wylodmayer

Champions Genre book (was Re: Should I buy?) I dunno, I rather liked the Champions book. Mind you, let me say up front that my current campaign is biased toward a world-with-superheroes slant rather than a four-color-universe angle, but I still have my reasons for liking the book. Let me briefly outline them, so that you know where I am coming from and we can take the dialogue to a more meaningful level that "is not/is so." To wit: 1) The early sections of the book do a good job of covering the eras of comics and their genre conventions. Whether or not one believes that the main focus of the book is real-world-with-heroes, there is explicit advice for how to run a superhero game with differing perspectives in those early chapters, from the slightly-above-pulp genres of the earliest years to the over-the-top superhero antics of the silver age. Any book that covers in detail such a wide selection of the flavors of superherodom can't be *that* heavily biased in one direction. 2) I found the section on types of superheroes to be very useful. Personally, I can recall when Champions II came out, so obviously I've been at this for a while, but several of my players are less thoroughly steeped in the genre, and the advice offered was very useful to them. Even with as much experience as I have had in the game, I found this chapter useful as well, simply because it helps remove the element of thought from throwing together certain lesser NPCs (which is a great boon to a harried GM). I didn't feel that any of the information in this section was particularly biased toward a certain flavor of the superhero genre. 3) For similar reasons as number (2), the random superhero generator was greatly appreciated. I have missed this since Champions III (or II... no, I think III). 4) The rules on superheroic antics such as bounding, stopping tidal waves, and so on were greatly appreciated as well as explications of how to apply already established rules to genre-specific situations. In this I am particularly baffled as to how anyone might claim that the book is slanted toward a more "realistic" superhero angle - including rules for stopping speeding trains, tidal waves, and even (!!) meteors is pretty darn superheroey. 5) Overall I found the book very rewarding, and fairly neutral in terms of genre flavor. The Champions Universe book is another matter, of course, but Champions spent most of its time talking about staple conventions from a gamer's perspective, such as bases, vehicles, certain mechanical issues (see #4, above), and how to build such-and-such an effect or character. In sum, let me point out that I think that Hero is *inherently* biased in a very slight fashion toward more realistic superhero games. It is crunchy enough that I prefer it for more realistic games, and tend to shy away from it if I plan to run a more over-the-top four-color game. I hasten to clarify that I don't think that Hero is *incapable* of reproducing the genre (heaven forfend the flames that would result from that); I merely wish to reassert the obvious point that the mechanics of a system help influence the sorts of games it is equipped to render in a satisfactory fashion. So perhaps those readers who feel that Champions is "overly realistic" are picking up on that.

Just a quick question to clarify my understanding - the Active Points (as used for determining compliance with Active Point limits) of a Variable Power Pool includes the cost of the pool itself plus the Active Points of Control Cost?

My adventures with Hero Designer recently brought me to wonder, what are the physical stats for a computer? The Materials Chart lists a Personal Computer as 2 DEF, 2 BOD; a Control Console is (per hex) 4 DEF, 4 BOD. If I buy a Computer, which one is assumed standard? Entirely a matter of choice? I presume I can make the computer particularly tough by using powers such as Armor, but do I make it particularly fragile with, say, a Physical Limitation or Vulnerability? How about its size? Also a Physical Limitation? I'd appreciate some help on this one, thanks.

Re: Players forcing my hand There are really only two options: 1) Get new players. I mean, really. That sounds harsh, but it's true. Ultimately, you can't have a group where one guy wants to play a villainous scumbag and one guy wants to play Dudley Do-Right and still expect to be able to run a game where everyone can have fun. Although a good campaign is flexible enough to accomodate many different philosophies of play and role-playing aims, ultimately, there is a point past which all members of the group have to be on basically the same page. Try talking to these players before taking any drastic action, of course. I think problems like this are metagame issues and best approached that way. The choice to play a killer or a non-killer in a supergame is a matter of the "feel" of the game more than anything, and that is something to be hashed out between the players and the GM, not within the campaign world. In the final analysis, in every game the players do or do not do things not because they make sense internally, but because they are genre-appropriate. Superheroes wear bright spandex not because it makes sense necessarily, or is the most pragmatic thing to do, but because it's in genre. If you don't think that the PCs offing your villains is a good thing for everyone's enjoyment of the game (including yours! you may be GM, but you are there to have fun, too), tell them so, and tell them that they are disrupting everyone else's fun. This isn't an issue of one CHARACTER aggravating another, it's an issue of a real person stepping on the toes of one or more other real people, and that's something that should be handled by the real people involved. 2) Failing a metagame solution, I can only recommend loosing the fires of Hell upon them. I mean, don't get malicious, or they will be deservedly bitter. But killing NPCs is not acceptable in most superhero worlds, and will generate a s**tstorm for the PCs in question. Aside from average citizens being afraid of them, other heroes will be out to get them, friends of the villains killed, other villains who think they need to off the hero first, etc etc. The more people they kill, the bigger this will get, until it consumes the entire game. And don't be afraid of that. In a sense, this is a metagame solution, too, because unless the players of these characters enjoy spending ALL of their playing time in a constant running battle with police, UNTIL, the FBI, PRIMUS, other heroes, and a whole cadre of villains, then they will eventually get tired of it all, and decide to quit killing NPCs just because it's less hassle to let them live. Important note. Ask yourself if the PCs have a REASON for this behavior. If you've constantly emphasized the "revolving door" view of putting super criminals in jail, then I can't say as I totally blame them for their tactics. Remember, players tend to act toward their own interests - you can't run a swashbuckling game where people swing from chandeliers regularly if you try to get all detailed and picky about the amount of weight chandeliers will support and so on. In short, if you've been leaving these players with no viable options for stopping these villains from running amok, then the fault lies in yourself, not in your stars, so to speak. However, if they are just bloodthirsty, see above.

The discussion on noncombat movement states that the character's OCV is "always 0." I argue that it says this only in reference to the fact that DCV can change when using noncom movement, if the GM wishes to use the optional velocity-based DCV rules. My friend and co-GM in the campaign (who is also a lawyer, incidentally, Steve) argues that it makes a statement about the intent of noncom movement - namely, that for purposes of concept and balance, OCV in noncombat movement is ALWAYS 0 regardless of other factors. We have both agreed, based on the OCV determination checklist, this matter hinges on whether the 0 OCV of noncom movement qualifies as the character's "base OCV" in the situation (step one, which would allow for modification by levels) or as a "percentage reduction" (last step, which would eliminate the possibility of modification by levels) - namely, a 100% reduction. So, which is it? Can the 0 OCV of noncom movement be modified by levels?

Super Skills pt 2: Super Luck For super lucky characters, aside from the obvious choices like DCV levels and Luck, I have come up with the following in the past: *Right Place, Right Time: A Summon based power. No conscious control, can only summon normal people, summoned people are "already there," 0 END. "Is there a doctor in the house?" "Yes!" "No, no - a doctor of entymology!" "Why, yes! That's amazing!" Heheheh. *Other directed Unluck - a fully indirect, no conscious control, 0 END, attack of some kind with Damage Shield. Activated by those who are attempting to do the character harm. *Favorable Ground: Since Change Environment can no longer be used to aid, this will have to be Transform based. Like all Luck powers, it should be no conscious control and 0 END. Items transformed were "already there." The power takes effect to create useful things at hand, like a handy fire extinguisher, flask of acid, etc.

Super Skills pt 1: Super Detectives For a super detective, I have constructed the following "skill powers": *Scene Reconstruction, based on Clairsentience. The ability should take time to use - for Batman types perhaps just ten minutes; for more realistic detectives, perhaps as much as an hour or two. For more realistic detectives there should also be a Limitation reflecting required research materials like a crime lab and/or files. The ability does not work accurately if the area has been altered since the event that is desired to be viewed; the greater the alteration, the less accurate the view provided. [Note: This is a more robust version of Deduction, for those detectives who can go the extra mile] *Streetwise, based on Mind Scan. This one is a bit weird, so bear with me. It requires a Streetwise roll (it can also be based on Psychology or KS: Criminal Underworld), and takes time (an hour or so, I recommend). It cannot be used in an area for which the character does not have Area Knowledge. It can only be used to find criminal types with whom the character is familiar (GM's discretion on whether this requires personal familiarity or clinical familiarity, as in being acquainted with his pathology or criminal history). It does not, obviously, allow the use of mental powers through the link. [Note: This power allows the super detective to locate criminal scum with whom he is familiar unerringly] *Handwriting analysis, based on either Clairsentience or Telepathy. I haven't decided which works better. It should take time, and a skill roll, and require a substantial sample of handwriting. It can only be used to determine general characteristics of the subject, not current thoughts, but it might be used to qualify for familiarity for the above-mentioned Mind Scan superskill. *Detect Concealed Weapon, for sharp eyed characters, obviously. Other possibilities exist as well, such as Detect Drug User (based on a medicene or pharmacology skill roll - this could be made Analytical to determine which drug is being used), and - my favorite - Detect Criminal Hangouts (this one might be based on Streetwise and could allow a character to locate criminal hot spots even in unfamiliar areas). The more outrageous variants could be Detect Type of Firearm (requires KS:Firearms, Analytical, requires that the character be able to hear the report of the weapon being fired) or Detect Type of Vehicle (requires KS: Automobiles, Analytical, requires a reasonably sized tire track or mark to examine). NOTE/QUESTION: I have experimented with adding a one-quarter disad to some of these called "Realistic" or "Intuitional" (depending on my mood), which specifies that the knowledge gained is not as sure or specific as if the power were actually a POWER per se. I am still torn as to whether this is worth a disad, but in a setting where the justice system plays a role, I believe it might be.