Allandrel

Re: Anyone got a Superman Write-up?

I've been working on a Superman writeup myself, but I'm really more interested in it as part of my effort to get a really good grip on the Hero System than for any kind of game use. Without referencing other people's writeups, I've had a few serious brain-twisters as well as a few great ideas.

One thing that's troubling me is how to handle the incapacitating effects of Krytonite. The lethal damage is easy (it's the most obvious use of Susceptibility), but what about the fact that he's in such intense pain that it requires every ounce of his will to take any action?

I've come up with three different options, but all of them have drawbacks.

1) Affected abilities have Requires a Skill Roll (EGO) while exposed to Kryptonite. Reflects the "every action is an act of will," but complicated and RSR is normally needed EVERY time the power is used, not just under certain circumstances.

2) Dependence: Not being exposed to Kryptonite, resulting in Powers gaining an activation roll, characteristic loss, and incompetence. Simple in execution, but properly a Dependence involves penalties for lack of a dependence, and this is sort of the inverse.

3) Superman has no Kryptonite related traits. Instead, Kryptonite is built itself, with EB and Drain (all Powers and Characteristics); both built with NND (defense is lead shielding), Continuous, Always On, Reduced Endurance (O END), Explosion, Limited Power (only affects Kryptonians), no Range, IAF, and Side Effect (prolonged exposure causes radiation poisoning). This has the advantage of making people like Lex Luthor pay points for their Kryptonite rings, but it just seems... wrong to make the "Kryptonite Effect" a feature of Kryptonite rather than Kryptonians.

(Obviously, all this addresses Green Kryptonite only. The others are a whole 'nother matter. Pre-Crisis Red Kryptonite would be far better represented as it's own power (Variable Transform) rather than any disadvantage on Superman's part.)

There was one power issue that proved easier than I'd anticipated: the classic "intercepting a bullet meant for someone else" stunt:

Fast Than a Speeding Bullet (3 parts):

Missile Deflection (all ranged attacks), At Range (+1) (40 Active Points); Limited Power: Can only be used to deflect attacks aimed at targets other than Superman (-1), Conditional Power: Only if Teleportation (below) has been set (-0), Side Effect: If successful, Superman is automatically hit by the deflected attack (-1). Real Points: 13.

Teleportation 200', No Relative Velocity, Position Shift, Trigger (use of Missile Deflection, above, +1/2)(623 Active Points); No Noncombat Movement (-1/4), Must Pass Through Intervening Terrain (-1/4), Only to Fixed Location (below, -1). Real Points: 249.

Fixed Teleportation Location: Hex adjacent to subject of Missile Deflection (above), directly interposed between subject and the attack. 1 point.

Total cost: 263 points.

The effect is that Superman can abort or use a held action for Missile Deflection, flying at superspeed to appear directly in front of the attacks's target, bouncing the attack off of his chest. I gave the Teleport a speed of 200" to match the range of the missile deflection, but a more accurate portrayal may increase the Range of Missile Deflection and increase the Teleportation appropriately.

Patrick J McGraw

Re: Superman for President?

Actually, Captain America has been offered a Vice Presidential nomination. He declined.

Patrick J McGraw

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

I have said it before and I will repeat myself here. Lex Luthor should never have won the presidency' date=' and being president he should have been quickly removed, because in entering that arena his archnemesis should no longer have been Superman but someone far more dangerous to him . . . Clark Kent. Can you imagine the information Kent could have dug up and published on Luthor? Kent should have destroyed Luthor's political career (and for that matter all of his legitimate careers) and his failure to do so is a much greater blot on his character than Superman's restraint in the use of lethal force against Luthor.[/quote']

 

Have you read many Superman comics lately? That's just how Superman brought Luthor down. He lost his career as a journalist in his efforts to get proof of Luthor's dirty deeds, with nobody outside of Perry and Lois believing in his cause.

 

What you're suggesting is exactly what Superman (with the assistance of Perry, Lois, and Batman) did. Luthor has been completely discredited. Even his secret alliance with Darkseid has been brought to light. His power is completely broken... and not because his enemies included the world's greatest hero. Because his enemies included the world's greatest newspaperman, two of the world's greatest reporters, and the world's greatest detective. Superman never needed to storm the White House. He defeated Luthor utterly without ever compromising his morals.

 

Patrick J McGraw

Re: What?? Bruce Wayne isn't Batman???

intreastingly that episode of the animated series parodies the various ages of the comic book the best bit is the girls story which is basically taken straight from the Dark Knight Returns.

I doesn't parody them, it pays homage. Only one guy gets made fun of: while the kids are talking they pass a kid in front of a Shoemaker store. He mentions how much he loves Batman's rubber suit, and how he hears the Batmobile can drive up walls. The other kids respond "Yeah, whatever, Joel," and go on.

Patrick J McGraw

Re: What super hero concepts would you like to see more of?

Top 10 is great. (Of course, since it is by Alan Moore, that should go without saying.) It manages to both satirize comics while telling a serious story at the same time.

It also features some of Moore's best dialogue ever, which is saying something.

Patrick J McGraw

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

Lex Luthor as president' date=' never happen in the real world. Hes a ruthless ,under hand ,criminal , controll freak, moral vacume, power monger......[/quote']

 

All of which he has managed to keep out of the public awareness, until Superman and Batman finally took him down.

 

...but most importantly he has no hair, that alone stops his election.

 

Admittedly we haven't elected a bald man since Eisenhower...

 

And saying that if he was your evil nemisis would you allow him to be in controll of the most powerful nation on earth ( like superman ) or would your hero go "no way" and kill the Bas&*^d, swallowing all those code vs killing and law abiding disads. Or follow your moral path into Hell ( Hitler was elected democratically ), cos Lex can now change the law .

 

Superman has agaonized over what to do about Luthor's winning the Presidency. I find the path he took (attempting to expose Luthor for who he really is, rather than simply declaring "he's bad" or forcibly removing him) very commendable. He was presented with a moral problem, and he did the best he could. And ultimately he succeeded: Luthor was not simply removed from power, but exposed to the world for the vile, vile man he is. Because of how Superman chose to respond to Luthor's election.

 

Patrick J McGraw

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

Aheh... um... well' date=' no, not anymore... now its Pete Ross.[/quote']

 

Yes, and it will be interesting to see how he deals with the fallout from Luthor's fall from grace.

 

Patrick J McGraw

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

Worse' date=' in the real world, stories like this start to take on aspects of propaganda. After all, if it was correct for Superman to remove the "nasty" government of Qurac in the comics, doesn't that mean that it was correct for the US government to remove the "nasty" government of Iraq in the real world?[/quote']

 

Interestingly enough, the DC US Government's actions against Qurac, and the President's statements about Qurac, pretty much exactly match the real US government's actions in Iraq. The DC US President has made several statements that are direct quotes of the real US President.

 

It becomes political commentary when one considers that in the DC Universe, the President of the United States is Lex Luthor.

 

Patrick J McGraw

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

Mark Millar is a very interesting writer. It's hard to judge him by any one work. Look at Ultimate X-Men for example: they want to change the world, but they are doing it ethically. They are doing it by example. Professor Xavier could have simply rerouted the President's mind to be mutant-friendly; instead he did it the hard way.

Actually, Ultimate X-Men does include characters who act exactly like the Authority. There's an image early on of a "morally superior" man standing over the naked, humilaited President, holding a tattered American flag in his hand.

It's Magneto, of course. The bad guy. However valid his grievances, his actually are clearly marked as villainous.

(The Authority would agree, but that's only because Magneto isn't a member. If her were, he could do whatever he wanted.)

If you want to read the wierdest story Millar has ever read, pick up Marvel's Trouble. It's about a bunch of horny teenagers being stupid. That's all. It's essentially an old-fashioned pregnancy melodrama.

Patrick J McGraw

Re: Early Marvel Age x Silver Age

I only started to appreciate DC after they started the Vertigo imprint. Watchmen and 80's Teen Titans were other high points.

What about pre-Vertigo titles like Moore's Swamp Thing and Gaiman's early [/i]Sandman[/i]? Pretty dark stuff.

Patrick J McGraw

Re: What superhero character concepts are you tired of seeing?

I hate the characters that have tremendous, city-destroying power, but no control over it.

So, you want to play a character that could potentially take out pretty much any villain, but might accidentally kill thousands of people? How often will he "lose control?" And how angry will you be when he does?

Patrick J McGraw

Are attacks made with natural weapons (teeth, claws, tusks, etc.) considered to be armed or unarmed attacks?

Would a character need to buy Weapon Element to use Martial Maneuvers with natural weapons?

Would a character apply extra damage classes to the base damage of Martial Maneuvers using natural weapons?

Patrick J McGraw

Re: Superhumans pulling an Authority

You know who would work well on this team?

Magneto. He's got all the self-righteous posturing and genocidal impulses they could want.

Patrick J McGraw

Wanderer - you've mentioned being a fan of Millar's work on the Authority. Have you read his Ultimate X-Men? His entire run is available in TPB, and deals with many of these same issues from the other perspective, as Xavier tries to accomplish these same objectives through a much less violent form of radical activism.

Patrick J McGraw

Here's one scenario to try out early on:

There's a factory that produces quite a lot of pollution. The people in charge refsue to close it down - they're not violating current environmental laws, who gave these guys the right, etc.

If the PCs go to the facotry to forcibly shut it down, they find 500 or so employees assembled there. The factory is the town's major emplyer, and losing it will mean that they all lose their jobs, with no other prospects. The employees refuse to leave.

What do the PCs do? The workers are engaging in passive resistance, but their occupation of the factory prevents the PCs from shutting it down.

These aren't mindless drones or powerful, corrupt people. They're the people that the PCs are trying to save the world for, and they are actively opposing the PCs actions because it would destroy their livelihood.

Do they forcibly relocate the workers? Such an action could provoke a violent response. Even if it doesn't (say, a PC teleports all the workers 10 miles away), how are they going to deal with the situation they've created? Half a thousand people are now unemployed, and the rest of the town's economy will swiftly go down the tube. The PCs have fixed one problem (the polluting factory) but created many others.

It's one thing to say "I'm going to stop people from polluting." Succeeding in this task without harming innocents (and robbing them of their only source of employment is definitely harming them), and dealing with the consequences, are what will determine if the PCs are heroes or despots.

Patrick J McGraw

Originally posted by Wanderer

Every individual has the right to choose whether he should exercise his right to civil disobedince and resistance, and supers are not different. Nor having powers strips away their individual insight into the problems of the world, or acting upon that insight.

But according to you, having powers gives the right to strip those very rights from others.

Patrick J McGraw

I'm curious - can anyone think of an instance where Superman fought the undead? His code versus killing explicitly includes "not even demons," but what about the undead?

Patrick J McGraw

Originally posted by WhammeWhamme

Neither can I.

 

Then again, people seem to find comfort in religion.

Let's not bring that rant into this, shall?

Patrick J McGraw

On a related note, what about a character who loses his powers if he violates a Code of Conduct? Limitation or Disadvantage?

Patrick J McGraw

I'm trying to build a characte with a teleportation platform.He can teleport to the platform from anywhere in the world, and he can teleport from the platform to most anywhere on the planet.

There are a few things I'm running into trouble with this Multipower:

"Teleport Anywhere" uses the base's sensor suite to determine locations (Clairsentience, with some major limitations - esssentially "spy satelite cam").

"Teleport Home" is obviously Fixed Location Only.

The platform itself is an Obvious Inaccessible Immobile Focus, but this is only easily applied to "Teleport Out." The character doesn't need to have the platform present to Teleport home, but he does need it functioning. Would you say that the Focus Limitation would still apply to "Teleport Home," and thus to the Multipower reserve?

Patrick J McGraw

Originally posted by Supreme Swamp Thing is essentially plant tissue animated by consuming the flesh of Alec Holland. While Swamp Thing is still running around, Holland's bones are relatively intact and buried in the Louisiana Bayou. Also Linda Holland, who worked on the formula with, was exhumed and it was found that she had the same chemical in her tissue. She didn't become a She-Thing for other reasons. [/b]

That's not quite it. Swamp Thing has Holland's memories, but he was created by mystical forces. The bio-restorative formula was just convenient, as many previous Plant Elementals had similar origins, sometimes involving no chemicals.

Besides, after the first time Swamp Thing grew a new body, he no longer had any traces of bio-restorative in his cells.

Patrick J McGraw

Originally posted by Starlord

The first 3 books in the Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg. An absolutely enthralling tale of a group of college gamers dragged into the fantasy world their 'characters' play in, acquiring the skills, talents, and physical characteristics of their characters and maintaining their normal intellect.

 

Quite good.

I read the first six books or so of that series. I liked how Rosenberg set up the concepts of the setting, so it wasn't "RPGS lead you to real adventure!" And he certainly didn't present the idealized fantasy world of many RPGs, without creating a narrative and world so unpleasant that you don't want to read any more (as Orson Scott Card did in his atrocious Hart's Hope).

Patrick J McGraw

Originally posted by SomeAsianKid

True, you should probably include the X-mansion as like a 1000pt base (the danger room would be pretty darn expensive, not including cerebro).

I'm pretty much following the "you get support stuff for free" idea presented in Champions. Membership in a team is free, as is access to the team's resources like HQ and vehicles.

In Xavier's case I've considered buying the HQ, vehicles, etc, since being an X-Man essentially means you get access to Xavier's stuff. I'll have to include a writeup for the school and Blackbird in my revision (to be posted soon).

Patrick J McGraw

Originally posted by Jarandis

I really like the VPP for his telepathic powers. it gives him the versatility he really needs.

 

I do have a couple of suggestions though.

He really needs some sort of all encompassing danger sense to prevent the sniper on the roof from killing him before he gets an action. Maybe even a detect minds always on so that he is always aware of people around him.

I like this. Have it operate as a Normal Sense, so that other skilled telepths can try to hide their presence, agents can be equipped with gadgets that mask their signature, etc.

Also some more speed..at 4 speed a lot of villains would run rings round him. As he is not really a physical person in any way I would 'borrow' the idea that was used for Menton(I think?) and give him +5 speed 'only to use his VPP's' so that he can take a lot of mental actions but not a great many physical ones

I like this, too. How much should that Limitation be worth? He's more likely to use his actions for powers than anything else, so I wouldn't go higher than -1/2.

Patrick J McGraw

Originally posted by Tasha

My only issue with the character is the Change Memory...

 

It should be a Major Transformation. See the Until Superpowers Database pg 158. throughout the book whenever a transform is used to change memory, Psyc limits permanently it is listed as a Major Transform

I was following the example in FRED, which listed it as a Minor Transform.

Patrick J McGraw