BoloOfEarth

The morning my family was readying to leave for vacation, my youngest turned down my request to help finish off the chocolate cake she had made a few days before. Her: I haven't had breakfast yet. You can't eat cake for breakfast. Me: I have three words for you: Va-Ca-Tion. (pause) And before you point out that is just one word, I'd like to point out that my brain is already on Va-Ca-Tion.

Hmmm... If the potential sidekick is currently a DNPC, unless the PC is planning to both pay off the DNPC Complication and pay points for the Follower, it sounds like the sidekick is probably going to remain a DNPC. So point totals are entirely up to the GM, and the character will continue to be a Complication (so, more hindrance than help). I'm reminded of the Black Cat, who originally had no real powers and wanted to work alongside Spider-man, but he feared she would get hurt or killed. So she went behind Spidey's back and got powers on her own -- from the Kingpin, as it turned out, though she didn't know it until after the deed was done. Perhaps the DNPC in your case could do something similar -- in her eagerness to get back into the superhero game, she goes to someone on the gray side of the law to speed up the process. Maybe whatever that person does allows her to instantly learn what the PC is trying to teach her (so training takes weeks instead of years), but there are side effects. That would explain the surprises and novelties. It's up to the GM whether the person helping her did this intentionally with a darker purpose, or if those side effects are completely unintentional, based on her previously having powers. (Maybe her powers weren't completely gone, just inaccessible and maybe altered slightly, and the speed-up process unlocks them somewhat.) Just my thoughts on the issue.

There was a product, Champions Battlegrounds, which had a number of separate adventures that IIRC could fit together into a long-term plot arc. And Blackwyrm Games (www.blackwyrm.com) has put out several excellent books that similarly contain multiple individual events that could be run as one-shots, or combined into a longer plot arc. (I'll let mattingly or Balabanto toot their own horn there.)

In 6th, I'd say a 200-point Follower would be bare minimum. Even slightly increased Characteristics (15 STR / DEX / CON, 3 SPD, etc.) will cost 50 points at least. Personally, I'd shoot for 250 to 275 points. I'd want the Follower to be at least moderately effective. As a GM, if the player pays the points I would disagree with having the Follower not be around or not work well with the hero nearly all of the time, and am not fond of using one as a DNPC. After all, 40-55 points is a pretty hefty investment. If the character put 50 points into a VPP gadget pool, would you summarily say, "Sorry, your gadgets are out for the night" or "You can't have a hologram generator right now - you're going to have to make do with a pack of smoke grenades and a flight belt"? (Of course, putting Limitations like "Can Only Change in a Lab" into play is permissible to keep the player from altering the makeup of his gadget pool, but that's different from making the VPP completely unavailable.) That said, in past campaigns I have given several PCs sidekicks, free of charge. In those cases, I have had the sidekick unavailable at times, or occasionally work at cross purposes with the hero, or fall into the DNPC role. And in all cases, I've written up the sidekick character with only moderate input from the player, and played the sidekick to be roughly equal parts helpful and hindrance.

Wasn't Iron Man's "armor in a briefcase" similarly touted as completely implausible? They managed to find a way to not only make it work, but to also make it totally cool. I'm not a follower of Dr. Strange in the comics -- does he always wear the traditional outfit no matter what, or has he used some sort of disguise spell to make it appear as normal clothes? If the cloak and Eye of Agamotto are magic items, he'd need them around. Couldn't some sort of spell (presumably with cool SFX when turning it on/off) allow him to walk around in his traditional outfit, but be seen by most people as in normal clothes?

The first link just points to this (Hero Games) forum page.

Is each from a different universe, or all from the same universe? I'm assuming the former, otherwise only the first person gets to post info on the universe they escaped. - - - - GammaFlux braced himself as another tremor shook the PRIME lab. As soon as things calmed down, the chief scientist continued his spiel. "We've nearly completed work on the device to reverse the damage done to the Yrth's orbit and rotation, and should have it ready by the time you return. We'll need at least 100 kilos of Fosgoodium-249 for it to work properly, but we've found an alternate Yrth where it's not quite as rare as on our world, though it is still fairly rare there. It may take you some time to collect enough. With your powers, you should be completely safe from Fos-249's radiation." A general stepped forward. "If you pull this off, Flux, the President will grant you a full pardon and you'll be reunited with your wife and children." GammaFlux glared at the general. "I should at least be able to say goodbye to Jen, Mark, and Toby before I leave this dimension." "We promised you if you'd do this, your family would be evacuated to safety," the general said, ignoring the look on the chief scientist's face. "At this point, the only truly safe place is in orbit, and they're on their way now. Unfortunately, we can't wait any longer if we're going to get you safely to the other dimension." The chief scientist handed GammaFlux a handheld device. "This will signal us to open a return portal once you've acquired the necessary Fos-249. Good luck, GammaFlux." After another brief tremor, all preparations were complete and the dimensional portal was opened. GammaFlux activated his radiation shield and flew through the portal. The scientist waited until the portal had closed again before turning to the general. "I still think it was wrong not to tell him. He has a right to know." The general sighed. "If he knew his family died enroute to the launch site, he never would have gone. Like it or not, he's our only hope."

I think Roxanne Ritchi pretty much sums it up: I had been thinking of creating a thread on abusive builds, but I decided not to because I figured it would degenerate into exactly this kind of back-and-forth bickering.

"Darn it, how the heck do you wrap 20 experience points? He'll finally be able to dodge Biff the Wonder Dog's attacks!" NT: Foxbat being Foxbat, what is he actually going to purchase with those 20 XP, instead of a higher DCV?

I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

That all presupposes that Barney Brick is as bright as Barney the Purple Dinosaur, has no allies with mental powers / decent ranged attacks, and they're fighting on a featureless, uncluttered plain. "Line of sight, isn't it? So let's duck behind this wall / car / whatever and continue to pound on Marvin's pal. If Marvin can't see me, he can't target me, unless he has Mind Scan of course. In which case he'll still have to blow a phase scanning, and I get a breakout roll, so maybe that works for Marvin and maybe it doesn't. Meanwhile, I move around that building and run down the alley to get closer to Marvin..." All of that said, I fully agree with your points about mentalist snipers. Of course, that has to apply to the GM as well as the players -- if he/she allows the bad guys to play sniper mentalist all willy-nilly, there's no room to complain if the player mentalist uses the same tactics.

Interesting idea. Maybe if the group (as one unit) rolls less than half what they need to hit, have the attack be Penetrating instead of adding extra DC? Or just give the option of either extra DC or Penetrating regardless of the roll? Either one might work.

Gotta love "Vader Crater." It just rolls off the tongue.

In 6th, there is also the +1/2 level that is basically what Massey was talking about. So they didn't change it, so much as add a new level (or two) to it.

Hmmmm... a GM might rule that given the relative rarity of mental powers, a Mental Paralysis similarly requires a reasonably common and obvious means of removing the entangle. An electric shock, say, or slapping / splashing cold water in the face.

Long before Albert Layden moved into the neighborhood, Jimmy Felton had claimed the playground's jungle gym as his own, beating up any kids who dared play on it without his permission. Every recess Albert's powers turn Felton into Jungle Jim, a strong and agile ape/human hybrid.

Interesting idea on only EGO defending against PRE attacks, instead of the higher of EGO or PRE. The fact of the matter is, there are skills that benefit from an increased PRE, but little benefit from an increased EGO. When characters really should buy that up, if for no other reason than to fit concept. Example from my current Champions game: the team brick is Honey Badger (catch phrase: "Honey Badger don't care"), who has a 13 EGO and no Mental Defense He's already been the (successful) target of several mental illusions, and I expect he'll simply buy Mental Defense with XP rather than buying his EGO higher.

That's why you wear a titanium cup.

Given that you have at least +1 1/4 Advantages to make a mental Entangle, a 60-point version would only have 26.7 base points. And with the RAW cap of max defense = 2x the BODY dice, you're maxing out at 2d6, 4 MD.* So yeah, agreed, pretty tough to break through even with an 18 EGO. (And 6ED explicitly allows pushing of EGO for breaking out of a mental entangle, and with an average of only 2 BODY, by pushing his EGO the target should be able to break free in a few Phases.) Assuming the enemy mentalist has a similar level of Mental Blast (60 points = 6d6, or maybe 4d6 AP), it could be gone in a single Phase. (* Caveat that the rules aren't crystal clear on how much base Mental Defense the attack gets. Does a 2d6 Entangle start with 4 MD (adding base PD and ED together), or 2 MD (which is what I use)?) At 1:1, EGO isn't expensive, but agreed that it isn't always supported in a character concept (though I could see a heroic character saying that he's got to have a decent amount of willpower to go out and face down some of the nasties he encounters fighting crime). Mainly, extra EGO isn't considered incredibly useful, so it's rarely bought up. The problem, to me, is that a normal Entangle can be taken down by pretty much any one of the target's friends, but the mental Entangle can only be taken down by the target or another mentalist. And the target rarely has anything but his base EGO to break free, whereas with a normal Entangle he can typically use some other attack power against the Entangle, in addition to his STR.

Here's what I wrote up 10 years ago for an issue of Haymaker!. Hope it's helpful. (And if not, perhaps entertaining.) (Edit: It helps if you actually attach the file, doesn't it?) MassCombat.pdf

For the past decade or more I've been using self-designed mass combat rules that consider groups of agents as single-ish meta-characters. So a single agent, with his 5 OCV and 8d6 Blaster and 28 STUN may not be a match for a superhero. But eight of those agents working as one have 8 OCV, do 11d6 damage, and have 58 STUN. Each time the team loses 10 STUN, the OCV and damage drop by 1 (as single agents or pairs of agents in the group are downed by their foes) until (anywhere below 28 STUN) there's one lone agent about to get his hat handed to him. It makes combat flow much faster, but they become a credible (if short-lived) threat.

Unless you're literally talking about statting out Superman's Fortress of Solitude, I'd start with thinking out some of the basic elements of a remote get-away for the character: Where is this remote base -- Arctic? Antarctic? On the moon? Uncharted island with the requisite volcano? Bottom of the ocean? How is the character going to get there -- Teleportation? High-speed flight? Vehicle? Since it's a fortress of solitude, I'm assuming minimal staff, if any at all. But decide if any are up there - and if not, perhaps a superintelligent computer to run things in the character's absence.

More overdue quotes, starting with some mostly out of context: Honey Badger: The Banana Splits had a great theme song. Don't f*** with it. Maker (discussing what kind of car someone is driving): A Lexus Luthor Honey Badger: I break things, therefore I am. The news recap of their fight with Deathstroke included the following quote from the reporter: Nadine Acer: "The heroes used some unusual tactics, but they seemed to work. For example, Honey Badger grabbed Scatterbrain and carried her away from the battle, putting himself at great personal risk to keep the mentalist from messing with the other heroes. Circe: Great personal risk?! She was trying to boff him in the stairwell! The heroes finally settle on a team name. Honey Badger: I want "Just Cause." That way, when people ask why we're doing this, we say, "Just 'cause." The team pays a visit to the offices of BEST (Boston Elite Super Team) to have words with T.J. O'Rourke. Circe establishes Telepathy with TJ in case he's thinking of screwing them over. Honey Badger: I'll walk in, put my hands on his desk, and growl at him. Say, does he have anything on his desk that I can bite? GM: What, like a sandwich? HB: No, something non-edible. Like a stapler. GM: Sure, there's a stapler on the desk. HB: As I'm glaring at him, I take a big bite out of the stapler. O'Rourke: (pouts) That was my good stapler. It never jammed... O'Rourke: Listen, I'm not doing anything technically illegal! I never claim that I'm actually affiliated with your team. If people want to assume that, well, that's their business. And even though I never say that donations would go toward your team, I do send you some cash. Well, a little cash. But if you really want me to close up shop... HB: We never said that. We want you to work for us. Circe: What does he think about that? O'Rourke: (thought bubble) What, like legit? Have I ever worked legit? There was that one time in Tampa... naw, that's right, I completely conned that guy out of his car... Shortly after, TJ passes along a call from a local high-end Italian store / caterer (Salumeria Italiana), that they have a pre-paid food order and some "very fine wine" for the heroes. Maker: Is this from Dr. Draconis, thanking us for taking down Deathstroke? (It was) The heroes go to pick up the food and find that it's accompanied by a 1.5L magnum of Chatueau Lafite-Rothschild 1978. Pops: (Does a quick web search) Holy s***! A magnum of that stuff goes for over $1,600! Gaetano Martignetti (owner of Salumeria Italiana): I told you it was a very fine wine. The heroes are investigating a series of demonic hound attacks (which was the gist of the adventure). One demon hound killed a man in Boston, and another killed a retired couple in nearby Arkham. In each case, the dogs bit off one of the hands for each person after mauling them to death. Pops: Which hands were bitten off? GM: For the professor, Dr. McPool, the demon hound bit off his right hand. With the elderly couple... it bit off the woman's right hand, and the man's left. Pops: Was the guy left handed? GM: Nope, sorry. HB: Maybe he just wanted a matched set. (More to follow)

So change it up a bit. Switch the power's advantage from EGO to INT for breaking free. Say the target has to solve puzzles and riddles in his own mind to work his way out. Heck, if the target is a PC, have a riddle or two prepared beforehand and give the character a bonus to his INT roll if the player can solve the riddle. And if a player came to me with "Simulate Death, Usable Against Others" on his character's sheet, I'd laugh him out of the room. Everything my players' characters are allowed to do and have is filtered through the understanding that their opponents will be allowed to pull the same / similar stuff. And likewise, when I'm creating a villain I only use powers that I'm willing (albeit reluctantly at times) for the players to be able to get if appropriate and they're willing to spend the points.

I've always liked the use of "Nats" by supers, especially the villainous ones. It sounds like they're referring to non-powered people as "gnats". To add to the list: teleporters who can take others along get called "taxis" in our group. I've heard battlesuited characters called "tin cans" or simply "cans".