Alverant

I thought about giving this weapon to some mooks in my campaign. As a GM I could just list the mechanics without worrying about the details but I'd like to know the best way to build this.

What I want to do is have your standard EB with AE 1 Hex with knockback. The twist is every object in the hexes around the target hex also takes the same amount of knockback. Targets in those hexes won't take damage from the EB but they will be knocked back. How would I do this?

I do something that I think is easier. Minions have 3 HP

A bad damage roll does 1 HP

A fair damage roll does 2 HP

A good damage roll does 3 HP

A great damage roll does 4 HP

When a minion is reduced to 0 HP they're out, if they're negative they're out in a spectacular/dramatic way (flying out through a window, do a double back flip before crashing, falls over something, head explodes (killing attacks only), does a Wilhelm Scream)

They don't recover HP and I don't worry about END or being too specific in what qualifies as a bad/fair/good/great roll. That way if the PCs are doing badly I can adjust and rate the damage higher so they can finish off the minions.

Other enemies are treated normally, minions are just meant to be a distraction and show how powerful the hero is.

So when War-Man changes into his armored form he loses his mental map of the city and can't deduce as well and can't play the trumpet? And when he changes back he doesn't know how to work as part of a team? What about if the GM puts a 90 active point limit on a power?

Like I said, too much work to keep everything straight. I hope to keep it simple and on one sheet.

It's a nice character though. With some reworking it could be an option.

(FYI the What's New link off the main page is broken.)

I'm pretty sure this has been covered before, but I'm not sure where. My character has a suit of powered armor but I'd like him to have a second one for specialized situations (underwater, space, jungle, brawler, etc). I'm not sure about the best way to do it. I could go with a VPP but not only would that get complicated I want to avoid the "I have just the suit for this situation" cliche and I want to keep the number of armors he has very limited. Multiform is too complicated and involves too much record keeping since you'd have to update each sheet every time you improved a skill or stat that was part of the person inside the armor.

One possibility I liked was having a multipower for special abilities with the limitation "only can switch slots in Hall of Armors" and have the special effect being putting on a new suit or switching out modular parts. The attack multipower would have a larger number of slots but only a certain amount of them can be selected with the special effect being there are only four weapon mounts on the armor so while he may have the choice of a dozen weapons, he can only pick four without going back to the base. But how much would a limitation like this be worth and am I overlooking an easier possibility?

I think "ultimate detective" would have more to do with suggestions for the player rather than the mechanics. You can't use your energy blast to solve a mystery (usually), it requires a whole different set of mental muscles. The best thing I can think of (but there are probably better ideas) would be to have a checklist of questions to ask and things to do in different senerios like a kidnapping, murder, robbery, fraud, smear campaign, etc. Items would be "follow the money", "who benefits", "how did the victims react to the news", "what are around the windows/doors of the crime scene", "who would want to hurt the victim and why", etc. Perhaps watching some cop dramas would help, at least how crimes in a narrative universe works.

I had a flash of inspiration on why vampires in fiction don't show up in mirrors. They're always invisible but part of the nature of a vampire is to put a projection of themselves into the living mind of everyone around them. Since people only see a mental projection it won't appear in mirrors and other devices. In a superhero setting anyone with enough Mental Defense would be able to block this projection making the vampire effectively invisible to them while the normal people around them would still see it. So my question is, would it be allowed that the "only vs" limitation include having a power at a certain level? In this case it would be Invisibility to Sight Group only vs non-living devices and with 10 pts Mental Defense *. This wouldn't prevent the vampire being detected by other means (radar, spacial awareness, spreading garlic powder on the floor and watching for foot prints, etc) just that the vampire can't project their image into a sentient mind. So it's like a reverse NND in that if you have a defense then you're affected by the power.

* I'd say that other vampires/magical creatures, those with magical site, and those who have something like KS Vampires 11- would also be able to see vampires even if they have lots of Mental Defense because they'd be aware of the projection.

Doubt it.  What do you think a neighborhood watch is?

A group of people who abide by a certain set of rules who check out their neighborhood and report anything suspicious. They don't chase down people they think may be doing something and beat them up for the police.

As for a registration act, since we have licenses for plumbers, building contractors, bounty hunters, doctors, and other occupations it's not unreasonable to expect the same for those with powers who want to use them in combat. Those licenses exist as a guarantee of a certain level of competence as well as provide legal protections and obligations. Again, it's not unreasonable to expect the same for wannbe superheroes. Even the cops are required to get specialized training. As for enforcement, it usually doesn't happen until something goes wrong. If Super-dude doesn't accidentally knock over a few skyscrapers he should be OK. If he does, then he is about as dangerous as Grond and should be stopped.

Opposition to a lack of registration laws isn't well thought out. I wonder if Super-dude would quit over speed limits as well.

IIRC in 6e you need to either have the required complications or buy them off. So you could have your 400pt character with no complications but it would have a 75pt item called "Bought off complications" effectively making it a 325pt character. But that's only if the GM allows it. The Hero System requires more maturity on the part of the players and GM not to abuse the rules of the game. Sure you COULD munchkin and min/max things but you're trusted not to go overboard and the GM is expected to veto anything that gets out of hand.

As for picking the complications themselves, they can be plot hooks, role playing guides, backstory, goals, etc. They're as much of a part of the character as powers or skills. Why does the character fight? What does the character fear? How do other people view the character? All that can be reflected in the complications.

I won't get into specifics characters, but overall I like origins where the hero(ine) takes an active part. It shows that they've done something to earn their powers, particularly if they were doing something noble like scientific research, saving a stranger, protecting their family, etc. Being a hero(ine) is about acting and not passively getting your powers like mutants who get their powers just by being born.

Stan Bush's songs "The Touch" "Dare" "Never Hold Back" and "Your Time"

During a fight between Mechanon and Captain Chronos, Mechanon got a glimpse of his form in Champions 3000 setting (a small moon with an army of robot drones). Stealing technology and star charts from aliens he has set out to an uninhabited system to make that alternate future a reality in the present. He has sent decoys to keep Star*Corp busy as he rebuilds himself on a planet orbiting a brown dwarf star. He has also sent copies of himself to orbit a black hole where time is distorted with instructions for one to emerge every thousand years to continue his campaign to wipe out all organic life.

Not that I can see Superman causing a Stanford incident the way Speedball and his group of glory-seekers did.

Speedball didn't cause the Stanford incident. Nitro did and it was his choice. What Marvel did to the NW and other heroes like Darkhawk is why I'm glad I stopped collecting their comics.

I don't think you can have "Powered Armor" as an EC. It would be like having "EC Mutant Powers" or "EC Vampire Powers" or "EC I wanna cut costs powers". Now if all the powers in the EC the armor provided were based on say plasma then I could see having an EC Plasma Powers with an OIF.

I don't know enough about DC and have been disappointed in Marvel so I can't really comment except to say:

DC reboots way too often and Marvel needs to reboot more often.

I actually ran one earlier this year and learned a few things from it.

1) Give the players options for their characters (have male and female versions of each character for example) and give them different personality types

2) Have a general idea of what you want the adventure to be but don't get bogged down in specifics. Players will do what you don't expect them to do.

3) Someone sent me a link to a 2 page summary of the 6th edition rules. Sorry I don't have the link now but if you can find it, print out a few copies for your players.

4) If you have a regular gaming group, test the game with them first.

5) Have the adventure be flexible for different numbers of players.

6) Keep the powers easy to explain.

7) If your villains have suspectabilities and/or weaknesses give the PCs powers to exploit them

In my game I had Deathstroke trying to reform by recruiting villains and planning for a break in at a Chicago natural history museum. My plan was for there to be a fight at the museum itself but both times the players found out where Deathstroke was hiding out and ambushed them at the warehouse. I'm not sure if it helps or hurts to put the game in a real world setting because in the convention game one of the players knew more about the area than I did and it turned out that I got some things wrong. OTOH putting it in a real setting means you can print out actual maps and get ideas. Like in my game the museum was near Lake Micigan so the villains were going to steal a boat and use it to escape. Chiller planned to use his ice powers to create mini-icebergs to keep the police boats at bay.

Since this is a fantasy setting, I would say physical in some form. Gods want worshipers and if a god wants more people to worship it then a physical manifestation would go a long way to convincing others to convert. A god that acts from a distance in secret isn't really different than a god who doesn't exist.

You may also want to add 1 charge that doesn't recover if the item is destroyed when activated. Or even just a 1 charge if it isn't.

I can think of several possibilities.

1) Angels are a sort of police force between Lords, Gods, and Demons. Despite their claims of ethical behavior sometimes they slip up so a third party is needed to keep the peace and enforce the laws

2) Angels are representatives of another unknown group with their own agenda, this works best if angels are defined as celestial beings without a set appearance or abilities (think Neon Genesis angels)

3) Angels act as messengers for the other groups like mercenaries, with no particular loyalty. Demons can't go into the church to take the unholy artifact? Hire an angel. One pantheon needs to send a message to an Elemental Lord? Hire an angel.

4) Angels are the protectors of the world to keep any fights from otherworldly beings from affecting ordinary people.

[HG let it go out of print because the colour made it too expensive to reprint. Also' date= the owners wanted to return to more self-contained games (e.g. Champions Complete, Fantasy Hero Complete, Monster Hunters International, maybe more if sales warrant). However, you can still get the PDFs in the Hero Store, Drive-Thru RPG, RPGnow, e23, etc.[/quote]

 

The phenomenal growth of the PDF portion of the RPG business is probably the big story, in terms of business models, of the last decade. There will always be concerns about piracy issues, but it's become clear that any RPG company that wants to stick around has to have a strategy for PDF.

 

The advantage is that nothing has to be truly "out of print" if all other factors (such as outside licenses) are equal. It's even possible to offer older products at discounted rates, and gain revenue from things that formerly would be dead issues.

I realize this is probably OT, but what's the best device to read PDFs? A regular desktop? Laptop? 7" tablet? Larger tablet? Phone? etc.

In comics telekinitics are often seen carrying their teammates. Not only is this TK aura offer protection, but the telekinetic is able to fly at full speed while carrying multiple teammates. I'm not sure how this would be built. Apart from basic TK should I use the barrier power or defenses useable by others? This would be in a multipower slot so I'd need to keep the cost down to 60 active points. That is unless I can buy the barrier outside the MP and link it to the slot (I'm not sure if the new Linking rules allow that).

Thanks in advance

Actually, the original Eurostar, from Enemies II, consisted of just five members: Fiacho, Durak, Le Sone, Bora, and Pantera. I believe that may have been the reason for the "star" in "Eurostar," i.e. five "points."

 

Classic Enemies for 4E added Mentalla, the Whip, and White Flame to the lineup. That was the first published appearance of Mentalla and her brother, Menton.

 

Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks for 5E kept Fiacho, Durak, Mentalla, and Le Sone (renamed "Ultrasonique") from the previous lineup, and added two members from the disbanded Terror Inc., Scorpia and Feur (renamed "Feurmacher"). The 5E supplement Champions Universe: News Of The World brought Pantera back into the team.

 

Eurostar's latest incarnation, in Champions Villains Vol. 2: Villain Teams for 6E, kept the roster above, but added Der Westgote. He had previously appeared for 5E in The Ultimate Brick and Evil Unleashed, the latter of which mentions him joining Eurostar.

 

The version of the team appearing in Champions: New Millennium for the Fuzion system basically re-used the members of the 4E team in terms of powers and appearance, but seriously modified their backgrounds, as well as renaming several. Fiacho became "Fenris," Durak became "Centurion," and the Whip became "Scourge."

What happened to him? I know in the Viper/Eurostar war in 6E Whip and Bora were killed (Bora had NO passive resistant defenses so I imagined that Viper KOed her while she was flying over a cathedral with a bunch of spikey bits). But no mention of White Flame. I guess with Fuermacher he was redundant.

Re: DC:TAS Campaign - C.O.P.S.

 

Bowzer

Player:

 

Val Char ; Cost

13 STR 3

15 DEX 15

15 CON 10

12 BODY 4

15 INT 5

18 EGO 16

18 PRE 8

10 COM 0

;

3/9 PD 0

3/9 ED 0

3 SPD 5

6 REC 0

30 END 0

27 STUN 0 ;

6" RUN 0

2" SWIM 0

2 1/2" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 66

 

 

Cost Martial Arts Maneuver

Police Training ;

3 1) Aikido Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, STR +v/5, Target Falls ;

4 2) Boxing Cross: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, STR +2d6 Strike ;

4 3) Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, +15 STR vs. Grabs ;

3 4) Hold: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, +10 STR for holding on ;

4 5) Judo Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; +10 STR to Disarm roll ;

4 6) Kung Fu Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort ; Martial Arts Cost: 22

 

Cost Skill

20 +2 Overall ;

5 Rapid Attack (Ranged) ;

2 +1 PER with Sight Group ;

10 Animal Handler (Canines) 17- ;

3 Acting 13- ;

3 Climbing 12- ;

3 Combat Driving 12- ;

3 Concealment 12- ;

7 Conversation 15- ;

5 Criminology 13- ;

3 Deduction 12- ;

3 Fast Draw 12- ;

2 AK: Chicago 11- ;

0 AK: Hudson City 8- ;

2 KS: Criminal Law and Procedure 11- ;

2 KS: Law Enforcement World 11- ;

0 Language: English (completely fluent; literate, native) ;

5 Mechanics 13- ;

0 Paramedics 8- ;

3 Persuasion 13- ;

0 PS: Police Officer 11- ;

0 Shadowing 8- ;

3 Stealth 12- ;

3 Streetwise 13- ;

5 Tactics 13- ;

5 Teamwork 13- ;

9 Tracking 15- ;

-1 TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles ;

2 WF: Small Arms ; Skills Cost: 107

 

Cost Perk

15 Contact (Chicago PD) (Contact has: useful Skills or resources, Contact is slavishly loyal to character), Organization Contact (+2) (15 Active Points) 8- ;

2 Fringe Benefit: Local Police Powers ;

1 Fringe Benefit: Law Enforcement Rank ;

1 Fringe Benefit: Weapon Permit (where appropriate) ;

15 Follower (Blitz) (75 Base, 75 Disad) ; Perks Cost: 34

 

Cost Talent

15 Danger Sense (Intuitional, Sensitivity: Out of Combat) 12- ;

3 Lightning Reflexes: +2 DEX to act first with All Actions ;

3 Lightsleep ; Talents Cost: 21

 

Cost Equipment END

10 Colt M1911A1 .45 ACP: (Total: 36 Active Cost, 10 Real Cost) Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6 -1 (vs. ED), +1 STUN Multiplier (+1/4) (31 Active Points); STR Minimum 9 (-1/2), STR Min. Cannot Add/Subtract Damage (-1/2), OAF (-1), 7 Charges (-1/2), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4) (Real Cost: 8) plus +1 OCV (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4) (Real Cost: 2) ;

12 Armored Uniform: Armor (6 PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) ;

10 Handcuffs: Entangle 3d6, 6 DEF, Takes No Damage From Attacks All Attacks (+1/2) (67 Active Points); 1 Recoverable Charges (-1 1/4), Does Not Prevent The Use Of Accessible Foci (-1), Set Effect (Hands Only) (-1), OAF (-1), Must Follow Grab Or Target Must Be Willing (-1/2), Can Be Escaped Automatically With A Modified Lockpicking or Contortionist Roll (-1/2), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4) ;

5 Police Band Radio Handset: High Range Radio Perception (Radio Group), 1 Continuing Fuel Charges lasting 6 Hours each (+0) (12 Active Points); OAF (-1), Sense Affected As Hearing Group (-1/4) ; Equipment costs shown above are for reference only, and are not included in Total Cost.

Total Character Cost: 250

 

Val Disadvantages

5 Distinctive Features: Uniform (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) ;

20 Enraged: Blitz injured or hurt (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 11- ;

25 Floating Hunted: any organized crime group 11- (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish; Extensive Non-Combat Influence) ;

10 Hunted: character's department 8- (Mo Pow; Watching; Extensive Non-Combat Influence) ;

20 Psychological Limitation: Loyal to Blitz (Common; Total) ;

20 Social Limitation: Subject to Orders (Very Frequently; Major) ;

0 Normal Characteristic Maxima ;

Disadvantage Points: 100

Base Points: 150

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

 

Blitz

Player:

 

Val Char ; Cost

21 STR -10

16 DEX 18

12 CON 4

9 BODY -2

13 INT -2

5 EGO -10

18 PRE 5

10 COM 0

;

5/11 PD 5

3/9 ED 1

3 SPD 4

5 REC 6

24 END 0

20 STUN 5 ;

7" RUN 0

2" SWIM 0

5 1/2" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 24

 

Cost Power END

15 Bite: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (plus STR) (vs. PD) ; 1

2 Fast: +1" Running (7" total) ; 1

1 Leap: Leaping +1" (5 1/2" forward, 2 1/2" upward) ; 1

1 Combat Acclimated: +3 PRE (3 Active Points); Only to Protect Against Presence Attacks Power loses about half of its effectiveness (-1) ;

5 Insightful: +5 INT ;

1 Understanding: Language: English (basic conversation (can only understand, not speak back, though he may find another way to communicate)) ;

5 Cybernetic Dog: Elemental Control, 16-point powers, all slots: (8 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) ;

6 1) Strength Booster: +21 STR (21 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), No Figured Characteristics (-1/2) ; 4

9 2) Bulletproof: Armor (6 PD/6 ED), Hardened (+1/4) (22 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) ;

6 3) Police Light/Siren: Sight Group and Normal Hearing Images, +1 to PER Roll, Reduced Endurance 0 END (+1/2) (24 Active Points); Only To Create Light (-1), OIF (-1/2) ;

21 4) Cybernetic Body: Life Support , Eating: Character does not eat, Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents, Immunity: All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents, Safe in Intense Cold, Safe in Intense Heat, Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum, Self-Contained Breathing (39 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) ;

23 Cybernetic Sensor and Communication Systems: Variable Power Pool (Gadget Pool), 20 base + 3 control cost (30 Active Points); Senses and Communications Only Very Limited (-1), OIF (-1/2), VPP Powers Can Be Changed Only In A Laboratory (-1/2), Character Has No Choice Regarding How Powers Change (-1/2) ; Powers Cost: 95

 

 

Cost Skill

5 Concealment; Self Only Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (-1/2) 14- ;

2 PS: Attack 11- ;

2 PS: Guard 11- ;

2 PS: Retrieve/Fetch 11- ;

2 PS: Find Contraband 11- ;

2 PS: Stop Attacking 11- ;

5 Stealth 13- ;

3 Teamwork 12- ;

5 Tracking 13- ; Skills Cost: 28

 

 

Cost Talent

3 Lightsleep ; Talents Cost: 3

 

Total Character Cost: 150

 

Val Disadvantages

15 Distinctive Features: Cybernetic Police Dog (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) ;

10 Hunted: 8- (Mo Pow; Watching; Extensive Non-Combat Influence) ;

15 Physical Limitation: Animal Intelligence (Frequently; Greatly Impairing) ;

5 Physical Limitation: Small (no larger than 1m; +3 KB) (Infrequently; Slightly Impairing) ;

15 Physical Limitation: Very Limited Manipulation (Frequently; Greatly Impairing) ;

15 Psychological Limitation: Loyal to Bowzer (Common; Strong) ;

0 Normal Characteristic Maxima ;

Disadvantage Points: 75

Base Points: 75

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

Would radical athiests in a super setting tend to hate magic using supers because it disagrees with their world view of a lack of the supernatural?

I actually put a question like this in an Atheist blog (I wouldn't call them "radical" but the definition of an "radical Atheist" seems to be "one who says publicly to being an Atheist"; but that's another topic) and several people pointed out that if magic could be proven to exist then it wouldn't be supernatural. Instead magic would just be another source of powers and part of the multiverse. It would still be a mystery as to why it's so fickle, but it would still be considered real.

My version of the question included whether or not Atheists would acknowledge gods. The response to that varied. The three common responses were:

1) What does it mean to be a god? There's the idea that man created God, an idea the CU supports by having gods be generated by human beliefs. We see it in the realms of Fairie and Bablyon (is Sherlock Holmes the future God of Deductive Reasoning).

2) Super-humans existed long ago in history and were wrongfully thought of as gods. So is the guy who healed the blind the son of a god or a mutant? Plus you have time travel. Maybe the Greek legend of a multi-armed strong monster was caused by Captain Chronos bringing Grond back in time.

3) Just because a god exist doesn't mean it's worth being worshiped. Technically that Misotheism though, pointing out that gods tend to be selfish jerks who demand they be worshiped to feed their egos and make unreasonable demands.

So to answer your question, no there would not likely be anti-magic Atheist groups. But it's your campaign so it's your decision.

Re: Genocide, 6th edition.

It's the public use of the name "Genocide" that I always thought was stupid. IHA was a more sensible option.

IIRC, IHA was the public facing side. Genocide was the secret army. The name was chosen because it was their goal and to instill fear in mutants. The mutant villain Holocaust had a similar motive behind his name.

Re: Villain Resource Comic - Spotlight Megatron

For those interested' date=' Hasbro just announced that they are making a toy of the version of Megatron that appears in this comic, and packing him in with the comic itself for stores for the 30th anniversary of the Transformers![/quote']

Cool, except now when I buy it I'll have two copies of the same comic.

 

It's also worth mentioning that the Starscream here was based from Masterpiece Starscream.