allen

And there will definitely be teen villains in the book For a teaser, there's a brief reference in Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth I'm hoping to expand upon in Teen Champions.

Steve has come to the rescue and offered to loan me the book, so no worries about it being out of print... thanks for the info -- I'm looking forward to reading it. Another teen comic that's a good example of teen-age street level heroics (ala 4th edition Dark Champions) is Cloak and Dagger from Marvel. Some of their appearances in various Spider-Man comics were good issues. I'm not sure I'd recommend expending lots of bucks getting the series. I enjoyed the first volume of their own title and the Strange Tales that came out in the late eighties (maybe third volume of Strange Tales) -- however I make no promises anyone else will enjoy it . If you can find a run for 25 or 50 cents an issue, and are looking for some inspiration for a teen-age, street level superheroics, I'd say it's worth a shot. (An aside: the Strange Tales also have Dr. Strange stories, where he studies with Kaluu (sp?) and fights a Lovecraftian monster thing. Again, I gotta a kick out of it, but... umm... maybe not to everyone's Strange taste.)

Re: What I liked about Alien Wars Thanks for the kind words and glad you're enjoying Alien Wars.

Where's this book from? I'm not sure I've heard of it....

Re: Early "What do you want to see?" for Teen Champions Well, I'm a little hesitant to speak to this topic in detail or with any kind of certainty, since I haven't really worked through my ideas in any sort of systematic way or anything; but my initial comments on this are twofold... First, like with any "standard" point guideline, it's going to be hard to create any and all PCs exactly like what's in the comics. For instance, it's hard to do the Avengers with 350-point characters -- (trying to avoid controversy here) Thor is obviously more points than Hawkeye. So yeah, characters like Superboy, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl might be hard, if not impossible, with 200 points; but characters like those from The New Mutants, when considered as portrayed in the Graphic Novel and Issue #1 of the series, work at 200 points I think. They don't have a lot of skills; they're always running out of Endurance (i.e., "too tired to use my powers"); their powers have lots of disadvantages lowering the Real Point cost; etc. Second, the other thing to consider is Experience Points and improvement. Adolescence is a time of considerable and rapid change, and in my opinion the same should hold true of the superpowers wielded by adolescent superheroes. Because of these rapid changes: (1) At 200-points, a PC has plenty of room to grow and expand his powers. (2) It also allows the GM to award "greater-than-normal" Experience Point awards (qualifier: at the GM's discretion of course). These increased Experience Awards help to model/emulate the dramatic changes brought about by adolescence, w/o turning the teenage PCs into worldbeaters too quickly.

Geez louise... the Supreme Serpent is obviously spying on me.... All of the above will be covered in detail.

Re: Early "What do you want to see?" for Teen Champions All those are great examples. Currently, the best teen comic I'm reading is Runaways from Marvel comics. Six children, ages 11 - 17, discover their parents are supervillains banded together in some sort of conspiracy, and and kids run away from home, determined to fight their parents. Each of the kid's parents fall into a Marvel archetype: crime lords (ala the Kingpin), mutant telepaths, alien agressors, evil mystics, mad scientists, and time travlers -- and the kids are discovering their own powers that are in a similar vein to their parents. The story moves kind of slow from issue to issue, but it's laugh-out-loud funny at times.

Emphasis mine. That story arc is actually a perfect example of what I'm talking about, since the story progression is decidedly not Lovecraftian -- in short (SPOILER if you haven't read it, btw -- and you should read it, because it's alot of fun): Superman journeys to the heart of Mageddon, an unspeakable evil from before the Fourth Age (as I recall), and he succumbs to despair, allowing the evil to consume him. BUT. Batman reminds him of who he is -- the big boy scout who can't lose -- and Superman, drawing upon the depths of his courage, human spirit, etc., then proceeds to defeat the unbeatable evil. In other words: rather than the being reduced to a gibbering maniac, or at least being haunted forever more by the event, Superman triumphs in the face of incomprehensible evil because of his human qualities. The ending of JLA: WWIII is as if in "Call of Cthulhu" Johanson shook off the madness that gripped him, then put a hammerlock on Cthulhu and said, 'Ok, squid head, time for you to go back to R'lyeh and get back to dreaming -- humanity's here to stay!' Maybe REH would've ended the story that way, but I have a hard time imagining HPL doing so, thus my hesitation to use the term, Lovecraftian. However... certain elements of the story would definitely work for a DEMON plot -- the best of which are (off the top of my head and w/o re-reading the story): As Mageddon approaches Earth, humanity descends into madness and war because of its influence. The appearance of Mageddon. The big jellyfish/brain thing that takes over people and uses them to prepare the way for Mageddon. All of those are elements of weird fiction which are definitely at home with DEMON. Anyway, hopefully that clarifies what I'm talking about a little. Another comment: Yeah, definitely stuff on recruitment both in general and at least one specific example of a single Demonhame's recruitment network. [EDIT: should probably add... the story, "The Horror at Red Hook," is a good example of how I envision DEMON being used in Dark Champions and maybe Pulp Hero (darker campaigns at least)]

Re: COIL Jetski writeup question It's x2 Noncombat, so 40" a Phase, SPD 4 = 160" per Turn. 48000" per hour or 96 kph (59.66 mph). I didn't mess with the acceleration so it accelerates 20" a Phase, reaching max on its second; or 3 seconds to reach top speed, so the COIL jetski's got some giddy-up and go... call it a superhero personal watercraft, i guess

Errrr... I'm not sure if that would be cool or not, Bengal, so I think I had better err on the side of caution. Like I said, though, it is similar to what Monolith posted just with the RKA Must Do Body Limitation on the Stretching. If you're in a gaming store at some point, you can find it on page 70 of Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth.

Natio qui sunt Romani vocata domi irant? LOL... that's wrong... right now, there's Latin instructors with disapproving expressions frowning at their former student's ignorance.

Re: Champions and Vertigo Once upon a time, I started a campaign called Infrared/Ultraviolet that was definitely inspired by Grant Morrison's The Invisibles. Not sure I'd call it a superhero game though; characters were 200 points and a player could buy any power he wanted for his character, so long as he possessed (either owned himself, or borrowed from me or one of the other players) a published book that described the ins-and-outs of how the power worked -- in other words, the metaphysic behind the power, described in the kind of book found in the New Age/Occult section at the bookstore. The campaign lasted one game-session (pretty pathetic, I know), so I don't really know how it would've worked out. I'm trying to remember the characters -- there was a rich guy (ala Mason Lang) with no powers, but extensive contacts, bases, etc. who was hunting for proof of aliens. A Golden Dawn/Crowley guy with a Book of Thoth. A guy with a copy of Everything In This Book Is True... and its sequel that I don't remember the title of, nor do I remember what he could do (other than spout random kookiness -- maybe he could "rotate" into/through other dimensions or something). One more, I don't remember what was up with him. I wanted to have a mercenary with a copy of Behold A Pale Horse and another character based on a book I have on Occult Geometry... Concerning the surreal... I really think what Morrison did in Doom Patrol was very cool, but so much of surrealism is tied up with the visual, I find it difficult to really work into an RPG, or convey in a campaign.

Lots of great suggestions... thanks everyone,and keep them coming. Couple of brief comments: Spell List, et al.: Well, there's going to be something -- some sort of framework for DEMON's standard magical inclinations, which will include spell write-ups. At least enough to get a GM who just purchased the book up and running. But it's not going to be (to my mind, at least) extensive. First, as Monolith pointed out, there are alot of resources out there already for spells. Second, this is isn't the Ultimate Mystic, and I think some of the suggestions here are more appropriate to that book. Artifacts: Yes, both those the organization already possesses, and the ones it wants to possess. "Lovecraftian": This word gets used quite a bit, especially in gaming. For me, it has a very specific meaning involving a certain kind of horror writing (man faced with the unknown, unknowable, and incomprehensible discovers traumatically, tragically -- and sometimes fatally -- that all he knows is wrong and he is entirely and completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things). While there'll be room for this in DEMON, it's still a supplement for superhero roleplaying and that sort of horror writing doesn't jibe with the superhero genre, as referred to in general parlance (which is different than an individual GM's use of the genre -- important distinction there). All that said: what I mean by "weirdly mystical" is the mystic as portrayed in weird fiction which includes Lovecraft -- so yeah, "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!".. *ahem*... sorry, bit carried away there. "Deus Est Mortem, Omnes Nox": I'm not clear on the Latin. I haven't pulled out the Wheelock's yet, but "mortem" is from "mors, mortis" which I thought ment coprse, and for some reason it's in the accusitive -- I would've expected a participle of "morior." "Omnes" also looks strange to me -- 3rd declinsion adjective, "omnis, omnis, omne" -- so male/female plural accusitive, but i think it should be singular and nominitive (literarlly: whole/all of the world)... "Deus Est Mortuus; Omnis Nox." eh, my Latin is beyond rusty at this point, I'm afraid. Is it a quote from something? DEMON and other genres: There will definitely be a Genre-by-Genre section. And on a related note, suggestions for customizing DEMON to suit various ages of comics will also be there. Concerning some of the "darker" stuff (i.e., snuff films, sex slaves): I don't find the grittier details of those kinds of activities appropriate to the superhero genre as presented in the Champions Universe. Any use of that kind of thing would parallel its use in traditional pulp fiction as well as comic books. (And to be honest, I personally am not interested in plumbing the depths of sexual depravity or the like in a gaming product.) An aside: No one told me the Supreme Serpent resided in Greensboro when I agreed to move here... I thought the Supreme Serpent was in Canada somewhere... Obviously, there's a larger plot here....

Well... that'd be telling, wouldn't it? Yeah, there's going to be at least a handful of Package Deals for different types of "standard" demon transformations, so a GM can quickly have some ready for his game (or quickly get them ready if an adventure takes an unexpected turn). I'm not so sure about where they stand point-wise right now... there will be a variety of levels of power, so a GM can pick and choose, but I'm not sure about averages and the like. Thanks... it's definitely going to be fun to write.

Hey all, I'm getting ready to settle into writing DEMON, an organization book covering that nefarious group dedicated to conquering the world via mystical means, and it's time for the traditional "What Do You Want To See?" thread. In other words, this is your opportunity to provide some input on the book and the direction it takes. A few words about DEMON: Organizationally, the book will be similar to VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent -- i.e., a history of the organization, details about its recruitment methods and modus operandi, descriptions of select Demonhames, how exactly it plans to conquer the world, etc. In other words, it will cover similar topics as that other organization book -- just with a decidedly DEMON-esque slant. The book is not going to detail the Mystic World in the Champions Universe -- it will only briefly cover how DEMON interacts with pertinent aspects of that world. (For details about the Mystic World, check out the appropriately titled Mystic World, available within the next couple months.) DEMON does not use technology -- their magic and enchanted items (and the book will detail plenty of those) are more than enough to make up for the lack. In short: if a Brother's got a gun, he bought it at the gun shop. Something I'm curious about: What kind of tone, mood, theme, etc. are you expecting from this organization? My own thoughts (currently, at least) are: the weirdly mystical with generous helpings of mephistophelian malevolence and over-the-top espionage action. So anyway bend my ear a little and let me know what you're looking forward to about this book.... any and all comments are welcome and appreciated.

The one I wrote up for Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth is similar to this, but also has a Only Works If RKA Does Body (-1/2) Limitation on the Stretching part to better model the harpoon bouncing of armor and the like.

Re: Shades of Black: oops, the villains won lots of good ideas already, but just to throw in my two cents... first, i'd find out if the mentalist who escaped has any ideas on how to rescue his teammates (if you haven't done this already) and then, if his idea seems at least somewhat workable, i'd run with that. if the mentalist doesn't have any ideas, then here's a couple of ideas... one is to have Talisman call the MCPD with an anonymous tip (likely Mind Controlling some stranger into making the call), or else have her somehow arrange for the PCs to be alone for long enough for them to make an escape. Talisman wants the Black Paladin to fail, and though this might show her hand a little early in the adventure, i think it's in keeping with her character. (and as for BP keeping the PCs alive -- i don't think he would necessarily kill the PCs immediately; he'd much rather kill them in such a way that he benefits from their deaths, so he would hold off on it until he figured out some way to sacrifice them so that he gains power/some advantage/etc.) the other idea would be: Black Paladin and Talisman stole more than just the skull helmet and bottle of wine from the museum in France. in fact, they stole three other similar artifacts. they use these artifacts on the captured PCs, turning them into something evil or evil versions of themselves -- whatever the case, a similar tranformation as that which created Lady Crow and the Gryphon. Then BP dispatches the PCs to perform some task -- maybe, if nothing else presents itself, the task is capturing the fourth member of their party who originally escaped. then the mentalist must use his powers to make his teammates remember who they really are, and since attacking a teammate likely goes against the grain for the heroes, you can also allow the Transformed PCs "Breakout" rolls to regain their senses during the fight. once the tranformed PCs return to their senses, the adventure is back on track -- and three of the PCs might even have more motivation to capture BP, since only he knows how to reverse the transformation (Bwah-hahaha...). the last idea, i think, is a pretty tried-and-true staple of comic books and should be fun. the first idea, however, gets the adventure back on track more quickly.

Re: Shades of Black thanks for the kind words, Edsel... i think the adventure should work really well for what you want to do with it, and would love to hear how it comes out.

thanks for taking the time to write-up a review.

Re: Re: Shades of Black heh. this is a power from the original manuscript for a certain witch's shade's VPP, intended for just this thing: Trap Thy Soul: If a hero attempts to engage Chantal on the “astral plane†by using Desolidification, and Chantal doesn’t feel immediately threatened by the hero’s abilities or the hero can’t perceive her, she uses this fiendish spell. The spell Transforms the target’s Desolidification Power into one with the Advantages, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) and Persistant (+1/2), and the Limitation, Always On (-1/2). To determine the difficulty, the Character Points gained by the target because of the Advantages, divided by five, must be added to the target’s BODY, and then multiplied by two. In most cases, 8 points are added to the target’s BODY, before being multiplied. If successful, Chantal proceeds to torment her victim via Telepathy, telling him that now he is a ghost like her, and will never return to the “real worldâ€. Minor Transform 9d6 (cause target’s Desolidifaction to be Always On, heals back normally). Total Cost: 90 points.

Re: The Black Paladin is vanquished.... c'mon, Hermit.... darkness dimension. Eater of Shadows. darkness. shadows... imprison the Black Paladin will he? when Chesire Cat finds himself possessed of an irresistible urge to weild the sword, Eater of Shadows, and don the Armor Of Arcane Pathways, the hero Nightbringer will learn the true meaning of punishment. Bwah-hahahahahaha.... So anyway, yeah, I'm in the camp that believes the sword is evil.

hey all, just a quick thanks for the kind words... hope your players enjoy Shades Of Black too. i concur: Nato and Keith did excellent work on the adventure. so hats off to 'em and thanks for making it look so good, guys.

lol... my buddies and i used to spend far too much time talking about this sort of thing when i was in college... sort of a "what if... you had superpowers." i had two powers one. there was this issue of WildC.A.T.s (i know, i know... boo... hiss... Image bad...). it had Grifter (a whatchamacallit... gun bunny guy...) clinging to the wing of a jet plane hurtling through the air. Grifter, in desperate straits, lights a cigarette... i mean, Mach whatever and this clown pulls out a smoke, then his lighter, flicks his 'bic,' and lights his cigarette. (i imagine if i were in such circumstances i'd need a smoke break too). so anyway, i smoked, had a zippo, in a gale it wouldn't light -- heck man, it wouldn't light the first time in a stiff breeze -- and my first power was the ability to light a cigarette under any circumstance. we copped out and made it a Transform (unlit cigarette into lit cigarette), No Range... if i recall correctly. two. so i have an abnormally long torso... i know, i know... you ask: 'how does anyone notice an abnormally long torso?" well let me tell you. shirts are either too big in the chest and shoulders, and too long in the arms; or they're too short and constantly come un-tucked. (it's a burden i try to bear bravely, chin up and out and with a stiff upper lip.) anyway: it's something like .25" Stretching, Always On, Torso Only, No Velocity Damage, No Indirect, etc., etc. and as for the name... Torso Man, the Human Cigarette Lighter. Able to light people's cigarettes, regardless of inclement weather or catastrophic circumstance, without struggling too hard to reach, so long as the person was only a foot or two away.

heh. the Kzin are cuddle-buddles compared to Xenovores. (for illustration, i'm going to to name a xenovore 'speaker to food.')

Thorgons will be mentioned in brief (very in brief, to be exact); but it won't add much to what's presented in Terran Empire.