Epic level Champions

[Escafarc]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

Sounds like the archer from Chinese myth who shot down nine of the ten suns so the world would have a normal level of heat.

I believe that's who this character is suppose to be channeling ala Thor/Don Blake in his early days.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

Well, I have a few suggestions, based on my own experiences, wrt character design requirements.

 

1. Build your character around a tight concept, and specify at the outset what sort of abilities fall outside of that concept--IOW, define not only what your character can do, but what they can't do.

2. For really high-powered campaigns, define situations or circumstances where the character's powers either don't work or are less effective--say, they normally romp around in a 50 foot armor-suit, but they can't take it everywhere with them; or their magical prowess requires the use of gestures, so if their hands are bound, they are much less effective; or when they're away from the ocean/earth/sunlight for too long, their powers begin to decline. There are lots of examples of this sort of thing in the comics.

3. Write the character up with a major physical limitation--a vulnerability or susceptibility, a physical limitation on their powers, or somesuch. As a GM, make sure at least one bad guy is aware of this.

4. Give the character a couple of strong psych lims, or one total psych lim, that can occasionally work against them.

5. give the character a major background complication--like unluck or a more powerful hunted--which create situations where they can't get it done all by themselves.

 

Note that all 5 of these things will generally be unaffected by the point level of the campaign, even if it changes dramatically over time.

 

5 more: tips for GMs

1. Everybody gets a spotlight, nobody gets a grandstand--make sure the PCs each get their moment to shine, get subplots to roleplay, opportunities to bring their special talents to the fore, etc. But also make sure nobody tries to take over every combat, to outshine all the other team members in role play situations, to have their story be more important, etc.

2. Mix up the difficulty levels of combats--not all of them should be walkovers, nor should they all be grueling deathmatches that leave the heroes with 5 points of body and 1 point of stun after 3 turns. It's okay to have a few easy fights here and there, and even to make a seemingly easy one be actually quite challenging. Spices things up a bit, and the occasional walkovers help remind the PCs just how awesome they actually are. If they're 1000+ points and yet every fight is life and death, the players will feel like "1st level" characters, just struggling to get by.

3. Don't be afraid to let the PCs have an impact on the setting. Let the super-geniuses invent something really awesome, it gives an opportunity to explore the social, cultural and economic impacts of such things. Let the mega-healer cure a plague--and have to deal with some unintended consequences of it. Let the super-charismatic hero experience what it's like to be fought over by A-list celebrities(and maybe even stalked by one of them!)

4. Use DNPCs, important NPCs, followers, contacts etc. to help make the heroes relatable to the players. If Professor Tunguska is a glowing purple guy with cosmic powers, ludicrous intellect and a near-sociopathic detachment from human society, give him an adorable puppy, a snarky sidekick, a nagging mother and a clingy cosmic significant other. When the heroes are intimately connected to the campaign world, it becomes less of a megascale playground and more of a place where they keep their friends and stuff they care about.

5. Mix up serial and episodic storylines. Not every player likes an endless series of long adventures, particularly when they're travelling through space, other dimensions, fighting a global war on crime, etc. Nor does everyone care for the "villain of the week" approach. But if you mix the two up, you can get the best of both worlds--short, fun adventures to break up monotony, and long epic runs to create a sense of scale and accomplishment.

[casualplayer]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

5 more: tips for GMs

1. Everybody gets a spotlight, nobody gets a grandstand--make sure the PCs each get their moment to shine, get subplots to roleplay, opportunities to bring their special talents to the fore, etc. But also make sure nobody tries to take over every combat, to outshine all the other team members in role play situations, to have their story be more important, etc.

2. Mix up the difficulty levels of combats--not all of them should be walkovers, nor should they all be grueling deathmatches that leave the heroes with 5 points of body and 1 point of stun after 3 turns. It's okay to have a few easy fights here and there, and even to make a seemingly easy one be actually quite challenging. Spices things up a bit, and the occasional walkovers help remind the PCs just how awesome they actually are. If they're 1000+ points and yet every fight is life and death, the players will feel like "1st level" characters, just struggling to get by.

3. Don't be afraid to let the PCs have an impact on the setting. Let the super-geniuses invent something really awesome, it gives an opportunity to explore the social, cultural and economic impacts of such things. Let the mega-healer cure a plague--and have to deal with some unintended consequences of it. Let the super-charismatic hero experience what it's like to be fought over by A-list celebrities(and maybe even stalked by one of them!)

4. Use DNPCs, important NPCs, followers, contacts etc. to help make the heroes relatable to the players. If Professor Tunguska is a glowing purple guy with cosmic powers, ludicrous intellect and a near-sociopathic detachment from human society, give him an adorable puppy, a snarky sidekick, a nagging mother and a clingy cosmic significant other. When the heroes are intimately connected to the campaign world, it becomes less of a megascale playground and more of a place where they keep their friends and stuff they care about.

5. Mix up serial and episodic storylines. Not every player likes an endless series of long adventures, particularly when they're travelling through space, other dimensions, fighting a global war on crime, etc. Nor does everyone care for the "villain of the week" approach. But if you mix the two up, you can get the best of both worlds--short, fun adventures to break up monotony, and long epic runs to create a sense of scale and accomplishment.

 

That sounds like Any-level Champions advice.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

That sounds like Any-level Champions advice.

well, sure, but it's arguably even more important in a high level game to have the fundamentals down pat.

[casualplayer]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

well' date=' sure, but it's arguably even more important in a high level game to have the fundamentals down pat.[/quote']

 

Otherwise you risk Epic Fail!

[kahuna's bro]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

5 more: tips for GMs

Let the super-charismatic hero experience what it's like to be fought over by A-list celebrities(and maybe even stalked by one of them!)

.

or hunted b6y the celebrity's wife/husband

[megaplayboy]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

or hunted b6y the celebrity's wife/husband

 

That would fall under the catchall of "too much of a good thing can be bad for you"

[Peregrine]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

Just don't turn it into a game of "For Whom The Screw Turns" aka "How can I screw (with) the play-er, PCs".

[megaplayboy]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

Just don't turn it into a game of "For Whom The Screw Turns" aka "How can I screw (with) the play-er' date=' PCs".[/quote']

Well, no, that goes without saying for any campaign. Complicating the PC's life shouldn't go beyond what the player is comfortable with. But if they bought something as a complication, or want to appreciate something as an unpointed perk without paying for it, then it's fair to present the down side once in a while.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

If I could summarize/satirize the stereotype of the high-level supers game, it would probably look something like this:

 

[ATTACH]35762[/ATTACH]

[Susano]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

If I could summarize/satirize the stereotype of the high-level supers game, it would probably look something like this:

 

[ATTACH]35762[/ATTACH]

 

Heh, those characters are found here:

 

http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationscomic/comicchar.html#destroy

[lemming]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

If I could summarize/satirize the stereotype of the high-level supers game, it would probably look something like this:

 

[ATTACH]35762[/ATTACH]

 

I never updated those guys for 5th, may as well go straight to 6

[Peregrine]

Re: Epic level Champions

 

Well' date=' no, that goes without saying for any campaign. Complicating the PC's life shouldn't go beyond what the player is comfortable with. But if they bought something as a complication, or want to appreciate something as an unpointed perk without paying for it, then it's fair to present the down side once in a while.[/quote']

 

As spice in the dish known as the campaign, absolutely. As the focus of the campaign... like spice without food, no matter how good it is in the proper quantity and context, its no good at all as the main ingredient.