Doc Shadow

The recent discussion in a different posting about the Champions Now Kickstarter project made me think back to my Hero System/Champions experiences than spans over 30 years. Even though my first superhero RPG was Villains & Vigilantes by Fantasy Games Unlimited, when I first received Champions 3rd Edition as a gift, I became a lifelong fan and collector, to include the various comic issues published at one point by Eclipse Comics that featured Marksman, Flare, and so on.
 
In addition to owning/playing Champions, I also owned/played DC Heroes by Mayfair Games (1st and 3rd Edition), Silver Age Sentinels (Tri-Stat and d20 versions), Mutants and Masterminds and later Icons (both original and The Assembled Edition) by Green Ronin Press, Heroes Unlimited by Palladium Books, along with independent titles like Prowlers & Paragons, Invulnerable, Supergame, and Guardians. In the end, though, I always found myself going back to Champions.
 
While I really enjoyed 3rd and 4th edition, by the early 2000s those books seemed dated when compared to other superhero games being released like Silver Age Sentinels, Mutant and Masterminds, and Aberrant. Also, the binding started wearing out, as these books were not as durable as the other books that I had (e.g. Robotech RPG series and source books by Palladium).
 
When the 5th Edition Hero System came out, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. While the source books were well-designed and styled, the "Big Black Book" and later Fifth Revised Edition (FREd) that consisted of over 300+ and later 500+ pages of rules respectively, were a major turnoff. I would not become aware of the Hero Sidekick (Hero Basic 5th Edition) for several more years (it wasn't carried at my local game store). Years later, when I saw Hero System 6th Edition in its "college textbook" design with volumes that totaled over 600 pages of rules next to the latest version of Mutants and Masterminds and related source books published by Green Ronin, I couldn't help but wonder, "What was Hero Games thinking!?" After speaking with other fans about 6th Edition over the years, a common reaction was that 6th Edition seemed more like an exercise of writer's self-indulgence that did not significantly improve the system. Not surprisingly, this was followed by disparaging remarks about the senior staff at Hero Games.
 
Dungeons & Dragons is a similar situation where it is a long-standing game system with multiple editions. In recent years, Wizards of the Coast has made all of the Dungeons & Dragons editions available. I have relatives, friends, and colleagues who have collected the latest edition (5th) to add to their game collection while still actively playing their favorite previous edition in their respective gaming groups. Some like the "old school flair" of 2nd edition, others like 4th, and still others like the current edition. A common question that has come up has been, "Which edition of D&D is your favorite?"
 
So, with that in mind, "What's your favorite edition of the Hero System/Champions?"
 
 
 
 

"To the bat-poles!"

You start by remembering he's not your boss. The American people are.

Trump Can No Longer Control Pecker
 
What? David Pecker, CEO of AMI, who was recently subpoenaed. What did you think?

Senator John McCain Dead At Age 81
 
I voted for John McCain in the 2000 presidential primary though George W Bush and Al Gore went on to get their parties' nomination.  I still believe we would have been better served by John McCain as president than either of those 2 gentlemen.  In 2008, I voted for Barack Obama over John McCain, because McCain was no longer the better candidate.  Still, I remember a time at one of his campaign rallies when he mentioned his opponent and the audience started booing and yelling racist things and McCain told them to stop and that his opponent was a good man and he just disagreed with him politically.  His audience was displeased with his statement, but he has my eternal admiration for having the courage and class to make it.
 
Godspeed in this final flight, good sir.

There was also the excellent GURPS World War II series for GURPS 3rd Ed.
 
I have all of them, well, all of them that are available in hard copy at least. Don't really care for the GURPS system but SJG makes some of the best sourcebooks out there. Well worth getting a hold of.

You start by remembering he's not your boss. The American people are.

I usually place Hudson City in Connecticut turned 90 degrees so that the city is oriented East/West rather than North/South along the bisecting Stewart River that branches off of the Connecticut River further north. But sometimes I'll place it in New Jersey.

Ann Hathaway for Oceans whatever, looking more like the Scarlet Witch than the Scarlet Witch
 

https://i.redd.it/9uekftvo9v7z.jpg

 
Cosplayer:  /u/SerpentFang13

So not exactly a superhero, but Mary Jane Watson is associated with superheroes!
 

Oh lots and lots
 

I have the box set of "Wild Wild West' (the T V series) and it is fun. As far as I am concerned the movie version was an absolute travesty, done by people with no taste or appreciation of the source material that they were bastardising !

While directing is uneven and acting can be bad, and as screenwriting can be very unreliable, the one area that is rock solid amazing and perfect in almost every Hollywood film is the set design and costuming.  Those guys break their backs trying to get every single detail right, even things you barely notice or will never see.  That's where the real professionals work.  All that CGI and the explosions just distract everyone from the solid, excellent jobs by unsung heroes.

No. They do not.
 
https://battletech.gamepedia.com/Battlemechs

D-Day landings "The British and Canadians put 75,215 troops ashore, and the Americans 57,500, for a total of 132,715" https://www.historyonthenet.com/d-day-statistics/
 
"The First U.S. Army, accounting for the first twenty-four hours in Normandy, tabulated 1,465 killed, 1,928 missing, and 6,603 wounded...Canadian forces at Juno Beach sustained 946 casualties, of whom 335 were listed as killed. Surprisingly, no British figures were published, but Cornelius Ryan cites estimates of 2,500 to 3,000 killed, wounded, and missing, including 650 from the Sixth Airborne Division."
https://www.historyonthenet.com/d-day-casualties/
 
The number missing were most likely the ones who were killed in the water before reaching the beach. (And keep in mind that this is the number for the beaches, mostly not counting paratroopers, except for the British, or casualties on ships and planes.)
 
1465 + 1928 + 6603 + 946 + 3000-ish then compare that to the 132,715 who were there will give you the percentage. It'll come out roughly to 10.5%
 
If you want it broken down by segment, there's 86,400 segments per day so you'd divide your total number of casualties (which looks to be around 14,000) by 86,400. That's a rate of casualties among the Allies of about one every six segments on the beaches. But keep in mind that casualties weren't evenly distributed throughout the day.
 
Those are numbers from the first two links googling "number of casualties on d-day". There's several other links that look promising if you want to double-check the numbers.
 
You could probably get good results from googling "number of casualties fill-in-the-blank landing" then just plug in Okinawa, Sicily, Iwo Jima, or anyplace else you want to look. 

I can live with pouches.
 
Venom on the other hand is one of the most revolting characters ever created!
 
Hard to believe something so disgusting was created by David Michelinie. Still I suppose anyone can have an off day.
 
Was probably McFarlane's idea anyway. 

"We have to stay here. And there's a simple reason why. Ask ten different scientists about the environment, population control, genetics, and you'll get ten different answers, but there's one thing every scientist on the planet agrees on. Whether it happens in a hundred years or a thousand years or a million years, eventually our Sun will grow cold and go out. When that happens, it won't just take us. It'll take Marilyn Monroe, and Lao-Tzu, and Einstein, and Morobuto, and Buddy Holly, and Aristophanes, and - all of this - all of this - was for nothing. Unless we go to the stars."

Anything: Taskmaster (Anthony Masters)


Anything: Hro Talak


Support: Leftenant Shawn Fynn, former mercenary, now pilot for Moon Knight

The Star Wars revenues each film in succession have made less money until the latest one made none... that's a clear, obvious trend.  Its die hard fans giving up, its a can't-lose license to print money failing.  This isn't someone who did okay, its someone who made a disaster out of the most popular and beloved movie franchise in human history.  There's no defending that.

Despite some criticisms, both The Force Awakens and Rogue One were generally well received by both fans and critics. There was enormous public anticipation and excitement for The Last Jedi. That was the film that changed the whole nature of the discourse. I believe the biggest problem was that the people behind the movie deliberately set out to subvert the assumptions and speculations of the fans. Like Luke said to Rey, "This is not going to go the way you think!" Characters didn't behave or interact the way everyone expected them to. Story points fans were interested and invested in, e.g. Snoke's identity and history, and Rey's parentage, were ignored or undercut. Some plot twists appeared to be inserted as "Gotcha!" surprises, like how Benicio del Toro's character was used.
 
None of these things made the movie bad in themselves; personally I quite enjoyed it. But collectively they imply a disregard for the existing Star Wars fandom. The trust between fans and filmmakers was damaged, and that's going to be hard to rebuild.

Anything: Donavan "Red" Grant

 
Anything: the Crimson Dynamo armor (for Grant)

 
Support: Bethany Cabe, Chief of Security, Wayne Enterprises

Delenn: This is Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari. Babylon 5 is under our protection. Withdraw ! Or be destroyed.
EA Captain: Negative. We have authority here. Do not force us to engage your ship.
Delenn: Why not ? Only one human captain has survived a battle with a Minbari fleet. He is behind me, you are in front of me. If you value your lives be somewhere else.
 

Villain:  Black Cat
 

 
Villain:  The Cheetah
 

 
 
Support: The Maggia