ParagonAlpha

Re: I'm not sure how to get the PCs together!

Would you mind posting a brief bit of information about the characters? I'm sometimes lucky and can build something off of that.

But so far some great ideas.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

Wouldn't that be "witless protection"? ^_-

Bad, bad, bad.

No soup for you.

But you do get rep for the horror.

Re: What else is a classic trope ?

The Normal earth guy who is given alien technology to defend the Earth/Universe. (Green Lantern, Nova, Quasar)

The superhero mascot. (Rick Jones, Jimmy Olsen, Snapper Carr)

The philosophical concept made real. (Morpheus, Death)

The child transformed into a hero. (Prime, Rage, Captain Marvel)

The Reformed Villain. (Rogue, Gambit - he said with a grain of salt)

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

The Alliance

Red Storm – (Mark Craig) Gone is the naive, hero worshiping young man. Red Storm has become one of the most respected and powerful heroes active. His association with the Alliance has cemented his respect in the hero community and his experience has given him an edge in this faster paced world.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

The Alliance

Titan – (Greg Moore) Titan was sixteen years old when he discovered that he could do some pretty amazing things. Over the years he’s managed to harness those abilities and has become a very formidable hero. He is capable of altering his height to nearly ninety feet tall and he can harden his molecular structure to that of steel. Titan is a bit overconfident, but still has a good head on his shoulders.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

The Alliance

Valkyrie – (ADA Amanda Reese) Amanda is obsessed with seeing paranormal crimes prosecuted, an obsession ever since her husband, the armored Vanguard, was killed while fighting a supervillian known as Darke. Amanda was paralyzed in that battle and is still haunted by the tragedy. She recently discovered a legacy of her late husbands, an armored suit that she wears as Valkyrie. She is still new to the hero game, but understands the benefit she now has in seeing criminals put behind bars.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

The Alliance

Dragon – (Unknown) Mystery surrounds the man who calls himself Dragon. He claims to be over three thousand years old and speaks of ancient China as if he were from there. But he doesn’t look to be older than thirty years old and not so Asian in appearance. He is quiet and introspective, but easily angered. He has displayed amazing martial arts skills, is tougher than he looks, and claims to be a practitioner of Chinese magic.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

The Alliance

Delt – (Warrington Wells) Wells is one of those guys who have been in college for too many years, but love the fraternity lifestyle. He has yet to fully adopt himself into a costumed superhero but does have the adventurous nature common to many young heroes. Delt is capable of alter the flow of temporal energy around a locale, either slowing or speeding time.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine

The Alliance

A decade has passed since the death of the original Alliance. The effects this has had on the world were felt for years, but as with all things painful, eventually the wounds began to heal. New heroes appeared, their intentions were good, but gone was the ever-present virtue of Paragon. The ideals of the world had changed and so had those of their protectors.

In this modern age, some of the heroes have lost their vision and without this vision it is entirely possible they may miss the rising of a great evil.

After a decade long, self imposed exile Paragon has returned, in need of the heroes of this generation, to form a new Alliance, an alliance that will stand bright in these darkening times. But do these heroes need him?

Paragon – (Thomas Tucker) Brick/Flight, active since the early 60’s Paragon has been a shining example of the superhuman community. His very presence often causes criminals and villains to surrender without a fight. Capable of incredible feats of strength, immune to every known weapon and able to fly around the world in a matter of seconds, Paragon acts as the guardian of humanities morality and goodness. Paragon has returned with filled with self-doubt and second-guesses. Can he be the hero he once was?

Re: The Alliance

Alliance Now

A decade has passed since the death of the original Alliance. The effects this has had on the world were felt for years, but as with all things painful, eventually the wounds began to heal. New heroes appeared, their intentions were good, but gone was the ever-present virtue of Paragon. The ideals of the world had changed and so had those of their protectors.

In this modern age, some of the heroes have lost their vision and without this vision it is entirely possible they may miss the rising of a great evil.

After a decade long, self imposed exile Paragon has returned, in need of the heroes of this generation, to form a new Alliance, an alliance that will stand bright in these darkening times. But do these heroes need him?

Paragon – (Thomas Tucker) Brick/Flight, active since the early 60’s Paragon has been a shining example of the superhuman community. His very presence often causes criminals and villains to surrender without a fight. Capable of incredible feats of strength, immune to every known weapon and able to fly around the world in a matter of seconds, Paragon acts as the guardian of humanities morality and goodness. Paragon has returned with filled with self-doubt and second-guesses. Can he be the hero he once was?

Delt – (Warrington Wells) Wells is one of those guys who have been in college for too many years, but love the fraternity lifestyle. He has yet to fully adopt himself into a costumed superhero but does have the adventurous nature common to many young heroes. Delt is capable of alter the flow of temporal energy around a locale, either slowing or speeding time.

Dragon – (Unknown) Mystery surrounds the man who calls himself Dragon. He claims to be over three thousand years old and speaks of ancient China as if he were from there. But he doesn’t look to be older than thirty years old and not so Asian in appearance. He is quiet and introspective, but easily angered. He has displayed amazing martial arts skills, is tougher than he looks, and claims to be a practitioner of Chinese magic.

Valkyrie – (ADA Amanda Reese) Amanda is obsessed with seeing paranormal crimes prosecuted, an obsession ever since her husband, the armored Vanguard, was killed while fighting a supervillain known as Darke. Amanda was paralyzed in that battle and is still haunted by the tragedy. She recently discovered a legacy of her late husbands, an armored suit that she wears as Valkyrie. She is still new to the hero game, but understands the benefit she now has in seeing criminals put behind bars.

Titan – (Greg Moore) Titan was sixteen years old when he discovered that he could do some pretty amazing things. Over the years he’s managed to harness those abilities and has become a very formidable hero. He is capable of altering his height to nearly ninety feet tall and he can harden his molecular structure to that of steel. Titan is a bit overconfident, but still has a good head on his shoulders.

Red Storm – (Mark Craig) Gone is the naïve, hero worshiping young man. Red Storm has become one of the most respected and powerful heroes active. His association with the Alliance has cemented his respect in the hero community and his experience has given him an edge in this faster paced world.

Re: Are these old sourcebooks worth buying?

Just as a side note...

A local comic shop has copies of Champoins II and Champions III as well as a copy of Golden Age Champions.

I already own copies but if anyone is interested I could pick them up and have them available.

Re: The Alliance

Starknight - (Demarco Wilson) Gifted with powerful alien artifacts, the Star Bands, he is the last of the Star Knights, defender of the Andromeda Star Empire. He is can fly, is nearly as strong as Paragon and can survive in space. His strong political views have always had him at odds with the rest of the team. He is outspoken about racism and surprisingly is very conservative.

Fusion – (Dr. Thomas Remy) Leading physicist and engineer, Dr. Remy created a power suit and fusion backpack, allowing him fly and create beams of fusion-energy. Though his powers are incredible devastating, he tends to be very analytical and tends to hold back and wait.

Jolt – (Jenny Brewster) Blaster/Energy Projector, College cheerleader-type, wears a pair of hi-tech wristbands that allow her to drain the physical stamina from a person and re-direct them into blasts of bio-energy. She is very immature and impulsive and relies of her quickness and gymnastic to avoid being hurt. She is a huge flirt and somewhat aggressive towards men she finds attractive.

Arcane – (Damien Arc) Once a prominent stage magician he as become the student and heir to the Mantle of Mystic Guardian, destined to defend the earth and this plane from threats from magical dimensions.

Re: The Alliance

Paragon – (Thomas Tucker) Brick/Flight, active since the early 60’s Paragon has been a shining example of the superhuman community. His very presence often causes criminals and villains to surrender without a fight. Capable of incredible feats of strength, immune to every known weapon and able to fly around the world in a matter of seconds, Paragon acts as the guardian of humanities morality and goodness.

Hardcore – (Kyle Hardt) A former police officer, almost killed in the line of duty, he is now imbued with incredible strength and toughness. He left the force because he felt he could do more help acting as a hero. Hardcore constantly battles for leadership with Paragon, but others ignore him because of Paragon’s reputation.

Red Storm – (Mark Craig) A former Air Force test pilot, using alien “technology” to create constructs of light and energy. He is young and idealistic, using his abilities out of a sense of responsibility. He is a bit star-struck by Paragon and strives to live up to his example.

Re: The Alliance

Here is the first group.

Comet – (Debra Lewis) Capable of running at incredible speeds, approaching nearly 1000 MPH in a straight line. While running she is capable of protecting herself in a cocoon of force. Few things could withstand her impact. Rash and aggressive, she has grown close to AfterBurn.

AfterBurn – (David Warner) Blaster, star collegiate athlete destined to be a major star in the NFL, until he discovered his powers. Capable of generating intense blasts of superheated plasma and projecting a protective field of energy.

Crossbrand – (Michael Miller) A carefree and adventurous sort who possess the ability to reconfigure mechanical devices into firearms (gives new meaning to the words boom box). Not the most powerful member of the Alliance, he is a skilled investigator and detective.

For many years I've had these characters rolling around in my head. Over the years there have been some changes and adaptations. I haven't included any stats, mainly because I really stink at building characters. If anyone wants to do stats I would love them.

The story of these characters starts back in the mid 90's before the beginning of the Iron Age. The characters are, for all intents and purposes part of the Bronze Age, with some Silver Age moments.

The Alliance was once the greatest team of superheroes in the world. Throughout the years they had built a reputation as being role models and icons of the 80's and 90's. When the world began to change around them they didn't sway from their beliefs. It was what made them heroes. Unfortunately the world changed too much and they were unprepared for the consequences.

The first group of heroes I'll display are the team circa 1995.

Enjoy

Re: Brainstorming: Enforcers of the Scarlet Moon (spoilers below)

I have a couple for you.

Selena Umbra - Italian heiress and 60's glamor queen (think an Italian Janice Dickerson). When she began to show signs of aging she made a deal with a gypsy woman (actually stole the gypsies powers). To stay young she must drain the life energy from young women. She's not a big threat mystically but she is very famous, wealthy and has an in to almost any social station in the world.

Tariq Al-Set - An Egyptian recluse who has a fascination with all things mystic and of a Egyptian nature. He is has a vast knowledge of magic and is capable of some very biblical effects. He craves Egyptian artifacts. He is in truth one of the pharaohs priests that was defeated by Moses 9of the Bible).

Re: Dark Future Superhumans

Aeonflux is cyberpunk

The Chronicles of Riddick is Space Opera. (Did anyone else notice the similarity with Warhammer 40k?)

Re: What happens when a new GM doesn't understand game balance

In my 24 years of gaming I'd have to say I seen my share of GM's who just don't understand balance. I've also been that GM.

The first Champs game I ever ran was designed to be a lead into the Deathstroke module (yeah I said Deathstroke). I wanted to inroduce SAT into the game (prior to this we had really only been doing "fights" there was no roleplaying really.)

I created an NPC cyborg assassin. Assassins are supposed to be good at combat so I gave the NPC a 55 DEX. Yeah that pretty much set the tone for that encounter. An 18 CV was way to much.

One of the players was notorious of throwing tantrums in the middle of sessions (His explosions were legendary and eventually the reason he was told not to show up for gaming) and he went nuts.

It took me a couple of years before I sat down behind the screen again.

Re: Superman Begins and Darker Superhero Stories

If WB has any sense they will hire Kevin Smith to do Superman. And do it his way.

Superman does not need to be dark or edgy. Superman needs to be about idealism and hope. Yes it sounds kind of cheesy, but they don't need a complex script to make Superman work (look at Superman 2).

Though I think Lex Luthor is a great nemesis for Supes, they need to step away from that route.

Superman vs. Brainiac is probably the best path to go, with a reboot. Have Lex be a secondary character, foreshadow his true evil for a sequel (and god forbid have him have a better "master plan" then real estate prices).

Heck with Brainiac you could have several 'lesser' Superman villains in the film all being manipulated by Brainiac.

A Superman movie needs to be bigger than life, kind of like Raider's of the Lost Ark big. A series of little things that combined are Epic.

Re: Does anyone have a write up of Gloop/Gleep from the Herculoids?

I have no problem plugging this book. A real good friend of mine was the artist.

http://www.comicartistsdirect.com/rosema/rosema4.html

Re: Does anyone have a write up of Gloop/Gleep from the Herculoids?

From Wikipedia (Were Truthiness reigns supreme)

Gloop & Gleep, (both voiced by Don Messick), two protoplastic creatures. They could assume any shape or form that they chose; for instance, if they spot an allied human falling, they can leap towards them to make physical contact and spread out their mass to become a crude parachute to allow the human to land safely. They could also subdivide themselves into multiple smaller units (each having eyes), which moved more or less in unison. Gloop was the larger of the two, while Gleep seemed to be a juvenile and was often paired off with young Dorno. Their unique physical makeup apparently provided even more protection from physical or energy-based attacks than Igoo's stony hide. They seemed to be able to absorb energy blasts and laser beams that are directed towards them.

Re: Amalgamation Characters

Captain America and The Atom combined to create...

Captain Atom, the Diminutive Democrat

Re: Soliloquy and threats

After being strapped to a table and a laser activated.

James Bond: Do you expect me to talk?

Auric Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.

The greatest villain line ever.

Re: Weird villain idea. I need some input on.

For a name...

Gravemold

(yeah I know it's been used before)

Re: Disadvantages that Kill!

I was running a Champions campaign and we had friend show up unexpectedly on gaming day. He was in town on vacation from Law school and wanted to sit in on the game. Another player, known for having dozens of players written up and with him, gave him a character named Blink to use.

I should have read the character sheet closer.

A strange robotic ship crashes into downtown and an android (Avar-7) emerges scaring everyone. The PC's are on their way and Blink is in the crowd watching.

People scream, cops shoot Avar-7, bullets don't hurt it. Avar-7 fires back, cops die.

Blink decides to help the cops and opens fire on the android with his BigDamnGun. Blink manages to drop Avar-7 but some of his bullets miss and hit innocents, killing them. Blink is fine after all it says "Casual Killer" as a disad.

Witnesses scream as Blink walks away. Then the player notices the "Never leaves a Witness" disad. Blink turns and starts shooting everyone, killing people by the dozen.

Heroes arrive and see this man drinking a coke and gunning down street loads of people, cops, new reporters, police helicopters, puppies and hippies.

And then Blink started gunning down heroes.

Session ended with two dead heroes, one of the biggest massacres in recorded history, a bored Blink and me vowing never to trust the guy with extra characters.