Richard Logue

The villain, Lady Hades, will have Damage Reduction for her primary defense. Easy enough. However, I want a staged DR build to define the SFX, and I'm having some difficulty putting it together. In essence, the darker, or more gloomy, the environment, the more Damage Reduction she gets. Any ideas here? Thanks!

Re: Build me a power - Paralyzing Touch How about a No Range, All or Nothing, Mind Control with the single command "be paralyzed?" So its a physical attack that uses the victim's strength of will to overcome it.

Re: Alternate SPD Chart This is what we've come up with at home.... Action Cards (ala Deadlands) Each player has his own deck of normal playing cards (complete with jokers), minus the kings. The GM has a double deck (sans jokers and kings) because he is likely running several NPC's. Decks are reshuffled after each Turn. Combats no longer start on Segment 12 and then go to an immediate post-12 Recovery. Instead, they simply begin. At the beginning of each 12-second Turn, the players all draw cards from their respective decks equal to their character's Speed. These, obviously, represent how many actions the PC has during the Turn. Jokers are wild cards that can help or hinder. If a player pulls a red joker, he has two choices. He can either pull an additional card from his deck for an extra action that Turn, or he can opt to gain a +2 DCV or OCV, his choice, throughout the Turn. Red jokers are beneficial. Black jokers, on the other hand, can be the bane of a well-thought out strategy. Pulling the black joker also requires a choice. The player can either throw the joker away, thusly losing an action, or he can opt to suffer a -2 to OCV or DCV for the length of the Turn. At this point, the GM begins counting off cards from Queen down to Ace. The suits won't matter. Jokers are “wild†and can be considered any value and can even trump a Queen. Whenever a card you're holding is called out, you have an action. If you have an action at the same time as an opponent, the higher Dex (plus Lightning Reflexes, of course) breaks the initiative tie. If it is still tied, compare INT. In addition, you can use unspent action cards to beat initiative, or go earlier in the Turn. To beat an opponent's initiative during the current action, spend (discard) one card. To act during an action that you wouldn't be going in normally, spend two cards. Note that if you bid your two actions to do that, normal initiative still applies. Players drawing more than one card of the same value will be making multiple actions during that Phase. In a case where multiple players have more than one card for a given value, the many actions will be cycled through in initiative order. For example: Pete has a 23 initiative and draws 2 jacks while Dan has a 21 initiative and draws one jack. Cycling through the actions, Pete will spend one first since he had the higher initiative, then Dan will use his, and lastly Pete again for his final action. During an action Phase, players (and the GM) can "bid" up to three unspent action cards to gain bonuses to whatever it is they are trying to accomplish. If you bid an unspent card in this way, you discard that card. Of course, you lose an action for the Turn, but you improve your chances of succeeding in the current action. You choose one of several ways to benefit from a bid action card. · +2 OCV. · +1 DCV. · +1 DC. · +1d6 STR vs. Entangles and Grabs. · +3 to a Skill or Characteristics Roll Action bidding confers an additional bonus. If you combine one or two unspent action cards onto an action, you get a "panel," as in a panel in a comic book. A panel is worth an additional .1 xp at the end of the scenario. If you bid three of your cards from onto one action, you get a "splash page" which is worth an additional .3 xp. XP is rounded down when it is awarded. Recoveries. You can take a recovery on any action card when its called. As long as the you weren't or aren't interrupted during that card, the recovery works. Flash. Flash affects a number of called cards (Segments), not a number of actions. So, a character Flashed on Queen for five cards will suffer the effects of Flash during Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, and Eight. This is regardless of whether or not he has those particular cards to perform actions with. Aborts. Aborting to a defensive maneuver such as Dodge costs your next highest action card. END Expenditure. Some Powers, such as defensive Powers, spend END over the course of a Turn. It can become confusing once action cards become combined how much END is being used. For most instances, figure out the total END that a Power used during the Turn and apply it at the end of the Turn before the Post-12 Recovery. Note that overspent END comes out of STUN as per the normal rules.

Re: Heroic vs Superheroic Okay, well all of your inputs certainly clear things up, and I definately appreciate it. But... How do I arrange the books on my shelf? You know what might make a handy reference is a sort of master list of the major heroic-specific rules (such as using a hit location chart) and the superheroic-specific rules (such as knockback). Does this already exist anywhere? No, seriously... How do I arrange the books on my shelf?

Re: C25 deposit

This is a point that still confuses me. And that might be because out of the whole HERO library I've only ran/played Champions. 1. Are the two campaign styles (Heroic and Superheroic) not compatible with each other? 2.In Hero Designer I see Talents, for instance, for Fantasy Hero, a book I haven't picked up yet, that seem to be really cheap powers. For example, Beast Speech is 15 points and says you can talk to the animals like Dr Doolittle. Shouldn't that be bought as a Mind Link? Could/should Aquaman buy Beast Speech to talk with the sea critters, or is that incorrect because he's in a Superheroic campaign? 3. Are Powers unavailable in Heroic campaigns and genre? 4. My concerns here are because of Dark Champions. I just came to the realization that it is really a Heroic-level genre book. Are the DC-specific Talents and such in that book not supposed to be used in my Champions campign? Or can they? I hope my questions aren't as confusing as I am confused. I guess what it really boils down to is the basic question: are Heroic-level genre books and rules compatible with Superheroic-level genre books and rules? Thanks Richard

Can a compound power have a Linked in it? Or should the "power" simply be built with two separate powers. Spider's Poison: (Total: 40 Active Cost, 13 Real Cost) Energy Blast 2d6, NND - not vs. resistant PD ([Extraordinarily Common Defense]; +1/2) (15 Active Points); 1 Charge (-2) (Real Cost: 5) plus Drain STR 2d6, Delayed Return Rate (5 Points per Minute; +1/4) (25 Active Points); 1 Charge (-2), Linked (Energy Blast; -1/4) (Real Cost: 8) The design here is that the STR Drain is introduced into the system through the NND Energy Blast. Is this build (as a compound power) legal/correct, or should I build it with two separate powers? Thanks, Steve

Re: Confusion (not the spell example in 5ER) I just tried creating the build as a Mind Control, as myself suggested it could be, but I'm not sure it would be the way to go. I like it in theory, but the way Mind Control works (and is defended against) doesn't really make sense with the SFX of the ability. But again, I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps with the correct build, Mind Control would be the answer.

Re: Confusion (not the spell example in 5ER) I like the negative effects being imposed on the opponent(s), but I'm confused why the core power of the build is Change Environment. Is the environment being changed? Maybe this is some nuance of Change Environment I don't get.

For a Champions campaign. The villain is a lovely lady fencer, who, for a fee, will uncaringly stick her rapier into anyone you want stuck. As part of her background, she was a dancer (of the arts variety, not the exotic) and has created a fencing style based on her dancing ability. I have it in my mind that her fluid and supple moves tend to dazzle and confuse her opponents. What are the possible builds here? INT Drain? Seems logical this could be the answer, but lowering your opponent's INT during combat doesn't really affect the way he fights much. DEX Drain? Perhaps her moves are such that it tires out her opponent because he's trying to keep up. Based on ECV, maybe. +x to OCV with rapier? Too simple, really. It would work, and it might be the best answer for a Heroic level campaign, but I'm looking for something more "Champions." Mind Control (You Can Only Fight Defensively)? Her moves instantly alarm you and make you question your own fighting abilities. To compensate, you instictively resort to fighting defensively, blowing your actions on Abort maneuvers. Entangle based on ECV? Whacky. Any ideas? Which of my ideas do you like best?

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Quote others: "the arrow is placed wrong." So? You know what I see? The archer is performing some sort of trick shot that requires twisting his body in a certain way and placing the arrow in an otherwise wrong position. I see the same thing when the pool table pros place the stick behind their bodies because the shot is at a better angle that way. I drooled when I saw this archer. Thanks Storn (and Tribble)! It will definately be used soon in my campaign. Richard

Re: I need your opinion Some good ideas here, and I appreciate them. This is how I've put it all your suggestions together. Each facility's Titan Guard will be made up of specially trained normals sporting a wide variety of high-tech equipment. They will be backed up by a special team of meta-humans that can be dispatched quickly to any location in the world to assist the mundanes. Perhaps one of them is a team-teleporter. This team of supers also pulls double-duty in public relations aspects. As an extra bit of irony, one or more of this group can be reformed criminals who have paid their debts and have become valuable members of society. I like the idea that one or more of the "top men" in Prometheus Corporation are meta-humans themselves. Perhaps they are retired Silver Age heroes. But they are definately the vast minority to the normals in the board room. David, the idea of the Titan Guard being Sentinel-style robots is also cool. I think I'll create some sort of "robot" to serve as some of the high tech equipment the Guards have available, but I'd rather the Guard themselves be human. levi, I especially thank you for the character ideas. Not sure if I'll use them, but I'm always amazed when someone can come up with character concepts on the fly like that. Lord Liaden, I'm not sure if I have my copy of Classic Enemies anymore, but thanks for reminding me that 4th edition Stronghold is in there. I believe the 5th edition version is slated for release some time this year, but I could be wrong on that. Anymore ideas? Richard

Re: House Rules Revisited I use a modified version of the Deadlands initiative system in place of the Speed Chart. Essentially, each PC pulls cards equal to his Speed. Count down from Queen to Ace (Kings are removed from the deck). Cards can be combined to create bonuses to actions. Red Jokers create bonuses for the players, Black Jokers make bonuses for the NPCs.

I am putting together a new Champions campaign that will be centered around my world's super-max metahuman prison. I've mentioned the prison many times in prior campaigns and adventures, but I have never really fleshed it out much. Now, its necessary to. The name of the place is the Prometheus Meta-Human Containment Facility. There are two of them, and they are the creation of the Prometheus Corporation. One of them is located under the newly-renovated and re-tasked Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California. The other is built into the Rock of Gibraltar overlooking the ruins of Gibraltar (virtually destroyed during a major battle against Dr. Gravitic and his forces in 1985). The two prisons serve as detention facilities for criminals who, usually due to meta-human abilities, cannot be held in standard prisons. PMHCF: Alcatraz services North and South America, whereas the jurisiction of PMHCF: Gibraltar covers the rest of the world. The Prometheus Corporation runs these two prisons under the watchful eye of the UN Security Council. One of the services the Prometheus Corporation offers is meta-human retrieval. If a community or even a super team captures a meta-criminal, they can request Prometheus dispatch a retrieval team to transport the super to the designated facility. The Titan Guard is what I need a little help with. Question: Does the Titan Guard consist of meta-humans employed by Prometheus, or are the Guards specially trained agents armed with cutting-edge technology? Which idea do you like better? In case it is a factor in your opinion, the campaign is sort of on the level of DC's Suicide Squad comic. The PCs will be criminals serving life, or otherwise lengthy, prison terms for the crimes they've committed. The Titan Guards will be NPCs in the campaign that the players may or may not come into much contact with. Thanks ahead of time for your help here. Also, if you have any general help or advice for me, please spill. And feel free to ask me questions about the campaign an setting. They'll help me think about things I possibly yet to consider. Richard

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. That's cool and all, but one of my commissions (Archangel) made it into the Necessary Evil book as an example of the sorceror character archetype! When I picked up that book a couple weeks ago and was flipping through it, I was very elated to see him there. But I'm wondering why Dr. Gravitic didn't make the book... Richard

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Der Wächter turned out great, Storn! Thanks again for version #2. I still really really like version #1, but this one fits this particular character idea more. And as for him reminding you of die Kreuzritter, ChaosDrgn.... Get involved in my "Masquerades" 7th Sea scenario I'm running at Gen Con this year to know the full story behind "7th Sea's Batman." RL

Re: DC's Best Martial Artist

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. I'm a tad confused. But, believe me, that's nothing new! Is the character here a home-grown one, or does she appear in some Vampirella book/comic? Oh, and I googled a wolf once. I have the scars to prove it too. Dangerous... very dangerous. Richard

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. All three very cool. Fish Girl's energy trident is very similar to the one "Atlantian" has on your website, Storn. Is that a common weapon among those folk? Richard

Re: Role-Playing Exercise #1 Well, longer descriptions and ideas are great. The reason I had suggested shorter concepts is that they'd be easier for me as GM to work with and build upon with the player. The longer the character description, the more I may have to pare away from it to fit the story and campaign ideas I have in my head. And once you start telling a player "that's not going to fit the story, try this instead," you're going to start losing the player's interest. So that's my rationale behind shorter beginning descriptions. That being said, longer descriptions do speak well of a player's creativity. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy the feast. And to our non-US board members, just eat a lot of food with family today! Richard

Re: Role-Playing Exercise #1

Re: Role-Playing Exercise #1 LEO is Law Enforcement Officer. That was James Gamma by CSgeekHero. LEO is an acronym I picked up when I used to run Space Master a decade ago. Rat was one of the ones I counted toward the stowaways. Richard

Re: Role-Playing Exercise #1

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Thanks again for the Black Rose, Storn! He's one of my favorites that I commissioned from you. For those of you interested in the character, John Wick wrote this about the Black Rose in his Knights of the Rose and Cross sourcebook for 7th Sea: "Recently, a man wearing black robes, a black mask and Seal of the Order has been spotted all across Théah. 'The Black Rose', as the Freiburg Gazette has dubbed him, has made quite a sensation both within the Order and within the courts." And that, I believe, is the only written bit on the character. At least it was all I could find. For my campaign, and for a scenario I'm writing up, I needed the Black Rose to be arted up good for me. And Storn has come through again! The tabard is perfect, I think. And the mask is exactly as I described it to Storn. The whole image gives him a sort of 12th-century knight look and that's exactly how I believe he should look! Now to stat him out.... Thanks Storn! Richard