Solomon

Quasar Now for everybody's favourite winged alien this side of the law: Firewing's one-time pupil Quasar! Quasar and Doctor Wraithe came out at 475 poits. I toyed with the idea of giving Quasar a "Body of Light" flight power usable in an atmosphere (9" Flight megascale, 1 Hex = 10'000 Km, scalable down, linked to Desolidification. Comes out at roughly 30% the speed of light). In the end, I stuck close to the original character. Quasar Player: Val Char Cost 18 STR 8 26 DEX 48 23 CON 26 12 BODY 4 13 INT 3 13 EGO 6 15 PRE 5 14 COM 2 25 PD 21 25 ED 20 6 SPD 24 15 REC 12 66 END 10 50 STUN 17 6" RUN02" SWIM03 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 206 Cost Power END 65 Photonic Powers: Multipower, 81-point reserve, (81 Active Points); all slots Not in Darkness (-1/4) 5u 1) Body of Light: Desolidification (affected by Radiation Powers), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points); Not in Darkness (-1/4) 6u 2) Light Burst: Sight Group Flash 7d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Area Of Effect (4" Radius; +1) (79 Active Points); Not in Darkness (-1/4) 3 6u 3) Photonic Ray: EB 13d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (81 Active Points); Not in Darkness (-1/4) 3 27 Wings: Multipower, 40-point reserve, (40 Active Points); all slots Restrainable (-1/2) 3u 1) Flight: Flight 20" (40 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2) 4 2u 2) Gliding: Gliding 35" (35 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2) 12 Alien Eyes: +8 versus Range Modifier for Sight Group 6 Alien Eyes: Sight Group Flash Defense (6 points) 5 Alien Eyes: UV Perception (Sight Group) 10 Concealed Communicator: HRRP (Radio Group) (12 Active Points); IIF (-1/4) 22 Hyperflight: FTL Travel (1 Light Years/day) (28 Active Points); Linked (Body of Light; -1/2), Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time (+1/4) 25 Photonic Body: Damage Resistance (25 PD/25 ED) 45 Photonic Body: Life Support (Eating: Character does not eat; Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Immunity: All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep) Powers Cost: 239 Cost Skill 4 +2 with Photonic Ray 6 +3 with Flight 3 Bureaucratics 12- 3 KS: Alien Technology 12- 3 Language: English (completely fluent) 2 Navigation (Space) 12- 3 PS: Gladiator 14- 3 Tactics 12- 3 Teamwork 14- Skills Cost: 30 Total Character Cost: 475 Val Disadvantages 15 Distinctive Features: Wings and alien features (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 10 Enraged: When caged or bound (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 14- 15 Enraged: When innocents are harmed (Common), go 11-, recover 14- 25 Hunted: Firewing 11- (Mo Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Harshly Punish) 20 Hunted: Supervillain Group 8- (Mo Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Harshly Punish) 5 Physical Limitation: Publicity Seeker (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 15 Psychological Limitation: Code vs Killing (Common, Strong) 15 Social Limitation: Public ID (Frequently, Major) 10 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x BODY Chemical Attacks (Common) 20 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Chemical Attacks (Common) Disadvantage Points: 150 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 125 Total Experience Available: 125 Experience Unspent: 0

Maelstrom/Tempest Maelstrom Player: Val Char Cost 13 STR 3 26 DEX 48 23 CON 26 10 BODY 0 13 INT 3 13 EGO 6 15 PRE 5 10 COM 0 10/25 PD 7 10/15 ED 5 5 SPD 14 15 REC 14 70 END 12 35 STUN 6 6" RUN02" SWIM02 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 149 Cost Power END 60 Weather Control: Multipower, 75-point reserve, (75 Active Points); all slots Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 6u 1) Fog: Darkness to Sight Group 7" radius (70 Active Points); Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 7 6u 2) Lightning: RKA 4 1/2d6 (70 Active Points); Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 7 6u 3) Whirlwind: Entangle 3d6, 4 DEF, Takes No Damage From All Attacks (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2) (70 Active Points); Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 7 6u 4) Wind: Telekinesis (50 STR) (75 Active Points); Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 7 10 Concealed Communicator: HRRP (Radio Group) (12 Active Points); IIF (-1/4) 25 Deflecting WInds: FF (15 PD/5 ED), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (25 Active Points) 1 4 Special Contacts: Sight Group Flash Defense (5 points) (5 Active Points); IIF (-1/4) 4 Special Contacts: UV Perception (Sight Group) (5 Active Points); IIF (-1/4) 46 Wind Riding: Flight 23" 5 Powers Cost: 173 Cost Skill 3 Linguist 2 1) Language: Cantonese (completely fluent) (3 Active Points) 2 2) Language: French (completely fluent) (3 Active Points) 2 3) Language: German (completely fluent) (3 Active Points) 1 4) Language: Greek (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points) 1 5) Language: Hebrew (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points) 2 6) Language: Japanese (completely fluent) (3 Active Points) 1 7) Language: Latin (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points) 2 8) Language: Russian (completely fluent) (3 Active Points) 2 9) Language: Spanish (completely fluent) (3 Active Points) 2 PS: Teacher 11- 5 SS: Philology 14- 3 Teamwork 14- Skills Cost: 28 Total Character Cost: 350 Val Disadvantages 20 DNPC: Denise Swanson, secretary 11- (Normal; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID) 10 Distinctive Features: Mutant (Not Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable Only By Unusual Senses) 25 Hunted: Genocide/IHA 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 20 Hunted: Supervillain Group 11- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 15 Psychological Limitation: Claustrophobia (Common, Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Code vs Killing (Common, Moderate) 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Dr. James Ford) Frequently (11-), Major 10 Vulnerability: 2 x BODY Gravity Powers (Uncommon) 10 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Gravity Powers (Uncommon) Disadvantage Points: 135 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 15 Total Experience Available: 15 Experience Unspent: 0 Not much to add, came out pretty close to 350.

The Huntsman Huntsman Player: Val Char Cost 18 STR 8 18 DEX 24 18 CON 16 10 BODY 0 18 INT 8 10 EGO 0 15 PRE 5 12 COM 1 8/22 PD 4 8/22 ED 4 5 SPD 22 15 REC 14 36 END 0 45 STUN 17 11" RUN07" SWIM03 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 123 Cost Power END 30 Crossbow: Multipower, 60-point reserve, (60 Active Points); all slots OAF (-1) 2u 1) Electric Arrows: EB 12d6, STUN Only (+0) (60 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), OAF (-1) 2u 2) Fire Arrows: EB 8d6, Explosion (+1/2) (60 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), OAF (-1) 2u 3) Flare Arrows: Sight Group Flash 8d6, Explosion (+1/2) (60 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), OAF (-1) 2u 4) Gas Arrows: EB 6d6, NND (+1) (60 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), OAF (-1) [Notes: Defense is not breathing] 2u 5) Razor Arrows: RKA 2 1/2d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2) (60 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), OAF (-1) 2u 6) Sonic Arrows: EB 8d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2) (60 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), OAF (-1) 2u 7) Webbing Arrows: Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF (60 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), OAF (-1) 10 Athletic: Running +5" (11" total) 1 5 Athletic: Swimming +5" (7" total) 1 28 Battlesuit: Armor (14 PD/14 ED) (42 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 15 Born with a Silver Spoon: Luck 3d6 10 Concealed Communicator: HRRP (Radio Group) (12 Active Points); IIF (-1/4) 4 Special Contacts: Sight Group Flash Defense (5 points) (5 Active Points); IIF (-1/4) 4 Special Contacts: UV Perception (Sight Group) (5 Active Points); IIF (-1/4) 7 Swing into Action: Swinging 10" (10 Active Points); OIF (Swinglines of opportunity; -1/2) 1 Powers Cost: 127 Cost Skill 40 +8 with Ranged Combat 1 AK: Africa 8- 1 AK: South America 8- 3 Acrobatics 13- 3 Combat Driving 13- 3 Combat Piloting 13- 3 Computer Programming 13- 3 Demolitions 13- 3 High Society 12- 3 Inventor 13- 2 KS: The Corporate world 11- 2 Language: Russian (fluent conversation) 3 Mechanics 13- 3 PS: Hunting 13- 3 Stealth 13- 4 Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical) 13- 3 Teamwork 13- 2 Weaponsmith (Muscle-Powered Ranged) 13- Skills Cost: 85 Cost Perk 15 Money: Filthy Rich Perks Cost: 15 Total Character Cost: 350 Val Disadvantages 10 DNPC: Jessica Savage, Wife 8- (Normal) 20 DNPC: Mindy and Michael Savage, Sons 8- (Incompetent; Group DNPC: x2 DNPCs) 20 Hunted: Red Doom 11- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 20 Hunted: Supervillain Group 11- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 10 Psychological Limitation: Hatred of guns (Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Higly Competitive (Uncommon, Strong) 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Wayne Savage) Frequently (11-), Major 10 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN Ego Attacks (Common) Disadvantage Points: 115 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 35 Total Experience Available: 35 Experience Unspent: 0 I was left with a lot of points after a first attempt at conversion. Thankfully, Huntsman's beackground easily accounts for a wide range of skills. Many more could be added.

Brainstorm Since the Old Forum thread already had conversions for Ace, Silverfist/Mandroid, Renegade, Helios and Doc Sonic, I'm posting my own take on the remaining Protectors. Starting with Brainstorm, at 350 points: Brainstorm Player: Val Char Cost 18 STR 8 24 DEX 42 23 CON 26 10 BODY 0 13 INT 3 23 EGO 26 15 PRE 5 10 COM 0 13/23 PD 9 13/23 ED 8 5 SPD 16 15 REC 12 66 END 10 40 STUN 9 6" RUN02" SWIM03 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 174 Cost Power END 60 Psycokinetic Powers: Multipower, 60-point reserve 6u 1) Ego Attack 6d6 ( Human class of minds) (60 Active Points) 6 6u 2) Mind Scan 10d6 ( Human class of minds), +3 ECV (56 Active Points) 6 6u 3) Telekinesis (40 STR) (60 Active Points) 6 6u 4) Telepathy 12d6 ( Human class of minds) (60 Active Points) 6 10 Concealed Communicator: HRRP (Radio Group) (12 Active Points); IIF (-1/4) 23 Ego Defense: Mental Defense (14 points total), Usable Simultaneously (up to 2 people at once; +1/2), Ranged (+1/2) (23 Active Points) 4 Special Contacts: Sight Group Flash Defense (5 points) (5 Active Points); IIF (-1/4) 30 Telekinetic Shield: FF (10 PD/10 ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (30 Active Points) Powers Cost: 151 Cost Skill 9 +3 with PsychoKinetic Powers 3 KS: PSI 12- 2 KS: Pop fiction (Sci-fi and mistery) 11- 2 PS: Play Drums 11- 3 SS: Sociology 12- 3 Stealth 14- 3 Teamwork 14- Skills Cost: 25 Total Character Cost: 350 Val Disadvantages 5 Dependence: Mind Drugs, Takes 3d6 Damage (Easy To Obtain, 1 Day) 10 Distinctive Features: Mutant (Not Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable Only By Unusual Senses) 15 Hunted: PSI 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 15 Hunted: Supervillain Group 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 10 Physical Limitation: Asthma (Frequently, Slightly Impairing) 10 Psychological Limitation: Contempt for other Mentalists (Uncommon, Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Hates PSI (Uncommon, Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Immature (Common, Moderate) 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Kent Hampton) Frequently (11-), Major 20 Vulnerability: 2 x Effect Gas attacks (Common) Disadvantage Points: 120 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 30 Total Experience Available: 30 Experience Unspent: 0 Pretty straightforward. I just added a few "flavour" skills to bring him up to 350. I usually remove the 1/2 END advantage on most powers when converting from 3rd Edition.

I got Blue. A BLUE Dragon Lies Beneath! My inner dragon is the Water Elemental dragon. If there ever was a draconic example of a supple attitude, my inner dragon is it. Just sit back and go with the flow. *contented sigh* Click the image to try the Inner Dragon Online Quiz for yourself.

I like linking stories from different periods. I had pulp era adventures featuring a young Doctor Destroyer (sans power armor) as a villain. However, 2020 seems to me like too early a date to end the superheroic age. Besides, It's too early to start the cyberpunk age too, IMHO.

I agree. Solomon, aside, to himself: Darn The Emerged and his avatar! Every time I read one of his posts, I have the feeling there's a cute little puppy dog lecturing me on HERO mechanics. But what drives me crazy is, that puppy dog is ususlly right... In my group, one of the characters has a high speed because he has partial control over the time stream. Another character has a high speed because he's just an highly trained fighter. Another one has a low speed because, while being a good combatant, is not quite reactive and is easily confused.

I had run a search of the Champions forum, but I didn't think about checking the old forum. Thanks, Lord Liaden. Anyone else cares to share his own version of the Protectors?

Actually, I thought we were talking about demo games and games for beginners.

Hi all, I 'd like to convert the old "To Serve and Protect" adventure for 5th edition. Anyone already converted the Protectors, maybe?

Restating, with some emphasis on a few words you might have overlooked... "Keep the rules simple and be ready to cut corners to do it. Skip END tracking, maybe even skip STUN (should be ok if it's a fantasy game), whatever works to keep them interested." My point is, you won't be really sure about your players' tastes and skills until a good hour into the game. So you should be ready to tailor your GMing style according to the current group. If the players handle well the HERO system, go ahead and use it in full. Throw in even optional rules if they seem to enjoy it, ie if optional rules are "whatever works to keep them interested. But if they can't handle the system, the choice boils down to either: a) Dismiss the group (and leave them with a bad feeling about the system) Run the game with full rules and give them a bad gaming experience. c) Cut corners and keep them entertained. As a matter of personal taste, I'd rather go with "c". There are people who think a two-digit subtraction is a complex and boring activity. And if even a few players in the group are not having fun, chances are they'll spoil the game for the whole group. Yes, I'd even skip either STUN or BODY count (but not both) if it is necessary to push the demo game forward. As long as the players get a taste of the core mechanics behind both STUN and BODY (overcoming defenses and subtracting from a pool of points), that should be fine. It woudn't be like running D&D without hit points; D&D only has a single stat for damage. Of course I would point out that I'm skipping a few important rules. Usually you'll get an odd mixture of player types in a CON, each group will be different from the next one, and catering to the tastes of all of them will be challenging. Ideally, you should be able to entertain even the mathematically challenged and still give a sense of HERO system's breadth and scope. As they leave the table, your players should be thinking: "Wow, that was fun! :)" and "Wow, HERO system is good! ". But of course, that is just my opinion.

In my old, non-CU campaign the main threat was a brood of cannibal, shape-shifting aliens who were marooned on Earth centuries ago and had since infiltrated the human society. In my current CU campaign the "big bad" is Doctor Destroyer, but my players never physically confronted him. PSI also plays a large role. I'm loathe to use Takofanes. Every time I think of including him in my campaign, I have flashbacks about the Lichlord Vecna in an old Monty-Haul D&D campaign I occasionally played in... GM: So the horrible truth is out at last... Vecna is back from the dead! Everybody laughs. Player 1: What? Again?!? We killed him, what, three times so far? Player 2: Yeah. I think that makes him an un-un-un-undead lord. Player 3: But last time we threw what was left of his body in a volcano after disintegrating him. Player 2: I guess he just regenerated from the "Hand of Vecna" or the "Eye of Vecna". Sort of like a troll, just uglier. Player 3: That can be fixed. Let me have my way and there will be a new artifact: the A$$ of Vecna. Solomon: Wait... you mean you really killed him three times? Player 1: Vecna is just such a sorry loser. Every time we hand him his a$$, but he just keeps coming for more. Now, do you understand why I really can't force myself to put a lich in my game?

If he can't sleep normally for the rest of the night, I'd throw in a Physical Limitation for good measure.

Cool. I didn't know that. As anything else, it largely depends on the setting's style and mood. I'm not a big CLAMP fan, although I did enjoy Cardcaptor Sakura, X-1999 and Chobits. I've been toying with the idea of running a "Jojo's Bizarre Adventures" game, though. Hirohiko Araki's comics show an homoerotic undercurrent, too, now that I think of it, though this is usually underplayed.

Keep the game short. CONs are messy affairs, people often come late and/or go away early and you're bound to spend a lot of time explaining the rules anyway. In my experience, it's better to have a very short scenario and being able to run it to the end than writing a long story and never be able to paly it in full. Keep the rules simple and be ready to cut corners to do it. Skip END tracking, maybe even skip STUN (should be ok if it's a fantasy game), whatever works to keep them interested. At the end of the game, you can point out that HERO has many more features than the ones you used. Be visual and entertaining. Be patient. You'll likely be playing with people you don't know. It's possible you'll meet at least a few morons; I call this the "CON game player lotto".

Re: Your Favorite One Point Power One active point or one real point? There's a whole world of difference!

It's not just the CLAMP: beautiful villains are a staple of Mangas. Apparently, westerners like their villains ugly, pathetically weak and dumb.

Re: Re: "We´ve seen their faces, but who are they?!" Yep. I remember he even featured Kirby himself in a Ratman story. That was awesome! Marvel USA should definitely translate Ratman in English. P.S.: I apologize for the off-topic posts, but I'm trying to prod Dr. Divago into posting a write-up for Ratman. Edit: Corrected: Divago, not Zivago. Doh!

Re: Re: Justify this Villains and Vigilantes was not known for its consistent character generation system, you know... Anyway, I think it's easier to justify mental powers as an added effect of shrinking that the other way around.

Assuming you don't need more than one character from each country, the two above concepts can be easily blended. Volcano was the Roman god of the forge, similar to the Greek god Aephestus. Romans revered him not only as the divine smith and craftsman, but also as a god of fire - he was said to reside in the Vesuvius volcano. If you want to use him as a villain, play up his negative traits. He was ugly, malformed, sometimes jelous of the tipycal beauty of most Greek/Roman gods. This often led him to be spiteful and envious. Fire and metal would be the primary themes for his powers. In his own time, he also was a god of technology, so it would be quite fitting to have him adapt to modern technology. You can have his powers be technological in nature insted of mystical. He had cyclops for servants. If you go with the "modern technology" option, large one-eyed mechanical servants might do the trick.

Re: Martial Art Maneuvers I think buying levels with the manouvers would be more appropriate.

There's a Santa Claus doll hanging over the bar in my cafeteria. It's a Paratrooper Santa, sort of. Anyway, it's got a parachute, and it dangles its legs and sings Christmas jungles. It activates by touching it or via sound detectors. Of course every customer activates it. It's funny the first half-score times you see it. After a while, it grows boring. I have to see it eight hours a day, every day. I hate it.

Nice hat, Zorn. And that goes for Chromatic too. Anyone else got a Christmas avatar?

Re: "We´ve seen their faces, but who are they?!" Actually, it was Marcus that started the thread. So, we're both Europeans and we both live in a roughly boot-shaped peninsula... that aside, we're different individuals, you know. Anyway, I woudn't mind seeing your Lizard King's writeup. You can MP it, if you don't mind. I won't forward it to Lemming, honest!

Re: Re: Re: Re: "We´ve seen their faces, but who are they?!" As a side note, Dr Divago... have you ever noticed how most Ratman enemies would be perfectly appropriate for a Champions (or even Dark Champions) campaign? I'd really like to see a writeup for Valker or La Gatta, for instance.