The Weapon

Ok, the central question is "Why doesn't the central government (State or National) step in and take down the big bad guys.". There might be many reasons. The central government might have far more pressing problems than one city being corrupt. Big political struggles over the future of the State/Country mean that neither side can afford to take on the bosses in Ogacihc city. Besides it's not like they're a national security problem. The bosses just want to run their rackets, take a bit from the hardworking workers and kill the occasional witness. Sure it's not good, but it's not going to threaten your entire society. So what's the central government going to do? Spend lots of time, resources, money, and possibly the lives of their top men to shut down a few crime bosses? Or let well enough alone? After all the bosses can be helpful at times, deliver congressional seats reliably, contribute to campaign funds, all sorts of things. And they have an interest in stopping the truly big threats. All they have to do is help take out potential world killers now and again and it's well worth a few million people having less than perfect lives. Of course if the country as a whole viewed the situation as intolerable pressure would build. But most people aren't going to care, it's not happening to them and the bosses put a lot of effort into minimizing the bad press. And nobody really delves into how bad things really are because a) it makes powerful people look incompetent or corrupt, they get killed, and c) there's no point because nobody will do anything anyway. .

One thing though, a committee of 4 won't work. 3 or 5 does but can you imagine running a super villain group that constantly deadlocks 2-2?

Ok, as I read what you posted someone is aiming and firing the guns remotely (see last paragraph below if you meant the guns fired autonomously). They would have the same legal issues as someone firing a gun directly. Provided a reasonable person would have concluded that they needed to use the guns to defend themselves, their property or others it's legal to fire them. However you may have to justify using the lethal options when you have the nets and rubber bullets. Did you reasonably believe you could not have defended yourself without the lethal stuff? Bear in mind bullets don't stop at fence lines, so either have something to stop them in mid-flight, stop them from aiming above your bullet-proof exterior boundary walls or prepare for lawsuits. That said if the guns are automatic it's going to be hell getting licenses, even in the good ole USA. IRL if you fire automatic weapons in self-defense and wound or kill someone you go to trial, ALWAYS. Even if the evidence clearly shows your action was justified no DA in the entire USA will let you get off without at least facing a jury (and about $250K in legal expenses). With autonomous weaponry I think legally it's hell. What rational police organisation is going to allow those in it's jurisdiction. Robots with guns? Acting on their own initiative? It's so much easier for the chief to say "1) No and 2) Hell no.". Unless the local politicians think they're the best thing since sliced bread it's not going to be allowed. And if they try to do it anyway there's even greater issues. If they fire the guys who set it up are liable, civilly and criminally, even if they didn't press the button to fire it. It's dangerous, you put it on your property, if it hurts someone, it's your fault (unless it's self defense).

18 INT ? For LEX LUTHOR? No way. He's in the top 0.1% of the world, at least. If he's less than 25 I'd be surprised, in any incarnation I can think of. Well maybe he's only INT 18 in the "Smallville" TV series, but even then I doubt it. Being able to run a multinational, at an INCREASED profit, while changing it's entire structure and direction at 18 years old is certainly no LESS than INT 18.

The Organisation For Stability started out as a front group. A Nazi genetic super-soldier "resigned"* from the Third (or Fourth, if that fits better) Reich's service and tried to live out his days in America. He soon realized that he needed an organisation to defend himself and his family (he fathered many children, some in wedlock). Nazi vengeance assassins, government and other groups who wanted them to fight for them (and wouldn't take "no" for an answer) confused anti-mutant groups, any of these could attack at any time. They needed to infiltrate police, intelligence and criminal groups to detect potential attacks and gain the resources to defeat them. So that any investigation wouldn't lead back to them they recruited thugs and supervillians for the "OFS" with the declared aim of world conquest. Such a group could do anything and it wouldn't be traced back to the family. An attack on an army base that sheltered Reich infiltrators would be written off as a weapons raid. The assassination of a government official who wanted to conscript the kids into a supersoldier program would be a simple terrorist attack. The problem is that it attracted the sort of ambitious double-dealing treacherous manipulative bastards that are attracted to such organisations. It was less than 5 years before some of their top lieutenants made their move. The family saw it coming but the effort needed to prevent a coup got greater and greater. They decided it wasn't worth it and simply let the underlings take over. When the underlings found out that a) the organisation was nowhere near as big as they thought, it wasn't actually designed to take over anything and c) they had pissed off dozens of genetically enhanced natural born killers they knew they need to make the organisation into what it pretended to be. The OFS had angered so many armed groups, super supervillains, superheroes, governments etc. that they needed much more power to survive. They realized gaining such power would anger even more powerful people. Logically they concluded only conquering the world would ultimately solve this conundrum. * He later discovered this euphemism for desertion was originally used by Samuel Clements.

"There was a gamma radiation leak that altered their physical characteristics on an atomic level" How hard is that?

It's clearly a temporary fix to keep the heroes (and many of the villains) out of action for a time. That means whatever she's trying is going to happen soon, it's going to either destroy or neutralize the entire metahuman community. After the effect wears off how many metas are going to be REALLY annoyed? She doesn't care, either she's going to be gone, they're going to be dead, or she's going to be so powerful she can IGNORE hundreds of metas. Oh and I'm using "she" as a convenience, there's no reason to believe "she" is female or even human.

OK, firstly I make sure that I have great anonymizsers before doing ANY research outside the lab. I continue going to work until I can stage a realistic injury, witnessed by at least 2 people who know me. I do all my work in the lab at times when nobody will notice my absence. When I've trained up significantly and calculated how I can use my powers WITHOUT being found out, I do something that is totally unrelated to me as a test run. Then I gradually work up to doing more noticeable things that, while good, have nothing to do with my real intentions. After my heroic persona is established I start occasionally doing things that ACTUALLY change the world in the way I want it to change. And some random shit to keep it cryptic. After seeing spoiler: He no it doesn't change anything. Whoever these guys are they had the power to make people forget people being hostile to metas. If they had they would have undercut the hostility since everyone would assume they're in the minority. They have vast power and we have only their own word that they used it for the greater good, and aren't still using it. The only change is I assume these guys could be coming after me.

I'd say "Major Side Effect" always happen = -1 So a variable limitation (OAF expendable focus -5/4 or Major Side Effect, always -1) = -1/2 Calculate the points you save by this limitation and pay them as a power, modified by the -1/2 RSR. E.g. Fireball, 9d6 Blast (or energy blast if you're in fifth ed.) 45 Active points variable lim. (OAF expend or Major SFX) -1/2 =30 real points Remove var. lim. on FB 15 points base , RSR -1/2 = 10 points 30 +10 = 40 points for the combination. Basically I'm treating removing limitation on a power as another power, subject to limitations. Not part of the rules but no reason you can't houserule it.

I think it is also invisibility (takes extra time, only vs. people who could have been fooled by a successful stealth roll). It could also be a Detect (Safe Route).

53: Cascading Vibrationary Gun CVG-15 6d6 EB (ED), AP, OAF, 4 * 8 shot clips. +Drain ED 1dD AP (only if hit by at least one other CVG-15 type in last 2 segments. -1/2, only vs.CVG-15 type damage, -1) +Drain ED +1d6 AP*2 (only if hit by at least two other CVG-15 type in last 2 segments. -3/4, only vs CVG-15 type damage, -1) +Drain Power Defence 1d6 Penetrating * 2 (only if hit by at least three other CVG-15 type in last 2 segments. -1, only vs CVG-15 type damage, -1) Real Cost: 38

How does being assaulted by fathers or brothers or other family members prevent self-defense? Yes there are circumstances where knowing self-defense doesn't work. Although having the weapon taken away is so rare as to be insignificant. That doesn't mean you shouldn't learn it. It's not difficult to not rape in the first place, but not every person wants to be a decent human being. Should we ignore that fact?

The claim that Men's Rights sites "seethe with anger" is backed up with... ideas for a book cover. That's it. Really? Because they think that the fact that women have the power sexually that means what? "And that this is the real oppression, and not all that feminist jibber-jabber about rape, domestic violence, abortion bans, and pay inequity. Indeed, that women are actively oppressing men because women don’t accede to demands to have sex with any man just because he wants it." Actually MRAs have been talking a lot about rape and domestic violence. I have heard feminists minimize domestic violence against men. I've NEVER heard an MRA minimize domestic violence against women. "For the anger and vitriol and whining at AVFM to make any sense, you have to assume that men are the rightful owners of women’s bodies." Actually you just have to assume men are rightful owners of their own bodies. "The right of a woman to determine when she has sex and with whom is perceived in these circles as a theft by women of something that rightfully belongs to men. " I've never heard anyone related to the MRA movement say anything like that. MRAs are very much in favor of women determining when they have sex and with whom. The MGTOW movement just doesn't want it to be with them.

Sarkessian is a dishonest, manipulative, ignorant schemer. She's getting significantly less harassment than a guy would who said what she said and what she got she courted deliberately to get money. The rest of your article seems well-reasoned and honest, but Sarkessian got what she deserved.

George W. Bush: Mentalist. Ability to make anybody think he is not a threat not matter what evidence there is that he's about to do something horrible. Wait are we only doing heroes?

The Punisher: "Another one bites the dust".

Freddie Mercury (RIP): Speedster Brad Pitt : Martial Artist Courtney Cox: Brick, just kidding that's just her character on "Friends", actually mentalist, don't know why. Ivan the Terrible: Brick, strength only usable against relatives. Cardinal Richeliu: Mind control.

I don't think getting shot down because you were too much of a gloryhound to notice the incoming missile qualifies you as a hero. Neither does spilling the beans and giving information that helped the enemy down more American planes. McCain was only in theatre because he used his connections to get there, any other pilot would have been fired after crashing two aircraft. The man is an honourless louse with great PR.

I disagree, "Gimme The Prize" by Queen. EDIT: corrected title.

50: WIF-11 Wave Inversion Field aka the Field Shield Reflection [75 Active points] (50 pts, Extra Time (Takes 1 turn to recharge, -1/2), OAF (-1) Energy attacks only) Active 50 Real 18 END reserve [8 END 3 REC] (4 pts OAF -1) Active 8 Real 4 Total cost 22. A small silvery disc that set's up electromagnetic, gravitational and other fields then sends tachyons at the fields. This allows the device to detect when any high energy discharge penetrates the field and responds to it before it can reach the user. However for it to work the user must actually put the device in the way of the discharge. It takes a while to recharge so it is not as useful against the latest automatic fire blasters. 51: Triglucojanitite (The good juice) Aid [2d6+1 OCV, 2d6+1 DCV, 10pts (set effect) SPD] (40 base pts, Return rate -5 points a minute, first from OCV/DCV then from SPD +1/4, OAF -1, 4 charges -1, Side Effect (Major effect, [4 1/2d6 Major Transform (into juice addict) EGO-based, all or nothing -1/2] all the time -1 ) Base 40, Active 50, Real 12

049: TL-418 Low Visibility Attack Blaster Pod. Aka "Lethal Violence And Blaming Pawns" 330 pt. character automaton. STR: 5 DEX: 10 CON: 10 INT: 4 EGO: 10 PRE: 10 OCV: 10 DCV: 3 OMCV: 0 DMCV: 3 SPD: 2 PD: 10 ED: 9 REC: 4 END 18 BODY: 10 STUN: N/a 75 Powers: Takes No Stun (doesn't lose powers) (60 pts), Does not Bleed (15 pts), RKA [3d6, IPE(Imperceivable to 2 senses "Fully invisible") (+1), 0 END (+1/2) AP (+1/2)] (105pts), Images (Sight group, Radio group, Hearing group, -5 PER roll) (50 pts), Invisibility (Sight group, radar group) [0 END +1/2] (45pts), Flight (20m) Complications: Bad reputation (as a killing machine used to set up innocent people and start wars) (Very Frequently, Extreme reaction 20 pts), Pyschological: (No reasoning ability) (Common, Strong 20pts). This is the Republic's most controversial weapon. Designed to provoke "Friendly fire" incidents between enemy troops this drone has the capabilty to fire on troops invisibly while making it appear the fire came from somewhere else. While the armament is strong it can't take that much damage once it is detected and fired upon. The usefulness of this for "False Flag" attacks has made it extremely unpopular with many anti-war political parties. Some "stolen" drones were used by terrorists to create such attacks, but they were always detected by certain specialised equipment. The number of times this has happened leads to one of 2 possible interpretations. Either it is used a LOT more often to provoke these sorts of incidents or someone is going around making sure that every LVABP is followed by a team to detect it and defuse the situation.

No idea what that is.

Superman loses, and is in situations where it's credible he could lose. Sure against the average street thug or even against 90%+ of the villians he isn't even close to needing to kill. But against those who actually challenge him he STILL doesn't go lethal. This is even though those who can possibly defeat him are orders of magnitude more dangerous than the others. If anyone who could take down Superman did, who would stop them afterwards? How many would they kill before they were defeated?

"From a strickly "What would be interesting" point of view: Weapon that only works in legitimate self-defence or defence of others. Pull the trigger on someone who isn't attacking or coercing someone and all you get is a click. Grows bigger or smaller depending on how powerful a force is nearby. " No, the interesting thing is that it works on the facts as determined by the weapon itself, which would have lots of information/sense that the weilder.

From a strickly "What would be interesting" point of view: Weapon that only works in legitimate self-defence or defence of others. Pull the trigger on someone who isn't attacking or coercing someone and all you get is a click. Grows bigger or smaller depending on how powerful a force is nearby.