BoloOfEarth

Re: Incarcerating Gadget/Focus Villains Generally, I try to avoid having a villain's focus be irreplaceable. In cases where it is, there are several options. In the past, I've had (non-incarcerated) supervillains do side businesses hiring themselves out to sneak smaller foci out of Stronghold lockup. An enterprising supervillain breaking out of Stronghold once carried off a bunch of other villains' equipment to trade back to them. Key equipment has been stolen while enroute from lockup to a top lab for study. (Not so hard to do when one of the PRIMUS researchers involved is actually in VIPER's pocket.) Some stuff has been replaced in lockup with elaborate fakes, and the heroes have no idea who did it or how it was done. (To tell the truth, in some cases I'd be hard-pressed to say how it was done myself; I was lucky and my players didn't push too hard trying to find out.)

Re: I got some players!!!.... But I need some help.. One idea you could do is hold back a number of points (say, 25 or so) to be added after they've done their initial writeup. So for a 350-point campaign, have them draw up 325-point characters. Then, look over what they've created and see where their weak areas are. Player A might be a combat munchkin, so you tell him he needs to spend those 25 on noncombat skills, talents, and perks. (You have to specify "noncombat" or he'll just add Combat Skill Levels, martial arts, etc.) Player B has too little combat power, so you tell him to use those points to boost the DCs of his attacks. Player C is okay skill- and combat-wise but can't hit the broad side of a barn. Maybe his points should go to combat skill levels and/or characteristics. Player D seems to have balanced combat and skills okay, but has no movement powers or enhanced senses. Advise him to use his 25 points to get some, or maybe some rarely-used but fun power if "low-move, no-senses" is part of his concept.

Re: Public Identity Scenario Hooks Here's a couple I Can Fix That, You Know: A plastic surgeon offers to make the hero look less monstrous / more human. Does the hero go under the knife... and if so, is the surgeon actually in the pocket of VIPER or one of the hero's Hunteds? If so, what is the plastic surgeon's true goal? Call 1-800-GET-HERO: Having a public ID can be a hassle, especially after a well-meaning fan of the hero sets up a website/hotline and begins bombarding the hero with "heroic" tasks such as rescuing kittens from trees and putting the hero into the middle of domestic quarrels. C'mon, You're Really One of Us: Other monstrous-looking or otherwise rejected supers form a group and try to recruit the hero into their ranks. They could be heroes, villains, vigilantes, or maybe even cover the spectrum of good and evil. Misery Loves Company: A brilliant supervillain (like Telios) tries to duplicate whatever powers the monstrous/inhuman-looking hero has, using kidnapped homeless people. He's dumping the rejected experiments (whose looks appear strikingly similar to the hero's deformities) on Skid Row, and an interpid reporter begins blaming the hero.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat He straps containers of milk to his belt, puts on an Elvis album, and makes his own "milk shake".

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Due to factors outside our control, the normal Champions game was cancelled Sunday night. But a bunch of us played Kung Fu Fighting, a fun card game. I've found it's more fun to play the game as if I'm in a really bad martial arts movie. Me (bad Asian accent): I do a Flying, Spinning attack with my bamboo pole... Alyssa (my daughter): You're doing a pole dance?! My friends' daughter Erin has just "killed" her brother Jonathan, and he's a little upset. Me (still bad Asian accent): Ah, do not worry, Jonathan-san! I will avenge you! I'm counting out cards as I take them, and am doing another bad accent, this one non-asian. Me: wan, tew, three... Katie: What, now you're French?! Me (placing each card on the table): I attack Susan with a Flying, Magnificent Punch!! Hu-waaaaaaa!!! Alyssa: (changes the order of the cards I put down): No, it's a Magnificent Flying Punch. Sounds much better that way.

Re: I got some players!!!.... But I need some help.. Look in the Champions genre book, P. 149-152, for an instant/random plot generator. I've also taken plots from comic books and reworked them to fit the player characters. And as Wyrm pointed out, the player characters' Disadvantages are a wonderful place to start. Unless I have a plot already in mind, I roll against all player character disadvantages. Sometimes, some of them fit together nicely to suggest a plot. i.e. Hunted + DNPC + Secret Identity might mean that the character's hunted kidnaps a DNPC, perhaps thinking that DNPC is actually the hero's secret ID. Don't be afraid of making mistakes, and if you're not familiar with the rules 100%, don't worry so much about that. Better to keep the action flowing and make a few wrong best guesses along the way, than to slow the game to a crawl figuring out how to handle each and every detail. Just like your players, you'll learn as you go. Make them aware of it, and if they're good friends they'll cut you some slack. Since you have Sidekick, maybe start out with those rules, and work up to the full rules set once you're more comfortable with everything. Can't help you there. To combat possible munchkinism and reduce the chance of unbalancing characters, take a long, hard look at any "stop sign" powers a character has. As to the "no combat abilities," I usually have the opposite problem, and have to specify a minimum point level for noncombat skills. Maybe do the same but for offensive powers? Or better yet, a minimum damage class for at least one attack? You know your friends as players, so for those more likely to make munchkin characters, take a longer look at their characters. Overall, try and give each player character the spotlight at least once a game session. It doesn't have to be a major spotlight, but something to highlight one aspect of that character each session would be good.

Re: CKC Dr. Destroyer pic No, because 5 steps won't take you outside the burst radius. I'm going to use Megascale movement away and phone it in from another state.

Re: Heroic battles Not a chase-and-fight scene, but I ran an adventure where the heroes were on the Malachite Islands, on the underground subway (tunnels were near-vaccuum, so trains between cities could go faster without air resistance). When Malachite's minions discovered the heroes were there, they just shunted the train to a side track and began venting the air from the cabin into the tunnels. Heroes had to (1) stop the air from venting, (2) figure out a way to get out of the train safely, because (3) there were innocent civilians on the train as well, then (4) make their way through the tunnels, in near vaccuum, to the next stop.

Re: Heroic battles Ran a murder mystery weekend on a millionaire's island getaway (the PC heroes, plus a team of NPC heroes and the normals running the mystery), where the NPC heroes started actually getting killed. The island was remote enough and had the requisite nasty storm so they couldn't just leave. A large house and a dozen guest bungalows, plus a boathouse and an old smuggler's/pirate's cave they found along the way. Lots of fun. I wrote up a VIPER Nest where the Nest Leader (Windchill) liked it REALLY cold, so dry ice clouds covered the floor to about knee level, and everybody was in parkas and spiked boots (for walking on ice). Of course, the heroes put on spare parkas and boots to blend in. The VIPER agents had IR and radar, and the command center could pump additional dry ice clouds in to fill the hallways to about chest level. When the alarms finally went off, agents knew to kneel and disappear into the clouds and then shoot at anything still standing. Threw the heroes off as to how the agents saw through their disguises. An old (4th edition) Terror Inc plot ended with the heroes attacking a huge cargo ship which had a ramp inside one hold for launching a rocket-assisted buzzbomb filled with a deadly bio-agent. Difficult environment to fight in regardless, and the bio-agent meant they couldn't just blast away haphazardly, plus the countdown added a time crunch.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Last night's D&D game: The party continues at sea, now on two vessels (our original vessel, plus one we captured after they attacked us). In the distance, we spot a flotilla of 5 or 6 ships. DM: You can see the flags they are flying. They are long streamers of green and gold. Aren: It's Slytherin! A dozen warrior-witches fly over, all members of an Amazon-like race known for being honorable but also for treating men as property. They ignore the male party members and talk to Leila, our female druid and Devlyn, our female rogue. Woman: We have need of one of your vessels and all the men on it. We are willing to pay well -- 20 thousand gold. Yllek (OOC to Devlyn): I'm surprised you're not jumping all over that. Devlyn (OOC): Naw, they're talking gold. I'm waiting for them to get to platinum... Leila: Unfortunately, we have need of both vessels and all of our crew. We are on a rescue mission. Woman (nods understandingly): Very well, we still have need of the men, so I will take ten of your men, loan you ten of our women to run your ship until the rescue mission is complete, and then pay you 5,000 gold. Leila (to the other party members): I think it's a pretty good deal. Other party members: During discussion of our options: Leila: ... and they think I'm in charge. Il'Marcum: So we know they're unstable. Ryan (to Il'Marcum): You're not wearing anything to boost your Charisma, are you? Il'Marcum: (long pause and an offended expression) Not that I need it, but no. Yllek: Okay, here's the plan: Il'Marcum, you fly over and "take care" of all the women while we sail away. Then while they're lying around exhausted, you teleport back to port, and we'll pick you up there... As Leila negotiates further, and is strongly considering taking the offer rather than taking our chances in combat... Yllek: You know, that "Neutral" part of your alignment is the "Lawful vs. Chaotic" part, not the "Good vs. Evil" part! Aren: If they sink our ship... I'll just walk over to their ship and take theirs! Best taken out of context: Il'Marcum: Everybody has their souls, most of their body parts are intact... yeah, we're ahead of the game.

Re: Answers & Questions

Re: Armored Suit It's bulletproof, too.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat He takes George's advice and sends you hunting with Dick Cheney. NT: Subtle signs that Chuck Norris is... displeased... with you.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat You say that as if I *don't* have minions... NT: Most embarassing way to lose a minion.

Re: How much does vehicle cost? Don't have my book here at work with me, but I'd think it would cost 143 points: The cost of the vehicle exceeds the character cost by 81 points, so I think those are paid 1-for-1. The 350 points - 40 disads = 310 points / 5 = 62 real cost 81+62 = 143. I could easily be wrong, though. If so, I apologize in advance.

Re: The Candy Striper Just had to bring this tread back long enough to say that I added Candy Striper to my Champions game last Sunday. She worked perfectly! A female PC (Sentinel) works as an ambulance driver/EMT in her secret ID. Her partner (Charlie) has had a major crush on Sentinel for months, unaware that she is actually his partner. The female player has had some great role-playing with this, but the character obviously does not want Charlie's attention. Their ambulance was called to a truck stop to deal with a reported heart attack. When they arrived, they found Candy Striper had Entangled two drivers with licorice whips, but had cut one free because he was having a heart attack. She and Charlie flirted, then she took off with the (stolen) truck while the EMTs were taking care of the stricken man. Now, Charlie is over Sentinel but he's going on and on about Candy Striper. And Sentinel is not happy about this at all! (It must have hit that "I don't want him, but nobody else can have him either!" button for the player, as I don't think her displeasure was strictly roleplaying.) I'm looking forward to many repeat appearances by Candy over the coming months. I'd rep you, E84, if I hadn't already done so, but at least allow me to say "THANK YOU!"

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

Re: Super! Absorbant! Sponge!!!!! I can't think of any powers off-hand, but if you need a Disadvantage he could always be Hunted by the male Wonder Twin, the one that can turn into water. "I can get beaten by a sponge. It doesn't even have to be a particularly evil sponge..." Oh, here's some powers: Cosmetic Transform, to clean things up. Dispel Change Environment to a limited extent (soak up oil slicks and the like) Desolidification, Does not protect against attacks, only to get through small places (squishes himself through)

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Last night's Champions game: Serendipity decided to break up with the former fiance she has just become reunited with after three years. She told the GM about her decision as he is telling her that her former finace has left her a note saying "this isn't working out, you have your own life here, I'm heading back to Dublin." Sentinel: Well, at least you and Ronan can still be friends. Squeeze: No! Not the "F" word! Serendipity: Well, *he* started it. A body, apparently of the former VIPER Nest leader, Windchill, washes up by the docks. His face has been partially eaten away by fish, in spots down to the skull. Squeeze: Hey, can we get some video of that? I want to make our own VIPER recruitment video. (describes scenes of VIPER agents marching, interspersed with video of Windchill's partially decomposed face). (Imitating a zombie Windchill voice) Join us now! GM: I'm pretty sure that's going to violate some YouTube content restriction. Squeeze: Fine. When they remove it, we'll replace it with a puppet version. GM: You mean like Harry Potter Puppet Pals??? You're going to parody your own video?! Squeeze (shrugs): Why not? Later on, the heroes are set upon by VIPER Force 1 (from the old 4th edition VIPER sourcebook). The tough bodybuilder, Rampage, is hit by an Ego Attack, to which he is vulnerable. GM: Okay, Rampage says, "I'll get you, you little... " (high-pitched screech). Squeeze: Seriously? He screamed like a little girl? GM: Yeah. Squeeze (to Synergy): Tell me we got that on video! We *so* need to add it to the VIPER recruitment video. (zombie voice) Join us now! (girlie scream) EEEEEEEEEE!! (zombie voice) Join us now! (girlie scream) EEEEEEEEEE!! Synergy: That last hit put me at GM's Discretion. GM: Okay, post-12. (looks at Synergy) Go ahead and take a recovery. Synergy: All right, that puts me at.... GM's Discretion. Still.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Welcome to another day at Al Queda training camp! Nice to see those of you who survived the take-home test on poisoning. Your normal instructor couldn't be here today. He tried to blow up a car, and burned his lips on the exhaust pipe...

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

Re: Answers & Questions Q: What's in the middle when you slice Rush Limbaugh into three equal pieces? A: It'll be a warm day in International Falls, Minnesota before that happens!

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "A Fully-Owned Subsidiary of Halliburton, Inc."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... From last Sunday's D&D game: The heroes are sailing toward an unknown port, and the captain says that they should be fine as long as they don't "cause any trouble." Devlyn: (to Yllek) Hear that? NO TROUBLE! Yllek: Me? When's the last time I caused trouble? Devlyn: The last port we were in! Yllek: Okay, before that, then. When did I cause trouble? Devlyn: The port before that! The heroes are planning to recruit some crew for the ship they captured. Ryan: Does the captain have any preferences? (someone, can't remember who): He prefers redheads... After paying 100 gold to dock... Leila: Maybe you can help us... Harbormaster: What can I do you out of? Yllek: You mean, apart from 100 gold? In port, our rogue falls under vampire's sway after horribly failing a will save: Il'Marcum: Bucky the buck-toothed sorcerer's apprentice could have gotten you with that roll! The heroes are approaching the bathhouse where the vampire has lured the rogue: Leila: (OOC) I'm next to Il'Marcum. (pause) Maybe not right next to him, since he tends to get hit a lot.