wcw43921

Re: Captain Wonder--AWAAY!!! Personality/Motivation: As Captian Wonder, Ward embodies the superheroic ideal as he's come to understand it from having admired and adored superheroes all of his life. He's utterly fearless no matter what the odds or however powerful the foe, and will never back down from a fight or hesitate to put himself in danger to save innocent lives. He is unfailingly polite and helpful to people, especially senior citizens and children, and always co-operates with lawful authority--especially mall security guards. Ward is quite a different person when the mask comes off, however. Before he became a superhero Ward felt disappointed and frustrated by his life, and was irritated by having to be polite and respectful to people who treated him with disdain at best and contempt at worst. This attitude often carries over into his Captain Wonder identity--after all, who better than against a gang of thugs or a supervillain to channel a lifetime of pent-up aggression? It also leads him to challenge more and more powerful foes, the idea being that the more victories against crime he scores, the more people will respect and admire him. Although deeply respectful of other superheroes--so long as that respect is returned--Captain Wonder is secretly envious of them, especially those with genuine superpowers. He constantly seek to expand and upgrade his own weapons and devices, and would welcome the opportunity to acquire superpowers of his own--as long as he doesn't betray his own heroic principles. To Be Continued--

Re: Captain Wonder--AWAAY!!! Now that you've read the introduction, here's the character in Hero terms-- Captain Wonder Secret ID: Ward Mitchell Player: wcw43921 Characteristics 20 STR 10 HTH: 4D6 LIFT: 400kg 27 DEX 51 OCV: 9 DCV: 9 20 CON 20 13 BDY 6 20 INT 10 PER: 13- 10 EGO 0 Base ECV: 3 20 PRE 10 Base PRE: 4D6 12 COM 1 10 PD 6 Resistant PD: 12 Total PD: 22 8 ED 4 Resistant ED: 12 Total ED: 20 6 SPD 23 Phases: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 9 REC 2 50 END 5 35 STN 2 Total CHAR: 150 Movement Combat Non-Combat Running 6" 12" Swimming 2" 4" Leaping Horizontal 4" 8" Vertical 2" 4" Swinging 25" 100" Powers 45 Forcebeam Pistol: 8D6 EB (40 Pts Base) Double Knockback (+3/4) 32 Boostable Charges (+1/2) (90 Pts Active) Personal OAF (-1) 8 Mindshield: 10 Pts Mental Defense (10 Pts Base) IIF Mesh Skullcap (-1/4) 20 Grapple-Bracer: 25" Swinging (25 Pts Base) 4x Non-Combat (+5 Pts) OIF Bracer (-1/2) 24 Wonder-Costume: Armor 12 PD / 12 ED (36 Pts Base) OIF Protective Fabric (-1/2) 13 Inviso-Screen: Invisibility To Sight Group (20 pts Base) IIF Device (-1/4) I Continuing Fuel Charge 20 Minutes (-1/4) Stomp 'Em Hard Martial Arts: 4 Straight Cross: Martial Strike OCV 0 DCV +2 6D6 5 Speed-Maker: Offensive Strike OCV -2 DCV +1 8D6 3 Takedown: Martial Throw OCV 0 DCV +1 4D6 + v/5, Target Falls 5 Counter-Punch: Defensive Strike OCV +1 DCV +3 4D6 4 Disarm-Move: Martial Disarm OCV -1 DCV -1 Disarm Total Powers/Equipment: 131 Skills 3 Acrobatics 14- 3 Analyze Technology 13- 5 AK: Burning Hills Mall 15- 3 Breakfall 14- 3 Combat Driving 14- 5 Computer Programming 14- 7 Concealment 15- 3 Criminology 13- 3 Electronics 13- 5 Fast Draw 15- 3 Inventor 13- 2 KS: City Police 11- 5 KS: Super-Technology 15- 5 KS: Superhuman World 15- 3 Mechanics 13- 3 PS: Mall Security 13- 3 Shadowing 13- 3 Stealth 14- 2 WF: Small Arms Total Skills: 69 Total Powers: 131 Total CHAR: 150 Total Points: 350 Disadvantages 25 DNPC: Janna Vasquez Normal, Appears Frequently (14-) Is Unaware Of Character's Secret 25 DNPCs: Various Mall Employees (8) Normals, Appear Infrequently (8-) 15 Hunter: ShockTrauma As Powerful, Appears Frequently (11-) 15 Hunter: Dr. Spectron More Powerful, Appears Occasionally (8-) 20 Psych Lim: Heroes' Code--Protects Innocents, Upholds Justice, Fights Against All Evil Very Common Situation, Strong Intensity 20 Psych Lim: Seeks Respect, Will Not Tolerate Contempt Common Situation, Total Intensity 15 Social Lim: Secret Identity--Ward Mitchell Frequent Circumstance (11-), Major Effect 10 Rivalry: Crandall Creighton Professional In Superior Position 5 Unluck 1D6 Total Disadvantages: 150 Base Points: 200 Experience: 0 Total Points: 350 To Be Continued--

This character occupies a great deal of my imagination, and I thought I'd share him with you. As I have plans for him above and beyond playing him in a Champions campaign, I'd appreciate your comments on the character himself, as well as the point build. Thank You, and please enjoy. Captain Wonder--AWAAY!!! (Copyright 2005 by the author) Ever since Ward Mitchell was very little, he wanted only one thing in life--to be a superhero. But not just any superhero--he had his heroic ID already picked out and would use it no matter what superpowers a fortuitous scientific or cosmic accident would bestow upon him. That name was. . . Captain Wonder. He designed a costume, and filled sketchpads with hundreds of drawings of Captain Wonder in action. He even came up with a Captain Wonder theme song. He anxiously awaited the day when he would become Captain Wonder for real, and join the ranks of the world's greatest heroes. Time passed, and Ward grew up, and his aspirations grew up with him. Deciding that being a police officer was just as good as being a superhero, he went through the city's police academy and graduated near the top of his class--just as budget cuts forced a hiring freeze. The only job Ward could find that was even close to his chosen profession was a security guard at the Burning Hills Shopping Mall, a sprawling suburban monument to consumerism that was almost a city in itself. There he had to endure such taunts as "Rent-A-Cop" and "Minimum-Wage-With-A-Badge" and (his personal favorite) "Hey Barney--which pocket do you got your bullet?" usually followed by "Dude--don't you know his bullet's in his pants?" and the endless, sneering contempt from every gangsta-wannabe and pseudo-extreme-skatepunker and perfect-teenage-princess and everyone else who counted themselves better than he was, because no matter what kind of low-life no-account waste of protoplasm they were--at least they weren't mall security. But at least it wasn't a complete purgatory--it took his boss, Crandall Creighton, for that. A man on a twelve-year power drunk, Creighton could find fault with everything Ward did or didn't do--even if he did it correctly. The one bright spot in the whole deal was his fellow guard Janna Vasquez, who was so obviously not a fellow to anyone who ever saw her, with her lustrous dark hair, dark sparkling eyes, and her marvelous figure that was barely contained by her uniform. She and Ward had been dating since he started at Burning Hills, and he was seriously considering proposing marriage. All that changed when the electrically charged supervillain ShockTrauma came to the mall. Firing lightning bolts at anything that moved, he gloated st the sight of the fleeing mall denizens, and took what he wanted from the deserted stores. The only one to stand up to him was Ward, who attacked from behind with a wooden baseball bat from a sporting goods store and forced him into the nearest mall fountain, where all his electro-shock weapons shorted out. Ward figured he might get a pay raise out of his heroism--maybe even a job with the city police. What he got instead was his choice of shifts, a small bonus, and an endless lecture from Creighton about endangering mall property and not following disaster procedures. Ward couldn't take it anymore. He could live without a lot of things, but respect wasn't one of them. And if he couldn't get respect as himself, he would get it as soemone else. The fact that he had defeated ShockTrauma single-handed proved he didn't need superpowers--he could still be a superhero. He could make his childhood dream come true. He could be Captain Wonder. Ward began researching super-technology, and used the reward money to design and build his costume and devices. He put himself on a training program to strengthen his muscles and sharpen his reflexes to their utmost. And when ShockTrauma came back to Burning Hills looking for the guard who beat him the last time, Captain Wonder was there to deliver such a pasting that ShockTrauma forgot about the guard, focusing all his hatred on this new superhero. Since then, Captain Wonder has been battling criminals at the Burning Hills mall and throughout the city. He's made some more enemies in the underworld, especially the scientific mastermind Dr. Spectron, from whom Captain Wonder was able to duplicate his invisibility device. This became his Inviso-Screen, which enables him to better sneak up on small-time thugs and supervillains alike. Ward's considered tellign Janna about his secret, but he thinks he might lose her if he does--and he obviously can't let Creighton find out, or his job will be even more miserable than it already is. But for now he enjoys taking the fight to the bad guys as Captain Wonder, and he enjoys something he was rarely, if ever, able to get in his civilian identity--respect. To Be Continued--

Re: Superman: Character to critique I would also give him the Deep Cover Perquisite to simulate his ability to interact with the same people (Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, etc.) in both his Superman and Clark Kent identities and have no one suspect they are one and the same. It's a non-standard interpretation of Deep Cover, but I think it works.

Re: weird villain concepts Did you mean. . .Lavender?

Re: weird villain concepts THE PROGRAMMER Posesses a symbiotic control over all electronics, which might have developed from his spending his entire childhood watching television. He manipulates bank accounts, empties out ATMs for pocket change, and uses the proceeds to finance his own television network--the GOOD-TV channel. Thing is, the programming doesn't live up to the name. For example-- The Gorgeous Girls--Like The Facts Of Life, but set in a lingerie shop. The main characters are lingerie models, and they never wear anything else. Their boyfriends are male strippers, so "the female viewers can't complain too much." Arcade-O-Rama--Players compete for cash and prizes playing vintage arcade games, including pinball, bowling, and light-based shooters. Private Space-Eyes--Thomas Magnum, Jim Rockford, Barnaby Jones and Charlie's Angels travel from planet to planet in a flying saucer solving mysteries and fighting crime. (None of the characters are played by the original actors.) Superior Minds Round Table--Five or six of "the most exemplary human beings in the universe" gather together to offer their views on the important issues of the day--like who had the sexier outfit: Lt. Uhura or Seven Of Nine; which breakfast cereals taste better when mixed together; the feasibility of substituting toaster waffles for bread when making sandwiches; how to sneak nudie magazines, violent video games, and other prohibited material into your house without getting caught by your parents or girlfriend; and why lightsabers should be allowed by law--assuming they really could exist. A regular segment on this show is "We Are Offended." The Superior Minds pile into one car and drive around looking for things that offend them--such as tiny dogs that bark incessantly, posters for "chick flick" movies, vending machines whose prices they think are too high, and just about anything or anyone else they dislike or with which they disagree. Then they pelt the "offenders" with water balloons. Sometimes they use eggs.

Could you please point me to the page in HERO 5th Edition where it stipulates in the case of two identical foci--i.e. a matched set of daggers, two Colt .45 six-shooters, an enchanted pair of yo-yos, etc.--the second focus costs less than the first? Thank You in advance for your clarification. Any and all the help you provide is deeply appreciated.

Re: Spiderman vs... This happened in the JLA/Avengers miniseries. The Justice League crosses over to Marvel-Earth to find various artifacts of power that the Grandmaster told them they needed. They fan out all over the globe, and they don't care much for what they see. There's Doctor Doom gloating over his tyrannized subjects--the Hulk in the aftermath of a rampage--the obliterated nation of Genosha--and more. Through it all, Batman was co-ordinating the League's search, and he keeps admonishing the Leaguers with "Observe and report--no getting involved." Then he catches sight of The Punisher going into a drug gang's hideout with guns blazing. He leaves Plastic Man behind to slip through a skylight in the roof-- The next page has the League gathered on an island where they've located one of the artifacts (The Ultimate Nullifier), and Plastic Man soundly berates Batman: PLAS: "Stick with the plan, he says! Observe and report, he says! But does HE follow the plan? Or does he spend twenty minutes beating up a loon in Kevlar to save some drug dealers?!" The best moment in the whole miniseries--apart from all the other moments--and it had to happen off-panel. Oh, well.

Re: CoH Comic I'm a fan of the Blue King Studios version myself. Horus, Apex and War Witch are really cool characters--I'd fight evil alongside them anytime.

Re: What's the most ridiculous PC you've ever been subjected to? While reading 4th Edition, I had an image of a Frankenstein-esque being dressed as a WWII soldier, complete with rifle and grenades. His name? Combat Monster.

Re: Request for plot ideas for an Anarchist villain team. I was going to suggest EMP weapons, but HewhoisMatt beat me to it. Of course you could always have them build a "Doomsday" EMP-bomb capable of frying every electronic system around the globe. Imagine the fun of the PCs not only having to deal with Anarchy, but also Mechanon, who's trying to preserve his own existence by preventing the bomb's detonation. Another possible scenario is to have Anarchy attack clinics where abortions are performed, their reasoning being that women who terminate their pregnancies are "contributing to the destruction of the family." They would attack at night, leaving the clinics a smoldering wreck in the morning, and the PCs may suspect local right-wing reactionaries at first, until they find the evidence that leads them to the correct conclusion. As Supreme Serpent mentioned, churches would make a good target--Anarchy would most likely focus on all the suffering caused by organized religion. They could also attempt to start a "holy war" by attacking two particular religious affiliations' houses of worship (mosques and synagogues, for example) and make it look like each one is responsible for the attacks on the other. Hope those ideas help.

Re: Spaceport: Planetary Surface or Orbital? Why not both? Have a space station in geosynchronous orbit over a groundside facility. The space station could service those vessels incapable of entering a planet's atmosphere, and the groundport could handle everything else. Depending on tech level, the two could be connected by a beanstalk-style elevator system, or even teleporters; otherwise, you'll need a ferry system. I think this would give the players some interesting problems, strategy-wise. Say they're looking for someone on the station--do they search the spaceport, or the groundport? Or do they split up to search both, and risk a chance they'll be ambushed? Or say they need to get off the planet, Millenium Falcon-style--they might out-run the groundport's pursuit craft, but the spaceport's patrol ships are right there waiting for them. I hope you can find a use for those ideas.

Re: 5th Edition Villain Updates

Re: Speedster Name Needed It stands for Bring Your Own Brick. You make up two characters (they don't have to be bricks) and the GM chooses which one you'll play.

Re: Speedster Name Needed I suggested these in an earlier post-- Super-Swift Lightning Swift Speed Star Lightspeeder These are also possibilities-- Tachyon (Insert favorite color) Streak Hot Streak The Racer

Re: Kingdom Come Casting Call I always thought the Kingdom Come Batman looked more like Sam Neill than anyone else. And I'd pick Martin Landau to play Norman McCay.

Re: Champs Worldwide: Whaddya want? You know. I have yet to see any mention of Hong Kong in this thread. I would think given its population and economic base, and its position as a Western-capitalist city in the largest Communist nation on Earth, it would be a magnet for supers of all types--street-level supers, world-saving heroes and world-threatening villains, supernatural and supertech organizations on either side of the law, anti-communist militants looking for a base of operations, anti-capitalist militants looking to make an example--you could probably fill an entire chapter of the book with Hong Kong characters, organizations and its role in the superhuman world.

Re: Champs Worldwide: Whaddya want? Perhaps a Russian Robin Hood is in order--a hero who steals from the Mob, and gives the wealth to those most in need. Definitely a hero, but also definitely outside the law.

Re: If Champions didn't exist... . . .Then Wheaties would have to be "The Breakfast Of Second-Place Finishers." :D :D Thank You--I'm here all week. . .

Re: Theme music This is the theme song I came up with for my character Captain Wonder. The idea is that he wanted to be Captain Wonder ever since he was very little, and created a costume design and theme song for himself in anticipation of becoming a superhero. (He sings the theme to himself before and during a battle to keep himself psyched.) The melody is my own, and since I'm not musically literate, you'll have to figure it from the lyrics as best you can. My apologies. And now, without further ado-- CAPTAIN WONDER--AWAAAY!!! Captain Wonder--Away! Fighting With His Might To Save The Day! When It's All On The Line, He'll Save Your Life And Mine, Captain Wonder--Away! Captain Wonder--Away! Look Out, Bad Guys, 'Cause He's Here To Stay! When There's A Wrong To Right, He's There To Win The Fight, Captain Wonder--Away! His Fists Strike As Hard And Fast As Lightning, Evil-Doers Fall Before Their Might, When Other People Find The Villains Frightening, He Will Charge On In And Win The Fight! All The People Cheer For Captain Wonder, They Think He's The Greatest In The Land, And When He Tears The Villains' Plans Asunder, They Do All Give Him A Great Big Hand! Captain Wonder--Away! And Evil Will Never Ever Have Its Way! When Villains Come To Town, He's There To Bring Them Down, When Evil Bears Its Claws, He's There To Win Our Cause, When Villains Threaten Us, He'll Fight For All Of Us, Captain Wonder--Away! Captain Wonder--Away! CAPTAIN WONDER--AWAAAY!!! (Copyright 2004 by the author)

Re: Jeff Wayne's War of the World's meets Champions The same can be said of any "Walker" vehicle--from two-legged vehicles like Gundam Mobile Suits (and just about any other fighting robot) to the AT-ATs from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Even eight-legged "spider-walkers" would have problems functioning if it lost even one of its legs.* This is why I remain less-than-convinced of the viability of anthropomorphic or zoomorphic vehicles as weapons of war. As storytelling devices, however, they work really well. *Now a "centipede-walker" with a hundred or more legs, might be able to sustain the loss of one or more legs without a critical loss of functionality. Perhaps Foxbat was right all along. Now there's a thought. . . :shudder:

Re: The Incredibles -- WITH SPOILERS I was wondering what happened to all the supervillains when the heroes were forced into retirement--were they all supposed to be in jail by then, or something? Because usually when the heroes are incapacitated or otherwise out of the picture, that's the time the bad guys really go on a spree-- BANK ROBBERS: "This is great! With the Mighty Rocket out of town, there's no one to stop us!" THE MIGHTY ROCKET: "Who said I was out of town?" BANK ROBBERS: "Oh---fudge. . ." Now I could see Syndrome recruiting the villains the same way he "recruited" all those heroes--but I thought there should have been some mention of it in the movie. That being said, it did not diminish my enjoyment of the movie one bit. The Incredibles is quite possibly the best original superhero movie ever--EVER--and I plan to see it once more, at least, and support it in any way I can.

Re: New Character Background - Opinions Welcome Could have fooled me. That's a great origin. Well done. The name lacks a little "oomph" if you'll pardon my saying so. May I humbly suggest: Super-Swift Lightning Swift Speed Star (if that isn't already taken) Lightspeeder I look forward to your next character.

Re: must keep topic alive!

Re: An Alternate Superman I think this goes back to Frank Miller's first Dark Knight series, when Batman was very much against the Establishment and Superman was taking orders from it. You see this attitude in almost all the DC comics, where Superman is out there doing what he thinks is right, and Batman sort of hangs back like he's waiting for Superman to screw up. That's what it looks like to me, anyway.