zslane

Except that in BDH's fantasy world, the PCs have science skills such a Astronomy. That means science, and more specifically astronomy, has meaning in his game. If the definitions of those words are different from the RAW (or our conventional understanding of them) in his campaign, that fact hasn't been made clear to us.

I'm not so sure about Change Environment. In 6e, Change Environment is really the "CHA/Skill/CV Penalty" power. The mechanics of it are all aimed at creating areas which impose penalties on Characteristics or Skills (or CV) and using the idea of "altering the environment" merely as a unified conceit (and not a very good one in many cases). The point of BDH's solar eclipse isn't to impose penalties on actions, but to create darkness that allows his monsters to operate openly. The rules for Change Environment specifically redirect such effects to more appropriate powers, like Darkness. Which also means I retract my earlier suggestion of Mental Illusion.

I think it depends on what is actually causing the eclipse (or eclipse-like phenomenon). If the spell is physically moving the moon, then there will be other more catastrophic side effects, so you might want to avoid that. I think a mass hallucination may be your best bet. A megascale Mental Illusion. That way your spellcaster is in complete control of the "event" and how it appears and behaves, and it doesn't even have to be physically possible.

Is that a reference to the Netflix version? If so, I think only Luke Cage operates in Harlem. And he is anything but whiny or self-absorbed. Not sure about tooth-gritting (since I'm not sure what that means), but he is sort of angsty, at least in his early reluctance to shoulder the mantle of Hero of Harlem. In general, though, I agree that the Netflix "Defenders" doesn't remotely resemble the Defenders that I grew up with (which was the Dr. Strange, Hulk, etc. line-up, eclectic as it was).

Right, well, then matching up characters to nameless archetypes is rather pointless, isn't it?

So basically The Defenders aren't really a team (a non-team?), but rather a team template: 1. Magic Dude 2. Strong Dude 3. Cosmic Dude 4. Villain Dude 5. Token Female Fill in the archetypes with whomever is at hand, I guess?

Hemsworth was "a smart guy" because he knew better than to challenge the current zeitgeist by daring to suggest anyone could defeat our beloved new Wonder Woman. However, the correct answer is, "It depends on who is writing the issue/movie in which they fight."

Ah, okay, well I couldn't tell which of his questions were specific to Hero Designer and which were general Hero System rules questions. The former probably belong in the Hero Designer subforum, while the latter definitely belong here.

All Area of Effects increase their area according to the Area of Effect Table on pg. 319 of Hero System 6 Volume 1. Basically with each +1/4 that you add to the Advantage multiplier you double the area covered.

I agree with everything said about Chris Pine here. The bizarre thing, to me anyway, was how other actors and directors were just falling all over themselves praising him as the next great Hollywood icon (kind of like the next Paul Newman or something) when the first Abrams Star Trek was coming out. I just couldn't see what all the fuss was about. I am definitely a fan of his work as Steve Trevor, even though I'm not a fan of his work in general. On the other hand, I've liked pretty much everything I've seen Chris Hemsworth do. He was spot-on perfect as James Hunt in Rush, for instance.

Dude, truer words were never spoke.

Okay, yes, you're right. Girls and women can identify with Diana Prince because she was a girl and became a woman. Fair enough. However, Diana Prince did not embark on a frightening journey. At least it wasn't frightening for Diana. She was on a mission, a crusade if you will, and filled to the brim with laser-focused determination. I didn't see a single moment of fear, doubt, or uncertainty in her the entire time she was away from Themyscira. Moreover, she was perfectly capable of speaking whatever language(s) were required and had no difficulty acquiring the friends, allies, and resources needed to carry out her mission. She faced no real struggle as a result of being a foreigner. All the Fish Out of Water stuff was played strictly for comedy. I see no meaningful similarity between her quest and the canonical immigrant narrative. I totally agree with you about one thing, LL, I shouldn't be perpetuating this line of discussion in an MCU thread. Apologies to all.

This tells me that we aren't using "relate to" in the same way. You seem to be using it to mean "be inspired by, be impressed with, wish to be like," and I use it to mean, "find common life experiences (beyond the most abstract, general kind)." Consequently, the irony you detect has nothing to do with anything I've been saying.

Yep, exactly. The same way guys identify with Thor. Which is to say, in ways that have nothing to do with finding similarities in their respective abilities or life experiences. In fact, we don't really identify with them, rather we idolize the values and convictions (and resulting actions) of these characters, whether they are demi-god superheroes or not, and those values and convictions aren't race- or gender-specific. I get excited when I see a heroic character like Wonder Woman fight the good fight, and I get equally excited when I see the same exact values being championed, and the same good fight being fought by a character like Captain America. The gender of the character is immaterial since it is their core values that matter, not the color of their skin or the nature of their reproductive organs. Yet there seems to be this thing where a lot of folks don't find their hearts and minds opened to those values, and the inspirational power of those actions, unless they come packaged in a form that matches what they see in a mirror. And that's just sad.

No, but I can certainly put rational boundaries between what is plausible and what is hyperbole. Any woman who says, "I can totally relate to Diana Prince!" would have to do a lot of (really cogent) explaining to make sense of what she just said (to me anyway). I am convinced that in the giddy excitement over this movie and its financial success, a lot of hyperbole and misunderstood/misinterpreted exuberance is being proclaimed at 140 characters per tweet, and the actual take-away is getting lost in the noise.

What obstacles did Diana face during her 800 years on Themyscira? Diana Prince didn't grow up in a culture that made her feel inferior to another gender. She didn't spend the better part of her life facing chauvinism or persecution or marginalization. She had nothing to overcome except her mother's over-protectiveness. The so-called obstacles she faced when she reached "Man's World" were hardly a challenge, either emotionally or physically. It wasn't decades of reinforced notions of gender inequality that stayed her hand when she was about to do something impulsive or aggressive (basically anything traditionally allowed for males of that era), it was her desire to maintain Steve's approval and not make things difficult for him. If it weren't for that she'd have had no difficulty exerting her will upon any man (or situation) at any time. So no, I don't think very many women or girls in the real world can relate to that. And those who see Diana defiantly assert herself (with the full knowledge of her own physical indestructibility) and think to emulate that will be in a world of hurt if they do so in similar circumstances. I see lots of reasons to hero worship Wonder Woman, but I see few reasons to emulate her apart from her striving to do what's right even (especially?) when it's hard. She's a great vessel for transmitting powerfully positive ideas/principles, but she is not a relatable character.

Ha! Fair enough!

I think there is a wide gulf between not being absolutely perfect (e.g., Diana Prince) and being seriously flawed with lots of baggage (e.g., Sarah Connor). So wide that just because Diana isn't perfect doesn't mean she is "flawed", at least not in the sense that James Cameron was talking about. Diana Prince does not suffer from any kind of inner trauma the way Sarah Connor, Ellen Ripley, or Jessica Jones do. Diana has some growing and experiencing to do, but she is hardly flawed by any stretch of the imagination, not unless you want to expand the definition of flawed beyond a useful point of differentiation. Like I said, I get why Wonder Woman is inspirational, and even aspirational. But there's no way any woman could relate to her, as in be able to say to herself, "Yeah, she's just like me and has had so many of the same experiences I did!" any more than 99.99% of men could say the same thing about Thor. These characters are fun to watch, they get us excited when they fight for a righteous cause, but demi-god superheroes are not even remotely relatable. I think it is a very different thing for a movie to make a segment of viewers squee over a sentiment like, "They made this movie just for me," which Patty Jenkins' movie clearly has. That's a very meta observation that has nothing to do with Diana's character per se, or her impact on viewers. The WW movie is certainly a minor victory in the ongoing war to include everyone (girls in this case) in the power-fantasy wish-fulfillment experience of superhero films, but I'd like to see it have lasting positive impact (on Hollywood's movie slate) in that regard before I get too excited about it. That war is far from won, and I just feel that all the celebrating and glad-handing over it is a bit premature.

Why do people keep saying this as if I disagree with it? Holy moly.

Agreed. But by not being anything resembling a flawed, average woman, she doesn't represent the (female) viewership much. And clearly representation in film is a major issue for women and minorities right now. In fact, it seems to be the very promise Black Panther is expected to deliver on in a big way. Let's hope that a preternaturally athletic warrior king with access to the mystical energies of his ancestors, an ultra-tech suit of armor, and the full resources of the most technologically advanced nation on (MCU) Earth is something that will help (black) people feel more represented in film. I can't wait to hear what Spike Lee thinks of it... Depending on whose reviews (or tweets) you read, these movies are checking off all the right socially impactful boxes, but I'm not so sure they really are (or will). I think they hit some of them, but not others, and it feels politically incorrect to even dare to burst some of those bubbles.

Diana is notably less realistic than the James Cameron heroines, something we can chalk up to her being a near-perfect demi-goddess rather than a deeply flawed human. That makes her tremendously inspirational and difficult to relate to in equal measure.

I think in the case of Supergirl, they want to ride that line between serialized and episodic storytelling. It is hard to nail the big plotline when you don't fully commit to the serialized format.

I agree with all that you say there, LL. I guess I'm trying to understand the nature of women's (and girls') reaction beyond the expected, "Diana was awesome!" I mean, these reports make it sound as though women and girls are having their minds thrown wide open to the idea of empowerment for the first time or something. And if so, I just don't buy it. That idea has been growing in western society ever since it was first planted a hundred years ago by the suffragettes. On the other hand, if they are giddy with the hope that the success of this movie will change the way women are portrayed in all the Hollywood movies still to come, I think they are in for a rude awakening. That sort of cultural shift is glacial at best, especially when money is involved and men are still in control of most of it.

No it wasn't just you. It was unbelievably cute. I kinda squee'd inside when I saw that.

The transmission of simple information, the kind that can be squeezed into 140 characters, is not the same thing as deep, insightful discourse. James Gunn could just as easily have provided that information on a Marvel/GotG website. Twitter is not remarkable for being anything except easily accessible to people who are tethered to their mobile devices like astronauts are tethered to their life support systems.