Crimson Arrow

Another good one, Rechan, but that's something that villains hardly ever do in comics, for some reason. If they find out the hero's secret ID, there is almost always a reason why they won't reveal it. In the "Hush", half of Gotham CIty ends up knowing Batman's secret ID (or so it seems). It depends how realistic the GM wants to be. In real life, of course you'd take off the heroes' masks. It's a bit like if heroes are tortured in comics, they rarely have any scars, physical or emotional, although there are obvious exceptions (like Black Canary in the "Longbow Hunters" storyline). That even applies to other adventure genres (like in "Die Another Day", where Bond seems remarkably well after being tortured for 18 months).

Good one, Rechan. BP can get something he wants from the villains in return, such as help or maybe just a favour for the future. Why waste a valuable resource? "I take it that you will not mind if the 'goods' are not quite in a perfect condition. Mwhahahaha."

Heiroglyphics? Having said that, I am not sure if modern-day Egyptians are direct descendants of Ancient Egyptians. Assuming that they are the same race, then I think the analogy works. On the subject of what is "pulp", I think we have a definitional argument going on (my, how I love them). Romance, "spicy stories", sci-fi, horror, Westerns, war stories, adventure tails, spy/detective fiction and masked vigilantes were all published in pulps, as far as I know. However, if someone asked me what I felt what was in the "pulp genre", I would say it was detectives, two-fisted adventure, spies, glamourous femmes fatales, death rays, remarkable vehicles, insidious foreign masterminds, beautiful damsels in distress, brilliant scientists, mysticism/occult forces, power-hungry megalomaniacs, exotic locations (some even on different planets), incredible or unusual people (individuals or races), combat, narrow escapes, deathtraps, heroes who do the right thing, even if sometimes tempted not to. Yes, other genres may have elements of these (sci-fi can have the villains, unusual people and places and strange technology, for example), but the "pulp" genre features many or all of these elements strongly. Some pulp stuff doesn't have much "weird science", of course. That is a staple of more extreme "pulp" fiction, just as you have high fantasy, low fantasy and swords and sorcery all within the "fantasy" genre. Just my opinion, mind. EDIT: I added mysticism/occult forces, as I realised last night that magic can sometimes be important in pulp genre stories (like the Indiana Jones ones). I've also taken out my little explanatory note about French adjectives!

Mortal Kombat 5 is great fun. It's a lot more detailed than the original few versions. You don't just have a few different punches and kicks; each character is versed in three different arts, one of which is a weapon-based one. Some of the choices are a little odd, however.

Now, that is a really nice idea. I've no idea of what was intended, but that certainly would explain the Harbinger's powers, skills and M.O.. Lord Liaden's description of the HoJ is pretty accurate. The Harbinger is also known as the "Blue Moon Killer", I think because he used to leave behind cards marked with a blue crescent moon (my memory is a little rusty).

JmOz has already mentioned "Justice Riders". It would definitely fit, but I found the story itself a little lacklustre. It was sort of steampunk setting. "Wonder Woman" rounds up a team of extraordinary people to form a posse. The Flash is the fastest gunslinger alive (he fires so fast the guns overheat, for example), but how he is so quick wasn't explained, IIRC. Other characters didn't seem to have any powers to speak of. It's a while since I read it, but apart from being good with a lasso and being an athletic, black haried woman, I don't recall the Wonder Woman character being much like the regular Diana. I like the idea that characters should fulfill certain Western archetypes. That makes sense. They might be the best with a rifle, the best with a pistol, the greatest knifeman West of the Pecos, the best brawler, the best wrangler, the best cattleman, the best gambler, the best charmer, the best singing cowboy (!), the best blacksmith, the best scout, the best railroad worker, the best martial artist ("Kung Fu"), the best lumberjack, the best tracker, the best lawman, the best reporter, the best shaman, the best soldier, etc. That will help you keep a Western feel and will also help to ensure that there aren't too many overlaps.

I agree. That's why I said that apart from Wildcat, not many heroes from that era would have had actual Martial Arts. My point was that if you include an HA as part of the "package", you could end up short-changing the few MA characters, who might be better served having extra dice of DCs on their Martial Arts.

Some of these ideas have been mentioned already, but these are the possibilities I came up with. They are not all mutually exclusive and there is a degree of overlap. 1. Torture the PCs to find out what they know (unlikely to be much, given that you are right at the start), but it could be about something other than the immediate plot. 2. Torture the PCs to find out about their strengths and weaknesses (maybe testing their resistance to fire, drowning, etc). Obviously, these heroes aren't going anywhere (yeah, right), but data on superheroes might be handy in the future. 3. Torture the PCs to find out about their allies and bases. 4. Torture the PCs for fun. 5. Keep the PCs for a specific use (like a sacrifice as part of a certain ceremony, or to leave their bodies at the scene of a robbery, to implicate other heroes). 6. Keep the PCs for generic black magic reasons (eg, a spell might need the blood of a hero to be available "on tap", so that lots of bottles of this potion could be made). 7. Keep the PCs as hostages in case someone tries to meddle. 8. Keep the PCs for ransom (quite common in mediaeval times). 9. Keep the PCs to avoid drawing down unwanted attention by killing them. 10. Every major villain loves an audience. He needs to strut and show off how clever and evil he is. This is not normally a reason in itself, save for the most egotistical villains. It is more likely that he'll throw in a bit of gloating as he tortures them or tells them they are going to be sacrificed. 11. He intends to brainwash them/ Mind Control them into acting as spies or troops for him. 12. He intends to cut them a deal of working for him or dying. This is possible for certain heroes who might have shown a mercenary streak and a willingness to kill and maybe a degree of cowardice. Do any of them have some kind of undeserved reputation? 13. He wants to humiliate the heroes and will take photos of them being tortured, will leave them tied up and naked on street corners, etc. If BP defeated them so easily first time round, he might believe it is more effective to ridicule the characters and warn off others, than to murder the heroes and have more competent ones come after him. 14. Related to idea 13, if Black Paladin has persuaded one of the good guys to betray the others (as per idea 12), that might simply have been a ruse to undermine the public's confidence in heroes. That hero is going to have some explaining to do. BP is nowhere to be seen (but is laughing maniacally, no doubt).

Yes, everyone can theoretically throw a punch, but Golden Age heroes really are quite handy with their fists. I had considered the "Cinematic" brand of Martial Arts, but that seemed a bit OTT. Apart from characters like Judo Master (Judomaster?), Wildcat and the Atom, I'm not sure many Golden Age characters had actual Martial Arts. You could give them two or three dice of HA, 0 END, representing their hand-to-hand skills. THat might work, even with super-strong characters like Hourman, as heroes often seem to hit harder than their raw stats in HERO would dictate. This has come up recently where people have suggested that Spider-Man should either have some Spidey Martial Art or some dice of HA, as he hits harder than 8 or 9d6 (about the level people were discussing). If you put 3d6 HA in the package, then Wildcat would come out with a 12d6 Boxing Hook (assuming a 25 STR, which I'd say is plausible). Ted would use jabs on ordinary hoodlums, saving the bigger punches for bigger foes. However, for characters who actually have Martial Arts, you could go down the DC route and it would be cheaper than a 0 END HA. That was why I wasn't sure it should be part of a package; you are slightly penalising MA characters. Of course, if you don't make the HA 0 END, then three dice will cost only 10 points, cheaper than 3 extra DCs with Martial Arts. However, the HA won't do things such as adding to STR for holding on in a Martial Grab.

I don't recall "Zenith" explaining how Masterman was created. He was certainly a host for an extra-dimensional being, though. I would guess that the "shell" was created through some kind of Nazi experimentation. The British WWII hero in that strip was called Maximan. He was super strong (about a 40 STR, at a very rough guess) and faster and tougher than a normal man (but probably had minimal resistant defences). He was trained as a soldier, so he'd have appropriate skills, including Commando Martial Arts. He'd probably have done about 10d6 damage in combat, without Pushing his STR. He was created in a manner vaguely like Captain America, in that he was an adult who received treatment which gave him superpowers. It was some kind of gene-therapy, as I recall. The next generation of superbeings were experimented on and given genetic treatments in the womb and were much more powerful. Unfortunately it also gave many of them psychological problems (which is probably what would happen in real life) and some of the babies weren't even remotely human...

I've thought of another reason why a hero might not tear through a deathtrap. 4. He's too busy to escape. The Marvel villain Arcade had a couple of traps that did this. One was his hall of mirrors where distorted android copies of the hero were generated by the mirrors. The hero could destroy them easily enough, but each successive copy got faster, while of course the hero was getting more and more tired. There was an exit, but the androids stopped the hero from reaching it. The other was an elaborate set of Images (in HERO terms). Typically, it looked like a battlefield (WWII) and the hero would be dodging bullets and bombs. If he stopped dodging, he might be hit by a real hazard, so he never had time to break out. Hostages could be used to provide this kind of threat. Imagine a room with a circular pipe running just under the ceiling. There are half a dozen openings in the underside and under each is a hostage. A glass ball, only slightly smaller than the pipe, is released into it. If the ball falls down an opening (the openings are ringed with spikes and are smaller than the ball), the ball will shatter, releasing acid onto the person below. The hero must chase the ball round the pipe, nudging it back/covering the opening each time it threatens to drop down. The pipe can be tilted, so the hero must watch to see whether the ball is going to move clockwise or anti-clockwise. This will keep him too busy to rescue the hostages or to escape. One way out would be for the hero to use part of his costume to pad one of the openings, or block the pipe. Once the ball is stopped, or at least the hero is in more control, he can release a hostage, who can help free the others. Unless some of the hostages are really androids...

OK, assuming you don't want to buy that fine product, or can't afford it, why should a hero not simply tear through a deathtrap? 1. Something more dangerous will happen, as previously suggested. This could be a release of gas, lava, or setting off a bomb. 2. The trap is simply too tough to damage. 3. The villain has leverage over the hero. For example, play the word game, or the hostage dies. If heroes have any weaknesses, and the villain knows about them (important detail, that), use them in a deathtrap. They could be physical or psychological weaknesses, or even known DNPCs. Do your players like puzzles? If not, going down the games route might not be too successful. Do you have a villain in mind? If so, what sort is he? What motive does he have? Does he want to kill the heroes, humiliate them, delay them, or maybe just toy with them? It's much easier to work out a deathtrap if you know what the villain wants to do.

MILD SPOILER ALERT "Champions Battlegrounds" has some very good ideas for deathtraps.

I had thought that the "Code of Honor" Disadvantage was things like not lying, keeping your word, etc. You are right though, using your fists wherever possible probably is part of the specific Four Color Code. Actually, that suggests a design guide for Golden Age heroes, which is that they all have some hand-to-hand combat skill. It wouldn't be part of any package deal, though.

levi has made an excellent point about archetypes helping you to avoid overlapping other characters' fields. The best thing to do (in my opinion), is to list a few top heroes and highlight that they are not just within one archetype. Superman: Brick, but also Energy Projector Wonder Woman: Brick, but also Mentalist (via her lasso) Batman: Martial Artist and Gadgeteer Martian Manhunter: Brick, Metamorph and Mentalist Black Canary: Martial Artist and Energy Projector Spiderman: He doesn't really fit any archetype properly. If you include "Totem", then maybe he falls cleanly into that, but as with "Power Armour" and "Patriot", I don't regard "Totem" as being a class of powers on its own. Mr Fantastic: Metamorph and Gadgeteer Iron Man: Brick, Energy Projector and Gadgeteer There are of course, many characters who fall pretty much within an archetype. The Flash is a pure Speedster, but even within an archetype, there is room for differences. The Thing is not as strong as the Hulk, but can stay on even terms with him until the latter's rage powers him up to ridiculous STR levels. He does that through being a more skilled fighter than the Green-Skinned Goliath. In HERO terms, the Thing has at the very least a lot of Combat Skill Levels and might even have some Martial Arts Manoeuvres. Just because Aunt Petunia's favourite nephew is a Brick doesn't mean he can't be a bit of a Martial Artist too. Sure, he's never going to do cartwheels, but he can hold Galactus's "cat" in an armlock.

This one couldn't really go into a package deal, but is worth considering for the "Golden Age" feel. Psychological Limitation: Avoids using powers (Common, Moderate) I read some JSA reprints from the 1940s and noticed that, in spite of their amazing powers, characters like Green Lantern and Starman preferred to take out people with their fists. They only use their powers in the big finale. It couldn't go in a package deal, as not every character (eg Wildcat or the Atom) has powers; being very good with their fists is their power.

To Grond: "You're a big man, but out of shaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Don't forget that Reed almost certainly has a gadget pool. Of himself, he is nowhere near as talented at stretching tricks (well, not whenever I've seen him) as say Plastic Man or even the Elongated Man. His real superpower is his intellect. Incidentally, there was one comic I saw which suggested that Reed's stretching powers enhance his intellect and that if he loses them, he isn't quite so clever (still much brighter than any of us). I thought that was odd, because Reed spots the flaw in Victor von Doom's calculations and that was before Reed was exposed to the cosmic rays. Writer's fiat on the intellect-enhancement, I suppose. Ben's combat skill was always how I thought he could go toe-to-toe with the Hulk. It didn't work in the MSH game (well, not the first one), because, as written, the Thing could never hurt the Hulk without using some kind of super-hard weapon. In the HERO system, Ben could turn combat levels into damage or might even have a few martial arts moves. I'm not sure the FF are 750 point characters, but it's quite possible. Definitely well over 350, though!

Badger, thanks for giving some feedback. It's always nice to know if others are able to make use of my ideas. Please feel free to use any of my character suggestions. I had considered IVAM possibly being some kind of robot, but thought that this might not be quite what Winterhawk wanted. A vulture or buzzard form would work well. I went for a crow for the symbolism.

Sudden Death: Dressed in a costume based on an ice hockey outfit, he uses powered roller blades, or even hover skates to move around. He carries a reinforced steel hockey stick, which also has a razor sharp edge. He uses the stick to hit or cut people and also to propel pucks which have a number of effects (spiked, blunt damage, explosive, incendiary, etc.) The costume might even be a type of power armour and the face mask is painted like a skull. Yes, a bit silly, but I liked him and someone else might want to use the idea. Mangler: A power armour villain. He wears a suit reminiscent of plate mail, but covered in a number of spiked wheels that can be set in motion. He can slice or grind through walls (Tunnelling) or people (HKA). He is loosely inspired by the Gladiator, the old Daredevil villain. Swift Wings: A flying speedster (“Swift Wings†is a reference to death coming on swift wings). His (or her) costume is patterned on an angel of death. Scythe optional (nasty for Move Bys, though). Carrion: A crow totem. You could go a number of ways with this. He could be a metamorph who turns into a crow or a man-crow, a power armour character, or maybe even simply a flier of some description who happens to wear a bird-like costume. The Ghoul: A metamorph who can turn himself into a dog-like humanoid with medium super strength, agility and fast running, plus a nasty bite and maybe a bit of Tunnelling. I had in mind something like H. P. Lovecraft’s version of a ghoul. In “Superworldâ€, there was a Cthulhu-inspired superhero scenario featuring comic-book versions of Lovecraftion horrors and one of the characters was “Super Ghoulâ€. It’s possible this could be the same character as Carrion, just using a different Multiform. If he has another couple of forms, this could account for the discrepancy between there being ten or thirteen members. Appropriate ones might be a giant worm or maggot (“Conqueror Worm†perhaps), with a soft body (Desolidification) and Damage Reduction and some kind of acid attack and maybe an aquatic form (“Devil Fishâ€, possibly?). I saw WhammeWhamme suggested a worm earlier, so perhaps that won’t suit you.

I have had a very "interesting" evening so far. To calm down, here are some characters I though of on the way home. IVAM: According to popular legend (perhaps it's true), the body is at its lowest ebb at 4 in the morning. This fellow has a pair of magical/technological gauntlets (or maybe an innate power) that allows him to drain the lifeforce out of anyone (BODY and STUN Drains, of course, with the recovery time slowed). I've also heard it's 2 am mind you... Oh, the name is the Roman numeral 4 added to "am". Grimm: A huge behemoth of a man. Probably a mutant, but possibly a mutate, he has a negligible intellect. He loves hearing fairy stories and nursery rhymes and gets his name from the famous story-telling brothers, whose tales he loves. Generally, Grimm is just pointed at the heroes and off he goes. He can be calmed from his rage if you promise to tell him a story. Better keep that promise. He's not bright, but he remembers if someone lies to him. As an afterthought, perhaps Grimm is really only a small child, but has mutated early. Imagine if the heroes find out they have been beating on a six year old (even if it's a huge six year old). Ebony: Not really much to look at, Ebony is a small, but well-carved doll. She is made from black wood and is in the shape of a child. Grimm often carries the doll around. Except it's not a doll of course, but a wooden golem. Her fingers are hardened like steel and she has a strength belied by her size, perfect for throttling innocents. She can move silently and hide in any shadow. Ebony is quick and almost impossible to catch. She will flee and hide when confronted, only to strike again when you least expect it. Think evil Pinocchio and you'll have it! Perhaps Ebony is the real brains behind the Graveyard Shift - a devil trapped inside a doll by a demonologist centuries ago. Hey, was that a noise...?

Wow, tough audience this time Winterhawk! There have been about thirty suggestions and you've taken three! I am getting the idea that you don't want too many supernatural characters; you'd rather have "ordinary" villains, but ones who choose a slightly morbid name/costume. Is that right? You also seem to want to avoid anything too cartoonish. How about: Krypt: A mute assassin. You might not hear him coming, but by the time you see him, it might be too late. I'm thinking of a martial artist, using poisons, knives and nooses as his primary weapons. Alternatively, maybe a member of the Thugee cult, who worships Kali, Hindu goddess of death? Shroud: I know there's a marvel hero/pretend villain who has this name, but I think a darkness-using villain would suit the team. Perhaps he summons dense fogs, rather than just fields of blackness. This can range from a simple, wide-effect Change Environment (covering an entire graveyard in low-lying mist), through a dense fog up to almost pitch-black regions of unnatural darkness. Moonlight: An energy projector who uses pale light beams for a variety of effects. Her particular schtick is that one of her attacks has strange effects on her victims' minds, turning them into lunatics for a while. The Phantom: A villain with powers mimicking those of a ghost. In particular he can turn desolid. He dresses in old-fashioned clothing to emphasise this and can produce various telekinetic effects, such as throwing things around, wrapping capes over heroes' eyes, creating unnatural breezes or making strange noises from nowhere. Alternatively, he uses Mental Illusions to produce all these effects. If you want to use him more than once, I'd go for the former, or else once the good guys figure it out, he won't be much fun again.

His Teleport is supposed to be like Nightcrawler's IIRC. If you can find a good Nightcrawler write-up you can steal, uh, find inspiration in his abilities. Again IIRC, you could put him out of the fight with a couple of good hits, but it was actually getting hold of him in the first place that was the problem.

Surely Peking Duck has Clairsentience and/or N-Ray vision? As we have Rubber Duck and Firedrake, how about No-Peeking Duck, the Invisible Woman spoof? That leaves the ever-loving blue-eyed...Ostrich. Once, Ben Grebe was a simple mallard, happily doing whatever residents of Duckworld do. Then the accident with the cosmic rays turned him into an, an, an Ostrich? Reviled by those he tries to help, at first only his good friends and adoptive family welcome him, but he still has a heart (and liver) or pure gold. EDIT: I'm not entirely happy with ostrich, but I wanted a strong bird, that wasn't some kind of bird of prey and ostriches are sort of odd-looking.

I should point out that certain parts of the army are referred to as “Royalâ€, an example being the Royal Signals (my uncle was in the Signals). However, the army itself is not so called. That link freakboy6117 posted is one I have referred to a couple of times on these boards. I did 250 point write-ups for “The Amazing Threeâ€, who are detailed on that site (somewhere), although they were slightly lacking in “oomph†(especially Tanya). I completely changed their backgrounds, so that each of them was powered by the same source, but each was unaware of the link to the other two. Blue Wizard was a barrister (I think I might make him a solicitor now, as they’d find it a little easier to slip out and do some heroing) who found an old walking stick, with a raven’s head handle, in an antique shop. He discovered the stick had the power to transform him into a blonde, blue-skinned mage (I ditched the top hat as too clichéd). Basically, he had a VPP but relied solely on the walking stick and without it, he had no powers. He had quite a few skills, largely related to his chosen career, but he also did a bit of stage magic as a hobby. His characteristics were much higher in his heroic ID (just as is true of the other three). For an extra 50 points, I’d give him his flying shield (in the comics, he got fed up of not being able to fly and enchanted a shield-shaped plaque which he rode like a surfboard), probably 10†Flight, 0 END, OAF and I'd consider giving him some kind of personal defensive magic, perhaps a 10PD, 10ED Force Field, ½ END, Invisible to Sight, just so he wasn't destroyed if he lost the "wand". Oakman was essentially just a brick character. He was a university professor of Scottish ancestry who had doctorates in three different fields. He was a linguist (that was just a hobby, but he spoke many languages), an archaeologist, an historian and also an expert on English literature. He discovered an ancient site containing a “diagram of powerâ€. When he traced the design with his finger (he could do this anywhere, not just on the original design), he changed into an earth elemental (tree variety). He had 60 STR and was very tough, although had a bit of a vulnerability to fire. He didn’t have much else in the way of powers, but due to being a OIHID brick, he was tough, but still very clever. I can’t recall if he could fly, like the Oakman in the comics. I think I dropped that, or he had only low-level flight. For an extra 50 points, I think I might give him a “brick tricks†multipower of some description. I toyed with giving him Regeneration (including the ability to regain limbs), but only in sunlight, with access to water and soil (a little like the ability Swamp-Thing demonstrated in the first of the films). In fact, he might have had that power within the original 250 point write-up. Tanya was a slightly dowdy scientist, working in the field of light physics. An “accident†at work gave her the ability to change into a gorgeous raven-haired woman, whom she called “Tanya†after her favourite character from a book she read when growing up. Tanya was an energy projector with an EC of “Photon Powers†(Force Field, Flight) and a MP with offensive powers (EB, RKA and Flash). If she sounds a bit more vanilla than the other two, you’d be right. She was slightly dull powers-wise in the strip. She was also clever and had quite a lot of knowledge in a variety of scientific fields, particularly physics. For an extra 50 points, I’d beef up her powers a bit and also boost her heroic STR from 15 to about 30 or even 40 (she was quite strong in the comics, according to something I saw a few months ago). What was the link? Each of the Amazing Three (in my version) was powered by a pantheon of Gods who once had an interest in the British Isles. Tanya got her powers from the Roman gods, in particular the Roman equivalent of Eos, the Goddess of the Dawn (I don’t think I researched it particularly at the time, so I never had the Roman name). Oakman was of Celtic origins, his patron being Oghma. Blue Wizard got his powers from Wotan, one of the gods of the Germanic peoples (blue is a colour associated with Odin/Wotan). Tanya was going to be in for quite a shock when she found out that her powers were magical in nature.