Outlandish Tales from WWII - Character Sheets & OOC Chat

[kevperrine]

Yeah, I know radiation was my idea, but the more I think about it, meh. Anyone have a grand idea for what MM's vulnerability should be?

If you don't mind a little *other* input... I'd say that with nearly several powers having a limitation that seems to be very... uh... not so limiting (Burnout and Finite? How often will they come up in-game, especially an online PbP game?)...
And then...
A Weakness that is likely to never be in the era? I mean, is "Radiation" really in handy supply (until after USA drops the bombs)?

Honestly. No offense, but Major Meteor *feels* more like a modern hero than a WWII era character.

Just my opinion. Take it with a healthy grain of salt.
-kev-

[Heroglyph]

How about Magnetism/EMP? Meteors are mineral rich

[Harrigan]

Magnetism I like!

Kev -- I think he's pretty period now with the revamp. Previously he was too 50s Golden Age for me, which is also why radiation (again, my idea!) was grating on me.

And I have to say, I fully expect Finite and Burnout to be real limitations...

[Heroglyph]

Magnetic attacks would still be pretty rare. So maybe expand it to Electromagnetic attacks. (that would include electricity/ magnetism)
Here's a thought on Electromagnetic weaponization:

Radar is an object-detection system which uses electromagnetic waves—specifically radio waves—to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain

In August 1917 Nikola Tesla outlined a concept for primitive radar units.

Tesla was also rumored to have invented some sort of Death Ray. So maybe, just maybe, radar could be weaponized into some sort of electromagnetic ray gun.

[urbwar]

I'd say that with nearly several powers having a limitation that seems to be very... uh... not so limiting (Burnout and Finite? How often will they come up in-game, especially an online PbP game?)...

Burnout/Finite is rolled for every time you use the power. Therefore, it will come up in every combat scene (which is when I will most likely use any of those powers). Potentially having those powers fail or be of limited use when they are needed most seems pretty limiting to me. YMMV, but I strongly disagree with this opinion.

And then...
A Weakness that is likely to never be in the era? I mean, is "Radiation" really in handy supply (until after USA drops the bombs)?

I agree it's not the best, which is why I agreed to change it. However, there was plenty of stuff involving radiation before the USA dropped any bombs. The Germans had Heavy Water plants operational as far back as 1942, so experiments with Radiation were more than possible for a superhero universe. I like the electromagnetism suggestion better, but it's not as far fetched as you might think.

Honestly. No offense, but Major Meteor *feels* more like a modern hero than a WWII era character.

He's a take on Superman. There were plenty of imitations of Superman in the Golden Age. I don't see how that makes him feel more like a Modern hero, as Superman is one of the iconic golden age heroes....

[Heroglyph]

He's a take on Superman. There were plenty of imitations of Superman in the Golden Age. I don't see how that makes him feel more like a Modern hero, as Superman is one of the iconic golden age heroes....

It might be the lack of a cape Do any of us wear capes?

Just kidding, I dig him!

Really enjoying the game so far. Good stuff from all involved.

[kevperrine]

Burnout/Finite is rolled for every time you use the power. Therefore, it will come up in every combat scene (which is when I will most likely use any of those powers). Potentially having those powers fail or be of limited use when they are needed most seems pretty limiting to me. YMMV, but I strongly disagree with this opinion.

Good points. I'm not certain of my opinion (not seen these in-play) but just mentioning. You may be right. Actually, THAT is one reason I'm very interested to play more on-line games. I like seeing how other groups handle things like this. Sometimes, home groups get in a rule-rut not using or paying attention to certain rules. So it's good to see different uses.

He's a take on Superman. There were plenty of imitations of Superman in the Golden Age. I don't see how that makes him feel more like a Modern hero, as Superman is one of the iconic golden age heroes....

And I likes me some takes on early Superman! I just didn't "read" that when I read him. That's just me though, but if *I* have to tell me he's a take on Big Blue... how close is he, really?

NOTE... this is NOT to say he's not a cool character. I actually like MM (especially the image!). I'm just weighing in. Probably NOT being helpful. So I'll shut up. hehe

-kev-

[urbwar]

It might be the lack of a cape Do any of us wear capes?

Well, the first ever Superman rip off, Wonderman, didn't wear a cape either

Of course, the original MM is inspired by Captain Comet, one of the first Silver Age heroes, and really has a whole different set of powers (being mostly psionic in nature, though he does have various life support powers, limited super strength and a force field too)

[Harrigan]

Magnetic attacks would still be pretty rare. So maybe expand it to Electromagnetic attacks. (that would include electricity/ magnetism)
Here's a thought on Electromagnetic weaponization:

Radar is an object-detection system which uses electromagnetic waves—specifically radio waves—to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain

In August 1917 Nikola Tesla outlined a concept for primitive radar units.

Tesla was also rumored to have invented some sort of Death Ray. So maybe, just maybe, radar could be weaponized into some sort of electromagnetic ray gun.

Say, what do you guys take me for? If someone has a weakness to magnetics, By Jove, you will run into magnetics. But broadening to EM is fine as well.

(And you WILL be shot at with Teslian technologies at some point.)

In other news, I will absolutely be using Burnout, Finite and all the other limitations that have been scrawled on sheets. Most definitely.

Last note: this is an alternate reality, guys, regarding radiation and such. I mean, if the Germans had heavy water facilities and such in 42, what do you think they have in a game world where magic and super-science run rampant, hmmm? 8]

Truly the last note: interestingly, there's president for MM's origin in the Paragons universe. My very first Hero / Champions character ever designed, Astounding Man, got his supes-like powers from a glowing meteorite. He was also dumb as a stump, working as a weatherman on the evening news and always bounding off-stage to zip into action. He had no idea his ID was public rather than secret. (Due to the point budget I was on, he could also fly all of... 45mph. ZOOM.)

[urbwar]

Good points. I'm not certain of my opinion (not seen these in-play) but just mentioning. You may be right. Actually, THAT is one reason I'm very interested to play more on-line games. I like seeing how other groups handle things like this. Sometimes, home groups get in a rule-rut not using or paying attention to certain rules. So it's good to see different uses.

I have a bad tendency to not use limitations much when designing characters myself. I wanted to give MM some limits, so that while he is powerful, he has limits. Plus he gained his powers at a late age, which I thought was another nice twist

And I likes me some takes on early Superman! I just didn't "read" that when I read him. That's just me though, but if *I* have to tell me he's a take on Big Blue... how close is he, really?

In some ways he is likely more powerful than the original superman, but other than the force field, I was trying to model many powers Superman has displayed.

NOTE... this is NOT to say he's not a cool character. I actually like MM (especially the image!). I'm just weighing in. Probably NOT being helpful. So I'll shut up. hehe

heh!

[Harrigan]

So when calling for rolls (since a couple of you cried foul over me being an ogre about rolling dice -- kidding, I agree that part of the dynamic is your ability to know when to spend HP and HD... speaking of which, I need to make HP assignments!), I'll call them out here in the OOC thread in BOLD RED, like so:

Everyone who spends time examining the dossiers, please make an Investigation/Analysis skill roll here in this thread and see if you can beat a difficulty of Tough (20) .

(Not just illustrating here -- make the roll!)

And for Hero Points, Hero Dice and Setbacks, let's see...

American Rubber: 1HP, 1HD
Blockade: 1HD
Cauchemar: 5HP, 1HD
Lady Paramount: 1HD
Major Meteor: 1HD
Sky Marshall: can't read the bottom of his sheet! Is he 30pts?
Unknown Soldier: 6HP, 1HD

Cool? I think I'll edit the first post in this thread and track it there...

[BeardedDork]

Investigation/Analysis Rolls for Cauchemar

[bash]3 = 707552769 [/bash]
[bash]3 = 318131076 [/bash]

[BeardedDork]

Soundly beaten on both rolls. Woohoo!

[Heroglyph]

Is there somewhere that explains the dice coding on the forums?

[Saker]

The Sky Marshall

While the point totals at the bottom have miniscule font size (that I can't change), the 30 cents at the top left is big enough to remind us that he is 30 points.

Here's his roll for reviewing the dossiers.
[bash="Investigation/Analysis"]2,0,0 = 1336389567 [/bash]

LP. Use the quote function to analyze our rolls. Use the Bash button surrounding a series of three numbers separated by two commas. The first number is the multiplier. The second number is the dice bonus to the roll BEFORE the multiplier. The third number is the bonus to the roll AFTER the multiplier. You can also identify the roll between quotes after an equal sign inside the first bash [].

Go team!

cheers