Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 39)

Hey, faithful readers! If you've made it this far, you must really like old-school RPGs, because this Champions read-through has dominated the blog for the past little while. There are other things to talk about, of course, but for now I'm sticking with this. And so are you, so kudos.

Alright, we continue with details on falling damage. Specifically, a table that shows how fast and how far you fall, broken down by segments. Did you know that in twelve seconds, you can fall 285", or 570 meters? That's half a kilometer. That will hurt. Velocity maxes out at 30" per segment, so the most damage you'll take from falling is only 30D6. No wonder they call it terminal velocity; a fall that hard is pretty much guaranteed to kill any normal person.

Oh, there's an interesting rule. If a character is conscious, he may subtract his Superleap inches from the number of dice of damage done. So if the Hulk is falling, and he's got 20" of Superleap, terminal velocity on him will only be 10D6, which isn't even going to stub his toe. You can also slow your falling velocity if you can grab or fall through something. Grabbing something subtracts its BODY pips from the velocity; if the velocity exceeds the object's BODY, it snaps. You still have the lower velocity, though.

And now, we come to the weapons. The weapons table is basically just ranged guns of various types. Not specifics; you won't find stats for a Glock or a .44 Magnum, but there are stats for a 'pistol', 'rifle', 'autocannon', and 'tank gun'. There are light, medium and heavy variants for several of these as well. What's interesting is that the damage listings comes in two parts: Killing damage and Normal damage. This is so you can take a weapon as an Energy Blast, for example, which does normal damage rather than killing damage. Super-agent blasters, for example. They're high-tech plasma rifles, but they work the same as a normal rifle, just doing normal instead of killing damage. The choice has to be defined when the weapon is bought with points. Note that 'STUN only' is also an option.

The table also gives the range mods for each weapon; some of them are very, very accurate. Instead of the normal -1 per 3" rule we have seen, the more powerful guns have range mods of -1 per 6" for a machine gun, -1 per 16" for a heavy autocannon, and -1 per 24" for a very heavy tank gun. Autocannons and tank guns have to be mounted on vehicles or in static mounts; the range mod includes the 'braced' modifier already, so you can't take it again.

The table gives the cost of the weapon to buy it as a power as well. There are three costs given for the portable weapons, listed as 6/11/13, for example. The lowest point total is for a weapon that fires one shot per phase; the second is for weapons that only shoot on Autofire mode, and the third is for weapons that can do both.

Finally, there are some special weapons at the bottom, including a shotgun and surface-to-air missiles. these all just do killing damage; they don't mess around. The heavy SAM actually does killing explosion damage, which is just nasty.

I know, it's another short page. But it's done, and there's nothing I can do about it. Next time we'll get more details on some of the special weapons, as well as rules for sights, melee weapons, and explosives. Blowing stuff up is always fun in comic books, isn't it?

Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 38)

Welcome back, and we're still talking about movement. We get a note that if a character has skill levels that can be applied to his Flight power, he can use those levels to lower his Turn Mode by one inch for each Skill Level applied. We also get a visual example of how Turn Mode works, which is helpful.

If you're climbing in the air, it takes 2" of Flight to gain 1" of altitude. You can dive 1" per every 1" of Flight for free, but you have to use your Turn Mode to pull out, so be careful not to get too close to the ground or you will definitely get a boo-boo. Oh, and your STR is limited while you're flying; you can only use as much STR as you have inches of flying speed. This doesn't affect your punching damage, but it does affect how much you can carry or move while flying.

If you're out of combat, you can magnify your Flight speed for that phase. This is called 'noncombat movement', and it's calculated by your points in Flight divided by 5 and multiplied by your inches of Flight per phase. Let's see if I have this right. If you have 20 points in Flight, that's 10". Divide the points in Flight by 5 and you get 4 (20/5), multiplied by your inches of Flight is 10, so your noncombat movement would be 40" per phase. Well, that's not too shabby. And it doesn't cost you extra END, either.

Gliding is reliant on atmosphere for moving around; it uses the same Turn Mode and dive rate as Flight, although climbing is much better when there are either thermals or good winds. Leaping is 1" per 5 points of STR, unless you buy additional. A straight-up leap is 1" per 10 points of STR, and a leap is a full move action. Unlike the Hulk, you can't change direction in mid-leap, either. Finally, there's Teleport. You can't use it as a way out of taking falling damage; if you are falling at, say, 30" of velocity and you try to teleport away, you're still going to be falling at 30" after the teleport.

Now, there's an optional rule here for 'segmented movement', which basically means you're moving even on phases you don't have available to you through the fact that you're actually moving, not starting and stopping over and over again. This can apply to vehicle movement, or falling, or other situations where your SPD isn't really a factor (so, basically out of combat only). There's a handy table that shows not only the inches per segment, but also the equivalent in KPH and MPH. All you need is 10" per segment to get to 40 MPH. With a SPD of 6 and a Flight or Running speed of 30", you would actually be moving as fast as a car on the freeway. Isn't that lovely? There are also some brief formulas to calculate your speed for numbers that aren't on the chart.

Last but not least, we have rules on falling objects. Everything falls at the same rate, subject to having movement powers such as Flight or Gliding that can mitigate those circumstances. If it's falling, it uses segmented movement for additional realism. Every segment, the object's speed increases by 5" until the maximum of 30" is reached by segment 6. Bear in mind that a falling object takes damage when it hits, but we'll get to that on th enext page. Objects that have greater density (every doubling of mass over 100 kg) will increase the maximum velocity by +1" per segment.

Alright, another page in the books. On the next page we will finish up the falling rules, and then we'll get into...weapons. Yep, machine guns and antitank missiles are coming right up. Don't you dare miss it!

Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 37)

We are rolling right along; there are only twenty pages left to go. Let's continue our review of Perception rolls. As I mentioned last time, a PER roll is a normal roll of 3D6 where the goal is to roll 9 + INT/5 or less. So, an average person with an INT of 10 would need an 11 or less. Enhanced Senses can affect this roll; for example, Wolverine would have Enhanced Senses for his sense of smell. Range modifiers apply to PER rolls just as they do to attack rolls: -1 to the roll per 3" of distance between the character and whatever they are attempting to perceive. At night, PER rolls related to sight get a -1 per 1" of distance unless the character has Enhanced Senses that allow them to see clearly at night, such as UV Vision. As a rule of thumb, the combat modifiers can be applied to PER rolls as well (for example, seeing a very small target would take a penalty to the roll due to the target's size).

The next paragraph discusses how different types of PER rolls can be adjudicated; Hearing PER rolls won't be as accurate for targeting someone as a Sight PER roll. And the last sentence says that Sight PER rolls at night are at a base of -3. This directly contradicts the previous paragraph's note that it's -1 per 1" of distance. I would ignore that final sentence and stick to the range modifier version myself.

Don't overdo PER rolls; some things are just plain obvious. However, PER rolls do have a use in combat; if you're in a fight with Megaman and his henchman Ratfink is sneaking up behind you, a PER roll might help you avoid a sneak attack from the dastardly villain. However, don't use PER rolls too often; it will slow down the game.

Okay, now we move to Characteristic rolls. These are just the same as PER rolls; you roll 3D6 and the target number is 9 + the characteristic's value divided by 5. So, a STR roll (you're trying to lift a bus, for example) would be targeting 9 + STR/5. If your STR is 40, then the roll would be 9 + 40/5, or 9 + 8, or 17 or less. A DEX roll with a DEX of 20 would be 9 + 20/5, or 13 or less.

There are a few examples given of how Characteristic rolls might be used. Are you falling out of a building and trying to grab a ledge to save yourself? Make a DEX roll to break your fall. Are you trying to make some sort of scientific breakthrough? Make an INT roll. Are you trying to stay stoic under torture? Make an EGO roll. There are other possibilities as well, although I have a hard time seeing where you might need to make a Comeliness roll. As with PER rolls, don't overdo them, and use common sense. If the Thing is trying to lift a bag of cement, he doesn't need to make a roll to do it.

Now we get into Movement. The very first sentence says, 'Champions is best played on a floor or tabletop.' What floor would that be? Tabletop is definitely preferred; I'm not crawling around on the floor, not at my age. Regardless, putting a map of the setting and counters or minis on it will make visualizing the combat much, much easier. Especially with superhero combat, which can have wide ranges as characters zip around the battlefield. It's not absolutely required, but it's definitely and highly recommended.

The types of movement mentioned here are running, swimming, flying, gliding, leaping, and teleporting. That pretty much covers all the basic superhero modes of movement. There's also tunneling, but that's got its own rules from the power description earlier in the book.

In general, everyone has a base movement distance depending on how they are trying to move. Everyone has 6" of running and 2" of swimming, unless they have a Physical Limitation that restricts them from doing either of those. Everyone has leaping, as well, based on their STR score. In a phase, a character can do a partial move or a full move as they choose. A full move is any distance greater than 1/2 your movement distance; for the basic 6" running, that means if you move 4", that's a full move action and you can't do anything else until your next phase unless you are doing a Move By or a Move Through combat action.

If you move 1/2 or less of your full distance, that's a partial move and you can still make an attack or some other kind of action in the phase. Most actions are listed as taking a '1/2 move' to do, including many of the combat maneuvers. The only ones that take up more than a 1/2 move are Haymaker, Kick, Move Through, and Move By. All movement costs END at a rate of 1 END per 5" of movement. Noncombat movement (we'll get to that) doesn't cost additional END.

Alright, so we start with the most basic: Ground Movement. This is your Running speed. As mentioned earlier, you start with a base of 6" per phase. If you start and end your phase out of combat, you can actually double that speed. If you enter or come out of combat in a phase, you can't use noncombat movement. To add Running speed costs 2 points per 1" of additional movement, so bumping your base running speed to 10" would cost you 8 points. Running can be pushed like a power at up to 5 extra inches of speed at an END cost of 2 points per additional inch.

Swimming is basically the same as running, except obviously you're in water, and your base speed is 2" per phase unless you buy enhanced swimming speed. In all other ways, swimming uses the same rules as running.

Flight is the next most-common means of movement for superheroes. Flight can be pushed just like any other END-using power, at a cost of 2 END per additional inch of flight speed, up to a total of 5 additional inches and 10 END. However, flying has something called a Turn Mode. This defines how often you can make a 60° turn in the air. Your character's Turn Mode is defined by your total flight distance divided by five. So when you are flying, you can make your first turn at any time in your flight path. However, once you do that first 60° turn, you can't turn any further until you have traveled a number of inches equal to your Turn Mode. So, if Starburst's flight distance for the phase is 15", his Turn Mode is 3". Starburst can start his flight phase traveling 8", then turns; he can't turn again until he has traveled an additional 3". There's a rule where you can only make a maximum of five evenly-spaced turns during a phase, and that takes us to the end of the page. What that means, though, is you can't do a full 360° turn in a single phase in the air. You can do it on the ground; ground and swimming movement have no Turn Mode.

Well, that was exciting. Another page done, and we're going to continue with movement next time. Until then, same Bat-time, same Bat-blog.

Wouldn't that be funny to see Batman writing a crimefighting blog?

Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 36)

Alright, this is a short page today since the top half of the page is just artwork; if I didn't know any better, I'd say it was Foxbat (Champions fans, you know who I'm talking about). Anyway, that leaves only about half the page for the text, so this shouldn't take long.

We start with an example of Pushing a power, in this case Strength. There's a wall falling on a helpless old lady, and the unnamed hero has a STR of 40. Pushing his STR to the max will give him a STR of 50 for a brief period, hopefully enough to allow the old lady to get out of the way. The END cost for this is 8 for his normal STR of 40, plus 10 for the maximum pushing, for a total of 18 END. Worth it for the old lady, I think.

There's also a note that you can't push a power that doesn't cost END. Well, that makes sense. I can't think of any of those powers that would need to be pushed. Maybe Armor, but the rules say no.

Okay, now we get away from the physical stuff and into the psychological stuff. No, not mental combat. This is all about Presence Attacks. Let's face it, superheroes and villains make an impression. Picking up an F-150 and throwing it down the street makes an impression, too. Sometimes heroes and villains will use this impressive attribute to shake people up or make them 'ooh' and 'aah', or maybe just collapse in fear. In Champions, this is known as a Presence Attack.

Basically, a Presence Attack is an attack that requires no attack roll; everyone who witnesses the Presence Attack is affected. For every 5 points of PRE the character has, 1D6 is rolled. A surprise Presence Attack gives an additional +1D6, as does doing something violent (F-150 tossing, for example). If other unusual circumstances warrant, the GM can give additional bonuses. Total up the dice and compare it to the PRE of everyone in the vicinity. It can be assumed that normal people have a PRE of 10 to save time.

If the total of the PRE Attack is equal to or greater than the target's PRE score, the target is impressed, and hesitates long enough for the character to act ahead of them in that phase. The rules here aren't clear on whether or not a PRE Attack is actually a full phase action, although that would make sense to me. I don't remember if that was clarified in later editions, although I think it's safe to assume it was.

If the roll is at least double the target's PRE score, the target is very impressed and will hesitate for 1/2 a move; the character making the PRE Attack gets to move ahead of them in that phase.

If the roll is at least triple the target's PRE score, the target is awed and will hesitate for a full phase, being at 1/2 CV for that entire phase.

And if the roll is at least four times the target's PRE score, the target is cowed, may surrender, faint, or run away; the GM makes that call. Again, a PRE attack affects everyone in the area, not just one target. So a violent PRE Attack is a great way for a villain to get people running and screaming, the better to distract the hero.

If you try to do a second PRE attack against the same targets, it's not going to be as effective; each successive PRE attack takes a cumulative -1D6 to the roll. I guess people do get used to just about anything, don't they?

Lastly, we have Perception Rolls. These have been mentioned before, of course. But here we learn that a PER roll is for noticing things that aren't all that obvious (very useful for detectives), or to notice something going on while you are in combat. PER Rolls are always determined as 9 plus INT/5. So the average person (INT 10) will have a PER roll of 11 or less. Reed Richards, with an INT of at least 30, is going to have a minimum PER roll of 15 or less. Considering how obtuse Reed can be, that doesn't ring quite true. Nevertheless, that's where we stand. Of course, PER rolls can be improved by Enhanced Senses.

And that's it for this page. As I said, it's a short one thanks to the artwork. The next page has no art, so there will be more to talk about. Until then, may your Spider-Sense always tingle.

Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 35)

Alright, we are continuing our journey through the combat rules. There is one other damage effect that needs to be dealt with: Knockback. As mentioned on the previous page, Knockback is simply the result of being punched or blasted so hard that you go flying backward. It's a common staple of comic book battles, so of course it needs to be incorporated into these rules.

To calculate Knockback, simply roll 2D6. Subtract the result from the BODY damage done by the attack. Not the damage that got through, but the damage that was rolled. If the result is negative, there's no Knockback. If the roll is equal to the BODY damage, the target is knocked down. A positive result gives the number of inches the target is knocked back (remember, one inch equals two meters in Champions). So, Nightshade hits Blockhead with his Energy Blast and rolls 31 STUN and 9 BODY. Blockhead will shrug off most of that damage, but Nightshade then gets to roll for Knockback. Rolling 2D6, he gets a roll of 5. Subtracting 5 from 9 gives a Knockback of 4", or 8 meters.

Now, the 2D6 roll can be modified under certain circumstances. If the target is flying, you only roll 1D6 for Knockback, meaning they're far more likely to be knocked back in the air. If the target is underwater, add 1D6 to the roll. If it's a Killing Attack, add 1D6 to the roll. And if it is a Martial Arts maneuver, add 1D6 to the roll. So, if Wolverine slashes Sub-Mariner in the water, the Knockback roll will actually be 4D6, making it very unlikely that Subby will be moving at all.

Knockback can actually do damage; a character who gets knocked back into a wall or other solid upright object takes 1D6 normal damage per inch of Knockback. So, in the example above, if Nightshade's shadow blast knocks Blockhead back into a concrete wall, then Blockhead is going to take another 4D6 of normal damage. If Blockhead gets knocked back into another character, then both characters will take 4D6 damage. And Nightshade will score additional Cool points for that maneuver, assuming that Blockhead is knocked back into another villain.

No, there are no Cool points in Champions. But there should be.

However, the damage rolled for Knockback is also dependent on what the target is knocked into. If the structure has a low BODY score (we'll get to that part later), the maximum damage the Knockback victim can take is 1D6 per BODY score. If the character is knocked back more inches than the wall has BODY, then he goes through the wall and keeps on going. His Knockback distance is reduced by 1" per BODY point of the wrecked obstruction. So, if Nightshade knocks Blockhead back 11" (that's a hell of a BODY roll for him, but it is possible), and Blockhead goes through a wall with 6 BODY, he will take 6D6 damage from going through the wall, and his total Knockback is reduced to 5". If the target isn't knocked into anything and just hits the ground, he takes 1D6 per 2" of Knockback.

The Acrobatics skill can save a character from taking Knockback damage. If Crusader makes an Acrobatics roll when Ogre punches him, assuming he's conscious after getting hit, he will roll with the punch and take no damage from the ground. However, Acrobatics won't help him if he gets punched into a wall.

Flight can also reduce Knockback if the character announces that he's using some or all of his Flight inches to resist being knocked back. In that case, each inch of Flight used for resisting reduces Knockback taken by 1". Also, heavier targets (such as those under Growth or Density Increase powers) will take less Knockback (the exact amount is in the power descriptions; otherwise, it's 1" of reduction per 2x human mass of the target. So a robot that weighs 800 kg will take 3" less of Knockback due to its mass.

Got all that? Good. That covers hurting people. Next, we'll talk about how to heal. Or at least, recover from the damage that was taken. During a battle, the combatants are going to lose STUN and END (and possibly BODY as well). These are finite resources; run out of them and problems occur. Fortunately, all characters come equipped with a Recovery (REC) characteristic to help alleviate or delay those problems.

First of all, at the end of every turn (after Segment 12 is complete), everyone automatically gets a Recovery unless they are at -21 or lower STUN. For everyone else, after Segment 12 they get to add their REC score to both their STUN and END, up to their maximum scores. For example, Nightshade has a STUN of 25, an END of 50, and a REC of 10. While fighting Blockhead, he's used up 24 END and taken 9 STUN in damage. At the end of the turn, he automatically adds 10 to his END, bringing it to 36, and gets all of his STUN back, resetting it to 25. The additional STUN recovery point is wasted.

Characters can also take a breather during a fight, using one of their phases as a Recovery phase. They can't do anything else, including expending any END, and in return they get to recover STUN and END just like a normal post-Segment 12 recovery. However, during this phase their CV is 0. If a character is holding his breath for whatever reason (gas, underwater, etc.) he can't take a recovery at all, not even post-Segment 12. In fact, holding your breath costs you at least 1 END per phase. If you run out of END, then you lose 1 STUN per phase. And if you run out of STUN, you lose 1 BODY per phase until you die.

Speaking of BODY, REC also helps with that; divide your REC by 10, and that's how many BODY pips you recover per day. So, getting stabbed isn't going to be healed in just a few minutes, unless of course you have Regeneration.

Alright, now we talk about Endurance. We've already discussed it pretty thoroughly, so this is just a couple of paragraphs clarifying what we have already learned. First of all, you pay 1 END for every 5 points of power (or STR) that you use in a phase. If a power isn't used at full capacity, you don't pay the full END cost; you only pay for the amount you actually use. So, a 40-point power would cost 8 END to use at full capacity. I will note that this did get changed in a later edition (I want to say 3rd, but it might have been 4th) to 1 END per 10 points, which made a huge difference in END expenditures. Note that there are some powers that cost no END, as do all skills.

If you run out of END but need to keep fighting, you drain STUN as END. For every 2 END you are trying to use, you take 1D6 STUN damage. There's no defense against this, and you can knock yourself out by overexerting yourself.

Lastly, characters can Push their powers beyond their normal limits. This isn't easy, and it's exhausting; you can push your power up to 10 additional points (so Nightshade's shadow blast, normally 8D6, can be pushed to 10D6 if he really needs to). Each additional point costs 1 END to use, so it's not something to be done on the regular. Save Pushing for emergencies and boss fights.

And that's it for this page. We'll continue next time with additional combat rolls that might come up on occasion. Until then, my friends.

Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 34)

So, last time we learned about how to calculate damage from normal attacks. Today, we'll review how killing attacks work, then how you defend against it, as well as what happens to you when you actually take the damage.

Killing attacks (bullets, knives, claws, lasers, etc.) roll 1D6 for every 15 points in the Killing Attack. The total is the BODY damage done. Then a single die is rolled, subtracting one from the roll. That number is a multiplier for the BODY damage to determine the STUN damage. For example, Wolverine slashes some poor slob with his claws, which do 2D6 killing damage. He rolls 2D6 and gets a total of 9 for the BODY. He then rolls a third die, and gets a 4. Subtracting 1 from that gives him 3, which becomes the multiplier for the STUN total. Since the BODY is 9, the STUN is calculated as 9 x 3 = 27. The attack does 27 STUN and 9 BODY in total.

Okay, so now that we know how to figure out the damage, let's look at the defenses. First, there are two types: Physical Defense (PD) and Energy Defense (ED). PD works against any normal, physical attack such as punches or getting hit with a baseball bat or something non-sharp. It also works against other attacks that are defined as affecting PD (for example, an blast of force from the Invisible Woman would be a physical rather than an energy attack). However, most EB attacks will be against a character's ED.

So, a normal attack that does 25 STUN and 8 BODY against a PD of 10 will subtract the PD from both the STUN and BODY totals, reducing them to 15 STUN and 0 BODY (you can't take negative BODY damage; the extra PD points are unnecessary in this attack). A killing attack, however, ignores your PD and ED scores, which is why they are so deadly.

Still, as we saw in the Powers section, there are ways to protect from Killing Attacks: Resistant defenses. These can be as simple as Damage Resistance, or some form of Armor, or a Force Field, just as a few examples. In this case, the Resistant Defense reduces the Killing Attack damage in the same way as Normal Damage. So, if Wolverine is clawing at the Hulk, who has fully resistant defenses (of about 30 or so), Hulk takes a grand total of no damage whatsoever, STUN or BODY. However, if Wolverine hits Daredevil with those claws, DD is toast, taking 27 STUN and 9 BODY, which will very nearly kill him.

Okay, so that's how defenses work. I know this was basically a review of stuff from earlier in the book, but who's going back and re-reading stuff already?

Alright, now that we know how to calculate damage and how to stop from being damaged, let's take a look at what happens when our defenses just aren't enough, and some of the damage gets through. There are three basic effects of damage: Stunning, Knock Out, and Death. Stunning happens when the damage you take in a single attack exceeds your CON score. This is from a single attack, not several separate ones. If you have a CON of 18 and take 20 STUN, you are Stunned, and your CV is reduced to 0. You remain Stunned until your next phase; you can't move or make a recovery until that time.

If your STUN total is reduced to 0 from one attack or cumulative ones, you are Knocked Out. Any damage in excess of your STUN total is noted, since that will determine how long you're knocked out for. If you have a STUN of 40, and you've taken enough hits to be reduced to 7 STUN, the next shot might hit you for 15 STUN, which drops you to -8, knocking you out. Being knocked out means you're helpless; your CV is 0, and you can't do anything until you Recover.

Recovery, as I said, is based on how far into the negatives your STUN is. If you're between 0 and -10, you'll get a Recovery every phase. Between -11 and -20, you have to wait until the Post-Segment 12 Recovery (we'll cover that on the next page). Between -21 and -30, you'll be out for a full minute before you can make any Recoveries. Below -30, forget it; you're out until the GM decides otherwise.

Now, if your BODY is reduced to 0, you're dying. Not necessarily immediately, but it's going to happen unless you get some sort of medical aid. Every turn at the post-segment 12 Recovery, you lose another point of BODY. If your BODY damage is ever double your normal BODY score, you're a corpse. For example, your BODY score is 10, and you get shot with a machine gun taking 14 BODY. You're now at -4, and every turn you're going to take one more BODY damage until you reach -10, at which time you are deceased. If your BODY score is 15, then you die at -15 BODY, and so forth.

There is one other effect of damage to go over: Knockback. However, that will be covered on the next page. Suffice to say that Knockback is one of those things that only works in comic book fights. And with that teaser, we'll pause until next time.

Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 33)

Today we're going to finish the Combat Maneuvers, including the cooler Martial Arts maneuvers, then we'll start on damage.

The next combat maneuver is the Move Through. Unlike a Move By, where you're striking a target as you go by them at high velocity, this time you're running right through them. It's another full-move action, and you end the phase in the same hex as the target. If the target knows you're coming, your OCV takes a penalty of -1/5" of movement. If they are unaware, you take no penalty. Assuming you hit, you deal out your STR damage (1D6 per 5 points) plus 1D6 for every 3" of velocity you hit him with. That can add up, but there's a catch: You take half the damage yourself against your own PD.

So, let's say Quicksilver is doing a Move Through on the Toad. Assuming the maneuver is successful, and QS has a STR of 15 and a speed of 25", he's going to do 15/5 = 3D6 of damage from his STR score, plus 5D6 for his velocity (25/5), for a total of 8D6 damage to the Toad. However, Quicksilver will himself take 4D6 damage from the impact. Hopefully his own PD will protect him.

And that's it for the basic maneuvers. All characters can use these regardless of their combat training. However, the next set of five maneuvers are only for people who bought the Martial Arts skill. Later editions of the game would incorporate many other maneuvers, allowing players to pick different maneuvers to simulate specific styles of martial arts. However, in this early stage, everyone has the same five maneuvers to pick from.

First up is the Martial Punch, which is the same as a normal punch except that you get a +2 bonus to your DCV, and you do an additional 1/2 of your STR damage. So a character with a 20 STR and Martial Arts would do 20+10 = 30/5 = 6D6 punching damage.

Next is the Martial Kick, which has, like the normal Kick maneuver, a -2 OCV penalty. However, it comes with a +1 DCV bonus rather than a -2 penalty. In addition, the damage is now double your STR, so that 20 STR would now do 8D6 damage with a Martial Kick.

The Martial Block is the same as a normal block, except that the blocking character gets a +2 bonus to both OCV and DCV. There's a damage multiplier of x2 on the chart, but I'm going to call that a typo since there is no damage when you block.

The Martial Dodge is an improved Dodge maneuver, giving a DCV bonus of +5 rather than +3. Otherwise, it's exactly the same.

Finally, there's the Martial Throw. Everyone in comics knows jiu-jitsu, apparently. This one is very useful when someone is running at you. You get a bonus to your OCV of +1 for every 5" of velocity your target has. This means that if they're not actually running at you, you don't get an OCV bonus. But in the above Quicksilver-Toad example, if the Toad has Martial Arts, he could try to Throw Quicksilver before he gets hit, and he'd get a +5 bonus to his OCV thanks to Quicky's speed. The thrower also gets a +1 DCV bonus. If he hits, he grabs the target and launches him into any adjacent hex. You can abort to this like a block. And if you are successful, the target takes your STR damage plus 1D6 per 5" of movement. So, assuming Toad has a 20 STR, Quicksilver's rushing attack could end in disaster, since Toad will Martial Throw him for 20/5 = 4D6 (Strength) + 25/5 = 5D6 (velocity) = 9D6 damage total. That will leave a skid mark.

Since low rolls are preferred for combat (you're trying to roll under a target number), rolls of 3 are automatically hits, and rolls of 18 are automatically misses. GMs are specifically encouraged to treat these like 'critical hits and misses', so give an advantage for rolling a 3 (such as additional damage dice) and a disadvantage for rolling an 18 (you're off-balance for a phase, so you take a DCV penalty).

Next up are Surprise Attacks. If you're caught off-guard and unaware out of combat, your DCV is 0. If you're in a fight already but someone surprises you, you're still able to defend yourself at 1/2 your normal DCV. So, it's risky, but not deadly.

Next up is the Surprise Maneuver. This is basically a 'impress the GM' catch-all where if you do something that startles or surprises your opponent enough, the GM can give you a bonus to your OCV of up to +3 (or, if it's insanely good, even higher). Basically, it's a way to encourage creative play. Of course, villains get to use surprise maneuvers, too...

And that's it for trying to hit someone in Champions combat. However, once you do hit them, you still need to do damage. We've already gone over the basics of that way back in the introductory material, but here we get a more in-depth discussion of the subject. Damage is random, but somewhat reliable; the more dice you roll, the more likely you'll get an average or nearly-average result.

The basic rule is that for every 5 points in a power or STR, you get 1D6 of damage. So, a 40 STR and a 40-point Energy Blast do the same thing: 8D6 damage. You roll the 8 dice and add them up to get the total STUN damage. Then you count the BODY pips on the dice you just rolled as follows: if you rolled a 1, the die does 0 BODY. If you rolled a 6, count 2 BODY. Any other number results in 1 BODY. Add them all up to get the total amount of BODY done by the attack. So, Spider-Man (40 STR) punches the Scorpion in the face and hits him. He rolls his 8D6 damage as follows: 2,6,4,4,1,5,4,3. The total STUN is 29. The BODY is 1 for each die except for 6s (there's one) and 1s (there's also one). The total BODY on those dice is 8. Note that you do not reroll the damage; the STUN and BODY are both calculated off the same roll of the dice. So, Spider-Man's damage roll is 29 STUN and 8 BODY.

What happens next? We'll just have to find out next time, because that's it for this page. How's that for a suspensful cliffhanger?

Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 32)

Let's finish off the modifiers before jumping into the Combat Maneuvers section. There's a note at the top that target size modifiers (see the previous page) also modify the OCV when throwing a larger-than-man-sized object. For example, an 8-hex bus is +4 OCV when thrown.

There are two more modifiers on Autofire attacks, although I don't recall Autofire being defined; it's an Advantage in later editions. Anyway, Autofiring has two options: Single target, or multiple. For a single target, the OCV is +4, and for every 2 points the Attack Roll is made by, the attacker gets an additional hit. For example, if the Punisher is firing a submachine gun with 5 rounds at a time, and his attack roll is 14 or less, if he rolls a 10, then he gets three hits on the target (14 - 2 - 2 = 10). If the Autofire is directed at multiple targets, then the OCV is +4, but for every hex the Punisher is shooting into, the OCV is reduced by -1. If the roll is a hit, then all the targets are automatically hit once. In both cases, autofire range modifiers are doubled, so for every 3" of distance to the target(s), the OCV is reduced by 2.

And that's it for the modifiers. Next, we get the various combat maneuvers used in the game. Combat maneuvers are just different ways to attack or defend. There are eight standard combat maneuvers which are available to every character: Punch, Haymaker, Kick, Block, Dodge, Grab, Move By, and Move Through. There are also five martial combat maneuvers that are only available to characters who buy the Martial Arts skill. These are Martial Punch, Martial Kick, Martial Block, Martial Dodge, and Martial Throw. Basically, every character uses the same maneuvers; specific martial arts styles are just for color in this edition.

The Combat Maneuvers Chart gives the OCV and DCV modifiers for each maneuver, as well as how its damage (if any) is calculated. Punch is the basic maneuver, with no modifiers; it's +0 OCV, +0 DCV, and damage is your STR/5 in dice. Incidentally, I should mention that the DCV on the moves is not for the target; it's the DCV adjustment the attacker gets for using the maneuver. And the CV adjustments last until your next phase or action.

The next move is the Haymaker. This is where you wind up to take a big swing at the target, and it comes with a hefty -5 DCV penalty; you are wide open to someone else attacking you. Furthermore, it takes an extra segment to do this, so if you're starting the Haymaker on Phase 3, it's not going to land until Phase 4, possibly giving the target time to react if they have an action before the end of Phase 4, when the Haymaker lands. However, if you do hit the target, they take an additional +1/2 multiplier of damage on the punch. For example, the Thing (STR 60) lines up a Haymaker on the Hulk. Hulk, for whatever reason, just takes the punch. Assuming the Thing's attack succeeds (It's Clobberin' Time!), the damage would normally be 12D6, but instead is an additional +6 dice, for a total of 18D6 of damage.

The Kick is like a Haymaker; it takes just as long to do, and the damage is the same +1/2 multiplier. However, the trade-off is a -2 OCV and only a -2 DCV. So, you're less likely to hit, but you're also less likely to be hit in return.

A Block is exactly what it says: You block the opponent's attack. You don't do damage, and there are no CV adjustments, but you make an attack roll of your own just as if you were punching the attacker. If you succeed, the attack is nullified and you take neither damage nor knockback. As a bonus, if you and the attacker both have your next action phases in the same segment, you get to counterattack first, regardless of DEX order. So, Daredevil (SPD 6) blocks Kraven's (also SPD 6) deadly strike on phase 4. Both of them go on phase 6, but Daredevil will strike first even if Kraven's DEX is higher. Note that you can block any punch even if you don't have a phase ready; this is called 'aborting' in later editions, though it's not mentioned here. If you do abort to a block, you lose your next action phase entirely. And you can't block more times than you have phases in a single turn.

Dodge is a maneuver that denies you the chance to attack, but gives you a +3 DCV against someone else's attack. You can't move more than 1/2 your total movement in a phase when you are dodging.

Grab is where you get a hold of the target's costume, their foci, or even them. If you succeed in a Grab, you can squeeze or throw the opponent. Grab takes a -1 OCV and a -2 to DCV, but once you succeed you can hold on to the opponent until they can break free or until you squeeze them into unconsciousness. In a squeeze, you do your STR in damage each phase; getting out of a Grab requires you to roll 1D6 for every 5 points of STR you have, and you have to roll higher than the grabber's STR score. So, Daredevil (STR 20, 4D6 roll) isn't getting out of Spider-Man's grasp (Spidey's STR is going to be at least 30, which is more than DD can roll on 4D6).

Move By is a maneuver in which you charge past an opponent, striking them as you go, such as clotheslining them on the way by. The maneuver requires you to move your full movement in the phase; if you have 15" of Flight, then you are moving 15" during this maneuver. The target can be anywhere along the path of movement; the result is the same. The OCV is -2 and the DCV is -2. The damage is calculated as follows: 1/2 your STR (so a STR of 20 would be reduced to 10, meaning 2D6 damage) plus 1D6 for every 5" of velocity on the move (so the Flight 15" would add 3D6, making a total of 5D6 damage).

That's it for this page; we'll finish the combat maneuvers next time, including the Martial Arts maneuvers that everyone loves so much. Until then, Excelsior!

Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 31)

Okay, let's dive right into the combat modifiers. This is actually a lengthy section; the chart of modifiers takes up most of the second column of the page onto the next one. But first, there are two different types of combat in Champions: Physical, and mental. Physical combat is all the punches, energy blasts, killing attacks, etc. that are...well, physical. These attacks are based on the Dexterity scores of the two people involved; the CV (DEX/3) is added for the attacker, and subtracted for the defender. Fractions are rounded to the nearest whole number. So, if Nightshade (DEX 20) is attacking Blockhead (DEX 15), his Offensive Combat Value (OCV) is 7, and Blockhead's Defensive Combat Value (DCV) is 5. Therefore, Nightshade needs a roll of 11 + 7 - 5 = 13 or less to hit his target. Blockhead needs a 11 + 5 - 7 = 9 or less to hit Nightshade. The CV works as both OCV and DCV depending on who is attacking who.

The CV can be modified by Skill Levels, too, so a character such as Blockhead with three levels of hand-to-hand combat Skill Levels who is attacked can modify his OCV or ECV, depending on how he wants to distribute those three levels. So, Blockhead, who is much better at hand-to-hand fighting than Nightshade, can put one Skill Level to OCV, and the other two to DCV, adjusting the target numbers so that Nightshade now needs an 11 + 7 - 5 (DCV) - 2 (SL) = 11 or less to hit if he is foolish enough to punch Blockhead, and Blockhead needs an 11 + 5 (OCV) - 7 (DCV) +1 (SL) = 10 or less to hit Nightshade in hand-to-hand combat.

Mental combat, on the other hand, uses the Ego Combat Value (ECV), which is the character's EGO/3. Mentalists will tend to have high EGO scores for this reason. Skill levels can exist for mental combat, too.

Range is another standard modifier; for every 3 inches of distance between the attacker and the target, the roll is modified by -1. So Nightshade, who has teleported 15" away from Blockhead to stay out of range, can still blast him with his Darkblast, but the range modifier means his 13 or less is reduced by 15"/3 = 5, or 8 or less to hit. Skill Levels in ranged combat can be applied to OCV but not DCV. And Skill Levels with a particular ranged attack mean that you can actually bounce your attack off a surface, like Captain America's shield. Multiple bounces mean one Skill Level per bounce, and you have to count every inch that the projectile travels in the range modifier. Got it? Good.

So, now we have the list of modifiers. Here's the quick rundown of what's on this page:

Area Effect attack: +1 to OCV, target DCV is set to 0. Misses hit one of the surrounding hexes (roll a D6 to determine which one).

Explosions are the same as Area Effects.

Surprise attack, target is already in combat, DCV reduced by half.

Surprise attack out of combat, DCV is set to 0.

Target has 50% concealment: -2 OCV

Target has 75% concealment: -4 OCV

Target is 90% concealed and only showing his head: -6 OCV

Surprise maneuvers: OCV varies from +0 to +3 depending on the GM's evaluation of the maneuver.

Throwing unbalanced objects (chair, building, etc.): Range Mod is -1 per inch.

Throwing balanced objects (spear, Wolverine, etc.): Range Mod is -1 per two inches.

I don't know if I would actually consider Wolverine balanced, now that I think about it. But he's more aerodynamic than a car, so there's that.

Character "sets" for a phase (sighting target): +1 OCV, Range Mod is doubled (-1 per 6")

Character "braces" for a phase (against solid object): +1 OCV, DCV set to 0, Range Mod is doubled.

Target's size:

1 hex: +1 OCV

2 hexes: +2 OCV

4 hexes: +3 OCV

8 hexes: +4 OCV

Target is 1/2 man-sized: -2 OCV

Target is 1/4 man-sized: -4 OCV

Target is 1/8 man-sized: -6 OCV

So, that's the mods so far. There are a few on the next page, but I'll get to them next time. Let's put a few of these into action, though.

Nightshade has teleported away from Blockhead to keep out of the big guy's fists. Blockhead is a big boy, filling a whole hex, and Nightshade has set himself, taking an additional phase to improve his aim. The 'set' gives him a +1 to his OCV and doubles his range modifier. He's 15" away from Blockhead, which means he gets a -3 to his OCV (every 6" or partial amount gives a cumulative -1). Blockhead's size gives Nightshade an additional +1 OCV. So, totalling up the modifiers, Nightshade has an attack roll calculated as follows:

Base Attack Roll = 11

DEX 20/3 = 7 OCV

Target's DEX 15/3 = 5 DCV

Set: +1 OCV, -3 Range Mod to OCV

Target's size = 1 hex: +1 OCV

All total, we have 11 + 7 - 5 + 1 -3 + 1 = 12 or less to hit with his Energy Blast. Not bad odds. Will Nightshade succeed in striking his opponent? Tune in next time to find out!

Let's Read Champions 1e (pg 30)

Alright, the Jays and Dodgers are tied at 1-1 in the Series, so let's continue on with some more Champions love. Today, we start the Combat section. We get a brief explanation of how comic book combat works (way different than realistic games like D&D or Star Frontiers). The laws of physics and space-time are routinely bent in superhero combat, as two guys can pound on each other in fifteen seconds while carrying on a two-minute debate on morality and ethics in the same time. It's glorious. We then get a breakdown of how this section of the rules will be laid out. First, it's the Order of Combat (who goes first), then Combat Maneuvers (how you hit someone), then Determining Damage, Taking Damage, Recovering from Damage, and the Effects of Damage. Got all that? Lots of damage. Okay, let's jump right in.

The Order of Combat is the Champions' version of initiative, but it's not random. Although, I have seen a house rule that makes it random, but more on that later. The most important factors in the Order of Combat are a character's SPD and DEX.

Time in Champions combat is broken up into three different increments. The Turn is the overall time frame that is entered when combat is declared; it's not used for anything out-of-combat. A turn is about 12 seconds of time, and you get to act in a turn as many times as your SPD rating. So, a character with a SPD of 3 acts three times in a turn, or roughly every four seconds. A turn is broken up into 12 Segments. A Segment is about 1 second long, obviously. All segments in the turn are numbered, 1 through 12. If you are set to act in a particular segment, you and anyone else acting on this particular segment move in the order of your DEX scores, highest to lowest. If two characters share the same DEX, they move simultaneously.

The Phase is the third increment; a phase is the length of time necessary for a character to perform an action. You have as many Phases as you have SPD points. And there is a very handy (and necessary) Speed Chart provided that cross-references your SPD score and the twelve segments. Every segment, the Referee looks across the chart on that segment's line. Anyone whose SPD score column has an 'X' gets to act on that segment. Here's the chart (from the 6th edition, but it hasn't changed in 44 years):

Actually, it has changed; the original has the vertical axis as the segments and the Speed at the top, but that's fine. So, you find the character's speed on the left, and read across. Anytime you see the Hero symbol, that's a segment you get to act on. The character sheet has the phases listed, and you just circle the ones that apply to your character. For example, a character with a SPD of 5 would read across and see that he acts on Segments 3, 5, 8, 10, and 12. A SPD of 3 means you move on 4, 8, and 12. Note that the max speed you can get for your character is 12; it's the only characteristic with a hard limit.

Note that you don't have to act on your phase; you can delay it if you want to. You can either delay until your opponent's turn to act, or even to the next segment. However, you can't act twice in a single segment, even if you're the Flash.

So, let's say my character Nightshade (DEX 20, SPD 5) takes on Blockhead, a DEX 15/SPD 3 brick. When combat starts, the Referee counts off the segments as follows: '1...2...3, Nightshade is up.' Nightshade gets to make his attack, and blasts Blockhead. After that attack is resolved, it's Segment 4, meaning Blockhead gets to punch back. Assuming Nightshade is still conscious, he acts on segment 5, and blasts Blockhead again. Neither acts on 6 or 7, but on 8 they can both go. Since Nightshade has a DEX of 20 and Blockhead only has a 15 DEX, Nightshade acts first. Not wanting to get punched again, he teleports out of reach. Blockhead can give chase, but is unlikely to reach his opponent in this phase. Nightshade gets to go on phase 10, blasting Blockhead again. In phase 12, they both act, with Nightshade being first, and thus he can continue to teleport out of reach, frustrating Blockhead until he can blast him into submission.

Next we get a quick introduction to Attack Rolls. Basically, this is a 3D6 roll, with 11 being your target number. This target is modified by your OCV and your target's DCV. If you roll higher than the target number, you miss. There are plenty of modifiers, which we'll go over on the next page. So, we'll leave things hanging and get back to them next time. Until then, Let's Go, Blue Jays!

Let's Go, Blue Jays!

After an absolutely thrilling Game 7, the Blue Jays are on their way to the World Series for the first time since Joe Carter touched 'em all. I was on the edge of my seat as I watched, and I cheered like a little kid when Julio Rodriguez struck out with Cal Raleigh on deck in the top of the ninth and the score 4-3 Jays. It was like I was back working at that seedy bar in 1993, looking up at the TV screen as Joe hit the bomb and the place erupted. The DJ started playing 'We are the Champions', the crowd was hugging and toasting each other. Total strangers who would never see each other again were acting like long-lost friends. It was glorious.

And a decade ago in 2015, I watched the most impossible inning in baseball history unfold, and the Blue Jays come back thanks to three errors and a mammoth blast from Jose Bautista known forever as the Bat Flip. Like Springer's dinger, it was a 7th-inning blast, and it was a three-run home run, and it broke the back of the opposing team so that they went down without a fight after that. They got a leadoff single and a walk in the eighth, but Roberto Osuna came out and shut them down with a five-inning save, sending the Jays to the ALCS for the first time since Carter's blast.

The next year, it was Edwin Encarnacion's turn to be the hero, hitting a walk-off three-run home run on the first pitch he saw from Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the eleventh inning, which sent the Jays to the ALDS for a rematch with the Rangers that had a lot of bad blood from a fight that happened in the last game they played together in the regular season, when Roughned Odor punched Bautista in the face and cleared the benches. Fortunately, the Jays got their revenge with a three-game sweep, the first in their playoff history, and the icing on the cake was Odor making a throwing error that allowed Josh Donaldson to scamper home with the series-winning run in the 10th inning of game 3. Maybe he should have practiced throwing to first instead of throwing punches.

Now, the Jays have made the playoffs three times since then, in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, 2022, and 2023. They lost all six games they played, and their young star, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., was ineffective and virtually silent at the plate. This time, though, they held on to a first-place finish in the regular season, tied with the Yankees in terms of their record but winning the tie breaker due to beating them 8 games to 5 during the season. Then they dominated the Yankees, beating them in four games in the best-of-five ALDS and moving on to face the Mariners in a battle of teams that joined the league exactly 49 years ago in 1977. It was the first time they ever faced off in the playoffs.

No, 2022 DID NOT HAPPEN. Do not bring that fever dream up again.

The Jays, with home field advantage, lost the first two games at the SkyDome (I refuse to call it the Rogers Centre) and their backs were to the wall. Fortunately, they came back in Seattle and tied the series at 2-2 before dropping game 5 with particularly boneheaded pitching change in the 8th inning that allowed the Mariners to go from 2-1 down to a 6-2 win. Now forced to return home with no margin of error, the Jays replied with a convincing 6-2 win of their own, before facing down the Mariners in a winner-take-all Game 7.

I maintain that there is nothing better than a Game 7 in baseball. Everything is magnified, even moreso than in hockey or basketball. Because unlike those two sports, every pitch takes time. Every play unfolds slowly and yet in the blink of an eye. One swing of the bat can crush a team's hopes and dreams...in either direction. And this was a Game 7 to remember. Was it the best one ever? Probably not; plenty of people will point to the 1991 World Series between Atlanta and Minnesota that went 10 innings and finished with a 1-0 score. And there have been plenty of other classics over the last 122 years of World Series play. But this one...this one is special for Blue Jays fans.

So, now it is on to the World Series against the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers. The oddsmakers are heavily favoring the Dodgers to take it despite the Jays having a better season record and playing in a tougher division (the AL East is a dogfight every year, and the NL West had the Colorado Rockies to play doormat).The Jays have shown the resilience necessary to win, and lead the majors in come-from-behind wins this year with 52, 17 of those when trailing in the 7th or later. So don't count out the Blue Jays, because this is a team that gets contributions up and down the lineup every single night. The Dodgers have plenty of stars, including ex-Jay Teoscar Hernandez, but it remains to be seen if their lineup will be as deep. The Jays have hit 20 homers in the playoffs next to the Dodgers' 15, despite the Dodgers playing only one fewer game. The Dodgers have a much better ERA in the postseason, but there are no weak spots in the Toronto lineup for a pitcher to ease up. And the Dodgers have faced no adversity in these playoffs, going 9-1 with two swept series.

All in all, I would say the Dodgers are favored, but it's not going to be a four-game sweep like some people are predicting. Historically, the Blue Jays get dismissed by many fans because they play in Canada. And it's been 32 years since those fans were reminded how good the Blue Jays can truly be. Here's hoping that the Jays can continue this magical run and finish the job. Four more, baby.

My prediction: Blue Jays in 6.

Let's Read Champions 1e (character creation example: Nightshade)

 Alright, I'm going to create a character using these rules. I know they already put three sample characters in, but what's the point of doing this if I don't include a character of my own? I could take a character I created in a different edition; I have lots of those. Or I could start completely fresh and create an entirely new character from scratch.

I'm thinking something new and creative would be a good idea; some of the characters I've created before wouldn't fit in the limitations of the 1st edition rules, whether it's powers that don't show up here, or additional skills, or whatever. So, let's start fresh.

I'm going to use the name idea and create a character called Nightshade. Maybe not the most original name, but hey, it's hard to come up with something completely new. So, Nightshade it is. With a name like that, he's going to have some powers related to shadow or darkness, so here we go.

First, I'm going to use the Multipower framework to save on points. We'll give him a 40-point pool and see what we can fit in there.

40  Multipower (40-pt. pool, darkness powers)

8    Darkness, 8" radius

8    Desolidification, 8 BODY

8    8D6 Energy Blast

4    Teleportation, 20", only between dark and shadowed places (+1 limitation)

10  Ultraviolet Vision (not in the Multipower)

So, that's a total of 78 points in powers. Now for some characteristics (the value on the left, the cost on the right):

10    STR    0

20    DEX    30

20    CON    20

10    BODY    0

15    INT    5

15    EGO    10

15    PRE    5

10    COM    0

8      PD    6

10    ED    6

5      SPD    20

10    REC    8

50    END    5

25    STUN    0

And that's a total of 115 points, giving a total of 193. I'm going to add the Stealth skill with a +1 bonus for 7 points to bring the total to 200 exactly. Now, for some Disadvantages.

Dependent NPC, 11 or less, incompetent (20 points)

Hunted, Pulsar (supervillain, 20 points)

Hunted, VIPER (large group, advanced weapons, 20 points)

Physical Limitation, color blind (infrequently, slightly, 5 points)

Psychological Limitation, Code Against Killing, 20 points

Secret Identity, 15 points

And that's 100 points of Disadvantages to go along with the 100 base points every character gets. So, here's a bit of background for Nightshade.

Drew Deveraux was a college student studying high-particle physics. One night he was working on a light-absorbing device when a superbattle between Pulsar and Starburst intruded on the lab. Pulsar knocked Drew back into the device, which exploded. The explosion staggered Pulsar, allowing Starburst to capture him. Drew, however, was forever changed, his body absorbing tremendous amounts of energy and giving him superpowers to control darkness. After training himself to use these new abilities, he designed a costume and began to fight crime as the hero Nightshade.

Yes, it's pretty simplistic, but that's a typical writeup for this early edition of the game. So, let me know what you think of Nightshade, and I'll continue on with the read-through. Up next...combat!

Let's Read Champions 1e (27-29)

Okay, so yesterday I stopped early on page 27 because I wanted to talk about the character examples a bit more. So, let's see how the designers walked players through creating what would some of the most iconic Champions characters of all time. Going back to the first pages of the book, there are three ways to come up with a character conception: Abilities, Name, and Costume. And like a good game design company, they give us examples of all three.

The first example is a player deciding he wants to play a Batman-type with martial arts and skills. So, he picks several appropriate skills (Acrobatics, Detective Work, Gliding, Martial Arts, and Stealth) before buying characteristics. He takes strong physical characteristics (20 STR, 25 DEX, 20 CON), as well as a high INT (20). Since this will be a melee character, he wants to bump up his defenses, so he pumps 10 points into PD (total of 14) and 6 more into ED (total of 10). And since martial artists are known to be fast, he jacks up the SPD score to a full 6. Since END gets burned so quickly in combat in this first edition, he also boosts his REC score to 12. Not a bad start.

Since Martial Arts costs as many points as your STR score, he goes back and adds that cost to his total. Now he's got a total cost of 200 points, including 150 in characteristics and 50 in skills. No powers, though, although Gliding would become a power in later editions. Since he's got 100 base points, he needs 100 points in Disadvantages to make up the difference, so he gives him a Secret ID (15), a 30-point Hunted, the criminal organization known as VIPER, a 20-point Code vs. Killing, another 20-point Hunted in the CIA, and another Psych Lim worth 15 points, a hatred of Killing Attacks. And then we get a casual mention that the character's name is Crusader.

For long-time Champions fans, that name will be very, very familiar; he was always the first sample character up until the 4th edition. And they'll also note something is missing: Crusader's shield. That's right, in this original version there is no Missile Deflecting shield. He's got the little gliding wings under his arms, but no shield. That caught me off-guard when I read it. Even the art on the sample character sheet shows him with no shield.

Speaking of which, the next page is mostly taken up with a hand-written character sheet showing exactly how everything is laid out. And the Champions character sheet is a thing of beauty; everything you need is there. Formulas for figured characteristics, combat maneuvers, space for the powers, skills and disadvantages, space to put your various characteristics rolls and your movement, and even space for your combat stats and your XPs earned. All that, and a quarter of the page is taken up with space to draw the character. They absolutely nailed the character sheet, and the basic structure of the sheet didn't change for several editions. It didn't need to.

So, Crusader comes off as a slightly underpowered Batman clone; no utility belt or other gadgets, but he's a tough fighter who can solve crimes with his brains as well as his fists. He's a classic character for a reason.

The next sample character is based off a name: Ogre. Yes, that Ogre. Crusader lasted into the 4th edition but I don't recall seeing him after that. Ogre, however, has been a staple of the game from 1981 to today. Everyone needs a big, dumb brick to punch out (or get punched by). And Ogre fills that category beautifully. And even here, he's one tough bugger, with a massive 60 STR (giving him a 12D6 punch) and 30 CON (giving him lots of END to burn). He's dumb and ugly (5 INT, 6 COM), but he's a menacing presence (20 PRE). He also picks up a few powers: Damage resistance (10 pts), Superleap, and Reduced Endurance on his STR.

I forgot to mention this: Power Advantages and Limitations can be applied to characteristics; just use the value of the characteristic to calculate the additional cost or savings. So, a 60 STR with 1/2 END cost would mean the advantage costs 15 points, even though you paid 50 points for the additional STR; you go by the value of the characteristic.

Alright, back to everyone's favorite brick. Ogre gets some Disads to pay for these points; he's at 197, so he'll need at least 97 Disad points to make up the difference. He gets a Psych Lim (hatred of people who remind him how stupid he is) for 15 points, another Psych Lim (fear of heroes with Ego powers) for 5 points, a 10-pt. Vulnerability, taking 2x STUN from Ego Attacks, a 30-pt. Hunted (the FBI), a 10-pt. Susceptibility to being affected by Ego powers, and a 20-pt. Hunted named Mechanon, who is another classic Champions villain who we'll get to later. That's a full 100 points, so he's got 3 points to play with. Ogre gets a +1 Enhanced Sight to improve his PER roll (since PER is based on INT, which means his PER is bad at 10 or less before this additional power). And there it is. The GM gives him a background to fit the disadvantages (he was a normal guy that Mechanon experimented on, and now he's dumb and extremely strong). And there we have it, our first Champions villain is ready to go.

The third method of character conception is a costume. The player comes up with a cape and a star on the hero's chest, and thus we are introduced to Starburst. Stealthy this guy is not. Since his powers define the character, we start with those. And we are introduced to the Multipower, as Starburst's powers are defined as sharing a pool of 40 points. He's got an Energy Blast, a Force Field, and Flight, which he can use up to a total of 40 points split between all three. So, he could have 5" of Flight, a 5 PD/5 ED Force Field, and a 4D6 EB running at the same time. Or, he could put them all into his Energy Blast, or drop the EB and use 10" of Flight and 10 PD/10 ED of Force Field. Multipowers give a character plenty of flexibility, within limits.

So, his characteristics are going to be important, particularly his DEX, CON, and END. SPD also helps. So, with 20 in DEX and CON, and additional points to boost his END to 50, Starburst has a total of 180 points spent. This requires some Disads, and we get a 10-pt. Psych Lim (unsure of himself, may hesitate in emergencies), a Secret ID, a DNPC (15 points, a lab assistant who gets involved on occasion), a 20-pt. Vulnerability to hand-to-hand Killing Attacks, and a Hunted worth 20 points (another villain, Pulsar, who will be introduced at the end). All total, he's got 80 points in Disads, so this is another balanced character.

People who know Champions from the 5th and 6th editions might have their minds blown by how small those point totals are; two 200-point characters and a 180. 5th edition used 350 as the base; 6th edition bumped it to 450. But there just wasn't as much stuff to buy in the earlier editions as there is now. A lot fewer skills, no Talents or Perks, and the powers weren't as complex as they are. So, characters didn't need to be loaded up with points to be effective.

Now, I get the whole 'point bloat' thing; I love creating powerful, Justice League-level characters myself. But there's a reason the X-Men were the most popular comic of the 1980s, and it wasn't because they were the most powerful team around. Same with the Teen Titans, who were very popular when this game was released. These were lower-powered heroes, sidekicks of the big guns, and much more relatable, if I can use that term. They were tough, but not invulnerable. They were powerful, but not demigods. They had weaknesses that made their heroics all the more impressive.

The end of the page discusses how to simulate powers that aren't listed in this edition, such as running up the side of a building or shapeshifting into different animals. The latter would become a full-blown power later (Multiform), and running up the building is simulated by buying Flight with the Limited Power that it only works when you are touching a solid surface (a +1/2 Limitation).

So, that covers all the character creation stuff, and we're just getting to page 30. Before I move on to Combat, I'm going to create a couple of sample characters using the rules we've seen: One hero, and one villain. But that will have to wait until next time.

Let's Read Champions 1e (page 27)

We'll finish off with the last two Disadvantages, then jump right into character examples. Starting off with a final note about the Unluck disadvantage from last time, which states that Unluck should be a constant thing, not always needing a roll to affect the character in minor ways whenever things are looking up. And some characters will have both Luck and Unluck, which makes for some fine confusion when things are going both good and bad at the same time.

Unusual Looks just means you look weird. The Thing or Metamorpho would be good examples of this disadvantage. Basically, you get points depending on how people react to your appearance. The more hideous you are, the better. Note that wearing a super-hero costume does not qualify; there are plenty of other ways to look ugly as sin, but costumes are commonplace in a superhero game.

Finally, we have Vulnerability. This is different from Susceptibility, which affects the character whenever a particular object or condition is near. Vulnerability means that certain attacks cause additional damage when they strike you. For example, Aquaman may be Susceptible to being out of water for too long, but he has a vulnerability to fire attacks and takes extra damage that a normal person would not. The more common the attack form, the more points you get. And there are two options for how much damage you take: 1 1/2 times, or double damage (which means double the points for the disad). Finally, you can choose to be vulnerable to STUN or BODY damage; taking both means taking the Disadvantage twice.. Examples given include 2x STUN from sonics (Uncommon, 2x) for 5 x 2 = 10 points; 1 1/2x STUN from punches (Common) = 10 points; and 1 1/2x STUN from physical Killing Attacks (Very Common) = 15 points.

And that is it! That's all the information for 1e character creation: Characteristics, Skills, Powers, Advantages, Limitations, and Disadvantages. All the things a growing character needs.

I'm considering splitting this part off from the next section, which is just character examples. I want to talk about them a bit more, so I'll save them for the next post where I can get into more detail. So, this one is a short one. But a good one, nonetheless, right?

Let's Read Champions 1e (page 26)

Okay, we continue on with some more Disadvantages to make your character more interesting and, more importantly, get extra points to buy cool powers. Because that's what it's all about, right?

So, the first one we have here is Psychological Limitation. Along with Hunted, this is probably the most common Disadvantage, since it provides lots of ways to define your character's personality. Generally, these are psychological quirks that cause a strong reaction in the character, often fear or hatred. Points vary depending on how common the limitation kicks in, and how serious it is. Uncommon situations (once in a while things) are worth 5 points; Common ones are worth 10, and Very Common Psych Lims are worth 15. Now, if you have a very strong reaction and you take irrational actions as a result of being triggered, you get an additional 5 points. If you become completely useless due to retreat or collapse when the trigger happens, you get 10 more points. However, you can make an EGO roll (9 + EGO/5 or less) to minimize the effect (lowering the effect down one level). That's your character using their willpower to overcome the triggering situation.

Psych Lims should be significant to be worth points; being afraid of ants is not going to get you any points; neither is hating rap music (although it should be). No, this is for the big things. Examples given are Code vs. Killing (common, total commitment) which is worth 10 + 10 = 20 points; Claustrophobia (uncommon, irrational) for 5 + 5 = 10 points; and Overconfidence (Very common, irrational) for 15 + 5 = 20 points. You can, of course, make these more or less intense if you want to.

Next up is Public Identity. The Fantastic Four have this; their identities are not even remotely secret; everyone on the planet knows that Reed Richards is Mr. Fantastic, and so on. Some villains (such as Doctor Doom) can have this as well. Basically, the character is always 'on call', so the authorities, villains, and paparazzi can easily find them whenever they want. This Disadvantage is worth 10 points.

The counter to that is, of course, Secret Identity. Most superheroes do have this, since it allows them to live a normal life, hold down a job, have friends, etc. This can require significant efforts to keep that secret. And it's worth 15 points.

Next is Susceptibility. This is where you take damage from objects and effects that would otherwise be harmless. Can you say 'Kryptonite', boys and girls? I knew you could. The more common the object of the susceptibility is, the more points it's worth, and the more it hurts, the more points you get. Like Psych Lims, the categories are Uncommon, Common, and Very Common, with the same point values. The base effect is 1D6 damage per phase; 2D6 is worth an additional 5 points, 3D6 is worth +10. And the damage is both STUN and BODY, so a Susceptibility can be lethal if exposure is lengthy. For example, vampires are Susceptible to sunlight, taking 2D6 damage per phase in full sunlight. This is worth 15 (very common) + 5 (2D6 damage) = 20 points.

Finally on this page, we have Unlucky. This is the opposite of the Luck skill; bad things happen to you without warning or explanation. Like Luck, you roll 1D6 for every 5 points in this Disad, with a maximum of 3D6 for 15 points. Every 1 on the roll is one level of Unluck. For example, a single 1 might mean you slip in combat, or one of your minor gadgets (like your IR Vision goggles) malfunctions. It can also affect you out of combat; you're stuck in traffic, an annoying news reporter shows up just as you were about to go on a date, etc.

2 level of Unluck could mean someone gets between you and the bad guy, blocking your shot when you almost had him down. Or people that would normally give you information are suddenly unavailable, or close-mouthed. Or your Blaster Gauntlets just broke down.

3 levels of Unluck means you should have stayed in bed this morning. Another enemy shows up in the middle of a fight, for example, or your boss is demanding your presence while the Ravager is picking up a school bus to throw it at you. If your DNPC is scheduled to show up in this session, she might be on the bus...

Anyway, that's it for this page. Tomorrow we wrap up Disadvantages, and with that we'll have all the Character Creation section done...except for building some sample characters. Until then!

Let's Read: Champions 1e (page 25)

First of all, I have to say how grateful I am to those of you who are still reading this blog. I took quite a hiatus, but every post I've made since starting up again has had views, so thank you. I hope you'll take a look at my other blog project, 25 Years Later..., my retrospective on the 3rd edition D&D game.

Alright, now back to this Let's Read. We're into the Disadvantages section, and we're reviewing the Dependent NPC (DNPC) writeup. As mentioned last time, they are the normal people in the hero's (or villain's) life that have some sort of impact on their adventures, whether intentionally or accidentally. The more often they are involved, the more points they are worth. However, there are other factors to consider, such as how competent the character is and how many points they themselves are built on. Yes, NPCs are built on points, too. Anyway, you can have a competent DNPC (someone with some special characteristics and/or skills), which doesn't add any points to your Disadvantage. Lois Lane or Alfred, for example, would be competent; both would be built on at least 20 points thanks to their skills and characteristics. A normal is basically an average person built on 0 points; they may have some points shifted around (e.g., a higher STR at the expense of a lower INT), but they're more or less just there. Pepper Potts would be an example. Finally, there are the incompetent NPCs, the ones who actually have a negative point total (lowered characteristics, limited skills). The classic example is, of course, Aunt May.

So that's the DNPCs. Next up is the Hunted disadvantage. This will be one of the most common disads; it's the basis of the character's Rogue's Gallery. Again, Hunteds have evolved over the course of several editions, so this is different from what I am used to. There are three variables to the Hunted Disadvantage. First is the number of people involved in hunting the character. A single person is worth 5 points; a small group (less than 4 villains or 40 people) is worth 10, and a larger group is worth 15. So a solo supervillain would be worth 5 points; the original Enforcers (from Spider-Man), a group of three villains, would be 10 points, and the CIA (lots of agents) would be worth 15. This can vary depending on just how powerful the group actually is.

The next variable is the group's firepower. If they have advanced weapons or highly-trained personnel, that's worth 5 additional points. Hydra is an excellent example. If there are supers involved, that's 10 points. If the Hunted IS a super, that's worth 15 points. Finally, the frequency that the Hunted appears must be noted. The base is an 8 or less roll for the Hunted to show up in a scenario; for 5 more points, that becomes an 11 or less, and for 10 points it becomes a 14 or less. These are the fanatical stalker-types who just won't leave you alone. Use them with caution; it can be very annoying to have the same supervillain show up almost every session. Note that Hunteds can't be added later on in a game for additional points; that's just the benefit of gaming.

Our last Disadvantage on this page is Physical Limitation. This is a problem that hampers the character on a physical level, such as Daredevil's blindness, or Professor X being confined to a wheelchair. The points given for this disad depend on how serious the affliction is, and how often it affects the character. The frequency can be Infrequent (5 pts), Frequent (10), or All the Time (15). If it's a slight limitation (such as color blindness), there's no additional points. If it's greatly impairing (such as hard of hearing), it's worth 5 more points. And if it's fully impairing (unable to walk, or blind), it's worth 10 more points. Note that heroes often have powers that compensate for these disdvantages (such as Daredevil's enhanced senses and radar sense).

And that's another page done. We're moving on steadily, and we'll soon be done with character creation, believe it or not.

Let's Read Champions 1e (page 24)

So, we're done with Power Advantages and Limitations, but there's one small thing left. Actually, it's not that small. The next page has a table that was very helpful for calculating the various limitation point reductions. It's a table with a horizontal line of Active Point costs, and a column of total Limitations from +1/4 to +3. You cross-reference the active points of the power with the total limitations and you get the actual cost of the power. As I said, very helpful for the math-challenged.

Okay, there's one more thing to do for character generation: Disadvantages. These are weaknesses the character has. They provide you with additional points to buy more powers, skills, etc. while simultaneously giving the GM ways to torment...I mean challenge your character. Examples of Disadvantages would be Superman's vulnerability to Kryptonite and magic, Wolverine's berserk rages, Spider-Man's devotion to his feeble Aunt May, and Batman's Rogues' Gallery that makes his life difficult.

The more debilitating the Disadvantage is to the character, the more points you get for it. However, if you take multiples of the same type of Disadvantage (such as multiple Hunteds or Psychological Limitations), there's a diminishing returns thing going on; the first two disads are at full value; the third and fourth are at half value, 5th and 6th for 1/4, and any further disads of the same type don't get you anything. The example is a character who takes three Hunted disadvantages; the first two (the ones worth the most points) are full value, the third Hunted is worth only half the points.

The first Disadvantage is Berserk. This one is more suited to villains than heroes, Wolverine being the obvious exception. Basically, with this disadvantage your character loses control in combat and attacks everyone indiscriminately, closest target first. No pulling punches, no esoteric attacks; your strongest attack, full power, until there's no one left standing or until you're not standing. But combat isn't the only time you'll lose it; you have to define a non-combat circumstance that will trigger the berserk, such as the sight of blood or a woman screaming. There are three levels of berserk; you roll 3 dice, and if the roll is lower than your target number, you're berserk. The levels are 8 or less, 11 or less, and 14 or less. Once the combat is done, you roll to see if you come out of the berserk rage; again, three levels at 8, 11, or 14 or less. And the commonality of the non-combat circumstance will also affect your point bonus from the disadvantage, but it's the GM who decides what level it is. Your chance to go berserk is checked once per incident, not repeatedly. The chance to recover is rolled every phase, and you get a free roll when you run out of END, knock out or kill the opponent, or someone tries to snap you out of it.

The next disadvantage is Dependent NPC. This one is mostly on the next page, but I'll summarize it a bit. Basically, this is your Aunt May, Alfred, or Lois Lane. It's someone who matters to you who sometimes (or often) gets involved in your adventures, either deliberately or unwittingly. The more often they get in trouble, the more points they are worth to you. The rolls are 8 or less, 11 or less, and 14 or less, each worth an increasing number of points. So Lois Lane, who is constantly getting into trouble needing Superman to pull her out of it, would probably be a 14 or less. By contrast, Jarvis, the Avengers' butler, is around but generally isn't involved in the team's adventures all that often, so he would be an Infrequent DNPC, with an 8 or less roll.

I'll continue with this disadvantage next time. Until then, Excelsior!

By the way, if all this talk about superheroes has stirred your interest in reading about such characters, I do happen to have a book about that, called The Awakening. Set in the Gilded Age, this is the beginning of a series of stories about the genesis of superheroes in a world slowly preparing for what will become a world war. Check it out!

Book Review: The Sword of Shannara

I know, it's an old book...but it's not as old as I am, so it counts as a new book. Actually, I have read it before; I read it when I was about eleven or twelve, so it was about five years old (and in paperback). But it wasn't the first Terry Brooks book I read; I read The Elfstones of Shannara first, so I was a bit out of sorts until I realized that it was a sequel to another book. So, since I really liked the Elfstones, I decided to see what had come before.

Now, most people today know that The Sword of Shannara is basically a shameless ripoff of Lord of the Rings; I've seen videos on YouTube about the many, many parallels between the two tales. But here's the thing: I read Sword before I read Fellowship. So it didn't feel like a ripoff to me, because I hadn't read the story it was ripping off yet. I didn't read LotR for another three or so years, and I have to be honest, I didn't feel like I was reading the same story.

Alright, so this is Brooks' debut novel, published in 1977; he's gone on to a very successful writing career since then, but a lot of people still complain that he is the reason that fantasy became almost entirely LotR ripoffs in his wake. In some ways, that is true; Sword was very successful, and showed every publisher and writer that LotR pastiches would go over very well with the reading audience. So, that's what they gave us. And so, for a long time, I figured that this was the entire breadth of the fantasy genre; I hadn't heard of Burroughs, Merritt, Dunsany, or Leiber, and I hadn't read Lovecraft or Howard at all.

I've mentioned all this in a long-ago post, discussing Abraham Merritt's The Moon Pool and its disappearance from public notice. But I just finished re-reading Sword after many years, and I thought I'd give my thoughts on it.

First of all, it's a quick read, much quicker than Lord of the Rings, since it's just one book. And while I can now recognize the parallels (since I've had several reminders of them over the last few years), there are enough of Brooks' own ideas to give the discerning reader a fun story that can stand on its own. Yes, it's still a ripoff of Tolkien, but it's also its own thing. And Elfstones proved that Brooks was more than a pastiche artist.

Anyway, Shea Ohmsford is the sole remaining heir to a now-defunct line of Elven kings, and the only man who can use the legendary Sword of Shannara. Allanon the Druid comes to fetch him to go collect the sword so he can use it to defeat the fearsome Warlock Lord, Brona. Shea and his step-brother Flick, along with Shea's friend Menion Leah, travel through terrible peril to the safety of Culhaven, where  Allanon tells them more about the Sword and the threat from the Warlock Lord. A motley group of companions joins Shea and Allanon to go find the Sword in the druid fortress of Paranor, but Shea is separated from them and falls in with a pair of unlikely companions, the one-handed thief Panamon Creel and the mute Rock Troll Keltset. They end up chasing a crazed gnome who actually has the Sword, all the way into the Warlock Lord's kingdom where they have even more trouble. Meanwhile, Allanon and Flick seek to rescue the missing elven king, Eventine, so he can lead his armies to help the beleaguered human forces of Callahorn in the city of Tyrsis, where the noble Balinor hopes to lead the famed Border Legion in a successful defense of the city while they wait for the elves and for Shea to destroy the One Ri--I mean, the Warlock Lord. Shea eventually succeeds, the evil armies are routed, the Warlock Lord is ash, and everyone rejoices...except Hendel the dwarf, who was played by Sean Bean.

Okay, so the story is pretty basic. I've learned over time that this wasn't actually how Brooks originally envisioned the story; instead, it was his publisher, Lester Del Rey, who made him dig into the Tolkien well and give the story a heavy coating of Middle-Earth. Still, Brooks did give the story its own personal touches, which helped make the book so successful. Neither Menion nor Balinor are Aragorn clones; the elven brothers are not all that much like Legolas, and Hendel is definitely not Gimli. Brooks has his dwarves friendly and allied with the elves, and they are pretty much all claustrophobic and hate being underground due to having been stuck there after some ancient cataclysmic war.

One thing I didn't realize when I first read these books is that Brooks set this in the distant future of Earth. This became much more obvious with the Genesis of Shannara series, which is set in our very near future. So the cataclysmic war was nuclear, and humanity barely survived, evolving into dwarves, gnomes, and trolls as well as humankind. The elves are a separate story that gets more detailed in Elfstones. Anyway, the ancient, ruined world does get a few nods here and there; one of the nasty monsters they encounter is an ancient survivor of those wars, and the party encounter it in the skeletal ruins of an ancient city. I know, a lot of 'ancient' in that sentence. So, I'll give Brooks kudos for doing a post-apocalyptic fantasy story in a Tolkienesque style. That can't have been easy to juggle, especially at editorial demand.

So, what did I think of the book? As I said, I have read it before, albeit a long time ago. And I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun and a pretty quick read, with vivid descriptions that nevertheless don't achieve the Tolkien effect of feeling like every single blade of grass and flower petal needs a paragraph of description. And that is a good thing. Even knowing the story, the pace is good, the characters are pretty well-developed (except the elven brothers, who get the shortest shrift in the book), and the climax is genuinely different. The power of the Sword of Shannara is real, but not what one might expect, and it gives the best indication of Brooks' talents as a writer. The characters that feel the most like Brooks' own creations are Panamon Creel and Keltset, neither of whom feels like a port from LotR. Creel is an unapologetic thief, and Keltset has his own motives for what he is doing, and he is definitely more than he seems.

In short, I like this book. I still like Elfstones better, partly since it was the first of the series that I read, and partly because it doesn't have the same Tolkien pastiche feel that Sword invented. I recommend it for younger readers who are just getting into fantasy fiction and haven't started with the heavies like Tolkien; it's a gateway drug for fantasy, and the rest of the Brooks' oeuvre has plenty of merits of its own.

If you're interested in my own fantasy writing, I invite you to check out Apprentice, an initiation into a fantasy world of my own devising, that doesn't have a whole lot of Tolkien influence. But it's still a fun read.

Let's Read Champions 1e (page 23)

More Limitations to go over tonight. There are six on this page, and it turns out that there aren't any on the next page, so there are a total of seven Limitations in this edition.

We begin with Always On. This Limitation means that the power cannot be turned off; it's always operating. To buy this, you have to buy the END cost of the power down to 0 using the Reduced Endurance Advantage. Cyclops' eye blasts would have this limitation, requiring him to wear special ruby quartz glasses to keep his blasts in. The multiplier on this Limitation is +1/4.

Incidentally, for those who are familiar with Champions in its later editions, you'll note that the Limitations are listed as positive, not negative, multipliers. I'm not sure when they switched it, but the switch certainly made it easier to understand.

Moving along, we have the Endurance Battery. This Limitation is much different in later editions, so it will require a bit of explaining. Basically, you're setting up a reserve of END points to use for the limited power. Think of it like...well, like a battery. You can use a certain amount of END that is separate from your normal END score. The multiplier for the limitation depends on how big the battery is. Calculate the maximum END necessary to use the power at full capacity. Then decide the multiple for the battery (double the END, quadruple, and so on). If the battery is only good enough to use the power once at full capacity (no additional END), the multiplier for the limitation is +1 1/2. Double the END is +1; four times is +1/2, 8 times is +1/4, and 12 times means there's no benefit to taking this limitation (although you can still take it).

For example, a 10D6 Energy Blast (costing 50 points to buy) costs 10 END to use. If Iron Man is using his Repulsor Beam off a dedicated power supply that would be an END Battery. If the battery is good for 8 shots, then the multiplier for the Battery limitation is +1/4, which means the Battery would hold 80 END for using the Energy Blast (but not the Jet-Boots), and the cost of the power would be reduced to 50 / 1+1/4, or 40 points. If it was a smaller battery good for only four full-power shots, the limitation would be +1/2, making the final cost 33 points. Note that you do not have to use full-power shots; if Iron Man fires a half-strength Repulsor (5D6), he uses 5 END and the Battery still has 75 END available for more shots.

I know, there's a lot. And it's not done yet. Normally, the Battery recharges in about a day. However, you can make it regenerate faster (1 END per full turn, or instantly recharged by a specific special power source) by reducing the Battery Multiple by one step. For example, Iron Man's Repulsor battery can be recharged by connecting it to a powerful electrical generator. If the Battery has 40 END (so a x4 Battery), normally the multiplier would be +1/2, but because it can recharge faster the multiplier is reduced to +1/4.

Phew! As I said, this does change in later editions to become a bit less unwieldy. But that's how it started, so we'll go with it.

Next, we have one of the most common Power Limitations in Champions history: Focus. This Limitation means that the power is operated through some sort of device. Almost any power can be given a Focus. There are four different types of Focus: Obvious and Inobvious, Accessible and Inaccessible. Every focus has one item from each of these pairs, so the possible Foci are Obvious Accessible (+1 multiplier), Obvious Inaccessible (+1/2), Inobvious Accessible (+1/2), and Inobvious Inaccessible (+1/4). An Obvious focus is...well, isn't it obvious? The power gauntlets that shoot Iron Man's Repulsor, Captain America's shield (but there's a caveat I'll mention in a moment), Batman's Utility Belt, Punisher's body armor...all of these are Obvious Foci. If you can tell what item the power is coming from, it's Obvious. If you can't (such as Spider-Man's web-shooters, which are concealed beneath his costume), it's Inobvious. Accessible Foci are items you can remove or render useless in combat. It's not necessarily easy (you have to make a Grab maneuver to take it from them, or attack the item to damage it), but it can be done if you try hard enough. For example, Hawkeye's bow can be taken away from him or broken by an attack (thus, it is an Obvious Accessible Focus). If it takes a lot more effort to take the item away (try taking Iron Man's gloves off when he doesn't want you to), that makes it Inaccessible; it can be done, but it takes time and work outside of combat. The Repulsor Gauntlets are an Obvious Inaccessible Focus).

You must also define the Focus as replaceable or unreplaceable (the word really should be irreplaceable, but I didn't write the book). This doesn't change the cost of the power either way; if it is replaceable, that means it's breakable and has 1 BODY for every 5 active points of the power(s) in the device. If it's irreplaceable, it's unbreakable.

Now, that caveat I mentioned. There are a couple of skills that are defined as Foci, but you don't get a limitation on either one. They are Missile Deflection and Swinging. So Spider-Man's web-shooters don't give him a Focus Limitation on his Swinging skill, but it does apply to other uses, such as Entangles. Likewise, Captain America's shield gives him Missile Deflection, but the skill doesn't get a cost reduction since that's built into the original cost in the first place.

Man, there's a lot to talk about here, isn't there? Alright, we've got three left. Next up is Increased Endurance Cost, which is, of course, the reverse of the Reduced Endurance Advantage. No, you can't buy both on the same power. Importantly, here we finally get the official confirmation and explicit rule that powers cost 1 END per 5 points of power used. If you take this Limitation, the END cost is increased. This would be good for powers that can be overloaded, such as the Human Torch's Nova Blast. It takes a lot out of the hero, but the benefit means you can get a much higher level of power for a low cost in points. The Endurance multiples (and their cost multiples) are: x 1 1/2 (+1/2), x2 (+1), x3 (+2), x4 (+3), and x5 (+4). So, the hero Supernova can buy a 12D6 Energy Blast with Area Effect (Radius) on it, which would normally cost (gulp!) 120 points, but with a x4 END multiplier, it would reduce the cost to 30 points. Just don't ask what the END cost of using it would be...alright, at full power, it would be 96 END. No, I'm not exaggerating. The END cost is 1 for every 5 Active Points, not just the Base Points. At a power cost of 120 points, that means a base cost of 24 END to use it. With a x4 Increased Endurance Limitation, that bumps it to 96 END. Supernova is going to be napping after he uses this even once.

Next...no, I'll save this one for last. The last one on the page is Limited Uses (Charges in later editions). Basically, you can only use the power a certain number of times a day. Unlike the Endurance Battery, which lets you use low-powered shots to save power, this Limitation doesn't give you the savings option. If you've got five uses, then that's all you get. Here's the chart, so I don't have to retype it.

Number of Uses    Bonus
1                            +2
2                            +l 1/2
3                            +l
4-6                        +1/2
7-10                      +1/4
11-15                    No Bonus

If you want the power to still cost END, you add +1/2 to the multiplier.

Alright, let's go back to the previous Limitation, which is called 'Limited Power'. But this one is cheating, because this might as well be called 'Miscellaneous Limitation'. It's literally a catch-all for limiting the power in a way that isn't covered by any of the standard Limitations. So really, there are effectively an infinite number of limitations on this page, all covered by this 'Limited Power' umbrella. Some of the examples given include: Power has no Range (+1/2 multiplier), which obviously can't be taken unless the power is ranged in the first place (such as Energy Blast or Flash), Power only works in Hero Identity (+1/4), Power only works (or doesn't work) in a given situation (variable limitation depending on how common or uncommon the situation is), and Power is linked to another (higher-cost) power, so the smaller power only works when the higher one is active (+1/2).

These are just a tiny sample of the possibilities for this Limitation. The player and the referee have carte blanche to come up with others; just make sure that it's actually a limitation before giving out any multipliers.

And...that's it! We've almost got everything we need to create a balanced character. There's just one more thing: Disadvantages. We'll go over those next time.

Incidentally, I'm still running a parallel review of 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons on my 25 Years Ago... blog, if that would be of interest to you. I'm about to dive into the 3rd edition Monster Manual, so come and check it out.