Interest Check : Teen Superheroes : Champions 6th

Interest Check: Champions rpg - Teen campaign

Teen Superheroes being recruited for a secret superhero training program based in a normal boarding school.

Looking for ideally 4-6 PCs.

Answering some questions, why Champions RPG? i am most familiar with the system.
I can help build a character to a player's specs.
However I am modifying Champions for play by post and for speed.
After-all Role playing is more important than roll playing, but I enjoy the randomness in a good or bad die roll.

Why teens and based at a school? teens because of the drama. School to not worry about how the team was formed/met. but school is only an atmosphere background.

To create a character in the system is : Background, Archetype, Complications, Skills, Perks, Talents, & Powers.
& Character motivations.
Archetypes can be combined (for ex the Brick who can shoot eye lasers , or the Martial Artist who is a Chinese Sorcerer)

character archetypes include.
Brick, the big strong tough guy
Energy Blaster , able to project energy
Mentalist, reading thoughts, attacking the mind, sometimes includes mental illusions or telekenesis.
Martial Artist,
Weapon master
Shape-changer
(not allowed is powered armor and most classical Gadgeteers, as the technology level is the same as the actual world’s tech level. However of course accidents happen.)

also not allowed space aliens/dimension travellers as all characters should basically be human or think they are human.

Complications : can include physical limitations, such as handicaps, mental limitations such as codes of honor, social complications (for ex: having a secret ID), distinctive features, susceptibility or vulnerabilities (where one might take more damage)

All characters being students receive the complication of being a minor, and a version of code vs killing (value depending on how limiting. Also complications will/can be derived by the character’s personality and background. However when it comes to code vs killing, the PCs will automatically not aim to kill, I am not trying to trick people.

However no character’s that can’t pass for humans, no massively physically or emotionally crippled characters.
The characters should want to be superheroes, not loners (unless they are like Batman/Wolverine who for some reason are on countless teams and numerous sidekicks/partners)

Tone Superheroes PG-13 maybe light R.

Inspiration: Everything from classical New Mutants, Teen Titans (comic and cartoon), Young Justice (comic and cartoon), and more Marvel, DC, Antaric Press comics, and several manga and Anime. Also history (including comic book internal history), stories/legends of magic, SCP, conspiracies.

I'll be happy to answer any questions and provide details of the game world if any interest is shown.

I'll keep an eye on this.

Aside from the matter of extremely superior tech and alien/monster characters not being part of this setting,how commonly known are superhumans and heroes in this setting? Like,are there already people flying around and punching villains that the PCs would admire/hate? Does the public know about mutants and magic? Or is what is about to happen to the PCs completely new not just to them but to the world?

I might be interested.
I have played Mutants and Masterminds and Prowlers and Paragons but never Champion RPG.

I would love to try a new system.
I will look into it tomorrow

Not here to pitch an idea or express interest in playing, but oh yeah! Go Champions! I ran a Champions PBeM game for many years and I have a lot of fond memories. That was 4th ed, though...

I remember I was really into the idea of Champions when I was a teenager. Back then 5th edition had just released. Never got to play it though, just made a few characters. I don't know how much it has changed between editions or how much I remember (though I should have the rule book still). Will try to think of a concept.

Thank you all for your interest.

As far as superheroes in the world, yes there is a history of heroes, partially to be determined if a character creates a legacy hero (love me some JSA/Starman).
However the PCs are much stronger than previous teen heroes and many current superheroes (400cp w/75 matching complications) which is a concern for those in the know.
Also most other heroes are elsewhere or otherwise occupied, leaving the PCs as those with the story.

The world knows about mutants, mutates (those who got powers after birth due to external happening (think FF, Spider-Man), and trained heroes. unless called by a PCs origin/story, I don't think i will do the heroes saving a world that hates and fears them, although i reserve the right to use : welcome to the academy, hope you survive the experience. :).
The police know about heroes (not necessarily their secret IDs) and employ a liaison to work with the heroes.
Magic Heroes are known, but by its nature those heroes tend to keep the source secret.

In addition, please do not create Silver-Age superman or Phoenix or any other superhero that can do everything. (one of the reasons I like teens who many are still working on control or developing their powers)

BTW, some of the changes made to simplify/make the system flow better over PbP is not using Speed, Endurance, or Body. not using Speed so no one will have to wait around while the fast hero makes several moves. Endurance is how much energy one uses to attack/defend/move and i figure that can be handled by role playing. Body represents how much damage a character can take before dying. Will not be used unless for drama/role-playing.

For those interested, but concerned of learning a new system that some says can be complicated. The basics is 3d6 roll under a target number and once you/I create the character I will see about also making a cheat/reference sheet.

In addition for those interested, a bit of the game-world: Anticosti Island is a large island situated in the mouth of the St Lawrence Seaway.

Originally a possession of British North America, In the game world the United States gained this island during the 1812 war.

Liberty City: Now: Liberty City and its suburbs is a federal district.

Liberty City is on the North West coast of the island. Many industries and services can be found located in the city.

Key points of interest:
In this world, Liberty City is the host of the United Nations and the embassies of member nations.
Downtown Liberty City is known for its many buildings from the 1870s-1920s, the main branch of the city’s library can be found here.
Nearby one can find a number of museums.

Outside of downtown can be found University of Liberty. A medium size university, there are rumors of what is happening in the Physics and other science labs.
Barnheart College. Nearer to JMA (James Madison Academy) is a small liberal arts college, in the mold of many new england institutions. Its library is known for many interesting and special books, some that can’t be found in other places. The founder of the College disappeared in 1912. Many rumors are told about the college.
Both the University and the College can access the JMA Library and vice versa. Also many extracurricular activities are shared between JMA and the college and university.

A large portion of the eastern part of the island is a military base. All branches of the military can be found there. Rumors abound on what goes on in the some of the large buildings on the base. Some people try to sneak on the base, despite the warning signs, to prove their theories.

James Madison Academy (the pc's new school) having been founded ca. 1870
A boarding school located in the middle of the island, the majority being perfectly normal students.
Co-ed, includes students from grade 8-12.
Approximately 600 students typically attend, most living on campus, some day students.
the pcs will be living on campus even if they are native to the city.
On the north side can be found the dorms and the dining commons, and individual houses.
The south side has the classrooms.
Between the dorms and classroom is a large library with the school auditorium, and the administrative building and the athletics building.
Further south of the classrooms , the sports-fields can be found.

Near the campus. To the north and west can be found a large municipal park, mostly wilderness, it provides the city with necessary recreational space.
Beyond the campus can be found Robert Smith memorial garden. Here can found not only a place to honor veterans, but also the important people of Liberty City’s memorials. It is known for the various architecture themes. Tours are regularly available.

Much of the city will be determined by the PCs for example if one creates a Chinese Sorcerer, there will then be Chinatown, interesting tea rooms/bookstores, dojos , etc.

(sorry for the verbosity) Please feel free to ask more.

Popping in to say wow, I haven't looked at Champions since earlier edition days, and that was so long ago! Big kudos to offering to run its latest edition. Can't quite join this game yet, hope everyone here has a blast with it!

So I recently started rereading the Discworld series while watching Buffy and my mind came up with the following:

Ronan Donnelly was born the seventh son of a seventh son and born with mystical powers he cannot quite control yet. Stronger and more durable than most, and the ability to heal people... sometimes. As source of magic, he's also hunted by all manner of evil wizards hoping to increase their own power. Thinking something of a martial artist archetype with some limited healing capabilities.

Sounds like a good concept so far. Sounds like a mini-Brick (strong/tough guy although not as strong/tough as a full brick) w/healing /martial arts and a mystical background.
Is Ronan casting spells?
does he know other spells or are they just abilities?
did he learn from a teacher or a book or is he just magic?
can he sense/see magic?
What style of Martial-Arts? does the martial arts have a (secret) mystical/philosophical side
does he need to gesture/vocalize when using his healing/other magic?
I will give a preview specifically for a Buffy fan, the island does have a Hellmouth equivalent (yes i too have watched/read some Buffy)

As a person what is Ronan like? how old is he? what does he look like? does he speak other languages besides English? where is he from? What is he interested in? i do require some basics, but if you want to leave the majority of the character's Complications (Disadvantages) and Powers as mystery - well Evil laugh inserted here.

Threw something together (I have Hero Designer, makes the char. creation a bit easier)

Ronan Donnelly
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
35 STR 25 16- Lift 3200.0kg; 7d6; [3]
18 DEX 16 13-
30 CON 20 15-
10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11-
10 EGO 0 11-
20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6
7 OCV
7 DCV
3 OMCV
3 DMCV

5 PD 23 Total: 25 PD (20 rPD)
5 ED 23 Total: 25 ED (20 rED)
20 REC 16
50 STUN 15
Total Characteristic Cost: 154

Movement: Running: 18m / 36m
Swimming: 4m / 8m
Leaping: 4m

Cost Powers
Martial Arts:
Maneuver OCV DCV Notes
4 Martial Strike +0 +2 9d6 Strike
3 Martial Throw+0 +1 7d6 +v/10, Target Falls
4 Martial Block +2 +2 Block, Abort
3 Basic Strike +1 +0 9d6 Strike
5 Offensive Strike -2 +1 11d6 Strike

60 Toughness: Resistant Protection (20 PD/20 ED)
34 Healing BODY 6d6 (60 Active Points); Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4)

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 94
Total Cost: 267

325+ Disadvantages
15 Social Complication Minor: Frequently, Major
20 Psychological Complication: Code against killing: (Common; Total)
20 Hunted Mysterious evil wizards and cults, etc.: Frequently (Mo Pow; NCI; Limited Geographical Area; Harshly Punish)

0 Experience Points

Total Disadvantage Points: 267/400

Background/History: Ronan Donnelly was born the seventh son of a seventh son and born with mystical powers he cannot quite control yet.

Personality/Motivation:

Quote:

Powers/Tactics:

and by the way, because i don't want to assume knowing the stat abreviations

STRENGTH (STR) Represents the character’s physical power:
DEXTERITY (DEX) Represents a character’s agility and reaction time. Many important Skills are DEX-based.
CONSTITUTION (CON)Represents a character’s health and hardiness. A character’s CON determines how easily he’s Stunned in combat.
INTELLIGENCE (INT)Represents a character’s intellect, reasoning, memory, perceptiveness, and ability to learn. INT serves as the basis for Perception Rolls and many important Skills.
EGO (EGO)Represents a character’s willpower and general strength of mind. EGO resists Mental Powers and interrogation, and helps with tests of willpower.
PRESENCE (PRE) Represents a character’s charisma, force of personality, bravery, and leadership qualities. PRE allows characters to impress or awe others and the resist the effects of another character’s high PRE.

OFFENSIVE COMBAT VALUE (OCV) Represents a character’s accuracy in combat; it’s used to make
Attack Rolls.
DEFENSIVE COMBAT VALUE (DCV) Represents a character’s evasiveness in combat; it’s used to
oppose Attack Rolls.
OFFENSIVE MENTAL COMBAT VALUE (OMCV) Represents a character’s accuracy in Mental Combat; it’s used to
make Mental Attack Rolls.
DEFENSIVE MENTAL COMBAT VALUE (DMCV) used to oppose Mental Attack Rolls.
RECOVERING Characters use REC to regain lost STUN and expended END, when a character needs. Unless one is making a character point it will be presumed that enough END will be recovered during combat and unless desired all after combat.
SPEED (SPD) Determines how many Phases a character has each turn. Everyone has the same spd unless otherwise for character concept.
PHYSICAL DEFENSE (PD) Represents a character’s ability to withstand damage from physical attacks.
ENERGY DEFENSE (ED) Represents a character’s ability to withstand damage from energy attacks.
rPD & rED same as above but protect against killing damage (like a knife or bullet or a special martial art skill)
ENDURANCE (END) Represents the energy a character expends to act, exert his STR, move, and use his powers. A character at END 0 or lower can still act, but burning STUN in place of END as described below. This will not be tracked unless wanting to for drama.
BODY (BODY) Represents how much damage a character can take before dying. Will not be used unless for drama.
STUN (STUN) Represents how much damage a character can take before being Knocked Out.

As a teenager I loved the fact that one could take hits and pop back up, play sports everyday and not feel stiff and sore for days, so I would create a character build emphasizes taking punishment rather than simply avoiding it, making him feel like the immovable forward who only gets stronger the harder he’s hit.

The character isn’t a flashy blaster. He’s the hero who steps between danger and everyone else, taking impossible punishment until he becomes an unstoppable force. Every punch, tackle, explosion, or collapsing building only adds to the energy he can unleash later.

Mathfuric - looks good, similar questions that I asked Furmyr.

Otherwise after a morning appointment, i'll see about throwing something together.

So,I'm not 100% locked in on participating in this yet (I'm not at all familiar in detail with the HERO system and have other games in progress,so I don't want to be stretched thin) but I did have a few ideas. So like, no need to write up a character sheet for any of them just yet.

Not so serious idea: Horse girl. Model student from a privileged background who starts experiencing intermittent episodes of horse-like behavior and physical transformations that gradually ruin her life. Turns out her biological family was involved with biological experiments with animal DNA-based enhancements that remained dormant. Eventually her transformations stabilize into a state where she can voluntarily enter a satyr-like form, with superior strength, speed, jumping, and senses. Whereupon she gets scooped up by James Madison Academy. She copes with the change in her life by asserting her superiority and how she's above her peers, enemies, and their collective situation. Kind of like Beast from the X-Men, animalistic physiology and trained intellect contrasting a worsening attitude.

Marginally more serious idea: A youth tennis athlete who was contending for a major title when her dormant mutation asserted itself, causing her to unwittingly injure her opponent when making a serve. Her mutation allows her to generate bouncy balls of kinetic energy that can be thrown/hit by her to either deliver a strong direct impact, or grind/drag whatever they strike. Disgraced, she quits tennis but becomes a strong advocate for open declaration of powered individuals and the use of monitoring and regulatory assistance to allow them to participate in sports without risk of accidents. Hence she voluntarily enrols in JM Academy to build her social/political profile.

Serious idea 2: An apprentice mechanic who spends time learning/working in their foster mother's auto shop. Turns out that some of the auto shop's clients are illegal street racers and one of them gets the mob to ask the owner to sabotage a rival's car to rig up a big bet. When she refuses, the mob trashes the shop and threatens to do worse if she can't cover their losses. Outraged, the apprentice assembles a powered frame and demolishes one of the mob's fronts, making short work of the gangsters there as well. Unsatisfied, they continue their vendetta, waging a solo war against organized crime in the city. Eventually a representative from JM Academy picks them up, having them enroll to develop their skills and equipment further and helping them hide from criminal retaliation. Their armored frame is nothing like an Iron Man suit, being simply an external frame supporting the limbs and back, with a generator and motors to deliver fierce punches and kicks (as in topple a brick wall kind), as well as plating along the upper body to resist weaker attacks. The apprentice themselves has a rather rustic, old-fashioned personality, being caring in an older sibling way to their peers, but potentially overbearing and prone to facing adversity recklessly.

Nellancholy not statted out, but I did skim the ideas. To be honest , i think i like option#2 best. I see a near model beauty/athlete who everybody thinks got in the school on money/parent's money and is an airhead, but actually she is highly perceptive and high intelligence, has a high paramedics skill (think first aid plus) and a few other skills reflecting her interest in going into the medical field, maybe also some foreign language skills to reflect her having traveled internationally. meanwhile as a super she tries to do only the minimal damage to an opponent, tries to talk them into surrendering and willing to throw herself in front of attacks to defend others.

of course i could be completely off my rocker.

If you decide to join we'll talk further of course.

I was thinking of making a mostly brick, martial themed character.
Was going to make his main thing absorption. Sort of like Sebastian Shaw
The sort of idea I had was that physical attacks boosted his defense while energy attacks boosted his attacks.
Not the smartest tool in the shed but strong and tanky.


I don't have the champion book to do research on it.

Smiley, its a good concept, but Mathfuric posted earlier basically the same concept, In general I look to have the PCs (and certain npcs) be relatively unique. I am not saying no, just saying I need to think about it.

I understand I have other things Rolling around. Would rather chat about it in the game then keep bothering people in here.

Smiley would you prefer private messaging me or I can set up a private channel on a discord server?

That goes along with anyone else who is thinking about joining, I am happy to answer questions here, PM or discord

Not planning on using the forum within the game page just yet?