Smarter than your average Brick

[nexus]

What would be some good tactics for an intelligent, battle savvy strong man. Not nessecarily things represented by Powers like brick tricks (though those are fine too) but way to capitalize on strengths and minimize weakness. Things character with Grond's CS but with a 20 Int, Tactics 16- and Power Stunts 16- might come up with.

[incrdbil]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Cramp the enemies style. Get the acrobats in bad terrain that makes it hard for them to move and duck about. Make speeders/fliers have to come in close. Keep the battle in an area that gives the brick plenty of 'ammo'--ie, objects suitable for sweeps, and impromptu area affect attacks.

 

When fighting mentalists, avoid the long fights. get in to terrain where line of sight is within arms reach. Maybe a brick trick power of throwing something as a sight obscuring entangle, or flash attack (the old dirt in the eyes bit).

 

Try the acting skill, for faking being blinded, knocked out, or mind controlled, or whatever usual anti-brick tactic has been attempted. Let them think you are nuetralized, then surprise them.

[Certified]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

I have to agree, controlling the battlefield is a great was to show off the Brain Brick. Can't get to an opponent? Collapse a building or throw an object (car or something else large) to force then to move. Find different ways to use the character's strength to your advantage. Fire based foe? Tear our a water main and flood the area.

[Vulcan]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Cramp the enemies style. Get the acrobats in bad terrain that makes it hard for them to move and duck about. Make speeders/fliers have to come in close. Keep the battle in an area that gives the brick plenty of 'ammo'--ie' date=' objects suitable for sweeps, and impromptu area affect attacks.[/quote']

 

Never forget the often overlooked manhole cover. It is both balanced and aerodynamic (think oversized frisbee) for best range and accuracy, and really frickin' heavy. Should be good for a minimum of 12 dice, maybe 14-15 (given that its striking edge-on across it's strongest dimension).

 

When fighting mentalists, avoid the long fights. get in to terrain where line of sight is within arms reach.

 

Or nail 'em with a couple manhole covers, that shoul take the fight out of them!

[nexus]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Never forget the often overlooked manhole cover. It is both balanced and aerodynamic (think oversized frisbee) for best range and accuracy' date=' and [i']really[/i] frickin' heavy. Should be good for a minimum of 12 dice, maybe 14-15 (given that its striking edge-on across it's strongest dimension).

 

 

 

Or nail 'em with a couple manhole covers, that shoul take the fight out of them!

 

The low budget Captain America approach.

[Nagisawa Takumi]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

*takes notes for "Tank" Matherson...*

 

Keep 'em coming. >.>

[ThothAmon]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Ever seen the movie 'Enter The Dragon'? Brick or otherwise, a smart HTH combatant will always choose terrain that suits him. Cut down sightlines and keep things at HTH range. Hit and run (or leap), ambush and retreat, float like a butterfly sting like a 16 inch gun.

[Comic]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Punch through opaque surfaces. Sure, you might need to have N-ray vision or targeting hearing or sense of smell, or have to skulk under the floorboards until the enemy walks past just the right spot, but between surprise and all the other advantages, well worth it. Especially vs. Mentalists and ranged combatants, as it denies them LOS.

 

Dress the part. Sure, your enemies can fit into the uniforms of your allies, but you can wear a small sailboat like a hat and use the mast as a breathing tube, even if you are a 60' behemoth. You can use a car for camouflage by strapping it to your back. They won't be expecting that.

 

Move the whole wall. The bad guy's using the doorway for cover and pinning you down with his pee shooter? Well, how's he going to do that when you slide the whole doorframe shut on his arm by ramming the wall four feet forward?

 

Miss well. Sure, you can't always hit the twinkle-toed target on the button, but nothing says you have to hit him, so long as you can hit the support pillar he's standing in front of, to bring the roof down on him. You have to make your shots count twice, when the enemy is twice as fast and twice as likely to hit.

 

Cross fire. You can take a lot more hits than they can. Get in the middle of them, get them shooting toward each other, and then.. dodge unexpectedly when you don't need to.

 

Mind control. Maybe it isn't nice, but grabbing a bad guy by the neck and saying, "Now, I can pop your head off, or you can shoot your buddies," works surprisingly often, and if the bad guy (well, relatively speaking) has better aim than you do, it's a win-win situation.

 

Infiltration. You're strong. They expect you to be stupid. They're used to manipulating Grond and Ogre. Let them think they've manipulated you, too. Then drop them like the garbage they are.

 

Wires = Stretching. Live Current = EB. Find wires + live current, and you're now an energy projector. Sure, you need a fine disregard for property, but then you're a hero; lives count more than money.

 

Large containers of liquid are always interesting. Water towers, fuel tanks, some bad guy's experiment: there's likely a good use a brick can put them to.

 

Disarm. Get good at it. If you can take it they can't use it and you probably can.

 

Grab. Get excellent at it. You can damage them and prevent them from doing anything until they break free... It's a win-win.

 

Swinging. Keep fifty feet of silk cord in your pocket, in case someone tries to float you forty feet off the ground and thinks that'll leave you helpless. Sure, it costs a bit, but well worth it.

 

Bust the fourth wall, and keep going. Or at least, bust the force wall and keep going. Everyone needs a way to get through a force wall and still attack the bad guy behind it in the same second. A Brick's way is generally to drop a few tons of convenient rubble on top of the force wall, and then poke a hole in the bubble.

 

Rebound. Floorboards break when you land on them hard enough, but you've got a lot of leaping, so using the rest of your movement to come back up under the target is an effective use of what you have going for you.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Never forget the often overlooked manhole cover. It is both balanced and aerodynamic (think oversized frisbee) for best range and accuracy' date=' and [i']really[/i] frickin' heavy. Should be good for a minimum of 12 dice, maybe 14-15 (given that its striking edge-on across it's strongest dimension).

 

Or nail 'em with a couple manhole covers, that shoul take the fight out of them!

According to Wikipepedia, manhole covers typically weigh about 50 kilograms (110 pounds).

 

My first Champions character, Ranger, was a STR 70 PA brick who regularly used this trick until he eventually equipped his armor with a 10d6 charged particle beam. The beam was more effective and had better range, but it wasn't as much fun as slamming 100+ pounds of cast iron into the bad guy at 90 MPH.

[Odraude]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

It also helps with how your brick is built. An example I have is a metal brick that can also turn into liquid metal. This allows him to take basic shapes such as blades, metal spike ball, etc. Anyways it was me and a speedster trapped in a hallway with undead soldiers coming at us. I shapeshifted into a giant metal ball with spike around the speedster and told him to run. Our "hamster ball of murderdeathkill" not only crushed the undead but also blew a hole into the door allowing us to free our teammates.

 

Its good to work with your environment, your teammates, and even the villains' weaknesses.

[Eosin]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

When you don't have enough time to handle that other brick cause your team mates need some muscle - throw. If he has slow movement it can take him several rounds to return to the battlefield. It isn't as gratifying as stunning him but it takes him out of the battle longer.

 

Hallways are your friend or more importantly they are your weaker teammates friend. Allow others to take shelter behind your impressive form. The mentalist will thank you for it.

[Comic]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Almost forgot:

 

Make your own door.

 

The villain base is twisty and turny for a reason - to slow you down and lead you through every defense the villain has. Often the 5 DEF, 2 Body wall you face as you enter the villain base is all that stands between you and VIPER Leader.

[OldDirtyGamer]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Using terrain is one thing. Knowing what your teammates can and cannot do is another. If your character can figure out what most of his teammates are capable of, he can modify his attack style to compliment others. Most times, the Brick is the guy who goes last. To paraphrase an old brick adage I like using; "He who goes last goes best."...

 

So, that said, using terrain and cover is a plus. Also, using delay or held phases is a good way to anticipate your opponents. If you have a little movement, use your delay to play sweeper; whenever someone gets knocked down, use the delay to get to them and finish them off or grab them. In those cases, especially when people are defenseless and their compatriots are defenseless to defend them, a haymaker can be exceptionally devastating.

 

Using power stunts to "chin block" or "no-sell" damage is great for the follow-up presence attack. Remember that if you've held a phase and then blocked, if your phase is up next, you go first. The presence attack "no-sell" would confirm that if done while roleplaying (yes the rules are what they are but you still need to RP this out somewhat). It may or may not always work, though... Another good trick is pushing things in the way of fast moving villains or, if you're feeling moderately vicious, stepping into the path of a fast-moving villain and bracing with Strength to prevent knockback is another great power move that all bricks can use (I know I've stunned / knocked out a few speedsters with that maneuver) under the right circumstances.

 

Also, things like cars, trucks, and even buildings can server as a "poor man's area effect". Most people can dodge fists or feet. Dodging a wall or car or anything bigger than a 10-foot area can be a bit of a challenge, though, at the very least forcing the target to change his move leaving him open for your teammates to follow-up.

 

There are a lot of different things you can do expanding on this, I'm sure but those are just a few that I can think of without digging through the entire book of tricks. It's just in how your character choses to apply them and when...

[incrdbil]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Using terrain is one thing. Knowing what your teammates can and cannot do is another. If your character can figure out what most of his teammates are capable of, he can modify his attack style to compliment others. Most times, the Brick is the guy who goes last. To paraphrase an old brick adage I like using; "He who goes last goes best."...

Absolutelty. A little teamwork goes such a long way.

 

Lets say your energy blaster friend has an entangle, that takes no damage from outside attacks..but its weak, and rarely survives the first attempt the opponent makes to get out of it. Convince him to hold, or apply it just before you uncork that haymaker or move through. You only need it to last long enough to make that target DCV 0. The same thing can be said for very small flash attacks.

 

Work with a martial Artist. maybe his superior OCV, but smaller damage attacks can't put the enemy down. Tell him to go with a Martial Throw..sure, maybe it wont hurt the target at all, but being prone in fromt of a rampaging brick is a recipe for the blues.

 

Or grab, and toss the jerk at your Martial Artist who , knowing your cunning tricks is ready with a held throw action. If possible, have someone behind the martial artist preparing an attack (like someone else with a good haymaker) right behind the Martial Artis, awaiting the delivery of a a possibly stunned, prone target. Haymakered autofire attack anyone?

 

Always watch for the villain who brings an OAF around. Declare in a loud voice "MINE!". Contemplate levels with disarming, or a Martial Disarm manuever. Pummeling a foe with his own focus is a treat.

 

If you have an opponent with poor transport powers, contemplate just tossing him somewhere. If you are iron age-ish, making a frisbee throw off a tall building is popular. Or if near a large body of water, send them for a swim, and see how long it takes them to get back to the fight with that 2" swim.

 

Another amusing brick trick power: a vision obscuring entangle..aka, trash can squeezed over the head.

 

If you have a brick tricks pool, just go for an focus based dispel; no range, which represents your gentle loving squeeze, though a slot with extra strength just for breaking objects is probably far more effective.

 

If property damage isn't a worry, plan your knockback or throws accordingly. Oh, look at the power transformer and the villain with a vulnerability to electricity.....

 

Fire hydrants are a ready friend when you need to apply some water.

[Pariah]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Thrown objects are your friend. Manhole covers are great, but there are other things available on most battlegrounds, too. Like cars. Not only do cars have enough DEF and BODY to transmit most of your STR over a distance, they also give you a nice Area Effect for your trouble. Nothing shuts up those cocky martial artist types faster than a minivan upside the head. If they Dive for Cover, use a bigger vehicle. I'm guessing they can't DfC away from a semi trailer. Or a bus. Or a Saturn V rocket booster.

[Pariah]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Or grab' date=' and toss the jerk at your Martial Artist who , knowing your cunning tricks is ready with a held throw action. If possible, have someone behind the martial artist preparing an attack (like someone else with a good haymaker) right behind the Martial Artis, awaiting the delivery of a a possibly stunned, prone target. Haymakered autofire attack anyone?[/quote']

 

One of my old gaming groups ran this tactic to perfection. The team brick would punch the villain straight at the martial artist, who would then Martial Throw the poor schmuck to the ground, adding the velocity from the KNB (which the brick tended to do a lot of) to his throw for extra damage. The downed villain would then find himself looking up at the team speedster, coming in for a Move Through at full velocity. If they villain was still conscious, the blaster would then zap him with a pushed EB--usually NND vs. Force Field.

[Kenn]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Throwing Enemy #1 at Enemy #2 is a tactic I've used for years.

 

Don't always fight the most obvious opponent first. It's easy to get into a Strong Guy vs Strong Guy match-up. Use your strength against others first, when feasible.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

From the Muhammed Ali Playbook

 

Rope-a-dope, baby. Rope-a-dope. Let the opponent wear themselves out by concentrating on blocks and defense without wasting your own energy in response. This invariably frustrates the opponent, especially when combined with...

 

Taunting. Keeping a psychological edge over the opponent is where the smart brick shines. (There was a recent thread discussing possible game mechanics for a taunt power here.)

 

And, of course, some sort of style analysis. Stay one step ahead of your opponent by predicting their most likely course of action.

[Matt the Bruins]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Or nail 'em with a couple manhole covers, that shoul take the fight out of them!

Extra style points if you flip it up with the toe of your boot before throwing, like Sarah Douglas!

[Houston GM]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Swords and Shields are for Sissies:

 

Grab an opponent. When other enemies attack you, use the grabbed opponent to block the attacks. If they use ranged attacks, use him to "Missile Deflect" the attacks. If nobody is attacking you, use the grabbed opponent like a club and swing him at other opponents.

[Comic]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Self sacrifice.

 

Of all the members of the team, you're the likeliest to live once you've been knocked out cold, and let's face it, you're the least valuable in a fight in terms of tactics. You've got terrible range and penalties on range, limited attacks, limited accuracy, and you're slow.

 

But you wake up really nice and fresh after a short involuntary nap, which may be just in time to finish off the other side after your side's done it's fancy dancy stuff on people who were too tired and poorly positioned from putting you down to effectively fight back.

[Doc Samson]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

As pointed out above, STR is decently versatile. Here are some easy standbys (some already mentioned by others) that any Brick can do (i.e. they are not purchased "Brick Tricks"). If your GM is on board, KS: Supevillains might provide you a chance to find out who has what powers.

 

1. Simple Grab - If you don't think a low STR opponent has another means to escape (either from experience or a KS roll), this maneuver can nullify one (or even two with a Grab Sweep) opponent while you squeeze them unconscious.

 

2. "The ground was his enemy" - If you don't think an opponent has a way to avoid falling damage (same as above), Grab and Throw them up in the air. They won't take damage from the maneuver as they won't hit anything (watch for planes!), but Falling Damage will do the job even better.

 

3. Two for the price of one - If you character is waaay strong, you may have trouble finding things you can throw for full damage...except for villains that is! As others have pointed out, a great way to damage two low DCV villains is to throw one at another. If you hit both, you have essentially doubled your damage and potentially cost two enemies a half phase to stand up.

 

4. Did someone say STUN? - If your GM says the magic words "he's Stunned", it's time for a Haymaker or a Sweep (or a Move Through if your teammate Stunned someone, just make sure it's safe to leave your opponent unattended for an attack while you finish off the Stunned guy).

 

5. Gimme that! - If a non-superstrength villain dumps all his points in a Focus, you may only be a STR vs. STR roll away from ruining his day.

 

6. "It's I'm Unstoppable Bulk Smash Clobbering Time!" - Lots of low DCV minions (robots, zombies, ect.) blocking your way? Then it's time for a Move Through Sweep. Make sure to look at your GMs face if you roll well, they love when a whole mess of minions get dropped in one shot.

 

Other smart uses for STR - As STR gives you a few extra inches of Leaping, you might as well put them to use even if Leaping is not your primary movement type.

 

1. Escaping - Every 2" of Combat Leaping (or Flight) adds a +1 STR to escapes. This can can make a difference if you are Grabbed by another Brick who is not smart enough to also do this (5ER pg. 364 plus pg. 387).

 

2. Falling Damage - Don't just land on your head! Every 1" of Vertical Leaping you use reduces falling damage by 1d6 (5er pg. 435).

 

3. Knockback - Every 5 STR (or 1" of Flight) can be used to reduce Knockback by 1" as an Abortable Half-Phase Action. This may be preferable, on some occasions, to getting knocked out a 20 story window or into a volcano (5ER pg. 421).

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

3. Two for the price of one - If you character is waaay strong' date=' you may have trouble finding things you can throw for full damage...except for villains that is! As others have pointed out, a great way to damage two low DCV villains is to throw one at another. If you hit both, you have essentially doubled your damage and potentially cost two enemies a half phase to stand up.[/quote']

 

From the rules FAQ, this is a two phase action - one to Grab the target and a second to direct a Throw at a second target. May as well Squeeze in the first phase when you Grab the guy.

 

Technically, the same two phase logic applies if you want to Throw a manhole cover, car, etc.

 

The smart Brick will have a variety of tactics so he doesn't get predictable (to his opponents) or annoying (to the GM and other players).

[FenrisUlf]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

Never forget the often overlooked manhole cover. It is both balanced and aerodynamic (think oversized frisbee) for best range and accuracy' date=' and [i']really[/i] frickin' heavy. Should be good for a minimum of 12 dice, maybe 14-15 (given that its striking edge-on across it's strongest dimension).

 

I get the shivers just thinking about what a brick named Discus could do with his signature weapon, a hurled manhole-weight questionite discus!

 

Seriously, though it's always a matter of taste and individual campaign DC restrictions, just what kind of damage should a manhole hurled with superhuman strength do? I get the idea that 12-14 DCs is about right. This creeps me out because, back in my Marvel Super Heroes days (the FASERIP version), I had a guy who used to do this to normal street-level thugs a lot.

 

That said, this is a very cool thread, and kudos to Nexus for starting it.

[Doc Samson]

Re: Smarter than your average Brick

 

From the rules FAQ, this is a two phase action - one to Grab the target and a second to direct a Throw at a second target. May as well Squeeze in the first phase when you Grab the guy.

 

Technically, the same two phase logic applies if you want to Throw a manhole cover, car, etc.

 

The smart Brick will have a variety of tactics so he doesn't get predictable (to his opponents) or annoying (to the GM and other players).

The way I read the FAQ is that the only reason the Throw at someone takes another Phase is that you are making another Attack Roll. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

You therefore could Grab and Squeeze (or Throw, but not "at" another character) someone in Phase 1 (one Attack Roll), and then Throw them at another character on your next phase, damaging both with one Attack Roll. There is still value in this, it just takes longer to set up than I thought.

 

You should be able to pick up a manhole (a half phase, non-attack action), and throw it at someone (Attack Roll) in one phase.