Powerhouse

Re: WWYCD: Where brave men (and women) are needed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How did it work out in GI Joe again? Not remembering is bothering me... Of the characters who went into the other dimension, I think three stayed. Steeler (tank driver) was one. In the first part, his long time girlfriend had broken up with him, leaving him open to hook up with the Baroness who was in love with her Steeler. Clutch (jeep driver), and someone else (Grunt?) also stayed behind to fight.

Re: HWYW*: Marvel Civil War? I find that many fans, and the genre itself, draw a bright line test. Anyone opposed to superheroes must either be evil or stupid. I like the Busiek portrayal of Gyrich (which is really the way he originally appeared in the Avengers) that he is a patriot, he is not an evil person, but that he is concerned at the level of power possessed by Supers, and at their use of that power outside any proper regulatory channels. Gyrich was actually an inspiration for one of my characters, Sentinel. Basically, he's a cross between Gyrich and Solid Snake if you can imagine it! He's a special forces soldier who had some run-ins with the new generation of supers and it was decided by the brass that he'd be a great liason to the team. Sentinel didn't agree at all but orders are orders. At least he managed to drop the spandex and original "Captain Patriot" moniker...

Re: HWYW*: Marvel Civil War? Off the top of my head: Personally, I'd start by noting in the background that, with the recent events, people are starting to think that SOMETHING has to be done about supers. Whether it's: 1. Superbeing fights that get destructive and claim innocnents 2. Inefficient superheroics or superheroes that aren't there when needed 3. Super powered criminals who keep committing crimes 4. etc... superhumans are clearly out of control. Even the old stalwarts of the Avengers is gone to be replaced by the New Avengers who really don't cut it or at least don't inspire. Have reasonable arguements and even the supers note that maybe we should have some kind of hyper organization of heroes, like the Avengers under Busiek and Perez, that could respond effectively. Or some kind of training for new supers. Whatever. Meanwhile, unrest continues and the problems seem to just get worse. The Paranormal Registration Act, patterned after the Mutant Registration Act starts to make the rounds. It just needs a catalyst... Then Stamford. After this, show the outrage and fear but also some reasoned arguments. Have heroes on both sides appear before Congress to testify for and against the bill. Play up the debate. Then have the bill pass. To be continued. It's tough cleaning up other people's mess.

Re: WWYCD: Where brave men (and women) are needed A word of advice: don't try and railroad. No matter what scenario you present, odds are there are player characters out there that can ignore some, or all, of the difficulty presented. *nods* Yeah, I know. I try to not railroad since this is about what a character would do but at the same time, most characters in a comic book can't just XD at will since it tends to undercut the story. Not to say it's impossible mind you, but even in most comics, the FX doesn't allow easy access to alternate dimensions, hence the Dr. Strange example. So I guess I'm at a crossroads in wanting to know what a character would do but, at least, trying to not completely undue the scenario. For example, if the team in question was the FF, it's quite likely that Mr. Fantastic would *eventually* figure out how to get back. Of course, that would take time (possibly years) and materials that could be hard to come by in this world. So you could have a reasonable run of the scenario while at the same time not underming the ability of Reed. And btw, thanks for the reply. As always, I enjoy listening to them.

Re: HWYW*: Marvel Civil War? Let me do some thinking and then I'll get back to you. As noted though, no moral-ectomies.... or brain-ectomies.

Re: WWYD - Marvel's Civil War Who says? The Mutant Registration Act arose out of just such things, and so did this one. Don't forget that Stamford did not cause the Registration Act to be introduced. All it did was counterbalance Iron Man's publicity stunt and shift a few votes, enough to narrowly pass a bill that otherwise would have narrowly failed to pass. Actually, a non-mutant registration act has not been in the storylines for years and its revival from obscurity was directly related to the Stamford incident. Btw, what publicity stunt by IM are you talking about?

Re: WWYCD: Where brave men (and women) are needed Just a few points: 1. First of all, thanks everyone for responding! It's always welcomed and appreciated. 2. I chose Fiacho to represent Europe. While he lacks the raw power of the other two, he is a master tactician and could have assembled together a small army of super villains so I think that he could be a worthy member of the trio. If not, you can always make the situation a little more simple and just have two master villains. 3. I apologize if this seems a little contrived but I'm kinda enforcing the "only one chance home" since the ability to shift back and forth across the dimensions really undercuts the question of WWYCD? Do they undertake these bleaks odds to help a world where they are so needed or do they say "hey, there's only so much that any one person should have to sacrifice and I'm more than just a cape." Much of it depends on what powers you have avialiable and the FX of any extra dimensional movement but it's intended to be almost impossible to go back any other way and indeed, that tends to fit the genre. Doctor Strange is a master sorceror but he doesn't travel to other parallel dimensions or What If's? Instead, he enters Mephisto's realm or the Dark Dimension. Usually, it's a MAJOR plot point to be able to enter a parallel dimension where something diverged. Again, as always I appreciate responses and look foward to more!

Re: Champions Universe without the Crowns of Krimm Personally, I'd say that they are unretrievable, case closed. Although I would also state that, rather than being taken to heaven (where as noted, they don't belong), just have them be destroyed. And just imagine how great it feels for the players to have done some lasting good. I know I would be unhappy as a player if the Crowns reappeared later.

Re: WWYD - Marvel's Civil War If you've got powers, you have to register. This means that the government knows your ID, but you're not required to tell the general public. You're not required to work for the government, but if you don't, you can't go off and be a vigilante. You have to hang up your cape. More or less. Of course, once the government has your identidy, who knows what they will demand next? New Avengers brought up that there was no guarantee against, let's say, being drafted into the military and being forced to fight. If you don't register, you are immediately carted off to the Negative Zone prison, without due process. Apparently you can then change your mind, if you're willing to register, whether or not you then work for SHIELD or hang up your cape. I haven't read about anyone taking that last option, which seems pretty strange. Unknown since the writers have written conflicting accounts. In one, it was noted to be temporary while in another, Negative Zone incarceration was permanent with no ability to change your mind. If you want to fight crime, whether or not you've got powers, you have to register, be trained or otherwise approved, and sign up with SHIELD - where you will almost certainly be immediately put to work arresting your friends. Is SHIELD an American agency or a United Nations based agency in the mainline Marvel world? For the part, that's pretty much true. I'mt not aware of any non powered crime fighters who have been carted off yet but then again, there could be a very loose definition of what a super is. Also, since there is no due process, it would be very possible to incacerate say, a Batman, despite having no powers since there is no oversight. For the other, God only knows since whether SHIELD is US or UN based changed based on the writer and storyline. It doesn't make much sense though for a UN force to be enforcing a US law though. What happens if you're an unpowered schmoe with no interest in crime-fighting, going to a costume party, is not yet addressed. In theory, nothing should happen since you don't have powers although again, see the above about lack of due process and oversight. Doctor Strange is somehow exempt. Why, exactly? From the government's point of view? Can he still stop mundane crimes in progress, or is his exemption limited to stopping mystical "crimes" for which there are no laws on the books? They look the other way because he's REALLY powerful. Also, the top people probably have some clue (especially when supported by guys like Iron Man), that Doc Strange takes care of the wierd stuff that no one else can. Super-criminals, when captured, are apparently registering in droves and are then granted amnesty so that they can work for the government. Presumably they can't take the "I'll register then hang up my cape" option if they want that amnesty. Likely since they are already wanted for many other crimes. That last has to be the stupidest, most asinine part of the whole picture - why in the HELL would the newly-concerned citizenry ever allow that? What politician in his right mind would vote for that? For one thing, alot of people were scared after the incident and scared people do stupid things sometimes. Also, the law does make sense. We don't let people walk around with bazookas and assault rifles. Well now imagine that you have people who have that kind of firepower in their hands.... and lift cars.... and shrug off .44 bullets. Wouldn't YOU want that person under some kind of control? If you can have a gunowner registered his firearms, why not someone who has a whole arsenal at his fingertips? That said, the whole storyline is VERY forced. Much worse events (like Onslaught and the Magneto attack on Manhatten) inflicted far worse losses but failed to produce such measures. Captain America was run out on a rail before the law was even passed, and I don't know if we have seen any ACLU type suits against this law. Also, in a world with Marvel tech but realistic reactions, you would likely have a government sponsored alliance of trained law enforcement supers/piloted Sentinels as well as very secure facilities, or rapid executions of violent supercriminals. You wouldn't have guys breaking out in order to facilitate the next storyline.

Any GI Joe fans will probably recognize this. One day the team is called in to protect a lab from a super villain attack. Although successful, the battle manages to create a strange explosion that rips open the walls between dimensions and your team is flung into another world very much like ours in some ways... and much different and darker in others. In this world Doctor Destroyer, Fiacho of Eurostar, and Dr. Win Yu of China pooled their resources together to finally solve the super hero problem once and for all. Within a short span of time, most of the world's superheroes (including yourself and your own teammates) were slain. What followed was a holocaust as the DD, Fiacho, and Dr Win Yu exterminated their competitors. Now, there are three empires across the world that watch each other as they seek to expand into the other's territory: the alliances are over and a new series of battles are brewing as they vie for ultimate supremacy. In this tumultous time, you team manages to survive and even strike a significant blow against the villians. Hope has returned even if the light is only a flicker. Yet the portal opens up again and you have only one chance to return home: will you stay in this land that has so desperate need of heroes? Notes: I patterned this after an old GI Joe episode where some Joes were shunted into an alternate universe where COBRA has won and most Joes were dead. In that world, Destro and Cobra Commander (number two and number one guys respectively) finally have a falling out and spark a civil war. I used that to pattern the fighting among the big three so that the heroes might actually have a chance. And... would your hero's decision be altered if a handome/beautiful supervillain happened to be on your side and in love with your now deceased double?

Re: WWYD - Marvel's Civil War First of all, CW really sucks since it's so incoherent, inconsistent, one-sided, and heavy-handed. That out of the way, how my characters would act: Lady Silver: would be truly torn. On the one hand, she thinks that training all supers would be a great idea and indeed, the situation that triggered the legislation would be great evidence of that. Also, Lady Silver is a strong believer of people helping others to the full extent of their ability and a mainstreaming of all supers into a coherent force could accomplish a great deal of good. That said, the ramifications of such an invasive and possibly draconian law (depending on which comic you read since in one a foaming at the mouth Stark says you've in the negative Zone forever while in another, I think Reed called it a temporary measure). People should not be forced to act in a certain way but rather be guided and inspired down the right path. Most likely, Lady Silver would seek a middle ground and be a peacemaker while lobbying for a much less restrictive law. Eventually though, she would need to make a choice if it came down to hunting down others supers and tossing them into jthe negative zone. That choice would be for her to be anti-reg. Nova: pro-reg. On her world, all supers were protectors and did so freely. It was both honor and duty. She would be bewildered by what she would consider selfishness on the part of those who would not comply. Wielding all supers into an effective force, and tossing criminals into the Negative Zone, would make people much safer in her opinion. Starknight: anti-reg with an attitude. Quite frankly, as an empowered knight of the Celestial Order, the law wouldn't mean too much to her. Combined with her own cockiness and stubborn strict, she would basically say "just TRY to register me." Sentinel: pro reg... and it's ABOUT time! He lacks super powers himself but his experience as a soldier, crime fighter, and a Silver Knight gives him ample evidence to how badly people with powers can screw up if untrained, unfocused, or just evil. You don't let people run around with bazookas yet energy blasters who can punch a hole in the side of a battle ship is ok? Doesn't make sense to him. Speed Demon: pro reg moreseo because he has a nice comfy life style as an actor and he simply isn't motivated or idealistic enough to risk it. I don't know about Titan or Tyr, Norse god of law, war, and justice.

Re: WDYCD: Secret ID Let's see: Lady Silver: she's relatively well known as a philantrophist but I decided to not take the Public ID for her civilian ID. Seemed too much like double-dipping. Anyway, she is a wizard and uses a glamour to makes herself look a little different as Amanda Worthington (hair is only shoulder length, she's pretty as opposed to beautiful, and her features change a bit). Starknight: she uses form-fitting armor with a half-helmet in her powered up form. Also, she has a moderate glow when her forcefield is up that obscures her features as well. Sentinel: his ID is a classified secret known only to some military and civilian commanders... and some old enemies. He has a full face mask. Tyr: although not on the character sheet, he does have a shift between his true form and a less impressive civilian form although he retains his powers in either form.

Re: A Renaissance Man An Overall level or two would be a rather good idea since he's good at everything pretty much.

Just something light-hearted and in season: in their secret ID, they manage to snag an invite to one of the coolest costume parties in the city! What costume would they wear? Or, if the hero has a public ID, they can be invited as well. Show up in your normal costume, something different, or a mix of the two?

Re: WWYCD: <Your character>: The Clone Saga!! The character doppelganger is physically identical the PC, including all scars, birthmarks, fingerprints, etc and their mind shows no obvious evidence of telepathic scanning. In fact, it seems impossible to tell the clone from the original… Sorry to be a pain, but it's unlikely that a clone would have the same scars or for that matter dental work (for the latter, see an old Tom Strong comic) since those are not in DNA. I *guess* that Telios could fake it but still...

Re: Power stunts. A more powerful version has been a VPP that I have been thinking of posting. You know how in DC you have Superman or sometimes the Flash and Green Lantern just do some whacky stuff to fulfill the plot? How about this to simulate: VPP (active points equal to highest level power or characteristic) Advantages: Zero time to change Disadvantages: 1. must be based on an existing power of the characters and cannot exceed this power's active points 2. must have quasi-scientific explanation that allows the character's powers to create this feat 3. requires either a skill or intelligence roll For example, Superman decides to create a diamond. He has 120 strength that he declares to the GM will let him generate enough pressure to simulate the titanic forces that the earth places on coal to transform it. The GM allows it and, as long as Superman makes his power roll, can use his VPP to have a 120 active point transformation to change a piece of coal to a diamond. Comments?

Re: Char: BLackcat (with art) 2000th Post Thanks for the clarification, I must have missed the DS and DM's *blush* Let's see, how do you see Blackcat if she fought the following: 1. Batman 2. Lady Shiva 3. Richard Dragon 3. Captain America 4. Daredevil 5. Shang-chi (Master of Kung-fu) 6. Midnighter and of course... 7. Seeker (JUST KIDDING!!) Thanks!

Re: Char: BLackcat (with art) 2000th Post Awesome character! Repping! Just curious though, any thought to giving her danger sense/combat sense/defense maneveur? That seems so natural for her given her great skill. Do you mimic them with the VPP?

Re: WWYCD: The True Champion has Arrived! As far as the ring goes is it typical boxing ring or do we get to use a dragonball type one. If I can do that, Badger would probably do the fly around and just blast him out (remember if they touch the ground they lose) as Badger does have some similarites to that format. To accomodate the non bricks, I assume it's a rather open field or at least not confined to a ring persay. I would assume that the Champion has enough cosimic juice to fly so that it would be a little tough to just fly and strafe him... also makes it interesting when he takes on the Supermen of the various Champion worlds.

Re: WWYCD: The True Champion has Arrived! Actually this might be fun to play out as a double elemination tournament on Hero Centtral. Powerhouse, willing to GM? Thank you very kindly for the offer but I fear that I must decline. I'm a better creator than GM. Also, I lack the time. Still, feel free to use the idea with my blessing. Some cool stuff so far and I look foward to some more. Thanks everyone!

Re: WWYCD: The True Champion has Arrived! Regarding the format (JW asked), it's noted in the "rules" as they were that it's more or less free form so feel free to bring in the flaming swords and energy blasts! A "purer" Champion storyline would focus on more traditional combat but not every charcter would be suited for that and thus limit the fun. Basically I opened it up to more characters so we can find out, among other things: 1. Do you feel that your character has the ability to be one of the ten to be Earth's Champion? 2. How do you handle that responsibility? 3. Or how else do you act, as a hero, to defend your world in this dire time. I did look through the Wikipedia but didn't see a CvK. If it's there though, ignore. It's taken that he can and will destroy the Earth. Kinda funny in the original storyline since you have Earth's greatest heroes sweating it out and you'd think at least someone would say, "you know, we DID chase off Galactus not too long ago. How tough can THIS guy be?" But it was plotted with a rather heavy hand to lead to the Thing's battle with him. For my characters, at least two would be up immediately: 1. Tyr, the Norse God of Justice and one of Earth's most powerful heroes 2. Starknight: knight of the Celestial Order and charged with protector her part of the Galactic Realm. Also, she LOVES a good fight. Other possibility would be Titan (armored wonder) and Nova (energy blaster who saw one world die and refuses to see another go) although the former lacks combat skill while Nova might not quite be at the power level. People would be REALLY wishing that Doctor Atomic and Athena hadn't gone missing...

One day a sphere appears in the sky and a message goes forth in all languages and in all frequencies: "Defeat me and live! Fail and your world dies!" Hey, no one claimed the Champion was a poet. Who is the Champion? This rather inelegant chap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champion_%28comics%29 For those who don't want to read, the Champion is a cosmic being who has dedicated himself to physical combat and tests himself in combat against all in the universe. He's powerful and skilled enough to have beaten Colossus and Sasquatch with ease as well as batter the Thing for three rounds in a boxing style match. Ground rules: 1. In the original comic, the format was strictly boxing. For ease of use here, and to make it interesting, the challenge is pretty free form although it's expected to be a physical contest more or less. I'm not sure what the take on a purely mental challenger would be although you could state that the Champion has enough mental and exotic defenses to at least blunt major mental attacks. 2. To knockout or forfeit. 3. Only 10 challengers in total from Earth are allowed so as to not waste his time. 4. Any attempt to gang up on the Champion is automatic forfeit... for Earth. You have a week to prepare for the fate of the world! Is your champion confident in his or her ability to one of the ten? What preparations do you make? Or do you find another way to deal with this whacky alien?

Re: Life Support: Longevity? A few of my characters either have this ability or might develop it: 1. Tyr: Norse god of justice: unaging 2. Starknight: discovers that she has this ability later. As a member of the Celestial Order, one of the perks is that she doesn't age (but only as lnog as she is a member). Basically, beings who can be knights are very rare and their training is very tough - it'd be sad to lose so gifted an individual to old age or infirmity. 3. lady Silver: if she ever becomes ArchMage -it's a perk of office.

Re: Limitations and the Silver Age Hi everyone! Bumping my thread in part because I was seeking some help. I'm working on Athena's rewrite at the moment. She's a Wonder Woman/Captain Marvel/Thor homage with some Spiderman private life drama tossed in. After discovering the Aegis shield and saying a prayer (she must invoke this prayer to become Athena), she becomes Athena's avatar. Thus, can she be changed back to her unpowered self against her will or at least when it's REALLY inconvient? So far some kind souls have posted: For your Athena, I'd suggest either that a counterspell would do it, or possibly the removal of a focus (the Aegis Shield perhaps?) for too long. I know I used the counterspell idea when I was writing up "Winged Victory" an avatar of Nike in my Hudson City 1938 game that I'm working on. She's a Wonder Woman/Captain Marvel/Hawkgirl type. and I do like the change into normal idea. Maybe just give her a limited amount of time as a hero, she changes back automatically so she has to be aware of the time. Plenty of time for fights and short missions but long missions can be a problem. Like the Mantis could only operate for a few hours in his exo-suit. She (Athena) might have to return to an ancient greek artifact once a day to meditate and recharge her powers. Some good ideas so far but I'd love to hear some more. Maybe the counter prayer is really short and sounds like a common English phrase? Hmm... As always, thanks!

Re: Queer heroes Sorry that it didn't happen. My take is to just be careful with the players. While I think that most would be open to the possibility of playing gay heroes on a limited basis, realize that not everyone wants to play one. Personally, I've never played a gay character although I've created a few although that changes based on my mood and continuity: 1. Nova: is an alien so being gay or not doesn't mean the same to her. Love is more a thing of spirit and soul on her planet so gender is less important. She's always loved Lady Silver and one of the things that she'd had to deal with is that while Lady Silver loves her back, it's not in a romantic way. She's had other relationships although usually male. 2. Starknight: I tend to go back and forth about whether she's bi. That said, she has a preference for men at least in long term relationships. I base that on a number of women I know who go either way yet tend to have boyfriends while sex with another woman is just physical. 3. El Aquilla: a Hispanic martial artist with a strong Catholic background. He struggles with his sexuality and faith. For most of his time with the Knights, he was very much in the closet.