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Superworld


Matt

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It would be nice for Chaosium to reissue Superworld and its Companion as a printed product again, preferably as a single volume. However, since we've 30 years' experience indicating the game's sweet spot, it might be a better option to put out a Magic World equivalent for superheroics -- a low-level campaign that takes advantage of BRP's strengths rather than trying to stretch its limitations until they break. With Astounding Adventures in print, we're already halfway there, since the difference between The Spider and Green Arrow is one of attitude rather than power level or mechanics. (And depending on which comics era you pick, there isn't much difference in attitude.)

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  • 2 months later...

In an earlier thread in another part of the board (which I can't quite look up) I posited the question of superheroes as a way of exploring how to turn characters from other games into BRP characters. The example involved the d20 version of Guardians of Order's Silver Age Sentinels, although their d20 version of Big Eyes, Small Mouth has roughly equivalent possibilities and problems. I still think GOO's flirtation with d20 was a major mistake for them, at least creatively.

In terms of power or point level, the Guard (the premier superteam of the Empire City Universe) was hardly balanced. It was, however, rather on the high end. Their lead character was the Sentinel, a thematic cross between Superman and Captain America. With Sentinel's d20 character sheet in front of me, I see that he had STR 96 and CON 30 but only (?) DEX 19. My question was whether porting those numbers directly into BRP would give nonsense results. According to the chart in BRP that much would give a damage bonus of +6D6 assuming a reasonable size for a Superman/Cap type. Is that enough to do all the things that Sentinel is reputed to be able to do?

That's TWO -- TWO obscure historical RPG references for the price of one!

I'm not nearly ready mentally to tackle converting superpowers; in fact, I'm barely familiar with how they work in chargen. But it's an interesting question. I've had a hard time imagining anyone having the poiints to get a 96 STR in Superworld -- what would that do?

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CON and DEX are probably equivalent (although CON 30 is pretty awesome in a BRP game since even massive real and fantasy critters easily have CONs half or a third of that). STR is trickier, since we don't know how it scales in SAS. I'd take the lifting ability in SAS and see what STR level would be required in BRP to match it. A +6D6 damage bonus sounds about right for a Superman homage, though. Such a hero would easily do Godzilla-level damage.

On the powers, I wouldn't try to do a direct conversion but seek out BRP abilities that provide similar effects.

But yeah, STR 96 would be almost unthinkable in Superworld. In another thread I built a sample villain with STR 40 -- which seemed impressive until I realized the equivalent STR in Champions would be a mere 28, enough to lift a missile but not a car. Powerful enough to slap around thugs and punch through some walls, but not the building-crushing strongman I imagined. A starting character would have to get really good stat rolls, spend all his build points on heightened STR, and max out Failings to get anywhere near 96. =|

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CON and DEX are probably equivalent (although CON 30 is pretty awesome in a BRP game since even massive real and fantasy critters easily have CONs half or a third of that). STR is trickier, since we don't know how it scales in SAS. I'd take the lifting ability in SAS and see what STR level would be required in BRP to match it. A +6D6 damage bonus sounds about right for a Superman homage, though. Such a hero would easily do Godzilla-level damage.

The Empire City Universe (or the Champions Universe) and the Mythos are a frightening combination. "I punch Cthulhu!" "OK, but you still have to make your SAN roll first...."

I'm haven't quite wrapped my brain around the BRP powers structure or how powers work, so I'm nowhere near ready to build or model a character. And given what you say below the idea that BRP doesn't handle supers all that well might have some validity -- or at the very least that BRP will alter some of your assumptions about how superpowers work in-game.

The d20 lifting scale is SAS is the same as the lifting scale in standard d20. In d20 terms, Sentinel has a STR bonus of +43. As I mentioned, I find the d20 port for SAS, although it is playable once you actually have your characters set up, clumsy at best. The Tri-Stat version is a much better game, and so is M&M. (Playing M&M at a convention was one of the first times I was able to take a Superman homage and actually do some of the stuff a Superman homage should do. It seems a perfect fit for the DC Universe in particular.)

Would such a character even be at all playable in BRP? SAS d20 characters do massive amounts of damage in combat by d20 standards. 4d6+8 attacks are on the low end of the scale, and the typical SAS player character is tough enough to withstand one. A 4d6+8 attack in BRP will generally turn even the toughest character into something no longer recognizable as solid matter.

Edited by Michael Hopcroft
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OK, find out the weight a +43 STR bonus gives you the ability to lift in SAS. Then check it against the object SIZ chart in the Big Gold Book. It'll give you a feel for the STR your BRP character will need to lift an equivalent amount. That's how I figured the lifting and damage equivalents between BRP and Champions. In both systems, my sample villain could lift a missle but not a car and did damage equivalent to that of a halberd. The scaling was different, but by focusing on the end result I was able to come up with compatible stats.

Superworld fans have discussed this a lot in several threads here. It isn't that BRP can't do supers. It's just that it handles them best at middle to low-level power ranges. When you get up to Justice League (or Thor/Hulk) power levels, things can get a little tricky (although at least one of our fellow posters said he successfully ran a Superman homage using Superworld). Each supers RPG has its own little quirks. I'll use Champions as a benchmark since that's what I'm most familiar with. In Hero System, super strength is cheap, and characters who can toss automobiles around are fairly common. In BRP, super characteristics are comparatively expensive, so a hero who can lift a car (much less throw it) is something special. Meanwhile, the damage bonus for a character who can barely lift a vehicle and one who can chuck it at a foe may be the same. On the other hand, energy projection is reasonably affordable in BRP, so you'll tend to have more guys who can zap you with shotgun or elephant rifle-level damage.

The way BRP handles damage is a challenge. Some superhero RPGs assume characters can soak up massive amounts of punishment without getting seriously hurt. Others, such as Villains and Vigilantes and Heroes Unlimited, assume characters aren't necessarily more durable than anyone else unless they specifically have that power. In BRP -- originally written to model fantasy swordplay in a realistic fashion -- all attacks, no matter how small, are lethal ones. Unless you have armor or some other defense, that +6D6 punch is really gonna hurt. Again, though, Defense (which makes a hero harder to hit) is relatively inexpensive in BRP. So you may have fewer Hulk types who can casually shrug off damage and more Spider-Man types who are good at getting out of the way (but if they don't, ouch!).

Edited by seneschal
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OK, find out the weight a +43 STR bonus gives you the ability to lift in SAS. Then check it against the object SIZ chart in the Big Gold Book. It'll give you a feel for the STR your BRP character will need to lift an equivalent amount. That's how I figured the lifting and damage equivalents between BRP and Champions. In both systems, my sample villain could lift a missle but not a car and did damage equivalent to that of a halberd. The scaling was different, but by focusing on the end result I was able to come up with compatible stats.

According to d20srd.org, STR 96 lets you lift at the maximum 150,073,280 pounds, or roughly 7.5 kilotons. That isn't just unthinkable in BRP terms -- it's practically unimaginable. There is almost nothing encounterable that the Sentinel can't lift with effort. We may not be talking kick-the-moon-out-of-its-orbit or tow-the-island-of-Manhattan-back-into-place power, but for most gaming purposes this seems a bit much. Calculating a STR score in BRP is a task I would not wish on anybody -- even if I could find the formula in the index, which I can't.

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To be fair, though, I can't think of any player-character in any superhero game I've played who could lift 7.5 kilotons. Seninel is an icon the PCs are intended to emulate but perhaps never match.

To come down to perhaps more achievable levels, a 96 STR in BRP would (almost) enable a character to dead lift a locomotive and to hoist a tank with ease. A 6-foot-tall hero (SIZ 13 or 14) with that STR would have a damage bonus of +6D6. If his STR were 110, he could lift a 747 airliner and do +7D6 damage.

More modest still, a character with STR 60 would be able to lift sedans, tear open vault doors, and do +4D6 damage. Not as impressive as lifting an airliner but equivalent to George Reeves' portrayal of Superman on TV in the 1950s. Give him that CON 30 (if you can afford it) and some armor and he's not invincible but still pretty darn tough. Since most of his foes are common gangsters, it'll work out OK. Super senses and heat ray vision will have to wait on experience points. ;)

Speaking of adjusted expectations, in 3rd and 4th edition Champions it was easy for a superhero to wade through a squad of normal opponents (gangsters, VIPER agents) without taking a scratch. Unless he was surrounded by dozens of highly skilled foes armed with extrodanary weapons, it was unlikely that they'd even hit him, much less hurt him. In BRP, however, heroes aren't necessarily more agile and harder to hit than the Average Joe. As any of our RuneQuest grognards can tell you, a character who allows himself to be surrounded by supposedly inferior foes is asking for one or more of them to get a lucky shot at his back.

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One of the reasons the lamented DC Heroes was originally designed the way it was was to make survival possible for the Batman types the DC Universe was populated with -- characters for whom gunfire is dangerous. (This was before the movie conception that Batman wears an advanced suit of armor to protect himself from gunfire, so the designer was wondering how he could take on so many armed foes and not take some bullets.)

Batman homages seem quite doable in BRP, though their players have to be clever and try to pick their fights well. But they clearly face challenges. Gunfire is deadly to them, and one sniper could easily take them out. In BRP you can kill someone with your fists or feet if you hit them hard and often enough, as opposed to many supers games when a punch from an unpowered character is only an annoyance.

You could, if you liked, build a Batman-style campaign where nobody has real superpowers. Heroes and villains wear costumes, villains stage outrageous crimes, and heroes are extremely competent, but nobody cal bench-press a Buick or shoot atomic flame from their hands. A hero's main advantages are his training, intellect, and whatever gadgets and weapons he can come up with. You can have a villain like the Heath Ledger Joker -- technically human and no more durable or tough than anyone else, but as much a force of elemental chaos as a person.

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You could also do a successful Captain America or '40s Blue Beetle campaign where heroes are stronger, tougher and more agile than ordinary men -- but not outrageously so. Cap carries that shield because he needs it. Villains who can tear through walls or zap you with Zetron beams exist, but they'd be the exceptions. Most opponents are ordinary mortals, though perhaps armed with pulp science gadgetry. It's instructive that well into the Fifties Superman was still primarily pitted against gangsters, con men, and mad scientists -- foes even non-super BRP PCs might tackle.

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You could also do a successful Captain America or '40s Blue Beetle campaign where heroes are stronger, tougher and more agile than ordinary men -- but not outrageously so. Cap carries that shield because he needs it. Villains who can tear through walls or zap you with Zetron beams exist, but they'd be the exceptions. Most opponents are ordinary mortals, though perhaps armed with pulp science gadgetry. It's instructive that well into the Fifties Superman was still primarily pitted against gangsters, con men, and mad scientists -- foes even non-super BRP PCs might tackle.

IIRC, it may have been the Fawcett Comics Captain Marvel series of that period that introduced (or at least popularized) the supervillain as we know him today. Among Captain Marvel's wartime enemies was a super-powered German agent called, appropriately enough, Captain Nazi. He also had to square off against an arrogant semi-divine being who called himself, in mockery of Captain Marvel, "The World's Mightiest Immortal". Then again, his real nemesis was Professor Sivana, a prototypical comic book mad scientist who was the first to derisively dub him "The Big Red Cheese".

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Silvana is the classic Big Bad, but my favorite Captain Marvel villain has to be Mr. Mind, a would-be conqueror with mind control and other mental abilities. Oh, and he's an alien worm, approximately 2 inches long, wearing horn rimmed glasses. It was "Pinky and the Brain" fifty years before Animaniacs, and without the goofy sidekick. I'd like to pull that on a group of player-characters: the master villain they've been battling throughout the campaign is actually a small animal who has been in their midst all along. ;D

Other examples of this type of villain are Mr. Tinkles from the 2001 movie Cats & Dogs and the extra-dimensional mice from The Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Galaxy. Mr. Tinkles is great especially, since you could present a Ernst Stavro Blofeld type character -- but his ever-present cat is the real adversary. There's also a potential Lovecraftian tie-in, since cats from The Dreamlands are super-powered, sentient beings capable of traveling among dimensions (like Doctor Who, only furrier).

Edited by seneschal
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Other examples of this type of villain are Mr. Tinkles from the 2001 movie Cats & Dogs and the extra-dimensional mice from The Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Galaxy. Mr. Tinkles is great especially, since you could present a Ernst Stavro Blofeld type character -- but his ever-present cat is the real adversary. There's also a potential Lovecraftian tie-in, since cats from The Dreamlands are super-powered, sentient beings capable of traveling among dimensions (like Doctor Who, only furrier).

I like this. A famous industrialist has gone megalo -- or so everyone thinks. But in reality his alien, telepathic cat (who is probably telepathically linked only with him) has reached into his mind, learned all his secrets, and is controlling his industrial empire for her own nefarious purposes. What does she really want? It might be difficult for humans, even super humans, to fully comprehend.

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Snowball

Quote: “Aaaachk! Curses! Why do I always get a hairball just as I’m about to complete my master plan?”

The world’s most sinister master villain isn’t one of the colorful criminals opposed by James Bond, Batman, or Dick Tracy. In fact, she isn’t even human. Snowball, a gorgeous white Persian cat, has worn many faces, always working through a mind-controlled human proxy, manipulating events and people from the anonymity of her “master’s” lap. She controls a vast criminal empire, devoting most of her wakening hours to keeping it running smoothly. When her current “owner” is killed or incarcerated, she takes control of another suitable subject, who acquires the same goals, schemes, and abilities as the previous one. Snowball also usually has four to six goons nearby to help protect her proxy and herself. Although she has no inherent loyalty to her human stooges, she tries to shield them both for her own safety and because it is such an inconvenience to start over with a new puppet. In the meantime, the good guys can’t figure out how her organization (the Felonious Enclave for Larceny, Information, Narcotics and Espionage – FELINE) keeps going when so many of its leaders and projects have been defeated.

Snowball wouldn’t mind actually taking over the world, but at heart she’s a businesswoman. She wants to keep her various enterprises running profitably with as little interruption as possible. Wars, political and social unrest, coups, etc., are expensive and bad for business. She tries to keep her activities beneath the radar of world authorities and moderates her practices accordingly. She doesn’t murder underperforming minions and tries to deflect or misdirect opponents (such as the player-characters) rather than killing them outright. Humans are so sentimental about death, it generates too much attention. And mind games are her specialty, after all. If push comes to shove, however, she’ll do whatever it takes to protect herself and her property.

STR 3

CON 12

SIZ 1

INT 30

POW 40

DEX 36

APP 16

Move: 10

Hit Points: 7 (13 CON+SIZ)

Damage Bonus: -1D6

Armor: None

Attacks: Bite 30%, 1d4-db; Claw 40%, 1d3-db; Rip 80%, 2d3-db

Skills: Climb 70%, Command 35%, Craft (Super Weapon) 35%, Dodge 72%, Fast Talk 35%, Fine Manipulation 35%, Heavy Machine 31%, Hide 40%, Insight 35%, Jump 55%, Knowledge (Current Events) 35%, Knowledge (Politics) 35%, Knowledge (World Leaders) 35%, Language (Cat) 150%, Language (English) 50%, Listen 55%, Perform (Acting) 35%, Persuade 45%, Repair (Mechanical) 45%, Repair (Electrical) 45%, Research 55%, Science (Physics) 31%, Science (Robotics) 31%, Sense 40%, Spot 55%, Stealth 40%, Technical (Computer Use) 35%, Track 40%

Psychic Abilities: Danger Sense, Eidetic Memory, Emotion Control, Empathy, Mind Control, Mind Shield, Telepathy

Failings: Megalomania (3), Noxious Personal Habit (Cleans Self) (1), Dependent “Friend” (Human Proxy, Significant Involvement) (3), Responsibility to Organization (Her Criminal Empire, Significant Involvement) (3), Member of Socially Excluded Group (Cat) (1)

Notes: I used the Dreamlands cats write-up posted in a recent discussion as the basis for Snowball, assuming maximum cat stats. Per the Super Powers rules, Snowball had 500 skill points plus 300 personal skill points for INT (total 800). She had 87 starting power points, plus 11 for Failings, total 98, which paid for her enhanced INT and POW.

The Dreamlands blurb said there was no SAN penalty for seeing a cat. But what if you're in the "real" world and the cat suddenly speaks to you in condescending tones? =O

Edited by seneschal
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After reading some reprints of Batman stories from 1943 and 1944 -- possibly the darkest days of WW2 -- I'm struck at how much more like Adam West the tone is than Frank Miller. Yes, the crooks really are doing their best to kill the Dynamic Duo, Batman is sans armor and utility belt (the latter didn't come along until the late 1950s or early '60s), Robin is 8 or 10 years old rather than a 20-something Adonis. Yet the fights are gleeful, Batman and Robin exchange quips with each other and the crooks, fisticuffs rule over bullets, and goons run away after managing to knock down the heroes rather than callously slaughtering them. Classic adversaries such as the Joker and the Penguin make periodic appearances. The Joker certainly wants to kill Batman but he doesn't casually assassinate everyone in his path and (sorry, Heath Ledger) he really does care about the money. The Penguin, likewise, is capable of murder but given the chance would prefer to shoot the gun out of a pursuing policeman's hand than kill him. He already has his trick umbrellas but not the crazy gadgets we'll see in later decades. But there are plenty of other smart crooks to challenge Batman: a vaudeville performer with photographic memory used to steal intellectual property, a brilliant surgeon who offers gangsters a "crime clinic" to improve their success rate, a dairy mogul who uses his ubiquitous milkmen to commit early morning burglaries.

Edited by seneschal
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Finished reading two volumes of vintage Batman. I was wrong. Batman does have his utility belt by 1944 but he uses it only once in a blue moon. Punches, kicks, head butts and flying tackles are the order of the day. The Batmobile is fast (and has a giant bat head on the front bumper) but no trick gadgets yet.

Alfred the battling butler made his debut in 1943. He was the son of Bruce Wayne's father's butler honoring a bedside promise to his dying Dad to go to America and care for the Wayne family. Alfred -- at his debut a short, portly, comic figure -- was determined to do so whether Bruce Wayne and his ward wanted the help or not. The Dynamic Duo had been living on their own for four years but their new butler took over the household in short order. Alfred was reading a book on how to be a detective and, in bumbling fashion, managed to help the Caped Crusaders on several occasions before accidentally discovering the Batcave when burglars attempted to rob Wayne Manor. It was after a vacation in 1944 that the butler acquired his more familiar look -- slim and mustached. He'd spent his time off at a health resort. Somehow, the exercise added several inches to his height as well. For the time being, however, he remained the comic but occasionally helpful sidekick. He wouldn't become the cool, super-competent, sarcastic servant for a few more years.

Modern snarky questions about Batman and Robin's relationship are answered by a 1944 story in which scheming relatives take Dick Grayson away from Bruce Wayne. The pair really are Dick's aunt and uncle, but their intentions are dishonest. The tale makes it clear that Wayne and his ward share a deep father-son affection -- unlike more modern interpretations where a cold, emotionless Batman specifically tells Robin, "I'm not your Dad." In the Forties, however, they're going on recreational outings together as any loving father and son would -- in addition to fighting crime.

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I have read many Golden Age Batman stories via DC Archives and it seems to me folks who claim Frank Miller "returned Batman to his roots" must not have read any actual stories from yesteryear. He was never the a-hole they like to portray him as these days.

The comment I was about to make is a spoiler for the ending of The Lego Movie, so I censored myself.

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When Batman first appeared in 1939 he was indeed grim and scary, as were his opponents. Basically, he was The Shadow with a cowl instead of a floppy hat. The Joker was no madman but a cunning, calculating extortioner and assassin who was just as much a master of disguise as Batman himself. That all began to change when Robin was introduced in 1940 -- specifically to tone things down. Robin was "that laughing young daredevil," the pun-flinging 8-year-old trapeze artist able to clobber four or five adult thugs all by himself. By the 1943 stories I was reading, the transformation was complete. Batman's opponents are still evil and capable of doing terrible things, but the portrayal of their villainy doesn't rub it in your face. The focus is on Batman's cleverness and daring-do. The bad guys are dangerous but they're also capable of being funny, goons as well as classic villains.

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The Penguin

Plump, short, dapper Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot was dubbed “The Penguin” by his fellow gangsters because of his long nose and perpetual Thirties formal wear, complete with top hat, monocle, umbrella and cigarette holder. Although at first glance a comical figure, The Penguin was in fact a cunning, ruthless, and capable gang leader. He later augmented his natural talents with an arsenal of weapons built into his ever-present umbrella and – perhaps inspired by his nom de guerre – learned to train birds to assist him in committing crimes. He was unique among Batman’s many foes in that, although capable of murder, he was sane and calculating instead of a mad, sadistic killer. Given the opportunity, Cobblepot would shoot the pistol out of a pursuing policeman’s hand instead of sending a bullet into his heart. The Penguin’s chief weakness was his towering vanity. Raised in a wealthy, aristocratic home, he considered himself elite among Gotham City’s criminal community and would put himself at risk to get the recognition he felt he deserved. Cobblepot attempted to or pretended to go straight many times during his long career, usually after finishing a prison term, but his vanity and greed ultimately prompted him to once again demonstrate his cleverness.

The Penguin is a short (5’2”), paunchy, ugly little man with a haughty attitude (he can display fine manners when he chooses). He almost always wears a variation of his trademark top hat and tuxedo regardless of the circumstances or social occasion. He’s reasonably strong and agile despite his dumpy looks and has surprised much taller thugs with his fighting ability. He currently owns and operates the Iceberg Lounge, a popular nightclub and legitimate enterprise, but he may be running illegal activities quietly on the side (the player-characters had better be prepared to prove it if they accuse him).

The umbrella gimmicks presented are just a sampling. Cobblepot has crammed anything from mirrors to micro-camcorders (in the 1940s!) to retro rockets into his assorted umbrellas. As presented here, his umbrella blade is a standard concealed sword cane. His umbrella shield is a police riot shield, but I paid points for it anyway.

STR 14

CON 11

SIZ 14

INT 16

POW 15

DEX 14

APP 9

Move: 10

Hit Points: 13 (25 CON+SIZ)

Damage Bonus: +1D4

Armor: None (16 AP with Umbrella Shield)

Attacks: Brawl 63%, 1D3+DB; Grapple 63%, 1D3+DB; Umbrella Blade 53%, 1D6+DB; Umbrella Carbine 66%, 2D6; Umbrella Gas Dispenser 66%, 6D6, 2-meter radius; Umbrella Shield 53%, 1D3+DB

Skills: Appraise 53%, Bargain 43%, Command 43%, Dodge 66%, Drive 58%, Etiquette 43%, Fly 45%, Hide 48%, Martial Arts (Judo) 53%, Parry 53%, Persuade 53%, Projection 66%, Shield 53%, Stealth 48%

Powers:

Helicopter Umbrella – Flight, 6 levels, lifts Penguin plus up to 60 pounds of loot, 6 power points to activate and one power point per turn to fly (6)

Shield Umbrella – 16 AP (kinetic) (16)

Umbrella Grappling Hook – Super Movement, 1 power point per round (10)

Umbrella Carbine – Energy Projection (kinetic) 2D6, 2 power points per use (20)

Umbrella Gas Dispenser – Gas Projection, 7 levels, 2-meter radius, 6D6 potency, 18 power points per use (21)

Extra Energy, +200 power points (20)

Defense, 10 levels, -50% to hit (he’s more agile than he looks)

Failings: Vanity (3), Always in Supervillain Identity (5), Hunted by the Police (2)

Notes: The Penguin’s characteristics were randomly rolled at the “Fantastic” level on the Call of Cthulhu Creature Generator online. I switched 3 points from SIZ to INT to match my conception of him (smart, is short but weighs about 280 pounds). He had 93 starting power points based on unmodified characteristics plus 10 more for Failings, total 103. He had 500 skill points plus 160 personal skill points based on INT. His skills were based on the Criminal profession (naturally) in the Big Gold Book.

Edited by seneschal
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I think The Penguin would make a good foil for Wonder Woman 1974, posted elsewhere in the regular BRP section. ;) Batman villains can be tough to write up because as exciting and interesting as they are on the page or the screen, most of them are just plain folks. They don't necessarily look intriguing on a character sheet. Hugo Strange (early Batman foe), Lex Luthor (Superman foe) and Dr. Silvana (Captain Marvel foe) all have their own personalities, agendas and quirks in the comics, but in terms of BRP stats and skills they'd all be similar to the generic Mad Scientist in the BGB. Frank Gorshin and Jim Carey made The Riddler pop in the movies, but as a stat block he's just another goon, and a wimpy one at that.

I realized I'd never produced a "finished" version of Aurochs, the supervillain I created to test the Super Powers rules. Here he is, to be the bull in the china closet in your campaign:

Aurochs

Chad Spellman was a white-collar criminal specializing in unauthorized electronic funds transfer and identity theft. Not as clever as he thought he was, Spellman was fleeing the FBI when he was offered help by a shadowy organization: Tertiary Augmentation Unified Research Underworld Syndicate (TAURUS). The group’s arcane experiments transformed the paunchy hacker into 700-something pounds of muscle, literally as strong as an ox. Unfortunately, side-effects included a violent temper, long curving bovine horns, and a bushy bullish tail. Spellman, now calling himself “Aurochs,” is attempting to recreate himself as a super-powered gang leader, with a focus still on computer-based crime. He does occasional jobs for TAURUS as payment for his powers. The truth is, the oversized Aurochs needs helpers. He’s too big and heavy to drive a car and must ride in a truck or paneled van driven by an associate. He also stands out in a crowd and must stay behind the scenes when his underlings are required do the necessary research in public places.

According to the extended SIZ chart, Aurochs has a mass somewhere between 700 and 800 pounds. Based on the object SIZ chart, his 40 Strength would enable him to lift a small airplane (but not an automobile) and burst through a brick wall like Superman (well, most of the time). OK, so Aurochs can’t clobber the Hulk, but he might be able to take on Luke Cage aka Power Man.

STR 40

CON 30

SIZ 30

INT 11

POW 12

DEX 10

APP 7

Move: 10

Hit Points: 30 (60 if using SIZ + CON option)

Damage Bonus: +3D6

Armor: 8 points (Kinetic, Heat, Electrical)

Attacks: Brawl 47%, 1D3+3D6; Grapple 47%, 1D3+3D6; Head Butt 47%, 1D6+3D6; Heavy Pistol 42%, 1D10+2

Skills: Bargain 27%; Command 27%; Craft (Computer Code) 27%; Craft (Alternate Electronic Identity) 27%; Dodge 42%; Drive 42%; Fast Talk 27%; Gaming 45%; Hide 32%; Knowledge (Accounting) 27%; Knowledge (Computer Fraud) 27%; Knowledge (Law) 27%; Language (English) 55%; Language (Programming Language) 23%; Listen 47%; Persuade 37%; Repair (Electronics) 37%; Research 47%; Science (Mathematics) 28%; Status 37%; Stealth 32%; Strategy 28%; Technical (Computer Use) 28%; Throw 47%

Powers:

Armor 8 (kinetic, heat, electricity) (24)

Enhanced Characteristics – +31 STR, +15 SIZ, +17 CON (63)

Mutations: Natural Weapon (Horns), 1D6+DB

Failings: Super powers on full-time, +5; Bad temper, +3; Responsible to TAURUS, infrequent, +1; Ladies’ man, +1

Notes: Base power points per unmodified characteristics 77 plus 10 more for Failings, total 87. Has 500 skill points plus 110 personal skill points based on INTx10, total 610.

Edited by seneschal
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I haven't done the writeup, but if you want a good look at a supervillain style from that period check out The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, a thriller made in Germany in 1932 just before the Nazis came to power (they banned it before it could see release in Germany, and its director -- the legendary Fritz Lang -- soon fled the country never to return). Doctor Mabuse was one of the greatest villains of the early cinema and has inspired many that followed. He himself barely appears in Testament, but his influence and example are wide-ranging and, even with the Doctor himself locked up, virtually omniscient. He would be a major challenge for would-be pulp-era superheroes, not least because he is virtually unreachable. And how do you catch a criminal who is already incarcerated?

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