Classic Champions Conversions

[vitruvian]

Just noodling around here, going to convert three characters from Champions - 1st edition, no less. Going to have to go from memory, though, since the books are in storage somewhere. These are Crusader, Starburst, and Ogre, the characters from the combat example in the back of the 1st edition. Conversions will be mostly by character concept, but some attention will be paid to how they stacked up against normal citizens and each other within the original game system. Not too much attention, though; I have no intention of trying to duplicate the Champions segment/phase/turn system, or the hard and fast distinction between Body and Stun, except perhaps by making just about all DR Flexible so that weaker attacks can get through a trickle of damage even on really tough targets.

Crusader - A martial artist type with glider wings and a missile-deflecting shield. In GURPS Supers terms, looks like a bit of a cross between a Nightstalker and a Man Plus, but I'll go down through his capabilities in Champions 1st ed (where he was a mere 200 pts) in detail.

Strength (STR) 20 - which was considered peak human, much as in GURPS, did a basic twice normal damage, still much the same, allowed a lift of 400 kilograms or 880 lbs - a bit more than what you get from GURPS ST 20 without Extra Effort of some kind, but then every use of full ST in Champions drained some Endurance (END), anyway, so it looks like we'll be close enough for government work if we just give him GURPS ST 20 [100]. That gives him 2d-1 thrust damage, so if we make sure to give him Karate at DX+2 later on, his resulting 2d+2 punch, 2d+3 (3d-1?) kicking damage will be in the 3-4x normal hand-to-hand damage range (6d punch, 8d kick) he possesses in the game. This also fits with keeping GURPS damage dice at about half Champions damage dice principle I'm going to try for.

Dexterity (DEX) 26 - The main point of DEX in Champions is to determine order of actions and Combat Value or CV. 26 gave Crusader a CV of 9, three times that of a normal man, and had him hitting normals on 17- on three dice. Factoring in the matter of separate Active Defense rolls in GURPS that will make Deceptive Attacks and such desirable, I think we can keep Crusader at GURPS DX 20 [200] and Karate-22 [12] without harm to the central concept.

Constitution (CON) 20 (or was it 23?) - Determined threshold for momentary stunning, various secondary characteristics. Crusader was about twice as tough as normal, some aspects of which are already covered by giving him ST 20. The rest can be covered by giving him a really good HT 14 [40] and Very Fit [15].

Body (BOD) 15 or 20 - basically, hit points for real, lasting injury. Already adequately covered by ST 20.

Intelligence (INT) 15 - This mainly covered perception and technical skills, so corresponds somewhat to GURPS IQ excluding Will. Just by feel, it seems appropriate to give him IQ 14 [80].

Ego 14? - This covered Will, so just don't buy back Will.

Presence (PRE) 15 or so - This covered both Charisma and resistance to the presence of others, such as intimidation attempts, etc. An IQ/Will 14 seems pretty good already on resistance end, so just add, say, Charisma +2 [10] and probably some skill in Intimidation.

Comeliness (COM) - can't remember, just give him Attractive [4]

Physical Defense (PD) 14 - Crusader was incredibly tough for a trained athlete, able to take blows that should kill normals with no permanent injury, but still be knocked out by them. Splitting the difference, we'll give him enough DR with Crushing Only and Tough Skin that it would take 5 or 6 blows to take a doppelganger down to HP 0.

Energy Defense (ED) 10 - There's really no equivalent in GURPS, other than having a good HT to resist nonlethal electrical attacks.

Speed (SPD) 6 - This has Crusader acting three times as often as a normal person. For this purpose, we'll give him one Extra Attack and figure that he frequently uses the Rapid Strike combat option. This also increases his action order (Basic Speed) and movement rates. He had 8" of movement for both running and gliding; an inch in Champions was 2 meters, close enough to two yards. This was doubled for noncombat movement, which we'll take as our base rather than tacking on Enhanced Move, so that gives him 8x2x2x6 yards of movement in a 12 second turn, or 16 yards per second, presumably including a sprinting bonus. So, Move 15, and since his DEX and CV suggest he should be able to Dodge really, really well, we'll buy this as an increase to Basic Speed rather than Basic Move. He can run faster than any Olympic athlete, and we'll let his Gliding double his speed as per Flight so he can keep up with cars driving in the city. We'll also give him Combat Reflexes for good measure.

Recovery (REC) - was fairly high, so we'll give him Recovery [10] in addition to his Very Fit.

Endurance [END] and Stun are both functions of the ST/HP and HT/FP he's already bought.

He's got glider wings on his costume that will simply be Flight with Controlled Gliding, Small Wings, and Gadget lims. Likewise, he has a buckler-sized shield for deflecting missiles, including bullets. Since I don't want to get into Enhanced Time Sense and Parry Missile Weapons and such, this will be done as DR with Active Defense (Block) and Limited to Ranged Attacks only; it will protect the eyes or things he's wearing as well as anything else, so gets Force Field as well.

Skills include Acrobatics, Detective, Stealth, plus his martial arts package that includes throws so has at least Karate plus Judo. probably best done as Wildcard skills due to how broad skills were in 1st edition Champions.

He had typical superhero disads such as a Code vs. Killing, Secret Identity, a couple of Hunteds, all of which should work in a similar way when translated to GURPS.

Crusader (1st edition Champions) 700 points

Attributes

ST 20 [100] DX 20 [200] IQ 14 [80] HT 14 [40]
HP 20 [0] Will 14 [0] Per 14 [0] FP 14 [0]
Basic Lift 80 Thrust 2d-1, Swing 3d+2, Punch 2d+2
Basic Speed 15 [130] Basic Move 15 [0]
Move 15 Running, 30 Gliding
Dodge 19 (20 with Shield), Block 15, Parry 15 (16 with Shield)
Total = 550

Advantages

Attractive [4]
Charisma +2 [10]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Danger Sense [15]
Extra Attack 1 [25]
Glider Wings: Flight (Controlled Gliding, -45%; Small Wings, -10%; Breakable, DR 1, SM -4, -15%; Can Be Stolen, Forcefully Removed, -10%) [8]
Perk: Masked [1]
Perk: Skintight [1]
Recovery [10]
Star Shield: Damage Resistance 40 (Force Field, +20%; Active Defense, -40%; Limited: Ranged Only, VC, -20%; Breakable, DR 30, SM -5, -10%; Can Be Stolen, Quick Contest of ST, -30%) [40]
Star Shield:Signature Gear 1, Titanium Steel Small Shield/Buckler, gives DB 1 [1]
Super-Toughness: DR 5 (Crushing Only, -40%; Tough Skin, -40%) [5]
Very Fit [15]

Total= 150

Skills

Detective!-12 [6]
Fist!-22 [48]
Intimidation-16 [2]
Move!-18 [6]
Mechanic (HVAC)-13 [1]
Shield (Buckler)-20 [1]
Thief!-18 [6] (12- for IQ-based rolls)

Total = 70

Disadvantages

Enemy - the Cartel (Powerful Group, Hunter, 6-) [-15]
Obsession - take down the Cartel (Self-control 12-) [-10]
Pacifism (Cannot Kill) [-15]
Secret Identity (Imprisonment) [-20]
Sense of Duty (Honest Citizens) [-10]

Total= -70

[vitruvian]

Starburst (1st edition Champions) points

Attributes

ST 14 [40] DX 14 [80] IQ 14 [80] HT 14 [40]
HP 14 [0] Will 12 [-10] Per 14 [0] FP 14 [0]
Basic Lift 39 Thrust 1d, Swing 2d, Punch 1d-1
Basic Speed 8 [20] Basic Move 8 [0]
Move 8 Running, 16/64 Flying
Dodge 11
Total = 250

Advantages

Appearance: Handsome [12]
Charisma +2 [10]
Extra Attack 1 [25]
Light/Heat Power
Basic Dazzling Burst: Affliction 1 (Blindness, +50%; Cone, 10 yards, +150%; Sense-Based (Vision), +150%; Stun, +10%; Super, -10%) [45]
Basic Photonic Blast: Burning Attack 4d (Increased Range 10x, +30%; Super, -10%; Variable, +5%; Alternative Attack to Basic Dazzling Burst, 1/5) [5]
Basic Solid Light Blast: Crushing Attack 4d (Increased Range 10x, +30%; Super, -10%; Variable, +5%; Alternative Attack to Basic Dazzling Burst, 1/5) [5]
Basic Photonic Flight: Flight (Super, -10%) [36]
Basic Photonic Shield: DR 10 (Flexible, -20%; Force Field, +20%; Super, -10%) [45]
Enhanced Photonic Shield: DR +10 (Flexible, -20%; Force Field, +20%; Super, -10%) [45]
Enhanced Photonic Flight: Enhanced Move (Air) 2 (Super, -10%; Alternative Ability to Enhanced Photonic Shield, 1/5) [8]
Enhanced Dazzling Burst: Affliction +1 (Blindness, +50%; Cone, 10 yards, +150%; Sense-Based (Vision), +150%; Stun, +10%; Super, -10%; Alternative Ability to Enhanced Photonic Shield, 1/5) [9]
Enhanced Photonic Blast: Burning Attack +4d (Increased Range 10x, +30%; Super, -10%; Variable, +5%; Alternative Ability to Enhanced Photonic Shield, 1/5) [5]
Enhanced Solid Light Blast: Crushing Attack +4d (Increased Range 10x, +30%; Super, -10%; Variable, +5%; Alternative Ability to Enhanced Photonic Shield, 1/5) [5]
Perk: Masked [1]
Perk: Skintight [1]
Recovery [10]

Total= 267

Skills



Total = 70

Disadvantages

Pacifism (Cannot Kill) [-15]
Secret Identity (Utter Rejection) [-10]
Sense of Duty (Honest Citizens) [-10]

Total= -

[Kaldrin]

Does anyone actually use the 'Champions' themselves? I figured you'd want to focus on people like Grond, Zodiac, Eurostar and Dr. Destroyer... you know, iconic villains.

[vitruvian]

Does anyone actually use the 'Champions' themselves?

Well, Crusader and Starburst were never official members of the Guardians or the Champions themselves, as far as I can tell. They were just example heroes for character creation and combat that I wanted to look at converting as a test of how I would do so in the new(ish) GURPS Supers rules. So far, they're turning out a bit high on points, I might need to tone the power levels down a bit.

I figured you'd want to focus on people like Grond, Zodiac, Eurostar and Dr. Destroyer... you know, iconic villains.

Well, I was planning on hitting their sparring partner, Ogre, next, who should be a nice simple brick type. Beyond that, I wasn't really planning to go for all the Enemies books and such, and I find statting out heroes as enjoyable as statting out villains. After this, I might switch back to Superworld conversions, or statting up original characters. Got an idea about using GURPS Magic for supers that I want to try out....

[Not another shrubbery]

A really nice idea, v... and a good job of working from memory! There's no way I could tell you much about any of those characters, since my copies of Champions (I used to have all the editions) have gone the way of all things :( BTW, do you know if any of those old characters are archived online?

I don't think the inflated total is necessarily a problem in itself, if the desire is to match capability. I do think you might be overestimating DX and (esp.) IQ a little for Crusader, but that's really a matter of opinion. I'd probably knock him down to DX 18 and IQ 12, or thereabouts. The stats in Champions (or Hero) are used so differently, that it's a trap to try and convert them without a feel for the character as a whole... but I gather that you realized that.

Incidentally, I haven't mentioned this for a long while, but Michael Surbrook has a great collection of characters from all sorts of sources converted to Hero. Surbrook's Stuff

[vitruvian]

Incidentally, I haven't mentioned this for a long while, but Michael Surbrook has a great collection of characters from all sorts of sources converted to Hero. Surbrook's Stuff

Yeah, I go there all the time -good stuff.

Found the old Roleplayer Super-System Switching article, and a lot of it is usable even though we're several editions advanced on both ends. Here's what I ended up deciding to use as general rules of thumb:

1) GURPS ST or Striking ST = Champions ST, possibly a bit lower when getting up to 50s and 60s - try to make Thrust damage equal in dice to 1/2 basic damage dice in Champions. Base additional Lifting ST on lifting capacity, consider Super-Effort +400%. Consider Modifying ST-Based damage with Armor Divisor or buying an Unusual Training Perk to use Breaking Blow on the higher end; or both, since the divisors should multiply. This should allow damage to pretty heavy armor even though total dice values aren't too high.

2) In fact, most normal attacks, just halve the dice total, more or less. Killing Attacks, multiply dice by 1.5, approximately.

3) Defenses also get cut to half to two-thirds of Champions value. Nonresistant PD is bought as Super-Toughness: DR (Crushing, -40%; Tough Skin, -40%) from Supers. For nonresistant ED, consider treating it as resistant after all, or take a Resistance to nonlethal energy to bump up HT rolls for resistance. Consider taking Hardened if comparable characters took Armor Divisor on their tiny attacks.

4) HT = 9+CON/5 and eyeball for suitability.

5) DX = 7+DEX/3. This will make some skills better for cheap, but make combat skills track well with CV.

6) IQ & Per = 9+INT/5

7) Will = 9+EGO/5

8) Charisma = (PRE-10)/5; also add Fearlessness if PRE higher than EGO

9) Movement - make Move roughly equal to inches per phase, disregarding SPD for the most part. Factor in noncombat movement as Enhanced Move for powered movement, but not for normal.

10) Adjust for speed with Extra Attack and combat skills high enough to allow Rapid Strike.

[vitruvian]

Crusader (1st edition Champions) Revised - 500 points

Attributes
ST 20 [100] DX 16 [120] IQ 13 [60] HT 12 [20]
HP 20 [0] Will 13 [0] Per 13 [0] FP 12 [0]
Basic Lift 80 Thrust 2d-1, Swing 3d+2, Punch 2d+2
Basic Speed 10 [60] Basic Move 12 [10]
Move 12 Running, 20 Gliding
Dodge 14 (15 with Shield), Block 14, Parry 13 (14 with Shield)
Total = 370

Advantages
Attractive [4]
Charisma +1 [5]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Danger Sense [15]
Extra Attack 1 [25]
Glider Wings: Flight (Controlled Gliding, -45%; Small Wings, -10%; Breakable, DR 1, SM -4, -15%; Can Be Stolen, Forcefully Removed, -10%) [8]
Perk: Masked [1]
Perk: Skintight [1]
Recovery [10]
Star Shield:Signature Gear 1, Custom-Made Titanium Steel Small Shield/Buckler, gives DB 1, can Shield Punch for +1 damage [1]
Star Shield: Damage Resistance 30 (Active Defense, -40%; Force Field, +20%; Limited: Ranged Only, VC, -20%; Breakable, DR 30, SM -5, -10%; Can Be Stolen, Quick Contest of ST, -30%) [30]
Super-Toughness: DR 5 (Crushing Only, -40%; Tough Skin, -40%) [5]
Very Fit [15]
Total= 135

Skills
Area Knowledge-13 [1]
Brawling-18 [4]
Detective!-12 [12]
Intimidation-14 [2]
Judo-18 [12]
Karate-18 [12]
Move!-14 [6]
Shield (Buckler)-18 [4]
Thief!-15 [12] (12- for IQ-based rolls)
Total = 65

Disadvantages
Enemy - the Syndicate (Powerful Group, Hunter, 6-) [-15]
Obsession - take down the Syndicate (Self-control 12-) [-10]
Pacifism (Cannot Kill) [-15]
Secret Identity (Imprisonment) [-20]
Sense of Duty (Honest Citizens) [-10]
Total= -70

Notes: Crusader was an undercover operative who got caught and brainwashed by the Syndicate into becoming their top assassin. When sent after a target that was an old friend within his old agency, his conditioning broke and he committed himself to two things - never to kill again, and yet to ultimately bring down the Syndicate and all those like them. His true identity is still a wanted man, making both his new identities - costumed and civilian - essential to his freedom if not his very survival (he uses Thief!-based forgery and streetwise skills to get fake documents for his civilian ID so he can live). He is at or beyond the peak of normal human achievement, both stronger and faster than an Olympic athlete, and is an absolute terror in hand to hand combat. His costume is a prototype glider suit and he uses a titanium buckler to deflect most ranged attacks (with the Active Defense limitation, once he makes his Block roll he gets 30 cover DR from all attacks coming from the same direction). As a superhero, he is a vigilante with no official sanction or authority, but so long as he isn't too brutal and remains resolutely nonlethal, the police are generally willing to extend their tacit approval.

[vitruvian]

Starburst (1st edition Champions) 500 points

Attributes
ST 14 [40] DX 14 [80] IQ 12 [40] HT 13 [30]
HP 14 [0] Will 12 [0] Per 12 [0] FP 16 [15]
Basic Lift 39 Thrust 1d, Swing 2d, Punch 1d-1, Slam 2d+1/9d
Basic Speed 8 [25] Basic Move 8 [0]
Move 8 Running, 16/64 Flying
Dodge 11, Brawling Parry 10
Total = 230

Advantages
Appearance: Handsome [12]
Charisma +1 [5]
Extra Attack 1 [25]
Light/Heat Power
Starburst: Affliction 1 (Area Effect, 16 yard radius, +200%; Blindness, +50%; Emanation, -20%; Sense-Based (Vision), +150%; Stun, +10%; Super, -10%) [48]
Photonic Blast: Crushing Attack 5d (Armor Divisor (2), +50%; Incendiary, +10%; Increased Range 10x, +30%; Super, -10%; Variable, +5%; Alternative Attack to Starburst, 1/5) [8]
Basic Photonic Flight: Flight (Super, -10%) [36]
Basic Photonic Shield: DR 8 (Force Field, +20%; Super, -10%) [44]
Enhanced Photonic Shield: DR +8 (Force Field, +20%; Super, -10%) [44]
Enhanced Photonic Flight: Enhanced Move (Air) 2 (Super, -10%; Alternative Ability to Enhanced Photonic Shield, 1/5) [8]
Perk: Light Source [1]
Perk: Masked [1]
Perk: Skintight [1]
Recovery [10]
Very Wealthy
Total= 273

Skills
Acting-11 [1]
Aerobatics-12 [1]
Brawling-14 [1]
Savoir-Faire (High Society) Science!-12 [24]
Total = 28

Disadvantages
Code of Honor (Comics Code) [-15]
Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10]
Secret Identity (Embarrasment) [-5]
Quirk - Comes off as a bit of a glory hound [-1]
Total= -31

Notes: Starburst was a research scientist with inherited wealth who gained his powers in a lab accident caused by the villain Pulsar. Of course, the only thing to do was to become a superhero. He has the choice between a blinding Starburst attack or a photonic blast of solid (crushing) light, can fly, and creates a protective photonic shield around himself; he can also boost either his flight speed or his shield strength at will, but only one at a time. He will usually patrol using his Enhanced Move (Air) and only switch to a stronger shield when he knows he is entering combat.

[vitruvian]

Ogre (1st edition Champions) 600 points

Attributes
ST 25 (SM 1, -10%) [135] DX 11 [10] IQ 9 [-10] HT 15 [50]
HP 30 [10] Will 12 [15] Per 9 [0] FP 15 [0]
Basic Lift 720/4,500/18,000 Thrust 5d+2/11d, Swing 8d-1/13d, Punch 6d+2/14d-1
Basic Speed 6 [0] Basic Move 6 [0]
Move 6 Running
Dodge 9, Brawling Parry 10
Total = 210

Advantages
Strength Power
Lifting ST + 25 (SM 1, -10%; Super, -10%) [60]
Lifting ST +10/100 (Super-Effort, +400%; SM 1, -10%; Super, -10%) [146]
Striking ST +25 (SM 1, -10%; Super, -10%) [100]
Super Jump 3 (Super, -10%) [27]

Skin Like Steel: DR 10 (Flexible, -20%; Super, -10%) [35]
Super-Toughness: DR 10 (Crushing, -40%; Tough Skin, -40%) [10]
Perk: Unusual Training; Breaking Blow [1]
Perk: Unusual Training; Power Blow [1]
Total= 379

Skills
Brawling-16 [20]
Breaking Blow-16 [32]
Intimidation-15 [12]
Power Blow-16 [20]
Streetwise-12 [12]
Total = 96

Disadvantages
Bad Temper (12) [-10]
Bully (9) [-15]
Enemy (Local PD, Hunter, 9-) [-20]
Greed (12) [-15]
Monstrous [-20]
Overconfidence (12) [-5]
Total= -85

Notes: Ogre was a former janitor mutated by a mad scientist. He is now massively large (over 7' tall and 400 lbs of muscle) and powerful; he retains ST 25 and HP 30 even if his superpowers are nullified, and normally has an effective ST of 50 and Lifting ST of 60/150 (latter value for Super-Effort), which can be further doubled to 100 and 120/300 with a Power Blow roll. His Breaking Blow can be used against inanimate targets like APCs and bank vaults, and between his Brawling bonus, Power Blow, and taking All-Out Attack (Strong), he can get his damage up above 16d if truly needed, but only against appropriate targets such as inanimate objects, huge creatures, and comparable bricks who are impervious to his normal 6d+2 punches. Ogre generally acts as a minion or runs small bank jobs, using Streetwise to find recruits and Intimidation to scare them into working for him.

[Infornific]

Originally Posted by vitruvian

Yeah, I go there all the time -good stuff.

Found the old Roleplayer Super-System Switching article, and a lot of it is usable even though we're several editions advanced on both ends.

I tried to update that to Champions 4e (this was a while ago) but lost the document in a lap top meltdown. I like what you've done here.

Originally Posted by vitruvian

3) Defenses also get cut to half to two-thirds of Champions value. Nonresistant PD is bought as Super-Toughness: DR (Crushing, -40%; Tough Skin, -40%) from Supers. For nonresistant ED, consider treating it as resistant after all, or take a Resistance to nonlethal energy to bump up HT rolls for resistance. Consider taking Hardened if comparable characters took Armor Divisor on their tiny attacks.

In Champions, particularly early versions high PD was the most effective way to create a character who could soak up a lot of punches. In GURPS, some combination of increased hit points and damage reduction might fit better for a character like Crusader, who is the product of intensive training.

Instead of +5 DR (-40% Crushing, -40% Tough Skin), maybe +1 DR (-40% Tough skin), increased Hit Points and Injury Tolerance (Damage Reduction) with the limitations Must Be Aware of Attack (-30%) and Crushing Only (-40%) That allows Crusader to go toe to toe with Ogre and take a pounding from mooks but means he can't entirely ignore ordinary punches and is vulnerable to sucker punches. That feels like a better simulation to me but that's just my taste.

Maybe add in Striking ST (-40%, unarmed strikes only) to give him a better shot against Ogre.

Originally Posted by vitruvian

10) Adjust for speed with Extra Attack and combat skills high enough to allow Rapid Strike.

Did you consider using Trained by a Master for Crusader? That makes multiple attacks easier and doesn't have to mean an old kung fu guy. In a superhero campaign, someone like William Fairbarn would qualify as a "Master." That would also allow Breaking Blow and Pressure Points - I seem to recall Crusader had the Find Weakness power in Champions.

Incidentally, does GURPS Supers include a section on Charles Atlas superpowers, or is that a possible subject for a pdf?

- DW