Spidey88

Re: What might a Gliesian be like? On the subject of exoskeletons: The real issue with an exoskeleton in a terrestrial environment is growth. Above a certain size, Earth arthropods will be crushed under their own weight if they moult (as a soggy, not-yet-dried exoskeleton won't support its body a whole lot). Of course, alien creatures with exoskeletons may have a significantly different system that doesn't require periodic moulting - or they could overcome this limitation by being amphibious or aquatic (moulting underwater, where the body is more supported, worked just fine for 10-foot-long eurypterids). Terran insects' size is also limited by the method by which they respire - but an alien insect analog would not necessarily have the same problem. On the subject of locomotion: As a biologist - to be honest, I'd be slightly surprised to see a biped under any circumstances, independent of G-forces. We've got a rather inflated opinion of the humanoid form, IMHO. Unstable and inefficient locomotion (though other bipeds pull it off a lot better). Bipedal organisms in general are fairly uncommon when you think about it - the most successful organisms on our planet have six or eight legs. Almost all mammals, amphibians, and reptiles are quadrupedal - birds are the big anomaly, having need of a pair of limbs for flight. Humans are in the same boat, needing a pair of limbs for manipulation (it's much easier to convert existing limbs to new uses than to create new ones out of nowhere). All exclusively bipedal organisms that we've got here have evolved from quadrupedal ancestors. In general, Earth vertebrates are really rather limb-deprived when you look at the bulk of the species on the planet - I'd assume we'd be on the low end of the galactic scale with but four major appendages (It might have something to do with our evolutionary origins in an aquatic environment, which is far more limiting for fast-moving critters with lots of appendages due to hydrodynamic factors). High-G environments are most definitely not a requirement for more than four walking limbs! Roboticists tend to agree that bipedal robots are a pain to deal with - between four and eight legs are easiest and most stable - so you could use that as additional justification when constructing an organism from scratch. Any more than eight walking limbs, and you tend towards wasted energy and redundancy (though there are some critters with lots of legs that move mighty quick, as any Scutigera centipede will prove). Any less than four, and stability takes a lot more effort. In a nutshell? I think a likely sentient alien would be quadrupedal or hexapedal, with at least one pair of limbs dedicated to manipulatory purposes. Under 1.6 Gs, it'd likely be fairly stocky, esp. if it was of a reasonable size. Its legs would probably be planted under it in a vertical fashion, as opposed to being splayed out to the sides like an insect or reptile (too much strain under its own mass).

Re: Venture Brothers Hero? Veture Brothers totally rocks my world. We haven't had a game in months without someone saying: "He hit me with a TRUCK!" Brock is hilariously awesome: he's got to built on at least as many points as an average superhero, if not more - with such things as " Aid STR, only when enraged", "Enraged, 11-, during practically any combat", "RKA, range limited by STR, OIF (anything he can pick up)", etc. Hank should definitely be built with the skill "KS: cliched action movie quotes (14- or better)". "Where do you come up with this stuff? I mean I've never seen you read or anything. It's like he channels crazy dead people!"

Re: Question for female players of Champions To be honest, Alice - all of these apply just as much to a lot of men, too (at least most of the ones I know)!

Re: CHAR: Vox I work as a voice actor sometimes - there's no way I can't like this guy. I especially like the extra PRE (only when not seen). That's a nice touch.

Re: Char: Mater Sorry to hear your game folded - she's an interesting character, and it sounds like a cool campaign. I couldn't help but think of a quote from "Cars", though: "It's like 'Tamater', without the 'Ta'."

Re: TK ninja idea, help needed. Arggh! I've been typing for half an hour, accidentally hit "back", and now I've got to do this all over again. I'm afraid I don't have the patience to be as detailed this time, but I'll try to cover all the bases... Anyway, I'm with Weldun. Multiple limbs w. IPE, ambidex, and TWF gives a lot of flexibility for 26 points of so, beyond just using swords. The question is: do you want to be able to pick up anything or attack normally with your TK powers? If so, the multi-limb option is a good one, as is just plain old TK (if you want to be able to use your swords on the other side of the room). If you can only pick up the swords, OIF and "limited manipulation" seem appropriate. If you wouldn't want the TK attacks to require much attention from your ninja, a couple OCV levels with Sweep and a couple DCV levels (only to counteract Sweep penalties) are solid investments. If he's that good at multitasking on a reflexive/instinctual level, things like damage shield and missile deflection make a lot of sense. A plain old HKA is probably the cheapest option, but is way less flexible than TK or the extra limbs route. You're basically limited to hack-hack-hack, but is likely the best option if you're on a budget. The special effect is that your hands are free. Adding SPD, with no limitations, is simple but doesn't fit the concept of extra attacks without extra moves to boot. Extra SPD (just for attacking) is a bit of a pain to deal with, IMHO. Kind of awkward to manipulate the SPD chart to fit the extra attacks unless you've got SPDs that dovetail together nicely, like 4 SPD (normally) + 4 SPD (only to attack), making a 4/8 SPD. Basically, phase 12 you could do whatever, phase 1 you do nothing, phase 2 you could only attack, repeat ad nauseum. A 4/7 SPD, on the other hand, is trickier. Not to mention this sort of limited SPD is much harder to line up attacks with - if you're close enough to attack before you limited SPD phases come up, your opponent could easily move before you get to use it. I've used a villain with a 4/8 SPD split in such a fashion, but being an immensly powerful brick who could whip stuff around kept the extra SPD useful. In other words, extra SPD (only to attack) = a bit of a pain, but possibly worth it if you've got unrestricted TK. In short: multi-limbs equal flexibility with limited range. Fine manipulation TK equals flexibility at short and long range. HKA equals cheap! Saiyanslayer's method equals having an invisible friend watching your butt, doing what you want him to (so I think you could block with the swords, and attack with your hands). To me, Summon seems like a way of getting the powers for cheaper than you should, or an overly complicated way to do things (but I may be byassed due to my lack of experience with Summon). OCV levels w. Sweep + limited DCV levels = extra sword attacks with no penalties to ninja's other actions. Extra things for the ninja bag of tricks: - stretching, coupled with tht multi-limb version, to get a little extra reach with the TK. - telekinetically probing the environment and being able to recieve tactile stimulus through it, justifying a TK-based Spatial Awareness sense. Very handy for someone who plans on spending a lot of time in darkness! Maybe a little redundant with the goggles, but absolutely devastating when couple with regular TK (esp TK with IPE) - you could fight a guy using the swords in a different room, or fight while totally hidden! - inches of Swinging or flight, representing being able to haul yourself around with the TK in various ways or being able to jump off of TK platforms in midair (or just lift yourself). - TK-based force fields/walls, so you look like a defenseless guy in black pajamas with no overt armour when you want to. - TK + martial maneuvers = ranged fun. - TK-based flash attacks, to represent pulling guy's shirts over their heads, poking them in the eyes, throwing available crud in their faces, etc. - TK-based entangles to represent grabbing nearby objects or available chunks of rope with the TK and wrapping your enemies up - even pulling their pants down so they can't run or some such thing! TK is one of those effects that can justify nearly any power - it's just a question of "What do you want to be able to do?" and "How far do you want to go?"

Re: New character post for review Oh well. Seems we're on the same page, at least!

Re: New character post for review A couple other things: You might want to look into the costs of buying telescopic for all sense groups instead of buying two separately. I don't know offhand what the difference in cost would be (whether cheaper or more expensive) - but having telescopic scent , coupled with the discriminatory and tracking, could be interesting! Having bonus PRE (offensive purposes only) would be pretty appropriate if you found some extra points, considering the distinctive features disad... Would ultrasonic perception not be part of the hearing group, and 360 degree by default? I'm not sure, but the thought crossed my mind. By the way - if there's any other animals involved in the character's construction that you'd like input on in terms of ideas for powers, senses, etc. let me know. I've got a zoology skill of at least 12-, entomology of at least 13-, arachnology of at least 14-, herpetology of at least 14-, and teuthology of at least 14-... Glad to hear your wife is in on the game! Less arguments over how your free time is spent, I imagine! (Just kidding)

Re: Are there any Champions Players in Texas? Hey, Roy - I can't help you on the player front (I'm from Alberta), but you might have better luck posting this in the "Player Finder" section of the forums if you haven't already. No harm in trying here and there, I suppose! Best of luck!

Re: New character post for review aylwin13: Good call - I didn't have the book in front of me.

Re: New character post for review A couple of short comments: I'd buy the wings as a multipower, with flight as one slot and gliding as another. It'll cost around the same amount of points, and the gliding could be as much as twice as fast (since it only costs half as much), or have 0 end or something else - representing a strong affinity for power dives like a peregrine falcon. for example: Big ol' wings fer flyin' MP: 40 point base, restrainable (-1/2) (27 real points) (3u) Flight 20" (3u) Gliding 40" (You could easily muck around with the slots for different effects, too. I'd go for a low end-use glide or flight and a flight slot with no turn mode meself.) The distinctive features disad is totally justified. Be careful with all that unluck - it's more a question of personal taste on my part, but be sure you want to give the GM a license to screw you over! Oh, wait - you are the GM in your game, aren't you Rynak? Never mind then! Always give the PC's a back door if they pull a bonehead maneuver and you need them to survive! Unluck's good for that. Hybrid-girl moving in for the kill? Adamantium flowerpot falls on her head from above, and stuns her for a moment! Hope all is going well!

Re: DEX levels in your campaign. Spider-Man's ability to avoid being tagged not outclassing Cap's (or anyone else short of the Flash)? Heresy! To be honest, Clonus, I personally thinks that Spider-Man and Nightcrawler's base OCV and DCV would be a couple notches above Cap's, but Cap closes that gap by having gobs of CSLs. Of course, NC's likely got "+ X DCV, RSR: Acrobatics", and Spidey's probably got the same (plus even more that needs a Danger sense roll) - though Cap's probably got a little extra DCV of that type too. So, offensively, Cap's probably got the edge (OCV-wise, at least), but NC and esp. Spidey are at least a couple steps ahead DCV-wise - so it kind of balances out on those occasions when they fight each other. Whenever Spider-Man fights someone who doesn't have Cap's agility and training (or even superior qualities in at least some aspect of either, eg. Punisher's gun skills), he absolutely walks all over them as far as OCV/DCV are concerned. My personal feeling, at least by my campaign standards and assumptions about the characters: Cap: DEX 27-33 (and at least 4 levels with all combat) NC: DEX 33-38 Spider-Man: DEX 35-40 This is what I use as a mental yardstick, anyway. I'm comfortable with these guys being more agile than the published CU characters, since agility is a major portion of these guys' schticks, and they're all very experienced heroes - while it certainly can be done, I'd have a hard time building a version of even Nightcrawler (the lowest-point character of the three, IMHO) on just 200 +150 disads (probably more like 300-350 pts. plus 150 disads). My writeup of Spider-Man is something like 634 points + 150 disads, but I was very thorough, with no reading between the lines - everything pertinent was written up. If I was using less points, his DEX would naturally be lower for cost effectiveness - but I have no issues assigning a DEX of 39 to a guy who's practically the avatar of agility. That's what feels right to me, even if no published characters quite match up. He's always going to be my high-end benchmark, barring individuals with godlike power. Vector, at a similar point level, has DEX 36 - so that's in the same league. I think we just haven't seen more guys so far whose schtick is super-agility and have those kind of points to work with - budget factors in as much as genre comparisons! I sort of ignore the listed standards for "what is superhuman" and "what isn't superhuman" and go with my gut. On a related note, I have a really hard accepting someone with an INT of 50 as "Legendary" but not superhuman. To me, those are so high as to be beyond rational comprehension. I'd put Spidey at the cliched 23, Tony Stark at 25 or possibly a little higher, Doctor Doom at 30-33. and Reed Richards at 35. Past that feels too high to run properly. I don't know how I'd ever run Telios - how do you deal with someone that's 100 steps ahead of everyone else, and probably beyond any normal concerns and thought patterns? It's difficult to wrap my head around how to play a character exponentially smarter than yourself.

Re: WWYCD: Let's Rock! Aha! Sounds like it'd be funny - but alas, us Canucks have issues getting Cartoon Network. Youtube will be the next stop, I suppose...

Re: WWYCD: Let's Rock! Actually, I've never heard of Metalocalypse until now... I guess it's off to Wikipedia!

Re: Superhero Podcasts I've done some voice acting in a superhero podcast that was actually based on a Champions campaign. It's still in post-production at this point, but I'll keep you posted as to the release of the episodes. If anyone's interested in some background on it, here's the website: www.fishclock.ca The podcast is called "Orphans". My character is Alec Morgan, aka "Rook" - sort of like Batman with a little Foxbat-style psychosis tossed in for good measure.

Re: WWYCD: Let's Rock! Thanks for setting up a great example, Sundog! As promised, here's what would happen with the current roster of Octagon: This is my interpretation off the top of my head, so the other guys in my group might feel differently about some of this. Saiyanslayer's internet is out for the time being, but I think he'd approve... Alagara (one of Saiyanslayer's alternate characters) would undoubtedly be the lead singer, and likely the frontwoman. Her powerset includes being fantastically persuasive/seductive, varied magical abilities, and being beautiful beyond compare (COM 24 or so, I think)- she's sort of like a reasonably chaste elf/nymph, if I remember correctly. She's a fantastic singer (with a PRE in the 40's, and an incredible voice), and coupled with her seductive abilities, Mechanon's band would likely melt into slag as they tried to comprehend the primitive human concept of love... Anything that came out of her mouth would sound like the voice of an angel - she could sing Slayer and it would make you cry, so she'd be up for performing nearly any song in any genre. Ashley (Saiyanslayer's main character) would be the drummer. He's got the rebellious, bad-boy-with-the-barely-restrained-fury attitude going; and he's a master of two-weapon fighting (a boon for any drummer, I'm sure). His superhuman speed and agility won't hurt, either. With some minor adjustments, his energy-blade gauntlets could easily be energy-drumstick gauntlets too. He'll throw everything he has into the drums, quite literally to the point of death - because he can get better, and he's rather self-destructive that way. He'd lean towards punk or metal tunes, methinks. Phidippus (my character) would be the lead guitarist. He's got a 19- guitar skill as it is, so it's be a minor investment in points to make that an absolutely stratospheric skill level (with some in-game practice to justify it). Not only is he skilled at the axework nearly beyond compare, but with 6 arms, eight eyes, TWC, ambidexterity, a few OCV levels with Sweep, incredible DEX and SPD, and various other little things to aid multitasking - he should be able to play three guitars at once with no loss of skill. His primary solo would undoubtedly be "Flight of the Bumblebee", played at double speed - starting with one guitar, and then adding another, and another. "Hey, Hornet! I hope you're listening to this, sucker!" If need be, he'd balance on his head, play while walking up the wall, or do flips on a high wire, to make the performance more impressive. Event would probably be the bassist. As the team's regular brick, he's the solid backbone we all work off of and can depend on - those attributes would serve a bassist well. He's also got the big, stoic, cool under pressure guy routine down pat - he's impressive and unflappable. Alternatively, he could use his fantastic strength to play a giant metal keyboard, possibly using an I-beam in each hand to hit the keys like a xylophone. Horizon is less of a regular, and doesn't seem to fit any one instrument all that well personality-wise (he's a science-y guy, so maybe a synthesizer), but one things for sure - as the team's all-purpose energy projector, the laser light show and pyrotechnics are all his. The final battle would take place on an open-space orbital platform (perhaps with environmental force fields for the best sound), orbiting the Earth at Mach 19. Surrounded by communication satellites, the epic confrontation would be broadcast to an anxious planet. In the end, all the heroes combine their mighty powers to pull off a medley of Van Halen's greatest hits so incredible that the evil android posers are simply blasted into a million pieces, rocketing off into space at incalculable speed for all eternity!

So, let's imagine a scenario where Mechanon has combined his secret love of Norwegian speed-metal music with his hatred for organic life, and has assembled a cybernetic rock band (with himself as frontman) so powerful that the lead guitarist's facemelting solos actually melt faces. This band is the most evil force the music world, nay, the universe, has ever seen - but they're so good, people can't help but go to their concerts. They don't need subliminal brainwashing techniques - they're just that good! Naturally, a group of heroes must rise to meet the challenge, in the only way possible - a battle of the bands to rock the very foundations of the Earth! Ragna-rock, if you will. (Would that not be a great name for a music festival?) Your character and his team (or perhaps a random group of solo heroes - possibly even just your own PCs from different games), through skill, reputation, or fate; are Earth's last, best hope for tasty licks, pounding beats, and stratospheric vocals - you must form the world's finest super-band. Assume that even if your character has no musical talent whatsoever, that Doctor Disco (who never bothered to change his name over the 30 years he's been active) has an experimental rock ray that can transform any individual into a living avatar of rock, in accordance with the character's true nature or secret desire - and that only a superhero could withstand the strain of having that much raw kickass flowing through their veins, and still use the power to outshred the gods responsibly (so conventional musicians aren't an option). So, the question falls to you: What instrument does your character play, and what do the teammates play? What's his signature look/move? Would he develop a different stage persona? What song would the band play, or what style of music would the band play? (covers are obviously a perfectly viable option, but orignal music is fine too. If it's an orignal tune, at least give the gist of the style.) What would the actual battle look like? - Would it culminate in the lead singer belting out a note so high, or the guitarist shredding so fast, or the drummer pounding the beats so hard, that the cyber-band's electronic processors can't handle the input, and simply explode in a visual feast of pyrotechnics? - Would the band use a secretly upgraded laser light show as their secret weapon? - Would the band produce a performance so triumphant and awesome that the crowd rises up as a single mind of mosh-pit destruction against the android sellouts? Where would the final battle be held? Times Square? The Coliseum? The Pyramids? An isolated asteroid surrounded by video-drones? An erupting volcano in the Cretaceous period (maybe asteroids didn't kill the dinosaurs, and Van Halen covers did)? The sky's the limit! (I'll chime in with my team tomorrow, sometime after I've slept...)

Re: WWYCD: the times of peace are upon us Phidippus likely wouldn't quit until the job was done, completely. With the heavy hitters out of action, he'd probably slip more into detective mode to root out the remaining baddies, especially those remnants of VIPER (a very personal mission for him) and Hornet and his cronies (even more personal) if they're still active. His "normal" ID is the superhero, so he'd be hard-pressed to change his spots completely. Plus, there will probably always be muggers, bank robbers, and natural disasters to deal with. Phidippus is fairly powerful, but he's definitely got a "street-level" attitude and approach to crimefighting when left to his own devices. Still, when you've got 8 eyes, 6 hands and barely need sleep, that potentially leaves a lot of free time to kill (depending on how thoroughly evil's been whomped). Phidippus is nothing if not a multitasker, so he'd likely pursue a lot of options: - dive into more scientific research (eg. finding a cure for CCD if he hasn't already - thanks for the inspiration, McCoy!) - he'd be able to get more work done in his secret ID (though I won't say what, in case Saiyanslayer sees this); probably enough to utterly dominate the field. Let's just say he's got a PS at 19+, and can do it at a full step down the time scale with no penalties. - use his good rep (probably even better, under these circumstances) to do more socially-active stuff, like raising awareness for charities. He'd want to help the world however he could, even if there was no one left to throw in jail. - maybe develop a little more of a life. He sticks to superheroics out of a desire to do good, so his personal life is rather stunted. With enough free time, he might perhaps even (gasp) try out dating! (The extra hands and an unearthly contortionist skill might help out there... ) - take to scouting and training the next generation. Just because things are great now is no reason to slack off - things might not stay that way! Eternal vigilance and all that jazz. - start a rock band. What's the point in having 6 arms, the ability to use them all at once with independent tasks, and the skill as a guitarist to make Joe Satriani blush (and Jimi spin in his grave) if you can't use them? Lead, rythmn, and bass all at once! Rock out by night, fight street crime by later night! (I feel another WWYCD coming on...)

Re: Maxim's Hottest Comic Females MJ should totally be on that list. The MU's best-known supermodel? Hello! Still, I guess she's not technically a superheroine...

Re: Few Questions about Sweep, and Combat Skill levels Though I'm sure I'll get the chance to talk about this stuff in person with you, here's some input: 2-point CSLs can be purchased for use with Sweep, as per the detailed descriptions in The Ultimate Skill. These are actually too cheap to put limitations on normally, so unless you actually want to be a better shot while using Sweep than while attacking normally, you can at least put on a 0-pt. lim "cannot exceed normal OCV" or some such thing. CSLs could be purchased to combat the DCV penalty, at 5 active points apiece (with a limitation "only to combat said penalty"). 5 point CSLs are the cheapest that can have limitations on them (that have an effect on points, anyway), and are the cheapest that can be applied to overall DCV. Note that without Defense Maneuver IV, these will not be persistent DCV levels. If I'm not mistaken, IPE can potentially be purchased for STR and certain martial maneuvers. If I remember correctly, it's listed as an option for making Redsnake (a martial artist from Vibora Bay) a more powerful hero, to represent fists that move faster than the eye can see. Assuming your GM will allow that (I'll get back to you on that - we can talk about it later), I'd say Sweep would work just fine, at least for foes within easy reach. Without IPE on your movement, it'd just look like you were running up for a move-through or something instead of a conventional punch or strike - so no total surprise there (possibly a slight bonus for throwing them off a bit). Also, you'd have to buy IPE for advantaged HAs and Martial maneuvers for them to work with the STR. Using nontargeting senses to detect HTH attacks of this nature (as Dust Raven suggested) seems like it might be a decent way to preserve the cool flavour of this sort of thing, but reduce the potentially gamebreaking power a bit. I'd think that multiple move-throughs would be kinda screwy against a single target under normal circumstances, without buying some power like "+Xd6 HA, trigger (only after successful move-through)", or something similar with a movement power (which could be cool/incredibly munchkin-y with the right sort of trigger - keep doing move-throughs against every target in sight until you miss or do too much damage to yourself). Just a quick thought. It'd be funny for some speedster that was constantly knocking himself out! Enter: Jack Hammer!

Re: MancerBear's Art Den With the shield, I can't help but assume he's called "Captain Carnosaur" or "Captain Cretaceous"...

Re: MancerBear's Art Den I gotta say, mancerbear - that dinosaur warrior rocks. Seriously - it's easy to see that you either have an excellent understanding of theropod skulls, or really did your research/had a great reference that you paid attention to for that drawing. All the fenestrae look pretty much just like a real carnosaur's. Might you be able to satisfy my curiousity and divulge whether or not he was based on any particular species? I've got a couple of guesses, but I'd like to hear from you... I like the rest too, but that one is just - POW! Not just because of my love of all things cold-blooded, but the extra little details, like the texture of his skin and tunic, really add a lot. Bravo! I look forward to seeing your take on Foxbat, too... (I'd rep you if I could. It's been too soon since the last time, apparently.)

Re: Im back, As someone who's "seen the other side", what would you say would be the strengths and weaknesses of M&M, relative to HERO?

Re: Modern Age vs Silver Age Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys. It's nice to know so many others like a healthy dose of idealism to go with their angst and conspiracies! I agree with you compeltely, wylodmayer, in that shades of grey are good to have around, as long as the heroes aren't mired in them all the time - Bronze Age complexity and social commentary coupled with Silver Age enthusiasm and lightheartedness is a pretty tasty blend, as far as I'm concerned. In my current campaign, my buddy's character (see "Character Post: Ashley" for details) is a former supervillain (a pretty nasty one, too) who's been given a serious attitude adjustment by a powerful psychic. He's generally a wiseass jerk (think "House" mixed with a little Deadpool for flavour), but even he tries to do the right thing - well, eventually, anyway... He's a good contrast for the other characters, and his mouthiness often leads to some amusing situations! He's planted right on the edge of my "darkness" threshold for the game - I've already said "no friggin' way" to a character concept that pushed past it. Ashley's a right bastard sometimes, but he's a right bastard with a fairly strong moral core - and that's the difference in my mind. Actions speak louder than words, after all!

Re: Modern Age vs Silver Age As a bit of an aside: I actually got my copy of HERO for $25 from a guy I ran into in my comic store about four (ish) years ago, who disliked the book so much he just wanted to get rid of it. See, he played Aberrant for a long time, and liked it a lot - he read HERO, disliked the flexibility (it's just too complex!) and the fact that heroes didn't automatically risk getting corrupted/damaged/whatever bloody thing it is that happens to heroes in Aberrant whenever they use their powers. I tried to defend my beloved HERO System, but to no avail - as far as he was concerned, it just wasn't as cool! Oh well. His loss was my gain! A very nice guy, mind you - but what the heck he was doing in a comic store, other than wanting to offload his book, I sure didn't know. "You want to play superheroes - but you want them getting crippled/going to the dark side when they use their powers? What's the point in being a superhero then?" is what was running through my head... (I know very little about Aberrant. This reaction of mine was based entirely on this fellow's description - so forgive my ignorance if it is a decent game.) On topic somewhat: The reason I like playing in a game with a Silver age feel (though usually with a hefty dose of Bronze, too) is the escapism. I like a world where good is mostly black and white - where I can feel like I've stopped the bad guys, I don't have to worry about the trail of bodies in my wake on my conscience (because no one really got hurt), and I feel like a real hero (assuming I acted like one and wasn't a complete bonehead), as opposed to a jerk with more ammunition than he knows what to do with. I grew up on classic Spidey comics, and that's the sort of comics I like nowadays - I want to play in a world that's relatively sunny and bright (though not necessarily simple and black-and-white), where I feel like one man can make a difference and not be crippled, scarred, and maimed (physically and psychologically) in the process. I don't read Punisher comics - I don't want to roleplay in his world very much either (if I'm supposed to be a superhero, anyway - if it's Shadowrun, sure). Superheroes scramble to stop the falling building, beat up the bad guy and his viking zombie men, and stop his giant pumpkin ray - they don't turn all of the above into bullet-riddled corpses, or say "the hell with it - I'm not getting paid enough". I love post-apocalyptic games, but even with them I don't like overwhelming darkness and depression. I roleplay for fun - and I don't find hopelessness fun! I was in GURPS Supers game for a long time with some friends, but I stopped going because the GM seemed to make sure we never really did anything right (because we could never fully penetrate his subtle clues and obtuse logic, and we were always hit with very harsh consequences). Ugh - don't even get me started - there were other issues too, but even before they piled up, it just felt "off". Nothing was ever simple. Ever! I'm a smart guy, but I can't read minds, especially the minds of fictional NPCs - I wanted to feel like I was doing something right once in a while, not feel like I was fighting the GM the whole way! Granted, that's how I think I'd feel in most Iron Age superhero situations - too real. I don't want to be the world's whipping boy!