Armitage

As others have said, they can be useful for filling gaps in PC powers or knowledge, and can be used by the GM to nudge players in the right direction when they get stuck, but it can be important to make sure they don't take the focus away from the PCs. An NPC "guest star" can usually fill that role temporarily without causing problems. I had planned to include a GMPC in a campaign I was working on. The event that put the brakes on that was when I started planning out a potential subplot involving the GMPC and his NPC love interest. I suddenly thought to myself "Wait...at what point do the actual PCs get involved in this story?" The GMPC then became a local NPC hero who may become involved when his area of expertise comes up, and the NPC may or may not become a PC's love interest, with the subplot shifting to a PC if she does.

It doesn't appear to have been mentioned here, and more stupid things have replaced it in the news. Kellyanne Conway defended the immigration ban by citing the "Bowling Green Massacre", a terrorist attack in Kentucky that was covered up by the media. It must have been pretty easy to cover up, since it never happened. Two Iraqi refugees living in Bowling Green, Kentucky were arrested in 2009 for attempting to send money and supplies to insurgents in Iraq. Apparently, that's a "massacre". She later claimed that she misspoke and meant to say "terrorists" instead of "massacre", but that clearly makes no sense. "...two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green (terrorists)." Two terrorists were the masterminds behind the terrorists? No surprise, she's now crying about people being so mean to her.

The Department of Labor's whistleblower site, for Wells Fargo employees who wanted to report fraud in the ongoing scandal, disappeared shortly after the inauguration. Three guesses who owes roughly $500,000,000 to Wells Fargo. Conflict of interest? What conflict of interest?

An Advantage has to be used, unless it's a Naked Advantage/Independent Advantage, which is a separate Power. 6E1 316 "Advantages Are Mandatory. A character must always use the Advantages purchased for a Power at full strength whenever he uses that Power." CC 95 "Advantages are mandatory; a character must always use a Power's Advantages at full strength whenever he uses that Power."

Day Seven, and Trumps new ambassador to the United Nations threatens the UN. "New US UN"? We're making the rules. Anyone who doesn't like it will be dealt with.

The Trump administration has instituted a media blackout at the Environmental Protection Agency and barred staff from awarding any new contracts or grants. AP Link The Trump administration also is moving to delay implementation of at least 30 environmental rules finalized in the closing months of President Obama's term, "pending review", including updated air pollution standards for several states, renewable fuel standards, and limits on the amount of formaldehyde that can leach from wood products. The USDA's Agricultural Research Service also received a memo banning the release of news releases, photos and other material to the public, but it was later rescinded by the acting deputy secretary of the Agriculture Department. I'm sure it's all completely innocent.

Meanwhile, Trump is attacking the media for not showing the "million and a half people" that he saw at his inauguration, instead showing empty fields. I'm guessing that this is just like how he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey dancing and celebrating on 9-11.

The 4e book Champions in 3D included an adventure set in a world that had been overrun by Lovecraftian monsters. The ability to induce insanity was built as a Major Transform, Affects Desolid, Radius, NND (defense is a successful EGO Roll), 0 END, Persistent, Always On, Reduced By Range. Minor entities had 1d6 and major entities had 1 1/2d6. A successful EGO provided immunity for the duration of an encounter. The Transform induced a 25 point Psychological Complication, with the option that the GM could have a character slowly go nuts as points of Transform accumulated. The Transform was part of a "Mind Blasting Powers" package that could pretty excessive when out together. It included a Radius EGO Drain linked to the Transform, returning 5/week, and extra PRE against anyone who failed the EGO Roll vs. the Transform. 1 1/2d6 Drain and +60 PRE for minor entities and 3d6 Drain and +70 PRE for major entities.

As I recall, at one point Trump's inaugural committee was supposedly offering diplomatic positions to anyone who could get an A-List celebrity to appear at the inauguration. ...Here it is.

How about a nice, non-violent LGBT dance party outside Mike Pence's house. Unfortunately, he wasn't home at the time. Or maybe fortunately, considering how he might have reacted.

We already have massive industrial capacity in the US. We have less industrial jobs due to increased automation and efficiency. Manufacturing output has more than doubled since 1975, while employment in that sector has declined by about 30% over the same period. Unless manufacturers are willing to refit with 40 year old technology and/or stop all further advancement, it's a trend that's likely to continue, no matter how many new factories generate temporary spikes.

Well, the impression I got was that he was fine with them doing it...later. He wants their first priority to be tax reform and health care, i.e. tax cuts and repealing Obamacare.

Congress voted to put their outside ethics monitor under their own control.

Images has been used to create loudspeakers that amplify existing voices, so you could also adapt the standard Tracking Bug design. Images vs. Radio, Set Effect (broadcast of sounds near the bug). Make it 1m Radius and add MegaScale 1m = 1 km, and anyone within 1 km who tunes to the proper frequency can detect the Image.

Continuing the trend of proving that the government doesn't work by preventing the government from working.

The HR department at the company that I work for organizes various health, exercise, and nutrition related activities throughout the year. The more you participate in, the higher your insurance tier, and the less gets deducted from your paycheck for insurance the next year. Healthier employees = less insurance use = lower insurance cost

What about when a candidate's campaign attempts to influence the electors with threats of political reprisal?

The way they presented it in the APG, it practically was an Adder. For example, a 2d6 RKA, 1 point Piercing, Armor Piercing (+1/4) was listed as a 41 Active Point Power. (30 + 3) x 1 1/4

A 6e version of Piercing appeared in the first Advanced Player's Guide. Normal Defenses: 2 points. Resistant Defenses, Mental Defense, Powers Defense, Flash Defense: 3 points.

One thing that I would recommend, which became GM's option after 5th Edition Revised, and was previously an additional -1/4 Limitation, is the option for powers with Requires a Skill Roll to be subject to Skill vs. Skill contests. That could simulate the contest of wills when Talents use their powers.

The Hero System Grimoire has a spell intended to prevent a dead character from being resurrected. The base of the power is Suppress Healing, 0 END, Uncontrolled. It prevents Healing from being used on the target, even though the target isn't the one using the Healing. Principle 6 on 6E2 266, I guess. Don't worry about the "right way" to build something. Come as close as you can and then declare "this is how it works." How many Champions players does it take to change a light bulb? That's a GM call.

It's been stated a few times that in the Marvel Universe, mutants possess a unique telepathic signature, and that's what devices like Cerebro detect. Of course, telepathy-based technology is a whole other can of worms.

Perun is also in Marvel Comics, as a member of the Supreme Soviets and People's Protectorate.

Well, I did mention in my original post that it would depend on the nature of powers in a campaign. Obviously, it would be more effective in a setting with only one or two power origins. In the Progenitor setting I described, all powers derive from the Dark Energy that empowered the Progenitor. In the Wild Cards universe, all powers come from the Wild Card Virus, with occasional aliens and alien technology. In the campaign I've been working on on-and-off for ages, powers came from an alien weapon used at the start of an invasion 20 years ago.

What experiences have people had with superhuman detection devices? I don't mean a blood test or a DNA test. I mean something like the mutant detectors that Genocide had - a device that can detect the presence of a superhuman at a distance. Obviously, whether something like that is even possible depends on the nature of superpowers in a campaign. For example, in the Progenitor setting for Wild Talents, all powers derive from the contagious Dark Energy that empowered the first superhuman (the "Progenitor" of the title) in 1967. The first hand-held Dark Energy Detector (DEtector) was perfected in 1973 and entered the civilian market in 1976. They could detect the presence of a person infused with Dark Energy or a creature or object created by Dark Energy in a 20 yard radius. By 1999, they were the size of your thumb and cost $20. The problem arises with certain events in the timeline. The big one was when the Progenitor attempted to rescue the hostages in Iran, but they were all killed by explosives detonated by DEtectors. Realistically, that tactic makes sense, but from a game perspective, it's terrible storytelling. It's basically saying "Ha, ha! You got the hostages killed just by showing up." After that, if heroes find themselves in a similar situation, they have the choice of sitting on their hands doing nothing or looking incredibly callous as they risk people's lives by their mere presence. Criminals don't even need actual bombs. They can just say "Keep the heroes away. We have DEtector bombs strapped to the hostages/main support beams/bus full of nuns and orphans." They're probably lying, but they only have to be telling the truth once.