Digest Archive vol 1 Issue 222

Digest Archive vol 1 Issue 222
From: owner-champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 1999 10:12 AM
To: champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Subject: champ-l-digest V1 #222

champ-l-digest Wednesday, March 3 1999 Volume 01 : Number 222

In this issue:

Re: Living "Magic Battery"
Re: I need robot designs
Re: Hero Games Website
Re: I need robot designs
Re: Hero Games Website
Re: I need robot desisng
GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
RE: Xavi Darkfenn
RE: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
RE: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
Thrasher Kael
RE: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
Re: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
Re: Vehicle help needed
Re: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
RE: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
Re: Vehicle help needed
Re: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
Re: I need robot desisng
Re: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
Re: Vehicle help needed
Re: I need robot designs

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 01 Mar 1999 23:30:53 -0500
From: geoff heald <gheald@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: Living "Magic Battery"

At 08:34 AM 3/1/99 -0500, you wrote:
>I'm trying to develop a character that has the ability to power other
>people's spells, so when Mago the Magician casts the Flaming Wall of Doom,
>he can use Ballard the Magic Battery's END rather than his own. Ballard can
>choose whether or not he will help the mage, but he has no ability to cast
>spells of his own.
>
>How would people recommend I do this? There are two ways I can think of
>right now:
>
>1. An END reserve with Usable By Others on it.
>2. Some kind of reverse Transfer, though I'm not sure how that would be
>done.
>
>Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
>
Aid to END, I guess.

============================
Geoff Heald
============================
And it's a little-known fact that the Y1K problem caused the Dark Ages.
Roving bands of well-paid craftsmen fitted two extra beads to abacuses and
sorted it out.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 09:18:48 -0500 (EST)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: I need robot designs

On Tue, 2 Mar 1999, Logan Darklighter wrote:

> Another good robot design is the M-66 combat droids detailed in Mike
> Surbrook's anime character write-ups. The main entry page is at
> http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html

<snip>

> Surbrook's page also has several writeups for cyborgs that could be modified
> for use if you wanted some infiltrator types that are more like androids.

Psst! Logan? You check is in the mail. ^_^

- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html

"Go-Go-Gadget Thermonuclear Device!"
William K. "Bushmaster" Bushway

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 07:42:49 -0700
From: "Robert Bose" <rbose@arcane.com>
Subject: Re: Hero Games Website

It is kind of annoying that nothing was updated. I was hoping to be able to
order 'New Bedlam Asylum' as I heard it was officially released at
DunDraCon. So far I haven't seen any info on this product on their site.

Rob Bose
rbose@arcane.com

> Am I wrong, or have we just gone through the entire month of February
>without an update to the Hero Games website?
> Anyone know what the deal is here?
>---
>Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
> http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
>Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
> http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm
>

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 06:32:54 -0800
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: I need robot designs

At 12:03 AM 3/2/99 -0500, David Stallard wrote:
>I'm kicking off my campaign later this week (Hero System rules, New
>Millennium setting), and I decided to start things off with a serious move
>by Mechanon (the New Millennium version) to take over Bay City, as his
>first step toward total domination of the human race. I figure he'll have
>an army of robots at his command (thanks to Kraan technology and his
>mechanical Mind Control), and they may possibly take over the city, forcing
>the heroes into hiding for a while. So, what I need are stats for some
>"grunt" robot types for the PCs to tangle with. Can anyone point me to
>some published designs? Off the top of my head, all I can think of are the
>security robots for Stronghold, but I'm not sure how appropriate they are.

There are some good ones, too, in Champions Presents #2, and (arguably)
in Creatures of the Night.
There might be some in Blood Fury (from Atlas Games), but I'm not sure
since I don't actually have that book.

>I'll probably end up creating some of my own types, but it'd be good to
>also pull stats from published material and just change the names or
>whatever. I'm thinking that near the end there may be one huge robot (like
>a Sentinel from X-Men) for the group to tangle with before they bump into
>Mechanon himself, but I'd like all sorts of smaller robots (fliers,
>hunters, etc). By the way, I think the Mutant book has the Minuteman
>robots which are like Sentinels, but I don't have that book. Anyway,
>thanks! Oh, and if you have any ideas I could use for my "Mechanon
>invasion" scenario, please fire 'em my way!

I do recommend taking a look at Blood Fury. It features the CU's
Mechanon, and while I'm not sure what differences there would be with the
NCU's Mechanon, I've no doubt that you can come up with *some* ideas.
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 10:28:00 EST
From: Leah L Watts <llwatts@juno.com>
Subject: Re: Hero Games Website

> Am I wrong, or have we just gone through the entire month of
>February
>without an update to the Hero Games website?
> Anyone know what the deal is here?

I purged my browser's cache twice and didn't get any new stuff -- it must
be the site.

Haven't heard anything on _why_, and I've been checking the Hero Games
folder on AOL regularly.

Leah

___________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html
or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 09:57:11 -0500
From: David Stallard <DBStallard@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: I need robot desisng

Message text written by Logan Darklighter:
>Hmmm. I can think of several sources. Do you have access to Champions
Presents #2? That one would be HIGHLY useful to you. That's the one that
has
King Cobra's organization COIL detailed, as well as a _really_ spiffy super
murder mystery. It also has a somewhat silly "Rogue Computer tries to take
over the world" story. It's a bit silly in places, but game mechanics-wise
very well thought out. There are a LOT of different robot types in there,
from humanoid robots meant for pure combat to infiltrator "Terminator"
types
to robotic vehicles up to and including jet fighters. One of the most
effective designs is not even a combat type, it's a surveillance/stealth
bot
that's effectively a tiny little flying remote with sensor clusters. Think
of the Probe droid from Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back and shrink it
down to about slightly bigger than a human hand. Able to listen in on
converstaions and watch with just about every type of sensor imaginable.
VERY sneaky and effective! The core scenario, as I said, is a touch on the
silly side in places, but otherwise is well thought out. I would recommend
culling ideas and tactics from it.<

Ah yes, I have that book but completely forgot about that adventure.
Thanks for reminding me! I also really liked those little surveillance
bots...I think I may use them as part of Mechanon's invasion force.

>>Another good robot design is the M-66 combat droids detailed in Mike
Surbrook's anime character write-ups. The main entry page is at
http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html<<;

I'll take a look.

>>Another good source would be the VIPER sourcebook. There are a couple of
good robot designs in there that you could use.<<

I remember the big hulking bot (I think he has a gatling gun and/or
missiles on his shoulder), but not any others. I'll take another
look...it's been about a year since I ran Champions, so I'm a little foggy
on what is in my collection of books.

>Well, I hope this helps out! Let us know what you finally decide to use,
okay? I'd also be interested in hearing how the scehnario goes down after
it's all over with.<

Sure thing.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 11:29:28 -0500
From: "Berengiere" <beren@voyager.net>
Subject: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign

I've been considering running a PC's as villains campaign and I was
wondering if I could get some advice from people who have run one, or from
players who have been in one.

What kinds of things did you do? If you were running a hero group, did you
ever pit the villain PC's against the hero PC's?

Lisa Hartjes
Lead Developer, The Crimson Covenant

beren@unforgettable.com
http://roswell.fortunecity.com/daniken/79
or http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/daniken/79
ICQ: Berengiere (9062561)

If the GM smiles, run. If she laughs, it's too late...

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 11:25:41 -0600
From: "Hudson, Robert" <x2rhudso@southernco.com>
Subject: RE: Xavi Darkfenn

At 7:08 PM March 01 Tracy Birdine wrote:

>XAVI DARKFENN
>Warrior Mage

<snip>

>As you can probably tell, Xavi has *travelled*

>She is a very high level mage that would send GMs screaming for
cover (myself included), but because it reflects who she is in the book,
very experienced, that's how the character sheet reflects that experience.

Actually, I consider her a pretty good example of why *points* are a
very poor - if not meaningless - way to measure a character's ability or
power level. Xavi doesn't have any campaign-breaking powers or abilities,
she's not constructed for pure combat - in short, she doesn't set off any of
my warning bells for problems.

While her Characteristics may lean towards the high side, you've
restricted her SPD to a '2' and haven't bought her a boatload of levels -
both signs you're not stressing combat effectiveness. She doesn't appear to
violate any reasonable campaign guidelines for Damage Classes or the like
either, so there's no problem there.

Her biggest cost outside of Characteristics is her spells, and
they're not an unreasonable collection. They have the look of her having
started with a few base spells [likely the fire-based ones] and then adding
to them to reflect problems with a specific situation or problem after the
fact.

In short, despite her overall cost, she really isn't - at least to
my eyes - a campaign breaker in any sense of the word.

Rob Hudson

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 13:41:35 -0500
From: Brian Wawrow <bwawrow@fmco.com>
Subject: RE: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign

The really nice thing about running some creative gamers as villians is that
they tend to drive the plot, allowing the GM to react to, instead of
inventing, various sinister plots. It's generally accepted that it's the
villian's responsibility to come up with evil schemes, otherwise they
wouldn't be villians.

The downside is that PC's playing villians usually have to work harder to
find reasons not to kill their teammates. Given that villians typically have
psych lim's aimed at antisocial activity, they tend to step on each others
toes more often, thus putting a greater strain on group dynamics.

BRI
"Evil will always win out over good, because good is dumb!"
-Dark Helmet, SpaceBalls

] -----Original Message-----
] From: Berengiere [mailto:beren@voyager.net]
] Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 1999 11:29 AM
] To: Hero System Listserv
] Subject: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign
]
]
] I've been considering running a PC's as villains campaign and I was
] wondering if I could get some advice from people who have run
] one, or from
] players who have been in one.
]
] What kinds of things did you do? If you were running a hero
] group, did you
] ever pit the villain PC's against the hero PC's?
]
]
] Lisa Hartjes
] Lead Developer, The Crimson Covenant
]
] beren@unforgettable.com
] http://roswell.fortunecity.com/daniken/79
] or http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/daniken/79
] ICQ: Berengiere (9062561)
]
] If the GM smiles, run. If she laughs, it's too late...
]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 11:19:24 -0800
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: RE: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign

At 01:41 PM 3/2/99 -0500, Brian Wawrow wrote:
>The really nice thing about running some creative gamers as villians is that
>they tend to drive the plot, allowing the GM to react to, instead of
>inventing, various sinister plots. It's generally accepted that it's the
>villian's responsibility to come up with evil schemes, otherwise they
>wouldn't be villians.
>
>The downside is that PC's playing villians usually have to work harder to
>find reasons not to kill their teammates. Given that villians typically have
>psych lim's aimed at antisocial activity, they tend to step on each others
>toes more often, thus putting a greater strain on group dynamics.

On the other hand, those "straned group dynamics" can sometimes be the
greatest fun of the game (especially if you don't mind a comedic slant).
:-]
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 11:10:36 -0800
From: Tracy L Birdine <hawk291@juno.com>
Subject: Thrasher Kael

THRASHER KAEL
Adventurer-Swordsmith

19 STR 9
20 DEX 30
18 CON 16
16 BODY 12
16 INT 6
17 EGO 14
18 PRE 8
14 COM 2
5 PD 1
4 ED 0
3 SPD 0
8 REC 0
36 END 0
35 STUN 0
Characteristics Cost: 98

3 Acrobatics 13-
5 Animal Handler 12-
3 Breakfall 13-
3 Bureaucratics 13-
3 Climbing 13-
6 2 Levels: King's Cavalry/fighting from horseback,tight group
3 PS: Mercenary/Soldier 12-
8 Damage Class +2DC,"Troll Swords (Katana)"
3 High Society 13-
3 Paramedic 12-
3 Stealth 13-
3 Streetwise 13-
7 Survival 13-
5 Tactics 13-
3 Tracking 12-
3 Trading 13-
1 TF,Horses / Donkeys
12 WF,Flails,Lances,Common Melee,Common Missile
9 Weaponsmith 14-,class of weapon: Troll Sword forging
2 AK: Kingdom of Scirocco 11-
3 Riding 13-
3 Ambidexterity
3 13- Fast Draw
3 12- Combat Sense
3 Absolute Time Sense
3 Bump Of Direction
2 11- Contact: Seligad, Healer/Inventor/Mage
3 3 Favors: King Corbin Strathorn
10 Money,wealthy
Height: 5'9" Weight: 195lbs
Eyes: Ice gray Hair: Dark brown
DOB:
SCARS: Coin-sized burn on collarbone.
Personality Sketch:
WEAPONS: Hanson's Longbow, double crossbow, 6 throwing
stars, Troll sword: Nightfire, Epsilon axe, long dagger.
ARMOR:
OTHER POSSESSIONS: Horse: Dragonfire, Horse: Lancer,
Estate/compound.
2 11- Contact: Hanson of Garrison, goods provider

Powers Cost: 123
Total Cost: 221

Base Points: 150
5 Psych Lim,"Hates Magic/Sorcery",uncommon,moderate
10 Psych Lim,"Sense of Duty to Kara Fenn",uncommon,strong
10 Psych Lim,"Sense of duty to his crew",uncommon,strong
5 Psych Lim,"Show-off when fighting",uncommon,moderate
5 Psych Lim,"Overconfidence",uncommon,moderate
15 Hunted,"Concealers",more powerful,harsh,appear 8-
10 Psych Lim,"Very Tenacious",uncommon,strong
10 Psych Lim,"Affiliation: Kael's Crew",uncommon,strong

Disadvantages Total: 70
Experience Spent: 1
Total Points: 221

_________________________________________________

He's the leader of the crew, and is ex-military, a cavalryman.

|- /\ \\/ |<
CO/Alpha Company, Black Horse Regiment
ICQ: 32038562

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 15:23:51 -0500
From: Brian Wawrow <bwawrow@fmco.com>
Subject: RE: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign

Given that
] villians typically have
] >psych lim's aimed at antisocial activity, they tend to step
] on each others
] >toes more often, thus putting a greater strain on group dynamics.
]
] On the other hand, those "straned group dynamics" can
] sometimes be the
] greatest fun of the game (especially if you don't mind a
] comedic slant).

Absolutely. I think this kind of thing lends itself to a finite game more so
than a long running campaign. I was in a [ahem] evil D&D game a while back
just for laughs. The idea was to build a dungeon and lure heros into it. The
wheels started coming off the wagon when my religious strictures as a CE
Drow Cleric started bumping up against the Illrigger's [LE palladin variant]
obligations to his devil master. We would both be trying to manipulate the
CN Druegar fighter into subverting the other. Fun for a while but ultimately
not viable in the long run, especially if you're concerned with roleplaying
and character development.

Having said all that, in Champs, you're not constrained by old fashioned
concepts like character allignment. I think it's possible if all the PC's
have basically similar goals. Like, they're all motivated by greed, sadism
or some vile religion. It's no good to have a party full of megalomaniacs
because they'll all kill each other trying to take control.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 12:28:42 -0800
From: Christopher Taylor <ctaylor@viser.net>
Subject: Re: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign

At 11:29 AM 3/2/99 -0500, Berengiere wrote:
>I've been considering running a PC's as villains campaign and I was
>wondering if I could get some advice from people who have run one, or from
>players who have been in one.
>
>What kinds of things did you do? If you were running a hero group, did you
>ever pit the villain PC's against the hero PC's?

I never got to play it but the first thing I did was establish several plot
elements to control the players. First, they all got their powers from one
source, a supervillain who didnt go DO anything, he just was the guy with
the base and the money. He gave them their powers and could take them away
at will, which I figured would do several things:
-- prevent players from being totally without focus (they work for someone)
-- keep them from mocking and being completely lacking in respect for
their boss
-- and keep them from beating up and backstabbing each other (with one big
bad guy that could kick all their combined patooties)

The other thing I planned was to have the players make up their crimes.
The big boss would give them lots of info (this shipment going here, these
guys being transferred to this prison, etc) but it was up to them to figure
out how to do it and where. I planned on them getting away with it a lot,
but getting caught and having their asses handed to them by heroes a lot.
This enforces the genre, makes them understand why the bad guys keep
showing up again, and makes it more challenging (you actually RUN when you
see Captain Crimson and his Red Brigade).

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sola Gracia Sola Scriptura Sola Fide
Soli Gloria Deo Solus Christus Corum Deo
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 16:44:06 -0500 (EST)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: Vehicle help needed

Okay Bob, I followed your TUV advice in building this thing. Here is its
base stats:

AMP ROGER KARL CEF-001B SIMURGH
Val CHA Cost Notes
58 STR 3 75 tons
22 BODY 3
12.5x6.4 SIZE 45 Mass: 70,000 kg
6 DEF 12
15 DEX 15
4 SPD 15 3, 6, 9, 12
Total Characteristics Cost:

Movement: Flight: 196" / 6272" (2450 mph)

Abilities and Equipment
10 Cargo Space: x 4
390 Movement: Flight: 196", x8 NCM
Medical Bay:

Communications Equipment:

Surveillance Equipment:

Total Abilities and Equipment Cost
Total Vehicle Cost

Disadvantages:

This enormous sky craft first appears in Side 4, where is is flown by
Lebia. It also appears in Silent Mobius: the Movie I (where it is
also being flown by Lebia). The Simurgh is 23 meters long, 16.5 meters
wide and a little over 7 meters tall. It masses between 53,000 and 70,000
kgs depending upon its load and can carry six passengers. The vehicle's
top speed is listed at 3920 kph (or 2450 mph). 

The purpose of the Simurgh is command and control. It is packed with a
wide assortment of communications gear, as well as surveillance equipment
and a complete medical bay. It can allow Lebia to access her orbital
satellite and can track Lucifer Folk by their distinctive signatures.

A simurgh is a bird from Persian myth. Ancient beyond belief, the
simurgh knew all, and saw all that occured. It had even seen the death
and rebirth of the universe three times.

How's my math? Is this what you described to me?
I'm still working on the rest of the equipment for the Simurgh. I'm just
glad it isn't armed!

--
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html

"Go-Go-Gadget Thermonuclear Device!"
William K. "Bushmaster" Bushway

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 14:33:07 PST
From: "Martin Von Cannon" <martian_2099@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign

>
>I've been considering running a PC's as villains campaign and I was
>wondering if I could get some advice from people who have run one, or
from
>players who have been in one.
>
>What kinds of things did you do? If you were running a hero group, did
you
>ever pit the villain PC's against the hero PC's?
>
>
>Lisa Hartjes
>Lead Developer, The Crimson Covenant
>
>beren@unforgettable.com
>http://roswell.fortunecity.com/daniken/79
>or http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/daniken/79
>ICQ: Berengiere (9062561)
>
>If the GM smiles, run. If she laughs, it's too late...
>
This is a good idea. I have ran, and played in this type of setting.
The players should come up with something to do. Rob a bank, strong arm
the city, etc....

You need to make good Heroes to deal with them. Kind of reversing the
roles. The campaign was a good success.

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 14:20:29 -0800
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: RE: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign

At 03:23 PM 3/2/99 -0500, Brian Wawrow wrote:
>
> Given that
>] villians typically have
>] >psych lim's aimed at antisocial activity, they tend to step
>] on each others
>] >toes more often, thus putting a greater strain on group dynamics.
>]
>] On the other hand, those "straned group dynamics" can
>] sometimes be the
>] greatest fun of the game (especially if you don't mind a
>] comedic slant).
>
>Absolutely. I think this kind of thing lends itself to a finite game more so
>than a long running campaign. I was in a [ahem] evil D&D game a while back
>just for laughs. The idea was to build a dungeon and lure heros into it. The
>wheels started coming off the wagon when my religious strictures as a CE
>Drow Cleric started bumping up against the Illrigger's [LE palladin variant]
>obligations to his devil master. We would both be trying to manipulate the
>CN Druegar fighter into subverting the other. Fun for a while but ultimately
>not viable in the long run, especially if you're concerned with roleplaying
>and character development.
>
>Having said all that, in Champs, you're not constrained by old fashioned
>concepts like character allignment. I think it's possible if all the PC's
>have basically similar goals. Like, they're all motivated by greed, sadism
>or some vile religion. It's no good to have a party full of megalomaniacs
>because they'll all kill each other trying to take control.

Of course, if you're doing it for laughs, even with roleplaying and
character development, the inter-character abuse can be a part of things.
"Aw, that's just his way."
"But if I fire him, who will I beat up when I get mad?"
"Hey! Nobody picks on the spud but me!"
"I can't quit! He *needs* me!"
"No villain ever got rich going solo. If I quit the group, I gotta go
straight. And then what -- be a janitor?"
These are all reactions that I've actually seen in fiction (albeit
translated for genre in some cases) for villains who beat up on each other
staying together despite the abuse. Grudging respect, affection poorly
expressed, and a variety of other things can come to the surface after a
while.
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 16:14:56 -0800
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: Vehicle help needed

At 04:44 PM 3/2/99 -0500, Michael Surbrook wrote:
>Okay Bob, I followed your TUV advice in building this thing. Here is its
>base stats:
[snip]
>Abilities and Equipment
>10 Cargo Space: x 4
>390 Movement: Flight: 196", x8 NCM
[snip]
>How's my math? Is this what you described to me?

Actually the above section is a bit off. x4 Cargo is 5 points, and 196"
of Flight at x8 NCM is 402 points.
- ---
Bob's Original Hero Stuff Page! [Circle of HEROS member]
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/original.htm
Merry-Go-Round Webring -- wanna join?
http://www.klock.com/public/users/bob.greenwade/merrhome.htm

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 3 Mar 1999 11:26:00 +1000
From: "Lockie" <jonesl@cqnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign

I just finished a mini-campaign about villains. The group fluctuated from
standard 4-color to rather
nasty wierdo creatures (stay-puff CRACK monster, anyone?) and all the way
back again. The game started with some battles against superheroes to get
theri rep- then one of the villain pcs hit a car with a telphonne pole-
while a hero was inside, beating up one of the other pc villains. the hero
actually managed to stagger out of the inferno. . . after that, there was a
bit of a moritorium on killing each others characers. The group didn't
manage
to manifest very effective strategies ('aw nuts! who'd a thought somebody
would call the police over a stolen
double-decker bus!') and got arrested- but don't worry! their pal broke them
out of their holding cells half way to stronghold. What's that you say?
strongholds in orbit? I know that. . . those with enough life support,
def, body and regen to survive the crash spent the next six in-gmae months
working for a columbian gentleman
whoose crop then incinerated on the way in. eventually they took on the
asenos, who dropped a house on them, and a bit after that we wrapped it up
after revealing the intangible mind controller (nope, not spirit rules)
was the precurser to a daemonic invasion. he *almost* won. .

But that's a pretty deadly campaign. If you're going to do a villains game,
determine depth of sin first. Are they set up to be middle-thunderbolt-style
psudoheroes, classig 4-color professional baddies, superpowered psychos, or
thugs with really big fists? Or something else? Determine the most nasty
they can go on average first. Some might push the envelope, but it's
important to decide how far past casual killer they are. Casual puppykicker?
Casual asskicker? Casual car full of civilians thrower? Casual disembowlerer
at the slightest whim-er? and so on.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 20:27:34 -0600
From: Todd Hanson <badtodd@home.com>
Subject: Re: I need robot desisng

It looks like other people are covering where to find robots, so I'll offer a
different suggestion on using robots in your game:

When you design/customize the robots, go with lower defenses (a point or two
lower than the average DC in party), and more body. The key is to make sure
that ALL of the PCs in the group can damage them, even if its just a little
bit. If you have PCs with lower dice attacks and no killing attacks, they
will get frustrated when they constantly 'dink' off of the robot's armor.

Todd

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 19:29:12 -0800 (PST)
From: Stormtide <stormtide@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: GM Advice Needed: PC's as Villains campaign

- ---Berengiere <beren@voyager.net> wrote:
>
> I've been considering running a PC's as villains campaign and I was
> wondering if I could get some advice from people who have run one,
or from
> players who have been in one.
>
> What kinds of things did you do? If you were running a hero group,
did you
> ever pit the villain PC's against the hero PC's?
>
>
> Lisa Hartjes
> Lead Developer, The Crimson Covenant
>
> beren@unforgettable.com
> http://roswell.fortunecity.com/daniken/79
> or http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/daniken/79
> ICQ: Berengiere (9062561)
>
> If the GM smiles, run. If she laughs, it's too late...
>

My recommendation is to make sure that the villains have plausible
motives for their crimes. Just like most heroes have a reason for
wanting to fight crime, villains should have a reason for committing
them.

Motives to consider:
- - The villain who needs to steal the materials needed to cure him from
his strange powers or to keep him alive. Similarly, the villain maybe
seeking out the people who gave him his powers for revenge purposes.
- - Someone who steals for wealth purposes will usually have a secret ID
in which they can use their ill-gained bounty. In order to sustain
this lifestyle, they need more and more funds. You can build up the
other people in their life...romantic interests, business rivals, and
the people who wonder where this person gets all their money. Maybe
they are even trying to finance a gambling addiction.

I would suggest avoiding the true misanthropic types who are just in
it to hurt people. Like the Champions books used to say about
deathtraps, villains that simply go out to kill or hurt people will
soon find themselves under the scrutiny of a lot of heroes. If your
players should stray in that direction, I suggest that you 'turn up
the heat' with a lot of police and heroes seeking to bring them to
justice.
I would also suggest that you avoid the villains that want to conquer
the world. While it leads to amusing developments for Pinky & The
Brain, it would be difficult for the villains to ever be successful
without changing the nature of the game. After all, once you conquer
the world, what is the challenge other than battling those that seek
to remove you from your position of power?

_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 23:49:11 -0500 (EST)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@dedaana.otd.com>
Subject: Re: Vehicle help needed

On Tue, 2 Mar 1999, Bob Greenwade wrote:

> At 04:44 PM 3/2/99 -0500, Michael Surbrook wrote:
> >Okay Bob, I followed your TUV advice in building this thing. Here is its
> >base stats:
> [snip]
> >Abilities and Equipment
> >10 Cargo Space: x 4
> >390 Movement: Flight: 196", x8 NCM
> [snip]
> >How's my math? Is this what you described to me?
>
> Actually the above section is a bit off. x4 Cargo is 5 points, and 196"
> of Flight at x8 NCM is 402 points.

Uhm.. don't I get the first 6" of flight for free?
Also, will x4 Cargo get me te right size, or do I need X8 Cargo?
(you told me 10 points of extra cargo space).

- --
Michael Surbrook - susano@otd.com - http://www.otd.com/~susano/index.html

"Collect all five."
Steve Jobs, on the new range of colors of the iMac 266

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 3 Mar 1999 08:56:58 -0600 (CST)
From: Curt Hicks <exucurt@exu.ericsson.se>
Subject: Re: I need robot designs

> From: Todd Hanson <badtodd@home.com>
> robots, so I'll offer a
> different suggestion on using robots in your game:
>
> When you design/customize the robots, go with lower defenses (a point or two
> lower than the average DC in party), and more body. The key is to make sure
> that ALL of the PCs in the group can damage them, even if its just a little
> bit. If you have PCs with lower dice attacks and no killing attacks, they
> will get frustrated when they constantly 'dink' off of the robot's armor.
>
Good point. I've also thought about using some form of ablative defensives
to try and achieve the same effect.

Curt

------------------------------

End of champ-l-digest V1 #222
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