BoloOfEarth

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".

While creating an alien scientist with mental powers, I had another thought that relates to giving a mentalist some uniqueness. In addition to the special effects, how the powers are used can add some individuality to the mentalist. For instance, with the alien scientist I plan to use pretty vanilla Mental Illusions and Mind Control to create various scenarios for the scientist to observe the hero's actions and reactions. I'm thinking something along the lines of: "Today we're going to see how Honey Badger reacts to conflicting stimuli. First, we'll tweak his neurons to make it appear that two different vehicles are out of control, one heading for innocent bystanders and the other toward a group of police officers. Which will he save? Then one of an imaginary creature menacing innocents. After a few such neural illusions, I'll override one of Honey Badger's teammates to force her to attack authorities. Will he believe that another illusion, or take it at face value and react accordingly?"

John McCain, Bob Dole, Dick Cheney, Joe Biden...

[cynical] It was certainly odd how she tied her hands behind her back beforehand. But it was quite considerate of her to take the chair that she jumped off of to hang herself, and put it back outside the cell when she was done. [/cynical]

When I was a little boy, every time my mom would put me on the potty, I would cry. Finally, one day she asked, "Why is it every time I put you on the potty, you cry?" And I replied,

When doesn't the destruction begin? NT: Implausible excuses BoloOfEarth can try using to get out of staining the deck this weekend.

"How can you be alive after drinking that, Superman?" "Well, thanks to Lex Luthor I've been able to build up an immunity to kryptonite powder. Inconceivable, I know, but there you are."

Part 2 of Stroke of Death: I forgot to say that, in the Heronet Herald article about "Dr. Draconis" breaking Requiem out of Stronghold, mention was made that a few weeks before, Dr. Draconis had been in a battle with the "Virginia Alliance for Global Intervention and National Aid," during which his armor had gotten badly damaged. Pops: Is that superhero team actually called VAGINA? GM: They're a loose group of heroes who refused to give their team a name. So the Heronet Herald editor gave them one. Malarky: It's the GM's way of saying it's time for us to pick a team name. In response to TJ O'Rourke and BEST, Malarky and Maker set up a website and an email address for the team, even though they still haven't picked a name. A freak earthquake levels a deserted town in Pennsylvania at 12:02 pm, after which the major networks reveal that they had each received CDs that morning with video files of Requiem demanding the US government abdicate in favor of Deathstroke ruling the country, and threatening to destroy whole cities until that happens. He said that as a demonstration, they would level Curtin Village, Pennsylvania at noon. Honey Badger: A CD? Really? How 1990s. GM: Well, he has been in prison for over a decade. Shortly after that, the team begins getting repeated emails from two local reporters (Nadine Acer at the local CBS affiliate and Joshua Petersen from the local Fox station) and Tommy Dugan (son of Jimmy "Gyro Jim" Dugan), all requesting interviews with the hero team about Deathstroke. Honey Badger: What makes them think we know anything about it? We've never even fought them before. Honey Badger gets a call from TJ O'Rourke, saying that he received a CD with a video file he thinks the heroes need to see. From a completely different angle (up above and to the side) it shows Requiem filming his demands (requiring three takes), and then walking over to a table to go over maps and diagrams with Stinger and Death Commando. The CD also contains diagrams and notes about a device that projects earthquake-like resonant vibrations at a distant location. Maker: So can I make a gadget that will detect that device? GM: Sure... the next time it's used. Do you want to wait until then? The notes on the CD include computations of the frequency and amplitude waves showing that Curtin Village, PA is approximately 590 km from the quake device. Malarky: We'll draw a circle on the map and start checking out towns along the line. GM: Like, Boston? Because the line passes right through your hometown. The heroes look up info on the members of Deathstroke. GM: ... and the strawberry blonde there is Scatterbrain, the team's mentalist. Circe: Strawberry blonde? Does she look familiar to me? GM: As a matter of fact, she does kinda resemble the girl in the bar who whammied Pop Tart. The heroes take a multi-prong approach: Shadowboxer and Maker begin researching and checking out disused underground spaces (old subway stations, etc.) in town, while Circe tries to Mind Scan for Scatterbrain. Eventually Circe get a few bearings, narrowing the search area for Shadowboxer and Maker, and they locate an unusual space under a disused storage building -- a sizable section of abandoned subway tunnel has been blocked off with concrete. In the storage building above, Shadowboxer spies on a group of heavily-armed hired thugs, so the heroes block off the door leading to the staircase and get ready to force open the armored door leading into the main part of the underground base. Pops: Remember, take out the mentalist. They're evil. Every last one. Circe: One of these days, I'm going to find myself about a mile up in the air, falling to my death, aren't I? GM: Right next to the monsignor. Circe: (looks to his right) Oh, hey, Monsignor Vasquez. How's it going? Inside, they find Nadine Acer holding a camcorder, interviewing Requiem while the other members of Deathstroke and a squad of agents are scattered around the room, some checking on the Quake device while others are killing time. The battle is joined, with Honey Badger going straight for Death Commando. The villain hits the hero, doing basically no damage past his defenses. Honey Badger: What was that? You hitting me with a feather? Draconic: (to Death Commando) What's wrong, old man? Having a little trouble there? Scatterbrain decides to have some fun with Honey Badger and hits him with a Mental Illusion making her look like Pop Tart. Scatterbrain: Why don't you and I go somewhere and have a little fun? Honey Badger: Oh, no, she's doing it again. I'd better call Twizzler again. GM: Sorry, no cell phone reception in the bunker. Nexus blasts Draconic, drawing his attention. So he does a flying tackle, taking her down to the ground. Draconic: Woo, hoo! Hey, babe, ain't this fun? Nexus: (OOC) He's going to get grabby, isn't he? GM: Worse than that. He's going to motorboat Nexus' breasts. Honey Badger: He's going to regret that he's wearing a full helmet. Nexus: This guy's an a**hole. GM: Yeah, basically, that's what I've been trying for. Nexus: (to Malarky) Can't you do something about this guy? Malarky: (hits Draconic with a Flash vs. all senses) At least he can't enjoy himself now. Malarky had trapped Death Commando and the agents in a thorny AoE Entangle, and Death Commando had just broken free. Nexus: (to Death Commando) A little help here? Death Commando: (looks down at Draconic, then to Malarky) Temporary truce? Malarky: (shrugs) Sure, what the heck? Death Commando: Be right back. (climbs back into the thorny mass and comes back out with one of the agents' laser pistols) D**kweed here doesn't realize that Draconis's armor is vulnerable to lasers. Do you, D**kweed? (blasts Draconic with the laser, stunning him and doing 4 BODY past defenses.) Not bad for an 'old man', is it, D**kweed? Malarky: The worst part is, Draconic is blind and deaf and doesn't know what just happened. GM: Actually, he has some Flash Defense. He regained the ability to see and hear just before Death Commando took the shot. The heroes have most of Deathstroke on the ropes. Death Commando: Well, I'm out of here. Take it easy. Malarky: I'll fist-bump him as he goes past. Pops is standing near an alcove where the concealed exit is, and where Death Commando is heading. Death Commando: Yaaaaaa! GM: It looks like he tries a Move Through, but he barely misses Pops by... (holds hands about three feet apart) ... this much. Honey Badger: You know, Nadine got the whole fight on film. Malarky: Too bad that camera's going to have a little accident. (Holds one of his magical foci) Probably due to Chiller's little blizzard. Too much cold isn't good for electronics, y'know?

Tried to post from work, and it lost everything I typed. Grrrr... Let's try again. I actually have two adventures to quote, but let's start with two Sundays ago. Here's part 1 of Stroke of Death: A few weeks ago I asked by long-time players if they preferred new teams in my new Champions campaign, or to see some old foes (and if so, which ones). Among old foes mentioned was Deathstroke (though mainly so they could pound and abuse Death Commando). Thanks to rjd59 for his 6th edition conversions, which saved me a ton of time. Unfortunately, there are 7 players and only 6 members of Deathstroke, so I decided to add a new member to the villain team. With the team's long-term animosity with Dr. Draconis, I decided to have a redneck teen find a deserted Draconis armory / lab which included a backup copy of Draconis' original battlesuit. Naming himself Draconic, he used the battlesuit and other stuff he found to break Requiem out of Stronghold (the rest of the team had escaped in the great Cross-Rip superprison riot) and asked to join their team. But before we get to the meat of the adventure, we had some other news and personal stuff to handle. That week's copy of the Heronet Herald included an article that the Catholic Church was sending an exorcism specialist (Monsignor Vasquez) from Rome to try purging the being possessing a missionary to create the supervillain Inquisition (one of the Corrupted). Pops: Couldn't they find someone, y'know, local? GM: On the day the monsignor is supposed to arrive... Pops: Oh, great, what happens? The jet is shot down? Explodes? Hijacked? GM: Nothing like that. You hear on the news that the Anti-Pope appeared on the jet... Pops: In mid-flight? He's got some serious teleportation. So he killed the monsignor? GM: Not directly. He simply... sent the monsignor outside the plane. Honey Badger: Probably out onto the wing, next to the gremlin trying to tear apart the engine. Were they showing The Twilight Zone movie? GM: Naw. The in-flight movie was Gone With the Wind. Meanwhile, as the only publicly-known superhero on the team, Honey Badger has been getting mail for the team - requests for public appearance, pleas for help, etc. For the past week, he's been getting a manila envelope each day containing a typed listing of more of the same, along with a crisp new $5 bill and a handwritten: "Keep up the good work. You're the BEST!" Honey Badger: Vanilla? I prefer chocolate. GM: (pause) Not vanilla. Manila. He also has his long-awaited date with Pop Tart, a founding member of Snak Attak! (yes, it's spelled that way), Boston University students who fight crime who take their names from snack foods. Twizzler (whom the PC heroes met in their first adventure) arranges for HB to meet PT in front of the Boston U student union. He sees PT flirting with a half-dozen male students, but she breaks away when she sees HB. (It should be noted that Pop Tart dresses in a naughty schoolgirl outfit and talks like a ditzy blonde Valley Girl.) Pop Tart: Oooo! Sorry, boys, gotta jet. There's my date! (flounces over and starts hanging off his arm) Isn't he dreamy? (squeezes his bicep) Ooooo! What muscles! Honey Badger: Honey Badger brought you a present. PT: (unwraps present) A toaster? Ohhhh... because I'm Pop Tart. (smiles wickedly) You're trying to get me hot, aren't you? HB: (grins) As soon as they're out of earshot of others, she begins talking normal. PT: Okay, just so there's no misunderstandings, if you're only going out with me because you think I'm some easy bimbo, let me know now and we can go our separate ways, no hard feelings and nobody gets hurt. The flirting and that other stuff, that's just Pop Tart. It's not really me. HB: Ummm.. Twizzler said you wanted to go out with me. PT: Well, I figured with the whole "Honey Badger don't care," talking-in-the-third-person thing, maybe you'd get the Pop Tart thing better than most. I just didn't want you to start out with the wrong idea. They go out to a nice restaurant, where she occasionally winks and blows kisses at guys staring at the two of them. GM: After you finish dinner, you go to a local club... HB: Wait, nobody attacked us during dinner? That's never happened before. At the club, she continues the flirting, while still giving HB plenty of attention. At one point, an angry woman whose date is staring at Pop Tart throws her drink in his face, glares at PT and HB, and storms off. Shortly after, PT excuses herself to go to the bathroom. After she returns, she's dialing the flirting thing up to 11 -- deep tongue-kisses a random guy, drags HB onto the dance floor to more grind than dance, etc. Realizing something is wrong, HB tosses her over his shoulder and begins carrying her out of the club. PT: Oooo! I like it! (to others) Bye, all! We're off to have some fun! HB calls Twizzler, then takes PT to Twizzler's house. PT: A threesome! You naughty boy! Honey Badger begins calling in teammates. Malarky and Maker are able to rule out her being drugged, and Nexus verifies she's not being possessed. PT: Honey Bunny, how many people are we going to party with? I'm not complaining, mind you, just wondering. Eventually, Circe finds out Pop Tart is under a Mind Control, from the pretty strawberry blonde who threw her drink in her date's face. She breaks the mind control, bringing the unfortunate date to an end. A few days later, Shadowboxer is driving in the shadier part of town when he sees someplace in a strip mall. The sign catches his eye: Boston Elite Super Team. (Note that the PC team had yet to choose a name at that point, and BEST wasn't even on the list.) He uses his ability to see and hear from the shadows to spy on the reception area - where a bored-looking woman (Jan Cramer) is talking on the phone. Jan Cramer: (practically a monotone) Hello, is this Ron Cahson? This is Jan, calling from BEST – the Boston Elite Supah Team. I’m sure you’ve seen media reports of the city’s new supahheroes, and their daring exploits to help protect ouah fair city and its citizens. Prior to their arrival, Boston went without a supahhero team for nearly a decade, resulting in widespread crime and corruption. We heah at BEST believe in being strongly supportive of ouah supahheroes and the fine job they are doing fighting crime… Maker: (OOC) Does she look anything like the secretary from Ghostbusters? Because that's totally what I'm seeing in my mind. Shadowboxer also peeks into the back office, where a guy dressed like a used-car salesman (T.J. O'Rourke) is also talking on the phone while typing on a laptop computer. TJ: Perhaps your daughter’s boyfriend is a ‘filthy mutant,’ as you say, sir, but I’m sure you understand that superheroes can’t go around arresting people just because of their genetic makeup. Has he actually done anything illegal? (pause) Uh, huh. Yes. Right, sir. (sigh) Well, why don’t you give me his name and address? I can’t guarantee Boston’s super-team will be able to do anything about him, but I’ll be sure to pass along your information. One more thing sir? Of course, superheroes don’t charge for their fine work they do, protecting us from threats such as violent mutants. But on a completely unrelated note (chuckle) would you be willing to make a donation to BEST? It would certainly make our lives much easier. Honey Badger: (OOC) Wait. BEST? What was written on those papers I've been getting in the mail? GM: You mean,"Keep up the good work, you're the BEST?" Circe: (OOC) Let me guess, this is one of those fundraisers where most of the money goes toward administration, and very little to the actual cause? GM: Very little? Like, five dollars? (grins evilly)

"Bacon for everyone!" James Earl Jones, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, and Samuel L. Jackson, with regular cameos by Stan Lee. How awesome would that be? NT: Surprising and amusing things we'll find in the Iran nuclear deal.

I recently re-wrote Scatterbrain (from Deathstroke) and gave her Scattershot (Mental Blast, AoE Cone Selective). Doesn't do a lot, I think only 3d6, but if most of the opposition doesn't have Mental Defense, it adds up quick. And of course it's good for taking down a room full of normal people, cops, etc. in two shots. Apart from unique writeups, special effects can be your friend in defining a "unique" mentalist. For instance, I gave a necromancer an attack where her spirit reaches out and attacks the target's spirit. Mechanically just a straight-up Mental Blast with No Range, but the special effects make it seem a lot scarier than it really is. I've also defined Mental Blasts as the mentalist dredging up the memories of past injuries. So even though the hero is facing off against Mental Mike, he's having flashbacks to his fight with Grond. This works best if you can recall an incident from a past fight and remind the player of it in detail,

The PC heroes in my games have usually had a base, though often the majority (if not all) of the points to pay for them have been gifts from the GM. I kinda prefer that as GM, since what I giveth I can taketh away, damage, or otherwise alter at will. It can be hit or miss whether or not a base is useful; IMO that really depends upon the GM paying attention to the players' (and their characters) wants and needs. They can't just be a location for the bad guys to attack (though that can be fun at times), though. That gets tiring for the players right quick. My suggestion would be to give the base (and any caretakers) a bit of personality, and not worry overmuch about the actual writeup except for the parts the PCs pay points to get. Just know the general PD/ED, any unusual defenses, and maybe stat out the more frequently-used weapons. The more memorable bases in my campaign have been: Volcano Lair: the Millennium City Protectors found a deserted island in the South Pacific and built a teleporter to get to and from the island. Then they dug out sections of the volcano for their base, cleaned up the beach, and had a great getaway. Many great memories there (such as a PC's husband searching an old cave and finding putting on the Bone Crown of Krim), and it's even put in an appearance in my new campaign. Oil Rig Base: the Elite Force had a base built on an abandoned oil rig they had towed up to a location off Manhattan that was out of the shipping lanes. They spent points for security guards and defenses, so I figured they wanted a supervillain attack or two. Of course, I obliged. Some fun interactions between the PCs and their security chief. Magic House: In my current campaign, one of the heroes inherited an old Victorian house that has obvious magical features (such as hiding itself from anybody whom he doesn't make privy to its location, so currently the only people who can find the house are the PCs, the estate lawyer, and a pizza delivery guy that Shadowboxer pointed out the house to before he figured out what was truly up). They've figured out the "room of requirement" in the basement that can serve as a Danger Room, but they have yet to discover the scrying paintings, or indeed many other things in the house. To pique the players' interest, the will leaving the house to the hero was written decades before he was born.

Every Republican and Democratic presidential candidate's campaign. And throw in the coverage from Fox News and MSNBC for good measure. NT: With Trump and Hillary as possible challengers, there's no better time for Foxbat to run for president again. What are his campaign promises?