Kali Magdalene

Re: The downsides of the Iron Age Oh, I assumed you did not mean gay characters. I just hadn't seen any necrophiles or pederasts running around, so I was a bit surprised to see that comment. Of course, I have not read Maximortal or Brat Pack.

Re: The downsides of the Iron Age I agree with pretty much all of your points. Too much deconstruction mired quite a few comic book characters down in postmodern satire. However, I was wondering just how many superheroes were painted as sexual deviants. Except for a bit where Warren Ellis spoofed Miracle/Marvelman in Planetary, I can't think of anything like that.

Re: New Universal I liked the concepts for both Stephanie's and Lenore's powers. I didn't like Scuzz, as it seemed like the writers were trying too hard to present someone for whom superpowers would represent social problems.

Re: Super Origins For Batman, as one of the top martial artists in DC (not the best, but I'm sure in the top 5), he could purchase DC to increase his hand-to-hand damage. As far as defense, I imagine he has skill levels to spare, plus Combat Luck, plus his costume doubles as body armor.

Re: Super Origins

Re: Super Origins Just out of curiosity, why is world-shaking technology in private hands a problem? In your example, it seems that either Company X could build another suit, which could be a fun complication, or Company X couldn't (you stole the blueprints, trashed the files, etc), in which case they're out to get you. For that matter, don't the iconic supertech characters own their own technology? I mean, Tony Stark invented the Iron Man armor, he didn't steal it from Stane Industries. Bruce Wayne owns the company that produces his bat gadgets. Reed Richards seems to keep a tight hold on most of his inventions - they're too dangerous to let most people make use of them. Tony Stark has very good reasons to not distribute his iron man tech at will and still sells high tech stuff to the government. I'm not seeing why having advanced technology is a bad thing.

Re: Super Origins I don't limit any origins. I don't see the point. Usually, if I'm running a superhero game, I'm trying to run something that emulates the source material. Is it unrealistic for radiation to grant superpowers? Sure, but several of Marvel's iconic characters received powers in just that way. Can aliens do odd things to a game? Yes, but the iconic superhero ever is an alien. Is ultrahigh tech really going to hurt the game? No, not really. I don't see the problem with a character who happens to be a billionaire inventor/industrialist who also uses technology he doesn't share to help him fight crime. Anyway, unlike a monthly comic in Marvel or DC, I'm not obligated to maintain a static setting - so someone with the capability to produce extremely high technology who actually does so for his or her own benefit isn't really a bad thing, to a point. I have run a game in the past that limited origins, but that's because the setting itself had a limited set of origins to work from, not because I disliked the origins I chose to exclude. As for playing in games, if a GM crumpled up my character sheet and threw it at me because he had an irrational dislike for the keyword/excuse I used for my superpowers, I'd find someone a bit less intolerant and tyrannical to game with. If he said up front that he doesn't like certain origins, then it'd depend on what the origins were and his reasons for excluding them. "Wanting to maintain a tech level equivalent to the real world" is a pretty good reason for not having characters like Iron Man or the Engineer. Hating it because it's unrealistic just strikes me as really odd. Now I'm going to go write up an alien mutant billionaire industrialist with magical nanite armor.

Re: God Package... Oh, just that she was the firstborn of Cronus and Rhea, and that she always comes first. I mean, why does she need one of the 12 seats when she's always first?

Re: God Package... That's cool. I mean, no one would expect Hestia to be a spy. She's just like...the maid. Never mind that she's one of the oldest and most powerful figures in the pantheon. Just for clarity, no sarcasm above.

Re: God Package... You mean she became Vesta, as opposed to being replaced by her?

Re: God Package... Well, Athena was dropped out in the middle of nowhere for a long time - I probably should reread, but it looked like Hephaestus came around and picked her up. As for Aphrodite, it just clashed with my expectations that she'd get captured and become an abused sex slave. That's sort of counter to being the goddess of love. Ironic, possibly. Ares gets captured and enslaved, but he ends up in a position where he gets to keep his essence, rather than have it subverted. I guess I'm just wondering why, given the nature of Greek mythology, more gods weren't put into humiliating circumstances.

Re: God Package... The writeups are pretty nice, but I was struck by how Aphrodite and Athena were really the only deities desperately in need of rescue.

Re: Crude Combined Marvel/DC timeline to use as backstory to a Supers campaign

Re: Crude Combined Marvel/DC timeline to use as backstory to a Supers campaign I noticed you had Clark reveal his identity to Lois in 1946. Since there actually was a story written in 1940 that features such a revelation, I thought I'd suggest using that as the basis for the revelation. The K-Metal From Krypton introduces kryptonite before it appeared anywhere else, features Clark revealing his identity to Lois, reveals his origins on a planet called Krypton, and the first use of the name "Perry White" in a Superman story. Of course, it didn't get published. It's too bad, as it may have set the tone for superhero comics being more like what you're describing here. An essay about the K-Metal story.

Re: WWYD - Marvel's Civil War Agree with all this. Edit to be on-topic: If I were running a supers game, I'd put this sort of thing in the background, so it's already been decided. I could see introducing such a thing during play. I could even do so as a consequence of the characters' actions, but I don't think I could really make it as much of a deal as it is in Civil War without coming across as heavy handed or vindictive. It'd be more low-key, and what would ultimately happen is that the authorities would make it clear that the characters would get more cooperation and access to more resources if they sign up...but if they don't, I can't see anyone agitating for instant jail time.

Re: Cluttered Universes I like clutter, to a point. I like having lost worlds, hidden cities, Atlantis, magical enclaves, alien races, galaxy-spanning empires, multiple mystic dimensions, parallel worlds, space gods, giant monsters, mythic pantheons, government conspiracies, and world-spanning criminal organizations. I don't really see these as limiting, though. They're opportunities. I'd be hesitant to map everything out at the start of a game, though. Like, "No, you can't have a winged seer from a secret Tibetan temple, because I already have Nanda Parbat!" wouldn't be a desirable response to a player's character concept. I do think that an organic setting played over a long period of time will get cluttered also, and I think that's a good thing, much as the Marvel and DC settings being cluttered is generally a good thing. I'm not defending the stories and writing that they come up with, necessarily. That's a somewhat separate issue.

Re: WWYD - Marvel's Civil War Looking at the literal events in Civil War: * Nitro's never had that level of power before. It's unreasonable to expect he could cause that much damage. * When he does explode and cause that much damage, killing the New Warriors, it's unreasonable to lay so much blame at the feet of said team. * The Registration Act is unconstitutional and draconian, especially considering the actions supporters take - I mean, seriously, instant arrest if you don't comply seconds after it becomes a law? Requirements to sign up as soon as you come into a hospital with a gunshot wound? I can't think of a character I've played who would support it. That doesn't mean any kind of registration is out of the question, but this particular version just isn't reasonable, sensible, or even legal.

Re: Thanks from a GM I'm not currently GMing, but I'd otherwise like to echo Weldun's sentiments. Just reading the forum is at least inspirational - I love seeing how other people use Hero.

Re: Conversions...City of heroes? http://www.cityofheroes.com/ Click on "Game Information" Archetypes and Powers will explain the general stuff.

Re: Conversions...City of heroes? Oh, yeah - I completely neglected perks, skills, and talents. I do have some skills, but not all the skills I wanted. I forgot to mention - as a daughter of Selene, the moon goddess, she's a shapeshifter (only approximated through costume changes), she has basic invisibility vs. sight (Cloak of Darkness), and life support - again, for divine ancestry. The shapeshifting and life support boosted her points, and could be cut while leaving what she explicitly has in CoH. All that aside, CoH is a conceptual gold mine for hero and villain groups as well as ideas for character powers. I'd be tempted to port the Malta Group if I were running Champions, or maybe the Fifth Column. Both are good agent groups.

Re: Conversions...City of heroes? Thank you much. I should admit that this thread got me to mess around with converting my DM/DA scrapper over - some powers transplanted pretty nicely, with some condensing. The character was a bit on the expensive side. I condensed Dark Embrace, Murky Cloud, and Obsidian Shield into one power (PD/ED/Ego Defence/Power Defense force field), created an AoE damage shield for Death Shroud, and made a big darned multipower for the attacks (Shadow Punch = HA, Smite = HKA, Shadow Maul = 1 hex autofire AoE, Midnight Grasp = entangle, Soul Drain = AoE Stun to Strength transfer, Dark Consumption = Stun to End, Dark Regeneration as two powers - one is Stun to Body, the other is Stun to Stun). It worked fairly smoothly, but I wasn't trying for a literal reconstruction of every power. I also didn't get to her epic pool.

Re: 25th Anniversary Winding Down I am saddened that I didn't have the funds this month to purchase a big stack of books. I guess I'll have to purchase 30% fewer in the coming months.

Re: Conversions...City of heroes?

Re: Conversions...City of heroes? Literal modelings for most of the powers strike me as problematic, and in some cases just going too far to get a fairly simple result. It might be better in most cases to simply model the concept directly as opposed to designing the powers individually. Did you have anything specific that you wanted assistance with?