assault Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Also' date=' you forgot Martian Manhunter, who is pure OMG!! HAX![/quote'] Actually, the MM is a classic example of overshadowing. DC just didn't know what to do with him - he was a pale shadow of Superman, and they already had Superman in the JLA. It was so bad that he was basically written out of the DC universe ("somewhere out in space") for most of the 70s. Eventually, of course, they worked out that they could emphasise his telepathy, and distance Superman from the team, but until then he was quite redundant. He didn't really hit his stride until the Giffen/De Matteis "Bwa ha ha!" period. He had odd moments of awesome before then, but he was still basically a cypher. So, yes, I will stick to my original statement. They did find a niche for the MM, but before that he was radically overshadowed by the Big Five. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Yeah, Martian Manhunter can't hold a candle up to the big five. No really, he can't because of his fear of flame and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodstone Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Eventually, of course, they worked out that they could emphasise his telepathy, and distance Superman from the team, but until then he was quite redundant. He didn't really hit his stride until the Giffen/De Matteis "Bwa ha ha!" period. He had odd moments of awesome before then, but he was still basically a cypher. So, yes, I will stick to my original statement. They did find a niche for the MM, but before that he was radically overshadowed by the Big Five. You're probably right and I'm just going to have to take your word for it on this one. I didn't really read JLA during most of that time period I'm a post Crisis DC fan and even then, I was mostly a Marvel Zombie during the 80's Most of my JLA back issue reading was pretty intermittent and has mostly focused on back issues that featured Wonder Woman or The Flash (Wally) being particularly awesome Speaking of Wally, that's something that I haven't personally seen much in my games: Legacy heroes or grown up side kicks I've seen plenty of NPC's that fit the description, but in the last four Champions games I've been in not a single PC has had that sort of background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Heh, Superman has called the Martian Manhunter, the most powerful being on earth. Even got a couple of comics around here in the box where Martian Manhunter more then holds his one against the big blue boyscout and that's before planet moving stuff in other issues.... Still remains one of my favorite DC characters, hence while I'll be picking up Stormwatch even though it's, uggh.....Stormwatch Featuring the Authoritah! ....Double Uggh..... Legacy Characters would be interesting. It's one of the reasons I run different timeline arcs to see if a Player will seize that opportunity but no one has yet. Someday maybe. I've got a Legacy Character, the Midnight Avenger, that has an unbroken line in my Campaign from the Gaslight era all the way forward, but most of the players think he's just an immortal character. Only one suspects and even they ain't sure. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spidey88 Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Heh, Superman has called the Martian Manhunter, the most powerful being on earth. Even got a couple of comics around here in the box where Martian Manhunter more then holds his one against the big blue boyscout and that's before planet moving stuff in other issues... ~Rex His real strength is his versatility. He's nearly as strong and tough as Supes, is a top-notch telepath, and then you get to his OTHER eight zillion powers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play His real strength is his versatility. He's nearly as strong and tough as Supes' date=' is a top-notch telepath, and then you get to his OTHER eight zillion powers...[/quote'] Look at it from a HERO perspective. His First Superman level punch, is coming at you while he's Invisible. Surprise = Massive Damage Overload, heh. Batman, refers to the Martian Manhunter in his files as "A combination of everything attributable to both Superman, and the Dark Knight"....first thing Barry Allen says when they run into Black Lantern Martian Manhunter, is RUN!!!!! (BLMM is also very quick to point out everyone keeps forgetting he is as Strong as Superman, heh, then drops a Building on GL and the Flash).... Was some cool MM stories to as they showed him in his other forms, hanging out in other countries with new Hero ID's, or showing up as a Woman to have coffee and kick back with the Trinity..... FANTASTIC character all around. Do folks get any SHRINKING characters in their games at all. I think I've seen One in anything I've run since 82 or so. I've made more then a few and they remain one of my favorite types, but they seem scarce. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spidey88 Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Do folks get any SHRINKING characters in their games at all. I think I've seen One in anything I've run since 82 or so. I've made more then a few and they remain one of my favorite types, but they seem scarce. ~Rex Just as NPCs so far in my experience. I wonder if it's because shrinking is seen as a sufficient enough "shtick" for it to be a character's primary powerset, but not potent enough to carry worth as a PC? I mean, when someone makes a character that can fly, your first though is "what ELSE can he do?" Would you have the same impulse if presented with a character that could shrink? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Not me, I will actually make the character that "Just Flies".....and have made the "Just Shrinks" more then a few times. It's never a matter of "What Else can he do?" for me, it's a matter of "What Character is he?" ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play There were a few in my groups. The mini-bricks were pretty dangerous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Querysphinx Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Do folks get any SHRINKING characters in their games at all. I think I've seen One in anything I've run since 82 or so. I've made more then a few and they remain one of my favorite types, but they seem scarce. ~Rex Played this one briefly way back in 1995 MICRONIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Heh, nice pick, and I second the mini brick, they tend to be nasty. Here's one for folks. The "Really Good at Something basically Mundane" Hero.....I've done this but then I like Characters like "The Human Fly" from Marvel, and a few others. Crime Fighting Stuntman!...One of the few Characters I've copied blatantly just because he's a lot of Fun to play. Especially at the 400 point 6e level..... ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play ... Do folks get any SHRINKING characters in their games at all. I think I've seen One in anything I've run since 82 or so. I've made more then a few and they remain one of my favorite types, but they seem scarce. ~Rex I think Shrinking characters are rare for a couple of reasons. In a game with hard CV caps they tend to lose a big chunk of their primary defensive ability. They also tend to work better in stable groups of 5+ PC's and many games have a hard time keeping that many folks on a regular gaming schedule IF a GM even wants that large of a group. I like 'em. Heck, I like all the classic JLA and would be happy to play a homage of any of them in a game when and if I ever get a work schedule that would allow regular gaming and a group was available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Yeah I don't understand the inflexible types...."No you can't Have the Main Benefit of this Power, because "insert reason here", so everything then becomes cookie cutter copies of all the same blocks of stats and builds.... Probably why the only cap I care about is a soft cap during creation of whatever number of dice I want being rolled in the beginning. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix240 Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Heck' date=' no - I'd love it![/quote'] Yeah, the main limitation is that its so situational. But it could be a great utility power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodstone Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Do folks get any SHRINKING characters in their games at all. I think I've seen One in anything I've run since 82 or so. I've made more then a few and they remain one of my favorite types, but they seem scarce. ~Rex Never played a pure shrinker PC. They always had something else and that something else was almost always Growth. I'm still trying to figure out if my latest such character is brilliant or simply ludicrous... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play I think Shrinking characters are rare for a couple of reasons. In a game with hard CV caps they tend to lose a big chunk of their primary defensive ability. They also tend to work better in stable groups of 5+ PC's and many games have a hard time keeping that many folks on a regular gaming schedule IF a GM even wants that large of a group. I like 'em. Heck' date=' I like all the classic JLA and would be happy to play a homage of any of them in a game when and if I ever get a work schedule that would allow regular gaming and a group was available. [/quote'] It's the CV limits that often has had them shot down when I've tried to play one. I've also run into some gamemasters who don't allow shrunk characters to have martial arts, too much suspension of disbelief for them "I choke him..." "With what, your legs?" etc I suppose I can see their point, but darn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodstone Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play It's the CV limits that often has had them shot down when I've tried to play one. I've also run into some gamemasters who don't allow shrunk characters to have martial arts' date=' too much suspension of disbelief for them "I choke him..." "With what, your legs?" etc I suppose I can see their point, but darn it.[/quote'] I'm pretty strict on this stuff too, but would likely just insist that the shrunken character have a plan on how to get around it. For example, some method of garroting his giant targets. I give martial artists a similar "give me a creative solution" when faced with most unusual body types though, so it's not like I'm picking on the little guy here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmakaze Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play I don't see a lot of players with only Shrinking for the same reason why you don't see characters with only one of any other Power. I did play a character who's primary abilities were Shrinking and Teleport. I did a lot of infiltration and sneak attacks. One of my convention pregens is a shapeshifter, but also has Shrinking and Flight Only When Shrunk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Never played a pure shrinker PC. They always had something else and that something else was almost always Growth. Well, yeah. Having only Shrinking would suck. You could always get smaller, but never come back to your normal height otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megaplayboy Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Usually it's shrinking in conjunction with other stuff, like flight and energy blast. One particularly nasty combo was a female Dr. Manhattan type(cosmic-y powers, matter transmutation, etc.), who would shrink, stand on the back of a teammate's neck, then pop out to throw a big blast. This was in the old days of massive DCV bonuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play I don't see a lot of players with only Shrinking for the same reason why you don't see characters with only one of any other Power. I did play a character who's primary abilities were Shrinking and Teleport. I did a lot of infiltration and sneak attacks. One of my convention pregens is a shapeshifter, but also has Shrinking and Flight Only When Shrunk. I think shrinking is usually looked at as a special effect first. My version of The Atom has Shrinking, Flight while Shrunk and Teleportation via phone lines. I don't consider him a flyer or teleporter though. He's still first and foremost a shrinker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play I wouldn't think that a Few Movement schticks violate the "Just a Shrinker" build. I'd NEVER, Cap the DCV of a Shrinker character though, that bonus is balanced out by some pretty hefty and equal negatives. It's gonna be harder to Hit the Ant in the room at a Distance. On the other hand, if you want to STEP on that Ant, it's not to hard. All it takes is some common sense on the GM's part of things, not artificial Cap restrictions, especially ones that just neuter certain power sets generate the cookie cutter builds that annoy me so much. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix240 Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play The rest of the time, Wonder Woman's animal summoning/controlling powers more useful. And you see how often she uses those... Actually I haven't. I didn't even know she had them. But you could probably count the number of DC comics I've read barely number in the double digits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAge Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Legacy Characters would be interesting. It's one of the reasons I run different timeline arcs to see if a Player will seize that opportunity but no one has yet. Someday maybe. I've got a Legacy Character, the Midnight Avenger, that has an unbroken line in my Campaign from the Gaslight era all the way forward, but most of the players think he's just an immortal character. Only one suspects and even they ain't sure. ~Rex Hey Rex, how do you think the developing Phenom + Goo Boy thing relates? For everyone else: Phenom is something of a Martian Manhunter homage (minus the invisibility and mental powers). His powers are (secretly) based on the destruction of the atomic bonds holding him together (or something rubber sciencey like that) by a nanite infection. The more time goes by the more "stretchy" Phenom will get until he eventually turns to goo and dies. Now, we just got a new player who cleverly introduced a character that represented the successful culmination of the nanite infection. This yet unnamed hero (that we all call Goo Boy for lack of a better name) is a pure metamorph created through a derivative process of the one that is killing Phenom. Fun part... No one knows that Phenom is dying, just that he has increasingly cool powers. All the while Goo Boy may possess the answer to stabilizing his nanite deterioration. So... Is Goo Boy a legacy character of Phenom's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAge Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Re: Common superhero types you've never seen in play Do folks get any SHRINKING characters in their games at all. I think I've seen One in anything I've run since 82 or so. I've made more then a few and they remain one of my favorite types, but they seem scarce. ~Rex You haven't seen him, but have probably heard a lot about BASTION in Epic City. He could get small or big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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