Armitage

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.

So it begins...

A man wearing a Donald Trump shirt and carrying a weapon stood outside a voting location in Loudoun County, Virginia, on Friday. Authorities in the nation’s richest county are apparently OK with that.

They don't want to startle anyone.  Intimidate, yes.  Startle, no.

When converting from other game systems, I generally just establish what the "Normal", "Extraordinary", and "Superhuman" benchmarks are, and then convert within that range.  I also establish a break-point between having superhuman strength and being strong enough to qualify as a Brick.

For example, Fallout from the 3e Mutants & Masterminds book Threat Reports is an Energy Projector and a Brick with superhuman stamina and everything else above average but within normal human range.

Once upon a time, I attempted to create line-by-line conversion rules for various game systems, so the characters could be imported into my campaign as needed.  Then I realized that I would likely be adjusting their power level to fit the game anyway, so it would just be a lot of work for too little return.

I think this power is intended for mooks with low Body scores, defined as "1 hit, 1 kill" opponents, or if using the Stunned Equals Dead rule. It is certainly a more cinematic ability that lends itself to over the top gameplay. I would add that unimportant NPCs don't get that extra 10 Body cushion between Unconscious and Dead. They hit 0 Body and hasta la pasta for them. Combine these to make mooks dangerous, but easy to mow down.

 

 

Agreed.  Follow-Through Attack traces back to D&D's Cleave and Great Cleave, which trace back in turn to the earlier edition ability of a fighter to make one attack per round per level when fighting opponents with less than 1 Hit Die.  A 1e AD&D 10th level fighter could make 10 attacks per round when wading though hordes of goblins or kobolds.

Also, you DID have characters in the Golden Age who had the whole "went to the mystical east and recieved strange training" ie The Shadow. So Eastern MA's wouldn't be totally out of the realms of possibilities. Even an Asian Martial Artist who escaped from Occupied China during the war. I am sure that would be really uncommon, but not out of the realm of possibility.

It's an earlier era, but Pulp Hero specifically talks about how Western characters may have Boxing, Dirty Infighting, Fencing, or even Savate, but Eastern martial arts will be the exclusive schtick of a character who has it as part of their background and character archetype.

"The Gadgeteer has his Weird Science, the Aviator has his plane, the Masked Crimefighter has his eerie laugh; the Character Raised In The Orient has Martial Arts."

For 5e, Champions Universe: News of the World had the Sentinels and the Justice Squadron, as well as solo heroes.  Going back to 4e, Allies was entirely NPC heroes, but I don't believe any of them made it into 5e or 6e canon.

Executive Sanction, US government hero team.

The Posse, bloodthirsty vigilantes.

The Braverman Foundation, traveling entertainment troupe of mostly bricks.

Zen Team, Japanese corporate-sponsored Sentai team.

The Redeemed, former villains making up for their past.

The Flashmen, pseudo-heroes focused on fame and fortune, and looking better than the PCs.

Cyberknights, cyborgs, gadgeteers, powered armor heroes, and a robot

Assorted solo heroes: 

Peak human white supremacist "hero".

Child with a magic wand.

Native American brick attorney.

Genetically engineered humanoid feline secret agent.

Ghostly undead WWII hero.

Shapeshifting veterinarian.

Normal human with lots of Luck and Unluck, and gadgets he's found.

A large group of normal humans who take turns wearing the same costume.

I don't know if I ever recall two candidates for President who obviously loathe their opponent so completely. They absolutely detest the opposition, with the intensity of a supernova.

There have been some pretty nasty campaigns in the past. (Although this article was written in 2008.  It may need updating after this year.)

Calling your opponent a "hideous hermaphroditical character which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman."

"Are you prepared to see your dwellings in flames... female chastity violated... children writhing on the pike? GREAT GOD OF COMPASSION AND JUSTICE, SHIELD MY COUNTRY FROM DESTRUCTION."

Saying a candidate's wife was a "dirty black wench", a "convicted adulteress" and said she was prone to "open and notorious lewdness".

Describing your opponent as a "horrid-looking wretch, sooty and scoundrelly in aspect, a cross between the nutmeg dealer, the horse-swapper and the nightman."

I try to always encourage roleplay. Telling someone that they are spending too much time speaking seems to counter to actually roleplaying.

 

Allowing the Villain to spill their masterplan is genre appropriate for many cinematic genres. Also players can be taught to listen to it, because they simply want to know which of their Hypothesis' are correct, or to fill in the blank in what they know. YMMV. Keep it fun for players, interruping them when they are roleplaying is not fun.

Also, just look at how many comic books have characters practically delivering Shakespearean soliloquies mid-leap or mid-punch.  It's completely genre appropriate.    

Improvised Weapons usually don't have or add any base damage to the attack themselves. The reason to use them is usually to convert Normal Damage into Killing Damage, hit your target from further away (throwing cars to hit flying enemies), or force the object to absorb damage the maneuver would have done to you (in the case of Move-By and Move-Through).

There's a rule hidden on 6E2 173 and CC 146.  If the PD + BODY of an improvised weapon is greater than the STR dice of the character wielding it, the attack deals an extra +1d6 for every 2 full points the PD + BODY exceeds the STR dice, to a maximum of double damage.

A normal human (STR 10, 2d6 damage) hitting someone with a light wooden chair (3 PD, 3 BODY) would deal 4d6 damage.  The chair would also take the same damage every time it was used as a weapon, so the bonus would gradually fade and then go away completely as it broke.

There's always been that element in partisan politics, but compromise wasn't a dirty word until sometime in the past 20 years or so. Reagan made deals, Clinton made deals, but since about 1996, it's been perpetual war.

It seemed to really become an issue starting with the 2008 campaign, when a lot of Republican campaigns were run on the platform of Democrats being evil, Communist, baby kicking, Grandma killing monsters out to destroy America in order to fire up their base, particularly what became the Tea Party.  Unfortunately, that then left more reasonable Republicans unable to negotiate with Democrats for fear of being condemned as traitors and losing support.

Even now, Sean Hannity regularly complains on his show about how Republicans in the House and Senate never stood up to President Obama and caved to every demand he made.  I'm honestly not sure what reality he lives in.

The Berserk Fury Talent from Fantasy Hero has the same thing.

Aid STR 3d6, Side Effect (automatically becomes Berserk in combat while Aid remains in effect, can only make 11- recovery rolls after all Aided points fade; -1/2)

Luthor hating Superboy for having caused his hair to fall out always struck me as a really lame basis for a lifelong rivalry.

In one version of the story, the same accident that made him lose his hair also destroyed the artificial, possibly intelligent, amorphous life form that Luthor had just created in his lab.  He became convinced that Superboy had deliberately destroyed it out of jealousy about his scientific achievements.

The picture I found online of the aftermath of its destruction is a different art style than the picture I posted, so its destruction in the accident is most likely a retcon.  Everything else shows him upset over the accident destroying the irreplaceable Kryptonite antidote he had created using the life form.

There was also the Fearful Haste power in the Emotion Control Powers chapter.  The character induces brief panic in an opponent so they flinch when attacking, making them less accurate.  It could easily be modified to represent an unwillingness to attack due to attractiveness.

The power was

+4 DCV, Costs Endurance (-½), Instant (-½), Only Versus Designated Person’s Attacks (-1), Only Versus Beings With Minds/Emotions (-½). Total cost: 6 points.

If it's a constant ongoing effect, you can drop Costs Endurance and Instant.  If it affects everyone who sees her, the single person Limitation can be dropped.  If it's based on sexual attraction instead of brute force compulsion, you can add a Limitation that it only affects people who would be attracted to the character.  I vaguely recall seeing that Limitation somewhere, but I can't remember where.  I thought it was on Pheromone Control, but apparently not.  I remember it on some power that played on attraction, but only if the target's sexual orientation was such that they could be attracted to the character in the first place.

"You don't want to hit me..." (inhales deeply) "...do you?"

"Sorry lady, you're not my type."  POW!

That's how to calculate damage classes, not "advantages add directly to existing powers and abilities." 

 

Ah, I misread the question.  I thought it was the prorating that was the issue.  Limited free application of Advantages on STR to Hand-to-Hand Attack dice does appear to be one of the things that was left out in the transition from 6E to CC.

Martial Maneuvers on p. 154 does say that they add Damage Classes, not dice, so that would prorate when adding Damage Classes to Advantaged STR.  There's nothing under Hand-To-Hand Attack.

Champions Powers and the UNTIL Superpowers Database II had "Beauty Too Wondrous to Harm" in the Hyper-Attributes chapter.  It was pretty expensive.

Mind Control, Radius, 0 END, Constant, Persistent, No Range, Set Effect (Don't hurt me; -1), Only Versus Persons Who Look At Character (-1/2).

6e2 is not valid with the use of champions complete.

It doesn't spell it out as precisely as 6E, but CC 156 says that the Damage Classes of an attack are the Active Points divided by 5, and any Advantages that directly affect how a target takes damage are factored into the Active Points for that calculation.

10d6 Blast.  50 AP.  10 Damage Classes.  1d6 per Damage Class.

10d6 Blast. Armor Piercing (+1/4), Autofire (5 shots; +1/2).  87 AP.  17 Damage Classes.  ~0.6d6 per Damage Class.

In the case of the second power, a Maneuver that added +4 DC would add roughly 2 1/2d6.

Wasn't Kevin Siembieda known at one time for throwing fits if someone converted characters from his game systems into any other system?

Ah yes, according to Wikipedia:

Palladium is aggressive in preventing wide distribution of fan-made conversions of their games to other systems (such as the D20 System), and also strongly discourages converting the intellectual property of others into their system; while they cannot prevent it, doing so is not allowed in venues owned by Palladium Books. Palladium also routinely threatens legal action against fans who distribute conversions in other venues by issuance of cease and desist orders. When asked why Palladium was so much stricter in regard to conversions than other game companies, Siembieda stated that the policy had been adopted due to advice from Palladium's lawyers, to shield Palladium from liability for conversions of other parties' intellectual property.

Oddly enough, the DCV is NOT affected by being asleep it appears.

I think that some of the "-0" on the table on 6E2 37 are supposed to represent "your DCV becomes 0".

e.g. Affected by PRE +30 Presence Attack, Entangled, and Knocked Out all say "-0".

6E2 136 says "Target's PRE +30.  Target is cowed.  He may surrender, run away, or faint.  He is at 0 DCV, and will nearly always follow commands."

6E2 106 says "When a character is Knocked Out, his OCV, DCV, and MCV are instantly reduced to zero."

6E1 215 says "When a character is Entangled, his arms and legs are restrained, giving him a DCV of 0."

There's a similar power in the Body Control powers section of Champions Powers and UNTIL Superpowers Database II as Oxygenated Skin.

"The character doesn’t breathe just through his mouth and nose — he can take in enough oxygen to keep himself alive through his skin. This makes it difficult to choke, suffocate, or strangle him."

Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing), Only To Protect Against Choking/Suffocation/Strangulation Attacks (-1).

(They also include Inherent.)

In 6e Fantasy Hero, it's on page 276, in the Combat Modifiers and Maneuvers section.

A Power with the Spell Limitation can't use Blazing Away, Grab By, Haymaker, Hipshot, Hurry, Move By, Move Through, Multiple Attack, Pulling a Punch, Snap Shot, or Suppression Fire

The UNTIL Superpowers Database II had a section of Glue Powers that didn't make it into Champions Powers.

One of them was Suffocating Glue Mask.

3d6 Entangle, Blocks Sight and Smell/Taste, Entangle and Character Both Take Damage, Set Effect (Head only), Doesn't Prevent Use of Foci

2d6 Blast, NND (Self-Contained Breathing), 0 END, Continuous (end when Entangle is destroyed), Linked to Entangle

In the Terran Empire setting for Star Hero, it's just part of "how Hyperspace works".  It's not reflected in the drive write-ups.

Hyperdrives and Displacer Drives both require a Navigation (Hyperspace) or Navigation (Displacement) roll, and the margin of success or failure determines how accurate the jump was, from the exact point you were aiming for at 5+ success, to being off by 1d6 light years for 10+ failure.  Success by 0 - 1 is off by 1d6 x 1000 km.

Hyperdrives used in an unexplored area with no navigation beacons have a -3 penalty, and Displacer Drives have an overall penalty of -1 per 100 light years jumped.

To support what Massey said:

The Miraculous Healing power in Champions Powers and UNTIL Superpowers Database II uses Transform to remove permanent disabilities without including the Improved Results Group Advantage, which is needed to cause more than one single transformation.

"Severe Transform 3d6 (person with physical disabilities or deformities to otherwise identical person without those disabilities or deformities)"

The same thing is done with the Cure Illness spell in Hero System Grimoire and the Fantasy Hero Grimoire.

"Major Transform 4d6 (sick person into well person)"

Based on that, it would appear that Transforming targets into pristine versions of those targets is a single transformation, not different types of transformations, so it could be used on multiple targets simultaneously.  It's similar to how Time Travel to "1 year from this exact moment" is bought as a single point in time, not a related group of time periods.  A variety of results are available, but they're all based on a fixed starting point.

Only Restores To Starting Value is a -1/2 Limitation for Adjustment Powers.  The Absorption would restore END that had been used or Drained, but it couldn't increase it above the original 52 END.

It's kind of why the other candidates had problems with him in the primary. They were running political campaigns, and he was running a reality show.

It's similar to when Jesse Ventura was running for Governor of Minnesota.  His opponents agreed to let him participate in the debates, expecting him to make a fool of himself, but forgetting that he had decades of experience working behind microphones and in front of cameras, and playing to audiences.