Amorkca

Crickets: Hearing Group Flash 12d6, Area Of Effect (12m Radius; +3/4) (63 Active Points)  
I'm just going to assume that silence is agreement.  
 
I believe option c (above) is the best. I briefly considered putting the mini columns in alphabetical order (casting time, magic skill, range and AoE, DCV, Mana Cost) but decided that was the OCD Demon and not an actual good idea. I'm pretty happy with that layout and it's pretty close to the one used in AD&D. Because of the conversion to Hero I needed to add a couple of fields, but I think this works. At the end of the day, I don't think it REALLY matters. People who use this will get used to seeing AoE at the bottom of the right column and it won't be strange. I'm just obsessing (partly because I'd prefer to get this locked down before I start filling in fields! :)).
 
I've got the framework (in 2 columns) for the Illusionist spells done and all the description are in. There are only 65 spells (plus the ten magic-user spells) and even a LARGE number of those (eyeballing it says 1/3 to 1/2) are just version of magic-user and a couple of cleric spells. So building should be VERY quick.
 
I've also started to let me brain chew on the classes and how I am going to handle 'levels' in Hero and I think I have found a pretty elegant solution. I think you will like it. See that teaser? It's to make you come back for more!
 

Hey Mr Tangerine Man don't try to arrest me
I'm not wanted and there's no prison I'm going to
Hey Mr. Tangerine Man, don't try to arrest me
In the jingle jangle morning I'll stop stalkin' you

DANGER:  Long, boring war story ahead...
 
Many years ago, in a larger gaming group, we had a group of characters having trouble getting along.  As the GM, watching the party about to split, or more likely fragment, I put a die on the table.  I told the group to decide which characters would be sticking with each other, staying in contact, etc.  Once that was decided, we would roll the die, counting from my immediate left.  Whoever's number came up, that was the character the campaign would follow.  Any character still associated with him stayed in the campaign.  Anyone else needed a new, compatible character.  Maybe we can return to the others in later campaigns.
 
I never did have to roll that die...

I had bowed out of this thread during the discussion on paladins, but figured I'd respond to something else I had missed.
 
 
I did pretty much this in a prior Champions campaign, though not so much as reaction to their actions as it was in reaction to a PC's backstory, plus the fairly logical progression of in-game events.  While the storyline got quite interesting, it was pretty unanimous that things got much darker than anybody liked. 
 
There was an encouraging note - the killer PC was grumbling last session about not using his HKA "because everybody's worried I might kill someone."  So perhaps the talk has borne a bit more fruit than I expected.

Thunder and lightning have GOT to be part of this somehow. Either the first ones to go through it, the same judge involved, serving as the team's mentors for a month before their time runs out, arch-foes, or have their kid being the team liason who talks about how their parents got a second chance and squandered it, so now it's their turn to try and help out.

But it calls out for 'em.

Don't mess with Buddhist monks else you might suffer a curse, thus Dr Elephanthead. Some say that certain mad scientists are responsible for this. Not so ! Desecrating a Buddhist shrine resulted in the villain now known as Dr Elephanthead. He is smart but he has a trunk and tusks while the rest of his body is normal. The resident genius (?) of the group he comes up with inventions to take on the heroes

Hey all!
 
I was responding to the posts one-by-one when I realized that the discussion on my character sheets had developed quite a bit over multiple posts.
 
First, thanks to ALL of you for your feedback!
 
Second, I too prefer 1 page sheets, but I didn't think I could get it done.  DreadDomain gave me wonderful advice over on the rpg.net forums, and I now have something that I'm REALLY happy with (which is that third attempt that DreadDomain mentioned above).  I still have to shorten the space between the two main columns, but that won't be a problem.  It'll get done soon.
 
Third - will I make it public?  What's the best way for me to do that?  The file is not a HeroDesigner export format - it's an InDesign file.
 
Finally, if you are interested in the greater project, I just launched The Superverse Kickstarter.  You can check it out here if you're interested.
 
All the best,
 
Aldo (A.K.A. Dragonfly)
 
 

Sorry it took so long for me to respond back to your answers, but I'd really like to say it really helped a lot. I understand it more and I'll try to create the base. I hope I can show you the base when I'm done, and you can give me some feedback if you're willing.

Maybe I’m a bad guy, but I just got the GURPS sourcebook for what I wanted and then ran that genre using Champion rules.

I am reminded of the Wood between the Worlds in C. S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew. Each little pond led to a different world.
 
Dean Shomshak

I've been playing in a Monster Hunter game for a few months now.
 
After each game, I mock up a book cover to commemorate each of our adventures.
 

 


 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
And, for the holidays, I figured we'd send Christmas cards to our clients.
 

 
 
 
 

Oh this one is juicy. 
 
 
I've already edited the AD&D duration language into Hero, but here is a spell that does nothing except buy up some Time Limit advantage. So instead of getting silly with Transforms and trying to figure out an AP average for spells so that I can correctly pay off an advantage and repurchase it at a new level or some silliness...I'm just going to grab a custom power for 40 AP and give it no description or anything. Just have it be a point sink to hang some modifiers on. I did this once before. There was one spell that (IIRC was some kind of trap a wizard would set on a spellbook or something) didn't have a predefined effect buy would allow the caster to determine what they wanted from a long list. Ideally I would have created a VPP with all that nonsense. Instead I created a custom power that represented 40 AP worth of spell effects. It's tempting (because Hero is so crunchy) to want to build everything out (eg the old 'how do you build a flashlight' argument), but it's unnecessary. I'm not building torches out of points. I'm just saying here is a 2pt item and it is a torch and it extends light (just like a Change Environment) for 40m. End of story.

I created an anti-Round Table for my own games, made up of Champions villains with a fantasy-medieval-knight motif. They were led by Black Paladin, but gathered and financed by Brangomar, the Shadow Queen (Champions Villains Vol. 1). Other members were drawn from the CV trilogy, including Morningstar, Hell Rider, Shadowdragon (all from CV Vol. 3 -- I know Shadowdragon comes from a different tradition, but Brangomar would probably find that name appealing); Lightning Man (Champions Worldwide); and Matachin, one of the Sylvestris (briefly described in CV 2, but detailed and game-statted in the old Ultimate Super Mage for 4E Hero). I didn't include Talisman or any other females, due to Brangomar's insane jealousy of any good-looking woman. She might accept Harpy, though, on account of her half-avian form (also in CV3).
 
Because there were six of them, I had them seated at an hexagonal table, and referring to themselves collectively as "the Hexagony." (Word-play intentional.)

I think you are mixing up "Phase", "Segment" and "Turn". All 3 have a very specific meaning in Hero.
 
"When Activated it would go on Phase 7, then next  turn on Phase 8, and then next turn Phase 9... ect. ect...  "
It was a SPD of 1. Except slightly less then 1 (0.8), so it would be 1 Segment later every Turn.

Lady Pariah took everything out of the diaper bag-- not a trivial undertaking, mind you--and washed it last week.
 
Today, in the store, Little Boy Pariah was fiddling around with an umbrella that we don't need and in the process knocked mom's shake into the said diaper bag.
 
Pretty much everything in the diaper bag was then covered with chocolate chip peppermint shake, which means the bag itself and most of its contents will need to be washed.
 
Fantastic.

I would also recommend not using terms like Golden Age, Silver Age and such to describe games. 
Every "age" had it's version of "lone killer a'kill'in the bad dudes", with some relegating it to "off screen".  Use one of those descriptors and the problem child will be able to find that one exception and then whine every session that you are "railroading him".  Using the modern gaming definition of railroading which simply means they are not the center stage and you said no to something.  
 
Instead write down the definition/meaning of the Code of the Hero as you interpret it in your game world.  Then explain it to the players up front in the first planning session.   This needs to be firmly established before the first game session.
 
Also, I recommend that you run a introduction adventure using pregenerated heroes.  Having an opportunity to experience the game in play does wonders in enabling new players to understand what they are doing during char-gen. 

Sure, that works fine for VIPER. They have their own secure Serpentine computer network for internal communications. I was thinking more about the independent operators, who make up the majority of published Champions villains.
 
 
Of course, and if you would consider that enough for your campaign, you'll get no protest from me.   But telecommunications and cyber-security have grown far more sophisticated since Super Scum was published. Today it would kind of strain credulity that just "changing numbers" would be enough to avoid being compromised, particularly in a world with supergenius scientists and paranormal hackers. A service run by someone/thing with at least comparable resources would seem in order.

First off, I did not write this.
 
KA wrote this many moons ago and published it in a thread right here on this forum. 
 
The problem is I doubt I could find it after all these years.
 
However, as I recognized the wisdom he was bestowing on us all, I saved it to my hard drive. I now pass it on to all of you here today.
 
 
Building a Campaign for Newbies
by KA
 
 
I am basing this on the problems I have had over the years introducing new players to Champions, and some of the solutions that seem to work.

They may not work for you, but here they are.

1) Start with comics. If you don't own, and don't want to buy, the kind of comics you hope to recreate in your campaign, check your local library, or the 25 cent bin at the local comics store. Find things that very closely match the kind of world you want to have. (See below for suggestions on that)

Insist that the players do their "homework" by reading at least some of these before you even begin to create characters.

You will save yourself endless frustration if you and the players are on the same page before you get going.

2) Plan a day with each player to create their character, individually, in private, and run through at least a simple scenario.

One player at a time.

This will give you much more of a chance to get the player "into" their character. They will also be able to try out powers and see what they do, try out skills etc.

My advice would be to come up with a scenario that allows for multiple solutions.

A bank robbery with one or two hostages.
A kidnapping.
Gathering intelligence on a Viper base.

You can run each character through the same thing, since you will be doing it one player at a time.

This will give them a good idea of what their character can do, and what they might want to change.

Be sure to let them know that this is a "simulation" or something, that doesn't count in the actual campaign.

The easiest way to kill a new campaign is to have a bunch of players who don't know who their character is supposed to be and what he can do.

They all just wander about, either killing everything they meet or doing nothing at all.
Or the one "alpha male" Player starts bossing everyone around, and all the rest of the pack establish a pattern of just doing what they are told and never making any decisions.
If you let each player get the feel of their character first, without the other players around, they will act more like the teams in the comics do.

3) No matter where you want your campaign to eventually end up, I would try to start out fairly close to Silver Age.

Why?

Well for one thing, it is not hard to darken a campaign as you go along.

The players can find out that Police are corrupt, Friends can't always be trusted, etc.
 
But it is almost impossible to lighten one.

Players that aren't used to the Superheroic Genre will often act like they are The Punisher with a better gun. They will see no reason not to just kill anyone who gets in their way. Which means you will quickly have The Authority on your hands. The characters will have done things that no society would accept in the name of "right". The society will react by attempts to capture, incarcerate, or kill the characters, in turn feeding their anger and paranoia, and you will quickly end up in a showdown where the characters will either rule the Earth or be buried under it.

You need to let the players get the feel of being Heroes.

Give them the chance to actually do some good.

Don't taint every victory with some sort of negative side effect.

Some campaigns seem to run on the theory that "No good deed goes unpunished."

GM: "You know that little girl you rescued from the fire last week?

She was actually the clone of Hitler's mother. A neo-Nazi group is going to rapidly age her into a teenager and create a Fourth Reich of genetically enhanced Hitler clones that release hard radiation out of their testicles.

Even if you kill all the Radioactive Hitlers, millions of people are going to develop cancer just because they were using the subways to travel around and everything is contaminated."

Even if you don't want things to be clean and perky all the time, allow the players to actually help some people and accomplish something in the beginning.

For instance, you could have UNTIL gradually become corrupt and/or anti-metahuman over the course of the campaign, due to internal problems, outside influence, etc. rather than having the players start in a world where basically everything was against them.
Heroes struggling to do the right thing in an imperfect world, is a lot more interesting than cynical jaded beings with powers, doing morally neutral things, in a cynical jaded world.

But if the players start out feeling like "everyone is against them" they will quickly descend into a Rusty Iron Age mentality.

"Who cares what we do? Everyone hates us anyway. Let's go steal some weapons from UNTIL and start blowing things up."

4) I would start out with the idea that the team is already formed. Let the players know that they are building a Team Member, not an Individual Hero.

You can come up with the background for how and why the team formed after you know who the characters are, but make sure that the players know they are part of a team.
For some reason perfectly reasonable people can be utter bastards when it comes to this topic.

It is just like the old sitcoms where someone who has never acted before gets a bit part in a movie, and is suddenly demanding to know
"What's my motivation?"
"You're at an ice-cream stand. You walk up, and say 'Give me a vanilla cone.'
How much motivation do you need? You just want an ice cream!"
"But why do I want the ice cream?
Am I trying to recapture the innocence of my childhood?
Do I have an eating disorder?
Do I have an oral fixation?
Is the ice cream symbolic of the ever-changing state of man's existence?"

I have read stories here on the boards of GM's who were never able to get their team together.

The players just kept coming up with crap like:
"Well, sure, I hear the Police sirens, but why would I follow them? Those things go off all the time. It could just be a car theft or something. I am going to stay where I am and see if the bus station comes under attack by aliens.
After all, my character does have Xenophobia as a Psych Lim!"

"Why would I tell this person how to contact me?
I don't know them.
What if it's some kind of trick?
They could be an enemy trying to discover my Secret ID.
I am going to wait until they are distracted, and then fly into orbit.
Then I will follow a random untraceable path to the Paranoia Cave and activate all the defense systems.
After that, I am not coming out for six weeks.
That way they can't find me."


You are much better off just telling the players how the team got to be a team and going from there. If you start up another campaign with these players some day, then you may want to roleplay it out, but with a bunch of newbies, it can be like herding cats.

5) The Inevitable "Loner"
Anyone who, during the creation process, starts down the "moody psychotic loner" path, should be asked:

a) Why is your character on this team? What does it mean to him? Since he hates all authority figures and won't work with anyone, what in his personality is so overwhelming that he puts up with being on a team? Why did he join in the first place?
Expect this to come up in play, often.

When your character wants to stalk off into the night, there should be a hook that pulls him back before he is out the door.

What is it?

Because I am not going to run an individual campaign for you while everyone else sits around and stares at the wall for three hours.

You can have that "type" of personality, but there must be a strong reason why, even though you don't like it, you stay with the team and follow orders.

Otherwise, come up with a concept that is more of a team player.

b) Why would the other team members put up with you?

If you are such a foul-tempered, uncontrollable, individualist, why would rational people with powers of their own put up with your crap?

Are you just crusty on the outside, with a "heart of gold"?

Do you bravely throw your body in the way of attacks that might kill other team members?

Are you the guy who "will not leave a team-mate behind" even if you die in the rescue attempt?

Why weren't you kicked off the team the first time you opened your mouth?

The other players aren't going to come up with reasons to put up with you, you have to come up with reasons you are worth putting up with, and then make sure you live up to them!

Anyway, hope this helps.

Good Luck!

Looks solid. 
 
I'd personally also mention that a Champions character starts strong and gets minor improvements whereas as D&D character generally starts weak and gets significant improvements.  What you start with matters, since you'll be using it for the character's lifespan.  This is also a significant part of why a Champions character takes longer to make: It's like starting at high level. 
 
I'd also suggest setting up your tone.  If you're going Silver Age, things like "Fights aren't to the death.  Killing people is bad and wrong and not heroic.  Heroes knock the villain out and arrest them, not shoot them and dump their body at the police office." in the introductory document can go a long way towards establishing the tone you want.  There's a bunch of takes on superhero out there, the last thing you want is somebody bringing The Gunisher to your idealistic Justice League-esq game. 

I just watched the movie a few hours ago and thought I start a threat talking about it. I wish I did not have to run out to take a bathroom break halfway through (in the Sahara section), because I propably missed something really funny or interesting.
 
The initial fight (in the submarine) reminded me a lot of Bud Spencer and his comedic fightscenes, of all roles.
His way of casually tanking everything the bad guys threw at him? Totally Bud Spencer. I mean knocking the scared foe out with the door he is hinding behind? If there was a book about "Slapstick Fightscenes with Bud Spencer", that was propably right in there on the first 10 pages.
Despite the comedic undertones, it did get seriously near the end. It did set up a mid-movie fightscene, a character moment and a sequell or two near the end. He was stricken by uncertainty about that action through the entire film, regardless how many people told him that his decision was okay.
 
One common complaint about Aquaman is that "he is only relevant if the story is set in the ocean". But this movie made a really good job of setting up just how dangerous Atlantis was. I knew a Tidal Wave was comming the moment the birds were seen moving in formation.
I did not expect it to have been a worldwide event however. Nor that it would casually throw submarines, aircraft carriers and tons of ocean garbage onto land.
That is a weapon System with at least the destructive power of a nuclear weapon, but minus the fallout. And that was just Orm sending a warning. A casual use of Atlantis Military strengh, to speak in Hero games terms.
 
The worldbuilding for Atlantis naturally has to be compared to Wakanda from Black Panther. And I do not think it has to shy away from that comparision. Indeed they went one futher and developed not 1, but 5 Atlantean cultures. All with fitting weapon Systems and warfare Philosophies. The Atlan Sonic Weaponry in particular makes a ton of sense underater.
Well 4, unless you can call the Trenchers a "culture". I mean the Crab guys had more personality and I literally forgot their name.
Just think about the detailed thought that goes into "how do Atlanteans think about tears/sorrow"? Or their relationship to Lava as "underwater fire"?
A friend of mine complained about the logic of "fighting armies with your army to add to your strenght". But I think that fits into just about any History/Medieval Fantasy setting. Particular some of the Arthus Legend Interpretations (to continue a Theme). In those it is not uncommon at all to defeat a (potential) enemies, to have a united front before some big war. And usually if you go for the leaders, there is a decent chance you come out with a net-positive of forces.
It was also a nice touch that Miras Dad was not actually fooled by the "submarine attack" plot. This is not a universe where "secret Identity" can fool someone on the Skill- and Resourcelevel of Armanda Waller.
 
Their Tour the world part also showed that Arthur was quite versed in human cultures and even langauge. I think originally it was Wonder Womans side shtick to know all human langauges. Part of the whole "abassador to the world of men" thing. But Arthur used the Ocean to move around and could do so for years without drawing any attention. He propably drank in every single coastal bar on the planet. He did mention "happy hour ends soon" at one point.
And what I could see him doing: Drinking in one bar until happy hour ends. Swim 1-2 timezones further, to be ready for that bars happy hour. And if you can not find the way anymore, you propably know you had enough. We know he likes drinking since the Justice League Trailers.
 
As for his "speak with fish" things: It really is a serious power, if you are literally using shark cavalry. Granted that did not defeat the armies, as there was still plenty of vehicles in use. I think only the 2 royal guards still used living cavalry. Propably some tradition thing.
But it became a serious problem after he used it to ally with the Underwater Godzilla! This beast was a story Atlantean mothers tell their unruly children. And he brought it and the atlantean holy grailt to the fight!

If you have them, the new Kickstarter CCCC (Champions Character Creation cards) take a lot of difficulty out of making characters.
 
My group built 5 characters in about 10 minutes total - fleshing out is more but still the concept was enough for us to run the group through an adventure right away.

If you have them, the new Kickstarter CCCC (Champions Character Creation cards) take a lot of difficulty out of making characters.
 
My group built 5 characters in about 10 minutes total - fleshing out is more but still the concept was enough for us to run the group through an adventure right away.

If you have them, the new Kickstarter CCCC (Champions Character Creation cards) take a lot of difficulty out of making characters.
 
My group built 5 characters in about 10 minutes total - fleshing out is more but still the concept was enough for us to run the group through an adventure right away.

The problem, to me, isn't about TPKs.  It's about systems and paradigms that enforce PC fatalities as the only failure states and consequences.  People want their story to continue.  The GM wants the PCs to stay alive.  But if defeat means death, that can take defeat off the table. 
If every fight is to the death, then losing a fight means TPK.  If withdrawing is difficult or impossible, then every fight is win hard or lose hard.  If the only method of removing an enemy from combat is lethal, then all fights are lethal. 
 
Every scene with important decisions in a TTRPG should have consequences for those decisions.  Combat is a dense cluster of important decisions, so absolutely requires consequences for bad decisions.  Otherwise why bother including such a robust conflict-resolution method for it?  If the only question is "how do the PCs win", then abstract the actual combat and skip to what matters. 
Champions et al are great for this sort of thing.  A hero defeated by a villain might be left behind to stew in their defeat, might be kidnapped for experimentation, might be placed in a sadistic deathtrap, might be unmasked publicly, might have their mcguffin stolen, might fall from the public's graces, or might just be shot and left for dead (possibly to come back).  Plenty of fun and exciting ways to have a defeat matter without ending a story. 
A PC who goes down in D&D enters the countdown to stability or death, and if everyone drops generally somebody bites it.  And because healing magic is so capable of popping a defeated character back up to fighting status, it becomes a smart move to finish somebody while they're down.  Defeat means the end of a story, which means defeat becomes impermissible. 

I've been working on a document to introduce high school D&D players to Champions. Specifically, I wanted to address some of the fundamental differences between the two systems. Here's what I have so far. Any constructive feedback would be appreciated.
--
So, how is Champions different than Dungeons and Dragons?
 
Characters are built, not rolled up.
Champions characters are created using a point build system. Each character starts with a certain number of character points, which can be used to buy powers, skills, characteristics, etc. This takes a bit longer, but creates a lot more flexibility in character design.
 
There are no character classes.
Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric, Paladin...there are no such distinctions in Champions. There are character archetypes like Brick, Energy Projector, Martial Artist, Mentalist, Gadgeteer, etc., but those distinctions aren’t defining or limiting. Want a character that is both stealthy and a great fighter--like, say, Batman or Daredevil? Build the character that way, and don’t worry about labels.
 
Characters don’t “level up”.
There’s no such thing as a “2nd-level Brick” in this system. Instead, experience comes in the form of character points--just like you use to build your character in the first place--that you can use to improve your character’s abilities as you see fit.
 
You don’t earn experience points just from combat.
Your Game Master (GM) will award experience based on what the characters accomplished during the adventure; this may or may not involve fighting the bad guys. Experience points are also awarded for exceptional role-playing, problem solving, and so on. There’s no “We wiped out the goblin village because they aren’t worth XP alive” rationale at work here.
 
You also don’t earn experience points by accumulating stuff.
Finding treasure is an important part of fantasy literature--the genre upon which D&D was based. It is not a particularly important part of the superhero genre. Unless money is a defining feature of your character’s identity--Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, etc.--nobody really cares how rich or poor your character is. And equipment? The equipment your character has is what they paid character points for.

Champions characters have liabilities as well as assets.
This is another convention of the genre. Examples include things like a Secret Identity (think Batman/Bruce Wayne), a Dependent Non-player Character (or DNPC, think Spider-Man’s Aunt May), a Vulnerability (like kryptonite to Superman), a Psychological Limitation (like Violet Parr’s shyness), and so on. In game terms, these liabilities are called Disadvantages (Disads) or Complications, and they give you more points to spend on your character’s abilities. 
 
Thoughts?