Supreme

Re: Feedback on "Tank"

For a new Champs game I'm starting. The team has a bunch of scrappers, but no brick -- though they all agreed they needed one, no one wanted to play one. So I came up with a "GMPC" to round out the team. Comments/feedback welcome.

 

We're playing new UNITY members in a modified CU.

 

Thanks!

 

Bill.

Can't download files of that type, KB. I have a suggestion though: make the players pay for a group follower.

Re: Stun Problem in Fantasy Hero (Double it)

You could conceivably build Spidey with Armor' date=' defined as Combat Luck that always works, given that his Spidey-sense is a lot more reliable than standard senses. I mean, you COULD have a Danger Sense roll or something for it, but that should be so high as to practically guarantee that he'll make the roll anyway.[/quote']

Well, this is the FH board, not the Champs board, so we don't need to go off on a "how do you build Spider-Man" derailment. My point is that stories tend to work in conditional absolutes. There was never a weight which Herakles could not lift, a target that Robin Hood could not hit, or an opponent that Godzilla could not beat. It's just the way the stories work. There are only certain outcomes which make a good story. Gaming has to be a bit more challenging and fair. There has to be a chance that your hero can fail, or the game won't be exciting. How does this relate to the original point of the thread? Um... That games will knock people out when you think they should just die, and vice versa. I guess...

Re: "I can't hear you!" effect

Darkness' date=' Only prevents Speech, Not Hearing (-1/2). If you have Galactic Champions, check out The Examiner; he's got a sample power for his Power Pool that does this.[/quote']

Yes, Suppress or other adjustment powers should not be necessary for powers bought with the Incantations limitation. That's why it's a limitation. I believe that speech is now considered a "sense" so you could do flash vs. speech. Thus means that you would effect one target (unless you bought AE too) for as long as the flash lasted. If you went with Darkness instead then it would automatically be area effect, and you could target a specific person and keep the "darkness" on them.

Re: Stun Problem in Fantasy Hero (Double it)

I find a d3+1 KA stun multiple works well.

 

I also like critical hits, but instead of doing max damage, I have it do double damage.

 

It is still nasty, but it doesn't leave the PC hero/major villain at -60 stun (2d6K becomes 24 body and120 stun - that is sleeping beauty time).

 

So far doubling the stun of everyone works pretty well, everyone likes it so far and it is a breeze to keep track of. After listening to this board I do think hit locations would help the issue.

 

Still, I think it is more realistic in a Heroic campaign for people to take a while to get beat senseless. You always have a luck blow or a head or groin shot to one shot you, but people especially people in armor take a lot to put down. Look at bare-knuckle fighters or boxers? They would fight forever in Champions terms.

We do max damage for crits (defined as making your attack roll by ten or more, fumbles are failing by ten or more) because it's faster and it makes more sense. A critical hit is just the best possible hit you could make. With a straight x2 multiple on a 3D6 KA, that's 18 Body and 36 Stun. Someone with 6PD and Chainmail (6 PD/ED Armor) takes 12 body and 24 Stun. They're righteous hurt, even dying, but they're probably not dead yet. They shouldn't be knocked out unless they've already taken damage, but they're probably stunned -- and should be!

The thing about fights and how long they last is funny. It seems to last a long time, whether you're in it or watching it, but in reality they're very fast. Someone I met once had been in prison and he said the longest fight he'd ever experienced lasted for about three minutes, but felt like he'd been fighting all day. In a heroic campaign characters will last longer -- if they're built right. PCs with lots and lots of combat skills will last until someone makes a good attack roll and clobbers you. PCs with lots of stats will simply last longer because they can take it.

The thing to keep in mind about that sense of "should" that we all get while playing is that dice do not enforce and rules of genre or drama. I made a Spider-Man clone character for Champions once. Built him almost exactly as the wall-crawler should have been. I didn't make through one round with four thugs armed with shotguns. Why? They each had a five or less to hit, one of them rolled a four and cut me in half (4D6 RKA, no resistant defenses). Yeah, the genre dictates that only someone with some kind of special "trump" for my super-Dex should be able to hit me. But RPGs don't work like that.

Re: Stun Problem in Fantasy Hero (Double it)

We handle this by doing a straight x2 multiplier for all KAs, instead of 1D6-1. It plays faster, keeps the Stun damage under control, and is a lot easier to remember. We still allow people to buy levels of increased stun multiplier.

Re: The New Legion of Super-Heroes

Well, aside from write-ups of existing legionaires, what about ideas for original characters?

I was thinking of Gremlin Girl. A member of a green-skinned that has a strong tradition of Luditism, so they often develop extremely sophisiticated security systems skills. GG also pushes concepts of just what youth is because her race matures quickly. Gremlin Girl's best line? "'Girl'? I have 47 kids." (she's 16)

Re: The Legion Thread

Again' date=' using the 'Loser' hand gesture as a Legion salute kind of leans away from the dark aspect.[/quote']

As do things like...

 

"Why'd I ever date him?"

"Was it the 'Ultra-Love'?"

 

and my personal favorite...

 

"How far down did you make (the weapons) go?"

(rubs his bruises and scorch-marks) "About the natural-gas-pocket level."

Re: The New Legion of Super-Heroes

I just saw some promo art featuring Triplicate Girl. I knew it. Bouncing Boy can't be far behind.

Re: The New Legion of Super-Heroes

In agreement here, I was struck by how good a Teen/Champs 3K campaign it would make. I'm not new to the Legion but the 60s vintage youth genereation vs older establishment seems perfect.

 

My only concern was that the more potential supers in the organization the harder it is to keep powers and roles seperate but its a trade off with knowing that anyone who wants to can drop out, in character or otherwise, and not neccesarily derail the whole campaign.

My thinking for a campaign was to have the PCs play one independant cadre, well removed from Legion HQ who are merely acting on their own. Occasionally, Cosmic Boy can come on the vid-screen and ask them to do something for the Legion in that sector, or condemn them for breaking the charter, or something. Otherwise they are free to act as they see fit.

I don't know about any of you, but I'm LOVING the new Legion of Super-Heroes. It's wicked cool! They had me at "Ultra-Love." For those of you not familiar, Waid's latest retcon of the LSH makes it a 31st century youth movement. Anyone who believes in the cause of fighting for change (and presumably is below a certain age level) can join. Currently (as of issue #2) they have something like 28,000 members, though only a handful comprise the core team which actually does any fighting.

Since this is so wonderfully open-ended I thought it would make a great Champions campaign (don't worry Cometeer, you can keep running the FH game for a while). So I thought I'd start a thread where people could post their own ideas for their own Legionaires. They can be funny, serious, or any combination thereof. I'll probably post a few of my own.

Re: Brick tricks

I look at it like this:

The more points you spend, the less I enforce the laws of physics.

Spend 0 points on Power Skill or Brick Trick powers, and that lamp-post -- which is not built to withstand the g-force of being swung like a bat -- is just as likely to come apart in your hands as actually hit someone.

Spend 3 points on Power Skill, and I'll let you make one area effect attack in an Area effect line (each hex within that line is also subject to an activation roll as the pole is coming apart as it comes down).

Spend whatever points you want on EB with whatever variable Area Effect defined as hitting people with whatever you have handy... You paid the points. It's your power now.

Re: (somehow) realistic Secret IDs

I think one of the biggest things that a person could do to maintain a secret ID, from the law, is to not commit a crime. If there's no crime, then the police are probably not going to expend their limited resources tracking you down and expose themselves to a lawsuit from you in the process. This obviously doesn't protect you from any espionage or criminal organizations, but it's one less thing to worry about.

One thing that you would really have to watch is your voice. Voice can tell you where someone grew up, what their age range might be, and so on. You also have to have a suit that not only covers the body so no DNA evidence is left behind, but doesn't keep any DNA on it when you've handled it to put it on. It would also be a good idea if no one thinks your secret ID has access to such resources as DNA-proof textiles.

After all this is said and done, just observing your character in action will tell anyone who films him (there are 15 million camcorders on the streets of the US):

his height

his weight

right-handed or left-handed (or both)

which martial arts he's studied

Probably the biggest problem for the character will be blogs. As soon as someone notices that the Wombat-mobile always drives up the same road near their house when it "disappears" then a bunch of web cams are going to become fixed on that road 24 hours a day. You get the idea.

Re: Sex and the Single Superhuman

In our campaigns it's either that there is no mention of their private, romantic lives, or their relationships are intrinsically a part of the story arcs (in love with supervillain, in love with same person as supervillain, etc.). I recently played two Golden Age characters.

Re: New to Fantasy Hero

[AL PACINO] Let me introduce joo too my little friend. [\AL PACINO]

Skill Levels - 8 points +1 with all non-combat Skills

 

At least that is how I would define potential without pumping stats.

Interesting... That would cost a LOT less than the prerequisite 5 points in DEX, PRE, and INT... Nah, the other players are already teasing me about exploiting the system. "He's not a rules rapist. He a rules sexual harrasser."

Re: New to Fantasy Hero

To each his own.

Es verdad. I wanted to have the character start at the bottom and work his way up to emperor.

Re: New to Fantasy Hero

Cool. Very interesting. I see this character as being the second (or even third) son of a wealthy household (merchants or nobles, perhaps). The eldest son is going to inherit, the second eldest is the eldest's right-hand man. The youngest son is the mama's boy. Significantly younger than the other two, not likely to inherit much of anything and fairly at loose ends with his time (dad spends all his time teaching the business to the elder sons). So he reads a lot, practices his swordplay etc but has never really gotten out on his own. He always begs his brothers to take him with, but he's always "too small" or "would just get in the way."

 

Give him a good smattering of skills but odd ones (Herblore, History of the Seven Kingdoms, Andalusian Poets, etc).

 

This is a fairly solid concept and should be GREAT fun to play. "I never imagined sleeping on the ground would be so uncomfortable." At every opportunity you should be unprepared (not your fault, how were you to know that there wouldn't be an inn along every few miles like in the stories).

 

Be prepared to be made sport of. The rest of the party is going to have a rioutous time at your expense. But don't listen to them, this character sounds like a real winner!!

My character is actually an ex-slave determined to free the world. He's quite used to sleeping on the ground.

Re: New to Fantasy Hero

In my opinion ( for what it's worth ) your starting stats are WAY high. After playing Champions for a long time, you're probably wondering how a basic FH character can survive with their pitiful stats. If you look at the breakdown of the bell curve used to model stats, a 20 in anything is statistically very rare. Multiple 18s are equally unusual. I usually encourage players to make characters with around a 50/50 split between stats and skills. For 100 point characters I encourage them not to go over 60/40 or 70/30 in extreme cases.

 

In my games, I encourage players to make themselves better by increasing their skills instead of their stats. (You don't have to be incredibly strong to be a sword master who can dish out a lot of damage. Just buy the appropriate skill.) In fact, I rarely allow players to change their character's stats unless it is justified by something in the game. i.e.--the character starts as a young boy and grows up over time, or the character spends a month working in a slave mine when captured. Both of these examples would justify increasing strength and/or con, etc.

 

Stats rarely change in my games, and if they do, they usually get worse from optional injury rules, sickness, etc.

 

Another way to put your stats in perspective is to compare various entries in the Bestiary, etc. You get a good idea of what an average dex or speed value will be for most creatures.

 

If you haven't guessed, I prefer fantasy games with a more realistic or gritty feel to them.

 

Welcome to the fantasy side of the hobby.

Thanks. I wasn't worried about surviving with such low stats. I've played the occassional Danger International game before, so I know how to ecke out a living with single digit defenses and stats below 20 or even 18. I was just thinking that it was much more cost effective to have my stats high now with few skills, so that I don't have to spend lots of points later to get the rolls up. Basically, now if I want to add a Dex-based skill, I only need three points to get it at a 13 or less. Adding a knowledge skill will only take 2 points for the same because of my high INT.

And having multiple 18s is not necessarily unrealistic. There are multi-talented people in this world. If our characters are supposed to be earth-shaking adventurers, then we would be amongst such people right? We're supposed to be the Aragorns, Gimlis, and Legolas', not (necessarily) the Frodos and Pippins. It really depends on what kind of fantasy game you're supposed to play. If the game is about humble little characters who fight a few monsters and accumulate some gold and magic items, then really high stats would be inappropriate. On the other hand, if you want to play more of an LOTR game where the PCs are legends in the making, people who will later be sung about by bards, then high stats are quite appropriate.

Re: New to Fantasy Hero

Many GMs would be surprised at your huge stats but hey' date=' points is points. You should NOT neglect your skills too much.[/quote']

Well, I just got the necessary riding and weapon familiarities and the other essentials like Stealth. My thinking is that I would add them in with EXP.

...but have been playing Champions for 20 years. I know the system backwards and forwards. However, I've never played in a fantasy campaign before. Any suggestions? Wait, before you answer that let me tell you what I did for my character...

My strategy was to think of him as an RQ character. That is to say, few skills to start, but loads of potential. I got him high stats (20 STR, 18 Dex, CON, PRE, and INT) as well as Linguist and Scholar. The idea is that he is a diamond in the rough. He's not highly educated, but he has enormous physical and mental talents. I didn't purchase any wealth or resistant defenses (i.e., Combat Luck) as I figured I'd pick up all the armor and what-not during the game.

Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ...

If any of you are going to run or play in a Victorian era game you NEED to read "What Jane Austen ate and Charles Dickens Knew." An excellent book for getting a grasp on British culture and life at all levels during the period.

Re: Background Cliches

"All powers come from a guy named Dave."

Yeah, the "all powers come from ___" background is another one (getting ready for the thread to get derailed into the unified origins vs diverse origins argument). All powers come from a mutative, recessive gene or from some super-substance (years before Smallville someone I know wrote a campaign in which all powers come from Kryptonite mutations).

Re: A Twist on the 'Patriot' Archetype: The Embodiment of Weapons

Don't forget spears. Formations of pikemen were very important.

Spears should replace swords I think. Spearmen were, IIRC, more important in terms of actual conquest than swords.

You might want to think about engineering (somehow). Let's face it, the Romans conquered with superior engineering, not Gladius'.

And how about Cavalry? Just don't call him "Lord of Mounts."

Re: Team: The Vaudevillains!

Burlesque Girl!

Re: Background Cliches

Okay, we're getting a little too much into character cliches and not background cliches. We're also going off into the deep end about Captain America/Nomad. Make your down dang thread, boys!

Re: Background Cliches

Captain America is an anti-hero who defected? Did I miss an issue?

 

(Edit -- not to mention, in the 5th edition CU, all but one of the PRIMUS Silver Avengers...)

We're talking about gaming background cliches. And sorry, but I never read any of the CU material.