any help!

Re: Galactic Champions: Federated Super Teams I'm sorry to hear about your laptop - a fatal reminder for me to back mine up. I'm not sure I made the cut, but attached is a brief history and write-up of my character sequence (as in star sequence in astronomy). I do not have hero designer and I can try to rework the write-up if need be. I do not own 6th edition, but I believe I have everything except shrinking switched over (I know shrinking is not 10 pts now, but I forget what it does cost). Let me know if the character needs re-working and if the history is adequate for your plans.

Re: What to do with Mars Have a ongoing war between 2 groups that are forced to live underground due to the damage their war has wrought. No contact for a month or two, then they find out. For fun, perhaps a war like that from a star trek episode, where the war is run by computer w/ groups reporting to murder/suicide chambers (blast from the past reference). The natives attempt to draft the PCs into the war, or perhaps they both attack, thinking the PCs work for the other side.

Re: Galactic Champions: Federated Super Teams Hey, is there an opening? Is this 5th or 6th edition?

I have a game I will be starting soon and it will have 5 players, only 1 of which has experience in the game. I've toyed with a couple was to do so, but I thought I should ask as it has been over a decade since I've GMd new players and am no longer sure what I should do: 1) build characters for them, explain them, then let them play until they get the hang of it, then let them build characters. 2) ask them what they want to play, build it for them, then explain what the point expenditures mean and how it gives them what they asked for. 3) have a build session with the new players and help them build/buy their character 4) a method I haven't figured out

Re: Need feedback & help building 2 vehicles What would you think the limit should be? A +1 seems too good (even for oaf bulky), perhaps a 1/2?

Re: Would you allow a player to run this character in your game: Psylock I play a range of personalities, including anti-heroes. While he is a bastard, he was also firmly in the hero side of the campaign, he was, I suppose, similar to the vampire in being human - need to feed, but otherwise ok. Difference is when he feeds, people do not fall over dead.

Re: Would you allow a player to run this character in your game: Psylock This character existed in 4th edition as a egoist who fed/drained intellectuals and occasionally got discoveries/inventions. His science skills came as a result of this. When I went to re-write him, it coincided with the thought that I hadn't done a character with a vehicle, so I married the two ideas. In retrospect, I thought that it might have made him too tough. I completely forgot he'd need the telepath option for his MC, I'll have to add that. If he is seen as playable, I'll keep him as a character (perhaps for Convention games). If he is too powerful, he'll become a villian. To be honest, he was always a bit of a bastard, being a psychic vampire who frequented colleges and tech company sectors for feeding - yum!

I've built a character that has a vehicle, an AI to operate it, and 2 robot followers. The main idea is for the PC to stay in the hovercraft and use his powers against his foes (he's an egoist), while the AI drives the hovercraft and attacks with its machine gun. The robots are dropped from the underside of the vehicle and slow/stop mooks and potentially help with villians. The question is, what would you do if you were his GM. 1) Forbid him 2) Require a % of adventures to be sans robots & vehicles 3) Allow him Now, while the character is weak, he was built to be able to function on his own. I fully expect the vehicle and or robots to get blown away sometimes. Given that... Oh, and the character is 5th edition.[ATTACH]39696[/ATTACH]

Re: Can a vehicle w/ multiple weapons fire them at 1 time w/1 operator Hmmm. I like the example of the plane w/ multiple machine guns. The pilot is firing while flying, but things are simplified in that he can only fire in a straight row (he must aim the plane at his targets). Perhaps direct fire weapons that the pilot can fire should be limited to facing line of hexes only. Bombs are simple in that they target directly below. Rockets are written up either as vehicles or as arc limited & time delay in the ultimate vehicle (pg 131). Now, when the plane buys a machine gun, then spends 15 pts to make it 8 machine guns - what does he get to roll to hit/dmg? 8 attacks is too powerful, but the opposite is making it meaninless by only allowing a single autofire attack (except for having replacements for destroyed foci).

Re: Need feedback & help building 2 vehicles Adonis does have serious problems hiding his robotic nature. It could be I should set his weight to 200 kg instead, its just that a metal & plastic man seems he would be very heavy. Turn modes, why did it have to be turn modes! I'll check 5th edition, but I'm sure it will require the same. A very small and clumsy mech! I put the body foci as a disadvantage since each body has to deal with it, not just the body that buys the MF. Any body can be damaged while uninhabited. The teleport is megascale to reach the satallite, once there, he beams himself back to earth in a different body.

Re: Need feedback & help building 2 vehicles I've looked up tank and mecha examples, and they do not buy sight (although they do pick up infra & nightvision). Although you could define a vehicle as not giving LOS to the outside world and could take vision as a power, I think that it is not assumed nor required.

Re: Can a vehicle w/ multiple weapons fire them at 1 time w/1 operator Drats! Ok, that means I'll have to buy computers for crew or buy levels to offset the -2 per attack. A single person could do a half move and attack, though, right?