Supreme Serpent

Well, I can see a couple of possibilities here. 1) Hawkeye was exaggerating to show off. 2) Hawkeye was exaggerating to try to intimidate bad guys. 3) Hawk's good buddy Tony Stark worked out a special vibranium string and special bow system that would allow Clint to get the effect of a "300lb" draw using his normal strength. He can switch the bow up and down power levels as needed.

There are several lines for metal ones: Superfigs, Silver Age Sentinels, Living Legends, plus older out of production figs from Champions, Marvel, and DC (but most of the Marvel and DC ones aren't that good). If your characters are high-tech or fantasy-based, you've got tons more options with more regular lines. Plastic: Heroclix. You can get the "rookie" figs cheap, and can use them straight or modify them easily enough. Paper: Cardboard Heroes! I have a billion of these - from old Champions GM screens, Steve Jackson Games packs, and especially from various Marvel Super Heroes game packs (original game, not Saga or recent one). Those MSH packs have TONS of them - the basic game boxes, and the X-Men, Spider-Man, and Avengers expansion boxes all have a bunch. These are especially good for civilians/normals - easy to tell metal/plastic figs for heroes and villains from the paper normals on a battlefield.

Especially if the players are in the same situation, or haven't played Champions at all - I'd suggest doing a throwaway scenario with simple characters to get everyone comfortable with the basic mechanics, esp combat stuff. How to read your character sheet, skill/stat rolls, OCV/DCV, maneuvers, damage, recoveries, knockback, etc etc. May also help firm up people's ideas of what kind of characters they want to play.

Well, if the entity/powers being "on" is a huge change, maybe multiform would actually be a "cleaner" solution? Howabout instead of buying "Martial Arts" by brand name, buy some HTH combat levels and some HTH dice with the limit "not useable with superstrength"? Someone with 4 HTH levels and 7d6 punches qualifies as a martial artist to me, even if he doesn't have "maneuvers".

Well...which would you find more useful for your game (I'm assuming you GM)? Do you want info on a world-wide law enforcement org your heroes may find as useful allies? -or- Do you want info on a nefarious villain org involving mutated snake men that your heroes could face and try to take down?

Don't use 'em for a supers game, just doesn't feel right to me, and bogs the game down unnecessarily. If Cap'n A wants to define his attack as hitting Mr. Hyde in the knee, no biggie, helps give a visual. If Cap gets shot by a rifle and takes a few body, I'd rather just "hand wave" it and say it went through a shoulder, or thigh, etc. instead of going "Ew - looks like it hit you in the face." Or, "OK, Thing - you hit with your haymaker - roll for location - ok, you hit him...in the left foot for 23 dice !?!" I will occaisionally break them out for when players want to try specialized called shots (ie hit heart on vampire, cyborg's hand, etc.), but it's rare that it comes up.

Ah, but in the German language of the CU , Zerstoiten does translate as Destroyer, specifically as a local term used in the Ruhr.

Yeah, but even if you go back through all the Earth-1, Earth-2 jazz, pretty much every bow user in DC is a version of Green Arrow or Speedy. Only ones I can think of in Marvel off the cuff are Hawkeye, Trick-shot, and Yondu.

Wow, I think that we're going to end up with more Archers in the CU than in Marvel or DC...

Maybe we should just build on the post and make it ourselves?

But I thought that there were only "two types of people...";)

Yeah, but I suspect that won't last more than a few issues. We'll have to see...but I probably won't since Avengers is heading downhill at present, IMO. Scarlet Witch comes to mind too. In fact, I think that a lot of the female characters introduced in the 1960's fall into this category - "weaker" at first compared to the male characters, but have become more powerful/capable as time and cultural attitudes have changed...can you imagine She-Hulk in 1963?

Our group bounced around a Zodiac character idea that was similar, but the changes worked differently. Had no control over which "sign" powers they had; was based on what month/period it was in the game - ie is Taurus for most of May, etc.

Hank Pym (Ant-Man / Giant-Man / Yellowjacket / Goliath / Dr.Pym / etcetc) He's definitely gotten power/ability changes over the years. For that matter, the Wasp, while her basic powers really haven't changed, has upped her sting, and her Presence has gone up, as well as getting various skills. Jean Grey, depending on how you view the whole Phoenix stuff. Invisible Girl/Woman. Definitely more powerful/skilled as time went on.

If this is set in a world closely following the "real world" (ie Sept. 11th and events following occurred) and these Avengers are largely (as it's looking like) US-based and operating in the US, then some special sub-unit of the Dept of Homeland Security would likely be providing their liasons.

Any limits on types of commercials? TV only? Broadcast TV only? Would movie promo ads be considered commercials? They are advertising a product - the movie. So can he, for example, get the powers of Hellboy since he's in commercials?

Make it Kato Kae-Lin, and I think we have a winner.

Actually, I think as written it costs him 22 points. I think it depends on the game/GM. If he's only ever going to be using that bow, fine. If he might be in a situation where he needs to use a normal bow or a rival's bow, this won't help him - that's when levels w/bows to offset range penalties would work better. Overall, I think he could probably do better for less with the levels, unless he somehow needed to do the "shot from orbit" or somesuch.

You know, the possibilities of a "nonsense" motto are amusing...only the enlightened "get it".

I think that if you're willing to expand the game, it could work with multiple characters "out there" at once. Informal network, sort of a modern-day Empire Club, exists, and the characters know of each other and can make contact when needed. I think it would work best if the groups are normally somewhat geographically seperated, but with some characters who travel a lot. Imagine three groups A, B, C each with five characters (1-5). Character A3 is travelling in B's area, when he encounters plot X. Being away from his home turf, he contacts B1, who he's dealt with in the past. B1 brings in some other locals, B2 and B4. Further investigation leads them to believe C5's old enemy is behind it, so they contact him and he heads over to B to help as well. Would require work from you as well as the players, but most players I know (myself included) have several character ideas "on the rack" at any given time for a game, and getting to put them into play from time to time would be great.

Find out something new every day. GSO is where the mail goes, etc. but the SS goes where needed for the plot at hand!

I'd like to add another yea to that as well. Force field belts, blaster rifles, etc are the modern superworld equivalents of armor/swords in ancient times, tommyguns&shotguns in pulp era, etc. While DEMON wouldn't normally go for the big tech plot or huge devices, groups of agents with the "standard" high tech gear of the day would be very reasonable.

Hmm, Bob's post made me think of something else, as some of what he wants to see (child porn, snuff films, rape) (OK, maybe not what he ACTUALLY personally wants to SEE, but I mean in the game ) is stuff I don't care for in a Champions game. So...howabout a section on "Running DEMON through the Ages" - game/tone advice on how to present/handle DEMON in the various comic "ages" - Silver, Bronze, Iron, etc. , and maybe special Dark Champions subset.

Anyone have Enemies for Hire and/or Enemies Assemble? I've been in Champs for ages and remember seeing most of this stuff (even if I didn't buy it all at the time) but I don't remember these two books at all. Any highlights? Worth getting if you can find 'em? Good villains, or at least good art?

"Thirteen Ways for DEMON to end the world" - various plots to bring Elder Gods through, turn everyone into monsters, raise all the dead, etc. "It all fits!" -Conspiracy bits - not true in mainstream CU, but to give ideas for GM's who may want to do so. Basically, ways to show that DEMON has links/is in control of everyone else. Power source at VIPER Nest found to be magical. Vice President roomed in college with recently captured Morbane. Etc. "One Hundred and One Secret Ingredients" - off the wall stuff that you might need for super magic ritual, including types of sacrificial victims ("man not born of woman", that sort of thing) "DEMON Calendar" - days and times with magical and religious significance for various religions/etc. If don't have room in the book itself, pointing to good references in the "suggested reading" area. "A Close Thing" - Important foes from pivotal stages of DEMON's past, for heroes to team up with during all those time-travel bits. "Join the Family" - section on cults, cult psychology, deprograming, etc.