Digest Archives Vol 1 Issue 56
Desmarais, John
From: owner-champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Sent: Sunday, November 29, 1998 5:04 PM
To: champ-l-digest@sysabend.org
Subject: champ-l-digest V1 #56
champ-l-digest Sunday, November 29 1998 Volume 01 : Number 056
In this issue:
Re: CHARACTER DESIGN CHECKLIST
Re: CHARACTER DESIGN CHECKLIST
RE: CHARACTER DESIGN CHECKLIST
Test: Feel free to ignore.
Champions:TNM, Hard-Cover and Soft-Cover
A sad note
Mail?
Re: CHAR: The Joker
ICQ
Re: A sad note
Re: CHAR: The Joker
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 14:45:37 -0500 (EST)
From: tdj723@webtv.net (thomas deja)
Subject: Re: CHARACTER DESIGN CHECKLIST
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Off the top of my head:
Has the player bought enough skills so that he can do things other than
combat? Are these skills something other than 'combat effective skills
(i.e. knowledges, professions, etc.)?
Has he bought enough 'plot helper' Disads like Hunteds and DNPC to help
the GM build stories around him?
Are his powers justified by his concept, or is he just, as an example,
buying Ego Defense because he knows you like Mentalist villians?
Is his origin thought out enough YOU have a handle on where he's going
with the character?
Are the limitations and disads he bought really there to define the
character, or jst because the player needed extra points? Are they
legitimate hinderences?
"'Remember, Boo-Boo...we only have one weakness."
"What's that?"
"Bullets."
--Rat Phink and Boo-Boo, RAT PHINK A BOO BOO
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From: "Guy Hoyle" <ghoyle1@airmail.net>
To: <champs-l@sysabend.org>
Subject: CHARACTER DESIGN CHECKLIST
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1998 00:22:10 -0600
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I'm trying to assemble a list of things to check for when I'm constructing
characters, and I was wondering what problems GMs typically encounter when
their players design characters. The only one I can think of off the top of
my head is missing the characteristic breakpoints, but I'm sure there are
others, as well. Can anybody else give me some pointers for creating
well-designed characetrs?
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------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 05:21:09 -0800 (PST)
From: shaw@caprica.com (Wayne Shaw)
Subject: Re: CHARACTER DESIGN CHECKLIST
>When I started this thread, I had individual characters more in mind than
>teams. Let me clarify a bit: What are the most common mistakes you as a GM
>see in characters which are handed to you for approval? What are the easiest
>ways to waste points in character creation?
Some of these are style dependent, but...
1. No resistant defenses. For better or worse, unless you have a game with
a lot of GM intervention, a small amount of resistant defense (within the
amount you can justify by an armored costume easily enough) is pretty much
necessary, or the first time things go wrong in a certain way, you die.
2. Going beserk on 'color' abilities to the detriment of the character being
able to function in the campaign as you actually expect to run it. An
example is someone who is a linguist who dumpst 30 points in languages, many
of them too obscure to ever likely come up. Even worse is the person
building, say, a biologist, who insists on buying this as six or seven
seperate sciences instead of just buying a higher general Science in biology.
3. Ignoring Endurance issues. People have a dreadful tendency until they're
familiar with the system to set themselves up to poop out in nothing flat.
On the other hand, some people are so paranoid about this they waste points
on doing things like buying everyhting to 0 END, which is probably overkill.
4. Not looking at the implications of their abilities regarding need for
other abilities. A simple example of this is martial artists with no
movement powers. Yes, they often have a better than normal speed, but this
often isn't enough to make up for spending half the fight having to get
there...which is made even worse by the fact that martial artists tend to be
more dependent on defensive manuevers as a group, so full moving is often
impractical.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 11:42:01 -0800
From: "Filksinger" <filkhero@usa.net>
Subject: RE: CHARACTER DESIGN CHECKLIST
From: Brian Wawrow
>
>
> I'm going to call this point into question.
>
> To me, it's better to have everyone make exactly the characters they
> want to. If you end up with two mentalists and no brick, no problem.
> Allow the characters to define what shape the game will
> take. Generally,
> players will make characters that are of a pure archtype or
> an archtype
> combination [eg. martial artist/brick]. I think it's a
> mistake to force
> your players to build a 'formula' group. It tends to lead
> to 'formula'
> games.
>
> Three cheers for groups of bizarre individuals.
While I agree to some degree, I do have a problem with this approach.
If you do have a "motley crew" for the group, you will either find
yourself with a group that simply cannot handle many emergencies, or
you must customize every game for the group.
While I don't object to customization, I do think that it starts
feeling very contrived after a while.
Filksinger
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 07:39:09 -500
From: "Vance Scott" <b1tlbx98@pop1.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Test: Feel free to ignore.
Just checking to see if I have the right address. I had a slight
screw up when I was re-arranging my mail client's address book.
Vance Scott
vances@iname.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 07:24:37 -500
From: "Vance Scott" <b1tlbx98@pop1.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Champions:TNM, Hard-Cover and Soft-Cover
Hey Folks,
I'm thinking of buying a copy of Champions:TNM. I know that the
soft-cover has had a lot of problems with the binding falling apart.
Basically, I have two questions.
1. Have they fixed the binding problem with the Soft Cover?
2. Does the Hard Cover have a sewn binding instead of a glued one?
Thanks,
Vance Scott
vances@iname.com
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 23:28:31 -0500 (EST)
From: Michael Surbrook <susano@access.digex.net>
Subject: A sad note
On Nov 3, 1998, Bob Kane died. He was 83.
For anyone who doesn't know, Bob Kane created the comicbook character of
"Batman" (as well as the Joker and others).
***************************************************************************
* "'Cause I'm the god of destruction, that's why!" - Susano Orbatos,Orion *
* Michael Surbrook / susano@access.digex.net *
* Visit "Surbrook's Stuff' the Hero Games resource site at: *
* http://www.access.digex.net/~susano/index.html *
* Attacked Mystification Police / AD Police / ESWAT *
* Society for Creative Anachronism / House ap Gwystl / Company of St.Mark *
***************************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 23:42:14 -0500 (EST)
From: Jason Sullivan <ravanos@njcu.edu>
Subject: Mail?
I haven't received a message in days.
Am I off the list?
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 23:31:52 +1100
From: Mad Hamish <h_laws@postoffice.utas.edu.au>
Subject: Re: CHAR: The Joker
I know I'm late on this but...
At 03:55 PM 11/24/98 -0500, Michael Surbrook wrote:
>THE JOKER
>"The Clown Prince of Crime"
>
>Val CHA Cost Roll Notes
>20 STR 10 13- 400kg; 4d6
>18 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6 / DCV: 6
strength & dex are both high. I've never seen anything to suggest that he
was particularly strong or dextrous.
I know you've stated that they're based on the DC stats _but_ I think that
the DC stats are inflated due to the system. I mean Lex Luthor JR is given
a str of 5 which is 16 times stronger than a normal human.
>57 Joker Venom Ring: RKA: 6d6, NND: Defense is Immunity, Alien
> Metabolism or Anti-venom (+1), Does Body (+1), No Range (-1/2), Only vs
> Living Beings (Animals) (-1/2), Must contact bare skin (-1/2),
> 1 Charge (-2), IIF: Ring (-1/4)
I don't know if I'd give it 6D6 as an RKA, I mean that's a fairly high
number, OTOH I don't recall too many cases of anyone but a superhero
surviving it.
****************************************************************************
The Politician's Slogan
'You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all
of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
Fortunately only a simple majority is required.'
****************************************************************************
Mad Hamish
Hamish Laws
h_laws@postoffice.utas.edu.au
h_laws@tassie.net.au
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 09:07:11 -0800
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: ICQ
For those who had been in contact with me via ICQ, I've just
re-installed. My new ICQ number is 23313036.
- ---
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: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 07:49:58 -0800
From: Bob Greenwade <bob.greenwade@klock.com>
Subject: Re: A sad note
At 11:28 PM 11/28/98 -0500, Michael Surbrook wrote:
>On Nov 3, 1998, Bob Kane died. He was 83.
>
>For anyone who doesn't know, Bob Kane created the comicbook character of
>"Batman" (as well as the Joker and others).
I became aware of it because a recent showing of "Batman: the Animated
Series" gave a dedication to him. (It was one which showed the origin of
the Creeper.)
So many of the origins of superherodom are now falling fully into the
annals of history.
- ---
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: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 05:54:51 -0800 (PST)
From: shaw@caprica.com (Wayne Shaw)
Subject: Re: CHAR: The Joker
>I know I'm late on this but...
>
>At 03:55 PM 11/24/98 -0500, Michael Surbrook wrote:
>>THE JOKER
>>"The Clown Prince of Crime"
>>
>>Val CHA Cost Roll Notes
>>20 STR 10 13- 400kg; 4d6
>>18 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6 / DCV: 6
>
>strength & dex are both high. I've never seen anything to suggest that he
>was particularly strong or dextrous.
I forgot to mention this when it came up before, but Batman has made
reference to the Joker's 'insane bursts of strength' on occasion, and given
Batman that tends to suggest that he at least occasionally gusts above
Batman, and I suspect ordinary pushing may not cover the issue.
>
------------------------------
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