BoloOfEarth

Re: Jokes A newly-elected congressman is meeting with his predecessor, and that departing congressman hands the new guy three envelopes (numbered #1, #2, #3). "During your time in office, there will be occasions where you're not sure what to do. In those cases, open an envelope, in the order they're numbered." The new congressman scoffs and tosses the envelopes in his desk drawer. Seven months later, however, the new congressman is embroiled in a scandal, and he's not sure how to handle it. Looking for a pen, he opens a desk drawer and sees the envelopes. "What the heck?" he thinks, and opens envelope #1. A slip of paper inside reads: "Blame your predecessor." So that's what the congressman does. "I am just cleaning up the mess left by my predecessor," he tells his constituents. Luckily for him, they buy this 'explanation' and everything calms back down. A few years later, into his second term, the congressman's constituents are again up in arms, and he's not sure what to do. Spying the two remaining envelopes, he shurgs and opens envelope #2. A paper inside reads: "Blame the other party." Again, the congressman does exactly that. "I am attempting to solve this difficulty, but my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have blocked every solution I propose." Again, the people buy this, and things get better. A few more years pass, and a third scandal erupts. No amount of spin seems able to contain the problem, and in desperation the congressman opens envelope #3. A slip of paper inside reads: "Prepare three envelopes..."

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

Re: Favorite Damage Shields? Great idea, and very appropriate. Repped.

Re: Answers & Questions

Re: Favorite Damage Shields? I'm the gamemaster in our Champions games, and one of my players loves the ol' high-STR Grab. In fact, his latest character is named Squeeze, so you can guess what his normal tactic is. A recent villain he ran into is Torg, a dim-witted swordsman with magical armor. Anyone touching the armor gets hit with a STR Drain Damage Shield. (I was going to do a STR Transfer Damage Shield, but that seemed too over-the-top.) It's not a lot, only 3d6, and since a teammate has Force Fields UBO that include 5 points of Power Defense this means he typically only loses 5 STR a phase, but Squeeze nonetheless avoids Torg like the plague. I also had a radiation character, with the ability to go Desolid and fly. She had a small (I think 2d6) NND EB Damage Shield, Affects Real World. She'd fly through people, dosing them with radiation. It wasn't a lot of damage, but the fact that few of the heroes could hit her made her quite a threat. A recent VIPER Nest Leader I created, Magnetite, had a 3d6 AVLD (Power Defense) Continuous Damage Shield, Half END. It was a variation on a power in the USPD, where his intense magnetic field messes with the target's blood flow. It was the no-range counterpart to his favorite ranged attack, a Continuous Uncontrolled 3d6 AVLD, Half END. In general, I've found that with 5th Edition Damage Shield (having to buy Continuous as well), the only way to make it cause any damage at all with EBs or RKAs is to pile on other Advantages (like Penetrating, NND, etc.) Otherwise, your Damage Shield is a joke. If you want a Continuous Damage Shield in a 60-point Multipower, you can't even have 5d6 EB. (To do that, you'd have to bump it up to a 62-point MP.) If you're a player whose GM has put an Active point cap on attacks, it's either NND, AVLD, or Penetrating if you want a chance of doing any damage at all.

Re: Favorite Tactics against High DCV?

Re: Thoughts on a "Jynx" power? Butterfingers: TK (40 STR), only to disarm Jammed Weapon: 16d6 Dispel any one Technology power Where Did That Flypaper Come From?: 6d6 Flash Sight, NND (Force Field) Clogged Fuel Line: 6d6 Suppress Flight, Uncontrolled, 1/2 END = 2 Interference: 4" radius Darkness vs. Radio, 0 END Falling Paint Can (just for fun): 8d6 Cosmetic Transform (to Neon Yellow -- ah, what the heck, add some feathers that just happened to be blowing past from a ripped pillow), 0 END Downed Power Line / Lightning Strike / Broken Gas Pipe: 4d6 RKA

Re: Thoughts on a "Jynx" power? You beat me to it, and Repped. I did it exactly this way with Snafu, a female luck-based villain I had in my Champions campaign years ago. She threw paper balls filled with dime-store glitter, and the people she hit had bad luck (a 60-point VPP, as Derek described, with Limited Conscious Control). BTW, the glitter balls weren't a focus, they were just a bit of subterfuge to make the players think they could somehow disarm her. FYI, I suggest making a list of bad things that can happen, drawn up as powers, before play. You could do things like: Water Main Break -- 8d6 PB, Indirect Falling Pane of Glass -- 2d6 AP RKA, AOE (hex) Falling Tarp -- 4d6 Entangle, AOE (hex) Weak Flooring -- 6d6 Suppress Running, AOE 3" radius. ... and so on.

Re: Answers & Questions

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat He goes from classroom to classroom, using his claws on the blackboard to get the students' attention.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Did you know that "Doom" is "Mood" spelled backwards? A: I used a nun's habit and six tubes of Crazy Glue.

Re: Who Is... Your Favorite Villain? Loooong ago (I think back in 2nd or 3rd edition days), I built a villain named Vacuum, with a powered armor suit holding what was basically a huge vacuum cleaner. His real name was Dr. Lou Kirby (or as the PRIMUS file listed him, "Dr. Kirby, Lou.")

Re: Mental Speed According to Steve Long in response to a rules question:

Re: Luthor's Lair Well, Hermit, I don't care whether or not Log likes or uses it, but I plan to use Adonis and his Ladies. (In a prior campaign, I had the Femmes Fatale, with their Boy Toys, so if you're going to heck then so am I ) Great concept, I like the base, and the Ladies are a great mix. Thanks, and repped!

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Web lingerie.

Re: from little plot seeds, mighty games do grow: Share you ideas! Cool! Hermit's got a blimp!

Re: Luthor's Lair As far as villainous lairs go, I always liked the look of the Maginot Line. Here's an article I wrote on the Maginot Line for Haymaker! a year or so ago (minus some personal stuff, which explains the blank space on the first page). You can skip over the Moriarty organization stuff if you want, to get to the stuff on the base. Also, you could do a Google search to find lots of stuff on the Maginot Line -- pictures, layouts, etc. As I said in the article, "Instant Supervillain Lair!"

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Tall. VERY dark. Handsome. And kinda batty.

Re: Who Is... Your Favorite Villain?

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Fig Newton. Fig, get it? Fig, date... ah forget it. NT: Worst. College. Class. EVER.

Re: Wings of the Valkyrie update But Harry Potter really does teach kids withcraft and Satanism! Honest!

Re: Who Is... Your Favorite Villain?

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat Dorothy (and Toto)

Re: Who Is... Your Favorite Villain? Favorite Mastermind: Malachite. (4th Edition) I ran a campaign where three of the five PCs were hunted by Malachite, so he became a big part of the campaign. (Each player chose him as a Hunted without knowing the others had too, and all picked him for different reasons.) I even wrote up the Malachite Islands (my first series of articles for Haymaker!) and ran a series of adventures there. My players truly hate him, and if a DNPC was kidnapped by Malachite, they would now probably write him off rather than go to the Malachite Islands to rescue him. Favorite Villain: Foxbat. (All incarnations) I've had literally decades of fun with the Cowled Crusader, including some of my favorite Champions adventures. As Balabanto pointed out, his presence in so many Hero products (including his oh-so-memorable threatening the reader to "gimme your XP") makes him one of the most recognizable individuals in the Hero system. He might not be the biggest threat, but he's the only villain that my players beat down, then took out for a beer. He's also the only villain to appear in all six of my Champions campaigns (over the past 17 or so years). Favorite Supervillain Team: Destruction Company. (4th Edition) A team that my players always love to hate and love to beat on. The matching power armors (giving all of them good defenses, and a unified look besides), the array of attacks (virtually guaranteeing something nasty for any hero), and their complete mercenary / destructive nature makes them a perfect "plug-and-play" villain group when I don't have time to put together a master plot. Favorite Criminal Organization: VIPER. (all incarnations) Another permanent fixture in the Hero universe, the Goons in Green have made more heroes lives miserable than anybody. Absolutely loved the franchise Nest system from the 4th edition sourcebook, and I really enjoy making memorable Nest Leaders every time I start a new campaign (or the heroes take on VIPER while out of town).

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I'll forego the extended explanation version and just throw out quotes from last night's Champions game: Squeeze: (over team radio) I've just been ambushed by four VIPER agents. I should have them wrapped up in a few. (two sniper shots, one a critical success, KO Squeeze in one phase) Styx: (OOC, imitating Squeeze) Yeah, there's just four of them, should be no pro.... (imitates static on radio) Styx: You can either talk to me now, or I dump you in Lake Michigan. Cement shoes. Think about it. Captured VIPER Thug: You can’t hurt me! You’re, like, a hero... it’s against the rules! Styx: (smiles menacingly) Sure. You keep telling yourself that. (Starts dragging the guy towards the docks) Thug: I want to speak to a lawyer! Styx: Okay, fine. (grabs rat running by in the alley, dangles it by the tail in front of the thug’s face) Here you go. Thug: I've never met the new Nest Leader, I don't know his name! I heard someone call him the 'big M'." Sentinel: His name is BM?! Thug: I heard he's been going out with each team... Sentinel: He's dating the whole Nest?! PRIMUS agent Grant: VIPER has a dozen hostages. They said they have Geiger counters hooked up to trigger bombs if S-Squad shows up and makes a move. Sentinel (heroine with radiation powers, including force fields usable on others): Geiger counters? What would they use them for? (Long pause as GM and other players look at her incredulously) Squeeze: They detect radiation! Helloooooo…