Deacon Blues

Having started a similar discussion in the RPG.net forums, I was pointed over here (by a Mr. Long) to take a look at what we'd created.

 

Tetsujin - not that it matters at this point, but I too will have to wade in and question the point of having a separate "special END" pool to simulate Essence. If you use the LTE rules for any Charm- or Anima-related actions, and regular END rules for everything else, that should be a satisfactory solution.

 

If you really really feel you need a separate mechanic for Essence, then I won't stop you. But you and I would have to part ways on that.

 

I do, however, like and agree with the following things:

• The magical weapon and magic material writeups.
  
• The Distinctive Features writeup as the Anima Banner effect. Visible would work as well, but why add another -1/4 onto every power when a simple -20 in the Disads column solves it as well?
  
• The Charm guidelines. Good stuff.
  
• Your willingness to forego the 'prerequisites' for certain Chains. Good call.
  

The next task on my list is to write up the Solar Castes' Anima powers. I'd like them all to come out similar in Active and Real costs, if not identical, just to keep the Castes balanced.

I must say, I liked the new Plague much more than the old one (the 4th ed., Classic Enemies psycho trippy headcase), based on his photo alone.

 

Also: the utility of this book far, far exceeds its purchase price. It's also great for spells for a Fantasy Hero campaign, psionic powers for Star Hero, the abilities of horrible monsters for a Horror game ... anything and everything. Full of great ideas.

Originally posted by Polaris

Do they continue to fight Dr. Destroyer (at least one poster suggested that if Dr. Destroyer is improving the lives of these people, then the heroes should leave it alone)?

I originally read this as "poster," meaning "glossy paper with a picture mounted on a wall," not "message board participant." I had some great ideas for pro-Doctor propaganda pieces as a result:

 

A stylized drawing of the Doctor standing with his arm on the shoulder of a young African man in fatigues carrying an assault rifle, with a gaggle of hopeful-looking peasant children behind him. Caption: Join Me In DESTROYING Poverty!

 

The Doctor in flight, smashing a British bomber jet with an armored fist while shooting down several missiles with an energy blast. A desert and several mosque minarets in the background set the scene as distinctly Mid-Eastern. Caption: Join Me In DESTROYING Injustice!

 

Dr. Destroyer, standing with his arms crossed in front of a South American rainforest, with several American soldiers touting AK-47s facing him in shock in the extreme foreground. Caption: Your Reign of Terror Stops Where Mine Begins! (okay, that one's somewhat ironic)

I used the Battle of Detroit as the CU-equivalent of 9/11 in my campaign, moving it forward a few years and setting it in the campaign city that I intended to convert to Millennium City. I think that's a bit less ... tacky, for lack of a better word ... than using a real-world holocaust as plot fuel.

 

But that's just my taste, of course. For your PCs, the game may be lent an extra touch of gravity by using historical tragedies. It just doesn't work that way for me, though. For those who feel the same way I do, there's already an in-game option.

I agree on the EC being a bad idea for a battlesuit. It's not a legitimate use of the Elemental Control.

 

Also, that Extra Time to Activate and the Concentration are going to make the character essentially useless in anything but an ambush.

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

Tyrannon has other Physical and Psychological Limitations that prevent him from just waltzing onto a new world and taking it over.

I forget - why can't Istvatha V'han just waltz on in and conquer Earth, again?

My version along the same lines, Roughhouse, was based off of Sam Elliott's character in the cinematic masterpiece, Road House, starring Patrick Swayze. A tough old grunt who made his living as a bouncer and bartender, he had healthy levels of Damage Reduction for both PD and ED, Damage Resistance and a bit of Regeneration. He also had some extra CON, bought with Doesn't Affect Figured Characteristics (-1/2); in other words, it only applied for whether he was Stunned or not. He could catch a TOW missile in the chest and be staggered - but not Stunned - for a moment.

 

His weakness? Well, his Damage Reduction vs. Energy attacks was not resistant; fire or lasers would hurt him more than most attacks would, though not a lot. Also, he was strong but not super-strong - he won his fights against other bricks just by wearing them down over time. Also, true to his cinematic inspiration, he loved women, booze and scrappin'.

Could someone download the images and post them to another site - say, their own website? I'd rather not give ItAintCoolNews the extra traffic.

Originally posted by Steve Long

 

3. Villains for the Galactic Champions Universe.

Please say Dr. D ...

 

Or at least the Slug. Everyone underestimates the Slug!

I'm always impressed whenever a new player shows up with a question, and the head writer / designer of the game posts on the board to answer it. Steve, you continue to be a credit to this fantastic system.

It's a short list, so I'll give each a little detail:

 

Deceit (one of my revised PSI members for my campaign, an illusionist extraordinaire)

Youngblood (serum-enhanced super soldier)

Monsieur Chapeaux (a French expatriate whose wide-brimmed hat gives him his name; his magic 'bag of tricks' is full of illusions, Entangles, Drains and other combat-support powers)

Novastar (flying energy projector)

Kid Justice (50s' era flying brick)

Jimmy Victory (50s' era speedster / martial artist)

Observer (a robot scout from an alien planet)

Ikon (a haughty, villainous mind controller)

Omnivore (a robot designed by Mechanon for unequalled carnage)

Originally posted by The Monster

If EGO represents in part strength of will, perhaps this could be done as a Drain/Suppress EGO, maybe with a -1 limitation only against EGO rolls to resist psychlims?

This is the most original answer I've heard yet, and probably the best. A character's "impulses" should be represented by their Psychological Limitations; anything which lowers EGO makes the Psych. Lims more likely to hold sway.

 

A vicious melee combatant with the Vengeful psych. lim (Common, Strong) will take vengeance at the least slight, including being cut off in traffic or the sun passing behind a cloud.

 

A delicate mentalist with the Cautious psych. lim (Common, Moderate) would suddenly be scared to leave her house. No, wait, even the bathroom looks sketchy - best just stay in bed.

"A little late for Lenny ..."

 

Omni-Goggles

Multipower, 6-point reserve, OIF Goggles (4 real points)

* Flash Defense vs. Sight Group, 6 points (1u)

* Telescopic Sight: +6 to PER vs. Range with Normal Sight (1u)

* Microscopic Sight: 100x magnification with Normal Sight (1u)

* Starlight Scope: Ultraviolet Perception (1u)

* Target Tracking: +1 level with ranged combat (1u)

Total Cost: 9 real points.

 

JetScooter

Flight 10", Reduced Endurance: 0 END (+1/2), Bulky OIF (-1).

Total Cost: 15 real points.

The first VIPER book is fantastic. I've cribbed from it in creating similar villainous organizations, and the supervillains therein work well independently of VIPER. Plus, the Random Villainy Chart! Plus, the original "Microfilm Madness" scenario!

The new Champions book listed a handful of crimesolving gadgets that all superhero teams would find useful - secure headset radios, tracking devices, power-cuffs, etc. I haven't bought that book yet, and I'm not planning on it (I've run and played Champs for years), but I'd like to spur some ideas on (A) crimesolving gadgets, and ( alternate ways of writing up the same gadgets.

 

I'll start with ( for the tracking device, or "homing beacon." From what I recall, the write-up in Champions was wordy and complicated; I'd like to see if it couldn't be simplified. The real power in a homing beacon isn't in the beacon, I figured - it's in the handheld computer that displays the beacon's direction and distance. So I concentrated on that for the write-up. Here's my version:

 

Homing Beacon

Detect Homing Beacon [3], Increased Arc of Perception: 360 Degrees [+5], Telescopic: +20 PER vs. Range [+20], Concealed: -5 to PER rolls against [+5]; Active. [33 active points]. OAF Tracking Computer [-1], 2 continuing charges of 1 hour each [-0], RSR Bugging and Systems Operation [-3/4]. [12 real points]

 

The "2 continuing charges of 1 hour each" are the two homing beacons themselves, tiny little disks no larger than a fingernail that can generate radar pulses for 1 hour before burning out. "RSR Bugging and Systems Operation" means that the user must complete two operations successfully - planting the beacon unnoticed (Bugging) and interpreting the signals correctly (Systems Operation). The tracker scans in all directions (Increased Arc of Perception: 360 degrees) and functions with near-perfect reliability if the target remains within a radius of eight kilometers (Telescopic).

 

If I unintentionally duplicated exactly what the Champions book wrote up, then please let me down gently. But I think it's an interesting alternate take.

 

Anyhow, what I'm looking for are crimesolving gadgets. Not weapons, not armor, but the kind of things that any super-team might use to help apprehend criminals. I'll be posting more as they come to me.

Re: Quote all you want, we'll say more.

 

Originally posted by Christougher

Two normal muggers jump him. One pulls a pistol and says, "Give me your money and you don't get hurt." After he looks down at Moondrake's feet, he adds, "And give me them nice kicks, too."

Oh, that's just beautiful. My first genuine laugh reading these.

 

From a 7th Sea game (I'm actually responsible for this one), in which our notoriously reckless group had to figure out a way to collapse a castle on top of some giants:

 

"Every time we go into a house looking for a prisoner or an incriminating letter, we end up burning it to the ground. But all of a sudden ..."

Originally posted by Monolith

As Tom stated above, it is a fairly common SFX to buy levels of DCV where you are having them represent small teleports the character is making to avoid incoming attacks.

Anyone remember Phaze from the 4th edition VIPER sourcebook? He "flickered" in and out between this dimension and a variety of others; he had a +8 DCV with activation 14- (might have been lower). Hard to time your shots right, but when you did, he fell down hard.