Spidey88

Re: Needed for Champions I'd heartily recommend Conquerors, Killers, and Crooks. It's a mess of premade villains of varying power levels - they may not all be to your taste or appropriate to your campaign, but you're bound to find at least some characters you'll want to use, and doing so will save you a lot of time.

Re: The NEW Champions of Vancouver -- What Would You Like To See? Honestly, that's a cool character. Good use of points, with lost of interesting powers that shouldn't be totally overpowering. One small note (looking at things from my ectotherm-skewed perspective): don't forget that there are plenty of North American reptiles, amphibians, insects, arachnids, etc. Things like: Lizard's gift - slow regeneration, + X DCV and plus X running (both only in sunlight or temperatures over 80 Fahrenheit), + X STR (only for escapes, w. one charge represented by a spirit "tail"), clinging Snake's gift - + X to contortionist rolls, + X STR (only for grabs + escapes), venom, infrared vision, disc. for smell group, extra swimming Octopus's gift - invisibility (bright fringe), extra limbs, desolidification (not through solid objects, does not protect against damage, perhaps a min. size hole of 3 or 4" is needed), darkness (w. a few charges), clinging, extra swimming Frog's gift - + X leaping (naturally), clinging (for a treefrog), + X swimming, 240 degree sight, nightvision, + X breakfall, + X STR (only for escapes - slippery skin) and so forth. These are the kind of things I'D put in the list of powers, but that's probably just me. I don't know that any of those would necessarily fit with the spiritual schtick you've got going. Again, cool character. I like him.

Re: WWYCD: Fans and cons Phidippus: would probably jump at the chance, on the assurance that his attendance wasn't advertised (thus bringing villains out of the woodwork when he's in a known location for a set amount of time). He's reasonably humble - but underneath his exoskeleton, he craves public acceptance and praise. Also, he'd probably love to meet any other heroes that might be making appearances - he'd have all 30 fingers crossed for Diamond showing up, or Flashover (who he's got a bit of a crush on, after drawing dozens of issues of the Justice Squadron comics and studying their roster intently - see below). While he'd like to take the chance to talk to as many fans in person as possible, he'd settle for some sort of athletic demonstration and speech (no doubt about the sort of proper values a true hero stands for, and how each person can do their part for their community, eat your veggies, etc.). If there wasn't the time for talking to the kids: with 6 arms, ambidexterity, OCV levels w. sweep, etc. he'd have the fastest-moving autograph line by a mile! Maybe a super-cool musical performance to end the show would be in order - he's fairly well-acquainted with the Champions, and correspondingly Sapphire, and he's a stellar guitarist (shades of MY WWYCD: Let's Rock! from a while back - I just liked the idea of a superpowered rock band). The biggest problem would be his secret I.D. In his civilian identity, he's a renowned comic book artist (skill 19-) - so he's likely had to go to a few comic cons as eccentric wunderkind, Warren Webster. I could definitely see the stereotypical awkward situation where Phidippus and Warren are supposed to be in the same place at the same time... "Oh, the poor kids - They all came to see Phidippus! I can't possibly disappoint all of them; but how can I keep from breaking the heart of little Timmy Franklin, who came all the way from the hospital to get drawing tips from his favorite artist, Warren Webster? His nurse says it's all he's had to look forward to, what with having to deal with his condition..."

Re: Single Green Superhero seeks.... (personels for your characters) Phidippus: SCM (single, chitinous male), 26. 5'10", athletic, limber, and intelligent with unshakable work ethic - looking to expand social horizons with female companion for fun times, lab work, and crime prevention. Must have solid moral grounding, good sense of humor, and be dedicated to stopping evil. Athleticism, flexibility, science background and stealth skills definite assets. Must be comfortable with non-mammalians - arachnophobes need not apply!

Re: Villains Vandals And Vermin (VVV) I can't verify any of the rest of them on that list of those without Distinctive Features, but Hornet is described as able to change back into a human-looking form, IIRC. He hasn't paid points for it, so I'm assuming it's one of those handwavy-type-things where he could, say, subsume his insectoid looks at will, but it's not an instant change (taking a lot of combat rounds to do so) - and therefore not really more convenient than having a different outfit to change into. Some of the others might avoid distinctive features for similar reasons.

Re: Post-Apocalyptic Hero -- What Do *You* Want To See? I concur completely as well.

Re: What Kind of Heroes do you GM? Seconded - though as a self-admitted min-maxer, I'm fairly easy on those sorts of character builds (as long as they aren't abusive one-trick-ponies, and everyone is working on the same level). Any sort of character build is usually okay with me, as long as the following standards are met: 1) You are a hero. I'm not big on casual killers (that's villain territory, as far as I'm concerned) - but you can be a jerk as long as your motives aren't too suspect. 2) You're willing to work with the rest of the party. Not neccessarily without conflict, but you at least try. Some loner action is ok, as long as you don't go too far. 3) Whatever build you work out for your character, be sure you can play it. I'm leery of VPPs for that reason - I'm not going to say "absolutely no", but you'd better be prepared to keep things moving, and not step on everyone else's fun. 4) Don't be afraid of skills, perks, etc. Well-rounded trumps powerful. 5) Humorous, gimmicky characters are okay, as long as you're still playably competent at some things and you don't go too far. The Tick would fit in just fine in most of my games (and I would love to have a PC like him, too) - but too far past his level and I start putting my foot down. The Tick is loopy as heck, but he's still an effective superhero (sometimes). I tend to run silver/bronze age games, with fairly powerful heroes (usually 300 base/150 disads or somewhere thereabouts).

Re: Heroes and Nukes! Villain, Vandals, and Vermin. He's one of Starburst's cronies.

Re: Heroes and Nukes! My guess would be: KABOOOOOOM! Sorry. Couldn't resist.

Re: Favorite All Time Hero/Villian/Group Those who are familiar with me (or at least see my screen name and avatar) will not be surprised by my choice of favorite hero... Seriously, though - Spider-Man is in a league of his own, as far as I'm concerned. While I read a lot of other comics, and have a lot of other heroes whom I enjoy, none of them can even come close to my love of the webslinging wonder. He's the superhero I empathize with the most (like myself, he was geeky child prodigy, particularly in the sciences; who was picked on by bullies, had an elderly aunt as a parental figure, masked his worries with humor, and shared my first name - not to mention the fact that I love spiders), and he's really a stand-up guy with very well-developed morals. That isn't to say I can't enjoy darker heroes, but Spidey is a guy who has to make the hard decisions and you can still look up to him. (Spider-man 2099 scoots in on his namesake's coattails. I really like him too - Peter David did a great job on his comic, and he's a fine successor to the Parker legacy.) Thusly, my entire view of superheroes is though a Spider-Man lens. That being said, my views are very byassed. I'll give my favorites from the perspective of Spidey comics first. Favorite Spidey villains: 1) Doctor Octopus. His name alone was enough to get me to love him when I was a kid (octopuses, frogs, lizards and spiders being my favorite animals). He really opitomizes what a Spidey villain should be in my mind - stuffy, psycho megalomaniac who's an example of "science gone wrong", providing a great foil for the responsible, wisecracking Peter. He's a total jerk without being overly Iron-Agey and brutal, and he's a great straight man. 2) Green Goblin (Norman Osborn version). The phrase "This time, it's personal" was practically coined by this guy. He's a credible threat to Spidey on his worst day, an absolute nutbag (but an absolute nutbag with laser-like focus), and he reaaaallly knows how to put the screws to Peter. Other villains might be more physically powerful, but the Goblin is the master at getting to the man behind the mask - noone else has affected Peter more personally. His stories are always good for bringing out the "unstoppable juggernaut of willpower and determination" elements of Spidey's character I enjoy reading about. 3) Lizard. Another great villain in the "science gone wrong" vein, and one with a twist - he's a really nice guy when he's not scaly. With that, there's an interesting duality to his character - he could be helping Spidey cure Aunt May's radiation poisoning as Curt Connors, or on a rampage when he transforms. Plus the fact that he's a lizard helps. Lizards are cool. 4) JJJ. How can you not love the guy! A guy with a heart of coal - buried within that coal is a tiny core of gold, and within the gold is more coal. Spidey comics aren't the same without his bluster, and J.K. Simmons absolutely stole the show in the movies (partially due to his spot-on performance). Honorable mentions include Scorpion, Beetle, Kingpin, Rhino, Electro, and the original Hobgoblin. Looking outside the Spider-Verse: Favorite heroes (in no particular order): 1) Daredevil. Got a lot of exposure to him through Spidey, and he grew on me. Great character with a strong moral code (though he's a lot darker than Spidey, which is a nice contrast), and he's very down-to-earth. 2) Batman. As long as he's not in "Batgod" mode, he's cool as heck. The pinnacle of presence, the empitome of intellect, the guru of gadgets. There's something very awesome about a guy who squints slightly, and sends goons running in tears. The Batman in my head is the Batman from the animated DCU: he's an absolute rock of willpower and resourcefulness, but he's not totally dark and humorless - every once in a while, you see a side that's a little softer. He's got a sense of humor, too. 3) Flash. I've never really got into his comics (no offense to lovers of the Scarlet Speedster), but if I could only have a single superpower, superspeed would be my first choice without hesitation. I love the concept of speed in general in a very visceral fashion, and this guy is speed. 4) The Tick. He's too funny not to love. 5) Leonardo (of the TMNT). I've always enoyed the TMNT comics (the original Eastman/Laird series, and the newer Laird comics which are a continuation and are very much in the same vein), and Leo is my favorite of the four brothers by a narrow margin. A ninja's ninja, with peerless skill and unshakeable focus and drive. Honorable mentions: The ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, Iron fist, Nightcrawler, Animal Man, Conan, and Ghost Rider. Favorite villains: 1) Doctor Doom. A supervillain's supervillain. Like Lex Luthor, but with more style (and magic). He's got it all, and he's got a ironclad code of honor. Twisted, but still with a tiny spark of decency. 2) The Joker. Totally friggin' crazy, utterly psychotic, and (at least in the animated DCU that I love so much) absolutely hilarious. 3) Darkseid. Really, the ultimate bad#$%. If this guy can give Superman trouble, you know he's epic. Thanos gets part marks for being his brotha-from-anotha-motha. Favorite groups: 1) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For those of you whose sole impression of them is from the cartoon from the early 90's, you have my condolences. Their original series, and the current series penned by Peter Laird, are wonderful. The turtles have very detailed characterization and their interaction with other characters is often very complex, the stories are varied and interesting, and the fights are pretty sweet. 2) Fantastic Four. The world's greatest super-family. They helped usher in Marvel comics, and the characters are so iconic. Find me one person who actively dislikes the Thing (my favorite brick, personality-wise), and I'll eat my cap. Reed out-sciences anyone, and I love the squabbling kids/best pals dynamic between Spidey and the Torch. I'll say it yet again - read Dan Slott's "Spider-Man/Human Torch" miniseries! Now! Hilarious and heartwarming. If more comic books were like this series, the industry would be unstoppable. 3) The Avengers. So many icons together in one place. So much history. So many epic battles. What's not to like? 4) The Justice League. Like the Avengers, only more so (though I prefer the feel of the Avengers personalities and relationships, I admit I've never followed DC that deeply - so feel free to disagree!). Any team with Supes, Bats, and WW would be awesome even without dozens of other world-shakers.

Re: Post-Apocalyptic Hero -- What Do *You* Want To See? Lesse here... Some of the best times I've had with roleplaying games have been in PA settings (and that's why there will always be a warm place in my heart for Road Hogs and Gamma World), so I've got a lot of desire to see PA Hero done well - that being said, I'm confident it's in good hands. Some things I'd love to see: 1) concrete details on surviving the apocalypse, both pre and post. Quick blurbs about what precautions would need to be taken to survive a nuclear war (or one based on biological weapons, robots running amok, etc.), and how the survivors three generations later would get by from day to day. Some of this would no doubt be specific to the mini-setting involved (probably less need for NBC suits during or after the rapture, as opposed to a post-nuke world), but there'd be a lot of similar ground between them. For example - how long could one expect canned food to stay edible? How hard would it be to find? Could you ever expect to reload that ancient shotgun without making ammo from scratch, and how would you get started doing so? What supplies, skills, and labour would be needed to smelt metal? What crops would be the best bet to grow for long-term survival? How would roads hold up without regular maintenance, and could you expect any conventional car to be useful 100 years after the big kaboom? 2) Scavenging is a big part of any PA game I've been a part of, so having some detailed info on where to find item X, or some sort of random tables that could give you what schwack of thingamabobs could be found in a random medicenter, and what other sorts of things could be found in an average police staiton, would be super nifty. Random scavenging tables take up a lot of space, but having really detailed ones makes a huge difference, IMHO, when the players feel like exploring random buildings downtown. Having similar things for building types and condition would rock too. (The tables I made for our Gamma World campaign have seen near-constant use.) Whether or not random tables are involved or not, scavenging should have a lot of attention devoted to it (assuming there's anything left of the old society, the PC's will want to dig up goodies)! I'll probably have more thoughts later, but right now I need sleep. (sign me up for wacky mutants all over the place, by the way...)

Re: CHAMPIONS OF THE NORTH -- What Would You Like To See? "He's the worst there is at what he does - and what he does sure is nice." "If they didn't want to get bonked, they shouldn't have given me all these Nerf toys."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Two words: action dice. If you use an action dice and end up with a result of 20 or over, it's considered a legal critical success. In our game (that Saiyanslayer is the GM of), a critical success is not necessarily an unqualified success that simply can't be countered, but you do get a plus ten bonus to whatever you're attempting. That's how the barbarian was able to roll a 39 for a Strength check.

Re: What published Champions Universe Miniature would you most like to see? Of course, like anyone else, I'd love to see Foxbat... Other than that? King Cobra would be pretty sweet. Grond would be mighty cool, too. Maybe Black Harlequin, or Bulldozer. Viper agents? Marvel Heroclix Hydra agents need practically no conversion. I figure SHIELD agents look pretty much like UNTIL agents, too...

Re: Penalty Skill Levels for non-combat Skills For a real multitasker: vs. taking less time than base vs. performing more than one skill at a time My current character (with eight eyes and six arms) has something similar, allowing him to perform most tasks requiring manual manipulation at a full step down on the time scale.

Re: What does HERO Games have against >30 DEX, INT and EGO? I can't help but respond to this one... I'm pretty much in the same boat on this one. Like I said in another thread, I think the reason we don't see a lot of high-DEX characters is a) concern over stat inflation, and point budget. There just aren't a whole lot of CU characters who have a big point budget and have super-agility as part of their powerset. If I have to build a Spider-Man homage on 350 points, I'm not going to give him a 39 DEX - it's simply too expensive, and sets the bar a little too high (considering everyone else in the campaign will be working with a similar point budget). In that case, 30 seems about right. In my current game that I'm running, where the characters have over 500 points, my GMNPC character (who is a very obvious Spidey homage) has a 39 DEX. Any higher than that, and the gap between my character and the rest is a little too much to be comfortable - but he is supposed to be pretty much the avatar of agility, so I figure it's justified where it is. His DCV is positively stratospheric (thanks to having extra DCV, Requires Danger Sense roll) - coupled with flying dodge, he's next to impossible to hit - but he's got 11 PD and 10 ED, so when he does get hit, POW! That's the tradeoff I went with so he doesn't overwhelm the other players - the artful dodger shouldn't be able to take a punch on the chin and smile, because it's not really fair to everyone else if he can! Like I've said before, it's all relative. I want my character to be truly awesomely agile (I'm the Pro from Dover type), but not so much more than other super-agile guys (like Vector at DEX 36) that he makes them or the other players look stupid. My character, in my mind, anyway, sets an upper limit for DEX unless I want to make a point about how "there's always someone better". On the other hand, I tend to assume that a characteristic over the NCM is pretty darned impressive, at least compared to the average guy on the street. My personal benchmark for mental characteristics as "superhuman" is a lot lower (say, 30 or so), but it's a lot easier for me to justify having an INT or EGO over that level than a physical stat. I'd give Reed Richards an INT score well over 30 without hesitation, even though it's not technically a superpower - it's just part of his schtick. Mental stats just have less of a hard cap on them in my mind.

Re: Signs your Champions GM is now (fill in the blank) Signs I'm your GM: 1) Nutballs are fun law: Foxbat lasts longer in a fight than Grond and Holocaust put together, and shows up more often. His luck is only half the equation. 2) Fantastic recruitment law: VIPER isn't particularly dangerous, but is persistent to the point that you have to wonder if a) half the city isn't made up of sleeper agents, and said agents are all total masochists to keep trying to stop the heroes. VIPER is also behind everything, and hunts everyone. 3) Ectotherm competence law: Mammalian or avian-based superhumans almost never show up. Reptilian, amphibian, cephalopod, or arthropod-based superhumans (or races in fantasy settings) show up with considerable frequency, however - and tend to be either frighteningly competent or just plain frightening (often both). Characters of these types tend to be saints or megalomanaical bastards, with very few falling in between. 3a) The real thing is better law: Monstrous versions of conventional arthropods are often represented by living or preserved specimens of their real-life counterparts on the minatures table, eg. emperor scorpion = huge monstrous scorpion. Horror on the part of the players is generally ignored. On that note, the players will almost certainly face a giant hermit crab at some point. 3b) Be careful where you sit law: don't swat at that tickly feeling on your leg (just alert the GM), and shake out your shoes before you go home for the night. 4) Smerb's law (aka Octavius' law): any post-apocalyptic game absolutely must, without fail, contain a sentient mutant octopus on the side of the angels. 5) Diversity law: Nonhumanoid races in general are relatively common and accepted in fantasy settings, and any "evil" race has at least some good individuals - from orcs to chromatic dragons. 6) Guiltless cannon fodder law: No PC ever has to worry that he's slaughtered an innocent, however - those remarkable individuals described in law 5 hardly ever hang around with their evil relatives, and if they do, are very vocal about their true intentions. The very fact that an individual is opposing the PCs (without a lot of persuasive dialogue) is practically an admission of guilt. Faceless minions are nearly all sociopathic, sadistic orphans. 7) Packrat law: No character sheet, map, or diagram is ever thrown away. The GM still has piles and piles of 15-year-old TMNT and Other Strangeness characters at his disposal if you get testy. 8) Inverse packrat law: Every game session takes 15 extra minutes, minimum, to start, as the GM needs to fish things out of multiple piles of papers. 9) Punching is boring law: PCs are rewarded for unconventional battle tactics. They don't always work, but they're usually fun. Improvised weapons are surprisingly functional as well - from tables to sinks to unconscious mutant woodpeckers. 10) Useful loot law: if the GM takes the time to describe a looted weapon or scavenged item, it'll probably come in handy at some point. Players will rarely find something they can't use, or at least sell. 11) Kermit's law: All dice the GM uses are green. As are the pencils. Many of his GMNPCs are as well (see laws 3 and 13). 12) Conspiracy law: no plot thread dropped is ever forgotten - just filed for later usage. Things are often as they seem, but the villains don't always spill their guts completely. No details are totally irrelevant - anything you brush off will come back to you at some point. 13) If I can't play, I'll do the next best thing law: chances are there'll be an NPC that is a member of the party. In a Champions game, he's usually a speedster/martial artist/totemistic type. In a fantasy game, he's usually a ranger/thief/scout/ninja type. Get used to him - he'll be around for a while. 14) Heroic invulnerability law: as long as your character was "doing the right thing" and not being a total jerk or dumbass, he'll at least survive nearly anything unless you say otherwise. Any sufficiently noble sacrifice is often good cause for a "radiation accident". 15) It's not really yours anyway law: The team base/vehicles are free. 16) What Enforcer84 said law: don't expect a villain to go down nearly as easily the second time you fight him. He was off his game that first time (see law 1). 17) That sounds like way too much fun law: I think I want Oddhat to be my GM.

Re: Samurai Jack As for disads, you could justify any number of Psych Lims: CVK (he only ever chopped up robots, after all), must protect innocents, lives frugally, prefers simple/low tech solutions, stoic in the face of hardship, etc. It's just a question of how much you can throw at the category. Phys Lims are obviously right out. I could see some Soc Lims. Culture shock/technological ignorance comes to mind. Enraged (when innocents are harmed) might be appropriate. DNPCs (peach boy or random innocent of the moment), though it's a bit of a stretch.

Re: Samurai Jack Nice job! Covers Jack pretty well. He'd definitely fare well against any superpowered character, and your writeup reflects his unparalled skill. I'd be inclined to give him quite a bit of extra Leaping when you get to it, though (possibly with RSR: Acrobatics). "Foolish samurai warrior! Once again your gateway to the past is just out of your re-what! You can fly?" "No. Jump good." I'd also possibly avoid giving him combat piloting and driving - he seems to avoid high tech stuff (but is fantastic at disabling such devices). I'd chalk up most of his usage of cars, hoverplanes, etc. as using his superb DEX rolls and his overall skill levels. Just a thought, and based more on my mental impressions of him rather than actual evidence (it's been a while since I watched the show). Feel free to disagree! Persuasion seems like skill he used a fair bit - though he wasn't so incredibly good at it that I'd say his PRE rolls and OSLs wouldn't cover the attempts accurately. I'd be tempted to give him bonus Rep with certain races (since I'm rather anal-retentive), depending on how far into the show this writeup represents. He is, after all, "the defender of truth, freedom, and talkin' dogs." Any chance we'll see the Scotsman, by the way?

Re: Another wacky crossover went through my mind. "Conan - what is best in life?" "To crush de Uruk-Hai, to see dem driven before you, and to hear de lamentation of de hobbits!" He could punch out a Fell Beast instead of a camel... "An eigh! Liek dis!" (while putting his fingers together in an oval shape) "Dat steel onlee cownts az wahn!" From Gandalf: "I'm a wizard, mind you!" (would Mako as Gandalf not be 700 kinds of awesome?)

Re: Newbie to the HERO system Hmmm... I can't help but think this thread should be titled "The Hiro System".

Re: Ten Spider-Man Appearances That Will Never Hit Hollywood My apartment will no doubt be known to them as a prominent shrine to the worship of the webbed one - what with all the idols crafted in his image, the vast number of holy documents, and the video records of his exploits...

Re: Spider-Man Tech I gotcha covered on the DNA, Log - just ask nicely.

Re: New Avengers are very Dark Champions Bravo, sir. I agree wholeheartedly. After all my years reading Spidey comics, I've always looked over at X-Men and seen a much darker world (with some exceptions that I've grumbled over heavily). Even Spidey's angst issues often have a backdrop of sunniness!

Re: What might a Gliesian be like? "Mission of Gravity" was a great book. Hal Clement's really good for creating very interesting nonhuman characters that seem somewhat realistic biologically. He definitely gave a lot of thought to the creatures he created, and how they're adapted to their environments. His book "Nitrogen Fix" has a really neat character named "Bones" that has a totally alien mindset and motvations (often rather sinister in a detached sort of way), but still manages to be a huge help to its human "friends".