SSgt Baloo

Re: Top 10 List of the Lamest Superheroes of All Times Don't pick on Mr. Terrific. I have fond memories of watching his TV show in the late '60s. It ran opposite the truly lame Captain Nice, a story about a(n adult) superhero who lived with his parents. His mother, played by Alice Ghostly, was an unflattering caricature of a Jewish mother with an excessive degree of admiration for her son's superheroing. His father was portrayed by some bald guy whose face was continually obscured by the newspaper he was reading.

Re: Top 10 List of the Lamest Superheroes of All Times

I've always enjoyed populating my Champions worlds with low-powered supers that the PCs can feel superior to, if so inclined. One day I even hope to run a "ground level" heroes campaign, where the PCs aren't the Cosmic heroes who save the world, but low-powered not-so-supers who can take on muggers and gangsters and maybe a lowpowered supervillain -- the sort of criminals the big guns are too busy to deal with. A few of the more memorable characters (and their descriptions) follow: Mouse-Man: A normal human who transforms into an anthropomorphic mouse. Think Stuart Little with human (10) Strength. The Human Ladder: An otherwise normal human with 6" stretching. Great for getting cats out of trees. Mr. Adamant: Modeled after a LSH character whose name I can't remember, this guy can become almost completely impervious to harm (Armor, EGO DEF & full life support). Unfortunately, while he's invulnerable, he's effectively paralyzed (powers only work while he's simulating death). The Mechanic: Actually, this character was a barely competant DNPC who believed he was another character's sidekick. He was worth his weight in comic relief. He had a 15-point VPP (OIF: contents of his toolbox) and a +2d6 HA (OIF: toolbox). Has anyone else got barely super heroes they'd like to share?

Re: L.A. Caveman And yet they continued to breed for thousands of years. *shudders* No accounting for taste.

Re: Top 10 List of the Lamest Superheroes of All Times Okay, maybe he's not as lame as I thought, but his origin and means of activating his powers are distinctly odd and emit the aroma of "Just give him an origin so we can start drawing."

Re: Super Origins

Re: Top 10 List of the Lamest Superheroes of All Times Let us not forget Charlton comics. I don't know how lame you might judge the following candidates, but they sure were wierd: E-Man: an energy being from space who just happens to choose a human form and is befriended by an exotic dancer. Thunder Bunny: A young boy acquires the ability to change into a large, hypermuscular superstrong flying anthropomorphic rabbit. 3D Man: A test pilot crashes his plane after encountering strange glowing energy clouds. His younger brother acquires the goggles his brother wore on his final flight. When the brother dons the goggles, he falls unconscious while a three-dimensional image of his brother appears an does semi-super stuff. Semi-super because he's three times better at anything than any other (presumably normal) human, and he only appears for three hours. I couldn't find a link for that last character, but I remember buying the comic when it came out.

Re: Whoa, wait just a minute! Did I see that right? [Hijack, s'more]

Whoa, wait just a minute! Did I see that right? [hijack] Huh?!? Is that a typo? What are you saying? [/hijack]

Re: New guy here, wondering about hero system [hijack]

Re: Superhero Images Go ahead and give it a shot. I never thought of him as "super", just a character wearing an outfit.

Re: Super Origins As far as Superman vs Batman, I can easily wrap my head around Bats whalloping Supes in a contest of wits. Supes may be smart, but he doesn't often have to rely on his intellect to defeat his foes. In a physical contest, however, I believe any plausible scenario would end with Supes asking Bats: "Are you okay?" I agree. Why shouldn't a freak accident result in a freak?

Re: Superhero Images The following image was not created for a campaign. Rather, it was the result of tinkering around with PSP back when I had a computer.

Re: Super Origins Meh! I'll allow almost anything so long as it comes in under budget, doesn't unbalance the campaign, and doesn't assume the character will be worshiped as such by anyone he didn't spend the points for.

Re: Super Origins But only if the victims are other rich industrialists. (Imagine all the following in Harvard {Thurston Howell III} accents) Biff: "Tad! Muffy! Come quickly! Look at the television!" Tad: "Isn't that a new set? Color's good, though." Muffy: "Oh, yes! And see how fine the resolution is." Biff: "No! I mean see what's on the screen! Some criminals are robbing a bank!" Tad: "The devil you say! How dreadful!" Muffy: "Why, Tad! I do believe that's your bank being robbed." Tad: "Why so it is. Those dastards!" Muffy: "Really, Tad. Such language!" Biff: "Do forgive me for leaving early, but I just remembered some instructions I must give to my broker." [Hastily exits room.] Tad: "That Biff! Always coming and going. The grass will never grow under his feet." Muffy: "Well, that is how he became a Billionaire Industrialist®." Tad: "Oh, look! Someone is arriving at the bank! I do believe it's that famous Alien Mutant© superhero Moneyman™. Muffy: "How the sun does sparkle on his Magical Nanite Armor®." Tad: "Not quite dear. I believe those sparkles are the robbers' bullets bouncing off his armor." Muffy: "Oh, dear. Isn't he being a bit rough with those robbers?" Tad: "Don't trouble yourself over it dear. They're working-class. They're used to such treatment." Muffy: "That's the last one! And there he goes, flying off into the distance just like last time. He's so mysterious. I wonder who he could be?" [butler enters room] Butler: "Mawster Biff has returned." Biff: "Silly me! Right after I left I remembered I had given my broker those instructions earlier today." Muffy: "Biff, you did it again. While you were attending to affairs of industry, Moneyman™ saved our bank!" Tad: "That's right! Every time Moneyman™ saves the day, you're off on business." Muffy: "Poor Biff. He'll never see Moneyman™ at this rate. Cocktails anyone?"

Re: Here Comes Santa Claus? I would not be surprised to learn that Quantum Santa's location and velocity cannot be known simultaneously. The act of observing one of these characteristics will unpredictably change the other.

Re: Car hero, part 2 custom vehicle movement and combat rules Actually, I thought it sounded more like a Chevy. [/hijack] Manic Typist: The first maneuver sounds something like rolling with the blow rather than a block. What are you blocking with? Is your vehicle equipped with hydropneumatic shock-absorbing fenders? JMO, but I think if you're blocking another car with your car, it's still a collision. If you're trying to limit the impact by swerving away from the other car, it makes sense. I would, however, try to avoid using this maneuver on narrow mountain roads. Especially if there aren't any guard rails. I'm also not certain what to say about the "automotive dive for cover" you propose. Are you sure you meant exactly what you said? Depending on the speed you were travelling, you could easily wind up rolling your car and getting shot to pieces. Imagine telling your insurance man "He was about to shoot so I wrecked the car first!" Yeah, that'll show 'im! On the other hand, if a driver wanted to turn the car before its normally-allowed direction change he might be allowed to do so if he makes a Combat Driving skill roll. I'm assuming there would be negative modifiers to the roll proportional to how many hexes away your next permissible turn is? The GM might want to make a list of different maneuvers that are possible with a successful driving roll. Examples: 60° Turn: Standard maneuver. Vehicle may change facing by up to 60 degrees. Automatic success if performed when normally allowed. If performed prematurely, calculate distance between current position to where the next turn would ordinarily be allowed. Refer to the range table and apply a penalty equal to the range penalty for that distance. Lane change: Standard maneuver. May be executed instead of a 60° turn. The vehicle continues straight ahead while shifting laterally (sideways) until it's in the next lane. Calculate penalties for premature execution the same as for a 60° turn. 90° turn Nonstandard maneuver. May be executed automatically only when vehicle is travelling Turn Mode inches per phase. If travelling faster than Turn Mode inches per phase, subtract Turn Mode from current velocity. Refer to the range table and apply a penalty equal to the range penalty for that distance. Bootleg Reverse: Nonstandard maneuver. May not be executed automatically (Combat Driver skill check is always[/i] required. The vehicle travels [inches per phase]÷Turn Mode. Halfway through this maneuver, rotate the vehicle 180°. Roll ½d6K NND (defence is performing the maneuver on a slippery surface) and apply damage as if the tires had taken the hit. When this maneuver is complete, movement is ended for this phase, but DCV remains as if the vehicle were still moving at its previous velocity. At the vehicle's DEX (or the driver's if lower) in the next phase, the vehicle's DCV bonus for velocity drops to zero (it's just sitting there). The vehicle may accelerate from a standing start at this time. Penalty: compare [{inches per phase}-Turn Mode] to the range chart and apply the result. Note that all of the above is off the top of my head. If you want to use it, go ahead, but it ought to be playtested & tweaked before making it an OFFICIAL part of your campaign. Not legal in all states. Void where prohibited. Subject to taxation where applicable. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Except, of course, when they're not. The above message does not guarantee results. Does your mother know what you're doing? Don't look at me like that young man or you're gona get it!

Re: [Character] Popeye That's muh story an' I'm stickin' to it!

Re: [Character] Popeye Popeye was me boyhood idol. I saw my first popeye cartoon when I was three. It was the one where some little boy who'se mother dresses him funny gets beat up and popeye come to life from the front of hi comc book to give the lil' feller a pep talk. At the end of the cartoon, the kid eats some spinach from a can and punches the bully so hard his subsequent trajectory takes him up and away (from street level) through a second or third-story window. My very first ever Champions character Fist-Man was an homage to Popeye. In fact he was the illegitimate son of a one-eyed sailor and got his powers from smoking dried spinach.

Re: Seemingly Silly Things to Model

Re: Crude Combined Marvel/DC timeline to use as backstory to a Supers campaign I am truly impressed. Kudos to those who have managed to combine such disparate elements as Archie Comics, Superheroes, Dai Kaiju, Scooby Doo and more. It makes me feel smart just to hang around this crew. This thread has so many excellent timelines that I (almost) hesitate to share my own. Both of them need work -- perhaps when I acquire another computer? I wrote this document starting in 1990. I kept updating it until I uploaded it to AQIT in 1998. I need to update it again. The purpose was to provide players with some information about the (Golden Age) campaign setting. This other document was for my own use, to help me keep the facts straight regarding things the players did not necessarily know, but might discover during the course of the campaign. The metavirus I referred to in this timeline was an early attempt to describe a nanomachine that not only rewrites DNA but actually changes the physiology of the victim as well.

Re: Wht did your Champion get for the holidays? The Cat Without a Name: A human/cat, cat/human dictionary & phrasebook. (Not for himself, but for his human servants.) Bob Tiger: The part of Hobbes in Calvin and Hobbes: The Movie. Lance O'Bannon, The Singing Cowboy: Yet Another gaudy "western" outfit with matching boots, gloves, hat and bandanna. A large crate full of wooden targets shaped like hands with pistols in them.

Re: Lucky, Lucky, Lucky! Oh! Oh! I just remembered a character I did for someone else's "high-powered" campaign (we got to run 350-point characters instead of the usual 250). Lance O'Bannon, the Singing Cowboy (that's how he introduced himself), was inspired by Craig Shaw Gardiner's Cineverse Cycle Books and the movie: Rustler's Rhapsody (plus every B-western ever made). Lance could hear and interpret the background music (Danger Sense, World-wide). He was incredibly lucky. In addition to the 10 luck dice he had, he had several powers with luck or "cinematic cowboy" SFX. "Actually, that bullet/arrow/death ray passed between my shirt and my skin" (30 PD/ED damage resistance). His guns were bought as a multipower with ultra slots. They didn't use charges, but were bought to 0 end. The GM agreed that he'd only run out of bullets when it would add dramatic tension. They could be used as an autofire attack (to simulate rapid fire with both pistols), Telekinesis (to shoot guns out of people's hands, throw a switch from across the room, and other trick shots), a physical enegy blast, and a NND to simulate a grazing head shot (defense was wearing a helmet). He had great heapin' gobs of PREsence, because his biggest power was the ability to talk the bad guys into turning themselves in. He was a real tin-plated (cow)boyscout. He was a true blue team player, and the only member of the superteam who wasn't a Grim, mysterious figure. He really believed in Mercy and Justice, and was as likely to intervene on behalf of a villain he thought was being railroaded as he was to oppose the bad guys in the first place.

Re: Strange But Useful Powers. Here's one inspired from a scene in The Last Action Hero.* Squeaky Clean: Instant change (or transform -- I 'm not completely familiar with 5ER yet). Change from dirty/unkempt to clean/well-groomed. Whenever the character finds himself to be in less-than-presentable condition, he may quickly clean/repair his clothing, remove smudges, comb his hair, etc. To do so he must brush himself off, or in the case of sticky/wet messes borrow a handkerchief or other object with which to wipe himself clean. *

Got it! Today, I went to my local A-1 Comix store. I reached into my utility belt and pulled out a small quantity of my secret weapon: Money! I purchased Ultimate Speedster (their last copy) and I even got 20% off because it was their post-Christmas sale. The guy ahead of me paid nearly $700 for some old comics (one of them was priced at $150!!) so my measley (less than) $25 purchase seemed like an even better bargain. After skimming the book, I have to admit that ETSZ sounds like an unbalancing power as written, especially if none of the other players are speedsters. Has anyone allowed it in their game, if only to see just how closely the resulting catastrophe matches the prediction?