Christopher R Taylor

A lot of it had to do with figured characteristics too. Starburst has 25 Con, Crusader 28 DEX. That was done because those stats gave you lots of bonuses more than character design or logic.

I'm getting in touch with the original first GM and co-creator of Champions George MacDonald for campaign notes and info on the characters :) So hopefully I'll be able to hook you up with good authorized editions and information soon.

I think you're right, actually. I seem to recall at least one little comic in the Champions books depicting him in that capacity. Or was it he that ate the microphone from Gyro Jim?

Yeah, she punched ol' Marie clear to the moon. I've heard good things about the reboted Ms Marvel, supposedly.

Binary is one of those characters that probably shouldn't even be given a character sheet. Talk about vast cosmic power.

Yeah I gave it the 12- activation roll because that was Crusader's Find Weakness roll in the Big Blue Book. I think they pulled Find Weakness because it was infinite, you could in theory reduce everyone's defenses to 1 (or 0, depending on how your GM treats fractions).

The guy that played Rose still does, at least. I have her built based on some notes he shared but I'm hoping he'll do a rebuild so it will be official. That leaves Icestar whose personality and background I know nothing about (save that he's not the womanizing frat boy he was portrayed as in the comics).

Yeah, its protective. But they have no defensive powers, and the armor can't be very impressive. I'm sure, in any case, you know what I mean by characters with lots of power but no defenses like oh, just to pick one out of a hat, Wanda/The Scarlet Witch. Right?

And now a truly horrifying monster, the Kurse. These are two foot long locust with evil intent. They don't cost very many points and don't seem like much of a threat to a PC but normal locusts can utterly obliterate a nation's economy even in modern day. So many will arrive they blot out the sun and are nearly impossible to keep out of houses, cars, etc. It takes them a matter of hours to strip trees, crops, almost anything. Now imagine them being bigger than a cat, swarming by the tens of thousands. Kurse Val Char Cost 8 STR -2 14 DEX 8 7 CON -3 5 BOD -5 3 INT -7 3 EGO -7 10 PRE 0 3 PD 1 rPD: 1 2 ED 0 rED: 1 3 SPD 10 3 REC -1 20 END 0 14 STN -3 8m RUN -4 2m SWIM -1 7m LEAP 2 Characteristics Cost: 2 Cost Power 15 Bite: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1/2d6 (1d6 w/STR), Penetrating (+1/2) (15 Active Points) 12 Grip: Clinging (14 STR) 5 Wings: Flight 8m (8 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2) 2 Chitin: (Total: 2 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) Resistant (+1/2) (1 Active Points) applied to PD (Real Cost: 1) plus Resistant (+1/2) (1 Active Points) applied to ED (Real Cost: 1) 2 Bug Eyes: Increased Arc Of Perception (240 Degrees) with Normal Sight 3 Devour Crops: Major Transform 0 1/2d6 (Green and prosperous crops, dead creatures, and trees to dead, stripped, and chewed), Partial Transform (+1/2), Area Of Effect (10m Radius; +3/4) (11 Active Points); Extra Time (5 Minutes, -2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), Limited Target (Plants, wood, and dead animals only; -1/4) 7 Chew: Tunneling 2m through 6 PD material (14 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2) Powers Cost: 46 Total Character Cost: 48 Pts. Complication 10 Physical Complication: Small (Infrequently; Slightly Impairing) 20 Physical Complication: Instictive Intelligence (Frequently; Greatly Impairing) Complication Points: 30 Ecology: There is never an encounter with just one Kurse, they always move in swarms of hundreds. These creatures descend on a plot of land and strip it totally bare to the ground in a matter of minutes, then move on. Anything at all caught in the area will be attacked, plant or animal. Personality/Motivation: Kurse think of little beyond simple hunger and desire to destroy. Individually they are calmer, but in a swarm they work up to a frenzy of wanton rampage. Powers/Tactics: Kurse attack by clinging to something and biting. Like any Locust, they can chew through things very rapidly, but their size makes the Kurse far worse. Able to chew their way through any wood and even soft stone, these creatures will level a farm and devour entire trees at a time. Enough of them can make very short work of even cattle, bones and all. Individually, the Kurse are not especially tough; a single sword stroke usually will take one out. But in a swarm, the Kurse can be very deadly. Campaign Use: Kurse are super locust, with all the threat and danger of the Locust multiplied by hundreds due to size and strength. Because they are encountered only in very large numbers, these can be quite a challenge for even powerful characters and a horrendous blight on a large area of agriculture. Kurse chitin is too small and weak to be used for armor, but their “tobacco” spit is a minor alchemical base. Appearance: Kurse are giant locust, up to two feet in length and around 20 pounds in weight. These gray-green horrors have black markings on their wings that somewhat resemble a skull when Unfolded and viewed from above.

I'm not sure what his regular day job was, so I left it blank. Professional Skill (whatever he did for a living)

True, with first edition you have to limit yourself to area effect, fine control, and invisible power effects for fancy TK stuff. But you can use the blast, flight, and force field as well.

That is the problem with most comic book characters, they're either really tough... or have no special defenses at all. Cyclops is the perfect example. He's a guy with an energy blast, he can't take a hit. Storm is the same way, lots of offense and utility, no defense. Only the kindness of writers keeps them above ground, really.

And Starburst. A little quicker and easier build, although his vulnerabilities make him basically toast in any street fight. Certainly not a build I'd do. Nothing tricky about his abilities, except his Force Field. Because of the active cost I had to slash his FF down from 25/25 to 15/17 to fit it in the Multipower, then put a non-multipower forcefield outside it that's linked to the one inside. Yes, its cheezy and I'd never allow it with my campaign, but it gave him the full defenses he's supposed to have, and it also gives him the advantage of having some decent defenses without the FF on full power in his multipower. Plus, I had to muddle about with his Reputations. In the 4th edition build he had an 11- reputation "superhero" which is neither negative or really significant. So I played on his publicity seeking by giving him a positive rep so people would point and cry out his name (as a result of his efforts to be known) and media would scoff at him for being such a camera hound. Again, a bit gaudy in the stats, as was the norm back then. Starburst Val Char Cost 15 STR 5 Weight: 200kg Damage: 3d6 23 DEX 26 25 CON 15 10 BOD 0 10 INT 0 Perception Roll: 11- 11 EGO 1 15 PRE 5 Presence Attack: 3d6 10 PD 8 With Force Field: 35 PD; 25 rPD 15 ED 13 With Force Field: 40 ED; 25 rED 5 SPD 30 9 REC 5 60 END 8 31 STN 6 12m RUN 0 4m SWIM 0 6m LEAP 1 Characteristics Cost: 166 Cost Power 5 Star Sight: Infrared Perception (Sight Group) 6 Star Vision: +4 versus Range Modifier for Sight Group 50 Starburst Powers: Multipower, 50-point reserve 10v 1) Star Blast: Blast 10d6 (50 Active Points) 6v 2) Star Field: Resistant Protection (15 PD/17 ED) (48 Active Points); Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) 10v 3) Star Soaring: Flight 40m, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (50 Active Points) 13 Star Burst: Sight Group Flash 4d6 (20 Active Points); Linked (Star Blast; -1/2) 13 Force Field: Resistant Protection (10 PD/8 ED) (27 Active Points); Linked (Star Field; -1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) Powers Cost: 113 Cost Skill 2 +1 OCV with Energy Blast 3 Computer Programming 11- 3 Scientist 1 1) Science Skill: Computer Science 11- (2 Active Points) 1 2) Science Skill: Mathematics 11- (2 Active Points) 1 3) Science Skill: Nuclear Physics 11- (2 Active Points) 1 4) Science Skill: Physics 11- (2 Active Points) Skills Cost: 12 Cost Perk 2 Positive Reputation: Famous Superhero (A large group) 11-, +1/+1d6 Perks Cost: 2 Total Character Cost: 293 Pts. Complication 10 Hunted: Pulsar Infrequently (As Pow; Harshly Punish) 5 Negative Reputation: Publicity Hound, Frequently (Known Only To A Small Group - reporters and media) 15 Psychological Complication: Publicity Seeker, lives on media attention (Common; Strong) 10 Psychological Complication: Underconfident, insecury (Common; Moderate) 15 Psychological Complication: Scientific Curiosity (Common; Strong) 5 Rivalry: Professional (Co-Worker; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry) 15 Social Complication: Secret Identity Frequently, Major 25 Susceptibility: Darkness Fields 3d6 damage per Phase (Uncommon) 20 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN HKAs (Common) 20 Vulnerability: 2 x BODY HKAs (Common) 10 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Darkness Attacks (Uncommon) Complication Points: 150 and of course the HD file again Starburst.hdc

I'll get them built here in a bit just out of nostalgia. OK first, Crusader. He's a bit of a nut job, almost crazed. I toned down his "berserk" into an enraged, so he's not so unstable but he's still a bit unhinged. His stats are really gaudy because that was kind of common back in 4th edition, but I kept him as exact as I could. Plus, since Find Weakness and Missile Deflection went bye-bye, I had to build equivalents of both effects for 6th edition Crusader Val Char Cost 20 STR 10 Lift: 800kg Damage: 4d6 28 DEX 36 20 CON 10 12 BOD 2 18 INT 8 Perception Roll: 13- 11 EGO 1 18 PRE 8 Presence Attack: 3 1/2d6 15 PD 13 With Shield Deflect: 20 PD; 5 rPD 11 ED 9 With Shield Deflect: 16 ED; 5 rED 6 SPD 40 12 REC 8 40 END 4 33 STN 7 14m RUN 2 4m SWIM 0 8m LEAP 2 Characteristics Cost: 226 Cost Power 4 Shield: Resistant Protection (5 PD/5 ED) (15 Active Points); OAF (Shield; -1), Requires A Roll (Block roll; Must be made each Phase/use; -1), Only vs attacks Crusader is aware of (-1/2) 7 Glider Cape: Flight 18m (18 Active Points); Gliding (-1), OIF (Costume; -1/2) 4 Find Weakness: Armor Piercing on Punch Martial Art (7 Active Points); Requires A Roll (12- roll; Must be made each Phase/use; -3/4) Powers Cost: 15 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 4 Chop: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, HKA 2d6 4 Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 30 STR to Disarm 5 Kick: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 8d6 Strike 4 Punch: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 6d6 Strike Martial Arts Cost: 17 Cost Skill 3 Acrobatics 15- 3 Breakfall 15- 24 +3 with HTH Combat 6 +3 with block maneuvers using shield 3 Criminology 13- 3 Deduction 13- 2 KS: Organized Crime 11- 3 CK: Home City 12- 3 Shadowing 13- 3 Stealth 15- 3 Streetwise 13- Skills Cost: 56 Cost Talent 3 +1/+1d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters) Talents Cost: 3 Total Character Cost: 317 Pts. Complication 20 Dependent NPC: Sally Robinson - girlfriend Frequently (Incompetent; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID) 20 Enraged: If people killed (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 11- 15 Hunted: CIA Infrequently (Mo Pow; NCI; Mildly Punish) 20 Hunted: Viper Infrequently (Mo Pow; NCI; Harshly Punish) 10 Negative Reputation: Vigilante, Frequently 20 Psychological Complication: Code vs Killing (Common; Total) 15 Psychological Complication: Distrust of Authorities (Common; Strong) 15 Psychological Complication: Hatred of Killing Attacks (Common; Strong) 10 Psychological Complication: Hatred of Criminals (Uncommon; Strong) 15 Social Complication: Secret Identity Frequently, Major Complication Points: 160 And of course the HD file Crusader.hdc

A few GMing tips from my experiences: Mooks and minor agents, thugs, and assorted criminals should be at most speed 3 and dex 14. They aren't meant to be a significant threat, just something to slow the PCs and give them a feeling of accomplishment. Mowing through a crowd of nobodies makes you feel heroic and powerful. Instead of assigning them all their stats, just give them an attack, their dex and speed, a base CV for both OCV and DCV (to make it easier to remember and use, keep it the same, and lower than 6 at absolute most), and just assign them "hits." Figure any successful attack on a mook ticks off one of these "hits" and when all their hits are gone, they drop and don't get back up. 2-3 is good for faceless minions. Sergeants and special units can have 4-5. Against lieutenant level guys who organize and command the minions, build them as NPCs and give them good stats; they should be the equal or nearly so of any one given PC. Their fights should matter and use up some of the party's resources (charges, endurance, etc). "boss" fights or main supervillains should be built and be significantly more powerful than the PCs. I used to use a rule of thumb for my supervillain builds of starting at the average party member's point total, plus 50 for each additional member of the party. So if you have an average point value of 300 points and 6 members of the Super Troopers, then give your big villain 300 + 50x6 or 600 total points. That should give you enough points to make the whole party have to work to beat him, but not be overwhelming. I don't know 100% if that rule of thumb still works well, given the point inflation Champions has undergone over the years. A big boss needs enough speed to act so he's not just overwhelmed by all the PCs. For each one move he gets, every PC will move once, if he's got the same speed as them. That means he gets one action to every six of the Super Troopers in that scheme. That's bad for Mr Big. So he needs to be faster than the average PC, and it helps if he has lieutenants with him to tie up the party. Make sure your big boss is not vulnerable to any special attack from the party. If he has a DMCV (mental combat value) of 2 and no Mental Defense, then Brain Boy of the Super Troopers is going to use him for a boot licker. That's not to say he should be invulnerable to their attacks; Mr Big can have a vulnerability or weakness to some obscure use or rarely tried power. Brain Boy has a flame attack he uses only against robots, maybe Mr Big has lower Energy Defense against fire? I prefer lower DCV for my villains, because few things are more disappointing than missing in a game. It means you failed, you did your last thing that phase, and all you can do is sit and mope until you get to move again, which might be a while. By keeping DCV relatively low and defenses higher, you can give the party a challenge without making them feel like they're wasting time and continually swapping dice out for luckier ones.

I've never had that happen but in several games we've had a roving NPC called "Bacis Tira" who was the guy visitors, guests, and one-shot players would sit in with. He's been in a wide variety of different non-superheroic games and became sort of our term for an NPC that everyone can play.

I hope you have a great time and everyone enjoys the game Starbeet!

I'm not arguing from stats, I'm arguing from history. Captain America has faced thousands of armed men and barely ever been hurt. Hence, armed men are not much of a threat to him. And in real world law, that's taken into account for self defense cases. Someone small and weak is considered justified in the use of self defense whereas a big trained Navy Seal would not be in the same circumstances.

I agree that letting characters shift complications as time goes on is a good move. Maybe his DNPC breaks up with him, maybe his Aunt May dies. Maybe he gets over that psychological complication. But he's got a new hunted, and now he has a reputation. Keeping the same points but changing complications over time is a way to keep things interesting and fresh.

OK this one is a major guesstimate, based on the suggestion of using Gremlin as a template for Gargoyle. I based the build on Gremlin, on the character's appearance, and on his role as flying team brick. We know he has a normal human form, we know he has spikes and claws and wings. I presumed that the serum gave him a small level of power outside his hero form. With 400 points he's very hard to hurt. Forgive me if I did you injustice, Mark Williams, wherever you are. Gargoyle Player: Mark Williams Gargoyle Val Char Cost Form 15 STR 5 35 Lift: 200kg/3200 kg Damage: 3d6/7d6 (10d6 w/HTA) 13 DEX 6 18 18 CON 8 28 11 BOD 1 16 13 INT 3 13 Perception Roll 12- 10 EGO 0 10 10 PRE 0 25 Presence Attack: 2d6/5d6 8 PD 6 28/38 (hardened rPD) 8 ED 6 28/38 (hardened rED) 3 SPD 10 4 6 REC 2 14 25 END 1 45 20 STN 0 45 14m RUN 2 4m SWIM 0 14m LEAP 1 Characteristics Cost: 87 Cost Power 3 Serum Enhanced Senses: +1 PER with all Sense Groups 5 Serum Enhanced Senses: Nightvision 9 Serum Willpower: Mental Defense (10 points total), Hardened (+1/4), Resistant (+1/2) (9 Active Points) 6 Magical Serum: Power Defense (5 points), Hardened (+1/4) (6 Active Points) 10 Magic Serum: Damage Negation (-1 DCs Physical, -1 DCs Energy) 6 Magic Serum: Resistant Protection (2 PD/2 ED) --Gargoyle Form, all slots Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4)-- 18 Hardy: Life Support (Extended Breathing: 1 END per 5 Minutes; Immunity All terrestrial poisons; Immunity: All terrestrial diseases; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum) (22 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 14 Wings: Flight 20m, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (25 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2), Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 16 Rock Hard Skin: Damage Negation (-2 DCs Physical, -2 DCs Energy -- total 3DC each) (20 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 24 Tough Skin: <i>Tough Skin:</i> Resistant Protection (8 PD/8 ED -- total 10 each), Hardened (+1/4) (37 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 5 Tough: Power Defense (5 points -- total 10), Hardened (+1/4) (6 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 7 Strong Will: <i>Strong Will:</i> Mental Defense (5 points -- total 10) (9 active points); Resistant (+1/2), Hardened (+1/4) 10 Strong Eyes: Sight Group Flash Defense (10 points), Hardened (+1/4) (12 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 12 Claws: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (3d6+1 w/STR) (15 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 10 Stony Fists: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6 (15 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4), Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 20 Gargoyle Form: +20 STR, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (29 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) (Modifiers affect Base Characteristic) 8 Gargoyle Form: +10 CON (10 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 8 Gargoyle Form: +5 DEX (10 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 12 Gargoyle Form: +15 PRE (15 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 8 Gargoyle Form: +1 SPD (10 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 16 Gargoyle Form: +20 PD (20 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 16 Gargoyle Form: +20 ED (20 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 6 Gargoyle Form: +8 REC (8 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 3 Gargoyle Form: +20 END (4 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 4 Gargoyle Form: +5 BODY (5 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 10 Gargoyle Form: +25 STUN (13 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 3 Gargoyle Legs: Leaping +8m (14m forward, 7m upward) (4 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) 6 Serum Healing: Regeneration (1 BODY per Hour) (8 Active Points); Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) Powers Cost: 274 Cost Skill 3 Conversation 14- 2 AK: New York City 11- 3 Deduction 12- 3 High Society 14- 1 Language: Aztec (basic conversation - Aztec was the team's secret code language) 3 Paramedics 12- 3 Persuasion 14- 2 PS 11- 3 Stealth 13- 16 +2 with HTH Combat Skills Cost: 39 Total Character Cost: 400 Pts. Disadvantage 15 Hunted: WITCH Infrequently (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish) 20 Hunted: Viper Infrequently (Mo Pow; NCI; Harshly Punish) 15 Psychological Complication: Code vs Killing (Common; Strong) 15 Social Complication: Secret Identity Frequently, Major 15 Susceptibility: Temperatures under freezing 1d6 drain to stun and dex per Turn (Uncommon) 10 Vulnerability: Cold damage (Common) Disadvantage Points: 90

Well the reason its not a threat for Cap is that he's wearing armor and has faced 19825120312056105182693124 people with machine guns in the past and barely taken a glancing shot. Technically yes, he's human but history has shown a dude with a gun is no match. Still he might be okay in court if he shows up dressed normally and his lawyer points out that he's not really bullet proof.

Yeah there is a tremendous amount of power and flexibility available with telekinesis. forcefield, obviously, absorb PD that goes to endurance (absorbing kinetic energy) flight, with position shift, because TK doesn't necessarily mean it has action/reaction on you depending on your special effect and definition Sinaju's sense suggestions are good too: everything is in motion due to vibrations etc, if you sense motion, you can sense your surroundings. Several flavors of TK in a multipower, such as -strongest raw telekinetic power you can afford -delicate fine control TK with low power but precision, including levels to hit -invisible, inaudible telekinesis -area effect TK (any area or selective radius is good for this) -telekinesis that works on porous so you can lift water (with AE 1m radius perhaps) -telekinetic slam (blast vs PD) -telekinetic shove (big double Kb blast vs PD) -telekinetic blade (KA) -telekinetic choke, for those whose lack of faith disturbs you (NND vs breathing) -barrier with continuous END Cost, so you can set up a telekinetic wall -suppress running (absorb kinetic energy out of the target so they slow) There are a myriad of possibilities for the telekinetic. Just a few points of strength with fine control can be astoundingly powerful

Actually self defense law takes into account your personal abilities and relative threat. So, machine gun vs Captain America; not so much of a threat. Machine Gun vs Aunt May: life threatening. Following those kind of rules and ideas in a character's behavior definitely can help form their responses in terms of being "fair" and "heroic." I mean, if superman backhands the head off a guy because he pulled a pistol on Supes... that's not heroic, its just evil. There was no threat at all. But if some guy pulls a gun on a cop, then he's in real danger of his life and is justified using lethal force to defend himself.

Reading the rules on Automaton powers, I can find no indication that these powers make a creature mindless and immune to mental attacks. There is a mention that "Takes No Stun" is useful for building a mindless creature - zombie, skeleton, robot - but not that it actually makes the target have no will or mind to be attacked. Now, is this because its assumed or did I miss something? Because it seems to me that there's nothing about feeling no pain that necessarily requires being mindless. Several examples in fiction spring to mind (such as the villain in the Bond movie The World is Not Enough). Being able to buy this without losing intellect would make constructs of this sort (or ones like an intelligent earth elemental made of rock that feels no pain or the Terminator) using Takes no Stun. But if that's true, then it would seem that a different power would be useful to represent "mindless" since it would be an advantage to some degree at least.

Often, I've had players who can't come up with a full set of complications take "mystery" and just filled them in as the campaign went along and their character concept gelled. No campaign can go far without creating new hunteds and problems for the characters.