Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

[Adventus]

Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet? What do you think of it? is the art good bad indifeferent? How useful is it? Are there any good stealable ideas in it?

[Andrew Cermak]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet? What do you think of it? is the art good bad indifeferent? How useful is it? Are there any good stealable ideas in it?

 

I have the PDF, and I'm still reading through it. There's a lot to digest.

My impressions from my readings so far are very positive, but I'm still mulling some of the ramifications.

 

The book introduces an optional system of adders and limitations based on special effects. Each SFX ("Fire," "Chemical," etc.) is rated against all the others based on how effective or ineffective it is against that opposing special effect. For example, if an SFX is particularly effective against another (for example, Water against Fire), than that SFX might gain 1 (or 2, or 3) DC or 1 (or 2, or 3) points of Def against the opposing SFX. If a SFX is judged to "win" against others more often than not, then Powers using that SFX are charged an Adder (of varying costs). If it tends to lose, then Powers using that SFX get a Limitation (of varying values). Some SFX balance out about even, and some react neutrally to all other SFX. Occasionally, (for example, Gravity vs. Dimensional Manipulation), there might be random results when two SFX interact.

 

If a campaign adopts this system, it will obviously become a very significant factor in character creation. Two energy projectors with what had been identical mechanics before may under this system be priced very differently.

 

As far as the art goes, it's mostly recycled. It's good art, but it's not new art. Recycled art doesn't bother me, but I know for others it can be a big turn-off.

 

One thing that's notably absent in this that most of the other Ultimate books had is the very large lists of sample powers. This book instead just lists a few powers for each SFX, mostly to demonstrate how to use the new adders and limitations. For SFX that haven't gotten the USPD treatment before (like Chemical and Electromagnetic), this is kind of disappointing, but I can understand why those power lists couldn't be fit into this book.

 

There's some other interesting things, like maneuvers that let energy projectors counter or enhance other energy projector's attacks if the SFX match-up right, but I haven't really read those sections in detail yet.

[Susano]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

I have a copy, but haven't started on it yet. I just finished Gestalt, and am currently working on Post-Apocolyptic HERO.

[pinecone]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

I have a copy' date=' but haven't started on it yet. I just finished [i']Gestalt[/i], and am currently working on Post-Apocolyptic HERO.

 

Grrr...I'm jealous, still Waiting...!

[nHammer]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

I should be getting it in the mail in the next week. Looking forward to it...

[bobrunnicles]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

Is the picture of the cover in the online store really the cover to the book? Just text in a funky font on a black cover? That's......kinda disappointing; if ever a book could have had a kick-ass superheroic-type piece of cover art I would have thought that 'The Ultimate Energy Projector' would have been it.

 

Is it maybe a placeholder or something (he said hopefully)?

[Sean Waters]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

The book can have whatever sfx it likes: it is great.

 

I got the .pdf (first time I've bought a .pdf book, and I've started reading through. I've been quite systematic about it, so far, and I'm only up to page 20. I've not done any flicking through to see how it end, but so far, great, great, great.

 

I mean, I'm not off the bit about character creation yet, and the uses of powers, but, really, this is an exciting book. It is full of stuff that has me salivating already. Little tweaks, now advantages and examples.

 

I've moaned about 5ER feeling 'flat' in the past: this doesn't. Buy it. Buy it now. Love it.

[Jkeown]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

I should be getting my copy today, and I'm hoping the system provides for the bizarre energy types in my magic system to be represented. At the very least, it should provide examples of how to construct new relationships between energy types, even the fake ones from my game and say... Star Trek and Gamma World.

[Andrew Cermak]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

At the very least' date=' it should provide examples of how to construct new relationships between energy types, [/quote']

 

It does in fact do this.

[Talon]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

I have the physical book and, well, it's not my favorite book of all time.

 

There are a /lot/ of "At the GM's option..." statements, to the point where I started to feel overwhelmed; how would I keep track of all these possible rules changes if I wanted to use this material in a game?

 

Secondly, there were some consistency issues (at least to me). The one that jumped out at me was under Force Wall. There's a section describing how Force Walls (even bubbles) are not moved by attacks or Knockback...immediately followed by a section on how bubbles can be picked up with STR or TK. This doesn't seem right to me.

 

On the good side, the list of special effects and their frequency was very nice and something I could see using in any supers game during character creation. Also, the "interaction of energy types" section, which makes up the bulk of the book, speaks for itself. I can't imagine using the full rules in an average game, but it's an interesting concept.

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

The only real downside I see to it so far is that there are too few options that can be dropped into an existing campaign (or at least it looks that way from the way I've been reading it). I would have liked to have seen a summary table of Special Effect: X Modifiers, but that's a relatively minor quibble.

 

On the other hand there are some really nifty expansions of Advantages (like new versions of Area Of Effect, relaxation of the rule against buying Double Knockback more than once, and a new Multiple Special Effects Advantage), an optional version of Missile Deflection that's based on Active Points instead of Special Effects, some cool new combat options like Interference and the much-awaited Contests Of Power, and what I consider to be the most brilliant Star Hero NPC ever to appear in an Ultimate book.

[Susano]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

Contest of Power is from Ninja Hero.

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

Contest of Power is from Ninja Hero.

I stand corrected. And kudos to you (along with Rep if the system will let me) for being the first to come out with it in official format.

[Susano]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

If you note, the example is the same as the NH example, just Kayli was replaced with a new character. I haven't reaed the book yet, so I don't know if Steve made any new edits, but he did a nice job editing my original concept(s).

[pinecone]

Re: Ultimate Energy Projector: Any one have it yet?

 

I got it ...finally, well it's not my fav...but it is good. I'm still reading and digesting.

 

But I'd recommend it...but....no cover art? Bajimminey! How am I supposed to get people exited? "Some say Hero is bland number crunching...but check out this plain cover filled with dense text!" "Is this hot or what?"