Doc Shadow

Re: Avengers: The Next Generation on Hero Central And another thing. Why did the Avengers disband? I could understand the founding members all retiring, but no one stepped up to take their places and keep the organization going? Why, not?

Re: Avengers: The Next Generation on Hero Central So what's been going on in the Bunnyverse, villainwise, since 1988? Without the Avengers to stop him why hasn't Ultron, or Kang, somebody taken over the world? Were all the bad guys killed first? Did they get bored without anybody to give a real fight and retire? I understand what you're trying to do, and I approve. Even if I do hate to lose some of my favorite characters. But you've jumped fourty + years of history without completely thinking things out. Example: you have MJ conceiving in her late 40s, unlikely but possible. But in twenty years of marriage this is the Parkers' one and only child? Sorry but I have trouble swallowing this without some explanation of why. Nick Fury retired, Why, did he stop taking the Infinity Formula? While all these older heroes were retired and raising kids, who was keeping the world safe? Was there an intermediate generation of heroes that watched over the world between then and now? And if so, where are they now? Do you see what I'm getting at? Your history is kinda sloppy and full of vast empty spaces. Now it's true that some of these spaces are going to be filled by the characters' back stories, but what I'm seeing right now is looking mighty sparse. Just sayin' you might want to think things through a bit more and flesh things out more to fill in the gaps.

Re: Avengers: The Next Generation on Hero Central NIGHTMARE Val Char Cost Roll Notes 40/65 STR 30 17/22- Lift 6.4/200 tons; 8d6/13d6 [4/6] 24 DEX 42 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8 25 CON 30 14- 21 BODY 22 13- 13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12- 13 EGO 6 12- ECV: 4 20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 8/20 COM -1 10/13- 25 PD 17 Total: 25 PD (12 rPD) 24 ED 19 Total: 24 ED (11 rED) 5 SPD 16 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 15 REC 4 60 END 5 60 STUN 6 Total Characteristic Cost: 209 Movement: Running: 6"/12" Flight: 37"/148" Gliding: 74"/148" Leaping: 8"/16" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers END ***Special Abilities*** 5 1) Day or night, it's all the same to me: Nightvision 10 2) Good Luck Charm: Luck 2d6 3 3) Babes like Furry Things: +12 COM (6 Active Points); Only vs Women Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (-1/2), Always On (-1/2) 16 4) Second Sight: Retrocognitive, Precognitive Clairsentience (Hearing, Sight And Smell/Taste Groups) (80 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2), Increased Endurance Cost (x5 END; -2) 40 6 5) A Good Night's Sleep Does Wonders: Healing 2 BODY, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (30 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Hour (-2 1/4), Only when sleeping Power loses about half of its effectiveness (-1), Self Only (-1/2) 11 6) It only hurts when I laugh: Damage Resistance (12 PD/11 ED) 15 7) It looks worse than it is: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 30 8) No, it's really not that bad: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% 13 9) Don't piss me off, Little Man!: +30 PRE (30 Active Points); Offensive only Power loses about half of its effectiveness (-1), Incantations - Growl / Roar (-1/4) 25 Tooth and Nail: Multipower, 25-point reserve 2u 1) Rake w/ Claws: Armor Piercing (+1/2) for up to 50 Active Points of STR (25 Active Points) 2 2u 2) Stiff fingered Blow: Penetrating (+1/2) for up to 50 Active Points of STR (25 Active Points) 2 2u 3) Rend or Tear with Fangs or Claws: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1 1/2d6 (3d6+1 w/STR) (25 Active Points) 2 2u 4) Claw Eyes: Sight Group Flash 2d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2), Does BODY (+1) (25 Active Points); No Range (-1/2) 2 2u 5) Full Strength: +25 STR (25 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2) 2 53 Wings: Multipower, 80-point reserve, (80 Active Points); all slots Restrainable (-1/2) 5u 1) Powerful Bat-wings: Flight 37", x4 Noncombat (79 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2) 8 5u 2) Soaring: Gliding 74" (74 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2) 34 Grenade Belt: Multipower, 76-point reserve, (76 Active Points); all slots OAF (Focus - Belt and Grenades; -1), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) 2u 1) Concussion Grenades: Energy Blast 10d6, Explosion (+1/2) (75 Active Points); 3 Charges (-1 1/4), OAF (Focus - Belt and Grenades; -1), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) [3] 2u 2) Glue Grenades: Entangle 3d6, 4 DEF, Area Of Effect (4" Radius; +1) (70 Active Points); 4 Charges (-1), OAF (Focus - Belt and Grenades; -1), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) [4] 2u 3) Screamer Grenade: Energy Blast 6d6, Explosion (+1/2), No Normal Defense ([standard for Sonics]; +1) (75 Active Points); 3 Charges (-1 1/4), OAF (Focus - Belt and Grenades; -1), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) [3] 2u 4) Just your ordinary 300 mph Fastball: Energy Blast 14d6 (70 Active Points); OAF (Focus - Belt and Grenades; -1), 4 Recoverable Charges (-1/2), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) [4 rc] **** Avengers Equipment **** 5 Avengers Communicard: Radio Perception/Transmission (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); OAF (-1) Aerial Fighting Techniques Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 5 Passing Strike +1 +0 8d6 +v/5; FMove 4 Martial Dodge -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 Sacrifice Lunge +2 -2 8d6 +v/5; FMove Sidearm Pitcher Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 4 Heat -1 -1 Strike, +4 DC 5 From the Outfield +1 -1 Strike 5 Curveball +1 -1 Disarm, +2 DC to Disarm 5 Sinker +1 -1 Strike +v/5, Target Falls 0 Weapon Element: Baseballs & Grenades Perks 6 Fringe Benefit: CPA's License, Federal/National Police Powers, International Driver's License, Passport 6 Reputation: Avenger; Great Hero (A large group) 14-, +2/+2d6 7 Quinjets and Avengers Island: Vehicles & Bases 3 Avengers Database: Computer Link 1 Avengers Stipend: Money: Well Off Talents 4 Resistance (4 points) 10 I've got a bad feeling about this: Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of combat, Intuitional) (31 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2) 23- Skills 3 Acrobatics 14- 3 Bureaucratics 13- 3 Computer Programming 12- 7 +2 with DCV (10 Active Points); Only in the Air (-1/2) 3 Deduction 12- 2 KS: Avengers Villains and Menaces 11- 2 KS: The Avengers and their History 11- 2 KS: Baseball 11- 0 Language: English (idiomatic; literate) (5 Active Points) 1 Language: Italian (basic conversation) 2 Language: Portugese (fluent conversation) 2 Language: Spanish (fluent conversation) 3 Navigation (Air, Land) 12- 3 Paramedics 12- 2 PS: Accounting 11- 2 SS: Business Math 11- 12 Pinpoint Accuracy: +4 with throwing balls, rocks or grenades 4 I don't believe in the Designated Hitter rule: +2 Batting 3 Systems Operation 12- 2 WF: Baseball, Thrown Grenades, Thrown Rocks 2 TF: Quinjet, Small Motorized Ground Vehicles Total Powers & Skill Cost: 386 Total Cost: 595 450+ Disadvantages 10 Distinctive Features: Demon/Gargoyle (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 10 Enraged: in combat (Common), go 8-, recover 14- 10 Enraged: When confronted with demonic evil (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 14- 20 Hunted: Morphia, Demon Sorceress of Dreams 8- (Mo Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Capture) 15 Hunted: Hydra 8- (As Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Capture) 10 Hunted: Dr. Strange or current Sorcerer Supreme 8- (Mo Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching) 10 Psychological Limitation: Unsure of his place in society (Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Hatred vs. Evil (Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Lonely / Falls in love easily (Uncommon, Strong) 20 Psychological Limitation: Sworn to live up the Avengers' standards (Very Common, Strong) 10 Reputation: Hot-tempered, 11- 10 Social Limitation: Semi-Secret Identity (Frequently, Minor) Total Disadvantage Points: 145 Background/History: Jim Rowan was just an ordinary kind of guy. He grew up in a suburb of Boston, played baseball in High School, and earned a BS at U. Mass. He worked a 9-to-5 job with two weeks vacation a year and 11 paid holidays. He watched the ballgames on the weekends and was still dating his college sweetheart. Just an ordinary kind of guy. One night in December Jim was working late to finish up a project that the boss needed by the next morning. It was almost 11:00 by the time he got done and headed down to his car. As he brushed the snow off the car Jim was thinking of the warm bed waiting for him. But Jim never made it to that bed. Powerful arms grabbed him from behind, a hand holding a soaking handkerchief was clamped over his mouth and nose. A sickly sweet aroma filled his nostrils and before Jim knew he had slipped into a drug induced sleep. The first thing Jim noticed when he came to was the pounding the cloroform headache, the second was that he was strapped to a table in a large chamber lit by torches and surrounded by several dozen men wearing the strange garb of the organization known as Hydra. The four of them closest to him began to gesture and incant. Strange swirling patterns of mystic energy began to form around Jim. As the energy tendrils touched him, searing pain flooded through his body. Although it was only seconds until the last of the energies was absorbed, to Jim it felt like hours. The four open their mouths to incant again but before they could begin the chamber was rocked by a powerful explosion and before Jim knew three squads of SHIELD agents - led by the boss lady herself, Colonel Katherine Pryde - had crashed the party. As lethal energy discharges began to fill the chamber, Jim struggled to break free. It was only later that he would realize that the restraints had torn like tissue paper. As he got to his feet a SHIELD agent pitched a grenade at him. Without thinking, Jim caught it and then rifled it into a group of Hydra agents, taking out all five of them in one blast. A moment later the SHIELD agent went down with a smoking laser hole in his back. Realizing that this was no place for an ordinary sort of guy, Jim picked up the fallen agent's satchel and ran, tossing grenades from the satchel behind him as he went. When he neared the breach in the wall, Jim leapt up to reach it, suddenly Jim wasn't running anymore, he was flying. Two huge bat-wings beat the air and carried Jim up into the swirling snowfall. 'My God," he thought, 'what did they do to me?' In the mirrored glass of one of the office towers, he found out. James Rowan stared at hideous reflection of what he had become; the matted, tangled grey fur, burning yellow eyes, huge bat-wings, razor sharp claws and inch-long canines. He was like something out of a nightmare. With an inhuman shriek of anguish, Jim fled blindly into the night sky. Near dawn, exhausted, Jim came to rest on a rooftop in Lower Manhattan. Flying about screaming hadn't really helped but he had needed to get it out of his system. Now he could think a bit more clearly. He needed help and he thought he knew where to get it . With his mighty bat-wings flapping in a slow powerful rhythm, Jim once more took to the sky, but this time he had a definate destination. Next stop: Avengers Island. Personality/Motivation: Jim Rowan is a man torn between two extremes. He hates the monster that he's become; but at the same time since joining the Avengers he's been given a chance to make more of a difference to the world than he ever believed possible. At first all that he wanted was to be cured and go back to his ordinary life. But as more time has gone by he's come to the realization that, that may just no longer be possible. To his friends and family, James Rowan is an unsolved missing person case. He couldn't bear to have them see him after his transformation, so he stayed away. Now after so much time his bridges are all but burned behind him. Which leaves his other option; to keep his current form and stay with the team. Doctor Strange is looking into what can be done but right now it looks like all that may be possible is for Jim to be enchanted with a spell that will allow him to take on the illusion of a human form. This in-between status is a major contributor to Jim's increasing loneliness. A factor that Morphia, the Demon Sorceress of Dreams, has been using in her attempts to seduce him into her service and her bed. So far his hatred of all things demonic has given him the strength to resist her advances; but as she continues to come to him in his sleep, each form more alluring than the last, Jim may be weakening. Quote: "You think you've got it tough? I'll show you what a real nightmare is!" "Here comes the heater, pal, you better use a fireproof glove." Powers/Tactics: Nightmare is a very versatile fighter. He can snipe with his baseballs or grenades, but his strength lets him move in close and mix it up if need be. His real forte however is aerial combat; a slashing attack at maximum speed can take down all but the most powerful fighters and will hurt even them. He can also be used for the emergency evacuation of civilians from the battle area, in fact this is usually what Banner orders him to do first. Left to his own devices, Nightmare will usually start off with a roar intended to intimidate his foe. If he's going to be stuck in this form, he figures he might as well make use of it. He doesn't like to use his fangs or claws on anything that's alive, saving these for robots or other machines, but he will if he has to. Nightmare positively loathes his periodic visions of the future or past. Not only do they usually come at the lousiest times, like when he's out on a date or sleeping or in the bathroom, but they tend to leave him shaking, exhausted, and more than a little sick to his stomach. He has much more positive feelings about his flashes of intuition which have saved him and the team a couple of times so far. He just wishes they were more reliable. Campaign Use: Nightmare is the young, reluctant Avenger growing into his destiny as a hero. Out of combat he's basically a superhero padawan, learning the ropes; while in combat he handles Air Superiority and Ground Support missions. Appearance: Since joining the Avengers Jim takes care to keep himself presentable, at least as much as he can. His fur is no longer matted and tangled but trimmed and neatly brushed. The hair on top of his head naturally falls in a Beast-like mane, this is also kept trimmed although not as short as Dr. McCoy's. He usually wears black jeans, with calf-high brown boots. Around his waist is his grenade belt with pouches for 10 grenades and 4 baseballs. Shirts and coats have to be specially tailored to accomodate his wings and are usually a pain in the ass to get into, or out of for that matter - unless he just shreds them.

Re: Avengers: The Next Generation on Hero Central I've got a question. How did Tony Stark die? For that matter how did Doom die? It might be a good idea to write up some kind of history of major events in the Bunnyverse. At least the ones that are known to the general public. Doesn't have to be that deep, just enough to show how you got from 616 to 28669. Basically from where the Bunnyverse diverged from 616 to now. P.S. working on a character now. Probably have him ready sometime tomorrow.

Re: CHAR: Iron Man

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game? Forget it. There's nobody listening in here.

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game? And you seem utterly unaware of what a setting is. Chapters two and three are not a setting. They are a history and geography lesson, designed to teach us something about an era that none of us have lived in. They are far too broad to be a setting. A setting is an in depth presentation of a game world or, more often, a specific location in a game world, done with an eye toward making this location the center of action where the game will take place and providing the players and GM with all the information needed to do this. Hudson City 1935 would have been a setting, Chapters 2 and 3 of PH were not. And I had already stated that Ninja Hero was a stand alone, and admitted that I haven't read Post-Apocalyptic Hero. Not my cup of tea really. If it was always intended as a stand alone, then I supposed the micro-settings are as good as it gets.

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game? Half a mo, while I check something.......... Yes. Refering to this post: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1546556&postcount=14 It sounds to me like PH sells on par with the other genre books. It's the supplements which are selling well below the projections, which I expect were based on Pulp Hero's sales numbers vis-a-vis the other lines and their Genre book-to-supplement ratios. If I'm reading this correctly, it seems as though the sales numbers for the PH supplements are drastically lower than expected. Lower than they should be, even factoring in the sales volume of Pulp Hero itself.

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game?

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game?

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game? Possibly, Derek, but that doesn't explain why the sourcebooks for Champions and FH and SH are selling (at least enough to be worth continuing to publish them), and the sourcebooks for Pulp Hero aren't. Now admittedly Champions is the big gun. This is the game that built Hero and keeps it running. All the other lines combined, probably still don't equal its sales numbers. But the rest are a lot closer to PH and there have been times that I've seen more visitors in the Pulp forum than the DC or SH forums. Although not very often

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game? Spence, it occurs to me that about the same time the buying of modules dropped off, was when the fanbase started shrinking. Do you think that might have had something to do with it? On the other hand it could have been simple oversaturation of the market. Still, I think the paradigm of rules/setting/people is the correct one for a new game. For a game that already comes with an established world that the players are familiar with, somewhat less so.

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game? Derek, my friend, if you have a better theory that fits the facts of the situation, I'd love to hear it.

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game? In all the time you've been gaming and all the games, and game systems, you've played? If so, then consider yourself quite remarkable. Most GMs I've known have always used pre-published material, both settings and characters. They tweak things to suit their individual styles and campaign ideas, and add their own material to flesh things out some more; but most of them are more than willing to use the pre-published material as a starting point at least.

Re: What do you need to have in order to play the game? I don't think so, Derek. It might have been that way with earlier incarnations, hell I'll even go so far as to say it was that way then. But that was when most of us were in our teens and twenties and had the time that, as fortysomethings, we no longer have. Sure, you can take your old campaign from way back when, dust it off a bit, update the mechanics to 5eR and use that. Assuming you kept complete enough notes. But you'll basically be running the same campaign all over again. Love may be lovelier the second time around but the second time for the same role-playing campaign seems a trifle boring to me. After all, you already know where all the bodies are buried so to speak. You could make major changes to the setting but do you have the time? For many the answer is no. Also from what I'm hearing talking to other gamers this is true across the hobby, not just for Hero. The games that flourish are the ones that give you that formula of rules/setting/people; and the ones that don't are the ones that give you just the rules and maybe an adventure of three. More later, supper's waiting.

A couple of days ago in a Pulp Hero thread Steve said that although Pulp Hero itself had sold fairly well, the other books in the Pulp Hero line had not. As such there would be no further support for the line beyond the occasional pdf, apparently he has mentioned this before but I guess I’d missed it. This got me wondering why the genre book was selling but the source books weren’t, which in turn led me to wonder what a role-playing game really needs to provide to be playable right from the get go, and if perhaps the reason that the source books aren’t selling is because something’s missing from the equation. The first thing I had to face before I could even begin to tackle this question was that things have changed from the days when Hero was first published two plus decades ago. The fan-base has both shrunk and aged in those years. In my mind the key thing is the age. As folks get older they tend to have more commitments and responsibilities, and less free time. The things that we would have done ourselves 20 years ago we now prefer to be already done and available for purchase. Twenty-five years ago all we needed was the rules and the genre, which were combined as one book at the time. Everything else we could do ourselves, supplements were nice but not essential. They were, in effect, icing on the cake. Not so today. Hero’s ageing customer base often just doesn’t have the time, and their younger customers – who grew up with the instant gratification of video games – often don’t want to. Mind you these are not absolutes, but in general I believe that these observations are pretty accurate. The upshot of it is that the supplements should sell pretty well, nearly as well as the genre book. So why didn’t that happen in the case of Pulp Hero? One factor is probably economic. People simply have less disposable cash than they used to. “I’ve got a mortgage to pay!”, “I’m trying to put my kids through college!”, “I drive an SUV and gas is heading for four bucks a gallon!”, “Have you seen the price of hamburger lately?!” But I think the main factor is that they weren’t given what they needed to play the game. Boiled down to its essentials you need three things: the rules (this includes the genre as well as the general rules), the setting for the game to take place in, and people (primarily but not limited to adversaries) to populate that setting. Now let’s take a look at the Pulp Hero line: Pulp Hero – the genre rulebook, combined with 5E, 5eR, or Sidekick you’re good to go with the rules Masterminds and Madmen – the adversaries book, lots of bad guys to populate the setting, so you’re ready on that front too. Thrilling Places – a locations book, a dozen strange locales scattered across the globe for your heroes to visit. Useful, but it’s not on the essential list. Something’s missing. There’s no setting book. The setting book should have been the second PH book out the gate, right after the genre book. Instead it was delayed and now it’s not coming out at all. Now is this really a problem? To answer that let’s take a look at the other Hero lines and what they did. Champions brought out a setting book, Champions Universe, right away. Then followed it up the next month with Conquerors, Killers and Crooks; the villain book. As time went on more detailed setting books were released in Millennium City and Vibora Bay. Fantasy Hero brought out The Turakian Age, The Valdorian Age and Tuala Morn. Star Hero had Terran Empire and Alien Wars. All three have sold well enough that they continue to be supported, although the lion’s share of the support goes to Champions as Hero’s strongest seller. Then we come to Dark Champions, which although not as popular as its original incarnation was, still has its followers. This game has what I consider to be the finest setting book I’ve ever owned in the magnificent Hudson City: the Urban Abyss. As far as I know, this line is still being supported, although not as vigorously as the others. As for why it hasn’t sold as well as expected, I’d guess that’s more the result of the shift in focus from street level supers to heroic level agents, cops, and vigilantes; which doesn’t seem to be quite what a lot of players wanted. Next is Ninja Hero, while technically a genre book, it has probably been used more as a martial arts sourcebook by players of the other lines. Also to my knowledge it was intended to be a stand-alone book, not the start of a new line. It has no setting nor villain books. Finally we come to Post Apocalyptic Hero. I don’t own this yet but it looks like: No setting. No people. Sales on the weak side, and with the upcoming 6E re-start, probably doomed to be another stand-alone. So there you have it. Hero’s successes have all followed the pattern of rules/setting/people, and their failures seem to come when they deviate from it. Now I’m not saying that deviating from the formula is the only cause for a line’s weak sales, but it does seem to be a common element they all share.

Re: Doctor Grordbort's Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory You might want to take a look here ... http://www.wetanz.com/rayguns/infomercial.php The commericial's a riot.

Re: Hudson City as Pulp city?

Re: Hudson City as Pulp city? I made a few fairly simple changes to the "Justice, Not Law" version of Hudson City to use it as a setting in my Doc Hawkstar campaign fo Justice, Inc back about 10 to 12 years ago. Here's the campaign paradigm with the changes. Adapting to HC:TUA should be fairly painless. p.s. It would help the look of the thing if you have the ParkAvenue BT and Betty Noir fonts.

Re: Nick Diamond, Private Eye It takes a tough man to admit he's a dick.

Re: Nick Diamond, Private Eye No to both. To be honest I wasn't even aware of the Diamond Brothers until I checked out the link. There are elements of Tony Rome and Philip Marlowe in him as well as a generous portion of Spenser. But there's a lot that is found in none of those characters too. For more check out the Thrilling Detective website. It's a frickin' goldmine.

Re: Nick Diamond, Private Eye Thank you. I created him for a campaign that Misterbaldy was going to run. Figured people might enjoy taking a look at him.

Nick Diamond Val Char Cost Roll Notes 15 STR 5 12- Lift 200.0kg; 3d6 [1] 17 DEX 21 12- OCV: 6/DCV: 6 16 CON 12 12- 16 BODY 12 12- 13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 13- 13 EGO 6 12- ECV: 4 15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 14 COM 2 12- 5 PD 2 Total: 5 PD (0 rPD) 3 ED 0 Total: 3 ED (0 rED) 3 SPD 3 Phases: 4, 8, 12 7 REC 2 35 END 2 35 STUN 3 Total Characteristic Cost: 80 Movement: Running: 7"/14" Leaping: 3"/6" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers END 3 Observant: +1 PER with all Sense Groups 3 Quick Healing - heals at twice normal rate: (3 Active Points) Martial Arts: Brawling 3 Right Cross +1 +0 6d6 Strike 5 Left Jab +1 +3 4d6 Strike 5 Kick in the Nuts +1 -2 8d6 Strike 4 The trick is not to let them tag you -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 +1 HTH Damage Class(es) Perks 7 Money: Wealthy 6 Contact: Lenny Seltzer - bookie (Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has useful Skills or resources, Very Good relationship with Contact) 11- 4 Contact: Race Witherspoon - gay photographer (Contact has access to major institutions, Good relationship with Contact) 11- 1 Reputation: Tough Guy (A small to medium sized group) 14-, +1/+1d6 20 Lincoln Monk: Follower (30 Active Points); Activation Roll 14- (-1/2) Talents 5 Eidetic Memory 6 Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) Skills 3 Acting 12- 5 AK: Hudson City 14- 4 AK: Greater Miami 13- 4 AK: Mid Atlantic Coast 13- 3 Combat Driving 12- 2 Computer Programming (Personal Computers) 12- 3 Conversation * 12- 5 Criminology * 13- 3 Deduction * 12- 3 Fast Draw 12- 2 Gambling (Horse Racing) 12- 3 High Society 12- 2 KS: Current Affairs - Sports 11- 2 KS: Police Etiquette and Procedures 11- 0 Language: English (idiomatic) (4 Active Points) 3 Language: Spanish (completely fluent) 3 Lockpicking 12- 2 PS: Finance 11- 2 PS: Photography 11- 5 PS: Private Investigator * 14- 2 SS: Psychology 11- 3 Shadowing * 12- 3 Stealth 12- 3 Streetwise * 12- 3 WF: Small Arms, Blades 8 +1 with All Combat 3 +1 with Pistols 10 Detective Skills: +2 with a * Total Powers & Skill Cost: 171 Total Cost: 250 150+ Disadvantages 5 Dependent NPC: Dr. Vivian Tylo, MD - girlfriend 8- (Normal; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills) 10 Dependent NPC: Kit Diamond - mom 8- (Normal) 10 Hunted: Guy he sent to jail 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 5 Physical Limitation: Addicted to tobacco (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 5 Physical Limitation: Slow Riser -1 to all skills until after he's had his morning coffee (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 10 Psychological Limitation: Code of Honor - Private Eye's (Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Sense of Duty to clients (Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Stubborn (Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Overconfident (Common, Moderate) 10 Reputation: Honest, 11- 5 Rivalry: Professional (Sgt Harry Dane - ex-partner; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry) 5 Social Limitation: Bad rep with cops - fired from the State Police for being a "bush-league f***ing hot dog". (Occasionally, Minor) 5 Unluck: 1d6 - plays the horses but usually loses Total Disadvantage Points: 100 Background/History: Nick Diamond is a 3rd generation private eye. His grandfather, Blake Diamond, operated in Chicago during the mid to late 20s before moving to San Francisco in 1930. He married his secretary, Jessica Lord, in 1928 and they had one child in 1931. Sam Diamond followed in his father's footsteps after getting out of the Army in 1955. Sam operated in the Greater Miami area throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. In 1967 he married millionairess Kit Forester, Nick was born three years later. In 1982 Sam was murdered by Al Mungar, an ex-con that he had put away 20 years earlier. Blake came out of retirement to bring Mungar in aided by Sam's friend Waldo "The Horse" Gronsky. Blake and Jessica moved to Florida and helped Kit raise Nick who grew up on his grandfather's stories of Chicago during Prohibition and Frisco in the 30s. Blake and Jess died just weeks apart in 1988. They say that Blake died of a broken heart after he lost Jessica, but Nick isn't so sure. In 1992 Nick graduated from Hudson City University with a degree in Criminology. He joined the State Police shortly after. Nick got considerable practical experience while working out of the Stewart County D.A.’s office, but the States were a bad fit for him and he felt too pressured to conform. He was a good investigator but his constant tendency to throw the book away led to his being fired in 1998 for being “a bush-league f***ing hot-dog.” But, by that time, Nick figured that he’d already gotten what he needed from the job. In 1998 Nick opened the latest version of Diamond Investigations. Currently he works out of an office above the Hudson City Five Cents Savings Bank at the corner of Beaufort Ave. and N. Adams Street. Business has been decent but could be better, a lot of it is routine – serving of court papers, insurance investigations, and background checks – but a few times a year a case comes in the door that reminds him that the Hollywood myth about private eyes does have some basis in reality. Nick’s dodged his share of bullets over the years and even had a couple dug out of his flesh but, as his assailants have found out, Nick Diamond is a hard man to kill. Yeah, he knows that somewhere out there is the bullet that really does have his name on it, but he figures that it’ll get to him when it gets to him, so there’s no point in worrying about it. Nick lives on 7th Avenue near the Kurtland Blvd. overpass in the same apartment that he occupied when he was a student at HCU. He keeps himself in shape by jogging three times a week and pumping iron at the HCU weight room. Over the years he’s developed a strong friendship with Lincoln Monk, a freelance leg-breaker who once saved his neck when he was a cop. Another of Nick’s friends is Lieutenant Frank Mallory of the HCPD Homicide Squad, although Mallory has no great love for Nick, he knows that Nick is both a good investigator and honest, and that counts for a lot, even if he is a pain in the ass sometimes. The most important person in Nick’s life remains his mother, Kit, who now lives in West Palm Beach, but he has recently begun a relationship with Dr. Vivian Tylo, an ophthalmologic surgeon at HCU Hospital, that is showing a lot of promise. Personality/Motivation: Nick Diamond is tough, cynical, world-weary, and a smartass. He will frequent expose "Diamond's Rules", most of which he makes up as he goes along. He enjoys needling people, mainly thugs and pompous idiots, whom he figures deserve it. But sometimes he'll be a pain in the ass just cause he's in a rotten mood. He always figures that his clients are hiding something or lying to him about something. Deep inside Nick longs for the kind of life his grandfather led in the thirties. Life may have been tough and there was a lot of crime, but there were also a lot of genuinely nice folks that needed help. Something that he feels is in extremely short supply in Hudson City. In spite of his cynicism, in a very real sense Nick is still a kid at heart, who believes in right and wrong. But his profession has forced him to accept the fact - albeit grudgingly - that sometimes the best you can do, is to do what you can, not what you should. Quote: Honey, I'm too damned old to listen to bullshit. Tell me what your problem really is and maybe I can help you. Otherwise stop wasting my time. You're a sporting man, Joe, so I'll make you a bet. In fact I'll make you two. One - you won't kill me because you want to know what I know and there's no percentage in killing me without finding out why. And Two - if your pet pork chop over there tries to hassle me I'll take his piece away from him and clean his teeth with it. Even money. Nick: Viv, we should be on that plane. Heading for someplace sunny and warm. I don't know why I stay here sometimes, I really don't. The weather stinks, the cops are a pain in the ass and nine times out of ten my clients have lied to me about something. I mean it's not like I need the money. Vivian: People are people, Nick, and lying is almost a part of the human condition. Particularly in Hudson City. Nick: That's the point. I could do this somewhere else so why do I stay here? Vivian: Because nowhere else can you make as much of a difference as you do in Hudson City. What you won't admit is that you'ld like to be Sir Gawain but you were born six centuries too late. Nick: Eight centuries. Powers/Tactics: Nick Diamond is armed with .357 magnum Colt King Cobra. Although most everyone has switched over to semi-autos by this time, Nick prefers the power and simplicity of the wheel-gun, which he normally loads with hot .38 Specials rather than full magnum loads. He sometimes carries a .38 caliber snub-nosed Taurus 617 revolver in an ankle holster as a back up. If he needs really heavy firepower he’ll load up his Mossberg 500, 12 gauge shotgun. Although skilled with firearms, Nick prefers to avoid a shooting confrontation by using his fists instead. A skilled brawler, he has been known to needle thugs into a fistfight, which he invariably wins, just to see what happens. This ties into Diamond's rule # 7 - When the investigation's stagnant, punch out a bad guy to get it moving again. Personal Habits: Nick smokes unfiltered Camel cigarettes. Although he’s been trying to quit he has yet to manage it. He has cut his intake down to about a pack a week. Like his father and grandfather Nick likes to play the horses. Lenny Seltzer, an old timer who operates out of a booth at the Patriot Tavern in Bayside, is his bookie. Lenny is also an occasional source of information if a case involves gambling. Nick’s alcoholic beverage of choice is draft Guinness beer, but he has been known to drink neat bourbon when stressed and also has an appreciation for Moet et Chandon champagne. When it comes to non-alcoholic drinks Nick goes with coffee – usually instant Folgers, or Coca-Cola. Nick drives a Ford Mustang GT that he bought new in 1998. Although he likes the car the powerful V-8 is getting expensive to operate as gas prices continue to climb. He’s considering trading the car in on something a bit more fuel efficient. Appearance: Nick rarely wears a tie although he does have several. His customary dress is casual – jeans or dockers, a jersey, a jacket or coat and loafers or athletic shoes. Although he looks good in a suit, he dislikes wearing one and will only do it if he has to. Both Monk and Frank Mallory have been known to needle him about clothes once in a while. Almost unbelievably, Nick owns a tux, which he has worn exactly three times.

Re: Champions Universe: The Unresolved Questions/Plots Well if he didn't; he does now.

Re: Pulp-Era Futuristic Space City Very nice. I owe you rep. When I'm able to give it anyway.