armadillo

A dragon/brick and a Growth character with a flaming skull. Also another brick in the works. I'm encouraging everyone to do a rough sketch of their hero in Hero Machine 3 to fit with the old-school aesthetic (see earlier in this thread).

Cool. Feel free to post your character on this thread or PM me.

I'm running the game in 5e. I'm accepting characters in editions 3 to 5 because I find it easy to translate between those. 5e would be my preference for character submissions. (All combat, movement, etc. will be in 5e rules)

Still room. We're starting up May 17 but it's not too late. Even if you read this in June 2021 you can probably still be fit in, assuming we are not maxed out.

Here's a rough image of one of the player characters: This is the feeling that we are going for in the campaign!! I think Hero Machine 3 does a nice job of matching the vibe of those old character sheet templates that you sketch your character on: ...which just fits so well with this:

I would love to see an app that would output a character sheet in a smudgy, old-school format: PS: This sheet actually belongs to a poster here named culhwch, I think

This is very cool. I will definitely use this in my 5e, even if it is 6e. I'll also peek at the Shadowrun hacking rules. Merci!

I think I want it as complicated as you described!

I've noticed in one of my games, a modern superhero game, that computer hacking (using Computer Programming) is pretty powerful. (I'm using 5th Edition, so answers in that edition will help me the most!) So, I'm considering making it more expensive, and expecting characters to have a certain roll level to attempt certain feats. Like, having an 11- in Computer Programming is not going to get you into a high-security database. (Okay, if the character has an 11- roll, I'm not saying they can never access a high-security database. Just not directly. They might use the 11- to put a keylogger into a non-adept's computer and find the passwords that way. But they wouldn't be able to hack the database directly.) Also, Cryptography will be necessary for getting into higher-level databases (arguably a person could run software to decrypt, but the skill allows the user to choose the appropriate decryption software). I'm considering making Security Systems another necessary aspect for real hacking to occur. My questions: 1. Are there rules in Hero that expand computer hacking and head in the direction I am heading? 2. How do you keep 3-point Computer Programming from taking over a modern game?

I'm just about ready to start. I decided I'm going to rely on Enemies II (1982) as the campaign opens, and branch out from there. So if you're building a character, choosing one of those villains would fit right in. Note that the game is set in 1981, but the ruleset is Champions 3, 4, 5. (If any die-hards want to use even earlier editions of Champions, I can actually work with that.) Take a look at Shelley McTyre's explanation of how pbem games work if you're thinking of joining, and send me a PM. :D

Thank you, Shelley. You're the whole reason I tried doing play-by-email. And I love it. Thanks! Anything you have backed up and can restore to the https://www.mactyre.net/archives/ site, I will likely use! I think a lot of people here will too! PS: If this gives you the gumption to start a new PBEM, I'd love to be a part of that!

I remember reading a lot about Shelley McTyre's Champions game that she did by email. I can't seem to find any reference to it in these forums or online, but there used to be a lot on the web IIRC. Anyone have links or comments about her game? I ask because I am running a play-by-email (see link below) and I was going to use some of her materials to help new players.

It's actually pretty nice. You can split characters off into different threads and choose whether the group sees it or not. If there is some kind of intrigue where a PC is keeping something from the team, they can send you a Private Message and no one knows. Perhaps the best part is the improved ability for the GM to react to character decisions. To me, tabletop games are always a bit railroad-y just because you kind of have limitations when you're reacting in the moment. If a character wants to consult a physicist you might dodge it in the moment to think about the answer, but in a play-by-email you can just research your answer before you reply. Send me a character. It's really a trial basis (isn't everything?) so if you don't like it you can drop out, or drop out and drop back in. I'm structuring the game so that it's very freestyle, and it will have the feel of a very made-up-on-the-fly. Structuring is the wrong word. Deconstructuring?

Yeah. I'll send you a Private Message on here.

OMG! Holy Grail predicted this. Forget The Simpsons, Monty Python is the precognitive authority!

I think it should be the "more common super-max" idea. The idea that it's basically our world slightly skewed, right? I suppose that tech is higher, though.... I guess for me it would depend on whether tech is incorporated into society, meaning is 2021 Hudson City more futuristic than 2021 real-world NYC? If it is, and if society is generally more futuristic, then the prisons should be outfitted accordingly. If the gadgetry and tech is limited to a small elite group of heroes, villains, and secret agencies, then I would just go with more super-maxes, yeah.

I would use the 1/4 Limitation but call it "Only for Pre-tested Powers." So, it takes a while for the character to build a repertoire of powers. The player gradually makes a list of the powers she has tested, and can use any power on that list. It prevents the lag in-game where the player is building the power. Also, if a new situation arises then the player can master a new power between scenes: "You head back to the HQ and hit the Danger Room, focusing on making your fire blasts more focused like a laser...." It also rewards the player who spends the time dreaming this stuff up. I would limit it to one new power for every 15 minutes of practice time.

Many great ideas: forgot Desolidification, Shape Shift (hard to believe because I was thinking Plastic Man--would do it with a color Limitation). Martial Arts is genius...never would have thought of that.... The Fly Swatter I never considered but I love it....Tar-Pit is a great idea/power.... "Leaping with the Special Effect that I stretch to a location and pull myself there" is brilliant. Noice!

Yeah, I agree. When I sense (or plainly see!) that the players have read the module, I always take a huge turn, making an NPC suddenly part of the main plot even though it's not listed anywhere in the module, I add a scene, change the final boss. I'm sure we've all done something like this while GMing. Then the culprit blurts out, "Zenomax isn't in this module, is he?!?!" and the jig is up.

Okay, I found the MUSH. No further questions! Back to the task at hand.

The Complete Rubberman? I'm putting together a PC for a 5e game, along the lines of Plastic Man or Reed Richards, and a tiny bit of Elongated Man and his twitchy nose. But my question is: Has anyone ever played an ongoing "stretchy" character? Is it worth it? Does it fit or do the other players/characters not really take it seriously? And...is there anything a stretchy character could buy as a power that is thinking outside the box? Would it be enough to justify a VPP, or just a Multipower? I know Stretching as a power, certainly. I can see Damage Reduction. Maybe extra Running with the long legs....Gliding perhaps.... Follow-up: Did you follow the "stretchy hero" trope or add One Thing to give it a twist?

Anyone using Star Hero for Trek? I'm pretty sure I have seen PDFs in 4th Edition for such a game. If you have used it, has it been effective? I'm thinking of doing a game. Drawbacks? Suggestions? Generally I run every Hero game of mine just using the main 5e book--not going into the alternate genre books (i.e. Hero books that aren't Superhero genre). Except for space stuff for some reason. Like, if I'm running a spy game, I just use the main 5e book. But I've had recent experiences that have shown me the other books are the smart way to go. I think I used to have more time, and now I appreciate more that the Hero book catalog can save me reams of time. I love building in Hero, but with specific Hero books then I can focus on designing the main characters or the plot....also, the revelation came when I was using a source book and it allowed me to veer off the plan much more easily.

Anyone here do a retro campaign, set in the 70s-90s? I can see a few ways to do it. One would be to use the comics of the time for the vibe. Another way would be to use the characters and images from the time but actual gameplay could have a more modern feel, like riffing on the trope of the time and taking it in a new direction. I've played in Champions groups where everyone was very adamant that we stay in genre--this is actually a very common experience for me. I have often played in games where the players act as "genre police." As GM I always weigh the genre tropes and try to stay very much within the lines, but I never complain when players/characters go outside of genre. Where am I going with this? 1. Thoughts on retro campaigns 2. Genre police experiences

No. What is it?

I like the 1st Edition one and the 3rd. Someone mentioned GI Joe and I think that's fair...I always GMed with the Eighties GI Joe cartoon in mind with Viper in play. It is basically Cobra, especially when you play the villains asscoiated with Viper as though they were the main Cobra characters. Like Destro. Like, the villains are part of the hierarchy and outrank the Viper agents. I play it that way but I also throw in elements of Viper from every incarnation, sometimes switching between two incarnations or even two incarnations in competition with each other, like splinter cells. in a way.