loraxxx
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Posts posted by loraxxx
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Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of?
Also, you don't see enough non fighting types, frex Raven from the orifginal Teen Titans. She was a high point character and a badass, but all her powers were healing, empathy, and the occasional such you into my dark soul. Everybody likes being able to hit things, I guess. Or, maybe, characters like that are too complex when it comes to char gen.Reynard
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....
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Re: Early Marvel Age x Silver Age
....Admittedly Wonder Woman was outrageous filth. Somehow it seemed less overt though.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...."
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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!"
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here's a sample....
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Originally posted by Korvar
Ew. Just... ew.
yeah--but it DOES happen....!
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Originally posted by Rhen
Thanks, loraxxx. That particular character meant a lot to me. Sadly, I moved away from my regular gaming group and now don't have the chance to play her (not that she hadn't transformed into a villain before I moved, but that's another story).
Rhen
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....
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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...."
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cool!!
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Originally posted by The Mind Master
....As for art, I think the Hero books have a good balance. I like an attractive layout, but I don't buy the books for the pictures, I buy them to give me some help in creating adventures for my players. And to me, the (interesting) maps are some of the most helpful things.
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....
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here's a basic bank-vault-open....
you can add your own details....
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Originally posted by cubist
ostly I've heard the first hand accounts of people he's screwed over that actually really halped to make his company, guys like Bill Coffin, I've had PBook news group and site board run-ins with his hag ex-wif and I was the one that started the online Jihad against the cover of the 2nd ed. book that he obliquely mentions in the introduction to that book. I never lost pages out of Palladium books, but have had broken bindings and almost every one of their books I've had over the years had that crappy laminate covering peel off the book's covers. And yes, he's even too cheap to get a proper layout program to make the books and does it all by hand, which explains the piss poor layout in his books.
ahh--the magic of the internet--it brings together people who normally would have no reason to ever speak to each other....
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Originally posted by devlin1
Okay, how about phrases that could be duos, but probably aren't?
Such as:
Rock and Roll
Tooth and Nail
Bells and Whistles
...um...
Ham and Cheese?
....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!!
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Originally posted by cubist
Actually Palladium manages to keep the prices down by using poor bindings, covers that peel apart, recycled ART AND TEXT and generally putting out maybe ten pages of material that is actually useful per book. Kev is not just a raging egomaniac though, he's also a really bad artist who only sees his work in print because he owns the company.
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....
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Re: A power question
Originally posted by nexusLets say my character has an Energy Blast (Fire). He must absorp fire to use this energy blast either threw being hit with a fire attack or absorping actual flame (Absorption and Transfer). The EB starts at 0 Active Points and is only as powerful as the amount of flame he absorps. And each use reduces the amount of available power propotionate to how potent the EB is.
Ex:The character absorps 10 dice of EB and fires 8d attack. He has 2d "left" until he "refuels"
What limitation value would you assign to the Eb?
how about an EB powered by an END battery that only recharges through ABSORBTION, say 15-20 d6....?
are there charts for that?
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Re: Who is that character? (Barely on-topic question)
Originally posted by KristopherEver open up a comic or see some cover art and think, "Hey, that looks just like my character _____________ I came up with!"
I picked up a copy of Sidekick today, and the shop stuffed an issue of Comic Shop News (872, I think) in the bag. I opened it up for kicks, and on page 5, there's a picture of 6 characters.
The character right in front, the girl with the large metal gauntlets, with the blue sparks and nimbuses (nimbi?), reminds me a lot of one of my NPCs, who is also a female character with gauntlets on both hands.
Anyway, who is that character?
got a pic?
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Originally posted by Supreme
Sounds a but like Hermes. Interesting. Aesthetically, I like "Volos" a lot! Thanks.
how about naming him "VLADAMIR VOLOS"
he could start out as DR VLADAMIR and end up as LORD VOLOS....!
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Originally posted by Metaphysician
The problem is, one of the best things about HERO products is the value. If they were full color, art-heavy, you'd get books with lower page counts and higher prices.
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"
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Originally posted by Kristopher
As evidenced by your avatar...
Seriously, though, I think that HERO products could use a little more artwork, and maybe a little more internal color. It doesn't make a difference for me, really, but I think loraxxx has a valid point.
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....
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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....
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Originally posted by BishopofB&W
My take on UNTIL is that since superpowers first appeared during WWII, people would want some kind of international response after decades of seeing the sheer destructive potential of metahumans. I agree that it is highly unlikely that such a group would have the access and power inside US borders that UNTIL has in CU. However, I could see the US government helping establish an agency that can respond in regions that lack the resources to fend off supervillains. It would most likely be dominated by NATO nations and would be unable to intervene without permission of the national government.
I'm working on an idea in which the NATO allies helped Interpol develop a Tactical Response and Counterterrorism(TRAC) branch as a response to VIPER and supervillains. It is like a SWAT Team for Interpol. It is incapable of taking on most Generic Villainous Organizations directly. Rather it is a rapid response that hurts and distracts while an attached military battallion (probably on a rotating basis, I don't know yet) scrambles to follow right behind. It is heavily dominated by the countries that provide the most funding, such as the US, UK, France, etc.
As far as advanced technology is concerned, they can only dream of having UNTIL's resources. However, President Reagan had the idea of testing out advanced weapons systems as part of TRAC when Congress wouldn't fund it in the regular military budget (Star Wars black technology). Therefore, they have some access to advanced tech under the watchful eye of their principal financiers.
It's a work in progress.
I use the UNTIL Sourcebook mainly for ideas on organizational structure, names, and gadgets.
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....
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Originally posted by Metaphysician
If you can haul out "Holy" attacks or sanctified grounds, thats a good thing, too.
if you have a sorcerer w/ a vp3, then an AE transform--soil to consecrated ground--should be too expensive....
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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....
--i guess that shows what i know....
What super hero concepts would you like to see more of?
in Champions
Posted
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....