Basic Action Super Heroes!

Hi All

I wasn't sure which forum to use for this so I settled on this one. Hope it's ok...

I was wondering if anyone has played (or even just thought about) using the Scion setting by White Wolf/Onyx Path with the Bash! rules system?

If so, what did you think? Did/would it work out ok in your opinion?

I know there's a Scion v2 coming out but in the mean time I was thinking of perhaps starting the players at Street Level, but periodically handing out 1 Character point here and there until they eventually make it to World Class or even Cosmic levels over the course of the campaign.

Do you think this kind of thing would work with Bash?

Any advice would be most welcome!

Thanks in advance.

I have never picked up SCION, though I really love the idea of it. It would be awesome to use with BASH: ULTIMATE EDITION. BASH's experience rules would really work for advancing the heroes to the higher levels of power. In the mean time, unlike D&D, piddly little Mystery Men heroes would be able to take advantage of the bonus Hero Points earned when they are up against the ultra-powerful types! Just have the Campaign Scale advance with the players as they grow in power and abilities.

Ok, I've been giving this some thought, and I think I've decided to start the Characters on 15 points to make them above the norm, but not too much to begin with. Then, each session I would give them 1 Character Point to show their power growth.

This may sound like a lot, but our games never go on for long before I find a new toy and want to play something else

So it would take 5 sessions to even get to Mystery Men, 10 to get to Street Level, 25 to get to World Class, and (god forbid we even get that far) 45 sessions to get to Cosmic. We usually play for a couple of hours ever 2 to 3 weeks, so getting to Cosmic could take us 2 years! I know for a fact we won't still be playing by then as I have a habit of running out of ideas (my imagination isn't what it used to be, and my players don't GM... like.... ever), and I'd also like to run a few games of Honor & Intrigue .

In Scion-terms I would put the progression categories as Hero (15 to 24 points), Demigod (25 to 34 points), God (35+).

This would give me a lot of wiggle-room if I were to stat up someone like Zeus. Thus the characters are classed as Gods but would not be at the same power level as the older gods like Zeus, Horus, Thor, Quetzalcoatl, Amaterasu, Baron Samedi and the like.

I was also going to pick some associated powers for their parents. They would need to spend at least 1 point on at least 1 associated power to show their link with that parent, but after that their powers manifest any way they want them to.

It's all just brain storming at the moment, but thought I'd run this by y'all and see if it peaks anyones interest.

I don't know Scion, but if it helps, here are the stats of Zeus and Hercules:

Note that the Zeus Build is for things excluding his Omnipotence power. That is because as conceived, the amount of Omnipotence a god would have was based on the type of campaign the Narrator wanted to run and also on which "tier" of god we are talking about. Zeus would have much more Omnipotence than Dionysus for instance. Most demi-gods would have no Omnipotence at all (Dionisus being the exception).

Zeus
STATS:
BRAWN: 4
AGILITY: 3
MIND: 3
POWERS:
King of the Gods, Lord of the Sky
Scion of Titans: Armor 1 (1 pt)
Martial Arts Mastery 1: Wrestling (1 pt)
Healing 3 [Enhancement: Usable on Others] (4 pts)
Weather Multipower: (7 pts)
# Weather Mastery 5 [Enhancement: Broad Category] (6pts)
# Conjuring 5 [Limitation: Weather-related like Rain or Fog] (+1 pt)
Fogs and Storms: Confusion 1 (Lingering Area of Effect, 3 Pages), Huge Burst (5 pts)
Storm Multipower: (11 pts)
# Thunderbolts: Special Attack 6 (cosmic), +6 DM, Extreme Range [Limitation: Ammunition Gadget] (9 pts)
* x3 Attack, x10 DM (thrown weapon), Extreme Range (200 sq)
# Lightning: Special Attack 4, Mid Range [Enhancement: Variable] (+1 pts)
* single strike: x4 Attack, x6 DM, Mid Range (30 sq)
* arc: x4 Attack, x6 DM, Medium Arc (8x1 sq)
* bolts from the sky: x6 DM, Mid Range (30 sq), Small Burst (2x2 sq)
# Wind Gust: Push 2, Mid Range, Medium Burst [Enhancement: Variable] (+1 pts)
* x10 knockback in a Medium Burst (5x5 sq) within Mid Range (25 sq)
* Alternatives include a Long Line (16x4 sq), or a Medium Arc (8x1 sq) within Mid Range (25 sq)
- Zeus can use Omnipotence to add ranks as needed, to increase accuracy, damage, range or area)
Attack Weak Point

Aegis
Shield: Deflect 3 [Limitation: Easily Taken Gadget] (2 pts)
Terrifying Thunder: Daze, Extreme Line [Enhancement: Repels in Terror / Limitation: Easily Taken Gadget] (6 pts)

Thunderbolts: When given to others, the Thunderbolts are a 10 point gadget as shown here:
Special Attack 6 (cosmic), +6 DM, Extreme Range [Limitation: Ammunition Gadget] (9 pts)
Attack Weak Point [Limitation: Only for Thunderbolts] (1 pt)

WEAKNESS:

MENTAL MALFUNCTION:
It's Good To Be The King - In his youth, Zeus was ambitious and cunning and powerful. As the king of the gods, ambition has been replaced by self-indulgence, but he remains cunning and powerful. He enjoys the perks of his position, and all the rewards of heaven and earth are his to indulge in. He is not careless, however, and he still keeps one eye open for potential problems brewing on earth, or discontent in Olympus, and if anything catches his interest he'll enjoy the challenge of manipulating events to better suit himself.
ADVANTAGES:
Godhood, Headquarters (Olympus), Versatile
DISADVANTAGES:
In a Relationship, Obligation (Many mortal children he must indirectly protect from Hera), Secret (The fate of Metis)
SKILLS:
Athletics (Throwing), Perform (Acting), Stealth (Avoiding Hera's Notice), Deception (Lying), Occultism (Monsters), Streetwise (Rumors)
BREAKDOWN:
Stats 20 + Powers 38 = 58 points + Omnipotence

Hercules
27pts
Brawn 5 Agility 2 Mind 1 (16pts)
x6 Soak (x8 vs. Sharp attacks), x2 Defense

Powers: (11pts)
Armor 1: Hide of the Nemean Lion (x6 Soak) [Enhancement: Extra Effect vs. Sharp weapons x8 Soak] 2pts
Great Club: Special Attack 2 (x7 Dmg) [Limitation: Easily Taken Gadget] 1pt
Great Resolve: Mind Shield 2 (x5 Mental Defense) 2pts
Martial Arts Mastery 1 (Wrestling) 1pt
Archery: Bow Technique 2 (x4 to hit with bows) 2pts
Immortal Resilience: Healing 3, 3pts

Advantages: Never Surrender
Disadvantage: Enemy: Hera

I should add that depending on what type of god they are, all gods get certain other powers besides Omnipotence. The Greek Pantheon gods would all get Shape-Shifting, Illusion, and Growing for example in addition to some Omnipotence. Greater gods would also have ranks in the Fate power.

Those write-ups are awesome, Chris! They'll definitely come in handy, thanks!

Did you just put them together now, or are they linked to the Age of Olympus expansion?

It's from Age of Olympus.

BTW, you did see that there was a free Age of Olympus setting adventure released a couple years back, right? It's called "Immortal Peril" and is free on RPGnow.com

Sure did! I downloaded it a couple days ago on DrivethruRPG

SpaceMonkey wrote:Ok, I've been giving this some thought, and I think I've decided to start the Characters on 15 points to make them above the norm, but not too much to begin with. Then, each session I would give them 1 Character Point to show their power growth.

This is a really great idea, SpaceMonkey. If a player was considering giving their young godling a magical weapon then they could save up those Character Points and cash them in after a few sessions to buy their cool mystical gadget (say a hammer of trident of some such – maybe even having you build a whole adventure out of its acquisition to really add some pizzazz). In the mean time, since the player hasn’t really put that Character Point into play, they could use that point as a bonus Hero Point each game session; assuming, of course, that the player’s hero was not already built higher than the previously established Campaign Scale. Reskinning the Campaign Scales as HERO, DEMIGOD, and GOD levels is a great way of tailoring the rules for your games.

SpaceMonkey wrote:We usually play for a couple of hours ever 2 to 3 weeks, so getting to Cosmic could take us 2 years! I know for a fact we won't still be playing by then as I have a habit of running out of ideas (my imagination isn't what it used to be, and my players don't GM... like.... ever), and I'd also like to run a few games of Honor & Intrigue

I’m glad to hear that you manage to actually get so much game time in; I only seem to average running about 1 game a year! For me, I suffer from the never-ending game idea syndrome. I’ll have one setting idea consuming my attention for a month or two and then, just as I’m getting bored, the next great idea pulls me away.

BASHMAN, the Zeus and Hercules builds are great (and again have me wanting to play AGE OF OLYMPUS). The idea of adjusting the game scale by modifying the pool of Omnipotence available is fantastic.