J.J.

Re: What was your first character like? My first character was an attempt to duplicate the Vision from the Avengers. It was quite poorly done and I don't think I actually played him. Hmm, I'd rebuild him if I could remember the name (or could come up with a new, better one)... that was over 20 years ago, though.

Re: Costume fixation (Get your mind out of the gutter) My faves include Kid Flash (Wally) and Captain Marvel (seriel/Alex Ross style). Which gives me an odd red & yellow lightning bolt vibe. I don't use those colors often, myself. I like Vortex & Morningstar (1st suits) from the Elementals, Aquaman's camo suit, Tarantula and Amazing Man from the All Star Squadron, Spidey remains a real nice balance (except the back spider design), and there were some neat things done with Faze 1 Fazers designs (not many know who they are) like Imposter. Iczer 1 & 2 rock. Ultraman (the giant japanese guy). Firestorm is slick, too.

Re: Your "2006" Pet Gaming Projects Me, too. If I wasn't sick of fantasy & sci fi gaming I might not have this problem, though.... Ah, well, there's always alcoholism to kill time!

Re: Manchine in Champions .... Have you seen any of the MSH to Hero conversion stuff from the old days? Either your Marvel characters are crazy powerful or I don't think you quite have a handle on the comparitive stats and power levels.

Re: Wal-mart Miniatures Score! It's also been on clearance for about $10 at Toys R Us for like half a year (prior to that, $5...). So if you're interested and without a Walmart nearby, try your local TRU.

Re: Hero At Large This movie is the only thing of its kind that can actually make me cry. Every time. And I'm man enough to say so.

Re: Lucky Duck I might use the "undefined" DNPC with useful noncombat skills. This way there's always a string attached for the help (seems good for balance with other players). I think a limited summon is really the best way to go, though. Summon "useful person" with no conscious control (this way here, you give the GM an out so he doesn't have every plot ruined).

Re: Vehicle as automatons I'd really be interested in seeing your automaton version writeup. This would also benefit players looking to build sentient jetpacks (or gloves or whatever) and plenty of other character type/ideas and such. When you get around to trying it out, please share. I often have ideas, for example, that come close to this concept

Re: Worst comic book superfight ever We won't hold your bad taste against you Prepared is ok. Laser pointer? No. That would mean the Atom would be bombarded every time he shrunk that small because of all that, y'know, light... And Slade wouldn't have a chance of seeing the Atom when he was small enough to be hit/harmed by photonic particles. He doesn't have to have the kind of reactions to detest for it to be bad. Slade has fought Wally many times. That's not the point. The point being that Slade is now(?) fast enough to draw his sword and stab Wally that fast... no, not really... the point is that Slade's sword is only like 3 feet long and held under his arm, meaning its length is diminished by the depth of his torso and that he stabbed Wally in his own torso. The question being... what was Wally trying to do? Run up and give him a hug? There's no reason for him to be that close, at all, and to run into a sword. Wally isn't what you would consider a grappling kid of fighter. Incredibly stupid. 80's character (early 80's, actually). And I'd point out one of my own favorite characters and I still have a huge problem with it. Deathstroke is too powerful and too weak in the same fight... Deathstroke can hear Canary's jaw click, but he can't hear Ollie's footsteps coming up behind him or the arrow being drawn from its quiver. He can react fast enough to shoot a guy the size of a photon, but not fast enough to get an ordinary human (who is fatigued and stressed out) off his back before that guy can stab him in the eyehole? Lame. Also, more poor writing, the dialog is used to establish the pace of the fight in the very beginning and then that rule of speed is thrown out, entirely, as it switches back to speech takes no time while we all jibber jabber.

Re: Worst comic book superfight ever While Deathstroke vs the JLA was certainly lame (and I dig Deathstroke)... Wolverine vs Lobo is, hands down, the absolute worst. It was so bad, not even the writers/artists could come up with a bad depiction. They had to hide it, entirely (matching them up was pretty stupid, to begin with).

Re: Vehicle as automatons This post has been reported!

Re: Vehicle as automatons Well, are you trying to simulate that it takes stun or looking for a game mechanic way to enforce the way you want it to be roleplayed? You could, for example, simply give it a disad "takes stun damage" and buy characteristics as powers - stun & rec

Re: Vehicle as automatons I'm thinking the automaton is more complex because you need to simulate the properties of the vehicle instead of just using the system already in place. For example, you need to buy the appropriate stuff to reflect its size, its ability to carry passengers without "grabbing them." Also, there is an insane cost when you consider the automaton defense rate which, in turn, has to be able to apply to everyone who can fit inside.

Re: Superteam or Super Fight Club? Figure out the costs for the base and the vehicle and then just skim their xp rewards. Meanwhile, put them in situations where they fail because they are doing stuff like taking a taxi to a crisis. "If only you could have gotten here sooner, Captain Hero." Put them in a situation where they need a secure place to hold an item or discuss an issue. "It seems anyone with a parbolic mic can listen in on us on this rooftop... and it turns out keeping the key to the Quantum Engine in my sock drawer wasn't such a hot idea." Let a GRATEFUL rescuee donate items to them (that's the explanation for the base, etc, even though they paid points for it). I mean, how do they contact each other? Cell phones? What if they don't have enough bars? What if someone's listening in? What if they're in a place that doesn't allow their usage? How do they get places? Fly everywhere at 30mph under their own power? Or are they all more than capable of high speed transit? Do they have their meetings in the local pizza joint? Do they keep any files on anything? Anyway, if your players don't react well to getting trashed by well organized villains, you can also have them be shown up by more organized heroes. Even have some of these new guys try to recruit. "Laser Boy... you should join us. We can use someone like you and, frankly, it's amazing seeing your talents go to waste with those guys. We have contacts, we have labs, we have coded comm units, we have the Super Jet, and we've beaten you guys to the last five crisis situations leaving you to clean up the leftovers." In other words, if you can't get them to play your way you can spend some of their points for them. It doesn't have to be all at once, just skim. Give them the tools to do what you would like. If they still don't use them, you'll have to surrender that concept and no one is really worse for the wear.

Re: Vehicle as automatons Buy the vehicle and then buy a Computer "pilot" with the necessary skills to operate it. If it's self-aware and all that, make it an AI. You may want to add a "physical" lim to the computer if it has hardwired design elements that require it to obey particular individuals or as a "psych" if it's only a software element (which means it can be overcome with hacking/mind control/whatever). I've done it for a few designs and it works fine. ...and I just wish you wouldn't.

Re: Superhero Images

Re: Superhero Images

Re: Character Challenge: Write up Bizarro-Apache Chief He's a giant bizarro native american with tremendous strength and durability. When trouble comes around, he says his magic words and reduces himself to man size!

Re: Super-Villain Showdown: The Taskmaster vs Deathstroke the Terminator. Some good stuff here

Re: Revamping the Horsemen If I saw your Horsemen, I would say they were fakes. Technically, only Death was named. The others only alluded to. There is some debate as to if the first rider was Christ or the Anti-Christ, but considering they were called curses, most people go with the latter. However, some others believe that it is "conquest from foreigners" as the description matches the typical Parthian soldier (white horseback & archer) and no Anti-Christ is necessary. White Rider, Red Rider, Black Rider, Pale Rider (in truth, "pale" was originally named "green" but that didn't have the same connotations in english so the word was changed in translation - greenish tinge of the sickly & recently dead). In truth, they are Conquest (Anti-Christ/False Faith), War/Destruction, Famine & Death/Pestilence. There is no Pestilence as a separate Horseman. The White Rider uses a bow and carries a crown, the Red Rider a sword, the Black Rider scales, and the Pale/Green Rider... well, he kills via war & famine (infection/disease/etc) so he just kinda rides the coattails of the 2 just before him. All them may have power over beasts : "And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. " How one "kills with death" is a bit of a mystery to me, but it may be that the Pale/Green Rider has been split into Pestilence & Death in the popular Horsemen and the White Rider has been lost. And, of course, Hell follows them.