PaladinAg

One magic item I created required the person to dress in one particular, very distinctive, and culturally inappropriate manner in order for the device to recharge. That caused a lot of fun for me and awkwardness for the party.
 
Fun and/or debilitating automatic side effects:
 
Lose enough STUN to be unconscious for a week
 
Concentrate to 0 DCV for everything you want to do. Also lose the ability to Dodge (which avoids confusion of how that would interact with concentrate).
 
Drain OCV/DCV
 
Sex change transformation
 
More or less permanent aging transformation
 
Long term Running drain
 
Distinctive appearance transformation - just how long does that nose grow anyway? (replace with anatomical part or parts of choice)
 
Animals automatically hate you. Horses refuse to be ridden. Dogs bark/attack. Skunks spray. When facing attacking wild animals, they treat you as a priority target. (This one is more fun attached to an object the adventurers find rather than a casting effect. Might take the party a while to figure out what's happening.)
 
Teleported straight up 50 meters to see if the caster can survive a fall. Or teleport in a random direction if you prefer and see if he survives materializing inside objects. Optionally you could just megascale teleport in a random direction in order to separate the caster from his friends, minions and other resources.
 
Transformed so you have a 1d6 HKA aura which affects everything you touch whether you want it to or not. (your food, clothing, armor, foci, weapons, saddle, girlfriend, furniture, bedroll, etc.) For more fun, a couple of times a day at random it could turn into a HKA area of effect.
 
Hemophilia. 
 
Narcolepsy.
 
Changes the hit location when people are attacking you so that each shot goes to the head (or most vulnerable area if head isn't available).
 
One of your valuable items disappears (or one of the party's items if the caster tries to give everything away first). GM choice as to whether it is disintegrated, displaced to another dimension, or teleported to someplace interesting (like your distinctive dagger placed into the back of someone important, your thieves tools into a treasury which has just been robbed, your diary to your ex-girlfriend, your clothing into the sultan's harem). If you use the extra-dimensional option, it could perhaps be a "named spell" where the caster is calling upon some higher power by name whether god, demon, or djinn and the players could someday discover what he's doing with all these random valuable items which he's been getting in exchange for lending out his power.
 
Transform/Shapeshift to change your appearance. Will friends, contacts, and your bank believe it's you when you're a female orc who can't even speak the common tongue rather than a Gandalf look-alike?
 
Why not just go full Babel? The caster loses the ability to read? The caster can't speak the commonly-used languages? The caster becomes a mute?
 
Amnesia would be very dangerous in many circumstances. Not remembering how to activate your magic items. Not remembering you can cast magic. Not knowing who are your friends and enemies. Not knowing how much you can trust your friends. Not knowing how to get to your hiding place. Not remembering how to get out of your hiding place. Not remembering where you hid the money. Not remembering the words which command your guard dogs. Not remembering how to get back to civilization, the oasis, etc.
 
Transformation: Skill Wipes. Some or all your skills disappear until the transformation wears off. No knowledge skills to help you do research. No weapons familiarity. No Transport Familiarity. 
 

PaladinAG, you might take a look at Hero's The Valdorian Age, which was designed to evoke the kind of fantasy written by the likes of Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, and Fritz Leiber. Several elements from it, particularly its unique magic system, seem applicable to the kind of setting you sound like you want.
 
Our long-absent forum colleague James Gillen wrote a pretty cogent review of the book: https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11199.phtml

I'm not sure if I've got any ideas which are particularly original but...
 
You could limit the active points of magical attacks so that they aren't any more effective than an arrow and allow hit locations for both regular attacks and magic. That'd push the players away from magic offense except for those who might want to try for extremely high accuracy magical attacks or who just want particular special effects.
 
Require extra time and immobile focus (such as a written pentagram) for most non-combat magics. Make it plain that magic isn't casually used by making it difficult or impossible to use magic casually. You could also require expensive spell components which, while not unique, are rare enough that players will have to quest to obtain them and will dread the day when they might lose them.
 
Many low fantasy settings in fiction seem to have followed a previous historical period when the world was a high fantasy setting and magic was much more powerful and prevalent. You could build story arcs in the campaign around trying to find out how to build more powerful magical items than the cantrip-type which are all the most powerful magicians today can manage. Or at least figure out why people today cannot manage the feats of magic which seemed to be more common in centuries past.
 
 
As for low-powered, subtle magic for NPC's, divine magic might focus on empowering groups of devout followers (a Blessing spell whether for combat or to increase the skill of farmers and craftsmen). Speaking to the deity. Healing wounds and diseases of believers. Increasing the PRE and Oratory of priests. Increasing the lifespan of the most powerful priests.
 
Most of the powers of the priests would be manifest from the influence they have over their followers rather than through the raw divine magic which they channel. Rulers would listen to the counsel of priests as much because of the power they have over the mob as because the ruler respects the mob.
 
And priests might literally be the power behind some thrones as the current high priest was the high priest in the days of the ruler's great-grandfather and taught the grandfather, the father, the ruler himself, and all of his siblings and children.

And here is my suggested Tony Stark as a vehicle build. 
 
Tony Stark
Val Char Cost
10 STR 0
13/18* DEX 23
10/20* CON 16
10/13* BODY 2
23 INT 13
11 EGO 2
15 PRE 5
16 COM 3
3 PD 1
2/4* ED 0
3/4* SPD 11
4/10* REC 3
20 /40* END 0
20/32* STUN 4
*IIF armour under liner (-1/4)
Total Characteristics Cost: 83 Points
 
Cost Skills
3 Bureaucratics 12-
3 Combat Driving 11-/13-
3 Computer Programming 13-
5 Cramming
3 Electronics 13-
3 High Society 12-
3 Inventor 13-
3 Mechanics 13-
15 Money: Filthy Rich
3 Security Systems 13-
3 Seduction 12-
3 Systems Operation 13-
3 FB: Federal Police Powers
2 Navigation [Air] 14-
3 PS[iNT]: Weapons Designer 14-
2 Rep: Superhero 11-
 
Total Skills Cost: 60 Points
Cost Powers
45 VPP 25 Points, No Skill Roll (+1), Half Phase (+1/2)
10 JARVIS Computer (60 pt+ Disadv) IIF (-1/4)
44 Iron Man Armour (220 pts+ Disadv)  
Total Powers Cost: 112 Points
 
Total Cost: 250 Points
150+ Disadvantages
5 DNPC: Pepper Potts (Useful Normal) 8-
10 Hunted: Mandarin (As Powerful) 8-
10 Hunted: S.H.I.E.L.D. (More Powerful/NCI/Watch) 8-
20 Normal Characteristics Maxima
15 PsyL: In Love With Pepper Potts (Common/Strong)
15 PsyL: Overconfidence (Very Common/Moderate)
20 PsyL: Protective Of Innocents (Very Common/Strong)
5 SocL: Famous (Occasionally/Minor)
Total Disadvantages Cost: 250 Points
 
Iron Man Armour
 
0 Size 0
55 STR 45
16 DEF 42
18 DEX 24
14 BODY 4
4 SPD 12
Total Characteristic Cost: 127
Cost Power
 
30        Flight 12” Usable underwater (+1/4)
2          Flight 1", Megascale 1km (+1/4)
18*      ES: HRRP, 360 Degree Radar, UV Sight
10*      LS: High Pressure, High Radiation, Intense Cold, Intense Heat, Low Pressure/Vacuum, Self Contained
18*      END Reserve (160 END 20 REC)
 
30        Multipower (60 pt Active)
3u        Repulsor EB 12d6
3u        Laser RKA 4d6
3u        Micro Missiles 2 1/2d6 RKA Autofire 5 shots (+1/2) 16 charges
3u        Tasers EB 6d6 AVLD (Non-conductive armour or electrical powers) (+1)
3u        Explosive Missiles 2 1/2d6 Explosion (+1/2), 16 charges
 
*OIF Bulky (-1)
 
Total Power Cost: 123
Total Cost: 250
220+ Disadvantages
10 Hunted: Mandarin (As Powerful) 8-
10 Hunted: S.H.I.E.L.D. (More Powerful/NCI/Watch) 8-
10 SocL: Famous (Freq/Minor)
 
I've not scored up the computer as that should be fairly standard.  Needless to say, this can be tweaked as the power armour template above, but hopefully the two examples I've put on give an idea of can be achieved if you design your character as a vehicle.  Personally, whilst an interesting exercise, I think this approach could be considered a bit OTT and should be very closely examined by GMs before proceeding with them.
​
PaladinAg

With Cassandra's blessing I've had my go at Iron Man as a vehicle and Jarvis.  As I don't have 5E, I've assumed they are costed up like 4E (i.e. you pay for base costs only ), but you can "double up" at 5 pts a go. I'll let someone else more familiar with 5E to modify them.  Here goes:
 
Tony Stark
 
Val                  Char                Cost
10                    STR                 0                     
13/18*             DEX                23                   
10/20*             CON                16                   
10/13*             BODY             2                     
18                    INT                 8
11                    EGO                2
15                    PRE                 5
18                    COM               4
3                      PD                   1                     
2/4*                 ED                   0                     
3/4*                 SPD                 11                   
4/10*               REC                3                     
20 /40*            END                0                     
20/32*             STUN              4                     
 
*IIF armour under liner (-1/4)
Total Characteristics Cost: 79 Points
 
Cost Skills
3 Bureaucratics 12-
3 Combat Driving 11-/13-
3 Computer Programming 13-
5 Cramming
3 Electronics 13-
3 High Society 12-
3 Inventor 13-
3 Mechanics 13-
15 Money: Filthy Rich
3 Security Systems 13-
3 Seduction 12-
3 Systems Operation 13-
Total Skills Cost: 50 Points
 
Cost     Powers
           
45        VPP 25 Points, No Skill Roll (+1), Half Phase (+1/2)
18        JARVIS Computer (90 pts +disadv)
49        Iron Man Armour  (170 pts + disadv) x 8 
Total Powers Cost: 110 Points
 
Total Cost: 250 Points
 
150+ Disadvantages
5 DNPC: Pepper Potts (Useful Normal) 8-
10 Hunted: Mandarin (As Powerful) 8-
10 Hunted: S.H.I.E.L.D. (More Powerful/NCI/Watch) 8-
20 Normal Characteristics Maxima
15 PsyL: In Love With Pepper Potts (Common/Strong)
15 PsyL: Overconfidence (Very Common/Moderate)
20 PsyL: Protective Of Innocents (Very Common/Strong)
5 SocL: Famous (Occasionally/Minor)
Total Disadvantages Cost: 250 Points
 
 
Iron Man Armour Example
200 pts
0          Size     0
20        STR     10
​14        BODY  4
12        DEF     30
18        DEX    24
4          SPD     12
 
Total Characteristic Cost: 80 
 
Cost     Power
20      Flight 10"
100      VPP 50 Points, No Skill Roll (+1), Half Phase (+1/2), IIF (-1/4)
Total Power Cost: 120                       
 
 
Total Cost:      200
 
170 + 30 Disadvantages
10 Hunted: Mandarin (As Powerful) 8-
10 Hunted: S.H.I.E.L.D. (More Powerful/NCI/Watch) 8-
10 SocL: Famous (Freq/Minor)

I don't know.  I think he can be made to work as a vehicle.  When I was looking at Silver Paladin it worked quite well, probably too well.  The big  challenge is how to get the DEX and SPD right; my "work around" was an IIF under-suit, a bit like a medieval knight's arming doublet.  Also with everything being OIF bulky (as it is a vehicle), the cost of the powers drops significantly.
 
This site shows want can be done http://killershrike.com/HERONet/Goodspeed.aspx
 
PaladinAg.

Because I just had to.
 
The Champions
 
Defender, Witchcraft, Sapphire, Ironclad, Kinetik and Nighthawk for good measure.
 

This time I am going back to 3e with The Protectors from "To Serve and Protect".  An adventure that I recently ran in my Champions: The Mutant Chronicles campaign.
 
The Protectors
 
Quasar, Ace, Renegade, Dr. Wraithe, Huntsman, Helios, Maelstrom, Silverfist, Brainstorm and Doc Sonic
 

This is probably the best drawing I have done with Heromachine.
 
Giant Sized Fortress

A couple of action shots of The Justice Squad
 
Granite Smash!

 
TechKnight Flying

The Justice Squad
 
TechKnight

 
Blur

Switch

 
Starlet

 
Granite

 
Psyche

Next, a couple of artistic renderings of The Justice Squad...

Some of Freedom Incorporated's villains...
 
Lord Dire

 
Ansatsusha

Carcass

Captain Stalwart Zombie

Smilodon (Uncle Smiley)

Next up....a couple of other Hero Groups...

Just for fun here are a couple of pics that I did completely with Heromachine with some of the members of Freedom Inc.
 

 

Thanks Acroyear!
 
Here are some of the ladies of Freedom Inc.
 
Angel, a beautiful winged woman and mutant biokinetic.  She and Wildcat are romantically linked.

 
This is Syfon, an homage to a power-stealing woman on a certain Mutant team in the comics.  She is married to Powerhouse.

 
And finally Siren, an homage to a certain Wailing mutant in the comics.

 
Next up some of Freedom Incorporated's villains.

On to some originals.  Here is my first ever Champions character, Wildcat, who had his debut (albeit in a different costume) back in the Summer of 1982.  His original costume was very reminiscent of a certain other clawed mutant with the mask of a dark knight.  He evolved into the zebra striped jumpsuit a couple of years later when he joined Freedom Inc.

Well back then my originals weren't all that original.  Here is Wildcat's teammate Powerhouse.  Obviously an homage to another living steel mutant.

Freedom Incorporated's resident speedster Streak...

Quasar, a living stellar battery...

The Mentalist, Mindbender, who came a while later...

And last but not least (for now) the weather manipulating Tempest...

I will post more later as I have some time.

I am going to finish up with my Champions drawings with Eurostar.  I think most of you want to see originals so that will be coming soon.
 

Thank you!  I will certainly be posting some originals but I want to exhaust the ones that I have done for Champions first.  Here are a couple of Solo Supervillains, Dragon Master and Bulldozer.
 

For the past several years I have run a lot of different games in various genres.  As a result have collected a HUGE number of HeroMachine images that I use for counters in my games.  I thought it was about time that I start sharing them with others.  Otherwise they are mostly just taking up space on my server, right?  Some of these are pics of published Champions characters so if there are any copyright issues please let me know and I will immediately remove them.  Others are original creations and you can just take what you want and have some fun with them.  If you aren't already using it, I highly recommend using Heromachine for those that want to create, relatively, quick and easy pics.  I personally use HM3 which has a steeper learning curve but use whichever version works best for you.  I have become relatively competent with it over the years but I guess I will leave that up to you.
 
Let me know what you think and if this is well received I will share more...
 
Without further ado....here are The Ultimates...
 

How did I come up with my handle?  My favourite champions character is called "Silver Paladin" (basically a British version of Tony Stark/Iron Man) - swapped round and using the chemical symbol/latin for Silver.
First RPG played?  D&D just after going to grammar school.  Haven't played D&D in a loooong time.
First RPG you GM'd?  Traveller with LBB.  Still do Traveller off and on.  Wrote a fair amount and reviewed a lot else for the first version of Mongoose Traveller.  I didn't actually start playing Champions until I was at uni.
What are you currently playing?  Coming back to RPG (and Champions) after organising and running a re-fight of the Battle of Jutland for the Museum of the Royal Navy.

How did I come up with my handle?  My favourite champions character is called "Silver Paladin" (basically a British version of Tony Stark/Iron Man) - swapped round and using the chemical symbol/latin for Silver.
First RPG played?  D&D just after going to grammar school.  Haven't played D&D in a loooong time.
First RPG you GM'd?  Traveller with LBB.  Still do Traveller off and on.  Wrote a fair amount and reviewed a lot else for the first version of Mongoose Traveller.  I didn't actually start playing Champions until I was at uni.
What are you currently playing?  Coming back to RPG (and Champions) after organising and running a re-fight of the Battle of Jutland for the Museum of the Royal Navy.

How did I come up with my handle?  My favourite champions character is called "Silver Paladin" (basically a British version of Tony Stark/Iron Man) - swapped round and using the chemical symbol/latin for Silver.
First RPG played?  D&D just after going to grammar school.  Haven't played D&D in a loooong time.
First RPG you GM'd?  Traveller with LBB.  Still do Traveller off and on.  Wrote a fair amount and reviewed a lot else for the first version of Mongoose Traveller.  I didn't actually start playing Champions until I was at uni.
What are you currently playing?  Coming back to RPG (and Champions) after organising and running a re-fight of the Battle of Jutland for the Museum of the Royal Navy.