Dr Lucky

Re: CHAMPIONS VILLAINS Sneak Peek #1: The Triptych Cover!

That cover looks fantastic. I'm really getting excited to get a new Champions game underway.

Also, not really related to the cover, but since people seem to be answering questions...

Are the Villians books going to touch on the "organizational" villians (ARGENT/DEMON/VIPER) at all?

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

Yeah; Ayden isnt the chump you took him for, eh?

I hadn't taken Ayden to be a chump, I just never thought the magic system itself was quite so cool. I like the idea now that I read it better.

I hadn't taken the time to read that magic system until now. It's a lot cooler than I had given it credit for. Very interesting actually.

Originally posted by Blue Jogger

It's 2 STR for a hand and half in one hand. 3 STR for two-handed in one hand.

 

Assuming at 20+ STR, that makes it +3 STR @ 0 END (9 points), -1 (Only for one-handed use of a two-handed weapon), -1/2 No figured.

 

That makes it about a 3 point (ok, 3.6) talent. At this point, it's just Strength to add for the purposes of doing extra damage and it's not enough (by itself) to add one damage class. Here buying 2 Combat Skill Levels for 6 points is probably a better investment.

 

But, you only really need it if you're under 20 STR (20+ STR and you can wield any 2H in one hand, no problem), which would make a 2 point talent. In this case, you are avoiding the penality of not being able to use the sword because you are too weak. This is a -1 OCV and a damage class lost. Definately worth a 2 point talent.

With 3 points of STR, it does become a 2 point talent, but never a 3 point talent, even with 0 END applied. 3 points of STR = 3 pts. 0 END (+1/2) means 3 x 1.5 = 4.5 (4 Active Points) As long as the disads fall in the -3/4 to -1 1/2 range, the real cost becomes 2. The -1 1/2 you have works. Since this is being bought as a talent, it never gets the doubling associated with exceeding NCM. That would be like doubling the base cost of the DEX associated with lightning reflexes if someone exceeded 20 DEX.

Originally posted by badger3k

Good point - still comes out to one point. Maybe just use a custom talent. That way I can avoid the little difficulty like this. Probably will - just took a look at great sword - taking the 2h mod to 1h only added one point to the final total. It might not be cost effective (in both game and my effort) to figure it out (tried to do a required hands 1 naked mod and it cost 0 - maybe use a +1/2 advantage? - no, that makes it way too expensive).

 

3 point talent? Its usefulness is limited somewhat, and would only negate the STR min adjustment for 2h used in one hand.

 

Still, it's only a 2 point difference. Maybe I'll need to see if that really will have any game affect at all. If no effect, then no need.

 

Anybody who reads this ever see much use of 2h weapons like this?

A 3 point talent?!? Why? How would you possibly construct this to equal 3 points? And why would you want to? For 2 points, I could just buy the two points of STR. Even if I had cleared NCM, I would rather spend 4 points on the STR than the 3 point talent. It really is only worth 1 point. Why make it cost more for a 1 point ability that isn't really that good to begin with?

I would add 0 END to the 2 points of STR. No reason to be spending an extra point of END each time the character picks up the weapon.

I hadn't considered the doubling cap. That is a worthwhile thought. Between that and the point KS made about disarm, I'm betting they are fine.

If i use adjustment powers vs. things with unusual characteristic costs, what happens?

For instance, a vehicle's BODY costs 1 point, instead of 2 points for a normal character. If I have a Repair power, bought as BODY healing for vehicles, does it does it restore BODY at a rate of 1 BODY per one point of effect, or 1 BODY per two points of effect?

Originally posted by Hugh Neilson

OK, the one I disagree with is "activation END " being a -1/4 limitation. I would instead reduce 0 END to +1/4. Why, you ask?

 

Let's use a different construct to illustrate. We'll say it's an 4d6 EB, NND, Area Effect, Continuous, Uncontrolled. That's got an active cost of 100 (20 x 5), right? Tack on 0 END. It now has an active cost of 110. With me so far?

 

Now let's make it cost END to start up. "10 END Please!" Well, that reduces the cost to 110/1.25 = 88, so it saves 22 points. If I had the power cost ordinary END every phase instead, it COSTS me 12 points.

 

So I would reduce the advantage, not apply a separate limitation.

 

Oh, and if you want to get technical, a power can't have both "Increased End" and "Reduced End", can it? Maybe just buy 0 END and take a side effect that does END damage rather than STUN damage

Just use the Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4) usually used for things like DI and Growth.

Well, I just got my copy today, and hadn't seen the book in person up until now. Sweet mother of crap! This thing really is huge. It's going to take a long time to digest it all, but I'm sure it will be fun. I've been looking forward to this, and I'm sure I will not be disappointed.

Lockout is already a -1/2 limitation, and just says you can't use anything else in the MP. Maybe x2 Active Points for -1/4, but I can't see anything beyond that because the lockout would be more limiting at -1/2 than any other iteration of your limitation, while doing basically the same thing.

Originally posted by GamePhil

You might consider using the Automaton rules instead of the Vehicle rules, and just having the robot have a hollow space inside for the user.

That's basically what I would do. Make the primary character the Powersuit, as an Automaton, and buy the driver as a 100% different Duplicate or a follower. If you go the Duplication route, you can either use Cannot Recombine, or define recombining as getting in the suit.

Just to the people who seem to have problems with an EC on a battlesuit, and suggest that they haven't used it in any official 5th Ed Champions stuff yet, check out page 118 of Champions Universe. Stalwart doesn't have an EC, but it is listed as what to give his armor to make him more powerful. That suggests to me that the designers don't have an intrinsic problem with the idea.

What type of character are you looking for exactly? What year does the game take place in? What genre is it? I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure what you are looking for. The only concrete thing I'm thinking is that he wouldn't be a mutant, just because the idea of a racist mutant villian seems silly after years of X-Men comics talking about mutant persecution. Some sort of tech based guy might be cool though, or a mystic. I could see a gadgeteer building robots that look like robed klansmen, or even a powersuit that looks like a klansman. Alternately, a mystic with a multiform to turn into the 'Grand Dragon.' (Or is it the High Dragon? I know one of the high up KKK ranks is some sort of dragon...)

That's exactly what I would do.

Originally posted by winterhawk

Everything looks good...If I had a nit to pick it'd be the name...Allen Wrench has too much of a straight gadgeteer flavor to it.

Yeah, I understand that. Like I said, he was originally meant to be more of a gadgeteer, but it didn't seem to work out that way. I sort of based his personality off of two people I know, and both of them are named Al, so it sort of made sense. If he sees play, I sort of see him becoming a supplier of super-tech for the heroes of the city, or helping make better equipment for Millenium City's MARS units or the like. It's still not exactly a gadgeteer role, but it does fit the name.

Here's a character who was originally intended as a gadgeteer, but I guess I really wanted a power suit guy. At any rate, I think he makes a pretty good science/tech guy for a team. I think he's neat, but I would love some comments.

Combat Information Page Character Name: Allen Wrench Alternate Identities: Allen Biggs Player Name: Ron CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER IMAGE Val Char Base Points Total Roll Notes 15 STR 10 5 15/33 12- / 16- HTH Damage 3d6/6 1/2d6 END [1/3] 16 DEX 10 18 16/26 12- / 14- OCV 5/9 DCV 5/9 18 CON 10 16 18/23 13- / 14- 16 BODY 10 12 16/20 12- / 13- 23 INT 10 13 23 14- PER Roll 14- 14 EGO 10 8 14 12- ECV: 5 10 PRE 10 0 10 11- PRE Attack: 2d6 10 COM 10 0 10 11-                             3 PD 3 0 3/28   3/28 PD (0/25 rPD) 4 ED 4 0 4/29   4/29 ED (0/25 rED) 3 SPD 2.6 4 3/6   Phases: 4, 8, 12/2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 7 REC 7 0 7   26 END 36 -5 26   35 STUN 33 2 35     6" Running 6 0 6"     2" Swimming 2 0 2"     3"/1 1/2"" Leaping 3 0 3"/26 1/2" 73 Total Characteristics Points EXPERIENCE POINTS Total earned: 32 Spent: 32 Unspent: 0 Base Points: 250 Disad Points: 125 Total Points: 407 MOVEMENT Type Total Run (6) 6" [12" NC] Swim (2) 2" [4" NC] H. Leap (3") 3"/26 1/2" V. Leap (2") 1 1/2"/13 1/2" Flight 21" [42" NC] Tunneling 0" [1" NC] APPEARANCE Hair Color:  Brown Eye Color:  Brown Height:  6' 0" Weight:  220 lbs Description: The Allen Wrench Armor fully encloses its wearer, and looks something like a very streamlined space suit, though the helmet and gauntlets are different. The only feature on the helmet is a narrow visor covering Allen's eyes. The gauntlets are have many moving parts, shifting in configuration to use their different powers. A streamlined back pack holds the Grav Jets and the air supply for the rebreather. The entire armor is bright blue, with gold highlights in the joints and other moving parts.

I would argue that the charges on multipower slots are quite limiting. Look at it this way; The cost per slot on a multipower is very low. Limiting slots on a multipower results in almost no point savings, usually at most one or two points per slot. Say he were to run up against someone with little resistant defense, he's going to wish he had more shots with his RKA's than four regular ones and four explosions. If he hadn't taken that disadvantage, and saved three or four points total, he would have as many RKA's as he needed. Same thing goes for the NND attack and the Flash.

Farad is the unit of capacitance. Besides, in that campaign Farad was excellent because of his ability to turn just about any NPC into a corpse... Even if they did try to surrender.

I really have little interest in taking Gravitic out of the action for any longer than necessary. I really love that character, and am really enjoying playing him. I'm not sure what to use these other characters for, but I figure it can't hurt to keep making them. I just figure that its never a bad thing to have a stock of ready made characters around, either as NPC's, possible future PC's, whatever. This concept seemed like a lot of fun, so statting it out made the most sense. Plus, I seem to have nothing but time lately.

Some of that crossed my mind, but I didn't think about it too much. Naturally, it's all open for speculation, left to happen whenever it comes up. It's good never to find bodies in a superhero world.

The issue of being uncomfortable without the twin is just meant to reflect being apart in social situations; ie. a mission necessetates that only one of them go. Being a few hundred feet apart in combat wouldn't be an issue.

As far as the DCV levels go, I need to be really careful with the twins, because if you look at the Duplication power, they feedback STUN damage. Since they are essentially working from a common pool of STUN, I want them to get hit as little as possible. Barring a few weird attack types, such as a Drain vs STUN, they will always have the same STUN, so they will usually be staggered or unconsious at the same time. Incapacitated would usually mean one took enough BODY damage to be unconcious, an Entagle they could not get free from, etc.

As far as the bit about using the powers without thinking about the other, I just mean a few reaction type things. Usually, I feel they would coordinate well, but would occasionally put the other in danger accidently, usually because I think it might be funny.

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

shouldnt those be multislots rather than ultra slots on the reciprocal size MPP?

No, ultra is right. With an ultra slot, you don't have to use all the points allotted to the slot, you just can't use any of the points alloted to it elsewhere. It still allows the character to only use some of the thirty points into one of the powers. This way, it makes sure the character can only ever be using one slot at a time, because each slot is an ultra taking up the entire pool. I didn't think it would make sense to let the character use 20 points of Shrinking and 10 of Growth, or some other combo.

I got the email, and replied to it tonight, about forty five minutes ago. I believe I put in a link to this thread.

Also, for everyone else, here's the HD file.

This is Yo-Yo, a character, or pair of them, that I designed and was hoping for some comments. I wanted to play with the idea of a pair that had a reciprocal growth/shrinking effect.

Combat Information Page Character Name: Yo-Yo Alternate Identities: Rick and Vic Gemelli Player Name: Ron CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER IMAGE Val Char Base Points Total Roll Notes 30 STR 10 20 30/60 15- / 21- HTH Damage 6d6/12d6 END [3/6] 26 DEX 10 48 26 14- OCV 9 DCV 9 25 CON 10 30 25 14- 25 BODY 10 30 25/31 14- / 15- 8 INT 10 -2 8 11- PER Roll 11- 10 EGO 10 0 10 11- ECV: 3 10 PRE 10 0 10 11- PRE Attack: 2d6 10 COM 10 0 10 11-                             20 PD 6 5 20/30   20/30 PD (9/19 rPD) 20 ED 5 6 20/30   20/30 ED (9/19 rED) 5 SPD 3.6 14 5   Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 12 REC 11 2 12   50 END 50 0 50   60 STUN 53 7 60/66     10" Running 6 8 10"     2" Swimming 2 0 2"     6"/3"" Leaping 6 0 6"/12" 168 Total Characteristics Points EXPERIENCE POINTS Total earned: 32 Spent: 32 Unspent: 0 Base Points: 250 Disad Points: 125 Total Points: 407 MOVEMENT Type Total Run (6) 10" [20" NC] Swim (2) 2" [4" NC] H. Leap (6") 6"/12" V. Leap (3") 3"/6" APPEARANCE Hair Color:  Brown Eye Color:  Brown Height:  6' 0" Weight:  220 lbs Description: Each twin wears a simple costume, a tight blue and red body suit with a mask. Outside of combat, the twins are relatively average looking Italian men in their early twenties, with dark hair and a muscular build.