Hermit

I thought to myself, wow, a lot of good places that might vary on the nature of the villains, etc. But you don't want to hear that, you want ideas. This would require me to think- I could do that, but even better is ...uhm borrowing. I so happen to have a copy of Captain America #322 (it's the one where he saves AND captures Flagsmasher if you must know). So what, you say? Well, it also has some of the results from the "Design the Serpent Society's Headquarters Contest" The runners up (while sometimes redundant) range from funny to pretty good, and might be used for other villain teams in your campaigns:

A silo nestled in the Adirondack Mountians of New York...

A midtown Manhatten pet store selling exotic animals...

An Abandoned movie set near a swamp, with the Serpent Citadel at the bottom of the swamp...

A huge laboratory complex...

A ranch house with a suberranean fortress located in Windsor, Connecticute...

A serpent headed edifice in a State Park in New Jersey...

Beneath the Reptile House at the Central Park Zoo in New York...

A fortress under Central Park with a hollow tree for an entrance...

An undgerground base under Central Park with a small waterfall as an entrance...

A cave in a jungle in New Mexico...

An anti-venom factory, location unspecified...

Beneath a high-rise apartment building in upper Manhatten...

An underwater base in Long Island Sound with a sunken ship as an entrance....

A factory somewhere in Brooklyn Heights...

A castle in Death Valley, NV...

A citadel beneath an artificial island floating in the Atlantic...

The 11th floor of 387 Park Avenue South, New York City...

The old barber shop front for SHIELD's former Manhatten HQ...

A hotel in an unpopulated area of New York...

A supposedly deserted factory in NJ...

The floors above and below a nightclub called "The Cobra Club" ....

Beneath an abandoned WW2 aireship in upstate NY...

A building near Coney Island amusement park...

An underground base beneath the root system of a giant tree...

An underground base beneath a small house in a small town like that once used by the Viper....

In the building that used to be Bernie Roesenthal's Glass Menagerie shop...

An undersea base in the Atlantic Ocean....

An underground city 3.2 miles beneath the Earth...

A huge building with a dome and tower that is saidd to be the international Botanical Gardens outside NYC...

The basement beneath an amusement arcade with a photo-taking booth as the entrance...

A permanent suite in the posh midtown hotel that the Serpents had their organization meeting in Cap #310...

A researh facility in Brazil...

A palace on a hydraulic lift making it possible to sink beneath the ground...

An underground citadel with an undersea entrance near Anchorage, Alaska...

A private airbase with the HQ in the hangar buildings...

A weapons factory...

On a beached pirate ship on an abandoned island in NY Harbor...

A 3 story building supposedly owned by a security company...

A scientific research center somewhere in NM...

Under the governor's mansion in NYC...

In Al Capone's underground vault...

The winner was An abandoned hospital for the criminally insane, which would have the medical facilities for the bionic grafting done to various members, private rooms, and the shock treatment device Sidewinder used on Princess Python, located in upper New York state...

Gigaton IS Destroyer's Repo Man

See the movie.

Seriously, great ideas there LL.

Hey, that means maybe there's a new "Destroyer's Island" out there, just ..smaller and accidental

NP

Originally posted by McCoy

Humm, seems like there would be some problems if you operate in Millennium City but your base is in Canada.

Mmm, well, considering Windsor is only right across the river from MC, I don't know if it's that bad... but good point.:shrugs:

If you feel Millennium City is too far away, defend Windsor

Originally posted by Monolith

I once played an elf in a FH game, and every called the character a "tree hugger."

I used to have a dwarf in a world with similiar comments on elves, and he went as far as to tell one pointy earred woodsmen "Oh, go find a knot-hole, why don'tcha?"

Took the elf (and player) a moment to catch on to the full insult.*EG*

I remember seeing something about the Mon'Dabi Federation forbidding the creation of AI's period. Maybe that's what you're thinking of 'law' wise?

Try this for inspiration....

http://www.freep.com/news/metro/turkey7_20031107.htm

It would apear Turkey Island in the Detroit River is for sale...

No, really.

While none of us (I imagine) are going to purchasing the real thing, it occured to me that maybe in our gameworlds, Millennium City might be putting this puppy up for grabs as well.

Want a base that's close, but somewhat more secure than a down town location? Build it here. Sure, the other heroes might tease your team for having a 'turkey of an HQ', but with hard work, perseverance (And some high tech to drain the swampy parts if so inclined) you will soon have the public calling it "(Fill in your Team's name) Island" Instead

Originally posted by zornwil

Whoops, hope I'm not duping too much, I did peruse that thread a bit but rushed through it so may have missed the finer points.

 

(Tonight's psych lim is apparently - "must reply to all of Hermit's posts!" )

(Let's test that theory, shall we? )

No worries, and I think Moonhunter has an excellent post on the variety of ways you can 'clone' characters. I do tend to Amalgam/distorted variety. Especially if I feel a particular archetype is lacking something. I once made a VERY aggressive strecher. His powers were comical, he was not. ALmost wolverine like in his roughness, though mind, it would be logan as his violent but not so lethal stage.

Well, like others on the other thread mentioned they did, I tend to mix and match. For example, I might give a guy who has powers/abilities like Batman a personality more like Spider-Man (And oddly, you do this... you get Batman Beyond But I did it before that , I swear).

Thank you, Zornwill. That was helpful.

Unfortunately, it also has me thinking about something else as well. Oh my easily side tracked brain.

I asked one of my female players which she thought would be better for campaign background out of the private spa or club/bar beefcake market. Her response was "Can't it all be there? :)"

Greedy ...

Many of mine would be eventually be happy... a bit bored, but happy As pointed out, former super heroes could use their abilities in other ways.

Not sure, but maybe...

DF: Does NOT register as a mutant or anything 'special' , vulnerability thus painfully apparent (Requires special senses/equipment {genetic scans etc})

I know, probably seems to work out as an advantage "He's only a man!" but imagine the frustration of being discounted constantly?

Originally posted by megaplayboy

I think as a GM, that what I dislike is that often players just go for tactical efficiency rather than genre convention:

 

1. going for the mismatch foe rather than the nemesis(the egoist blasts the brick, the brick drops a car on their gadgeteer, etc.)

Okay, both I, and my players have slipped into this trap more than once. I need to work on that a tad.

Note: Not a poll. I defy my addiction... for now

I've heard a lot of discussion about CVKs and such in the past, and I once even put up a poll for your favorite character motivation. However, I was wondering what Pyschological limitations do you almost always find yourself getting for your characters(if any) and why?

Near as I can tell, the most popular ones are:

Code Vs Killing: Or some variation, life is precious to most super hero genres. It comes in degrees, moderate to total, but most players seem to think this is almost obvious.

Protective of Innocents: Another big one, almost synonamous with being a hero.

Overconfident: More popular with official published characters than PCs from what I've seen. Maybe it's just my group

Okay, that's funny.

Originally posted by Supreme Serpent

"Well, of course he drug it to shore to kill it! You don't take on a shark in it's natural element -- that would be reckless!"

 

*LOL* Okay, I may try to find some way to turn that entire phrase into a persoanlity for my next character

"Of course I had to get Grond in the air! You don't take him on in his natural element- That would be reckless."

Originally posted by Kristopher

Wouldn't getting a subscription to that mag be a dead giveaway that you're a super?

Depends on how delievery is handled. If you have a publicly known base like homestead, it could be mailed there. Payment might seem tricky, but I'm sure some annoymous paypal like set up could be made. We're talking about superheroes. Some heroes can build spacecraft or hack the UN, surely they can set up a subscription program

Originally posted by umbra

As for the club idea, it might be interesting, but I would think more social club than male strip bar. For example, offering services by trusted people like haircuts, costume design, child care, a showroom for the latest superhero gadgets, ways to buy stuff without ID, combat training, weight rooms, etc.; all the little things in life you would want, but with the safety factor superheroes need. Of course a bar would be nice, a place to come and bitch about the latest boneheaded thing some villain did, and exchange advice on how to handle the police, villains, Foxbat, paparazzi, etc. Think full service spa with a shooting gallery.

Nice ideas. Yeah, sounds like option 2 is more realistic than the option three, and I like the Spa suggestion.

I plan to ask the two female players in my group for more input, but thanks to everyone who's put in their thoughts so far.

A magazine geared to superheroines would be cool too, it wouldn't have to be something local but could be a national- or international-type publication, with articles on handling your love life when you have a secret ID, etc.

Now THIS is inspired. Perhaps I'll introduce "Cosmico: The Masked Woman's Magazine" in my campaigns or something. Forgive the punny name

Originally posted by Crimson Arrow

Good point Hermit. Is that because the published lady characters (well, ignoring the Sentinels currently being done in Digital Hero issues), haven't got that magical thing known as Experience (aka Villain Bonus) on their sheets? Spare points = bump up the COM a little?

Not sure, Victory from the CU for example is pretty darn powerful.

After thinking about it a bit more, I suppose a part of it might be a bit of a backlash against the "Image factor". The Super Heroic genre, has at times, been teased for it's often unrealistic portrayal of women (not that the guys are done accurately either...) and I can see why DoJ/HERO games would prefer to err on the side of caution, if they must at all.

That, and the fact that more villains are going to get published than heroes, there's a higher demand for them from GMs.

Still, it is weird. I remember a running gag in one campaign, "Your character has gone evil... gain a darker wardrobe and +2 COM"

And apparently has that perk: Great Big Brass ones.

Darn, the dude's got guts and then some.

Originally posted by Crimson Arrow

Do I mind? Hell, no! Thank you for thinking of her.

 

Thanks also to Killer Shrike for the vote of confidence.

 

Mind you, Alecto hasn't been been published yet...

 

High COM (naturally), high PRE and even higher PRE for attractiveness purposes. I will finish writing her one day!

Please do, and welcome.

It just surprised me to find out that, while some villains matched her, V'han for example, as yet*, no 5th Edition published heroine outshines Megaera for highest comliness stat. In fact, few superheroines break the 20 mark in comparison with their evil counterparts. Are the forces of evil really that much more attractive?

*Then again, I don't have some books (the latest VIPER, Champs Battlegrounds, etc) so I maybe missing something.

Re: Re: Ladies Only (A discussion of all female groups in super worlds)

Originally posted by Doug McCrae

I've a feeling the club would go out of business rather quickly unless your world is bursting to the seams with superhumans, Top 10 style. Then again, Astro City has enough to support two drinking establishments.

 

Maybe the Super Club could have a ladies night once a month?

Mmm, the ladies' night isn't a bad idea, and likely more realistic.

Then again, with all the money some heroines have to throw around, it doesn't need to be a big money maker if it has the right people running it.

"Electra just powers up the battery we have down stairs from time to time that Gadget girl whipped up. It saves us a fortune in utilities."

Originally posted by Crimson Arrow

Hey, don't forget the fabulous Furies!

 

I will eventually write up the other two. Promise. RL things have been getting in the way over the last couple of months.

Hey, how could we forget Meg even got a mention in the "Ms. Champions Universe" thread. She may hold the "most attractive (highest COM) super hero" of the CU title At least until you write up her sister

Re: character images

Originally posted by drrushing

Well, people have started to download my posted images...........I would appreciate some feedback. Thanks again

Okay, Nightwatch seems very Nightthrasher to me, which is fine, because I used to be a big New Warriors fan I like the color touches of red and blue, without them, he'd be way too dark.

Polaris has a fantastic costume, I love how the three colors work together to enhance the chest emblem. There is some loss of detail for the hands, but that only seems to make sense given the energy around it would obscure it some.