BoloOfEarth

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…

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "Wow. I didn't know they could charge you for *not* using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs..."

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat "No, I'm *sure* it's the green wire I need to cut..."

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat (Puts on pink tutu and begins to dance) "I feel pretty, oh so pretty..."

Re: Sonics - tired power, need new ideas Gee, that's all? Just three posts, each filled with tons of sonic and vibration goodness? Repped already, and thanks for the great stuff. Makes me want to throw a sonic character together.

Re: Building an intelligent Super-vehicle? If Scarlet Arrow is great with a motorcylce (has TF and Combat Driving, maybe some bike tricks), you'll want to go with a Vehicle/AI combo rather than a "robotic" Follower. If he's just so-so with his bike, you might go the Follower route. (The problem I have with the motorcycle as Follower is that it's basically carrying the rider, so the rider's skill doesn't come into play.) On a related side note, if you have any Digital Hero credits, you might check out DH #16 (Jason Walters' Biker Hero) article for some bike tricks that SA could learn; the article is also a very entertaining read. Also, I think DH #28 (D.T. Butchino's The Whole Package article) has a martial art, Bike Fu, that might be useful.

Re: Sonics - tired power, need new ideas DEX Drain (tune vibrations to mess with the inner ear) Find Weakness with Visible (actually Audible; send various frequencies of sound waves to determine a dangerous harmonic for a given substance)

Re: Sanctuary.....Anyone Use It ? I understand and agree that Sanctuary involving both heroes *and* villains isn't all that viable a concept. In practice, it would last about as long as a tissue-paper water funnel. But as a GM, I set that aside and used it anyway because it put the heroes into a position of interacting with villains without combat. And noncombat time is where some of the best roleplaying comes from, IMO. When I used Sanctuary in a past Champions campaign, several villain groups broke the rules and attacked the heroes. The heroes smacked 'em down, and those villains were summarily banned from Sanctuary. I didn't have villains there that were unlikely to be able to restrain themselves from attacking enemies, figuring that they would have already been banned from Sanctuary for some past infraction. So, yeah, if you think about it, Sanctuary doesn't make much sense. I simply chose not to think about that. As one friend of mine told another during a Champions game, "You're arguing physics and reality, in a game where your character shoots blasts of wind from a wooden staff." It's all a matter of deciding how much of a logical disconnect you're okay with.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: What is Paris Hilton's IQ? A: Thankfully, I was able to keep from projectile vomiting.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat

Re: Tricks for a Triplicator? Against blasters, all three hold their actions until the blaster acts. When the blaster attacks, his target Dodges (putting all CSLs on DCV), at which point the other two move in and attack. Against flyers (but not too high), if the Triplicates have Acrobatics, you could try using that plus Teamwork so #1 does a half-move leap to #2, who catches and throws him up to attack the flyer. (This also presumes they have enough STR to get a reasonable throw.) Against mentalists, develop a series of code phrases or triplicate-team-speak in case one of the duplicates gets mind controlled, the others will instantly know it as soon as he opens his mouth (or keeps it shut for too long). For instance, they banter in combat, but nobody probably notices that the first letter of each quip is progressing through the alphabet. As in... #1: Amazing jump there, #2! #2: But it wasn't as good as #3's kick! #3: Could have been better, though. #1: Don't get me started! #3: Eyes up, #1, we've got company! #2: For heaven's sake... You're Nicked, Mate! #1 grabs the foe's arms, #2 grabs the foe's legs, and #3 grabs the foe's head (covering his eyes). Works well if you can get close enough to a mentalist. Against any foes: Moving as a team, so #1 can see anybody trying to sneak up on #2, and #2 covers #3's back, and #3 has his eyes watching behind #1. Against any non-flyer foe, on a rooftop: postion them so #1 can do a Throw to #2, who does a throw to #3, who throws the foe off the roof.

Re: Tricks for a Triplicator? Against weapon- and other OAF-wielding foes, you could have triplicate #1 disarm him (with the weapon presumably falling to the ground), #2 picks the weapon/focus up and throws it to #3, who catches it and does a full move to dump it far away from the foe. Against a brick, #1 grabs him, while #2 winds up for a haymaker and #3 moves close and holds his other half action. If the brick breaks free of #1 before the haymaker lands, #3 then grabs the brick, keeping him restrained so #2's haymaker can land (and also wasting the brick's action, BTW). This assumes the brick can't just break out with casual STR. Alternately, assuming the triplicators have multiple combat skill levels in martial arts, #1 and #2 go full-offense on the brick (levels on damage), while #3 holds. As soon as the brick goes after 1 or 2, #3 moves in front of the target and does a Block on the brick's attack (all his levels on OCV).

Re: Dredging Obscurity for Villain Ideas Do these have to be from comic books, or are home-grown villains from our own Champions games okay? From comic books, I enjoyed: ... Spot, from the Spiderman comics. He was a scientist analyzing otherdimensional energy (from a hero, I believe). I think there was a lab accident, and he became covered with extradimensional "spots" that he could resize, place around (imagine the "portable hole" from Wile E Coyote cartoons) including scattered in mid-air. He would punch through one hole, and his fist would come out another hole a dozen meters away. I would simulate his powers with Teleportation, Extra-Dimensional Movement, and Stretching (doesn't pass through intervening space), as well as very high DCV with an Activation roll (if someone shoots or punches him but hits a spot) that varies depending on how many spots he's put out (the more he scatters in mid-air, the lower the Activation roll, since less spots now cover him). ... Red 9, a high school football star with a flying powered armor suit. Just a good 'ol boy with way too much power and a desire to have some fun with it. In my campaign, he became Max Extreme, a superhero wannabe with a control problem, master of the Move Through (usually unintentional). Typical Powered Armor powers with Requires Skill Roll (don't allow his skill to be too high) and Side Effects (loss of control) if he fails the skill roll.

Re: Villain: makes hero's powers go out-of-control In retrospect, I agree that Major Transform is the way to do this, and I like Hugh's idea a lot, along with something Sentry said. I'd do the following: 25 . . Elemental Control: Uncontrollable Power Boost (75 points), No Range (-1/2) 25 . . 1) Stay Far Away: 1d6 Major Transform, Improved Target Group* (+1/4), Armor Piercing (+1/2), Area Effect (12" Radius; +1 1/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4), 0 END (+1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Invisible Power Effects (Sight and Hearing; +3/4), No Range (-1/2) 45 . . 2) Don't Get Too Close: 2d6 Major Transform, Improved Target Group* (+1/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4), Armor Piercing (+1/2), Explosion (-1d6/3"; +1), 0 END (+1/2), No Range (-1/2) 63 . . 3) And DON'T Let Him Touch You: 5d6 Major Transform, Improved Target Group* (+1/4), Armor Piercing (+1/2), No Range (-1/2). Costs 10 END. For a more tragic character, make the last Tranform a Persistent Damage Shield and add Always On to the EC and all of the powers. I added Personal Immunity in case you give the villain other powers besides these. * The Improved Target Group allows a two-level Transform. The first time the villain does 2x the target's BODY, it increases the Active Points of each of a target's Powers and adds Requires an EGO roll (-1 per 10 Active Points in the power; -1/2) and Side Effects (Active points in Power; -1) to offset the increase in points. At this level of effect, every time the hero uses a Power, he must make an EGO roll or it shoots out of control. But if he doesn't use a Power, nothing happens. ** The second time the villain does 2x the target's BODY, increase the Active Points of each Power even further, with Requires two EGO Rolls (still -1 per 10 Active Points; -3/4), Side Effects as above (-1), plus No Conscious Control (at -1, because of the second RSR). One EGO roll allows the hero to control turning the power on or off, the other to bypass the Side Effects so he can do a controlled attack. So if the hero sticks around too long, or gets grabbed and can't get away, his Powers will eventually activate wildly even when he isn't trying to use them. *** Especially in the latter level of effect, some additional Advantages and/or Limitations might need to be added to certain powers, like Explosion onto high STR, to more properly simulate the power going wild. So this costs 158 points, but since it's the villain's big (perhaps only) schtick, that's not bad. I'd say that the BODY heals 1 per set amount of time, like 1 Turn or 1 Minute, only starting once the target is no longer taking Transform damage. Note that if he's in contact with someone, they're taking all three attacks, making it 8d6 worth of Transform (average roll of 28 BODY, which instantly Transforms someone with 14 BODY and no Power Defense). If the target has Power Defense, it gets trickier, since it's actually three separate attacks instead of one big one. Assuming 5 points of Power Defense (halved to 3 points due to Armor Piercing) and average rolls on each Transform, he does 18 BODY of effect on a touch, or 4 BODY of effect within 3" of him. So a hero with 12 BODY and 5 Power Defense would be effected by being within 3" in one Phase, and being touched in another Phase. If you want to do this by the book, you'll need to draw up (beforehand) versions of each hero at the increased Active Point levels with the new Limitations. Since the hero may already have other Advantages and Limitations on their powers, it won't necessarily be as simple as just doubling the Active points of each Power. Or you can wing it, guesstimating the new Active Point levels of each power. Personally, that's how I'd do it, as long as the players are willing to accept my guesstimates and power modifications (like adding Explosion to high STR) without argument. While running this, I'd allow certain Psych Lims (like Protective of Innocents) to give the hero a bonus to his EGO roll for maintaining control, while others (like Vengeful) might give an additional minus. That -1/10 points will make that EGO roll pretty darn tough, especially since the Active points on any given Power will be higher than normal.