Epiphanis

I kind of like Archimago as the Biggest Bad of the Silver Age. In many ways the age is defined by its worst supervi)ain. Like, Totenkopf as the Biggest Bad of the Golden Age, Archimago of the Silver Age, and Doctor Destroyer of the Bronze and Modern Age.

The key factor should be diversity of techniques, I think. You can cannibalize a lot of the crunch in The Book of the Machine for other villainous robots and masterminds that employ them--for instance, Brainchild, the Engineer, or SYZYGY. I'd like to see additional books that could similarly be broadened using Big Bads to exemplify a particular modus operandi -- genetic engineering (Teleios); psionics (Menton); magic (Takofanes, or Shadow Destroyer, or the Silver Age Archimago). An interesting gap in the Champions Universe are the lack of really big big bads that utilize cybernetics (Interface? Scott Bennie's Cyberlord?) and martial arts (Yi Lung from Martial Arts Hero, maybe?)

Don't know what you all are going on about.  Its exactly like buying two variable slots in a multipower, except each is broken down into two fixed increments. Completely legal.  Not seeing the problem you have with it.  Not that I plan to debate it further; the only opinion that matters on the issue is Darren Watts'.

Yeah.  There is a reason for that.

Character I'm developing for Darren Watts' supernatural team sub-campaign.  Not finalized, but:

DRYAD

(Daphne Kazantzakis)

VAL CHA Cost Roll Notes
10 STR 0 11- HTH Damage 2d6  END [1]
13 DEX 6 12-
20 CON 10 13-
13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-
18 EGO 8 13-
19 PRE 9 13- PRE Attack: 3 1/2d6 / 4d6
4 OCV 5
8 DCV 25
8 OMCV 15
8 DMCV 15
5 SPD 30 Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
15 PD 4 15/25 PD (9/19 rPD)
15 ED 4 15/25 ED (9/19 rED)
10 REC 6
40 END 4
15 BODY 5
30 STUN 5
Movement Cost Meters Notes
RUNNING 0 22m/44m END [2]
SWIMMING 0 4m/8m END [1]
LEAPING 0 4m 4m forward, 2m upward
TELEPORTATION  7m/14m
Characteristics Total: 154
Cost Powers
60 Powers of the Green: Multipower, 60-point reserve - END=
6f 1)  Vine Lash: Blast 12d6, Alternate Combat Value (uses OMCV against DCV; +0) (60 Active Points) - END=6
6f 2)  Manipulating Tendrils: Telekinesis (40 STR), Alternate Combat Value (uses OMCV against DCV; +0) (60 Active Points) - END=6
6f 3)  Creeper Tendrils: Telekinesis (25 STR), Alternate Combat Value (uses OMCV against DCV; +0), Indirect (Source Point is the Character, path can change with every use; +1/2) (58 Active Points) - END=6
6f 4)  Entangling Vines: Entangle 4d6, 7 PD/4 ED (standard effect: 4 BODY, 7 PD/4 ED), Alternate Combat Value (uses OMCV against DCV; +0), Entangle And Character Both Take Damage (+1/4) (59 Active Points) - END=6
4f 5)  Dense Hedge-Wall: Barrier 10 PD/6 ED, 10 BODY (up to 8m long, 3m tall, and 21/4m thick), Opaque Sight Group, Alternate Combat Value (uses OMCV against DCV; +0) (60 Active Points); Conditional Power Power does not work in Common Circumstances (Only works when surface it is created upon is within 1 meter of soil, with material with a PD of 6 or less between; -1/2) - END=6
3f 6)  Manipulating Scent: Mind Control 11d6 (standard effect: 33 points) (Human and Additional Class of Minds classes of minds) (60 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Subjects must be able to smell her scent, i.e. must not be in sealed environment and at short range, about 4 meters in still air, less in winds.; -1) [Notes: Dryad can generate plant pheromones to control weak-willed human- and animal-class minds in her immediate vicinity.] - END=6
6f 7)  Plant Speech: Telepathy 8d6 (Plant class of minds), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points) - END=0
4f 8)  Regrow Body Elsewhere: Teleportation 7m, No Relative Velocity, No Range Modifier (+1/2), MegaScale (1m = 10,000 km; +2) (59 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about a fourth of its effectiveness (Cannot carry anything, even clothing; -1/4), Limited Power Power loses about a fourth of its effectiveness (Destination point must have at least one ounce of living plant life; -1/4) [Notes: Dryad can "teleport" by growing a new body anywhere there is a significant amount of living plant matter.  Her previous body immediately disintegrates into a pile of fast-disintegrating vegetable compost.  Any damage or alteration her previous body sustained is carried over to the new one.  This power is too slow and scaled to effectively use in combat.] - END=6
30 Body of Flesh/Wood: Multipower, 30-point reserve - END=
1f 1)  Body of Flesh I: (Total: 15 Active Cost, 15 Real Cost) +2 DCV (Real Cost: 10) plus +2 DEX (Real Cost: 4) plus +1 PRE (Real Cost: 1) - END=0
1f 2)  Body of Flesh II: (Total: 15 Active Cost, 15 Real Cost) +2 DCV (Real Cost: 10) plus +2 DEX (Real Cost: 4) plus +1 PRE (Real Cost: 1) - END=0
1f 3)  Body of Wood I: Resistant Protection (5 PD/5 ED) (15 Active Points) - END=0
1f 4)  Body of Wood II: Resistant Protection (5 PD/5 ED) (15 Active Points) - END=0
13 Calling Upon The Green: (Total: 20 Active Cost, 13 Real Cost) +10 REC (10 Active Points); Conditional Power Power does not work in Very Common Circumstances (Only works in area with at least heavy foliation (forest, jungle, meadow, etc.); -1) (Real Cost: 5) plus +10 REC (10 Active Points); Conditional Power Power does not work in Uncommon Circumstances (Only works in area with at least light foliation (surburban or rural habitation); -1/4) (Real Cost: 8) - END=0
18 Plant Metabolism: Life Support  (Eating: Character only has to eat once per week; Expanded Breathing; Extended Breathing: 1 END per Turn; Immunity All terrestrial diseases; Immunity: Phytotoxins; Longevity: 200 Years) [Notes: Dryad only needs a limited amount of breathing and eating, and can thrive in atmospheres in which humans cannot, as long as there is carbon dioxide present.  She is immune to plant poisons and all diseases.  She has longevity equal to her oak tree.] - END=0
10 Gaia's Grace: Power Defense (10 points) - END=0
10 Preternatural Vigor: Running +10m (22m total) - END=1
Powers Total: 186
Cost Skills
15 +3 with a large group of attacks
5 +5 to offset a specific negative OCV modifier with any single attack [Notes: Only to offset penalty for teleporting to unseen spot.]
3 Breakfall 12-
3 Teamwork 12-
3 Science Skill:  Botany 12-
2 KS: Greek Mythology 11-
2 KS: The Mystic World 11-
Skills Total: 33
Cost Perks
3 Contact:  Gaia (Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Good relationship with Contact) 8-
Perks Total: 3
Cost Talents
18 Combat Luck (9 PD/9 ED)
3 Bump Of Direction
3 +1/+1d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters)
Talents Total: 24
Value Complications
10 Hunted:  Gaia Frequently (Mo Pow; Watching)
15 Distinctive Features (Mystic Aura):  (Not Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Uncommonly-Used Senses)
15 Social Complication:  Secret:  the Oak tree that contains her spirit Infrequently, Severe
15 Social Complication:  Subject to Orders (from Gaia) Frequently, Major
10 Vulnerability:  2 x STUN Herbicides (Uncommon)
10 Vulnerability:  2 x BODY Herbicides (Uncommon)
Complications Points: 75
Base Points: 400
Experience: 0
Experience Unspent: 0
Total Character Cost: 400

I'm more or less operating in real time.  I ran a Halloween and Christmas adventure during the appropriate seasons.

Conceptually its fine.  I've sent you an invite for the campaign.  Tweak the math and send a draft.  Also, I'll continue this through the Obsidian Portal site.

I don't know. If you have a bunch of concepts, just list them from what you most want to play to what you least want to play. Then if necessary I'll veto the inappropriate ones til we get to an acceptable one.

Reading the log I linked should give you an idea of the feel of the campaign.  The departing player was the team's main ranged energy projector, so something similar would fit nicely.  Also a high-versatility VPP character such as a gadgeteer or sorcerer or some "cosmic" character would work.  I would shy away from another brick or mentalist.  

How the players would respond is up to them, they can chime in if they see this.

CHAMPIONS: THE RETRIBUTORS, online Champions/Hero System 6th Ed campaign, played with Google Hangouts and Maptool, meeting weekly, Mondays 8-10:30 EST.

As luck would have it, at the end of our first year of the campaign one of my long-term players dropped out, leaving a spot open for recruitment. This is a pretty stable long-term superhero game.

If interested, check out the introduction, character creation rules and house rules here:

https://champions-the-retributors.obsidianportal.com/

A log of our first year can be found here:

https://champions-the-retributors.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log/synopsis

If you wish to join, obtain a free Obsidian Portal account and request to join on the campaign website above.

Illustration of Sodeptan.

My online game is full up, but if you are interested in how it has developed over the past year, you can find a synopsis of events here:  

https://champions-the-retributors.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log/synopsis

Updated group shot welcoming new team member SURGE!

Arc 6: TUNE IN, TURN ON, FALLOUT  (Still in progress, partial synopsis so far follows)

Mentally challenged mega-brick Grond is rampaging in downtown Millennium City, at the site of a local hospital.  Blip, Fortress and Psychon scramble to stop him, only to discover that he is being backed up by several “Irrradiates” with various powers.  Irradiates are a kind of ‘mutant zombie’ with powers created by testing of the Delta Bomb in New Mexico in the 1950s-60s.   This little group is led by an Irradiate who appears to be an eyeless little girl, Enola, a mentalist who has the power to shield Grond from mental attacks, his only real weakness.  Grond and the Irradiates defeat the (partial) team of Retributors, and escape with a canister of radioactive isotopes from the hospital’s radiology department;  the Irradiates cannot survive long without exposure to levels of background radiation that would hazardous to normal humans.  The Retributors did manage to capture one Irradiate, however, who revealed that they had fled their home in Burning Sands, New Mexico (one of the few places on Earth with strong enough background radiation to sustain them) because their leader, an Irradiate called Littleboy, had embarked on what they considered a suicidal plan to war with non-Irradiates and spread fallout over a large territory to allow the Irradiate ‘race’ the opportunity to expand and grow.

Arc 5: TEENAGE WASTELAND
PRIMUS arranges for the newly orphaned Kenny Jiong to be enrolled in the Ravenwood Academy, a fancy boarding school that fronts for a training school for superheroes.  It is reasoned that it is the only place with a staff strong enough to put off intervention by the Cult of the Red Banner and with a sufficient moral bent to guide him to use his powers for good rather than the evil the Cult seeks.  Psychon is engaged to periodically check on Kenny’s development.  While there, the school’s headmistress, Rowan, introduces the Retributors to the Academy’s next graduating class, who plan on forming a new super-team called the Ultra-Millenials.  She also reveals that the computer simulation of the Battle of Detroit that originally was used in the Grand Premiere of that movie had originally been a training simulation designed for the Holodrome, the Ravenswood Academy’s  holographic training facility.  It had been pirated months before by parties unknown.  In a demonstration of the simulation, the leader of the Ultra-Millennials, Dubstep, was injured when the simulation was sabotaged.  Suspicion was initially directed at the team’s socially awkward semi-autistic mentalist, Emoticon, but the true culprit was ultimately revealed to be team super-genius Prodigy with the assistance of duplicating martial artist Flashmob.  They had previously pirated the simulation and sold it to the scientific villain organization ARGENT.  Thereafter, they sought to frame Emoticon with the assistance of Flashmob’s duplicating power and the school’s standard-issue holographic disguises, plus some creative hacking of the school’s security software.  They attempted to escape with ARGENT’s aid, abducting Prodigy’s crush, Bling, the brick on the Ultra-Millennial team.  The Retributors thwarted the escape/abduction, and the Ultra-Millennials decided to reform later with replacements for their treacherous classmates.

Arc 4: THAT WHICH HAS FALLEN
Telepath Psychon joins the team, replacing the missing Mechanoid.  Brought in by PRIMUS to intervene in a metahuman case involving multiple murders and a missing child, they discover that several parties are tracking a twelve-year old Chinese-American boy named Kenny Jiong.   Involved in the hunt for Jiong is the fringe-Buddhist doomsday Cult of the Red Banner, with their army of martial artist warriors and mystics, lead locally by wealthy real estate developer and “philanthropist” Sidney Pang.  Also hunting for Kenny is the mysterious kung fu swordswoman Bladejade, whom they find out is trying to kill the child.  They learn that Kenny is the missing 23rd incarnation of the Badi Lama, the reincarnated soul of the founder of the Cult, and the Cult had abducted him in order to ultimately shape him into their new leader.  They also discover that the Retributor Blip is also a reincarnated soul whose past lives had been in service to the Red Banner, and that the Cult had arranged her parents’ murder to similarly shape her destiny and bring her current incarnation back to the Cult.  The Retributors convince Bladejade to refrain from killing Kenny (and destroying his soul forever with her magical sword, the Sword of Blood and Jade) and assist in recuing him from the Cult.  During the rescue they encounter and fight Bladejade’s former comrades, Iron and Gold, who are defeated along with Pang.   (They also briefly encounter the summoned ghost of Blip’s mother, but they escape before interacting with it meaningfully).  Bladejade agrees to give Kenny (and, incidentally, Blip) the chance to break from the path laid out by their former incarnations, but warns that she will be watching and will kill them if it appears they will succumb to the Cult’s long term plans.

Arc 3: SILENT SPRINGS
One of ladykiller team member Fortress’ many girlfriends uncharacteristically cancels a get together when she unexpectedly extends her one-week stay at posh Montana health spa resort Silent Springs.    The Retributors investigate, only to find that a number of guests of the resort have disappeared.  Investigating, they encounter Gloria Toback again.  They ultimately uncover that the resort is actually a recruitment operation for the Elder Worms, who magically transform kidnapped human guests into members of their horrific humanoid worm race through the power of a magic talisman.  A fight ensues which the Retributors lose and are captured.  Blip begins to be transformed, but they manage to escape with the aid of a still-human slave of the Worms.  Ultimately they drive the fully transformed Worms away and reverse the still-savable abductees with the  talisman.  When informed of the presence of the Worms, teammate Mechanoid abruptly disappears, taking their spaceship base with him.

Arc 2: CRYSTALLINE CRISIS

The Retributors become involved when a fancy art gallery has a special auction of ancient Lemurian artifacts and art objects, including a crude crystalline statue several thousands of years old.  Team member Gibraltar, an exiled earth elemental prince, feels an oddly familiar agitation in connection with the artifacts.  An odd, wealthy individual is hanging around the gallery, ultimately revealed to be the rogue Lemurian sorcerer Zorran the Artificer.  He and his henchman Leviathan attempt to steal  the statue, but are partially thwarted by the Retributors; they take a chip of the crystal statue and flee into a newly-created tunnel.  The Retributors follow into the underground labyrinth, only to encounter Gibraltar’s childhood friend, the female elemental warrior Turquoise (aka Turk).  Turk informs them that Gibraltar’s sister, Princess Uluru, was betrayed and captured by Zorran when she came to the Earth Dimension to enlist Gibraltar’s aid in the liberation of their homeland.  Uluru’s elemental life force is being used to animate an army of crystalline golems which depend on elemental animus to stay mobile.   Together the Retributors and Turquoise free Uluru and capture Zorran, who is turned over to law enforcement agency PRIMUS for arrest.

Arc 1: THE GRAND PREMIERE

On the anniversary of the Battle of Detroit that destroyed Detroit in 1982 and ultimately resulted in it being rebuilt as Millennium City, the newly-formed Retributors team is invited to attend the special premiere event of the new blockbuster movie, The Battle of Detroit, in Millennium City not far from the locations depicted in the film.  They encounter several Hollywood personalities, including obnoxious fading bad-girl starlet Gloria Toback.  During the first reel of the movie, there is a flash of light and the team finds itself sucked into the recreated events of the movie, with characters resembling not the real people depicted but the actors portraying them.   They get involved in a street fight with the soldier minions of the archvillain Doctor Destroyer, culminating in a fight with the rampaging giant robot dinosaur Mega-Terak.  They join with the heroes of Detroit on the offensive against Doctor Destroyer, with the Retributors tasked with securing Destroyer’s rooftop Asteroid Attractor from its robotic Destroid defenders, reversing its polarity, and deflecting the asteroids on a collision course with Earth while all the other heroes pin down Destroyer in his  underground lair below.  Blip teleports them in and Mechanoid re-enngineers the Attractor into a Deflector while the Destroids attack.  Destroyer triggers his orbital laser, destroying the quasi-real Detroit simulation, and the Retributors are ejected back into the real world.  They return to the theatre and encounter the real mastermind of the recreated Battle, Professor Paradigm, and his henchman/men Avant Garde, who is multiplied and shapeshifted into various black-and-white Hollywood stars heavily armed with futuristic weaponry.  They are handily defeated, but Paradigm and his minions escape via their own teleporter.  The Battle of Detroit goes on to be a massively successful blockbuster, in part due to the events of the premiere.

I have a new player joining, so I wrote up a campaign synopsis of my current game, now a bit over a half-year old, to bring him up to speed.  I thought it would be handy to post and update here to refer potential players to for future lineup changes.  The campaign is based in the published 6th Ed version of the Champions Universe, and heavily influenced by Cryptic's developments in the Champions Online MMORPG.  I like the premade material and want to have the players able to refer to a body of background reference material without being set in the overexposed comic book universes of Marvel, DC et. al.  The Retributrors consist of brick/metamorph Fortress; teleporting martial artist Blip; light-based energy projector Arc-en-Ciel (now on hiatus and may or may not return); exiled earth elemtal Gibraltar, who is a bit brackish but has ranged Earth control powers that might make him better classified as an energy projector; Mechanoid, a human who could project his consciousness into a multiform of different alien robot bodies (since dropped out of the campaign); Psychon, a powerful mentalist telepath; and new addition Surge, a speedster-energy projector, who at this point has not seen action yet.  Read on the synopsis log of their adventures in the comments below.

A very strong brick picks up a very large object, like a bus, and uses it as a weapon.  Can he then add a proportional area of effect based on the weapon's size to his strength-based attacks?   This question assumes he has only paid for super strength, not a specific AoE attack power with object of opportunity, nor has he made any kind of power tricks roll.