Steve

Regarding the Serpent Lantern, Destroyer managed to obtain it for himself several years ago, then drained some of its energies into himself using his super-science to render himself immortal without pledging himself to Nama. VIPER has since tried to kill him on several occasions, but they only managed to whittle down his supporters to a fragment of its former size. After threatening to disintegrate the Lantern after their last attempt on his life, the direct threats against him stopped, and he and the Supreme Serpent are now in a cold war with the world as the prize, using their agents and superhuman allies against each other. Using his network, Destroyer has assembled cells of resistance fighters, some of them small superhuman teams that don't know they are working with the infamous Dr. Destroyer. Professor Muerte heads up one such team, his former allies scattered or dead, forcing him to acquire new ones. Mechanon has proven to be one of VIPER's most tenacious foes, establishing new bases just a bit faster than VIPER can find and destroy them, rebuilding himself again and again and spawning an ever-growing army of robotic assistants. His activities distract the Supreme Serpent and diverts VIPER's resources into fighting against him, unintentionally helping the resistance by keeping VIPER from focusing more fully on them.

I had not considered Ravenswood before, but this is a great idea. I'd rep you, but I've run out of points for now.

On a variant of the Champions Universe timeline, VIPER has achieved the unthinkable: world conquest. VIPER emerged victorious after a series of schemes and a few major battles went their way a number of years ago (perhaps a decade or so), and now they rule the world. The Supreme Serpent has re-organized VIPER into a semi-feudal arrangement to manage things, with the Council of Thirty acting as his dukes. Below them are an assortment of former Nest Leaders, each one now controlling the various cities and towns of the world, backed up by cadres of agents, superhumans and their technological arsenal. Heroes still rise to oppose them, but they are the underdogs here and most get put down quickly. Due to a massive propaganda effort, people have come to accept VIPER as their rulers. Any dissent is crushed by force or propaganda on social media and regular media, both of which are heavily monitored. Most major supervillains are now dead, those that would not bend their knee to the Supreme Serpent, but a few still carry out their plots. Mechanon continues to carry out his attempts to destroy humanity, and there are rumors that Doctor Destroyer assists the resistance's efforts. In such a world, I would imagine that secret identities would be even more important than usual. What kind of heroes will arise? What sort of events would make for good campaign plots?

I think another way to do this would be to try the "Thunderbolts" approach from Marvel. Just abandon the old costumed identities and create new, heroic ones. Even better, if you could find a respected hero who is a telepath, they could verify the story is true, that these are no longer the same people. There could be lingering memories of the old villains in each body, not enough to take over or outright control them, but maybe influence the new people a bit.

How much did they take? I’ve heard it was just a pinprick’s worth.

I saw Get Smart mentioned on here, but no one has offered up Hogan's Heroes? Led by Colonel Robert Hogan, a ragtag bunch of Allied POWs run a special operations group from within the prison camp, Stalag 13. Yeah, it was campy and cheesy as anything, but a lot of the episodes were fun and there were some great characters. Magnum P.I., the original show, _not_ the remake. A Vietnam veteran and ex-Navy SEAL, Thomas Magnum lives in Hawaii in a guest house of famed novelist, Robin Masters. Each week, he deals with a new case, aided by his friends Rick and TC, and sometimes his nemesis, Higgins, an ex-British Army Sergeant-Major who runs the estate for the ever-absent Robin Masters (voiced by Orson Welles in a handful of episodes). It was fun but had some noir elements to it despite the setting, such as Magnum's inner monologue.

Anime Expo 2020 is scheduled on the 4th of July weekend, but I don't think it will be happening. Japan is experiencing a new surge of cases and officially declared they are in an emergency situation, so that will affect things too.

A medical specialist seems like your best bet to me too, and the different Star Trek series have shown that a variety of characters in just that one specialty is possible. You could even throw in a bunch of science skills or maybe even some detective skills and still be within concept. It worked for Dr. House, after all.

It looks like the San Diego Comic-Con is going to be canceled this year. The organizers and county officials don’t see a way to hold it and maintain social distancing.

A comparison sure to incite nerd rage.

I just discovered this series today, and I'm enjoying it.

It was interesting from a nerd POV, but someone had way too much time on their hands.

We all know the most famous one, "Avengers Assemble!" Whenever I run superhero games, the team name often ends up defaulting to "The Champions." One of my friends once jokingly came up with "Champions Congregate!" as the rallying cry in one of my past campaigns. So, what is your team's rallying cry?

The latest I heard is that it's very likely he's going on a ventilator, which also means they need to put him in a medically-induced coma.

Maybe it's just me, but one of the greatest challenges I've found in using non-human beings in an RPG setting is in roleplaying them, either as a player or GM. How exactly do you get into the mindset of a grizzled 423-year old Dwarf, a suave vampire, or a blob of jelly inhabiting a tiny tank? I've known very few players who could set aside their humanness and really get into a non-human mindset. Most do caricatures of such beings, like the previously-mentioned Scottish Dwarf from earlier in this thread. Is it truly possible to portray a non-human without making it seem like a human in very heavy makeup? If not, why have them?

From the website I posted above, there are a few states that are projected to hit their peaks soon: Louisiana 6 Days Michigan 6 Days New Jersey 5 Days New York 6 Days Vermont 6 Days Washington 8 Days The rest of the states are running about two to four weeks out.

I added a website link to my initial post that projects cases and healthcare needs. https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections It looks like California will peak in a little over three weeks.

I've been trying to think of big name supervillains in the CU that might try launching a plague, but it doesn't seem to fit the motif of the most likely ones. Doctor Destroyer would probably find it to be too slow a process and maybe even beneath his dignity to initiate a plague, even if he could win control of the world by providing a cure. He seems to prefer doing flashier things like making monsters and orbital death rays. Teleios is another one more into making monsters than germs. Mechanon I could see doing it, maybe thinking he is using life to destroy life. A slow plague that can't be stopped would probably be really appealing to him.

How would a pandemic like COVID-19 play out in a superhuman world? In the Champions Universe, there are many supervillains with the skills to whip up something like it, most likely pretty easily. Could you imagine VIPER starting a pandemic? How does a superhero help in a pandemic?

I’m under one here in California. My refrigerator chose this week to die, and then the order went out to close down the state one day before a new one could be delivered from Best Buy. I have to go out every couple of days for ice now to keep milk and eggs in the house. I’ve been telecommuting all week for my job, and it’s actually been pretty productive.

Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate is a less toxic variant that is also being made available. There's a company called Teva Pharmaceutical that is donating 10 million tabs of it as a potential treatment of COVID-19.

Thank you for the updates. I’m working from home right now, and my daughter is out of school through early April. I think we should plan on social distancing being a thing for at least another 2-4 weeks.

I’m hearing some chatter that drive-in movie theaters will experience a resurgence of business as the safest venue to see a movie given the risks of infection in regular theaters.

Ohio’s governor is talking about ending the school year now, since he thinks this will peak in April or May. it could end up being a short school year in many states.

Mexico is considering closing their borders due to the Coronavirus. I find that ironic. I wonder if CNN will scream racism if it happens.