Matt Frisbee

Re: This week on "Champions"... Sunday 7:00 pm [Off the air for two weeks due to scheduling conflicts] Bay City Rollers -- "Virtual Villainy" Our heroes have learned that a group of hackers in a virtual reality superhero game are acting out the same crime over and over! Could it be a real group of supervillains practicing for a real world crime? And back in the real world, the mystery surrounding the strange package Sam Dalton received deepens! (From Heroic Adventures, Volume 1)

Re: Featuring Special Guest Star...

Re: Opinions On Limitation Level For A "Cargo Only" T-Port You might try defining it as "non-sentient, immobile objects" or give it a 1 hex AE for piles of objects. You would probably have to define a trigger for the device if it is "Independent". As far as the "non-sentient, immobile objects" limitation goes, as a GM, I'd be willing to give it a -1/2 limitation. If the thing malfunctions, be sure to look at "side-effects" limitation, too. Hope I've been some help! Matt

Re: WWYCD: I, The Jury Good work Badger & Iron Will! These two were the only ones who suggested checking out the scenes of the crime! Iron Will's ability would have spoiled the mystery unless his ability only allows for hints, tips and vague impressions. You would be surprised how many games I've run where I've left key pieces of evidence at the scene of the crime -- and nobody ever checked out the place themselves! Those of you who found the gaps in the armor, kudos and if I can, I will rep you for it!

Re: How do you plot out your Champions Campaign? I tend to play things fairly loose with my campaign and adventure planning, prefering to lay out situations and then adapt my idea of what is going to happen to what actually does happen. This occasionally means that a dramatic moment doesn't happen, but I figure that if my players are smart enough to tackle a problem from an angle I haven't considered, then they should be rewarded for their creativeness. In general, I plan out what I would like to have happen in a campaign and then adjust what is happening to the plan. I start with a basic plan and keep it simple. That way, there's always room for additions as the players' actions dictate that other things need to happen, and as I get other ideas down the road for short story arcs and one shot adventures. After I do a quick roadmap for the campaign, it's time to come up with the first twenty or so villains -- just names and basic descriptions at first, with character sheets to follow once I have the PC's set. The rest of the campaign I tend to play off the cuff, using my information as a guideline. Matt

Re: Character: The Man With No Name You have done an excellent job with the character, however, I must point out that The Man With No Name didn't use a .45 in at least one film -- Pale Rider. I'll have to research it a bit more, but I'm thinking it was a .38 Navy cap and ball pistol in which each chamber of the cylinder had to be loaded with powder and a ball with a percussion cap inserted at the base of the chamber. As I remember, he had an ammunition belt with four or five pre-loaded cylinders for the pistol. That nitpicking aside, this was a fun and great writeup! I will try to rep for it, because it is certainly worthy. Matt [insert whistle from The Good, The Bad & The Ugly here] Frisbee

Re: Shattered Sun - A Star Hero campaign Traveller Hero (yes, I know it's mispelled, but bear with me) is a game set in the Science-Fiction Roleplaying Universe of Traveller (by GDW) but using Hero System rules. Traveller is a classic dinosaur of system that exists primarily because its creator Marc Miller did such an incredibly good job with creating the Imperium, the setting for the game. Think a science-fiction version of the Roman Empire without the gladitorial games. Matt "A-foaming-at-the-mouth-Traveller-fanatic" Frisbee

Re: Working Stiffs -- Champions Style! Admittedly, I have unlawful carnal knowledge of this particular profession, but you have done an excellent job with it. You might add the following: 3 Resistance (+3 to EGO roll when dealing with irate listeners or clueless management or sales staff.) 1 PS: News Broadcaster 8- (Because you'll always be asked to fill in when the regular news man is on vacation.) 1 Systems Operation 8- (Most stations are playing music and advertising on MP3 files on a computer sequencing system these days.) Despite what it seems, I do actually like my job. I just like complaining about it too. Matt Frisbee

Re: Featuring Special Guest Star... In the Lakeport campaign I ran a couple of years ago, Rob Zombie and a professional golfer (John Daly, I think) were part of one scenario involving a celebrity golf tournament. (It was happening around the Greater Lakeport Open.) I don't know if Rob plays golf, but the character involved made a side bet on one hole and won front row seats for an upcoming concert at the LECCA center. However, in general, famous characters don't make many appearances in my campaigns. I use fictional analogues of famous people for the most part, much the same way I use analogue names for the major cities. (Lakeport = Milwaukee, for example) Matt "Staying-out-of-the-Hollywood-spotlight-for-now" Frisbee

Re: [Character] White Phoenix - Ninja Hero/Teen Champions Shades of Ranma 1/2, eh? Or maybe that classic comic character Prime? I like how you did this one, but I'd almost think that working the multiform might have been slightly easier -- but that's just me, and I'm an old school 4th Ed gamer. Good design, too. If I can, I'll rep you! Matt

For those of you who were looking for a street-level thread of this ongoing series, I offer the following: This presumes your character (or the group he or she is part of) is based in a North American city and actually has to deal with court cases in his or her heroic identity. BACKGROUND: Over the past year, a number of high-profile court cases involving actions by your character (or his or her team members) against certain supervillains who have notorious reputations have been for naught. Technicalities, legal bungling by the District Attorney, evidence problems, witness credibility and other legal maneuvers have turned some genuinely bad pennies back out onto the streets. The odd thing is, most of them seem to have dropped out of sight rather than resume their criminal ways. SITUATION: A two weeks ago, one of these bad eggs turned up dead, having obviously been taken down by a metahuman, but not one that any database or long memory can recall. Nobody shed any tears, there were no witnesses and it was in a bad part of town. The police (aided by any superhero who could spare the time) stepped up patrols of the area, but nothing out of the ordinary turned up. A week ago, another one turned up dead by the same M.O. Once again, no tears were shed, no witnesses came forward and it was the same bad part of town. Now the police (or whatever law enforcement your city normally has) has formally (if possible, otherwise clandestinely) asked your character to assist in catching the metahuman vigilante. EVIDENCE: 1) Both murders happened at about the same time (10:00 PM) on the same night of the week (Wednesday). This leaves you about 12 hours until it's time for a third victim to die, presuming the killer is continuing the pattern. 2) Both murders have occured in the order that they were tried in the courts. The next potential victim is known, but has a habit of being very hard to find, and probably won't turn up, regardless of the techniques you might use to bring him out of hiding. 3) Both victims and the next potential victim had the same legal firm representing them in court. This is not unusual, though, since the legal firm in question is well-known for defending supercriminals. The odd thing is, the villains who have been absent have all been represented by them, while the few who went back to causing trouble, were not. 4) Everyone even remotely connected with the criminal cases of the victims has been grilled about their whereabouts on Wednesday nights (including you and any applicable teammates). Everyone has been able to provide an verifiable alibi, though three exceptions have come to light: the judge (who lives alone), the lead defending attorney from the law firm (who also lives alone) and the court recorder (who, yes, lives alone). All three have only their word of what they were doing at the times of the murders. 5) Both victims were not wearing their costumes when their bodies were found, but were dressed in modestly fashionable clothes (somewhat the worse for wear with the abuses their wearers were subjected to). That's all you know until you can do some leg work on the case. You've got 12 hours to potentially prevent a murder. WHAT WOULD YOUR CHARACTER DO? I do love a murder mystery -- don't you? Matt

For your pleasure and commentary, I proudly present (in 4th Ed. Stats and Rules): Low-Rent VAL .. CHAR .. POINTS 15 .. STR .. 5 12- Lift 200 kg, 3d6 18 .. DEX .. 24 13- OCV 6 / DCV 6 15 .. CON .. 10 12- 12 .. BODY .. 4 11- 13 .. INT .. 3 12- PER Roll 14- 11 .. EGO .. 2 11- ECV 4 15 .. PRE .. 5 12- 3d6 PRE Attack 10 .. COM .. 0 11- 8 .. PD .. 5 16 PD / 5 rPD 8 .. ED .. 5 16 ED / 5 rED 4 .. SPD .. 12 Phases: 3-6-9-12 8 .. REC .. 4 30 .. END .. 0 30 .. STUN .. 2 CHAR COST IS: 81 POWERS PTS .. ITEM 32 Mutant Abilities (5) Damage Resistance (5 PD / 5 ED): Mutant Toughness (6) +2 PER with All Senses: Always Alert (3) Ultrasonic Hearing: Mutant Senses (5) Ultraviolet Vision: Mutant Senses (8) +4" Running (10" Total, NC 20"): Enhanced Physique (5) +5" Superleap (8" w/STR, NC 16"): Enhanced Physique 10 Homebuilt Thrash Armor (bought with OIF-Armor) (5) +8 PD (5) +8 ED TALENTS PTS .. ITEM 3 Ambidexterity 5 Combat Sense 13- PERKS PTS .. ITEM 3 Jack of All Trades SKILLS PTS .. ITEM 3 Breakfall 13- 3 CK: Bay City 12- 3 Climbing 13- 3 CSL: +1 with Dirty Infighting Martial Arts 3 Concealment 12- 3 Deduction 12- 3 KS: Known Fugitives 12- 3 KS: Known Supers 12- 3 KS: Local Organized Crime Families 12- 3 KS: Organized Crime 12- 3 Persuasion 12- 1 PS: Cashier 11- 1 PS: Janitor 11- 1 PS: Laborer 11- 1 PS: Security Guard 11- 1 PS: Telemarketer 11- 1 PS: Waitstaff 11- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Streetwise 12- 21 Dirty Infighting Martial Arts (4) Punch (OCV +0 / DCV +2 : 6d6) (5) Roundhouse (OCV -2 / DCV +1 : 8d6) (4) Low Blow (OCV -1 / DCV +1 : 2-1/2d6 NND) (4) Disarm (OCV -1 / DCV +1 : 30 STR Disarm) (4) +1 DC with Martial Arts (already figured in) 119 Perk, Powers, Talents & Skills Cost 81+ Characteristics Cost 200 Total Cost DISADVANTAGES 100 + Points PTS .. ITEM 15 Hunted by Organized Crime (More Powerful) 20 Normal Characteristics Maxima 5 Wealth Disadvantage: Poor 15 PSY: Code Against Killing (Common, Strong) 15 PSY: Protects Innocents (Common, Strong) 5 REP: Crimefighter (8-) 15 Secret Identity (Joe Smith, temp slave) 10 Watched by Bay City Police (More Powerful, Non-Combat Influence, Limited Geographic Area, 11-) 200 Disadvantages Total BACKGROUND / ORIGIN: Life is tough for a kid in the Lower Downtown District, but Joe had it better than most. First, he had parents who gave a damn and did their best to provide him the opportunities they didn't get. Second, he was born a mutant with abilities that allowed him an edge over the bullies, creeps, crazies and thugs. Third, he developed a sense of morals which helped him past the landmines of youth. In the comic books, a combination of those things usually put you into the good life. But just as he was getting ready to graduate high school, an industrial accident claimed his father's life and his mother soon after in a traffic accident. Joe was a survivor, though, and was used to juggling school and work, so after graduation, he threw himself into his work. A year went by in a blur of sleep deprivation and mind-numbing boredom as he hustled to pay for the funerals of his parents and keep a roof over his head. Thoughts that other ways to get money in Lodo danced around him, but he refused to entertain them. He'd seen the meatgrinders of crime at work in the city all of his life, and knew to well what would happen if he got caught. Being a metahuman, albeit a low-powered one, things would probably be worse. And then came the night when he was coming home from work and stumbled across a common sight in the Lodo -- a group of four 'bangers doing a shakedown on one of his neighbors in an alley. Getting involved with these jokers would mean getting hurt. He looked around desperately, seeing one of the city's superheroes flying overhead, and waived his arms desperately to flag the hero down. The hero flew along, oblivious, and that made Joe angry. "Too busy to help the folks in Lodo, ain't ya!" he yelled in the hero's wake. He felt his fists balling into tight knots of tension, trembling as the adrenaline rush mounted within him. Maybe the high and mighty of the neon spandex crowd didn't have time for Lodo, but Joe did. It wasn't a comic book fight. The 'bangers gave as good as they got in that street fight, but Joe kept swinging and, aided by his mutant abilities, Joe eventually turned the beat down against them. They ran, leaving their victim bruised and scared, but still in possession of her purse. As he helped her to her feet, she asked, "Who are you?" "Just your basic Low-Rent Superhero, ma'am," Joe replied. POWERS / TACTICS Joe has several low-level mutant abilities, including skin tough enough to turn a knife, the ability to run faster than most people and leap higher and further even the best olympic athlete, plus eyes that see very well in the dark and ears that hear beyond the human range. Since he has made the decision to become Lodo's protector, he has added a set of metal-reinforced sports pads as a sort of homebuilt armor. He has made a concession to vanity and added some spraypaint decoration to the armor. When he has time and energy to patrol his neighborhood, he typically sticks to the rooftops, relying on his enhanced senses and knowledge of the neighborhood to home in on trouble. Low-Rent typically stays out of gang-on-gang action, unless innocent people are caught in the crossfire. It is crimes against the residents he fights -- let the predators prey on each other all they like. His priority in any fight is protecting the victims first, and often he will use a presence attack to try to scare his attackers off rather than dive in and start swinging. In cases where he is obviously outmatched, he will attempt to draw the attention of attackers away potential victims. QUOTE: "I don't care if you sell that nose poison, but I'm gonna work you over if I catch you selling it in Lodo again." CAMPAIGN USE: Low-Rent is a great way to introduce your more four-color characters to a street-oriented adventure or two, such as a battle against terrorists or a VIPER Nest. He's just four-color enough to relate to the characters, but also has a street flavor that would make a break for characters who are used to rubbing elbows with the famous and powerful. He would also fit into a Dark Champions campaign as the optimistic (though potentially misguided) youngster who is fighting crime for more idealistic reasons. Let me know what you think! Matt

Re: Champions Jargon Been there and done that! Liked the way Kill Bill Volume 2 handled it! A few weeks ago our group's long range specialist (Longbow) had to duke it out with two agents of Rogue Legion in a dressing room which was a total of four hexes in size.

Re: Economics 101: Character Building in a Point-Based System Interesting discussion here, BTW... Let's see...45 DEX = OCV 15 & Base Speed of 5.5 for 105 Points, or 30% of 350 (the typical level these days for 5th Ed.) points. The hole in the argument of why Bricks don't do this more often centers around spending that remaining 70% or 245 points. Presuming that 70 STR (14d6) is a typical power level for a baseline brick in the campaign, that's another 60 Points to achieve that level. Presuming no power modifiers for the STR, that means 6 END each phase the STR is used or (presuming we go to 6 SPD for the extra 5 points) 36 END + and used for moves (say 2 END for a typical mode of mobility) for a total of 48 END each turn. Unless the REC is also bought up to compensate for this speedy brick (more points), he or she is going to be sucking wind after only one turn. So, if you continue this trend, you'll spend anywhere from 70% to 90% of your points on characteristics. Some people are into the whole thing of point "imbalances" in the Hero System and IMHO they're barking up the wrong tree. This is supposed to be a role-playing game, not an exercise in combat effectiveness. Villains may be significantly more combat-oriented, but then, they have to fight the authorities of the world (including the PC's). The PC's, on the other hand, have lives, loves and tribulations along with fighting the villains of the world. The reason you see so many bricks compared to other character archetypes is that they have a role-playing aspect -- it's fun to describe what you're doing with all those muscles. Which is why we love adventures where the characters must creatively apply their powers in order to achieve the objective, right? So, if you want to argue the min/max angle, feel free. I play this game to play heroes. Yeah, I like the combat calculus wargaming aspects of this game as well, but I love the characters even more. Are you GM's going to tell me you've never fudged a die roll for dramatic effect during the climactic battle or during that set up scene that gets the characters the information they need to succeed in the adventure? What makes a good game, a team of superior character designs or a team of superior character concepts? If I may be so presumptuous, the answer is self-evident. That's my two cents' worth and now I'm outta pennies. Matt Frisbee

Re: Gravitational Tractors It's a pretty picture, but given the human race's history with discovering deep space bodies of the mentioned size (200m diameter) we usually find them far too late to do anything that elaborate. Unless the governments of the world get serious about finding Earth-Orbit-Crossing Asteroids, an artist's rendition is about all any sort of asteroid deflection you'll see for the next several decades. As for me, I'm catching the next UFO bound for Miramanee's Planet with that cool obelisk asteroid deflector... Matt "Been-living-in-a-fantasy-universe-longer-than-many-people-have-been-alive" Frisbee

Re: But is it green and glowing? Hmmm...what if the meteorite drops pods which start producing super-powered versions of regular people...that's strange, I'm suddenly getting this urge to start cleaning the Maxim guns... Matt "What?-You're-taking-me-seriously?" Frisbee

Re: The World's Greatest Superteam! Wonderfully wacky and yet potentially troublesome -- I like the concept! Of course, you realize that their nemeses are begging to be created as well -- and most people do comedy so much better than me... Oh, well. I'll stick to creating the dark, gritty stuff and keep on enjoying the fluff! Thanks for the information -- oh, and according to the websites I've checked, I'd say that Toowoomba would be a nice place to visit, at least. Matt

Re: Working Stiffs -- Champions Style!

Re: Quark! Oh Lordie! I remember this show! I finally have found people who remember this show! The problem is, those of you posting to the thread remember far more about it than I do... *sigh* I think I'll echo the sentiment that it should be released on DVD. That and the FOX series Whoops! Matt "Loving-the-fuzzy-memories" Frisbee

Re: Old Traveller RPG comic This series is a complete scream! I swear, I ran a campaign like this once...no, really! If it's possible, you'll garner rep for this! Matt "The-diehard-Marc-Miller-junkie-still-scamming-for-da-LBB-smack" Frisbee

Re: Shattered Sun - A Star Hero campaign As a Traveller junkie of many years, I must say the thread you linked was a fun read. I had a group that ran a massive "Fighting Entropy" story arc which started just after the end of the Fifth Frontier War and led up to the assassination of Emperor Strephon. In that game, I used Fuzion rules with the Traveller Universe. As I said, fun read. Matt "Wishing-I-could-live-in-the-Spinward-Marches" Frisbee

Re: Space Opera redux: one year later Hey Tung, You have done some fantastic preliminary work on this! I especially appreciate the weapons conversions, though the starship combat outline seems to be genuinely useable as well. I can't use my Hero Designer software at work, but I plan on doing a download and burn to look over the Klackon Warrior at home. Thanks for making the effort! You have been repped (for what it's worth) from me. Matt "Having-gaming-flashbacks-as-I-look-over-this-stuff" Frisbee

Re: Working Stiffs -- Champions Style! Yeah, I've been overdue here -- but since Ghost Angel asked for it: Private Investigator Whether you live the glamorous life of Magnum or the gritty streets of Mike Hammer, you find out the things that people want to know (but often later wish they hadn't found out). Most of the time you're working odd hours in unfashionable parts of town, jockeying with cops, crooks and jealous spouses for a paycheck, but at least you're your own boss. Just hope you've got a good health plan, 'cause you're probably going to need it... 1 PERK: P.I. License 3 Deduction (INT-based) 3 Enhanced Perception (+1 with all senses) (or Night Vision, your choice) 3 Deduction (INT-based) 2 PS: Private Investigator 11- 3 Shadowing 11- Plus some of these options, depending on how serious you take the work: Contacts in the police department (Rockford Files) Contacts in the criminal underworld (Batman, actually, but in deep cover ID's) Contacts on the streets (Baretta) 3 Criminology (INT-based) 3 Lockpicking (if you're proactive in your work) 3 SCI: Psychology (or Criminal Psychology, for hard cases) 3 Security Systems (if you work the better parts of town) 3 Stealth (DEX-based) That should give you plenty of ideas to work from. Any other requests? Matt "Keeping-the-thread-on-life-support" Frisbee

Re: The World's Greatest Superteam! Interesting concept here -- two silly questions, if I may: 1) Is this group a refugee from one of those example dimensions they cooked up in Champions in 3-D? 2) What general shape or design concept is the robot and did Professor Pan build it? Thanks for the fun -- I shall rep thee presently! Matt "Playing-the-fringes" Frisbee P.S. Where's Toowoomba?

Re: Overall Levels are they too good or not good enough? You personally? No, I wouldn't have a problem with that if you had discussed the concept with me and had designed your own character. The groups I run, however, I usually have to take a vague concept from the player and churn out not only a character but a quickie background for said character as well. That's because I'm the only person who's taken the time to learn the system well enough to do that. The players, for the most part, only have limited experience with the Hero System, and are not huge comic book fans, though they still enjoy playing. If I had a group like the people I find here on the boards, I would be a much happier GM. But, they're here, they're my friends, I don't mind the work and we still have fun. The other hangup with the current campaign is that supers only began appearing 15 years ago, so crusty veterans are few and far between, and most of them are supervillains... Matt "Still-carrying-that-Champions-torch-lookin'-for-true-believers" Frisbee