Richard Logue

Re: Why are robots always immortal? Just look at Ultron (or Mechanon) as an example of the immortal robot. I don't know his current disposition, but when I stopped reading comics in the early 90's, Ultron had gone through 12 continually-improved models, but he was still Ultron. Not to mention Ultron Mk 13, or just "Mark" as he liked to be called. He was also Ultron, just a kinder, gentler Ultron who came to love dear old dad. I personally wouldn't have a problem with immortal robots if they have the proper rationale. But mechanical and silicoidal parts do wear out. If not replaced, the robot or AI or what have you does have a shelf-life. Richard

An idea occured to me recently, and I'd like to put it here on the boards where it can reach a wide variety of folks. I wonder what players will come up with for character concepts given (1) a lack of information about the campaign in general, (2) specific, yet generalized, parameters for character ideas, and (3) a "starting point" for the game's story. So, before I present the idea to my pool of players here at home, I'd like to use you people as a litmus to see if I need to rethink or refine or reject my idea. So, just as if you were one of my players, read the following and participate. Also note that, given the limited amount of information (and choices) being presented, some of you will doubtless come up with similar concepts. That's quite alright as it also gives me an idea of what may be some of the more typical responses. I want to run a sci-fi game using the HERO system. It will not be the standard Star Hero setting, but It will be a more-or-less standard sort of sci-fi setting roughly along the lines of Terran Empire technologies. There are no alien races to speak of, only humans, and the inhabited worlds in the millieu form a sort of confederation of (mostly) democratic republics. None of the worlds are currently in open conflict with any of the others. Come up with a one- or two-sentence character idea. It cannot be combat-focused, i.e. professional military or security type personnel. The story will begin onboard a ship gallavanting about on a pleasure cruise in the outer reaches of a prominent star system. The craft is an FTL-capable, lightly armed or possibly even unarmed, private yacht owned by a very wealthy socialite. Ready... Begin! Richard (And thanks in advance for your participation.)

Re: C.U. alternate world, after "Independence Day" I'm not sure why, but the locust theory has always been what I had assumed as well. Meanwhile, I've always wanted to run a Twilight:2000 campaign where not all of the aliens were killed off or disabled in the viral attack. When Goldblum and Smith are flying their stolen alien fighter in the mother ships' mother ship (the grandmother ship?) you see loads of the guys preparing for full scale assault. They're all hanging out in rank and file getting inspected by some stuffy alien general... And there are other ships moving about that are not of the "fighter" configuration... The premise of my T:2000 game would be that many of these assault ships and soldier aliens escape the genocidal tragedy the evil President Bill Pullman (who, by the way, seems to be not only a hero of the battle, but one of extremely few world leaders surviving, and therefore the US is still A-Number 1 on the world scene) pulls off. While the credits rolled, what Roland Emmerich didn't show you was the massive amounts of troops in speedy little force-shielded tanks and battle armor stream out of the wreckages and making war upon the silly humans. And then there were the (smaller) invasion ships still in orbit commanded by aliens who aren't going to fall for the same trick twice. Something like that could lead into a cool "V" style (the Michael Ironsides seasons) Champions campaign (or Twilight:2000). Richard

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. I'd like to see a French guy, a British guy, and a Russian guy in the same style. Sounds like a cool WW2 hero team to me. Great work, Storn! And it looked like a Tesla BAR when I first saw it. Good job Lightray's player! Richard

Re: 5th Edition Villain Updates I've 5thesized Los Asesinos. Although I'm reworking Spider Monkey again. If anyone is interested in their stats, let me know. RL

Re: Where'd this base come from LoL... Rep for you, Keen! Makes me wonder though.... "doctord@craiglist.org." Hmmm.... Doctor Destroyer? RL

Re: Superhero Images Very cool, DT! I like the first one best, but they're all great. RL

With the release of Hudson City, I've been wanting to give a Dark Champions campaign a go. Have any of you run Shadows of the City in its entirety or even portions of it? If you have, I'd like to know how it went and if there were any ways in which you altered the adventure. And I'm interested in your general opinion and critique of the book. Thanks! RL

Re: Storn Art from Idea to Full Picture Year 2 Was Cyanide's stats ever posted anywhere? Or maybe a description of what his powers are? RL

Re: Superhero Images Thanks, folks! I appreciate it. Yes, the characters and their costume designs were mine with the exception of Animus/Anima. I really had no clue how they should look other than the point that they "share" clothing so it should be neither to feminine nor too masculine. I think Ian did a pretty good job coming up with what she's wearing. Their stats are not a family secret and I'd be happy to show them to you.. if they existed. Generally, I'll come up with character concepts to flesh out the world so the PC's don't feel like they're living in a void. But I usually don't stat the background characters until I need them to be. That way I retain a certain amount of flexibility. The only one of the Immortals group that's been done is my own character Vanguard. And I believe its still a work in progress. However, I'll attach it. There are a lot of homage type characters and groups in my world. I figure if they work in the real comics, why not translate them into the game campaign. Besides, its extremely difficult to have a truly unique concept anymore. With the Immortals, I knew I wanted them to be "the Avengers of my world." So i built them with that in mind. The thing is, I had already created my world's primary villain team Novus Ordum. And I had constructed Novus Ordum with the idea of antithetical Avenger concepts. I didnt want to repeat the character ideas (although I ended up having to with Captain America). At the same time I had a sense of needed cohesion. Novus Ordum were "evil" versions of the Avengers between issues 4 and 15 (Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Henry Pym, and Wasp). I already knew I wanted Vanguard (Captain America), Lady Hex (Scarlet Witch), and Apollo (Vision) on the team. So with that in mind, I did some research. I needed to find the Avengers team instances where Cap, Witch, and Vision were on the team, but where Thor, Iron Man, Wasp, and Henry Pym were not on the team. There's a grand total of three consecutive issues throughout the entire (original) Avengers series: 252, 253, and 254. The other Avengers that made the team then were Hercules, Starfox, and Captain Marvel. And that's when I created Victor, Anima/Animus, and Aurora. With Aurora it worked out nicely that I could save Half-Life from a horrible fate with just a couple minor changes. Captain America was easy. I had Cap in mind when I originally created the character 12 years ago for a campaign a friend of mine ran. Making Lady Hex out of Scarlet Witch was also pretty easy. Apollo came together almost by accident but fit well as the Vision concept. There are many parallels between him and Vision. Victor from Hercules wasn't too bad. I focused on the Herculean myths of the 12 tasks he had to do. In Victor's case, its a 12-point code he refers to as "the Trials" that gives him his strength. Turning Captain Marvel into Aurora was easy. Cap M's powers are all light based. Aurora is a being of light-based energy. Starfox was the hardest one. I didn't want to just copy him. That would defeat the purpose. So I looked at him objectively and came up with the idea that he's really two different people. He's got the emotion control powers, but, like all of his people, he's basically a brick as well. So I settled on the two-character concept. Is this standard for you other GM's, or did I just find myself with too much time? RL

The Immortals This is another piece Ian did for me featuring the new incarnation of the Immortals. Some of you might remember my "One May Live!" thread from awhile back. In it, I explained how, in my home-brew campaign world, I was killing the Immortals as part of an metaplotline. Well, in the aftermath, the group was destined to return. And here's the new lineup. And here's the link to see the picture of the new Immortals. Vanguard. He was pulled out of time from the past, from late in World War 2. He stands for liberty and justice. He's a very patriotic American. Unknowingly, he proved his humanistic qualities qualities to an enlightened Eastern mystic who rewarded him by teaching him clarity of mind and willpower. Through sheer will, Vanguard can make himself stronger or faster or more agile. He's gone through several changes in personality and method since arriving in the present a dozen years ago, but his character has always remained true to form. After the Immortals' devastation at the hands of Mutiny and Novus Ordum, Vanguard took it upon himself to rebuild the legendary group. He is recognized as its very capable leader. (Yes, he's very very Captain America. And the Immortals are essentially the Avengers of my world. Vanguard was a personal character of mine back when I actually got to play Champions instead of being the one to always run it.) Lady Hex. She's a sorcerer whose abilities and spells revolve around chance, fate, and luck. She's the granddaughter of the Golden Age heroine Lady Liberty. She's been close personal friends with Vanguard for several years now and was the first person he considered for rebuilding the Immortals. Apollo. Apollo's tale is a convoluted one. Apollo was created by the Alchemist, Doctor Hephaestus, but not as Apollo. He was Gold, one of the team of heroes created by Hephaestus known as the Golems. They were based out of San Francisco. Recently, the Golden Age hero (and the first sentient robot ever created) Clockwork went mad after decades of misuse, and under a villainous pseudonym, threatened all of the San Francisco Bay area. In the end, Clockwork realized what he was doing but to stop the destruction, his mind and essence had to merge with Gold. Gold sacrificed his own personality and "life" to allow this. Afterward, Clockwork/Gold became reborn as Apollo and moved to New York City. There, he became friends with Vanguard who was asked by the courts to keep an eye on him. Apollo has the powers that Gold had (fire manipulation) combined with Clockwork's intelligence and reasoning. He was an obvious choice for the Immortals. Victor. A consumate hero. He is widely regarded as one of the strongest people on Earth. He has a heart of gold and there's nothing he wouldn't do to help someone. He claims to draw strength and power through following a 12-point code of honor. At times he can be a tad too zealous when discussing his lifestyle. But his intentions are good and his addition to the team only strengthens it. He loves the physical challenges and is usually the first member to wade into the fray. He is also widely looked upon as the team's moral and philosophical backbone. Animus and Anima. Two heroes that occupy the same body, they are constantly switching forms back and forth depending on who is needed most. Animus is the female form. She's a tough girl, and although she's not as strong as Victor, she does utilize great strength and stamina. Anima is the male form of the two. He is a much less physical person and has the power of emotion manipulation. In either form, they can fly. They can be a confusing set for the others, but they work well in tactical situations. Aurora. Not all of the previous Immortals died in that catastrophic attack. In fact, two lived. Recurve survived the battle, but was permanently paralyzed from it and has retired from the super-biz. Half-Life was attacked by Doctor Hephaestus and Insecta and was thought to have been killed by them. Half-Life was a complex being made of two energies: an energy being alien to our solar system, and the guiding mental energies leftover from when Champion, the world's first and greatest metahuman, sacrificed himself to save the world at the end of World War 2. Half-Life was dispersed in the onslaught and it took some time to reintegrate. When he did finally pull himself back together, he was without Champion and the alien being was revealed to be feminine in form. She renamed herself Aurora and asked to be on the team. Vanguard readily accepted. With the repairs of the mansion in progress, a new team of Immortals emerges to continue the legacy... Whacha think? RL

Re: Superhero Images Thanks. I was very happy with the way it turned out too. And thanks, Doc Itron for reposting the link to Ian's site. I put the link in my original post, but of course since I screwed it all up so bad, the post fell well behind the actual pic view. Sorry about all that. Scroll back onto the previous page to my original post and attempt to show you all the pic. There you can read the descriptions I wrote for each character. RL

Re: Superhero Images Now I know what I'm doing wrong. It was explained to me. The pic I have is in cmyk format. And the message board oesn't like that. I've converted it to rgb. But the size constraints here make the image too small to look as good as it really does. So I uploaded it to comicartfans.com into my gallery. I've put the link for it in my original post. Now enjoy! RL

Re: Superhero Images What the heck am I doing wrong? It seemed to load right, but the pic won't appear. Its 224k in size.

The Round Table This is the premier civilian British team in my superhero campaigns. They've been running around since my old DC Heroes (by Mayfair Games) days in the ealry 90's, and they've since carried over into my latest Champions (HERO Games) campaign. Well over a year ago, I began commissioning comic book artist Ian Sokoliwski, among others, to create the visuals of many of my character ideas. The most recent picture is my Round Table. Defender. As in Defender of the Faith. Several years ago, he came onto the scene calling himself Champion and wielding, what he claims was, the legendary sword Excalibur. It caused quite a stir in the media and Parliament. After several public appearances, he was invited to Buckingham to meet with the Queen in a private conversation. Afterward, she verified the validity of the sword, bestowed knighthood on him, and granted him certain rights as Defender of the Faith. A set of power armor was commissioned from the American gadgeteer Machina. He eventually became a member of the Round Table, where he currently serve as its chairman. Black Knight. A former member of Her Majesty's Secret Service, MI-6, Black Knight is the Round Table's most subtle operative. He is their information man. He is a highly skilled and competent individual and knows his way around weapons, security, and stealth techniques. He maintains many of his contacts from MI-6 including a technician who often outfits him with experimental gadgets. Sidhe. She is a sorceress who specializes in Fey magicks. She is highly knowledgeable of British legends and it is said that she spent some time in the fey lands. She's made a study of Defender's sword to some very interesting conclusions. She is also highly versed in nature and druidic magic. She has a keen, albeit professional, interest in Defender and has become Merlin to his Arthur. (Points for you if you recognize the image. It is a character drawing done by Storn and can be seen on his website here as Beacon: Storn's website. This first time I saw it I knew it was perfect for Sidhe. Thanks, Storn!) Citadel. Citadel is a basic brick sort of character. He has great strength and stamina. His skin hardens and becomes stony to the touch and greyish in appearance when he changes into his adventuring form. he is a powerhouse of a hero and tops 7' in his stone-form. he briefly considered calling himself Stonehenge, but his mum convinced him otherwise. Bulldog. He is the third person to call himself by the name Bulldog. The first was a British man during World War 2. The second was the Silver Age American hero belonging to the group the Vindicators. One thing all three have in common is their fighting prowess. Bulldog is a hand-to-hand combatant through and through. He is aided by a limited ability to become more dense and stronger, but this only adds power to his already impressive skills in martial arts. Being a patriotic Scotsman, he has fashioned his costume in the flavor of the Scottish national flag with the inclusion of the rampant lion emblem of the Scottish royal flag. I had Ian do the picture as a scene from their comic book. Its a two-page spread n the fashion of a title page introducing a new storyline. The scene takes place, obviously, in their war room at their base. On the back wall, you can see several portraits of former members of the Round Table. In the center of the table is a holographic device they use to project points of interest in their discussions. In this case, Black Knight is using it to show the others what the villain Witch Hunter looks like. He is referencing the Prometheus Files, a collection of data about metacriminals stored by the Prometheus Corporation who runs two metahuman prisons. On the whole, I like the way the picture turned out. And I am glad to finally, after years of simple descriptions, have something to show my players when I use the Round Table in a storyline. More of Ian's work, including other pics I've commissioned from him, can be found at his website here: Ian's website Edit: This is the link to my gallery at comicartfans.com. Here's where I'll be putting anything I commission from Ian or Storn or anyone else. Sorry about all that! The Round Table Enjoy! RL

Re: Superhero Images Strange.... I'm trying to upload a picture of a commission I purchased from Ian Sokoliwski. But I'm getting a page not found error. I currently have no attachments and I've reduced the pic to less than a meg in size. Ahh, well... RL

Re: Info from the Superhuman Survey Base of Operations M.O. Known Affiliations Psychiatric Profile RL

Re: Hardened vs. AP My quick guess is that Hardened has a more limited usage than AP. Hardened only counteracts AP or Penetrating. AP can halve any defense value. So AP is more expensive because it has a wider range of use. Its more potent. RL

Re: Need help with my character k.. what's your question? RL

Preface: I am the GM, and i use my own created world. The Champions Universe is a sister-dimension that I use in conjunction with my own world sometimes.) I have a character idea for an NPC. Defender. At first he was a simple concept: a modern knight. He wears a suit of power armor that allows him to go toe-to-toe with other bricks. And he wields Excalibur (of myth and legend, yes). Then it occured to me. Mallory wrote of Arthur and his knights. He gathered oral histories to do so, but its really a work of fantasy. Then it occured to me. What if its not really Excalibur at all? What if the armor isn't even real? Maybe this fellow's real power is to conjure things from his mind. They take real form and actually do the things he imagines they do. (Perhaps he doesn't even have a clue as to his real abilities.) Anyway, as GM, how should I handle this? Do I make a Wishful Thinking VPP and create his things as need be? Or do I simply create the sword and armor since that's the way he will be for some time to come? Then later on, when and if the NPC "rebuilds" himself, I just respend his points. Which way seems best? RL

Re: Sorcerer Supreme Building Is it just me, or are sorcerers and wizard types the hardest characters to build? I've been running Champions off and on since 1993 and I have never once really sat down to create a spell-caster. I just find it daunting, really. And I think its because of the probably use of a VPP. Although I'm not sure that's even a point because I've created many VPP's (usually for gadgeteering pools). They just seem so... strange to me. Maybe mystics are not in my fate. It seems like it might be an eternity before I can conquer the demon of sorcerer-building. So is it just me? I mean, realistically, boiled down, its just a VPP for spells, a couple two or three magic items, and some skills to even it all out. RL

Re: Call Me "Sandy" And I'll Crush You Maybe use Invisibility. As in "hiding in plain sight." It would work if all anyone sees is a pile of sand, nothing special. Slap a Limitation on it like Only Works Outdoors (-1/2). Because a pile of sand in the breakroom would be noticeable and odd. RL

Re: Multiple Multi-Powers that share one Focus I've rebuilt it as 2 seperate MP's based on using two seperate ammo loads. Even though it costs more, I think its better-defined. Let me know what you think... 17 Berettas I: AET-Comp Loads (Multipower), 55-point reserve, all slots 4 clips of 12 Charges (+0) (55 Active Points); Limited Power: Must "Reload" To Switch MP (-1/4); all slots OAF Durable (-1), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4) 1u 1) One Gun: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Required Hands One-Handed (+0) (30 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4) 0 2u 2) Two-Gun Kid: Killing Attack - Ranged 3 1/2d6 (55 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Limited Power: Uses 2 Charges (-1/4), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4) 0 1u 3) Two Guns, Two Targets: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Autofire (2 shots; +1/4) (37 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4) 0 1u 4) Double-Tap: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Required Hands One-Handed (+0), Penetrating (+1/2) (45 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Limited Power: Uses 2 Charges (-1/4), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4) 0 18 Berettas II: Impr. AP (Multipower), 60-point reserve, all slots 4 clips of 12 Charges (+0) (60 Active Points); Limited Power: Must "Reload" To Switch MP (-1/4); all slots OAF Durable (-1), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4) 1u 1) One Gun: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6+1, Required Hands One-Handed (+0), Armor Piercing (x2; +1) (40 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4) 0 2u 2) Two-Gun Kid: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Armor Piercing (x2; +1) (60 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4) 0 1u 3) Two Guns, Two Targets: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6+1, Autofire (2 shots; +1/4), Armor Piercing (x2; +1) (45 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4) 0 2u 4) Double Tap: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6+1, Required Hands One-Handed (+0), Penetrating (+1/2), Armor Piercing (x2; +1) (50 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4) 0 Total Real Cost: 46 points. He has 48 bullets of each type for a total of 96 Charges. Some of the stances, obviously, require 2 Charges to pull off. RL

What would be the Limitation, shared by all the Multi-Powers, that would reflect them using the same Focus? This is what I'm building. Its a gun MP with different styles of shooting and different types of ammo. And I'm not sure if ts the best way to construct it. I'm probably trying to over-complicated it. So I will sum it up. He uses a pair of handguns (Berettas). He can fire them individually, he can fire both at the same time, he can "double-tap" with one. In addition, he uses two types of ammo and has several magazines of each. How would you build it? I was thinking I could rearrange it as two MP's, one for each type of bullet. That way I could give the MP a finite number of Charges. In the MP, there would be three slots for the three different styles of shooting. It sounds like the way I should create it, but they share the same Focus: the pistols. 23 Guns, Guns, Guns!: Multipower, 60-point reserve, all slots Charges Are Interchangeable Between Stances But Not Ammo Type (+1/4) (75 Active Points); Limited Power: Requires a Half-Phase Action To Change Powers (-1/2); all slots OAF Durable (-1), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4) 1u 1) 9mmP Beretta, AET-Comp Ammunition: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Required Hands One-Handed (+0) (30 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4), 12 Charges (-1/4), Beam (-1/4) [12] 1u 2) 9mmP Beretta, AET-Comp Ammunition, Two-Gun Kid: Killing Attack - Ranged 3 1/2d6 (55 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4), 12 Charges (-1/4), Beam (-1/4) [12] 1u 3) 9mmP Beretta, AET-Comp Ammunition, Double-Tap: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Required Hands One-Handed (+0), Penetrating (+1/2) (45 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4), Limited Power: Uses 2 Charges (-1/4), 12 Charges (-1/4), Beam (-1/4) [12] 1u 4) 9mmP Beretta, Imp. AP Ammunition: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6+1, Required Hands One-Handed (+0), Armor Piercing (x2; +1) (40 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4), 12 Charges (-1/4), Beam (-1/4) [12] 2u 5) 9mmP Beretta, Imp. AP Ammunition, Two-Gun Kid: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Armor Piercing (x2; +1) (60 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4), 12 Charges (-1/4), Beam (-1/4) [12] 1u 6) 9mmP Beretta, Imp. AP Ammunition, Double Tap: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6+1, Required Hands One-Handed (+0), Penetrating (+1/2), Armor Piercing (x2; +1) (50 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Limited Power: Cannot Be Bounced (-1/4), Limited Power: Uses 2 Charges (-1/4), 12 Charges (-1/4), Beam (-1/4) RL