Parallel Development

My friend and fellow blogger, the rather brilliant and rather British Tim Knight, has been working on a new campaign somewhat similar to my own.

While I revisit the universe of my ol' friend William Corpening's Champions campaign, 'The Age of Champions', Tim is revisiting his old Villains & Vigilantes campaign for use in a new campaign of his own. Hmm. Champions and V&V. I smell a DC/Marvel style Crossover in the making! Filing that in my mental archives for later consideration.

A recent post on his blog HeroPress describes the various incarnations over the years of his original character, The Acrobatic Flea. Tim frames each version of the Flea from the many and varied campaigns of yore (across multiple game systems) as being the Fleas of Parallel Earths. 

Parallel Earths are a classic comic book trope dating back to 1961 and DC Comics' 'The Flash of Two Worlds' in Flash #123.The concept is a favorite of mine as I've noted in several posts over the years.

This got me to thinking about the Parallel Earths we've visited, been visited by, and learned about in the assorted 'chapters' of the Age of Champions campaign, including those run by yours truly. Will had a very interesting way of cataloging and tracking each alternate universe and as such, I actually remember quite a number of them. 

It helped quite a bit that a former Player Character turned reoccurring NPC, Professor Christopher Crichton, aka The Legionnaire, was our world's foremost authority on Alternate Universes and Parallel Dimensions. His superpower was the ability to switch himself with any one of an infinite number of alternate selves throughout the multiverse. 

Professor Christopher Charles Crichton

aka The Legionnaire

Scientist, UNTIL Agent, Superhero

Crichton made plots and subplots involving Parallel Earth viable in a fashion similar to the way Cisco Ramon does on the Flash TV series. 

Here then, without further adieu, is...

The Barking Alien Guide to the Age of Champions Multiverse!

I've mentioned it in past posts but I will repeat it for clarity: Will has a very specific convention for naming and numbering the worlds of the multiverse. Each dimension is noted for it's primary team of superheroic protectors, the world that serves as the Trans-Multiversal Nexus Point (usually Earth), one or more code names (based on who GMed, created, or published that world), and finally a letter, number, or both. 

World's with similar designations are likely similar to each other. As the elements of the designation change and move further away from one another, the more differences the worlds will exhibit. 

So, as an example, the universe in which most baseline Marvel Comics titles exist would be:

Avengers (Prime Team) Earth (Nexus Point) - Mu (Marvel) -1 (the main one). Avengers Earth - Mu-1 would be the world you would be viewing if you grabbed the latest issue of Spiderman off the shelves at your local comic shop. Alternatively, since Marvel itself refers to it's own Earth as '616' you could go with Avengers Earth - Mu-616. 

Will's original, 10+ year long Age of Champions campaign took place on Champions Earth - Wilcox Charlie-1. The particulars of that world include:

• Aliens face prejudice like Mutants do in Marvel Comics
• History, especially 20th Century history, is slightly different than it is on Earth-Prime*
• Magic and the ability to use it is a very rare and powerful force. 
• The Prime Team, The Champions, don't exist throughout much of the campaign
• Superbeings are less common on Earth than they are in Marvel and DC.  
• Technology is slightly more advanced than it is in on Earth-Prime*
• The United Nations has more authority and influence here than it does on Earth-Prime*

On this Earth, Prof. Christopher Crichton is the superhero known as The Legionnaire until he goes on reserve status to further his research into Multiversal Dynamics.

UPDATED!

Big Brother Earth - Alpha Delta-Z

Identified as an Alternate Earth instead of a Parallel as the characters, history, and concepts seen on BBE-AD-Z are very different from those of variants on CE-WC-1. In fact, they are virtually identical to those of Earth - Zero-Prime until the mid-1980s, including showing no evidence of superhuman activity. All supernormal, supernatural, or similar unexplained phenomena were deemed fiction, hoaxes, or simply impossible to confirm. 

At some point in the mid-1980s, a group of four friends on a camping trip in Upstate New York became imbued with incredible superhuman powers due to exposure to some as yet unrevealed cosmic event. 

The four teenage boys had powers beyond the type and level seen on many other Earths with super beings. Although not truly how it works, imagine that all the heroes and villains of CE-WC-1 or CE-AD-A draw their powers from a single source. Now imagine only four people drawing from a source that same size and strength. 

Within a few years of obtaining their powers the four boys, calling themselves 'Big Brother', managed to strong arm the nations of their world into a global peace. Simply put they said, "Be good to each other, cease acting like a-holes, disarm your nukes, or we will do it for you. Then we will find you and take care of your lack of compassion permanently. We'll then give the job to someone who gets it."

Heavy handed as their methods were they worked, though not all that smoothly and not all at once. 

Eventually, one of the four created a device capable of viewing other Earths, including CE-AD-1 (or AD-A, or WC-1 - wherever we are running our campaign). They decided to 'help' this chaotic world achieve peace and traveled there to 'enforce utopia'. An artifact was created to grant powers to two additional people who would remain behind to run things when the four left for CE-AD-1. 

After numerous battles and arguments, the heroes of Project: UNITY and the villain Kineto convinced Big Brother that their approach would not work on CE-AD-1 (et al). Indeed they were causing more chaos and doing more harm then good. The four members of Big Brother departed for their home Earth, warning that this didn't mean they wouldn't be keeping an eye on CE-AD-1. Should its inhabitants pose a threat to the peace of BBE-AD-Z, they would be back.

Big Brother is Watching.

The Prime Team is Big Brother, consisting of The Anachronist (capable of manipulating time and the perception of it), The Harmonist (capable of manipulating emotions and thoughts through music), The Revolutionary (who can perform amazing physical feats and alter probability, but only when he cheats, lies, or otherwise cons or fools people), and The Whimsy (capable of instantly creating any object or creature from thin air as long as it doesn't already exist. The object only lasts until it performs its function or the next object is created, but the effects of these creations are sometimes permanent. The Whimsy can never create the same object twice, as once he has made something, it has indeed 'already' existed). 

The Whimsy created an item he called the Cosmic Coalescence Conductor that granted superhuman powers to two additional friends of the Big Brother group. Sadly I forget their names. One could perform physical activities and cause effects that while technically impossible for a human being, they are nonetheless common in movies and television shows. For example, if he shot a handgun at a car's gas tank the car would explode. He could fall from a great height and walk away with minor cuts and bruises. The second was able to cast magic spells, create potions, and similar fantastical feats provided he spoke in theatrical incantations, mixed eye of newt with dust from a ruined castle, etc. He needed to make it showy and he needed to believe it made sense. 

Christopher Crichton remarks that he does not have a doppleganger on this Earth, though it is possible he did and the man is deceased. 

C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.S. Earth - Alpha Delta-1

This Earth has no superhuman individuals in the classic comic book sense. It does have individuals with amazing levels of skill, high-tech devices, and some super science. It is a world in which secret agents battle diabolical masterminds and criminal organizations in a perpetual cold war environment. 

Imagine this world as being governed by the tropes of James Bond movies and television shows like Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Avengers. 

On this Earth, Christine Crichton is the world's greatest spy, working for the Central Headquarters for the American Military Preparation, Intelligence, Operations, and Networking System - C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.S..

Challengers Earth - Mu-AD1:

This Earth is a homage to Marvel Comics. It has all the Marvel tropes and the characters are clearly riffs on well known Marvel heroes and villains. The Prime Team is called the Challengers and resembles Marvel's Avengers. 

The Challengers consist of Favorite Son (Captain America), Tin Soldier (Iron Man), Raijin, The Thunder God (Thor), Big Man and Little Lady (Giant Man and Wasp), Sureshot (Hawkeye), The Apparition (Vision) and Sapphire Sorceress (Scarlet Witch).

On this Earth, Prof. Charles Christopher Crichton is known as Prof. Phenomenal, leader of the Phenomenal Four. 

Champion League Earth - Delta Ceti-AD1:

This Earth is a homage to DC Comics. It has all the DC tropes and the characters are clearly riffs on well known DC heroes and villains. The Prime Team is called the Champion League of Justice and resembles DC's Justice League and Justice League of America. 

The Prime Team consists of The Blue Bowman (Green Arrow), The Golden Ankh (Green Lantern), MaxiMode (Superman), Quark (The Atom), The Rook (Batman), Ultima (Wonder Woman), Zephyr (The Flash), and others. 

Here Chris Crichton is the mild mannered disguise of none other than the Man of the Future, The Man of Iron, MaxiMode! 

Champions Earth - Alpha Delta-A:

This Earth is virtually identical to Champions Earth - Wilcox Charlie-1 with the addition of characters, events, and ideas that occur after the end of the original Age of Champions campaign. This is the universe of my current campaign, Champions: REVIVAL. 

The PC heroes here are Hynagogia, Matrix, Pantheon, Too Fast, and Warfare. They do not, as of this posting, have a team name.

No team currently exists called The Champions. The main superhero team of this world, at present, is the UN sponsored Project: UNITY.

Crichton is as he is on Champions Earth - Wilcox Charlie-1 (CE-WC-1)

Champions Earth - Alpha Delta-1:

This Earth is virtually identical to Champions Earth - Wilcox Charlie-1 up to the Invasion: Earth War event. After that point the history of this world diverges as it follows new characters, events, and ideas introduced in my previous long running Champions campaign, The New Age of Champions. 
The PCs heroes here are Arcane, Ballistic, Night Knight, The Power, Professor Nth, and Revenant / Siphon

Crichton is as he is on Champions Earth - Wilcox Charlie-1 (CE-WC-1)

Champions Earth - Alpha Delta-2:

Inspired by DC Comics' Earth-2 and Earth-X, this world is identical to CE-WC-1 and CE-AD-1 up until the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Allied Champions prevent the bombings and World War II continues until 1955. 

The world's nations are divided up differently and a powerful Nazi regime still controls parts of Europe. The United Nations is referred to as the Alliance of Nations. The Prime Team is still the Allied Champions, though they are more commonly referred to as simply The Champions. The team membership is very different from the previously mentioned Earths. 

The Allied Champions consist of American Eagle IV and Winger IV (the latter being Bluejay on the Earths with a '1' or an 'A'), The Crusader, The Crimson Cowl II, The Mask of Freedom IV, The Phantom of Paris, and The Canadian Shield.

Here, a younger Chris Crichton is a 'boy genius' sidekick to the Allied Champions. He has a knack for building amazing devices out of found objects and junk (like a super-science MacGyver). 

Champions Earth - Alpha Delta-3:

On this Earth the heroes of CE-AD-1 are villains. This is the classic 'Evil Twin' Earth similar to the Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths version of Earth-3. There are a number of heroes here as well, all alternate versions of villains who have battled the PC's, but many of them were killed by the Champions of Evil. 

The good guys of CE-AD-1 put a major hurting on their criminal dopplegangers in the New Age of Champions campaign by getting assistance from their alternate selves from several other Earths.

The Prime Team, the Champions of Evil, includes of Ice Witch (Ice Queen), Macrocosm (Microcosm), Ominous (Omni), Overkill (Overload), Pulse (Pulse), Scaramangler (Christian Scaramangler), and many others. 

Doctor Christopher Crichton is a scientist who specializes in multi-dimensional physics and while he doesn't have any powers, he has several inventions that enable him to teleport, fold space, alter his physical dimensions, and other related feats.

Champions Earth - Alpha Delta-4:

AD-4 is an Earth noted for its relative lack of superpowered beings. There are only a dozen or so costumed heroes and villains in the world and the powers that be generally frown on superhero activity. 

Not much else is known about this Earth. 

This world was heavily influenced by Charlton Comics, The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Watchmen. 

Here Christopher Crichton is known as 'The Chief', and serves as the strategic and tactical specialist behind the Champions super team. 

Champions Earths - Alpha Delta-7, Alpha Delta-12, and Alpha Delta-23:

Little to nothing is known about these Earths other then they were destroyed and consumed by the multi-dimensional villainess Lady Disdain (aka Empress Ishtara Dys'Tayn).

Council of Champions Earth - Alpha Delta-1

While many identify this as an Alternate Earth, Prof. Crichton insists on logging it as a Parallel. He once stated that although it seems very different from CE - WC-1 on the surface, it shares many analog events, people, and concepts with that Earth.

Sometimes called Council Earth - AD-1, this is an Earth where magic is the primary power in the world. Science functions but is generally less effective and desirable when compared to the arcane arts. 

Imagine something somewhere between an out in the open Wizarding World of Harry Potter and a somewhat Victorian-Era Dungeons and Dragons setting. 

The world is protected by an group of powerful and wise wizards and witches from across the globe known as The Council of Champions. The planet is ruled by the Tribunal of Unity.

Little else is known about this world, including the exact make up and membership of the Council of Champions. 

Here, Master Kristoff of Croton, Son of Charles the Undamned, Archmage of the Eastern Rivers, Protector of the Hudson, and Banisher of Demons is a member of the Council of Champions. Kristoff specializes in spells and arcane knowledge dealing with demons, devils, and invaders from other realms. 

Force United Earth - Alpha Delta-1:

Identified as an Alternate Earth instead of a Parallel as the characters, history, and concepts seen on FUE-AD-1 are very different from those of variants on CE-WC-1.

Here the United Nations is paramount (even more so then on CE-WC-1 and its close parallels), with individual governments running the day-to-day goings-on of their respective countries but final say on all international and global matters falling to the UN. Much like CE-WC-1, AD-1, AD-A, and others, there is an international network of superheroes and superteams. Instead of UNITY, this world has The Force United. 

One member of Force United America, the superhero Excelsior, was blasted through a dimensional rift from this world to CE-WC-1. He remained there for several months until The Legionnaire could find his world's Quantum Frequency and send him home. Excelsior is considered an Honorary Member of CE-WC-1's UNITY New York (and presumably AD-1's and AD-A's as well. Wait...or was that an alternate Excelsior who...nevermind). 

The Prime Team, Force United America, consists of The Cheetah, Equinox, Excelsior, The Patriot, Spellbound, Talon Guard, and The Voyager. 

On this Earth, Prof. Christopher Crichton is one of the foremost authorities on the Meta-gene, Meta-genetics, and the biological science behind superhuman powers. 

Ravagers Earth - Alpha Delta-1:

Identified as an Alternate Earth instead of a Parallel as the characters, history, and concepts seen on RE-AD-1 are very different from those of variants on CE-WC-1.

In the recent past, a dark wizard supervillain cast a spell intended to raise an army of the dead. The spell was improperly cast and instead of summoning a hoard of shambling skeletons he slew one third of the world's population and those slain rose twenty-four hours later as brain-eating zombies. 

Old Glory, leader of the world's greatest super team, The Righteous, snapped after discovering what had happened. He proceeded to hunt down the necromancer and beat him to death on national television. Glory than issued a televised statement that he and his team would protect the living, destroy the undead, and make every last villain who had assisted the dark wizard pay dearly. He became obsessive and if you weren't with him, you were a danger to the very idea of good. He renamed his team, The Ravagers.

The Prime Team here, The Ravagers, are Gear Head, Miasma (former villain), Morning Star, Old Glory, and The Saint of Spades. 

The Christopher Crichton of this world died and was resurrected as one of the undead. He has the power to teleport by displacing himself with another person (basically they switch locations - only people in visual range). 

In addition to these worlds, I have seen a few Parallel Selves of Chris Crichton/The Legionnaire without knowing the Earth they came from. In the three and a half years I was part of the original Age of Champions campaign I recall encountering:

Charles 'Creek Charlie' Christianson, a ghost fighting gunslinger from a 'Wild West' Earth. 
Christopher CX1, an android/replicant type from a Cyberpunk/Blade Runner themed Earth. 
Krees, from an Earth where dinosaurs evolved into sentient humanoids. 

There are an infinite number of quantum realities and there is no way anyone could ever catalog them all, let alone visit them. Chris Crichton will keep trying of course. It's what he does and we're glad he's there to do it. 

Until next time,

AD
Barking Alien

*Our designation for our Earth, the Earth of the GM and players in the real world, is Earth - Prime-Zero, or simply Earth-Prime.

**Many of these Earths are my versions of ones William introduced in his campaign. Some are my own invention. Essentially, for each 'Alpha Delta' Earth assume there is also a 'Wilcox Charlie' incarnation.

After all, there are an infinite number of parallel worlds.

Yours is out there as well.

The New Champions - Issue #0

I successfully ran a second session of Champions 4th Edition with the same Player Characters so I can officially declare my new campaign is a go! In addition, the second session saw a third player enter the fray and a fourth looks to be joining us next time.

I can't tell you how excited I am. Well, I guess I can actually...I'm really freakin' excited. The second session built on the first as the personalities and view points of the characters were explored, superpowered combat and mayhem ensued and loose ends unravelled and got even looser.

I'm going to be doing session recaps soon but first I wanted to give a little background information on the setting so that some of the events make sense based on the context.

A Return to 'The Age of Champions'

As I've mentioned before, my new Champions campaign is set in roughly the same campaign universe as that developed by my friend Will for his long running (1981-1992) Champions campaign entitled 'The Age of Champions'. I say roughly because I am taking some liberties with the setting. First and foremost, my campaign begins about 6 months after the last time I played in Will's game but I am saying those events are in line with the present not my last chronological game session (which would be 1989 I think).

I was only a part of his campaign from 1985 to 1989 and as such, a lot happened after I left (I didn't actually leave. I went to college here in New York but Will and several of the other players all ended up going to different universities and having different work schedules). I feel that the time frame I've chosen is perfect because I remember it well and it was a very dramatic turning point in the campaign. More on that in a moment.

'The Age of Champions' is a catch-all title covering Will's entire campaign, which at various points focused on different eras of social, political and economic history that were reflected in the comic books of the time. So within the universe, characters (PC and NPC alike) will actually say the words 'Golden Age' and 'Silver Age' when referring to particular periods.

The first games he ran were set in a sort of late Silver Age. The Golden Age was referrenced often and seen/played out in flashbacks from what I understand. The Silver Age ends on a very sour note, ushering in the Iron Age, also called 'The Age of Chaos'. This latter era is the timeframe in which I participated.

I haven't decided what to call the new age we are gaming in other than the Modern Age right now but I'm considering New Golden Age or New Heroic Age (a referrence to post-Civil War/Secret Invasion Marvel Comics).

The Setting

Our story is set on Champions Earth Alpha Delta-1. For those unfamiliar with Champions 'canon', alternate Earths in Champions are often referred to by the preeminent super team of the world. Will further defined their designations with the classic numbers familiar to DC Comics (and now Marvel) readers and Greek or other letters for noting the GM's initials or other little codes. For example, Marvel's Earth-616 (the primary setting of most Marvel Comics titles) would be 'Avengers Earth-1'. If I ran a campaign set on that Earth, my campaign would be Avengers Earth Alpha Delta (Adam Dickstein - AD) -1. Will's version of his campaign universe is Champions Earth Wilco Charlie 1.

The Story

Following the heroes' triumph in thwarting an alien invasion, my alien hero StarGuard, having defended the Earth and the lost prince of my people's stellar rival (the hero called Omni), returned to his planet to rejoin his extraterrestrial teammates and oversee the peace talks between Omni's species and his own.

Many heroes (and villains who had lent a hand) were injured, some were killed and some simply retired, having had enough of the superhero lifestyle after losing loved ones in the battle for Terra.

This is essentially how our new campaign begins. Unlike Marvel and DC, the world of Champions Earth Alpha Delta-1 is a bit light on superpeople. There are approximately 150 active Superheroes in the United States as of the beginning of the game and about three times as many villains. The entire world probably has only 500-550 supers...maybe.

The PCs are new heroes who've popped up in the aftermath of the failed invasion. Many have sketchy origins, either unknown to them, being kept secret by them or related to one or more government super-soldier production projects (to swell the ranks of the just who desperately need it). This last bit creates an interesting background of distrust with the government and lends a conspiracy theory feel to things.

The Tone

The tone of the campaign would seem to be a mix of modernized Silver Age ideas and Marvel's Ultimates line or DC's Wildstorm. Villains aren't playing around. They're not (at least not all of them) stupid. Combat is brutal. The generally 4 Color comic atmosphere of most of my Superhero campaigns has gone and found itself one of those new 96 colors crayon boxes. Between the white hats and black hats are a million shades of grey.

I could say more but I'll leave it there for now. Next up I'll tell you about the characters and the sessions themselves. Any questions or comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated.

AD
Barking Alien

CHAMPIONS - AGE of CHAOS - Prelude

One of the games I was able to run over the holiday vacation was Champions 4th Edition, my favorite version of one of my all time favorite Superhero RPGs (probably my current favorite - sorry Mutants & Masterminds 3E. I still love you man). 

The sessions were designed to teach the game to a few friends who'd never played it before, as well as giving a refresher course to some ol' Hero System veterans who hadn't played in a while (or were more familiar with other editions). 

The group I ran for [Dan's Group] responded positively to the game so it looks like I'll be running a full on campaign with them. 

Running Champions always takes me back to our absolutely incredible high school campaign. It's one I have mentioned many times on this blog, though I don't feel I have ever given it the justice it deserves (pun intended). 

Consider this a prelude to a Campaign I Have Played. 

In order to tell the tale of Will's epic Champions game, the backstory of it needs to be told as well.

You see, my friend William started his campaign in 1981, with the first edition of the game. That first team of PCs and their campaign formed the early canon for the subsequent adventures William would run on his world of Champions Earth-Wilco Charlie-1 for over a decade to come.

Through middle school, high school, and early college, his campaign would cover an eleven year history in real time. In-game, it would detail Champions Earth-WC-1 from the pre-historic era to the distant future, across the stars, and onward and outward to parallel Earths and other dimensions.

The world was grounded in our reality, so there weren't any fictional cities as one would see in the DC Comics universe. Most of the action took place in New York City, New York and other real world locations. Just as in many comic book settings secret lands, alien civilizations, and even the occasional fictitious nation could surely be found.

Real world people and events also played a role, sometimes in an alternative history fashion. 

Each 'chapter' of the campaign was a mini-campaign onto itself. One might even say they were separate campaigns with a kind of 'meta-campaign' based on their shared world history tying them all together. The various campaigns emulated [sometimes on purpose, sometimes accidentally] different eras of comic book history as well and received titles based on said periods.

The Silver Age of Champions:

The Champions (of the Silver Age)

Left to Right:

a teenage Omni, Tachyon, Garrison, Tower, and The Legionnaire***

The first campaign was entitled Champions: The Silver Age, and lasted from 1981 to about 1983. It began thematically Silver but was very Bronze by the end of it. 

It featured a team of traditional costumed and code named superheroes who inherited their team name from their long defunct predecessors, the Golden Age* Allied Champions. The team consisted of...

Garrison (a Super Soldier created to deal with the Iran Hostage Crisis)
Legionnaire (Scientist who can swap himself with one of his parallel Earth duplicates)
Omni (An alien teen with mental powers who joins as a rookie/sidekick member)
Tachyon (Super Speedster who converts to an Energy Form, and can absorb Energy)
Tower (Team Leader - a man with growth powers)

As I understand it, there were a few other PC and NPC members of the team at various points that I sadly don't recall. 

They took on evil organizations such as VIPER and DEMON, as well as numerous costumed criminals and malevolent masterminds. Major enemies included Dr. Destroyer, Eurostrike, Sundown, and Kineto**.

The campaign's finale involved a feud between two supervillains (Sundown and Kineto) and the heroes stepping in to prevent their battle from destroying Manhattan. The heroes had intel about roughly when and where the fight would occur but were dramatically divided over how to proceed.

Garrison insisted that the only way to stop what could be a terrible catastrophe was to kill the two villains. The rest of the team refused to kill anyone in cold blood, even major bad guys. Unable to reconcile, Garrison quits the team before the final battle.

At the battle, Sundown prepares to unleash an attack that would certainly destroy most of the city. He kills the Champions' leader, Tower, when that hero tries to sneak attack him from behind. A number of Champions members are also injured in the battle fighting Sundown and Kineto. 

Tachyon uses his energy absorption powers to reduce the power of Sundown's attack, which unfortunately overloads his own powers rendering him unable to use his abilities ever again less they go out of control. Tachyon is aided by Kineto in the conflict. Kineto uses his inertia and kinetic energy control to deflect Sundown's remaining Solar Sphere attack into space. 

The conflict ends when an unknown sniper, making an impossible shot with an incredible projectile weapon, shoots Sundown in the head. He falls from the top of a tall building and dies. Kineto escapes. The Champions, crestfallen by the outcome, the death of Tower, the neutralizing of Tachyon and other issues, disbands.

The Bronze Age of Champions:

A new campaign kicked off in 1985 with the timeline forwarded a few years.  

Tachyon (now an NPC) had retired from active superhero work but served as a media personality and superhuman advocate. The events of the Champions' final mission, as well as several subsequent situations, had caused superheroes to fall out of favor. Few Supers were still active. Most superhuman crimes were handled by special forces of the police, the organization known as PRIMUS (in Will's campaign, 'ParaHuman Response and Intelligence Military for the United States'), and UNTIL (the United Nations Tactical Intelligence League).

One of the superheroes still superheroing was Omni, that former junior member of the Champions who was now one of the only costumed crimefighters to have the public trust. This was no small feat either as Omni was an alien and aliens suffer a prejudice in Will's universe like that of mutants in Marvel Comics. 

Thanks to Omni's continued good deeds and Tachyon's spin-doctoring of those deeds, the tide began to turn. More new superheroes began to come out in public view. After Omni and several other heroes saved the President of the United States and a group of UN Ambassadors, UNTIL decided it was time to implement a plan they'd been considering.

UNTIL contacted Omni and asked him to help organize and lead a new team of supers that would be available to respond to situations in countries all over the world. UNTIL would oversee the teams, each with its own leader. The US, experiencing the most superhuman crime, would get the first team, based in NY, and lead by Omni. Omni agreed, but nixed a plan to refer to the teams as the World Champions. Instead, he wanted the team to be referred to as Project: UNITY. 

The Champions (of the Bronze Age)
aka Project: UNITY

Left to Right:

Steel Hawk, Ice Queen, Pulse, Omni, and Vector

The initial line up for UNITY consisted of:

Ice Queen (NPC - Female Doctor and Medical Engineer with Ice/Cold Powers)
Omni (Team Leader - Psi-powered alien all grown up)
Pulse (Super Speedster with Electricity Powers - Popular Local NYC hero)
Steel Hawk (Winged Vigilante in Armor with a number of crime fighting Gadgets) ****
Vector (Physicist and Mathematician with (Extremely Cool) Teleportation Powers)

Legionnaire joins as a scientist for UNTIL/UNITY specializing in alternate Earths, fractured timelines, and extra-dimensional research. Although technically retired like his friend Tachyon, Legionnaire's powers still worked just fine and he lent a helping hand on several adventures. 

The team was very successful and public opinion was soon swayed heavily in favor of superheroes returning. Superhero fan clubs, dedicated news shows and magazines, and much more started to appear. The team expanded and teams started appearing in England, France, the Soviet Union, and elsewhere. 

Unfortunately, new villains (PC and NPC alike) started to appear as well and old ones came out of hiding. Major enemies of this campaign included a returning Doctor Destroyer (until his final defeat and apparent death), Prof. Muerte & Terror Incorporated, Genocide (an anti-Mutant group - with a twist!), Shark &  Viper, The Grand Scheme, and many more.

Just as anti-superhuman sentiment dropped, anti-alien notions were on the rise. Although Omni was still a beloved hero, alien villains and an attempted invasion made people very leery of strange visitors from other planets. This was further instigated by a well-connected conspiracy theory group called The Extra Solar Society that claimed aliens had secretly taken over the government. 

In one story arc, aliens scouting out the Earth for a possible invasion kidnapped Joseph Scaramangler, a reverend and the founder of the Scaramangler Foundation, an organization that helps super-powered people learn to control their powers and lead productive lives (imagine a global version of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters combined with the Red Cross and Amnesty International - one of my favorite elements of the setting). 

Joseph is killed accidentally by the aliens before he can be rescued. His son Christian, a metahuman with super-genius level intelligence in the field of technology, joins forces with UNITY to defeat the aliens. He is asked to join UNITY and accepts, but secretly does so in order to keep an eye on Omni, who Christian is convinced is secretly out to take over the world. 

IMPORTANT: Omni and Christian Scaramangler are both PCs. Imagine Superman and Lex Luthor are now on the same team - both members of the Justice League. They will fight side-by-side against supervillains but Scaramangler secretly hates Omni and tries to undermine him at every turn. 

It made for a fantastic dynamic but one that soon got out of hand. Scaramangler was often two or three steps ahead of Omni and his friends, none of whom knew Scaramangler was actually a villain in many ways. The game changed from a Superhero game to one focused on espionage where the bad guy was acting like the primary protagonist. 

This situation prompted Will and Dave to invite me to join the campaign and ushered in...

The Age of Chaos.

Stay tuned...

AD
Barking Alien 

*Although heroes, villains, and events of the setting's Golden Age (the late 1930s to the late 1950s) are referenced often during the campaigns, Will never ran a Golden Age specific campaign.

**Kineto is the big bad of The Silver Age - one of the biggest bads of The Bronze Age (although he occasionally acted heroically) - and THE biggest big bad of The Age of Chaos (while still sometimes coming off as heroic!). 

He is a complex, multi-layered villain with a long history dating back to being a kid Superhero in World War II. He has personality, charm, intelligence, gravitas, honor, and a ton of baggage. 

He is one of the most interesting, awesome, and frustrating villains I have ever encountered in a RPG and a primary example of why my buddy William C. is the best GM I've ever had the pleasure to play under.

***I don't recall Legionnaire's original costume at all. I put him in his later UNITY/UNTIL uniform instead. 

***I may have this character's name wrong. It might have been Steel Wing or City Hawk. I forget.

UPDATE: See comments below for additional information!

CHAMPIONS - THE AGE OF CHAOS - Part I

Sorry for the delay in getting out the latest issue of this series. Modern comics always seem to come out late don't they?

Now that you've...

Checked into the origin,
Read the back issues,
and
Gotten a hold of the character spotlight on Starguard,

I think it's time we really got this party started...

***

Campaigns I Have Known Played

Proudly Presents...

CHAMPIONS

THE AGE OF CHAOS

An AGE OF CHAMPIONS Campaign

Project: UNITY (in the AGE of CHAOS)

Left to Right:

(In the air)
Starguard and Omni

(On the ground)
The Arctic Fox, Night Force, Christian Scaramangler,
Pulse, Overload, and Fusion (Floating)

Title: CHAMPIONS - The AGE of CHAOS

This name was actually given to the campaign after about a year or so of play.

Prior to that it was assumed that the events and characters within the game were part of The Bronze Age campaign, which had already been running for a year and a half. Will decided to differentiate it because of the change in tone and the influx of new characters, starting with mine. 

The Age of Chaos is the third of the four campaigns that made up the meta-campaign, The Age of Champions.

System: Champions 3rd Edition, by Hero Games (published 1984).

Will had some minor house rules but for the most part what he did was pre-figure a lot of the crunch in his notes and in his head. Combat was extremely fast, with the Phase/Combat Round system used for large battles only. Smaller conflicts (meaning those with fewer than five total participants) were simplified to make them go much quicker (while still keeping a character's Speed and Dexterity relevant). 

Circa: 1986-1989. The campaign ran for approximately 3 1/2 years. It may have been as long as 4 years, lasting into 1990.

The game was run Monday-through-Friday during the school year (roughly September-to-June) for an average of 5 1/2 hours each day. The sessions were often broken up into 1-4 hour intervals. 

We played before and after classes and during our lunch period. 

For the first three years of the campaign there were no weekend games, nor any during the Summer months.

In the final half a year-to-a year games were only on weekends and even then only one or two weekend sessions a month. I based my calculations on the same 5.5 hour average but the weekend sessions were usually longer than that in point of fact. 

This means there were approximately 552 five and half hour sessions in total. 

For more details see this post. 

Gamemaster: The one and only William Corpening, Champions Guru Extraordinaire! 

Will was, like most of the players, a 16-18 year old male and a New York City native (from Jamaica, Queens I believe). He is African-American. 

Player Base: There were a total of 12 active players in the Age of Chaos campaign, although on average no more than 5-6 were at the table at one time. An additional four players participated 'part-time', often appearing in 'cameo rolls' (joining in irregularly whenever they were able). 

At least two of the major crossover stories featured 12-16 players at the table all together.

Players were mostly male, with two female part-timers, made up of a vast array of ethnicities and all between the ages of 16 and 19. 

Characters: Oh boy...

With 12 regular players and 4 part-timers, there were a lot of PCs. 

But that's just the tip of the iceberg...

The Age of Chaos campaign featured troupe style play. While neither mandatory nor especially encouraged, it was totally fine to have more than one PC per player. 

Considering how dangerous and dare I say brutal the campaign was, having an alternate character to play while your main PC was in the hospital wing of the team's headquarters wasn't a bad idea.

In Starguard's second or maybe third appearance he got hit hard by a super baddie (well, he was a bad guy at the time) and got put out of action for about four or five sessions. It was nice to have someone to be while Starguard was recuperating. 

Another factor to note here is that some players were playing heroes while others played villains. I will list the PC villains in a separate post in the section entitled Opposition.

Characters featured in the majority of adventures or who were especially important to a large number of plots will be identified as 'Mains', as in Main Characters. Alternate PCs, played less often and usually having more minor or support roles will be identified as 'Alts'. 

With so many characters (and a busy schedule of late) its taken me nearly a week to write up this entry, which isn't complete by a long shot. In the interest of getting out more posts and making sure this post isn't ludicrously long (it isn't - it's only ridiculously long) I am breaking it up into multiple posts. 

Here then is the main team - all Mains, all A List, full time UNITY member superheroes.

A final note: Christian Scaramangler, although eventually labelled a villain, will be honored here by listing him with the other heroic members of Project: UNITY. Why? Well, for all the trouble he caused and even the damage he did, the player always thought of him as a tragic hero. Indeed he acted heroically in many instances, saving the lives of countless civilians. Whatever he became in the end, he started as a member of UNITY and the game wouldn't have been what it was without him. 

Onward...

Arctic Fox / White Wolf II (played by Pete H. - Main)

Arctic Fox is essentially the Wolverine of a parallel, Marvel Comics homage Earth (Challengers Earth-Mu-1) that our world crossed over with during The Dark Trinity Incident. 

Trapped on Champions Earth-Wilco Charlie-1 following that event, Arctic Fox remained with the team, though he was having trouble feeling like he fit in. Eventually, he took some time off and traveled to this Earth's Canada in an attempt to reconnect with his origins. While in Canada, using a false identity, he befriended a old rancher and the man's daughter. Fox ended up helping the pair fend off gangsters trying to steal the old man's land. Fox also fell in love with the man's daughter in the process.

Afterwards the old man revealed that he was once a superhero himself. In fact, he had been the Golden Age Canadian super known as White Wolf. He told Fox that although this world may not be the one he's from, Fox would always have a home at the ranch. 

Arctic Fox returned to New York with a new name and a modified version of the old man's costume, becoming White Wolf II. (All of the that was actually run as a side adventure that eventually reconnected with our main plot).

Arctic Fox/White Wolf was born to a Canadian Mountie and an Inuit Fox Goddess/Spirit that saved the man's life during a terrible blizzard. He possesses heightened senses of smell and hearing, regenerative healing (though not as impressive as Wolverine's), incredible speed (he could run at about 100-150 mph), and had magically hardened, razor sharp claws. 

His most interesting power however was his uncontrolled, unconscious ability to generate ice, snow, and high winds the angrier he became. In intense fights his immediate area would experience blizzard level conditions and thick frost. 

White Wolf II is a full member of Project: UNITY. Following the 'Invasion: Earth War' story he transferred to UNITY Canada. On Challengers Earth-Mu-1 he was a member of The Northern Lights (aka Alpha Flight).

Christian Scaramangler (played by Eric F - Main)

At the age of 6 or so, Christian designed the first version of the Minute Man robots now used the world over to protect numerous nations from rogue superhumans. At 8 he created a Danger Room-like facility for super-beings to test and practice their powers safely. This design was was eventually replicated by the [Silver Age] Champions. 

It wasn't long before Christian's inventions were seen by a high ranking military official friend of his father, Joseph. With the assistance of the aging Golden Age super scientist, Doctor Jourdain Pascal Jeanias (aka Dr. Genius), the senior Scaramangler set up Scaramangler Industries to produce his son's technological marvels as a means of bettering the world and funding vast improvements to the Scaramangler Foundation. 

Avoiding any public recognition or appearances for most of his young and teenage years, the junior Scaramangler nonetheless developed into a handsome, cultured young man. Eventually, he made brief outings, leaving his workshop to support his father's humanitarian and super-humanitarian efforts. 

When Joseph Scaramangler was accidentally killed by two alien scouts who'd come to Earth as the possible prelude to an alien invasion, Christian designed and built for himself a custom suit of powered armor to join the search for the extraterrestrial culprits. Successful in apprehending them with the help of Project: UNITY, Christian was offered a position on the UNITY New York team by a joint decision of Omni and the UNTIL Director assigned to the group. Scaramangler accepted.

Unbeknownst to anyone (at least at first) Christian Scaramangler harbored a vengeful hatred of aliens as a result of his father's death. In addition, he misconstrued many elements of Omni's actions, as well as previous game world history, as the basis for an alien conspiracy he KNEW to be bent on world domination. 

Scaramangler would spend Experience Points, in-game resources, as well as time both in and out of game planning ways of defeating the alien menace he perceived. This included embarrassing, impeding, and thwarting many of the actions and efforts of Omni. Scaramangler (and his Player) was extremely deft at deflecting blame and getting rid of any evidence that he was behind any wrong doing.

Eventually, it started to get out of hand. Omni had difficulty doing much of consequence without his efforts being either deflected or his public image making it seem as if he were less than competent. So effective was Scaramangler that new players drifted towards being villains as often as heroes. He made it look fun. 

When I entered the picture it didn't automatically solve the problem but it did balance the scales.

I will talk more about The Age of Chaos era Scaramangler in a later installment, discussing his truly villainous actions and what became of him as a result.

For the duration of this character's existence as a PC he was a full member of Project: UNITY. Even when the truth was finally revealed to the team and appropriate NPCs, the public was never informed of Scaramangler's dastardly activities less it cause problems for the Scaramangler Foundation, which was a truly benevolent organization.

Fusion (played by Paulo ? - Main)

Fusion is essentially the Firestorm of a parallel, DC Comics homage Earth (Champions League Earth-Delta Ceti-1) that our world crossed over with during The Dark Trinity Incident.

The major difference between the DC Comics character Firestorm and Fusion is what enabled Fusion to acclimate to living on a new Earth more easily than Arctic Fox did. Unlike Ronnie Raymond and Prof. Martin Stein, who merge to become Firestorm and then come apart, the, um, 'people' who form Fusion have a very different dynamic.

When the Professor, The Student, and an Android containing the Fusion Matrix merged to form Fusion, the merged entity first turned its power on itself. When it turned 'back' the three individuals had become one being with mixed memories. I forget their names, but it was something like...Professor Alan Bernstein, Student Claudio Acosta, and Fusion Android Mk. III who form Fusion. Fusion un-merges to become Prof. Alan Acosta the 3rd. 

Having to come to terms with this and essentially constructing an identity and a life from the ground up meant it didn't matter if he did that over on his Earth or on this one. It was all the same to Fusion. 

Fusion possesses the power to rearrange the atomic structure of matter with some interesting limitations and applications. He must know the proper chemical or molecular formula and early on had to say it out loud. For example, in order to turn Steel into Sugar, Fusion would focus on the Steel object and say, "C12H22O11!", the chemical formula for sugar.

Additionally, Fusion could command the atomic structure of an object to 'split', creating an energy blast. Fusion's powers only affect matter and possibly plasma but not energy. Later he could affect energy with extreme effort.

Fusion was a full time, fully fledged member of UNITY. Before being transported to our Earth he was a newly recruited member of the Champion League of Justice (the Justice League of America counterpart) on Champions League Earth-Delta Ceti-1.

Night Force (played by David C. - Main)

A brilliant inventor and engineer, Night Force was previous the Chief of Operations for Project: UNITY's top secret headquarters in New York City. After revamping the base's security systems, the Chief told Omni and the other assembled superheroes that no one, not even the villain Kineto, could break in. Omni asked, "Not even you?"

The next day the Chief called a meeting with Omni and the UNTIL Director of UNITY. The Chief dropped one of Omni's costumes on the Director's desk. He had broken into the base the night before, bypassed his own security measures, and took the outfit to prove it. Omni told him to keep it. Furthermore, Omni suggested his skills might be better used in the field. A few weeks later, the team added Night Force to its ranks. 

Night Force was once described, quite accurately, as "What if Batman were Reed Richards under the cowl?". While a skilled detective, it is mostly because of his high intelligence and analytical mind. Although a trained martial artist, Night Force is no Bruce Lee. As far as gadgets go however, Batman is using sticks with rocks tied to them compared to what Night Force has.

Night Force's costume has a complex network of teleportation circuitry. What appears to be a utility belt, bracelets, and the like are actually panels used to activate a teleport sequence that summons a particular device from a 'transporter room' storage facility at the UNITY base. He looks like he's doing hand jive half the time. Devices include moon shaped boomerangs that can explode, create a stun blast, triangulate a capturing force field, and generate an EMP. He can also summon a Jet Cycle, an Impact Foam Shield, and even a gravity field generator. 

Night Force became a full time member of UNITY and later in the campaign took over field command and tactical/strategy duties from Omni. Eventually Night Force was officially made Team Leader of UNITY New York.

Omni (played by David C. - Main)

As a small child, Omni was secreted away by his maternal uncle, the loyal court Chamberlain, when a bloody coup by the commoners killed the Mandaarian Empire's Royal Family. The two aliens hid on the distant and primitive planet of Earth, blending into the population of Queens, NY using their psychic abilities (including generating mental illusions). 

Initially the Chamberlain refused to let the young Mandaarian go outside of their small apartment without him and did not let him interact with Humans more than absolutely necessary. Omni learned about Human society through books, comics, and television. He grew to love the ideals of free and democratic nations and was especially enamored with the Superheroes who protected them and their people. 

As time wore on, the Chamberlain grew old and more feeble. In order to obtain food, medicine, and other essentials, Omni started working several jobs including supermarket clerk and paper boy. He found Humans to be fascinating and wonderful and would periodically glean from their thoughts images of what they thought a 'hero' looked like. 

One day while he was walking home from one of his jobs he encountered a bank robbery in progress. Ducking into a nearby alley, he altered the mental illusion he had constructed to appear Human and changed it to his 'Superhero Identity', a gestalt image of the traits he obtained from the imaginations of various people. Knowing he needed a symbol on his chest - the thought scans told him most heroes had one - he chose an infinity symbol. Suddenly the crowd was astonished to see a teenage Super with a costume, cape, and green skin swoop down from the sky to help with the situation. With powers such as Telepathy, Telekinesis, and Flight Omni was able to assist the police in apprehending the crooks in short order. 

Omni became an overnight sensation! Although there was a general animosity towards extraterrestrials, the baby boomer and younger generations thought of Omni as smart, handsome, and dashing. It was a popular youth magazine that named him 'Omni'. The Chamberlain did not approve and went to Omni's room to give him a stern talking to. Unfortunately, he never made it. The Chamberlain died of a heart attack and although Omni did everything he could, the Chamberlain made him swear not to take him to a Human hospital. There would be nothing they could do for him anyway. 

That was the moment that Omni changed his life. He established his secret identity as a Human to enroll in school and his superhero identity joined The Champions as a junior member. Eventually he graduated and got a scholarship to attend a prestigious college. He went on to become one of the most popular and effective Supers of his day. Following the final mission of The Champions, Omni took some time off, finished college, got a job, and eventually returned to hero-ing solo.

Later still, as his abilities increased and expanded, he was asked to start and lead UNTIL's Project: UNITY New York team. 

There is sooo much more to Omni and his story but I'll save the details for another post. 

Omni is a member of the Royal Bloodline of Mandaar and like all Mandaarians possesses telepathic abilities. As with other members of the royal family, he has other additional psionic powers as well. Chief among his abilities are Telekinesis, the ability to create a TK Force Shield, a Telepathic Attack than can render someone asleep or cause debilitating headaches, create Psionic Illusions, and later in the campaign he could Teleport. Minor abilities include Psychotelemetry, Clairvoyance, and more. 

His physical appearance is an illusion. He is actually much less Human looking, resembling a classic 'UFO Gray' alien although his coloration in both forms is green. 

Omni was a full time member of UNITY and lead the team for the majority of the campaign. He is honestly one of my all time favorite Superhero characters ever. I meant that and I include ones from games, movies, television, and comic books. 

Overload (played by ? - Main)

Overload was once a US Marine who sacrificed himself to save his unit by diving onto a makeshift explosive in Libya. As he lay dying in a military hospital, a secret US government organization offered him the chance to undergo an experimental bionic procedure that would save his life and turn him into a superpowered soldier. He agreed and was transformed into Overload. 

PRIMUS assigned him as second in command of a team of American superheroes who they hoped would provide the USA with an alternative to always calling on UNITY for help with super-normal crises. That team was F.I.R.S.T. Strike (Federal Interception and Reconnaissance Superhuman Troopers). 

Unfortunately, most of that is a lie.

Overload, like all the members of F.I.R.S.T. Strike, was genetically engineered; grown in test tubes and imprinted with false memories. The person Overload was before he woke up as Overload never existed. 

When the truth was revealed by Night Force during a confrontation between F.I.R.S.T. Strike and UNITY, Overload switched sides as he was already having moral issues with the mission his team was on. 

In spite of being a nearly seven foot tall, cybernetic powerhouse armed with 'Rob Liefeld Guns', Overload is pretty down-to-earth. He tends to spend off hours having beers, playing pool, and watching sports with the folks down at Oddball's Bar and Grill (a popular hang out of the superhuman set), and seems like a fairly regular Joe.

Overload possesses superhuman strength, endurance, and durability, as well as a variety of heightened sensory abilities as a result of an array of cybernetic implants. He also has a built in transmitter and transceiver with a satellite link. He travels largely by superleaps achieved thanks to his bionic legs. 

His primary power however comes from his 'Kinetic Exchange Harness'. Overload can absorb a portion of any attack on his person that consists of kinetic energy/physical force and redirect that force through his specially designed 'hand cannons'. The absorbed energy propels the projectiles in these bazooka-life firearms to many times their normal speed, which is already quite formidable. The ammunition in the cannons varies and has included armor piercing bullets, concussion grenades, gas grenades, and high-explosive, gyro-jet missiles.

In addition to his special abilities and weaponry, Overload is as skilled as a US Marine with ten years active and combat experience (simulated). He is proficient in a number of forms of hand-to-hand combat including the Marine Corps Martial Arts program. (Yep. That's a thing). He is also a sharpshooter and well versed in the use of numerous types of firearms including bazookas, LAWs, and other rocket launchers from various countries.

Overload started out an anti-hero/enemy, became a probationary member, then a full member of UNITY.

Pulse (played by AJ - Main)

Ah Pulse. I love this guy.

When a lightning bolt struck his science exhibition display, many were certain the brilliant young physics student who would become Pulse was a goner. Instead, he awoke from a coma one month later with no immediately detectable injuries or issues of any kind. Before long he manifested his super-powers of speed and electricity and set out to right wrongs as the pavement pounding Pulse!

Unfortunately, Pulse's initial attempts at superheroing were a mixed bag. While he thwarted numerous crimes and even tangled with some serious super baddies, he didn't have full control of his powers. His activities caused brown outs, depleted batteries, and disrupted electric equipment in his vicinity. While the people of NYC (especially Queens and Brooklyn) loved him, the Mayor and a number of TV News personalities weren't so smitten. 

Pulse is very much a thematic homage to both Spider-man, and The Flash.

He isn't a teenager, being in a graduate program when The Bronze Age begins, but he was the youngest member of the UNITY team. He had a Rogues Gallery of colorful villains who pop up fairly often, not unlike Flash and Spidey. A common opening scene in many sessions was Pulse dealing with one of his many enemies and needing to finish up with them before he could join the rest of us.

Pulse (but really his player AJ) was the heart of the team. He was always positive, quick with a quip, and constantly wowed by the superhero world he was a part of. 

He had some great villains too. Arachne for example, was a spider-themed, gadget using, femme fatale not unlike Catwoman or Spidey's Black Cat. There was always an underlying romantic angle to their encounters. His arch-nemesis was General Winter, a Russian 'Mr. Freeze' type who wore a 60s/70s era Russian military uniform with a Cossack hat. 

Pulse could run at super-speed but no where near as fast as the Flash. I think his top speed by the end was Mach 3 or so (it might have been a bit faster). More interestingly, the more and faster he ran the more he would build up an electrical charge that he could release like a lightning bolt. I always thought it was so cool that the more rounds he spent running and not blasting the bigger the bolt was when he finally let it loose. Later on in the campaign he could generate a radius/area of effect blast that worked like an EMP, knocking out technology of all kinds. Pulse could also trap enemies in an 'electricity cage' by running around them tossing lightning back and forth to himself with his opponent caught in the center.

Pulse was the first hero Omni recruited into UNITY. He remained a full member throughout. 

Starguard (played by ME! Yay! - Main)

What can I say about Starguard? He is my favorite PC ever.

He was so fun to play because of his power set and so interesting to play because he isn't quite like the real me. I wish there was a bit more of Starguard in me actually. Starguard was bold, fearless, and very focused. He was a man of singular purpose when the need arose. He wasn't perfect of course. Every good character has flaws and he was occasionally very stubborn and known to hold a grudge. 

Qualities I like to think we share include an unflinching loyalty to our friends, an intolerance of bullies and bigots, and a strong sense of right and wrong. At least our own senses of it. Sadly I have been known to do the 'hold a grudge thing'. I've gotten better about it though.

Starguard developed a close relationship with Pulse whom he was protective of like a younger brother. He had a strong friendship/rivalry with the former villain turned regular guy turned occasional hero Adamant. His closest friend was Omni, partially because Omni's player Dave and I were close and partially because Omni was the real reason Starguard was on Earth (both in an in-game and meta sense).

I liked that Starguard had come to this unassuming blue marble on the outskirts of known space on the off chance he could forge a lasting peace between his people and their closest and largest stellar rival. It's funny to think back on it and realize that the consummate warrior was actually taking the most peaceful, diplomatic approach to the situation possible the entire time. 

OK, here is where I would normally go into the Opposition, but I am not nearly done with the heroes yet. Next up is the B-Listers, the Beta Team, The 'Alts'. Following that, I might do the Fallen - heroes who died in the line of duty.

Stay tuned, and get ready for February!

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