From street-level to cosmic and everything in between, this is the thread to discuss all things superheroic, at least as tabletop games go. Mutants & Masterminds, Marvel Heroic, Heroes Unlimited, Dark Champions, Villains and Vigilantes, and any other system out there, this is the thread for you if you want to feel superhuman.
Last thread: >>47137832
Topic Starter: Does your setting have pre-established heroes? How often do they interact with the players?
>>47162883
>Does your setting have pre-established heroes?
Yeah. One of them died though and one of our party unwittingly helped bring him back as a superzombie... he still has nightmares over it.
>How often do they interact with the players?
Not very much... our GM keeps us very busy with the supervillains so they really don't interact a lot with us.
>>47162844
Its why the MnM ones are the ones I've finished first.
They definitely felt like the most "communally" created heroes, having been randomly generated. They also had some pretty unique powersets.
An action scientist with a deflector shield belt.
A telekinetic ninja.
A triplicate girl.
I think we should save all the stuff though dig through the previous threads and start pastebinning them.
>>47162995
I think I'm going to go through the archives after I get off work and do that. I'm proud of our randomly generated team
>>47162995
Do you have a deviantart or tumblr that I can follow? I'm really digging your art style
>>47163045
Try googling his name:
http://edspear.tumblr.com
>>47163068
Thanks anon.
>>47163045
Thanks anon. I'm glad you like it.
I have a deviantart, but its mostly dedicated to old stuff from highschool/early college.
My tumblr is the one I update often nowadays. Though I really should try to balance it out more.
http://edspear.tumblr.com/
I haven't posted much of the superhero stuff quite yet. But I might soon.
>>47163068
Wow. Looks i was a bit slow on the draw.
Still thanks anon.
>>47163306
Overlord Darkness?
>>47163410
Yeah. Just a quick sketch and color.
Otherwise I'm heading off to bed. I'll pop by to draw new stuff.
>>47162883
How many supers have you played, /shg/? Who was your favorite? If you could actually have the power set of one of them, who would it be?
I'm trapped between the dude I played who could generate and shape hard-light fields or my Marvel Symbiote-styled character--who's power set basically ripped off Agent Venom.
>>47162883
>Does your setting have pre-established heroes? How often do they interact with the players?
It did, yeah. And they interacted with the PCs quite a lot but always as equals, never as superiors.
Let's have more rolling for Cape World.
I made a little table. Roll on it first, then we'll switch to M&M quickstart generator.
Give me a d20!
Rolled 9 (1d20)
>>47163929
Rolling.
>>47163942
Ze Germans!
Okay. Let's get ourselves an archetype. Another d20!
Rolled 6 (1d20)
>>47163929
>>47163929
Oceania can just go get fucked?
>>47163958
Gadgeteer
Let's specify the type more. Another d20!
And here's the book we're using for generation
>>47163959
Mate, d20 ain't made of rubber. It was there but I had to remove it.
Actually, I'll remake the table for d100 later.
Rolled 13 (1d20)
>>47163958
How would you go about making a blow shit up mage in M&M3e? I've never played the system.
The idea I have is for a mage who's young and inexperienced. They CAN do fancy, tricky stuff but when push comes to shove it's just so much easier and more innate to fly about blasting something with raw dark magic.
They are the granddaughter of a Russian woman during WWII who was given a book of spells by Baba Yaga to help defend her nation when it was invaded. Not evil but with a decidedly dark cast to it that makes people think she's an evil mage.
>>47163985
Gimmick: Your genius is concentrated into a particular field of study, such as force fields, cryogenics, radiation, bio-manipulation, or something more esoteric.
What's the most German type of research? Particle physics?
It gives us the following stats:
STR 2
STA 1
AGL 2
DEX 2
FGT 4
INT 9
AWE 4
PRE 1
Let's go for Advantages. Another d20!
>>47163959
>Oceania
Well its a whole series of tiny islands isn't it?
Frankly there is a lot of cool stuff you can hide away there isn't there?
Monster Island, undersea cities, and Secret Skull Shaped Fortresses.
Perhaps a secret skull island base could be abandoned, and have been moved back into by locals.
Rolled 17 (1d20)
>>47164013
Basic stuff:
>Beginner’s Luck
>Eidetic Memory
>Equipment 3 (Headquarters),
>Improvised Tools
>Inventor
>Skill Mastery (Technology)
Headquarters:
>Size : Large
>Toughness : 10
>Features : Communications, Computer, Fire Prevention System, Infirmary, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Personnel, Power System, Security System, Workshop • 15 points
>>47164033
Well-to-do Inventor: You either inherited wealth or have made money off some of your more mundane inventions.
>Benefit 3 (Millionaire)
Another d20 for skills!
>>47164020
>>47164013
>What's the most German type of research? Particle physics?
Psychology.
Though perhaps that's more Austrian..
Rolled 16 (1d20)
>>47164048
>>47164054
I'd argue it's part of Germany but then I'd anger the Von Trapp family.
>>47164012
Everyone in M&M can spend a hero point for a power stunt, basically a one-time use alternate effect for one of their powers.
So if you mostly just blast shit, buy a big old blast (with maybe alternate effects for AoE blasts or penetrating blasts or whatever) and then power stunt when you need to do something fancier.
>Close Combat: Unarmed or Gadgets 6 (CHOOSE!)
>Expertise: Science 10
>Ranged Combat: Gadgets 6
>Technology 10
>Vehicles 4
>>47164054
Infiltrator: You’re stealthy.
>Deception 6
>Sleight of Hand 4
>Stealth 6
Maybe E-M wave physics then?
Let's get some Offensive Powers! d20!
>>47164012
Here's the thing to keep in mind. When building powers in M&M, you're not exactly building the power itself; you're building the final effect of the power. You can fluff your abilities however you want, but all that you need to mechanically worry about is the end result. This is why the Ranged Damage effect (a.k.a. Blast) can be fluffed as fucking anything: an arrow, an eye beam, a fireball, a throwing knife. It's all about how you describe the power, which is what all the additional tags are for.
>>47164013
If you wanna get a little esoteric Architecture and 'Ergonomic' design a la the Bauhaus could be a nice theming element.
Lots of geometric shapes and presumptions on what's "sans-aesthetic".
Though that's like the art history course talking.More of a Werkstätte man myself.
Rolled 8 (1d20)
>>47164076
>>47164013
>What's the most German type of research?
Rocketry
>>47164088
Gimmick Blaster.
Give me 3 more d20s for its abilities
Rolled 17 (1d20)
>>47164076
Rolling.
>>47164091
This guy gets it.
>>47164099
Imma using this one. 2 more!
>>47164099
So like the Rocketeer but...not like the Nazi Rocketeers in the film reel?
Antiques expert that kitbashes gear out of old Nazi stuff that no one wants to touch and was going to be junked but he saved it at the last moment?
Rolled 15, 16 = 31 (2d20)
>>47164107
I'll take on a name
>>47164118
15-17 are one result, sooo.... Try Again Please
Rolled 12, 9 = 21 (2d20)
>>47164125
>>47164125
I really don't understand why this gadgeteer would not use an array for his powers and put the rest of the PPs into better use with his skills and so on...
>>47164131
Gimmick Blaster
>Array (24 points, plus 3 points of Alternate Effects)
>Easily Removable (-10 points)
>Energy Blast: Ranged Damage 12
>Alt: Ranged Burst Area Damage 8
>Alt: Ranged Affliction 12 (Resisted by Dodge; Vulnerable, Defenseless, Incapacitated)
>Alt: Ranged Cloud Area Affliction 8 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed and Visually Impaired, Stunned and Visually Disabled) Extra Condition, Limited Degree
>• 17 points (this cost includes the cost of the Alternate Effects)
All right. d20 for Defensive Powers!
Rolled 17 (1d20)
>>47164148
>>47164142
It's a set of tables, not everything on them is hyperoptimal. Just roll with it.
>>47164148
why, oh why, are the defenses not maxed out? It's like he's asking to be blown to pieces.
>>47164149
Force Field
>Immunity 6 (Critical Hits, Cold, Heat, High Pressure, Radiation)
>Linked to Protection 10
>Sustained
>Removable (-3 points)
>• 13 points
>>47164154
I'm not saying it needs to be minmaxed. Just a little bit more optimal is all.
Give me a d20 for Movement Powers!
>>47164157
Straya, is that you again?
Rolled 9 (1d20)
>>47164168
No, sorry, I don't use names yet.
This would be a good NPC though so that's fine.
>>47164148
So this is an energy gun that can fire itself into a disorienting cloud?
>>47164162
And a force field....
It's a classic set up so far. Energy gun. Force Field device. We're very Buck Rogers so far.
>>47164148
So its either some gimmicky rockets (ones that burst into energy, explode an area, weaken opponents etc.)
Or we might do weird particle physics. >>47164162 considering the force field thing.
>>47164178
Flight Harness
>Flight 5 (60 MPH)
>Removable (-2 points)
>• 8 points
And the last d20 for Innate Powers
>>47164180
Very. This chargen book is really flavorful
>>47164157
That's sort of one of the issues in M&M. You get enough points that there's no reason to not hit your caps everywhere, but that ends up making every character sort of the same.
Like, maybe my power is animal mimicry or intangibility, but I'm going to throw a PL 10 damage effect in their anyway because it only costs like a dozen points depending on how I build it. Or maybe even 1 point if I can make it an alternate effect of something else.
I think M&M would massively benefit from some kind of Shadowrun style priority system for character creation, so characters had to specialize instead of just buying everything at the PL cap.
>>47164193
Looks like you haven't played around with immunities, insubstanciality and so on enough.
Rolled 7 (1d20)
>>47164191
Particle-Powered jetpack.
And we can go all Fritz Lang with the appearance.
>>47164193
Problem with that is, the way combat is set up, your BEST case scenario is that a non-attack has a 75% chance of doing nothing (50% chance to miss, 50% chance they pass their save), and even an attack doesn't have much better odds.
Being below the PL cap aggravates that even more; being at half PL or some shit more or less means you should never try to inflict damage or make them roll a save, ever.
I agree with you, that PL-capping shouldn't be a thing, but you'd have to redefine the combat system first.
>>47164071
>>47164081
Right.
How much of bad form is it to take Immunities in M&M? I'm always a bit hesitant with stuff that is 'No, I win'
>>47164212
Mental Database
>Enhanced Advantage 1 (Assessment)
>Enhanced Skill 2 (Insight 2)
>• 2 points
And here we go.
It would still make sense to choose the type of Close Combat in >>47164076 though
I'll tweak the country table and come back
>>47164215
Immunities aren't really looked at twice, since unless you buy a huge swathe of immunities, the bad guys can just switch to something you aren't immune to.
Even something as broad as Immunity (Will-save effects) doesn't actually mean anything in the grand scope; it's a character statement and little else. "I'm fucking great against THIS type of enemy, and I wasted 30pp against every other type of enemy."
The only Immunity I'd make angry eyes at is Immunity (Damage) because the bruised condition (-1 vs. further Damage) is the only thing that keeps M&M combat from being fucking interminable by EVENTUALLY mounting up enough of a penalty that you go down.
>>47164215
Immunities are a perfectly acceptable form of defense. Being able to say "<tag> literally means nothing to me" is the sort of thing you expect in a superheroic story. Salam the Fire Queen being immune to [Fire] makes obvious sense.
>>47164228
>>47164236
Right. I was looking at Immunity(Dark Magic) due to the Protection of Baba Yaga. You do NOT try to meddle in her domain with her toys.
>>47164228
>The only Immunity I'd make angry eyes at is Immunity (Damage) because the bruised condition (-1 vs. further Damage) is the only thing that keeps M&M combat from being fucking interminable by EVENTUALLY mounting up enough of a penalty that you go down.
Even then, you can turn to other sources to bring down the threat, like bindings or mind-based effects. Since you can't beat his face in and have it mean anything, you have to go about it from a different angle. It's basic shit: if something's not working, try something else.
>>47164212
So what are we? A German expressionism robot girl?
Sort of take a twist on the "space adventurer" concept. She's a adventerer from a city of robots, exploring the strange world of the people that created her race.
Maybe that can be another of Cape Germany's "things". They have a lot of robots. Maybe they're the leading experts on robotics? Sense it's problematic to use native supers (because of the fallout if anyone traces their bloodline back to a Nazi super) thy just build supers?
Have her robot home city be big on futurism? Maybe even have her name be something like "Futura"?
>>47164220
>>47164257
Being a robot fits even more with the mental database thing.
>>47164257
There's no guarantee the character is a robutt. All we know is that they're a cunning and tricky gadgeteer with a focus in a particular field, who has access to a multipurpose energy gun, force field device and flight harness.
If we were going to be a robutt, we would've rolled the Construct archetype.
>>47164210
Insubstantial + Immunity to Energy (Limited to Half Effect) is one of my favorite budget immortality methods. Not as blatantly cheesy as reaction speed variable immunity, but still quite strong for its points.
I'm still going to give that character a PL capped offensive power.
>>47164214
Well ideally you'd split things up so that no one could have *every* defense at the highest priority level, so every character would have some weakpoint.
(I'm also of the opinion that if perception range attack powers are okay, then no save attacks should be fair game too. Between attacks, saves, countering, and reactions there are so many rolls required to actually do anything in M&M that it can turn into a bit of a pillow fight.)
>>47164269
I was about to ask if we had any Robot Superheroes.
Plus Germans practically invented robots as far as the popculture idea of them.Or I guess the Czech did.
>>47164296
True. It sounds more like this might be a guy/gal with more "gadgety" armor/suit, a la Blue Beetle rather than say Iron Man.
I do like the "Germany: Home to Robots" idea.
>>47164220
>>47164296
Ah, never mind then. Maybe we can fluff a robot girl later.
So how about the "antiques dealer Rocketeer" idea?
>>47164257
Professor Futura, the dimensional explorer?
Also, yeah. If she was a robot, she'd be a Construct, there's a mechanical difference
>>47164331
I'm assuming the Caribbean falls under "Other" in S. America?
>>47164249
The difference is that damage is harder to resist (The save DC starts at 15 instead of 10), and failing a toughness save usually makes you more likely to fail more saves because of bruising.
Non-damaging effects can immediately end a fight (Dimension Travel attacks are pretty brutal), but they also only have a 25% chance of sticking against a balanced enemy of equal PL (barring all-out attacks, perception range, etc...). Gambling that your save-or-die gets lucky before theirs does is not something you want to escalate towards.
>>47164342
There used to be Central America... had to delete it. But we can interpret "South America" as "The rest of Americas"
Also, you might notice there's NO AFRICA
>>47164331
Rolling.
>>47164330
As much as I do love robot girls. I do think it'd be nice to go the Johnny Five/Iron Giant route, dangerous inhuman war machine that learns to love life.
>>47164366
Oh, yeah. D100 please!
Rolled 1 (1d20)
>>47164366
So much for rolling.
>>47164331
Professor Futura is an anthropologist, naturally.
A lot of robots in fiction are curious about humans because the want to be human. Not Futura. She finds us incredibly interesting, and the world outside her robot city fascinates her, but she doesn't want to be a human girl.
Another bit of German Fluff: Say that genetic experiments on the population gave a small percent the ability to manifest super powers. Think an artificial metagene/ X-gene.
What this means is that if you're a "German Mutant" with this gene you're allowed to act with your powers if there is an immediate danger to yourself and others-but not a step beyond that. No costumes. No names. No identity, secret or otherwise. A lot of German heroes are "angels in disguise" because no one wants to admit to saving the day with a super gene Nazi scientists injected their grandparents with. And god help you if you think you can market your powers. You aren't allowed to profit off Nazi gifts. You aren't even allowed to use them outside "pressing and immediate danger to yourself and others".
There are support groups of "non-superhero" superheroes in Germany who feel frustrated by being unable to use their powers to the fullest but still want to make a difference. You can have really cute things like an underground handyman team that'll construct a house in a hour by combining their powers and do it for nothing for people that need it, then vanish into the night. Like vigilante Social Services. They want to use their powers to help and they will, government bans or no.
>>47164366
GO TO FUCKING HELL BASTION. I AM SICK OF SEEING THREE OF YOU ON A FUCKING TEAM.
...sorry, venting a bit there.
>>47164373
Wrong die
>>47164366
Why not both? I imagine there are several little "robot cities" in Germany.
>>47164378
>A lot of robots in fiction are curious about humans because the want to be human. Not Futura. She finds us incredibly interesting, and the world outside her robot city fascinates her, but she doesn't want to be a human girl.
She's not a robot. The closest she might be is a Vision-like artificial human
Otherwise she'd have to have no STA rating
>>47164390
Post war Germany's greatest hero was a secret robot, and after he was outed instead of being feared by Germans he was embraced and loved and Germany became robot crazy afterwards?
Rolled 45 (1d100)
>>47164383
I've made a huge mistake. My bad.
>>47164382
Here have a different robot.I haven't really played much of Overwatch beta. Been busy. How is it anon?
>>47164396
Futura isn't what we rolled. We're still undecided on that (although I think we might go with antiques dealer if no one objects). Futura is just some extra fluff.
>>47164404
>Eastern Europe
SUPER SLAV! SUPER SLAV! SUPER SLAV!
>>47164404
Eastern Europe.
Give me a d20 for Archetype
Rolled 17 (1d20)
>>47164417
Oh boy, I'm all out of ideas for Cape Eastern Europe.
Has there EVER been an Eastern Europe cape? Like EVER?
>>47164382
4chan ate my image.
Either that or I forgot.
I am ashamed of myself.
>>47164396
I can live with artificial human.
Just means we go with Osamu Tezuka's instead of Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
Hell we can even go with "Human Raised by Robots from Birth" for maximum weirdness.
But going by >>47164412 we can save the robot hero for later.
>>47164421
Pietro and Wanda Maximoff
>>47164421
Totem
>The Totem is a superhero whose powers are closely tied to a particular animal.
Let's get another d20 for specific origin
>>47163306
creator of Overlord Darkness here, once again you've done something lovely
>>47162883
yeah if I'm not using a pre-existing Supers Setting, then I populate it with versions of old Public Domain Superheroes from the Golden Age
>>47163929
I'd honestly suggest dropping the Other category from the Middle East and maybe Europe and add another country slot for Asia, at the very least India should be on there
also I mentioned this in the last thread and it didn't get noticed;
should there be a Guild of Calamitous Intent style group for the villains in the United States?(if there is, I'd suggest playing up the Labor/Trade Union aspects even harder than Venture Brothers does)
>>47164257
could be one of those things in the setting that people note as being kinda ironic, the German and Japanese Supers communities being close due to both having a higher than average amount of Supers whose powers or even existence are artificial in nature
also I figure it's less bloodline shame, and more that much like Japan, by the end of the war very few German Supers were alive, and most of the remaining few ended up defecting to either the Americans or the Soviets and thus left Germany forever, so both countries are relatively starved of "Natural" Supers
>>47164431
A Czech totemic. Oh boy.
>>47164436
>I'd honestly suggest dropping the Other category from the Middle East and maybe Europe and add another country slot for Asia, at the very least India should be on there
Thanks for the critique. It's important.
And see >>47164331 for a (hopefully) better table
>>47164404Pretty damn fun. Bastion is just a particular sticking point for me right now because he's a tad too good. You really need a good sniper in order to deal with Bastion and he's got the rate of fire to take out most snipers faster than they can take him out if he spots them.
Though I think I'm mostly bitter due to all the 'Rheinhart's fire strike is great against bastion because he can't dodge it' tips I get whenever Rheinhart dies. Despite what the devs think, the hard counter does NOT go in that direction. He'd be a lot better if his turret mode actually had a limited turning rate to make it not objectively his best option all the time.
Aside from Bastion though it's a hell of a fun game with a lot of fun characters. My only real non-bastion complaint is the end-of-match 'Play of the Game' only takes into account pure offence. So Mercy rezzing all four teammates for a sudden turnabout doesn't show up there or Mei blocking off an objective with an ice wall in the last 3 seconds of the game to stop it being stolen.
>>47164421
Well, if you count russia there's been tons.
If a character's a vampire, they'll probably be from Romania.
And good ol' Doctor Doom is from a fictitious Eastern European country if that counts.
Rolled 10 (1d20)
>>47164431
Okay. Imma roll myself then.
>>47164378
>What this means is that if you're a "German Mutant" with this gene you're allowed to act with your powers if there is an immediate danger to yourself and others-but not a step beyond that. No costumes. No names. No identity, secret or otherwise. A lot of German heroes are "angels in disguise" because no one wants to admit to saving the day with a super gene Nazi scientists injected their grandparents with. And god help you if you think you can market your powers. You aren't allowed to profit off Nazi gifts. You aren't even allowed to use them outside "pressing and immediate danger to yourself and others".
>There are support groups of "non-superhero" superheroes in Germany who feel frustrated by being unable to use their powers to the fullest but still want to make a difference. You can have really cute things like an underground handyman team that'll construct a house in a hour by combining their powers and do it for nothing for people that need it, then vanish into the night. Like vigilante Social Services. They want to use their powers to help and they will, government bans or no.
eh much like some of the stuff suggested initially for Japan, just doesn't feel right, a bit too oppressive and grim, instead I'd suggest that German Supers, at least those that become heroes, tend to be less flashy about it than American or Japanese heroes are, their outfits tend towards the practical(capes are a bit of a cultural taboo), still recognizable as Superhero clothes/uniforms, but more in the Morrison X-Men era vein than the usual Superhero outfits, overall due to how over the top and impractically Nazi era Supers tended to dress(one of the major Superhero websites did a 100 worst dressed Supers of all time lists recently, and 7 of the top 20 were from Nazi era Germany, including the number 2 slot)
>>47164493
Invocation
>You were granted your powers by calling upon the animal spirits.
STR 4
STA 4
AGL 2
DEX 2
FGT 4
INT 0
AWE 4
PRE 2
Give me a d20 for Advantages!
Rolled 8 (1d20)
>>47164505
>>47164331
hmm I'd say the numbers for China and Japan should be swapped, way I see it in terms of Supers population, it goes US in first place, Japan in second, and then everyone else pretty much as you have it(kinda feel China would be one of those countries where up until the mid to late 90's it sucked hard to be a Super for a bunch of reasons, so they have a surprisingly small Super population for a country of their size, with 99% of their Supers living in Hong Kong and making it very clear they want nothing to do with the mainland government, and are fully prepared to turn Hong Kong into a "Genosha" should they try to interfere with their business)
Rolled 14 (1d20)
>>47164505
Here you go.
What kind of animal spirits can we work with?
Bats, Wolves, Aurochs?
>>47164536
Aggressive: You dominate through sheer ferocity.
>Daze (Intimidation)
>Startle
>Takedown
>>47164547
Sneaky: You are sly and devious
>Evasion
>Hide in Plain Sight
>Improved Initiative
Give me 2 more d20s for Skills!
>>47164547
A whole lot of them. Insects, birds, mammals..
Rolled 7 (1d20)
>>47164572
>>47164620
Predator
You are on the top of the food chain.
>Acrobatics 4
>Athletics 4
>Perception 6
>Stealth 6
Still need one more!
Rolled 13 (1d20)
>>47164638
Guess I'm rolling it myself again.
>>47164730
Shaman: You are attuned to nature spirits.
>Expertise: Magic 8
>Insight 4
>Perception 4
>Treatment 4
Give me a d20 for Totem Type
Rolled 4 (1d10)
>>47164738
>>47164730
I think its pretty late. People are probably asleep.
I know I should be.
Probably my last roll.
>>47164760
Arthropod: Your totem is a spider, scorpion, wasp, or even an insect swarm.
Nimble:
>Enhanced Agility 4
>Enhanced Fighting 4
> • 16 points
Resilient and Strong
>Enhanced Strength 3
>Enhanced Stamina 2
> • 10 points
Give me a d20 for more specific animal and powers
Rolled 9 (1d20)
>>47164782
Let's finish this
>>47164887
Scorpion
Climbing
>Movement 2 (Wall-crawling 2) • 4 points
Sting
>Progressive Weaken Stamina 10 • 30 points
And that's it. Slavic Scorpion is done
>>47163586
Christ, I can't tell if this image is for Marvel or RIFTS.
Forgive my note-taking style, but I wanted to share with someone as I worked on things.
Ex-Wife Bunker Buster
Blast 8/Movement 3(Permeate)
2 PP per Rank/2 PP per Rank
-Area 3((Blast)Burst, 120ft sphere): Buildings are big. So's the blast radius. +3 PP per rank.
-Distracting(Blast): The targeting system needs some degree of stability, making dodging tricky. -1 PP per rank.
-Extended Range 4: Standoff range. +4 Flat PP.
-Limited(Blast): The weapon is made to go off in enclosed areas, like a building. Out in the open doesn't do much, dealing Damage 5 in a 30ft radius. -1 PP per rank.
-Limited(Permeate): Only the fired missile can go through walls. Not the suit itself. -1 PP per rank.
-Penetrating 8: Busts bunkers. +8 Flat PP.
-Quirk(Kinetic Kill): The missile needs speed to penetrate properly. If fired from under 500ft away, the weapon fails utterly. -1 Flat PP.
-Uncontrollable(Blast): Hammertech. -1 PP per rank.
-Unreliable 2(Blast): The armor only mounts a single round. -2 PP per rank.
18 PP
>>47166838
>Blast 8/Movement 3(Permeate)
>2 PP per Rank/2 PP per Rank
Huh?
>>47166864
Bunker busters are tricky, you have to kludge a bit to get it to work.
The only effect that really fits, is Permeate. Blasts clean through the ground to hit the bunker. Hence the Limited, so it only effects the missile rather then some weird shit where if you use the power you can phase for a moment.
The costs are the basic costs, before you start adding extras or flaws, either full per ranks or flats.
My note keeping style is, uh, idiosyncratic. At best.
>>47167026
So the Permeate Movement 3 is for the missile itself, which leads into the Blast 8, or what?
>>47167079
Yeah. It's one of those "Oh, it's so simple" things to YOU, but explaining it's a cunt and a half. My group, thank god, is very used to my note-taking and almost always knows what I'm doing.
>>47166554
I remember when /tg/ made a supervillain of this picture.
>>47167340
The glorious ancient times, of whom I hear so much about?
Shit, sorry forgot to delete my name.
>>47164459
Roadhog is a good counter to Bastion, from what I saw. Hook really fucks him up, and Hog has the health to survive.
On topic, I really enjoyed the Marvel Universe RPG, but it seems to have been completely forgotten after MSH dropped.
>>47167454
No, it was only a couple years ago, but for some reason, it stuck out to me. The character was named Miss Majesty. She was a powerhouse with super strength and intense damage resistance, able to shrug off bullets and whatnot. This feeling of invincibility gave her an arrogance and need to act out, as she wanted to be challenged for once in her life.She also developed a masochistic streak, as she wanted a hero to finally punish her and become her better.
Dear shg, I need a list of archer superheros to draw inspiration from for an robin/speedy lookalike. Anyone want to oblige me?
>>47168138
If it's DC, you want Green Arrow.
If it's Marvel, you want Hawkeye.
>>47168138
Green Arrow
Speedy
Red Arrow
hawkeye
>>47167505
How lewd.I think Blue Cobalt could punish her
>>47168184
>>47168264
Thanks you two, going to look for the new material now.
>>47162995
http://pastebin.com/bC9iSm3h
Made the pastebin for the team.
>>47168513
Wait shit I forgot Psinobi
>>47168542
You should also include each character's archetype.
>>47168575
I'll fix it later on tonight
>>47168184Thanks doc
Rolled 99 (1d100)
>>47164331
Rolling.
>player is going max intelligence and charisma with minor powers of persuasion
>it's a street level campaign
>villain has super tech heatguns
>no one can get near him
>player stays out of combat and just records all the fights
>collects evidence
>finds out who he is underneath the mask
>have a private session
>confronts him at a diner
>lays out pictures and evidence of his activities, as well as pictures from his home computer of his high school girlfriend from when she was 16
>explains he'll go to the police with it and he'll more than likely go down for manslaughter, armed robbery and child porn
>he'll rot in prison, likely assaulted often, if not slowly killed
>talks about his family and what will happen to them
>he's found him once and will find him again if he runs
>says it all goes straight to the police nin 24 hours, unless he no longer has a reason
>villain kills himself in his home
>dies as a loving brother and son
>player just pretends like he has no idea where the villain disappeared to
>group leader proclaims his martial prowess and teamwork forced him to give up on his schemes
>player just lets him have it and files away the evidence in the first drawer of a very large file cabinet
>>47169322
As the villain in that story, I would blast this guy with my super-tech heatgun and then either fight the police (if I'm confident in my own strength over them) or flee (if I fear the law).
If this villain is so well-armed, why is he afraid of the legal repercussions of his actions? Unless you're downplaying the effects of these "minor powers of persuasion" I really don't see why someone selfish enough to be a villain would kill himself over something so trivial as evidence and threats.
>>47169322
It's like a heroic Penguin.
>>47169764
Because apparently, this villain has a family and is actually scared of being put away.
Still, blackmail isn't heroic.
>>47169322
Why am I suddenly reminded of Mr. Robot?
>>47169764
Because not everyone is ok with slaughtering cops to stay free another day in hiding?
>>47169811
So "no one can get near him" but he's still afraid of the legal system? Doesn't make much sense to me.
Maybe I'm just not understanding the situation, but I don't see why the killer criminal can't just keep killing and committing crime because this hero found out about some of these crimes.
>>47163586
There were several super characters I played. Though only one of them was tabletop. The other two were MMO, and Chat RP respectively.
From Tabletop, I played a human loser mutant who was in over his head. His power was healing. In fact I'm pretty sure I poured a TON of points into a "Regeneration" skill more than anything else. Oh that and a Grappling Hook. Played with the express intention of going all slapstick with it. Basically he could take a hit, get to hard to reach places, but not do much damage. The other two players were much more well rounded.
I'd definitely want his powers though.
From Champions Online
A college student that fell into a supersuit and gained electricity powers from the "Infinite Energy Core" inside. Oh and because the helmet was too small, couldn't really take it off for a while. Definitely my favorite design, and she was cute as a button too.
Freeform RP
I was playing with someone who liked angsty depressing backstories and edgy characters. So I rolled up a character was as weird and pulpy as possible to bring in some levity. A brain in a jar, abducted from 1700's British colonies by starfish aliens to confront psychic horrors. Escaped before he ever had to by making a suit while still being a brain, and fled to earth where he enjoys modern life. Ostensibly a scientist, but was really more of a heavy bruiser. Cheery in the face of danger, and lightens the mood with quirky outdated science mumbo jumbo.Definitely my favorite to have played.
>>47169996
Might be a matter of dignity?
The villain wasn't afraid of being put away for doing things he's proud of doing, like melting the statue of liberty, killing a superhero.
But being put away for tax evasion, sexual misconduct, something else that sort of stains reputation.
Or alternatively attacking the civvie identiy.
He doesn't mind being put away as the Man-Melter.
But having his crimes attached to his real name, and his real life would be painful. Its part of the point of a secret identity isn't it.
>>47170743
>>47169914
OK, yeah, I suppose I was assuming this guy was dishonorable and selfish when he might not have been entirely so.
As the one who requested some British stuff last thread I feel somewhat obligated to add to it now, I very much liked the Arthurian ideas.
I feel like each of the members would have an identity crisis of some description as they awaken to becoming these larger than life characters and how much of their personality is changing because of circumstance or if they're losing themselves to ghosts. I also kind of like the idea that they only have their powers in Britain's domain if only for that one time a villain gets tricked on to the Pitcairn islands so that the Knights of the Round can wreck them.
I can see Lancelot being a mild mannered biology or art student who starts channelling the Knight though though sudden violent losses of temper, them find themselves getting more confident and competitive in everyday life before realising it's the legacy's influence causing them to overreact and shut down again.
The Grail should come up though I wonder if it should just be virtue test or maybe a way for the characters to stabilise the relationship between their old selves and what they've inherited.Only to fail to find the Grail and see the adventure did that already!
>>47172029
>they only have their powers in Britain's domain
eh too limiting, although having their powers be stronger in British territory could work as well, bonus points if it turns out membership in the Commonwealth of Nations is enough to qualify;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations
>>47164430
>Human raised by robots
He could be like the Batman of the German Robot Heroes team.
>>47164499
This could work. Germans are the practical supers. They dress less Superman and more Animal Man.
I do like the idea of them having well-organized social service super teams, probably supplemented with robot buddies.
They weren't allowed to organize into para-military super teams post-war (that duty was likely carried out by occupying Americans and Russians) but they were allowed to be "utility" supers and they got damn good at it. And in modern times the tradition carries over to their super teams. No super team does disaster relief like a German super team.
I'm saving all these semi-dystopia ideas for when we final get around to making a country the "bad place" for capes though. There's bound to be at least one.
>>47164397
Their Superman being a robot could be really neat
>>47164436
>could be one of those things in the setting that people note as being kinda ironic, the German and Japanese Supers communities being close due to both having a higher than average amount of Supers whose powers or even existence are artificial in nature
This is a cool way to incorporate WW2 into the backstory. Japan saw technology using supers as the answer to their shortage. Germany saw technology AS supers as the answer to their shortage.
I want there to be something like The Metal Men, but each member is based on a German artistic movement.
>>47166838
Fun fact: It worked in the novelization.
>>47172175
It could lead to some very awkward questions about how exclusive the club should be.
>>47164545
>China vs Hong Kong Capes
Ohhhhh this could be good!
>>47164782
>>47164901
Slavic Scorpian Shaman....anyone got ideas?
>>47172743
The Rappist.
He's constantly spitting venom.
>>47169088
>Oceania
I want an island that's an ex-super baddie base turned into a vibrant and happy community. Something like a giant mechanical Skull that's now a small town. It appeals to the little kid in me that loved large action figure playsets.
>>47172029
>>47172175
>>47172683
They should have more power in their territory but be able to function outside it, especially if we're making them this world's Authority, which I like. It's very true to their legends.
>>47172845
What, like it used to be the go-to- place for pirates and super criminals because they could either island hop or hunker down in underwater bases while the heroes had thousands of miles of ocean to cover?
And then one of them went rogue and covered that entire quarter of the planet in a massive fucking ruinstorm that threatened to wipe everything within it off the map, so villains had to team up and evacuate citizens into their until-then hidden lairs and abandoned bases that weren't secure anymore, turning themselves into the guardians of Oceania until a chunk of them teamed up with other heroes to bring down the mad weatherman?
And since then, they've been granted amnesty by nearly every government in the region and have turned their lives around entirely, despite the fact that most of the rest of the free world views them as rogues, vandals, murderers, and terrorists at best?
>>47172029
>Only to fail to find the Grail and see the adventure did that already!
Pic related.
>>47172845
>>47172962
How about some native cargo cult that moved into a supervillain's abandoned base, and figured out just enough about the technology within to barely keep it operational
>>47172979
What can I say? I have a weakness for the trope.
Also the Knights of the Round should totally have a flying and/or teleporting Camelot to get about and clobber people by jumping from it.
>>47172845
>>47172962
>>47173150
Oceania: The Rogue Islands
I suppose what happened was some super baddie got the bright idea of trying his death ray out on Caspak, hoping that by eliminating the global menace he would be pardoned for his past crimes.
The ray made the island multiply. And grow.
It was larger than Australia by the time several Oceania based super villians teamed up with the Japanese mechas CHANGE MAN X, BEYONDIAN REBORN, AGATHION, and LEGIONIZER to shrink Caspak down to its original size.
The fallout has scored several super baddies pardons, and lead to them forming bonds with the island natives they sheltered in their bases during the Super Caspak incident.
Some have legitimately gone straight, having grown a heart protecting the natives. Some want to use their pardon as a cover to exploit the natives as cheap minions. Some have retired from the super life altogether and given their base over to the natives.
Could be fun. The pdf could include a "build your own island" section like the section on Vegas should have a "build your own Casino" section.
Also, I have an idea for EASTERN EUROPE. What if we took the "Dr. Doom/Count Vertigo/Geo-force idea and ran with it? What I mean by that Eastern Europe is composed of tiny nation-states ruled by a hereditary monarchy of super people?
Think Prisoner of Zenda for feel. One foot in medieval romance, one foot in modern day politics.
Our Scorpion Super could be apart of a family of insect totems. His dad could be a king that draws on the power of bees. His sister spiders. His mother ants.
Super Insect Kingdom? Yes or No?
>>47173868
Eastern Europe balkanized during WW1, so what happens is you got tiny little nations that don't like each other with tiny cap populations.
Yeah, I can see a semi-feudal system pop up. Would also provide Cape World a nice spot of flavor. It would be like the HD Colonies Japan deals with, but local. Normally the kingdoms are kept at a tense equilibrium, but at any moment a war could spark off.
Our scorpion cape could be apart of a kind of inter-kingdom council of capes that seeks to keep the peace between kingdoms. An "Eastern-European Union" if you would.
Prince Scorpos? Nicknamed "Prince Scorpion"?
I see him being like a very agile Errol Flynn fencer.
>>47173868
>>47174094
I dunno. It seems a bit overwrought, and I'm not keen on overriding current geopolitics.
>>47173150
The CHESS MASTER, evil super genius, plagued the world during the seventies and eighties using his power to teleport objects and beings to "play the greatest game of strategy and wit the world has ever known" with super heroes as pieces and the entire planet as a board.
He sparked a "Contest of Champions" scenario by forcing super heroes and villains alike to assemble into teams and fight each other for his amusement.
He was finally stopped when the American Multiverse Exploration team ARGO used their own teleportation powers to jam his own.
He vowed that even though he was defeated he would never be caught and that one day he would return.
In the modern time he seemed to have kept that promise. No one has found his hidden base, and he's commonly the subject of "Unsolved Mysteries" type shows and conspiracy theories.
What happened was that a mundane heart attack finished him off, and he was left entombed in his own island fortress CHESSBOARD ISLAND, essentially an enormous chessboard with pawn robot servitors, mobile rook towers, and his own private inner sanctum inside a giant king piece.
Oh yes, he was obsessed with the game of chess.
His corpse stayed on his throne, the unconquered king, for decades. His pawn robots did their best to keep CHESSBOARD ISLAND up and keep his corpse looking healthy, but even they would eventually break down and rot.
But one day a canoe of primitive islanders disembarked on the banks of CHESSBOARD ISLAND...
>>47174094
Sambor* Scorpos, Prince of Jedoba**
*Sambor roughly translates to "Lone warrior"
** Made from "Jed", Venom in Czech
>>47174262
Yeah, we shouldn't overdo on changing geopolitics too much. I mean, it's fine to break up, say Czechoslovakia into a dozen tiny kingdoms, but not the whole region
>>47172743
>China vs. Hong Kong Capes
You mean the Hong Kong Cavaliers.
>>47174262
>Seems a bit overwrought
Such is the nature of cape comics. See the political history of DC's Khandaq and Marvel's Latveria.
>Overriding current geopolitics
That's a tricky line we have to watch. On one hand we want to have the countries and cities be "like our world, but with supers". On the other hand this means that there has to be changes between our real world and theirs. It's a line Marvel struggles with all the time. How far can we take "Super New York" before it doesn't resemble New York in anything but name?
I'm personally fine with Rouge Islands Oceania and Monarchy Supers Eastern Europe (but then again I am the guy that wrote them up), because they sync with stuff you see in Cape Media. Island volcano bases, Latveria/Vlatava/Markovia, etc.
the Island Base and Eastern European nation ran by a Super are cape comic staples and Cape World provides interesting twists on them.
>>47174372
Sambor Scrorpos Prince of Jedoba sounds awesome.
>But not the whole region
This sounds like a good compromise. You have a tense "alliance" of kingdoms in Eastern Europe but they aren't the whole area. Maybe we could fudge it a little and just inject tiny nations in the area? I remember in JLA/Avengers DC Earth turned out to be a little bigger than Marvel Earth to accommodate all its fictional cities and countries.
>>47174411
There needs to be an American team like The Hong Kong Cavaliers or Doc Savage and his crew. One really OP guy and his organization of sidekicks.
>>47173868
>>47174477
>>47174262
Agree. Fucking with the political landscape, sure. Making new land masses? Eeeh.
I think that there's a lot of fun to be had with a region that's mostly water. Pirates, hidden coves, the lost continent of Lemuria...
Making it all one big continent kinda kills some of the fun. We have Australia down there for any sprawling land-adventures. For everything else, there's MasterMan.
>>47174511
>the lost continent of Lemuria...
Oh fuck, we haven't even gotten into Atlantis and Lemuria yet.
>>47174477
Fictional countries I can live with. But don't just say "Eastern Europe is a feudal society now."
>>47174520
Atlantis and Lemuria are myths made up by the aquatic inhabitants of Lyonesse to encourage bothersome explorers to look for some other undersea civilization and leave them alone
>>47174321
The islanders quickly investigated the strange black and white island and easily overcome its rusted defenders.
They found the Chess Master's well preserved body, his teleporation matrix, and his armory of technological wonders and concluded that they had found the kingdom of the Great God who is at once everywhere and nowhere (as fits the teleportation gimmick).
God is asleep on the throne. No wonder the world sucks so much!
They decided that to make the world a better place and "wake up" god they needed to turn the world into a giant copy of chessboard island.
It's a very Silver Age idea I admit. Many GMs will probably drop Chessboard Island from their Oceania.
They're a bunch of teleporting islander pirates that want to convert the world into a giant game of chess. They paint themselves black and white like the aliens from Star Trek and use bows and arrows as well as robots and ray guns.
>>47174511
>Making it all one big continent
Oh no, that wasn't the intention at all. The Caspak incident was just the catalyst for the "super villians invite natives into their bases" angle. Caspak shrank back down from its fuck-huge size following the battle and returned to being the drifting phantom island of Grendels its known as.
Oceania is still islands.
>>47174520
How crazy do you want them to be? Because I've read Edgar Cayce. Atlantis and Lemuria can be absolutely bugfuck if you want them to be.
>>47174601
I'm cool with that. Variety in countries is best, it prevents them from devolving into a giant stereotype. We'll still have to find some sort of angle for Eastern Europe outside the feudal alliance tucked in a corner.
>>47174411
I watched RoboCop 2 yesterday and i couldnt stop thinking about buckaroo banzai
>>47174372
>>47174601
Somewhere out in the middle of the Siberian forests, just east of bumfuck nowhere, the descendants of Grand Duchess Anastasia and the warlock sons of Baba Yaga rule a dark kingdom populated by the children of gulag escapees, and plot to return the rule of the czars to all of Russia
>>47172622
>I'm saving all these semi-dystopia ideas for when we final get around to making a country the "bad place" for capes though. There's bound to be at least one.
if it's a real country then either China or North Korea, if a fictional one, then maybe have a Cobra analogue manage to create their own country
>>47172663
>This is a cool way to incorporate WW2 into the backstory. Japan saw technology using supers as the answer to their shortage. Germany saw technology AS supers as the answer to their shortage.
basically, although more late and post war than anything(since I've been suggesting that most "natural" Supers both countries had died during the war
>>47172743
yeah I imagine there's probably quite a bit of tension, especially since Hong Kong Supers probably have taken influence not only from Britain's tendency towards Supervillains and Anti-Heroes, but also the ever pervasive element of Hong Kong's own native Triads, so who's good and bad in Hong Kong is very murky at even the best of times
>>47172845
>>47172962
>>47173868
I like
>>47174262
>>47174372
maybe but on the other hand having a bunch of fictional nations in Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America allows us to mess with them more without potentially being inaccurate and offensive
>>47174321
I like
>>47174511
well Caspak in it's normal state is probably about 2/3rds the size of Madagascar at the largest(and considering how huge the region of the Pacific it's probably in is, there's more than enough room for it), the whole Super Caspak is supposed to be temporary
>>47174520
Atlantis sunk and became the standard Mer-People place, although perhaps mix in some Lovecraft and reveal that they freely interbreed with Deep Ones(Cthulhu cults are a bit of a minor issue in Atlantis as a result), while Lemuria went underground and have allied themselves with the weird things beneath the earth...
>>47174675
There are a lot of "phantom islands" and "lost lands" in folklore and mythology. Hi-Brasil, Avalon, Tir Na Nog, the home of the Polynesian gods whose name escapes me, etc.
Now, an idea I had in a thread that discussed writing Wonder Woman was what if instead of just Paradise Island you had a mystical archipelago of islands from all of mythology? An archipelago that lost sailors have accessed all around the world?
The Archipelago is what Odysseus sailed through on his way home to Ithaca. It's where Prospero was exiled to. It's where Avalon is. Its the Bermuda Triangle.
Caspak (both the Grendel one and the ERB one) could be apart of it. Maybe the Grendel Caspak somehow "broke free' of the archipelago, got "corrupted" somehow, and become the hungry breeding mass people know today?
>>47174690
>We will never see him fight the World Crime League ...
>>47174678
>It's a very Silver Age idea I admit
always good to keep a good amount of Silver Age around, Superhero settings often work best at an late Silver Age to early Bronze Age vibe anyways
>>47174678
>How crazy do you want them to be? Because I've read Edgar Cayce. Atlantis and Lemuria can be absolutely bugfuck if you want them to be.
should be pretty crazy
>>47174740
I love it
>>47174794
So what powers does Hanoi Shan have?
>>47174794
>the home of the Polynesian gods whose name escapes me
Are you referring to Hawaiki? The theoretical ancestral home of all Polynesians? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiki
>>47174794
>Caspak (both the Grendel one and the ERB one) could be apart of it. Maybe the Grendel Caspak somehow "broke free' of the archipelago, got "corrupted" somehow, and become the hungry breeding mass people know today?
well the Grendal one is merely named after the ERB one, just as it's home dimension is codenamed Pellucidar, also it being free and roaming is better
although having the real one be part of the Archipelago is a good idea(I imagine people prefer calling it by it's other name Caprona due to the connotations Caspak has now)
also while we're a good ways off from needing to cover it, how should the rest of the Solar System look?(personally I'm thinking a mishmash of various Public Domain Science Fiction stuff, so Mars is basically Barsoom, and Pluto is Yuggoth)
>>47174678
>How crazy do you want them to be? Because I've read Edgar Cayce. Atlantis and Lemuria can be absolutely bugfuck if you want them to be.
Humor me. I wanna see what Aquaman has to deal with.
>>47174876
Yeah, I think that's it.
>>47174877
>Its other name Caprona
>Barsoom and Yuggoth
I like you so much right now anon. You read the things I read!
>Home dimension
Ah crap, I forgot that detail. Never mind it being apart of the Archipelago then.
>>47174854
I'm thinking like David Lo-Pan.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xiAbDkXDgg
>>47174879
I don't want it to be a complete rehash of the Theosophical Atlantis (because oh boy, the racism with root races!) but look at pic related.
Humans only have the physical body. Atlanteans have all of them.
Going to take me awhile to get to the write up, but I'm thinking "divinely created angel people" that got separated from the godhead (as per Edgar Cayce) and find humanity interesting as hell because humans evolved, they weren't created as the Atlanteans were. Atlanteans see humans as "the universe talking". Its why they went quiet for so long. They want to give the universe a chance to "speak" through us. Sort of like that one really depressing Harlan Ellison story with the alien that woke up too late to warn humanity no to kill itself.
>>47175031
>Ah crap, I forgot that detail. Never mind it being apart of the Archipelago then.
well I did suggest there's two of them, the one that Burroughs wrote about(which people call Caprona), and the one that the Grendal come from(Caspak)
>>47175031
>I don't want it to be a complete rehash of the Theosophical Atlantis (because oh boy, the racism with root races!) but look at pic related.
>Humans only have the physical body. Atlanteans have all of them.
>Going to take me awhile to get to the write up, but I'm thinking "divinely created angel people" that got separated from the godhead (as per Edgar Cayce) and find humanity interesting as hell because humans evolved, they weren't created as the Atlanteans were. Atlanteans see humans as "the universe talking". Its why they went quiet for so long. They want to give the universe a chance to "speak" through us. Sort of like that one really depressing Harlan Ellison story with the alien that woke up too late to warn humanity no to kill itself.
interesting
So my friends want to run a Mutants and Masterminds 1E campaign, but we can't find a pdf of the rulebook anywhere.
Anyone happen to have a link?
>>47175031
Another "connection point" can be made here. Cayce and the Theosophists were big on reincarnation. They believed that the spirit-that is to say the mental personality people call the self-was mortal. It died with death. But there was a higher self that survived through the ages. Cayce described this higher "soul self" as experiencing our lives like we experience dreams. When we die "it" wakes up and is enriched by our experiences before falling back asleep and reincarnating as another person.
This reincarnation schema could apply to Arthur and his Round Table. Perhaps Arthur and his friends are part Atlantean? Maybe the legacy of Arthur goes all the way back to Atlantis and its struggles to incorporate the fabled Ancient Athens and Lemuria under its empire?
Aquaman WAS Arthur Curry after all...
>>47173150
Playing off of this >>47174321 idea of an elderly major supervillain being killed off by something mundane, it might be a neat twist if a similar situation existed, with the villain mysteriously disappearing after a particularly shocking defeat, presumably giving up their life of crime but actually died from a heart attack caused by the defeat. It would be better if the hero who had defeated him for the last time was one with a particularly meaningful or strict code against killing, even taking pride in the fact that they put an end to such a dangerous madman's reign of terror without harming a single soul.
The party exploring the villain's base could learn an apparent and satisfactory answer to the mystery of his disappearance very easily, just find the corpse. This is where a story could bridge, with it ending there mystery cleanly solved and wrapped up, or find the truth by continuing to investigate. To find the true cause they would have to compare the time of death to the time footage of the hero destroying their giant robot or nuclear missile or whatever reached them, or something like that.
>>47175117
Why?
>>47175117
I strongly suggest going with 2e or 3e. The second edition has more material available to crib, both for settings and heroes/villains. The third edition has far more streamlined rules and a pretty nice random character generator.
>>47175117
Why first edition?
>>47175123
>Aquaman WAS Arthur Curry after all...
they actually explicitly connect Aquaman and King Arthur together at several different points, both when he gets a magical water hand from the Lady of The Lake, and during Final Crisis when he returns during Atlantis' hour of need
>>47175213
>>47175241
Unsure. Thats just what the DM said he'd prefer doing. I really have no idea what the system is like.
>>47175294
In lieu of anything else, tell your GM his taste is shit. If he wants to play Mutants & Masterminds, use 3e. It's the hands-down cleanest and most streamlined edition of the three
Going to write up more of THE IRREGULARS
THE INSECT: Take the Spider "King of Crooks" and add a dose of Cronenburg body horror. The Insect is a tall man that just seems a little off in his proportions. His neck is too long. His limbs are too long. He's just too thin.
But he hides an impossible amount of mass underneath his skin. He can erupt wings, armor, feelers, even entire swarms of stinging insects from his body.
The Insect sees himself as a professional thrill seeker. Sometimes he does jobs for free, just for the challenge just as The Spider went after bad guys and good guys alike for the challenge. He considers himself only a mere "associate" of the Irregulars, but has worked enough with them in the past to be considered a member. He considers himself an "associate" of everyone. His only friend is himself.
There's a Kraven the Hunter angle to him. He likes to target specific super villains and heroes and attempt to defeat them, capture them, or kill them. He prefers to take his prey alive (because whats the fun in only fighting them once?) but has been known to kill a prey that offends his sense of sport.
He has a particularly strong dislike for Japanese Supers stemming from several defeats suffered at their hands. He is sometimes recruited by Overlord Darkness to fight a KING (and takes on a big bug-monster form to do so. KINGs hit hard) and has never won much to his frustration. He was particularly humiliated when he fought KING BUG on behalf of the HYPER HIVE. KING BUG (having a violent Kamen Rider Amazon Streak) tore him limb from limb. Her barely survived. And during his international "hunt" against cat-people supers his winning streak was spoiled by Tokyo Guardian Meowing Midori.
>>47175155
>>47175155
There's a lot of fun to be had with the idea. Just "We've finally found his secret base, but its dark and looks deserted" could be a fun adventure.
It'll be a neat twist on the classic dungeons and dragons dungeon crawl. Explore the run down base and see what is and isn't still moving inside.
>>47175294
>>47175363
But if you absolutely need the 1e PDF, you can find it here.
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/026war1l4oo42/Mutants_and_Masterminds
I'm telling you, though, you want to run 3e.
>>47175394
I'll try to change him mind, but thank you very much for the book!
>>47162883
Is there any system that could do a kind of Nega-Hulk? Someone who when they get angry, instead of turning into a raging god of strength and power becomes an uncontrollable fountain of radiation or energy?
>>47175493
You could do it in M&M with Uncontrollable Area Damage limited to when you're angry, but unless you talk with the GM about relaxing PL limits it won't actually be stronger than anyone else's attacks.
>>47175493
M&M could do it. It'd be some sort of aura that comes out at certain instances.
I know /shg/ has been pretty focused on this CapeWorld (or at least a few of you are dedicated enough to make it look that way), but I'm not so great on the geo-political scale of things.
Anyone down for coming up with fifty some heroes to fill out an official US government team? Something like "The Statesmen" without such a corny name. I wasn't thinking full on stats or anything, just names, concepts, and possible plot hooks. I like the idea of the US government having a nominal hero in each state and/or territory that are mostly a team for show to pretend like not every super-group is an independent operation. They probably rarely go anywhere officially (and either are grateful that they're glorified PR or chafe against it) because Congress has to authorize it.
Already had a couple ideas:
Deseret (Utah) - Meagan is an energetic young member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and was always a fan of superheroes. She was thrilled to discover she had powers and even more thrilled when she was chosen to represent her home state. Given her ability to fly as well form crackling zaps of bioelectric energy capable of incapacitating a full grown man, she suggested going by the name Taser (rejected due to copyright claims) or the Fulminator (too esoteric). Instead, Salt Lake City decided to give her a reserved flight suit with black and yellow details and called her Deseret, the word for honeybee in the Book of Mormon.
Meagan is beginning to realize that they really didn't want a hero, but keeps a dutiful smile for the cameras. Meanwhile, she considers going AWOL every time she hears about a crisis even remotely nearby.
Powers: Flight, Electric Blast
>>47175664
Turnpike (New Jersey) - The super-speedster with flash and panache, Turnpike thoroughly enjoys his status as the Garden State's official superhero. Capable of zipping from one end of the state to the other, he always seems to be stopping at least one petty crime every time you turn on the TV. With good looks and an even better smile, he's pretty popular as far as heroes go, and easily one of the standout members of the government's fifty state team. Unfortunately, his powers are a lie. Turnpike doesn't have super-speed. What he does have is an unusual biology that has a unique effect with certain drugs, giving him exaggerated highs with almost none of the lows. And right now, Turnpike is addicted to the designer drug "Sprint." In average humans, it's a stimulant that speeds various processes, leading to a rush of sensation and heightened, though partially uncontrollable, reaction times. In Turnpike it manifests as superhuman quickness. But it's starting to take its toll. How long before New Jersey's favorite hero grinds to a halt?
Powers: Super-Speed, Enhanced Reactions
>>47175373
THE GAUNTLET:
The Steel Claw started as a villain before becoming a hero, his earlier violence excused by taking a page from Universal's Invisible Man movie and saying that insanity arose in him as a side effect of his invisibility. The Steel Claw could turn invisible (except for his hand) and fire electricity.
THE GAUNTLET twists this by introducing possession horror. THE GAUNTLET -is- the gauntlet. The person its attached to is his (hopefully) dead host. He prefers strong superhumans as hosts, but he isn't above possessing a politician or other VIP to get the job done.
No one knows where the evil little robot hand came from, and THE GAUNTLET isn't telling. Some thing he was a creation during the SUPER SPY years by the Home Office to be a kidnapper.
What better way to abduct a target than to...lead them by the hand?
Personality wise THE GAUNTLET is like the Universal Invisible Man. He has violent mood swings. Sometimes he's a jolly prankster. Other times a raving madman. THE GAUNTLET likes to have fun with his new bodies, playing with them until they literally start falling to pieces.
Power Wise THE GAUNTLET is shockingly versatile for a robotic hand. He can bend light around himself and others making himself or others appear invisible or making himself look like a normal hand. He can even use this power offensively to blind opponents.
Over the years THE GAUNTLET has absorbed the powers of certain hosts he's stayed attached to for long periods of time. He has a Mandarin gimmick where each of his five fingers contains a certain power.
>>47175749
The index can raise of lower gravity. The thumb shoots a ray of concussive force. The middle finger lets him read minds. The ring finger emits a super sonic wave. The pinky causes localized earthquakes.
It has been theorized that the reason for THE GAUNTLETS mood swings is that each finger is a separate computer brain (like The Harlan Ellison classic Demon with a Glass Hand) and each brain contains the soul of one of his victims trying to get out.
>>47175664
>>47175681
>Asking for 50 heroes, one for each state
pls
>>47175749
This is terrifying because if you don't know what you're fighting, you may not be able to stop it. What does The Gauntlet care if some gun-happy Punisher-type vigilante blows a hole in its host's guts? As long as The Gauntlet can keep the nerves firing and the muscles moving...
Talk about body horror.
>>47175783
Hey, if no one else wants to do it, I'm coming up with them slowly on my own. I just thought other folks might be interested in taking their home state or a place that interests them and coming up with a hero to represent it (whether the people in the state are really behind them or not).
So I asked my players about their favorite heroes, and this is what I got:
Player 1: "Batman and superman at my favourites. Superman because he's just a regular Kryptonian trying to make a living, and Batman because, well... BECAUSE HE'S BATMAN!!!!"
Player 2: "I like Cat woman because she uses lots of puns, is super flexible, has cute cat qualities and girl power which makes her kick ass! I like superman because he is humble, gentle and can fly, I like iron man because he is a smart ass and makes cool stuff possible, I like dead pool because he is honest and is a walking demonstration that no matter how ugly you are it is the inside that counts. That and being unable to die!"
Player 3: "While I know a fair bit about superheroes, I never really read comics... couldn't really say I had a particular favorite, more a favorite type. I like the archetype of the immortal hero, the one who always returns in times of trouble... or the immortal villain, the one secretly directing human affairs... Some examples would include the 'old solider' or sleeping guardian types (Lancelot/Arthur, Bran), mysterious interlopers in history (The mysterious stranger, Nylarthotep, Dr. Who), those on a mission (the grey man, the spectre) or the manipulators (Vandal Savage, Ra's al Ghul). In terms of story elements, I like long, long plans, Machiavellian in their deception and labyrinthine in their execution."
Still waiting to hear back from the other two.
>>47175822
Wyoming doesn't have a state super.
Because there's FUCKING NOTHING in Wyoming.
>>47175862
Wyoming's state superhero is Black Hole Man, who has the power to absorb all interesting qualities from things in a ten mile radius.
>>47175783
I fucking love Cape World man. Don't think I won't at least offer up a few once I write up some other stuff.
>>47175796
Yeah, The Irregulars are all based on horror tropes. I want them to seem like they could be at home in a Hammer movie.
>>47175872
That's actually sort of terrifyingly broken in a JoJo way. He's Amazo+Parasite with a ten mile range.
>>47175783
Does Puerto Rico, Guam or any other territory get a government-sanctioned super?
>>47175847
Ah, man. Mutants and Mastermind's Freedom City setting has a great version of the immortal hero/villain pair.
Basically an Egyptian sorcerer tried to usurp the throne, but the prince at the time got wind of the plan and was ready to fight. He stabbed the betrayer in the heart just as he himself died. Both souls went to the afterlife, and the gods were ready to feed the sorcerer's soul into the maw of the Great Devourer when the prince's soul said, "Fuck that. I'm not done with his ass. I demand we be reborn over and over again so I can punish him for all eternity."
Currently, they're the villain mastermind Overshadow and the hero The Scarab.
>>47175936
I figured they would. And D.C too, of course. Some of the territorial supers might be military-based, given the nature of the U.S.'s interests there.
>>47175847
>>47175847
Player 3 sounds like he could really like Hawkman if he was explained properly to him, or Dr. Fate.
I dig the Superman love so far. You got good players.
>>47175945
That's a really dick move on Scarab's part
>>47175872
>>47175862
He's John Johnson, also known as the Null, the least interesting man in the world. His very presence causes apathy and calm to settle in and actively (though not permanently) diminishes many sources of super-powers in his presence. The Null has some control over the radius of his effect and is pretty good about not disabling teammates. Mostly, the Null works as crowd control, quelling riots or panicked crowds.
(Let's not pretend that there's nothing in Wyoming, though. Some gorgeous landscapes, pretty much what I think of when I think of the American west.)
>>47175978
>>47175945
I'm trying to figure out a game that can handle a light-hearted, low rules game while still having enough depth to be interesting. My issue with most rules-lite games is that you very quickly have players who just roll the same dice over and over and get bored.
I've run CHAMPION but it's a lot of work and I think it has too many rules for them. I wish there were a rules lite HERO...
Why do so many RPGs insist on several hundred pages of rules?
>>47172663
>The Metal Men, but each member is based on a German artistic movement.
I can really dig that.
Bauhaus is a given naturally.
But you've got German Expressionism with Kandinsky
Letterpress by way of Gutenberg.
Last I checked Futurism is more of an Italian thing but I can't help but think it makes good theming for a speedster, kind of like the Nude Descending a Staircase here.
>>47162883
Might try to do an alt-universe capes setting with a balkanized USA. I love balkanized USA scenarios. Have it so that each new country has its own super-team or two, and sometimes the teams clash in sort of miniature proxy-war representations to make sure the continent doesn't tear itself apart.
I'm personally a hapa from Cascadia, and since Cascadia would basically be the hapa haven of our-world's USA, I'm thinking maybe an old-school Hawai'ian Warrior/Aquaman representative? Maybe he even acts as a representative of Cascadia and the New Kingdom of Hawai'i, having been born in the former or something like that?
>>47176092
Forgot my goddamned picture.
>>47176089
Would Weimar Germany's movement have been totally snuffed by the Nazi party?
>>47175749
Must. Draw. The Gauntlet.
>>47175822
New York sends Albany Man, because all of the Capes in NYC are too cool or too busy for this 50 states thing.
>>47162883
Can someone give me a brief crash-course on how damage is resisted in M&M 3e? I can't seem to find a concrete answer.
>>47175388
There's a lot of room to work there.
It makes sense, too, and has a real theme going for it. In comics there are plenty of dangerous, notable villains who are completely forgotten about. Finding out what happened to them could be interesting, and I'm not talking about a secret hero working behind the scenes or a greater threat absorbing them or any conspiracy shit like that. Mad scientists fucking around with dangerous weapons present plenty of explanations for vanishing as it is.
Insane villains desiring the destruction of the world may not have the best safety procedures.
Let's say some mad scientist created some poison he was going to dump into some town's water supply if he wasn't payed a million dollars. If his lack of safety got him exposed, and he died, then having worked alone his secret base is left to rot. The wear of time plus the shoddy workmanship this villain practiced towards anything not directly related to being a villain allows more of the poison to leak out, harming the surrounding environment and inching close to a river.
Shit like that probably happens all the time in a world where science fiction is practiced more often than actual science and insanity is more common than common sense. Maybe even often enough to warrant the formation of a government or superhero task force to deal with this, either just on call for when a lost hiker up in the Himalayas finds his way home after coming across an army of yetis with no general, or actively searching for abandoned bases and doomsday weapons themselves.
What's your favorite universe for supers? Looking for one with RPG support that is not Marvel or DC
>>47176453
Yeah, damage resistance is in the form of a d20 roll plus the appropriate defense (dodge, fortitude, toughness, or will usually) and any modifiers versus the DC of the attack, usually the rank of the effect.
>>47176609
I really like the Freedom City universe as put out in M&M 2e, combined with Emerald City in 3e. The fluff from the supplements gives a living, breathing world that stretches back from prehistory through all of the major comic book eras and superhero genres.
>>47176632
And damage is the damage number of the attack in question? Or is it the damage number in question plus something else? Otherwise it seems like defenses will win almost all the time?
>>47176035
Yeah... I mean perhaps null's powers could be a reflection of "Returning things to natural beauty".
Wyoming seems like cowboy country.
Nebraska is kind of dull. A quick google search shows a lot of flat land, plains. But also Tornadoes. Which aren't boring.
>>47176695
The DC for toughness saves is 15 + the rank of the effect.
So a Rank 10 damage effect will force a DC 25 save if it hits.
>>47176336
Thanks!
>>47176609
Astro City is a good one
>>47176695
You'd think that, but that's only true if you MASSIVELY pump your Dodge/Parry and Toughness.
In addition PL limits means that unless your PL is through the roof the higher Dodge/Parry you have the correspondingly lower your Toughness will be.
Also, unlike all other saves Toughness is 15+Damage rating, so it's harder to pass even if your Toughness check is equal to the Damage effect.
>>47176453
>>47176632
>>47176695
>>47176718
The better you succeed at the defense check, the less damage you take; the worse your check, the more damage you take. As far as M&M 3e is concerned, "damage" is actually rolling penalties against you, most importantly regarding stamina checks to stay up. Eventually, once you fail one of these tests, you basically get knocked out. It's meant to replicate the back-and-forth of a real super slugfest.
These tables are quick references for pretty much everything important in the game. These are most commonly used for the GM shield.
>>47176718
Thanks. That makes more sense.
>>47176704
One of the heroes...Oklahoma, maybe? Should be Tornado Allie.
>>47176609
Progenitor is a setting for Wild Talents that's pretty fuckin neato
>>47176758
>>47176759
I appreciate it. Thanks much bros.
>>47176609
M&M's Freedomverse.
It's detailed enough now that they talk at least a LITTLE about every country on Earth, has gaps to allow new superheroes, has lots of "unattached" supervillains, embraces multiple genre types, and references most of the more famous comics characters out there without too blatantly ripping them off in terms of origins.
Last member of THE IRREGULARS
THE TOY MAKER
Based on http://bronzeageofblogs.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-house-of-dollman.html, an intensely creepy cape that talked to himself through his super-dolls.
He's from the same spy-era experiments that made THE GAUNTLET. While the Gauntlet was made to kidnap VIPs THE TOY MAKER was made to replace and impersonate VIPs with his toys.
Power wise he's a power telepath capable of controlling the minds of others. While his control is capable of shredding through psychic defenses he can never control more than one mind at a time-unless he uses his toys.
His toys range from Toy Man style "Killer Toys" and action figures to realistic looking humans to robotic tumbleweeds of blades and death. They are all equipped with a "psychic adapter" like the psycommu system from Gundam that allows him to control armies at a time.
His main motivation for taking jobs is to get enough money to buy even more fun toys.
Personality wise he's a big bored man-child. Think that kid from that one Twilight Episode "Its a Wonderful Life". People are just his toys after all. And they better amuse him.
He's probably the most wanted member of the Irregulars due to his desire to credit himself with his crimes. He likes the attention, and sometimes even takes the credit for crime he didn't commit just to increase his rep.
His favorite game is impersonate a superhero and have them attack their friends and cities. Many supers have found themselves on the wrong side of the law after their toy double frames them for a crime they didn't commit. Fortunately THE TOY MAKER always claims responsibility...eventually.
He's also capable of "super ventriloquism". He's able to make his voice sound from a point miles away from where he actually is.
So THE IRREGULARS:
JACK
THE WARLOCK
THE INSECT
THE GAUNTLET
THE TOY MAKER
What do you think?
>>47177147
>>47177147
Seeing as they're one of the big global supervillain cliques, it makes sense that they're all intimidating in their own way. It just so happens they're based out of the UK.
So did we ever actually settle on Germany's overall gimmick(s)?
>>47177348
Ashamed of their Nazi heroes and they don't militarize their supers
>>47176735
He's a ton of fun to design. I can imagine a crackly bad synthesized voice booming out of him, a la the Cybermen, or the Brain.
Should the eye be on the back of the hand or on the palm? Or Both?
here's a more streamlined/ambidextrous design.
The knuckles could be ball joints so that he can flip around and fit on the other hand. Or in a rather painfully macabre fashion, turn someone's right hand into a left hand.
>>47177348
It's multi-themed. Their a nation of robot heroes, hidden Nazi stuff buried by the powers that be, and really good non-combat super services
>>47177376
Maybe the eyes should be mobile so he can...converse in more than one fashion. (A little silly, I know, but I couldn't help it.)
>>47177348
>>47177362
>>47177377
I've come late to the party and all this shit is super interesting to me, where can I go read previous threads? Are they in suptg?
>>47177721
Just follow the back-linked threads in OP. This only goes back 3 or 4 threads, really.
>>47177743
Well, I tried, but this is as far back as I got.
>>47035820
The mention of a 'last thread' made me ask here. Cool shit you guys have been doing, though, keep it up. Wbg and this should give me plenty of reading material.
>>47177771
That's far enough, really. Let us know when you get caught up.
>>47177376
> Or in a rather painfully macabre fashion, turn someone's right hand into a left hand
I love this!
I imagine him being a flexible little bugger. Very expressive for a hand.
>>47177526
He can be silly at times in a gallows humor sort of way.
>>47177348
>>47177362
>>47177377
Going to try to focus on Germany now, especially the guy we rolled up.
SEVERAL THEMES OF CAPE GERMANY:
1. Nazi history
Because of WW2 Germany lost a lot of supers, thus they resorted to creating robot supers to fill in the gap. The Nazi heritage also colored how they view "super teams". The German super team is more a disaster relief force and less of a flashy paramilitary outfit. Unlike Japan Germany has been pretty peaceful in recent years. They haven't had to make a bunch of sentai units or mecha suits. They just don't have anyone like Overlord Darkness or Kaiju or the HD Colonies to worry them.
The Nazi heritage also manifests in how German supers dress. They tend to dress very practically. Think Grant Morrison X-Men or Animal Man. They dress simple and functional compared to the Nazi Capes of the past which dressed like ostentatious Wagner heroes.
The government controls all supers, and they're very touchy about the whole Nazi thing. Heroes that are found to have a Nazi heritage are encouraged to keep quiet about it. In extremely rare cases some are even asked to resigned if its found that their parents were someone like SIEGFRIED THE GREAT or ODIN. No one wants to be seen as "benefiting" from Nazi science. There has also been a push in recent years to bring minorities to the front of the super community to "prove" Germans are not racists.
I've got a character for an upcoming game, thought I'd post her. Said game will start out street level and eventually go much further than that. Really looking forward to it.
Runa Yggdrasil
A human/alien hybrid created by a multinational organization which grew out of a discovery of some ancient, still somehow living, alien buried underground or in ice somewhere. Basically, they found some sort of shapeshifting horror monster and after a few mishaps, decided they need a means to fight anything else which turned up. So rather than go NERV's route and make giant cyborg clone of it, they made some sort of hybrid with it instead.
She pretty much runs off of strange body horror themes for powers, starting pretty small and subtle with regeneration, growing natural weapons of various sorts, prehensile hair or tentacles, that sort of thing. And it'll just get crazier from there.
Heavy inspiration from Knights of Sidonia, among (many) other things.
>>47177813
Don't forget that any active supers who somehow survived associating with the Third Reich required a top-to-bottom rebranding.
>>47177869
Or were ultimately exiled/stricken from the record. Germany is very insistent on burying the Nazis.
Nazi RESEARCH, however, is a whole different beast. Their technological and paranormal investigations were the stuff of legends. To this day, people are STILL finding various projects/findings that connect back to the Nazis.
>>47177813
2. Robots
The great hero DRUSSENMANN (Jet Man) was Germany's first robot hero and is as loved by his countrymen as Superman is loved by Americans. In his first few years he was disguised as a human, but after battle damage revealed him to be a robot he was pleased to find that Germany enthusiastically accepted their Metal Mann as one of their own.
Sense then Germany has been robot capital of the world. They have little all-robot cities and cities where humans and robots live together. A girl made of gold walking down the street might turn head in other countries, but not in Germany.
There have of course been conflict. There's conflict in any country. But the occasional maniac that thinks robots should be destroyed or a robot that tries to be Ultron/Sky Net is quickly dealt with by sane humans and robots.
The idea is to show that in the absence of lots of bad guys to beat up people turn their superpowers into making the world a more complicated and beautiful place. Many university students enter Berlin U thinking the goal is to build a "better" human, but their professors quickly correct them. Robotics is about creating variety, both in the kinds of robots and ways in which they interact with humans. Its about making a stranger, more colorful world. You have robots built to think more and feel less and robot built to feel more and think less, and none is "better" than the other. Germany knows first hand what happens when you start to consider certain groups "better" than others, and that experience has prepared them to create entirely new "races" of people.
"Free Will' for robots is perhaps the most contentious issue in Germany. Is it moral to create a robot that "needs" to do "the right thing", that "needs" to help and serve people? The few "big time" bad guys in Germany are extremists that fall on both sides of the issue.
>>47175031
>>47175123
Just so I have this right, the beings of Atlantis are super celestial-esque beings who are able to encompass a more complete "wholeness" of being than humans, functionally making them more powerful overall than humans. However, they think humans are cool as hell because unlike the Atlanteans/Lemurians who were created perfect, the humans have evolved over the eons.
Also, Atlanteans supposedly reincarnate.
>>47177854
Huh, didn't take up as much space to ramble as I thought. So, I'll ramble some more. Some plans I have for her involve some gravity-manipulation for later power diversity (things like flight, ranged combat, and so-on). She also eventually realizes she might want to actually do the whole superhero outfit thing, and as usual for this type of hero, just grows one.
She's got a couple built-in villains between the scientist who created her (and was subsequently...removed from things, due to such experiments being illegal and/or forbidden), and the actual alien horrors she's based upon. They're still around and out there, and will inevitably show up on Earth eventually. Said aliens are viewed as a dangerous menace by the rest of the civilized galaxy, and in creating Runa, the people of earth have probably violated a few galactic treaties they were admittedly not aware existed at the time. Things will be...interesting when the campaign ends up going into space.
