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Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central Oooh! Lots of plot hooks there! Half the problem I had with it going in is that Dragon Boy up there is an extended reference. I'd be tempted to make him OIHID, except that he does, in fact, have multiple forms, somewhere in the neigborhood of 1-4. Not too many, but enough to justify Multiform over OIHID since some of them he can't access all the powers/skills he has (No Fine Manipulators is one of the Phys Lims for all but one of his forms, etc.) In fact, I'm much more tempted to say that he was originally human, a long time ago, then shut up where he was found in his dragon form for some unknown reason. Of course, Third Eye could always use another pet, so they tried to make a play for him, expecting that he would impress on someone like Crimson Flame did and everything would go very well. What they got was a scared human child in a dragon's body who didn't know why there were men with what were clearly weapons hurting him. Cornered, alone, and with very few options, the child did what most cornered animals do. He eventually came to a long way away from the incident, on the streets, and with very little to identify him or even make sure he existed officially. Preferably, at this point one of the other characters found him- making him a street rat would make life difficult for all involved. As for baselines, he's much more used to a 'faster' version than Amber, above. 45-50 STR, some MA representing the form's instincts and natural ability, maybe an HA instead, I'm not sure. It's also his 'friendliest' form- and probably not the one he goes to in Accidental Change, because it's not a full dragon. The full dragon is the one with Enraged on it; this is precisely because it's a natural extension of his survival instinct, and he's a little scared of using it- understandable, considering how much damage he did the first time he used it. This is the one with the breath weapon, and it can get mad enough to use it (though as with all things, it's a little different- probably a line of frost instead of true Breath of Fire...). His primary problem is control. His primary motivation is discovery. He wants to know what he is, how he came to be, and why everyone is so mean to him all the time; after all, the Third Eye hasn't stopped hunting him... If he met Dragoness early on, he'll probably have her as a training Contact, and probably as a Watched, too- he's still not in control and no doubt she'd have problems with this.

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central Concept: A dragon multiform character, whose strengths rely upon versatility. However, the dragons are usually restless when they are out, and the rage is not easy to control; most of the forms would have an Enraged, and there's an Accidental Change 14- when he hits 0 BODY in his normal form... Background: There are some people who delved into the mystical side of things since the 80's. Inevitably, at least one of these is a supervillain. And humanity's obsession with dragons has not been lessened. So when said supervillain decided to excavate a place he'd discovered called the Cave of Dragons, he was surprised to discover, not living dragons, but dragons made of shining crystal, either long dead or never living. But there was one... A whelp, caught in crystal. The order was to excavate it. The first thing the dragon could remember was a great sound and light and slowly coming awake... And getting shot by a henchman. The body count was amazing; they had cornered a scared animal and deserved what they got. Slowly, the carnage he had wrought slowly made itself clear to him in his fuzzy memories of the event. He swore never to kill again. Such a pity everything is trying to kill him...

Re: Not Unique The Junkyard Dog- The werewolf would hold a heroic figure, a cold, unfeeling spirit, not of rapine nature, but rather of holy vengeance. Though the world seeks justice, Jo has never been one to trust authority, and would never hang up the helmet. As the Metal Werewolf, she'd probably still be fighting crime... Even if as a maverick police officer. U.S. Steel- Are you kidding? This is awesome! Sure, it's a little... odd. And more than a little suspicious. But he gets to pal around with people without worrying about breaking other people's bones. Envy- He'd rather suspected all along that psychic powers were contagious, and now Envy gets his proof- there's an actual virus, well-known, that adjust people's DNA to produce psionic capabilities. Pretty much everyone at this point is a telepath, leading (rather surprisingly) to world peace as everyone learned what a ball of huddled fear everyone else was. Still, everyone's out for their own interests and loves, which makes crime still a problem...

Re: WWYCD: "Dear Superhero" (Warning: Ugly situation) Why didn't you say it was Mechanon? Junkyard Dog would not trust Mechanon for one stinking glorious second. Has a little bit of a grudge against the Machine. (Try and steal someone's tech one little time and kill off two DNPCs, and they remember it forever. Days like this make him glad he is free from the strictures of organic life.) Of the two, she's much more likely to believe the latter. She'd believe the former if Ubru managed to subvert her armor, but short of that, she'd be laying her own plans against Mechanon.

Re: WWYCD: "Dear Superhero" (Warning: Ugly situation) Envy would probably take a few looks at it and be skeptical. As he lives in New York City, there are plenty of better superheroes in the area and certainly many masks better suited to the job. It would also make discovering the country of Dubu fairly simple- the UN Central Office probably gets yahoos asking about this kind of thing all the time. A short plane ride (and a touch of luck) later, he'd be calling up his Contacts and getting everyone's ass on this thing provided the letter was true. Of course, if the letter is the truth, there are probably some psychics he could start training, and that would wreak absolute havoc in the area... Junkyard Dog would wonder how the hell someone in Africa knew about a local American hero, and would then realize just how far her reputation has spread. After a moment of mild freaking out because she never wanted that level of rep, she'd slowly start checking everything out to make sure it was legit. The Dumpster of Justice might be making an appearance shortly. U.S. Steel lives for this kind of stuff ever since WW2 ended and with it rivet workers on the high steel. He's been around almost a century, shows no signs of stopping now, and has made adventuring, if not his job, then a beautiful, beautiful hobby. At this point, he is a very smart, very stealthy brick... And if everything here turns out to be the case, well, it's been a while since his last war; he has no CvK, and wouldn't hesitate to help. Whatever Master Villain is behind this had better start staying up nights.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Well, the GM wasn't here this week, so the Grey Ghost filled in for a one-shot with the characters. Highlights: Junkyard (OOC, explaining powers): Well, the Entangle is encompassing since it Affects Desolid, so yeah, it hit both [Vector and Morph]. Icy-Hot (OOC): So basically, you're extruding a soap bubble. Junkyard (ooc): Hey, yeah. I have ROVER! The Grey Ghost on how Vector was able to get up so quick: GM: Yeah, but he's got healing. Healing gets you Recovery. Recovery gets you consciousness. Consciousness gets you freeeeedoooom! Angel protests about someone suing him. GM: I'm sorry but you rolled a 6 on three dice of Unluck. Junkyard (OOC): But he doesn't have Unluck! GM: You're near lawyers. everyone has Unluck! And, of course, the coup-de-grace: FOX News: [Adamant], Why did you spend most of the fight unconscious?

Re: Enemies for Teen Champions game Depending on how dark the Teen Champions game in question is, don't just play on 'teen problems', play off of teens' fears. Alienation? Show off just how twisted someone who is alone can get. Rejection? Jilted lovers make for awesome villain material. Violence? Uh, never mind. Failure? That's an awesome idea for a gadgeteer villain. "Make me flunk CompSci, will you?" Something particularly scary might be taking a couple old fairy tales that weren't precisely 'nice' and making them even worse. I used to creep my players out like that. Ah, Alice, your golemic body will be missed.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I thought that was sort of clear from the context. And it has not yet been proven she is Destroyer's grand-daughter. So shut it.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Background: This is a Champions Universe campaign wherein we are a supergroup, the Fiends of Legend. There are guest stars every once in a while, but the core group consists of: The Grey Ghost- A classic trickster, speedy, with entangles and an odd propensity to attract women despite his gooey exterior (he's gotten several crits on seduction checks) Icy-Hot- Part ice! Part fire! Part brick! Part Energy Projector! When you've got two warring elementals in your head, life can get tough... And while it hasn't come up yet, he's the only one in the group without CvK in some way. Adamant- Ostensibly, this Man of Silver is the leader of the group. Really, it's whoever has the best idea right now. He's a pretty classic Thing-type brick. Junkyard Dog- The gadgeteer of the group, and my character. An Energy Projector with a killer synergy on find weakness. Now has a rep because she faced down Mechanon. And lived. The Angel- The Other Techno Nerd, the Angel is a Catholic from Boston who decided Millenium City might be a good way to get away from his parents. More fool he. Bar none the most well-rounded character in the group, and includes a nasty Missile Reflection. Previous the day's adventure. Note Dr. Jolene Corvin is Junkyard Dog's secret identity. Angel knows this. Adamant does not: Adamant: Mrs. Corvin wants me to set up a bachelor party for you, Angel. Angel: Mrs. Corvin... as in... Mother of famed anti-socialite, Jo Corvin? Again, previous the day's adventure, while everyone was off investigating their own plotlines: Junkyard Dog: Well, I'm checking on something- since when do my walker-drones have a personality? Grey Ghost (OOC): Since we thought it was funny. Icy-Hot (OOC): Well, really, since Number 34 started downloading the bad files. Best out-of-context: GM: [Phase 6, Angel], you just saw a bear come out of a pineapple. Today, as you might have uessed by now, we were facing off against Black Harlequin's foul scheme to kill off an electronics expo, C4. No, he really couldn't resist the pun. As the teddy bear robots are setting up: Junkyard dog (OOC): *To the TMNT theme* Ninja pirate zombie robots, ninja pirate zombie robots... The GM is noting all the symbols on the gigantic Teddy bears. One is a ninja mask: Icy-Hot (OOC): Ninja Teddy! Angel (OOC): You mean a set of lingerie you can't see? GM: Yes, the finest in invisible lingerie. Junkyard Dog (OOC): But I already got that on my birthday! Unfortunately, I flew in too fast and got mobbed by something like seven or eight of the things. Tru to the GM's luck, though, he kept missing. And missing. After a phase or two of this: Junkyard Dog: *muttering* Why do I always attract the wierdoes...? Icy-Hot (OOC): You don't, Angel is still trying to get away from you. Junkyard Dog's deep shameful secret is that she goes to karaoke bars for her Streetwise check. As to the code to finish the little game, well: Junkyard Dog: I think I have it. I can only hope Jenny didn't change her number...

Re: Utter humiliation power Bladder to Empty Bladder is a Minor Transform, not a major one. It causes minor discomfort and later major chafing, but in the current combat it applies minor penalties at best by itself. The fact that it's horribly embarrassing is an applied Curse Skill Level to Presence and EGO rolls, linked to the Transform. Of course, those Levels only apply if the person has the decency to be embarrassed in that situation.

Re: Powerless Well, for Jo, not a lot would change. She'd still be in Detroit. She'd still be richer the Croesus, living in the equivalent of Watts, and generally wreaking a little havoc here and there with money and pure engineering. DEMON's proclamation might cause a few... very bad memories to surface. But here's the conundrum- if DEMON is telling the truth- and that's a big if, considering what little she remembers of DEMON- then she might be caught in a third or fourth layer of delusion. If DEMON is lying- and they probably are- she'd gladly arm up and set her empire to investigating their claims and organization. In fact, she'd do the latter anyway; she's not precisely subtle. And then she'd look at her state-of-the-art laptop, and vaguely recall when it was so much more... A click. Opening the case. and slowly piecing together the information, she'd come to realize that while she's happy here, she was just as happy working on the other ALIS. Just as happy fighting crime with the big boys. She'd look up to the ceiling of her run-down tenement, and grin. "Here's your answer. I was happy. I am happy. And you can't change that. And I'm going to stop them, powers or not, because it's the right thing to do. Because I'm certain that they'll kill us all if they're really on to something. "So... I guess it doesn't matter, does it?"

Re: Why do the Champions waste so much time being "good citizens?" In the words of a couple of my characters: Envy: Look, I can't be green-eyed and hacked off all the time, and if I can have a little fun while helping people out, why not? I mean, it's not like it's much different than breaking the bank at Monte Carlo and sure as hell will probably do someone else a lot more good than me winning at roulette. Now are you going to take the signed picture or not? Corvin: What humanitarian work? *hides a phone number that, if followed up on, would reveal a long line of anonymous donations to charity* Polaris: You think I do the psychic friend thing for S and G value? I've been slowly guiding this crap city out of the slump it has found itself in, and that'll stop more street-level crime than burning things with my mind ever will. Job well done, really- and I never have to touch a supervillain. Dragon-Boy: Listen, there's a lot more to it than you'd think. Sure, beating up supervillains is fun- it's almost charming to see what Foxbat has done this time- but to me, well, control is worth a lot, and you don't have much chance to get control against the big boys. Better I figure out how to rein in my latest forms doing something that might help than watching them go bad on the battlefield and ruining innocent lives. So, no, it's not all sunshine and beating the crap out of the latest brick stealing a bank, okay? Back up a little so I can break ground...

Re: Help Make Energy Projectors Interesting Well, my current (read: Only) Energy projector is a gadgeteer- and, in fact, almost as much gadgeteer as EP. Needless to say, she stretches that gadget VPP to the breaking point- being both an EP and a gadgeteer means she's usually short on defense, especially when she's playing sniper (which is her normal role in the group, though the VPP means she can and will run backup if some guys aren't there that week). This combined with a couple of Analyze skills running Complementary to a Find Weakness at 14- makes her absolutely deadly, even in secret ID- and she's already used that to immense effect, coring Gemini twice in hero ID and dealing Foxbat's latest plan a deathblow in her scret ID. It doesn't hurt that she has the strength to back up a nice HKA. Yes, you heard that right, HKA and Strength on an energy projector. 4d6 of it in the multipower, which allows her to stay out of entangles and generally set up her big guns, most of which are OAFs. It's also a great help against automatons who think they're hot stuff. Most of the other powers are incidental, and typical EP fare- an Entangle, a Force Wall, etc. tl;dr- take something that's not part of the typical EP 'game plan' and stretch it for all it's worth. Chances are you'll both be more effective in combat and get yourself some decent variety when the chips are down.

Re: Sleep Is Food, Food Is Sleep That'll do it, though it's quite a few more AP than I was expecting for the power. Thanks, Hyper-Man!

Power conception is as follows: Character has gained the ability to adjust their metabolism, entering either a state of half-hibernation to reduce food consumption drastically (Sleep Is Food), or the ability to filter fatigue poisons out of their system more readily at the cost of having to eat a lot more (Food Is Sleep). Of course, they can't do both at once, and it takes anywhere around six to twelve hours to adjust their metabolism in this manner. Life Support seems to be the ticket, of course, but constructions at the 1-point level run into problems, and unfortunately, 1-point is all I feel comfortable using for this power, as it's supposed to be a Slightly More Than Human ability; even at the 1-point level it seems a little excessive. Build 1 is a Multipower, 1-point reserve, with slots in Life Support. Porky and inefficient. Build 2 is taking Power Limitations on both Life Supports to keep to concept, but then I run into the 1-point minima. Build 3 is likely some kind of VPP, but like the Multipower, this is clunky and probably quite unnecessary. Help?

Re: Armored Cheongsam HUh. I'd thought it was total DEF, not individual max DEF- in this example 20 PD + 20 ED = 40 total DEF- but also leaves room to include other more exotic defenses in the Armor advantage and still have it affect the Mass.

Re: Armored Cheongsam Wow, I was unaware it was quite so heavy, but now I see that's the case. Heavens to murgatroyd, better to get rid of that entirely. Oof. I had been running off the assumption that you run the mass for 1/4 of the defense, making it a much more manageable (for an STR 18 woman, anyway) 40/4= 10 @ activation 14- = 70, which is admittedly still a little too heavy. See, this is why I wanted to ask- the 'defining Armor' rules aren't as clear as I would like- something I hope is fixed in FRED.

Re: Armored Cheongsam Well, the character is the gadgeteer in a Champions universe campaign, so it's definitely not a problem in that regard. I'm mostly adding things like the 'Mass' and 'Real Armor' limitations to emphasize that yes, this is an actual 'gadget' of sorts, though not the kind you typically associate. The key word here is 'subtle'- if necessary I can get rid of the Mass limitation especially, but she does need to mend it, etc. like real armor or else it loses its effectiveness. As for the flexibility problems, well, it IS a formal dress...

The idea is very simple- I've already one tentative build for the idea. The difficulty is that I don't have FRED; I'm stuck looking at the Armor Coverage table in the original fifth ed book. It's a dress, more accurately a set of formal wear- in this example, a cheongsam, sleeveless, with the inevitable requisite proper gloves, nylons, etc.- that looks very proper, suitable for a high society 'do' and yet provides a level of protection well beyond its means. Armor's the proper power, no doubt there- as it costs no END, it need not have a visible special effect (at least until someone tries to blast the character). My problem is the coverage, as this is not a typical 'suit' of armor in any way, shape or form. So far, my coverage has come up with 9-18, and 6 (since the gloves don't come up past the elbow). Questions: 1) Is 13- the proper Activation Roll? 2) If so, is this the right build, rules-wise: Armored Cheongsam with Armored Nylons: Armor 20 PD/20 ED [60 Active Points], Activation Roll 13- (Hit Locations 6, 9-18) (-1/2), Quarter Mass (-1/4), OIF (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4). Real Cost: 24 points.