radioKAOS

Re: Heat of the Moment Yeah, I have a solution for those players as well... I just don't play with them. The last session I ran we totalled somewhere in the area of 10 rolls for 3 players and myself. Rules be damned if they stand in the way of our fun. The players just need to trust their GM. The players have control over one thing in the gaming universe, and that is their own characters. It is up to the GM to be everything else.

Re: Ravenswood Academy Yearbook Great stuff. Would love to see the character write-ups, or even just a 'main powers' write up for each character. Or even a Marvel style stat write up... Physical: 1-10 Mental: 1-10 Training [Type]: 1-10 Power [Type]: 1-10

Re: Heat of the Moment Game mechanics serve no other purpose than to inspire your story and characters in not necessarily predictable ways. They exist to add a factor of randomness, but certainly don't have to be the final determining factor. The GM is well within their rights to change or even outright ignore a roll if they don't feel it fits. Life is not always predictable, nor are a character's actions always predicatable. Yes, a character is usually predictable, as most people are, [determined by factors such as how we see ourselves, how other's see us, and how we think our past deeds have affected us] but there is always room for randomness and unpredictability. In nearly all cases, however, getting to that unpredictability is a 'reasonable action' according to the situation and the characters involved. Otherwise we are subject to a break in that reality which is jarring and serves only to remove us from the storyline. If you are emulating Star Wars for instance, and suddenly Q shows up, it would take a large amount of suspension of disbelief in order to accept. If Q showed up in the reality in which he's already been established, Star Trek TNG, however, we could all sleep well knowing that the status quo has been upheld. Everything within the game's reality needs to fit with the laws that we have set down, otherwise the pizza dude shows up at the door of the Cave and all hell breaks loose. In my games, I love that element that makes the player temporarily go 'wtf mate? That's not making sense to me right now!' I love even more when they get to the point where it all does make sense. I love to unveil the big picture a pixel at a time, but it all fits the underlying reality I[/we] have created for the game. So I neither let the dice, nor the character's actions become the pizza dude... unless of course I can find a way to allow the pizza dude to join the reality that we're setting down. That unpredictabililty that the die roll gives us sometimes allows for games which are far above the norm.

Re: Heat of the Moment Emphasis mine: Now THAT is what I'm talking about! [sorry I've given out too much rep in the last 24hrs!]

Re: Heat of the Moment I guess I should have clarified "Never just to make for a dramatic scene" - there must be story reasons, a character arc... justification for the action. Don't throw your psych lims out arbitrarily 'just to make for a dramatic scene.' Sorry, I thought that bit of it was self explanatory in the context of the post.

Re: Heat of the Moment It's hard to believe that a thread entitled "Heat of the Moment" would get so heated.... What?

Re: Heat of the Moment Writer vs. Actor is an age old fight... unfortunately it's usually the actor that takes the blame if it goes wrong, and the credit if it goes right. From my perspective, there is little difference between the two, except that the player has knowledge the character doesn't. That difference is essential to telling a story or else the character's actions will be about as exciting and entertaining as everyday reality, and probably will less of plot. I'm a little confused as to what you mean here. There is a huge difference between the actions of the player and the actions of the character. Most players have never been in a gunfight, let alone a super battle. The character must act and react in a way that is truthful to the situation. Granted, it is never 100% in either direction, the character has been created by the player, and is therefore a part of him to begin with. Theoretically though, the character evolves into much more than that, and can eventually 'leap off the page' and be his 'own man' - which yes, is an amalgamation of the player and the character. To look at Superman or Batman, or most of the X-Men for example... these characters are very well defined. They don't require a player, they are their own people. Oh never would I say that the character should [or even could] change at the drop of a hat, please don't think that I meant that. I thought I was pretty clear with that phrase "must have character justification within the drama and context of the story." No no no. Never just to make for a dramatic scene. I would agree that if Batman's 'player' for example, had him kill a common thug, yeah, that would be ridiculously bad roleplaying and the GM should not let that happen. But if at the end of many stories, the Joker having pushed him to the edge and beyond, it is conceivable that the Batman would be able to make the decision to kill the Joker, as the Joker has done to most everyone that Bruce cared about. Now that makes for great drama. Bruce overcomes his psych lim momentarily to push the story foreward, but of course he is stopped by Jim Gordon. Wow, fantastic, even more drama!!! Character arcs are what great roleplaying is all about. I believe that any mechanics that would take the decision out of the character's hands are mechanics that are standing in the way.

Re: [Campaign] Champions of Vancouver Really good session with some great dramatic moments!

Re: Heat of the Moment I can see your point, but I am of the other school. All in the interest of drama and a great story that all players can share, and of course in my opinion [coloured by the fact that I am an actor]: Firstly, what I aspire to in playing a role playing game is that [eventually] the character's actions are his own, not the player's. The character reacts according to his back story and psych lims, not the player's. The best characters are really no longer '100% in the player's hands." Secondly, psych lims are guidelines that come from somewhere in the character's back story. They are not immutable. If I want a Psychological Rule/Limitation that I can't break, I would play a video game wherein the controls do not allow me to take certain actions. Of course any breaks must have character justification within the drama and context of the story. Thirdly, I believe that great drama such as facing your final nemesis is one of the main things that should allow you to break your Psych Lims. You must understand though, I believe it has to be earned in character - the character must go through a development and finally through conflict come to a realization that allows her to break the psych lim. That doesn't necessarily mean that psych lim is gone, just that it may be temporarily overridden in the face of great drama. My focus is foremost on telling a great story, with great and memorable characters - great and memorable moments, and I will not allow any mechanic to stand in the way of that.

Re: Ãœbermensch I really think most people read the big 'N' wrong. I would suggest reading this essay for some thoughts on it.

Re: Heat of the Moment And sometimes you become overwhelmed with emotion and that causes you to destroy your target... Just happened to my character Gabriel in the Champions of Vancouver game. The group had finally taken down Dark Seraph and retrieved the Crowns of Krimm from his grasp. Gabriel, having tangled with the midnight angel before and having witnessed him kill others, lost control and proceeded to cleave the Crown from his head. It was in character, Gabriel being the Angel of Vengeance and all, and it made for a great scene [thanks QM!] and some great roleplaying moments throughout the game... But was it the best course of action? Probably not, but it was the character's action.

Re: Heat of the Moment This is what roleplaying is all about, allowing the character to make the choice rather than the player. The best games come from this concept. But assuming your players aren't that involved with their characters, EGO rolls are your friend... "Brickhouse, Lady Dark is now helpless in your grasp, she looks so frail and lovely, you almost can't help yourself, you want to kiss her, make an EGO roll please..."

Re: Calculating Dam Red into Campaign DEF Max The brick would get more mileage out of it for sure, so does that mean he should pay more for it? Or do we lessen the cost somehow for the Martial Artist? Agreed, benchmarks are needed. I was recently shown this on another thread, and I think it has potential.

Re: Calculating Dam Red into Campaign DEF Max Nice Yeah, that was part of the thought process for sure. The character is a martial artist with relatively low DEF, but high CVs. I wanted to allow the GM to lay the smack down upon us and still be able to get back up to fight. I know even when I GM, I love to be able to hit the heroes with large attacks, but i also love to have them be able to fight on past them. Agreed, the investment is huge. I can certainly do a lot of other things with the 60pts instead... [Physical and Energy, 50% Resistant]

Re: Calculating Dam Red into Campaign DEF Max The character is a martial artist looking at 15 total, 10 resistant at the moment. So you pretty much nailed it without thinking about it.

Re: Calculating Dam Red into Campaign DEF Max In the Campaign I am playing in, the DC guidelines are 6 to 12 DCs to start, max 16DCs. 18 Def is a reasonable answer, for sure.

How do you do it? If the DEF max for the campaign is 30, and I want 50% Dam Red Resistant, how much DEF would you let me have?

Re: Help Requested: Name my Canadian team and it's members lol, yes, this is so true. I think it's because the USA is generally the 'real world'/'centre of the universe' in most Supers games. Therefore, in order to give some identity to characters of other nations, we automatically look for something that represents the 'secondary' country.

Re: Help Requested: Name my Canadian team and it's members 1) Sword that cuts through anything, some phasing, decent physicals. I like Mosaic, good choice. When I think cutting and phasing I think something like 'Northwind' or perhaps whatever the Inuit word for that is... 2) Um...some sort of blaster. Shaman, Chinook, 4) Fire blaster Chinook? PrairieFire, Flashpoint

It's the End of the World as we Know it... [intro] Episode I: It's the End of the World as we Know it... [Purpose] Introduce the Characters and the campaign world. [Location] Vancouver, present day in QM's 'Champions' world. Vancouver, 'the future' post apocalypse. Greece, 'the future' post apocalypse. [Plot] The characters are living their lives when the apocalypse happens. They awake to a dangerous, devastated world. They are introduced to each other and some important NPCs. They set upon the road to find out why they have no 'powers' as all other survivors seem to have. Cast of Characters: • Eric Chambers - Comic Book Artist [Patrick/Pyre Archer] • Nathan Oliver - Military Scientist [Ken/Amebushi] • Leonid Roland - Paramedic, Scout Leader [Eddie/QuestionMan] • Riastrah - 4 Armed Gaelic Berserker • Sgt. Cross - Military Man, protector • The Ferryman - The first Survivor, ghostly Grim Reaper type with unknowable intentions Episode 1: It's the End of the World as we Know it... [Thanks QM for posting your Journal here, saves me the trouble of typing out the whole adventure, I'll move to the highlights!] A normal day in the lives of three unsuspecting people. And then the world ends. Leonid awakens to open sky in the mountains, both Eric and Nathan awake to rubble and debris piled so heavily on them that they can barely move. Eric and Nathan hear a vehicle coming their way, rolling over the debris they are covered with, causing extreme pain and injury. Riastrah is driving the makeshift tank, and he's looking for 'fresh meat' to sate his hunger for survivor flesh. Cross shows up to help Eris and Nathan, getting Nathan to turn the vehicle, and using it's main gun, shoot Riastrah with a substantial RKA and sending him flying. The Ferryman appears to Leonid, who, in a state of shock, assumes he is the Grim Reaper come to take his soul. The Ferryman teleports Leonid out of the debris and they use the ley lines to travel to Cross and the other found survivors. The Ferryman watches as the others make their way to him. Leo sees the tank moving toward them, and then the hulk of a beast following the Tank - and gaining. Cross is shooting back at Riastrah, but to little effect, as Eric and Nathan attempt to drive the makeshift Tank away from their pursuer. As they get closer to the Ferryman and Leo, Leo starts throwing chunks of concrete at Riastrah, hitting him squarely. Riastrah is enraged by this, and it clouds his judgement long enough for Cross and the others to get out of the now overturned Tank and get to the Ferryman. The Ferryman uses his considerable powers to move them all to a safer place so they can assess the situation. Cross is confused as to why these newcomers didn't use their powers to help against Riastrah. They tell him why - they have no powers. Cross looks to the Ferryman and suggestes they take these survivors to see the Oracle. If anyone will be able to figure out what's going on with these newcomers, her will. The Ferryman transports them to Greece. They are dropped in the water, Cross barks the order to go and they fall in behind him, the Ferryman gone from sight. The Good: I felt we had a good balance of spotlight on the three characters, and managed to segue rather well from character to character. The players stayed in character for the most part, and didn't fall into the 'well we all have to get along' trap, which was great for Roleplaying. Some really good moments already, and I hope that is the tone for the game. Patrick seemed to come 'out of his shell' and into character more than I've seen from him, which was great. Eddie's attempt to get his powers working was very funny and remniscent of Peter Parker's in Spiderman. Ken's natural 3 on his PS:Scientist roll as he looked to see what the bright light of the Apocalypse could be... It was a beautiful moment in the game as his character realized with certainty that this was something that was not man made. It was not possible with the science he was aware of. Riastrah had some really good moments as he sniffed out the survivors and as he chased the Tank. Fun to play a Berserker sometimes. Cross had some good moments as he has reached his wits end with this situation. The war has been tough on him and to find survivors who have no way of defending themselves is unnerving to him. Good to play the experienced Sgt with too much to try to control. The Ferryman had some good moments with Leo. Set the scenes nicely back and forth, between the tensions of Nathan and Eric being discovered by Riastrah and the tension of Leo trying to communicate with the Ferryman. The Bad: I forgot to print out Riastrah, Cross and the Ferryman to reference to. Therefore I couldn't use them to the fullest of their abilities. I could have been more prepared. The Ugly: A couple of times we had gotten 'out of character' a little too much, it was dirupting to the story and gameplay. We all need to remember to give the spotlight when it is time, and take it when it is time. Overall: A really good opening session, I think the players are getting a taste of what their characters are like, how they will act and react. 3 points all around for this short intro.

Greetings Herophiles! I have started a campaign that runs opposite of the QuestionMan's Champions of Vancouver, and as promised, I am starting a thread dedicated to it. So let's start, shall we? Campaign Description: This is a post apocalyptic campaign; the world as we know it no longer exists. The characters must be fully fleshed out human beings first, and will be 'granted' powers during the course of the campaign. They will fight for survival, against other super powered survivors. There is a war brewing, the players should be prepared to be heroes in this world. Importance of the Player Characters: The Player Character's are the last survivors to be found alive, unbelievably so. They are without super powers in a super powered world, at least for the time being. The Campaign World: Identical to the Champions of Vancouver Campaign in it's inception [before Apocalypse]. A power beyond belief has destroyed the world as we know it, devastating the world's population, and awakening super powers in every survivor. Ley lines cross the earth. Every character involved will have a full story attached, no being is less than three dimensional. Technology is all but wiped out, magic is real, legend is manifest. Age old archetypes appear, such as the Ferryman Charon and the Oracle at Delphi. The Story So Far: It's the end of the world as we know it [intro], CAMPAIGN TONE Morality: I always hate this question. Characters are in control of their own actions, and there will always be reactions - not always equal or opposite however. There will be heinous villains, virtuous heroes, and every level in between. There will be moments of extreme violence, moments of extreme humanity, and all the levels in between. There will drama, and a memorable campaign. Realism: Very Strong. The heroes will be expected to make monumentous efforts and take enormous risks to accomplish their goals. Character death is a sober reality, however. Outlook: While the outlook will be mostly positive, there will be many dark moments and many challenges outside of combat. Seriousness: Overall the seriousness will weigh heavily on the characters, the players should care about playing the character 'in character' to the fullest of their ability. Off handed remarks will be considered 'in character' as a default, and NPCs will react accordingly. Continuity: The game will be entirely serial. Player actions in one scenario will have effects on later scenarios and continuity will be enforced. Adventures will move linearly through time. Bad guys will remember who you are and what you did to them. Action = reaction. CHARACTER BUILDING GUIDELINES • Starting Points: 75 • Maximum Disadvantages: 75 • Maximum Points From One Category of Disadvantage: 50 • Normal Characteristic Maxima: Not Required, but encouraged • Combat Hit Location Rules: Not Required • Knockback Rules: Yes • Long-Term Endurance Rules: No • Limited Push: Yes • Powers: None to start • Talents: If justified CHARACTER ABILITIES GUIDELINES Characteristics, Speed, Combat Value, Damage Classes, Active Points, Skill Points, Skill Roll, DEF/rDEF: Whatever is realistic through to whatever works. I am not concerned with holding abilities down to certain active point limits so ong as they fit nicely within the campaign.

Re: [Campaign] Champions of Vancouver S'ok, my new character will have need of a sidekick as well, and I hear Blitz has tons of experience with being a sidekick.

Re: Luck System: Whimsy Cards These type of people really need to get a life.

Re: [Campaign] Champions of Vancouver Poor Lucky, not only does he keep getting trounced, but then we make fun of him for it... sheesh. and seriously, you guys lost the crowns. Good thing Gabriel came in to sort things out. He'll be taking the crowns and leaving now.

Re: Luck System: Whimsy Cards Agreed. I'll be trying it out in my game as well, will keep updated. From my point of view, these cards take the story and make it more of a collective ideal than just having the GM run the game. Should be fantastic if you have great players.