megaplayboy

I plan to peak when I am 85.

His creations will have a permanent home in fictional character "who beats who" discussions.  Immense influence on other Manga and anime and video game creators.

Sort of a Japanese Jack Kirby but with more of a sense of fun.

Fully Automated Luxury Communism by Aaron Bastani, which takes a more optimistic look at future trends and suggest a near-future world where personal health, autonomy and free time is maximized, as many mundane and menial tasks are done by automation and AI.  I have some quibbles with some of the author's premises, but on balance a thought-provoking read.  

25 years ago, if someone had polled all voters and asked the question "Would you vote for a convicted felon who hasn't yet served their sentence, to the office of president of the United States?", the percentage of people voting "no" would be well above 90%, and even the "it depends" contingent would be extremely small.  And for most people, the actual response would likely be "i'm not clinically insane, so, no."

And yet, we have nearly half of the country who seem ready, willing and able to jump off that cliff.

"Superhuman Law" would likely have 2 or 3 courses associated with it, and there might also be legal coursework around extraterrestrial beings and organizations, "magic", artificial intelligences and so forth.  The first 20-30 years following the appearance of any of this stuff is likely to be a muddled mess, legally.

U.S. scientist Robert Sapolsky says humans have no free will - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

He probably should have kept his conclusion a secret.  But I guess he couldn't help himself.

Generally I would expect FH characters built on similar net points to be more skilled and well-rounded, but having less powerful(though possibly more accurate) attacks and weaker overall defenses(though possibly hard to hit).  

How to get your PC killed in a Champions campaign:

1. Play an edgelord vigilante who kills indiscriminately and wait for karma to catch up to you.

2. Play really stupidly in dangerous situations, even after a GM warns you of the risks.

3. Play with a PC with no rDEF in a campaign where killing attacks are commonplace. 

4. Opt for "heroic sacrifice" over "heroic retirement" and let the GM set the stage.

5. Go out fighting against the BBEG at the climax of the campaign.   

On 8/16/2023 at 9:54 PM, wcw43921 said:

The GOP Has A Master Plan To Criminalize Being Trans

That's just one of the lowlights of a truly horrible agenda.  Wiping out the civil service and replacing them with handpicked toadies is incredibly corrupt.

1 minute ago, Old Man said:

 

I can think of one guy who went to jail for an attempted coup and was later elected chancellor.  But that was close to 100 years ago.

Right.  And that guy did his time and was released long before the election in question.  Nobody's ever run while convicted and awaiting imprisonment.  Eugene Debs ran in 1920, but he was arguably a prisoner of conscience and not from one of the two major parties at the time.

Fascinating that political discussion threads are going to be doing double duty as "true crime" threads for the foreseeable near future.  

Has a developed country (Europe, Japan, SK, Australia, Canada, e.g.) had a convicted felon win the nomination of a major party for the top elected leadership position?  I know that several former SK presidents went to jail, but I'm not aware of a situation analogous to this.

6 hours ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

MMOG's tend to succeed or fail based on their entertainment and quality factor.  You make a good one, and people will play and pay for it, at least for a while.  Licensing or recognizable IP does not seem to actually affect that much if at all.

Again, I don't think that the IP should be used for an MMORPG.   I think a more standard CRPG with coop options, like BG3, is the way to go.   

2 hours ago, Doc Democracy said:

To my understanding IP is valuable when it draws an existing customer base to a new product.

 

If a development house wanted to put out a superhero CRPG, it could create its own background world and characters, it could draw on existing comic book worlds or existing superhero RPG worlds.

 

Obviously the big, well-known comic book universes cost a LOT but have the potential of drawing from a much bigger marketplace.  The question would be, how much of that market cross over into buying computer games.

 

That is the attraction of existing RPG universes, that customer base is likely to more heavily overlap. There are a couple of other IPs that currently draw bigger customer bases as far as RPG sales go.  Champions probably has decent brand recognition among the right demographic (older, wealthier and looking to relive the glories of the past, especially if they have lost touch with their gaming friends).  I know I would pick up such a game almost immediately, would even kickstarter it.

 

What I don't see is a current, popular campaign using Champions IP that a development house might pick up and use to drive sales in a CRPG.  I don't see an actual play podcast, ideally focused around a current, popular campaign, picking up an audience that would also be potential customers.

 

It would be then that developers would begin to see dollar signs wherever they saw the HERO branding.

Honestly, I think the hidden value is the system mechanics itself, not the IP backstory.  I figure that games and coding have evolved enough that what was a serious conundrum 10-30 years ago is less so today.

5 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

At this time Champions Online continues to tick along with little development and almost no new content aside from costume pieces and the like. However, from reports on the game's website, it continues to pay for itself under those conditions, so Gearbox, the company which now owns Cryptic Studios, can't be feeling any pressure to sell. Moreover, with the low player base compared to many other MMORPGs, it's unlikely that another company will look at it as a desirable acquisition, regardless of who owns it.

 

Also, look at the state of Hero Games today. The company is barely managing to publish any TTRPG products. It's hard to imagine them getting the capital together for this scale of purchase for the foreseeable future.

 

I realize I'm coming across as a massive downer, but I just can't see a way forward to what you're asking for.

 

5 hours ago, Simon said:

I suspect your order of operations is off a bit - it makes little to no sense to outlay the funds required to buy back the Champions IP and then hope that another offer comes along to purchase said IP at a higher price.  

 

If there is interest in building a CRPG or other game enterprise based off of the Champions IP (and not "just" HERO System), that would be the time to work on the transfer/buy back of IP.

Partially I'm curious about what magnitude the buyback amount might be.   I assume that the original sale price was substantial (6 figures or low 7 figures), but not outrageous. 

I also think that the pitch/solicitation would have to come from Hero to development houses, not vice versa.  I doubt they're going to go out of their way to approach HG or Cryptic.

I think Baldurs Gate or similar--single player/coop RPG with NPC party members and a rich plot, setting and backstory--is a potentially viable model.   I don’t think an MMORPG is the right model right now--without an immersive storyline and detailed universe, the novelty wears off quickly.

It's also possible that inquiries or solicitations could be made using Hero Universe source material from Fantasy Hero, Pulp Hero, or Star Hero, just for proof of concept.

3 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

It would be hard to make the "suits" see that potential when, outside of the properties of the Big Two comics companies, no superhero MMORPG is drawing any sort of high profile. Even Marvel and DC have had a string of falters in the games they've put out.

 

Also keep in mind that the software engine for Champions Online is more than a decade out of date, a huge gap for computers. It would probably need to be rebuilt from scratch to match today's performance standards.

I think you need to look at conventional CRPG as the model, not MMORPG.

In light of the success of Baldur's Gate 3, similar success for Pathfinder in video games, Games Workshop, R Talsorian(CP 2077), Mechwarrior, etc., I am a little saddened that Hero Games' IP lies fallow in this area.  Would it be possible, at least hypothetically, for Hero Games to "buy back" its IP/licensing rights from Cryptic or whomever, so that Hero could be free to negotiate with a major game developer for a long term project to bring a AAA title into being.  I believe that the Hero Games mechanics and approach to RPGs, if successfully adapted, would absolutely revolutionize the CRPG and Console RPG industry and keep Hero in the black for a very long time.  Has there ever been any discussion with the IP owners about a buyback?

3 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Well, we're still quite a way from a man-portable lethal directed-energy weapon. The US Navy has contracted effective vehicle-mounted lasers, and the Chinese reportedly have a prototype "laser rifle" that can burn exposed skin and ignite clothing with a two-second burst, and probably detonate explosives or fuel tanks; but a projectile weapon is still far deadlier. A plasma or particle-beam weapon would be rapidly dispersed by atmosphere, so is nearly useless unless in space.

I was thinking of some hypothetical weapon that would do the equivalent of EMP to a living body's electrical system, effectively shutting off the person, i.e. killing them, at a distance.   I don't think it's possible now, but maybe someone will figure out how to do it.

I'm just going to bump this to ask whether anyone has tweaked the rules templates to add all or most of the APG abilities.  

I am deeply skeptical that DC will ever match the success of the MCU.  Even under new management.  

11 hours ago, Pattern Ghost said:

Stumbled upon this. Looks like some movement toward viable smart gun technology for limited use cases:

 

 

I do kinda wonder what happens when the military (eventually) comes up with something superior to a slug-thrower, and a decision has to be made over whether to make it available for sale to the public.  Even a hand weapon, more powerful and accurate than any pistol, able to discharge dozens or hundreds of times before "recharging", would be immensely disruptive in the hands of the civilian population.  

His social media posts and those at the discord he frequented are very disturbing.  I'd recommend throwing the book at him, and finding out if he had a "connect" with Russian intel.  

There's a lot of different "flavors" of superhero campaigns.  The three most common, I think, are 1) First Heroes, where superbeings are just now appearing, 2) 1st Decade of Heroes, where superbeings have been around for a little while and a culture has emerged. 3) Great Lore of Legends, where superbeings have been around a long time and there's a ton of backstory.  So, "how long have supers been around?" is one element.  Another is scope--How "big" or "small" does the story start out at?  Street heroes barely better than tough guys in masks fighting local criminals?  Cosmic heroes facing off with world destroyers?  Or somewhere in between?  

Another consideration is "serial" vs "episodic" vs "hybrid".  In a serial campaign, think of each phase as a chapter in a novel, and the end of that as a transition to the next novel.  Maybe the first story arc deals with a local crime boss, and the 25th deals with a galactic warlord and his crew.  Every session develops the central story line, with subplots revolving around individual PCs and their backstories.  In an episodic campaign, it might well feel like they're facing the "villain of the week", and perhaps more time is spent on the PCs backstories and character development than some central storyline.  A hybrid approach mixes the two, so your central storyline is interspersed with unconnected one-off stories that might explore another aspect of the PCs or the campaign universe.  

Outlook is another element--this can range from "lighthearted and optimistic" to "grimdark and cynical".  Basically, what is the overall "mood" of the setting?  Can the PCs make a difference or not?  

Low level supers are like action heroes with just a little bit "extra"--stronger, faster, smarter, etc.  Similar to low-mid level fantasy characters.

Mid level supers resemble the typical movie superheroes--clearly beyond human but not immeasurably so.  Similar to mid-high level fantasy characters.

High level supers are akin to demigods and archangels--their capabilities are staggering and many of their challenges are non-physical in nature.  Similar to high-epic level fantasy characters.

Instead of "the heroes meet at an inn/the local guild hall", you get "the heroes meet at the scene of a crime in progress/supervillain rampage".  

Most superhero campaigns don't go heavy on killing villains, so you get a fair number of recurring enemies, including archnemeses.  This is a nice opportunity to develop a rivalry without having to throw it in the trash after the hero chops off the villain's head.

Sweet!  Any plans for Advanced Players Guide content packs?  I know I'll be waiting forever to see HD updated to incorporate APG material, but it'd be nice to see it in a format, well, anywhere.  

A handful of modern printers are capable of double-sided printing.  So you could have a pic on one side and stats on the other.