Dr. MID-Nite

Re: marvel conversions

Re: marvel conversions My only gripe about that site is that most of the characters are done in 4th edition....and many are ridiculously overpowered...especially by 5th edition standards. For example, one writeup of Nightcrawler has him at DEX 44. Since almost all accounts by Marvel say he is agile but not at a superhuman level, that's WAY too high. I gave him a 23 DEX(my upper limit for regular folks) and gave him combat reflexes and DCV levels to give him the same comic book feel. Another example was a Thor with a 98 CON. Since the Hero conversion of the Hulk only has a 40 CON and Grond has a 50, I think a 98 is way too excessive. A large portion of the characters are done this way....too overpowered and lacking skills and perks. As an experiment, I tried to buils Nightcrawler myself. My version came in at about 477 points, which I think is about right. The site is excellent as a starting point, but I wouldn't use most of the characters as written. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions Well, using the above logic, you'd want them all to have about the same amount of offense and defense. That's boring. The current power distribution is just fine. Who cares if the mentalist can't take much punishment? He's a mentalist! Same thing with Charm. She's not supposed to be able to take a lot of punishment. That's the whole point of the character. There is some justification for Defender being a bit tougher(and get rid of the ridiculously high STR boost while we're at it), but the rest are fine as is. As written, the Champions would be a perfect fit for the Legion of Superheroes. Rob

Re: Character Challange: Superman Clones Viperia from the Viper sourcebook is more or less a Supergirl clone....though her origin is magical as opposed to alien inspired. Rob

Re: Best New GC Master Villain I'll go with Sovereign. He had a potent and versatile power set without being the overpowered monstrosity that Mechanon 3000 is. Sovereign also had an interesting personality/motivation. In many ways, he reminded me of Ozmandias from the Watchmen. Rob

Re: GC Sales I bought Galactic Champions and loved it. I can't wait to meet Darren Watts at Trinitycon. I also bought Ultimate Brick and Gadgets and Gear recently. I try to get all the Champions related product(long as it's useful). Unfortunately, due to financial concerns, I usually don't buy stuff from the other genre books unless I can adapt much of it to Champions. Sorry Steve. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions I didn't necessarily have a problem with Charm's DEX by any means. I was just making an observation regarding the general DEX level of characters in the Hero universe. She was the first I'd seen with a DEX above 30 among all the 5th edition supplements I've seen to this point. That's pretty telling as to the DEX level the writers of 5th edition think is "appropriate". About Mechanon: I was thinking the same thing. Maybe Mechanon gets his hands on some alien technology and "jumpstarts" his evolution. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions Whoops. Sorry, dude. I didn't mean to offend. I was just making the point that if any villain would make me quake in my boots, Sovereign would scare me a lot more than Arcane ever would. Rob

Re: Best/Worst Galactic Champions Bulletproof is my favorite of the new Champions. He's both very tough and balanced at the same time. I guess I just like the underdogs. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions My take on the characters in Galactic Champions(possible spoilers): Defender: I thought STR buff to 105 was a bit much. No point to having the Brick around if Defender is that strong. Bulletpoof: My favorite of the new Champions. Tough and balanced at the same time. Thayla: She uses up boatloads of END. She's pooped in no time flat is she uses her energy blasts. Firedancer: Does everyone of here attacks have to be a Killing Attack? Gavis Gan: Definitely different. Sage: Typical mentalist, but good potential for roleplaying. Rampart: He'd be better if Defender weren't already stronger than him. Charm: A character with a DEX above 30. I think this is the first 5th edition example of it. Mechanon 3000: Grossly overpowered, but what did you expect? The Recruiter and gang: good for a strong roleplaying group. Slug 3000: Another DEX 30+ character. In this case....unjustified....but that's only my opinion. Sovereign: This guy is tough.....REALLY tough. Arcane: A lot of whining about this guy. Sovereign is tougher. Fracas: 120 STR!!!! Wow.....what a pity Mechanon 3000 laughs at this wimp. LOL Tempo: SPD Drain has always been a clunky mechanic. Sword of Ackal: Decent group. Not the character with the combination of Shadowcat's and Vision's powers. Echo: Reasonable power mimic and easily adaptable to a regular Champions campaign. Examiner: I thought the build was a bit too excessive. Seeing how he's inspired by Marvel's "Elders of the universe". None of them..with the possible exception of the Grandmaster come anywhere close to this guy. Maraud: 9 SPD? Impressive. Character number three with a DEX above 30. Overrider: Cybermind to the Nth degree. Not much more to say. Supernova: Marvel's Overmind came to me upon reading his background. I wouldn't want to mess with him. Rob

Re: European Enemies... Yes. Mr. Surbrook's website is where I got the 4th edition stats for my verisons(having long since thrown away the original EE book). I went even further. Taking some of his "logic" suggestions to heart when re-designing....as well as using my own internal logic suggestions. Despoiler is probably the best of my re-writes. My 5th edition version came in at about 938 points....so the character inflation wasn't TOO bad. Rob

Re: European Enemies... Well....I found a website that had "fixed" versions of the European Enemies....but the fixing was limited to making sure the characters followed the rules(and basic math)....not making them more logical, balanced, or consistent. So....using the website as a template...I updated a few of the characters I liked to 5th edition. I may do some more as the mood strikes me. For the most part, I looked at what was there previously.....figured out whether or not it made sense....and adjusted appropriately. For example, the original verison of Black Druid had Full Life Support. Now, while being a druid may make you more resistant to enfironmental effects, I felt it would necessarily make yo able to survive in space...or survive radiation....so I altered as needed. Plus, I altered for game balance. If stats were ridiulously high or low...changed as needed. The results were worth it. Despoiler turned out very well. Rob

Has anyone tried updating some of the more viable concepts to 5th edition? (I know the book's many faults and I won't bother repeating them here.) I did find some of the concepts in the book interesting....just horribly executed. Some I've redone include: Black Druid-Built more like a Dungeons and Dragons druid. Facet-Liked the idea of the man of diamond. redid his abilities to make him a bit more combat viable. Despoiler-Revised his concept to include the fact that he's a servant of Lord Chaos. As such, it's his duty to reduce everything to the primordial chaos from which it came. In short....the annihilation of all present existence. His original writeup was really clunky. I dumped his original EB based damage shield for one based on a BODY/CON Drain(entropy effect)....always on...inherent. The mere presence of this guy slowly erodes his surroundings. Glaicer- Made him more of a true automaton. Better defenses, but otherwise much like the original version. Glacier will probably get one more rewrite for my new campaign. Anyone else updated villains from this book...or any of the more obscure books? Rob

Re: Scaling Villains? Well....beyond a few of the Master Villains....namely Doc Destroyer and Takofanes....most Hero villains don't need to be scaled back. I'd say...more often...they need to be tougher. I usually don't have to do much "tweaking". Most of my scaling....in either direction....comes from adapting 4th edition characters. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions Hmmm....I remember Mind Titan having a 10d6 EGO Attack and Duplication, which is plenty tough to me, but to each their own. I want to get Reality Storm, but money is tight....so it was either Galactic Champions or RS....and I don't think I made the wrong choice. I'm pleased with the product....though I'll probably just adapt the characters to use in my modern day campaign. I've never seen the Hero System Almanac...so I've no clue as to its contents. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions Mind Titan from the 4th edition Champions Universe was pretty tough if I remember correctly. Rob

Re: Only in Hero ID

Re: Galactic Champions Yes....though as an avid comic reader....I'll say this character as written would be much more powerful than any of Marvel's "Elders". Only the Grandmaster comes close. In spirit though....pretty close. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions

Re: Only in Hero ID Thank you. That helps quite a bit. I have a character concept being built that is very much like Colossus...so I'm trying to figure out the right approach. One question though.....is the linking really worth -1/2? Since he'd be armored up the majority of the time(for combat at least)...and the armor is more or less a constant power....wouldn't that qualify as the -1/4 Linked limiter(Greater power in use most of the time) instead? Rob

Re: "Grond smash!" and other Grond plots I think the actual name is Echidna....and it comes from a monster in Greek mythology. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions

Re: Galactic Champions His psyche lims suggest someone easily distracted. There's almost too much going on inside his mind. As a note, I should add that the VVP isn't "completely" cosmic. It requires a half phase action. A small disadvantage to be sure, but it is there. Also, none of his characteristics are obscene(like Doctor Destroyer)...so he can be physically beaten. He's also grossly Overconfident....and a decent GM WILL make this a factor. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions Not to worry. Arcane has powers besides his VVP(though that's where most his abilities come from). His stats and defenses are also good and have nothing to do with the VVP either. I DID find it interesting a being made of pure magical energy still needs to breathe. Go figure. He'd be a tough fight for most groups...specially as he has pretty tough(and in one case....very tough) allies as well. Rob

Re: Galactic Champions Dude....there's at least a half dozen guys in Galactic Champions who'd beat the Infinite Man to a bloody pulp....if not more. These new "cosmic entities" are better fleshed out than the Infinite Man ever was though.