[HERO] Fifth Edition Champions

[Gareth3]

So, I've had the Fifth Edition HERO system and the Champions supplement for it for a while, but have never played a game. I'm wondering whether everyone's moved on the Sixth Edition, or whether it's still possible to get a PBP game going with what I have. Or should I just buy the Sixth Edition equivalents? Anyone who's interested in the HERO system, especially Champions, speak up.

[Vamphyr]

I've always loved HERO 5e and I own a ton of the books for it. Me and my group of friends played it slightly differently, such as ignoring the speed combat table and not really ever using endurance.

[Gareth3]

That's good. What sort of games do you run with it? I'd assume ignoring Endurance would be inconvenient for superheroes.

[Jay R]

I suspect that about as many people are still using 5E as 6E.

Don't ignore Endurance; plan for it. Each character can have his or her own solution. END batteries work, but my general plan is to think about how often a given power will be needed.

I prefer to split powers into categories:
1. Utility powers have the 0 END advantage. He can use them forever, without taking away from anything else. These are expensive; don't take more than are needed.
2. Basic powers cost as much END as he produces, so he can use them consistently, but can't do other things at the same time.
3. Most powerful powers with high END cost of one-use-only.

My most recent brick had 45 points of STR at 1/2 END, another 15 at 4x END cost, 15 more at x3 END, and 15 at x6 END.

He could use 45 STR all day at a consistent self-replacing rate, but could use STR 90 for one spectacular feat. (You generally only have to move one mountain at a time.)

[Gareth3]

So you don't necessarily need to keep track of your END budget, you can just abstract it as a DnD style at will/daily powers system? That does sound easier.

So, now that I know there's an audience, I was thinking of setting up a PBP Champions game. Thinking about superhero fiction, I tend to prefer settings where the powers are mysterious, don't have huge implications for the setting other than the existance of the powers themselves, and can't be easily manipulated by either mundane technology or other powers. The Celestial Exaltations in Exalted are a good example, although I'd be making a contemporary setting.

Suppose you want a PC who can fly. He can't have been granted the power of flight by aliens, because that adds aliens to the setting. He can't be a mutant, because you could theoretically find the mutation and use gene therapy to make more flying people. It has to be totally mysterious - he just woke up one morning and could fly. Normal humans can't invent a "flight suppressor", and there's no powers which could turn off his flight power or steal it. He can't let other people fly, except by actually picking them up. You can still have gadgeteer characters, but the gadgets only work for them.

This can be represented by banning Independent and Universal Foci, and having guidlines for the backstory of the characters. I'm not sure if this is too restrictive for the players. They can pretty much have any power they want, it's just the explanations for it which are constrained.

[Vamphyr]

Interesting idea. One of the things I've always loved about HERO was the fact that you could design whatever character you wanted and make up any rationale for it you wanted.

So just for clarification, all the characters created will just wake up one day with powers, no foci what so ever? (Such as the gem the Juggernaut found that gave him his powers) because that's pretty mysterious.

With the Endurance thing, it wasn't so much that we just decided not to use it, we would just forget over the course of play. So it would break down to either at will or per day uses. It makes everything really streamline actually and has everything run in a d&d esque turn system. I actually think excluding stun makes things more like the comic heroes. Generally superman can run around all day throwing buildings and punching bad guys, its only once enough damage has been done (or stun) that he begins to weaken and tire. (But that is also just my opinion)

We would primarily run superhero games, which worked quite well. I ran a talented norms SWAT game with it for my brother and our friend for a couple months which was fun.

[Gareth3]

I wouldn't go quite that far. You can still have a focus - a glowing sword or whatnot that someone can take away from you. But it won't work for anyone else, and studying it doesn't yield any insight into the power. The backstories can be a little more varied too. You could have been discovered as a baby in a Kansas cornfield, but you'll never find out where you came from. Smallville was much better before Clark knew about Krypton.

[Jay R]

So you don't necessarily need to keep track of your END budget, you can just abstract it as a DnD style at will/daily powers system? That does sound easier.

I'd never thought of it that way, since I've never played modern D&D. It just seemed accurate to the genre. Superman flies around all day without it reducing his ability to use strength or heat vision. He can fight robots for a long time, but he's not using other powers. Or he can devote his full attention to picking up a mountain.


So, now that I know there's an audience, I was thinking of setting up a PBP Champions game. Thinking about superhero fiction, I tend to prefer settings where the powers are mysterious, don't have huge implications for the setting other than the existance of the powers themselves, and can't be easily manipulated by either mundane technology or other powers. The Celestial Exaltations in Exalted are a good example, although I'd be making a contemporary setting.

Suppose you want a PC who can fly. He can't have been granted the power of flight by aliens, because that adds aliens to the setting. He can't be a mutant, because you could theoretically find the mutation and use gene therapy to make more flying people. It has to be totally mysterious - he just woke up one morning and could fly. Normal humans can't invent a "flight suppressor", and there's no powers which could turn off his flight power or steal it. He can't let other people fly, except by actually picking them up. You can still have gadgeteer characters, but the gadgets only work for them.

This can be represented by banning Independent and Universal Foci, and having guidlines for the backstory of the characters. I'm not sure if this is too restrictive for the players. They can pretty much have any power they want, it's just the explanations for it which are constrained.

The idea of mysterious powers works for me. I've never played PbP. I could try it.

What level characters are you after? What powers would you ban? Also, how much backstory do you like PCs to have?

[Vamphyr]

Yeah, I was curious of what point level you were looking to start at as well as banned powers. Also, are you planning to implement the speed combat chart? I have no idea how it works and have never used it.

I've never played in a pbp, but I'd be game to try it out for a chance to play Hero!

[Gareth3]

This is at a very early stage, I'd have to do a lot more work before recruiting people. As far as banned powers goes, I'd copy Exalted again and ban time travel and resurrection of the dead. I hate speedsters, but that might be more personal prejudice rather than something I need to ban for the good of the game.
My only idea of the "level" is that the mundane police or military can't reliably defeat any superpowered criminal - that's where the superheroes come in. One piece of setting I came up with was that a normal human tried shooting several supers with a sniper rifle and didn't kill a single one. Being "super" means having some way to prevent getting killed with a rifle. Connoisseur just heals the bullet wound, Everyman just loses the memories in that clone body, Gunman shoots the bullet out of the air, and so on.
As for backstory, I find that long backstories don't often get much play in PBP, so I wouldn't insist on much.

[Vamphyr]

Okay, cool. So basically we'd be playing in a world that was very early on in its development of supers? The only reason I ask is because I've played in games where most major cities had some form of anti super task force consisting of plasma rifles an mech suits.

[Gareth3]

Yeah, the idea is that it's a contemporary setting, and contemporary settings don't have plasma rifles or mech suits, or even the social and political equivalents. I'd say that superpowers became publically known about five years ago, although you can have supers who were unusual from birth and are in their twenties. Supers are rare too, no more than a dozen in the whole world.

[Gareth3]

OK, so let's make a list of the basic assumptions of this setting:

1) The setting is contemporary. Superpowers have not significantly altered either technology or society, at least not yet.

2) Superpowers are recent and rare. The PCs will be the only "superheroes", everyone else with powers is either a villian or isn't interested in public service.

3) Superpowers are poorly understood. The backstories of the PCs and NPCs don't explain the origins of the powers. Study of the powers is at the level of 19th century psychology, and mundane technology can't influence the powers.

4) Superpowers can't resurrect the dead, travel in time, or manipulate the powers of other people. They're also personal - even if they involve a gadget or focus, it's never any use to anyone else.

5) The mundane police and military can't reliably deal with superpowered criminals. They've recruited the PCs to do it for them.

6) Superpowers are publically known, and supers aren't generally persecuted.

So, will these assumptions work in a game? Is there any other basic question that needs to be addressed?

[Jay R]

So, will these assumptions work in a game? Is there any other basic question that needs to be addressed?

Probably, but we won't even discover them until you announce how many points, and how many of them need to be offset by Disadvantages.

[Vamphyr]

Probably, but we won't even discover them until you announce how many points, and how many of them need to be offset by Disadvantages.

No other questions other than the above. Once I have a point value I can start throwing together a character. I have a couple of concepts kicking around, the one most prominent right now would be a stretching brick, unless anyone else would prefer the brick role.

[Gareth3]

OK, so mechanics. I'll use the standard superhero level: 200 base points with a maximum of 150 points from disadvantages and 50 from any one category of disadvantage. No Independent or Universal Foci.
Here's a character I made myself, as a guide:

The Character: Connoisseur (William Wodehouse-Whittington IV)

Description: By day, editor of World Wine magazine and legendary wine critic, famed for his extraordinarily discriminating palate and snobbish arrogance. By night, masked crimefighter with the strength of a bear, toughness of an ox, and nose of a bloodhound. He can tear open a tank, take a bullet to the head, and identify every vintage of wine which is currently drinkable, from aroma alone. He’s taken wine with every meal since he was 18, and even carries flasks of Merlot and Chardonnay into battle so he has a reasonable match for any rations he might eat.

Skills:
Conversation 11-
High Society 11-
Knowledge Skill: Fine Dining 13-
Knowledge Skill: Wine 17-
Professional Skill: Wine Criticism 17-
Professional Skill: Publishing 14-

Powers:
+60 Strength, reduced Endurance
Damage Resistance 20PD/8ED, Hardened
Knockback Resistance -2’’
Enhanced Smell/Taste: 1,000X Microscopic, +12 vs range Telescopic, Discriminatory, Analyze, Tracking

Perks:
Money: Filthy Rich
Vehicle: Range Rover

Disadvantages:<spoiler>
Physical Limitation: Must maintain very careful diet
Vunerability: 2X STUN from Gas/Poison attacks
Enraged when wounded
Code versus killing
Psychological limitation: Raging snob
Reputation: Arrogant rich guy
Rivalry: Claudia Clegg, editor of Plonk! magazine.
Rivalry: “Ambiguous”, shapeshifting superhero/superheroine.
Hunted: “Doktor Hypergolik”, anti-superpowers villian.
DNPC: Wayne Washington, teenage wine critic.
Social Limitation: Secret identity


Characteristics:
Strength 78
Dexterity 20
Constitution 20
Body 15
Intelligence 18
Ego 15
Presence 10
Comeliness 10
Physical Defense 23 (20 Resistant)
Energy Defense 8 (8 Resistant)
Speed 5
Recovery 24
Endurance 40
Stun 34

I'd need to do a bit of work to come up with a campaign, but it would be interesting to see your characters.

[Vamphyr]

OK, so mechanics. I'll use the standard superhero level: 200 base points with a maximum of 150 points from disadvantages and 50 from any one category of disadvantage. No Independent or Universal Foci.
Here's a character I made myself, as a guide:

The Character: Connoisseur (William Wodehouse-Whittington IV)

Description: By day, editor of World Wine magazine and legendary wine critic, famed for his extraordinarily discriminating palate and snobbish arrogance. By night, masked crimefighter with the strength of a bear, toughness of an ox, and nose of a bloodhound. He can tear open a tank, take a bullet to the head, and identify every vintage of wine which is currently drinkable, from aroma alone. He’s taken wine with every meal since he was 18, and even carries flasks of Merlot and Chardonnay into battle so he has a reasonable match for any rations he might eat.

Skills:
Conversation 11-
High Society 11-
Knowledge Skill: Fine Dining 13-
Knowledge Skill: Wine 17-
Professional Skill: Wine Criticism 17-
Professional Skill: Publishing 14-

Powers:
+60 Strength, reduced Endurance
Damage Resistance 20PD/8ED, Hardened
Knockback Resistance -2’’
Enhanced Smell/Taste: 1,000X Microscopic, +12 vs range Telescopic, Discriminatory, Analyze, Tracking

Perks:
Money: Filthy Rich
Vehicle: Range Rover

Disadvantages:<spoiler>
Physical Limitation: Must maintain very careful diet
Vunerability: 2X STUN from Gas/Poison attacks
Enraged when wounded
Code versus killing
Psychological limitation: Raging snob
Reputation: Arrogant rich guy
Rivalry: Claudia Clegg, editor of Plonk! magazine.
Rivalry: “Ambiguous”, shapeshifting superhero/superheroine.
Hunted: “Doktor Hypergolik”, anti-superpowers villian.
DNPC: Wayne Washington, teenage wine critic.
Social Limitation: Secret identity


Characteristics:
Strength 78
Dexterity 20
Constitution 20
Body 15
Intelligence 18
Ego 15
Presence 10
Comeliness 10
Physical Defense 23 (20 Resistant)
Energy Defense 8 (8 Resistant)
Speed 5
Recovery 24
Endurance 40
Stun 34

I'd need to do a bit of work to come up with a campaign, but it would be interesting to see your characters.


So, just for clarification, I can make a character up to 350 points if I take enough disadvantages? (It's been a little while since I played and I'm away from books at the moment, so just want to be clear)

[Gareth3]

Yes, that's right. 150 points of disadvantages always seems high to me, but the game is designed to make it reasonable. Just being married to a normal person is a "disadvantage" worth a fair number of points.

[Vamphyr]

Yes, that's right. 150 points of disadvantages always seems high to me, but the game is designed to make it reasonable. Just being married to a normal person is a "disadvantage" worth a fair number of points.

Okay, sweet! I'm currently out of town but will back with my books tomorrow after 5pm EST. I'll throw together a build for my brick Tut the Unstoppable.

[Jay R]

Tomorrow I'm running a D&D game for my niece and nephew. I'll start on a character Monday.

I already have ideas for a mystic, an energy projector, a shape-changing martial artist, but I'll play with more ideas. Anybody have any suggestions for a character you'd like to see?

[Gareth3]

I'd be interested to see the shape-changing martial artist. One of my ideas for a Champions character was a shape-changer with no "true shape" - even as a newborn baby he or she was unconsciously mimicking the baby in the next ward.
There was also a Multiple Man type character, but taken to the logical conclusion. There was no distinction between the clone and the original, and both could duplicate themselves in exactly the same way... Needed some pretty complex math to work out the points cost of that.
Some of my ideas were just jokes, like Gunman. He wears a cowl with two pistol-shaped horns, drives the Gunmobile, hides out in the Guncave, shoots himself in the face with the Gunphone to communicate, and so on. Granted, he can shoot one wing each off two flies with one bullet, so he still has his moments.

[Jay R]

I'd be interested to see the shape-changing martial artist.

OK, I'll develop him. Here's the basic idea.

He was a one-time gang member. He was involved in various smuggling operations until he saw innocents getting murdered. Disgusted, he turned away, and tried to find a way to fight back. He’s not willing to use a gun, which limited his ability to fight them.

His criminal record kept him from joining the police force (indeed, they are Watching him).

He had some hazy idea of becoming a Batman, Punisher or Rorschach figure -- he is a fan of Modern Age comics. So he started studying Martial Arts. At many of the places he tried to learn, they were spending a lot of time on what he saw as nonsense. "I'm here to learn how to break heads; why are you talking about cosmic harmony and universal peace?" One result is that he went into several dojos, and was exposed to many different styles.

After trying many styles and variations, he eventually got pretty good at Monkey Style Kung Fu. He earned a black belt, but he never really fit into the Martial Arts culture, and never really got what it was about, other than beating people up.

While working alone on some of the stylistic moves, he started to "get it", as a whole-world philosophy rather than just fighting. Suddenly he was deeply within the entire Monkey Style Kung Fu mystique - and his body started to change. His arms lengthened, his body grew a little thinner, his face changed .... At first it was a sort of half-monkey / half –human, but it is now pretty much a monkey (baboon) form.

In that form he has much better Kung Fu, but also other monkey powers - enhanced senses, climbing, swinging, etc.

He has greater physical attributes, and the ability to scramble up walls (Clinging). But mostly he's a martial artist with lots of skills (Acrobatics, Stealth, Breakfall, Contortionist, Lockpicking, Climbing, Shadowing, etc.)

One night, while he was contemplating some of the moves in the Shao-Lin Snake Style, his skin started to get scaly. This startled him enough that he lost his train of thought, and reverted to human form. He currently believes that his body has a limited ability to change shape to fit his current fighting approach. He is wondering if he should encourage this, and is contemplating re-studying the Bear, Dragon, Praying Mantis, Shao-Lin Crane, Shao-Lin Snake, or White Crane styles. (I haven't decided how many shapes to create. In fact, I haven't looked at the Martial Arts styles in years.)

Any multiform he develops will be based on a martial arts style, probably a Kung Fu style. He will be basically a martial artist, but I might give him some extra abilities as well. A Praying Mantis form could shrink to insect size, a snake form might have a poisonous bite, a Crane could fly, etc. But he can never use a Martial Arts maneuver not specifically linked to his current form. (While the human has many maneuvers, each form only has the ones connected to that animal.)

Still interested in this character?

[Gareth3]

Great concept. The backstory fits perfectly with the setting. The character himself might be a little underpowered. I'd let him literally change into a monkey, crane, or whatever, indistinguishable from a normal one but still with human intelligence.

[Vamphyr]

Let me know if this character needs to be more/less of anything or if his back story defines your world too much.

Tut the Unstoppable

Back story:

At the age of 56, Aeron Rogers has spent almost 2/3rds of his adult life researching Egyptian mythology, archaeology, and culture. It wasn't until recently that his love of history caused him any serious trouble. He was approached by a group of men who called themselves the Society for Historical Reclamation, they were some of the wealthiest men from around the world and they wanted Aeron to head a new dig they were starting. Aeron was hesitant at first, accepting large sums of money from strange men was always a bad idea in his book, but the president of the Society, Daniel Savage, gave him no choice but to join. Savage explained to Aeron that a new pharoahs tomb had been discovered more than 3,000 miles north, just outside Bucharest, Romania. The flight and trip to the site went flawlessly. The dig team seemed... less than reputable... but they knew what they were doing and did it with the precision of experience. They weren't more than five days into the dig when they cracked the tomb door. Aeron was the first inside, he quickly poured over the pictographs lining the walls and continued on, he had to know what was buried here, what caused the ancient Egyptians to travel over 3,000 miles just to bury it. From that point on everything was a blur, he remembers yelling, twisting passage ways, and finally a small chamber. He remembers the twisted face carved onto the sarcophagus, the mummy sealed inside, and a beautiful sapphire necklace. Crafted from gold, inlaid with obsidian, and set with a sapphire as big as the palm of his hand. He doesn't remember when he took the necklace off the corpse, he only barely remembers slipping it around his neck.

The next thing Aeron knew he was standing over a vast cityscape, bound in bandages that didn't seem to inhibit his movement, and sharing his body with a power he couldn't begin to comprehend.

Tut the Unstoppable is a stretching brick. The amulet of Tut'ro Amet has cursed Aeron to be Tut until the day he dies, the amulets powers can't be transferred to a new host until after such a time. Not able to return home, his mind and memories jumbled, and not sure where to hide, Aeron decided to use his new powers for good, stopping crime as best he can. The one thing that truly scares him is the Society for Historical Reclamation. With their wealth and power it's only a matter of time before they come and try to retrieve the amulet, for what purpose, Aeron doesn't wish to find out.


Stats and Powers:

Total Points: 315

Characteristics:
Strength 60
Dexterity 21
Constitution 20
Body 30
Intelligence 10
Ego 10
Presence 10
Comeliness 10
Physical Defense 20 (20 Resistant)
Energy Defense 20 (20 Resistant)
Speed 3
Recovery 16
Endurance 60
Stun 60

OCV: 7
DCV: 7
ECV: 3

Super Strength (+50 for the total of 60) reduced endurance (0)
Bandage Stretch: Stretching 10" reduced endurance (0)
Curse of the Desert Sands: Change Environment (Sandstorm) 4" -4 DCV (End: 3)
Leaping: +13" (End: 1) total 26" of leaping with Strength bonus
Damage Resistant: 20PD 20ED

Disadvantages

Hunted (Society for Historical Reclamation)
Hunter is More Powerful, extensive noncombat influence, Easy to Find (me), Frequent Occurence (11-)

Distinctive Feature (Looks like a mummy wearing a large sapphire necklace)
Not Concealable, Always noticed, Major Reaction

Psychological Limitation (Honorable)
Common, Total

Psychological Limitation (Memory Loss)
Common, moderate (Ego Roll at +5)

Enraged (When confronted with pieces of Egyptian History related to Tut'ro Amet)
Uncommon
Very Common Rage (14-), Recover (11-)

Reputation (Destructive)
Almost Always (14-)

[Gareth3]

Great to see a full write-up. The only changes I'd make are to drop the detail about the curse. He went into a tomb, put on a necklace, and became a mummy, and he doesn't know anything more than that. You should clarify what happens when he takes off the necklace, or when someone snatches it, but aside from that it should be a mystery.

So, the actual campaign. Most of the detail has to be hidden from the players, but I can run some plot hooks past you:

Patient J is a middle-aged man who's been involuntarily committed to an insane asylum for 10 years. He has a amazingly detailed delusion of being a magical wizard in a fantasy kingdom, complete with an imaginary language as complex as English. The kingdom is a brutal theocratic state, and Patient J is a loyal and self-sacrificing subject of it. Which makes it all the more disturbing that he walked straight through the wall of the insane asylum a week ago, and flew away. Now FBI surveillance has picked up known criminals using the fantasy language...

A mysterious vigilante stalks Detroit, killing and maiming violent criminals. This would only be the concern of the local police, except that an eyewitness reports the vigilante shrugging off gunshots at close range. He could just be wearing body armour - or he could be a superhero fighting non-powered criminals, which is a serious federal crime. The PCs are sent to take him down. Unless he really doesn't have powers, in which case they have to immediately withdraw rather than commit the same crime.


More to come later, but what are your thoughts on these?

[Vamphyr]

Sounds awesome!

Okay, so it's a cursed Obvious Inaccessible Focus. If it were to be removed he would still be the mummy, he would just lose his sandstorm curse and stretching powers. His leaping, damage resistant armor, and super strength would stay the same.

I put the extra details about the curse simply for clarification for you of what I was thinking. IC he would have no idea what was going on with it.

[Gareth3]

OK, that's fine.

[Jay R]

Should we move over to the PbP forums?

[Gareth3]

I'm not ready for a recruitment thread yet. If you have any thoughts on what sort of campaign you'd like, tell me here. Otherwise I'll just think one up myself and post it on the PBP forum when its ready.

[Jay R]

I will show you the various forms of the multiform martial artist separately. Here’s the first one.

Mad Monk (monkey form)

Johnny Burke was a one-time gang member. He has gone straight, learned martial arts, and eventually developed multiforms that are attuned to specific martial arts forms. Below is the monkey form, which is his avatar of Monkey Style Kung Fu. This form is in fact the skill monkey, a good overall form for many situations, and is therefore the one he uses primarily as a hero, and the only one with a name. If he is known as a hero, it is under the name Mad Monk, who is not (ideally) known to be a shape-changer. The name is supposed to invoke both the religious aspect of Kung Fu as well as the animal shape.

In this form, he is has shorter legs than the average human (though with greater reach), and wears a monk’s robe. He has a monkey-like face, and moves with all five limbs. Therefore his movement has been bought as a multipower containing Running, Leaping, Swinging, etc.

Because of the karma aspect of Kung Fu, he is always centered, and always using his abilities at their limit. For that reason, all powers that could usually be Pushed have been bought with the -1/4 Limitation “cannot be pushed”.

Characteristics:
STR 23
DEX 26
CON 23
BODY 18
INT 13
EGO 13
PRE 15
COM 6
PD 5 (+8 rPD)
ED 5 (+6 rED)
SPD 5
REC 20
END 46
STUN 42

Skills:
Acrobatics 14-/15-
Breakfall 14-/15-
Sleight of Hand 14-/15-
Shadowing 12-/13-
Climbing 14-/15-
Stealth 14-/15-
Concealment 12-/13-
Streetwise 12-/13-
Mandarin Chinese (idiomatic, native accent)
Professional Skill: Smuggling
Scholar
Knowledge Skill: Kung Fu 11-/12-
Knowledge Skill: Local Gangs 11-/12-
Knowledge Skill: Local Underworld 11-/12-

Multipower (all with “Cannot be Pushed”, -1/4):
Swinging 19”
Clinging w/ +15 STR
Leaping +13”, 0 END
Gliding (to simulate climbing anywhere) 20”, only over a surface
Teleport 5” (to simulate quick tumbling in combat), 0 END, position shift, must pass through, only where he could normally go, gestures

Other Powers:
Damage Reduction (50% rPD, 50% rED)
+1 General Skill Level
Extra Limb (tail)
Defense Maneuver I & II
Environmental Supreme Balance
Targeting Sense: Smell


Monkey style Kung Fu:
Offensive strike (kick)
Martial Block
Martial Disarm
Legsweep
Martial Dodge
+6 Martial Arts Skill Levels
+3 Damage classes

Disadvantages (General)
Social Limitation: Secret Identity
DNPC: Carolyn Keene, reporter on the crime beat
Rival: Officer Frank Dixon, police officer, also in love with Carolyn
Rival: Bronze Dragon, a handsome, stalwart martial arts superhero
Hunted: Local gang/syndicate (more powerful, non-combat influence, 8-, public ID)
Code against Killing
Psych Lim: Feels guilty about past with gangs
Psych Lim: not comfortable abut cops.

Disadvantages (monkey form):
Distinctive features: monkey face and body (not concealable, major reaction)
Physical Lim: short legs, semi-upright
Social Lim: Talking monkey (very frequently, minor)
Vulnerability; x1.5 Mind Control (“monkey see, monkey do”)

I could have at least doubled the number of psych lims, but kept it to 50 points. I still have more than I need, and may drop one or two. I’m particularly considering dropping the Vulnerability, but it seemed in keeping with the monkey theme.

[Gareth3]

Great to see a full write-up. I especially like the "can't be pushed" Limitation, very thematic.

I thought up another campaign scenario. There's a powerful female supervillian, a kind of Magneto for this setting. She contacts Child Services and demands that 15-year-old Emily Jennings be removed from foster care and released to her custody, or she'll start wreaking havoc. She explains that only a superpowered mother can raise a superpowered child. The problem is that Emily ran away from home a week ago, and has never shown any signs of superpowers. So, the mission is to track down Emily and return her to foster care, despite knowing nothing about what powers she has, while fighting off the supervillian. What do you think?

[Jay R]

I probably shouldn't have read this right after reading the "tricky questions" thread. My first thought was that Magneta is tricking us; he's already kidnapped Emily and will use the fact that will can't give her away to justify a rampage. My second thought was that Emily *is* Magneta, and she's trying to cover up her escape this way.

Sure, sounds like a fun mystery to solve.

[Gareth3]

That's good. I'm fairly new to GMing, but an obvious first step is to write up Gwen, the supervillain, then build the campaign from there. Gwen's details will be available to the PCs, so it's not a "spoiler". I'll do some work on the secret parts too.

[Jay R]

By the way, you said the base character is restricted to 350 points. I assume that's also true of the multiforms, which come from the points the base character spends?

The reason I'm asking is that the 5th edition book has an example of a 350-point base character with a 400-point form. (It costs the base form 400/5 = 80 points. It ain't cheap).

[Vamphyr]

Looks like we'll have at least two good melee characters as a front line. We'll just need a good blaster now.

[Gareth3]

The book seems ambiguous on that - we aren't told what restrictions the 400-point dinosaur was constructed under. I could see a multiform getting an unfair advantage if it's built on more than 350 points. So limit each multiform to 350 for now. Tell me if this gives you any problems.

[Jay R]

That's how I'd rule it. (The biggest limitation on the 400-point form is 200 points of Disadvantages.)

It's not a problem. As I said, I assumed that was the limit. The bear form won't be the brute I'd like it to be yet, and the dragon form will be limited, but there's no reason that shouldn't happen.

I'm paying for eight forms. but I'll only start with one or two. That gives me the chance to continue fiddling with character design, which I really enjoy. I'm currently playing with the Dragon and Bear forms, and intend to come up with a Snake form next.

And don't worry about being fairly new to GMing. Everybody needs to gain experience. I'm completely new to online play, and will be getting my first experience at that. (It wasn't a possibility when I started roleplaying, in 1975.)

Vamphyr, I agree about needing a blaster. I had an idea for one, but I couldn't do both. (If Mad Monk wasn't a multiform, I'd consider a Sidekick, but Sidekick, Multiform and Duplication are all big point hogs; I'd never do both at once.

[Gareth3]

I'll do a full recruitment thread when I'm ready, so that might pull in a few more players.

[Jay R]

I’ve made a change in my plans. My character will be Professor Power, not the Mad Monk. But don’t worry. The Mad Monk will stick around, as Professor Power’s follower. (A martial artist for a Follower really puts the side-kick in sidekick.)

Professor Power is Dr. Victor Appleton, a professor of electronic engineering at a local college. He is a super-genius who can feel and project electro-magnetic fields, and has an intuitive understanding of how they work. So he can usually figure out how to do almost anything with metal, electricity, or magnetism. (In game terms, he has a Power Pool.)

He wears chain mail, and a face-obscuring helmet that cannot be removed without the ability to shape metal.

He always carries an iron staff with obscure markings that sometimes seem to change. He uses it as an obvious accessible focus most of the time. (His pool doesn’t require one, but the powers in it are cheaper that way. He wants the world to believe he needs it. If the bad guys capture somebody who can shoot lightning out of his hands, they kill him. But if they capture somebody who can shoot lightning out of a staff, they steal the staff and try to make it work.) In fact, he remakes both the staff and the chain-mail outfit with a metal-shaping power (Transform) when he becomes Professor Power. It spends the rest of the time as a computer-like invention in his briefcase. Each time he uses it, it has a different shape, which he sometimes idly changes while nothing else is going on.

In costume, he will occasionally walk away from it. It stays standing and cannot be moved by others, but will come to his hand when he reaches out for it (Telekinesis, 40 STR). This is purely to increase the mystique of the staff.

Because the powers are electro-magnetic, they run off of an END battery, and cannot be pushed. (I’m bemused that I’m using the usually rare limitation “cannot be pushed” twice, for two extremely different reasons.)

Characteristics:
STR 8
DEX 23
CON 13
BODY 13
INT 38
EGO 13
PRE 13
COM 14
PD 3 (+ 13 rPD)
ED 3 (+13 rED)
SPD 5
REC 5
END 17
STUN 24

Skills:
Scientist
Electro-Magnetic manipulation skill 23-
Physics 17-
Chemistry 17-
Telecommunications 17-
Electrical Engineering 17-
Electronics 17-
Inventor 17-
Security Systems 17-
Professional skill: Electrical Engineer
Scholar
Knowledge Skill: Leading Technology 17-
Knowledge Skill: Inventors 11-
Knowledge Skill: Modern politics
Knowledge Skill:Local news

Power Pool:
75 point pool
Control (Change is zero-phase, only electromagnetic powers, requires a skill roll, cannot be pushed)

Other Powers and Abilities:
-4” Running, -1” Swimming, -1” Leaping.
Chain mail 7rPD, 7rED (Obvious Inaccessible Focus)
Repellent Force (6rPD, 6rED, 0 END, against metal and electro-magnetic forces only, cannot be pushed)
Hover (Flight 5”, 0 END, OIF, Only up or down, cannot be pushed)
Discriminatory Metal Sense (Radio group – he feels metal; he can sense the insides of machines to tell what they do, and nobody can sneak up on him with metal buckles – or a gun.)
Radio sense (he can pick up radio transmissions)
END reserve: 50 END, 15 REC
Bump of Direction (he can feel the Earth’s magnetic field)
Life Support – safe in high radiation
Follower (Mad Monk)

[Gareth3]

Great to see another full write-up. I'm still working on Gwen. My basic idea is that she wants to be Magneto - a superpower supremacist. But there are only a dozen or so superpowered people, so her ideas can't get any traction. I still haven't decided what her powers should be, just that they've made her very rich and powerful. Maybe she could have powerful mind control that doesn't affect people with superpowers, which explains why it's the PCs job to deal with her.

[Jay R]

Maybe she could have powerful mind control that doesn't affect people with superpowers, which explains why it's the PCs job to deal with her.

Almost all superheroes have rPD and rED, but no normals do, except in combat gear. Therefore an NND attack which doesn't work against rPD or rED would fit your requirements.

[Gareth3]

Right, but I could just put the limitation "doesn't work against people with superpowers" on her power. With all the PCs required to have superpowers, that would be unambiguous.