loraxxx

Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? you should try reading any of several of "AMERICA'S BEST" comics, written by that BRITISH guy, ALAN MOORE....

Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of? a player in my group likes to play non-fighting-type champs characters and she suffers a lot of frustration for it--they're hard to play, as they require a goodly amount of systems knowledge to set up and play effectively.... but they're not that hard to create, e.g.--give a character descent OCV+DCV, 4/5 spd, some resistant defences, and a multipower or VP3: alteration powers; ranged; area effect; delayed return.... i haven't crunched the numbers, but a character with those capabilities would enhance almost ANY superteam, no matter what their power level....

Re: Early Marvel Age x Silver Age although i agree that there were strong elements of bondage, domination, and submission in early WW comics "outrageous filth" is bit harsh.... it was the 40's and bound and gagged heroines were the norm back then--this was the generation of writers and artists, mostly men, who had grown up watching PEARL WHITE in THE PERILS OF PAULINE. so the idea of having your young heroine bound and in peril was accepted as a standard element of the genre, something that was found EVERYWHERE in adventure fiction of the period.... please believe me when i tell you that WW was NOT the only female adventure character from that era who spent a disproprtionate amount of time trussed up like a turkey--hell, i don't think MARY MARVEL will every get the taste of cheap cloth out of her mouth, and don't ask DALE ARDEN about her experiences on the planet MONGO..... WW was a stand out in that, in most cases, if she got tied up, she didn't sit helplessly, pose seductively, and wait to be rescued by STEVE TREVOR, she either rescued herself or was rescued by her female associates, most often THE HARVEY GIRLS or her mother, QUEEN HIPPOLYTA.... maybe not the most "PC" role model for girls, but far from the worst--and a long way from "filth...."

Re: Campaign Advice: How to Enforce Style? make them watch "mystery men"--while very silly, and not to everyone's taste, it gives good examples of what you want, and what you don't want, for example: "notice the difference in power levels between the group and 'capt. amazing'--these guys are nowhere near as powerful as him" " 'the shoveler', 'the bowler' and 'the blue rajah' are weapons specialists, but each one is unique in the type of weapons they use, and the types of things they can do with those weapons" "both 'mr. furious' and the 'invisible boy' have powers, but those powers are very llimited, and only work at certain times, or in certain situations--most of the time they depend on skills, gadgets, or just plain, dumb luck!" "please notice--these guys are afraid of bullets!"

here's a sample....

i'd be willing to do some pics as well--so email me if you're interested.... loraxz@yahoo.com

yeah--but it DOES happen....!

i had a GM do that to me, once--he literally had a villan transform my character into a whole new character designed to betray group.... fortunately, the campaign ended not too long after that, so i didn't have to actually do it....

back-in-the-day, whenever a certain player's "action man" character would go into combat, i'd start chanting the theme to "TJ HOOKER...."

cool!!

i'd be willing to agree with you on the amount of art presented, especially in recent years, although i must admit, i'm using modules for the old V+V game as my standard.... they had a scenarios, character illos, maps and paper figures, plus mini comics and splash pages.... they weren't cheap, but they weren't overly expensive either (for the time), i'm pretty sure that had the system been as good as HERO they'd still be a major player in SHRPG....

here's a basic bank-vault-open.... you can add your own details....

ahh--the magic of the internet--it brings together people who normally would have no reason to ever speak to each other....

....uh--there are actually two comic book characters out there named MILK and CHEESE--dairy products gone bad.... one is a carton of milk, the other is a wedge of swiss cheese--their schtick is to go around meteing bloody, wanton violence on annoying people, and random strangers, all the time spouting bizarre puns and non-sequitors.... they're really quite funny, and must be seen to be believed--but i wouldn't want to get on their bad side, for they are masters of the eye gouge and sneak attack!!

you sound like a former member of the detroit gaming community.... but really--i'm not suggesting that HERO copy the PALLADIUM format, just suggesting that there are ways to increase their amount of graphic content that won't break HERO'S bank--i'm using PALLADIUM as an example, 'cause i know the big "KS" is frugal with a dollar.... but really, are you from the "D" or have you jusy had some bad experiences here....? btw--all my PALLADIUM stuff has held together fine over the years--i'm not even going to think about arguing with you about kevin's ego, though....

Re: A power question how about an EB powered by an END battery that only recharges through ABSORBTION, say 15-20 d6....? are there charts for that?

Re: Who is that character? (Barely on-topic question) got a pic?

how about naming him "VLADAMIR VOLOS" he could start out as DR VLADAMIR and end up as LORD VOLOS....!

PALLADIUM manages to keep the page count up and the cost down three ways 1) they (or at least used to) keep a fairly prolific artist on salary--that way they don't have to pay buy the piece and wind up with lots of art to use; 2) they frequently re-use art, especially the pics detailing gadgets, gizmos, weapons and such; 3) kevin does ALOT of the art himself.... my suggestion would be for HERO to see if they could hire 1 or 2 aspiring COMIC BOOK artists to do a bunch of panels, splash pages, and spot illos depicting characters and situations from the CU--they been doing a lot of that lately, but the artists they've been using aren't comic artists, so the illos generally don't have that super-hero "feel"

holy kow!!--i got "kristophered," and didn't take any BODY.... the avatar was MAYDAY's idea, BTW--or at least that's the story i'm going with for now....

i gotta go for maps, myself--but if i had my way, DOJ would pump up the ALL graphic aspects of it's products, 'cause i think visuals are the one weak link in CHAMPIONS.... i'm the type that needs visuals--text desciptions just don't bring a scenario, or character to life for me.... i think a good number of others feel the same way--look how popular storn cook's thread is, not to mention the character pix thread--storn's work has really breathed new life into the old CU.... my main negative critique's of the hero books, overall for the past 20 years are 1) there's not enough art! and 2) things, characters, places in the CU don't have a consistant look and feel.... i understand how DOJ wouldn't want to lock too much of the visuals down in order to make it's products usable by as many folks as possible--but i still feel the CU is in need of some serious art direction.... both D+D and WhiteWolf have had a lot of success with establlishing a distinctive look and feel for their universe--and i know DOJ's direct compeditor PALLADIUM had kevin long under contract for years in order to insure a consistant look for the various RIFTS products they put out.... despite the fact that champions is a game about comic book super-heroes, i don't think any of it's products look as dynamic as the genre they represent.... although things ARE improving--i just don't think things are quite there yet....

or you could take a less technological approach, ala THE EXPERTS OF JUSTICE from GIANT ROBO--make the international response team consist of large numbers of paranormals of various levels of power, but trained to use those powers for maximum effect.... even if the US has the highest concentration of hi-powered types in the world, it's safe to assume that paranormals exist elswhere--have the UN (or interpol) make it their business to find these people and train them as agents.... have regional teams of low/mid powered operatives set up to police specific areas, and have an elite cadre of really hi-powered agents as back up, or for special investigations.... a large number of highly trained paranormals, even low level ones, with military backing could be a pretty effective force against a group like VIPER....

if you have a sorcerer w/ a vp3, then an AE transform--soil to consecrated ground--should be too expensive....

i thought he WAS SEEKER!! --i guess that shows what i know....

yes--i do believe some sort of distracion is in order-- you say you're working with a NUCLEAR POWERED villaness.... ....well, perhaps raining down nuclear fire on helpless women, children, baby goats, DNPC'S etc. could serve as sufficient motivation for your foes to be elsewhere at the time you intend to make your summons.... you know how this one works: "....hear that, batman--it's the sound of a steel pattern-cutter, and it's about to go to work on BATGIRL..." "....be at 211 pussyfoot lane in 20 mins. unless you want to find batgirl--BESIDE HERSELF....!" ....i'm sure you'll have no trouble working out the appropriate details....