wcw43921

Re: Don't Buy Everything In a Good Story (Topic: Supers and the Law)

They did mention something about "memory erasing" in the movie, and we saw it happen in the DVD short Jack-Jack Attack. Perhaps most, if not all of the supervillains that were caught had some of their memories blanked out--most likely the ones relating to how to use their powers.

It would have to be kept secret--the uproar over civil liberties that would rise up would be more than the government could handle.

This obviously doesn't cover everything--I suppose we'll have to ask Brad Bird for a complete explanation. Anyone got his phone number?

Re: Champions "What Ifs"

What If--the 5th Edition Champions crossed over to the 4th Edition Universe and met their counterparts?

What If--the ambient level of magic in the 5th Edition Universe were to suddenly increase? Would everyone get superpowers? Or would Takofanes become so powerful that he could kill everyone at once, then raise them up to become his followers?

What If--the Harmon family were beholden to Dr. Destroyer in the same way as the Medina family? Would James Harmon IV be the power-armored servant of Destroyer, the Vader to his Palpatine? Or would he find a way to escape his servitude and use technology stolen from his former master to oppose him--thus becoming humanity's Defender?

What If--the superpowered heavy metal band Road Kill existed in 5th Edition Universe? Would Sapphire be on their target list for committing "Crimes Against Music?" Or would they just go after the usual suspects?

What If--Champions had been the very first RPG instead of Dungeons & Dragons? Would it have been as popular? Less? More? Would random assignment of characteristics as an RPG mechanic have existed at all? Would there have been a bad movie made about the game? Maybe even two?

What If--Naah, that's all I got for now. Maybe later.

Re: CHAR: Superman

One thing I would add to any HERO System build of Superman is the Deep Cover perk, with the Deep Cover ID being Clark Kent. To my mind this is the best way to simulate the fact that Superman and Clark can interact with the same people on a personal and professional level and have none of them suspect that they're one and the same person.

And for only Two--count 'em--Two Points! Such a deal!

Re: 50's comic-book heroes

Here's a page for Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Fighting American, first published in 1954.

And here's another.

Re: Help with Serial Killer story

Okay--let's consider a few things about serial killers:

*They kill in order to satisfy desires that could at best be described as unnatural.

*Their continued ability to keep on killing and satisfying their depends on their ability to evade discovery and conceal their actions.

*They are absolutely indistinguishable from "regular" humans--they look like you, or me, or your next-door neighbor.

To my mind, this makes the serial killer identical to a particular class of legendary creature--the Vampire. Vampires and serial killers have nearly identical rationales and modus operandi, and they look completely like people--even people you know.

So here's an idea--your serial killer believes he is a vampire. Either he's thoroughly and completely deluded (either by himself or through some organic mental disorder) or someone else has "convinced" him of it through brainwashing or some less torturous form of persuasion. He attacks and incapacitates his victims, carries them to his "crypt" (the boiler room of an apartment or some other carefully concealed location), drains their blood over a long period of time (they can be alive during this process--or not), and when he's done, deposits their body as far away from the crime scene as he can.

Bear in mind that he wouldn't look like a traditional vampire--he doesn't wear all black or dye his hair dark. But he would almost never be seen in the daytime (if he is, he would explain it as saying he's powerful enough to withstand sunlight, or he has a talisman that protects him--this would be a bottlecap, or something else utterly mundane). Also, while he has a secret, he does not have a secret ID. The first indication that he's out there is that the body of one of his victims turns up--complete with puncture marks on the throat. (Think of the opening of any episode of Law & Order.) If vampires or other supernatural phenomena exists in the campaign, the authorities may believe they are dealing with a genuine vampire and call in the player-heroes to investigate. The facts that the killer chooses his victims from the lower socioeconomic strata and that he waits from two to four months between killings (after all the blood is gone) will make it difficult to track him at first, but if the PCs are thorough and tenacious in their investigations, they will eventually catch up with him.

Hope that helps.

Re: Just a Low-Rent Superhero

Very nice character. Love the background.

Consider yourself repped.

Re: When Worlds Collide: ideas for universe crossovers

Here's a possibility--

As was discussed before on these boards, all comic book characters, especially superheroes, are real people who exist in alternate dimensions, whose adventures are perceived in the form of dreams by the comic book writers and artists in the "real" world, who transcribe the stories for the rest of us to read and enjoy.

Indeed, Gardner Fox told us so.

Anyway, the person who writes the PC-Heroes comic book in an alternate reality is chosen (kidnapped) for some covert--and dangerous--psionic amplification experiments. The writer's increased psi-power creates an even greater bond between himself and the heroes, and in his distress calls out to them for help, drawing them into his reality.

The heroes will find themselves in a world much like their own, except that everyone knows much more about them, especially the secrets most closely kept. And while they may have their share of adoring fans, they may also have their detractors--

SUPPOSED FAN: "Dude, Razorwire is such a lame villain--why did you have such a hard time with him last issue?"

HERO: "Razorwire nearly killed me the last time we fought--think YOU could take him, punk, with those stringbean arms and a physique like a famine victim?"

SUPPOSED FAN: "That's it, dude. I'm donating all your comics in my collection to the poor--to reflect the poor quality of your comic. (Walks Off)--Heh, heh, I showed him,--"

For hero crossover action, the heroes meet their favorite ficticious superhero team (or a very popular team in they don't have one), who exist as real people in this alternate reality. How well the heroes' heroes know who they are depends on how popular they may be in this reality--not everyone reads comics, after all. (Shocking, I admit--)

Re: "Shallow" Purchases

OT, but the way I've done it in the past is to just give the character a large Multipower with the special effect of 'the powers actually come from his genie/demon/magic teddy bear/whatever'. Often with the limitation Incantations on the MP, as you've got to tell them what to do. I guess I could also do an OIF for the lamp, if one such is needed.

 

Does that sound game-legal to any of you?

That's what occurred to me, but with an Activation Roll on the powers to reflect that the character has to "persuade" the magical entity to help out. The lower the Activation, the more obstinate the entity--

MEL: "Magica, I need you to transform Lord Monstrous' flaming sword into something harmless!"

MAGICA: "Mmmm--I don't know if I want to."

MEL: "What! But--but why?"

MAGICA: "I changed my appearance and you didn't--even--notice!"

MEL: "What? You look the same as before! What did you change? Your hair? Your makeup? What? WHAT??"

MAGICA: (Sits and pouts)

Re: "Shallow" Purchases

Your mystic has everything he wants' date=' so you put "Summon Sexy Demoness looking mystic being, Totally loyal" in a slot. "Bring those grapes over here, would you dear?" The female members of your team make oink sounds, but you don't care.[/b']

 

That's HYSTERICAL and is SO going into the MP of one of my mystic bad guys (Lord Malfice). Although it would be more fun (and seen more often as a running gag) to let a sorta good guy have it.

That sounds like it could almost be a PC--the character is a normal who has the adoration and obedience of a gorgeous female spirit (demon?) who's a cross between I Dream Of Jeannie and Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt. Of course you'd have to figure a way around the whole "Follower-cannot-have-more-points-than-the-character" thing, but that shouldn't be too huge a problem--should it?

Re: Tremble Before The Might Of--SHOCKTRAUMA!!!

So--nobody has any comments on the character?

Well--darn. Just--darn.

http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=102748

Swap out the IMAX camera for an autoblaster, mount a grenade launcher or two, and you're ready to Fight Evil.

The perfect vehicle for all you Mystery Men-level heroes.

Re: Captain Jack

Remember, a lot of what the audience perceives on Doctor Who is the result of the viewpoint characters being affected by things like the TARDIS's translator field. The Docotr has been aboard the TARIDIS so long that this field, which he referred to once as "a Time Lord gift", is still with him even when he is separated from the TARDIS for long periods. He comprehends the speech of innumerbale aliens -- since we see the Universe through his eyes and hear it through his ears, therefore so do we. Captain Jack almost certainly has easy access to something similar, possibly implanted into his body -- and he also has the same sort of "slightly psychic paper" that the Doctor uses.

So it's a function of the TARDIS, huh? I always thought that Time Lords were moderately telepathic--not enough to read minds outright, but enough to communicate with alien species they'd never met before. They pick up the surface thoughts as they're expressed verbally, and transmit their own surface thoughts, which are perceived by the recipient as verbal expression.

Or something like that.

The Time Lords possessing telepathy would also explain the Doctor's--and most especially the Master's--ability to hypnotize people instantly and take complete control of them. Real-life hypnosis doesn't work that way. (Does the new Doctor have that kind of ability?)

Re: Tremble Before The Might Of--SHOCKTRAUMA!!!

Powers/Tactics: The accident that led to Jenkins becoming ShockTrauma altered his body along with his mind. His body is now a living storage battery, and he can recharge his energy from any live electrical source. He can use his stored electricity to boost his strength to superhuman levels, and it provides him with a natural resistance to energy-based attacks. But his primary weapons are the lightning projectors built into his armor, which is configured to draw power from his body’s electrical energy. His armor can fire a single lightning bolt at a specific target, or a volley of lightning bolts over a wide area. It can also project a static electricity field that temporarily paralyzes the muscles of any persons within a specific target area. The armor itself is made of a metallic mesh that has a constant high voltage current running through it--anyone trying to grab him is in for quite a shock. Literally. The same mesh is also capable of generating an electromagnetic repulsion field, which he currently uses to fly and for which he will undoubtedly develop other uses.

Being a living storage battery has one great drawback–ShockTrauma is especially vulnerable to being attacked with--or immersion in--water. It causes his stored electrical energy to discharge randomly, with disastrous and painful results. Needless to say this has given him an aversion to water, and makes him particularly angry when someone tries to use it against him.

Appearance: Lester Jenkins was never the most handsome man–he stands 5' 9" and weighs a paunchy 230 pounds, with narrow, squinty eyes and a thin fringe of brownish hair that barely covers the back of his head. As ShockTrauma he wears a gleaming metallic mesh armor suit whose medieval appearance belies its high-tech construction. Over the armor he wears a sleeveless black tabard, fastened with a wide leather belt, which bears his emblem–a silver skull flanked by golden diagonal lightning bolts. A black metallic mesh cape hangs from his shoulders, and a gleaming metallic helmet in the shape of a skull covers the top of his head, leaving his lower jaw uncovered. His eyes are visible through the eye-holes of the skull.

Re: Tremble Before The Might Of--SHOCKTRAUMA!!!

Personality/Motivation: As ShockTrauma, Jenkins has assumed the personality of a forgotten interstellar tyrant from the galaxy’s distant past. He isn’t possessed by the spirit of the tyrant, but his own mind has been augmented by the mental potential stored within the mnemonic crystal. Having no memory of this tyrant, Jenkins believes that everything he’s thinking and feeling is his own idea, and that his megalomania is working better for him than what he was doing before. He believes that he has the right to take whatever he wants from whomever he wants, and those who stand against him will suffer hideously for their foolishness. He enjoys making long-winded speeches about his own supremacy and the futility of opposing him, along with threats of deadly violence against his enemies. He does not work well with other villains, and will refuse to take orders from anyone no matter how much more powerful they are. While he is looking for minions to do his bidding and tremble before his might, he has focused the majority of his attention on the superhero Captain Wonder, who has consistently dealt ShockTrauma his most humiliating defeats.

Jenkins doesn’t know how or why he came up the name ShockTrauma–it just sounded good at the time, and it still does. He’s toyed with the idea of calling himself Doctor ShockTrauma, or Master ShockTrauma, or even Emperor ShockTrauma–but none of those have the same effect as just ShockTrauma.

Quote: “I will teach you the meaning of POWER! I will teach you the meaning of TERROR! YOU will perish in mindless agony, and if you are remembered at all, it shall be as the miserable IDIOT who was so STUPID as to challenge. . .SHOCKTRAUMA, LORD OF LIGHTNING!â€

Re: Tremble Before The Might Of--SHOCKTRAUMA!!!

And here is ShockTrauma in HERO terms--

SHOCKTRAUMA

Secret ID: Lester Jenkins

Player: wcw43921

CHARACTERISTICS

10 STR 0 11- HTH Damage: 2D6 Lift: 100kg END: (1)

18 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6 DCV: 6

25 CON 30 14-

12 BDY 4 11-

20 INT 10 13- PER: 13-

25 EGO 30 14- ECV: 8

15 PRE 5 12-

6 COM -2 10-

10 PD 8 Resistant PD: 10 Total PD: 20

20 ED 15 Resistant ED: 20 Total ED: 20

5 SPD 22 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10,12

11 REC 8

64 END 7

45 STUN 15

TOTAL=176

MOVEMENT

Ground 6" 12"

Swim 0" 0"

H-Leap 2" 4"

V-Leap 1" 2"

Flight 30" 60"

POWERS(END)

50 Multipower, 75-point base, all OIF Metal Mesh Armor

5u Lightning Strike: 15D6 EnergyBlast (7)

3u Lightning Storm: 7D6 Energy Blast, Area Effect Cone(+1) (3)

No Range (-½)

5u Death-Strike: 5D6 Ranged Killing Attack (7)

5u Lightning Shield: 5D6 Energy Blast, Damage Shield (+½) (0)

Reduced END (+½)

5u Static Paralysis Entangle 3D6, 3 DEF, Area Effect 3" Radius (3)

Field: Takes No Damage From Any Attack (+½)

5u Lightning Flight: 30" Flight, Reduced END (+1/4) (3)

40 Lightning Recharge: 12D6 Absorption, Goes To END,

Only Vs. All Forms Of Electricity (-½)

16 Lightning-Powered +40 STR, Does Not Affect Figured (8)

Muscle: Characteristics (-½) 2X END (-½)

Activation 14- (-½)

20 Battle Armor: Armor 20 PD OIF Metal Mesh Armor (-½)

10 Energy Resistance: Damage Resistance 20 ED

-2 Does Not Swim: -2" Swimming

TOTAL=162

SKILLS

3 Electronics 13-

3 Inventor 13-

3 Oratory 12-

3 PS: Electrical Engineer 13-

TOTAL=12

176=CHARACTERISTICS

162=POWERS

12=SKILLS

350=TOTAL

DISADVANTAGES

25 Susceptibility: 3D6 From Immersion In Water

20 Vulnerability: 2X STUN From Water-Based Attacks

20 Enraged When Attacked With Water: Enraged 14- Recover 11-

15 Social Limitation: Secret ID (Lester Jenkins) 11-

20 Psychological Limitation: Hunts Captain Wonder (Common, Total)

25 Psychological Limitation: Desires To Dominate The World

(Very Common, Strong)

25 Hunted By The Authorities (More Powerful, NCI)

150=TOTAL DISADVANTAGES

200=BASE POINTS

350=TOTAL POINTS

Those of you who read my post of Captain Wonder on this board will remember my mentioning his first and most persistent enemy, ShockTrauma. Here now is that character--please let me know what you think.

SHOCKTRAUMA

(Copyright 2005 by the author)

Origin/Background: Twenty thousand years ago a great galactic war finally came to a close. The rubble was cleared away and the devastated worlds rebuilt. The dead were consecrated and mourned according to ritual. The living celebrated their own survival and the survival of their way of life, and praised the veterans for their courage, determination and sacrifice. There was only one thing left to do–punish the tyrant responsible for starting the war.

It was decided by the war crimes tribunal that the tyrant would have his mind stripped out of his body and implanted in a mnemonic crystal, that then to be placed upon an asteroid and sent into the vast expanse between the stars. The body would be destroyed, and the mind, completely devoid of external stimulation, would be forced to contemplate for all eternity the unspeakable horrors and atrocities he had inflicted upon countless innocents. While it wasn’t punishment enough for his crimes, it would have to do.

Twenty thousand years later, an unemployed public utilities worker named Lester Jenkins was indulging in his favorite pastime–falling asleep in front of a blaring television while drinking beer. It was another wasted night in his waste of a house in a waste of a nearly vacant housing development that was scheduled to be demolished in favor a new factory. And on top of that a storm was brewing–that meant more flooding in the basement. Maybe a few more beers and he could sleep through the whole thing–

That was when he saw the light and felt the crash outside. Was that lightning? It didn’t seem like lightning. He went outside to look, and there at the bottom of the cul-de-sac that bordered his backyard was a strange, glowing rock half-buried in the middle of a crater. He went down to take a closer look as the rain began to fall, and as the ground softened to mud it became easier to dig the rock out of the crater. Jenkins didn’t know what he had found, but he figured it had to be worth a few hundred bucks–maybe a couple of thousand. Maybe even enough to chuck his old life and buy a new one. As he finally pulled the rock free, he cradled it in his hands like a newborn baby and smiled. This was his ticket to the big time.

That was when the lightning struck.

The crystal shattered into dust as the mind inside was transferred into the brain of Lester Jenkins. But twenty thousand years of silence and dankness had shattered the mind beyond recall. There was no memory of the tyrant left, of the armies and space fleets once at his command, of the genocide and devastation he’d inflicted on tens of thousands of worlds. What remained, however, was his intellectual capacity, his ability to understand a world’s technology and innovate and improve upon it. What remained was his indomitable will, his cold steel resolve to let nothing stand in the way of his goals, his desires. What remained were his goals–to rule the universe, to dominate all within his reach and beyond. What remained were his desires–to hold absolute power of life and death over all who lived, and to have them tremble in absolute terror at the thought.

All of this was passed on to Lester Jenkins. He wasn’t quite aware of what had happened to him–only that he had been changed. He realized, as he watched electric sparks arcing between his fingers, that his body had been changed along with his mind. And he realized that he had the power to write his own ticket to the big time–and he would deal out screaming, angry death in all its forms to anyone who stood in his way. And he realized that even with as much power as he had–he wanted more.

Lester Jenkins went back inside his house to build, and plan, and bring to life his dreams of power and destruction. That night, ShockTrauma was born.

Re: C.U. alternate world, after "Independence Day"

There are certain non-renewable resources you cannot grow:

Uranium, Iron (for steel), Coal, Plutonium, Gold, Silicon, Magnesium, Natural Gas (in quantities), etc... (lotsa heavy metals and some gases).

 

They obviously weren't too intent on working with the population of the planet, so destroying them is just as easy. I always got the impression they also had the Locust Bent to them, move from chunk of rock to chunk of rock removing what they need from each chunk.

 

ID4 Aliens: Move into an area they don't control, destroy the local culture and populace, take what they need, move on.

 

We weren't given a complete rundown on Alien culture - we have no idea what resources they were chewing up at what rate, if they reached a population density where importing (by whatever means) became required to sustain it, or if they even had thought about hydroponics.

 

Saying "Resources" is a stupid reason is silly.

One other thing to consider as far as their resource management--it occurred to me that perhaps, for all their power and technological superiority, they had never developed faster-than-light travel.

That would explain their "locust" mindset and modus operandi--they strip a solar system of all its resources, then spend the next several decades (or centuries) moving on to the next star system. At that point they've depleted the resources from the previous system, and are ready to repeat the process.

Which means for us, while we may get a great deal of significant technological advancements from the salvage of the ID4 aliens' ships, a working FTL drive will not be one of them. But we will, at last, have the tools to personally explore and colonize our own star system.

Re: What Champions Books Would You Like Published in the Future?

I wouldn't mind if the Almanac concept was brought back--not all of us have ideas that could fill entire books, but could fill a section of one, and many of the ideas mentioned here (the CU Media Sourcebook comes to mind) could be done as an entry in an Almanac. Plus it could cover more than one genre of adventuring, reprint some of the more popular Digital Hero articles, and generally serve the HERO gaming community that much better.

Re: Favorite Super-Mercenary

Interesting, the number of Utility fans on this thread. While I like the concept, I have never cared much for the name. I feel it lacks stature, impact--and really, it doesn't get the point across. You hear the name, and think, "What kind of name is 'Utility?'"

Yeah, I know--Dr. Destroyer and Foxbat were already taken. But I think he could do better. I envisioned him taking the "I am smarter and better than everyone, especially superhumans" further than ever, and calling himself--Ultimate One. His costume would be a sort of "bulletproof latex" which would cover his entire body, with a faceplate that would leave doubt as to whether he was a cleverly disguised human--or an android.

I also envisioned him taking over The Ultimates, after Binder was either imprisoned or incapacitated. Binder would eventually go after him, but the Ultimates would be doing so well under Ultimate One's leadership that they don't want Binder back. Chaos ensues as Binder recruits a rival team of Ultimates, or--all together now--Turns To The PCs For Help!

Perhaps this should be in another thread--Re-Imagining Champions Universe Characters.

Re: Batman and How he does it.

You have to remember, though, that Batman has been training himself since he was about seven years old. That's the only way you get to be that good--think Olympic-level gymnasts, figure skaters, etc. Most of us have long since passed the age when beginning to train like that would produce someone with the level of expertise and versatility that Batman possesses.

The book would lend some interesting insight into the kind of discipline and training that would make a Batman--and almost any sort of physical activity is better for you than none at all. But as a "how-to" book on being Batman--that's like a "how-to" book on being a Jedi Knight.

Which I'm sure has been published, somewhere. . .

Re: Favorite Super-Mercenary

Who's bullet?

BULLET--Aka Randolph Ball. Originally a mercenary soldier, he became a bounty hunter who went after supervillains. Carried a pistol that used both lethal and non-lethal rounds, gas and flash grenades, and employed other super-gadgets. Leader of the Raiders, which included Big John, a Scottish strongman with Growth powers, and an alien explorer named Starseer.

All three characters first appeared in Enemies III, and again in Classic Enemies for 4E.

That's the short of it--hope that helps.

Re: Dr. Doom vs Iron Man

Actually the "Who'd Win?" discussions make me want to gouge my eyes out.

That's what made Doomsday so great to me--you could have put him up against any hero or villain, deity or demigod, and he might get beat once--but he'd come back to life strong enough to beat whatever beat him before.

Kinda knocks the whole "Who'd Win?" argument into the ditch, doesn't it?

Re: Dr. Doom vs Iron Man

I'd love to see that fight, though.

To me, the best fights in comics are between characters with identical or near-identical powers. Bricks vs. Bricks, Martial Artists vs. Martial Artists, Energy Projectors vs. Energy Projectors.

Showdown time.

Fantastic Four #25--The Hulk vs. The Thing. Imagine a pro wrestling match with better dialogue--

"Fool! You're just a muscular freak! But I'm The Hulk!"

"I'll remember those words, playmate! They'll look great carved on your tombstone!"

Fantastic Four Annual #4--Johnny Storm vs. the original Human Torch. Stripped of his memory and enslaved by the Mad Thinker, the Torch must kill Johnny or be destroyed. The full-page panel with the two of them colliding is Jack "THE KING!" Kirby at his best.

I aso remember a Legion Of Super-Heroes story where Lightning Lad fought his brother, Lightning Lord. They were both glowing bright with electrical energy as they slugged it out.

I thing Doom would have more surprises in his armor than anyone realizes. But then again--so would Iron Man.

It would be one heck of a fight. I nominate George Perez to draw it.

Re: Sky High The Movie

I still say they ripped PS238 off I'll be seeing it soon anyway...

Hmmmm--interesting. Who ripped off whom?

You see, I think Sky High owes a much greater debt to Up Up And Away, a 2000 made-for-Disney-TV movie. Robert "Meteor Man" Townsend directed and starred as the Bronze Eagle, one of a family of superheroes that included Warrior Woman (his wife) and Silver Cyclone (his eldest son). Even the youngest daughter can shoot laser beams from her eyes--but the middle son has no powers at all. Because he wants to be a hero, and more, he doesn't want to disappoint his father, he tries to fake having superpowers--but that works out about like you'd expect. But it all turns out well.

When they introduced Tyler Marlocke in P.S. 238 I immediately thought of Up Up And Away, except that Tyler's parents are in superhuman levels of denial over their son's lack of powers, and he'd much rather live as a normal kid. As it is, he has to worry about surviving gym class.

So who should sue whom? Who had the idea originally? Disney? Aaron Williams? Siegel and Shuster? Julius Schwartz? Stan The Man? Jack The King? The superheroic genre has a intensely strong tendency to repeat itself, and if every lawsuit that could be filed actually was, the most popular comics would be Archie or Little Lulu.

Re: Sky High The Movie

It looks cool to me, and I like the scenes of Kurt Russell in his "Clark Kent" identity. I saw a short feature on it on the Disney Channel, and they interviewed the actress who plays the main character's girlfriend; her character is described as a "techno-path" who can create machines with the power of her mind. Sounds nifty to me.

I'm speculating that she may be the daughter of Commander Stronghold's (Kurt Russell's character) arch-enemy. That would make for an unexpected twist--unexpected to all but me, anyway.