DrSavant

Shoot Actually there are some things to consider; # 1- Does the target have an attack which would KILL them? This seems an assumption on your part. An armored NPC with an NND (defense is armor) would obey. # 2- Personal immunity to ones own attack . Again obedience is assured. # 3- "This won't hurt abit". Having to fire a 6d6 EB into yourself when you have 20 ED doesn't sound suicidal. #4- In the RARE case that the order would be suicidal I would have to ask; What kind of PC hero would give such an order? MURDEROUS maybe?? Personally as a GM I would have to rule that such a command AUTOMATICALLY fails (it would make things too easy and grossly unfair if it didn't)

Sinister Villians The best Sinister Villians are usually the ones who use subtle, discreet tactics over a long period of time until the 'final phase of the plan' is ready. Example; (I was GM ing) an NPC named "White Witch" (Samantha Stevens Bewitched type) who had a hunted (Black Enchantress) These two got caught up in a fight on the streets of the western most part of the city. It seems she needed to kill 1 person in each section of town to achieve 'great power'. Well a PC happened along and tipped the balance, Black Enchantress was destroyed. But as a final DIABOLICAL act she used MIND CONTROL to have her spirit rest in White Witches subconscious, until she could recover. I dropped subtle clues ,that something was wrong, over the course of several adventures. Finally the PC's & NPC's were captured by a Satanic Cult and were being prepared to be sacrificed on an altar to a Demon named "DIS-the Destroyer" All the cumulative stress was too much for White Witch and she fainted, out came Black Enchantress and a large melee occured. (Nasty enough for you or would you like to hear more???)

GM Burnout Actually it sounds like you have been doing alot of intense work (which usually leads to burn out). Try a change of pace. Maybe a Dream Sequence? Or a Silliness adventure? Maybe even a Danger Room session? I'm sure that the players need this as much as you do to relieve the stress. Have the players meet your favorite cartoon character, (Bugs Bunny is always a good one.) Or maybe "ZORBO the radioactive giant chicken is loose....again" For a break in the tension I had the PC's enter the world of "Bicycle Repairman" (from Monty Python). They all had their powers but NO skills, laughter was the keyword there. Maybe just an ordinary day?? I had a character who had invited his PC/Hero friends to his 40th birthday party. No having to save the world, stop villian X, rescue (insert name). HOLIDAY episode (as above). I GM'd a Christmas party once, it was fun as everyone tried to get just the right gift. (Great opportunity for new foci (TOYS!!!) The best part was the laughs I got from the players when they got gifts from the NPC in the group who had "NO SENSE OF HUMOR (total)"

Called Shot NND HERO 5 , Martial Arts, Page 254. Choke Hold & Nerve Strike do NND damage with NO RANGE. Obviously a Choke Hold centers on the neck area (P.264) but suffers only a -2 OCV (P. 254) as opposed to a -4 or -8 for " Called Shot" ( P. 276) Now if your player wishes to take NND with NO Range, with possible limitation (MUST CALL SHOT, at a minus) why not. EXAMPLES: [ A Serpents poisonous bite is a NO RANGE NND ] [ Death's touch is often seen as touching the shoulder, a CALLED SHOT NND type] But some players may see this as a way to do extra damage very cheaply = (Some areas may do x2 STUN.) Check the player carefully for this possible abuse of system.

DNPC's- Friend or Foe?? Here are some DNPC plotlines you might enjoy. ( I have actually used these before) #1 - Player has a DNPC mother. Unknown to the PC this character was actually a retired member of a top secret government organization. (she was in her 60's ) Well when the 'agency' found out that her son had superpowers -he bungled into a situation that they were involved in- they returned her to "active status" (with the help of a "Super-Soldier" serum). Fun time!!! # 2- A PC had a teenage son (DNPC), who fainted in gym class one day. Tests were run and they found out that the PC's son was a mutant. It launched the PC into the world of mutants, and another PC in the group became a mutant hunter - by government request. Some tense moments there.

Dumbest moment I was GMing a tabletop game of Champions a few years back and this happened; There was a villian known as "SLICK" who could run at incredible speeds by creating oil to slide on (he was made of oil) . Well our heroes saw him rob a gas station after which he slid away. They followed his oil trail and caught up with him. One of the players thought it would be a good idea to attack SLICK with a fire based attack. Needless to say SLICK caught on fire and so did his trail, the one leading from the GAS STATION. BOOOMM!!!!! No more station, no more attendent.

I thought it might be interesting to share some favorite best and worst deathtraps GM's have used in Champions.

If you ever have had some villian in your game die and want to bring them back (short of "'he wasn't really dead" ) here are some ideas; 1) Person is Reincarnated [Thunderbolts] 2) Person is replaced by someone else using same costume and name. [ SpyMaster,The Phantom] 3) Person's spirit lives on after them [ DP 7 's The Watcher] 4) Person enters alternate reality [ Mutant X ] 5) Person's focus is given to another [ Green Lantern] 6) Person is brought back to life [too many to name]

Watched/Monitored Don't take the word "Watched" too literally is my first suggestion. But consider the following examples; Watched by Police/Parole officer [person on parole] (They check up on you, more then likely know your secret ID, you can't leave the city without permission) Watched by Trainer [you are a ' new mutant' who has someone MORE powerful disciplining them] (They control your entire day- when you train, when you go out on a mission, when you study etc) Watched by Parents [ a minor- with curfew,chores,etc] (otherwise see above; "trainer") Watched by News Reporter(s)/ Media [They can make your life heck (especially if it's a Jimmy Dugan clone). For instance; they can print things about you in the newspaper/on radio/t.v. etc. This can affect the public's view of you] Watched by (Insert diety's/demon's name) [ for those who have Godlike powers or are gods themselves etc] They have MORE power then YOU and 100% know everything about you. 'Nuf said?

Phoenix How about Accidental Change and Multiform? You start out in a weak base form and (accidentally) change into a stronger form [Multiform]. Have several forms set up ahead of time, each with the same Accidental Change into the Next most powerful Multiform. Alternately you could have some power limit, like hero form, which allows you access to more power after you are knocked-out???