Hero System women are all insanely attractive

[Kristopher]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

There seem to be two approaches. Either use rounding points to buy COM, or sell off COM to round.

 

As far as the source material goes, look at Callisto when she first appears in X-Men. Then look at Excalibur. She's now drawn as gorgeous (ignoring the tentacles, and they don't detract from her facial features at all), and she was definitely "less than pretty" when she first appeared. Spending xp to raise COM is clearly justified in Supers campaigns - the artists just gradually dreaw them better looking.

 

This isn't a uniquely femal issue - look at Golden Age Superman, or the Ditko issues of Spider Man and compare to Superman/Peter Parker in later years.

 

At least there's a decent explanation in the case of Parker, you can say that he grew out of being a gangly, awkward, teenager, and so there's a reason his appearance might have improved.

[Steve]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Personally, I have always favored making COM a kind of Perk, like positive Reputation functions, and it costs 2 points per level. Each level gives a +1 to certain Interaction skills (Conversation, Seduction, etc) plus also +1d6 for making friendly PRE attacks. Since the "average" person is listed as having an 8 COM, I have the player buy this Perk as regular COM, so selling themselves down to average looks is like a 1-point disadvantage. The first level of Attractiveness is only a point, basically half price. The range would run like this is:

 

8 COM=No Bonus

12 COM=+1

16 COM=+2

20 COM=+3

 

I usually set the maximum bonus at something like +4, especially with Heroic-type characters, unless we are talking about something rare like an incarnation of the Goddess of Love or something.

[AnotherSkip]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Hrmmm.

 

THis does open two cans of worms here for me.

 

First off Manga often has women that "I" would characteraise as being underage.

 

like 7-15 range.

 

Which if you were fantasising over would definately put you in the pedophile range.

 

The other things is that I have a book on super character design and poses not only does the (presumably) published author have 95% blonds in the book _but_ there is one fat(villianess) and no skinny characters.

 

Another problem is the author comes across as very very sexist. very piglike writing.

 

I'd tell you who the guy is but his name is in japanese and I cant figure out where it is, much less read it.

 

Disney suffered from this in the Little Mermaid but that could be Hans Christian Anderson (and the group, witness the phallic tower on the original cover design for the Little Mermaid)

 

 

and dammit a bit of chub on a woman can be very sexy.

 

watch Shallow Hal and examine yourself.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

At least there's a decent explanation in the case of Parker' date=' you can say that he grew out of being a gangly, awkward, teenager, and so there's a reason his appearance might have improved.[/quote']

 

He has the best explanation (and that was how Stan Lee eventually rationalized the change from Ditko to Romita, who "couldn't draw Peter Parker").

[ghost-angel]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

The other things is that I have a book on super character design and poses not only does the (presumably) published author have 95% blonds in the book _but_ there is one fat(villianess) and no skinny characters.

 

Another problem is the author comes across as very very sexist. very piglike writing.

 

I'd tell you who the guy is but his name is in japanese and I cant figure out where it is, much less read it.

 

This wouldn't be completely the Author being sexist, he is reflecting his culture. Japanese culture is extremely sexist. Which is unfortunate but true.

 

While this is not an excuse, it is a reason. And it's not to say that all Japanese are sexist either, some are not by any means. But the culture as a whole is sexist in nature.

[zornwil]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Well, as a female gamer I have to say, I like my characters to have a high COM (at least 14). I'm no Hollywood star, but it sure is a nice fantasy to play one in a game. So it doesn't bother me in the least

 

Theala

Sorry I missed your post way back when, if you see this response. As Mentor indicated, you're a bit of a legend!

 

As to this topic, one thing I'd add is that power makes people attractive, too. Most (not all) people (including women) I know believe Mick Jagger would not be considered attractive were it not for his position and history in the Rolling Stones, as a simple example. In fact, in many ways our cultural leaders define attractiveness to suit them (note the rise of geek chic with the rise of the geek class, if you will).

[ThealaSildorian]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Sorry I missed your post way back when, if you see this response. As Mentor indicated, you're a bit of a legend!

 

As to this topic, one thing I'd add is that power makes people attractive, too. Most (not all) people (including women) I know believe Mick Jagger would not be considered attractive were it not for his position and history in the Rolling Stones, as a simple example. In fact, in many ways our cultural leaders define attractiveness to suit them (note the rise of geek chic with the rise of the geek class, if you will).

 

You, Keith, and Mentor make too much of it. I mostly lurk these days: If I start getting involved online, it eats too much into my gaming time :grin: And to tell the truth, it's taken awhile for me to digest the changes in 5th edition, which has left me with less than usual to say :grin:

 

Theala

[zornwil]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

I've been more in lurk mode myself, largely out of being busy with other stuff.

 

Anyway, legend or not, nice to see you around.

 

You legend, you...

[Zed-F]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

My characters tend to mostly have COM 10, including the female ones, because I ignore it as a stat. I ignore it as a stat because it generally doesn't do anything. I will occasionally put points in COM if I think the character concept justifies it, but most of my characters have a fairly average to slightly above average appearance anyway.

[Lamrok]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

I've been more in lurk mode myself' date=' [/quote']

 

44 posts in the last 24 hours is "lurk mode?"

[Trebuchet]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

44 posts in the last 24 hours is "lurk mode?"

Yeah, that's a bit of a stretch even for the mighty Z. If you'll look at his profile you'll see he averages 38.36 posts per day. It's a bit hard to see how 44 posts is "lurking" unless lurking means "fewer posts of substance" in Giant Radioactive Lizard language.

[Susano]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Yeah' date=' that's a bit of a stretch even for the mighty Z. If you'll look at his profile you'll see he averages 38.36 posts per day. It's a bit hard to see how 44 posts is "lurking" unless lurking means "fewer posts of substance" in Giant Radioactive Lizard language. [/quote']

 

I think the problem is that Giant Radioactive Lizard is like Chinese. It's a tonal language, so it's not just what you say, it's how you say it. And "GRRRAAANNNKKK!!!" can have so many meanings.

[Vondy]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Who wants to escape to a world where people are ordinary looking?

 

The fact that women tend to be better looking in games is largely due to the target demographic. If women were the target demographic, all the men would be hot (the Anita Blake series comes to mind...).

[Susano]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Who wants to escape to a world where people are ordinary looking?

 

The fact that women tend to be better looking in games is largely due to the target demographic. If women were the target demographic, all the men would be hot (the Anita Blake series comes to mind...).

 

They'd all have rather interesting sexual fetishes too...

[Karmakaze]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

The high-activity improvement to body type has been covered earlier in the thread.

 

I'd also like to point out that most women use cosmetics. Skilled application of cosmetics probably can add a couple of points of COM. Even just the improved hair conditioning and facial cleansers can make a difference.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Who wants to escape to a world where people are ordinary looking?

Unless there's a good reason not to, I generally design characters (PCs or NPCs) to be at least a bit better than average-looking; after all, I agree with Von D-Man.

 

For example, my character Dr. Anomaly has a COM of 18.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

The high-activity improvement to body type has been covered earlier in the thread.

 

I'd also like to point out that most women use cosmetics. Skilled application of cosmetics probably can add a couple of points of COM. Even just the improved hair conditioning and facial cleansers can make a difference.

 

And non-skilled application can be really funny.

 

COM is one of those bizarre little concepts that probably seemed a good idea at the time, like appendix. Frankly, we don't need it and would be better off without it now, but actually getting rid of it involves knives and blood and general anaesthetics, almost always leaves a scar and is probably far more trouble than just just ignoring it at parties and talking to more interesting/attractive internal organs...to stretch a metaphor well beyond breaking point...

 

Anyway, it's all so subjective, heh? How about this? Each 5 points of COM translates to 1d6. You roll the COM total (and any appropriate modifiers for cosmetics, situation and alcohol intake (OAF: Beer goggles) when you meet someone. Everyone should define 3 things they find attractive and 3 things they don't. Each attractive thing in the chosen subject gets +1d6, each unattractive thing gets -1d6. The rolled total is the COM that character perceives in the other character. Each 10 points is an attractiveness level and is worth plus or minus one on interaction rolls where attractiveness is a factor.

 

-30 to -21 -2 (+2 for fear and loathing)

-20 to -11 -1 (+1 for fear and loathing)

-10 to +10 NO MODIFIER

11 to 20 +1

21 to 30 +2 etc

 

So, for instance, you meet a tall, skinny redhead with 15 COM. You like redheads but you dislike skinny so you roll 3d6 and get 12: the redhead is quite attractive in your eyes: they get a bous of +1 on interaction skills where attractiveness might be a factor.

 

Although I've just made this up and never playtested it ever it does seem to incorporate many of the concerns that people have (well, it addresses subjectiveness, at least to an extent) whilst having the advantage of being far too much effort to actually bother with. Erm...time to start drinking...

[Sean Waters]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Unless there's a good reason not to, I generally design characters (PCs or NPCs) to be at least a bit better than average-looking; after all, I agree with Von D-Man.

 

For example, my character Dr. Anomaly has a COM of 18.

 

Out of interest, what's your COM?

[Egyptoid]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

I used to GM a game, and I had 2 NPCs:

 

one was Ladyfist, a mutant brick.

her STR was 57, and so was her COM.

it was one of her physical disads, part of her mutation.

half of her XPs would go into STR and COM, so they rose together over her career.

At fifty-seven comeliness she was physically the most lovely thing in my universe,

and the most hateful villain you could imagine.

 

the other was Bambolea,

a combination or Selena, Mariah Carey, and Dazzler.

she had Comeliness 48 or so. she was an entertainer who fought crime on tour!

 

Now these are insane levels of beauty, and people told me that.

IMHO once COM gets so high, its mystical in nature

At average levels (10-25) then a man's personal tastes come into play:

because some like them tall, some like them curvy, some like the youthful look,

some like them mature, and I'll leave out hair color and ethnic traits such as freckles

or tan color. So a girl of COM 22 might be only COM 18 to Jimbo,

cause Jimbo likes'em tall, ya dig?

 

So if you have a woman of 48-60 Comeliness, her beauty transcends personal

tastes: Every being capable of appreaciating beauty will be attracted to her.

She's 64 times as pretty as any actress or model you can think of.

Even shaving off 5-10 points of taste variations (eg "I don't prefer red-heads")

 

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Out of interest' date=' what's [i']your [/i] COM?

Me, personally? Heck if I know...I'm in a very poor position to judge. Since I don't think I'm exceptional in the 'looks' sense, I think I'll just say "average" and leave it to you to argue whether that means 8 or 10.

[Troll]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Well, as a female gamer I have to say, I like my characters to have a high COM (at least 14). I'm no Hollywood star, but it sure is a nice fantasy to play one in a game. So it doesn't bother me in the least

 

Theala

 

Wow! Theala Sildorian! Been years since I heard from you. Still have your webpage up?

[arcady]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Good observation. Check the comic books... you'll be hard pressed to find ugly' date=' or even below average, women.[/quote']Yes, this is true.

 

BUT, in the comics its true of the men as well.

 

Wolverine, Captain America, Superman, Batman, Cyclops, even Reed Richards - they're all supposed to be dashing or otherwise handsome in some manner or another.

 

Yes, there are Swamp Things and Grue The Wanderer's out there, but most of them are meant to be good looking.

 

The game is emulating one half of the coinc, but not the other, and this is somewhat true across the hobby.

 

Male players almost always assign high attraction and charisma to female characters, but rarely to male characters. Female players, I don't know. Last female GM I had was in a Sailor Moon game and that genre assumes the 'beautiful people world' analogy to an extreme. I have seen women writers who make a point of making every important female character patently ugly or at best plain, and then paint every attractive woman as horrid, coniving, and or stupid - but I always figured they were writing out of self doubt from how over the top they did this (Barbara Hambley was the first author I noticed it in). Female players at the table seem from my experience to do the same thing as male players in reverse - ignore charisma and attractiveness in their female characters and make their male characters into handsome figures.

 

Usually when I see an exception to one of these trends that exception is a core part of the character and is pushed to the forefront of play - a woman will ham it up when playing a femme fatale, a man will over do it when playing a 'lady's man', and similar for the unattractive tropes that they might normally make as attractive.

[Vondy]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

My COM?

 

I'm average: 8.

 

But I have a really high conversation skill and a passable seduction skil.

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

Out of interest' date=' what's [i']your [/i] COM?

 

Well, anyone who wants to know 'bout me, check the Avatar (not a great photo, mind).

 

Hrm. Actually, "Rate My COM" could be an interesting game...

[zornwil]

Re: Hero System women are all insanely attractive

 

44 posts in the last 24 hours is "lurk mode?"

Well, you know...