All Kinds of stuff

[whitekeys]

Hey guys, I'm going into a play-testing phase for some of RPG friends. I'm throwing together a bit of a campaign, but I'm still really new. I'm going to be posting a whole bunch of questions on how to build certain things. This is a Normal/Heroic campaign, the PCs are coming up against some sophistocated military personal, so I don't really need to 'build' these things, but I still need to know what they do, and how to use them, right?

 

First one: Nerve Gas. Basically an area effect cloud of smoke that knocks people out.

 

Second: A sort of.. night-goggle HUD device. Apparently you're not supposed to put Nightvision into a multipower, or at least that's what HD told me.

 

More to come. And where are th VIPER agents published?

[IndianaJoe3]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

First one: Nerve Gas. Basically an area effect cloud of smoke that knocks people out.

 

This would be a Change Environment (the smoke) linked to an AVAD (all-or-nothing) Blast. The defense is not needing to breathe, or holding your breath.

 

Second: A sort of.. night-goggle HUD device. Apparently you're not supposed to put Nightvision into a multipower, or at least that's what HD told me.

HD is correct. Enhanced Senses are Special Powers, which generally aren't allowed in Power Frameworks. You could use the Lockout Limitation prevent the other functions of the goggles from being used while the night vision is active.

 

More to come. And where are th VIPER agents published?

In VIPER: Coils of the Serpent (5th Edition). They may also be in Champions Universe, but I haven't purchased that yet. Champions has a generic agent that would be fairly easy to adapt.

[bigbywolfe]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Enhanced senses are only allowed in Power Frameworks with GM permission. That being said, if this is for equipment in a Heroic game that the PCs won't be paying character points for anyway, write it up however is easiest for you, even if that using a Multipower.

[whitekeys]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Okay, next. I wanted to build a character that had the sort of lucky/divine ability to "always land on his feet" and never take any damage from a fall. Any advice on that?

 

2. How do area of effect attacks work in regards to attack rolls? Do you need to make attack rolls for the characters that are in the area of effect? If so, what I wanted a power to automatically hit, with no change for missing (simulated basically by not having to make an attack roll, but still allowing the characters to Dive for Cover, within reason).

 

3. Technopathy. Is this basically a type of mind control that only works on the Computer Class of Minds? I was picturing a Stephen Hawking type character, that basically has to ability to move, but can control electronic devices. So he has this badass wheelchair with all kinds of gadgets, and maybe some mechanical arms, like Doc Oc. Obviously, the mechanical arms would be the Extra Limbs power, but what sort of advantages or limitations would they have?

[Escafarc]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Okay' date=' next. I wanted to build a character that had the sort of lucky/divine ability to "always land on his feet" and never take any damage from a fall. Any advice on that?[/quote']

+ whatever amount of Leaping to bring it up to 60m(it might be 120m) only to counter Falling. I don't have my books but I think Leaping still works that way.

[Ice9]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Okay, next. I wanted to build a character that had the sort of lucky/divine ability to "always land on his feet" and never take any damage from a fall. Any advice on that?

Teleportation 0m, No Relative Velocity, Position Shift, Triggered (when about to land, instant, auto-reset; +1).

[IndianaJoe3]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

2. How do area of effect attacks work in regards to attack rolls? Do you need to make attack rolls for the characters that are in the area of effect? If so' date=' what I wanted a power to automatically hit, with no change for missing (simulated basically by not having to make an attack roll, but still allowing the characters to Dive for Cover, within reason).[/quote']

 

You can approximate an attack that never misses by buying a large (32m radius, +1) AoE, single target only, no range penalty (if appropriate).

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Okay' date=' next. I wanted to build a character that had the sort of lucky/divine ability to "always land on his feet" and never take any damage from a fall. Any advice on that?[/quote']

 

Physical Damage Negation, or other persistent defensive powers, only vs falling. Obscene Breakfall roll purchased as a Power and made Persistent. And I like the Triggered Teleport idea. As a GM, I'd be inclined to assess the usefulness in the specific game before determining an appropriate, and apropriately costed, mechanic. In games where Knockback is frequent, this is considerably more valuable than in games where characters encounter an occasional tiger pit.

 

2. How do area of effect attacks work in regards to attack rolls? Do you need to make attack rolls for the characters that are in the area of effect? If so' date=' what I wanted a power to automatically hit, with no change for missing (simulated basically by not having to make an attack roll, but still allowing the characters to Dive for Cover, within reason).[/quote']

 

Part of Hero's "no absolutes" structure is the need to roll to hit. AoE Accurate plus lots of levels makes an autohit practical. A large single target only radius also works, and no range penalty or LoS would help if distance is a concern.

 

The wheelchair sounds like a vehicle or a focus for a suite of powers - really a variant on powered armor.

[Fireg0lem]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

The "auto-hit" power is:

 

Make the power with an LOS or No Range Modifiers Accurate AoE, then buy enough 2-point CSLs with it that you have OCV 10 with that attack. Per the HERO suggestion on absolute effects, this is the point at which the GM will normally agree that it "always hits" and you don't need to roll to see if you get an 18 (at least, this is the point where I'd allow it - check with your GM).

[bigbywolfe]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

The "auto-hit" power is:

 

Make the power with an LOS or No Range Modifiers Accurate AoE, then buy enough 2-point CSLs with it that you have OCV 10 with that attack. Per the HERO suggestion on absolute effects, this is the point at which the GM will normally agree that it "always hits" and you don't need to roll to see if you get an 18 (at least, this is the point where I'd allow it - check with your GM).

Where does Hero suggest that about OCV 10? Considering that many Supers games I've played in have CV ranging in the 8-12 range that seems way too low. You can't just throw an arbitrary number out, you need a baseline to compare it to. You might judge that 10 OCV autohits 3 DCV mooks, but it sure sure doesn't autohit 6-10 DCV Supers...

[prestidigitator]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Where does Hero suggest that about OCV 10? Considering that many Supers games I've played in have CV ranging in the 8-12 range that seems way too low. You can't just throw an arbitrary number out' date=' you need a baseline to compare it to. You might judge that 10 OCV autohits 3 DCV mooks, but it sure sure doesn't autohit 6-10 DCV Supers...[/quote']

With an Accurate AoE, you are only attacking DCV 3.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Where does Hero suggest that about OCV 10? Considering that many Supers games I've played in have CV ranging in the 8-12 range that seems way too low. You can't just throw an arbitrary number out' date=' you need a baseline to compare it to. You might judge that 10 OCV autohits 3 DCV mooks, but it sure sure doesn't autohit 6-10 DCV Supers...[/quote']

 

I think you may have overlooked the "Accurate AoE" part of Fireg0lem's post. I believe that was shorthand for AoE 1 Hex Accurate which essentially makes an attack target a 3 DCV Hex unless the intended victim can Dive For Cover or Flying Dodge far enough out the the AoE range.

[bigbywolfe]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

He said Line of Sight or Accurate AoE, but you are right I did overlook that. That still doesn't answer, where does HERO suggest that 10 OCV should be an Auto-hit and does that suggestion only correspond to AoE attacks?

[Hyper-Man]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

He said Line of Sight or Accurate AoE' date=' but you are right I did overlook that. That still doesn't answer, where does HERO suggest that 10 OCV should be an Auto-hit and does that suggestion only correspond to AoE attacks?[/quote']

 

He actually said "LOS or No Range Modifiers" and then moved on the AoE Accurate.

 

I don't know if there is an 'official' answer on that but several folks on the board have used that very combination to create 'auto-hit' effects like D&D's 'Magic Missile'. And since we're talking about the required OCV I will point out that in the example case of where a 3 DCV is essentially being enforced by the AoE 1 Hex Accurate, a 9 OCV is just as good since 9-3=6, 6+11=17, or 17- to hit (since 18 is normally always a miss).

[bigbywolfe]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Thank you, I obviously misunderstood that. Regardless, I'm still wondering where he gets the claim that HERO suggests 10 OCV is an auto-hit. I'm not saying it's not in there somewhere, but I sure don't remember it and you don't seem to either.

[Fireg0lem]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

See p133 of 6e for the absolute effect rules. You can't really do better than "would hit on 18- if 18 didn't automatically miss," so (since they specifically say that you can use it to make a power that always hits) that must be good enough. Arguably you only need modified OCV 9, rather than 10, as mentioned above.

[bigbywolfe]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

See p133 of 6e for the absolute effect rules. You can't really do better than "would hit on 18- if 18 didn't automatically miss' date='" so (since they specifically say that you can use it to make a power that always hits) that must be good enough. Arguably you only need modified OCV 9, rather than 10, as mentioned above.[/quote']

Thank you for the page reference.

[whitekeys]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

This is a rather broad question, but any suggestions on how to build something like Green Lantern's ring?

 

I'm making a character with similar abilities, defined as "energy gloves". But he can basically do all the same "forcefield" type powers: englobe himself and fly, create barriers and shields. He also has a blast and a few other things. My question really is about compound powers.. There's not much in the books about them, but what exactly does a compound power entail? And how do I use them? GL's ring seems almost too complicated for the Hero rules by virtue of the fact that certain powers can't be placed in Multipowers, or Powerframework, etc, and so I'm really struggling with how to make this all fit.

 

There are so many questions.. lol

[Hyper-Man]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

This is a rather broad question, but any suggestions on how to build something like Green Lantern's ring?

 

I'm making a character with similar abilities, defined as "energy gloves". But he can basically do all the same "forcefield" type powers: englobe himself and fly, create barriers and shields. He also has a blast and a few other things. My question really is about compound powers.. There's not much in the books about them, but what exactly does a compound power entail? And how do I use them? GL's ring seems almost too complicated for the Hero rules by virtue of the fact that certain powers can't be placed in Multipowers, or Powerframework, etc, and so I'm really struggling with how to make this all fit.

 

There are so many questions.. lol

 

A reasonably accurate GL pretty much requires the use of VPP. Because the abilities of the rings themselves are standard any differences in power from one GL to another are due to the skill & willpower of the wearer. I modeled this by building the ring as an AI/Follower and that character sheet is used to actually build the VPP. I then use a Naked Advantage to add Usable By Other to the VPP (the ring gives the powers to its wearer).

 

It's overly complicated but is the best way to explain why not just anybody can put on the ring and use as well as Hal, John or Kyle.

 

5er version: Green Lantern and Ring

6e version: Green Lantern and Ring

 

* Here's a much older homage GL for comparison that I did years ago. I used a much more simple but limited build using the Elemental Control and Multipower Frameworks:

Golden Gauntlet

[Fireg0lem]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

There's also a little bit of a "which version of Green Lantern?" thing here. His powers have not really been consistently portrayed in the media. You could probably build JLU Green Lantern with a small multipower and Power Tricks. Some versions of him really do need a VPP, though.

[whitekeys]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

The Green Lantern in Justice League? That's really the only way I know him. It's an awesome cartoon.

[whitekeys]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

My friend wants to be an alien creature for our next Star Hero campaign. But.. he wants to be a parasitic life form, that takes over the body of living humans, like a symbiod. Any suggestions on how to build that? I was thinking, to start of, he would make his creature how he wanted, and then would have to purchase the body of the human he was infecting, just like you would buy for a vehicle. But then it gets infinitely more complicated if he leaves that body and enters a new one. I could make him buy a set of body, and depending on who he infects, I would automatically make them fit one of the templates.

 

The only other thing I could think of was intense mind control, along with some sort of... hiding power to symbolize being inside the body. The mind powers are a little beyond me, though.

 

Any other things that you might add? Like... he has to find a new body in a certain amount of time or he dies.

[Nolgroth]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

If you have the Advanced Players Guide, then look up Possession. If not, massive amounts of Mind Control dice are probably required.

 

Other thoughts off the top of my head:

- Summon (Slavishly Loyal with lots of custom Limitations to represent the effects of the possession )

- Multiform (with one form essentially being base stats and everything else put into a "mimic" Variable Power Pool and the native form with a "resurrection only" Regeneration (to simulate that if one body dies, the character can find another compatible one given enough time) ).

- Duplication (harder, but basically like the Multiform idea).

[prestidigitator]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Huh. Summon Vehicle with enough Expanded Class Advantage to change the abilities of the Vehicle to reflect the being being possessed. That's kinda funny. It might need some kind of Disguise/Shapeshift to make it not look like a Vehicle too.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: All Kinds of stuff

 

Multiform, limited to require the presence of the new host and to restrict the attributes to those of the new host, should do the trick.