Tigereye

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth? "Chronosburg, Captain?" "She's got everyplace else." "Chronosburg?" "It's just a little bitty place." "CHRONOSBURG!?"

Re: Golden Age Resources: Superweapons of WW II Yes, and he richly deserved cashiering earlier for coming up with the "bright idea" of the Dieppe raid. Why Churchill didn't have him dismissed on the spot was only because the PM considered him a favorite. Calling his later relationship with his Canadian colleagues frosty would be an understatement. And you know your idea's a lunatic one if it's trashed by Montgomery (even in retrospect)- and he came up with Market Garden! Personally, I think Destruga was made of Pykrete...

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth? Jokingly, I was going to say my character seduced her, and gave her dimension-shaking orgasms in return; if he could successfully seduce a life-long lesbian, Istvatha V'Han would be a piece of cake! ;)As a result, she thinks she's the one who's been conquered! More seriously, I think a combination of strategic miscalculation and imperial overreach are to blame, along with the citizens of Earth, PC, NPC (and even a few villains) alike. Although she's very intelligent, that alone doesn't make her a military genius. (Note that the game calls battle skills Tactics, not Grand Strategy.) I look to the example of Queen Elizabeth I of England; she was a remarkable statesperson, but was not herself a great strategist, frequently wasting resources in some areas while not adequately providing for others. The destruction of the Spanish Armada had as much to do with the tactical skills of her commanders and blind luck as anything QE I did. V'Han also may be let down by her commanders a lot. (did Darth Vader do everything himself?) It could be that Istvatha V'Han is riding on her reputation now. A hundred million dimensions are a lot of cosmos, but let's look at this a different way. What if her claims are simply pointing out that she controls the interdimensional gateways, and the spacelanes they control in turn, without actually necessarily controlling all the inhabitants of all the worlds within those dimensions? A lot of Britain's claim to empire was control of the seas; however, aside from a few cultural changes, life in India in the 1800s was not much different from two hundred years earlier. One could live an entire, full life and not even see a British soldier in one's home town. "Empress of a Billion Dimensions", seen in this light, could be taken as her version of "The Sun Never Sets On Our Empire". Maybe it doesn't; but it doesn't shine everywhere equally. It could also very well be that she has reached her zenith, and rebellions in different areas are taking more and more of her still-vast army's time and resources. She may not even realize it yet, as her immortality and stubbornness forbid it; but her empire may be on that long, slow road to its decline. Earth, with its four dimensional portholes, could be her Afghanistan or Alemania, a critical crossroads. Perhaps a puny part of a tiny section of her multiverse, one she must have, but one that continually has the reputation as the thorn of empires before. If she's truly intelligent, she'll let the natives slug it out amongst each other, but never intervene, except perhaps indirectly. Control by proxy would be her best suit to play. Unfortunately, due to overweening pride, she may not leave well enough alone, and try to grab it for herself before Skarn or Tyrannon does first, and do her version of "nation building on the cheap". As a result, I almost think of her in almost tragic terms - an Alexandra The Great, if you will. It makes her fall almost regrettable. Almost.

Re: Angel and Demon Resources Very useful material - one of my friends wants to run an avenging angel type of character, and this information will help. Thanks, T?M!

Re: Real life Foxbat ???? Did they steal it...syruptitously? (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

Re: The War on Christmas Deuce: Sounds like CLOWN, from what studies he's done so far on criminal gangs, so he'll wait for the punch line this is the set-up for. The Grinch is probably a cover for someone outside the organization, with a taste for larceny, but similarly non-lethal. Probably not Foxbat. Unfortunately, he's not familiar with the details of the members enough to find out who the ringleader is. (Problem when the last full year you've remembered is 1966.) Guardian: Will be initially confused by the gag weapons - does she attack these humans? Are they legitimate targets? After a few telepathic interrogations, she might actually get into the spirit of the holidays a little bit, with her own odd, very alien sense of humor (You've never lived until you've seen a Yautja imitate Santa Claus... Scary Christmas! HOHOHOooohhhh...) Spellvis: Will put on a Christmas concert as a way of catching the criminals. He'll invite a ton of great impersonators in addition to himself, and if any heroes have decent musical ability, he'll put them in the orchestra or on stage. He'll get some of the wealthier Scrooges in town to actually donate something for the impoverished in town, too.

Re: For whom the (dinner) bell tolls... Sure hope so. Jesse Garand was born in a small town just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, to a Cherokee mother and a Scots-Irish father. His parents were distant, more into their religion than their children, so Jesse was really raised by his older brother and the other women at the church the Garands attended. He became a bit of a loner, but excelled in music, having a natural ear for it, particularly gospel, blues and soul. It was when he was a teenager that he became interested in the life of another young man of the South, Elvis Aaron Presley. Jesse was first struck at how his name was similar to that of Elvis' stillborn twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley. Elvis, however, was just one of his many musical heroes. At 17, he left home to become a singer. He played piano and guitar at local venues, then (when it was noted that he looked a lot like the young Hillbilly Cat) he became a successful Elvis impersonator. He concentrated on the earlier days of Elvis' repetoire, adding other songs that he thought Elvis would have no problem singing, even modern ones. Critics and fans alike were delighted. They especially noted how his act really became powerful when the spotlight was on. The band even noticed that there seemed to be an added depth to their music when Jesse was around. He did such a good job that he was approached by Hollywood to make a biopic of the younger Elvis. The production company went bankrupt, so the movie was never released but everyone who saw the dailies said Jesse had a natural flair. About six years ago, at the age of 22, Jesse became bored, and decided to join the US Army. He was trained by Army Intelligence to infiltrate domestic enemy organizations, as he had a flair for letter-perfect mimicry. He also learned to fly helicopters. After training, and only on his first intelligence-gathering mission, Jesse was captured by an unknown party and held in brutal confinement for more than a year. Forced to abandon his own personality to avoid harsher interrogation, Jesse retreated into a imaginary world. But because the human mind must have a personality to form around, Jesse's shattered psyche reassembled around the man he had learned to impersonate. Jesse in effect became Elvis Presley. Three years into his captivity, Jesse/Elvis learned more about his abilities to convert light into sound. During interrogation, he delivered a massive sonic attack to his captors and escaped. Recovered by the Army, he was sent to the best psychiatric care they could offer. The psychiatrists despaired of ever recovering Jesse's old personality ever again, as the personality he'd adopted was so powerful. Even after months of therapy, he insisted he was Elvis. However, a bit more than a year ago, he was recovering in a VA hospital in St. Louis when he just as suddenly recovered. Rumor had it he was watching an Elvis film festival at the time, and finally referred to himself and Elvis separately. Although he now knows he is again Jesse Garand, his ability to imitate Elvis is now secondary to his newly-found commitment to justice. There is no southern branch of the Champions, but he qualified for the Midwest branch as he's lived in Missouri for more than a year. His respect (some say obsession) for Elvis is still very evident in his new role as a superhero. Jesse's motivation stems from his confinement at the hands of his mysterious captors. Having witnessed their evil first-hand, he wants to bring as many villains to the hands of justice as possible. His love for all things Elvis stops a little short of an obsession; he is a true fan but not a fanatic, and is quick to state that he has far broader musical tastes, among other things. He points out that he has to act as much like Elvis as possible when in his hero guise (it allows him to use his powers) but does not want to replicate his life. Still, he almost subconciously imitates the King even out of costume, and his treatment remains in progress. Someone once said of Jesse, "He'd be Elvis, if someone had shot Colonel Parker when Elvis was 20." He shares Presley's modesty and love for common people. He is charitable and generally kind. His biggest flaw is with women - he can't resist flirting with any girl who catches his eye.

Re: For whom the (dinner) bell tolls... Oh, almost forgot: Spellvis: unlike his doppelganger, Spellvis does not like fried peanut butter sandwiches. His diet is largely informed by his brief Army career, which is actually pretty well balanced if you are physically active, which he is. His Cherokee heritage also plays a part - which is to say, many dishes now considered "Southern" or "Soul Food". Still, he tries to avoid the most fattening ones - he was a Young Elvis impersonator before he became a superhero, and does not want to be an Old Fat Elvis impersonator now. His powers (which convert electromagnetic energy to sound energy, Dazzler in reverse) consumes piles of calories.

Re: It was a dark and stormy thread Call of Cthulhu is always good for a scare, but the single scariest moment I ever ran was in Fringeworthy. (For those of you unfamiliar with the universe, an acquaintance of mine described it thusly: Stargate, Sliders, and Friends blended together...as directed by John Woo.) A parallel dimension where many fictional characters here are real there discovered the PC's universe first, and some are almost Dark Champions-scale in their abilities and evil. Khan Noonien Singh, dictator of most of South Asia, retaliates by sending a chemical laser-fired thermonuclear weapon through the gate to Earth, using hijacked NPCs to transport the device. The bomb cannot be detonated electronically, as the gates will discharge batteries and disrupt conventional electronics, so it is designed to go off when one of the NPCs dies or is removed from the bomb - and her neck is broken so as to ensure her death. The gates are almost indestructable, and magnify the effects of any weapon directed at them tenfold back to the source...and this is a 10-megaton-yield weapon. One wrong move by the PCs, and a good portion of Antarctica becomes steam, as well as the entire central base and them with it. Four wheels were locked with mechanical triggers, and there was no way to lift the bomb out. The entire first part of the adventure was the characters getting the base evacuated and keeping the NPC alive while they desperately tried to find a way to disarm the bomb. One of the PCs was skilled in chemistry (as was his player) and he had the bright idea of raiding the medical lab. Using a small drill on one corner of the bomb, he took an enema bag and hose and flooded the bomb with water, converting the lithium deuteride into useless lithium oxide and deuterium gas, most of which vented out. Yes, he gave the bomb a water enema. :sneaky:Unfortunately, they couldn't save the NPC; but the lasers fired with only a large "bang" of burning residual deuterium. I have never heard such a sigh of relief and pent-up tension released in my 30 years as a GM... Want to scare the players? Give them no real superpowers to speak of and give them the threat of imminent vaporization...the scariest thing to the PCs is not the bullet with their name on it, but a bomb marked "Addressed to Occupant"...

Re: For whom the (dinner) bell tolls... Deuce: Staples are grilled sole, veal, steak and French fries or cold roast beef with potato salad. Mixes in a green salad once in a while. Breakfast is his favorite meal of the day; bacon, sausage or ham and eggs, wholewheat toast, Jersey butter and a choice of strawberry jam, marmalade or honey. Really, really likes eggs; soft-boiled, scrambled or Benedict; so much so it gets him into trouble with his secret identity. Loves speckled brown eggs from French Maran hens with nice, firm golden yolks. Will eat any culture's dishes, but actually likes simple foods (despite a rep from his friends as a picky gourmet), but always wants his food well-made, fresh and as much "made from scratch" as possible. He'll frequently send back restaurant food if it doesn't meet his standards. (He will tolerate badly made food at someone else's home; he's very polite to his hosts, and understands that top-notch food is not always available when money or time prevents it.) Likes black coffee, hates tea and soft drinks. Drinks way too much liquor, although he handles it well. Life's too short to eat at McDonalds, unless there's almost the option of that or starvation. Guardian: Beef stew, steak tartare, meat, fruit and vegetable medley. Primarily carnivorous, but blends in other plant matter roughly like a bear or canid. Not much for what people would consider "gourmet" food. Has a real taste for Twinkies with spicy brown mustard. (She's an alien, don't you know). Body conserves water very well, so she rarely drinks it unadulterated.

Re: Funny locations for a Dark Champions game? Eek, Alaska. The name says it all...

Re: "Your Most Embarassing Game Mastering Moment" GM'ing Star Trek: The RPG (I'm dating myself with this one.) Big group of PCs representing an entire task force of ships charged with ending a war between the Federation and Romulans. Most of the PCs have been captured and replaced by android duplicates. (Remember the TOS episode, "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Same device.) I wanted to showcase a PC whose player hadn't done much gaming lately, who was one of the few PCs who was not replaced by a android clone. The android duplicates take over the ships and prepare to either blow them up or hand them over to the Romulans. The remaining PCs had minutes to figure out what happened, stop the android duplicates, and rescue the real PCs. I told the players (also playing their android doppelgangers) that they could leave subtle clues in the way they played their characters that they were Not What They Appeared To Be. The original player was a good guy, and a pretty bright fellow. He'd probably have figured it out in fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, he had to leave early. I magnified the problem by having to substitute another PC (the only one left) whose player was as bright as a burned-out refrigerator light. To protect his identity, we will call him "Bobbert". Twenty minutes into the scenario, Bobbert had not figured out - --that the Fleet Captain planning to surrender the task force when there was still a good chance to outfight or at least outrun the hated Roms, --the head of the destroyer flotilla loving on the Klingons and the chance to become a willing slave of theirs, --and everybody else dropping hints that their characters weren't themselves - - and the scenario was starting to come apart at the seams. I dropped a note to pass around, informing the players "This isn't working. You can be less subtle." Bobbert saw this note being passed around and suspected nothing. The note came back with the additional note below it: "LESS?!" About forty minutes in, a member of the gaming club, who wasn't in the game, walked into the proceedings. Utter pandemonium was raging. A player known for his calm demeanor was in the hallway outside the room beating his head on a wall. Peculiar notes were being scribbled on the chalkboard. Players were literally hugging each other from frustration. Three minutes later, the member (remember, he's never been in the campaign) mouthed to me and pointed: "They're all robots?" I nodded yes. The reply, pointing this thumb to Bobbert: "And he's not?" Again I shook my head affirmatively. He shook his head and facepalmed in disbelief. It was the closest the Romulans ever came to winning the war. Short of "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies", I cannot imagine a more terrible, ignominious way for the PCs to go down. Bobbert was worse than useless in the session - I had made a terrible error in judgment. The players were on the verge of a collective nervous breakdown. In the end, I had the players play NPCs on their own ships, and ran the original player's PC as an NPC, to seize control of their own ships before it ended in tragedy. Fifty-two minutes later, the androids had been stopped. The characters who had been taken prisoner managed to seize a shuttlecraft and escaped. Bobbert left the club maybe a year later, but some of the more veteran players still refer to it as "THE Fifty-Two Minutes", even though it happened more than twenty years ago. I'm still embarrassed by it. Although I've had even more stupid players in my games, I swore I would never let one take control of a game by their inertia or idiotic decision-making. So far, it hasn't. Thank Bog.

Re: Your PCs might be overpowered if...

Re: Beating Dr. Destroyer...how do (or did) you do it? One of our heroes in our old campaign took out a Doctor Destroyer type (based on almost as many points!) by means of a massive transform. He had metal-to-non-radioactive-metal transform, and turned the metal in DD-clone's Flight Power from whatever metallic alloy he used to rubidium. (The hero was the sort of sneaky type whose player's first question to the GM was often, "Does he have fillings in his teeth?") The flight power spontaneously melted from the heat, then caught fire. The GM ruled that his flight power was not protected by his Power Defense as it was applied only to his armor. The resulting fire, crash and the sheer amount of firepower poured on DD-clone afterwards actually briefly knocked the guy out. Kind of put him back on his heels. The DD-clone was forced to use his teleport power (he had a permanent one, not just one rented from the equipment pool) to flee the battlefield as the heroes ganged up on him. --Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork guys. There's no defense to it, unlike Find Weakness or Penetrating. Think Mighty Morphing (Morphine?) Power Rangers, folks. "The Power of Teamwork Overcomes All." --My character also has Tactics to allow a one-time coordinated attack. (In the case of DD, I'd try to use it as soon as possible. There may not be another chance.) --Area effect weapons also work best if your character has them. The only other option is to let him think he's succeeded, then move on. A cute trick is to give him a massive Images illusion that he has destroyed the heroes, then letting them defeat his nefarious scheme. Mental illusions would also work well, but it would have to be massive, and play into his psych lims. Fortunately, this wouldn't be hard.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... From my Euro-Champions Saturday game: Big Cast O' Characters. University of Milan high-tech research lab was raided by what was one of Mechanon's Deceptinons. Our Empath, Kukri, found the android in a crowd, but Kiyo (a huge-but-friendly oriental dragon who is the alternate, completely separate form of a paraplegic Japanese girl) wants to make sure: Kiyo, talking to a cage: "Squeak?" ("Is that the human who smelled odd to you?") The rabbit in the cage: "Sque-eek." ("Yes, that's the one.") Imagine a fierce 45-foot-long dragon talking in Beast Speech to a rabbit and you've got the picture. Titan, our resident "Tin Man": "Kiyo's a dragon, so is immune to biowarfare. Ditto Boro-chun, so long as he doesn't breathe. I have a sealed suit that should be proof against most agents. Who else might be immune to super-bugs?" Super-Pimp, a mentalist former bad guy in the '70s who is now a superhero today: "Well, if it involves STDs, I'm immune!" Rest of Party: "Ewwwww!!":nonp:

Re: Worst Hero Names (of your campaigns) In a Champions campaign in 1986 North Carolina, we had a guy create Fat-Man and his husky boy sidekick, Flobbin... I then threatened to create Flatman and Ribbon...

Re: What can you do with five points? How about a little cheap defense, FRED style? Automatic Vision Protection Contact Lenses: Sight Group Flash Defense (6 points), Uncontrolled (+1/2), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger resets automatically, immediately after it activates; trigger is Vision Group Flash; +1) (15 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect only affects the recipient of the benefits of the Power; Temporarily restricts normal vision for duration of attack, -4 PER; -1), IIF (-1/4), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 5 pts.

Re: History: My first HERO character My first was in 1983; early edition Champions character called Scirocco, a former Australian Army officer who developed the power to create superheated winds around him. He'd probably have an Elemental set in 5th ed, but at the time had energy blast, a high ED and PD Force Field (although not resistant). Main weakness was x2 END and did not yet have the power of flight. We had a real numbskull for a GM who kept sending villains with Killing Attacks against us, and IIRC only two of the party had Resistant defenses. We learned to use every object in our area for defense...

Re: FoxBat's Evil New Plan "Don't forget to read your comic books, kids, no matter what the Legion of Decency may say. And watch plenty of cartoons on TV, too! They're not bad for you- in fact, if you read enough of them, you might turn out smart enough to join Foxbatbot and his Foxbatmecha Corps! And eat your Foxbat Frosted ChocoBombs - part of a complete breakfast!" "...And - Cut! Good job, boss!" "Once my crusade to get children addicted to my yummy, sweet cereal, and seeing me in action in the comics and on TV, kids will see there's absolutely nothing wrong with me. I'll be able to eat all the ice cream I want, and Natalie Portman will be mine. And then there will be nothing, nothing to prevent me from taking over the world! Bwahahahahaha!" BOOM! "Foxbatminion Teddy! What was that bang?!" "It was more of a boom, Boss. Part of the ceiling has been torn out of our Abandoned Warehouse At The Edge of Town * It looks like Mechanon, and he sure doesn't look happy." "I sure hope Mechanon isn't upset about those I components from his robotic minions I reverse-engineered..." WHAM! "...OK, Foxbatminion Skippy, what was that boom?.... er, Skip?" "It was more of a 'Wham!'. This isn't Skippy. This is DEUCE of the World Watchers. We are immediately cancelling your programme." "Fox-Rats. But this is only my first episode! Well, I'll just have to introduce you to my very special guest - Mechanon!" *Abandoned Warehouse At The Edge of Town is a trademark of Joker, Inc.

Re: My Name Is Morty Deuce: MTM has already paid enough of a price. (Deuce remembers the "Flower-Pot Incident" quite clearly. He'd have to suppress a laugh.) If MTM really has a serious case of bad juju, he'd like to find out (through his Curiosity, of course) what gave him the curse. He'll follow along, although not alone. Depending on the campaign, he may take his psionic "Shadow", or his avian or vulpine colleagues. Casey: They'd have to meet at a setting where people could mingle freely with cars, like a picnic, tailgate party or auto show, and Morty would have to be a very strange person to talk to a Corvair, and not get completely freaked out when it started talking back to him! Casey would not understand Morty's motivation to mug people, but would understand the need to come clean. Perhaps Casey could help, by using his ability to "talk" to inanimate objects to find out their history. Maybe the wallet was once owned by a sorcerer or something like that.

Re: The Golden Apple Deuce, being an Cold War-era intelligence officer (OK, a spy and assassin) would view these files as simply engrossing reading. Short of computer skills (this whole laptop-and-cell-phone Futureworld is still kind of new to him), but enthusiastic about the data in contains, he'd memorize it almost rote, so that anyone who asked for an original would have to also get the information out of his head, too. He would make copies of the information; because he's not terribly techno-savvy, he'd probably take photographs and have them microdotted if he couldn't get someone else in his group to make electronic copies. As for the individuals asking for the file: 1. Flag-Suit Hero: Deuce would thank him for his kind offer, but he would not need citizenship from his nation. The files, no matter how disgusting and embarrassing the contents may be, represent the truth of the past. Also, they are not the files of the current government, but of the previous one. If there are parts of those files which describe human rights violations, they are admissible as evidence in international court. He'd actually show him excerpts of the file to change his mind- perhaps these men deserve a fair trial in their country. 2. Recluse: No dice. It would be tempting, and appeals to Deuce's grey-area morality, but Deuce may be able to trade other things for that criminal activity info as well. He'd actually press Recluse on the information he had. What types of criminal activity? If the evidence he has is for a potential criminal conspiracy bad enough, he might want to disclose it immediately if he didn't want to be named as an accessory, and spoil his carefully-maintained reputation as somehow "above it all". He'd also start to run a track on Recluse - just how does he find out this information, himself? Useful to know yourself. I'd assume that Recluse is very good at keeping his tracks covered, but one tempts an elite agent at their own risk. Offer Deuce a fish, and he wants to find the fishing grounds so he can operate a small trawler himself. 3. Evangeline: Not all of the files are confessions, and priests may also be responsible for collaboration with the regime in human rights abuses, possibly even genocide. God will forgive him if he therefore makes the files available to other authorities. Therefore, Deuce advises her to start looking at the men who ordered her to demand the file back, as they may have something to confess themselves. He would caution her that not everyone in the church - any church - is lily-white of spirit. (And to sate his grey-area morality, if Evangeline is particularly attractive, Deuce will attempt a Seduction. He's seduced a lesbian before, but never a nun...) 4. Hammer: The presence attack would probably totally bomb on Deuce. He'd offer Hammer a car with hand controls unless he leaves empty-handed. If Deuce does not have that capability (which would take Hardened defenses to defeat), a simple "Hey, Rube!" to one of his colleagues (such as his lieutenant, Brick) would possibly do the trick. 5. The reporter will find the information out if and when it comes out at trial; no sooner. Deuce is not interested in any group "scooping" another. Yes, the public may have a right to know some, even most of the information; but not all of it, not all at once, and not at an inappropriate time. 6. An agent for your character's government (or at least the government of the place where your character lives): As a British patriot, Deuce would be strongly tempted to simply give it to his own government, but he would ask the questions: does the agent have a need to know this? What assurances does he have that appropriate action will be taken about the most egregious crimes? Will this agent make sure that the right authorities get the files (he will name the people)? What accountability can this agent make to that end? If the agent cannot or will not make such assurances, and does not seem accountable for what happens to the files next, then Deuce will anonymously turn over the files to the International Criminal Court. Not perfect, but better than any of the alternatives. If copies can be made, then his group will keep the copies in several different places. Casey wouldn't know what the heck to do with them, and would give them to other members of his party to make those decisions. Casey is a bit naive, but not stupid or gullible. Some might not however, recognize Casey even as a sentient being. Hammer would find himself with Yokohama 225/50ZR15 tire tracks up his chest if he so much as touched Casey's mechanic inappropriately.

Re: Happy Halloween! What Would Your Character Wear? Deuce has already done this; he dressed as Sherlock Holmes. He's a big fan, although he'll admit to having a bit more than half of Holmes' intellect. Imagine the surprise when he pulls out a Walther PPK...Next time he's going to dress as Zorro. Casey would be a challenge; as a car, make-up or prostheses tend to mar the clear-coat. You could attach things under the body on the chassis or through his windows, and he could go as a Rose Parade float, or as Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. (The latter would be especially effective, as he flies and floats, too!)

Re: A Gift? Deuce hates the holidays (his parents died on Christmas Eve, 1933). With the level of evil around, and his natural sense of ex-spies' suspicion, he'd probably have the package X-rayed. With luck, it would explode in the x-ray machine. He'd be exceptionally suspicious if the box turned out clean. Who would send him a Christmas gift when they know he hates it? With the level of supervillains in this game, it probably is some toy-based villain like the Dark Harlequin or something sending a toy car that gives off toxic gas. Casey would have someone else open the package - if not his mage-mechanic, probably his friend Golden Justice. Not that he's paranoid or anything - he's actually a bit guileless - but being an anthropomorphic car, he doesn't have hands. (Golden Justice is the closest we have in the game to a superhero, invulnerability-wise.) With this universe, it's probably the new 5-speed transmission he ordered from the dwarf mechanic! (He's been saving up the XP for more ground movement.) Either that, or a set of fuzzy dice.

Re: Making up a current Day Germany for Champions..... My zwei pfennig's worth: I run a European Champions universe, which is NATO-sanctioned. In my game, Europe has many superheroes, although not as many as the US. (including some American heroes not really wanted in their own country and some who have been assigned by the US Armed Forces). The group has two German superheroes (three, if you include their non-player character chief, who rarely appears except in rescue operations). Everyone seems to enjoy it because it lets me run unknown villains, as well as very well-known ones, and gets them out of their US "comfort zone". An idea I've been knocking around, and offer it to you free of charge: Rather than Hitler in the 1930's, Germany was headed by the most popular man there in 1933: noted businessman Hugo Eckener, the head of the Zeppelin Company. (This was actually proposed, and if he had accepted, he'd been hard to stop, even by Hitler.) With him, Germany gradually rebuilt its armed forces and retook occupied territories but without succumbing to the level of fascist militarism that brought it later to grief. Instead, they had to defend itself against Soviet invasion in the middle 1940's, losing many of its eastern lands but retaining its overall integrity (it also found fast allies in Britain and the United States). This allows the same nasty proto-Nazis to be killed off while allowing for a free and more advanced democracy. WWII was also fought in Asia at that time. Setting your game in this alternate universe could allow for lots of strange developments (Einstein-designed German-American atom bombs, from a "Manhattan Projekt"? Mega-zeppelins hauling UNTIL troopers to hot-spots? Unrepentant Nazi Party Paranormal "Ubermenchen" in the 21st century?) while allowing for a break with the past free of bad conscience. You could also stick in some "Tesla-Tech" items or more advanced super-technology than what we have today. Here are a few suggestions: 1. Use the Champions Universe as a basis, but don't hew too closely to it. If you think each German State would have its own superhero team, go for it! 2. Don't be afraid to crib from others' ideas, either published or unpublished. Theme? Fine. (The Deutche X-Manner? Cool!) Players have an idea? Good too, so long as they don't get carried away.

Re: Followed by a Cloud of Radioactive Wasps Sorry, when I read this, I thought of a bunch of guys named Biff and Chad and Thomas G. Worthington III, glowing green and following him around. Then I thought, what the heck kind of accident struck Niantic Bay Unit 2 that would only strike Yale? Then I realized you were referring to insects...