assault

Marvel: Bullseye!!!!

DC: Solomon Grundy

Bolt

Plastique

and the other one...

the one whose name is only whispered...

(cowers in terror)

LOBO!!!!!

Alan

The definitive comment on roleplaying teens:

http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp06212003.html

Alan

I would consider buying your character's permanent (non-focussed) DEX up to 20, and probably drop her CON to 18.

You would have to recalculate her Synaptic doodad, but I think it's worth her while having a 7 Combat Value outside her focus. It's just too useful.

Oh, here is something that I would have to look up the rules for: I've just noticed that her Hand to Hand Attack is versus ED. I'm not quite sure if that would add to her Martial Arts and Strength damage. It's late, and I can't remember...

Anyway, she's looking quite interesting now.

Alan

I would consider making her a bit more combat capable. Otherwise, she will hit a fight scene, and you (the player) will spend a lot of time twiddling your thumbs.

Yes, she is useful out of combat. Other characters may encroach on her shtick though, and still be better fighters.

Clearly, you have built her as a non-powered "normal", with the appropriate characteristic limits and all that kind of thing. What I would say is: don't. She can still be a "normal" (although a very exceptional one) and still go over 20 DEX and 4 SPD. Her CV is good because of her skills, but I would definitely consider pushing up her SPD a little, if only to ensure you get a bit more of the GM's attention in combat.

Similarly I would extend her ability to inflict damage a bit. At the moment she is only barely able to take down tough normals. Her martial arts can be used to set up attacks for other characters (reducing Combat Values and so on), but that's still a rather limited role.

Regretably, all Champions characters need to be able to usefully engage in combat. Being the gadgeteer that whips out the Deus Ex Machina device is good in the comics, but it's not usually viable in a game.

Alan

Personally, I am rather fond of the recommended limits, but that is because I enjoy the solitaire aspects of character design, and you need some kind of "rules" for that. So if "the book" suggests 125+75 points for teen supers, I run with that and see what can be done. I also build 250 or 275 point characters as more experienced "X-Men" types. But that's just for my solo projects, which are about background and origin writing more than actual play. Of course, in theory, some of this stuff will eventually appear in an actual campaign...

In real campaigns, in my experience, character growth is actually fairly slow. 1 or 2 points per session is fairly normal, and for older folks like me, sessions aren't quite as frequent as they were way back when. So characters tend to stay pretty much how they start, which means that the players have to be happy with them. The points total for a game should allow that.

Because I have been playing "for a real long time", I'm fairly fond of 250 point characters. On the other hand 275-300 points gives a little more elbow room, especially for characters in teams that have a bit of standard equipment, plus some standardised training. At that point, there is no particularly obvious point to not going for 350 point characters, but these will tend to have considerably more power, rather than being merely more experienced versions of low-powered characters.

So, go with whatever you think is best. Of course, for character design exercises, go with strict limits so you are forced to learn to maximise what can be done within the system, preferably without resort to munchkinisation.

And of course: "Silly GM, points are for players".

Alan

(Almost happy with my 250 point Rogue-homage...)

Originally posted by Redmenace

The X special unit sounds interesting. I’ve been trying to avoid the cliche of national heroes being based on American stereotypes like The Kangaroo or Lt. Boomerang. Did the unit have any Aboriginals?

Since it's entirely fictional, your guess is as good as mine.

I don't think 'Z', the vague real-world analogue did.

Alan

A soft option

If you don't want to kill your PCs off, you can have them get thrown out by an independent hero team. Something like a thinly disguised version of the X-Men (preferably one of the "classic" lineups) would be appropriate.

Of course, the PCs would then be handed over to the government, who would take a very dim view of their activities, but escaping isn't necessarily impossible. At that stage, you will be running a supervillain campaign.

I have to say that it sounds like your campaign is spinning out of control. It might be time to negotiate an end to it and start again. By negotiate, I mean, convince your players that it's time to retire their characters after a Last Big Epic, which hopefully won't involve their ignominious deaths.

Sod it. It's time for an Alien Invasion. All of humanity versus the Slimy Bug-Eyed Monsters. That should flush away most of the anti-mutie stuff.

Alan

I'd go with short, bloody and memorable. If you do it right, the players will remember this game in twenty years time.

Yes, that's a vote for "kill them all". Just do it right.

Alan

Re: Re: World War 2 Ideas, please

I wrote:

The plot is betrayed by one of their circle who was happy enough to legally advocate that the US should stay out of the war, but is unwilling to take up arms against the US government.

Thinking about this some more:

This guy is a Nazi sympathiser. He isn't going to get along well with the African-American hero. Here is a chance to play up the latter's disadvantages. So, don't just kill off the Nazi, leave him around long enough to show what a jerk he is.

A more general regional encounter:

In my Champions Universe, Australia had a super-commando group called "X" Special Unit. This is modelled on an actual historical Commando outfit called "Z" Special Unit, which specialised in operating in Japanese held territory. "X" is the group tasked with countering the efforts of Japanese metahumans, ninjas, sorcerors and suchlike. It mainly consists of former pulp adventurers, plus the odd superhuman. Its members generally don't wear costumes, but rather Australian army uniforms. Most are NCOs from various services, with a scattering of officers.

"X" could be encountered by any group operating in the South Pacific, particularly if local knowledge and contacts are involved.

A typical "X" operative would be a 150+ point normal, with standard military weapons. Most would have codenames. For example, one operative in my game was named "Alpha". Coincidentally, "Alpha" was Assault's grandfather, and may have been the source of the mutant genes that Assault inherited.

Alan

Originally posted by Klytus

The only time I've ever seen anyone in our group play and keep a "pure" brick was a friend who played Crusher - a former college football player who got mutated after taking steriods. He has all the standard brickish traits with two notable exceptions: SPD 5 and DEX 26.

Assault, my default standard character is, of course, a brick, and a very "pure" example of one.

I actually like bricks that have reasonable SPD and DEX. I also like bricks that have flight. I guess, at heart, I'm a Superman fan, more than a fan of the Hulk or the Thing. Or Power Man or She-Hulk, who were more direct inspirations for Assault.

The main reason why Assault doesn't have all this stuff is a rather overdeveloped sense of "fairness", where I've tried not to encroach on other characters shticks. This has become more important under FRED, where Assault has had to learn basic martial arts in order to remain viable.

In fact, though, I wouldn't at all object to brick, even a "heavy" one, having a decent SPD and DEX. They just wouldn't have a bunch of CSLs or Martial Arts.

I like bricks. They're easy to build and play, and are effective. More importantly, there are lots of interesting role models for them, at a whole lot of different power levels.

It's difficult to play a gadgeteer or martial artist well. You need to develop real tactical skill, or you will get stomped. Egoists are often difficult for GMs to handle, and thus a pain, while I've never had much luck with Energy Blasters. (A classic: you are in an underground base, where you don't have room to fly. Green Dragon runs up to you and starts smacking you around.)

I mentioned that I don't have problems with Bricks that are relatively fast. The flipside of that is that I don't object to other characters having decent defences. This particularly applies to Energy Blasters (and some Egoists), who tend to have Force Fields, Force Walls and so on.

These kind of characters can often stand up to as much punishment as "light" bricks. See Defender for further details.

Alan

Re: World War 2 Ideas, please

Originally posted by Redmenace

Ep. 5. Operation Sun King, The heroes are sent to England to take part in a raid against German Submarine pens on the french Coast.

 

That is where we left off. I have enough long term plotlines but I’d like to run a few one night adventures to get everyone back in the mood.

 

Any and all suggestions are welcome and thanks in advance. [/b]

So, you'd be in early '42 by now, wouldn't you?

The US is gearing up for full-scale war. There are U-boats off the Atlantic coast. Most of the Philippines falls very quickly, although some US and Filipino forces hang on until May, about the same time that the Japanese offensive is halted at the battle of the Coral Sea.

In some ways it's the calm before the storm: the US is building up its forces, while fighting comparatively small campaigns with what it already has. Of course, those fighting these "comparatively small campaigns" are in dire straits.

At home, various war measures are being introduced. Japanese-Americans are being interned. Presumably, pro-Nazi elements are reorienting from propaganda to sabotage.

Ah, there we go!

Pro-Nazi saboteurs are planning an attack on with pre-positioned superweapons or supervillains. The plot is betrayed by one of their circle who was happy enough to legally advocate that the US should stay out of the war, but is unwilling to take up arms against the US government.

Scene one: the defector is trying to escape his former allies. One or more PCs should rescue him.

Scene two: the PCs are warned of the sabotage attack. They have to quickly make a plan to stop it. This may entail finding out more information, coupled with a need to actually get there in time.

Scene three: Arrive. Crash. Smash. Bash.

Scene four: your country is grateful, etc.

Very simple, very basic. One or two sessions.

That's my best guess. You suggested that you wanted a plug-in scenario, so simplicity seemed best.

I hope there is something useful there.

Alan

Re: Re: Who do you think you are? Seeker?

Originally posted by white peregrine

agreed...it is only a matter of time until another 'seeker' appears. whether he is of australian flavor remains to be seen. I doubt it personally but then I am just stabbing blindly into the dark...

Well, you're probably right about an "official" Seeker, alas.

What I was suggesting was more or less that "Seeker" would become a generic nickname for martial artists, particularly wannabes, especially if they came from Australia. It would be a semi-generic term, with at least a dose of insult.

Yes, of course, Steve Short and his lawyers might have something to say about it, but how are they going to sue a masked adventurer?

In fact, it's quite possible that several "Seekers" might exist. Eventually the most prominent would end up with the name.

I could see my more recent versions of Assault using the name if they (he) visited the US, because he probably wouldn't be operating publically.

In other words, have fun!

Alan

This is a short version of a long train of thought I have been following.

OK, well, in the official CU, Seeker is a well-known, mythical character in popular culture.

So, if you are going to tag an Australian martial artist with a nickname, what is it going to be?

Why, Seeker, of course!

It's only a matter of time until another Seeker appears...

Thoughts?

Alan

Re: Re: Organizations in Chicago

Originally posted by Worldmaker

I like it, though the IHA thing is going to make life interesting for a "background color" NPC I had in mind... he's a dockworker and a good union man whose specially licensed to act as heavy equipment. I'm thinking a hardhat with a 35 strength and absolutely no other powers, who works as a forklift.

It's a splendid opportunity to use him. I've considered similar ideas myself.

Unfortunately, in the real world, there has been a long history of racially exclusive unionism. There has also been a long history of struggles against this. This could be a very rich vein of inspiration to draw from, particularly if your players have at least a mild intellectual streak and are interested in anything beyond hitting bad guys.

An example: the incumbent union leadership are stereotypical corrupt labor racketeer types. They will not lift a finger to defend their metahuman/mutant members. If a challenge to their control of the union arises, they are likely to ally with the IHA...

I should point out that I am not a fan of the stereotype I mentioned above, but it works for generating the odd scenario.

Of course, you realise that the "pro-mutie" challengers are likely to be... Commies!

Yes, you have just added Commie Mutant Traitors to your campaign.

Have a Nice Day, Citizen.

Alan

Assault would have to be played by Russell Crowe.

He's not quite right for the role, but I can't really think of anyone else with the right build and accent. On the other hand, he has the appropriate attitude.

Alan

Re: Is this a legit VPP, and if so, how do you build it?

Originally posted by Brandi

But this got me to thinking: what if you had a really consummate shapeshifter... one who could duplicate certain powers that basically came from the limbs of people they were duplicating? The GM might rule that Wolverine's claws can't be properly duplicated as they're metal, but Sabertooth's could. Or Nightcrawler's tail. Or Angel's wings.

 

Obviously this is a VPP, but it seems like it would need some limitation along the lines of 'Can only duplicate powers that have the Restrainable or Inherent limitation'.

 

How would you guys do it? Is it even legit?

It sounds like yet another variation on the Mimic Pool.

I'm still fiddling about trying to get Rogue right...

So, I guess while I'm here:

How would you do someone who can mimic innate abilities (powers and characteristics), but not focussed ones? How would you deal with the need to touch bare skin or normal clothes, rather than armour, for example. How would you rule out being able to mimic the abilities of robots or cyborgs?

And then, how would you build a nice cheap little damage shield for zapping the people you mimic, as well as a bit of telepathy for absorbing their memories as well?

Because I'm after a look-alike, rather than an actual version of Rogue, I'm not terribly concerned about actually draining the target's powers. Simply zapping them with an NND or AVLD would be adequate. Of course, I am quite open to the idea of enforcing campaign standard Vulnerabilities and/or Susceptibilities to ensure that such a zap would generally put the target down for at least a little while.

Getting back to Brandi's question: is this a PC or an NPC? If it's an NPC, you can guess ahead of time who they will be mimicking, and therefore cheat! If it's a PC, life becomes more awkward, since the GM probably won't be so kind as to provide you with a list of potential people to mimic.

Alan

I had an "interesting" experience with OIHID when my character was stunned, and the GM ruled that he automatically reverted to his normal form. Aside from anything else, that seriously compromised his secret identity. Worse than that, it wasn't how I saw the character working.

Needless to say, the character underwent a quick redesign. Unfortunately most of his non-combat stuff went out the window in order to save points.

I was not impressed. If I had wanted his powers to be non-persistent, I would have built them that way.

Alan

Re: Re: Just a theory

Originally posted by BarryB

That's interesting. I've felt that Superman was an inherently conservative hero. (not that there's anything wrong with that) I enjoy Superman a great deal, more so now that I'm over 40 years old. It makes me wonder if maybe the basic decency of the character makes him more attractive to older males. Perhaps, as we age, we appreciate the moral straight arrow more than we did as a kid.

Well, I'm 40.

I think it's useful to remember that a lot of the Superman stories that were coming out back in the 70's and all that were pretty lame. Sometimes neat, but lame.

That doesn't apply to all the DC titles of the period, but I think if you compare Superman to the X-Men back then, you can see a considerable difference.

The Superman titles have improved since then - they've not quite so "dumb". On the other hand, the various Marvel mutant titles have tended to become a little bit self-indulgent. In My Humble Opinion, of course.

As for "moral straight arrows" - I could care less. On the other hand, I'm a whole lot less interested in whiny angst magnets. Superman (the present day one) is closer to being an adult than some other characters. (Bruce Wayne, on the other hand...)

Alan

Originally posted by Armitage

Also:

 

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...we don't want people getting pissed off.

Yes. They are unfortunate. I wasn't quite sure whether or not to post the link because of them, but obviously I decided to.

Alan

My revenge

The inestimable Seanbaby has created the following page:

*WARNING* This page may cause hyperventilation.

http://www.seanbaby.com/hostess.htm

Oh yes, I'm up to date on S*P. This is my revenge.

Alan

Re: Re: Re: Concerns about Champs Supplements

Originally posted by Tim

Reality Storn, Wow, he gets his own adventure.

Of course. He gets to fight Foxbat.

Alan.

Originally posted by djday38

Starburst always felt more like someone like Firestorm to me.

He is too much of an energy projector and not enough of a brick to be the CU Superman.

 

Talking about old characters I would love to see Dragonfly back in print. While i suspect he may have been replaced by the villain Hornet, there is still room for him if you make him a ravenous insect with the intelligence of a animal, with only food on his mind, and that food is you! (thoughts of the fly movie come to mind).

 

rgds

Dean

Starting with Dragonfly: Yes. Make him a curable rampager, and you're cooking with gas. Something like the Lizard from Spiderman.

Starburst: Again, yes. His personality is definitely reminiscent of Firestorm (early Firestorm, anyway), as well as Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. He has a definite showboat and "in it for the fun and ego boost" aspect. Still, he could always mature, at least a bit.

As for being a potential "Superman" - well, I suppose it depends what you mean by it. He's not a brick, obviously, but he could still potentially be the iconic hero of heroes. (He would need to mature a lot first, of course!) He doesn't really need to have Superman's powers, or even the full extent of Superman's power level, to fill this role.

To tweak him to make him suitable for this role, you would have to expand his multipower a bit - he does need a bit more power - and build up his characteristics a bit (more PRE, INT, EGO, BOD...) You would also need to pad out his hand to hand combat capabilities a bit by, say, giving him some rather basic Martial Arts, as well as increasing his Strength to, say, 20. That would give him the capacity to bash thugs, without making him a brick. Finally, add lots and lots of skills and perks. This would probably take him up to about 450 points, without doing too much damage to his original character conception.

At that point, my 250 or 350 point characters might be willing to call him "sir". My 450 point characters would be honoured to call him "friend". What more do you want?

Alan

Originally posted by Monolith

Crusader is still part of the CU (he is listed as a New York City hero), though it appears to be a sword-wielding version, possibly the character from C:tNM.

Exactly. The original version is not only gone, it's been made explicitly clear that he won't be back.

Crusader is no longer part of the CU. Some other guy has replaced him.

Crusader is not merely pining for the fjords: he is a dead parrot.

If any of my characters ever run into the punk that stole his name, they'll give him a serious kicking.

Alan

Originally posted by wcw43921

I always considered Starburst the Champions "version" of Superman, if for no other reason than he could fly and he wore a cape. He may not have had the power level (closer to Spider-Man's) and the high-ideal mindset (Psych Lim: Publicity Seeker) of Big Red, but that could come soon enough given time and experience points.

 

 

I do wish they'd kept Crusader and Starburst for 5th Edition.

Hmm, Starburst as Superman? I have to confess that while the idea has crossed my mind, I've always immediately dismissed it without taking the time to think it through. I may take that time, now.

I miss Starburst and Crusader too. In fact, my thoughts on a campaign design book were derived from what I have been doing with them lately.

I pulled out my old copy of 2nd Ed Champions recently (my copy of 1st Ed seems to be buried deeper in the "files"), had an attack of nostalgia, and started building a CU based on the characters in the book, refraining from any heresies like Dr Destroyer, Stronghold, the Enemies books, and so on.. (I conceded a place for Holocaust, though, since he appeared on the front cover.)

To my surprise, it actually worked! There is quite a neat little universe tucked in there, which I missed when I was young. The trick is to fiddle with the time line, so Shrinker, for example, starts off as a heroine and an associate of Starburst and Crusader, and only goes bad during the course of the campaign. Mechanon, similarly, shouldn't exist at the start, but should be built as a security robot for the hero team. That would probably take a bit of manipulation in a real game, but could be managed.

Ogre would be created by Mechanon during the game.

Dragonfly could be a rampaging lab accident, who it might be possible to "cure". Of course, the "cure" might not be permanent.

Icicle (Christine Saunders) might be a relative (niece, cousin, sister?) of Crusader (Sam Saunders).

Pulsar might begin as VIPER's main super muscle in the area, before getting his own ideas.

(and so on...)

This stuff actually sounds like a comic series, doesn't it? Soap all over the place. And we haven't even looked at DNPCs, agencies, corporations (Bio-Investigations? Well, I suppose we could look at the 4th Ed write up for them...), or written up any actual player characters to replace Crusader and Starburst as the stars of the campaign.

Enough. I'm rambling.

Cheers,

Alan

I've thought about this some more.

Something that might be useful would be a how-to guide to campaign design. Essentially, what it would do would be to show how to start with a couple of PCs, and build up a world around them.

This would entail taking their Hunteds, DNPCs, Contacts, Favours, as well as their origin stories, and developing them into well-rounded characters, organisations and locations that the PCs can interact with, and which can serve as plot seeds, people to fight or protect, and places that can be fought in or protected. Places like the PCs homes, workplaces, bases and favourite hangouts could be developed, as well as the places where the various NPCs can be found. For example, a "street" contact might be found in a certain bar, so, of course, you want some details about the bar. (Obligatory Daredevil fight scene...)

The book would thus show how to do this, while, of course, providing some examples to act as a library that can be borrowed from by less experienced/motivated/energetic GMs.

There could also be a discussion of the implications of certain disadvantages. One thing that has been bugging me of late is the handling of Hunteds. As you get more PCs in a game, you start getting more and more Hunteds, as well as duplication of them. Each of them has to be developed, and each of them has to show up at some point, and each of them, ultimately, has to be a key element of a scenario. With enough Hunteds around, the basic course of the entire campaign becomes set. That's fine, but it means that the GM has to think about what is going on while the players are generating their characters. This kind of stuff isn't necessarily going to occur to relatively inexperienced GMs.

And then, of course, you do need some sample scenarios, hooking the various bits and pieces together, and providing examples of how to bring the PCs together into a team, and all that kind of thing. Preferably, as well, the scenarios should be both easy to run and interesting. (I have to say that I didn't consider the sample scenarios in 4th Ed Champions particularly interesting.)

So I guess what I am suggesting is a "how-to" book that would also act as a bit of a sourcebook on some NPC heroes and their world, and a library of other NPCs and locations.

Of course, while all of this should be self-contained, it should be able to be expanded by other books like Millennium City, VIPER, CKC, and probably some equivalent of Normals Unbound. (Ah, that's another hint there, isn't it?)

Alan