My Craziest Idea Ever?

[Lucius]

It started as an offhand throwaway comment......on 18FEB09


So can I apply Megascale to Growth so that my character measures his height in Astronomical Units?

Lucius Alexander

As dense as a palindromedary

But I couldn't stop thinking about it.... 20FEB09


Hero Designer aside, per Steve Long it is possible to apply Megascale to Stretching. I think he described it as “Silly, but legal.”


I didn't expect my little offhand comment to generate so much discussion...but it is admittedly a truly bizarre idea.

For the record, I don't seriously think it's technically legal although I suppose the person running the game could allow it.

It might require buying Megascale more than once. That is, unless I want to measure my height in astronomical units but my area with regular hexes. Or vice versa. Or can I buy Megascale with volume?

What strikes me as weird is that my density would be attenuated. :think:
Megascale does NOT apply to mass so I'd be

:jupiter:A GAS GIANT:saturn:

:eek:

Lucius Alexander

The palindromedary comments that some of Lucius Alexander's ideas are insanely brilliant, but some of them are just brilliantly insane.

Within ten days I'd checked with Steve Long and got a ruling. 28FEB09


I asked Mr. Long and he's officially pronounced it "suspicious" and "ridiculous" but NOT ILLEGAL.

It's been about a month since then - and I still haven't actually found a use for this rules abomination.:ugly: I still don't have a viable - or even non-viable - character concept utilizing Megascale Growth.

Maybe even my twisted imagination has limits....

Lucius Alexander

The palindromedary is trying to wrap both heads around the idea that this Advantage on this Power is actually potentially legal.....

[Lord Liaden]

Well, what first comes to my mind is from an old (1960s) issue of DC Showcase starring the Specter. The Specter was fighting a group of demons, and started growing until he was larger than the planet he stood on, and the demons' weapons passed harmlessly between the atoms of his body. :eek:

Another issue of that series featured Specter dueling with a powerful demon on an interplanetary scale: grabbing planets and stars to throw at each other, seizing comets by the tail to use like flails to bludgeon each other, and the like.

I'm not sure where to go from there, though. :think:

[Sean Waters]

There is a world of difference (pun intended) between being able to reach out and touch another planet and being able to rip it out of its orbit. Megascale growth or stretching does not make you any stronger.

[Lord Liaden]

Spoilsport. :p

[Sean Waters]

Mea culpa. I'm just a grump at the moment. Been sicky-bad-no-well all week.

[The Rose]

"Megascale growth, you say. hm?" *The Rose Pounders while fingers stroke his gotee. "If one increased the size by a scale of 1000 and weight by 2, then you effective density is drastically reduced. hm yes." Images come to mind. "Giant human balloon anyone???"

It seems unrealistic, even my comic book terms, to grow like that. Lets say you do the classical cartoon version where you inhale air to expand. You will still be taking in a significant amount of weight to cause the expansion. Now if we assume you can do this without taking on air to 'fill in' the rest, then you are creating a void on the inside. By creating the void you are creating a micro version of outer space. So this leads to interesting attacks. "I'll Swallow you whole!" once inside they are experiencing 0 atmospheric preasure and cause damage.

Anyway that was mostly just me rambling. Have fun with that idea though.

La Rose.

[Matt the Bruins]

You can take a look at MegaScale Growth in action here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYpXNG9WwI0&feature=PlayList&p=1E7922CAFB41303C&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=52) at about 2:30 in. Seemed to come in handy. :D

[Sean Waters]

You can take a look at MegaScale Growth in action here at about 2:30 in. Seemed to come in handy. :D

Oh good lord, have these people no shame? How can they put this sort of thing in children's heads?

What are they standing on?

What?

[BobGreenwade]

Oh good lord, have these people no shame? How can they put this sort of thing in children's heads?

What are they standing on?

What?Yeah... clearly not the program's finest moment, by a longshot. But then again, much Silver Age superhero TV programming required industrial-strength suspension of disbelief.

[pinecone]

Oh good lord, have these people no shame? How can they put this sort of thing in children's heads?

What are they standing on?

What?
Jeez, the same giant turtle that the earth rides on....what kind of schools have they got around your parts (Good ones? ;) )

[Sean Waters]

Jeez, the same giant turtle that the earth rides on....what kind of schools have they got around your parts (Good ones? ;) )

Its turtles all the way down...

[lemming]

Its turtles all the way down...

Yertle?

[Sean Waters]

Yertle?

That's turtles all the way up...

[StGrimblefig]

Well, if you gain size, but not mass, it could still be a means of travel from planet to planet:


Stand on planet A
grow big enough to reach out and grab planet B
hold on while shrinking back to "normal" size
Put your feet down on Planet B


Of course, that doesn't take into account relative planetary motion or rotation.

(hmm. how big does one have to get before the rotational speed of the earth has one's head traveling at the speed of light?)

[Lucius]

Well, if you gain size, but not mass, it could still be a means of travel from planet to planet:


Stand on planet A
grow big enough to reach out and grab planet B
hold on while shrinking back to "normal" size
Put your feet down on Planet B


Of course, that doesn't take into account relative planetary motion or rotation.

(hmm. how big does one have to get before the rotational speed of the earth has one's head traveling at the speed of light?)


Just thinking about it has my head spinning at the speed of light...

Lucius Alexander

The palindromedary asserts that Lucius Alexander is simply light headed

[Lucius]

You can take a look at MegaScale Growth in action.......Seemed to come in handy. :D

what...what WAS that?

Lucius Alexander

Remind me to never, ever sell the rights to the palindromedary to someone who wants to make a cartoon....

[Split Decision]

My craziest idea ever is like that, only crazier. Alien in a giant mecha-style robot crashes to Earth. All suit ruined except the mecha's feet.

Enormo, the Super Tapdancer

yeah, my weirdest moment? Maybe but maybe not.

[Sean Waters]

My craziest idea ever is like that, only crazier. Alien in a giant mecha-style robot crashes to Earth. All suit ruined except the mecha's feet.

Enormo, the Super Tapdancer

yeah, my weirdest moment? Maybe but maybe not.

Tapdancer? I'd sink that idea if I were you.

[Lucius]

Okay. I've got an idea now! I'll post it when it's done.

IF it's ever done....

Lucius Alexander

The palindromedary predicts that A. The character will be done, eventually, and B. It will probably be an unviable useless exercise in pushing the limits of the system just to see them stretch out of shape.

[OSAT]

I know someone on the boards was doing the Ben 10 ailens. theres one thats big enough to stand on the ground and knock down ships in flight. this might be a realy cheap way to do that growth 1 megascale one always on big honken form only i'll have to check the costs (will post them when i'm done)

growth 27 levels 1,024m tall 135 active points
growth 1 level w/ mega scale 6 active points

[Split Decision]

Tapdancer? I'd sink that idea if I were you.

Whenever I come up with a marginal idea, Mrs. Split Decision brings Enormo and compares. It's an all-too-common occurrance.

[prestidigitator]

So if you put MegaScale AoE on your Str too, can you affect every hex of a planet at the same time, therefore only requiring enough Str to affect a cubic hex (approx. 8 m^3) of iron (the planet's core) or so? :ugly:

[Lucius]

So if you put MegaScale AoE on your Str too, can you affect every hex of a planet at the same time, therefore only requiring enough Str to affect a cubic hex (approx. 8 m^3) of iron (the planet's core) or so? :ugly:

Might be worth asking about, but I don't think so....

Lucius Alexander

Then again, muses the palindromedary, we didn't think Megascale Growth could fly....

[jwpacker]

I know someone on the boards was doing the Ben 10 ailens. theres one thats big enough to stand on the ground and knock down ships in flight. this might be a realy cheap way to do that growth 1 megascale one always on big honken form only i'll have to check the costs (will post them when i'm done)

growth 27 levels 1,024m tall 135 active points
growth 1 level w/ mega scale 6 active points

Of course, megascale growth doesn't give you any of the fantastic bonuses to STR and the like that 27 levels of actual growth would provide, right?

[prestidigitator]

So if you put MegaScale AoE on your Str too, can you affect every hex of a planet at the same time, therefore only requiring enough Str to affect a cubic hex (approx. 8 m^3) of iron (the planet's core) or so? :ugly:

I reconsidered this in any case. Since the Str is MegaScaled, each "hex" it is acting on would actually be pretty big. So I don't think you really gain much by it, if anything. You'd need a heck of a lot of Str to affect a "hex" worth of dirt, rock, or iron anyway.

[Sean Waters]

I'm not sure we need megascale: it seems to me to be a way to do things that you can do anyway, but cheaper (as well as being a way to do things you should never do at all: megascale growth :rolleyes:).

Powers that 'need' megascale are rarely balanced anyway: this will kill everyone in a city, or at least all the normals:

Killing Attack - Ranged 3d6, MegaScale Area (1" = 1 km; +1/4), Area Of Effect (6" Radius; +1) (101 Active Points)

It costs about half what you would have to pay to do it with increased radius AoE:

Killing Attack - Ranged 3d6, Area Of Effect (5120" Radius; +3 1/2) (202 Active Points)

If you change the megascale so that it can be scaled down the utility increases enormously and it only costs an extra 11 points. Why even bother with increased radius? It costs the same as a single level of megascale. Why bother having both in the system?

Maybe it is 'increased radius'* that should go, but I can not see why we should have both.




*and increased range and non combat multiples on movement

[Arkham]

Megascale Growth would certainly give a nice boost to presence attacks...

[prestidigitator]

Yes...if they can see anything other than a giant shoe anyway.... Then again I suppose there is the whole eclipse aspect....

[Basil]

(hmm. how big does one have to get before the rotational speed of the earth has one's head traveling at the speed of light?)

If rotating at 1 revolution per day (86,400 seconds), you'd need a radius of ~4.1224 * 10^12 meters, or about 27.556 AU.

I don't have my books with me, but if I remember correctly, that would be about 615 points of Growth.

As for Megascaled Growth...Eh, hell with it; I'm not working it out. :p :p

[Sean Waters]

Megascale Growth would certainly give a nice boost to presence attacks...

Countered to an extent, I feel, by the increased mass and rotational forces not being addressed by massively increased strength, causing your legs to snap like matchsticks and all your major organs to fail.

Sure, everyone would be staring in awe...however...

[Sean Waters]

If rotating at 1 revolution per day (86,400 seconds), you'd need a radius of ~4.1224 * 10^12 meters, or about 27.556 AU.

I don't have my books with me, but if I remember correctly, that would be about 615 points of Growth.

As for Megascaled Growth...Eh, hell with it; I'm not working it out. :p :p


:rofl:

Of course at that size, you are not so much standing on the Earth as picking it out from under a toenail.

[Arkham]

Countered to an extent, I feel, by the increased mass and rotational forces not being addressed by massively increased strength, causing your legs to snap like matchsticks and all your major organs to fail.

Sure, everyone would be staring in awe...however...

Your 'realistic physics' have no place in my complex world of timetravel and jet-powered apes.

Besides, the megascale would apply only to the height/width, not the weight. Because that's not measured in inches. And unless you buy side effects for the power, organ failure and other negative effects wouldn't be a factor either.

[Arkham]

Yes...if they can see anything other than a giant shoe anyway.... Then again I suppose there is the whole eclipse aspect....

Now if that giant shoe is a squeeky clown shoe....

[Sean Waters]

Your 'realistic physics' have no place in my complex world of timetravel and jet-powered apes.

Besides, the megascale would apply only to the height/width, not the weight. Because that's not measured in inches. And unless you buy side effects for the power, organ failure and other negative effects wouldn't be a factor either.

Well even with the base level of megascale your head is so far up in the clouds your ears will freeze and you won't be able to breathe properly.

Anyone who likes the idea of megascale growth, that's fine: knock yourself out :whistle:

[bigbywolfe]

Ha! "Won't be able to breathe properly"..."knock yourself out"! I get it! Punny stuff.





(I'm officially too tired to be allowed to post on here...)

[Sean Waters]

Ha! "Won't be able to breathe properly"..."knock yourself out"! I get it! Punny stuff.





(I'm officially too tired to be allowed to post on here...)


I'll get the coffee on, shall I? I think we could probably both do with one :)

[Lucius]

Okay. I've got an idea now! I'll post it when it's done.

IF it's ever done....

Lucius Alexander

The palindromedary predicts that A. The character will be done, eventually, and B. It will probably be an unviable useless exercise in pushing the limits of the system just to see them stretch out of shape.

Oh Yeah!? Take a look.

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72238

Lucius Alexander

The puzzled palindromedary reminds Lucius that it was there the whole time