Point Efficiency vs. Concept

[gewing]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

I think in high school his marks were quite good' date=' but he bombed out of university (likely due to not being able to focus on his studies).[/quote']

 

 

Sleeping through tests because he fought the Green Goblin all night, etc...

 

Yeah, that would make college more difficult.

 

 

 

Personally I think the guy who turned down the webbing because it broke down after an hour was incredibly short sighted.

 

Short term repairs can be incredibly useful, disaster response for instance.

 

Do you think the Navy would like having something like webbing to use for a temporary plug if a hull was breached?

 

It could be used to hold structural elements in place on construction sites while the permanent connections were built.

 

Fire fighters would probably LOVE to have instant super cushions to catch falling people.

 

But then, I'm a Gamer. I think a little differently.

[David Johnston]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

I would also suggest Pete may have picked up some further knowledge in completing high school, university courses and adult life. He developed the web shooters as what, a high school sophomore or junior? I'm not seeing him as a superscientist in Amazing Fantasy #15.

 

Spiderman went straight from AF 15 to his own comic:

 

Issue 2: Invents anti-magnetic inverter to defeat Vultures magnetic flight.

 

Issue 3: Invents a chemical bomb to melt Doc Ock's arms together

 

Issue 6: Develops the first antidote for the Lizard.

 

Issue 10: He gives a transfusion to his Aunt May!

 

Okay that has nothing to do with whether he has the Chemistry, Engineering and Invention skills to make designing his web shooters routine, which he obviously did, but still, isn't it amazing that no real complications arose as a result of that?

 

I wonder how many of us would have looked at the suite of skills to accomplish that on a character sheet for a young high school student and said "Come on - that's clearly ridiculous". Of that proportion, I wonder how many would have been in the camp that says 20 - 25 points of skills are required to design power armor. I suspect the overlap would be considerable.

 

Bronze and Iron Age sensibilities at work. In the Silver Age everything was easier for heros to accomplish and Hercules could pull the island of Manhattan around.

[Guest Cougar]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

Bronze and Iron Age sensibilities at work. In the Silver Age everything was easier for heros to accomplish and Hercules could pull the island of Manhattan around.

 

I think that issue of Marvel Team Up would fall in the Bronze Age. With a cover date of 1974, it is comes almost a year and a half after the event that is usually held up as the end of the Silver Age for Marvel -- the death of Gwen Stacy.

 

Paul

[David Johnston]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

I think that issue of Marvel Team Up would fall in the Bronze Age. With a cover date of 1974, it is comes almost a year and a half after the event that is usually held up as the end of the Silver Age for Marvel -- the death of Gwen Stacy.

 

Paul

 

The transformation in attitudes that Gwen Stacy's death heralded wasn't instantaneous.

[David Johnston]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

Oops. Upon further reading it turns out that the transfusion gave May a dose of radiation poisoning. My mistake.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

 

Couldn't get it to point in the right direction though

 

Marvel eventually published something that set that story firmly in Herc's own tall tales, IIRC.

[Black Omega]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

Re: Spider-Man's webbing dissolving after an hour or so...

 

It's REALLY a response to letters from readers asking about Spider-Man leaving webbing all over New York City. Stan Lee spoke ex cathedra, saying that the webbing dissolved after about an hour, so Spider-Man really wasn't littering the city with strands and clumps and globs of inhumanly powerful gluey webbing...

I recall a What If that suggested "What if Spiderman's webbing didn't dissolve after an hour?" and showed a picture Spiderman swinging through a NY City covered in webbing like some huge spider nest.

[gewing]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

Interesting direction of thread drift.

 

About the "killing attacks" I was trying to come up with weaponry and items that could, as much as possible, be bought "off the Shelf" though perhaps on the black market.

 

I could give him a medieval looking melee weapon, but that has been done to death.

 

I didn't want him to have invented something that is currently voodoo tech, such as a plasma cannon, Gauss cannon, Pulse laser system, lightsabre, vibroblade, what have you.

 

I figured that a relatively real world firearm would be easy (maybe even LEGAL) and something like a pod for the Spike Micromissile, an M202 flash rocket launcher, a single Javelin, Starstreak, whatever would be relatively easy, at least if the campaign was such that it would be needed.

 

HEck, here in WA state, It would be legal for a character to walk around town with a barrett light .50 slung over his shoulder, as long as he was not threatening anyone or "menacing" them. The police would look askance, but technically it would be legal. Or he could have a Desert Eagle in an open holster on his side. "Open Carry" is legal. If he had a CCW, he could carry the pistol concealed, but it would have to be one or the other, if it is concealed, it has to REALLY be concealed.

Of course, he couldn't carry the firearms into a courthouse (He could legally ask for, and iirc they would be required to provide a storage box for him to leave it in, and they would have to give him a receipt) or a bar(any area forbidden to those under age 21) etc...

 

I dislike the "nerf" feel of a game where the characters are only allowed non-lethal attacks. Particularly since afaik all real world ones are more accurately described as "less lethal".

 

Shotguns and grenade launchers DO have the advantage that they can usually be loaded with "less lethal" ammo for normal use, and still have "Serious" ammo if needed.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

The only problem I see with a superhero in a darkish gameworld packing a Barrett Light .50 is overpenetration. The .50 BMG was designed as an antivehicular/anti-light armor round; shooting it at a bad guy risks two bad things: 1) It hits said bad guy, and if he lacks sufficient rPD the bullet zips right through him (doing appropriate damage, of course) and also kills the little old lady walking her dog 500 hexes past the villain (There's a confirmed kill with a Barrett .50 at 1800 meters/900 hexes) 2) He misses said villain and hits and kills the little old lady walking her dog 500 hexes past the villain. In a four color game I wouldn't worry much about overpenetration, but this one sounds a tad grittier. Of course, there's a lot to be said for the sheer intimidation value of such a big honkin' gun. I'd give a PRE bonus just for pulling it out.

 

Maybe you should look more closely at a 20mm grenade launcher (which it looks like the US Army is going to adopt for infantry use) or a heavy-gauge shotgun. Less range, and a better selection of non-lethal rounds (smoke, tear/pepper gas, rubber) plus regular EX and phophorus (WP) rounds. The security detachment at our team's HQ carries 8 gauge shotguns with all kinds of interesting rounds, including AP for high-defense types and AoE nets for those pesky ninjas.

[gewing]

Re: Point Efficiency vs. Concept

 

The only problem I see with a superhero in a darkish gameworld packing a Barrett Light .50 is overpenetration. The .50 BMG was designed as an antivehicular/anti-light armor round; shooting it at a bad guy risks two bad things: 1) It hits said bad guy' date=' and if he lacks sufficient rPD the bullet zips right through him (doing appropriate damage, of course) and also kills the little old lady walking her dog 500 hexes past the villain (There's a [u']confirmed[/u] kill with a Barrett .50 at 1800 meters/900 hexes) 2) He misses said villain and hits and kills the little old lady walking her dog 500 hexes past the villain. In a four color game I wouldn't worry much about overpenetration, but this one sounds a tad grittier. Of course, there's a lot to be said for the sheer intimidation value of such a big honkin' gun. I'd give a PRE bonus just for pulling it out.

 

Maybe you should look more closely at a 20mm grenade launcher (which it looks like the US Army is going to adopt for infantry use) or a heavy-gauge shotgun. Less range, and a better selection of non-lethal rounds (smoke, tear/pepper gas, rubber) plus regular EX and phophorus (WP) rounds. The security detachment at our team's HQ carries 8 gauge shotguns with all kinds of interesting rounds, including AP for high-defense types and AoE nets for those pesky ninjas.

 

Perhaps a .50 could be loaded with basically a Mag-safe.

 

Did you know that Barnes makes a .510 X-bullet for .50 BMG uses?

 

The army is going to use a 25mm medium velocity instead of the 20mm, yeah, it is definately an option. THey haven't got all the varieties worked out yet, but HE/Frag (airburst or point or even delay), HEAT, Flechette (or shot, I forget which), and they are working on a variety of less lethal rounds.

 

The Russian 23mm shotgun is often said to be a 4 gauge, but I have also read it is closer to a 6 gauge. either way!

 

For true off the shelf functionality, probably the best choice would be one of the "revolver" 40mm grenade launchers. Rounds ranging from HE, HEAT, Flare, CS, Baton, etc are available.

 

 

A 7.62 rifle like an M-14 or FAL, or DSA58 (FAL variant, I know) with a .40mm grenade launcher would probably work really well, though some referees, of course, would consider anyone carrying it to be a villain.

 

I suppose that since he IS in "powered armor" (whether powered by his muscles or the armor itself;)) He could make some funky custom gun. That would actually be relatively easy imo. Maybe modify the Russian 23mm shotgun and use rounds like bola rounds, or a load of 3 superballs, or whatever.

 

Or figure out how to make about a 60mm either pump action or revolver grenade launcher type weapon. Hmm, there was an experimental 60 or 70mm one designed in the 70s, I have Heard...