BoloOfEarth

The next President is Sarah Palin

Brief aside:  Have you seen Iron Sky? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_IndUbcxc

"President Palin" moments at 0:37, 0:56, and 1:16

NT: Subtle signs we may be better off under the rule of the Elder Worm.

Actually, things weren't all that bad under George Bush senior.  (Or Bill Clinton, for that matter.)

NT:  Unusual things to hand out to trick-or-treaters for Halloween instead of candy.

Most people think Troll'r is the Monster Patrol's "dumb muscle" but this is only half right.  He is big, strong, and tough (including a regeneration ability which helps keep him going in combat).  However, he's also a pretty smart tech head (though not as brilliant as Hunter), specializing in computer hacking.  Unfortunately, Troll'r isn't very socially mature; he gets his hero name from his preference for trolling online discussions, and has been petrified by Lady Gorgon a time or two for making rude or sexist comments.

- - - - - - -

New Team:  The Bookwyrms

These five members of the local book club all got their powers when one of their number found a mystic tome on a bookstore shelf and read part of it aloud.  Since each person's powers seem to be related to his or her favorite book, they decided to give themselves names linked to those books.  (Note that the Campaign City Book Club members have very diverse literary tastes, sometimes coming near to blows over which book they'll read next.  So don't feel a need to stick to classics.)

Accelerant is a speedster with a lifelong love for burning things down.  He doesn't have any fire powers himself; he has to use fairly mundane means (lighter, gasoline, etc.) to get a fire started.  But his powers include the ability to accelerate select individuals or things in an area -- and he discovered that he can increase the speed of flames, causing them to spread and consume things much faster than normal.

- - - - - - -

All seven members of the Boston T Party have names that begin with the letter T.  Of course, they operate mostly in and around Boston.  Contrary to what people believe based on their name, the T Party is completely non-political.  Most of them are in it mainly to use their powers for personal gain or fun (though individual members' ideas of "fun" isn't necessarily most people's definition of the word).

What about party strategy?  Just a question here; again, no offense meant.

 

(snip)

 

So, couldn't it be the same in Champions?  The high DCV heroes know to go after the marksmen villains, the hero mentalist goes after their mentalist (cause their the only one with the mental defense to stand up to them), with maybe the support of a stealth hero who tries to sneak up and take down the villain mentalist as well; while the tank holds the other party members attention long enough so that once the villain mentalist is done, the hero mentalist can start picking off the other villains.  All the heroes defend their mentalist and healers at all cost, and target the enemy ones early.  In effect, the villain mentalist becomes the mage.

 

Or, are we saying that in Champions, this type of tactic doesn't work?  If so, couldn't we be making this a self-fulfilling prophesy by making everyone balanced?  If the villains follow the same rules, then no real strategy is needed, cause everyone's about even-up, so just go in and mix it up, hope the dice roll in your favor?

 

If you have players who are mature enough to not exploit the rules, so they make characters that have weaknesses, if the GM does the same with the villains, wouldn't tactics come back into play?

 

(snip)

 

It seems to me, if we make such a narrow field of numbers, tactics play a much lower part in the game.

 

Typically my Bad Guys in other games are more powerful than the heroes, but usually not as tactically sound; thus, when the heroes win, they feel like they really accomplished something, not just that the dice rolled in their favor that night...

When you're talking about groups of heroes and villains, "balanced" doesn't necessarily mean the heroes and villains are matching in number ranges.  For example, you can pit a group of 10-12 DC, 5-7 CV heroes against a bunch of 8 DC, 4-5 CV agents, plus one mastermind 16 DC, 10 CV villain, and still have an overall balance.  And in that case, I can guarantee the players will pull tactics out of their butts to take down the Big Bad, or to deal with the agents between them and him.

Alternately, if you do have the heroes and villains matching in number ranges, choices of specific Powers, Special Effects (triggering Vulnerabilites / Susceptibilities / Limitations on heroes' Powers) or team makeup (all bricks, all speedsters, etc.) could completely unbalance the fight.  My namesake character, Bolo, who was vulnerable to both Fire attacks and Explosions was once taken out in one shot by a singe agent of Firewing.

Throw villain personalities into the mix; those can also alter the balance and make the players adjust their tactics, even to the PCs' own disadvantage.  Example:  I have two female players in our group.  I can guarantee that if I throw Bulldozer or some other vocally misogynous villain into a scenario, they will target him even if it makes more sense for them to go after someone else.  A casual killer villain will get more than his fair share of attention, even if he's not all that powerful and isn't key to winning the day.

As a GM, I've learned to design teams and plotlines with all of that in mind. 

NT: Subtle signs it might not have been such a good idea to buy World Series tickets online.

(looking at tickets)  "I didn't realize the Toledo Mud Hens were playing in the World Series."

It involves Rush Limbaugh, Roseanne Barr, Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, quick drying cement and a pair of oranges

Throw the Kardashians and a few key politicians in there, and I'll supply the cement.

New Topic: Subtle signs that there are, indeed, the droids you're looking for.

The sacks of cash they're carrying were good enough signs for me.

NT:  Amusing ways that Death Tribble is going to get back at Pariah for the draft win comment.

I am strongly opposed to GMPCs, but I've had the occasional NPC as part of a team, and it usually worked well.  I've had:

• sidekicks for a few of the heroes
• a guy with amnesia the team rescued from one of Malachite's labs
• several support characters

In the case of the guy with amnesia (John Doe), I often asked one of the players to run JD during combats.  So when JD got the occasional great attack or damage roll, the players took it more as "one of us" and were perfectly fine with it. 

I had two support characters in one campaign (though to be fair, they weren't part of the team so much as recurring solo NPC heroes).  One, Rubicon, was a solo mage they needed for info since none of the PCs had mystic knowledge or magic powers.  The other was a freshly-minted teen hero (Cobalt Kid) with a cosmic VPP.  In both cases, the characters were markedly lower-powered than the PC heroes, so there was no chance of the NPCs overshadowing them. and in the case of CK, several of the players enjoyed playing mentor.

Heck, one time the heroes stole a villain's battlesuit to turn a PRIMUS agent one of the heroine PCs was dating into a superhero in his own right. 

However, as I noted in another thread, I like making use of normal NPCs.  So if I need an in-game voice to give the players a suggestion, I can use the hero base security chief, or their secretary, or their UNTIL liaison.  They may not all be combat members of the team, but they're still team members.

Also, I'm not afraid to have NPCs make the occasional bad suggestion.  The players shouldn't trust what any NPC says as the Word of God.  Two NPCs arguing opposite sides of an issue can help get the PCs involved in a discussion on the pros and cons of a course of action.  And the GM can slip in plenty of clues and reminders along the way without it seeming contrived.

To me, the CV difference thing isn't necessarily an encounter ender.  I've introduced villains with higher DCVs than anybody could easily hit.  It just forces the players to get creative.  Switch targets so someone who *can* hit him takes him on.  Several people coordinate to get a Multiple Attacker bonus.  Someone with an AoE Entangle or Flash uses it to bring the target's DCV down, then everybody else does a Covered attack on the target and, then BLAMMO.  Or have one PC keep the tough guy busy long enough for everybody else to take out the bad guy's friends, then everybody dogpiles the Big Bad.

As to the 400/75 point total serving as a limiter -- it does.  A high AP power being brought down to a reasonable cost -- those things are called Limitations for a reason.  And often, the powers themselves might have "limitations" of their own.  (Using Margarita Man as an example, I'm sure a clever GM could find a way to use the fact that Mind Scan creates a two-way circuit as a jumping-off point to his own nefarious ends.)  Now, as other have pointed out, you can take things to a ridiculous level.  But then, so can the GM.

That said, I think setting reasonable limits is in everybody's best interests.  In most games (Hero as well as other RPGs), one uber-powerful player character in a group generally means the GM has to throw at least one uber-powerful foe into the mix to balance the combat.  And that can really suck for any non-uber-powerful PCs in the group.

I'm sorry Scott.  I didn't really read your post as reductio ad absurdum, but I suppose it was.  So my apologies.

NT: The wreck in which the Antikythera mechanism was found is being explored again and more artifacts are being recovered! What newly discovered long-lost artifacts are being found?

An urn painted with various depictions of cats doing amusing things, with an inscription of "Μπορώ να έχω το κρέας των τυριών?"  ("I can have meat of cheese?") around the rim.

The woman heading the coven in India is Mother Terroresa.  Masquerading as a humble nun, this ruthless mentalist gathers the homeless and destitute and mind-controls them to do her bidding. 

I think Scott Baker is right, he's using reductio ad absurdem... 

I think you mean Hugh Neilson.  (Credit where credit is due.)

As to dealing with "loophole" powers, I've found that a little creativity can go a long way.  I ran a game with a PC (Mosquito) who had shrinking, clinging, and a no-range 3d6 Continuous Uncontrolled NND attack.  She would land in the middle of a villain's back (where he can't reach), and sting him, dumping a chunk of END into the attack.  One time, she tried it on a brick, and he did a backwards superleap move-through on the wall.  His PD was good enough to absorb most of the damage.  Her PD, not so much.

In the Mental Entangle case, I'd create a story arc dedicated to it.  Here's one, with a nod to Mardoc for the "mental reflect" mention.

Starting out, she crosses swords with a solo supervillain, a gadgeteer teleporter thief-for-hire who has a memorized safe house location he can teleport to, and a monumental ego (both EGO stat and self-image).  When she zaps him, he ports away home, leaving behind his ill-gotten gains.  A minor side thing, maybe a bit frustrating that he escapes but ultimately a win for her and soon forgotten.

Then, starting a handful of sessions after the 'porter's escap, something troubling begins to happen during battles against various groups.  When the wife's character throws her attack, it somehow manages to instead strike one of her teammates.  Or a PRIMUS agent.  Or an influencial bigwig who doesn't like superheroes much.  Or a time or two, it actually hits a different villain than the one she was aiming at.  Maybe a time or two, instead of the portal, the attack simply disappears enroute, and then a second or two later there's a flash of light and a "FZZ-ZOT".  If she's really perceptive, she might notice a small portal open up immediately in front of the attack just before it disappears enroute, with a corresponding portal opening behind the new target.

In the first encounter or two, the villain saved from attack seems baffled at the miraculous save, but in later encounters they seem smug, maybe even taunt her into attacking them.  It only ever happens once in any given battle.  Not even necessarily at a key point, or to save a key villain.  Just an occasional but repeated "WTF?" moment.

(If you ever read the Iron Man storyline where Justin Hammer is remotely accessing Tony's armor, turning on or off a boot jet or a repulsor or opening his eye and mouth slits underwater, that's what I'd try to portray.  A seemingly out-of-the-blue thing.)

As you may guess, the teleporter who escaped is the one behind it.  He's pissed at her for screwing up his job, so he decides to screw with hers for a bit.  He already has a stealth suit (Invisibility), so he dons that and practices short-range teleports until he can do them without detection (Teleport with Invisible Power Effects), if he doesn't already have that power.  He also practices creating small teleportals to send attacks directed at him elsewhere (Reflection at Any Target).  Then he finds out who is about to pull a job in the campaign city and tags along while invisible.  As soon as she's winding up to attack, he teleports to impose himself in the way, and tries to redirect it at one of her friends, or someone else who wouldn't take kindly to it, or perhaps at a different villan that he just doesn't like.  If he misses the Reflection roll and is paralyzed himself, the safe-house teleport kicks in (the FZZ-ZOT noted above).

After a time or two doing this, the villain realizes that he can make money by hiring himself out to villains as their "safety net."  That's going to be his undoing, because now somebody else will know he's doing it.  And if Mental Ninja can figure out who's behind what's going on, she can figure out a way to stop him. 

Alternately, you could run the players as VIPER agents, with them probably being pretty effective.  (Players tend to be able to eke out a victory despite the odds.)  Make them an elite team, with a distinct name (like the Python Fangs).  Not a long-term campaign, but long enough to give them a good feel for the characters, maybe give you (the GM) a few insights into possible agent tactics and schemes.

Then run a Champions game, and early on have the heroes run up against their agent characters.  Maybe offer each player the chance to pick whether he wants to run his VIPER agent or his superhero in the fight.  Or have them run both, if you can trust your players to do a fair job of it.   

I'll admit, I learned early that my players would rather their characters die in battle than let themselves get captured.  Doesn't matter whether or not it's in genre.  They.  Just.  Won't.  Do.  It.  So I try to avoid capture scenarios like the plague, unless I clear it with the player first. 

That said, if a player does agree to play along, it usually works well.  I had one adventure where the PC was captured and replaced by Doppleganger.  I asked the player if he'd mind playing Doppelganger for a week, and that he was free to make as many verbal slips as he wanted to give the other players clues that something was wrong.  It took the other players for-freaking-ever to figure out that something was up, and that was with the player dropping nearly constant hints.  He was frustrated enough that, when the PCs finally attacked Doppleganger, he volunteered to keep running Doppleganger and then used every trick at his disposal to nearly take them out. 

I had a player who wanted to take a hiatus from the game after his first kid was born, but didn't want to lose his character.  So he was captured off-screen, and when he was ready to get back into the game months later, we ran his escape.

If I get in the mood to have the PCs deal with deathtraps, I generally work them into a base break-in, so they're only technically very briefly captured.

But  . . . that doesn't tell me . . . aw shucks.

{VIDEO} (link to video) {/VIDEO}

but with square brackets instead of curvy brackets.

Not a tactic, per se, but just a suggestion when agents appear in-game:  give a few of them distinct personalities.  The players will have a lot more fun with them.

One villain team had a pair of brothers (Phil and Tommy) working for them as agents.  One was very book smart but lazy, the other very street smart but kept mis-pronouncing words and names, including the villains (Fracture instead of Fractal, Artificial instead of Artificer, etc.).

The local PRIMUS base had an agent, Mac, who liked to tinker with stuff, modify his own blaster rifle or other gear for "more power!", etc.  (Think Tim Taylor from the Home Improvement TV show both for personality and effects.)  The PCs loved Mac, even when he had to toss his rifle aside because it was going into overload and was about to explode.  During a fight with the Foxbat Five, one hero had disarmed Foxbat and actually tossed the Ping Pong Ball Gun to Mac to use during the fight.

When the heroes are sneaking into the VIPER Nest, let them overhear a pair of male agents comparing the various... attributes of superheroines (including one of the PCs) or joking about a PC hero's possible choices in partners.  And there's no reason you can't flip that idea on its head and have some female agents rating the male heroes' "spandex factor," speculating on a PC hero's fetishes, or getting catty about a PC superheroine's costume.

Even something as mundane as agents discussing their criminal agency's dental plan and retirement investment options can be entertaining.  The players will bring it back up, guaranteed.  ("Why don't we find out how good VIPER's medical and dental plans really are?")

The puns are mighty within this thread. 

Sir Ghoulahad is a thin, greyish-skinned alien with a sunken face and patchy hair on his head.  His ears are slightly pointed, and his teeth are very pointed.  Ghoulahad has discovered that humans are very tasty, and will often stop in the middle of a battle to snack on a fallen foe.  He is also very protective of King Argther's mate, Guinefear.  (Since she's not a knight, Guinefear isn't one of the Mid-Knights, but I wanted to get her in there anyway.)

I don't tend to specifically "target" a Limitation (whether a Focus, Limited, etc.) unless it hasn't come into play on its own during a reasonable number of prior adventures. 

One PC in a past campaign had the ability to "power up" his SPD but only 4 times a day for a Turn duration.  However, since Champions combats don't tend to happen multiple times a day and rarely last more than a few Turns in my games, it didn't come into play on its own.  So eventually I designed an adventure that culminated in a series of at least 5 separate combats.  After the third combat, he figured out what I was up to and reluctantly stayed powered down for the next combat.  And you've never heard a player complain so much.

A final note:  In my previous Champions campaign, and also in my upcoming campaign, I've asked the players to each provide up to 5 NPCs (Note: not DNPCs) -- just a name, who they are and how they're connected to the PC, to round out their world.  Family, friends, classmates/coworkers, etc., for which I give the PC +1 bonus point per NPC provided.  I promise not to turn them into DNPCs, never use them as hostages or what-not, but at least one NPC for each PC usually puts in at least a token appearance each session.  Sometimes they provide helpful info, other times not.  (One heroine's NPC mom saw a supervillain rob a bank, a coworker NPC might complain about the PC's actions the day before not knowing he's actually talking to the hero in secret ID, etc.)

I've found they add a lot of color to the world, even if their entire appearance consists of stuff like "While you were fighting Lady MacDeath, your sister called and left a voicemail - she has four tickets to see Hamlet next week and is inviting you and your new girlfriend to join her and her husband."

Regarding Disadvantages and Storyline (and keeping in mind I haven't run in 6th yet), I tended to sketch out the main plot for an evening, then rolled all the Disads for all the player characters and NPCs involved.  Even had a program (in Access, along with my speedsheet program) which rolled for all the PCs and spit out a report, including what the die roll was.  Then I would look at all of them together and see if there's any pattern that would either fit in well with the main plot, or would run counter to it.  Often, I'd drop a Disad or two that didn't fit with the rest.  And if the roll for a disad was incredibly low, I'd make sure that one happened and often tried to increase how much of a PITA that would be for the player.  And if the Disads rolled seemed to run counter to the main plot, and more to the point if the Disads fit together well, I would occasionally change the main plot to fit the Disads rolled.

For instance, let's say the plot is for VIPER to steal the Master Mystic MacGuffin from a local museum and use it to de-power one of the heroes.  And for the hero team, two of them (including the to-be-depowered hero, aka TBD Hero) are college students and their Secret Identity rolled low enough to mean it makes an appearance for both of them.  Not only that, but TBD Hero's Hunted by Utility (11-) rolled a 4, and Hero #3's DNPC: Uncle Brad (11-) rolled a 10.  And to round it all out, Utility's Hunted by PRIMUS kicks in.

Well, now it looks like the MacGuffin museum is on the college campus, and the attack will happen while the two heroes (in SID, of course) are nearby with a bunch of friends.  Furthermore, VIPER is going to pay Utility to help get TBD Hero where they want him to use the MacGuffin.  TBD Hero might even notice Utility on campus after the theft, always when TBD Hero isn't in a position to easily chase after him (like he's in class, or has been waiting in line at the college office for over an hour to get a problem with his tuition fixed) and nowhere near the museum.  And all the heroes notice PRIMUS nosing around the campus, in places that have nothing to do with the MacGuffin theft.

But what about Uncle Brad, you ask?  I'd either drop him from appearing at all this adventure (but make a note to work him into the next adventure), or make his appearance this adventure something minor.

Yeah when I made the poll I figured any choice except the obvious long-connected ones to be single shot adventures but... since you can choose more than one, that doesn't work.

 

I've since added a one-off choice but its not going to be very helpful, since you can't go back and re-vote. :/

You can always Delete your vote and re-vote.  Which is what I did. 

I'm open to suggestions for changes or improvements.  I'm about to start a new Champions campaign after a 5-year hiatus, so I'm sure I'll need to run groups of agents again.

Here's what I wrote up for Mass Combats.  Not everything was tested extensively, but the bulk of it worked okay for me.

MassCombat.pdf