Crimson Arrow

Originally posted by dei1c3 Actually a very interesting idea, although was there a reason they all had low BODY scores? Does anyone remember when Dr. Bedlam inhabited a giant construct and made Captain Marvel believe he'd caused the giant's death? Bedlam grabbed the Big Red Cheese, who did his "I'll turn back to Billy Batson to escape" thing and the lightning triggered an explosive. Billy was so worried about killing someone (and the media were reacting negatively to supers at the time), that he decided never to turn into Captain Marvel again. This could work in the Champions Universe. Imagine a set of villains who are actually created by Teleios. The would explain their low BODY scores; he wants the heroes to kill the villains because of the public outcry it would cause (and it might even send a hero with Code vs Killing over the edge). You could be really subtle and give the villains Susceptibilities or Vulnerabilities to attacks the heroes use. Who'd have thought that the brick had a fatal allergy to Ego Attacks?

Originally posted by Agent X Good point (although I think you might be at least partially humorous) I'd assume CAK applies to all sentients, so you'd think twice about "killing" Machine Man, the Vision, vampires, ancient tree beings, living crystals etc. Actually, now that I think about it didn't Cap "kill" Machinesmith, whose conscience was trapped in a computer system?

The second option is taken from a 4th Edn supplement and contains spoilers. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER Well, in Champions in 4D, there was a 4 dimensional construct, which appeared to be a cube-shaped room, but actually contained six different rooms "folded" into one another. I have tried to explain this in more detail, but it's pretty brain-boggling and I fear I'd leave something important out. If you have that supplement (and it's a good one) and if your villain is the sort who'd use that technology), go for it. It won't kill them without something added, but will delay them a lot until they figure out what's going on and where the exit is.

Two ideas. First, have an elevator room. It appears to sink when the characters are in it. The motion of the room slams the doors automatically (they are sliding doors, much like an elevator). There is a sharp intial drop, then a more leisurely descent begins. The floor begins to heat up, eventually glowing red hot. The fliers might have to help keep people off the ground. It looks as though the room is dropping towards the earth's core and the rest of the room begins to heat up too. The walls and ceiling are too strong to break through with 60 STR (say 26 DEF) and besides, where would they go, especially if the shaft is full of super-heated air and possibly noxious gasses? Ditto for Tunnelers. Fliers are useless, save as above. Teleporters can't see to teleport. If they have fixed locations, I hope they have the decency to attend the funeral (if anything's left). The real trick is - can the players believe their senses? What if there is an initial drop of about 20 feet, but afterwards, there is just the sensation of moving downwards (eg small protected windows in the walls seem to show movement). The heat does not come from the earth's core, just a big heater. How do they get out? Well, one way is this. The windows are too small to get through, by far, but if the Brick smashes them (say only 18 DEF - breakable on a good roll for a Haymaker, easier if STR is pushed), the characters realise they are not travelling at all. This should lead them to conclude it might be safe to smash through the floor (it is weaker than the rest of the room because of the heating elements in it, again perhaps 18-20 DEF), without plummeting to a firey death. The flier can then take the tunneler out of the bottom of the room (the elements are probably destroyed by the opening of the floor) and he can dig them out.

Arthur is right. Under 4th Ed, it was suggested everyone was "reluctant to kill". I'm glad he remembered where that was written about - I couldn't recall. Re: the Captain America/ Baron Blood example Monolith raised, I'd disagree. Cap has the 15 point Disadvantage or maybe even the 20 point one. He either made his EGO Roll or the GM let him make a Roll to reflect the fact that you can't play nicely with vampires. In the former case, CA might even have got a small bonus to reflect those circumstances. Cap probably has a base EGO roll of 13-/14- (please DO NOT start arguing about this, it's just an example), so this wouldn't be too hard a roll, especially if he got that bonus. I know he used to be a soldier etc., but Captain America transcends that, IMHO. He's one of the most heroic Marvel characters ever.

This is a bit tricky. In view of your situation with game stores/funds etc., my suggestion isn't going to be a lot of good to you at the moment. In USPD there is a power called the Nega Beam. It's basically a HERO system write-up of Darkseid's Omega Beam. It's built as a Summon (you Summon the Nega Beam) and the Beam itself is written as a character, so it carries on working independent of the summoner. The tricky part is that, for obvious copyright reasons, nobody could post the stats for the Nega Beam "character". However, if you think about how you'd construct a character built out of energy which has enough power to destroy a planet, that will start you off. If you follow this idea, then you'd just give the attack Tunneling, perhaps with the RKA subject to a Limitation Only At The Centre Of The Earth. I'd think that would normally be a -2, but as the beam will have Tunneling, it might only be -1 1/2 or even -1 (depends how long the beam takes to reach the core). It will also be No Range. I am not sure it needs to be Explosive, though. The beam "touches" the core and destroys it; everything else is wiped out as a chain reaction from that. Of course you seem to be recreating a specific power here and I think that points will be no object, but it just sounds unnecessary to me.

I quite like the idea of allowing 2 point Skills giving an 11- roll. Just to throw in my opinion, Spidey probably has got a high Stealth roll. He IS very aware of his surroundings, I'd say, as a side-effect of his Spider-Sense. Batman has the advantage of a less colourful costume, greater tactical awareness, knowledge of the Concealment and Shadowing skills which could be Complimentary in the situations he finds himself in and lots of Overall levels. Bats's base Stealth roll is probably 14/15-, but even just allowing for his skill levels (ie he's REALLY trying not to be heard), he's probably on 18-, ignoring any other factors.

Yes, I think it's to replicate the Spidey Suit under the clothes type thing. It's also practical though, as it stops everyone dragging their heels while Mr Y puts on his duds. How often is changing clothes quickly going to matter in non-superhero games? The only other one which comes to mind is the spy genre (esp. Mission: Impossible type ones), but there you'd have reversible overcoats etc. if you were prepared for it. Trebuchet's comments about a Phase being a panel of a comic book makes sense. I'd say it is also one shot of a film or tv programme. The new Marvel RPG and the old Golden Heroes game made this explicit IIRC. You can always make a rule about how long it takes if you haven't got the other outfit on underneath you civilian clothes.

Originally posted by Lord Liaden Yes, you're right, of course. I just went "half of 7 is 3.5, rounds down to 3, surely", instead of actually applying the Advantage to the power at the start. I was in too much of a hurry to get my other ideas down. In response to John Taber's comments that TK is too expensive, I've been thinking about thise. 50 STR TK could be used effectively against characters as he described, but... Not if there is a team acting like a team (ie they don't just pair off with the opposition). Not if the opposing character hits the TK user first and takes him out. This could just be higher DEX, not even higher SPD. Not if the TK user fails the attack roll to grab the opponent. I am not trying to pick holes in JohnTaber's argument (which is pretty sound) and everyone knows that there is a way to take out any given tactic in HERO system (one of its many advantages). Hence I have left out a whole host of other options (eg invisible foes, desolid ones, Indirect EBs that travel round the car etc.). I was trying to show ways that the tactic is not foolproof when facing just about anyone. Of course you could have a character with lots of levels just with TK and lots of resistant and special defences, but not many GMs are going to fall for that (I hope). Anyone else got thoughts on whether TK is over-priced or too cheap?

Originally posted by JohnTaber Well, Lord Liaden and I have posted questions about these and, in summary, both of these comments are spot on.

Steve, there's a discussion about TK going on at the moment. I see Lord Liaden has asked one question about this power, but I have one relating to Visibility. The question relates to the extent to which it has to be clear that the power emanates from the character. Does there have to be a "tether" which is Visible throughout, an indication when the power is activated of its source, but not thereafter (eg a Green Lantern Force bubble appears from the ring, but then hovers independently), or can the TK hand, bubble, whatever just appear grabbing its target?

I go along with the analysis NuSoardGraphite's provided (although Intrope has got the calculation more accurate). TK is expensive to buy with advantages, due to the high base cost. Consider also that TK is classically (if not in comics) Invisible to Sight Group. I had a mentalist character in 4th Ed who had Psychokinesis and once TK had been bought Invisible and with Fine Manipulation, I think I could only manage 20 STR. It might have been less than that and don't even ask about the END cost for this most mighty of powers! Even having an extra 100 character points to play with wouldn't get round active point caps. Taking away all damaging capabilities seems a bit much, but I'd never thought of this as a way to reduce the base cost. It seems a little off-kilter to me. Perhaps you could squeeze for damage on the phase after the grab (a little like the Crush move from UMA), but no TK punches. Flat out removing the ability to squeeze seems a little illogical, especially as, if you bought this as an EB, you would have to consider making it Continuous, to reflect the fact that once someone is grabbed, they continue to take damage, until they break free. As a further alternative, how about making "Does Damage" and Advantage for TK (+1/2?), so you can lower the base cost, but still do the usual comic-book stuff without buying a separate power, if you want? I'd still keep the post-grab squeeze, though. Lord Liaden, isn't the END cost for the 1/2 END TK, 3 (half of 7 is 3.5 and rounds down to 3)? I thought you looked at the rounded down cost of the END (7) and then halved it, rather than the unrounded cost (7.5). However, you're usually right, so apologies if I've called this wrong. If it is 3 END, then it looks a little worse, although... I agree that the explanation of how Indirect TK is leaves a bit of doubt. However, there is definitely an implication that TK might not have the full Indirect Advantage (without really explaining how it does not!). Your question about the source remaining visible is a good one. This simulates the "Green Lantern" effect, but how many times has a GL simply encased a target in a bubble? The energy shell remains visible, but it does not emanate from the ring. It could be Flight UAO, or somesuch, I suppose. There are other things you can do with an EB, such as Spreading the attack, Bouncing, and even pushing buttons, which you can't do with TK (you can do the last, but only with FIne Manipulation added).

There's nothing wrong with interesting Hero NPCs. Making them intriguing and special adds flavour to a campaign. It is entirely different from making them outshine the PCs. I look at this three ways. One, it "raises the bar" for the players. I'll admit that maybe some are not up to creating brilliant heroes (judging from some of the horror stories on this board, some don't appear to be capable of creating halfway decent ones, or heroes at all). However, giving them interesting examples is surely better than going for the lowest common denominator. Two, they are not necessarily NPCs. You can give them to new players, people whose regular characters are badly injured etc. A bland character is difficult to get into for the player. Three, even if they are only ever NPCs, interacting with them is more interesting if the characters are themselves. For example, would your PCs find it more exciting to liaise with Triathlon, or with Captain America? This is not the same as allowing the NPCs to dominate. It's a little like how Superman is almost always taken out first in any JLA story. He's most likely to overshadow the others, so he gets tied up elsewhere, hit by magic, or whatever.

First, are we talking about actual comic characters from that era, actual comic characters portrayed as being from that era (but might not have been around at the time), or ideas for Golden Age characters? If it’s either of the first two, then you have Union Jack and Spitfire (Marvel) and Shining Knight (DC – although I believe he might not have been DC at the time, my comic history of pre-Silver Age stuff is very vague). If you want to know what British comics portrayed at that time, there is a great site about British superhero comics throughout the ages, at http://www.internationalhero.co.uk . As you will see, there's a lot on this site, but the bit you want is in the UK secton under comic book characters. There is a page specifically about 40s heroes. In the 80s section, there is a big feature on Zenith: Phase 3, which had cameos by dozens of British heroes and some of the 40s characters were drawn (altered where necessary) and you might get an idea of what they might look like, even where there is no image in the 40s section itself. If you just want possible ideas, then I’ll cite a scenario for Golden Heroes, which referred to some British heroes from that era, but did not give you details of their powers. There was John Bull (my guess is a mid-level brick, but possibly more Captain America), Howitzer (nicknamed Big Bertha, so possibly a brick also, but might have had energy projection powers) and Triplex (could split into three people). There were three more, but my memory fails me, although I am fairly sure one was a witch. I have a vague recollection than one of those other three had survived to the 80s (when the scenario was produced), but can’t for the life of me remember any more.

Stone - (Sorry about this next pun) How about a mini brick character? Strong, resilient, perhaps able to tunnel. Earthquake power if you have the points. Call him a Rock-Beast or a Kobold or Gnome. Water - Water Weird - a snake-like being, desolidification, HKA affecting the real world, swimming, perhaps invisible in water. Fire - Salamander - resistant to heat, breathes fire, clinging or Flame Tongue - a mini fire elemental - desolid (affected by energy attacks), killing Damage Shield affecting the real world, so he has to move into someone to harm him. Nirvana - Not sure what your campaign says about this element, but Nirvana suggests a light being, rather than the usual association. Halo - light being, flash and light attacks, flight and possibly desolid (but you'll need to watch out for damaging the real world and there are a lot of other forms which are desolid already). Shadow - darkness being, desolid (affected by light attacks), stretching, strength affects real world, perhaps a Drain (affects real world) to STR, CON, BODY or STUN to reflect a chilling touch. Probably can't cause darkness itself, except maybe by enveloping a target.

Winterhawk, did you ever finalise your 70's team? Looking at what you have so far, I'd say you need a flier. It's possibly that Horus and Wildfire fly, but if only one of them do, you might need more air support. As many of your characters are split archetypes, I am not sure you need to cover any ones in particular. Reviewing everyone's comments, I think a cyborg might be good (flight jets, armour etc.) and preferable to my original bionics suggestion, as the character might feel he is a freak (a bit like Victor Stone). He could be an outsider for a different reason. I like Doug's summary of 70's comic themes. How about a female monster? How about a qeeen bee/wasp woman type, a female vampire, or lady werewolf? The bee could shoot stinger blasts, like the Jessica Drew Spider-Woman, or have a more realistic stinger (all sorts of analogies there). Maybe you could try a version of the Bride of Frankenstein (tie in 70's feminism - "They created me just to be someone's mate! Can you believe that?"). There's also a little parallel to the "She" character, intended to be Adam Warlock's mate. Give her some super strength, resistance to damage and, if you want, some electrical powers (cheesy and not connected with the story, but you already have a couple of bricks). She wouldn't be limited to the hours of darkness (unless you pull a "Blade") or phases of the moon. I've also thought about an Atlantean ("The Man from Atlantis") for an outsider role, but that always has its problems with adventures not being near bodies of water (cf Aquaman). He's not really grabbing my imagination though.

I know it's the name of a current Titan, but what about "Tempest" for your detective? It has connotations of storms and chaos (shaking up the "system"). If you make him oriental (not impossible when you think about Green Hornet and Kato), perhaps he is Typhoon or (more likely) Tai Pan. You could tie him in with the 70's martial arts craze (ie a 70s reference that isn't ludicrous). This is also a tip of the hat to Speedy, who went off and learned Moo-Gi-Gong (I think) and became Arsenal. Actually, thinking about it again, no reason he couldn't be a martial artist called Tai Pan, but still be a white Amercian. If you want another 70s craze that would not be too absurd as a hero, how about skateboarding? Marvel's character the Rocket Racer, actually had some decent powers, but very "faddy" characters are not really my sort of thing. Another craze of sorts would be bionics (more 70s flavour than simple cybernetics). Have your very own jumpsuit wearing ex-military man with bionic enhancements. As for the outcast, there are so many choices, it's a tough call. It might be easier if you can decide what sort of powers you want (another brick, an energy projector etc.), as that shapes things a bit more. Re: Mystic monster who removes his mask - great idea, very reminiscent of Johnny Sorrow, but also Judge Fear from the Judge Dredd stories.

Have a look at this thread, which covers similar ground. http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=998&highlight=speedster Some good suggestions here already, though. If you don't want to use Winterhawk's suggestion, try Telekinesis or Flight Usable On Others, but subject to Limitations (such as Must Run Round In A Circle, Only To Take Characters Up And Down). The advantage of using Flight is that the speedster can make himself rise, not just catch a falling person.

Really nice, especially Burst (follows the theme, but sufficiently different to stand out). I also like Twilight and Yankee Rose (good name). Again, they have enough variance to make them interesting.

I have to agree with st barbara, The Wild Bunch don't exhibit enough personality to be written up as individuals. There was a 4th Edition group of mercenaries called The Beserks and they had a Norse mythology theme. Many of them had a unique power (Loki had a flamethrower pistol, Jotun was huge and very strong), although a couple were curiously bland, IIRC. What I cannot remember is which book they were in; I have a vague idea that it was one of the Dark Champions books, but couldn't say for sure. I'd have thought that the Raiders were a little more like the A-Team, especially the big, strong guy who was good at mechanics. However, Uncle Shecky is right in that they were true mercenaries.

"The Unknown Soldier" "Sergeant Stripes" "Major Liberty" or "Major Victory" "American Avenger"

A few observations (on a generally pretty good character). Ice Armour might be better against physical attacks than energy ones. Have you considered making it either Cost End or actually a Force Field? Would it melt if he were knocked unconscious? You might be able to add, say "Hardened" and bring it within the points for the EC. If you don't do that, consider giving the Armour the limitation that it's affected by negative adjustment powers that also affect the EC. Check out the section on Power Frameworks in the FAQ on this website. I'm not sure about the Ice Boulder power. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that some of the other powers and skills Pattern Ghost suggested are more useful and/or more normal for such a character and these all cost points! Is he a detective or a CSI officer who's gone private? I can't see the law enforcement authorities taking too kindly to someone who tampers with physical evidence, but this is a comic! A more generic detective is probably a lot more interesting to play. BTW Freon was the name of an ice-using villain whose schtick was turning invisible. I can't recall if he made it even to 4th Edition, but I think he was in "Classic Enemies". Good name and no reason not to use it - just giving you a bit of info you might find interesting.

Being British, I entirely missed the significance of "Don't Tread on Me"! Interesting story though. It is? Sorry about that. Professor Twilight sounds too long. Why not just Twilight? It sounds more of a heroine than a hero. As you've swapped some of the other heroes around, would you mind changing the mystic's gender? Could be Twilight Girl, or Ms. Twilight, but just plain "Twilight" sounds good to me. If you didn't have "Lady Eagle", I'd suggest "Lady Twilight". For the Precog, how about some variant on Mist (as in "dimly seen through the mists of the deep")? There is already the Mist and, I think, Dr. Mist, but how about The Myst (bit confusing if you have an actual mystic, perhaps)? Deep Mist doesn't sound quite right to me (more like a deoderant fragrance). Leaving that track, how about Foresight? I note that you're not going for blindingly obvious patriotism in all of the names. As for your Weaponmaster, go for trick bullets. Perhaps my earlier suggestion of "The Second" makes more sense for him. Other names such as "The Shootist", "The Rifleman", "The Pistolero" etc. might depend upon which weapon you choose for the character.

Perhaps Avant Guard uses the fish as a weapon! Monty Python and surrealist jokes aside, there is a fish listed as a weapon in one of the Rolemaster supplements (it is a joke weapon, along with Nodwick). Maybe it's a swordfish (ducks).

Doesn't mean Supreme's charcter can't be Mike Moran too. As I like "the Comet City Crusher", please assume that is the nickname for these gents. Joe Casey (spot the Casey Jones/Engineer reference! Perhaps they called him Casey Joe by mistake once and it stuck because of the folk-hero. It also alliterates with his nickname.) Jim O'Dea (pronounced O'Day. Bit dull, but mileage from people getting his name wrong. If people say it "O D", sounds like a drugs reference!)