Lightray

Oh, my. If you think it was annoying on book 3... Just wait. I swear the book prior to the last one had nothing happen the entire time -- except that one of the characters finished her bath. That wheel wasn't even turning anymore.

... you face the Red Bee. And end up with a Total Party Kill. When none of you had taken Susceptibility: bee stings.

Been a while since I'd checked in here, although I see csyphrett is keeping things up. I've got a villain I thought I'd share, but if I put it in my campaign thread, my players might see him too soon. Plus, he fits in well with the New Circle idea. He was originally intended to be a Freddy- or Jason-type, but turned out to have some of The Corinthian in there as well... (warning: icky) The Monster Alternate ID: Marsyas Val Char Cost 25 STR 15 23 DEX 39 30 CON 30 18 BODY 16 13 INT 3 18 EGO 16 25/45 PRE 15 10 COM 0 20 PD 9 12 ED 1 5 SPD 17 10 REC 0 50 END 0 30 STUN -14 8" RUN 0 2" SWIM 0 5" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 147 Cost Power 5 Immortal Godling: Life Support , Longevity: Immortal 3 Immortal Ichor: Healing 1 BODY (10 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Hour (-2 1/4), Self Only (-1/2) 4 Goat's Legs: +2" Running (8" total) 6 Goat's Ears: Enhanced Perception (+3 to PER Rolls for Hearing Sense Group) 5 Goat's Eyes: Nightvision 10 Horrific Visage: Change Environment 2" radius, -1 : OCV, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (22 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Always On (-1/2), Requires Line Of Sight (-1/4) 20 Flayed Alive: (Total: 30 Active Cost, 20 Real Cost) Physical Damage Reduction, 50% (20 Active Points); STUN Only (-1/2) (Real Cost: 13) plus Energy Damage Reduction, 25% (10 Active Points); STUN Only (-1/2) (Real Cost: 7) 13 Flayed Visage: +20 PRE (20 Active Points); Only To Make Presence Attacks (-1/2) 5 Flayed Nerves: +5 CON (10 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), Only To Resist Stunning (-1/2) 6 Strong-Willed: +3 with EGO Roll 3 Used To Pain: +3 with EGO Skills (9 Active Points); Only For Wounding Rolls (-2) 6 Hard To Kill: Luck 6d6 (30 Active Points); Extra Time 1 Hour (-3), Only To Avoid Certain Death (-1) 15 Cannot Be Found: Invisibility to Sight Group, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (30 Active Points); Chameleon (-1/2), Requires A Stealth Roll (-1/2) 4 Cannot Be Tracked: 0" Running (8" total), Invisible Power Effects (Smell/Taste Group, Touch Group; +1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (12 Active Points); Requires A Stealth Roll (-1/2) 12 Vocal Mimicry: Shapeshift (Hearing Group; Imitation), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (22 Active Points); Requires A Mimicry Roll (-1/2), Any Human Voice (-1/4) 8 Athena's Flute: +6 with Flute-related Skills (18 Active Points); OAF (-1), Side Effects (Unluck) (-1/4) 17 Skinning Knife: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 +1 (plus STR) (vs. PD), +1 STUN Multiplier (+1/4), Armor Piercing x1 (+1/2) (35 Active Points); OAF (-1) [Notes: 2d6+1K with STR.] Powers Cost: 142 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 8 +2 HTH Damage Class(es) 4 Choke Hold: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 3d6 NND 4 Crush: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, STR +6d6 Crush, Must Follow Grab 3 Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, +20 STR for holding on 3 Punch: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, STR +4d6 Strike 4 Goat's Horns: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, HKA 1d6 Martial Arts Cost: 26 Cost Skill 20 +2 Overall 2 Animal Handler (Sheep) 14- (18-) 3 Concealment 12- 3 Disguise 12- 3 Mimicry 12- 3 Oratory 14- (18-) 3 Persuasion 14- (18-) 3 Shadowing 12- 3 Stealth 14- 2 Survival (Temperate/Subtropical) 12- 6 PS: Flutist (PRE-based) 17- (21-) 2 KS: Wine 11- 2 AK: Greece 11- 1 Language: Ancient Greek (imitate dialects; Native) 4 Language: Greek (idiomatic) 2 Language: English (fluent conversation) 2 Language: Turkish (fluent conversation) Skills Cost: 64 Cost Perk 3 Anonymity Perks Cost: 3 Cost Talent 12 Combat Luck (6 PD/6 ED) 3 Lightsleep 3 Perfect Pitch Talents Cost: 18 Total Character Cost: 400 Pts. Disadvantage 20 Distinctive Features: Flayed Satyr (Concealable; Extreme Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Hunted: Law 14- (Less Pow; Harshly Punish; Extensive Non-Combat Influence) 15 Hunted: The New Circle 11- (As Pow; Harshly Punish) 10 Money: Destitute 20 Psychological Limitation: Vengeful (Very Common; Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Murderous (Common; Strong) 5 Reputation: The Monster 8- 10 Social Limitation: Public Identity (Frequently; Minor) 10 Unluck: 2d6 Disadvantage Points: 125 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 75 Total Experience Available: 75 Experience Unspent: 0 Background: Marsyas was the satyr and shephard who found found the flute that Athena had invented, and then cursed for making her look silly playing it. Marsyas mastered playing the flute, and grew so proud of his music that he challenged Apollo to a contest, flute versus lyre, to be judged by the Muses. Apollo was judged the victor, and by the rules of their contest was allowed to punish the loser however he wished -- and so Marsyas was flayed alive by the god, his skin removed in one wound. Marsyas fled, casting the cursed flute from him into a nearby river, and hid from both mortals and gods, plotting his revenge. He might not be able to avenge himself upon golden Apollo, but takes his vengeance upon the fair-haired youths who remind him of the hated god... Personality: Marsyas has been horrifically punished, far out of proportion to his "crime". He has lived with constant pain for centuries, and nursed his hatred for all that time. Because he is powerless to strike back at the one who wronged him, his hatred has twisted, and he takes his revenge out upon handsome, fair-haired young men and boys. Tactics: Marsyas is a movie monster -- lurking, striking by surprise, avoiding confrontation, difficult to defeat, and always returning again. Marsyas will generally select and observe a new victim for some time. He will then contact the victim while keeping himself hidden -- using his persuasion or mimicry to befriend the victim. Finally he will lure his victim away, only to reenact what Apollo had done to him, violating and flaying them to death. He relies on his ability to not be found or tracked to get away, and if necessary takes dangerous chances to escape and relies upon luck to survive. If forced into combat, Marsyas will attempt to isolate himself and one of his antagonists, whom he will attempt to wholly incapacitate. Otherwise, he will attempt to flee, even if doing so requires suicidal risk. In battle, Marsyas relies on Presence Attacks and the edge his horrific visage gives him. He is able to absorb quite a bit of damage, but is vulnerable to attacks that bypass standard defenses (e.g., AVLD, NND, Ego Attack, etc.). Campaign Use: If your campaign is more four-colored, play down Marsyas' more horrible traits -- describe him as 'scarred' instead of raw and bloody, reduce his malevolence to more general murder or stalking. However if your players are used to horrible crimes, play up not only how twisted Marsyas' crimes are, but how they are ultimately linked to what Apollo had done to Marsyas; once understood, Marsyas should be an object of pity as well as horror. Marsyas makes a good nemesis for a player character who is fair-haired and handsome, or who is in some way connected to the Greek mythos. If Marsyas is underpowered for your campaign, increase his STUN and BODY. Plot Seed: The police are stymied by a serial killer recently active in the campaign city. Blond young men and boys have been found, dead and horribly mutilated. Cloven footprints and bloody handprints that match no known blood type have led to the player characters being called in for help. However, none of the other details match what the player characters are expecting -- no demonic traces, no black magic paraphernalia, no signs of DEMON or the Sylvestris or other usual suspects being involved. Even stranger are the reports of eerie flute music haunting the crime scenes, and analysis from criminal psychologists that say the murderer is acting out some personal trauma in posing his victims... Plot Seed: After being stopped and defeated by the player characters, Marsyas fixates upon one of the heroes -- one who reminds him of his hated enemy, Apollo. Instead of going after the hero, though, Marsyas begins striking at everything the hero cherishes -- associates, friends, family. Marsyas will systematically destroy the hero's life unless stopped, and only once the hero has lost everything will Marsyas confront him once more, skinning knife in hand... Plot Seed: Marsyas recalls that Athena is owed some measure of his hate as well -- after all, it was her curse upon the flute that caused his downfall. He finds a skilled young flutist, not yet famous, and becomes her secret muse. She is excited by the 'romantic' relationship, but the heroes need to find her and convince her of the danger before Marsyas kills her, or worse -- recreates her in his own immage as yet another monstrous victim... Plot Seed: If the player characters take it upon themselves to ensure Marsyas stays dead, once and for all, they find their reprieve only temporary. The immortal godling and ancient murderer finds himself in Hell, where rather than being punished for his sins, is recruited into the infernal hierarchy. Now Marsyas is unleashed once more, only greatly more powerful and dangerous... Quote: "Why do you tear me from myself? Oh, I repent! Oh, a flute is not worth such a price!" Appearance: Horrific monster, man-like with the legs, tail, ears, and horns of a goat -- but with his skin flayed off, and the wound still raw and bloody after all these centuries.

Finally got the chance to read Olympos by Dan Simmons, the sequel to Ilium. Great book, moves really fast, doesn't really drag at all. Now, mind you, I'm bemused at whatever misborn concoction in Simmons' brain brewed up the story in the first place, but it's very good (although I liked the first book a smidge more). Plus, there's a laugh-out-loud Aliens joke randomly thrown in.

Fortunately, the statue of limitations to make Simpsons references is quite long.

Bah. All he has to do is buy some Penalty Skill Levels to offset his OCV penalty when he tries to hit the target forum.

Bah. If you're going to abuse the system, really abuse it: EDM - to the dimension where the dirt has already been cleared away.

Steve, Sorry if I've missed this issue somewhere, but couldn't find it via Search or in the FAQ. UMM p47-48 talks about Shapeshift vs. Mental Group, and has a new Adder, "Deep Mental Shift" (UMM p50). One of the things discussed is how Shapeshift vs. Mental Group affects what Telepathy can pick up -- either at the "Surface Thoughts" level, or deeper. I understand how Invisibility vs. Mental Groups affects the targeting of Telepathy. But, should we be able to reason by comparison between Shapeshift and Invisibility for what Telepathy can pick up? For example, if someone makes a PER roll to spot an Invisible-to-Sight character's fringe, I assume that the spotter still cannot then recognize details of the Invisible person's visual appearance (e.g., whether she is wearing a blue uniform). Would the same hold true for an Invisible-to-Mental person whose mind is being read (e.g., the TP picks up that thoughts are there, but not what those thoughts are?). As a follow-up, if Invisibility-to-Mental does have that similar interaction with Telepathy, should there be a "Deep Mental Invisibility" adder, as well? Thanks!

It's in Word .doc format, but here's my campaign logs I just finished updating: Campaign Logs from my Champions game

After a long hiatus, I've been updating my campaign notes since I may restart this game, and remembered this old thread of mine. So I decided to share. They're in Word .doc format. "History" is some of the background from the campaign when we were playing it 15+ years ago. "Chronicle" is the actual campaign log. "News" is handouts with snippets of newstories that are supposed to help the players find out what's going on. ... unfortunately, they're rather lumpish, so usually they just read it, giggle when they see their characters referred to, but never follow up on anything. Alas.

Gorilla Grodd. ... hey, it could happen!

I would suggest rather Nepenthe, although which is a drug not a person, is possibly more in line: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthe I'd also suggest stealing some ideas from Hades/Pluto/Dis Pater -- the Greek/Roman underworld god of the dead and wealth, thought to be the keeper of lost wealth. Often theorized to be Gaiman's forgettable god from American Gods (although I don't agree with that).

Hmm. Maybe: Water Torture: Change Environment (-OCV/DCV, -" Running/Climbing, 1 STUN damage), 1 hex, Accurate, Long-Lasting. (effects may be ended by finding a bathroom) hope you didn't take Psych Lim: pee shy

Check under Environmental Conditions, where "Intoxication" is listed as -2 OCV/DCV. Sounds like you want negative Skill Levels, UVO, Ranged.

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. There were quite a few that I liked, and a few less applicable that were yet amusing. To avoid confusion with other things going on in the game (invisible stuff, shadow stuff), and because I thought it had a good, classic sound that'd work in my quasi-Bronze Age, the winner is! Now I can go finish updating my campaign notes.

Yowza. Thanks for all the replies; it'll take a while to consider them all... They were gathered together by a memory-eating Nazi from an alternate timeline (Sineater), and the nihilistic dark side of a Zoroastrian angel (Nemesis). Yeah, it's kind of convoluted. Anyway, they're basically together because they're after the Watchmen, for their own individual reasons.

Back when we were co-GMing Champions (way back, when we all had more free time), we split the campaign world up by city. So, for example, I ran Chicago, and others ran St. Louis, New York, New Orleans, and Winnipeg. (yeah, I know) Each GM had his or her own rogues' gallery, and players had a PC in each city. This allowed for occasional, whopping-fun crossovers and team-ups. It was mostly a matter of talking to the appropriate GM to set something up -- like borrowing a villain -- and then keeping it secret until you sprung it on everyone else. We had annual "Summer Crossovers" where every GM would get a brief synopsis on what intro to run, and then one or two GMs would run the miniseries adventure that wrapped it all up. It got a bit mad at times. Of course, years later we found Ars Magica and it's troupe style play, which essentially suggests the same thing: each GM is assigned one area of responsibility, and runs adventures related to that area. When our troupe played, I was the faerie and local area guy, while others ran Hermetic politics adventures and such.

Need some help here, as I'm stumped for a good villain team name. It's for an "Injustice Society"-type villain team, where it's comprised mostly of villains who have a personal enmity with the PC hero team. 'Cept in this case, the hero team doesn't have an easily riffable name like "the Justice Society" to modify for ill intent. The hero team is the Watchmen, named after some senator wrote an op-ed piece on them harkening back to "who watches the watchmen?" ("quo custodiet ipso custodes?") from Roman literature. But I'm not knowledgable enough in classical literature to come up with a counter-example to them. Anyway, I'm asking for suggestions here. I'll offer my meagre Rep to whomever suggests the winner.

Wisdom generally isn't knowledge, but more the experience and insight to find the knowledge useful to you, and to use that knowledge helpfully. Buy Deduction, and some Skill Levels with all non-combat skills. Add in some social-type Detects (e.g., Detect Lying) and/or Find Weakness maybe. You might also consider adding Usable By Others, Ranged, Incantations onto those Skill Levels, to simulate her giving good advice to her teammates. If you make them Overall Skill Levels, it becomes a really effective power.

If you're in a Bronze Age or Iron Age mindset (mainly), don't forget that by relocating to Paris you've given yourself another set of potential opponents: American superheroes It's a classic in comics that your superhero team must face off against teams of other nationalities, who should be allies, but which circumstances force them to be opponents. Given the current US-France relations, this shouldn't be too hard to set up. It'll also allow you to use some of the Champions Universe heroes as rivals to the hero teams. Always good to mix it up in your PCs' opposition. Of course, tradition would have it that eventually the two teams must set aside their differences and join forces against a greater threat -- which is where Firewing, Menton, Gravitar or the like could factor in.

Definately like the composition and mood. But there's something... off... about his forelegs? Like maybe his leg joints are too high, or his forebody too short? Also, it's obviously not for D&D: D&D dire animals have random spiky bits added for extra kewlness.