Steve

Where’s the challenge?

Well, there are all those rebels out there who unimaginably dislike V’han’s New World Order being imposed on their society. Welcome to V’han’s version of the SS, only your conscience won’t bother you very much because you are bettering society. Really.
 
But what if your enlightened reforms run up against V’han’s rules? Congratulations! You’re now a traitorous rebel, and one of V’han’s jackbooted minions will be along to teach you the error of your ways any minute now. Perhaps some telepathic reconditioning of your errant neurons will bring you back into the fold, comrade.

Two things:
I cannot stress this enough. While Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are in the same state, there are actually 4 distinct regions in that state AND two of them are between the two cities. The cultures of both are VERY different and there is a HUGE rivalry between anything from Philly that is in Da 'Burg...at least from the Pittsburghers point of view. The Philly folks don't know the rivalry exists. The Pittsburgh region really has ZERO connection to Philly (other than resenting it for having way too much voting power in the state). I get the push for a "Hero Burger", but honestly we really need to remove all references to Philly. It really is a sore point. To be truely Pittsburgh, everything should have shortened names (civies intead of civilian clothing, and while the sidekick line is REALLY a nice touch, it should be shortened to kicks or sides), should really relate to the local sports heroes (and local historic superheroes in this world) AND, you need to have at least ONE burger with fries and cole slaw on top as part of the burger, not as sides. This is called Primanti style...but I doubt we could use the Primanti name without special permission from the restaurant chain. We would just call it Pittsburgh style.

I think the archetypal Hero Henchman would have to be Alfred Pennyworth.  Not a sidekick because he doesn’t as a rule go into combat but provides an incredible support system for the hero.  Too many useful skills and doesn’t get into enough danger to be a DNPC either

It would be cool for Pittsburgh to have a bar catering to alien supervillains, like having the cantina of Mos Eisley right here on Earth.

Using Extra Limbs for this doesn’t really cut it for me because there is also the size issue to consider, so I’m going to respectfully disagree with Mr. Shomshak and others. Several hundred pounds of stuff is bulky. Stuffing a man-sized statue into a bag that is much bigger on the inside effectively compresses the bulk and greatly lessens carrying issues due to item size. I can carry said statue much more easily up a flight of stairs or through a doorway if it’s in a bag of holding than if it’s strapped to my back.
 
Extra-Dimensional Space just works better for this. Otherwise you get into a weird combination of Extra Limbs and Shrinking to get the same effect.

Thanks to streaming it on Warner, I could split up watching “The Batman” over two nights. I thought it was decent, but some of the plot elements padding it’s time should have been removed. Catwoman was not really needed.
 
I’ve been noticing that Batman movies have been steadily ramping down the campiness of the character since Adam West played him. A lot lingered in the 80s movies and a bit still remained in Nolan’s films. There’s even less in the current offering. The current version of the Riddler is about where Nolan’s Joker was at.

So I've started a campaign with my home group that takes players from low-powered near normal Victorian heroes through the Golden Age and on to the Iron age. Power levels increase each time and they can create characters with connections to what has come before or something entirely new. It is something of an exercise in collaborative world-building. To start they created 225/50 heroes with normal characteristic maxima. The setting is London in the late 1880s/early 1890s.
 
Victorian Heroes Everyman Skills - I used the list out of 6e Skills with just a couple of changes.
Home City Knowledge 8-
Native Language Idiomatic w/Literacy
Profession or Trade 11-
Acting 8-
Climbing 8-
Concealment 8-
Conversation 8-
Deduction 8-
Paramedic 8-
Persuasion 8-
Shadowing 8-
Stealth 8-
 
I'll add stat blocks and HL files for the PCs and for NPCs as I create them.

There are a number of alleys in Pittsburgh.  All have "Way" designated the type of thoroughfare.  Some have addresses like regular streets.  It could be hidden in what looks like a house on an alley.
 
Another is The Light-Fingered Lady.  It's for cat burglars and people who like to dress like them.  Like The Clockwork, it's neutral ground.  The staff dress the part, too, with stocking masks under their ski masks.

The Clockwork is a hidden bar for the tech inclined, a place in the criminal underworld for mad scientist, robots, power armor agents, cyberspace spirits, and other technology based people to gather. While created by the underworld, it is understood that the place itself is neutral ground. A tech based hero sometimes goes there for a pint after patrolling the city, even if it is only a pint of oil and a small work bench to do some tinkering on.

Yeah, the 4th Edition one had a VPP.

You can find it for sale on Drivethrurpg.com here. They also have the Third Edition version.

It’s possible some people might be just throwing a buck or two at it in a custom pledge. You can support a Patreon campaign without selecting a tier.

It’s possible some people might be just throwing a buck or two at it in a custom pledge. You can support a Patreon campaign without selecting a tier.

@GM Joe@SteveThe Patreon is up! Here you go! 
https://www.patreon.com/hero_games

Maybe it’ll be up by this Friday?

Hello everyone. Thank you for your enthusiasm! We should have the Patreon account up in the next couple of days, with the first two manuscripts in the "chute" being Chris Hackler's Gaslight and Michael Satran's Imperial Throne, which together will take us through August - though we may throw out some extra weekly tidbits as we go along.
 
I should take a moment to clarify something that's been mentioned by some fans. We won't be relying solely upon patrons to edit the manuscripts; that's not the point of this undertaking. They will all have have regular post-Patreon editing. What I meant more specifically in my post above is that patrons will have an opportunity to collaborate on books by making suggestions and edits, much as they've done with our past crowdfunding projects. These have ranged in the past from very minor suggestions in the comments to people turning in complete manuscript edits to me, depending on their level of enthusiasm for a particular project. I suspect it will be the same with the Patreon account; but nobody is expected to do anything other than enjoy the content.

There's an official Champions villain, Nebula (Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains), who has essentially this power, although not using ECV (which IIRC under 6E no longer automatically grants LOS). Nebula is a displaced extra-galactic law enforcement officer with a very Draconian mindset. Her "Duress Gauntlets" exile criminals to a pocket dimension called Duress.
 
Duress receives a capsule description in Digital Hero #5, p. 11 (13 of the PDF), along with stats for its robotic guards, the Keepers.

Just FYI, 6E Golden Age Champions writes up a very overt analogue to Kang, Korrex the Conqueror. It might be interesting for Timemaster to interact positively or negatively with one or more of the CU's official time travelers: Korrex, Captain Chronos, Istvatha V'han, Timelapse, or the Time Beast.

To be honest, this sounds like +0 modifier territory to me. Neither an Advantage nor a Limitation.

You don't need a foreign perspective to come up with cliche American heroes -- Americans have done just fine on their own. Take Marvel Comics:

 
And let's not forget DC Comics:
 

 

Start the Patreon and take my money, please.

"My character is an ogre named Klon Ssamud, S-S-A-M-U-D.  His last name is 'dumbass' spelled backwards."
 
"He spelled it wrong?"
 
"He's 8-foot-4, 485 pounds, and swings a mean halberd.  You are welcome to tell him he can't spell his own name correctly, but I am not responsible for what happens as a result."

The complex under the Lucky Bones is decorated with images of Mahathallah, the Dowager of Illusions, and one of the few female entities to have achieved much recognition in Asmodeus’ grossly misogynist realm. It’s also not abandoned.
 
Mook 1: Got any Fours?
Mook 2: Go Fish!
 
At least they have the advantage of being attractive women, so Rajira doesn’t immediately stab them. The rest of us block the obvious exits while Rajira gets their attention with some hostage-taking. 
 
Rajira: Keep. Your weapons.  Sheathed.
The Women: *drop their cards and look surprised* Okay… and what are you doing here?
Rajira: I seek the twins Angus and Phennio Shellet.
The Women: You'll need to be quick then, for Mahathallah’s chosen will soon spill the blood of those twins on the altar, and the Whore Queen herself will descend upon you!
Terzo: Ah. Well, that answers one question anyway.
 
Unfortunately the combat doesn’t wake up the other guards. Unfortunately for them, that is, because after she’s finished off the first two Rajira can go room to room and cut their throats as they sleep. 
 
GM: For a party of non-murder-hobos, Rajira is exceptionally skilled at murder.
Civilla OoC: There’s nothing murder-hobo about her, she’s a murderer. An assassin.
Ayva OoC: And getting very well-paid for it.
Rajira OoC: No I’m not - it's one of the things I’m disgruntled about.
 
The devotees of Mahathallah certainly seem to like decorating with razor-sharp pieces of metal. Doesn’t seem to be doing the mood of the locals any good though - the Bearded Devil sitting behind the desk looks very bored. Rajira hurriedly signals for assistance.
 
Bearded Devil: More cutists... Whadya want? They’re not ready yet. Honestly, waiting for the cusp of adulthood to sacrifice a soul is a bloody waste of time! souls are souls regardless of how long they’ve been lodged in living flesh… Luculla Promised me the Thirteenth soul, what are we at now, five? 
Rajira: Can we at least check on them? The boss is getting antsy and she’s taking it out on us.
Bearded Devil: They’re over there.  I can’t believe I have to wait for eight more of these before I get mine.
Civilla: That hardly seems fair - you’re doing all the.. Work.
 
Two young men, both thin and disheveled, cower in the southeast corner of the otherwise bare chamber. Faces dirty and streaked with tears, both teens are bound hand and foot by manacles chained to a single ring set in the stone floor. Scratches on the stone walls from desperate fingers attest to the fact that these twins are not the first of this room’s recent prisoners.
 
Civilla: Well, there’s only five have come in through THIS office…
Bearded Devil: Are you implying… No, I know if Luculla was trying to stiff me. As you can see  they’re perfectly fine and will be alive for whatever you cultists have planned. And tell them to get some more, I want this to be OVER.
Rajira: I don’t have much interaction with the catch teams, but I’ll do what I can. Oh, but I do have something else to give you. It’s important. *STAB*
 
It’s not a one-stab-kill, but we do kill the devil and get the kids out. Will do find a set of iron doors, sealed and marked with a dire warning by the Order of the Torrent. Probably NOT worth opening. The temple we find next, decorated with images of a number of unpleasant entities, also has a few interior decorators who remain oblivious of Rajira and the celestial leopard until Too Late. The aforementioned Luculla, unfortunately for us, is alert enough to Summon a Giant Fiery Wasp from Heck. Unfortunately for her, Civilla can substitute any summoned monster with one of hers and replaces it with a Shadow Chicken. A very confused Shadow Chicken. 
 
Civilla’s player complains that the symbols for most of the Pathfinder gods are too complex.
 
Ayva’s player: I wouldn’t want to be a cleric of on of those religions - ‘Holy s*** a vampire - give me 20 minutes.’
 
Whilst the Order of the Torrent certainly sealed off part of the complex down here with assorted dire warnings, they appear to have missed a secret door down a pit.
 
GM: Rajira and Civilla go around the outside of the pit.
Civilla’s player: Two trailer park girls go round the outside, round the outside… sorry. 
 
GM: You find the hidden switch to disable the traps around the pit.
Ayva: Part of me wants to add a label - ‘ pull for light’.
Terzo: So, do you need me to stay up here as an anchor for the rope?
GM: I don’t think you want to try and jump the spike pit, Terzo.
Terzo: We COULD just drop all the tables, beds and mattresses down the hole. 
GM: …
Civilla OoC: We got everything we needed in the earlier rooms - oh my god it’s a reverse Gygax dungeon.
 
The rooms beyond are cold. Unnaturally, dead-of-winter cold. And it certainly sounds like there’s plenty of dead down here to go with the cold. And suspicious pale yellow fungus, which we set on fire from a cautious distance. We find ourselves not far from the doors the Order of the Torrent sealed.
 
Civilla: Yeah, real secure guys.
Rajira: Oh, be fair, they didn’t know about the secret door.
 
It’s just as well that Ayva has Deathsight, so we aren’t surprised by the ghost of the halfling woman we soon encounter. 
 
Ghost of the Gambling Halfling: A wager? A game? Oh, I’ve waited so long! These bones are lucky tonight! Care to wager part of yourselves, to earn my secrets?
Civilla: Can we specify which part?
Ghost: Just part of your lifeforce.
Civilla: Then no. 
Rajira: So, what’s the game?
 
She wants to play Odds or Evens, a very simple dice game of pure chance. 
 
Ayva: We’d better get to use our own dice.
Civilla: I should hope so, she’s certainly going to insist on using hers. 
 
Rajira wins the first round, and the ghost cheerfully answers her question about the other residents - we were right, there are quite a few other undead. Unfortunately, for the next round someone else has to roll, and Terzo can’t inspire his own skill in Sleight of Hand. Happily he doesn’t have to. 
 
Terzo: The Lady appears to be with me this evening, madam. You said yourself there are no other gamblers down here - is there any way we can help you go on to wherever you might find others of your proclivities? Hobby? Profession?
Ghost: You want to help me Move On! Such kindness from those I would have considered prey in life! I do miss the sunlight - you could see to it the dawn touches my bones. 
 
Ayva wins the next round too.
 
Civilla: I’m looking around for a hidden shrine to Desna (Goddess of Luck).
Ayva: I certainly owe her a big favour.
 
Ayva: Tell me all the secrets down here.
Ghost: That’s a touch broad - how about ‘A river runs beneath us, you know, and its dark currents have brought in new visitors below our feet…’ - there, that’s suitably vague. 
 
Civilla: Before I roll, there are things I need to know. What if you can’t answer?
Ghost: Well, I’m hardly omniscient - I was just the old Guildmaster. ‘I don’t know’ is a legitimate answer, Oh wait, I just told you something about myself! You’ll have to play twice. 
Civilla: I don’t think so. 
 
Civilla loses, but the ghost wasn’t cheating.
 
Ghost: I do try to play fair. Now hold still, this won’t hurt a bit. I just want some of your memories.
GM: Take 3 CON damage.
Civilla OoC: Oh thank god, I thought you were going to say 6 Negative Levels.
Ghost: Such wonderful memories!
Civilla OoC: Are you sure about that? Every night for a Changeling is nightmares, dreams and visions sent by our Hag mother.
 
So it might be a matter of some concern that a lot of the people that we’ve been killing down here are also probably Changelings.
 
Civilla: Dammit, I need to play another round - there’s an answer I NEED to know.
 
She loses again. And has to risk a third round.
 
Civilla: Those of us that wish to escape our pasts must do so on their own, as the Redeemer Queen did. Did the Changelings we killed here have the same mother?
Ghost: Indeed! And you killed her. 
Civilla OoC: Hmm. There’s a head I need to collect.
Terzo OoC: Am I going to regret asking?
Civilla OoC: Probably - there’s a magic item you can make from the shrunken heads of evil hags, used by witches who want a coven but don’t want to associate with evil hags.
Terzo OoC: I was right, I do regret asking.
Ayva OoC: The heads are still animated, incidentally. 
 
Terzo happens to know that the Redeemer Queen was the first succubus, but has become a goddess and rejected Chaotic Evil. Which has him looking at his student with an odd expression. The Guildmaster’s ghost hopes we’ll actually follow through on putting her to rest, but there’s still more of the complex to explore.  And Wretchghosts, which are what happens to very unfortunate addicts. And who can inflict the same addiction on the living. 
 
Terzo: Don’t let them touch you!!!
Wretchghost: Firssst Onnnne Freeeee!!!!
 
This is very, very bad for us - Civilla (already badly weakened by the ghost earlier) promptly succumbs, Ayva isn’t much better, and Rajira has nothing that can hurt them - apart from that intelligent Kukri which would be a move of utter desperation. Desperate retreat is in order, until they stop following us.

friends in Space 1999?