pbemguy

3 hours ago, Steve said:

 

That said, care would have to be taken when using the main villain supplements. I mean, compared against a group of 250-point super-teens, even Foxbat might present a challenge.

6 hours ago, archer said:

Come to think of it, I used GENOCIDE, or at least their giant robots, quite a lot.

20 hours ago, Sketchpad said:

I've used Demon, Genocide, Viper, PSI, and COIL in past campaigns. 

20 hours ago, Sketchpad said:

I've used Demon, Genocide, Viper, PSI, and COIL in past campaigns. 

Yeah, I've used Genocide a lot. Like archer, the giant robots were a big draw for me. I altered the organization so that it was giant mecha-suits (or was that how they always were?). I reasoned that AI was beyond most organizations. I had Mechanon as the only real AI.

My campaign also expanded the organization to be against all heroes with superpowers.

(This was when I was using CU stuff a lot. I stopped playing in the Nineties and then came back to Champions in 2007 or so; when I restarted I just used homebrew stuff across the board. Even in the Nineties it was getting to the point where there was very little CU stuff left. My group liked the CU, but we played so much that we eventually expanded far beyond the CU material and began to favor the homebrew stuff. Like, the characters kept evolving or dying off etc. For example, Foxbat reformed and became a high-ranking UNTIL guy; UNTIL was called some other acronym by this point. Mechanon was ultimately destroyed in a huge storyline that went over a year. A lot of baddies from Enemies II etc. were killed by a Punisher-like character...)

Found this:

Link: http://spectrumofmadness.blogspot.com/2010/11/champions-3-4.html

Quote

As for Malice, she was a malicious spirit who was entombed after stealing the secret of immortality from the god Zeus. Eventually the tomb was discovered by Melissa D’Arque, who became the new host of her soul. To recharge herself after centuries of confinement she sucked her companion dry, but lucky for the world he found a magic harness in the depths of the tomb that not only saved his life but changed him into the first Giant. Which the gods had left for a champion to find to use to destroy Malice. Rather than take back their immortality since they had, after all, already neutralized her.

and

She was the doom of the Olympian Gods. A demon of hatred who posed as Persephone, the daughter of Zeus. After centuries of effort, she at last succeeded in stripping the gods of their immortality, and was punished with a curse that doomed her to an eternity of imprisonment beneath the sands of Egypt.

But in the year 1932, the demon escaped the curse of Persephone by possessing the body of a mortal woman. She became Dark Malice. In that guise, for more than five decades, has sought to spread her particular brand of evil across the entire globe.

Link: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/malice/4005-26823/

(Sometimes they do call her Dark Malice. Which is not as good as just Malice, but it happens...)

17 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Malice was originally a key figure in the Champions mini-series by Eclipse Comics that brought Icestar, Marksman, Flare etc. into comic form. Each character had pre-4E Champions game stats. IIRC Malice at full power had a 180-pt. VPP, but not that much END to power it. Her other stats were low-level superhuman (at least by 5E/6E standards). Malice was never in any Hero Games books.

 

I never saw game stats for Madame Synn, or for that matter read any comics with her in them, so I don't know if she was ever written up for Champions.

(Oops. I don't know why I was calling her "Dark Malice," it's just "Malice," you are correct.)

Malice seemed interesting in the comic series, seemed mastermind-ish, and her stats are in the comics (VPP as you mentioned), although I don't have the comics in my current location. She would be interesting to resurrect since she is part of the CU, albeit perhaps peripherally (extended CU?).

Anyone have her background/personality blurb?

(I mean, we're not talking about publishing her, we're talking about putting her in a campaign, non? Wouldn't it be fun to bring her back? Plus, if you read the comics, you can get a feel for her personality.)

Madame Synn or Dark Malice been mentioned? Both from the Champions comics. Anyone have stats for them?

(Madame Synn is Icestar's arch-enemy.)

Madame Synn

Dark Malice

Alright, I'm outing myself. I love this soundtrack and I'm listening to it right now:

(This links to the Playlist and plays the whole album.)

I found write-ups from the Marvel and DC rpg's...

Here's the Marvel FASERIP write-up...

(From http://jackolanternsmshblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/eric-draven-from-crow-1994.html )

Eric Draven

F: In (40)
A: In (40)
S: Ex (20)
E: In (40)
R: Typ (06)
I: Am (50)
P: Rm (30)

Health: 120
Karma: 86
Popularity: (As a member of Hangman's Joke) 2, - 5 (Among Detroit's criminal element after his rising).
Resources: Fe (2) (He is legally dead)

Talents:
Musician
Firearms
Knowledge: Detroit Area
Knowledge: Streetwise - Detroit
Brawling

Powers:
The Risen Dead: Eric Draven was returned from the grave a year after his murder to avenge himself and his fiancée Shelly by supernatural means attributed to a crow. Draven was returned with supernatural abilities to carry out his specific goal. These abilities included:

• Enhanced FASERIP: Eric Draven was far more agile, strong, and durable than he was in life, hence his increased FASE.
• Spiritual Connection: The Crow: Although apparently a regular crow, the particular Crow that returned Eric was far more than that. The Crow shared an empathic link with Draven, which explains his greater than normal Intution and Psyche. The crow was the anchor for Draven's power, and as such, anything seen, experienced, or felt by the crow was also experienced by Draven.
• Undead State: As Draven was essentially undead, he was immune to poisons, toxins, and disease. While the crow was alive, Draven did not need to make stun/kill result checks as he was already dead (Although he could still be slammed and would take 'damage'). Draven healed his End Rank of Damage each round, sealing up wounds within seconds. While Draven was not immune to the damage effects, he could make a simple Endurance FEAT to ignore their effects. Draven also 'regenerated' regardless if resting or in combat, and recovered Endurance Ranks 1 per Round. Draven did not need to eat or sleep after his return.
• Empath: Although not necessarily apparent, Draven was an empath, capable of sensing emotions ranging from deeply hidden trauma to current emotional states. Draven is able to transfer emotional trauma between himself and others, heal others of crippling injuries and addictions, and 'read' a person's intent or connections. The use of Draven's Empathy requires an Endurance FEAT, which Draven will spend Karma on if the situation warrants (such as completely curing Sarah's mother Darla of Morphine addiction or transferring Shelly's memories into Top Dollar). Draven could also 'read' an object similar to psychometry or postcognition by touch - Items with specific emotional connection to Shelly or Draven during life would be easiest to identify, but would require a Psyche FEAT as the flooding emotions would have a physical/psychic impact on Draven. As an aspect of his empathy, Draven also possessed a type of combat sense which would allow him to anticipate the actions of those around him, most notably seen when facing Tin-Tin. All of these effects are at Am (50) intensity.
• Hyper-Leaping: Draven could leap between Gd (10) and Ex (20) distances, covering blocks as necessary (and as shown in the police chase). Draven could make a simple Agility FEAT to land without damage or notice.
• Karma-Loss Immunity: Draven does not lose Karma for killing opponents, and actually gains Karma for killing those responsible for his murder. Draven will not kill indiscriminately, nor will he put innocents in danger. (See Limitations)

Contacts: Although Dead, Draven could rely on two individuals for help and assistance: Sgt. Albrecht (The lead investigator into Draven and Shelly's murder) and Sarah, a young girl that Draven had mentored and considered a friend. Theoretically while Draven was alive, he had connections within musicians circles as a member of Hangman's Joke.

Limitations:
Tied to the Crow: Draven's return was due to the Crow which he was empathically connected to. As Myca, Top-Dollar's Sister/Lover figured out, the crow was the source of all Draven's power. When wounded, it effectively removed the majority of Draven's powers, and made him 'normal'. Draven's FASERIP drops to the following:
F: Typ (06) A: Typ (06) S: Typ (06) E: Typ (06) I: Typ (06)* P: Typ (06). In addition, Draven can be hurt and will not regenerate from damage, nor will Draven be able to access his more combat oriented Empathic powers. As the crow was wounded and not killed, it is uncertain what would happen to Draven should the crow actually die.
Enemies: Draven has several enemies during the short time of his resurrection, including the man who greenlit his murder, Top Dollar, and the majority of the Detroit City Police Department.
Obsession/Purpose: Revenge: Draven is dedicated to finding those responsible for the murders of Shelly and himself, and will go to great lengths to avenge himself on them, even poetic. Draven will kill without remorse any who are responsible, but will go to great lengths to preserve the innocent.
Purpose Completed: Once Draven has completed his purpose, he will return to his rest. Draven will not remain in the land of the living once his goal has been reached, and will simply return to the graveyard in which he awoke.

--------------------------------

Here's the DC:

(From: https://www.writeups.org/the-crow-brandon-lee/ )

Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG 

The Crow

Powers:
Jumping: 01, Regeneration (ML): 14, Invulnerability (ML): 14, Eye of the Cat: 10, Mind blast: 08, Mind Probe: 10

Bonuses and Limitations:

• Jumping, Regeneration, Invulnerability, Eye of the Cat, Martial Artist, Acrobatics, and Weaponry can only be used when his Pet is healthy.
• Mind Probe and Mind Blast have No Range (-1).

Skills:
Acrobatics*: 09, Artist (musician, actor): 03, Martial Artist*: 09, Thief (stealth)*: 09, Weaponry (melee, firearms, missile)*: 09

Advantages:
Area Knowledge (Detroit slums), Confined Headquarters (his old apartment), Life support (full), Pet (crow), Lightning Reflexes, Iron Nerves.

Connections:
Police (Low).

Drawbacks:
Catastrophic Irrational Attraction to punishing anyone involved with the murder of Eric and Shelly, MIA to poetic justice, Traumatic Flashback (the murder of Eric and Shelly).

Pet crow

Powers:
Flight: 05, Invulnerability (ML): 05, Ultravision: 07

Skills:
Thief (Stealth): 09

3 hours ago, White Fish said:

So I'm new to the system, but from what I understand Body Damage only represents how close to death someone is in this game system and has no other effect on characters.  The feel I want for the game is that death ONLY happens in a coupe de grace situation on an incapacitated character. I have read that some other effects work off of Body so I don't want to suppress the that stat.  I also want damage to objects and constructs to be common occurrences.
So would this be the best way to represent this? 
Obviously KA, and Resistant Defenses would go by the wayside but is there anything else that I should be worried about this effecting? 
Should I keep Body Damage for Inanimate Objects and Constructs or is there a way to Convert Stun for this purpose?

Thanks for the advice!

I could see playing it this way for a Superfriends-type campaign, or like the old Spidey Super Stories...or a Scooby-Doo game. Most villains wouldn't have Killing Attack-style powers (no claws or knives). Like, a character may have a knife or a chainsaw but because of its "TV rating" there is no chance that someone is actually going to get stabbed.

So you could eliminate the Body damage and just rely on Stun for the characters. If you need an effect where someone is near death, say from a fall, you could just make it the GM's option, or you could say that "reality dictates" that bones were broken etc.

Like Scott Ruggels said, you'll still need the Body dice for breaking things like walls etc. but you could use it only for that. 

So...sure! And in fact it sounds like fun. My question to you: Is this how you intend to use it? In a "Superfriends" kind of way?

PS: An alternative idea is to get rid of Stun and just use Body for everything, and treat the Body like Hit Points, and change the rule so that if you go to 0 Body you just go unconscious. This would be interesting because your characters would stay conscious a lot longer than a standard game! Then the whole game is on Body (Hit Points) and is automatically less lethal because -10 Body could just mean that they are unconscious for a long time. I think that would be my preferred route:

Body = Hit Points (Eliminate Stun)

Let's say Ken has 10 Body, 20 Stun, 2 ED. So someone fires a 12d6 Blaster at Ken. You roll 11 Body. Ken subtracts his ED. 11-2=9 Body, he's still up. (He's at 1 Body)

Using regular rules, the same blast would do something like 40 Stun. 40-2=38 Stun damage, he'd be unconscious. (He's at -18 Stun)

So this how I think the license should go. The proposed copyright blurb/license is included near the end of this post. I have been using the Forgotten Realms wiki as my inspiration. It's a perfect model because it has everything statted in 5e but then there are "tabs" that have other conversions, like this.

I have used this Forgotten Realms wiki a lot. I think the Campaign World one we are envisioning will be better than the Forgotten Realms one, but will share many of the traits.

Anyway, getting to the point, the license agreement on the Forgotten Realms page is like this:

This is how our wiki license should be worded. And then, when each person adds their own material to the wiki, they can include their own ownership blurb. So, if someone writes a blurb about a dance club owned by a villain, with lots of details, then they add. "This page is copyright pbemguy. Contact pbemguy on the Hero forums for details."

So the license blurb for the wiki would look like this: 

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. 

This page is copyright <insert username>. Contact <insert username> on the Hero forums for details.

The reason I say we build in 6e is that it is the newest edition. We can totally have earlier conversions. I imagine the default character sheet appears in 6e form and then there are tabs that show you the other edition versions. The Forgotten Realms wiki is like that:

i.e. If you love your edition so much, why don't you marry it?

12 minutes ago, archer said:

 

They did a book built around that concept in 3rd or 4th edition but I can't think of the name at the moment. Something like Neutral Ground, which was the name of a famous gaming store in New York in the 1990's.

 

I like doing something like your concept. Places like the Adventurer's Club or the hotel from the John Wick movies should be a vital part of the community.

 

Though I think the membership fees should be a bit higher to keep out the riff raff. 

Yes, Neutral Ground is the name.

I think we should build in 6th but have versions in other editions as well. I actually play 5e the most but using the newest edition would be the best thing for Hero, IMO.

9 minutes ago, Gnome BODY (important!) said:

Keep in mind that you can't unilaterally change the license on people.  If anybody has contributed anything to the wiki, you can't retroactively say their contribution was under the terms of the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.  You'd have to label each individual snippet of content with what license applies, or delete everything and start over so everything falls under the chosen license. 

Good point. We will definitely factor this in. This is a great reason as to why we have to hammer this out before the wiki software is installed and we begin wiki-ing.

2 minutes ago, IndianaJoe3 said:

I think it would be best to explicitly use one of the existing CC licenses (probably CC BY-NC-SA), so we don't get ambushed by some schmuck with a lawyer who thinks he can appropriate the material that's in the wiki because the terms in the license were vague. It may also protect Hero Games if The Mouse decides that one of the characters posted is a little too close to something they've published.

I did read that one. It would fit. Here's the summary:

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.

I've been reading the Creative Commons sites and everything. Here's my starting point. People have been concerned about keeping the ownership of their contributions. Here is a blurb to start the ball rolling. My understanding is that you can write in plain English and the notices are still legally binding.

Proposed starting point:

License: Any contributions made to this wiki remain the property of the contributor, as identified by their herogames.com/forums username. This wiki is free for public use. Illustrations created using Fabrica de Herois. This wiki is not for commercial use; it exists for fun and to provide a free campaign world for Champions players.

So we'd have this blurb (or whatever this blurb morphs into) appear on each and every page of the wiki. I know that it's not in final form, but this is where we can start the discussion.

Note: When we started talking about the wiki, I envisioned the contributors giving up their ownership and donating to the wiki. But, understandably, people want to hold onto their creations. 

10 hours ago, sinanju said:

Here's an idea: instead of a single, unified game world, maybe provide options?

 

Characters, organizations, artifacts, adventure ideas--they all could be tagged to indicate what sort of background assumptions work for them.

 

[Character A] exists in a world where superpowers only came into existence a few years ago.

[Character B] exists in a world where Pulp Heroes first appeared in the early 20th century, but now costumed supers are common.

[Character C] has lived for millennia, revered as a god in the ancient past, and now is part of a team of modern-day superheroes.

[Organization X] was formed as a supernatural adjunct to the Third Reich and is still around today.

[Organization Y] was formed in the 1990s in response to the sudden appearance of superhumans.

 

GMs looking at the wiki could see which characters/organizations/etc would fit the background they want for THEIR campaign. And they'd be able to see quickly which ones would need some work to fit.

We are focusing on creating a complete campaign world first and foremost. Other angles and aspects can certainly come into play. Tagging entries can and should happen.

Absolutely I can see GM's coming in and selecting a villain here and an organization there. But the unifying concept is a complete campaign world.

18 minutes ago, archer said:

 

Wikipedia lets people edit the wiki but the previous version of the wiki are automatically saved in wiki history files so that you can see the changes and reference previous versions easily if needed.

 

I'm not sure how the mechanics of the wiki project are going to work but these forums don't seem to have that "automatically saving the history" functionality. We could in theory have some one person re-write the 1960's, for example, and accidentally or deliberately erase a couple of hundred hours of work from dozens of contributors.

 

Maybe we should start by allowing people to add and let them propose what should be taken out or re-written in order to fit in with the existing reality rather than let anyone edit out anything or everything?

 

You're 100% right; I hear what you're saying. We're working on actually adding a real wiki to herogames.com -- one that functions like Wikipedia, with a backup. For now we are just laying out the preliminary framework I guess you'd call it, setting the general parameters of the campaign world. 

We also have to set the specifics of the IP license, which is next on  my list of things to do.

The campaign wiki project is moving along even better than I had hoped. I spoke to Jason and he is considering hosting the wiki at herogames.com. He made no promises, and he never said that he would, but my spirits are buoyed that he's looking at the idea.

Right off the bat, I want to reiterate that this is not some private little club: literally anyone reading this sentence will have the right/authority to edit the wiki. You don't need to ask for permission. It's just something all of us are doing, whether you're at 9,000 posts or 2 posts.

I address the "character art" dilemma near the end of this post.

IndianaJoe3 hosted a poll called "When did superpowers occur?" in order to determine the history of superpowers in the campaign. I apologize if I am overstepping, but I believe Scott Ruggels summed it up nicely:

Quote

...superpowers may have always been with us, in fiction, but since Champions focuses on comic book tropes and gaming, then for the Wikia to be useful for most comics gaming fans, then, superpowers should be common public knowledge from 1938, with nods to limited powers from earlier years like, The Shadow, Doc Savage, and the like.

With regards to character art: I have made contact with the guy who developed the Fabrica de Herois. He hasn't answered me directly on whether we can use the images in a print version. But...I feel like he shouldn't have to answer us. My position is this: We can totally use the images in the wiki itself. If we decide to publish something connected to the wiki, I believe we should hire an artist or artists to draw a new version, and not include the Fabrica images at all. (Hiring artists could be funded through Kickstarter etc.) The reason I say this is, I feel like that's what--reading between the lines--the Fabrica guy has been telling me: the Fabrica software is to design heroes, but is not meant to replace artists. And trust me, it's a long story, but I have worked with artists many times and having the character already designed in Fabrica will make those interactions a million times more pleasurable for everyone!

Thoughts? Ideas?

I am taking the position of Speaker-For-The-Wiki. If anyone feels I am wrong, just say so. I want the wiki to move forward. I feel my role is to make sure everything is going smoothly and that there is as much consensus as possible.

1 hour ago, Scott Ruggels said:

I’d think that superpowers may have always been with us, in fiction, but since Champions focuses on Comic book tropes and gaming, then for the Wikia to be useful for most Comics gaming fans, then, Superpowers should be common public knowledge from 1938, with nods to limited powers from earlier years like, The Shadow, Doc Savage, and the like. 

I like this. And it also looks like this is where the poll is taking us.

Quote

Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy! Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?

8 hours ago, archer said:

 

 

 

But if you have Mogo the planet in a Star HERO campaign, you're going to have to use something closer to pbemguy's estimated 2,057,830,312,500,000,000,000 BODY to make sure the players don't crash two or three starships into each planet they see in order to completely obliterate it.

 

...But what if the starships were traveling FTL when they kamikazed....

I messaged Jason and he is fine with the campaign wiki project:

"

Quote

You're fine unless it becomes a commercial product that you charge money for. Even then you're still fine so long as you talk to me first. 

 

Both we and Cryptic Studios are firmly in favor of fans expressing their love of the CU through projects like Wikis. 

 

Jason

I also asked about hosting the wiki software etc. here at this site (i.e. doing an on-site wiki instead of an off-site wiki). He's not sure about that, but he didn't say no yet.

19 minutes ago, Pariah said:

Let us know what you discover. Several years ago on this thread there were a couple of projects (the USA 50 initiative and the Cosmic Centurions) that led to a lot of artwork being created. As I recall, one of the posters started creating a book--he never got beyond one book, it turns out--for USA 50, but was not able to secure permission to use the images generated by Fabrica de Herois.

So far no luck, but I did write to him. I also wrote to that other one...HeroMachine. Neither have responded yet. But I just consider this "round one" of contact. I can be tenacious.

I even translated the Fabrica email into Portuguese and then double-checked it by reverse translating it etc., but also provided the English version in the message.

I think we should look at the poll results but try to incorporate as many ideas from this thread that don't contradict.