Certified

Re: Character Wuji I agree that Wuji is stretched very thin. Giving him a base of common maneuvers that a "real" martial artist might have in addition to his super level abilities does seem a bit redundant. I started with the martial maneuvers to represent the first levels of his training and what a normal person might archive. The real world Bāguàzhǎng is divided into the different styles based on the original Haichuan's students. In trying to have each of these styles accounted for the point crunch came in and there was a lot more I would have liked to have done. However, this is why I separated out the Yin Style and the Liang Style. As for OCV/DCV I know there's the ongoing debate on what is super Dex and SPD. The fact that all the supers listed in 5th edition revised all have Dexterities above 20 and Speeds 5 or 6 doesn't help. My take on this was to start Wuji at what could be considered near the peak of normal human performance. What I would like to do if this character saw game play would be to focus on rounding things off. Bringing the other styles to be on par with the Yin Style and increasing his Dexterity. Wuji is at the beginning of his career as a hero and has lots of room to grow. There is the feeling that a martial artist should really go for high CVs but to stay true to the background I wanted to make sure each of the Styles and Trigrams were represented. Notes on the Martial Art and Styles: Not all of the powers, skills and maneuvers match exactly to the real Bāguàzhǎng. However, I wanted to have some fun with the concept of a "super" martial art that felt fully fleshed out and I think it would have been difficult to avoid this. The history behind Bāguàzhǎng really appealed to me for this. From what I read the full martial art was never passed on, only portions of it. The various styles listed for Wuji are the styles taught by Haichuan's first students. - - - Wow, after looking over that post let me just thank you all for taking the time to read over the character. Just from looking at the material provided these are all very valid suggestions and I do appreciate the criticism. I do hope you enjoyed reading through the character as much as I enjoyed creating him.

One martial artist coming up. Thought I would have some fun with the speed discussions going on recently. Wuji is missing a few skills I had originally wanted for him including Feint and Cryptology to represent his training in both martial arts and the Taoist philosophies. I also think I kind of skimmed over the Gao Style, Kun and Qian Trigram. However I like how he turned out overall even if his defenses are a bit low, I'm hoping the combination of multiple defenses will compensate. Anyway, enjoy:

Re: Create this character! Ok, it took me a bit but here you go: Note: The character has 2 hunted disadvantages. The first is the science research team responsible for creating the Rat Man. The second is the extermination squad.

Re: Wings of the Valkyrie update Reading up on this it made me think of a story line from City of Heroes. The premise is that a Nazi solder is sent into the future to get supplies to aid the failing war effort. I know that there are people who play CoH so I will leave the description at that. Well, and it made a lot more since before when they had the 5th Column not the Council. The point being this, the concept of changing WWII with the aid of superpowers or superscience is a recurring theme in the genre. There was a Justice League story arc that ran 2 or 3 episodes on the idea of changing the outcome of the war. The articles I’ve read on Wings of a Valkyrie seem to revolve around to controversial for Role Playing Games at that time. Why couldn’t they update this story? The weight of the plot forces players to think about their choices and the story can be used to revitalize campaigns that may have grown stale. That said, I believe that trying to tackle the subject matter should include notes on the real world history as well as the setting and alternative settings. (Note: there would likely need to be multiple alternates based on likely player/NPC actions.) The characters in the story would need to be truly fleshed out with strong personalities and motivations for each of them. Comics have been used to play with alternative histories. Through the years the stigma of D&D is evil has for the most part faded from the media. I remember an episode of Cops where they pointed out a stack of White Wolf books in a kid’s car. Why can’t a Role Playing Game take on serious subjects? It is possible to write something that is both thought provoking and enjoyable. Why couldn’t a RPG do it?

Re: Watch out! New Superhero in town!! Now with slightly more Super powers: Sorry, I know I should add a back story to character but tonight was play with numbers night...

Re: Watch out! New Superhero in town!! What level of hero are we looking for? Just going for a heroic level based off of the videos I have this incarnation of Rollerman

Re: Strange Hero Concepts: Discuss Your Own! Funny you should say that... After playing a ton of CoH I wanted to do something that could not be emulated in the MMO and so Fallout was born. He's your run of the mill giant mass of radioactive energies held together by force of will.

Re: EMERGENCY HELP: I need an adventure idea STAT B-Rated you say, how about? A Body of evidence... In a small not far from where the party normally resides, but off the beaten path, graves are being despoiled and the bodies taken. The town is in horror because it’s not just the newer graves but the old CivilWarCemetery on the edge of town by the swamps. Although abandoned years ago, the Civil War Cemetery is a sense of pride to the small town. The local Sheriff and his deputies are baffled and that’s where the party comes in. (Groovy Mystery Machine not included.) Clues: There was a fire in the hospital two months ago before the grave robber started every few people escaped and over half the bodies were never accounted for. The library was robbed just before the hospital fire and all that was stolen were their collective works of H.P. Lovecraft along with a copy of The Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. A local high school professor had been doing work on animating dead muscle and tissue through the application of electricity. Possible Events: Here of some small town events that may be going on and effected by the thefts. Civil War Reenactment: With no supernatural elements: The tension breaks and the participants break down into a huge brawl. Many are injured or worse as paranoia continues to mount. With supernatural elements: After the reenactment some of the participants see one man in a ragged Confederate Uniform heading to the swamp. Upon closer inspection it is obvious he was no actor. Sadie Hawkins Dance at the High School: With no supernatural elements: A drunken student plows his car into the school gymnasium. He is mourning the loss of his girlfriend who died of pneumonia three months ago. With supernatural elements: Two teenagers are seen sitting in the parking lot. One is recognized as the boyfriend of a girl who had died three months ago. Since then he had dropped out of school and no one had seen him since. The girl’s face is masked by a veil or some other plot device. Local Fair (Korn Optional): With no supernatural elements: One of the local affluent woman of the town rallies those gathered to start making accusations of anyone present as the possible grave robber. Others join in as the town falls further into mass hysteria. With supernatural elements: uh… Zombie party time! Everybody keep calm we’ve found the bodies. Possible Culprits: The Easy Target: The High School Prof has watched the Reanimator one to many times and is having a go at it now. Without supernatural elements: the professor needed bodies to continue his research but could not get funding from the school. As the town became aware of the thefts he grew increasingly more desperate for results. With supernatural elements: He succeeds. The one nobody expected: A Nurse from the local hospital has lost her mind and is no longer able to see those she’s cared for die. With no supernatural elements: The fire was an accident that only fuelled her madness. She started by destroying the bodies of those she had cared for then began tracing back her roots and destroying the bodies of her bloodline. In her basement is a hand dug pit of lye and boric acid she has been using to destroy the corpses. With supernatural elements: The fire trapped her in the hospital and before being burned to death she made a pact with a supernatural entity to brink back those who she had caused to die. The consequences of this were not her intentions but so long as she lives more zombies will awaken. She is too scared of what will happen to her soul to kill herself and does not know another way to kill the Zombies. (For those wondering, many dark supernatural entities like to make odd pacts with hapless peoples just to see them squirm at the consequences.) The insane lover: A high school boy looses her girlfriend to pneumonia and will stop at nothing to bring her back. With no supernatural elements: It was he who robbed the library. The fire was started when he tried to bring his girlfriend back at the morgue. Each body another attempt, the corpses left in his girlfriend’s home where he has killed her parents. With supernatural elements: As above he failed in the morgue but has since been successful in recreating the ritual, to an extent. Although able to reanimate the bodies the child has no control over the Zombies. Each attempt was to learn how to control them. Unfortunately, he was mistaken; crafting greater intelligence into the last two Zombies he was convinced he could now control them. Resurrecting his former lover he is slain at the dance and turned into her Zombie slave. --- I can have trip to Hollywood now?

When using Non-Combat Movement the character's OCV is reduced to 0. Does this also effect Combat Skill Levels? For Example: A character has purched CSLs +3 with Any Strike. Would he retain this bonus while preforming a Move Through Attack at Non-Combat Speed?

Re: I'll mimic your powers.. what? That's impossible! I can't! Would a Dispell with Trigger only to prevent powers being mimiced work? I think that would set a bar of how hard it was to copy the heroes abilities at least. Also, there could be the scene of a villain trying and watching him fail due to his strange nature.

Re: Surviving fall from orbit Combining what's been said we have: To Survive: LS: Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum LS: Radiation LS: Self Contained Breathing rPD/rED 30 Resistant Damage Reduction for both PD and ED at 50% Since the heat of reentry would more than likely last more than a single phase and could whittle down the hero before they even land I would also add something like: Trigger Desolid verses Fire/Cold Only verses Environmental Effects cannot be used to pass through objects. (This may need to be purchased as 2 powers) This would resolve the issues of heat from reentry without immunizing them from actual Fire or Cold based attacks.

Re: [World Overview & Timeline] Metahumans Rising Ok, now I found him, and that does give some insight. The core similarities are that they are both Russian Heroes from the war. However, Zhukov was a leader and Stalin saw him as a political threat. I had not pictured the Red Juggernaut as someone with political interests beyond being a patriot. However, this did give me an idea on his back story and the RRX program. July 1949: RRX-001 The Red Juggernaut is sent to an undisclosed location for testing. Rumors surface that due to his inhuman constitution he is being used to refine KB2 trough his circulatory system for further RRX testing. US intelligence reports that he has been cryogenically frozen to preserve his body. July 1949: The US begins research into cryogenic stasis. March 1996: Declassified documents reveal that between the years of 1949 and 1958 RRX-001 The Red Juggernaut was sealed in a Hyperbolic Tank infused with KB2. The subsequent Refined Kaiser Box was then used on pregnant volunteers. Although casualty rates were reduced significantly, the number of stillborn children was almost 100%. Subjects did not produce any other side effects.

Re: [World Overview & Timeline] Metahumans Rising I've been trying to locate information on Zuchov online I'm not finding much. Do you have a link or two?

Re: [Twisted Game Concept] VG Supers Would he count as a Hero or Villain? I know he's damn good at dodging bullets...

Re: For the Adam West Hold Outs It's clearest in this picture the emblem was changed to say Soul Factory. If you are in Georgia it's a club on Memorial Drive about 2 miles outside 285. I don't know how the Batmobile translates to night club but who am I to complain? Whoever did the work had an incredible eye for detail and weather it was an employee at the Soul Factory or they just bought it made me all smiley to get that close. The funny thing is there was no one claiming it, as we led the charge of the geek brigade from the comic ship in the next strip mall over no one coming in or out of the club said anything about it. I looked for something on the club but the outside of a news article didn't see a website for them. Anyway, it was an amazing piece of work and hopefully it will be there next time I'm up at the Dragon's Horde.Glad to see others get as much of a kick out of this on as I did.

I came across this beautiful vision just the other day ... enjoy. The Classic Battastic

Re: Best Avengers Group If I got to pick the line up Capitan America Iron Man Vision Scarlet Witch Hawkeye Wonder Man I don't have a good reason for why just those are the characters I've pictured for the Avengers.

Re: All Of Them Damn Martial Bricks Is what you had in mind that similar to what everyone else is playing? Can you tweak the concept to maybe compensate for the others shortcomings? If they are all strong melee types maybe look at the defenses of a Brick but other things you can do as well, maybe Stretching you can still pump out the Brick Damage and take a hit but instead of close range you hit from a distance, this could also lead into forms of travel since you mentioned they have a problem with that as well. To put a martial slant on it the character's powers could be a manifestation of Chi manipulation. Stretching as invisible power effects and the explanation of striking with his force of will, Leaping with the same concept of focusing your Chi to archive crazy Kung-Fu movie jumos. I hope you enjoy your upcoming game and hopefully are not overshadowed by the abundance of Martial Bricks.

Re: Rant? Speed in Hero

Re: [World Overview & Timeline] Metahumans Rising Your right about Leningrad, and I liked the idea of the withdrawal. Although, With the Afrika Korps I may go in and add an update later but I need to read up a bit first. I didn't want to move D-Day back, just because I thought that might throw players off in case it ever came up. Also, I've done some write ups for a few of the heroes mentioned in the timeline. Hopefully I can add a few more as I go along but these were the ones that jumped out at me. I'm going to add them here and a running list above since it seems I can edit posts no matter how old. Doctor Midnight One of the early Metahumans not part of the US7. His service in the military only became public while in the Pacific. Moon Dog A pivotal hero during the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis who left the army as Vietnam escalated. The Watcher Defender of San Angelo he is not part of the timeline itself working on this character inspired me to develop the Metahuman Rising setting. I hope the changes I've made help to flesh out the world for you further and I thank you for your insight into the real world details of the war.

Re: Need help with a team idea Oh, the other side to that could be they don't even know they form a Pentacle Star or hold these rolls. Perhapses there are forces that control them or it is a strange balance that has occurred since they have come together.

Re: Need help with a team idea I'm going to try to keep this fairly light on the Hermetic Theories and Tarot as I think it's mostly for flavor and not meant to be something integral to the group. if each member serves a role go for 5 members. Since they are Occult hunters there is room for some fun with Occult trappings. The idea here is how can one battle an enemy one does not understand? I wouldn't change anything about the character's presented above instead layering the Occult influence over the team as a whole. If each member is a point they become a Star. Those under Gallows could each take on a title to fir their roles such as Sword, Wand, Pentacle and Cup. Although they would not refer to these titles in combat it could give the magically minded character insight into their make up after an encounter. Even offer some added insight into how they work together. With what is presented above: Anvil, The Cup, defender of the Natural Order and Protector of the five. Star Chamber, The Sword, warrior of the Natural Order Witch Hunt, The Wand, tracker he lives between the world of mortals and magic. Still need a Pentacle, the idea of a financial backer or someone with many contacts and connections would fit this role well. Cups One of the four suits of the Tarot, corresponding to the modern Hearts and to the clergy of medieval society. In the system of the Golden Dawn, corresponds to the element of Water and the first Heh of Tetragrammaton. Swords One of the four suits of the Tarot, corresponding to the modern Spades and to the warrior class or nobility of medieval society. In the system of the Golden Dawn, corresponds to the element of Air and the Vav of Tetragrammaton. Pentacles One of the four suits of the Tarot, corresponding to the modern Diamonds and to the merchant class of medieval society. In the system of the Golden Dawn, corresponds to the element of Earth and the final Heh of Tetragrammaton. Wands One of the four suits of the Tarot, corresponding to the modern Clubs and the medieval peasant class. In the system of the Golden Dawn, corresponds to the element of Fire and the Yod of Tetragrammaton. and for Gallows one could debate between: The Magician or The Fool

Re: Superhero power levels I agree there should be a consistency in comics but as long as it's logical character's should be able to spend experience to improve their abilities. In comics you see these huge shifts in a characters power depending on the writer and even sometimes just the storyline. However, when looking at a game you have the slower more linear progression. I don't think there have been many comics that show a hero growing into their abilities well. It's a difficult task when you look at one issue a month and you still are trying to tell an overall story. For what it's worth I think a good example of a character coming to understand his abilities through the course of a series was in Preacher even if he only ever used a fraction of what he was capable of. I think as long as the challenge fits the character a lot can be forgiven but one think that kills me are the sudden spikes of; how did they learn this or how to do that or since when can they do that. Give us some explanation as to why they can now do X or show us pushing their limits even outside of the threat situation. Well there you go, 2 cents.

Re: It's Baaaack.... Don't know about Parthenon and Champions but I can say that these two are City of Heroes players. Medset, formally Omicron posted on the CoH boards when he was part of the online vote. Oh as a side note the Defuser is a cop in real life. Many a happy post for them both on the CoH boards after they were announced.

I don't know why but I wanted to do a military veteran superhero. The pieces from the setting were there so I decided to build on what I had already written. BTW he is a shapeshifter without Multi-Form, please for me. The idea was the two bodies were intrinsically linked so as the character let himself go the The Mutt (His shifted form also did not fare as well.) Hope you enjoy and I look forward you the comments.