Lord Liaden

Re: The Marvel Magnificent Seven (Avengers) Sorry, V, didn't mean to usurp your primacy. Just wanted to rationalize my choices. And I'll thank you not to refer to me as a "galoot." I prefer "palooka."

Re: The Marvel Magnificent Seven (Avengers) I've given some thought to the "definitive" Avengers lineup, since they've always been my favorite comic superteam. IMO it's partly a matter of longtime service, so that "Avenger" is part of how the character is identified; but also the role that the character plays within the team. Captain America is the soul of the Avengers. He's acknowledged as their greatest leader, tactically and in his ability to inspire. He's universally respected by other heroes and the public at large. Thor is the Avengers' "big gun," the guy whose power consistently puts them over the top compared to other Marvel teams. His presence always makes the team's opposition take them seriously. Iron Man has been crucial to the Avengers on several levels: financial patron, chief techno-wizard, frontline fighter and sometime leader. The Vision really belongs nowhere else than with the Avengers. Though he has left at various times, he always returns as they are his only real family. The Scarlet Witch has often proven invaluable as the Avengers' mistress of the occult. Other than her brother Quicksilver she also seems to have no other family connection or true home. If Cap is the soul of the Avengers, Hawkeye is their heart. The Avengers gave him a chance to turn his life around, and that means more to him than just about anything. His hot head has often led him to break ranks with them, but when they need him he always comes running. And he's often the guy with the right arrow at just the right time. Now, the seventh spot was harder to pin down. There have been many great characters important to the Avengers over the years: Wonder Man, She-Hulk, Black Panther, Beast, and on and on. Of the veterans, Hank Pym and the Wasp have been around since the beginning, and are frequently active Avengers. However, Hank's superheroic guise is constantly shifting - Ant Man, Giant Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, and plain Dr. Pym, super-scientist. Not to mention his recurring mental health problems. The Wasp has been more consistent, and has all of Hank's insect-based powers, but has grown as a character over the years, even becoming leader of the Avengers on two occasions. So, IMHO the seven essential Avengers are: Captain America Thor Iron Man The Vision The Scarlet Witch Hawkeye The Wasp

Re: Converting Prestige Classes (a question) I would humbly suggest following the link in my signature, and scrolling down to the DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS listing. There are links to lots of conversions for many elements of the D&D game, including Feats and Prestige Classes.

Re: What concepts have you used for a 'Superman'?

Re: What concepts have you used for a 'Superman'? In some form at least, yes, but not necessarily as an active hero in the contemporary CU. The post from Darren that I quoted above is the only mention of where Vanguard might appear by him that I can find on the boards; and Steve Long has said nada. What the DoJ do or don't do with the character is of course their choice; I just thought it would be cool. I remember the debut of the first Supreme comic series, when Supreme returned to Earth after many years in space. (Yes, this was one of the inspirations for my suggested scenario. ) I was impressed by the awe, wonder and fear expressed by all at the arrival of this legendary figure. I can't help imagining how much cooler it would be if the returnee was a true icon and role-model rather than an arrogant martinet with a god complex.

Re: The Power of Presence Essentially, Lucius, it's because neither the rules nor Steve Long say that they don't last past one Turn. The "one Turn" time duration mentioned for Presence Attacks refers only to the effective extra Presence that the target receives for purposes of resisting contrary Presence Attacks. One may choose to infer that any of the other listed effects of a PA which don't have a specified duration only last for one Turn; but that's a supposition not explicitly supported by the rules. IMHO some of the inspirational effects described on the Presence Attack Table would look rather silly if they just cut out after one Turn.

Re: What happened to the Champions? Actually, the alternate origin for Seeker was crafted by Scott Bennie: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=846663 BTW Hisho, in case you weren't aware, when the rotating character art in the lefthand border comes around to a shirtless blonde guy with a red bandolier across his chest - that's Seeker.

Re: What concepts have you used for a 'Superman'? As I'd mentioned on an earlier thread, Darren Watts posted information on Vanguard that, IMO, strongly implies that he was the CU's analog to Superman both in power and in the respect in which he was held: I'm really hoping that the Champions Universe update book this year will include a scenario for his return - I believe that an official, active Superman homage in the present-day CU would be welcomed by many Champs fans. Vanguard supposedly died delivering explosives to pulverise the asteroids that Dr. Destroyer was trying to crash into the United States; that sounds like the kind of mission he would have performed alone, so there wouldn't have been any witnesses to his demise. And let's face it: a mightily-powerful superhero, aliens responsible for his powers, a super tractor beam, space rocks of unknown composition, a multi-megaton explosion... if you can't extract a comic-book rationale for Vanguard's survival out of all that, you're just not trying. I did postulate a possible scenario for Vanguard's return: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=943585

Re: Cyberpunk 2020 in HERO Is it possible that the latest discussion board software for attachments doesn't work well with some operating systems? I know my creaky ol' Windows 98 SE hasn't always been happy with the last upgrade.

Re: Best Martial Artist: Champions Universe And would probably clean the clock of any of the martial artists written for 5E so far, except perhaps Taipan. In fact the definition of Lin Hu was that he was acknowledged the greatest martial artist in the world.

Re: The Power of Presence

Re: The Power of Presence FWIW I've worked out a few guidelines for Presence Attacks in my campaigns to try to balance them against Mental Powers. These are in addition to all the standard rules for PA as given in the Fifth Edition rulebook. I won't relate everything - the situational rules can get somewhat detailed - just the highlights: Presence Attacks generally require both clear Line of Sight and clear hearing between the target(s) and the character making the Presence Attack, although the GM may rule than some PA only require that the character be seen or be heard. Modifiers to Perception based on range and other environmental factors may require the target to make a Perception Roll to notice and respond to the PA. Unless the attacker specifies the target of the PA, or the target is obvious from the circumstances, anyone within sight and hearing of the attacker will be affected by the PA. Presence Attacks normally require deliberate action on the part of the attacker. If the effects of high Presence affect those around the character constantly, whether he wishes it or not, this may be worth a Physical or Social Limitation to the character. The types of suggestions or commands that a character making a PA can give to his target generally follow the +10 / +20 / +30 parameters for Mind Control. If a Presence Attack is based on frightening the target, commands can only be phrased in a threatening manner, while a PA which inspires allies only can only be phrased encouragingly. Contrary phrasing of a command or suggestion are not followed, and may allow for an immediate Breakout Roll (see below). After a successful Presence Attack at the +10 level, any attempt at persuasion by the attacking character is adjudicated by the GM as to whether it succeeds and how long the recipient of a PA will comply with it - roleplaying would be the key determinant. However, after a successful Presence Attack at the +20 or +30 level, the target will automatically follow appropriate commands on his first Phase after the PA. On his next Phase the target gets a Breakout Roll to overcome the PA as with Mental Powers, based on the character's Ego or Presence, whichever is higher. Successive Breakout Rolls occur on each step down the Time Chart as per Mental Powers. In addition, the character may make additional Breakout Rolls whenever his circumstances or those of the character who PA'd him change, e.g. when his fortunes in battle change dramatically. Each successive attempt by the target to break out of the effects of the Presence Attack gains a +1 bonus to the roll, and the attacker cannot prevent that bonus from accumulating as with Mental Powers. However, for every five points of effect by which the Presence Attack exceeds the Presence or Ego +30 of the target, the target suffers a -1 penalty to the Breakout Roll. The attacker can't choose what level of effect his Presence Attack will have, and can't automatically tell what level of effect he's achieved. The character making the Presence Attack can continue to give appropriate commands as long as the effects of his Presence Attack last - he doesn't need to reroll to give new commands. However, if he gives a command that in the GM's view exceeds the level of effect he rolled, the command will not be obeyed and the victim of the PA immediately gets a Breakout Roll. Targets of a Presence Attack can be under the effect of a PA from more than one attacker simultaneously. Presence Attacks cannot be Complementary or Competing with each other, unlike Mental Powers. If one attacker issues a command that directly contradicts a command from another attacker, but didn't roll at least as high a level of effect as the other attacker, then the new command is ignored. If the second attacker does roll as high or higher than the first attacker, then the target immediately gets a Breakout Roll to throw off the earlier Presence Attack altogether. Characters affected by a Presence Attack at up to the +10 level will generally believe that any actions they took were wholly their own decisions. At the +20 and +30 level, after the target of the PA makes his Breakout Roll he will always realize that he was being influenced by the attacking character, although he won't automatically assume that there was anything unnatural about that influence.

Re: What concepts have you used for a 'Superman'? Some time ago ChuckG posted a writeup from his campaign for IMO one of the most interesting Superman-surrogates I've seen, both in his character sheet and especially his background history - a history which incorporates the official Hero Universe timeline, BTW. I didn't want to take away Chuck's prerogatives, but since he hasn't shown up here yet he hopefully won't mind if I just link to that post and its followups: Horus-Re

Re: What concepts have you used for a 'Superman'? Thanks. It does seem like it would be a ready fit. Mind you, I still have hope for the eventual return of Vanguard.

Re: What concepts have you used for a 'Superman'? Deja-vu all over again : http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36397

Re: What concepts have you used for a 'Superman'? In an older Champions campaign for 4E HERO, I used "Captain Atlas," the child of a human woman and a cosmic being who had fallen in love with her. (I borrowed the name from Golden Age Champions, and the origin from that of Captain Australia in HERO System Almanac I.) Captain Atlas was one of a pair of twins; their mother was killed shortly after they were born, and the twins were adopted. The geneticist master villain Malachite kidnapped the girl a few years later - she would eventually become Viperia (4E version). Since Viperia had/has most of the classic Superman powerset, I gave Captain Atlas roughly the same powers. Having bought the current VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent, it hasn't escaped my notice that Viperia is now the daughter of Nama, but that Nama is also supposed to have another unspecified child out there somewhere...

Re: Cyberpunk 2020 in HERO Sadly, I cannot. I couldn't unzip the attached files either - apparently they've become corrupted. And I didn't save the originals. Hopefully some kind soul who did successfully download them will see this and supply you.

Re: Nets as Weapons

Re: Nets as Weapons We had a similar topic come up a while back, and several different parameters for nets were discussed and statted out: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22846

Re: Vidar, Norse God & Fenris-Killer Hey, Fen, aren't you in a bit of a "conflict of interest" position here?

Re: I know this probably sounds psycotic, and it probably will be. You might want to make sure that these abilities Usable Simultaneously are also all bought Persistant (even though the Characteristics and Powers you mention are already Persistant.) Otherwise if one character with those abilities is Knocked Out, the Usable Simultaneously Powers that it possesses shut off and all the other characters in the group will lose the benefit of them.

Re: How to have long combats

Re: How to have long combats Keep in mind that in heroic fiction (contemporary or legendary), those full-day combats are pretty much "handwaved" already. They're never described in detail throughout the full course; it's just related that the opponents continued to exchange blows hour after hour, demonstrating their heroic endurance and strength of will, until you get to the climax of the fight. Just skip to the high points. Several minutes' worth of sore strokes should cover them.

Re: Vidar, Norse God & Fenris-Killer Not much more in his article from the Encyclopedia Mythica, other than that it reinforces my memory of him being called the "god of silence." Perhaps he actually has powers that reinforce silence around him, such as Darkness, Invisibility or Flash to the Hearing Sense Group. He's also called the God of Vengeance, so maybe he could have a Detect for certain types of criminals (murderers at least), and possibly some extra abilities that only work vs such enemies. If he has that special supershoe, IMHO you just have to give him the foot-stamping shockwave schtick that Gorgon of the Inhumans does. The visuals demand it.

Re: Senses Targetting and Nontargetting These will be "unofficial" answers, of course. If you want an official ruling from rules grand poobah Steve Long, you can post your questions on the Fifth Edition Rules Questions forums. You can certainly buy Targetting for the entire Hearing Sense Group, covering any Enhanced Senses defined as hearing based. See "Enhanced Senses" in the 5ER rulebook. Having nontargetting Sight would probably be defined as a Physical Limitation for the character, the amount it would be worth based on how often and to what degree you expected it to disadvantage the character. It would be less of a Limitation if the character had another Targetting Sense. The basis of the cost of Flash vs any Nontargetting Sense is based on it being Nontargetting for most people. It would still affect a person with a Targetting Sense based on hearing normally. Flash vs Sight would affect a hypothetical "Nontargetting Sight" normally.