Amorkca

If he's got the Infinity Gauntlet, there's no combination of heroes that can stop him.  By himself, yeah any two big guys should be able to do it.
 
But if I've got six (and leaving out plot device characters like The Spectre), I'll go with:
 
Superman and Thor -- They've got the physical power to stand up to Thanos in a fair fight.
Doctor Strange and Mister Fantastic -- Because Thanos doesn't fight fair, and so you may need to counter unexpected traps.
Silver Surfer -- He knows Thanos, and has had to fight against him on his own.
Batman -- Because Thanos will 100% underestimate him, and sometimes you need to pull out the cheese.

“Do you feel that?”
 
“Feel what?” Melner asked. Gauges on Melner's panel spiked. “Not again,” he muttered. “Incoming wormhole!”
 
If Leah hadn't been watching the transporter she would have smacked him. The field stabilizers lit up. “That's a lot of power,” she said, raising her hand against the glare.
 
When it faded, Jason was on his knees. “Leah?” He glanced around. “How long have I been gone?”
 
Approaching, Leah said, “About ninety minutes.” She noted that his clothes were different than when he departed. A different cut and style. “How long were you gone? Where did you go.”
 
Jason stood slowly. “How long? Decades. I thought I'd never see you again.” Leah smiled.
 
“Where did you go?” she asked again.
 
“The future.” Jason stepped off the dais. “I need to get out of here. Fresh air. Something.”
 
“I understand. Mr. Melner, could you have Mr. Scott's car called up, please. I don't think he's in any condition to drive at the moment.”
 
“Sure. Sure.” He picked up a phone, pressed a few buttons. “Have Mr. Scott's limo pulled around to Special Projects. Thank you.”
 
Leah slipped her arm around Jason. Leaning on her for support, the two of them left. “Decades?” Melner whispered, watching the two of them go.
 
* * * * *
Sitting behind his desk, Melner made notations in a journal, logging the day's events and readings. The hum of machinery brought him to his feet. “Not again!” Looking down at the transporter, watching the glare fade away, he found himself staring at Jason Scott. “Holy The Enemy Within!”
 
“Melner! How long?”
 
“How long? How long what? You just got back maybe a half hour ago! You left with Miss Capwell.”
 
“Half an hour. They might still be close by.”
 
“I'm calling security!” Melner screamed.
 
“Don't! If you want to have a job tomorrow, don't. Did the other me talk to you at all?”
 
“No. Just Miss Capwell.”
 
“He may not have known you or had forgotten you.”
 
“She wanted your car brought around. Neither of them is driving.”
 
“Good enough.” Jason ran, slamming the doors open. “Out of the way!” he yelled at people in the hall.
 
Skidding around a corner, for a few moments no one was in sight. Jason appeared his team communicator, fit it around his ear and flicked it on. “Mentor, code Omega lockout.”
 
“Sir? Whom am I to lock out?”
 
“Leah. She may already be compromised.”
 
“Compromised? By what?”
 
“By me.”
 
“I don't understand, sir. Leah is in the limo. With you. Scanning. I do not understand this.”
 
“Redact security footage at my location.” Jason changed on the run and Pulsar took to the skies. “Worry about witnesses later.”
 
“Yes, sir.”
 
“Maintain a lock on me. Under the lockout add me to the list. Pick two of the others to unlock.”
 
“But why?”
 
“Mentor, you've already said it yourself. I am in the limo with Leah. There are two of me and the one not me is the enemy.”
 
“Jason?”
 
“Trese?”
 
“Do you need help?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“I'm on my way!”
 
“Negative!”
 
“What? Why?” Trese's voice sounded hurt.
 
Goodbye. “Because I've already lost you once today.”
 
* * * * *
Leah looked at Jason and smiled. “So, no harm done and I'm to be in Vancouver on Thursday.”
 
“Thursday?”
 
“In two days. I have a job. You said you would have me flown up tomorrow.”
 
“Yes. Quite right. I'm sorry. That was a long time ago for me.”
 
“I can't imagine what that must be like.”
 
Jason stared at her unblinking. “There's a fog on my memory due to the passage of time. I do remember you.” Leah smiled. Jason slid closer. His hand went to her face, caressing her cheek, his fingers running along her jaw, lifting her chin. Jason claimed her mouth with his.
 
Leah lost herself in the kiss, enjoying the sensation of Jason caressing her body. His hand moved down her back, pulling her closer. It moved over her hip, tracing the curves of her butt, her thigh, until his hand met bare skin under the hem of her dress.
 
Jason's hand moved upward. His thumb on the inside of her thigh, forcing her legs apart. That part of her awareness that sensed when she was in danger started screaming at her.
 
“No!” Leah pushed away. “No. Not like this. Not here. I want it to be something special.”
 
“It will be special.”
 
Leah tried hard to manage a smile, not sure if she succeeded. “Later. Tonight. I'll wear something special. We'll lay a comforter in front of the fireplace like we do at the cabin. Then I'll be yours.”
 
Jason's eyes were hard. Leah was taken aback by the lack of compassion in them. “Yes. You will.” Jason smiled. It wasn't the charming smile she knew Jason usually used. “As you wish.” His attention went out the door window and he spoke to her no more.
 
* * * * *
When the limo rolled to a stop, a guard opened the door and stepped back. Jason stepped forth. “Ah. The old homestead.”
 
Halfway out the door, Leah said, “I'm sorry,” before throwing herself back into the car.
 
Pulsar slammed into Jason, taking the door off the car. Jason was dragged along the drive before being lifted, spun, and thrown. His own power flared, bring him under control. “This is different,” he said with an evil grin.
 
“We aren't done!”
 
“Aren't we? Your power can't hurt me! I am you! Only I'm like Jason 2.0. Stronger in every way.”
 
“Hold your position!” someone screamed.
 
“Shoot him!” Jason screamed.
 
“Stand down, Knight!” Pulsar called out at the same time.
 
“Dammit!” Knight yelled. “Hold fire!”
 
Jason moved in swinging. Pulsar made to block, but his aim was low. Jason smiled, then screamed when one of Elyse's honor blades cut into his arm. Pulsar swung. Jason's arm blocked. Power flared and the retracted battle pike slammed into his arm.
 
The staff extended. The tines unfolded, one of them slicing into Jason's temple and scalp, narrowly missing an eye. With a twist, Pulsar's leg slammed into Jason's side, throwing him back to the ground. The pike disappeared. Pulsar dropped to the ground.
 
An engine roared, brakes squealed, and Trese's Mustang ground to a halt.
 
“It looks like I get to kill the little rebel again today,” Jason sneered. He cut loose with a blast that sent the limo tumbling towards the Mustang. Leah flew up out of the doorless opening. The limo was stopped from colliding with the Mustang by a purple barrier.
 
“Not my car, asshole!” Trese called, getting out of her car.
 
Lightning ripped into Jason.
 
“I told you to stay away,” Pulsar yelled.
 
Trese charged. “You need to explain to me how you lost me once already!”

This is your birthday song
It isn't very long
 
 
 
 
(Happy orbital completion day!)

Jason brushed the hair off her face. She had nothing to offer him except for her clothes. Jason refused to take anything except his memories.
 
Faint footsteps got his attention. Stiletto heels on a hard floor. The pattern of them tugged at his memory. They drew closer.
 
Putting his hand on Trese's shoulder, Jason whispered, “Goodbye.” He stood up and faced the door.
 
The figure was silhouetted by distant light in the hall. It was definitely feminine. Light from the portal room first illuminated her black boots. They came up to her knees. From there it appeared as if dark hosiery covered her legs. Her hips were revealed by a French cut black suit. Coming into the room, Jason saw that the suit was cut low in the front. The sheer bodysuit underneath covered everything to her neck. Wrist bands with rings that matched the one that hung low on her throat made Jason think of bondage. Her hair was black. Her lips were painted black. Pushing sixty, Leah Capwell still looked to be 25. When Jason looked in Leah's eyes he felt again the charge he had felt the first time he had looked in her eyes on a runway of a New York fashion show. His body reacted to her.
 
She smiled an amused smile and stepped closer.
 
“You could have flown down the hall instead of announcing your presence,” he said.
 
“A waste of power,” She moved, sensual, seductive, drawing closer. “You leave your guard down around women you find beautiful.”
 
“I'm not the one that doesn't have her shield up.”
 
“Do I need it?” She was easily within his arm's reach. Jason's eyes traveled her body until he was once again gazing into her eyes. “I dress for the Praetor's pleasure,” she said. “You are not him.”
 
“No.”
 
Leah gently laid her hand against his chest. She cast a glance at the fallen, picking out Jason's compatriots. “This venture has been costly.” When she looked back at him she smiled. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. “I haven't felt that since the first time I saw you. A lifetime ago. When did you see me last?”
 
“January. We spent the weekend together.” He laid his hand atop hers. “You stopped in as a layover between modeling jobs.” His hands moved to the restraint on her wrist. He removed it and cast it aside. “Tuesday, we stopped in at work. We checked on Melner's progress.”
 
“Warren made me sit through enough episodes of Star Trek and Stargate that even I know it's a bad idea.” That made Jason smile. “The accident.”
 
“Yes.” Jason removed the second restraint and tossed it. He pulled her closer, feeling the warmth of her body against his. He kissed her, the jolt of electricity on his tongue was tantalizing. His hand moved beneath her hair finding her collar blocking his path. He disappeared that, as well. She pulled back. “If we keep this up we're going to give some monitors an eye-full.”
 
“I am the Praetor's Inquisitor. No one is coming in until I go out. We don't have much time.”
 
“Leah?”
 
She smiled. “I am no longer his creature. It seems whatever control he had over me ended when he departed. The cost has been high.” She pulled away from him. “Trese made this,” she said, indicating the reactor they had used to charge the portal.
 
“Trese and Melner.”
 
Leah placed a hand on each lead to the transport device. “I am the Guardian of this gate. With my leave, you shall pass.” Machinery hummed. The field stabilizers lit up.
 
“Leah?”
 
Smiling at him her impish smile. “I love you. Save me.”
 
Jason flew backward into the portal. The last thing he saw was Leah collapse on the reactor. Jason was completely alone in his own head.

Sound came back slowly, muted. He heard his own heart beating, then the feeble scraping of a monitor, either trying to stand or get its weapon back. His head was all but empty. Jason never realized how alone that made him feel.
 
Surveying the carnage, fallen bodies of monitors, two of the Praetor's guard, Trese, Kris, and Elyse. A few monitors were left standing between him and Aaron. In more a fit of pique than necessity, Jason pointed his hand in their direction, splayed his fingers, and cut them all down with a single burst.
 
It seems like the only damned thing I do is survive.
 
Making his way to Aaron, Jason knelt by the younger man. Feebly, Aaron grabbed Jason's hand, pressing something into it. “You prom...” Jason hung his head. He laid Aaron's hand on his chest and looked at what he had been given. Kate's wedding ring and the chain Aaron had worn it on.
 
Kris was the next closest. Jason went to her. She was lying face down. Gently, Jason rolled her over. Her eyes were open, staring into the nothingness of death. He closed them and kissed her gently on the forehead.
 
The battle pike she had used lay nearby. It wasn't the one she had carried for years, but that of Hydron, a member of the Elite Guard, and leader of the Praetor's personal guard. Jason picked it up. He used it to get to his feet. The prongs of the trident head collapsed into the shaft. The shaft retracted until it was about six inches long. Jason disappeared it.
 
The next closest was Elyse, the blue-skinned alien woman. An artist, a common interest that had drawn her and Jason together all those long years ago when the Guardians were fairly new. Arelysan Ralach, artist, teacher, gentle soul. But for all that, she too had been a member of the Elite Guard. She had also been a rebel.
 
Jason knelt. She still had one blade in hand. The other nearby where it had landed when she had fallen. Honor blades made of some crystalline substance from her home world. “I was honored to call you friend.” He sheathed the first blade and retrieved the second. It slid easily into its case. Without releasing the closure, Jason added the harness and sheathed blades to his collection.
 
He turned to Trese. When he got to her and looked down, for a moment he saw the 16-year-old runaway that reached up and put her hand in his. Jason knelt. “I'm sorry, Trese. We failed. When it mattered the most, we failed.”

"When we left our story last time, things were in _terrible_ shape!  Some of the nations smartest geniuses were being turned into _complete_ idiots!  It was all the result of a mean little man from a mean little country--"
 
Back to our show: What does a Champions campaign look like?
 
First: Yes.  I have been starting Champions games with that old Bullwinkle quote for thirty years now.  There's more to it, but generally the group comes to order before I get all the way through it, so, it's all good.
 
"Session Zero" or as I call it "the character party" had come and gone, and we were all stoked for the game itself, which was to commence the next Sunday.  When Sunday arrived, I sat patiently, working on my still not-quite-finished plans, seeing what could slot in or out as needed, and adjusting things for the characters we ended up with.
 
Not that it mattered, because four out of seven players didn't show up.
 
That pretty much tanked what I had right there.  Still, the three in front of me were excited, and wanted to play.  I hid my disappointment and we chatted and goofed around with the characters for a few minutes in the hopes that the rest would show up.  We talked-- _lightly_ -- about rules, actions, the Speed Chart, "just how fast am I?" and "am I really invincible to guns?"  You know: try to keep that enthusiasm up!  The back of my mind reeled and whirled.  These kids wanted to play, and I wanted them to play.  What I had lined up would crush three heroes.  Granted, I could tweak it on the fly, but what if everyone else showed up next time?  How to re-inflate it in a way that made some sort of sense?
 
Finally I chucked it completely, opting to run something more simple from memory.  I ran them through an old standby for new players we call "the Boneyard Scenario."  It's a total schlep, hitting _all_ the cliches, but it's got a lot going for it when it comes to new players.  I won't bore you with the details, but I would like to explain why it's great for new players (particularly those with no sort of tactical gaming experience.  I don't run tactics-heavy game for _any_ age group (they aren't the most fun thing in the world for me), but I _do_ use a map, particularly when there is either a large group or a McGuffin at a particular location.  I had several sheets of hex paper and tape for "emergencies," so I pulled it out, taped together a field, and rough sketched the playground onto that.  I then had the players select the little miniatures they liked best, and I placed them pretty much where I wanted them on the map (this is the easiest way to avoid that "how did you get together / why are you here / howcum all you kids are in this here tavern?!" problem).
 
The Boneyard scenario is a bank robbery (again: it touches all the cliches      ).  One or two players are in line at the bank in their secret ID (try to pick characters who have Instant Change, if possible.  It's just easier).  The guy a couple of people ahead of them seems nervous.  He will look all around, exhibit signs of stress and worry, toss glances everywhere, and generally try to hide his face.  His behavior is making one of the guards nervous, who signals to a second guard, and the two open their holsters (but do not draw their weapons!) and take strategic positions to flank him and an unobtrusive distance.  
 
Seeing this go down, as the person at the front of the line leaves and the nervous guy moves up to the counter, a scuzzy-looking guy from the back of the line races toward the guard nearest him (doing a move-by), snatches his weapon, and fires at the other guard, hitting him in the thigh and effectively removing him from play.  He is bleeding profusely, and needs first aid immediately.  The nervous guy begins to "Hulk out," making terrifying roaring noises, increasing in mass, and shredding his clothes as spikes, claws, and armored plating of high-density bone begin to erupt from his flesh; the man with the gun screams "nobody move!" while his buddy (no buddy if think it's too much for your new players) kicks the unarmed guard and moves to get the weapon of the downed guard.  Both these men are normal thugs from a local street gang.  Both silent and audible alarms are triggered.  The hero(es) patrolling nearby should now be aware there is a situation.
 
This is really more an exercise than an actual scenario.  However, it lets you, the GM, get a real good feel for who your players are and how they see their characters.  Let them handle the situation any way they see fit.  Seriously.  See if anyone moves to offer first aid (any successful attempt will stabilize the guard, but he will still be "out."
 
Sit Rep:
 
Two armed normals and a super.
Two casualties, one serious.
A small number of hostages (you decide)
 
What the GM knows, but should not let the players know immediately:
 
The nervous guy has nothing to do with the bank robbery, other than raising the hackles of an over-zealous, under-cautious guard who let himself and his partner get caught up short.
The two gang bangers simply took advantage of the bad placement of the guards and the distraction at the bank counter (which they will not appreciate for a few phases yet; they are focused on other things).  They grabbed the weapons, toppled the guards, and expect to clean out a till or two-- or possibly just grab some wallets-- and run like Hell.  If they make it to the street, down the block, and into an alley, the will have effectively escaped. (they will enter through a broken fire escape door on the ground level of a tenement; from there they can access a number of exits or hiding places. They are _gone_)
 
Seriously: it doesn't really matter how the resolve this, as it doesn't have to go anywhere else.  It's just a chance for new players to do a bit of Heroing, and maybe get into the papers or onto the news.
 
Here's what the players will have to decide:
How to handle the thugs.  How to protect the hostages and assist the wounded guard.  What to do about the super who _appears_ to be part of the robbery.  Don't push them in any particular direction (but be clear about the situation and answer all questions as honestly as possible.  For this scenario, don't rush them.  You are in Bullet Time, and a Phase can take as long as it needs to take. Remember, they are learning how to play.  The only thing you want to really caution them on is to remind them that they are the good guys (once; maybe twice. Don't push it)
 
Why I like this sad, uninspired cliche:
 
It's got everything a new superhero would expect: obvious crime, guns, hostages, and a super-powered someone else.
It's got _borders_.  That is to say, safety margins:  Back in the late 80s, with the increase in super-crimes, the Campaign City Council instituted a municipal law that banks, liquor stores, and other cash-heavy institutions be built such that, at a minimum, their exterior walls be completely bullet-proof, and preferable proof against up to whatever weapon you might want to create that can deliver up to 20 points of BODY.  If that institution was not free-standing (this one is in a strip mall), then the shared walls are considered to be exterior walls.  Insurance companies and construction companies cheered while bank presidents screamed "no fair!" and people working in the stores next to the banks felt a lot better about catching a stray bullet or optic beam simply by being too close to the wrong place.  For what it's worth, doors and windows are exempted, simply because there may arise an emergency requiring the people inside the building to break out of it.
 
Anyway, no matter how badly the players do here, they don't have to juggle the current interior situation _and_ the possibility of making things worse by breaking (or shooting through) a wall and hitting something / someone completely outside of the situation.
 
You have a test of how the players prioritize:  who wants to aid and protect before tackling the bad guys?  
Who wants to tackle the bad guys immediately?  Which ones?  How do(es) (t)he(y) propose to do it, and what regard does there plan make for the hostages?
How do they handle the terrifying super grabbing the counter and roaring incoherently at the tellers?
 
As I said: let it play out.  It's just practice for them, but it's also giving you some insight into these new players that may lead to you tweaking your planned adventures to make them more palatable for them, you, or something in between.  Besides, it's nice to find out early if you are dealing with sociopathic murder hobos.
 
At any rate, when the heroes have wrapped things up, they step into the streets to be mobbed by grateful bystanders and a half-dozen reporters, anxious to get interviews with these new heroes, push them for a team name, and all those other cliches.  Ham it up, and make them feel like they really were there.    
 
 
Here's a thing:
 
The super at the front of the line is Herman Sellers.  He is a twenty-eight year old construction worker, currently working a job in demolitions, brining down an old tenement block, and he is here to deposit a bonus check.  This is the very first manifestation of his powers, and he is absolutely terrified.  The roaring is primarily from pain, as his skeleton is literally changing shape and structure inside him, and he can feel the spikes, claws, and plates rip through his flesh.  He is frightened, confused, and pretty certain he is going to die.  Currently, large tusks are deforming his jaw and mouth box, making speech almost impossible, even if he could focus long enough form a coherent thought.  He will not institute an attack (though his actions might be construed as threatening, given his appearance), but if attacked, he will fight back, using his now-increased strength and long, sharp sword-like claws growing from his knees and forearms (think "Guyver" and not "Wolverine."  They're long and heavy and dangerous).  He won't fight like a pro villain, but he does have some boxing skills, as it's his sport of choice for staying in shape.  Stat him out appropriate to your new players: I recommend noticeably less powerful, but definitely threatening-- go somewhere between "agent" and "intro level PC."  
 
If approached carefully and calmly, , he will not attack.  If the PCs make overt gestures of aid, he will _gratefully_ accept, immediately.  At any rate, by the time the heroes have calmed him (if this is the approach they choose), he will have finished his metamorphosis and be able to speak, spilling his story and begging for help.  Further resolution is up to the GM and the players, and will largely be decided by what is or is not possible or available in your campaign world.
 
One way or another, the next time Herman pops up, he will have developed a small reputation as "Boneyard," a play on both his powers / appearance combo and his day job.  If the PCs handled him as a victim and rendered assistance to him, he will pop up from time to time as a street informant: he was so impressed with how the heroes protected the hostages, stopped the bad guys, and still found a way to help him through the scariest thing in his life that he took inspiration from them and decided to become a small-time hero on his own, primarily at the street level (remember he's far less powerful than the heroes are, but he can still help people).
 
If the PCs simply lumped him in with the bad guys and went after him with Fists of Pounding, not caring (or perhaps not noticing) that he wasn't _actually_ doing anything dangerous-- just scary--- then the next time they see him, he will be the night-stalking super villain Boneyard, bent on revenge against the high-and-mighty self-righteous bastards who decided to wreck the heist he had been planning since his powers first appeared last summer _and_ caused him to get a criminal record.  (This version of Boneyard should also be at least as powerful as any one of the PCs; powerful enough to easily take out any two PCs, if the group is large).
 
 
Another thing:
 
you will _never_ tell this to the PCs.  Never.  _NEVER_!  Do you hear me?  Never!
 
Why?
 
Well because they were _right_.  No matter which way they play it out, they were _right_; do you understand?  It was their very first adventure with a brand new game-- perhaps a brand new experience for those who have never role-played before-- and you will NOT dick up their satisfaction and their pump at the success of their very first outing by going "oh, if only you had paid more attention" or "but you never realized...."  You will _not_ come back at them ten session later with something that effectively says "Well, you totally screwed _that_ up!"   Remember the happy people in the street?  Remember the reporters?  Remember how much they appreciated the gratitude of the rescued hostages inside the bank?  Do NOT take that away from them, _ever_!
 
You can do it all you want when they get some experience under their belt, but you're not going to kick them in their fond-memory gonads with this:  if they treated him as part of the robbery, then he was indeed the mastermind behind the robbery.  If they treated him as a victim of circumstance, then he was indeed a victim of circumstance!  Always!
 
At any rate, I opted to run them through this scenario as an opener.
 
It went _wonderfully_, and played out pretty much as I expected, since they were a younger group.  I have noticed something over the years with the Boneyard Scenario:
 
younger players will _always_ notice that something isn't right and assist poor Herman.
Older players will _almost always_ start punching him in the head, even before dealing with the armed thugs.  Not every time, but damned near.
 
The three kids who ran through this scenario (including Neil, who you may have "met" earlier this evening  ) came through it with flying colors:  the high-defense sport brick stayed between the thugs and the and the crowd, urging them to huddle tightly behind him, all the while dancing and dodging to stay in the line of fire.  The Speedster (who is an MD in her secret id) swept up first the injured guard and placed him behind the crowd and began to shout orders for helping him, then drew fire until she could move the thugs away from the other guard while the sport brick used his laser vision to blast the vestibule open and began urging everyone through to the outside, cautioning them to not run straight away from the building.  In the meantime, the magic-wielding wild card showed up in time to place a force wall between the thugs and everyone else and used his hypnosis to put Boneyard into a calming trance.
 
Seriously: it went _beautifully!  If I have to be completely honest, it went easily three times as smoothly as it has _ever_ gone before, even with HERO veterans running through it.
 
I wasn't really sure where to go from there-- as I said, I had _nothing_ prepared for over half the characters not showing up, but it worked out well, because the players were so tickled with the media circus that we hammed that up for nearly an hour, and I decided to break off on a high note, go home, and figure out how to roll this in front of the adventure I had planned....  
 
 
 
 

I can just hear that baby screaming "Inconceivable!"
 
 

Punctation.
I have a hard enough time with words

Kris set a mug in front of Jason and took her seat. “We don't know what happened or when. It was small things at first. Things easily overlooked. And then there came a day when I guess we all realized that you had stopped looking for Marlene. You and Leah were spending time together again. We figured you had just decided it was time to get on with your life.”
 
Jason pulled his mug closer. “I haven't given up looking. It's been two months for me.” He took a drink. “Gah! What is this?”
 
Quirking a smile at him, Kris said, “It's what we have that passes for coffee.”
 
“It passed through something unhealthy.” He closed his eyes for a moment. Lifting his hand off the table a box appeared under it. He pushed that over to Kris. He did it twice more.
 
“Tea, coffee, and, ooh, hot chocolate! Although you're apt to get me robbed if people find out about this.” She took both mugs and dumped their contents into a sink. “The fact that you haven't given up tells me we got to you early enough.”
 
“I don't...didn't have a lot of leads. There is...was...times that the depression was overwhelming.”
 
“Present tense is fine. You're still dealing with it. I'll understand. Preference?”
 
Jason shook his head. “Let's leave the major issue aside for now. I'm still trying to figure out why I'd contact the Tharians and invite them back. Killing Dargod was enough.” Jason thought for a moment and then looked at Kris. “He is still dead, right?”
 
“As far as I know. The main problem here on Earth is the Praetor and his guard.”
 
“How do you survive?”
 
“Scavenging and barter, mostly. There are food depots. They do give us enough to make sure the accounted for bodies survive. There are clinics, but they are interested in monitoring the populace. Who is pregnant, who is good breeding stock, how many warbred pop out. That's their primary goal. More warriors.” Pouring hot water into the mugs, Kris said, “If we had a way to get in touch with whoever they're fighting...”
 
“Why me? There are a lot better options to choose from. Why pull me forward?” Jason asked.
 
Kris returned to the table and slid his mug back in front of him. “Honestly, because Melner remembered the accident. That gave us a window. We don't know of when something might have happened to someone else that we could have used. If Leah had been closer, we would have gotten her, too.”
 
Appearing a sketchbook and a pencil, Jason opened it and began drawing. “How many capes are there still active?”
 
“If they weren't captured, killed, or otherwise neutralized, they've all gone to ground.” Jason glanced over Kris' shoulder. “Yeah, neutralized.”
 
“How did that happen?”
 
Kris toyed with her mug. “Early supply raid. As you can see, I lost most of the wing and my ability to fly. With only one wing I wasn't deemed attractive enough for the Praetor's harem. And only being the chick with one wing, I wasn't considered enough of a threat. They let me go to serve as an example to anyone that might consider rebelling against the new order.”
 
“You sure that it was me?” Jason asked, leering at her and waggling his eyebrows.
 
She laughed. “Like I said, we don't know what happened to you or when it happened.”

Extract the zip file to a folder you have access to. Several sub-folders are created.  "Randall's Raiders" contains Character files (.hdc).  The rest contain Prefabs (.hdp). Run Hero Designer and open a character (or begin creating a new one). Go to the Menu Bar and click "Prefabs" -> "Load Prefab". Browse to the folder where you unzipped the Pulp Hero Character Pack and select a Prefab.  Click "Load Prefab".  For this example, we will select the New Talent "Animal Friendship.hdp". In Hero Designer, click the "Talents" tab.  You will see 2 sub-tabs, "Talents" and "Prefabs". Select the "Prefabs" Tab.  You will see a folder called "Animal Friendship".  Open the folder and you will see the "Animal Friendship" Talent (Real Cost: 20). Double click the "Animal Friendship" Talent and it will add it to your Talents list on the left.  The 20 points will automatically accrue to your character total. You can load multiple Prefabs simultaneously but if you have too many loaded, it will fill up your memory. Other Prefabs will add a Tab to Skills, Martial Arts, Powers, Equipment, etc. depending upon the Prefab.

Elizabeth Perrot Wyldling Bard
 
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
35 STR 5 16- Lift 3200.0kg; 7d6 [3]
18 DEX 16 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 6
19 CON 9 13-
18 INT 8 13- PER Roll 13-
14 EGO 4 12- ECV: 3 - 3
18 PRE 8 13- PRE Attack: 3 ½d6
 
7 OCV 20
6 DCV 15
3 OMCV 0
3 DMCV 0
4 SPD 20 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
 
6+9 PD 0 Total: 6/15 PD (0/9 rPD)
6+9 ED 0 Total: 6/15 ED (0/9 rED)
8 REC 4
40 END 4
13 BODY 3
40 STUN 10 Total Characteristic Cost: 126
 
Movement: Running: 12m/48m
Leaping: 4m/8m
Swimming: 4m/8m
 
Cost Powers END
Wyld magic mutation, all slots Unified Power (-¼)
24 1) +20 STR, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (30 Active Points); Unified Power (-¼)
6 2) Life Support (Eating: Character only has to eat once per week; Longevity: 400 Years; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Sleeping: Character only has to sleep 8 hours per week) (8 Active Points); Unified Power (-¼) 0
14 3) Combat Luck (9 PD/9 ED) (18 Active Points); Unified Power (-¼)
3 4) +4 PD (4 Active Points); Unified Power (-¼)
3 5) +4 ED (4 Active Points); Unified Power (-¼)
7 6) +3/+3d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters) (9 Active Points); Unified Power (-¼)
11 7) Hearing through time: Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Hearing Group), +1 to PER Roll, Analyze, Discriminatory, Rapid: x100,000, Telescopic: +18 (75 Active Points); Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (0 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -1 ½), Retrocognition Only (-1), Extra Time (1 Minute, Only to Activate, Character May Take No Other Actions, -1), Restrainable (-½), Time Modifiers (-½), No Range (-½), Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) 7
Notes: can record 27.78 hrs per second or 83.33 hrs per phase(3.47 days)
9 😎 having an ear for languages: Universal Translator 13- (20 Active Points); Extra Time (1 day, Only to Activate, It will take Elizabeth a day to pick up a language she has never encounterd be for; -1), Unified Power (-¼)
3 9) Eidetic Memory (5 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (only for what is heard; -½), Unified Power (-¼)
 
20 Bardic magics: Multipower, 35-point reserve, (35 Active Points); all slots Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼)
2f 1) a bass note to rattle teeth and bones: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (2d6 w/STR), Area Of Effect (16m Cone; +½), Thin Cone (-¼), Penetrating (+½), +2 Increased STUN Multiplier (+½) (34 Active Points); Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) 3
2f 2) A bansidhe's wail: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (2d6 w/STR), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼), Attack Versus Alternate Defense (ED; All Or Nothing; Deaf or sound ear protection; +½), Area Of Effect (16m Cone; +½) (34 Active Points); Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) 3
2f 3) a mending song: Healing BODY 3 ½d6 (35 Active Points); Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) 3
1f 4) a cry to wake the dead: Healing BODY 1 ½d6, Resurrection (35 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) [4]
2f 5) soothing minor wounds: Healing BODY 1d6, Area Of Effect (8m Radius; +½), Expanded Effect (x2 Characteristics or Powers simultaneously) (Body and stun; +½), Decreased Re-use Duration (1 Turn; +1 ½) (35 Active Points); Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) 3
2f 6) Battle song: Aid OCV 2d6, Area Of Effect (8m Radius; +½), Selective (+¼), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1) (33 Active Points); Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) 3
2f 7) a song to boost moral: Aid Pre 2d6, Area Of Effect (16m Radius; +¾), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1) (33 Active Points); Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) 3
1f 😎 hurling insults to maky your sailor mom blush: Drain PRE 2d6, Area Of Effect (32m Cone; +¾) (35 Active Points); 8 Charges (-½), Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) [8]
1f 9) Marching song/ sea chantey: Usable [As Second Mode Of Movement] (swimming(sailing); +¼), Costs Endurance Only To Activate (+¼), Usable Nearby (+1 ¼), Grantor pays the END whenever the power is used, Grantor controls the power totally (35 Active Points); Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼) applied to Running 1
Notes: Crew works more harder and favorible winds occur
1f 10) a song that feeds the soul , the belly and keeps away bad dreams: Life Support (Eating: Character only has to eat once per week; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Sleeping: Character only has to sleep 8 hours per week), Persistent (+¼), Usable Nearby (+½), Grantor can only grant the power to others, Uncontrolled (+½) (13 Active Points); Incantations (Complex; -½), Unified Power (-¼), 16 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Week each (-0) [16 cc]
 
Perks
6 Fringe Benefit: License to practice a profession, Membership, Passport, Press Pass
 
Skills
0 Pre based may add striking appearance +3
3 1) Acting 13-
3 2) Bureaucratics 13-
3 3) Conversation 13-
3 4) High Society 13-
3 5) Persuasion 13-
3 6) Streetwise 13-
0 proffession
5 1) PS: Song writer 14-
4 2) PS: Story teller 13-
0 Everyman skills
0 1) Climbing 8-
0 2) Concealment 8-
0 3) Deduction 8-
0 4) AK (Custom Adder) 8-
0 5) Language (idiomatic; Custom Adder)
0 6) Paramedics 8-
0 7) PS: Busking (Custom Adder) 11-
0 😎 Shadowing 8-
0 9) Stealth 8-
 
Total Powers & Skill Cost: 149
Total Cost: 275
 
160+ Matching Complications
5 Distinctive Features: detects as magical (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable Only By Technology Or Major Effort)
10 Distinctive Features: wyldling (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)
15 Physical Complication: small person (Frequently; Slightly Impairing)
15 Hunted: upset nobility Infrequently (Mo Pow; Limited Geographical Area; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find; Harshly Punish)
5 Rivalry: Professional (other bards), Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry
115 Experience Points

In fact, I hereby declare that I, D.E. "Duke" Oliver, freely give "The Boneyard Scenario," detailed above, and without request for remuneration of any kind (though a byline might be nice-- hint, hint  ), to any and all who would use, publish, or otherwise distribute it in any HERO System-compatible product or website, with the understanding that I give exclusive rights to no one, as I _want_ there to be good stuff out there for HERO, and I _want_ to see HERO become the well-supported entity it once was.  I give these rights with the understanding that while this scenario may be published or distributed in a form compatible to any or all editions and genres of the HERO System, I deny the right to convert it to any non-HERO game format, and I require that the name "Boneyard" not be changed.
 
 
There.  It belongs to all of you now.  Use it far and wide, and use as much as you can: make our fandom the glorious thing it used to be.
 
 
Duke
 

Feron Fenix, the latest member of the Court of Magi, drew an Ace of Wands from the Wizard's Deck upon induction and was granted the ability to summon the Ignis Fatuss or Fool's Fire. The glowing floating lights can bequile and charm those who gaze upon them.

Rain hammered the roof above the porch. Headlights cut through the predawn dark and the rain. In the light Warren was better able to see the holes Jason had blasted in the ground. When the old farm pickup rolled to a stop, Warren flipped up the collar of his work coat, and grabbed the thermos off the porch rail. He trotted down the steps and opened the passenger door of the truck. He passed his father the thermos.
 
“Need to take care of something first.” He closed the door and grabbed a spade from the bed of the truck. He made quick work of filling the holes. Once the rain let up and everything dried out he'd probably need to add more dirt to smooth it out. He tossed the spade back into the truck and opened the door again.
 
“You alright? You look kinda tired.”
 
“Long night. Didn't sleep well. Or much.” During the night Warren half-expected to hear a crash from the barn. When the first roll of thunder broke and woke him, that was what he had thought happened.
 
Ben popped the top of the thermos. “What happened?”
 
Warren shrugged. “Long story. I'll tell ya once we get started, but I need to check something in the barn first.” Warren closed the door and headed towards the barn.
 
Someone had closed the door against the rain. Warren used the pedestrian door and slipped inside. He took his cowboy hat off and shook the water from it. He hung it on a peg. Someone had turned on his work light. Warren listened. Movement, quiet steps in the loft were barely discernible. He went up the stairs.
 
A shadowy figure moved through their forms. Jason was meditating while doing katas. From time to time power would flare dimly around Jason's hands. “You okay?”
 
“Better.”
 
“But not...”
 
Jason shook his head. “Not yet.”
 
“Marlene?”
 
Jason indicated a figure curled up in a blanket laying on the couch. “Everything okay between the two of you?”
 
“Working on it.”
 
Moving closer, Warren said, “I was worried I'd be repairing or rebuilding my barn.”
 
Jason chuckled. “Not like we haven't done that once or twice already. Sorry about the holes.”
 
Warren shrugged. “Holes can be filled. Dani explained. I guess I never really thought about why you don't drink. I just assumed it was a personality quirk.”
 
“It wasn't something I ever wanted to go into.”
 
“Maybe,” Warren said. “Maybe it would have helped us understand you a bit better. Marlene forgave Trese and Kris. Slept with Kris?”
 
Jason hung his head. “Long story.”
 
“Seems to be a morning for them,” Ben said from the stairs.
 
Kill him!
 
Power flared brightly. Warren watched Jason. Rage crossed Jason's face. He closed his eyes, closed his hands into fists. Jason slipped into a stance and began slowly doing a kata.

Consciousness returned slowly. Wherever he was smelled heavily of water, much like an indoor pool only without the heavy odor of chlorine. Water dripped slowly nearby to splash in a small puddle. Jason was strung up spreadeagled. A small improvement over his memory of kissing concrete. His shirt was gone and he was chilled. A minor annoyance.
 
He opened his eyes to darkness. There was nothing across his eyes, but an added weight made him think of a helmet of some kind. He reached out with his other senses. Beyond the dripping water he heard nothing. Under the scent of water Jason smelled filth. Not the stench of an open toilet, but that of dirt, neglect, and possibly unwashed bodies.
 
Jason released his power only to find it blocked. He wasn't collared, so he probed. His power flowed only to be stopped at the point of release. He smiled. Tharian negators. A chain rattled, link against link.
 
“He's awake,” someone said. Fire lit up his back sending a charge up his spine. Jason writhed.
 
“Godson stop!” a woman's voice cried out.
 
“You know what he is!” Another blow fell.
 
“Better than you! I know who and what he is. We brought him here to help.”
 
“It's a hell of a way to ask for help,” Jason managed to spit out. “I swear to God if that neural whip strikes me one more time I'm going to get loose and shove it up the ass of the person swinging it.”
 
“Do you know who I am?” the woman asked.
 
“You sound like Kris Tyler.” He heard her laugh. “You laugh like her, too.”
 
“By now you realize how you're being held. Do you trust me?”
 
“I trust Kris Tyler with my life.”
 
“How did he know it was a neural whip?” another man asked.
 
“Melner. I know what it is because I've been struck with one before. And if that is Kris Tyler she can tell you what I did to the creature that was wielding it.”
 
“It wasn't a pretty sight. I would suggest, Godson, that you put it away before he does exactly what he said he would. Jason, I'm sorry. This isn't how I wanted this to be, but the others wanted assurances. I am going to release you. Please, leave the negators in place for the time being.”
 
“Release me and I'll consider it.”
 
Jason heard her laugh again. “Fair enough.”
 
Jason sensed movement before him and behind. The chain rattled again and his arm fell heavily. Followed by the other. “I can't believe you're doing this,” Godson said.
 
“If we want his help we have to ask nicely,” Kris said. “Release his legs.” Jason raised his hands to the helmet only to find someone else's hands already there. Together they lifted it off his head. “Hello, old friend.”
 
Jason looked at her. Her dark hair was streaked with gray. Laugh lines and worry lines covered her face. Her eyes were still clear. “Old? How?” The helmet was an old flight helmet. The visor had been painted black. Kris set it aside.
 
Kris wrapped her arms around him. “I've missed you. As for how I got old, well, the passage of time does that. At least to us normals. We pulled you forward in time. Melner remembered the accident when you were testing the transport device. We used that.”
 
Jason held her close. “What happened to your wing?”
 
“It's a long story. One that we'll have time for later.”
 
“Melner, I hate to break it to you, but we weren't testing the transporter. You are the accident that happened,” Jason said. “And proved Leah right. We find a way to send me back and you'll be lucky if I don't fire you.”
 
“Yes, sir,” Melner mumbled.
 
A figure walked past, tall, muscular, brown curly hair. Jason's eyes narrowed. “Godson.”
 
“Asshole.” Godson walked through a hanging plastic curtain that separated where they were and whatever lay beyond it. “She let him loose,” Jason heard him say.
 
“Alright, let's say I believe what you've told me so far,” Jason said, releasing Kris. “What do you need? How can I help? How do you plan on sending me back? And what's the bug up his ass?”

“Alright, let's say I believe what you've told me so far,” Jason said, releasing Kris. “What do you need? How can I help? How do you plan on sending me back? And what's the bug up his ass?”
 
Kris waved off Melner and two others. They followed Godson. “We need a lot of things,” Kris said. Heading towards the curtain, Jason stumbled. “Are you okay?”
 
“Double jolt from a neural whip. At least I didn't fall.” Kris gave him a curious look. “Never show weakness to an enemy.”
 
“He isn't your enemy. He's damaged. Most of us are.” She led him through the curtain. On the other side, it looked like a shanty town built up inside a warehouse or a factory. People were scattered about. Some looked at him with curiosity. Others with anger or hatred. All of them looked ragged.
 
“Where are we?”
 
“Los Angeles.” She went over to an old woman. The woman held up something to Kris who took it. “Thank you,” she said with a nod. The old woman smiled. Turning back to Jason, she held it out to him. “Here.”
 
Jason took it. It was a dark, loose corded sweater. When he pulled it on the sleeves covered the negators. “It's seen better days.”
 
“We all have. Hoping that we'll see some in the future.”
 
“So, what happened?”
 
“As I said, it's a long story.”
 
Jason stopped. “Kris, at some point all these 'long stories' need to become 'tales told'. You ask me to trust, and yet for all I know, Mind Warp could be playing games with me.”
 
“That would be a neat trick considering he's dead. After the sun sets we'll go to a place higher up so that you can see for yourself before I tell you the tale.” Jason took a deep breath and held it a moment before releasing it. “Have patience. Please.”
 
Jason nodded.
 
“Doc,” Godson said approaching. “They need you in the infirmary.”
 
“All right. Let's go.” Kris headed off increasing her pace. Jason made to follow.
 
Godson blocked his path. “Where do you think you're going?”
 
“With her.”
 
“I don't think so.”
 
“Godson, we've got two lashings from a neural whip between us. That already puts you on my bad side. I doubt you want to find out what I'm capable of while I'm wearing these negators. You sure as hell don't want to find out what I'm capable of if I choose to take them off.”
 
“You can't. It isn't possible.”
 
Jason loomed closer. Godson had three scars on the right side of his face. The uppermost began just below his eye and ended at the bottom of his chin. His eyes were gray. “If it isn't possible, then why did Kris ask me to leave them in place? Now, get out of my way.” Godson swallowed hard.
 
* * * * *
Looking up when Jason entered the infirmary with Godson in tow, Kris said, “Keep the mask on for now. Increase the flow the notch. Godson, a word if you don't mind.” Kris turned and went to the far end of the room.
 
Godson shot a look at Jason and followed Kris. “Doc?” he asked when he joined Kris.
 
“You know why he is here. Stop antagonizing him. You are very lucky he trusts me enough to restrain himself.”
 
“I don't like him,” Godson said defensively.
 
Shaking her head, Kris said, “You don't know him. I want you to watch him.”
 
“For you?”
 
“No. For you.” Kris turned and walked back to where Jason stood.
 
“What's wrong with her?”
 
“Some of the kids were playing somewhere they shouldn't have been. They messed with something they shouldn't have. I've got four kids with chemical burns. I had them sent to the showers and their clothes, what was left of them, burned. Kira here got a face full. Her sinus linings and esophagus are burned. Probably her lungs, as well.” Kris turned to Godson. “I need another oxygen tank.” When she turned back to Jason he had one held out to her. “How? The negators?”
 
“Learned a long time ago,” he said, smiling. “What was she dosed with?”
 
“Exactly, I don't know. Not all hazards are properly marked anymore.”
 
Kris watched Jason run his fingers through the girl's hair. Her eyes fluttered open and then went wide. “Hi,” he said. The girl mumbled something, tried to scream, and ended up spitting blood.
 
“Get her on her side!” Kris watched the monitor. Kira's stats jumped and dropped. “Damn. We're losing her!”
 
“Get a bucket half-filled with water.”
 
“Why?” Godson asked.
 
“Get it!” Kris ordered. “What are you going to do?” Jason smiled, reached across and trailed one finger down the side of her face. “Damn. You don't know what effect it will have on you.”
 
“Kris,” he said, “I do know what effect not trying will have on her. Hands off...”
 
“...until you release her. I remember the drill.”
 
“I've got your bucket,” Godson said, coming back in. “Where do you want it?”
 
Jason grabbed a rolling stool. “Set it on here.” After Godson had done so, Jason slipped his hand into the tepid water. He slipped his other hand on Kira's back under what passed for her hospital gown.
 
“What's he doing?” Godson asked.
 
“Helping,” Kris answered without glancing at the man. Jason coughed. Blood rolled down from the corner of his mouth. Kris glanced at the clock on the wall. “I hope it doesn't take you down before your body starts dealing with it,” she whispered.
 
* * * * *
 
“How do you feel?”
 
Jason was sitting on a bed. His arms, braced as they were to hold him up, were shaking. “Like I'm short of breath.”
 
Kris nodded. “Neat trick shunting it into the water.” Jason nodded. “Lie down for a while. Let your body deal with the damage.”
 
“How is she?”
 
Kris smiled. “She's fine. Don't be surprised if some people come calling wanting you to lay hands on them.”
 
Jason rolled himself back on the bed. “We talked about that a lifetime ago.”
 
“I know. Rest.”

Jason awoke. He was still lying in the infirmary. Curtains had been drawn around his bed. He saw an eye peeking between them. He smiled.
 
“Hi.”
 
The eye disappeared, the gap closed. Kris pushed through. “How do you feel?”
 
“Better.” He saw Kira looking around the edge of the curtain, her eyes wide. “Hi, Kira.”
 
Turning to the girl, Kris said, “Come on in. He won't hurt you. He helped you.”
 
“Some of the others, they said he was going to hurt us and call in the monitors.”
 
“Well, in order for me to do that, first I would have to have reason to hurt you. And second, I would need to know who the monitors are. How are you?”
 
Kira came closer and looked from behind Kris. “Better. Why did you help?”
 
Jason smiled at her. “Because you would have died if I hadn't.”
 
Kira looked at the floor.
 
“Jason, how did you pull that tank out? With the negators on you shouldn't have been able to.” Kris handed him a bottle of water.
 
He cracked the lid and drank it down. When it was empty he put the lid on it and handed it back. “The negators keep me from throwing the energy. They don't stop me from doing things internally with it. I can still pull things out that I have stored away.” To demonstrate his point, he appeared a drawing pad and a charcoal pencil. He flipped open the pad and began to draw.
 
“What else you got socked away?”
 
Jason glanced up at her. “Looking for anything in particular?”
 
“Supplies.”
 
Jason nodded. “I have a lot of the medical supplies you asked me to carry.”
 
Kris smiled. “I hoped you did. Can you start pulling them out? I can probably use just about everything.”
 
* * * * *
“I appreciate it.”
 
“The way I see it that was all under your purview. I was just holding it against the obvious need you have here.”
 
Smiling, Kris said, “I feel like I've got an honest clinic again.” On the wall next to the door it indicated they were on the 46th floor. “This should be high enough. After all, we need to walk back down. Too much higher and we risk stumbling into some of the evil overlords.”
 
Jason looked down. Godson was following, always staying one landing behind. “Evil overlords? What happened?”
 
The floor of the building they were on seemed to be office space to Jason. There were still a few desks and cubicle partitions. Most of them laying on the floor. Pulling something from a pocket, Kris handed it to him. Jason found them to be compact electronic binoculars. She flicked them on. “Take a look out there and tell me what you see.”
 
Jason brought them to his eyes and began scanning outside. “What am I looking for?” He shifted position, moving closer to a blown out window.
 
“Stay in the shadows.”
 
The binoculars registered something in the distance. A reticle bracketed the item. Numbers appeared at the bottom of his view, indicating the distance. The view automatically zoomed in. “Son of a bitch,” he said quietly. “That's a Tharian monitor ship.”
 
“We estimate there are around one hundred of them just in the LA area. We can't get an actual read. The ships move. There's no way for us to mark them. You know how that goes,” Kris said.
 
“What are they monitoring for?” Jason asked as he pulled the binoculars away. His gaze fell on the negator. “Warbred,” he said, answering his own question.
 
“Yes,” Kris affirmed. Jason handed the binoculars back to Kris. “Keep them.” She moved back towards the stairwell. “Sometimes the first indication we have of someone going through realization sickness is a monitor appearing overhead and a squad kicking in the door.”
 
With a last glance out the window, Jason followed. “Okay. Major question. What are they doing back? They weren't supposed to come back at all.”
 
“Apparently having one of the people that was responsible for them not being allowed here inviting them back steps around their whole honor thing,” Kris answered as she went down the stairs.
 
Jason stopped. “Invited? What small-minded, inbred, asstard invited them back?”
 
Kris turned back, giving Jason a pointed look touched with some amusement. “You did.”

Share your good gaming session:
Some threads, folks share ongoing stories of their campaigns, but I just wanted to type up how much fun I had with the session I ran tonight, rather than the entire campaign.  Maybe having an ongoing thread just for that might be fun.  Perhaps some of you will add to this.  We will see what it does.
 
Tonight's Session:
Background:  My Champions campaign is my own creation, minimally using some elements from the official Champions setting.  Since it just for the folks at home, I occasionally lift an idea from other sources as well.  
Players:  I have three.  
- The Pelican: A self-promoting nightclub security worker.  He has an enormous jaw/bill which can be used to grab and trap people.  He has low-grade super strength, can sprout wings and fly, and can talk to birds.
- Phineas Partridge:  A stark, punishment-obsessed bounty hunter with a suite of fire powers.
- Alternity: An entrepreneur who makes his living promoting and selling the weaponry, security, and defense gadgets he invents.  He uses an exoskeleton, ray-gun, rocket boots, and utility drones to fight crime.
 
A weird-science cult called The Signal Ghouls have been mining strange, psionic, mystical, and hyper-cosmic signals to create super weapons that they sell to supervillains and other criminal organizations.  UNTIL finally succeeded in capturing and deprogramming one of their members, Percy Woolwart, who they used as a highly valuable informant for several years.  Now, without explanation, he has suddenly, mysteriously escaped from their protective custody.  Unbeknownst to UNTIL, Woolwart became psionically aware of a powerful signal passing through our plane of existence.  He knew that the Signal Ghouls would seek it out and try to get him to help them.  Woolwart didn't trust UNTIL to be able to protect him, so he came up with a plan - he would entrust the discovery of the cosmic signal to some local heroes he had become aware of.  He created a psychic mantra that would open up their perceptions to the signal once it was spoken aloud.  Woolwart then tracked down each of the heroes and shared with them one part of the mantra.  When all three were read aloud in the correct order, they would then be able to perceive, but not necessarily understand the cosmic signal.
 
To achieve this goal, I attempted a challenging structure.  I ran each of the three players through a mini-solo adventure, with each one involving the strange interaction with Woolwart in which he shared one-third of the psychic mantra.  I had to keep each mini-adventure entertaining enough that even the non-participants were entertained and short enough to get through all three.  I am not sure I would recommend doing this regularly, but I was able to pull it off.
 
1. Phineas Partridge
Partridge was tracking the bounty for a credit-card security data thief named Jovan Lukavic.  Lukavic was hiding out in a retro 80s-style arcade with big standing video game machines, foosball tables, and a bar.  Instead of actually playing games, he had rigged up one of the Galaga machines to give him internet access and he continued his criminal work from the arcade.  He was protected by a trio of martial artists called Dunce Dunce Revolution.  Partridge fought the bodyguards and apprehended Lukavic, but not before being handed an index card with seemingly jibberish words by a weird man with huge, Marty Feldman eyes.
 
2. Alternity
Alternity was setting up his booth for the local Future Design Expo and everything went black.  He awakens inside a tight box, not dissimilar to what it might feel like to wake up in a coffin.  He is without his exoskeleton and most of his equipment.  He does have the controls and eyeglass monitors that let him utilize his targeting drone, though (the drone has visual clairsentience).  He turns it on and the drone powers up in Alternity's van, but the van doesn't appear to be in the Expo parking lot.  Alternity remote flies the drone up and finds some local landmarks and Alternity realizes the van and the equipment were dropped just off the highway less than a mile out of town.  Alterntity flies his drone back to and into the Expo and finds not only his empty booth, but the nearby booth of a rival tech organization, Precision Horizon Industries.  Their booth is especially ostentatious with a huge, towering silhouette of a spy above their logo.  Flying the drone around the booth, he realizes that the silhouette is mounted on a box, one that is suspiciously man-sized, with a unnaturally sophisticated lock on it.  Alternity lands his drone on the box and confirms that he is indeed inside that same box.  He then flies his drone over to a police officer he knows from a previous case that happens to be attending the Expo.  With some nudging, he gets the officer to follow the drone over to the box.  The police officer frees Alternity.  At one point, during the mini-adventure, though, the drone was approached by a man with big eyes who stuck an index card onto the drone.
 
3. The Pelican
At Studio 43, weird local hero The Pelican welcomes local citizens into the popular nightclub.  An absurdly sweaty man tried to get in, but was turned away by The Pelican.  The sweaty man tried to run past and when The Pelican tried to grab him, the sweaty man slipped right out of his grip, leaving a weird, abundant oily residue.  He exuded more oil and slip-slide-skated into the club, pursuing Peytience Amore, an up-and-coming internet exotic model who was at the club that night.  During the pursuit, The Pelican was confronted by the big-eyed Woolwart, who handed him the index card with his third of the mantra.  When The Pelican got back to the sweaty man and found once more  that grabbing the man was no use as he again slipped out of the hold, he attempted to draw him out by charming the object of his apparent obsession.  The Pelican sprouted his wings and took Peytience for a dance above the crowd on the dance floor.  Enraged by the competition, the sweaty man declared that he too was a superhero and called himself The Slicketeer.  He came at The Pelican and tagged him with an ineffectual punch. The Pelican responded back with a one-punch knockout.  
 
The heroes met at the nightclub, sharing their stories and they read the parts of the mantra aloud, which resulted in each of them hearing a constant buzzing pulse that no one else seemed to be able to hear.  Through a review of the Nightclub's security cameras, they found that the mysterious big-eyed man who shared the mantra pieces was, in turn, being followed by another man, one they all recognized as retired baseball player Martin Gale.  When they approached Gale, who was still at the club, he revealed that he was secretly an UNTIL agent and shared the background of Woolwart.  Once the heroes shared the information about the persistent buzzing pulse that they could hear, Agent Gale became alarmed.  He has now invited them to come with him to the local UNTIL facilities to determine whether or not they are in danger and how to use this information to try and find Woolwart, who somehow disappeared from the club during the fracas.  
 
NEXT:  The heroes will face an assault team of the Signal Ghouls who are also attempting to find Woolwart.  If they discover that the heroes can now identify the cosmic signal, though, their efforts will be turned in their direction.  And just what does that cosmic signal do?  What are the real stakes at play?  
 
 
 

Hi,
 
I am the developer of Hero Combat Manager.  The purpose of the program is to help a GM manage combat.  Here are the specific things you can do with it:
 
Using Hero Designer (HD) - you can export characters you have created using HD into a format that Hero Combat Manager (HCM) can use HCM will track when each character can act depending on their Speed and Dex With HCM the GM can: Handle all dice rolling and damage management for NPCs.  This includes Normal, Killing, Mental, Presence, Flash, Entangle, etc. and apply the damage to the player character information.  You will always know how injured your player's characters .  The players still have to keep track of the damage which the GM will provide Handle all damage that the NPCs receive when the player character's hit an NPC Handle held actions Buff/Debuff per Aid/Drain or the GM can adjust.  Be prepared this part of the application has always been a bit flaky (sorry) What can't be done with HCM: You can't create a character on the fly in HCM.  You have to use HD and then export the character It doesn't interface with the Hero System Mobile (we have talked about it but I am too busy and technically not savvy enough to figure it out how to do that - yet) Quirks and issues When I was a full time paid developer I worked on embedded software systems.  A UI was the raw data being dumped out an RS-232 port to a dumb terminal.  We didn't need no stickin' UI.  So that means HCM's UI is primitive I haven't done an update in a while.  Too busy.  I will answer questions and I am going to set aside time in 2020 to do some major bug fixing. This project grew out of my need for a tool to help me track combat.  I have done it with pencil and paper and real dice in the past.  That worked but in a big fight someone would get missed.  I tried doing this with a spreadsheet and a fancy VB macro but that failed pretty quickly.  The program grew out of my own needs.

Dracula 1958
This is the Hammer Films version of the Dracula story and stars two men who became stalwarts of the company, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as Dracula and Van Helsing respectively.  Lee is hypnotic as the vampire and the film contains one of the best climaxes of the series or arguably any of the Hammer films as Van Helsing runs the length of a table and rips open the curtains to let sun into a room where he is battling Dracula. He then forces Dracula into sunlight turning him to ash. 

Thanks, Drunk, it ended up being maybe a bit too grim for my own tastes, but the grim parts are buried deep under a chunky layer of good and kind people. For instance, there's a very low-level super-villain called Dr. Mischievous, who is totally harmless and does some petty crime, like stealing candy or pets. 
 
He makes sure to harm no one and generally works with new rogues to get arrested by them in the most flashy fashion, to get their fame up. Also, each time he gets arrested, he's broken out by a mysterious super-villain group called the Black Parlor. They're all dressed in black owl costumes and only appear to break out low-level super-villains like Dr. Mischievous and rogues. In truth, the Black Parlor is made up of rogue super-heroes (from that group the ASHRRaD is investigating) who don a super-villain costume just to help their friends.
 
They're a close knit, kind, cooperative and very wholesome community. They help each-other, get together every second Friday of the month for a barbecue, work with villains like Dr. Mischievous (who is actually an important part of the community, he's the one serving the sodas) to brighten up the day of the people, put stars in the eyes of children and make sure the community sees rogues with a good eye again. They also do things like giving blankets to homeless people, work as unpaid volunteer at shelters and might even try to work with schools to sensibilize children and teens to important matters, like drugs, sex, crime, bullying etc. 
 
Thanks Tjack! 
Unfortunately I'm French and I'm bad at DMing in another language, tried for 4 months, each Saturday, but it didn't really work 😕
I'll make sure to post session reports! 
And if there's enough demand, I might actually do that roleplay Discord server that's been in my drawers for almost a year now... 

There are many anecdotes and stories from the past of men with guns or melee weapons dealing with multiple targets in rapid fashion, although  most of the time those probably fall under one or more "multiple attack action" phases.  But watch any martial arts movie and you can see people acting with incredible speed.  Yes, its all choreographed, but its still humanly possible.  CHoreographed moves or "planning out several moves in advance" is little more than held phases in Hero terms.  You still have to make the moves, and that means you're taking multiple phases of actions.

The handout has been updated again.  Copies were posted to this thread (in place of the older version) and on the club page, under Junior Justice Foundation).

Hey, I'm the newbee who wondered what a Champions campaign was supposed to look like, and at some point I said I needed some feedback on my setting. I went homebrew because I'm simply better at homebrewing things than at following a pre-made thing, but I wont throw using premade thing like factions out the window either.
 
This setting is very highly inspired by the web-novel "Worm", by Civil War and by the Incredibles. In short, heroes are outlawed unless chaperoned by the government. Rogue heroes are untrusted by the general populace and form a very underground, close knit and street culture. The government secretly kidnaps young rogues to make experiments on superheroes and develop super-soldier serums, weapons and turn them into brainwashed hounds to get more test subjects.
 
Overall History (more info in the World Anvil Timeline here : https://www.worldanvil.com/w/earth-2045-tryskhell/t/global-earth-2045-history-timeline?preview=1 )
It is set in 2045. Up to 2020, our history is identical, but the 19 September 2020, a meteor crashes into a building, killing nearly everyone. A man named Charles Brook touches it and the glassed rock cracks, revealing an orb of light that enters his heart, turning him into the first -and certainly not the last- super-human. He becomes a super-hero with the moniker Rafael and founds the Guardians with four other super-heroes : Galaxy Rush (High-level energy projector/brick), The Mind (basically Iron Man), Heart Overdrive (can control masses of people and emotions) and Escalibur (he gains super-human abilities when he holds his sword. He dies and is replaced with Vanguard, basically Superman).
 
In 2034, he accidentally kills a young boy called Thomas Parn, and the government create the Thomas Part Act, making super-heroes illegal if they don't obey their orders. Rafael and Heart Overdrive disappear, The Mind and Galaxy Rush give themselves in and Vanguard takes over the Guardians, turning it into the Vanguard Corps, a squad of super-heroes under the thumb of the government. Heroes have the choice of declaring their powers to the government and working for them or becoming rogues.
 
In 2038, a young low-level rogue nicknamed Gauss turns crazy and becomes the supe-rvillain Induction. For 10 hours, she lays destruction on a district of New-Manhattan (the fictional city built after the destruction of Manhattan by super-villains). No one seems able to stop her, not even Vanguard. In the end, at around 3 in the morning, the military drops a seismic bomb directly onto her. It is unknown what exactly happened to her, but a 60 meter radius sphere is turned into plasma and explodes, destroying the whole district. Nobody knows where she is, if she is alive, and the whole district has been black-sited by the government. 
This is called the Induction Incident, and made everyone very wary of rogues, since they could all be ticking bombs.

Superpowers
Superpowers initially come from meteors that crash down from space, but they mysteriously cannot be detected until they are too close to be intercepted. In total, there is 4 ways to get superpowers :
- Originals : Touch a meteor. This is how brand new powers enter the pool of possibilities. These powers tend to depend on the circumstances of the crash, what was destroyed, the personality of the one who got the powers and the people who were killed by the crash. In quite a grim fashion, the more people died, the stronger the power.
- Birth Rights : Be the children of a super-human, and you get similar powers. If both parents are super, you might get one, the other, both, or an original combination.
- Legacy : If a super-human gives you an object linked to their powers (if Iron Man were to give you his suit, for instance) and you use it for an extended amount of time, you could end up getting similar powers.
- Exposure : If you are exposed to a super-human's powers, you have a small chance of getting similar powers. The stronger, more violent, and/or more frequent the exposure, the higher the chance you get those powers. For instance, Excalibur was impaled by Mordred (a super-villain who's power is summoning swords and making them levitate) and survived miraculously. After the event, each time he held the sword, he was able to make it fly in various direction for limited amounts of time.
 
Super-powers are classified by the government with a tool called the Frizzell's Scale. It gives a general understanding of their type and power-level. The power level goes from 0 to 2000, 0 being no powers at all (and not even human abilities) and 2000 being Rafael's level. As you can guess, this is the number of character points used in a character's creation. There is also 15 types of powers, Brick, Acrobat, Mystic, Breakout, Husher... I've made the full list on World Anvil, right here : https://www.worldanvil.com/w/earth-2045-tryskhell/a/power-type-list-article?preview=1

Most supers have a score bellow 1000 (a thousand being called the "Godhood threshold"). Officially, Rafael is the most powerful, but there's rumors that Induction's score was above 3000.