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Posts posted by Steve
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Power negators have a significant effect on the setting because the lack of them changes things quite a bit.
What do the authorities do if they can’t negate powers?
In regards to Stronghold, I like the idea of having multiple locations around. There could even be older versions of Stronghold that lack power negators and would have a different feel than a facility that does.
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In looking at Stronghold, a grab bag mix of personalities of the superpowered, it makes me wonder if a different approach is warranted.
Consider a super criminal who robs banks. While powerful, they aren’t a significant danger to society at large. I’m thinking the likes of Shrinker or Ogre. They may loot and rob, but they aren’t going to kill a bunch of people or destroy a city.
Then consider the members of Eurostar. They are superpowered terrorists. They act to topple governments or hold cities hostage.
Should they all go into the same prison facility? Would it be better to segregate the thieves and robbers from the really terrifying villains and put those terrorist types of villains in a deep, dark hole somewhere?
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So, in this alternate CU, what might Excelsior be like? Since it’s small, it may have only one superteam or maybe a handful of friendly neighborhood superheroes.
Would VIPER pay it much attention? It might make a great location for a Nest, since it would be conveniently close to Millenium City but outside it.
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As it is set up now, if a character misses their second attack, it couldn’t be reset for a third try, right? I was only looking for a second try, not a string of attempts until the character runs out of END or hits, although working that way could be interesting too.
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This is a Naked Advantage concept I'm working on. The idea is that if the character misses with their attack, they have a second chance to try and strike.
Second Chance Strike: Naked Advantage: Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action to reset; +1/2) for up to 45 Active Points (22 Active Points)
So far, I just have the Naked Advantage construct itself, but I'm not sure what sort of Limitations to apply to it, or if there are other modifiers I might need. It can't be used to do a second attack after hitting, so it's only usable if the initial attack fails.
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1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:
Intriguing questions.
Because it has only a fraction of Millennium City's population, I don't think Windsor itself would become a Canadian superhuman hub, except in relation to cross-border activities with MC; but that alone could justify some local heroes. Windsor had been the home base for Canada's mightiest superhero, Celestar, but events alluded to in Champions Universe might have prompted him to be more active farther afield, so there could be room for some lesser-powered heroes.
Windsor is the southern terminus of the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, the most densely populated and highly industrialized part of Canada. It's the most heavily trafficked border crossing between Canada and the US. It's a major center for Canada's automotive industry. It lies within but is administratively separate from Essex County, Ontario. With all those factors, and if it was rebuilt after a disaster as a symbol of the future, particularly in a comic-book world, I can think of only one word to rename it: Excelsior!
Excelsior, Canada sounds like a cool name. Since it would be a smaller city compared to Millenium City and very close together, Excelsior could have some rivalry with their larger southern neighbor. Maybe like Jersey City when compared to New York City?
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In the case of Detroit and Windsor both being rebuilt as a form of twin cities in a superhuman world, what might they name the rebuilt Windsor? How might it change after such destruction? Would it stay being called Windsor even after Detroit gets a snazzier name?
Imagine how it could work if Canadian superhumans congregated there and American superhumans congregated in Millenium City. Would there be any superteam rivalries? What about supervillains who might find the two cities an even more attractive target than if it was just Millennium City?
PRIMUS maintains an office in Millenium City, so it might prompt the Canadian government to do some enhanced law enforcement in the rebuilt Windsor. How might that affect border relations? -
That raises a good question. Which villains would be most active in keeping a secret ID?
Foxbat would likely be one of the more active maintainers, but his main psych of thinking he’s in a comic book would probably drive him to do this.
Others I’m not so sure about. Some of them seem to have psychs that would lead to poor impulse control. Black Paladin does have a secret ID, but how long could he really keep it?
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Have you ever considered what a supervillain is like in their secret ID, and how they interact with the world in their civilian identity?
Imagine Mantara (pgs 192-193 of CV3) taking a day off to just visit the aquarium. Not plotting anything. Maybe she just likes looking at the clownfish.
How about Black Paladin (pgs 35-38 of CV3) teaching a medieval history class, grading exams or writing a paper on something he finds intellectually interesting for publication? Publish or perish, after all.
Maybe Foxbat (pgs 117-119 of CV3) goes to a comic book convention as plain old Freddy Foswell and attends the panels of his favorite comic artists?
Even if they never get shown much at the table, thinking about little things like this bring a supervillain even more to life for me. They aren't plotting bank heists or world domination all the time. With a secret ID, they have to deal with the DMV, the IRS and scheduling visits to the dentist.
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Unfortunately, Hasbro is pretty desperate for cash right now after several quarters of losses, so I think a sale is very likely. Getting a billion or so dollars would prop them up for a good while and paper over their failings.
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I've seen discussions that titanium or titanium steel would be a good armor type and lighter than regular steel.
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A medieval setting without steel would certainly be different from the norm.
On the other hand, imagine a setting where cheap aluminum was available. It was once so rare that it was more valuable than gold or silver.
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That would be a significant tech advantage.
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7 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:
Paranoia?
I was thinking Warhammer might qualify.
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I’ve occasionally wondered what an alternate version of the Champions Universe would be like if a Canadian city had been destroyed instead of Detroit and then rebuilt into a version of Millennium City.
Windsor, Canada would be an interesting choice. Imagine if the region was carved out as its own city-state, a mix of Canada and the United States, and a haven for superhumans.
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I’m wondering what a silly, chaotic and evil campaign would be like.
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If you boost his brick qualities, you get more of a Solomon Grundy feel to him.
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When discussing medieval settings, how much magic is preferable?
A Swords & Sorcery level would seem to work easiest as far as impact on a historical setting, focused on humans as the only race. But once you start scaling up from there, history would start getting strange.
Imagine the city-states of 10th century Italy ruled by ageless, Elven lords who have been in charge for centuries. The occasional half-elf comes into being due to their decadence and trysts with humans in attempts to stave off their ennui.
Or if the Mongol Hordes had a wizard at the Khan’s side acting as mobile artillery when it came to dealing with walled cities.
Or the inquisitors from the Catholic Church possessed actual clerical magic and were hunting down demon-possessed humans, witches and vampires.
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I confess to now being curious about the Meta-Earth Campaign Guide.
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2 minutes ago, Rich McGee said:
That certainly hasn't been helped any by Napoleon and Hitler, either. How many times do you need to be invaded before paranoia starts being a rational response?
Of course, that doesn't explain why Belgium is so relatively well-adjusted.
Maybe due to the chocolates?
- Old Man, rravenwood, Lord Liaden and 2 others
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Bronsonite underwear?
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I have long had a love of the Ars Magica version of Europe, but translating it into Hero System has always been too intimidating for me.
- Rich McGee and tkdguy
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One of the things I remember from my early days in RPGs (D&D) was how cool the idea of an intelligent magic sword was.
Please share your intelligent sword concepts.
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A staple of the comic book genre and frequently romantically involved with one of the heroes (or would like to be). She can be competent and a go-getter who can get herself out of some troubles (Lois Lane or Vicky Vale) or a jaded, frequent kidnapping victim (Roxanne Richie from Megamind).
Who is the plucky female reporter in your campaign?
Stronghold Prison Populations
in Champions
Posted
There’s a balance to be struck in how easy it is to escape. Make it too easy, and prisons get laughable. Too hard and there are no repeat visits from a supervillain. Both setups affect the setting feel.
It also matters who is getting out. Scorpia escaping means people are going to die in Eurostar’s next scheme. Foxbat escaping means something silly is going to happen with his next caper.
If things are on the harder side for escaping, then a mass breakout event seems like the more dramatic option. If easier, then very few get out at a time and are sent back soon after.
If a mass breakout event of multiple terrorist types happens, that’s scary as they are the type to wreak havoc on a city or country. If Pulsar or Bluejay escapes, a bank or jewelry store is going to be robbed.
Some villains may also be a masked identity that gets passed on to new owners. The Green Goblin is an example of this with all the different goblin types that have shown up since Norman Osborn’s first outing.