wcw43921

Three words:

MASS HOSTAGE SITUATION

The bad guys have an auditorium, or shopping mall, or stadium, or something just like those filled with innocent people, and a WMD ready to kill them all at the touch of a button. Charging in at full force isn't the answer; the player-heroes have to stall for time and figure out how to negate the weapon and rescue the hostages without prematurely escalating the situation into a shooting match.

The scenario "Asenscion" from the VIPER Souercebook is a perfect example of of such a situation.

Originally posted by "V"

There was another chap called Lord Midnight who was a member of the landed gentry in his Secret ID and had a VERY haunted country house. He tended to stumble into adventures accidentally (week in, week out) and each week a different ghost from his house accompanied him and helped out. How you'd model that in Hero I have no idea... the chap himself had very few powers of his own, but since no one else could see the Ghosts everyone thought he did... perhaps the Ghosts could just be a "special effect" for a VPP?

What occurrs to me would be to use Telekinesis and Clarisentinence, with the special effect being that the ghosts push stuff around or trip up the bad guys, or peer through walls or into enclosed spaces and tell the hero what's there. Of course he would have the Distinctive Feature "Talks To People Who Aren't There."

There's other Power possibilities for the effect--I'll leave it to you to work out the details and do the math--I stink at math.

I always considered Starburst the Champions "version" of Superman, if for no other reason than he could fly and he wore a cape. He may not have had the power level (closer to Spider-Man's) and the high-ideal mindset (Psych Lim: Publicity Seeker) of Big Red, but that could come soon enough given time and experience points.

I do wish they'd kept Crusader and Starburst for 5th Edition.

Cyberknights is good; Executive Sanction would be even better, as the PCs would be more likely to meet up wih them as some city-shaking menace threatens to endanger the nation.

I wouldn't mind seeing the 5th Edition Zen Team--they were favorites of mine.

The name AVATAR comes to mind, as he might consider himself a representation of godlike power, if not actually a mortal incarnation of a god, which in my understanding is what avatars were in Hindu mythology.

Hope that helps.

No-Contact Jacket

It says "non-lethal" on the site; I'd put it at 8D6 Stun Only. What does everyone else think?

The one that comes immediately to mind is Black Harlequin. Too much and to obvious of a Joker swipe for me to enjoy or respect.

I also concur with Haerandir about Nighthawk. Crusader and Starburst definitely should have made it into 5th Edition.

Originally posted by Yamo

BZZT

 

You lose.

 

Don't you know that the first person to bring up Hitler and the Nazis always loses? Especially when the subject is comic books.

 

Even when that person is making a valid point? I must have missed that one in the FAQ section.

My argument stands.

Originally posted by Yamo

Batman carried a gun and used it in the old books.

According to no less an authority than Bob Kane, in his book Batman And Me, Batman's early use of firearms was not well received:

In several early issues of Detective he even carried a gun. We had our first brush with censorship over Batman's use of a gun in Batman #1. In one story in this issue he had a machine gun mounted on his plane and used it to fight gigantic monsters. . .We didn't think anything was wrong with Batman carrying a gun because the Shadow used one. Readers found the use of a gun deplorable, however. "I goofed," Bill Finger recalled. "I had Batman use a gun to shoot a villain, and I was called on the carpet by Whit Ellsworth. He said, 'Never let us have Batman carry a gun again.' He was right." (Pg. 45)

He goes on to say that after that story DC imposed its own 'comics code' which forbade, among other things, killing villains.

It's not unheroic. It's a valid way to deal with unrepentent evil.

Actually--it isn't. Because if you can justify killing one person for their crimes--or whatever other "valid" reason you can conceive--why not ten persons? Or a hundred? Or a thousand? Or a millon? Or maybe even six million.

The Germans did not justify the Holocaust, the systematic extermination of the Jews, by saying "Because We Can!" although that was ultimately their reason for it. They presented an entire laundry list of crimes and conspiriacies that the Jews were supposedly responsible for, and that it was absolutely necessary to kill them in order to preserve the German way of life as interpreted and practiced by the Nazi leadership. Those who planned and carried out the Holocaust were as convinced of the rightness of their actions as the prosecutor who seeks the death penalty for a murder suspect--as the jury who votes to convict--as the same jury who votes to execute--as the governor who fails to act to preserve the convict's life--as the prison staff who straps the convict into the execution apparatus--as the politicians and pundits who argue that the convict's death was necessary to preserve our way of life.

But what if the suspect in question was falsely convicted? How right would our action to kill him be then? And even if he was guilty of murder, would we still be justified in taking his life, no matter how careful or just our deliberations? Because in the end we, our society, for our own carefully considered reasons, are making the same decision the murderer made, for his own carefully considered reasons--to end the life of another.

And if the murderer's decision to end another's life was wrong, no matter what his reasons or justifications, then how can our society's decision to end his life be right?

Legal or otherwise, the justification to end another's life comes down to one ultimate rationale--that the murderer, or our society (as interpreted by the law), for whatever reason, grants himself--or we grant ourselves--the power to do so. In other words, we kill Because We Can.

The reason we have laws, the reason we organize ourselves into a civilized society, is to make better lives for ourselves. How can we do that if we make the same decisions, if we lower ourselves to the level of those who seek to do us harm? Aren't we supposed to be better than that? Aren't Superheroes supposed to be better than that? After all, they represent the high ideal that tremendous physical power and prowess can be used to benefit the greater good for all, not just the selfish ends of one person or one group. Superheroes do not exert their powers for themselves and say, "Because I Can!" They exert their powers in the service of others and say, "Because It's The Right Thing To Do!" How can they serve this better ideal if they act the same as those who serve only their own ends--those who seek to do worse?

Finally, consider this--throughout our history, humanity has always operated under the premise that society would be better if we were to remove, by whatever means serve, the so-called "undesirables." Purges, pogroms, witch hunts, massacres, ethnic cleansings, lynchings, vigilante violence, holocausts, wars, crusades, jihads, and much much more are among the examples of ths mindset in horrendous effect.

Tell me something--has it ever worked?

Then maybe we need to try something different--something better.

People have said for centuries that Love is the most powerful force there is--so theoretically a superheroic avatar of love could be cosmically powerful, right up there with the Silver Surfer and the Shooter/Windsor-Smith version of Solar, Man of the Atom.

Solar himself could be considered an avatar of Science--its insatiable curiosity, its ability to redefine the universe as we know it, and its tremendous potential for benefit or catastrophe.

The Bureau of Advanced Science, Technology, & Associated Research & Development.

This agency does not know, or care, what its parent agency is, and behaves despicably towards all other agencies.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Now maybe you'll consider a hardcover Champions book, with a full-color cover illustration of the original Guardians team--Flare, Rose, Icestar, Marksman, Gargoyle--charging into battle alongside the 5th Ed Champions, all lovingly rendered by Alex Ross.

Mmmmmm. . .Alex Ross. . .(droool)

Yes, Death Tribble and Hermit are correct--wording is essential. Wouldn't hurt, though, to have Armor Piercing or Find Weakness for your Power just in case you want to use it against PCs.

Also, I think the law considers inciting someone to suicide to be criminally actionable.

I was wondering--where did you get the idea? Years ago I came across a comic book called TIGER-MAN, and the only issue I saw had the villain, one Doctor Hypnos, using a Mind Control device disguised as his monocle to induce people to kill themselves--something about eliminating "imperfect" people, if I remember right. In the end he fell victim to his own device, and jumped to his death.

I was beginning to think I was the only one who read that comic until now. . .

Originally posted by Brick

As a German, I would like to include a German superhero who fights against the Nazi regime in that dark time - which means that in his own country, he would be declared an outlaw/supervillain. This freedom fighter calls himself DIE WEISSE ROSE (White Rose), after the freedom movement that got killed by the nazis.

Powers? No concrete idea, but the name for me invokes the sound of a white-clad two-fisted fighter/martial artist with a white hood and a blood-red full-face mask, red boots and gloves, rose motif on chest. Maybe some dart-throwers on his wrists ("thorns").

He fights a very lonely fight, but he would rather die than see all of Hitler's horror and do nothing against it. Could be an interesting ally for other superheroes.

Be honest, guys... How does it sound?

It sounds really great to me. I was thinking myself there should be some way to include a German hero in this discussion, and you seem to have nailed it close to what I had in mind. Good Job, Mein Herr.

And keep the dart-shooters if you like--the secret agencies on both sides of the war were coming up with all knids of unique, nifty stuff. They sound all right to me.

Originally posted by Eodin

I don't have the information with me at the office, but I ran a HERO Trek campaign twenty years ago, and the phaser was something like this:

Multipower, 120point Reserve, OIF weapon

1) u - 12d6 EB, Stun Only, lockout

2) u - 12d6 EB, Cone, No Range, lockout

3) u - 6d6 RKA, lockout

4) u - 8d6 RKA Explosion, lockout, 1 charge

END Battery, 160 END, REC 1 (Limited: Only recharge from Fed Power Source).

 

The assumption was that light stun was 6d6 EB, medium stun 9d6 EB, heavy stun 12d6 EB; heat was 1d6 RKA, disrupt was 3d6 RKA, disintegrate was 6d6 RKA.

I ran both Star Fleet and Merchant campaigns, and I never had any trouble with the players. Combats usually had phasers set to stun, one so there would be prisoners to question and another because of the natural aversion to killing of most Star Fleet / Federation groups.

 

When I finish converting all my old notes and stuff to 5E, I'll post them to my web site.

Good job, Eodin--but what is Lockout? I'm not familiar with that Limitation.

Everything that's ever been said about Star Trek's Phasers suggests that they're among the most powerful hand weapons in science-fiction TV/movies--too powerful, I would think, for the comfort of a GameMaster.

Has anyone ever built a Phaser in HERO System, from any of the series or movies? How many points did it come to? How do GameMasters handle players with that much power? What about some of the other Star Trek weapons, like Klingon Disruptors? Just as powerful, or not so much?

Looking forward to reading the answers.

This is the idea I had for the Monster's background--of course it isn't official, so take it as you will.

A medieval wizard summoned a demon, killed it, skinned it, and used the skin to make a magically-endowed "costume," thus enabling him to use the demon's strength and power without having to appease the demon's appetites. After the wizard's death, the Monster costume, including the cloak, hat and demonskin, disappeared until its recent discovery, by person or persons unknown.

Now the Monster's skin, while of demonic origin, is not of itself evil--but those who seek it out usually do so to further their own selfish or vengeful ends. It is possible that someone may one day wear the Monster garb and skin to do good and destroy evil--but this is not that day.

Another thing to to consider are the suburbs and smaller cities close to the bigger city. St. Louis, for example, has not only the suburbs of Bridgeton, St. Charles, Maryland Heights, etc. but across the Mississippi, the cities of East St. Louis, Cahokia, Granite City, and others--including Edwardsville, which has a campus for Southern Illinois University.

The same for New York--in addition to the five boroughs you have nearby Newark, Jersey City, and Bayonne to the west, and Mt. Vernon and New Rochelle to the northeast. Across the Delaware from Philadelphia is Camden, NJ, and up the river is Trenton, the state capital.

Just looking at any metropolitan area map will give you an idea of the possibilities for superhero challenges--and the opportunities for supervillains. Better make sure your heroes have plenty of movement capabilities.

I don't have a Hero write-up for this one, but feel free to use the concept--

Colonel Sterling of the RAF--The Royal Air Force's leading fighter ace, he flies a sterling-silver Spitfire (actually an experimental radar-reflective material) into battle against the Luftwaffe and behind enemy lines on sabotage missions. In his true identity as Lt. Humphrey Bellows, he is assigned to the RAF Home Office and considered something of a "spoiled playboy." His secret is known only to the Minister Of Defence and Winston Churchill himself. Unbeknownst to him, his girlfriend before the war, the German avaitrix Frieda Zalmach, is his arch-enemy Baroness Valkyrie.

How's that for Golden Age goodness?

To me, she seems like Christina Aguliera with superpowers--specifically, Quantum's superpowers. While I wish that whoever had created the character had put a little more thought into its conception, I do uderstand where that person is coming from--a hero I used to write stories about had a girlfriend who strongly resembled a Playboy Playmate I once had a crush on.

I also feel that not enough thought was put into the conception of Witchcraft, at least lookswise. She seems too much like a swipe off of Solitaire to intrigue me any; my thought is they should have based her look on Albert Deschesne's drawing of the spellcastress on pg. 192 of the FREDBook. But if they did that they'd have to change Sapphire's hair, and then she'd really look like Christina.

Originally posted by Monolith

As far as heroes go, Crusader and Starburst were mentioned, but I do not think they got "statted" until 3rd edition (there is a small character sheet with Crusader's stats on it).

I remember that character sheet; it listed Bruce Harlick as the player, so I'm guessing he created Crusader.

Does anyone know who created Starburst?

You'll pardon my saying so, but the character sounds an awful lot like a genetically engineered killing machine who bears a strong resemblance to Jessica Alba, and was featured on a TV series a few years back. (Please, it's not a criticism--just an observation.)

So I'm thinking--her first heroic act is to save a little kid's life (the kid becomes a DNPC), and the kid asks her;

"Are you my Guardian Angel?"

And there she is, and there you are. I hope it works for you.

Glad I was able to help. Now, if you'll excuse me, my work is done here. . .

(As he flies off) Mighty, And Awaaaayyy. . .

Originally posted by Acroyear

Um, no, actually. They are wings like on a jetplane wings and my justification for him to use the pack to get to scenes quickly and then detach to fight. Like Mazinger.

So--I guess you won't want the 358 other names with the word "Wing" in them, which I stayed up all night to compile.

Well--darn.

I guess I'll go down to the bottom of this message and sulk.

Later.

:mad: :mad: