McManus

Re: What should I name my new character?

Are you looking for something iconic (like most given already) or something linked to her background? What is the name of her club? Is she doing the public ID thing or going masked? Is she bilingual or just of Hispanic decent? How well educated is she? How street? Is she religious? Sporty? Fannish? Commercial? Political? What audience is she trying to appeal to? Is she afraid of lawsuits?

Generic -

Sentinel

Guardian

Defender

Avenger

MegaMaid

MarvelWoman

Wondera

Ms Ultra

LadyPower

Super Chica

Re: Super Teams Compete!

I sort of like the idea of Super Clubs rather than mega teams. That is a club like the British clubs business sand gentlemen belonged to in Victorian times. These clubs had a meeting hall with social facilities such as bars, restaurants, and game rooms; as well as, and sports facilities, showers, steam rooms, and occasional rooms to stay in. Membership was restricted in most, with some sort of sponsorship required to join. Most clubs had a theme of some sort and attracted people with similar interests and backgrounds. Membership could be quite large. The JLU (animated series) seemed to fill this role to me. The satellite base seems to be the place for random supers to meet, greet, hang out, exercise, and have a meal. If they also happen to team up to fight a crime or two, that is cool. That is the thing they have in common.

I could readily see that sort of organization taking root in a Supers rich world. Probably more than one – a alien theme one, a tech theme one, a teen theme one, a magic theme one, maybe a super-normal theme one. Some heroes would belong to more than one club at a time and would participate based on their mood or mission.

Re: Super Teams Compete!

It makes a certain amount of sense that the first world is overrepresented superhero wise, wrt populations.

 

If you're a visiting alien, are you more likely to hang out where the technology is or in the areas where the tech level is neolithic?

 

If you're a tech based superhero, what are the odds you come from Sub Saharan Africa? New Guinea? Mongolia? Not so much.

 

Plenty of spiders in new guinea. Not so many of them are radioactive, though.

This raises some interesting questions. It certainly explains why high-tech, alien, and mutant heroes would be more common in the industrialized world. Conversely one could ask where are the masters of secret knowledge, martial artists, and mystical amalgams more likely to originate – Kalamazoo or Katmandu?

This could be an interesting split in the super world.

Re: Need Help with a Name

Cohort

Re: Random Superpowers: The Contoller

Can you give Comic book examples of these sorts of characters. While Buffers and Healers are rampant in computer and other RPGs I don't see them that often in comics.

But I may just not be noticing them.

Re: Need Help with a Name

The most obvious to me is for him to be called Vanguard or Kid Vanguard after the team he represents. I have a similar character design I called Legion. From the 1960s there is Duplicate boy and the Adaptoid.

Re: Weird Talent

I had a friend with that power in real life. But he needed a focus. He would wave a hacksaw at an engine in a treatening way. More than once I saw the recalcetrant engine start up.

And then there was the time he split a log with a screwdriver. Someday I want to write him up as ToolUsingMan.

Re: A couple of flying manuver/power questions for you guys

PSL = Renalty Skill Level. Only to reduce Penalties like the -2OCV for a grab. I think they are 2pts each, but could be wrong.

Re: What would you trade for wealth?

To me this sounds like aging. I am now 41. When I was 21 I was in significantly better shape (More STR, CON, DEX, BODY, COM, etc) but had very little money. I now make 4 or 5 times what I did then but I am in significantly worse shape.

Genie – I name you time gone by.

Re: Ultimate Scrapper?

Spidey is strange. Demi-brick. He's not on the level of the Hulk or Thing.

Backinaday there was a drawing of Spiderman lifting a platform on which was standing Thor, Hulk, Thing, Hercules, Colossus (I think), Namor, Silver Surfer, and a few other heroes. The caption was that they were the heroes who were stronger than Spidey. There were not a lot of them.

I wish I could find the picture.

Re: Character out of balance

I'm sure that's the case in many campaigns, but that hasn't been the case in ours of 13+ years. Our PCs tend to use XP to buy more Skills, new slots in MPs (which increase combat versatility but not raw power levels), new Contacts, additional Martial Maneuvers, more background Skills, etc. Additional/new defenses or bigger attacks have been quite rare.

 

Of course, we're only averaging 50 XP at this point, so who knows what we'll look like at 150 - 650 XP?

And that sounds more like the growth characters see in the comics. But it is the opposite of expectations players may have, especially if they come from a different genre background. In fantasy storylines it is pretty common for a character to start out as a simple farm boy or apprentice and end up a hero or even a king. But in a supers campaign you should not expect Cyclops to evolve to Iron Man the evolve to Silver Surfer. It happens (see Jean Grey) but it is the exception rather than the rule.

Oddly enough that is one of the problems I have with COH. Sometimes I want my character to stay street level, other times I want my character to start at medium or high level and stay there. The whole Flamebird to Wonder Woman evolution is counter to comics.

Re: Character out of balance

But that is all different than the steady increase in power that you see in most Champions characters. Spiderman, for instance, started out as STR40, DEX30, SPD7 (to pull fairly random numbers out of my hat). Except for the occasional overpowering (Firelord, Captain Universe, Man-Spider, etc) which seem more attributable to writer/plot needs, he has stayed in that same range. He has bought CSLs, Skills, Contacts, and Perks. But his basic powers and power levels are pretty much the same. The same can be said of most of the Heroes in Comics. I am not sure I can think of many who have shown a steady increase in power numbers or levels (Dr. Strange being one, but that fits some how. As he gained knowledge and artifacts he gained powers).

De-powering as a writer decides that a character is too powerful is not uncommon, but it is also not usually permanent. Eventually they want Superman to be able to move a planet again (or at least a moon). If you were to graph character power levels over time the line would fluctuate but tend towards flat. Where as if you were to graph many champions characters the line would show a steady upwards trend, Often they start street level or somewhat higher (200-350) and if played long enough end up world shaking power levels (500-1000).

Re: Ultimate Scrapper?

I have always used a Combat Monster archetype for characters that I didn't think of as Martial Artist. Wolverine, Capt. America, Timber Wolf, and The Beast seemed to all fit that archetype to me. In the source material (the comics) Wolvie and Cap are occasionally written as masters of various martial arts, but usually they seem to be just really good brawlers. Most other Hero gamers I know don't seem to agree with that archetype and are comfortable classifying them as Martial Artists.

And to quell speculation, I had this archetype almost twenty years before COH ever came out.

Re: Character out of balance

These changes will make the character much more expensive but you may have to remind him that not every character can be ideally built on 350. Superman sure can't. You have to start off lower and grow into it.

That is something you don't see a lot in comics (if you discount the switch from Golden to Silver age Superman). Few characters become more powerful over time. Instead they grow more skilled, better connected, more knowledgeable. This is a generality, but seems to hold. Spiderman's powers have not changed significantly over the 40+ years he has been around, neither have Flash, or The Thing, or Namor.

XP in a four color campaign are interesting because in some ways they are counter to the source material. Just one of the differences between comics and games I guess.

Re: ADV: Teach English In Latveria!

Congrats! I knew you would find a good position.

Re: City of Heroes - Online Hero Game

I played COH from early beta to just after the COV beta ended. I never managed to get a character up to 50 but I played lots of different characters. Finally I got bored with the grind and cancelled my account. A few times since they have had "Come back and play for free" specials. I tried one or two and still had no interest.

I am utterly bored from lack of gaming. But I have not been able to really get into another game since then. I replayed Morrowind, but that is done. I was told my system is not good enough to play Morrowind 4. I have tried the WoW and D&D Online demos. They seemed like nothing new/more of the same. I have half a dozen PBEM characters in games, but PBEM is slow and games go in fits and starts. Nothing to keep a fellow busy on an otherwise unoccupied evening or weekend.

I need to know if it is worth it to try COH again. Or at least what you opinion is. Has the game changed/improved significantly in the last year? If so how? Is it still basically about the get mission-do mission-get another mission-all there is to do is bash opponents grind?

If going back to COX will not give me that rush, what game can you suggest?

HELP!

Re: [Character Review] BRUTE

Well there was that time in Mexico with the ....never mind . . .

Real responce. Nice Homage. I like the smart guy playing dumb.

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

I had a character that was a TK brick, but I put him in a powersuit that was specially designed to make it look like all his powers came form the suit. Then I added a few actual powers to the suit. His powers were on an activation role and when they didn’t work I always blamed the suit. It was a really fun character, and none of the other players knew he wasn’t a Powered Armor Guy (PAG).

Now I am offering a mental illusionist that poses as a gun bunny so the bad guys don’t always attack her first.

I like a little misdirection sometimes.

Re: Let's Play "The Naming Game"

Cool a little less than two days and 20 posts, cool.

 

Okay, next character I am working on is a superstrong, super fast, super tough, flyer, main focus is his speed. Basicaly I see him being a college kid, kind of a slacker until he gets his powers (Will also take ideas on how he got his powers, no mutants please). Disads like Novice Hero, underconfident, etc...

 

Working Name: Rocket

Blockbuster, Powerhouse, Jetstream, Capt. Lightning, Kid Thunder, Omega Man, Renegade, Maverick,

Re: Supervillian Group Name

Bad Boys

Bedlam

Crash and Burn - the name of the two characters

The Destroyers

Re: Name Help: Super Patriot

Old Glory, Captain Liberty, The All-American, The Freedom Fighter, Uncle Sam (Done but still good), Yankee Doodle, Minuteman.

Re: City of Heroes - Online Hero Game

Anything for people at lower levels? They have given me a free reactivation for the weekend. I have only one 40+ character and he has been nerfed so much I stopped playing him long ago.

Re: What fundamental things did they really get "right"?

I like the basic theory behind capabilities and special effect. There are times it is strained but in general I like that you don’t have to buy laser blast and chill ray as distinct powers.

Re: Super Hero Names

Paladin, Guardsman, Crusader, StarShield, The Warder, or The Warden, Blok, Tower (a type of shield), ForceGuard, or go with a name that has nothing to do with the power/theme - Triumph, Captain Ultra, Mr. Wonderful, Steele, Rainbow Avenger

Re: Need a name for..

Send in the Final Solution!