Yogzilla

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

When I mentioned this to one of my friends, he said, "Well, given that my character is so cool, his doppleganger would be terribly lame. So it'd be a short fight." I couldn't argue with his logic...

Re: Hero System: Anime

Thanks, I appreciate the responses. However, it's funny that everyone focused on the last part of my post - - and that's the part I actually had pretty much figured out (i.e. I was also thinking VPP with limitations ).

What I'm having a bit more trouble with is *capturing* the possessing spirit. Should I make this a transform (Shambling Horror into un-possessed human)? Is it a Dispel? EDM Usuable On Others (spirit sent to "dreamcatcher" dimension; result of freeing the human is just a spfx)?? What's people's thoughts on this part?

Again, thanks in advance for your assistance!

-Yogzilla

Have been developing this idea for a while now, but still not entirely sure how to write it up in Hero System. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ok, here goes...

Something "bad" is happening, and ordinary people are being possessed by dark spirits. This transforms them into huge (8-10ft tall) creatures covered in long white hair that seek out unpossessed human for food (think Wendigo legends here). As an added complication, each creature also demonstrates a singular mystical ability, like being able to freeze it's prey in a block of ice, or instantly heal itself back to full BODY, or teleportation 'hops' that make it almost impossible to successfully hit, etc etc

[so, basically, we're talking your average MotW (Monster of the Week); same essential description and base abilities (increased STR, Claws, Fangs, tough hide, etc); and then each one gets about 100pts to make a unique 'power'.]

Now, enter -- Our Hero!! He's a street-savvy shaman who knows what's going on and has the means to stop it. When he encounters one of these creatures, he engages it in physical and spiritual combat. Once the creature is weakened, he whips out a handy dreamcatcher and throws it like a frisbee. As it approaches the creature, it expands in size and then moves thru the creature's location - - the offending spirit is caught in the dreamcatcher's "web", leaving the hapless human returned to normal (although probably quite insane/comatose from the experience). The dreamcatcher then shrinks back to normal size and returns to our hero's hand.

But wait - we're not done yet!! Now that our hero has captured the offending spirit, he can transfer it to a proper talisman and then have access to its unique ability! Now his arsenal of spiritual prowess has increased and he's ready to go forth and deal with another marauding spirit/creature.

...so, in my mind, sounds good on paper. Now, any ideas how to implement that? Thanks in advance.

-Yogzilla

Re: Distinctive Special Effects

[..snip..]On the other hand' date=' Something smashed by the Hulk is just plain smashed, just as surely as if any other strong guy had smashed it.[..snip..']

Stand back; Quibble Time!!

Strong Guy smashes a car, and you have an impression of a HUGE fist on the hood, epithelials of which would show mutant DNA.

Hulk smashes a car, and you have an impression of a HUGE fist on the hood which is likely to read as radioactive.

Thor smashes a car, and you have an impression of a HUGE hammer on the hood.

My point - - depending on how CSI you want to make your games, *all* powers can be distinctive on some level.

Re: Let's make a Grue!

And don't forget his dog Rufferto.

Re: Can someone explain....

One thing you'll learn awfully quick, Profit, is that with HERO System you can make the same power several different ways...

Re: C.U. alternate world, after "Independence Day"

The plague of locusts version. That would definitely make more sense.

Well, not really. If they were only interested in stripping the planet of resources, why were they so intent on destroying a major source of protein??

O, wait, that's right - - they were pale and weak; obviously they subsisted on Jolt and Mallomars...

Re: C.U. alternate world, after "Independence Day"

Let's see... The Earth is now littered with *dozens* of crashed 5mile wide city-ships. The additional tonnage could have affected the planet's orbit. Even ignoring that, what about all the alien goop and such that's undoubtably spilled out an contaminated the crash sites; if not much wider areas.

The hard radiation from the mammoth mother ship that exploded probably had some kind of effect - - sterility, genetic defects, cancer, increase in people developing superpowers, etc. Depending on the nature of your campaign, it ranges from annoying to way nasty to genocidal, but it *must* have an effect...

Assuming the aliens aren't total morons (yeah, I know, a real stretch for the ID4 creative team), some of the more tech minded ones probably realized what happened, ran their anti-virus software, and set up resistance cells that still have functional fighter crafts with shields. The invasion was to get our resources (ugh; why that reason?? ); but now it's personal!!

Disclaimer: ID4 is a fun movie to watch. Whenever it's on, I get sucked right back into it and have a blast! But as soon as it's over I realize what a totally BAD movie it truly is and must rip it apart as much as humanly possible...

Re: YOUR Favourite/Funniest/Silliest Presence Attack Moment?

Definitely a toss-up for me...

(1) This was back in college, when a friend of mine was running a large group of heroes going up against a neo-Nazi force of baddies. Before the fighting could begin, our resident trickster god (easily the highest point PC in the game; even though the campaign was only a few months old) started making this very inspiring and patriotic speech. GM ruled that given his phenomonal PRE, everyone just stood there listening - - a PRE attack would be made at the end of speech to determine the final outcome. So, he goes on, getting loud and stirring, using his sentient costume (story for another day :-) to take on a very proper and dignified look. The team illusionist leaned over to the GM and said, "I'll project a waving American flag behind him as he speaks." It was truly something; one of those "man, you had to be there" moments... As the speech reached its climax, the GM was ready to afford HEFTY bonuses to his PRE attack, when the team empath states, "I'll subtly influence the emotions of the bad guys to make them even more awe-inspired." She rolls her dice - - and critically fails (we were using the nat-3 = critical success / nat-18 = critical failure method )!!! GM: "Ok... Well, they attack en masse." Sigh...

(2) More recent campaign, this time I'm GMing. New Year's party, group of heroes (unknown to the world at large, mind you) are at a 80's-style dance club where admission is $$$ being raised for charity. Suddenly, a para-military squad (think proto-Viper) rush in and attempt to get the $$, valuables, and some high-profile hostages. Heroes go into action. The resident shapeshifter (same player as the trickster god above; go figure ) sneaks past the squad to block their exit. The other heroes rout the squad, and those not already taken out decide to retreat. Shapeshifter decides to take on the form of Cthulhu - - player asks me, "So, the VPP to handle abilities in different forms; that also can cover stats, right?" I'm thinking he's going to boost his STR and entangle the baddies in mutliple tentacles, so I say, "That's right." Shapeshifter: "Cool, then I dump the entire VPP into PRE and try to scare them." Me: ""

Probably shouldn't have allowed it, but I have to admit it was awfully fun to apply his roll versus each of the goon squad's PRE stat... "Ok, he's barfing, so's he, he's screaming, clawing his eyes out, screaming, barfing, coronary, etc etc etc..."

Re: Building a Super-History...

I don't know if there's any inspiration there or not' date=' but he can be a lot of fun![/quote']

Oh, heck yeah!! In fact, while he might "trouble" other heroes, I could see him being a particular thorn in the side to Eternal Flame (guess what her powers are )

Re: Building a Super-History...

To that end' date=' I began to institute what my players have come to refer to as 'wierds.' There is a Celtic name for unusual, one-of-a-kind phenomena; stuff that appears, can be observed to happen, and may or may not happen again, but is of little or no consequence. I can't remember that word (to my shame), but that is what the 'wierds' are, essentially.[/quote']

If you ever remember the word, let me know.

 

In short' date=' get into the habit of creating things soley for the purpose of creating them-- characters who will be seen, possibly interacted with, but who have no bearing whatsover to the story. Events-- possibly even suspicious or mystical-- that will defy any attempt at persual, or at least yield mundane or otherwise unsatisfying results. Don't disappoint the players, just let them come to realize that they live in a big, big world.[/quote']

Yeah, my last supers campaign didn't have enough of that "big, big world" feel to it - - at least, that's what I thought. I'm hoping to do better this time.

 

I also can't recommend enough a regular-- perhaps game-time 'daily' set of news blurbs. Things that you are prepared for them to take a peek at' date=' but generally nothing unusual.[/quote']

Cool idea!!

 

The big stuff is important for the story' date=' but lots and lots of little stuff builds the world.[/quote']

Sounds obvious, but I probably would've missed this nuance. Thanks for pointing it out; it makes a lot of sense.

 

Good luck' date=' and if I come up with anything that seems useful, I'll be happy to chime up.[/quote']

Thanks!!

 

Oh! How about a 'used character' drive? Maybe get friends and forum members to submit characters from past campaigns that you can use as NPCs or villains in your new world? Maybe just reading some of the backstories will give you some ideas for your new setting. Just a thought.

I like it!!!

Re: Building a Super-History...

Some questions to ask yourself:

 

>Do I wants with to go the Astro City route (people with powers have been running around for decades without affecting anything?) or more of an alternate history campaign? If you go option 2, try to avoid the "wishful thinking" trap.

If I could pull off an Astro City, I'd feel REALLY good about my skills as a GM. As is, my basic idea is history is *essentially* the same up to WWII. By this, I mean the history books aren't any different - - exceptional people leading extraordinary lives tend to be dismissed as 'legends', 'myths', or (at best) 'highly exaggerated'. And magic... well, rational people don't believe in magic, right?

After WWII, true "supers" started appearing, but not enough, nor with significant power levels, to *radically* change world events.

So, it's more of option 1.

>Do I want females with superpowers running around far enough in the past to affect the Women's Rights movement?

There's no super-suffragettes, if that's what you mean...

>Do I want people in masks allowed to testify in court? I have found that this issue tends to be a great starting points for other world points

Yes; this dove-tails into my desire to have the PCs come into a world where superhero conventions and precedents are already set.

>How much do I want psionics (telepathy & mind control in particular) to affect things?

Depends on the ideas that get come up with. So far, I haven't thought of a really cool psi character to add to my world, and the last time I asked around, only 1 player suggested playing a psi. But the campaign is still in its infancy, so that could change...

>Pick a group of four or five "first supers". Chances are their character/natures have formed the stereotypes in people's minds.

Kinda done that, already; except they aren't the first ones. As with real world pop-culture, the biggest impact is what's new and fresh... Sad, isn't it??

Re: Building a Super-History...

were there super soldier programs during WWII?

Only on the German side, and it only produced one viable result (unless I get some good ideas on otherwise).

One thing I did when getting people ready for my last supers campain is I wrote the bullet point history of the world with simple descriptions of the historical events.

That's what I'm currently looking to do, yeah.

Finally leave your history line somewhat open so you can add stuff in later when you have a great idea.

Way ahead of you, there.

Re: Building a Super-History...

Out of curiosity' date=' what is the gender breakdown of your players?[/quote']

7 players total (tho almost never at the same time - - actually, *never* at the same time ); 2 of whom are female. Of the 5 males; they've all played female characters at least once with no complaints (at least that I ever heard).

 

Cateran from Conqueors, Killers and Crooks sounds perfect for your game. Female Semi brick (50str I think) with Immortality and a bit of regen. High stats, Decent defense, but her main thing is Tons and Tons of skills, she has seen and done it all. Was a Scottish girl in the 16th century, when her powers kicked in, been living it up ever since.

 

One of my favorite characters from that book.

Hmmmm; take away the superhuman stats and I could make her my Highlander-homage... Cool; thanks for the tip!!

I'm working up a new Champions campaign for my group (last one ended well over a year ago), where my original idea was "just enough supers to set precedent, but they're not coming out of the woodwork". In other words, I want the PCs to be able to come into already established conventions - secret identities, citizen's arrest, etc etc. However, the more thought I put into it, the more I realized I needed some more backstory to provide them. Give the world context, if you will. So, I started trying to populate the history of that world with heroes and supers alike - - but after decades of running supers campaigns, the ol' idea well is starting to run dry (or, hopefully, I'm just in a slump). So, I was wondering if anyone out there would be willing to help contribute to my campaign's "history"...

At the least, I'm looking for concepts that I'll worry about fleshing out. At the most, more specifics (like name, background, specific powers and abilities, etc) would be most welcome - - if the caveat that I retain the right to modify as I see need to "fit in". Full-spec'd out characters just proves you have more free time than I; so please don't point that out, ok?

Currently, my "timeline" has the following high-points:

- Arthurian Age

- Age of Pirates

- Old West

- World War II

- Modern Era (i.e. "today")

And here's the breakdown of character types (or, rather, power types) that I'm allowing in my campaign:

- Non-powered, but exceptionally trained [any era; common, should account for *most* heroes pre-WWII]

- Magical, either magic users (mages) or magic item users (ex. a knight with an enchanted blade) [any era; uncommon to rare]

- Mutation [WWII on (though allowable in any era with a VERY GOOD origin ); common]

- Cosmic [completely GM controlled; presented here just to be complete ]

Oh, and the big wrinkle of the campaign - - characters should be female. This is not to be sexist, there's actually a campaign-specific reason for this that I need to keep close to the vest for now. I can say that "superpowers" are tied to the X chromosome (so women have the greater chance than men), and women have historically been more privvy to the secrets of the arcane. Non-powered is equal opportunity, but history is already repleat with male "legends". And Cosmic... well, that's for me to know (for now)...

This does not mean I'm disallowing male characters; but they must have something about them that adheres to the above critieria. Examples I've already come up with: genetic abnormality (XXY is male), shapeshifter who maintains a male identity, Firestorm-esque character (woman who must merge with a man to attain powered-form, which happens to be male), and so forth. Think of it as a challenge...

I think that's all. Post questions and I'll try to answer them without divulging too much of the behind-the-scenes workings (which I need to keep secret, for now). Otherwise, let the ideas flow!!

And thanks in advance for anyone willing to help me out here!!

Yeah, sometimes I get character ideas by messing up a phrase...

So, Leadball... I'm envisioning an armored badguy that can essentially "curl up" into a ball that's highly resistant to damage and can roll bowling-ball-style into his opponents - - cinematically, of course, causing massive damage and (hey, why not?) bowling-pin-style knockback!!

I'm thinking he gets 2 Armor powers...

Armor - xPD, xED; Only protects from rear; Only when not in ball mode

Armor - xPD, xED; Only when in ball mode

...so when he "curls up", the armor plating goes from covering just the back portions of his suit to his entire body. But any better ideas would be welcome.

As for the "rolling" power - - well, I'm kinda at a loss. I guess I could go with Running and tack on CSL for MoveThru; but I get the nagging feeling that there's a better way to do this. Any thoughts?

-Yogzilla

Re: Godzilla Final Wars Hero / Kaiju meet Supers

Has anyone played in a game like this? Any ideas?

*Like* that; no - - though it certainly does sound like a fun campaign to me. I have used giant monsters in serveral of my Champions scenarios (a lifetime of watching the big G and Ultraman and such is bound to have an effect ), and they tend to go pretty well. Somehow, the PCs take it more in stride that they can't defeat a giant rampaging monster than a nutjob in a suit of hightech armor...

By the way' date=' when the movie is finally out in an English subtitled DVD, buy it. It rocks. [/quote']

Glad to hear that; most of the reviews I've heard/read are... well, less than encouraging. Mind you, I already have the Special Edition DVD preorderded (ok; bound to have a BIG effect )

 

-Yogzilla

Re: why u all sux

you all sux hoho

kay thanx

/barge

I saw the thread title, and immediately thought to myself, "Hmmm; perhaps this will be an intriguing and thought-provoking treatsies into our collextive 'suckage'. Jolly good, let us see what the young gentleman has to offer."

I, for one, feel cheated. He did, in fact, not offer up any sort of theory, explanation, or even wild speculation. Truly, the only aspect of this posting that I found even the slightest bit interesting was his offhanded reference to snack cakes... (Mmmmm, Hoho's... )

I demand satisfaction. Phase pistols at 50 paces. Do you accept, sir?

...

I'll take your (banned) silence as my answer. Fare thee anon.

P.S. No, j00 sux.

Re: Batman Begins

Saw it, loved it!! Plan to see it again!!

You will believe a man can... um... bat?

Re: Powers of the BLUE BEETLE

You gets what you pays for... :shrug:

Re: Thought Experiment 1: Azumanga Champions

You'd make Tomo the speedster? Hm. She's far from the fastest of the girls' date=' and runs out of breath easily. She just THINKS she's fast.[/quote']

Well, I never did specify that she runs fast, now did I??

I see her as "the speedster" in that she would become super-hyperactive. As M.Hopcroft mentioned, she's a bundle of wild energy normally -- taken to super-levels, that just screams "speedster" to me. Besides, think of the humor value of the "speedster" who doesn't run fast...

 

[Note: In my "serious" Champions campaign, I actually do have an NPC (Mach) who was built with a ridiculous SPD (12) and all the speed tricks I could wedge in - - but I left her at the standard 6" of running and a DEX of 16. Her metabolism is hyper-accelerated; she does everything faster than normal. However, she can't actually propel herself to traditional speedster speeds (though 72"/Turn is better than Olympic athletes ).]

Re: Thought Experiment 1: Azumanga Champions

Any thoughts?

No access to HD or my books, but immediate thoughts...

Chiyo-chan - Size change: Growth, Super-cuteness (linked to Growth)

Yomi - Mass control (increase/decrease)

Tomo - Speedster

Kagura - Hydrokinesis

Kaorin - Invisibility (poor Kaorin... )

Sakaki - Strength, durability, even more "super" physique (poor Sakaki... )

Osaka - Illusions; uncontrollable (now everyone *can* see what's going on inside her mind... Kowai!!! )

...basically, each of them becomes more of what they already are.

Re: Powers of the BLUE BEETLE

This is massively from memory...

 

Golden Age: Dan Garrett started with an Uber vitamin, somewhat similar to Miraclo. So he got heightened strength, speed, healing, cognitive ability and senses.

 

He had to pop a pill before going out on a case and seemed to not realize he could carry extra or something.

 

The Silver Age Beetle was also Dan Garrett...no relation...(Possibly serious, as the original was a cop, and this version is an archeologist) and he got his juice from a mystic scarab amulet that he wore as belt. He got Super strength, flight, and low level invulnerability.

Jibes with what I recall, but that's why we have an Internet - - so we don't have to remember things...

Golden Age Blue Beetle

Some Silver Age BB info

How SA BB fit into DCU continuity...

Passing the mantle - Dan to Ted

Modern BB

...for a quick summation (as well as Dan's "magic word")...

MOA entry on BB

...and, for the much more esoteric files...

Thrill to the old Blue Beetle radio shows(!!)

Re: Power Rangers

Little translation of Sentai: Battle Team

 

The Super Sentai(or Super Battle Team) group of shows have the giant robots. The original show, Five Man, had NO gaint robots. It wasn't Super Sentai

Ugh... Otaku-ness rising... Can't control it... Must - set - record - straight...

The original two shows did not have giant robots, though there were specialized team mecha (airships, cars, motorcycles, etc)...

Himitsu Sentai Gorenjaa (Secret Task Force GoRanger)

Jakkaa Dengeki-tai (JAKQ Electric Team)

...starting with the 3rd series...

Batoru Fiibaa Jei (Battle Fever J)

...the team had a giant robot to handle the bad guys' MotW (monster of the week). It would take several more series/years before each member had their own mecha that combined into a giant robot, and not much longer after that when teams would get more than 1 giant robot throughout the course of their show.

For more info (assuming you can read Japanese ), check out...

SuperSentai.net

...which has a brief synopsis of every show from GoRanger to last year's DekaRanger. (Note: just hit http://www.super-sentai.net if you want to check out this year's offering: MagiRanger)

Final note, ShinDangaioh is correct, the shows that don't have giant robots are techincally Sentai, not Super Sentai. However, virtually all fans still group them all under the Super Sentai banner.

-Yogzilla

Re: Just testing interest:Would you would you be interested in this game?

The game would be a generational game spanning over a century. It would begin in the Victorian Era with the players portraying heroic characters of the time' date=' perhaps with some low level powers much like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It would progress over time with PCs playing the descendants or inheritors of their previous PCs abilities, or even completely new character in different eras of Superheroes. Pulp Mystery Men, Golden Age War World 2 Nazi busters, etc. with a overarching metaplot that could take them into a Star Spanning Galactic Champions setting.[/quote']

As a consideration, generational does not necessarily mean linear gameplay. If you can convince the players to make up all required characters ahead of time, you can bounce around the different "ages"; dropping clues here and there that advance the metaplot. This would, of course, require a bit more control to keep things moving along without spoiling any surprises...