BlackKnight

Re: What would your inner geek pick? It's funny that I just stumbled across this thread, as I've just spent the last week or so refining this exact character in Hero Designer. I asked myself nearly the same question - "if I could be a HERO system character in the Real World, what would I be?" This is, at least for me, a very different question than "what superhero would I want to be in the Champions or any other superhero world?" As I've kept adding things over time, it's ended up pretty high points-wise (850+ at this point), but I decided from the beginning it would be a "points no object" exercise (hey, it is wish-fulfillment after all!). Anyway, the specifics: my top 3 most wished for powers, in order of preference, have always been: Flight, Invisibility, Desolidification (wow, what kinds of interesting psychological insights can this sort of exercise lead others to? I'm sure I don't want to know...) Then I did the Immortal Guy thing - most of the Life Support suite, including the little or no sleep/eat stuff (just because you don't HAVE to do it doesn't mean you can't if you want to!). Then I added Regeneration, cuz' duh! And then, everything else went into Mentalist powers. Along the way, this gradually merged with a concept for an NPC called Ghost that I had visualized years ago for my perpetually-incomplete campaign setting (who happened to have my Top 3 powers - must have been the same sort of exercise way back then ;-). So, following the same line of reasoning as with the earlier character, I ended up with lots of detective/spy types of Mental powers. Not so much the "you are now all my slaves!" kind of stuff, but Telepathy, Mind Link, Retrocognition/Psychometry, some Empath-type emotion detection/influencing abilities (in RL I think I have the Lecherous Psych Lim). Had to do some Telekinesis, just enough to equal my average human strength, but it's bought so as to be effortless (this gives me the classic Wizard's schtick of the book/laptop floating in front of me as I read, while my drink of choice hovers obediently, waiting for it's opportunity to quench my thirst. Maybe I'll take up the pipe, just for visual effect) Also, a suite of Cyberpathy abilities, cuz I'm obviously a computer geek born-and-bred. I also had a selection of Skill Levels for various skills that could be helped by a few seconds worth of Precognition (you know, Gambling, Driving, etc.). Then, it's all rounded out with some misc. "super brain guy" abilities like Eidetic Memory and Speed Reading, and a few Mental Defense type of abilities, just in case there are any other mentalists out there and I eventually run into one of them. I'm sure I could trim this all down to the point level proposed, this is just me way down the road with lots of experience! I'm now at the point of "okay, what would I actually DO with all this power?" That's a fun question too!

Re: Archer ideas? Cool stuff. Some of the arrow concepts I've seen are wacky enough that a Golden Age campaign would really be the best place for them...that's a great idea. I'd like to hear the "special effect" or explanation of the Red Ray arrow, and also see details on the mummification, roman candle, vampire and crop dusting arrows...sounds like great stuff!

Re: a gimick fix on the 75 arrows

Re: Archer ideas? Just to keep things as all-inclusive as possible, here's a link to JmOZ's thread on some new gadgets for his archer character, Bowman...cool stuff! Bowman gadgets thread

Re: Name Generator At last I can actually contribute something! (bwahaha!...oh, sorry) 50 Random Superhero Names just refresh the page for a new set of 50 Lee's Useless Superhero Generator can do characters, teams, bases, vehicles, etc. Obviously, as with any random generator, your mileage may vary...these are just fun to iterate over and over and see what pops up...once in a while you get a cool idea nucleus...

Re: Archer ideas? Great ideas, all! Keep 'em coming. JmOz, I liked the thread on your Bowman character, will definitely steal some ideas from there (use as inspiration, I mean ;-)

Re: OK Call me stupid but..... Well said, sir*. I agree completely, and that's why I've been a fan of comics all my life (though not necessarily of all the comics produced throughout my life). And this is why I want my kids to dig comics...if I can find the right kind of comics to give them these days. *apologies for my chauvinism if you're not a "sir"

Re: Archer ideas? To get things rolling I'll throw out one of my favorite arrows: the "door-kicker"! My archer, named Hunter, is a cross between Hawkeye (obviously) and the Punisher, with a little Wolverine thrown in (tracking and senses, mainly). He has a background in chemistry and has cooked up a couple of interesting payloads to deliver via his arrows. The "door-kicker" is a shaped-charge explosive arrowhead, but rather than the typical shaped-charge that is designed for increased penetration along the axis of the flightpath of the projectile, this charge is designed to channel the explosive force outward in a vertical plane from the point of impact. This makes it perfect for shattering various walls and doors. This is bought as 1" of tunnelling, through fairly high DEF (10 or 12). Obviously usable at range, and probably with the "limited medium" limitation at the -1/2 level (walls and doors only). He uses this arrow to open holes in doors or walls, either up close or from range (prior to using a swingline arrow to enter the bad guys' hideout, for instance). More complications could be added to the power, such as Side Effects reflecting the damage to the immediate area, or various linked attacks or flashes for anyone caught in the vicinity of the blast (although my idea is that almost all of the explosive force is kept within the wall/door, minimizing collateral damage).

One of my favorite superhero "archetypes" has always been the Archer, especially the trick/gadget/checklist variety. Obviously Hawkeye and Green Arrow are the icons in this area, but there have been others, and some characters can be considered partial examples of the type. It would be hard to be completely original when working in this archetype (and what fun would that be?), but in an effort to make my own archer character a little more interesting, how about posting your own archer ideas? I know some ideas have already been documented in other threads (on gadgets, specific characters, etc.), but i didn't see anything framed specifically for those Bombastic Bowmen out there! ('nuff said) Any ideas would be appreciated, including: - character concepts, names, or portraits; - ideas for arrows, weapons and other gear; - other powers that work particularly well in this kind of character (or don't); - actual writeups of your favorite arrows, MPs or complete characters; - interesting incidents in play; - lessons learned for running or GMing these kinds of characters, etc. (apologies if this has been covered before...i did some searching and didn't find what I was looking for elsewhere)

DoJ plans? Actually, if you view this "Terran Empire" reference in light of the sidebar on p. 52 of "Champions", it might not even BE a mistake! under the heading "How to Destroy [or conquer] the World": "buy a small game company and then parley it into a world-dominating economic entity" ...go HERO!

Nice job! Well-written review and I agree with most or all of what you said...it's a GREAT book!

Power Point article on archetypes I don't have a well-thought-out answer to your question, but I do like some of the ideas in this "Power Point" article on the subject: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/1905/haym14.html

That's very cool...sounds like some quality role-playing there...good times! In my perpetually-embryonic campaign/world, the Superman rung of the power ladder is filled by Omega Prime, leader of a small team of heroes (with Omega in it's name ;-) I envision him as very Superman-like in terms of powers/power level, but very enigmatic and aloof. (I think that perhaps he has never spoken, or only very rarely). The team is based in Antarctica (to avoid territorial favoritism) and generally only operates on a global-scale, most often vs. natural disasters, though sometimes vs. human-caused situations. There is a UN connection to the team, but not anything formal (they are independent and don't take orders, in other words). The other members of the team are lower-powered (though still pretty high on the scale) and more human/approachable. They follow Prime's lead though, and he sets the tone for what they do and don't do. You could ask the question why don't they spend all of their time solving the smaller-scale but still overwhelming problems of the world. I figure they have good reasons, but no one really knows what they are (hence the aloof/enigmatic thang). This way, they don't overshadow the "PC's" (if I had any), but still function as the "top of the scale". This Omega Prime guy is obviously not the Last Boy Scout that Supes is (I've never been a big DC fan, but you gotta give props to Supes!). I haven't given that "slot" as much thought, but it would probably be filled by the US' resident most-powerful SuperPatriot (not sure who that is yet).

I haven't read through the whole thread yet (i'm responding to a post on page 3) so I'll apologize in advance if someone else pointed this out already... We recently saw Finding Nemo and they had a preview of the next Disney/Pixar feature (due in 2005). It is called The Incredibles, and the preview centers around Mr. Incredible. We first see him in a series of photos and clippings on his den wall. He receives a call on the "red phone" and prepares to leap into action. As we finally see him, it turns out he's long past his prime and can't seem to fit into his utility belt any longer. It's very funny and should be great (as all Pixar films have been, IMO), especially for us superhero fans. Some info

I have a character concept who can do something similar and would like to see thoughts on this idea as well...anyone?