Chimpira

Re: Champions universe created by magic? That is one way of looking at it and is very true but another way would be for me to say that it was the drugs that allowed me to run faster than everyone else. Now I am doing the actually running but I needed to be pumped up to do it. The only problem is that I had no idea that I was taking drugs when I was running. I thought that I was really capable of running like that. Sucker.

Re: CHAMPIONS UNIVERSE II - What Do You Want To See? I would find that really helpful for my own campaign. I messed with the timeline a little and had The Champions appear in 1996 and they are based in Chicago. (I knew that eventualy we were going to get an update for some of these characters so my PC's have not met the Champions yet, but they hear about them.) I placed my PC's in Millenium City in 2001 (we are about to make the leap to 2002 after the climatic fight with The Crowns of Krim). My PC's are tackling everything the book said that the Champions went up against. Beyond that I try to run an official universe as close as I can. A timeline for other heroes and villians during this period would be invaluable to me. Of course I would where other GM's might go eh.

Re: Champions universe created by magic? Well, I know for a fact that you would need to drop some DC if you are a Martial Artist. If my super strength is taken away, why not my super intellect? Without the influence of magic how can you say that a skill load like Dr. Destroyer is not superhuman? Some talents border on the superhuman and some gleefully cross the line. Or maybe Magic is still around in enough quantities that maybe you still retain all your knowledge but you think slower if you used to have over a 20 INT? At this point, I do not think that it really matters. Some people like it, some people hate it and some people just do not care. I know why they did it and all truth be told I want to like it because I want to link all the hero systems together but I just can not get into it. I am not going to rail against the creators because I love what they do and in my campaign The PC's have taken the place of the Champions so none of this stuff is going to come to pass in the first place.

Re: Champions universe created by magic?

Re: Champions universe created by magic? Like I said before I liked your analogy but I think that we are trying too much to force a square peg into a round hole. We needed to get to Star Hero somehow. There is nothing wrong with people using the timeline and the presence of magic as the reason people are smart or skilled or whatever. I mean when magic goes do my talents leave also? How many skills do I drop? If you like it then please use it. It would not stop me from playing in anyones game. I just do not have to worry too much about the storylines with my son or daughter coming back to warn dear old Dad. What? Please it HAS to be a plot. There is no magic in the future when I would have an adult son. Probably Dr. Destroyer pulling my leg. I stated that I would not use it because I feel that it does not work for my game and really just feels wrong to me to tell a player that the self made man he was supposed to be playing really just owes everything to magic. Of course, I did also mention that I did not see why X would fail and you have written an answer to that, although it might be wasted on me, I think other GM's will find it very useful. It seems I must spread more Rep around before giving you anymore.

Re: Champions universe created by magic? My point exactly

Re: Champions universe created by magic? I do not use it. Mainly because it screws up a lot of the Days of Future Past storylines I might want to tell. Magic leaves in what? 14 years? No superheroes by that time? Lord Liaden's analogy works pretty well for the most part and I do like it but if I made a self repairing machine that just required me to push the button to operate it, I am not getting why it no longer works. I understand that my capacity to fully understand, build and repair the thing has been dampened but I just do not get why it no longer works. Let's say for example magic went away during the 70's. Now I am a super science crime fighter in the 50's and the 60's and I built a super computer and happened upon a way to link various other organizations to a network so that we can share information. I named the computer Dell Dimension 3000 and the network I dubbed the Internet. I used all the principals that we use now for the computer and The internet. Because I am decades ahead of the curve I write down all this information in manuals so that others that I have linked to the network can repair their computers and keep the internet up and running. Then, in 1970 all the magic is gone. Now the principals that I had used were solid they were just decades ahead of their time. Why does my computer all of a sudden no longer work? (Beyond the obvious fact that I cursed myself by calling it a Dell) When would it be practical for it to work? If someone understood the manuals would that mean that the magic is coming back? I see a lot of things on the streeet now a days that I would have only seen in Science Fiction movies when I was a kid and I do not think magic has anything to do with it. But really it goes beyond that. You see when I had played gadgeteers in the past the thing I liked most about them was that they were creating things with their own hands and imagination. The idea of knowing that the things you build will make an impact on populace of the planet, maybe not today as a superhero but one can not be a superhero forever. I had my gadgeteers go up against the big threats like alternative fuel sources, food shortages and how to bring rain to drought ridden lands. The idea that one day my character could really make a difference. Until someone clues me in that I was not as smart as I thought I was. That everything that I built was a colossal waste of time. That all I was really doing was playing dress up the whole time and it is time for you to get a real job. That all the money you were paying to help Ravenswood Academy keep running should have been invested in stocks and bonds instead. I really could have used that money to because now I am getting sued for selling equipment that would never conceivably work and they do not seem to buy my story about magic going away. I, also, like the idea of a legacy. I am not knocking other GM's for working with this or even liking it. I am just not interested in it, whether there is a good explanation or not. It just makes me feel like I am cheating the players out of a future for their characters.

Re: Pyramid in the Sky? It does a lot. Thanks

Re: C25 Island of Dr. Destroyer: Official? Yeah, I would have to agree with that.

Re: C25 Island of Dr. Destroyer: Official? Yeah, I would be more than a little upset if that was to happen, especially if it was like next month. A couple of years down the road I would be fine with but the process to get the book was not an easy one. I usually do not have $100 bucks lying around, so I had to do without and my life became just a little more difficult because of the purchase. I knew that going in but if they just broke up the book and sold it in pieces I would be very upset about that.

I was browsing some of the back stock and ran across two titles that I have never heard of, 'Pyramid in the sky' and 'Dystopia'. Dystopia gives you some information over what to expect out of it but I get nothing from Pyramid in the Sky. Can anyone fill in the blanks for me? Are these good? I expect to do a little adjusting to make these work in my campaign but I just want to know if the product is worth the time first.

Re: C25 Island of Dr. Destroyer: Official? One of the major reasons I talked myself into buying this book was to get that adventure. I love the book but The Island is what makes it such a treat for me. I never had the original and in my campaign world it is still 2001 and Dr. Destroyer has not yet made his return. I found that with very little work 'The Return of Dr. Destroyer' from The Champions Universe connects beautifully with 'The Island of Dr. Destroyer'. I plan on running it as one adventure.

Re: How to get ideas across (GM's) Wow. I forgot that I wrote this post. Time flies. I have had more conversations with my player and I have come to realize that she does not like to develop characters. She likes to come up with a character that should have a lot of roleplay potential but she does not want to do that. Unneccesary conversations was the term she used. She is pretty much like that in real life. I think the idea of powers and what not hold very little interest for her,but so does roleplaying. I and some of my players think that she might be better off playing a video game.

Re: Unofficial Handbook to the Champions Universe I am here with you on that. Ok off to work for me.

Re: CHAMPIONS UNIVERSE II - What Do You Want To See? Seconded

Re: CHAMPIONS UNIVERSE II - What Do You Want To See? Oh yeah, I had some fond memories of the Zodiac, more as a player than a GM. As a GM I tried to concentrate on their strengths and have a complete grasp of their weaknesses because, I got to tell you, that team could get hammered pretty easily if you did not know what you were doing. But the most fun I had was when the whole team became more or less my solo heroes archenemy. I made a solo hero that was pretty much based around a wolverine type of power build but without the metal skeleton. He was a cop in a special branch of the Chicago Police force. His partner was the former hero known as Crusader. He was also a coward. He did not want to fight anyone unless, and this was the important bit, he was backed inot a corner then all hell would break loose. On a call he and his partner went to apprehend some criminals that turned out to be the Conquerors. Okay that was bad. Then in the middle of it The Zodiac showed up. They had a disagreement with Binder over something. Seeing how bad this situation was going to be and still recovering from the fight I asked them all to sit down and maybe we could talk about it for a while (hoping against hope that backup would arrive.) We sat down talked a little had some breadsticks and then Bam! Superbrawl! Zodiac on one side, Conquerors on the other and me in the middle. Long story short when the dust cleared and the camera crews arrived guess who was the only one still standing? Yep. Instant fame as the lone hero that defeated two villian teams. Not something a guy who would rather stay home and eat pizza really wanted. Things for him went downhill from there. God I loved that character. We now return you to your regular broadcast.

Re: Unofficial Handbook to the Champions Universe That's true but I think what I would like to get out of this is an understanding of how others heroes influence their campaign world. Some I have no doubt I will love and others I am certain I will not. Our heroes and villians usually have a mjor impact on our campaign world and so we hold them dear to us. I would love to see if we could ever create a multiverse with the compatible teams and villians assigned to various worlds and a database that we could all contribute to as well as extract. This looks like a step in that direction and one that I would heavily support. We are fans and we love what we do. Even if I can not use it for my campaign, I would love to be able to share in that with everyone here.

Re: Unofficial Handbook to the Champions Universe Not trying to knock Basil. But I would rather like to see teams and organizations as a whole. If the team works well together then I like to be able to introduce that dynamic into my game world but if they do not I find it is easier for me to break that team up and simply use the components that I liked and then discard the rest.

Re: CHAMPIONS UNIVERSE II - What Do You Want To See? The Protectors was one of my favorites, although, I never ran the adventure, I used the characters. I would love to see an update of these guys. The other group I would not mind seeing again would have to be the Zodiac. Some of the pieces never quite fit on that team IMO but I loved how they could operate. Hmm Intelligent Space Ship that the leader found which could teleport you anywhere in the world and back again. Now where have I read that one. That team if handled properly (and with a few character rewrites)could easily be America's Eurostar.

Re: What does a hero team need? What they need? Just people. It really breaks down to the scope of the game. If the characters are a laid back street level team, a lot of fun could be had playing up the lack of resources. Many a game I played where the heroes met at a Greasy Spoon diner and had to take a taxi to the fight. If the team is serious about being a team and want to be more professional, then a secure meeting place is a must, as well as a reliable means of communication. I am not talking about cell phones either but something that is secure and not likely to fail on you when you move from your bedroom to your living room. A group transport can be good as well. Contacts are a must at this level. The heroes are going to want to cut through red tape and you need to have people that you can call that will drop everything to make sure that you can do the job.

Re: Unofficial Handbook to the Champions Universe It does sound pretty good. Just as long as it does not step on any legal toes, I would love to see a project like that.

Re: Black enchantress I did not write this one up but I converted Talisman to The Black Enchantress in my game. I upped her power level and now my players worry about her when her name is dropped.

Re: Superhero Comics & D&D Alignments I do not know. I see Batman as more of a neutral good character.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... My Champions players are in the middle of a small Demonhame. Arsenal has been whining all night about how everyone is going to get killed. A battle starts and three of my players get sidelined quick. One for a good while, the other two only for a second. Arsenal: We need to get out of here! We need to retreat! Pyre: Retreat to where? This is an end of the world as we know it scenerio here. When it comes down to that sort of thing I only know how to do one thing. I stand and I fight. Pyre went on to use tactics and manuevers in the fight and they turned the tide.

Re: How would you build a time/space Superphone? I did something similiar but it was not a phone for placing calls thorugh time. I just wanted to place calls from any dimension. Even as a player I would never go for the ability to place calls throughout Space AND time. Too much potential for abuse. As for your question I think the other people here have put forth better ideas than I could, but I was taking notes.