Character out of balance

[Trebuchet]

Re: Character out of balance

 

Where as if you were to graph many champions characters the line would show a steady upwards trend' date=' Often they start street level or somewhat higher (200-350) and if played long enough end up world shaking power levels (500-1000).[/quote']I'm sure that's the case in many campaigns, but that hasn't been the case in ours of 13+ years. Our PCs tend to use XP to buy more Skills, new slots in MPs (which increase combat versatility but not raw power levels), new Contacts, additional Martial Maneuvers, more background Skills, etc. Additional/new defenses or bigger attacks have been quite rare.

 

Of course, we're only averaging 50 XP at this point, so who knows what we'll look like at 150 - 650 XP?

[Southern Cross]

Re: Character out of balance

 

Good point Trebuchet.However,I find it hard to believe,that in 13+ years of campaigning,your characters only have 50 Xp on average.

Oh wait a minute,the Midgard team are relative novices,correct?

[Trebuchet]

Re: Character out of balance

 

Good point Trebuchet.However' date='I find it hard to believe,that in 13+ years of campaigning,your characters only have 50 Xp on average.[/quote']We went through a period of about six or seven years where we were only playing about once a year. Even at our best we only manage about once a month. At the moment we haven't had a full team game since last October; something I'm hoping to address forthwith by getting us back onto a monthly schedule come hell or high water. I don't want the MidGuard campaign to die.

 

Oh wait a minute,the Midgard team are relative novices,correct?

No, they've been a team for six years. We're the world's most powerful and respected hero team. My character Zl'f and El Tripon's Le Magister are the only original characters still in play; all the other founding members have retired or their players have moved out of town.

[McManus]

Re: Character out of balance

 

I'm sure that's the case in many campaigns, but that hasn't been the case in ours of 13+ years. Our PCs tend to use XP to buy more Skills, new slots in MPs (which increase combat versatility but not raw power levels), new Contacts, additional Martial Maneuvers, more background Skills, etc. Additional/new defenses or bigger attacks have been quite rare.

 

Of course, we're only averaging 50 XP at this point, so who knows what we'll look like at 150 - 650 XP?

 

And that sounds more like the growth characters see in the comics. But it is the opposite of expectations players may have, especially if they come from a different genre background. In fantasy storylines it is pretty common for a character to start out as a simple farm boy or apprentice and end up a hero or even a king. But in a supers campaign you should not expect Cyclops to evolve to Iron Man the evolve to Silver Surfer. It happens (see Jean Grey) but it is the exception rather than the rule.

 

Oddly enough that is one of the problems I have with COH. Sometimes I want my character to stay street level, other times I want my character to start at medium or high level and stay there. The whole Flamebird to Wonder Woman evolution is counter to comics.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Character out of balance

 

And that sounds more like the growth characters see in the comics. But it is the opposite of expectations players may have' date=' especially if they come from a different genre background. In fantasy storylines it is pretty common for a character to start out as a simple farm boy or apprentice and end up a hero or even a king. But in a supers campaign you should not expect Cyclops to evolve to Iron Man the evolve to Silver Surfer. It happens (see Jean Grey) but it is the exception rather than the rule.[/quote']With the exception of Mentor's two sons, ages 16 and 11 respectively, all of the members of our group come from a D&D role-playing background. So it's not just about genre background. We just deliberately try to stick with comic conventions.

 

Oddly enough that is one of the problems I have with COH. Sometimes I want my character to stay street level, other times I want my character to start at medium or high level and stay there. The whole Flamebird to Wonder Woman evolution is counter to comics.

Yeah, I feel the same way about Hero. At some point in time my Champions PC is going to evolve past where I want her to be and I don't know where I'll go at that point. I already spend about 50% of her XP on "character building" rather than combat and/or game-useful Skills (like Perk: Licensed Pilot or Weapon Elements even though she doesn't carry or use weapons). Fortunately it should be another few years before I hit that point. Buying down Limitations is starting to look more attractive.

[OddHat]

Re: Character out of balance

 

With the exception of Mentor's two sons, ages 16 and 11 respectively, all of the members of our group come from a D&D role-playing background. So it's not just about genre background. We just deliberately try to stick with comic conventions.

 

Yeah, I feel the same way about Hero. At some point in time my Champions PC is going to evolve past where I want her to be and I don't know where I'll go at that point. I already spend about 50% of her XP on "character building" rather than combat and/or game-useful Skills (like Perk: Licensed Pilot or Weapon Elements even though she doesn't carry or use weapons). Fortunately it should be another few years before I hit that point. Buying down Limitations is starting to look more attractive.

 

I find that bases, vehicles contacts and followers are very useful point sinks for characters that are at risk of moving past the level where I prefer to play them. Zl'f might want to buy herself a nice, high power charitable foundation (like the one she currently works for iirc), a jet, a few highly skilled employees...if she can do that without breaking her concept.

 

My wife's favorite PC had a thirteen or fourteen year career, at the end of which we chose to retire her. It had become impossible to design challenging adventures for her without trotting out the World Destroyer of the Week. Unfortunately, there does come a time when there's not much left to do with a character, though that is not always just a function of power inflation.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Character out of balance

 

I find that bases' date=' vehicles contacts and followers are very useful point sinks for characters that are at risk of moving past the level where I prefer to play them. Zl'f might want to buy herself a nice, high power charitable foundation (like the one she currently works for iirc), a jet, a few highly skilled employees...if she can do that without breaking her concept.[/quote']Well, there's always Wealth.

 

I've always figured that if Elena had been an American gymnast instead of a Russian one she'd have been a millionaire while she was still a teen. She's an Olympic medallist, highly photogenic (20 COM), has a squeaky clean image, and is very personable - everything an advertiser looks for. She'd have had everyone from Wheaties to leotard and/or sports drink manufacturers beating a path to her door and offering seven figure contracts for endorsements. Nothing about being a superheroine would lessen that attractiveness (In a "real" superhero world, I suspect supers would be treated pretty much like all great athletes and celebrities are in our world - fan clubs, papparazzi, commercial endorsements, sponsorships, etc. "The Champions - Proudly sponsored by Pizza Hut"). At this point it wouldn't be out of concept for her to use some of those attributes to earn some cash, especially since it would give her a great excuse to donate large sums to a worthy cause such as cancer research (Her mother died of ovarian cancer). Perhaps funding the Karina Aleksyeva Memorial Cancer Institute...

 

If nothing else, careful investment of her money in the stock market and/or futures since she fled Russia might well give/have given her a windfall. She earns $120K in salary annually, and since she lives with her foster-family her only real expenses are new clothes and maintenance on her horse.