Guardian

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I would highly recommend "Inheritance" by Devin Grayson. Its probably the best superhero novel I have ever read (and I have read a lot of them). The background plot of searching for Deathstroke is really just window dressing, as the main interest is the relationship development between Batman and Nightwing, Green Arrow and Speedy/Arsenal, and Aquaman and Aqualad/Tempest. This should be required reading for any GM, as it could really flesh out the sidekick or DNPC personality.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Umm ... No. Maybe in a world of comic-book science, where matter and energy are created/destroyed with no real respect for the Laws of Thermodynamics. In our world, nail polish uses plasticizers (softeners) because if it were too hard, it would be brittle and break off when the flexible fingernail beneath it is flexed.

Re: Suggestions for a player's Song character? I would recommend paging through an old AD&D Bard's handbook. They had all kinds of spells and talents related to singing. You should also consider the advantages and limitations of the special effect. Should these be bought with the powers, or just considered to be natural extensions (ie- not affecting Real Points) of the singing effect? For example : - Doesn't work in a vaccum - Greater effect and strength underwater - Restrainable (if gagged or entangled) - Lesser effect if target fails perception roll There was an old Legion of Superheroes character from the 1970's named Tyroc, who had various screams for different super-powered effects like teleportation, EB, Force Wall. You could look into that character for inspiration.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... John Stewart sees an attractive female NPC, and wants to talk with her privately without the other PCs around. In order to ditch them, he says - GL: "Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom ..." Sky: "You're a Green Lantern, for Chrissakes! Can't you just teleport your urine into space?"

Re: Who are the DC/Marvel cat-themed villains? WOW !!! Thanks everybody for your input. This is truly the best board in all of RPG-dom. I now have several villains that I can research and use to create a feline-themed team. Thanks for posting the character file, Question Man, I will definitely use that. In case anybody is interested, my plot involves the Egyptian goddess Bast gathering together like-minded catophiles (like Catwoman and Catman), and controlling anthropormorphic cats (like Puma, Tigra, and Sabretooth) in order to use a magical artifact to resurrect modern interest in her ancient cult.

I am working on a plot line involving the gathering of feline-themed villains for an upcoming game. Our campaign is an amalgam of DC and Marvel iconic characters. I need some help from Herodom Assembled to generate a list of who might be attracted to the secret cat-prize. So far I have come up with: Marvel : Black Cat DC : Catman, Catwoman, Lion Mane, Cheetah Warren : Pantha There must be other panther, tiger, lion, or cat-themed villains out there. I need a group which can really challenge the heroes (4 PCs in the 550-600 point range). Thanks for any suggestions !

Re: Historical Nexus Points I'll second the suggestion for GURPS Time Travel. It's essential for this type of campaign. It even discusses dimensional physics and how to resolve paradoxes. From the cover description: " - A survey of time and dimension travel as presented in fiction - and current scientific thought. Travel by time machine, by dimension gate, even by powers of the mind! - Six complete campaign backgrounds (and several mini-backgrounds) for travel through time or parallel worlds, or both! Each has its own rules for characters, travel, and paradoxes. - A detailed discussion of the paradoxes you should consider in creating your own time-travel campaign. Is meddling with history easy? Impossible? Or just a Very Bad Idea? - Parallel worlds . . . "what if" dimensions where something or everything, is different. - A timeline of interesting dates in our own world's history . . . as places for time travelers to visit, or as "branch points" for parallel-world campaign. " Good Luck !

Re: QuestionL Would you consider this unfair or rail roading? Personally, I would have no problem with that scenario at all. I enjoy role-playing challenges, and I see that situation as a great way to explore and develop a PC's character. Both his initial decision, and the consequences of that decision later on. HOWEVER, in my gaming group, I could see 2 of my players getting frustrated and crying "Foul". So I think you have to know the group you are playing with for a "no-win" situation to be a fun gaming experience. My suggestion would be to lower the stakes somewhat, which should lower the potential adverse reactions from the players. For example, instead of interrupting a major "Destroy the World" ritual, have it be a lesser spell in which the villain would just gain more power. That way the PCs could leave to save their loved ones, but have the guilt of knowing that the Evil Villain will be harder to stop next time.

Hi Steve - I searched the FAQ but I am still not clear ... The Multiform power says the true form pays for the cost of the highest point form. This is very clear how to proceed in the book example given where the True Form has a dinosaur form which is more expensive. However, in our situation, the True Form is the one receiving game experience points, and is the highest point total of his other 4 forms. So either A) The player has to put every 5th earned experience point into his Multiform power, so that he continues to pay for himself as he earns more experience, or The True Form is not included in the "pay for the highest form" rule and it would be more precise to state "The true form pays for the highest point form except himself". Thanks very much for your reply.

Re: Crude Combined Marvel/DC timeline to use as backstory to a Supers campaign

Re: Crude Combined Marvel/DC timeline to use as backstory to a Supers campaign Its always tough to melt down all that history into a coherent timeline, and I have seen many people try as I was doing research for my own current campaign which combines the DC and Marvel universe. One minor error I noted in your list: 1959 - Alan Scott was never a member of the Green Lantern Corp. There's a complex history as to how the Guardians of Oa actually created the Starheart from which Alan drew his power (the "Green Flame"), but the rings that the GLC used and which Alan created himself from a meteorite's green metal are really unrelated. They were fellow Green Lanterns in name only, not in origin, and Scott could not have passed on an Oan power ring. You did a good job overall, and comic book continuity is always a fun discussion topic (like religion, there are many opinions and no right answers).

Hi Steve - I searched the FAQ and my old Hero 5th Ed already; I apologize for wasting your time if the answer is in 5ER but my current copy is at a friend's house. We play in a Champions game with points paid for powers, although the occasional weapon is picked up in combat and used by a PC. Am I correct in assuming: 1) Powers with the special effect of a weapon ARE NOT subject to a half-phase to draw before use, (even powers defined as OAF could still be fired instantly) UNLESS they have the "Real Weapon" limitation. 2) Any weapon picked up at the moment, or used without the character having paid actual points for the power, would require a half-phase to draw UNLESS that character succeeds at a Fast Draw Skill Roll. 3) Am I wrong about the above, and in a SuperHeroic game you never have to take extra time to use a power unless it is specifically listed as a limitation on the power? Essentially, Fast Draw skill is only for a Heroic game and not to be used in a Superheroic one? Thanks again for your eternal attention to detail, and all the effort that you put into making such a great RPG system!

Hi Steve - You've heard it before, but I just want to say thanks again for your tireless work on answering our questions. Your service to your fan base is unparalleled in the RPG community. One of my players (I'm the GM) wants to use a magic-based VPP with several limitations on the control cost. I have no problems with the lims themselves, but I am questioning whether they can be legally applied to the slots as well as the control cost. One of the lims is "Limited Range", but some of the power slots that are planned to be used include Growth, HTH attack, and Characteristics. Obviously range is not a factor with those powers. So can that lim be used with only the control cost, both control cost and the VPP slots, or not at all because the lim potentially wouldn't apply to some of the planned spells? THANKS FOR YOUR TIME !!!

Re: PULP HERO Nominated For InQuest Award! Hi Steve - I'll definitely vote! It would be helpful if you could post a list of all the 2005 Hero products that would be eligible for write-in candidates, and then I could cast other votes while I'm at the site. I don't want to waste a vote by listing something that you released in 2004. THANKS !

Re: Build ? : "Invisible to Damage" I love the term "Achilles fight". Personally, I have always liked those type of battles myself, as one has to rely more on brains and utilizing the environment than just the old D&D mindset of running up and bashing repeatedly with your strongest attack. The players in our group range from age 32 to 40, and include a physician, a lawyer, and a PhD in History. So no, I'm not worried about frustrating them with a mental challenge.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... The PCs have discovered the lost African city of Opar, and in the course of the adventure have managed to befriend a giant King Kong- like ape which has been named Barak by the natives. After defeating the evil Jane Clayton, who had returned to Opar for her own nefarious purposes, the PCs are swimming and relaxing in the river and waterfall just outside the city. Barak sits on the riverbank, periodically darting out his mighty hand to scoop up a crocodile out of the water. He pops the 6 foot crocs into his mouth like a frat-boy swallowing goldfish. GM : "And as the sun sets on the fabled lost city of Opar, the conquering heros obliviously chum the water for their new friend, Barak."

Re: Hero Designer v2.0 - CD-ROM I would give the Hero Designer CD my highest recommendation. Well worth every penny. I don't think I could GM without it. It is template software for creating any character with the Hero System, and it cuts my character creation time down to about 20% of what it used to be. I used to spend a whole evening creating a single detailed NPC with the old book-and-paper-and-calculator method. Now I can do a better job creating characters, and hammer out 4-5 NPCs in an evening. And I also love the ability to pull any jpeg picture off of the internet, and insert it into the Heromaker file as a character picture.

Re: Build ? : "Invisible to Damage" Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm amazed that I received responses so quickly, just a few hours after my post. My only other experience with bulletin boards was at the HackMaster RPG site, and that was NOT a good experience with other posters apparently able to only be either rude, insulting, or condescending. The Naked Advantage/IPE/UBO effect is really interesting, but I think it would be cumbersome with the necessity for making attack rolls, using up action phases, etc. I like the simplicity of Invisibility "Only to conceal damage" suggested by Lord Liaden. That power would allow me to "set it and forget it", and not have to make multiple rolls later through a combat. It would also probably be the cheapest points-wise of some of the other options. Better than the Images idea I had originally. I'll have to remember this power for a future PC, as it could be a useful way for a Brick character to appear fully invulnerable, yet still be able to stay within the Defense Power limits for the individual campaign.

Special Effect: The NPC doesn't seem to be in the least bit fazed by whatever the PCs are throwing at her. Energy blasts, killing attacks, etc just seem to fizzle out harmlessly upon striking her. In reality, she is actually suffering huge amounts of damage, but has a magical spell "Illusion of Invincibility" which is making her appear unharmed. So do the players keep tossing powers at her until she drops over dead (causing huge angst from the player with Code vs Killing), or do they stop their attacks and actually try a diplomatic solution when their attacks apparantly have no effect? Or do they figure the deception out, through special senses or the like first? So how would you build this power? I was initially just considering Images, 0 END persistant (to keep the effect up if stunned). But the more I think about it, I might have to add in Knockback Resistance 20 points, or an EGO boost to keep from crying out in pain. Any other suggestions? Does this seem to be exceptionally evil as a GM, (potentially causing bad player feelings) or does it strike you more as just clever and a reasonable plot device?

Here's the most dangerous/hated villain for a campaign that I GM'ed for: At the start of a Dark Champions campaign, one of the PCs was incredibly paranoid. He was always going out of his way to get info on the other PCs, and the player himself reveled in keeping important plot information from the other players/PCs. He even had secret microphones and cameras throughout the group's base, so that he could keep track of what the other PCs were doing. The player never wanted a superhero name for his PC, but kept to the pseudonym "Robert Fenton" which his character had adopted years before. After several months, the player stopped gaming with us as he finally decided that his gaming style wasn't really what our group of players wanted. As GM, I had the now-NPC character turn traitor on the group, and sell them out to a known enemy. Later, he continued to harass the PC's behind the scenes, masterminding many plots against them. He knew their powers, secret IDs, and vulnerabilities. It became the greatest plot-carrot I ever saw, because all I had to do was IMPLY that Robert Fenton might be behind their current predicament, and the PCs would froth at the mouth and go charging heedlessly in whatever plot direction I desired. They even came up with a phrase for whenever something bad happened to them unexpectedly... "I've been Fentoned !" So a wonderful suggestion for any fellow GMs: If there is a similar disliked former member in your gaming group, turn the character into a villain and watch the players explode !!!

Lord Liaden - Thanks for that research on finding the old character write-ups. It really gave me a better idea as to how the different Marvel characters compare in Champions terms. Monolith - I appreciate your estimation on Doom's damage classes and defenses. I never really intended this thread as another "character vs character battle", but I just wanted to know how to adjust Destroyer's published character sheet to better represent the classic Victor von Doom. Everbody's input was helpful, in that I now have a much better idea of how to role-play the good Doctor and his nefarious schemes. - Guardian -

Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions. I'm relieved to hear that most of you think that Doom's armor wouldn't be as strong as Destroyer's. I was looking at Destroyer's stats and thought, "Yeesh! My heroes can't touch this guy!" (They had a campaign limit imposed at character creation of 12 DC, and after almost a year of gameplay now the most aggressive attack is 14 DCs). I picked up the "Domains of Doom" campaign set, from Marvel/TSR 1992. They list Doom's powers, but there is little info on disadvantages/weaknesses, etc. Powers in the Marvel RPG are apparently rated by a bizarre Stan Lee-esque hyperbole system ( "Incredible", "Stupendous", "Monstrous!" ) that means little to me in good ol' concrete Champions terms. The powers listed are: - Mind Transferral (switching minds post eye contact) - Magic Spells: Crimson bands of Cytorak ( entangle) Dimension Travel ( Mephisto's realm only) Eldritch Bolts ( Energy Blast ) Eldritch Shield ( Force Field ) Summoning of Supernatural Beings - Doom's Power Armor: Body Armor Electrical Field ( Damage Shield ) Flight Force Bolts Force Wall IR Scanners Life Support (everything except Immortality) Enhanced Senses (radio, hearing, vision) "thermo- energizer" an END battery that recharges from solar and heat exposure. And of course there is the VPP Gadget Pool, for all of those plot-specific power suppresses, drains, and transfers that he would toss at a host of Marvel Good-Guys.

I was considering having the PCs in my game face off against that icon of evil super-villains, Dr. Doom. My question to those of you who are much more knowledgeable than I about comic history: How tough is Doom? Could I essentially use the Dr. Destoyer character sheet? How do Destoyer's defenses rate compared to those Doom has shown in the comic books? He could certainly handle the Human Torch's and the Thing's best shots with taking only stun, and not body. How tough would Doom's maximum attack be? Thanks for your input...

WOW !! I'm humbled by the vast amounts of comic book knowledge assembled at this Board. Thanks for all of the info, everybody. - Guardian

Thanks everybody for these excellent answers. I'll have to do some internet research to find out exactly who some of these guys are (I don't recognize many of the names), but I now have a great starting point.