CBikle

Re: IHA Help

 

They could be named after a child who was injured/killed by alleged mutant actions. This way they could incorporate and use the publics righteous outrage.

Re: Crucial Help Needed

 

We deal with such devices in two ways:

 

First, abilities bought with cash instead of CP are unreliable, and usually fragile. They break easily, and are often easily jammed even by poor weather. Does anyone think that an $89 Radio Shack police scanner is going to work as well as Batman's one-of-a-kind custom rig in the Batmobile?

 

Second, scanners and the like work wonderfully as plot hooks. What better way to get the hero(es) to a scene when needed? It's far more useful as a GM's tool than it ever will be to the PCs. (That's the same reason I gave our team first a team jet, and now a starship: It gets them to where the adventure is.)

 

Most police broadcasts are mind-numbingly routine: Traffic stops, traffic accidents, domestic disturbances, burglar alarms, yawn. (Back before the EPPD upgraded their radios I did once listen to a live hostage situation on my scanner at a local Toys R Us with the El Paso SWAT team deployed. A gunman had taken seven people hostage. I thought it was just a drill until I read the papers the next morning. D'oh!)

 

And as a side note, I should also point out that modern police increasingly use either encrypted radios, radio-linked computers, or cell phones for critical communications. The only thing a standard police band radio will hear from El Paso's PD is requests for tow trucks and to run license plate numbers. (You can still hear a bit more from our county sheriff's department.) And forget trying to listen to state or federal communications with a regulation scanner. They're either trunked and/or encrypted.

 

I agree 100 %, especially with the idea of the scanner really just being a plot-hook anyway or as a way to introduce new characters or to alert the PCs that the authorities are trying to contact them.

Re: "So, Thor hits Superman with Mjolnir..."

 

Anyone wanna speculate on a semi-logical answer why Supes doesn't use his superspeed?

 

Yes. Here's some theories:

 

1 Like the Flash and other speedsters, Superman's super-speed isn't "always on" (waiting 10 seconds in super-speed perception would seem like 10,000,000 years to them; it would make them incapable of interacting with the real world in any kind of normal manner if they were always moving at this speed).

 

2 Superman's connection to the Speed Force (the physical reason of how speedsters operate in the DCU) isn't as strong or comfortable for him to use due to his alien heritage or maybe because his attunement to it isn't as natural as, say, the Flash.

 

3 Maybe operating at Super-Speed requires a greater degree of concentration or maybe Supes has to be "fully charged" with yellow-sun radiation.

Re: "So, Thor hits Superman with Mjolnir..."

 

Pre-CRISIS, it seemed like Supe's vulnerability was represented by most of his powers and characteristics bought with the limit "weakened or non-existant when exposed or surrounded by magic or kryptonite" (-1/4 I guess) which usually meant that magic could hurt him as though he were normal (PD and ED were probably no higher than 8 if that).

 

Getting hit with Mjolnir is a little tricky. Assuming it's a HA, I'd say that the extra dice of damage would get past the Kryptonian defenses and only blocked by Supe's inherent ones(I don't see Thor's STR as being "magical" in this case). This involves a lot of math so I'd probably just say that Superman gets half his total defenses vs. the damage, just to keep it simple.

 

In the comics I've read, I've never seen anything to indicate that the magic vulnerability was represented as any type of Champions vulnerability disad(although you could make an argument that Supes and most other silver-age characters had a 3X effect vulnerability vs. transforms).

Re: HELP: Of Thor and Loki

 

Maybe the god form is the real form and the human form is one she was "cursed" with for some previous transgression ?

Re: 'Optimal' Travel Time

 

I recently ran a space adventure in Champs and I didn't really put a lot of thought into travel-times(which turned out to be a little more important than I thought).

 

A couple of times, the players asked about specifics relating to arrival time and I think that having a definitive answer would've helped for purposes of suspending disbelief.

Re: Need Ideas and Background for a DC One-Shot

 

It's also a convention game.

 

If you can, try to run it around 8:00 at night, after everyone's had dinner and is a little more settled and in a more sober mood.

 

If you run during the day, a good number of PCs will be hopped up on sugar and caffeine and lunch/dinner will be something of a distraction.

Re: Use the news

 

Early in our game(about ten years back), somehow President Bill Clinton and Hillary were machiavellian, behind-the-scenes traitors, murderers and opportunists.

 

The basic premise (in our multi-GM game) was, what if all the accusations back then were true, and the Clintons were tied into coke-deals, real-estate scams, the death of Vince Foster,selling missile-secrets to the PRC, etc.

 

At the time, two of the players were pretty right-wing and I was (and am) more centrist in ideology.

Re: Use the news

 

Thanks for the input.

 

Well, sorry that wasn't the reply you were looking for (the next post will

probably be closer to what you want).

 

Incorporating catastrophic events like 9-11 and the tsunami as source material for an RPG can be very risky, especially since ramifications from both are still ongoing. I think it's still too early for both.

 

Every RPG group is different, but for superhero games, nothing breaks apart suspension of disbelief faster than blending in real world tragedy.

Re: Use the news

 

It always irritates me a little when I read posts about GMs incorporating 9-11

into their game worlds as a scenario/plot element.

 

I'm not one of those overly sensitive types, but it always seems crass to me.

 

Guess it's still too soon.

Re: What do with a player ...

 

Mimeographed characters usually mean that the player isn't completely up for the genre and his role-playing will probably be equally uninspired.

 

Also, this guy would've pissed me off twice already before the game has even started.

Re: Who is Dr. Mindkiller?Doctor MindKillerPlayer:

Val**	Char***	Cost
20**	STR	10
23**	DEX	39
23**	CON	26
18**	BODY	16
23**	INT	13
23**	EGO	26
25**	PRE	15
8**	COM	-1
	*
20**	PD	1
20**	ED	0
6**	SPD	27
20**	REC	22
46**	END	0
44**	STUN	4

*6"**RUN02"**SWIM04"**LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 198

Cost**	Power	END
105**	MindTwisting: Multipower, 105-point reserve*
10u**	1) MindBending: Mind Control 14d6 ( Additional Class of Minds: aliens class of minds), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (100 Active Points)*	4
9u**	2) MindSnapping: RKA 1d6+1, +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), BOECV (Mental Defense applies; +1), Does BODY (+1), Continuous (+1) (90 Active Points)*	4
10u**	3) MindPrying: Telepathy 14d6 ( Additional Class of Minds: aliens class of minds), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (100 Active Points)*	4
10u**	4) MindKilling: Major Transform 4d6 (conscious mind into a vegetative state, Telepathic surgery or experimental neurosurgery), BOECV (Mental Defense applies; +1), Target Chooses Defense (-1/4) (105 Active Points)*	10
20**	Control Over Own Body: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); STUN Only (-1/2)*
20**	Control Over Own Body: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); STUN Only (-1/2)*

Powers Cost: 184

Cost**	Skill
3**	Computer Programming 14-*
3**	Electronics 14-*
3**	Bribery 14-*
5**	Cramming *
5**	Cramming *
5**	Cramming *
3**	Cryptography 14-*
3**	Interrogation 14-*
3**	Power 14-*
20**	+2 Overall*
3**	Streetwise 14-*
3**	Combat Driving 14-*
3**	Analyze: mental abilities 14-*
3**	Deduction 14-*

Skills Cost: 65

Cost**	Perk
160**	Vehicles & Bases*
10**	Money: Wealthy*
2**	Reputation: Big deal in the super-villain community (A small to medium sized group) 14-, +2/+2d6*

Perks Cost: 172

Cost**	Talent
21**	Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, any danger, Function as a Sense) (32 Active Points); Limited Power only vs. sentient threats (-1/2) 14-*
5**	Eidetic Memory*
30**	Combat Luck (15 PD/15 ED)*

Talents Cost: 56

Val**	Disadvantages
20**	Psychological Limitation: Enjoys twisting and destroying psyches (Very Common, Strong)*
15**	Psychological Limitation: paranoia Common, Strong*
15**	Psychological Limitation: enjoys living the high-life (Common, Strong)*
15**	Social Limitation: secret id Frequently (11-), Major*
5**	Distinctive Features: bad haircut (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)*
20**	Hunted: New Challengers 8- (Occasionally), More Powerful, NCI, Harshly Punish*
25**	Susceptibility: when subject of his mental powers goes berserk , 3d6 damage per Phase (Uncommon)*
15**	Unluck: +3d6*
10**	Rivalry: other mentalists Professional (; Rival is As Powerful; Rival is a Player Character; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry)*

Disadvantage Points: 140

Base Points: 200Experience Required: 335Total Experience Available: 75Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 675

Height: 1.73 m	Hair: black
Weight: 74.00 kg	Eyes: bloodshot

Appearance: Dressed in silver and black with jet black hair in a bad haircut.Personality: Sadistic and very confident in his future.Quote:"Bah !"Background: Up to GM, but probably a criminally-inclined mutant psionic who has self-taught himself to use his powers to devastating effect.Powers/Tactics: Up to GM, but Doc Mindkiller would probably try to attack from a distance and high-tail it if his powers don't seem effective. Probably start by mind controlling his opponents into fighting each other and pick off the rest individually.Campaign Use: Real nasty mentalist. A little too self-indulgent to become an "A" list master villain.

Re: How Long to Learn Hero System?

 

Pick a few characters out of the book(or use some of the characters posted on these boards) and run 'em through mock-combats using the speed chart and a hex map if you have it handy.

 

At the risk of sounding like a shill for Hero Games, they've got a few books dedicated to character and power construction that I wish had been available when I first started with the Hero System.

 

The Champions sourcebook has a random character generator and the UNTIL Super Powers Database and Gadgets And Gear sourcebooks

are very helpful.

 

The HeroDesigner software also takes a lot of the tediousness out of character building and has some built in protocols that prevent most illegal power constructions.

Re: Harbinger got neutered!

 

I'll be honest with you here...I always thought Dark Champions (at least the last version) was supposed to be about street-level superheroes and the grey areas of the law in which they live -- and I never could figure out what a "teleporting guns to me from my arsenal" monstrosity with nearly as many active points as Tyrannon the Conqueror (slight exaggeration here) was doing as an example vigilante for a street-level campaign book.

In my campaign I incorporated that into his background. Essentially he was a vigilante from the (near ?) future who came back in time to kill goons who would have an impact on our future (his present). You'll also notice that the 4th ed. Harbinger also had some unusual skills(dimensional engineering 16-). Another theory is that he's a vigilante from an alternate Earth who came here after successfully killing off all the criminals on his home Earth.

Re: Storn Art from Idea to Full Picture Year 2

 

Howsabout an Image-style character (circa 1990's) complete with exaggerated proportions, cybernetic targeting eye, katana, big techno-gun, shoulderpads, an iron-age grimace, that weird feathered Leifeld-esque hair and standing in that standard flexed pose.

Re: Need some "Smart" powers

 

Maybe extra speed for non-movement related actions.

Re: Need some "Smart" powers

 

Find weakness for all attacks.

 

Maybe some sort of int-related martial arts.

Re: A big cat question

(And' date=' yes, I know that was egregiously off-topic. Bad me, bad me.)

[/quote']No prob, however I'd like to keep the discussion focussed on white gloves.

Re: Can you suffocate foes with an Entangle?

 

The only problem with the linked attack route is that there are rules-specific things that go with suffocation that are hard to explain within the rules (not being able to recover; eventually taking BODY once unconscious, etc.).

 

Might be easier to treat the whole thing as a +1/2 to +3/4 advantage on the Entangle.

Re: A big cat question

 

OK.

 

Thanks.

Re: A big cat question

 

When she changes form, does her white gloves also change ? Where do they go ?

Re: A Secret Service Question

 

If I were a character in your game, I'd invest in companies that make white gloves.

 

Does only one company produce the white gloves or are there several ?

 

Do the white gloves come in more than one style ?

Re: A Secret Service Question

 

Do the President's wife and the vice prez's stepdaughter wear white gloves ?

Re: Starting points for rookies in established campaign

 

I'd also start 'em around 50-75 pts. lower than the character, in game, with the lowest XP.

Re: unexpected depth to the story - er, suggestions welcome

 

It's a little cynical, but maybe the local PRIMUS office or another agency

orchestrated this citywide fiasco to validate their budget and a possible increase in it.

 

The whole humiliating the heroes and police angle would elevate Primus' role when they swoop in like the cavalry and "fix things".