From: [s--m] at [Eng.Sun.COM] (Sam Bell)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.super-heroes
Subject: CH: Write-Ups: FAQ
Date: 17 Apr 1996 00:07:26 GMT
Frequently Asked Questions about Sam Bell's Write-Ups Version 1.0
prepared 4/16/96 by Sam
last updated 4/16/96 by Sam
1.0 What are the write-ups?
1.1 What are they for?
2.0 Who is Sam Bell?
3.0 How are the write-ups done?
3.1 Why don't the write-ups have full background, personality
sketches, etc?
4.0 Why are the characters so powerful?
4.1 Why are they so much tougher than characters in my campaign?
4.2 Why are they so much tougher than Champions Universe characters?
4.3 Why did you give character X Str Y, when the Marvel Handbook says
they should have Str Z?
5.0 How can I use the characters?
6.0 Why haven't you done character X?
7.0 Where can I get the write-ups?
8.0 What write-ups are available?
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1. What are the write-ups?
A: They are DC & Marvel characters written up under the Champions
rules. I started posting them around February of 1995. So far
I have posted over 200 write-ups with many more to go.
1.1 What are they for?
A: For fun. I originally started doing them to spark discussion on
how to best do certain powers in Champions. They were moderately
successful, and did start a few discussions on desolidification
and how to do disads.
For myself, I enjoy doing them for the mental exercise, the chance
to brush up on comics trivia and for the fame (yeah, right).
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2. Who is Sam Bell?
A: I am a software engineer at Sun Microsystems. Two of my hobbies
are comic books and Champions. I have no proffessional connection
with DC, Marvel or Hero Games. I have been reading comics 20 years
(since 1976) and have been playing Champions for 13 (since 1983).
I have run a number of campaigns down the years, none of which have
featured write-ups of existing comicbook characters (there have been
a few rip-offs, homages and parodies down the years).
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3. How are the write-ups done?
A: Usually I read the appropriate reference work (Who's Who in the DC
Universe or The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe) if the
character has an entry, then I write them up, attempting to include
as many of their powers as possible. Sometimes I will leave a power
out if the character seems to have lost it or if it particularly
silly. I usually don't include powers/skills that have only been
seen once.
My priorities (in order) are:
1) Represent what is portrayed in the comics.
2) Conform with the relevant reference (OHotMU or DC's Who's Who).
3) Keep relative power levels consistant with other comics characters
(Thor should be stronger than the Thing, Batman should be a
better detective than Nightwing).
4) Keeping relative power levels consistant with typical Champions
games (the Hulk should be a tough brick, Mon-El should not be a
be a push-over).
Note that the last item is definitely my lowest priority, so I try
to "call 'em like I see 'em" even if the resulting power level is
too high (or too low) for successful interaction with most campaigns.
(See question #4).
Since the comics often contradict each other and the reference
materials I often have to just pick a number based on totally
personal preference. This is very often the case with the more
intangible stats (Int, Ego, Pre, Com).
3.1 Why don't the write-ups have full background, personality
sketches, etc?
A: If they did, I'd still be working on my 20th character. These are
supposed to be for people who already know the comics. If you
don't know who Spiderman is, I'm not going to tell you. I'm
trying to get the majority of two universes done, hundreds and
hundreds of characters, and that requires that I keep them fairly
terse. I even omit disads unless they are particularly
interesting.
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4. Why are the characters so powerful?
See below. As a general comment, most of these write-ups aren't
all that powerful, they are just very expensive, and that is
because I'm not trying to shave points here, I'm trying to
accurately translate the comics. Most numbers were arrived
at by comparing the character I'm working on with other characters
already written up. For instance, I gave the Human Torch an
18d6 EB. Now, when the Human Torch has blasted Colossus in the
past, Colossus was unaffected, so Colossus should have at least
a 63 ed. Colossus was give a 75 Str, so when I write-up Juggernaut,
I'll make sure that he can beat a 75 Str brick, since we know
that Juggernaut can beat Colossus, etc. Of course, with all
the interactions in comics it would be all but impossible to
do write-ups that mirror every interaction ever shown, since
the comics themselves aren't very consistant, but I try.
4.1 Why are they so much tougher than characters in my campaign?
A: No particular reason. There are campaigns at many different
power levels out there. I think the Champions games tend to
be too 'balanced' relative to genre fiction. In the comics,
Superman teams up with Black Canary but in Champions most
players don't enjoy playing underpowered characters. I've
made some progress overcoming this in my group, but that's
a subject for another FAQ.
4.2 Why are they so much tougher than Champions Universe characters?
A: No particular reason. Again, while they are more expensive than
CU characters, they're often not as combat effective.
4.3 Why did you give character X Str Y, when the Marvel Handbook says
they should have Str Z?
A: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is a wondeful book.
I have great admiration for Mark Gruenwald and Peter Sanderson,
however, the strengths are wrong at the high end. They do not
correspond to what has been shown in the comics, time and time
again. Let's use the Thing for an example. The OHOTMU says he
can lift 85 tons. 85 tons sounds like a lot, but it corresponds
to a block of stone 2.77m on a side. Ben uses rocks that size
to throw at people, one handed. If we figure backwards for
champions str (85 tons = 58.66 Str) things get worse. Ben can't
uproot a medium sized tree (5def 8 bod) in a single phase,
he can't crush a howitzer barrel (6 def 8 body) with his bare
hands: is this the blue-eyes idol o' millions?
Another problem is that all the brick's strengths come out too
close together if we figure backwards from OHOTMU:
OHOTMU figured str
Doc Samson 50 tons 54.83
Colossus 75 tons 57.75
Thing 85 tons 58.66
Thor 100 tons 59.83
In the comics, Thor is signifigantly stronger than Colossus, and
2.08 str is not signifigant enough, IMHO (Yes, I know all about
the logarithmic nature of Champs Str, I just think that Thor is
more than 1.333 times stronger than Colossus).
So what to do? I needed a yardstick from which to measure power
levels, and strength seemed the best. After all, which is better,
Vision's heat vision or the Human Torch's blast? It is hard to tell
from the comics. But it is clear that Wonderman is stronger than
Powerman, even though the two never arm-wrestled. How do we know?
Because there have been enough contests of strength down the years
to accurately gauge everyone's relative Strs (even though the
absolute values are vague). I had to make an executive decision
and arrived at this formula:
Write-up's Str= Greater Of [ Str figured backwards from OHOTMU value,
OHOTMU value in tons]
Not only does this address the problems mentioned above, but it has
the important benefit of 'feeling right' to me. 85 Str sounds about
right for the Thing and 58.66 doesn't, IMHO. I could have done it
any number of other ways, but I had to pick one, and this is what I
picked. Many people don't like this, and I don't blame them. As
soon as they come up with a better way to do it, then write-up and
post 200+ characters using their system, I'll be happy to sit back
and offer my constructive criticism.
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5. How can I use the characters?
A: The write-ups also have several other uses:
1) Example characters: These can be shown to players who are new
to Champions but are familiar with comic book characters to give
them a feel of how to write characters ups. I've tried to keep
the math correct, and think I've managed to keep my bug rate
below Hero Game's (I know, big deal...).
2) Brainstorm aid: I've playing Champions for 13 years and have
run hundreds of games and written up hundreds of villains (all
original, thank you). These write-ups give you a chance to see
how one experienced GM solved some sticky problems. Some of my
ideas may inspire you.
3) Checklist aid: Imagine you are working on a stretching
character. You could check out my Mr Fantastic write-ups for
a good list of stretching-based powers. Maybe there is something
you've forgotten?
4) Power Database: You can cut-and-paste powers and gadgets
from these write-ups to create characters in a jiff. Say
you want a powered armor villain team and the game starts in
ten minutes. No problem. First you brainstorm up some names
(Silly names used for example purposes, I'm saving all the good
names for my own campaign). You come up with Insectnaut, Ironwing,
Motormouth and the Plutonium Man. The write-ups are a snap:
Insectnaut: Ant-Man's cybernetic helmet plus the Beetle's armor.
Ironwing: An agent, plus Archangel's wings bought OIF.
Motormouth: Blue Streak's rocket skates plus Cottonmouth's bite
(assumed to be a cybernetic enhancement).
Plutonium Man: Iron Man's technical skills, plus the Radioactive
Man's powers bought OIF.
5) Use them in as characters. Many won't be at the right power
level, but chances are some of them are. There are several options:
A) Same write-up, different name: Use Whirlwind, but call him
Cyclone and give him a new costume. No one need ever know :-).
B) Same name, not really the same character. There just happens
to be someone in your campaign with the same name, powers and
costume as a character in the comics. This works fine with
reasonably second-string characters (who cares if your
Rattler or Judomaster is a rip-off?). If you bring in
a character named "Batman" or "Spiderman" you are just asking
for trouble, unless...
C) Same character, different universe. The evil Dr Dimension
detonates a D-Bomb under the heroes' base and they are flung
into another universe. A friendly Latverian scientist offers
to help them return home, but first they must recover a
stolen time platform being held by the evil Dr Richards...
D) Same character, same universe. Or you could just set a
campaign in a comic-book universe. Tricky, but I suppose it
could be done.
======================================================================
6. Why haven't you done character X? I am still busy working, I imagine
A: I'll hit the 500-character mark before I am through, so it may be
that I haven't gotten around to it yet. There are some characters
you'll probably never see:
1) Humor characters. The Tick, the Inferior Five, Ambush Bug. I
love them, but I'm not very interested in writing them up.
2) Abstract Beings. Dream, Galactus, Phantom Stranger. These aren't
handled very well by Champions, IMHO.
3) Non-Big Two characters. Youngblood, Astro City, etc. For most
of these I don't have enough info.
=======================================================================
7. Where can I get the write-ups?
A: Right now, the only place where you can get all the write-ups is
directly from me. Just send e-mail to [samuel bell] at [sun.com]
=======================================================================
8. What write-ups are available?
A: Here's what is available, as of today:
All Star Squadron
143 Wing
145 Sandy
153 Tiger
228 Atom (v1)
229 Amazingman
229 Wildcat
239 Hourman
242 Tarantula
271 Dr Midnite
276 Airwave
279 Iron Munro
280 Crimson Avenger
290 Liberty Belle
304 Judomaster
308 Sandman
312 Atom (v2)
323 Firebrand II
327 Fury
328 Starman
337 Hawkwoman
341 Hawkman
348 Commander Steel
363 Shining Knight
415 Robotman
497 Dr Fate (v1)
526 Superman (v1)
558 Uncle Sam
695 Flash
695 Superman (v2)
720 Johnny Quick
1164 Dr Fate (v2)
1497 Spectre
Avengers
314 Falcon
322 Hawkeye
337 Mockingbird
344 Scarlet Witch
378 Tigra
385 Wasp
399 Black Knight
416 Black Panther
449 Black Widow
496 Yellowjacket
505 Jocasta
518 Quicksilver
545 Sif
579 She_hulk
609 Captain America
640 Starfox
727 Wonderman
777 Vision
778 Hercules
833 Iron_man
1217 Thor
Fantastic Four
635 Thing
645 Invisible Woman
697 Mr Fantastic
787 Human Torch
Frightful Four/Fearsome Five
257 Mammoth
272 Medusa
290 Gizmo
368 Dr Light
395 Shimmer
436 Trapster
442 Wizard
578 Psimon
607 Sandman
631 Brute
Hamner's Mercenaries
181 Discus
181 Stiletto
271 Boomerang
276 Blizzard
286 Constrictor
294 Bluestreak
318 Blacklash
367 Porcupine
469 Force
493 Spymaster
Infinity Inc
214 Dr Midnight
232 Hourman
254 Wildcat II
261 Brainwave Jr
325 Silver Scarab
332 Mr Bones
369 Fury
372 Nuklon
372 Star Spangled Kid
374 Northwind
401 Obsidian
476 Jade
Justice League of America
292 Ice
325 Green Arrow
380 Blue Beetle
390 Hawkwoman
399 Hawkman
401 Black Canary
408 Fire
423 Rocket Red
482 Aquaman
513 Dr Light
535 Mr Miracle
546 Batman
571 Elongated Man
628 Power Girl
752 Wonder Woman
758 Maxima
827 Flash
1055 Martian Manhunter
1661 Superman
Legion of Superheroes
217 Matter Eater Lad
262 Invisible Kid II
355 Magnetic Lad
356 Bouncing Boy
387 Invisible Kid
395 Phantom Girl
405 Star Boy
414 Atmos
423 Lightning Lad
429 Lightning Lass
434 Polar Boy
439 Tellus
439 Tyroc
441 Dream Girl
442 Duo Damsel
480 Cosmic Boy
496 Shadow Lass
498 Chemical King
504 Sun Boy
539 Karate Kid
545 Kent Shakespeare
546 Timber Wolf
548 Ferro Lad
573 Colossal Boy
589 Braniac-5
631 White Witch
661 Saturn Girl
705 Dawnstar
707 Blok
738 Sensor Girl
752 Ultra Boy
810 Chamelion Boy
905 Shrinking Violet
1088 Element Lad
1213 Wildfire
1583 Superboy
1617 Mon El
1650 Supergirl
Legion of Super Villains
85 Ron Karr
148 Tarik
195 Spider Girl
203 Radiation Roy
271 Hunter
282 Mist Master
330 Saturn Queen
350 Lightning Lord
351 Esper Lass
358 Magno Lad
367 Silver Slasher
374 Titania (LSV)
397 Chameleon Chief
403 Tyr
448 Sun Emperor
557 Lazon
615 Micro Lad
642 Cosmic King
901 Nuetrax
1312 Ol Vir
Marvel Misc
227 Angar
261 Aguila
267 Batroc
313 American Eagle
343 Ant Man
363 Armadillo
386 Arabian Knight
408 Arkon
472 Attuma
552 Abomination
629 Annihilus
679 Blaastar
694 Spider Man
707 Captain Marvel
777 Ares
1168 Beta Ray Bill
Masters of Evil
198 Egghead
226 Melter
248 Piledriver
248 Thunderball
249 Bulldozer
284 Shocker
296 Screaming Mimi
333 Scorpion
349 Titania
358 Yellowjacket
362 Wrecker (v2)
365 Black Knight 2
368 Beetle
372 Fixer
398 Baron Zemo 2
422 Baron Zemo 1
423 Tiger Shark
429 Wrecker (v1)
445 Mr Hyde
486 Blackout
526 Whirlwind
582 Radioactive Man
592 Grey Gargoyle
617 Moonstone
686 Executioner
690 Goliath
884 Klaw
907 Enchantress
1044 Absorbing Man
Serpent Society
138 Cottonmouth
179 Coachwhip
218 Boomslang
232 Bushmaster
246 Rock Python
253 Sidewinder
261 Puff Adder
276 Diamondback
290 Anaconda
292 Black Racer
293 Rattler
297 Asp
315 Diamondback (Post SSS)
321 Death Adder
395 Cobra
X-Men
320 Boom Boom
349 Domino
351 Shatterstar
362 Shadowcat
372 Warpath
410 Havok
421 Sunspot
427 Psylocke
437 Beast
450 Siryn
466 Sunfire
472 Nightcrawler
479 Cannonball
490 Marvel Girl
511 Banshee
542 Archangel
550 Cyclops
557 Colossus
637 Cable
710 Prof X
713 Wolverine
793 Storm
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