Syberdwarf2

As of this posting, I have only two players, both about my age group (29-30ish). Although our fledgling group is open to younger players. If really younger players come into the fold, I can downplay Klansmans activities, or have him leave town and use Card Shark / Viper as a default. We try to maintain a certain maturity level in our group. While joking is encouraged, seriousness and an open-mindedness to subjects like racism is expected / required. After all, we're old enough to have seen and dealt with these subjects or witnessed them at the very least. In short, we've all been around the block, so within reason, no subject should be too taboo. It is, after all, just a game.

Social Limitation: Inbred Seriously, I think I can hash out a pretty good origin and backstory, but the problem is with the powers (all jokes aside). Well, okay ... maybe not ALL jokes aside. I'm thinking he is definately outwardly racist, as in dressing like a racist, acting like a racist, and proclaiming his views to whoever is nearby whether they want to hear them or not.

The game takes place in the present day. Supers have only arrived (in great numbers) only recently, around 1960's or later. The really big jump in the mutant population occurred after 9-11, when a terrorist plot to release a genetic virus over a major metropolitan area was thwarted. Unfortunately, this thwarted attack resulted in the planes crashing (as in RL). And releasing a second dose of the virus. Anyway, things are still very much in turmoil, and now what with the war and all, now mutants are showing up, as if right from a comic book. (Prior to this, they were a closely guarded government secret. a la Area 51). The virus proliferates worldwide like ebola at an airport. I was figuring that Klansman could actually work as a racist mutant. His line of reasoning would be that the (expletive deleted)s were being punished by God Almighty for their crimes against the white man, god's chosen..... you get the idea. He then goes and deals his twisted retribution out upon the (E.D.)

(may contain some campaign spoilers) I'm putting together a campaign with a main villain named Klansman. As the name suggests, Klansman is a racially motivated villain. He leads/runs/works closely with a local group known as the White Front. Klansman is a main factor in the origin of one of the pre-generated characters that I made up,... a name I pulled out of the proverbial hat, really. I figured that it sounded neat, and was something that could be expounded on later. This is a tactic I use frequently use this technique in my writng and almost exclusively in gaming. Seems to work well usually, but this time I'm stuck. To reiterate, this is what I have so far; Klansman, racially motivated villain. Leader, cohort of White Front. This is what I don't have so far; Origin Powers (this is the big thing, as I can always make a plausible origin that fits). Any help, suggestions or advice would be appreciated. If anyone from the campaign is reading this, remember the honor code..... Thanx in advance.

FRPGames rocks. I always order my stuff through them (except for FREd, but then I didn't know about them then). I've been ordering from them ever since. BTW, what is the S&H on Fantasy Hero? The usual 3 or 4 bucks or is it more like 5 to 6?

Outstanding. This really helps with ship layouts. Thanx, Phos.

Okay, so I'm finished with doing a bio sheet on 'Bolt', and am getting ready to start on SCARAB, but I'm having a couple of problems still. First, the name. Some of you have suggested some pretty good names which I am still considering. Second, I used the Quick Superhuman Generator as a starting point for character creation just for some inspiration. I have the QSG writeup for Bolt, but I thought it would be best if I built her from the ground up, with the QSG as a guide if I get stuck. Anyway, I was trying to build her powers without copying the QSG verbatim, and asked a simple question, ..... what are her powers? Well, after a few moments of thought, I decided that she works like a living capacitor/battery. Bolt's body is constantly soaking up small amounts of electromagnetic energy (which is present in every part of the universe) and converting it into bolts of lightening. Then, I started hitting a brick wall. The word 'capacitor' stuck in my head, just begging me to twist it around into a superhero name. Any suggestions?

Thanx Killer Shrike. Why do I suddenly have a variant of the 'Fastball Special' in mind??? I can't help but picture this guy getting launched from a slingshot......

For the martial artist, I was thinking of the stereotypical old man or perhaps a small, thin-framed woman. Basically, someone who if you saw them in a fight, you'd never think that they'd win. Someone who I could see saying something like... "Even Doctor Destroyer could easily lose in a back alley brawl. Remember, the larger the target, the easier he is to bring down. But even a wise man knows when to run." Mentalist?... Lemme work on that. I like the idea of aliens, but I may go with an ex-CIA operative/research subject. The government in this setting has known about the existence of mutants for decades. They have always existed. But not until the release of the "Phase II" virus have they publically acknowledged their existence. Even then, they blame terrorists. (The virus was invented by the Nazis, but after the fall of Berlin, it was lost somewhere in the Middle East, only to be found by al-Qaida circa 1996, just before the first WTC bombing.) SCARAB may have to double as team brick for now. Hopefully I can post this on my website, once I give it a major revamp.

I was actually thinking of adding in my wife's character (if she won't be playing,...which is likely) , Stingray. Stingray uses a modified bullwhip as her main attack, with other bells and whistles thrown in. She also has budding mentalist powers thrown in that are intended to develop over time. I had a thread started about Stingray called 'cracking the whip'. I'll post a thread as soon as I can find it. As for a brick,.......I dunno. They're sometimes overdone, but then again, you can't go wrong with a good Brick. Speaking of overdone, I could use a different name for 'Bolt'. The name seems just a tad bit trivial.

I'm working on a campaign for Champions set in the present day in Charlotte, NC. The basic premise is a 'Mutant Hysteria' campaign where the superheroes have recently appeared (publicly), and their appearance was triggered by a terrorist-released virus. Anyway, I'm putting together a team, either as NPCs or as pregenerated PCs called (tentatively) the Queen City Knights. (Charlotte is refered to as the Queen City) I only have two characters in the works right now that are mostly completed..... Bolt - An energy Projector that was struck by lightening during an assault by a white supremecist group. S.C.A.R.A.B. - (Self Contained Autonomic Reflex Augmentation Battlesuit) A child prodigy that has to wear special leg braces to walk at all. He chose to fight crime after the attack that damaged his legs beyond hope of repair. (His legs were on the road to recovery prior) I also am thinking of doing a Martial Artist and a weaponsmaster. I used the Random Superhuman Generator in Champions (as a starting point only). Any advice, suggestions, or questions would be helpful and appreciated. Thanx in advance.......

Set the chase in SanFrancisco. You know, on that same stretch of road used in virtually every movie made in America

Um, could you attach it to a file for download on this thread? Or email it to whomever?

What about Farnham's Freehold? The characters aren't all that high tech, but The Chosen and Happiness make me cringe even now. Mainly because of the menu selection.....

Re: Weapons Question 1: Star Trek Phaser The only difference between light stun and heavy stun is that one is light and one is..... Seriously, for 'light stun', just build an Energy Blast. For 'heavy stun' build an Energy Blast with either Armor Piercing or Penetrating. Build both settings as separate slots in a four slot multipower. for example; slot 1: RKA slot 2: Transform / Change Environment (normal to hot;increase temp) slot 3: EB slot 4: EB, Penetrating Take an OAF on the entire multipower to reflect the fact that its a phaser to help reduce the cost.

I use that site a lot for organizationtips. My binder usually has the campaign synopsis, all the PCs, all of my NPCs, any additonal character notes, and static campaign info. I also try to keep a section full of one-page scenarios (about ten or so) for whatever pops up. For the scenarios, I use the method for adventure writng I found in the old Digital Hero Archives. It works great and helps keep focus for those who are trying to learn how to wing it. As for a speed chart, I use the one out of the HERO System Resource kit. If not that, then I make copies of the one from 4th ed. To help make things smoother in combat, I have pre-roll sheets for all of my NPC attacks and other common rolls and will usually have a printout of 3d6 rolls (about 300+ at least). I also try to use as many of the "9 ways to speed up combat" as I can. Being a father of two small infants can be rather time consuming so ease of preparation and organization are crucial to my hobby. That way I can enjoy the best of both worlds.

I think I should clarify here... I'm all for HeroGames making a supplement for the TE. Especially since I plan to (eventually) get it and the Spacer's Toolkit. I think this online toolkit is a good idea.

Okay, I haven't read ALL of the posts, so my apologies in advance..... Anyway, why not have them move into a small middle eastern sountry like Syria or Turkey or Iraq. Let them build a repoir with the terrorists groups and then unleash hell on Isreal. they'll have the backing, and if they stay sufficiently behind the scenes, they can move in and set up shop on the remains of the old Isreal. Not to mention that they have much in common with Palestinians in that both groups hate Jews.

I agree, but that certainly shouldn't stop enthusiasts of non-setting specific material from putting together a database of other material not related to TE. Plenty of herophiles out there have webspace dedicated to their own specific settings or interests; "Surbrook's Stuff" and "Babylon 5 Hero" come to mind...

Steve, I just know that I'm gonna feel stoopid when I ask this, but it's really bugging me. Let's say I'm building Generic Man's Multipower. The MP has three powers (slots in it); an Energy Blast, a Ranged Killing Attack, and Flight for example. Now, I build the EB where it comes out to 60 active points. For the sake of simplicity, we'll say that the others come to 10 active points each, and all are fixed slots. Okay, as I understand MPs, the base pool has to be equal to or greater than the active point total of the power with the highest active point cost. Using the above example, the base pool would be 60 points. So, if Generic Man fires his EB, then he can't use either of the other powers because he doesn't have the points in his pool. Since they're fixed slots, he would need to have 80 points in the pool if he were to use all of his powers at once. Also, if he had standard, non-fixed slots, then he could have just the 60 points in the pool and distribute them however he wants, using some powers at a reduced level. Do I have this right, or am I missing something?

I noticed on the download RTF file that there's an ATRI rating? IIRC, that's a tech system rating for TE? As yet, I haven't gotten TE. So, I guess my question is, this stuff doesn't need an ATRI does it? I have a ship I'd like to submit (if I can ever dig it out of my files).

I appreciate the sympathy. and yes, I truly feel dumb right now.

I must be completely missing this one, ..... I still can't find any reference to the 'Arrangement' limitation on mobile foci. I've looked and looked, and I still don't see it. I even have FREd in front of me, and it's doing me no good. Maybe I'm going blind?.....

Re: Limitations? Okay, I'll take a stab at this one. Here's the breakdown. OBVIOUS: It's OBVIOUS that the power/ability in question comes from the focus. Example: An RKA with a gun as a focus. That's pretty obvious. INOBVIOUS: It's not OBVIOUS, in other words it's well disguised but not necessarily concealed (it can be seen but not recognized. Example: a 'Power Ring' that resembles a simple wedding band, such as the One Ring (ala Tolkein) BULKY: It's big. Damn big and difficult (but not impossible) to move. It can be carried, but not easaily. Not even with both hands. Example: Clairsentience bought through a focus as a television. ARRANGEMENT: I don't know what you're referring to on this one, I've never heard of it,....could you elaborate, please? ACCESSIBLE: The focus can be easily taken from the character. Example: a belt knife, sheathed sword, or better yet...... an HA bought with a focus as a ladie's handbag. INACCESSIBLE: the focus can NOT be easily taken away. Example: Armor EXPENDABLE: the power with this focus limitation is gone after each use. (see Charges) I hope this helps.

IDHBIFOM, but... Buy a Teleport for the main character with a floating location (farside of target, since a King and a Rook end up on either side of each other, not in each others spot, but I digress...) Buy a second teleport, usable as an attack, for the other character. That way, you try to force the character to teleport, if they resist, you end up beside them. if they fail to resist, they end up in your old location. Or you could buy teleport and try to (ahem) 'port right into the target. You could then take advantage of an 'unallowable' in the system. (Teleporting characters can't 'port into solid objects, and end up 'landing' in a hex adjacent to the target.) Of course, I could be way off on this....