Five By Five

I had a very interesting weekend.

(By the way, Happy Independence Day USA! Um...belated ^ ^; )

Sunday I taught the first classes of my summer program at the tutoring center in Brooklyn where I work on weekends. In addition to reading and writing, my morning class of second to fourth grade students created characters for Faery's Tale Deluxe. Hopefully I will tell you more about that in the near future.

Saturday my group and I played the second session of our new Champions Superhero campaign, Champions: REBIRTH. Not all of those in the first session were able to make it, although my friend Hans did, which was awesome. We also added a new player, which, well, I'll address my feelings on that in an upcoming post.

Looks like I already have some great material for my next few blog entries.

On Friday, July 4th, I went to New Jersey (yes, on purpose!), in order to run a game for some ol' friends, including my ex-wife. The game?

Basic D&D, using the free PDF of Wizard of the Coast's 5th Edition rules set.

In honor of it being the fifth edition, I'm going to break down my thoughts into five, small sections. Here goes:

Disclaimer: This is not exactly a review. This is a combination of first impressions, how play went, and the opinions I, and the other players, had after the game session was over. Your mileage my vary. Widely.

Wait...before I begin, rant coming...

I have to say, I am really glad I do not consider myself part of the D&D fan community.

In the handful of days since the PDF has been available...

There is already a controversy over some of the people who were involved. I'm not going to speak on the subject, as I have not really come face-to-face with the negative nature of those people. Why not? How did I avoid it? One has always been nice to me, even when we've disagreed (which is often), and the other, well, is a D&D person. I don't go to the blogs of too many strictly D&D people. Old Schoolers even less so.

I was treated like a newb on Google+ for asking exactly where on Wizards of the Coast's site you would go to download the basic rules (I asked 'where', and was mostly answered with when. Attention D&Ders:  It has come to my attention that you were not informed of this as children, but time and place is NOT the same thing. They are in fact, two DIFFERENT things. You're welcome. Glad I could help).

When I asked for the opinions of those fans of older D&D games, who also liked what they'd read in 5E, how I could best use new elements that they found interesting, I was given the most generic answers possible. Stuff like, "The rules are a tool. You have a new hammer, with a handle, head, and claw that are a little different than the one before. The hammer design might excite you a little, might not, but what you're making with the hammer better light your fire." Gee thanks. If only I were an adult, Human being with over thirty-seven years of gaming experience I would've known that. Wait...yeah.

I can only surmise that much like DC Comics has absolutely no clue what makes their characters and universe cool, a large number of D&D fans don't know why they like D&D. It was first, so they do. I've always thought that was the case. Now I know for sure.

Zak Smith himself responded with, "I think that's a bad way to go in--you're basically asking for preconceptions. Just read the rules and do what you're gonna do." Yes Zak, that is EXACTLY what I am asking for! If I were going to 'do what I'm gonna do', I'd not bother with 5E at all. I'd just as soon go play Champions, Star Trek, Star Wars, Traveller, Teenagers from Outer Space, InSpectres, Mekton, Faery's Tale Deluxe, my Galaxy Quest game, my Muppets RPG...you get the picture. Thing is, I promised some gaming friends I like gaming with that I'd run the new 5E rules that were recently released. Not being a D&D fan, I thought (foolishly it seems) that those who ARE fans might give me some ideas for what to do with some gamers who share their preference for the beast.

Honestly though, Zak's advice was the best I received.

I am glad I gave 5E a go, and I had fun thanks to the players involved, but trying to get real assistance and a genuine 'sense of community' from the D&D community at large is a no go. I won't bother in the future. It's like trying to get a straight, and truthful answer out of a politician. Forget about it. It'll just harsh your mellow.

Now, on to the actual post...

Take Five 

When I first read through the Basic Rules for 5E (and this was the first I'd ever seen of it), I was a little disappointed.

I had not been part of the playtest, and had no real interest in most of the posts about interviews with the creators, rules reveals, or the like. I would love to say my expectations were low, but some recent conversations with Charles Atkins of the blog Dyvers, had gotten me a little excited. He made it sound really cool. Plus, Zak was involved, and I thought, 'Well, Zak has cool ideas so, maybe this will be good.'

It's not that it wasn't. It just wasn't exciting. It was nothing really special. Nothing stood out. Nothing grabbed me. I felt like I was reading a blog post of some one's campaign who had thrown some indie stuff into their D&D game. OK. That's all though. Only OK.

Number Five Is Alive

After trying (unsuccessfully - see above) to get some help and some ideas percolating, I put together a really simple story idea I've used before for other D&D and similar games. I created a couple of monsters, and rolled up an NPC to balance out the party. I was going to have three players, and I already knew they wanted to play a Halfling Fighter, a Dwarf Cleric, and a Human Rogue. I made an Elf Wizard, and the party was good to go.

Character creation, while quicker than some of the previous editions, still took much longer than I expected.

As I mentioned, one of the players was my ex-wife. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't just dislike D&D, I would hate it with a passion. She likes it, and she has a way of making me like it while we're playing together in the same game.

This was no different. She took to the new rules pretty quickly, and liked several of the new mechanics. She especially like the Inspiration related character elements. I like that part too, though I have seen its like many, many times before.

She made the game come to life really, as her excitement over there being a new edition made me excited to be running it.

Five For Fighting

Two things I do like about the new edition is that it isn't all about fighting, but when the fighting does start, it moves pretty smoothly, and quickly. Now granted, this is the basic rules at their most basic. Very likely, additional rules and options in the Player's Handbook will slow down the easy breezy feel of the basic rule set quite a bit, but still, this is a vast improvement over the grinding, 'button-mashing' feeling of 4E, and 3E+'s gluttony of feats.

The Fifth Element

I have to say that my favorite thing about Fifth Edition is that it isn't Fourth Edition. I am not sure I can say that I can identify it's particular, unique flavor as of yet, but it does not feel as MMO-video gamey as it's predecessor. At the same time, it does have a few features that my MMORPG obsessed buddy found both familiar and interesting. I find that refreshing. Maybe, without trying so hard to appeal to both the table top and laptop gaming, WotC will be able to actually accomplish that feat.

Give Me Five

I am glad I downloaded the basic rules, and it was fun to play. Not Champions fun, or Mutants & Masterminds fun, or even Marvel Heroic fun, but fun. If I had to play D&D, or else my eyes with be poked out with red-hot chopsticks, I would prefer to play this.

I am highly unlikely to purchase the game, but I think my ex-wife definitely will. It is possible at least one of the other two players will as well.

Good work Wizards of the Coast.

I was hoping for something a little different but what you have works.

Kudos.

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Barking Alien

Champions: REBIRTH - Editor's Notes

Before continuing with my first session recap, I wanted to point out and detail some elements of this initial adventure that may not be clear to the readers out there.

In some cases, it's just a matter of clarifying what I wrote and in others, it's more about those very special intangibles that happen when people role play.

Let's start there shall we?





A number of the players making up the group for this particular campaign are excellent role players. They are all, so far as I can tell (two of them are brand new to the group), good gamers, but a good portion of them really get into their characters heads and act accordingly.

As such, some of their actions may seem strange, as noted by a commenter on a previous post, to not only those reading this blog, but also to their companions. In truth though, the other players and their PCs get to benefit from in-character and out-of-character player dialog, so they quickly learn each others personality quirks.

You gentle reader, well, you had to be there.

Yet you weren't, so, I'll try to explain...

Unknown asked,

"If everyone was trying to take the plane down, why was MB (Master Builder) trying to help it? Because Vanish was on board? How did he know?"

The cloaked jet plane belongs to an at first unknown enemy, later identified as Terror Incorporated. Basically, this is a Supervillainy outsourcing operation working for the true villain who remains a mystery.

Master Builder was a superhero in England prior to coming to the USA, but he botched up a mission badly and was all but disowned by his family. He was banished with the stipulation that he not return until he understood what it truly meant to be a hero.

It is largely this reason that motivates him to try and save the people in the Terror Inc. plane. He wants to capture them and take them to prison. He had no intention of killing them, and likewise doesn't want them to crash into the ground and die.

I've noted before that this is a common mentality when playing Supers often missed by those more accustomed to the murderhobo play style of games like D&D.

"And if IMPACT threw MB, isn't he then going to plummet to his death?"

Yes. It's just that, he has a plan.

I should point out, Dave the player doesn't have a plan. IMPACT does.

Dave is playing IMPACT as a 14 years old boy who has incredible superhuman powers. This kid transforms into a hulking pro-wrestler who can run at 255 mph and lift 100 tons. He is protected by a force field that sends attacks rebounding back at the assailant.

IMPACT believes himself to be indestructible. Dave knows his character is not. Dave still plays IMPACT using IMPACT's mind set, not Dave's.

So when IMPACT throws MB, IMPACT isn't worried about falling to the Earth like a fleshy meteor. He's a Superhero! He has Superpowers! He can lift a Space Shuttle! He'll figure something out.

Incidentally, this is not something new to me. I've always felt that the Old School D&D default playstyle lends itself to overly cautious players and PCs. Superheroes, Star Wars, and other more romanticized, cinematic genres and settings seem to encourage bolder actions on the part of the PCs, such as leaping out a random window to avoid an overwhelming number of enemies or running full bore at an oncoming AT-AT.  

(Yes. Those two things have happened in my campaigns.)

More on topic, some players play themselves, and others play a character. Let me point out, neither is better or worse than the other if they are done well.

A player who is playing themselves isn't literally playing themselves as their in-game character but rather all the characters they play have the player's gaming personality.

For example, one of my players, Jeff, has played a number of different characters in a number of different campaigns I've run. While they have all had different goals, powers, and origins, they have all been very much Jeff. He is the guy in the group who researches the setting in-game, and learns all it's secrets. He is going to bravely and boldly meet the challenge of bigger and badder opponents to help his selected dependent group (innocent civilians, his family or species, his crew). He is going to be the badass peacemaker. That's Jeff.

Dave is going to create a character and while they may have similarities, they each have very different personalities and ways of thinking. Dave actually played IMPACT a few years back in a Mutants & Masterminds game I ran, and that IMPACT was quite different from this one. In the original incarnation, IMPACT's secret identity was only 12. He was much more of a fan boy of the other heroes and of being part of the superhero community. He was a bit more careful with his powers, as he didn't really know the extent of them. The current version is less impressed by his peers, a bit more sure of and even full of himself, and is portrayed as having been around fighting crime for at least a year or so.

Dave isn't really playing Dave when he plays IMPACT. He is playing IMPACT.

***

I hope I clarified Vanish's ability to keep up with the Gravity Module Shuttle and pursuing Terror Inc. jet plane (*See the comments in this post --- Adam). There are a number of minor and not so minor abilities that the PCs have that I didn't go into. My goal was to introduce the characters to you so you know who I am talking about when I recap the adventure, not to give you a full on Marvel Universe Handbook or DC Who's Who entry.

If you have any specific questions about any of the characters please let me know. I love questions! Ask as many as you like.

If it becomes necessary to go into greater detail to tell a recap story I certainly will do so.

***

I like to keep some aspects of my campaign universes vague and mysterious, giving the PCs the opportunity to learn the hidden truths and uncover the dark secrets that can have major impacts on the games story and setting. The key of course is having players who are interested enough to investigate these secrets, otherwise they simply lie dormant.

As noted above, Jeff is that kind of fellow and to keep him interested, and keep both he and I on our toes, I often give him clues or perception rolls that seem to have no bearing on the current plot. This sometimes manifests as my telling him his PC just sees something interesting, and at other times, I will give his character a cryptic vision that Jeff must figure out the meaning of before he even begins to have his character check into it.

For an example of this, in my first recap post I note that Jeff's character Equilibrium uses his Cosmic Awareness ability to search for threats to the passenger shuttle  he is on. While a possible threat is revealed, it also gives him a vision of "a small, but intensely bright, blue camp fire burning somewhere in the distance. Moths of many different shapes and sizes fly toward the fire as if in slow motion."

This, like the enemy jet aircraft that he eventually detected "swooping in like a great carrion bird" is conveyed via metaphor. Jeff still doesn't know what the blue camp fire and the moths represent, but it has him intrigued and really, that's all that matters.

***

Questions, comments, ideas? Let me know. As a matter of fact, I'd love to do a monthly feature for this campaign like the 'Letters Pages' from old comics. I'll compile all the questions or notes you guys make and answer them once a month.

Sound cool?

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Barking Alien

Champions: REBIRTH - Comics Digest

Greetings Supers Fans!

Here we are continuing my recap of the first session of our new Champions superhero RPG campaign, Champions: REBIRTH.

Previously...

As IMPACT and Master Builder prepare to leap through the air from atop one rapidly moving aircraft toward a second one they can not really see, Phalanx, Silent Justice and Equilibrium get all necessary parties up to speed on the situation.

Using Phalanx's leadership skills, Equilibrium's Cosmic Awareness, Silent Justice's Psychic Senses and Telepathy, and N*Gage's ability to tap into internet and satellite feeds, the Champions team has everyone pretty much on the same page as to what to do in case of a variety of scenarios.

The odd man out at first is The Grey Flame. He can not be contacted telepathically in his fully incorporeal state and he has no team communicator for the same reason. In order to stay informed, he uses his ability to read minds by touching a person (which only works were he is immaterial).

Learning the plans and contingencies, and wanting to help his new found allies, The Grey Flames floats towards the back of the shuttle, then stays in place allowing the shuttle to WOOSH past him. After passing through the craft and it's engine (the Gravity Module giving him an odd sensation for half a second), he finds himself floating high above the Earth. A heartbeat latter (Yikes! Sorry Grey Flame. That was insensitive), WOOSH, and Grey Flame is passing through the cockpit of the cloaked plane in pursuit of the shuttle.

Grey Flame allows the cloaked vehicle to rush through and around him as he takes in how many crewmembers it has, how they are armed, what they're wearing, etc. When he reaches the center of the craft (or it reaches him), he passes into another chamber with three occupants. While phasing through the arm of one of them, the individual turns and looks around, seemingly aware of Grey Flame somehow.Grey Flame notes this person is pale, with tough skin and blue-black veins in his exposed arms. He could be undead! Grey Flame flies back to the shuttle to give his team a description of what they were up against.

Meanwhile, IMPACT prepares to leap, when suddenly Master Builder turns to a near liquid form and tries to wrap around him. IMPACT is quick to stop him and warns him against doing that in the future (it came off as rude but in truth IMPACT may have saved MB's life! IMPACT has an invisible, damage dealing force field that has double knockback! Grabbing him in a bear hug will get you thrown away rather roughly).

Master Builder explains that he is only trying to help and has some ideas on how the two of them could, you know, no plummet to their deaths if they miss the plane. Reluctantly IMPACT agrees to carry him over but tells him to flow over the shield easily and smoothly, with a bit of space between the force field and Master Builder, as not to get blasted off. MB shapes himself over IMPACT forming medieval looking plate armor, and IMPACT launches himself through the sky toward the cloaked jet.

Leaping high above the aerial chase, IMPACT focuses his force field downward towards his feet. He goes in a corkscrew spin, intended to drill into the craft as it reaches him. Unfortunately...he misses. The pilot drops a bit and veers left, causing IMPACT and MB to miss their mark. At 35,000 feet.

Thinking fast, Master Builder forms part of himself into a long arm with a grappling hook like end to try and snag a wing as they fall past it. Sadly, he only grabs a maneuvering flap, which tears off from his momentum, weight and great strength.

N*Gage manages to detects signals going to and from the cloaked plane and is able to tap into their communication array. He discovers the pilot and co-pilot of the craft called 'tech support' and reporting that they are having trouble controlling the plane do to the damaged wing. N*Gage manages to hijack their comm lines and tells the crew of the invisible aircraft to turn off their cloak and divert power to manuever thrusters. It works! Now the plane can be seen.

Tachyon and Vanish now reach the location of the incident, albeit far, far below the actual action. The two of them have arrived in Wyoming, and after quickly scanning his vicinity, Vanish comes up with an unorthodox (and damn cool) plan. Using his superspeed, he is going to run up the side of Devils Tower*, and then use his momentum to take a running leap skyward, at which point he will teleport into the plane. Tachyon looks him straight in the eyes and says, "Kid, that's nuts. I say...go for it."

All this time, the Champions are analyzing data -  reports from Grey Flames, telepathic scans from Silent Justice, info obtained by N*Gage while on the enemy comm channel - and they are able to determine that the attackers are Terror Incorporated!**

Master Builder, not all that desperate to see if his maximum level of density increase will enable him to survive a fall from this height at his present, incredible speed, turns himself into a thin, flexible, but very wide concrete hang glider to save himself and IMPACT. Success!

Vanish is likewise successful and appears in the cockpit of the Terror Incorporated plane as it attempts to pull up. He manages to injure three members of the crew and knock one flat on his back with his dimensional strike ability***. The pilot, after being punched by Vanish, hit the afterburners, causing the craft to streak toward the ground at full thrust! Working as fast as he can, the pilot pulls up hard and one of the engines tears loose from the wing assembly.

High above, IMPACT and Master Builder see what have happened and have a plan. MB transforms his shape into that of a disc, which IMPACT than throws at the plummeting jet. Applying the same idea he used to save IMPACT and himself moments ago, Master Builder turns into a hang glider again, angled and shaped slightly differently, to act as a parachute. A concrete parachute?

Oh boy...

More on the way true believers!

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Barking Alien


*Devils Tower
Have I mentioned before how obsessed I am with Devils Tower in Wyoming?

Since first seeing it in the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I was completely taken by its visual appearance. In 1981, or thereabouts, I saw the actual site in person, although at some distance, while passing through Wyoming on my way to California to visit my paternal grandfather.

Whenever possible, I try to come up with an excuse to have it appear at least once in an appropriate campaign (Superheroes, Horror, Wild West, etc.).


**Terror Incorporated

A well known staple of Champions canon, the Terror Incorporated of Champions Earth Alpha Delta-1 is not all that different, though some of its inner circle of villains are.

Basically, Terror Inc. is clandestine company that trains minions, equips them, loans technology and provides similar support services to various supervillains. In addition to training your goons or lending you their cloaked aircraft for instance, they can also provide already trained henchmen and even have a catalog of minor super-baddies you can hire for that very special, foolproof plan you've always dreamed about. Order two squadrons of highly skilled henchman today, and get a third squadron at half price!

What this tells the team is whoever hired Terror Inc. has big bucks, but doesn't want to get his or her hands dirty themselves.


***Vanish's Dimensional Strike
This is the ability mentioned in his write up on the team member profiles post as, "(an attack by sending a) punch or kick into interspace gates, causing the blows to land on targets in a radius up to two hundred feet away."

Giant Size Adventure #1

Welcome back Superhero RPG fans!

(As well as those who stumbled upon this blog accidentally, children who were left unattended and wandered off, but found their way here, lost souls of the damned and extraterrestrial intelligences looking for a way to communicate with our primitive species)

You're in luck! That's right! You are just in time for my review of the latest comic book series from Champions Earth Alpha Delta-1, sure to be a smash hit: Champions: REBIRTH.

Fabulous First Issue - "Rattle Them Bones".

Our story opens on a fair, cool and sunny day at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Arcturus Mann (NPC), multi-billionaire industrialist and philanthropist is at a podium discussing Mann Industries' (a division of MANN UNLIMITED) latest innovation, the first Gravity Module Commercial Passenger Plane. This amazing shuttle can travel from New York to California in just over an hour, takes off and lands vertically, uses less fuel than conventional commercial aircraft and provides the smoothest ride you can imagine.

Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that Mann has promised to make the Gravity Module available to any interested companies for a comparatively modest fee, while making a downgraded version available on the net in a sort of Creative Commons equivalent deal. The top grade and lower grade variants are significantly different in terms of their ease of construction, some materials and power and fine control of the gravity field.

Today will be the prototype shuttle's maiden flight (OK, it's first public flight. It's already been tested a number of times). The flight will take the craft from JFK Airport to LAX, the Los Angeles World Airport. Passengers will include Mann, a number of dignitaries, heads of state, important business people and media personalities and a dozen children from the Scaramangler Foundation*.

To ensure the safety of the flight, its passengers and crew, today is also first major mission and official debut of the new Champions Superteam. The group is introduced to the public with much fanfare by Tachyon (NPC)**, a former member of the Silver Age Champions and one of the world's most beloved heroes. Released from a self-sentenced exile and cured of his dangerous, excess power, Tachyon has been chosen to be the one to guide the new team in the right direction. He calls out each name and the crowd erupts with excitement over each new hero!

Equilibrium, IMPACT, Master Builder, N*Gage, Phalanx, Silent Justice and Vanish (The PCs)!

While introducing the group, a spectral image of what appears to be a musketeer shrouded in colorless fire, and wearing a long cloak, forms above the team and watches the proceedings. When the assembled crowd points him out and cheers for the strange, ghostly visitor, Tachyon thinks quickly and introduces him as a member, calling him 'The Grey Flame' (PC).

Afterwards, as the team leaves the stage, Tachyon and Phalanx greet the phantom and ask him if one of the members of Project: UNITY asked him to attend the event. The Grey Flame simply replied, "I go where I am needed." Tachyon shrugs and going with his gut, adds the The Grey Flame to the team roster for time being.

The plan is for the majority of the team to fly aboard the grav-shuttle just as the passengers will, but ready to take action should the need arise. The only oddities are IMPACT, who will be travelling in his secret identity, a 14 year old, skinny geek kid, and Master Builder and N*Gage, who decide to travel in the craft's twin cargo holds (since all three are too large for the seats on the plane and Master Builder and N*Gage don't have to worry about cabin pressure (since they don't need to breath and are extremely tough).

The only Champions not boarding the craft will be Vanish and Tachyon. Both of the them will run ahead along the flight path of the plane. Vanish runs 681 mph and can teleport. Tachyon can travel faster than Vanish but now gets winded as it takes a lot more endurance to use his powers than it did in his youth. The two of them get a head start.

While onboard, Phalanx coordinates security efforts with Mann's own personal security detail, Silent Justice uses his psychic senses to monitor everyone's vitals and make sure they are all what they seem, IMPACT (in his true, 14 year old kid form) watches the Scaramangler kids play and talk and Equilibrium taps into his Cosmic Awareness.

All seems well as Tachyon, and then Vanish, reach the first checkpoint, somewhere in Ohio. There is a bit of ideal talk about how Vanishes power reminds Tachyon of his old friend Vector. He recommends Vanish do some research on Vector as it might help him with his own abilities. Vanish nods and seems to blow off the 'old man's' advice, but secretly takes it to heart.

Not long after the shuttle passes over checkpoint one, Equilibrium's Cosmic Awareness gives him a vision. First, he sees a small, but intensely bright, blue camp fire burning somewhere 'below him' in the distance. He feels he is moving away from the fire on the wings of a swift. Next, moths of many different shapes and sizes fly toward the fire as if in slow motion. Finally, out of a dark bank of clouds, a large carrion bird, ash grey and blood red in color, descends upon the swift with great speed.

(The Player of) Equilibrium surmises that the shuttle is the swift and the vulture or buzzard is some kind of plane that is following them. Sensors aboard the craft reveal nothing behind or above them. A cloaked plane? Possible, but few villains or villainous organizations have cloaking technology that absolute!

Realizing his partner has discovered something, Silent Justice speaks to Equilibrium telepathically. Told of what his friend has sensed, Silent Justice networks the rest of the team in and lets them know the situation. Unfortunately, Silent Justice's telepathy doesn't work on N*Gage (he's a Robot) and Grey Flame (he's...well...dead, not to put too fine a point on it). The two of them are alerted by team communicators.

IMPACT, uncomfortable around the kids even though some are his own age, is eager to spring into action. Accessing a aft ceiling hatch, he transforms into his 8 ft., pro-wrestler looking form, complete with theme music, flashing lights and distant cheers and applause. Master Builder, has come up from the cargo hold, joins him top side. IMPACT opens the hatch without thinking of the cabin pressure and wind, but luckily Master Builder is a quick thinker and was prepared for just such a situation.

Using quick hardening foam*** found in the cargo hold, Master Builder absorbs the material, transforms in a column shaped plug for the hatch and then morphs away, leaving the hardened foam in his place. With the opening now sealed tight behind them, IMPACT and Master Builder search the skies for the other aircraft. Wait! There! It may be invisible, but it still has mass and moved through a cloud. Good enough for IMPACT. He prepares to jump.

Off the top of the plane. To land on another plane. That he can't actually see.


To Be Continued...

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Barking Alien


*The Scaramangler Foundation
A major component of the setting, the Scaramangler Foundation is a US based, international relief organization that is best described as a cross between the Red Cross and Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

Basically, mutants and other young superbeings are not hated and feared, but rather viewed as people with a disability, albeit one that can potentially blow up tanks, cause storms or stop time.


**Tachyon
A member of the Silver Age Champions, Tachyon's powers were originally the ability to absorb light energy, transform himself into a light being and 'run' at incredible speeds (actually turning into a beam of energy). This later evolved into being able to fly.

During the final mission of his team, Tachyon absorbed far too much energy from the villain Sundown and overcharged his powers. From that point forward, Tachyon could not activate his abilities without causing a solar fusion explosion, potentially endangering everyone and everything in a 1000 ft. radius. 

Some years later, Tachyon served as a sort of PR/Spokesperson for Project: UNITY, becoming a major factor in swaying public opinion of superheroes back towards the positive after it was tarnished by the final mission mentioned above. While the overall opinion of superheroes had dropped, Tachyon's personal popularity had never been higher and he used that to the advantage of the entire superhero community.

One fateful day, about three years after the formation of Project: UNITY, Tachyon's sister, one of the most popular newscasters in the Western World, was kidnapped by the villain Mister Grimm. Tachyon's sister was the girlfriend of another hero, Night Force. Grimm tapped into the Project: UNITY communications system and announced he was going to kill the woman in 10 seconds. Unbeknownst to the rest of the team, Night Force was already hunting Grimm and had located his hidden island villa in the Mediterranean.

Seeing his sister in mortal danger with barely seconds to spare, Tachyon activated his powers, rocketed skyward and came down upon Grimm's location in seconds. He was too late. Grimm shot the woman and than fell dead himself, as Night Force had 'Nightarang'ed him in the back of the head, again, seconds too late.Tachyon later discovered that the activation of his powers has created a solar plasma blast that killed two Superheroes and injured three others. He pleaded guilty at a hearing and requested he be locked away in the superhuman detention facility known as Stronghold.

Tachyon remained there for years until a UNITY member named Syphon (Jeff's previous character) began visiting him and convinced Tachyon to let him try and help him. Syphon devised a way to use his own energy absorption and conversion powers to rid Tachyon of his uncontrollable, excess energy. After a couple more years of retraining and therapy, Omni and Night Force (the latter now leading Project: UNITY) asked Tachyon to train, advise and act as a liaison for the new Champions. He accepted.

Tachyon can still convert to an energy form, but only runs at Mach 1, the speed of sound. He can no longer absorb energy and as a result gets tired more quickly then he did in his youth. Although about 60 years of age, he looks closer to a man in his late 40's. He is still quite handsome, as personable as ever and has an Eidetic Memory, so he remembers the name and face of every person he has ever met.


***Flotation devices consisting of bags of rapid hardening foam were stored on the Gravity Module Shuttle. The foam, when hardened, contains thousands of tiny bubbles, enabling the packs of foam to float. I forget the name of it, but this material actually exists.

All New, All Different Champions

Are you ready to meet...

 

 

Equilibrium (Jeff)

Self-proclaimed keeper of the 'Cosmic Balance', Equilibrium is a half-Chinese/half-Japanese man in his thirties who possesses the ability to redirect violent actions back against whomever originated them, or simply dissipate the action back into the universal Karma.

 

Equilibrium is a master of numerous martial disciplines and possesses a 'Cosmic Awareness' that often grants him cryptic insight into the goings on of the universe. At the same time, he is not above using modern body armor and equipment should the need arise.

 

A philosopher, martial artist and inquisitive mind with few rivals, Equilibrium's ultimate goal is to achieve oneness with the universe such that he may teach a different, non-violent way of being to the rest of humanity.

 

 

The Grey Flame (Andy)

The ghost of an actor who died trying to save immigrants from a burning tenement in 1927, the entity now known as The Grey Flame was, for many years, thought to be an urban legend. Originally referred to as, 'The Man in Grey', the ghost received his current name from one of the few remaining members of the Silver Age Champions who thought The Grey Flame was a hero recruited to join the team.

 

In addition to being able to pass through solid objects, Grey Flame is invisible, flies and can release blasts of colorless, supernatural fire. He must be wary of church bells and salt, as the former can cause him pain and anguish, while both can disrupt his abilities.

 

 

IMPACT (Dave)

A fourteen year old boy with the power to transform into an 8 ft. tall, hulking wrestler (he resembles 'The Ultimate Warrior') with superpowers. The transformation is accompanied by theme music, a light show and an increase in the volume of his voice.

 

In addition to great strength, speed and stamina, Impact has a movable force field that rebounds kinetic energy with a powerful counter-force. The powers were granted to him when he found what appears to a Championship Wrestling belt. Now, the belt only works for him and he can not seem to be rid of it if he wanted to. Which he doesn't. 

 

 

Master Builder (Will)

Formerly the British Superhero 'The Land Lord' (the third in a legacy), Master Builder was more interested in showmanship and popularity than actually fighting crime. During the last altercation of his short career, the family heirloom that granted him his powers was broken.

 

Disowned by his family and banished from his home, Master Builder set out to make a new name for himself in the USA using the new powers he developed after exposure to the shattered magical crown. He hopes he can impress his family and show them he has what it takes to be a true hero.

 

Master Builder is essentially a man made of concrete. He can shape and 'sculpt' himself into various forms, stretch, absorb rock, cement and similar materials, increase his density and strength and manipulate rock to form various objects.

 

 

N*Gage (Ray)

A humanoid robot (but not an Android. It looks very obviously robotic) invented by Project: UNITY member Professor N (Ray's character from our previous campaign) before he departed this reality to explore Dimension N.

 

Powered by the amazing N*Drive (drawing N*Ergy directly from Dimension N), N*Gage can fire N*Ergy Blasts, appear to walk on air, create a wireless link into the Internet and various communication systems and is in the process of inventing remotely operated robot helpers of his own.

 

N*Gage appeared to be somewhat unfinished or perhaps a work in progress. Just as he is tinking with creating new mechanical minions for himself, so also is he modifying is own design to better serve his purposes.

 

 

Phalanx (Hans)

Female former member of PRIMUS, garbed in American patriotic motif armor and carrying a shield (closer to Captain America's original WW II shield. A heater-shaped design). No-nonsense military type, strategy and tactics minded, and the team's de facto field commander and coordinator.

 

Phalanx's power is to psionically create weapons out of psychic energy. She declares the weapon she wants to manifest (to help her focus), and then wills a wispy field of blue-white light into being that resembles a sword, handgun, grenade launcher or whathaveyou.The bullets, grenades or other effects of these weapons are psychic attacks, no physical ones.

 

(Hans is the one moving, so we decided that Phalanx's job  following the first adventure, will be to remain at the Champions HQ and coordinate the team's efforts. Imagine Martian Manhunter in the Justice League Unlimited animated series).  

 

 

Silent Justice (Eric)

Silent Justice and Equilibrium trained together as children at a secret Taoist temple hidden in the mountains of Taiwan. They met again much later in life and joined forces just prior to joining up with new Champions.

 

Silent Justice was born mute, but possesses telepathy and psychic senses that give him an unprecedented understanding of a field of battle or a crisis situation. He is a master of Tai'chi ch'uan and Iga Ninjitsu.

 

Perhaps his most powerful and unusual ability is the power to extend his martial arts skills through telekinesis. While he can not use his TK in the traditional way of lifting things with his mind, he can throw a punch or a kick at a target a hundred feet away or set up a defensive stance capable of deflecting bullets long before they reach him.

 

 

Vanish (Mark)

A mysterious young man with amazing powers, Vanish has the ability to dimension travel while running. What appears to others as superspeed is actually dozens to hundreds of short teleporting 'jumps' as he opens and closes gates between one spot and the next.

 

Usually the little understood concept of 'Interspace', Vanish can move incredibly quickly, straight up teleport short-to-medium distances, blur his visual image to appear invisible to make the illusion he is still where he started even though he is now right next to you. His major attack is to punch or kick into interspace gates, causing the blows to land on targets in a radius up to two hundred feet away. Finally, he can appear to walk through walls or have attacks pass through him by timing his dimensional teleports correctly.

 

Little is known about Vanish, though his powers over interspace are vaguely similar to the early Bronze Age Superhero named Vector. Vector died about 10-15 years ago saving New York from a Neutron Bomb.Is there a connection between the two beyond their powers? Only time will tell.

 

 

Stay tuned Champions fans! A full write up of the first issue is coming at you soon!

 

 

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Giant Size Super Spectacular #1

The Gamemaster and Players said, "Let There Be Supers", and there was Supers, and it was good.

This past Saturday, I ran the first session of a new campaign of the perennial favorite Superhero RPG ,Champions.

Entitled 'Champions: REBIRTH', the game is set in my personal variant of the universe created by my friend William C., which he used to run a Champions campaign that lasted from 1981-82 to 1993. This new campaign is a direct sequel to one I ran about three years ago. That one, as I've mentioned in a recent, previous post, did not end well.

This time out, we are embarking on our crusade against the forces of evil with a much larger team of Players and PCs, but without Marcus. I asked him not to come and he did not. It was the first time in 36+ years of gaming that I have ever kicked someone out of a gaming group of mine. In truth, I haven't really kicked him out of the group, just thing campaign. I haven't decided what to do about him in our Traveller game. I only knew that I didn't want or need him disrupting this Champions campaign, and I do not regret my choice of not having him there.

That said, the game went extremely well.

It was my friend Hans' last game with us as he will be moving away before months end. All hope is not lost however, as he may return if his current situation changes. I, and all of us, wish him the best and will miss him as a Player and as a friend.

As it turned out, my friend Jeff came for the game, as did his nephew Eric and Eric's friend Mark. I would later find out that for Mark (whom I did not know at all prior to Saturday), this was his first table top RPG of any kind, ever. Hooray for Champions and Superheroes as someones introduction to gaming! He was great too. Awesome character and the bane of henchmen everywhere!

So, here's the premise...

About 35 years ago, the world's premier Superhero team, The Champions, disbanded following a tragic mission that left their leader dead, one member badly injured, another unable to ever use their powers again at the risk of hurting everyone around him and one member quitting the team even before the mission took place. Public opinion turned against the Supers and they were suddenly considered more a danger to the world than a benefit.

A few years went by, and new heroes surfaced and some old ones returned, attempting with all their might and wits to gain back the public trust. After a few major public wins by a former teenage member of the Champions (now all grown up), the United Nations Tactical Intelligence League (UNTIL - Think UN sponsored SHIELD) connected with this hero and asked him to help lead Project: UNITY.

Project: UNITY was a concentrated move by UNTIL to coordinate the efforts and resources of Superheroes all across the globe. By setting up teams of Superheroes in various cities and countries around the world, the organization could respond to anything from a tidal wave to a Supervillain menace with the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

This worked well for some years and public relations efforts made the heroes of the time more popular than even their Golden Age counterparts ever were. However, as time pased, politics and a new breed of deadlier Supervillain made UNITY's leadership feel that they could use more help.

The point was hammered home when an alien invasion nearly decimated the superhuman population. Many Superheroes (and several villains) were injured, depowered and killed defending the Earth from the extraterrestrial threat.

Time marched on and new heroes appeared to fill in the ranks, but numbers were still light and many of these heroes were young and reckless or poorly trained. The remaining old guard took the rookies under their collective wing. Once its team had reestablished itself, and the cities of the world healed a bit from the 'Invasion: Earth' War, UNITY pushed forth the idea of a separate alliance of heroes who were capable of handling major threats without being bogged down by the red tape that sometimes hindered UNTIL's heroes.

A new, dedicated, but independent team that could act with more freedom was what was needed. They envisioned a team that was supported by UNTIL, PRIMUS (the United States SHIELD, which is not especially warm toward Superheroes) and other government and law enforcement agencies, but unlike UNITY, was free to do its own thing.

Now, five years after the alien invasion, an all new, all different team of Champions has been formed. True to their namesake, this brave and bold group of heroes is driven to win out over the forces of evil, and champion the cause of peace, justice and freedom!

Next up...Meet the New Champions!

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