Pegasus

Re: All the superhero PCs I've ever played Any chance he's based on the pre-Crisis Superman villain? I loved that goofy cowboy...

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER i Don't Have To Entertain You People!!!

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER ...

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER Get it? Negative rep...?

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER That's it--negative rep for you!

Re: Things that work in comics but don't work in Champions Very true. I've been involved in more than one game, though, that had multiple GMs for the express purpose of separating teams. Deus Ex Machina. It doesn't work in the comics either. This one depends. In a combat heavy game, or if the players are min/maxers, it will not work. If the players are more into role-playing and character development, then it will. I played in a game with unlimited points. Everybody was to create their ideal character at the beginning. It worked fine, and no one went above 600, I think. There are players I would never do this with, though. "It says in your origin that you accidentally killed Superman..." I assume you mean characters that are wholly offense, or defense, or movement, or skills, etc. This is true. I've seen it tried a dozen times by myself and others, and it never seems to work. It's too bad, too, because those are some of the most interesting characters. Mostly agree. I was glad to see Combat Luck because it made those more viable. Again, this will work with role-players. On a similar note: 7. Mastermind human villains: Villains whose whole schtick is planning, with no abilities in combat whatsoever. 8. PC romance. If two characters are romantically involved, it's because the players are. I knew one couple who always did this, no matter how different the characters were. One time they both created women in order to prevent it. It didn't work.

Re: I made the GM cry.... There's one in every group... It just goes to show, no matter how much you prepare as a GM, you can never prepare for everything.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll Ok, I have some more thoughts, and I wanted to share a few with you. Regarding WM’s line “Superheroes don’t kill,†several people, including myself, misinterpreted the statement as a denial that it had ever happened. After further discussion, I think I understand better now that he meant (at the risk of interpreting another’s words) that “Superheroes never deem killing to be an acceptable option.†I agree with the sentiment, and I’m sorry about the snideness of my initial reaction. Why hasn’t The Batman slain the Joker? It’s easy, really. It’s not his job. He has clearly defined his job as apprehension of the criminal element, especially when it comes to those that are beyond the normal capabilities of the police. He believes in the judicial system, though. Otherwise, he could not have partnered with commissioner Gordon for so long. He is not a jury, nor an executioner. He and Gordon need the system to work. That it fails so often must surely be his eternal torment, reminiscent of Job’s trials. Deep down he truly believes in Justice, and no matter how he is tested he will not lose faith in it. The words “hero†and “the Punisher†should never be uttered in the same sentence unless they are used in the context of complete opposites. The man is a psychotic. (He used to shoot jaywalkers!) His “war†is nothing but a personal vendetta and bears none of the characteristics of upholding an ideal, or seeking justice, or protecting the innocent. (He used to gun down litter-bugs!!) He is an easily manipulated tool whose murderous tendencies were pointed in a more acceptable direction. (He once blew up a car parked where the meter was expired!) There is nothing heroic in him. He is revenge personified; mindless, unthinking, brutal, bloodthirsty revenge. He was created as a villain, and his numerous attempts to justify his war on crime appear as hollow arguments that reveal a truly disturbed mind. Unlike Batman, he relishes the role of judge, jury, and executioner. The fact that the two are often named together to represent a genre or style is a farce.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll Some heroes that have been forced to kill (that I know of): Colossus: During the Mutant Massacre, a battle was ensuing in the sewers with the Marauders involving one particularly lethal fellow called Riptide(?) who hurled shurikens with enough force to penetrate even Colossus's steel hide. The X-Men were losing (bad!). IIRC, one of them went down, and Peter, fearing they would all be killed, advanced into the storm of Riptide's blades as only he could survive to, and snapped Riptide's neck. Talk about your PRE attacks! I believe his line was "Pray to your gods, little man. You're next." The Marauders wisely retreated. It was an incredible moment, and I remember being stunned when I first read it. Aftermath: Colossus nearly died from the attack himself, and Magneto tried to repair him, which trapped him in the steel form for a long time. Also, the villains brought Riptide back to life later, but still Peter had made the conscious decision to take a life. He was never quite the same. Superman: Shortly after the Byrne reboot, Superman faced General Zod and his Kryptonian cohorts. Realizing that he could never permanently hold them, as powerful as they were, and that they were irredeemable sociopaths, he exposed them to green kryptonite on the moon(?). Immediately afterward he swore an oath never to kill again. Byrne's way of rationalizing the CVK, I believe. Coincidentally, the final story before the reboot had Superman kill a psychopathic Mr. Mxyztptlk out of desperation to save the people he loved in his fortress of solitude. Out of guilt, he exposed himself to gold kryptonite, robbing himself of his powers permanently. It was supposedly an imaginary story, and the entire continuity was wiped soon afterward anyway. And then there's Doomsday. And it's hard to believe that no one died from his incredibly reckless actions in the War of the Worlds storyline (though he invoked his CVK during certain actions there). The (Barry Allen) Flash: His arch nemesis, Professor Zoom, aka the Reverse Flash, had killed Barry's first fiance on his wedding day. Eventually Barry fell in love again and even got engaged. Zoom showed up again and vowed to do the same thing. Barry was forced to kill Zoom by breaking his neck to save his fiance. He went on trial for murder and disappeared. Shortly thereafter he died during the CRISIS, sacrificing himself to save the universe. This, btw, is one of the very few permanent deaths in either universe. Captain America: Now, this is a tricky one. It has been debated by more knowledgeable Cap scholars than I whether or not he killed anyone during WWII. I believe that there have been other moments, but the one I'm thinking of is actually an alternate storyline, Universe X. Still, I bring it up because much of the story centered around Cap and the godawful predicament he was placed in, and it was done so well. There's a lot to it, but essentially he was forced to kill a boy with the power to control everyone's minds and bodies calling himself the Red Skull. The Skull intentionally left Cap free-willed in order to taunt him with his helplessness. Cap finally realized that the only way to free the world was to kill the Skull. He kept saying how sorry he was even during the kill--broke his neck I believe (seeing a pattern here...). He delivered the eulogy for the boy saying how sorry he was that he couldn't save the Skull. It was a very good soliloquy. Batman: As has been noted, Batman was originally a killer, or at the very least, someone who didn't go out of his way to save a villain from dying. The interesting thing about him now, though, is his remarkable refusal to kill the Joker. In the Killing Joke, Gordon, who had been brutalized by the Joker and whose daughter had just been paralyzed by Mr. J. begged Batman not to kill the Joker when he caught him. "We have to show him that our way works," he implored. In the DKR, Batman finally gave in and broke the Joker's neck, but he made sure to leave him alive and paralyzed. The Joker's final revenge was to wrench his own neck the rest of the way so that he died.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll

Re: Code VS Killing Poll

Re: Code VS Killing Poll That's funny. I thought Superman, Batman, Captain America and Colossus were all superheroes, among others. Guess we'll have to revise the nomenclature.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings In a couple hours the closing of a major chapter in my life begins. The chances of my ever returning to the Los Angeles area fall squarely under the "cold day in hell" heading.

Re: A Bathroom A bathroom is clearly a Deduction lab. You know..."I do my best thinking on the toilet." Alternatively..."I was sitting there, doing my business, when the idea suddenly came to me!" On a more serious note, I've had some experiences in the bathroom that I would never dismiss as trivial. What?...Too soon?

Re: Spiderman Vs. Firelord Beware! My derail-fu is mighty!

Re: Spiderman Vs. Firelord No, could beat Batman! Haven't you been paying attention?

Re: What do you call "Four Color"? Bravo, well put! Four points for four color. I say we designate colors per each point and make this the official definition. I'd forgotten number one, and I was just coming back to say something about number four.

Re: What do you call "Four Color"?

Re: What do you call "Four Color"? I think, while four color does seem to reflect a certain level of heroism, the dominating factor of four color is the level of fantasy. For example, in a four colr comic book, a radioactive spider bite grants super powers. In the more modern, grittier "realistic" books, cancer ensues. It's the difference between "You will believe a man can fly," and "This highly expensive and technical bodysuit can allow a man to fly for a limited duration."

Re: Spiderman Vs. Firelord I agree wholeheartedly with you on the Punisher. Always hated him. I haven't liked Wolvy in almost 15 years, but I used to like him, and I'd like to think he can still be saved. Batman, however, even with his uber godlike status, has to stick around for one reason: he has the greatest rogues gallery in all of DC*. But his humanity seems long gone. I think he can still be saved. Just eliminate 53 of his monthly books... *Possibly the best ever, though Spidey makes a strong argument.

Re: New Writeup Game! Fix the "Weaklings"

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... When last we saw our heroes... Our resident megabrick had a monkey on his back. Literally. A four foot four-armed idiot ape demon, was jumping on his back and squeezing like hell, which our brick promptly ignored. The creature started screaming "You surrender? You surrender?!" Our brick shrugs and, rolling his eyes says "Yeah. I give up." The ape creature said "Good!" and jumped off of him.

Re: Spiderman Vs. Firelord This whole argument is pointless... Given time to prepare, Batman could kick both their asses!!! *Dive for cover*

Re: New Writeup Game! Fix the "Weaklings" The real challenge no one has mentioned yet: Double Header. So, my first idea is to turn him into an Oracle type consultant. Two heads doing double the research? Cool. Handling two clients simultaneously? Very cool. 24 hour service as only one head sleeps at a time? Priceless. Massive potential for a fantastic super-librarian. Second idea: prosthetic limbs. It takes some very specialized brain power to run Doc Ock's harness. An extra brain couldn't hurt, especially when you consider that a solid punch to the jaw is Ock's main weakness.