Dr. MID-Nite

Re: Superassassins?

Try Demise

 

 

Angelfish

 

or

 

Major Magnum

Thanks, Worldmaker. Interesting indeed....

Rob

Re: Superassassins?

Well I 'm new to Champions so I don't know what Auto-Gunner or Red Raptor can do.

 

For what it's worth, if I was a supervillian I wouldn't go anywhere without a Telepath, you have to keep in touch with the rest of the team. I'm also a huge fan of Telekinetics. In my opinion one of the most versitile powers ever.

 

As for dealing with Bricks, I always liked to use Kinetic Energy Absorbers. Think of Sebastian Shaw the Black King, from the Hellfire Club in X-men. He's a perfect match for any Brick coming his way.

 

just a couple of ideas...

Red Raptor is more or less a pure gadgeteer type....and he specializes in analyzing superhuman physiology...so I figured he's be a good fit for a group like this.

Auto-Gunner is more or less your commando type with a big ass gun. I complimented his original sheet with some autofire skills.

Sebastion Shaw is a cool idea, though it's difficult to make an effective Champs version of him....least in my experience.

Rob

I'm building a group of superpowered assassins. Not only are they superpowered themselves, they are hired exclusively for hits on other paranormals. I'd like to have six members, but I haven't figured out what I need for the group. I have...so far....

Auto-Gunner-Updated to 5th from Challenges for Champions. He's a reserve member.

Red Raptor-Also updated from Challenges for Champions. He's the gadgeteer/scientist of the group.

Speed Razor- Speedster...equipped wiith blades.

I'm looking to add three more members, but not sure who...or what? I could care less if they're published characters or originals, but I'm looking for ideas.

I'm also looking for a new name. I had been calling them The Liquidators, but the more I say it...the more I hate it. LOL

Thanks,

Rob

Re: Looking for HERO stats for: "Bullseye"

Wait a second, sudden inspiration.

 

Take a one hex area advantage on the RKA, with a +0 limitation that he can hit only one target within the hex. This means everyone he's throwing at is DCV 3. With a 23 DEX his OCV is 8, he hits DCV 3 on a 16-. Add one skill level, and he misses one time out of every 216 times. Plus his attacks cannot be missile deflected, only dive for cover can be used to avoid them.

 

Add some extra skill levels to overcome range modifiers or allow for bounce maneuvers.

 

Maybe a variable advantage, that could be used for autofire, penetraiting, indirect or even no range modifier.

Sounds good. I'd still add the objects of opportunity OIF focus to all of that...as that seems to be the only way he can hurt people. I think they also gave Bullseye an adamantium skeleton(like Wolverine), but I don't know if that's still in the current continuity.

Rob

Re: Looking for HERO stats for: "Bullseye"

I was having a discussion (argument) with a pal about the HERO system, that it can't do everyting, every power, every effect. Now of cource hes wrong, but I would like some hard proof to show him the error of his ways.

 

I checked the below site but no Bullseye (of Daredevil fame)

 

http://www.sysabend.org/champions/gnborh/

 

If anyone has a char writeup for Bullseye. Or has some thoughts on how you could handle his "Use any object as a weapon" power I'd be very interested in seeing what you come up with.

Generlally....I think you buy killing attacks with the focus limitation...OIF Objects of Opportunity. This means he can use a killing attack, but only if there is something around for him to toss. He might also have Find Weakness...and/or Armor Piercing/Penetrating as a naked power advatage.

Rob

Re: Agent combat....

My radical suggestion.

 

I am all for wiping the battlemat with Maximan using a platoon of 150point agents. In fact using the stock VIPER 5-Teams from the BBB I am FEARED.

 

But, let us not forget one of the purposes of agents.

 

MOOKS!!!

 

Low powered foes that let the Heroes shine as they mow through them like a scythe through winter wheat. It is cimetatic and fun for the PCs.

 

Where would Daredevil, Spiderman, or the master of mook fighting The Batman be with ultrapowerful mooks throwing campaign limit attacks and AE radius and Explosion grenade cannons? Well...those guys would be fine, but the point is not to forget agents exist as obstactles to slow the heroes down BEFORE the main fight.

 

Occasionally throw an elite group against the heroes using these tactics, but mostly just let the PCs cream them.

 

Hawkmsoor

Well....my intention wasn't that the agents had to win...only that they had to at least be considered a credible threat. I'd like to be able to use agents in those sessions where there just isn't going to be time to run a full blown fight. maybe the heroes just want to patrol the city tonight and they stumble onto something. That kind of thing...

Rob

Re: Agent combat....

There, I cleaned them up a little.

 

The tables are straightforward. They apply when you have multiple opponents who have the same to-hit roll. Find their to-hit roll in the lefthand column. The numbers in that row determine how many hits succeed on a single dice roll.

 

Example: You've got 5 agents who have a 7-less to shoot the hero. Roll 3d6 once. If you rolled a 3, four shots hit. If you rolled a 4, three shots hit. 5-7 is two hits and 8-10 is one hit.

 

So you can see that even if each agent only hits on a 7-less, a team of five has a 50-50 chance of landing one shot. If you have two teams of five, you're likely to average one hit per Phase.

 

-AA

An interesting approach. My PCs would probably have a hard time...as they're not...as a general rule strong on DCV...or defense in general for that matter.

Rob

Re: Agent combat....

Make sure your agenst have weapons that will (not can' date=' [i']will[/i]) penetrate the heroes' defenses. They can't win if they can't even affect their enemy. Keep in mind that this isn't always damage. As mentioned above, a few well placed entangles will cripple a team. So will NND attacks.

 

There are two specific tactics I like using. The first is to give the agents weapons that will, on average, drop the most well armored character's STUN by 25%. Have the agents start shooting by spreading their attack by half (so a 12d6 EB will do only 6d6, but gain a +6 to OCV). At first, your heroes will get hit each and every time, but won't take any damage. They might take knockback, get knocked down and become sitting duck for the next agent. If the agents realize they aren't doing enough damage, have them step of the DC by 2 each shot until their targets drop.

 

Realisticly, the heroes should drop them first, before they reach max damage, and the agenst will suffer from fewer and fewer successful hits. But the number of sucessful hits and the likelyhood of someone taking a load of damage during the encounter should get the team to respect these agents.

 

Another tactic I like is to use snipers. Nothing better than assulting a group of heroes with a VIPER 8 team and secretly hide three additional agents with No Range Penalty NND rifles with No Range Penalty scopes and Telescopic Vison a few blocks away. Sure, the team will realize what's going on right away, but while one or two of them are off to take care of the solo snipers, that will leave fewer heroes to deal with the 8 team. It's even better if the 8 team waits for a few to leave before pulling out specialized weapons to take out whoever's left. Players hate me with I do this...

Some intriguing tactics here. You're sneaky, Dust Raven. I like that. My group has a wide spread of defenses. So your "spread" idea might work very well with my group as even at 6d6...there are members of my team who won't want to be hit by that. Most of the team has public identity(or are at the very least well known) so VIPER probably has a pretty good idea of what they can do.

Rob

Re: Agent combat....

Taskmaster's Guide to running Hencman, Executive Summary

 

1> Start with crowd control. For one thing, the crowd should be your side not theirs; I find you usually need at least a 3 to 1 and probably 4 to 1 if you're serious. Second, build them with powers that take phases away from their opponents. Images is great for this (making the heroes waste phases attacking opponents that aren't there, rescuing innocents that aren't there, etc.).

 

1a> AE Entangle with "entangle & victim both take damage" is your friend. Even if it doesn't cost the hero much time breaking out, it will probably drop them to 0 DCV long enough for a really big hit...

 

2> Senses. A little darkness can go a long way if your team is ready for it and the other team isn't. Invisibility is superior to Darkness is superior to Flash, just so you know.

 

3> Remember the dice curve, and don't short the henchman's CV just because it's "realistic". If there's more than 3 points of CV difference the encounter probably isn't worth running.

 

3a> If you insist on being realistic, go for Area Effects.

 

4> Put the active points where they matter. A 2d6 NND may not look like much, until each hero is getting hit with it three or four times a turn...

 

5> Go play StarCraft as the Zerg. Steal tactics mercilessly and shamelessly.

3 to1 or 4 to 1 would be very difficult to run for me right now. I'm a relatively inexperienced GM and agent combat tends to really bog me down...I'll lose track of what's going on and so forth. The more agents there are, the worse it seems to be. However, if you have any good tips for running agent combat efficiently, I'd probably be more willing to use more agents. Right now...ever a five on five matchup of supers can be a challenge for me to run. Not sure why...everything just seems to slow to a crawl...

Rob

Hey all,

I absolutely stink at running agent level opponents in combat(in a standard superheroic game). I can't seem to do anything to make them a credible threat...or even a decent speed bump. I've read the related articles in the VIPER sourcebook and so forth, but I'm still uncomfortable running agent combat. Maybe it's because there are so many to keep track of. I want to use a VIPER 8 team in a future scenario, but I kind of want the heroes to have a (reasonably) hard time. Right now...not sure how to do that. Any advice, for this poor GM?

Rob

Re: CLOWN for 5th Champions

I still say and think with a little work CLOWN could work for 5th Champions' date=' The Team members like all other 4th version Hero and Villians would have to be reworked to match the current Champion world and timeline.[/quote']

 

 

The group was rather large if I remember correctly. I'd most likely choose a few of the better ones for translation. Which members is open to debate. I'd probably put Tag at the top of my list, but to each their own.

 

Rob

Re: CLOWN for 5th Champions

And again Emerged I would love for this to be an approved idea. With the exception of StrikeForce I lack alot of the older Champions products. At the time canon writers were not "up to snuff" to oppose OKC writeups. Now in my nonpowergamer mode I am enthused to see the canon writeups.

 

I am behind the project to bring Merry Andrew (Fine Just Merry Andrew if not the rest of CLOWN), VOICE, DEATHSTROKE and the gang into the 5th ED. VOICE in particular is SO amazing it hurts. Dr. Photon with a sideorder of Goshawk please.

 

Hawksmoor

While I wouldn't want to see CLOWN back on a regular basis, I think they'd make great backup in a one shot adventure involving Foxbat and the like. That way, their gimmick doesn't get old and so forth from overuse. Some CLOWN members are perfect for addind just a touch of credible threat to Foxbat(like Tag for instance).

Rob

Re: Dream Teams - Champions Style

My dream team was The Ultimates(we took the name after pulverizing Binder and friends). The group was:

Lightmaster-Energy projector capable of turning himself into pure energy and traveling at the speed of...you guessed it...light. " You WILL see the light....or by my light, you won't see at all."

Orca-Immensely strong(100 STR) Brick. " For the last time, I DON'T have a blowhole! "

Guardian-Super intelligent power armored type- " Never before seen extra dimensional transport technology? Better give me TWO minutes then. "

Ninja-Martial Artist. " Wyvern again? He's like the annoying dog that follows you home and won't go away."

The Living EGO(played by yours truly)- Telepath/telekinetic....and with a big mouth. " Look...you can either surrender...or be defeated. The choice is y---...hmmm....come to think of it...it's actually mine, isn't it? "

This group, the longest running group I was ever part of, was just great. We took on all comers. The highlight of our career was fending off an attack on Washington DC by a force of almost 20 supervillians! The battle was four sessions long, but we finally prevailed. We had a great balance of humor and seriousness and we were great as a combat force. Never seen the likes since.

Rob

Re: Wohoo! I finally got to play a character!

As some of you may know' date=' I have a shapechanging spy character named Paradox. Well, until last week, I never actually got to play it (our gm was too busy working on his education, as if real life is that important). Well, anyway, my weak martial artist (my best manuver being a 7d6 martial strike) took out the brick. How you might ask? A 30" move through with a news van.[/quote']

 

Very clever....AND dramatic. Nicely done. Hopefully they're properly insured....

 

 

Rob

Can anyone give me a practical assessment of what it's like to be in one of these? I've never tried it, but I'm having trouble finding a game here in Michigan so thought this might be an option. I'm heavy into character and could care less about combat(though I'm competent enough at it). Most important...are they fun and how much work is involved in them?

Rob

Re: How do you get players to role play the genre?

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.

 

Or something like that.

 

I would have to reiterate what's already been said. It sounds like you have cross-purposes between GM and players. I have very little fresh advise to offer except to talk to them. Find out what they want, what they don't want, etc.

 

Have a movie day/night and watch X-Men, Batman, Superman, animated Justice League or animated X-Men...whatever floats your boat. After the movie, discuss what was cool about it and what you're looking for. Create your characters after the movie so they have fresh ideas in their minds, and allow enough time for a short intro scenario that gets everyone on the same page. If they don't want to follow that particular recipe you're not going to be able to force them. Either relent and run the game they want or back out of the GM spot and let someone else take the headache.

True enough. And it should come as no shock that none of the other players want to run the game. Still, giving up the game seems like a failure on my part. I'm going to do some serious question asking as to exactly what they want. What else can I do at this point...you know?

Rob

Re: How do you get players to role play in genre?

Just for the record, I did say I was willing to compromise. My only issue with that is I'm not sure me giving in will solve the inherent problem. Will me running a game more like Stormwatch or The Authority get me more role playing on the part of my players? My gut instinct is no. I'm also really lenient. I....for the most part....try my best to give them the game they want. There have been villain deaths(with...sadly...very little dramatic flair involved) and they generally get to use the level of force they deem appropriate. It seems like I do all the compromising...and the work(weekly RP updates, bluebooking, and the like) and I'm lucky to get even one in character dialogue blurb per adventure. Ironic thing is if I give them more combat, they're not satisfied unless it's a win for them. The instant a character is even Stunned, the whine fest begins. Generally, I feel as if I've somehow failed as a GM, as I can't seem to get anything out of the group. I read the boards constantly and have tried many ideas in the past...with so far little success. I really appreciate all the ideas though and will try anything I can reasonably manage.

Thanks,

Rob

Re: How do you get players to role play the genre?

Okay...

 

Had to say it...

 

I wrote you a big, big post in the other section, because I feel your pain. See the reply in HSdiscussion. So I get to make a point here.

 

I have done an AWFUL lot of role-play in D&D. It is not just a hack-and-slash game.

 

Okay... rant done. Go read.

My apologies. Let me rephrase and say that D and D lends itself better to that hack and slash mentality. Good role players can certainly overcome this to be sure.

Rob

Re: How do you get players to role play the genre?

I think you have a basic conflict in what the GM wants and what the players wants. Maybe make the game a bit more Iron Age/Authority for them? Or, unfortunately, you might have to find a group more in tune with what you want. I've found its really hard to make someone play how you want them to do and it sounds like your group has some idea but just doesn't like the same style of play you do. Talk to the group next session about what they like and expect and what you would like to do (The gm has to be having fun too or the game suffers) and see if you can meet each other in the middle.

 

Edit:Heck, maybe if you have the time and energy, you can run an old school hack and loot fantasy game alternating with the Champions game?

I'm willing to compromise a bit, but I don't want a hack and slash game. That's D and D to me....and if I wanted that...I'd be running that and save myself the headache.

Rob

Re: How do you get players to role play the genre?

Do they read comics? Are they familiar with the genre in the first place?

 

If not, you might have to ask why are you playing the genre with them!

 

Of course, you could always _introduce_ them to some of the source material if they aren't familiar with it.

 

Unfortunately, even players that _are_ notionally familiar with the genre don't always roleplay it correctly.

Most of my players are familar enough with the source material and I've explained what I feel is in genre(I mostly go for silver/bronze age feel) many times. Of course, many of my players tend to prefer The Punisher, Stormwatch and the like....which is not helping at all.(Punisher is a psychopathic villain in my view.)

Rob

Re: How do you get players to role play in genre?

Well....generally I try to offer scenarios where there's a chance to roleplay quite a bit(dialogue with NPCs and so forth). I've also made it clear that I'd give extra XP for roleplaying. I've also....many times...given examples of what I consider in genre....and what is not. My group as a whole is from the Hack and Slash school of RPing and I frequently get scenarios and comments like this..

GM: " You're going to use 12d6 on a normal thug? "

Player: " Well, if they can't take the punishment, then they shouldn't commit crimes. "

This is frustrating as hell...as well as annoying. Yes, I can jail them and all that stuff, but that just turns the game into a me vs them scenario and I don't role play just to have hard feelings on the part of everyone involved. For the record, though I'm an experienced Hero player, this is my first time GMing. The game has run over a year...so it's not like these are new issues....or that they've never been mentioned before. Basically, the game is beginning to feel more like a chore...and I feel less and less incentive to provide interesting scenarios as as feel all that effort will be watsed. I really just don't know what else to do. I want the game to continue though(not a quitter here).

Rob

Re: How do you get players to role play the genre?

Sigh...thanks, but Hero gamers are rare in my area and I'm much more interested in "training/teaching" the current group. There MUST be a way.

Rob

Hey all,

I have a group that just can't seem to grasp the conventions of the genre no matter what I do or how much I try to explain it. They come from a Dungeons and Dragons background and the game just seems to degenerate into getting to the fight as quickly as possible. The players are rarely in character and when I try to run stuff that might lead to more roleplaying, it generally goes nowhere. And yes...I have told the players about my concerns, but they just don't seem to get it(or don't care). I'm at my wits end. Help!

Rob

Hey all,

I have a group that just can't seem to grasp the conventions of the genre no matter what I do or how much I try to explain it. They come from a Dungeons and Dragons background and the game just seems to degenerate into getting to the fight as quickly as possible. The players are rarely in character and when I try to run stuff that might lead to more roleplaying, it generally goes nowhere. And yes...I have told the players about my concerns, but they just don't seem to get it(or don't care). I'm at my wits end. Help!

Rob

Re: PBEM Soundtrack

The Superman movies' soundtracks...

Masters of the Universe by Queen

Star Trek: Wrath of Khan soundtrack

My Sacrafice by Creed...

Just for starters

Rob