oberon

Re: 6th Ed Source Books? I don't know about that....6th Ed is the HexEd

Re: Starting in a new Champions game OK. After consultation with the GM, have decided to go the Mystic Shapeshifter route. The main base of operations will be Britain, but there will be the opportunity for easy worldwide travel. Here are some brief ideas I'm tossing around. Character (no name as yet) can trace his family line back to the Viking incursions into Britain (specifically, his ancestors were berserks, who really could change form into wolves/bears). After surviving an encounter with a lycanthrope, instead of contracting the disease, his latent shapeshifter abilites were activated and fought off the lycanthropy. Initially, he has very poor control, so becomes something of a scholar of various forms of shamanic and arcane magic in an attempt to learn more about his abilities. So, I'm thinking he has Multiform, probably x8 forms, but since they won't be too expensive (various normal animals) that will keep the cost down. A small magic VPP, to represent his eclectic knowledge of various magical traditions. A bunch of KS related to his mystical studies. And probably some abilities to increase his combat effectiveness, regardless of form (since the berserks were said to change in order to battle more effectively). Maybe even an EC for these, as they are linked to his shapeshifter heritage. Lose one, lose the lot. Any other suggestions? Also, anyone know of any good resources related to European shapeshifting mythology? Have been doing some online research, and have found some info, but not as much as I like. Odin and Loki were both known as shapeshifters, but it doesn't appear to have been as widely accepted a trope amongst the Norse pantheon, as in the Greek pantheon, for instance. Thanks oberon

Re: Starting in a new Champions game

Re: Starting in a new Champions game Thank you all so much for the replies, so far guys. The exact style/setup for the game hasn't been finalised, yet. The GM has basically asked everyone to come up with a character/team and game concept they would like to play, and he would go from there. Since the first two players to submit character concepts were from the Hellboy mould, I'm assuming that is the sort of game we'll be playing. Frankly, I'm easy with whatever the GM/other players want. Had a quick skim through The New Circle page. Absolutely fantastic. The speedster/precog got a few wheels churning. On the speedster angle as well, thanks for the ideas, assault. Using an avatar/son of Mercury hadn't occurred to me. Obviously most of the divine level beings from comics lean more towards the brick side of things. Definitely an angle to consider. BTW, I'm not certain how many members of my gaming group will be playing, but would you interested in me asking the GM whether there is another slot? I can't make any promises as to the quality of the game (as I've only played with the guy who's GMing. Never been in a game he has run), and it may only be a short term, but if you're jonesing for a FtF game. One of the other concepts I was tossing around was a shapechanger type. I guess, great minds think alike, huh Spence Probably not a werecreature, but something more along the lines of a totem warrior (Or Manimal, if anyone else remembers that show. Ahh 80s TV) Probably won't go the mentalist route. I think I detected a slight twitch when I mentioned the possibility (I think he has had bad past experiences with ego attacks ) yet he seemed to have no problem with letting me loose on a VPP as a mage. I think I need to give him a call tonight, see if I can get him to firm up the background of the game a little more. Great ideas, guys, they are really helping solidify some concepts for me. Thanks oberon

Hi all. I'm starting in a new Champions game (most of the players are unfamiliar with Hero) and I thought I'd pick the brains of Herodom assembled. The game is currentlu only in VERY preliminary form. The GM is going to be doing the bulk of character creation for the other players, so is currently asking for concepts (2 so far) At the moment, it is looking like the group will be a somewhat similar idea to the BPRD (Hellboy), a covert, mystically oriented organisation. The GM is happy to base the game around whatever group idea people come up with. So far, we have a Hellboy ripoff, a demonic visaged brick. Pretty straight forward. Also, another is tossing up between between MA/blaster. Thinking about either going the vampire route (MA), or maybe an angelic being as a foil to the Hellboy route (Blaster). As the only player with any experience with HERO, I was looking at concepts that might fill any gaps in the party. I wouldn't mind playing a speedster or teleporter, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a mystic twist to keep it in line with the other characters. The other option would be a Mage, which would be good as a utility type character. I'd probably go heavy on the party aid/crowd control powers if I go this route. Anybody have any ideas/comments/concepts/etc they might like to share with me after reading the above? Thanks in advance guys, oberon

Re: (best ever)...reasons for becoming a supervillain!

Re: Corruption of power My favourite supers character started out as a stereotypical ex-athlete popular type, who became bitter when he found out that the real world didn't work the same way after school. And a (good) higher dimensional being fleeing persecution from their (evil) civilization. Said being discovers the only way it can continue to exist on this plane is to merge itself with a human 'host', who then gained absorber/blaster type abilities. The character had a public ID, and initially became a hero, simply for the adulation he received. And was not afraid to occasionally use the powers to his benefit. It would have been equally easy for him to take a step the other way, and seek revenge on all the people he felt had wronged/crossed him. Of course, over time he became more and more heroic due to the unconscious effect of the merged being. But at the start, yes, he could have gone either way. Obviously, if he'd gone bad, I wouldn't have been playing him in that game oberon

Re: Reproduction Steve, have you read Glory Season by David Brin? Sci-fi, where the settlers on this world used genetic engineering to allow parthenogenetic reproduction. Most pregnancies result in a clone of the mother, and it is only during certain times that offspring are produced which are a combination of both their parents. In the book, culture has regressed to a time of sail (most males are sailors/navigators, etc) and the power lies in the female families. Groups of identical women, each set up along the lines of a guild devoted to a particular task at which they excel (ie a guild/family of painters, where each genetically identical member is a talented artist). During the Glory Season, the children are a mix of both parents. Male children are raised by the men, female children are raised by the women, until they reach adulthood, whereupon they are kicked out to make their own way in the world. If their unique heritage means they have a particular talent and they find a niche, they then have the opportunity to make enough money to set up their own family/guild and start having little clonal babies of their own. An interesting idea, and I really enjoyed the book oberon

Re: Darkness and Evil -- Examing the Metaphor Although I haven't read it in ages, The Time Master trilogy by Louise Cooper explored this idea. oberon

Re: The King who Doesn't Know It Perhaps the King is tied to the land by a mystic bond, such that when one prospers, they both prosper. Therefore, he could be fulfilling the most basic role of the regal position, without even knowing it. The remainder is just politics oberon

Re: Power Design What I am having the problem with is that I want the reduced size to be more of a disadvantage than anything (each duplicate will be smaller and weaker). It just goes against the grain to use a +1/4 to +1 advantage (Altered Duplicates) to simulate a disad . And since Shrinking has positive as well as negative effects, you can't use Side Effect. Linked Shrinking would work, but I will have the same issue with Density Increase, and to buy Linked Shrinking for those 2 powers, and then Shrinking on it's own as a seperate power, well it will all be a tad expensive in the end, and has the same issue of spending points to buy what should be a disad. I guess I might just have to bite the bullet and choose one. oberon

Re: Random SF Science Questions Exoskeletons, however, are already being worked on. DARPA is developing an exoskeletal frame designed to boost the strength/endurance of its operator (http://www.darpa.mil/dso/thrust/matdev/ehpa.htm). The drawback is that it needs too much power to operate. The weight of a self-contained power source large enough makes it infeasible at the moment. Of course, with a really long extension lead Also, check out http://www.plyojump.com/exoskeletons.html oberon

OK, folks. Am trying to design a new character, and want a little help with one of the powers. The character is a higher dimensional being who interacts with this universe by creating a simulacrum from available matter. It will have a number of matter-manipulation powers, but one I want some input on is Duplication. Basically, it is limited in just how much matter it can manipulate at one time (about the size of an adult human). Therefore, while it can divide it's conciousness to control multiple duplicates at the same time, it only has so much mass to divide between them (more duplicates, the smaller each one becomes). So, assembled HERO experts, please throw some ideas my way as to how you would model such an ability. Thanks oberon

Re: Random SF Science Questions For anyone who is interested, the Coyote books (Coyote, Coyote Rising and Coyote Frontier) by Allen M. Steele involve the creation of the first extrasolar colony in just such a situation. I'm currently reading the first book, which has been written around the setup of the colony. Coyote is an Earth-sized moon orbiting a GG that sits just outside the habitable zone of it's primary. However, reflected radiation, etc, from the GG are enough to make the moon habitable, although with pretty extreme seasons. A good read so far. oberon

Re: Area of a hexagon EDIT: perhaps I should have read the second page before replying. Thanks Mantis oberon