1a. No
2. 6
3. 8
4. 5
5. 3,7
6. Your scale here makes no sense
7. Answered
8. 3
9. 3
10.3

Comments
1. a. I like having history that can be used as origins, hooks for rp, and permission to make up outrageous stories.
2. If we're just gonna punch stuff, let's all make bricks with mushroom level IQ's. Just think of the talk in the clubhouse. "Bertha SMASH!" "NO! Bertha bad, it Brock turn to SMASH!" "BROCK SMASH LAST TIME! This time The Amazing Bunbun turn to SMASH!"
3. ?
4. ?
5. Having governement involvement usually makes it easier on the GM without detracting from the characters.
6. Having to create new villains once a week is a great drain on the GM, so this one has it's own feedback loop.
7. Utilizing these resource points almost becomes a severely limited variable power pool.
8. Although I've voted towards the tech end, this is because any sufficiently advanced technology will appear to be magic. So I don't think this changes much.
9. Although I've indicated a direction towards off-planet, I'm mostly voting for alien incursion on earth, not for visiting Alpha Centauri to help out a local potentate.
10. Just up a notch or two, these don't need to go to eleven.

This message was last edited by the player at 07:56, Fri 03 Jan 2020.

Hey, my apologies, but I realized that having fewer numbers with more a difference between each one would be more helpful to me. Can you all edit your votes so that, every time I asked for a rating from 1-10, you instead rate from 1-5? Many thanks.

Commentary

1a.  I've got ideas for both ways.  Also, if we do go high-power, I may need to break out some different ideas than I was originally looking at.

2.  We're superheroes, we punch things. ;)  But I'd prefer that the longer story arcs need a mix of things, preferably from multiple PCs, to resolve.

4.  Especially if we're some of the first supers, it should matter how we act.

5.  I'm voting 5 because I want it all.  In particular, I want to see different politicians and parts of the government react differently.  Maybe some mayors and governors love us; there's a senator railing against us; a general who gives us cover because we keep him from needing to attack his own cities; and there's a group of spies trying to rope us into doing morally dubious things.

9.  I'm not going to be that disappointed if we have a bunch of wacky adventures elsewhere.  But I would strongly prefer that our travel is voluntary and controlled in general.  That we've got a mage to portal us over to Faerie and back; we've got our own spaceship when visiting Oa.  Sure, there will be adventures where we get kidnapped to be in the Malvan arena and have to escape, but I'd prefer those to be the minority.

1a. no
2. 3
3. 2
4. 2
5. 2, 3
6. 3
8. 2
9. 2
10. 4

1a. No
2. 3
3. 4
4. 3
5. 2,4
6. Your scale here makes no sense
7. Answered
8. 3
9. 3
10 3
This message was last edited by the player at 02:06, Sun 05 Jan 2020.

Hello, everyone.  Nice to meet you all.

A few comments on my votes:
- For number 2, punching guys is a lot of fun, but the best superhero stories (other than Nextwave) aren't only about punching guys.
- For number 3, I feel like (at least in my experience) character development tends to come up organically in-game anyway rather than being something I planned, so it's probably better for the game to focus on the team's adventures.  (If we find ourselves wanting to do more personal stuff on-screen, we can always do a sidestory thread or something, right?)
- For number 4, while public scrutiny can be interesting, I don't want to go too far with it.  I love Spider-Man, but actually roleplaying a character who has to deal with constant crap the way Peter Parker does would just be depressing.
- For number 5...honestly, it makes no sense that the government would be lax towards superheroes, but a game in which the government is as strict as they probably would be in real life just doesn't sound like much fun.
- For number 6, I'm honestly a little bit torn; I find it silly how prisons in superhero worlds so often act like revolving doors, but it doesn't seem right to not have some recurring villains!  (BTW, did I read the scale right, i.e. high numbers = more recurring villains?)
- For number 7, I need to re-read the books for how bases and such are priced.  (And I assume we'll all need to sort out character concepts before anyone knows whether it makes sense for their character to provide those things.)
- For number 8, I really like magical superheroes and such, but my default notion of a superhero world is one in which they're the exception and not the rule.
- For number 9, while I fully expect some number of aliens to be hanging around at any given time, I would prefer for the team to spend most of its time on Earth.  There's lots to do on Earth.
- For number 10, I must admit that I generally like high-powered games, but I didn't want to get too out of hand since I don't have a lot of personal experience with Hero System yet.

Hello, TDB4.  We'll help where we can with your game system questions.  Though, coming from Mutants & Masterminds isn't the worst switch - they do have some of the same basic conceptual roots on building powers out of their basic parts.  Though HERO's miniatures roots still show more strongly.

---

Well, we've all voted,  Curiously, there were no 1s or 5s cast, so the results all tend towards 3.  Yes, I'm not the GM, but I'm feeling talkative right now. ;)

1a.  N/-/N/N - NO!!!  On of two unanimous votes - and none of us want to be the first superheroes.

2.  3/4/4/3 - 3.5

3.  4/3/2/2 - 2.75

4.  3/4/4/2 - 3.25

5.  2/3/3/2, 4/3/4/3 - 2.5,3.5 - More governement involvement, and it prefers to work with us.

6.  -/3/3/3 - 3 - Other than an absention, the only other unanimous vote.

8.  3/2/2/2 - 2.25 - Only really lopsided vote, coming down against magic.

9.  3/2/4/2 - 2.75

10.  3/4/3/4 - 3.5

Actually, I'm not sure if the mean of the votes is the right way to think about things.  A 2/2/3/4 split, if you take 3 to be neutral, is a 2-1 vote one way.

And there is the quesiton of whether the GM wants to make his votes public. ;)

---

So, we are not the first supers in a homebrew universe.  Which still leaves a lot of options.  Mr. Conductor, how much stuff do you have already developed, versus what our characters will add?  And are you drawing largely from any particular setting, or are you borrowing from everything?

I was kind of afraid this would happen. Most of it isn't very significant; big take-aways are that we aren't the first heroes, the power level is slightly above 6E1's standard option, players want a focus on technology and skills and mutations over magic, and a slight preference to helpful, present governments. I've posted character creation guidelines; start talking about character concepts or asking questions here.

I doesn't have to be bad that our opinions aren't that divergent; maybe we're just all cool to run with whatever you've got, or that we all like some shades of gray in our stories.

I'm still digesting your complications scheme.  I'll probably come back to that more in the future.

How comfortable do people feel with talking about secret origins stuff in public?  The stuff that the other PCs are unlikely to know at the beginning of the game?  I like to think I'm pretty good at separating IC and OOC knowledge.  But I can dig if people want to keep their character's secrets secret.

My first concept is a stretchy, mutant, scientist.  How do people feel about having mutants and their haters in the game?  I have other concepts if needed.

I have two concepts I have played in previous Editions. One is a WWII pulp hero who partook of the Elixir Vitae and has an extended lifespan. He's a gunslinger who uses trick bullets and loads of skill levels named Sharpshooter. The other concept was based on an old Bill Cosby routine about 'Little Jeffrey'. In this case, it's a five-year-old Brick with control issues named Tantrum.

Those are somewhat... divergent concepts.  And while I could see Tantrum being amusing in the right circumstances, it feels way 'too silly!' for the vibe I'm getting from the GM.

OTOH, I think I recall a Sharpshooter in this GM's last game, though I'm not recalling much else about him.  Maybe a US Marshall?  Anyway, seems like a reasonable concept.  It's just hard to say more without knowing more about his background or the context of the game.

Yeah, same character. He's the grandson of Daniel Boone. He can out-wrassle a bear, and is an expert marksman. FDR made him a US Marshall back in 1941 and he was keeping Law and Order at home during WWII.

Personally, I tend to expose the character's stuff to teammates without hesitation, unless it's written otherwise (secret agenda, etc).
I shy away from the whole "anti-mutant sentiment" thing, myself. GMMMV.
Stretchy mutant scientist and gunslinger.
How about I propose a mind-addled mentalist that dresses and talks like a wizard from a fantasy novel but is really just a powerful psychic?

The other thing about Tantrum is that he has low-level molecular psychokinetic skills. He has fast running, about +30m, and can manipulate non-organic molecules into Stronger matrices (Aid DEF).

I have no problem with talking about secret origins stuff in public.  Keeping secrets can sometimes be interesting, but I wasn't planning on trying anything like that in this game.

Regarding the mutant thing: I've never understood how you can have prejudice against mutants in particular, but not against other types of superhuman.  I can't imagine the general public making that distinction.  I suppose I don't really mind if there's a plausible explanation for why mutants in particular are hated, though.

Tantrum sounds like he'd cause enough collateral damage for two superteams on his own. (And truthfully, from a roleplaying perspective I would really rather not deal with a five-year-old teammate.)  Sharpshooter sounds neat, though.

I've got a few concepts in mind, but I'm leaning toward a half-demon with pyrokinetic abilities and an unsettling amount of personal magnetism.  (Not too much angst though.  It's too easy to overdo that sort of thing.)  I haven't played a straightforward energy-controller type in a long time, and it's always interesting to have a heroic character whose powers would be way too easy to misuse if she had a bad day.

I had also considered a mystic archer of some sort (but that sounds like it would be redundant with Sharpshooter), or possibly a knight in magical armor, like the mystic version of a battlesuit (but if we already have someone who thinks they're a wizard and a scientist who builds gadgets, a magical artisan probably isn't needed).

I would say don't really worry about "overlapping" ideas like that. In any case, having a REAL magic-adept of some kind riffing on our "wizard" could be really fun/funny. In the end, though, it is of course your choice; just my two cents.

So I was starting to think a little bit about the setting of the game; I think I'd like to have the team form up in southern California (San Diego, Las Angeles, Palm Springs; there abouts).

That's a reasonable point, but I find myself really liking this demon idea.  (It helps that the character I'm playing in another game is already a sort of mystic, so it's nice to try something a bit different.)  Not to mention that if I wanted to have input on the magic discussion, someone with supernatural family connections could easily know a bit about the occult.

I'm fine with starting in California, although I don't know much about the area.

I'll try to start sketching out some ideas when I get home from work tonight.  I'm sure I'll have questions for the GM and/or more experienced players quite soon. >_>

My concept for this 'wizard' includes a sort of 'anti-demonic' stance, which could be an issue. I've also got a 'Green Hornet' homage I would love to try out. The Storm (vehicle) is armored, fast, has a smoke screen and electrical blast. It also flies. Lance Yuma (follower) is highly-skilled ex-military and a very good driver. The character is heir to an industrialist's empire and utilizes myriad gadgets to wear the spandex.
I've also been looking to use a 'Machine Man' homage.
Someone help me decide which to pick.

What is the nature of your "wizard's" problem with demons?  It's not as though my character is terribly fond of demons either; she'd probably be very happy to never see her demonic parent again.

I don't know a lot about Green Hornet (or how he differs conceptually from other gadget-wielding heroes with sweet vehicles) but that does sound like fun too.

The Wizard is a tad unstable, believing there is a demonic invasion that only he can see. He's been known to attack anything resembling a demon though he has learned to check for costumes before obliterating. Those gargoyles on that church over there? Yeah, they had to burn in the Flames of the Fauntleroy!
Did I mention his instability?
I've fleshed out Mechanico, as well. A robotic body with a true AI trying to find a place for himself in a human world, he's strong, durable, and has a few gimmicks.
Ach! Still can't make up my mind.

In reply to Conducter (msg # 4):
using 1-5 scale

1.  Established setting, or homebrew?

3

1a.  First supers in the world, or no?

does not matter(but my character has been a mage for most of his life)

2.  Do we just punch things until the problem is solved?  Or does that just treat symptoms, and actually solving the problem require other skills/roleplaying?  This, and others questions, is a spectrum, and will likely vary between adventures.

3

3.  Non-superhero time.  We don't have to go over what we're having for lunch every day.  But how often do we have to save the day?  How much does the other stuff in our lives come up?  Are secret IDs and NPCs legitimate complications?

3 my guy will have a very wierd domesetic life as his girl friend is a ghost

4.  Politics.  What kind of tolerance do people have for characters having opinions on issues?  Or talking about the implications of their actions beyond just punching bad guys?

3

5.  Government.  How much does it show up, and what kind of relationship do we have with it?

3

6.  Recurrence level of villains.  Existence of enemy organizations, their size, and resilience levels.  Plot sizes, campaign arcs.

3

7.  Support operation.  Base, vehicles, personnel.  Self-funded, or outside backer.  Character point expenditure for any of it.

3( I have bought my home as an extra diemensional space 2,048 sq m  this makes for a  32mx16mx4m area

I want to play a kinda mashup of John Constinine and Harry Dresden
so yes I'm of a magic background with a ghost lover and kinda as my guardian angel

I posted my character in character details
if wanted I can post here for all to see if need be

Mutants:

Well, part of the issue is assuming that anti-mutant prejudice runs on logic.  The other problem is lazy writers and poor editorial management at Marvel.  And HERO Games and others.

I mean, how many Americans are convinced that Muslim is synonymous with 'Arab terrorist who despises Western civilization'?  It apparently only takes one or two manifestos and a terrorist plot every few years to keep the hysteria rolling for some people.

As for not hating all supers, maybe it's an odd sort of jealousy?  "If I had power armor, or alien artifacts, or mystical training, or was exposed to weird energy fields, I could be a superhero, too.  But he was just born with powers; that's not fair or right!"  You also typically have reliable mutant detectors and mutant specific power suppressors, which help make it seem like mutants are somehow different from other supers.

Sadly, the problem is usually far more Doylist: lazy writers, who only use certain villains with certain heroes.  The Avengers can't fight an X-Men villain, and Iron Man can't fight a Hulk villain.  Spiderman comics aren't about racial allegory, so no one will accidentally suspect he's a mutant.  Game designers who throw stuff in to support as many character concepts as they can, but fail to build on any of it.

So yeah, I hear you on it being poorly done so often.  I'd want to work with the GM and add some background to help substantiate why an anti-mutant movement exists.  And do stuff more than a mile away from the X-Mansion.  Work with groups that are anti-all-supers, or investigate/harass supers they suspect of being mutants.

Any other thoughts?  Including from the GM?