Kenn

Re: Who homages the Watchmen or those the Watchmen homaged?

Pete Cannon is the character for Ozymandias only DC didn't own him. Pete Morisi did.

CES

DC did have the rights to Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt, in the 1980s when Watchmen was done. If Moore had been given the go ahead to use the Charlton heroes, Thunderbolt would have been in it.

The rights reverted to Morisi in the early-to-mid 1990s, after DC's "Thunderbolt" series ended.

I have an NPC, Ms. Scarlet, who was inspired by Ted Kord. http://www.rcuhero.net/hsheets/msscarlet.htm

Re: "As Long as I Have Will to Fight..."

I prefer to use my will as a weapon of love, not a weapon of war.

Re: Dumbest Moment Ever in your games

Ah... so many to choose from...

One time a gadgeteer hero rigged up a universal translator device, first question "Do you speak English?"

The mage with the arrows reminded me of a character who was a vigilante martial artist type who carried a big powerful ray gun for use against parahumans who might not be hurt by a normal human doing karate. On one occaision, while storming a criminal's lair, he used the blaster on all the human rifle toting guards, but when the mercenary brick showed up it was time to go mano a mano. The vigilante got creamed.

But my favourite was in D&D...

The party goes back to the tavern, mourning a lost comrade. There they make a new friend (new character for the guy who played the lost comrade). NPC woman in bar asks for help being escorted home. New friend volunteers the group. We go. We're besieged by Whytes (or however you spell that). We fight them off. We get her home. New friend makes a point of saying he kisses the NPC woman "long and lingeringly". DM to player: "And you roll up a new character; you just tongued a succubus."

Succubus starts to fly off into the sky. One of our mages (played by the GF of the player whose character was just killed) launches a Fireball spell. Out of doors. In a city. Roasts the party and the whole neighbourhood.

Re: "Hull? I can't be in Hull!"

Just be sure to cash out by September 1929!!!

And when such a wealthy and successful investor suddenly starts selling off his stocks, it starts a panic and he inadvertently CAUSES the crash he was trying to avoid.

Re: Characteristics as Powers that Always Cost END

Hyperman put down what I was thinking.

Re: A Super Lucky Gambling Super Hero!

Clairsentience, with the precognition modifier, with appropriate limitations, would cover just about any game of chance.

Re: Missile Deflect A Big Thrown Object

Bad GM call.

Re: Lightning powers...with a BOOM!

When I helped Bob rebuild Thunderbolt for 5e we went with Change Environment to get the "thunder effect." It isn't completely blinding or deafening, but interferes just the same.

http://www.rcuhero.net/hsheets/thunderbolt.htm

Re: The Classic Justice League starting members on 350 points

Great website!

Re: Angel, the worst original character concept ever?

Frankly, I think the 5 SPD seems a little high. As does the extra NCM multiplier of his flight.

Re: Angel, the worst original character concept ever?

GM: Okay. Who do you want to play.

Girl: A detective. A pretty girl detective. But her boyfriend is a gorilla.

GM: A big bruiser of a guy?

Girl: No. Well, yeah, but no. I mean a real gorilla. The primate in Africa.

GM: Uhm.

Girl: But he can talk, and he lives in the city and draws comic books.

Re: Underpowered tropes?

"Hit it until it stop moving either at range or up close" pretty much works for most archetypes in my experience.

...

YMMV

My group found they needed to add "...while not getting creamed at the same time."

Like the player whose martial artist ALWAYS went with the offensive strike. S/he'd kick and kick and kick and wear her opponent down, but sooner or later the opponent would receive a lucky die roll and connect. And the PC martial artist would stop moving. S/he never delivered the coup de gras, but she always helped take them down.

Re: Underpowered tropes?

Also from players that expect to play mentalists like energy blasters and have the same immediate impact. Mentalists take some tactics and patience to run well.

In my experience, every archetype except the Brick, takes tactics and patience to run well. Which is the main reason why, IMO, Bricks are often considered to be overpowered.

The brick can just stand there and slug away. He's built to take damage, so he doesn't worry about getting hit. Of course, if she's clever, she can be even more effective, but the brick is the one archetype that can be effective without having to think much about it.

Now, an Energy Projector or a Martial Artist, if their defenses are high enough, they can become quasi-bricks. But Martial Artists are primarily "glass cannon" types whose main defense is not getting hit. And avoiding getting hit, short of just buying scads of DCV levels, is something that takes being clever. This is also generally true of Energy Projectors who are certainly more effective if they can fight from further away, so they need to know how to use range, again to avoid getting hit.

Mentalists, Speedsters, and Metamorphs have already been discussed.

Any trope that requires more brains than the player is willing to actually use is going to seem underpowered.

Re: Underpowered tropes?

re: underpowered speedsters

 

I think a great deal of this stems from having to buy more SPD than any other character in a game where the average SPD is too high.

 

I built Flash as part of the Classic JLA and if you compare him to published Champions Universe speedsters he seems underpowered. But in the context of the rest of the JLA he IS "The Fastest Man Alive".

I agree. I think the typical SPD of most CU characters is too high. And yes, it does force characters who logically should have high SPD rankings to spend too much to generate the needed effect.

I'd rep you but I need to spread it around first.

Re: Changing Into The Powersuit

How about, build the character with Multiform?

Form 1: Character in power armour suit.

Form 2: Normal human form with a computer built into either an automaton or a vehicle; representing that suit IS capable of self locomotion, but without dealing with all of the hassles of making the suit ALWAYS be a vehicle.

Re: Utter humiliation power

P!ss-Off: Mind Control, telepathic, vs CON, single command: Urinate, now!

As this causes a person to do something they wouldn't want to do, that should be Mind Control, and since it's actually affecting the body, not the mind, it would be against Constitution.

It's "telepathic" since there's probably no actual spoken command.

The actual psychological, physiological, and societal effects of urinating oneself, I blieve would be better represented by role-playing.

Re: Changing Into The Powersuit

Well, why not store it in an attache case, despite that not making any sense.

It didn't make sense for Tony either.

Re: Nuclear Explosion Man

That was one of the Hero System Almanacs; I believe the second one. Ask Steve Long, he wrote it.

For a comic book styled nuclear blast, I think the 20d6 RKA you described should be sufficient. If you want to make it more deadly, add Penetrating.

Re: The brown note

I'd still rather model the body losing control and let all of the ancillary effects of the target(s) messing themselves come from the role playing.

Re: Super-Frankenstein!

Power Girl's -uhm- thorax.

Re: The brown note

Oh Sh!t!: Mind Control, telepathic vs CON, single command: move your bowels, now!

I'd likely add area effect, since it's sound. But this Brown Note causes a person to do something they wouldn't want to do, that should be Mind Control, and since it's actually affecting the body, not the mind, it would be against Constitution (a more fit person should be able to better withstand it.)

It's "telepathic" since there's no actual spoken command.

I'd also probably make it NND vs Flash Defense (hearing).

Re: House Rule: Only half of your defense stops body damage.

What is RAW?

Re: Tactics: Fighting with two VPPs

Well, I've never encountered a two variable power pool character before. Sorry.

Re: House Rule: Only half of your defense stops body damage.

I think Nexus mentioned this, but the way I've done this is Every 20 Stun past defenses equals 1 Body done...

 

This way Bricks tend to get bruises and broken noses and such in straight up fights... and could be "beaten to death" when pounded upon on the ground. Very simple... and it adds just enough "grit" without making things really lethal in any way, unless you want a campaign where downed oponents are beaten to death... ... then you can do it.

This idea intrigues me. But I want to make sure I'm following it correctly.

A character with 30 PD is hit with a 10d6 attack that does 35 STUN total, so 5 after defenses. This happens three more times. The 30 PD has taken 5 and 5 and 5 and 5, so, with this rule, at this point he takes 1 BODY?

Re: What book was the character "Brick" from?

androgyne or metrosexual ?

With that complexion... androgyne.