Ghost who Walks

Best Origin...Ever! The way I deal with this in my campaign is the power sources. Solar powered armor is frankly silly. If we have a small enough power source to power armor, why not power a tank instead? Never needs refueling... So what I did was the problem was getting enough energy. No one has yet found a way to make micro-power generators, but there are some pretty good batteries. Most of the armor energy sources come from aliens. IMC, Defender is powered by an energy crystal left behind by the Roswell aliens. It doesn't produce energy, just stores a bunch of it (endurance battery). This also provides a reason why no one has massproduced armor. I had the PRIMUS Iron Guard get followed around by these generator trucks...to charge their batteries. They had a bout an hour of power, max.

The 5 bodies found are actually physical duplicates pf the characters themselves! 5 thugs were surgically altered to resemble the heroes, by parties unknown. They were meeting at the warehouse to get equipment to duplicate the heroes powers, provided by their anonymous benefactor. Unbeknownst to all, one of the thugs is actually an undercover agent (UNITL, VIPER, FBI, PRIMUS ~pick one). So when Dr. Destroyer (or one of minions) showed up and started passing out high tech goodies, he naturally got clever. Undercover cop (thought baloon): Why...I think if I can capture this supervillain, I will get a promotoion! Lets see if this high tech goodie can zap him! About 30 seconds later, all 4 thugs (and the copr), are dead, and the villain is retreating from the scene, wondering what went wrong. The heroes read about their untimely demise in the paper the next day, the catch being everyone thinks the bodies are theirs! The undercover cop also has a partner, who knows the truth (was listening in on the concealed microphone). He/She will attempt to contact the heroes, to get them involved. Why was the villain so anxious to have some people impersonate the heroes? He has bribed someone in the government to give them official powers. Once they have them, it will be arranged that they (the thugs) would protect something valuable. Of course, that plan is all mush know, so far as the villain is concerned.

This is actually pretty good. I like how she has some of the traditional vampire powers. As a side note, I would never allow a character like this to aplayer, but as an NPC/plot hook she is fine. So far as more disadvantages: ~Reputation: "Vampire" ~You may also want to put some kind of limit on her ability to retain the "genetic memory" of superpowers. A physical limitation, limiting it to a few days or weeks might seem reasonable to me. As NPC, that would make her more interesting...she might stockpile superpowered blood in her fridge, try to rob the hospital that has a genetics department, and visit crime scenes to steal "evidence" Other powers ~some kind of tracking ability, only for peoples whose blood she has tasted. That wuld make her the ultimate bloodhound.

*Bump* (25) Shopping Spree: Viperia, Queen of Africa, has decided that she needs a palace. Only the best will do, and she starts showing up at various VIPER nests, ordering agents to commit crimes for her. Only the finest antiques, carpets, furniture, and servants will be fit for her palace. Will the VIPER leadership attempt to stop their most powerful operative? Will the Nest leaders revolt, when large numbers of their agents are in jail for commiting her crimes? Can the players stop a world-wide crime spree? (26) Road Trip: A computer hacker has figured out a way to hack into the Serpentine network. Being unusually public spirited (and hoping for a reward), he phones the FBI and tells them what he can do. As the hacker resides in the campaign city, the players are drafted into transporting the kid to a secret government facility in North Dakota. There, the hacker will show the FBI experts the backdoor he has discovered. Unknown to the players, VIPER has discovered the breach in their security, and is unleashing the Dragon Branch to stop them. The FBI will provides the players with a white van, to allow them to drive to North Dakota. (the hacker has a fear of flying) As a possible bonus complication: PRIMUS discovers the FBI's activities, and learns that VIPER is going to use the Dragon Branch to stop them. They don't inform the players however, as they hope to use this oppertunity to capture some of the Dragon Branch.

Go ahead, they aren't run by players, they are used by me as a method to get villains out of prison. Similar to the original Suicide squad comic. They are alo a method that allows the government to come after the heroes, with officially sanctioned villains. I run PRIMUS a little more neutral than some others. They have superpowers, but aren't always very heroic. I've used them on a couple occasions to get rid of villains, such as when a major action occurs. For example, I once had them teaming up with the PC hero team to stop an alien invasion. Oculon (VIPER boook now, I believe) got killed when he tried to fire his eb at a spacecraft, while wearing a spacesuit. U-Turn The two avengers are: Silver Avenger Emma Steel: African-American, a made a silver avenger as a reward after a major battle when she was still an assault agent. Has minor brain damage, has connections to PRIMUS R&D, who provide her with lots of experimental weapons. Silver Avenger Rita Vasquez: Small Arms/armor expert, still wears her old Iron Guard suit, even though she has know gone through the Silver Avenger process. Both lack real administrative talent, which is why they aren't sitting in a PRIMUS base, behind a desk. They work well as a team, having been assault agents together for years. A high ranking PRIMUS guy somewhere in Maryland administers the project from his office, I used the general that was provided in the Classic Org book (forget his name) The criminals they get vary, just pull them out of an enemies book. They occasionally get some heroes in there, usually ones who have crossed the border illegally (Sorry Wolverine...you didn't pass through customs, you're under arrest) Sometimes they get called in to deal with situations the local PRIMUS base can't deal with. PRIMUS higher ups really don't care if some of the criminal members get killed. Makes more room in Stronghold. It also provides an incentive for supervillains to stay in prison...good behavior can get them in Project U-Turn. The headquarters I use for them is the Mobile PRIMUS Strike Base (MPSB). Its a series of train cars pulled by a locomotive, that travels around the country to trouble spots. The train used is the same model that the government uses to transport nukes around. Some of the train cars are outfitted as holding cells. Anyway, hope this is useful.

Most scary villain I have is Apepi, a 5,000 year old dragon with severe childhood trauma. He gets a magic power pool, can turn into a 300 foot dragon, and has his own nation of fanatical worshippers. He also has a couple of dozen dragon kids he sends after people he dislikes. Second place falls to Thor, a rewrite of him that I did based on his HERO stats. Forget the comic book, and have him run around looting, plundering, and maiming. Course those are both "Villains" So far as going after Heroes, I use Project U-Turn. Take two silver avengers, give them a group of villains who have all been promised pardons in return for a period of working for the government. Release on players when the get out of line. Nothing can stop the Feds, after all.

I have a lot of gods IMC. For the most part, they pass on their powers occasionally through genetics. Most are desended from a group of humans given superpowers to fight an alien invasion, 20,000 years ago. (The Titans) This allows them to pop up all the time in scenarios and history. (being a former history major, I run most of official history as false) Point wise, they go up to around 1,000 points. Most of their points are spent on skills, however. I use their lack of raw power as the reason they haven't been out conquering the world for the past few centuries. The only real templates I use are the ones for the oiginal Titans, and for the descendents of Isis. Titans pool: Superstrong, Immortal, Growth, psionic powers. Isis pool: Occasional psionics, wings. I had Set show up recently also

Well, I see two solutions. Deal with it in the game, or out of the game. In Game: If the characters want to be full time vigilantes, that is their choice. But you are the one who has to implement it. If they like splattering normals, have normals come after them. An anit-metahumaan hate/political group, for example. Also have normals with sniper rifles and rocket launchers take pot shots at them while they are at Starbucks. If that ain't enough, some of the normals they killed have superpowered relatives who come looking for payback. If the players aren't playing by the "superhero code", then why should anyone else? Out of Game: This is tougher, because I don't fully know your situation. But I've been in similar ones. Players have all sorts of experience playing games, and sone of them are a little dark. While you can play the Hero system dark, it really isn't designed for it. A comparison to most gaming systems reveals it. HERO divides the dame you do into stun and body, and you exped endurance to make it happen. All pretty simple, but you actually have to work to kill somebody. This if a bit different than other games, where normals get a couple dice of HP. If they want to do a darker style of Champions, you should try the Dark Champions books, done back under 4th edition. Everyone carried a gun, and everyone could be killed by one. Very bloody, very realistic. Not very comic-superheroic though.

(One of the NPC's IMC) Dr. Francis Stein: Physician, surgeon, and Humanitarian. Is it his faukt that his creator made him nearly 200 years ago, and he requires organs and skin from the recently deceased to disguise his undead state. Of course not...he works with disabled children, and is a great guy. Too bad about his divorce... Only problm is, VIPER has uncovered part of his secret, and is blackmailing him to bring numerous old VIPER villains back to life. Of course the revived corpses will have no knowledge of their former lives. Dr. Stein secretly installs a microcomputer in each revived corpse, to provide basic morals and knowledge. The hero is captured, and used to revive the zombies...whose side will they be on when Dr. Stein frees the hero and helps him escape? So far as why use the Hero? Because if they try and get the ammounts of power they need from the electric company, the local power plant will get suspicious. You don't want to piss off the utilities.

Lots of Foci can get hard to keep track of. I prefer an easier way. I just say that in order to cast spells, some form of focus is needed. Magic is everywhere, but it needs something to gather it. This can be a pentagram, a wizards tower, a 300ft pyramid. It can also be a "magic crystal" Game mechanics wise, use the focus as an endurance battery. Allow players to cast spells without their battery, at about *5 to *10 end cost.

I've bought invisible flashes before, usually for mentalists. Well, the obvious way is that they don't know she is a mutant. depends on how mutants are detected, and what exactly a "mutant" is. Anyone with powers? Anyone with wierd DNA? Anyone who is different? If you are a comic-heavy campaign, you can just say that a "blind spot" exists around her, making her invisible to mutant detection. Some powerful being/time traveller did it, to protect her from her father. Perhaps she has an important destiny in the future. Another option. Girl really isn't the guys father at all. He has a powerful mutant enemy (like Magneto). She is actually the mutant guys daughter, and he believes she is dead. Since he has raised her for so long, the human father is actually beginning to see her as his, and hopes to cure of her "mutie freak nature"

I have a rule against dice stacking. I have a slingshot to enforce my arbitrary rules.

Interesting. Hideous is currently played by a PC IMC, after he was cured. Before being cured he was the groundskeeper at the base. Sadly, when Grond was cured he turned into the wicked Doktor Grondicus. Ripper works for the MIB...who do you think cleans up their messes?

(17) TimeViper: VIPER has been around a long time. A group that stopped them in the past, know VIPER will rise again. Using sorcery, they have placed themselves in a magical sleep, only to reawaken in the modern age. What will the PCs do, when sword wielding maniacs from beyond the mists of time storm the local VIPER nest, and put an end to those they find there...old school. (18) MotorViper: All of VIPERs vehicles come from somewhere. A certain automobile company is unveiling a new car, with all sorts of nifty features. What will the hero's opinion be of...the Viper?

Agree with all four of your points. My own opinion is that I really hate buying regurgitated material.Ihave boxes full of it. A 2nd edition should be at least 50% new stuff. Perhaps an electronic version of San Angelo 1st edition could be released, to bring in a larger audience. I don't know how your distribution works, but I have NEVER seen any of your products in game stores. I got mine at a used bookstore. So far as the often mentioned NPC heroes. My opinion is a bit different, I guess. I would actually make them more powerful and experienced, that they are currently. If 5-7 years have passed in San Angelo history, have them active for that time. This gives some experienced heroes that the starting players can use themselves, or use as NPC's. Or they can just forget about them entirely, and have them in the background. Personally, I still have the Marksman, Icestar and the Rose running around in my world. While I understand that San Angelo is designed so that the PC heroes are the stars, that does not necessarily mean that NPC heroes can't be experienced, and around (like the Marksman was in the fusion rules). Perhaps they have retired, turned into movie stars, or taken over the yakuza. In any case, they could become part of the history of the city.

*Imagining a bunch of heroes, hiding Grond in their superhero basement while a bunch of baton wielding PRIMUS goons search for the menace* Sounds great. We all know that Grond really doesn't want to destroy anything...its not his fault everything is made out of tissue paper. Anybody else notice Grond's regeneration vanished with 5th edition? (just noticed)

(11) The Emerald Isle: A certain British General seeks to expand her influence, and has decided to target Ireland. A series of bombs are detonated around London, with the IRA getting the blame. The British military makes plans to retaliate. The unsuspecting IRA leaders want to reach out to VIPER in order to get additional weapons and supplies (the Generals plan all along). An Irish Hero, considered a villain to those outside of Ireland, is contacting outsiders, asking if they want to deal a major blow to VIPER. Will the Heroes help Shamrock drive the snakes from Ireland? Will Shamrock ever become a Catholic Saint? Can we ever reach 102 plots? Only time will tell...

I finally broke down, and ordered the Ultimate Supermage PDF. Its still 4th edition, but is very impressive. As a former Cthulhu player, you may find it interesting. I wish I had bought it years ago. Martial artist and Beastiary are both useful. To use the Beastiary, just have a villainous psionic who can only control animals. Then have a breakout at the zoo. Since its in Adobe Acrobat format, a printer is useful to make a copy. (its over 250 pages) So far as the older, 4th edition books. (I have them all!) in order of usefulness.: 1) Zodiac Conspiracy: probably the best villain book ever done. Has an entire team, backstory, and some sample plots. 3) Normals Unbound. No real changes at all are needed to use these characters in 5th edition. Only a couple have powers, perfect for populating a campaign world. 2) Champions of the North: useful, cause it presents a bunch of NPC hereoes, of varying usefulness. Easy to move them out of Canada. For reasons I never understood, none of them were French-Canadian. Much of the rest of the 4th edition stuff is a big mixture, and is very dependent upon what your campaign world is like. Most of the 4th edition stuff can be found by searching used bookstores. Note: Waiting on Hero Designer 2.0 myself.

Only one comment: Anyone ever see Conan get sick? This could be simulated by a high con, or perhaps immunity to some diseases. He may also have a higher recovery. Running around chopping up people for a couple of hours must be pretty tiring. Also explains him running around for a couple of days.... Would he get a DNPC, Friend/Ally? I remember several occasions wher incompetent friends suckered him into the story. *Starts working on a strange story arc to allow Conan to appear in a Champions scenario*

Since the topic has moved to characters, I'll offer my free opinion... San Angelo seems to me, less 4-color, or dirty-realistic. Rather, it seemd to be a book where people had this thing called "a job". Everyone in the book had a role to play, an occupation, even if it was "superhero". Even the Homeless Brick had a job...he was homeless. Basicly what I am saying is, the supllament seemed to me to suggest characters who were like ordinary people, who just may happen to have superpowers. This means any sample or archtype hereos are going to need to fit into the city, in order to work. There are a ton of storylines buried under the surface, most of them accessed though the NPCs. Perhaps they should be looked at, to see which ones have developed to fruition? If time has passed between SA: CoH #1 and SA:CoH #2, then some of these plot lines are going to have advanced. So far as newly powered people, one idea might be to take some of the NPC's from the original book and give them origins...

Page 11, San Angelo: City of Heroes. It says its in the Central Valley, which didn't make much sense to me at the time. Most of the Spanish settlements in California were coastal. If it was relocated, Texas or New Mexico would probably be the most logical. Not sure about Texas...an urban metropolis doesn't exactly fit my image/stereotype of the state (apologies to any Texans out there). New Mexico might be interesting, a long histroy of Spanish settlement (back to the 1600's, much older than California), High Tech industries (Los Alamos), and of course Indians for the mystical stuff. If in California, I think it would be around Bakersfield. That fits most of the desciptions in the text. If its placed further north, Russian fur traders used to come into San Francisco Bay.

Since you said we could use own creations, I'll use NPCs. Hero: Well, the most powerful Earth Hero got abducted by aliens 25 years ago. So the duty would fall on Mammoth, sel-proclaimed protector of Iceland. (Use stats from EE: Mammoth. Replace picture. Give him 40 intelligence, a bunch of sciences, and followers, every Scandinavian character listed in European Enemies. Yes, I was able to use that book for something...) Not only would he volunteer, he would point out that if the challenge is mental or physical, he is the strongest in both areas. Heroine: Arclight, US Army Captain, member of "Joint Force", and half-Vietnames American. Anxious to prove herself, she would probably volunteer. Her power is a 18d6 explosion, at no range, linked to a teleport (so she escapes unharmed). She also likes guns. Disruption: Mister Fabulous hearing of the alien spaceship, would enter his spacecraft hangar (seperate from the aircraft hangar) and rocket off into space. He would land at his hidden moon base, and begin powering up the 3 mile long mass driver he built there last year (using his rehabilitated Mechanon, who wishes only to do good in the universe). As the Mass Driver can only fire in one direction, he would have to wait patiently until the ship came within target. While he is waiting for this to occur, he would radio his non-superpowered clone (created by Dr. Grondicus), who is now working as an advertizing executive. They would get distracted discussing and debate the morals of the situation for several days, while the hostile ship takes the Terran Champions aboard, and leaves. Mister Fabulous would be horrified that his distraction allowed this atrocity to happen, and would assemble a team of Earth's mightiest heroes to rescue the missing heroes.

I heard about the books when they first came out, but wasn't able to get them until last year (I could never find them in any game store). I didn't order them online, having had bad experiences with that in the past. I already have my own campaign, which is going well. So I fit in the not-use category. However, I do pull ideas/characters out of the sourcebook, and it did give me many new ideas. I was actually disappointed in Millenium City...it wasn't nearly as good as San Angelo, IMHO. The Enemies of San Angelo is one of the better enemy books, in recent memory (I have them all going, back to Enemies 1). The villains all give good ideas of how to use them, none of them are "generic". I liked how many of them were built around a tight group of powers, that were well defined. Two reasons my campaign is not in San Angelo 1) I spent around 3 years of real time coming up with a reason to move the characters to NYC. 2) Many of my players have lived in Southern California, including myself. I prefer to run campaigns in distant places, to help maintain the illusion. As I said in another post, if I ever restart my campaign, it will be in San Angelo. My only advice to you regarding development might be to adopt a "generational feel". Put in characters from different generations (The mentalist on the Justice Squadron was interesting because of that). Tie them into the background history and city, its the strong point. Since San Angelo is written from the street level, there should be couple of powerful NPCheroes running around. The reamians of a Avengers/JLA team that broke up? A villain with an earthquake inducing power could be fun...

(4) Wanting to pull a major operation, VIPER decides to create a diversion. They blackmail someone to dress up in a costume identical in appearance to Doctor Destroyer. (or other major villain in campaign). The Pseudo Arch-Villain shows up in a public statement, and issues a series of statements designed to make fun of the local heroes, and challenges them to a fight. If the Heroes have any kind of official sanction, they will be ordered to the area. Non-Official Heroes may show up, if they are watching TV. While every cop in the city is closing off the area, and evacuating civilians for the oncoming 'rumble', VIPER does a major operation in another part of the city. The Pseudo Arch-Villain surrenders as soon as the heroes arrive. The Real Arch-Villain may show up at a later date, to punish the local VIPER nest, innocents will probably be threatened when this occurs.

An age ago, in the Comico title "Elementals", they had a Chinese Superhero called 'Red Dragon'. Have no idea who controls the name anymore. Basicly, he looked like a typical mild mannered Chinese Guy, who could fly and was superstrong (he may have heat vision also...) It was interesting to see China with a very powerful Hero, he was always asking Western heroes for their autographs, as he didn't get to leave the country much. France: I would say a former spy or epionage agent, who is in her 80's. Make her a telepathic member of the French Resistance, who is regarded as an icon by the French Super community. Her own powers would be fairly average, most of her success would come from intelligence, experience, and iron will.