Christopher R Taylor

Today's offering is a bit less awful; not every monster is an enemy and in this case if treated well could be an asset to the adventurers

It does bring up some concerns about the cost of block in martial arts, though, since its harder to pull off.

And if you have a high OCV, chances are you're going to hit a high DCV and hence be tougher to block.

I'm not finished rebuilding the G series, I got 2 done but stalled on the third because life got in the way.  Hopefully I can do that one at least and finish out the trilogy.  Because my world doesn't have a heinz 57 progression of giants, I started with Ogres and I tried to add a bit more story and context to the modules.  As tournament games they were pretty spare and isolated.

They all seem to have a psych comp about thugs coming to beat you up when hired by someone.  They just run for the hills in terror - or were paid off.

Here's a sample spell to give an idea what you can find in The Fantasy Codex:

Justice League is the same way, they can't really be messed with on any level except extreme raw power.  And good luck with that.  For all the power of the Avengers, they always have had to worry about paying the bills and angering the government.

Interesting to me that the extremes of super gritty and dark/humorous are doing the worst.  I'm not fond of either extreme really and it seems like most others here feel the same way.

I had a terrific origin of a Viper's Nest and cool setup for it in an old Champions campaign, but unfortunately it fell apart before I was able to run the entire storyline.  It could make a fun longer city adventure string people could drop into their campaign.  I prefer longer adventure chains like that to be modular, so you can spread them out between other stories and adventures or run them in a row if you want.  

Definitely politics and the media were going to be involved, although I'd already used that when the Chicago Watch went after the local mob (which was actually being run by vampires).  Protesters showed up outside the Watchtower, their light and power was shut off for lack of payment, they lost their charter to work with the police for various complaints, and a lawyer showed up to sue them for insufficient membership of minorities and women.  The heroes feared all that more than they did supervillains.

Female gamers tend to like the idea of the "strong female" character, particularly in fantasy.  They don't want the girl to be a princess cowering from the dragon as the knight saves her.  They want her to be right in there doing the saving, so this image should appeal to them at that level.

I don't really care if a character single wields a 2 hander, provided he's mighty enough.  I just want it to be a significantly high level of strength required, so they get little to no damage bonus by doing so.

Yeah I used to use critical hits, where you could either choose the location you hit or do max damage, but we dropped it after a while.  It didn't really add much fun to the game and didn't feel quite right.

The main house rule I use is to change block maneuvers.

Instead of blocking against the target's OCV, you block against the DCV they rolled to hit.  So if they hit a very high DCV, they are much harder to block.  If they barely hit you, they're easier to block.

There's a modifier in the first Advanced Player's Guide that for 1/4 to pay endurance one step down the time chart instead (per minute/5 min, etc)

3 STR is too low for single-wielding a two-hander.  I'd say more like 5 or 10.

That's what I'm thinking; the cover is to get new buyers.  Hero core fans will pick up FH anyway, this should attract attention and get conversations going with other people.  I like it, its a fresh approach but still hits all the right notes.

When I set up my Colonial Marines game at the local game store to help generate business and interest, I had a sign up sheet.  The game was designed to be very dangerous, with all the lethality options dialed up to max and a dangerous setting.  If a character died, the player put their name at the bottom of the list, and the people were to cycle through as replacements.  Because the game was more about gear and play than experience building, it was intended that people have a fair turnover (the CM being low on the gear totem pole).  I only was able to run one session though, so I never got to see how that would play out.

Not happy with how that formatting turned out, I'm going to have to find a better Hero Designer template for this board. Here's the monster for today:

 

Black Spores are most often encountered as a glossy black egg shaped like a cube four inches on a side, floating in the air.  The cube’s surface slides with dark colors like oil on a black surface, and the slightest touch by a living creature causes it to shatter, revealing an immature Black Spore.   This spore drains life force from living creatures, growing larger as it does so.  When the Spore reaches its full size (having absorbed 24 body), it erupts in black flames, leaving a cube behind.  This cube is dormant for a full day, then will react as described above.

 

Personality/Motivation: Black Spores seem to be motivated entirely by malice, a desire to frighten, and lust to drain life energy from victims.

 

Powers/Tactics: A Black Spore attacks by touching victims with one it’s three tentacles and draining their life force.  This not only is painful, but drains life and weakens the victim greatly, affecting Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Ego, Presence, Body, and Recovery.  

 

This attack is one of the most feared attacks known to any folc, and those who are familiar with the Black Spore hate and fear them almost irrationally.  The drained life force can take days to recover, and not only heals the Black Spore but increases its life force.  Even if the victim is protected against soul-affecting spells, the tentacle’s touch is painfully damaging.

 

Black Spore are uniquely vulnerable to very bright lights, especially light-based magic.

 

Campaign Use: Black Spore are used sometimes to guard an area, and to the uninitiated can even look like treasure in their egg form.  A dormant egg can sell for 5x3d6 silver to the right collector, if one can be found.  The shards of the egg sell for 4d6 silver to alchemists as well.

 

Appearance: Black Spores look like they are made of glossy black stone with oil over the surface, swirling constantly.   They are about 1-2 feet in length, all tentacles and squidlike in shape. 

 

Its definitely unique, but it does the job of attracting attention and looking different than other covers, which is important.  You can tell which one is Fantasy Hero and its a fun image.

I suppose the way to handle that would be to reinforce the gate, beef up the guards with more ranged weapons and OCV, and add in a few specialty characters (no reason more adventurers couldn't have been attracted to the region) such as healers and mages.  After all the keep has resisted seige by the monsters for quite a while and has emerged basically unscarred.

They are pretty similar, I was thinking along these lines:

Campaign setting with adventures - a full campaign (city, origins of a group, base designed, vehicles, group contacts, local villains, storylines, and several sample adventures for that setting plus some story ideas.

Long series of related adventures - a series of adventures for any setting or group which are all related and in sequence like a story; a series following a mystery or a sequence of adventures for hunting down and destroying a Viper nest in the city, etc

I doubt the PCs could take the keep over in Fantasy Hero; AD&D lets a higher level character obliterate low level guys pretty easily but even a peasant can drop a PC in fantasy hero

The poll is looking promising for my idea of publishing my Golden Age Champions campaign setting so far

What kind of Champions adventures do you like to see, and would be interested in buying?

I'm going to start posting a few monsters from my upcoming Bestiary book here, it says "monster of the day" but that's just a play on the soup of the day, not a promise of daily updates.

The first is the Arachne, a nasty creature that lurks in urban areas.

Arache

 

Val   Char Cost

 18    STR    8

 17    DEX   14

 18    CON    8

 10    BODY  0

 14    INT      4

 18    EGO    8

 15    PRE    5

 16    PD      9       vs Non-Magical Attacks: 51PD; 18rPD

 21    ED     13      vs Non-Magical Attacks: 31ED; 16rED

 4      SPD  20

 8      REC   4

 35    END   3

 20    STN   0

 

20m RUN    0

4m   SWIM  0

24m LEAP  5

Characteristics Cost: 149

 

Cost Power

  8     Magical: +12 PD (12 Active Points); Limited Power Only vs non-magical attacks (-1/2)

  7     Magical: +10 ED (10 Active Points); Limited Power Only vs non-magical attacks (-1/2)

 24    Magical: Resistant Protection (14 PD/10 ED) (36 Active Points); Limited Power Only vs non-magical attacks (-1/2)

 15    Tough: Resistant Protection (4 PD/6 ED)

 10    Telepathy: Telepathy 4d6 (Insects class of minds) (20 Active Points); Limited Power Only with spiders (-1)

 22    Human Form: Shape Shift  (Sight, Smell/Taste and Touch Groups), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (22 Active Points)

  4     Spring: Leaping +11m (24m forward, 12m upward) (6 Active Points); Conditional Power Only when not shapeshifted (-1/2)

  7     Spider Legs: Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Conditional Power Only when not shapeshifted (-1/2)

  5     Running +8m (20m total) (8 Active Points); Conditional Power Only when not shapeshifted (-1/2)

  5     Bite: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1 point (1d6+1 w/STR)

 

 28    Venom: Multipower, 50-point reserve,  (50 Active Points); all slots 8 Charges (-1/2), Limited Power Only if bite or weapon does body damage (-1/4)

 2f     1)  Lethal Venom: Drain BODY 1d6, Damage Over Time, Target's defenses only apply once, Lock out (cannot be applied multiple times) (4 damage increments, damage occurs every six Segments, can be negated by any healing; +2 1/2) (35 Active Points); Limited Power Blocked by life support vs poison (-1/2), No Range (-1/2)

 2f    2)  Paralytic Venom: Entangle 2d6, 2 PD/2 ED, Alternate Combat Value (uses OMCV against DCV; +0), Takes No Damage From Attacks All Attacks, STR only to break out (+1) (40 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power vs Constitution, not Ego (-1/2)

Powers Cost: 139

 

Cost Skill

 11    Power 16-

  5     Language:  Morianic (idiomatic; literate)

  2     Language:  Arcanum (fluent conversation)

  3     Charm 12-

  3     Conversation 12-

  3     High Society 12-

  3     Interrogation 12-

  3     Lockpicking 12-

  3     PS 12-

  3     Persuasion 12-

  6     OCV +2 with presence-based skills and rolls

  2     WF:  Blades, Crossbows

Skills Cost: 47

 

Cost Perk

 34    Journeyman Illusion, Apprentice Mysticism, Apprentice Castle, Journeyman one other magic

  5     Contact Local power or authority (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has useful Skills or resources) 11-

  2     Favor (local authority or ruler)

Perks Cost: 41

 

Cost Talent

 10    Animal Friendship (20 Active Points); Limited Power Only with spiders (-1)

Talents Cost: 10

 

Total Character Cost: 386

 

Pts.  Complication

 15   Psychological Complication:  Manipulative, seductive, and cruel (Common; Strong)

 10   Distinctive Features:  Spider Legs (Easily Concealed; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

Complication Points: 25

 

Ecology: Arachne are horrible creatures that dwell among humans and hunt them.  They are rarely found anywhere but in civilization, preferably in larger towns and cities so they can blend in easier.  The origin of Arachne is unknown, but most speculate dark, horrible magics long ago, or demonic influence.  The home of an Arachne will always have at least one room or hidden chamber where their true nature is undisguised.

 

Personality/Motivation: Arachne are hateful, spiteful, and cruel.  They love to cause pain and betrayal, and especially savor killing a handsome strong man.  The long process of toying with, seducing, and destroying men seems to be their fondest ambition; the more complex and complete the testruction, the better.

 

Powers/Tactics: Arachne are accomplished court butterflies, skilled in intrigue, deception, seduction, and lies.  They have some magical ability, always focussed on making their attempts more effective, but will sometimes learn some elemental magic for defense or combat or necromancy for greater power.

 

In addition to these skills, the Arachne can shape shift into a human form, concealing her spidery legs in shapely woman’s legs and hips.  While in this form, she loses some of her powers, such as the ability to climb walls and run as swiftly, but she retains her poisonous bite and great resistance to non magical attacks.  

 

An Arachne will tend to retain her human form unless she must escape or is comfortable and certain she is alone.  Arachne prefer to avoid combat, and will use their wiles and magic to disarm a situation, playing men off each other and using political contacts and allies to protect herself.

 

Campaign Use: Arachne are primarily useful as a foe for some powerful ruler, a man blinded by the seductive wiles of the Arachne and her beauty, while others might see something isn’t quite right.  An Arachne might target a PC in a more politically themed campaign.

 

Appearance: Arachne look like beautiful, exotic human women from the waist up, and until forced into or hunting in their real form, from the waist down as well.  However, the true form of an Arachne has four spider legs from the waist down, hideous furry, clawed spider legs.  Arachne also have somewhat larger canine teeth, but not extraordinarily so.

 

Teamwork and carefully planned ambushes can help a lot.  Instead of them showing up in a parking lot waiting to be beat to paste, have them use snipers and mines and crossfire.  Raise their OCV slightly so they don't miss as much and they can be pretty effective against even superheroes.  Especially effective is if they all target one person and take them down one at a time.

I don't mind so much being a captive, its the failure, loss and misery of being captured that's frustrating and depressing.  Like a lot of players, I suspect, I play RPGs to be someone better than me, who doesn't have the awful parts of life I have to deal with, and who triumphs.  Being defeated and captured violates that sense of enjoyment for me.  

As a GM I try to keep that in mind, and if I have a scenario that requires the PCs be caught, I will tend to have the scenario start that way, with the capture happening "off screen."

I always thought that a group of PCs should take over Quasqueton and turn it into their base of operations.  Its in the same area and closer to the caves of chaos.