Lord Liaden

Re: Who's the most evil villain in CU? It wasn't a coincidence that Jack Kirby named this character so similarly to the Marquis de Sade. Desaad is not only Darkseid's chief minion and inventive genius, but also one of the most depraved beings on Apokolips, deriving profound pleasure from the suffering of others and actively promoting that suffering. (And "most depraved" on Apokolips is saying something.)

Re: Who's the most evil villain in CU? After considering the various arguments presented here, I have to finally come down for Luther Black as most evil character in the Champions Universe. Reviewing his Inverted Trinity reminded me that Black has personally debased and literally damned the immortal souls of completely innocent individuals. When you combine that with the results of his master plan, and that he has chosen to sacrifice all of humanity, as well as anything human left in himself, to achieve it, he seems to cover all the bases of evil from the most intimate to the most epic.

Re: Opinion: EuroStar Only to someone who doesn't speak German.

Re: Strike Force There are a few used copies for sale on http://www.amazon.com , advertised as Good to Very Good condition. The prices also range, and the high-end ones are definitely wince-inducing. If interested you can click on the "Books" link in the left-hand menu, and Search for "Strike Force Champions." It will be the first result.

Re: Learning how to play HERO The combat example thread was probably this one. It features both superheroic and heroic (fantasy) examples. I also highly recommend this thread for step-by-step character generation. I've referred many HERO newbies to these threads over the years, and most have said that they were very helpful. The primary tutorial author on both of them, Pattern Ghost, deserves a lot of credit and thanks for composing them.

Re: Opinion: EuroStar Personally I would nominate Szybko, formerly of the now-defunct villain org VOICE. After all, his origin had him come to Eurostar with the suggestion of developing a teleportation system for exactly that purpose. Of course he did this at the direction of VOICE, and betrayed Eurostar as soon as the T-suit was finished and in his hands; but that detail is easy to ignore. He was a crook and European (Pole), which seem to be two of the main criteria for Eurostar membership ; and while no casual killer himself, he had no compunction about working for a group every bit as vicious as Eurostar. And wouldn't you know it, we have a fine 5E writeup for Szybko right here, courtesy of our own Enforcer84.

Re: Animal Powered vehicles Well, the official method for building this is detailed in The Ultimate Vehicle, but I don't want to give away too many details of Hero Games's copyrighted material. I'll just say that TUV gives such vehicles Gliding as their only movement capability, with the Limitation, "Towed" (-1/2). Towed means that the vehicle can only move when pulled by something else, at its maximum speed or that of the puller, whichever is less. There's much more to it, but again I feel restrained in what I can reveal here.

While many of the published 5E Champions Universe villains have been presented as part of a team or organization, many others are solo operators who may be encountered individually, or working for a master villain or villain group. Some of these characters include suggestions for other villains that they might logically be expected work with; but in a few cases I've noticed elements of character backgrounds or powers that suggest other associations, and further uses for them in my games. I thought some folks might find some inspiration from hearing about the ones that I and others have thought of; I know I'd be very interested to hear about such groupings that you might be using in your own campaigns. Here are some prominent ones that have appeared in my games since 5E came out. Note that these outlines sometimes deal with elements of the characters that might be secret in your campaign, so if you don't want to risk being spoiled you might want to stop reading now: Stormfront and Zephyr from Conquerors, Killers And Crooks; two lifelong criminals and con artists, both mutant air elementalists. Seemed like a natural pairing. In my game they've already run an insurance scam collecting for "weather damage" on various properties, and created a "natural disaster" as cover for a string of robberies. They haven't been caught yet, but the PCs have noticed a growing strain in their relationship. As the older and more experienced crook and paranormal, Stormfront has assumed the leadership role; but Zephyr's resentment of authority figures is prompting rebellious behavior which may come to a head in the near future. Since Zephyr is significantly more powerful, that may not bode well for Stormfront. Still with CKC; the ReDirection Cartel has recently been revealed as one of the most prominent behind-the-scenes criminal forces in my campaign. Although it embraces numerous operatives in prominent positions around the world - both willing and unwilling - the core of the Cartel is made up of only three paranormals. Menton, world's most powerful psionic, is the unquestioned master of the group. He essentially pressganged two other metahumans with useful abilities into his service: the shapeshifter Masquerade, foremost spy and assassin; and the unrivalled computer hacker Cybermind. Between them no secret is safe, no person is beyond their reach. The Cartel almost never engages in direct confrontations (although one with my PCs is definitely brewing.) Their greatest strength is subtlety and manipulation. The group's weakness is that Masquerade and Cybermind are both unwilling participants, and if they could throw off Menton's control they would betray him in a heartbeat. These next combos mingle CKC with DEMON: Servants Of Darkness. The origin of Leech states that he was created by an unspecified sorceror who ensnared him using a hypnotic gold coin. I decided to play up that single hint as well as Leech's "Lovecraftian" appearance, and make that sorceror the Coin Collector of DEMON's Inner Circle. The CC learned a ritual to infect another person with his own Qliphothic energies, warping his victim into a monster enslaved to his will. The Coin Collector has created a dozen of these "Leeches" (which he has blasphemously named after the Apostles), leaving them in the oceans off the coasts of all the world's continents, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea and the Great Lakes. He calls upon them when he wants a particularly obstructive person removed, when more subtle methods are ineffective. The origin of The Monster is even more mysterious than that of Leech. I decided to connect it to another Inner Circle member, Demoiselle Nocturne. The Monster was created out of the horrific dreams of DM's "sanctum," the evil child Henry Francis Krueger. Henry's dreams are so vivid that they can manifest as a creature of great physical power, which Demoiselle Nocturne uses as an enforcer or just to spread terror in the world. So, that's what I've come up with to date. Any other ideas that you would care to share?

Re: Mystic Team Vehicle? That's grand, but perhaps a bit ostentatious for a beginning superteam - and perhaps too costly in Character Points. Not to mention bulky to park. Nothing wrong with the idea of an enchanted boat that flies, though - there's enough of them in various legends. Something resembling a period longboat or launch, perhaps even with oars and sales.

Re: Yet Another STUN Multiple Thread... Personally I haven't seen that one before, and it's a pretty cool concept - a single-die-produced bell curve. The one point of concern that I might have is making 3 the most frequent result. The impression I've always had about the Stun Multiplier is that it was intended to result in a Killing Attack that would on average do more BODY and less STUN damage than a Normal Damage attack. (Of course on average it does, but the STUN totals vary widely by using a single die.) A x3 multiplier will on average give the same amount of STUN as a Normal Damage attack of the same Damage Class, but more BODY, as well as requiring Resistant Defenses to stop it. So Killing Attacks still come out as potentially more efficient than Normal Damage. For that reason you might consider more 1 and 2 results on the die, and fewer 3s. FWIW I ran Killing Attacks for a long time by rolling 3d6, dividing the result by 3 (I made a chart with all the rounded off results), then subtracting 1 to get the Stun Multiplier. It took slightly longer to resolve than the standard method, but the bell curve started to take shape, with the center at less than 3.

Re: Mutant detector Depends on the toys. The gear that agents of Genocide from The Mutant File carried was extremely nasty, a threat even to very powerful mutants. But then it was intended to be. The IHA in the current CU don't appear to be tricked out to the same degree that Genocide was, at least not yet. Mind you, the 5E Minuteman robot is certainly a nasty piece of work, if not up to the standard of the mechanical monstrosity from TMF. (You know, when TMF came out I felt that those Minuteman robots were ridiculously overpowered, but with the new standards of the Champions Universe they look just about adequate for the job they're supposed to do.)

Re: Protectors Pic Link Scott originally posted that link almost three years ago. That page has likely gone the way of the dodo. Look up this thread a few posts to Jeff T.'s contribution - he kindly Attached the illos.

Re: Why we shouldn't worry about 2020 If he's made dramatic, unprecedented leaps in technology due to the increased flexibility in physical laws that magic allows for, his superscience no longer functions after the magic goes away, so he has to retire. If he's using more sophisticated applications of mundane physics that have been worked out over time, from a future era or an older alien civilization, then his technology isn't magic dependent and doesn't stop working. That's the rationale used in the Champions Universe. I personally am not completely happy with it, but IMHO it works well enough. If possible I'd prefer not to get into a debate over that issue again here; it's been thoroughly hashed out elsewhere. I provided my own rationalization of the concept on one such thread, starting here, if you're interested and missed it previously.

Re: Why we shouldn't worry about 2020 No offense taken. It was heat of the moment, and I didn't take it personally. But apology appreciated. Well, that factor certainly does seem applicable. On a purely practical level it also makes it easier for DOJ to incorporate freelance writers from outside the core staff, since they all know the groundrules of the world that they're writing for. Much like many continuing television series will prepare a "bible" for new writers with all the background and continuity information they need to bring them up to speed. However, as other posters here have underlined, some gamers just plain like a detailed, epic timeline. They like the feel of a universe with deep and consistent roots. They like characters with a sense of heritage. They enjoy the option of taking part in events that have shaped or will shape the course of their world. Yes, it's possible to create such a timeline yourself, but having one made for you is not only easier to use (including tweaking to your individual liking), but adds to the satisfaction that some people derive from gaming in an existing, richly detailed setting. And as has been stated here repeatedly, what you don't like in the timeline you can ignore for your games, and keep the rest. People who like the Hero Universe timeline and want to use it aren't wrong. People who don't like it and have no use for it aren't wrong. But as far as I can see, putting it in offers the potential to satisfy more people than leaving it out would.

Re: Passing the Torch Power I agree. Kind of like a grittier version of Marvel's "Captain Universe" miniseries - each story arc can feature a different wearer of the armor, with his or her own unique background and motivations.

Re: Strike Force

Re: Mutant detector Indeed, under "Miscellaneous Equipment:" the U-USU, standing for "UNTIL Universal Sensor Unit." If the IHA has or intends to obtain similar technology, they would probably just have mutant detectors, without the other capabilities of the UNTIL unit.

Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Healing abilities, but not dramatic instant-wound-closing, raise-dead kind of things. The ability to cure diseases, counteract poisons, or purify water (probably mostly done with Transform) have little to no combat use, but would be enormously beneficial in the many parts of the world where these problems are common. Detects can have a wonderful range of practical uses. Imagine the mining corporations breaking down the door of a character known to be able to Detect gold, or other valuable minerals. And the classic dowsing ability (Detect water) can literally save the lives of people in desert regions. Change Environment is another great one. Nobody in a super battle is likely to notice if you can bring on rain, but you'll be a hero to drought-stricken farmers. Or how about removing dust and dirt from a large area instantly? That's the basis of a very profitable cleaning business.

Re: Passing the Torch Power If I were to try to stat this ability out - rather than just leave it as a Special Effect/GM's Fiat - that's the approach I would take. I would suggest looking at a larger Transform, though, since you'll probably want to add a lot of Powers to the recipient, not the least of them being the ability to pass this gift on to someone else. OTOH since this sort of effect is normally a career ending (if not life ending) action on the part of a hero, you'd be justified in adding "Never Recovers" to the Charge Limitation, for an additional -2. BTW the Dark Champions character was called Purge, from Underworld Enemies. The Purge identity was taken up by whoever wore a suit of "psychically active" high-tech armor which was drawn to people desiring revenge. It brought with it a set of enhanced Characteristics, Skills and other abilities, all bought with the Independent Limitation reflecting that the abilities of the armor were not connected to whoever wore it, and that eventually the Purge armor would be lost when the character was captured or killed until another would-be avenger found it.

Re: Why we shouldn't worry about 2020 But who has played in a prewritten game world who hasn't at least drawn on its background for source material? But you have every right not to care, and ignore anything written that doesn't work for you, and even to be unhappy that it was written that way. Just as someone else has the right to the complete opposite.

Re: Why we shouldn't worry about 2020 I think that the point that DOJ has approached their house setting from a primarily comic-book perspective makes a lot of sense. Comics are a unique medium in that they borrow concepts and characters from every other source under the sun: sci-fi, occultism, mythology, gothic horror, pulps, cyberpunk etc. etc. Despite doing that, comics have a terrible track record of providing a sensible rationale for why all this stuff appears and disappears in the history of the world. Why do the gods of myth and mighty sorcerors walk the Earth millennia ago, effectively disappear from world affairs all that time, then start popping up again in the twentieth century? Why do the comics' future timelines have superbeings fade into nonexistence for centuries after the 20th-21st, then spring up like dandelions in the 30th-31st Century? The CU obviously having been intended to emulate much of the mainstream comics' traditions (a good approach from a marketing standpoint IMHO), Hero Games provided some kind of explanation for such phenomena. Some of us may not like it or agree with it, but at least there is one. We've gone over all the negative features of this approach, but let's not overlook some of the potentially useful and cool things about it: Breadth of source material. All the characters, creatures, races, artifacts, spells etc. which have been fully detailed for the various Hero game lines can be incorporated into just about any setting using the default timeline. So, if one of your superhero PCs wants to play the reincarnation of Valdor, or you'd like your cyberpunk future's main villain to be a renegade Mandaarian psionic, or your pulp heroes are trying to keep a Turakian Age magic artifact out of the hands of the Nazis, you have all the precedent and background information you'd need to easily incorporate that stuff. Time-travel adventures. Through various means your PCs can travel into the past or the future, from whatever era they happen to be based in, and you as GM can have the setting already detailed for them just by pulling down the appropriate Hero book. Now I can already hear some of you protesting, "But the magic schtick limits where my characters can go!" Well, more precisely, it limits what some characters, those who depend heavily on magic in some way, can do in certain eras. This can be a minus or a plus depending on how you want to approach the situation; suddenly reducing or eliminating PC powers can be a great roleplaying opportunity, at least in limited doses. And of course non-magic based characters won't have their abilities or equipment affected at all. Please understand, I'm not saying that everyone has to like or agree with the approach that DOJ has taken with their universal timeline. I have problems with it myself. But IMHO the case against it is not ironclad.

Re: Scott Heine - Protectors Absolutely. Just go here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11804

Re: For FREEDOM!

Re: Star Hero Campaigns Lots of folks have posted here about their campaigns, so I should probably wait for them to provide details; but for folks who have set up their own campaign websites, as well as other HERO SF resources, I recommend checking out Star Hero Fandom.com and looking through the Index of links.

Re: For FREEDOM!(Freedom Force) At my age it takes a while to get up a head of steam.