Rings of Power

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Rings of Power

 

The monster form will have thick armored skin' date=' super strength, long claws and fangs. The monster will reflect the dark side of the wearer of the rings personality and his perception of power and frightening appearance.[/quote']

 

Why would that be the same for every wearer? I suggest this monstrous form indicates the dark side of the specific wearer you have designed. Which leads me to note that you've told us a lot about his powers, appearance, and the "dark side" of his monstrous form, but nothing about the character wearing the rings. His personality will make or break the character. You mention he's intended as a PC, I assume in a Champions game given the location of this post. What makes him a stalwart hero rather than a powerful villain?

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

The monstrous form indicates the dark side of the wearer.

 

The character was born Berlin, Germany twenty-five years ago. He is into the the occult and magic. He is also into European myths and legends which he want to college to get a degree in. He played soccer in high school and college. He has an I.Q. of 165. He can also speak French, Spanish (or what ever they speak in Spain), English, and Italian.

 

I think he will use the power of the ring to help out Europe. He use the rings to first help out out Germany. He wants to be famous like the heroes of European myths and legend. He also was to be remember by all Europeans especially Germans. Maybe in the end the rings corrupt him.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Rings of Power

 

Another thought, how about a change in personality with each ring. Nothing overpowering, but for Fire-impulsive, Earth-Stubborn, Air-fickle, Water-not sure. I was going to use fickle for water, but I thought it was best for air. Of course these are sterotypical, just for inspiration.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Rings of Power

 

Meadyon, it sounds like the appearance, at least, is specific to this character. As well, I suspect your intent is not that the rings be stripped from your PC for use by someone else, so the impact they would have on someone else is practically a moot point. Given that, I would simply proceed on the basis that the character has Distinctive Features, at whatever level you want (easily concealed - he can make it go away - perhaps putting on the rings is the trigger for Only in Alternate Form and he doesn't have the distinctive features in his AID; not concealable - the change is permanent). You could even discuss a lower starting level with the intent of increasing it in conjunction with reducing some other complication as the game progresses (perhaps some psychological complication becomes weaker, showing his descent into corruption, for example).

 

The rings aqre just special effects for the powers of this specific PC, so don't worry about what the rings would do if someone else used them - write up how they impact your character, who actually will be using them.

[Doc Samson]

Re: Rings of Power

 

***Crazy Alert - The following idea is admittedly crazy***

 

I would buy the rings as 2 Multipowers with 5 slots each, one Multipower for each hand, one slot for each ring. One hand would have 5 slots of elemental powers (per the 5 classic elements), the other would have 5 slots of animals powers (per the 5 animals of Kung Fu). The fun would be from mixing and matching the powers from each Framework. A possible example might look like this:

 

Right Hand (Multipower 1), OIF Rings

Slot (finger) 1 - (SFX: Tiger) STR + HKA

Slot (finger) 2 - (SFX: Crane) Flight

Slot (finger) 3 - (SFX: Leopard) STR + HA

Slot (finger) 4 - (SFX: Snake) Entangle, No Range

Slot (thumb) 5 - (SFX: Dragon) Growth

 

Left Hand (Multipower 2), OIF Rings

Slot (finger) 1 (SFX: Air/ Wind) Invisibility

Slot (finger) 2 (SFX: Water) DCV

Slot (finger) 3 (SFX: Fire) Blast

Slot (finger) 4 (SFX: Earth) Resistant Protection

Slot (thumb) 5 (SFX: Aether/ Void) Desolidification

 

Some fun combos would include:

The Earth Dragon (Growth and Resistant Protection) - a brick-like combo

The Phoenix (Flight and Blast) - a flying energy projector-like combo, stay at range and Dodge alot

The Sea Serpent (Entangle and DCV) - The ultimate grappler

The Black Panther (STR, HKA or HA, and Invisibility) - a ninja-like assassin or warrior

The Ghost Bird (Flight and Desolidification) - the perfect scout

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

I think I might tie each power his monstrous form has into some of the rings. The monstrous form will have claws, leathery wings (if it fit with the description below), and bony plates. I would like on ring to have as its powers an increase in his STR by say +15 and a HKA (claws which are also part of the the monstrous form. I think one ring might be based on the dragon and grants him flight via leathery wings besides its other powers. I know I want the name of the rings that grants his monstrous form the bony plates (Resistant Protection) to fit with the one to two other powers. The following is the name of one the rings The Earth Dragon (maybe Growth and Resistant Protection). I would like the rings' names to have a mythological feel to them. I do not see them having any plant based powers at all.

 

I am thinking that when all the rings are together he gets the ability to not have to sleep or eat.

 

I want his I.Q. to be 165 with the rest of his characteristics being totally human when he is not wearing the rings that enhances his characteristics.

 

This description is the start of his monstros appearance.

He is a humanoid shaped creature that towers nine feet in height that is encased in sinister blood-red plate armor that is a living part of him. His helmet-like head looks like the head of some monstrous beast with bladed horns. Eerie white-hot fire blazes from within his eye sockets. Eleven-inch dagger-shaped teeth protrude from both heads’ upper jaws. These teeth are tapered to an edge on both the front and the back cusps. The pauldron are in the shape of a gruesome looking blood-red skull. The gauntlets are clawed. The poleyne are covered with wicked spikes.

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

How would I go about basing the rings off of the myths and legends of Europe and possibly Asia?

[Arkham]

Re: Rings of Power

 

How would I go about basing the rings off of the myths and legends of Europe and possibly Asia?

 

Easy. Figure out what those mythical rings do. Look at the Hero System books for powers that would best emulate those abilities. Write them up.

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

IF I was to base a ring on an Earth Dragon that of be of Asian origin mainly say Chinese or Japanese orign??

[Zen Archer]

Re: Rings of Power

 

Some intro research to get you started. Links from there might go in depth on types and possible abilities.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_dragon

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

What would be some good earth based and water based power for the rings Earth Dragon and Water Dragon? Would be it be better if the Earth Dragon ring give the character a +10-15 STR only when on the ground?. How about about the Water Dragon ring giving the ability to survive underwater and the ability to control water? How should I do the character when he has 400 points for powers and 75 points for complication?

 

How do make so that he is aware of where they the rings and if they are used if he is not wearing them?. Also hwo do it make where he can attempt to mentally take over control of anyone who attempts to use them?

 

I know there will also be a ring with fire powers and one with air based powers. Is electricity associated with the element of of Air? Would Tornado Flight (think Tornado Flight from Champions Online) or just wingless flight be better as his flight gained from the air powered ring?

 

I want him as a PC to be an anti-hero.

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

I have chosen to combine the character that describe with character described below that way I can use the description listed below since I like it a whole lot. The description below is how will look as of right now. I figured I could not get to play the character described below as the way he was so that is why I combined him with this character. His gem eye can fire a blast of energy that does 5d6 fire damage and 5D6 damage. I am thinking that gets superstrength (+15 STR) from a ring and possibly the ability make duplicates of himself.

I like this character a lot even more then my Gremlin-based character. I like magical and magic-based characters very much.

 

Physical Description: He is a male human who towers a full ten feet in height. Two vast leathery wings protrude from his back. The joints of the wings are laced with razorlike joints. The wings crest three and-half feet higher than the shoulders and have a wingspan of thirty feet. Eight horns, ring his head in a crown like fashion. The left side of his body is hairless and thickly knotted with muscles. Black, glowing veins running throughout the gnarled sickly yellow-green skin on the left side of his body. The right side of his body is attractive and muscular with brown skin. The hair on the top of the right side of his head is black and reaches down to his right shoulder. Above his large round left eye which has a vertical slit, black sclera and a blood red iris is a large thick ridged brow. The right eye is crimson gem. The enormous left arm is bestial in appearance and long enough to drag on the ground. The left hand has five fingers and a thumb that each end in a large sharp claw that resembles a knife blade. The right arm is normal in appearance except for a housing for a long tentacle that is within his right arm.

[bigbywolfe]

Re: Rings of Power

 

What do you mean by "His gem eye can fire a blast of energy that does 5d6 fire damage and 5D6 damage."? There isn't "fire damage" in HERO, fire is a SFX. There is Killing and Regular damage (fire is often Killing, but not always, especially in a superhero game) and there is Energy and Physical damage (fire is usually Energy).

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

What do you mean by "His gem eye can fire a blast of energy that does 5d6 fire damage and 5D6 damage."? There isn't "fire damage" in HERO' date=' fire is a SFX. There is Killing and Regular damage (fire is often Killing, but not always, especially in a superhero game) and there is Energy and Physical damage (fire is usually Energy).[/quote']I meant that his gem eye can fires an energy blast that does 5D6 Damage (SFX) combined with energy blast 5D6 (Energy SFX) in one power. I was trying make his gem eye's total damage be 10D6 with half of the damage from the gem eye having the SFX fire while the rest of the damage from the gem eye is SFX energy. The gem eye comes from his fire-based ring on his right ring finger. These ring also protects him from fire.

 

His parents immigrated from India to the United States right before he was born. This might be weird but I know two of his three favorite songs are Take my Breath Away by Berlin from the Top Gun Soundtrack and Hands to Heaven by Breathe.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Rings of Power

 

Finger Rings

 

Nose Rings

 

Ear Rings

 

Prince Albert's Ring

 

Fetish Rings

 

 

Cheers

 

QM

[bigbywolfe]

Re: Rings of Power

 

I meant that his gem eye can fires an energy blast that does 5D6 Damage (SFX) combined with energy blast 5D6 (Energy SFX) in one power. I was trying make his gem eye's total damage be 10D6 with half of the damage from the gem eye having the SFX fire while the rest of the damage from the gem eye is SFX energy. The gem eye comes from his fire-based ring on his right ring finger. These ring also protects him from fire.His parents immigrated from India to the United States right before he was born. This might be weird but I know two of his three favorite songs are Take my Breath Away by Berlin from the Top Gun Soundtrack and Hands to Heaven by Breathe.

While the GM can allow it, two Attack Powers don't "stack" so you would have two 5d6 powers, not one 10d6 power. How do you see the 1/2 damage one SFX 1/2 from another actually working? Lastly, define "energy damage" as a SFX. Because you say fire damage and energy damage, but as I previously pointed out fire damage IS Energy damage (mechanically) while energy damage is, not to my knowledge, a SFX. Are we talking magical/mystic energy, cosmic energy, life force/chi, electricity, what?

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Rings of Power

 

How about making the energy ring, a cosmic energy ring and buy it as an Aid any energy +2 advantage.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Rings of Power

 

A lot of the character concepts you send out are built from d20 concepts. 5d6 Fire, 5d6 "other" is very much a d20 construct that doesn't work as well in a game where where each attack is subject to defenses. In d20 parlance, if your opponent has Resist Fire 5 and Resist Electricity 5, do you want to hit him with 1d6 of Fire and 1d6 electric in a single hit, or 2d6 of either one in isolation?

 

Extrapolating that to Hero, where every character had defenses against most attacks, adding two attacks together is not effective. Rather than describing the ability in game mechanics ("5d6 fire and 5d6 energy"), define it in special effects. What does it do? What is the campaign setting and ground rules?

 

"A powerful blast of energy made up of equal parts flame and raw mystic power" might be 5d6 Fire + 5d6 Mystic Energy in a Fantasy Hero game where defenses are at Heroic levels, and 10 defenses is pretty high. Each separate blast will average a roll of 17.5, and the whole should pass about 15 STUN through to the target. Or it might be a single 8d6 Energy Blast of Flames and Mystic Energy, with an average roll of 28, passing 18 STUN through on average.

 

In a Supers game (which seemed to be your focus), and assuming the Standard Supers range (6e V1 p 35), defenses will average 20 - 25. A combined two 5d6 attacks will have no effect on most hits. An 8d6 Blast will pass a bit of Stun through on average, but be a pretty weak attack. But the norm for damage under that guideline is about 12d6 (a range of 6-14 damage classes is the guideline). So if you want this to be an average attack, perhaps it's a single 12d6 Energy Blast of Flames and Mystic Energy, averaging 42 STUN for 17 - 22 STUN past defenses. Or maybe it's a combination of two 9d6 attacks, flame and mystic energy, average 31.5 rolled, or 6.5 - 11.5 past defenses, for a total of 13 - 23.

 

If you envisioned this being more powerful than a typical Supers attack, it might be 14d6 (average past defenses 24 - 29 STUN) or a combination of 2 10d6 blasts (averaging 20 - 30 past defenses).

 

As was pointed out frequently in your last deluge of posts, you can't evaluate character mechanics in a vacuum. You need to know the norms for the campaign you will play the character in. If that's a Standard Supers game, with by the book guidelines, the above seem like reasonable builds, but again it will depend on the specific game.

 

Now, we've stuck to pretty vanilla attacks - pure normal damage. Maybe that's not what we want. Maybe we want to combine a blast of Flame (10d6 Blast vs Energy Defense) with raw mystic power which drains the target's vitality, and isn't a normal attack, so perhaps we define that as a 2d6 Stun Drain with Reduced Rate of Return (recovers 5 points every minute). Now we have a slightly lower than average standard attack combined with a small attack that slips a bit of damage that doesn't recover in a typical combat through to most targets (those with power defense are likely safe).

 

What do Flames do? What does Mystic Energy do? The mechanics are not pre-defined by the game rules. They might be defined by the specific campaign. Outside that, what do YOU envision them doing? Lots of characters have Lightning attacks defined as a Blast, or a Killing Attack. They do normal damage. But some players say "wait, lightning is a blinding flash accompanied by booming thunder", so they might tack on some Sight and Hearing Flash to that Blast or Killing Attack, or define a separate attack power that they use only to blind and deafen, and not to inflict STUN or BOD damage.

 

Building the character, you'll need to define the mechanics of his (again, bizarre and monstrous) appearance. So let's take a look at that:

 

He is a male human who towers a full ten feet in height.

 

That's less than the 4 meters 1 level of Growth would cap out at, so maybe we take an extra 10 STR, 3 CON and PRE, 2 PD, ED and BOD and 4 STUN, buy a meter of reach (see Stretching) and some extra running (say 8 m) and Knockback Resistance (maybe 4), estimating at 2/3 of the first Growth category. And we take a Physical Limitation for his size and weight - not going to be very capable fighting indoors, or in other cramped quarters. May be unable to use conventional transport.

 

Two vast leathery wings protrude from his back. The joints of the wings are laced with razorlike joints. The wings crest three and-half feet higher than the shoulders and have a wingspan of thirty feet.

 

Are they functional or decorative? Presumably, he has Flight, probably Restrainable given he needs space, and a net would tie up his wings. Now, are they useful for other purposes? Can those joints be used to attack? Maybe that's a couple of Extra Limbs (perhaps with limited utility), some extra Reach and a Killing Attack. Maybe we buy one KA for the claws and wings, but define it as being either (if he uses the extra reach he buys with the wings, then it's a wing slash).

 

Eight horns' date=' ring his head in a crown like fashion.[/quote']

 

Again, functional or decorative? I'm assuming the latter, or we subsume it in a single KA which could also be a horn gore.

 

The left side of his body is hairless and thickly knotted with muscles. Black' date=' glowing veins running throughout the gnarled sickly yellow-green skin on the left side of his body. The right side of his body is attractive and muscular with brown skin. The hair on the top of the right side of his head is black and reaches down to his right shoulder. Above his large round left eye which has a vertical slit, black sclera and a blood red iris is a large thick ridged brow. The right eye is crimson gem. The enormous left arm is bestial in appearance and long enough to drag on the ground. The left hand has five fingers and a thumb that each end in a large sharp claw that resembles a knife blade. The right arm is normal in appearance except for a housing for a long tentacle that is within his right arm. [/quote']

 

Clearly he'll have Distinctive Features, and perhaps extra PRE only for fear-based PRE attacks. But what mechanically should all these appendages do? Heavy muscle suggests extra physical stats. His eyes look unusual but, other than the attack, do they provide any enhancement over normal sight? Does he have depth perception or arc of vision issues (is the gemstone functional as an eye)? The dangly arm and tentacle provide another reason for Reach (Stretching), and the claws again scream "killing attack".

 

As usual, the whole package screams "Monster not Superhero", limiting the character's ability to participate in many aspects of Supers scenarios. He's not exactly inconspicuous, and subtle questioning or infiltration seem unlikely. Even the traditional trenchcoat and fedora aren't hiding the height or the wingspan. So how will he interact with the other characters and the world around him? Don't stop with a physical description - what's his personality? What goals drive him to be not just a Hero, but a Superhero? That's what makes a character - without it, he's just a bundle of mechanics and a shock value picture/description.

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

I based the gem on an Undead graft (3.5 D&D) which did 10D6 damage with half of it being fire and the other half being divine. But the gem which replaces one of his eye is related to his ring of fire.

[Christopher]

Re: Rings of Power

 

I based the gem on an Undead graft (3.5 D&D) which did 10D6 damage with half of it being fire and the other half being divine. But the gem which replaces one of his eye is related to his ring of fire.

I thing the idea is to either avoid a defense (like immunity to fire) or exploit a weakness (like his vulnerability to divine).

 

Hero has several ways to built that:

Variable Special Effect (6E1 362), Multiple Special Effects (APG I 138), definition and others.

 

The definition would simply that you say it has both and it would be treated as the "worst" SFX. It would trigger defenses agaisnt both, would not trigger vulnerabilities (unless a target has one against both), be affected by "Drain all Divine" and "Drain all Fire-powers", etc.

 

Variable Special Effects means you can choose from use to use what special effect it should be.

As Variable Special Effect goes on the Damage efficiency, maybe a Multipower approach or buying two seperate slots in a existing multipower is better.

 

Multiple Special Effects means it automatically is considered as the "best" Special Effect for the attack. The damage is calculated in a way that it does the "worst" to the target, inlcuding all special defense and vulnerabilities.

A target with special defense agaisnt Fire, but vulnerability agaisnt divine power would suffer the Vulnerabiliy and not get the extra Defenses with this advantage.

 

Dual NND:

When you can find a fitting NND defense against Divine damage, you could write it up as two part NND:

2d6 Blast, NND (LS: Heat, +1)

plus

2d6 Blast, NND ([defense against divine damage], +1)

 

But I would not advise that.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Rings of Power

 

I based the gem on an Undead graft (3.5 D&D) which did 10D6 damage with half of it being fire and the other half being divine. But the gem which replaces one of his eye is related to his ring of fire.

 

To repeat:

 

A lot of the character concepts you send out are built from d20 concepts. 5d6 Fire' date=' 5d6 "other" is very much a d20 construct that doesn't work as well in a game where where each attack is subject to defenses. In d20 parlance, if your opponent has Resist Fire 5 and Resist Electricity 5, do you want to hit him with 1d6 of Fire and 1d6 electric in a single hit, or 2d6 of either one in isolation?[/quote']

 

In D&D, it doesn't matter whether that damage is a single 10d6 attack or two separate 5d6 attacks. The target either has Resistance to Fire or Resistance to Divine, or he does not. Most do not.

 

In Hero, these attacks are both likely to have a defense, if we view them as standard Blasts, most likely energy defense. So two attacks, linked together, are not as powerful as spending the same points on a single attack that consolidates its damage to pass through defenses.

 

It's fine to base any given ability on something from another system, but you're not going to be able to transfer the mechanics identically. You're going to have to assess the feel of the ability, its effects in descriptive terms rather than mechanical terms, and reason from effect to identify the appropriate Hero mechanic. Then you need to assess the power of the ability and assess the level of power based on the campaign the character will be played in.

 

So if, after making those assessments, we conclude on the following:

 

- the character is capable of manifesting a blast of divine fire from his eye, damaging his foes.

 

- the power does damage, so it's probably a Blast or Killing Attack of some sort in Hero game mechanics./I]

 

- it's unusually effective at bypassing most defenses so, it likely has an advantage making most defenses less effective - let's say Armor Piercing, which halves the target's defenses unless they have a special advantage.

 

- it's pretty effortless so it should have reduced Endurance cost

 

- it should be the character's main attack, and do damage at the campaign norm level for such attacks. Assume the campaign is based on Standard Supers guidelines, and the typical character has a 12 damage class main attack, so 12d6 normal damage.

 

Ok, we now know this should be a 12 DC Armor Piercing Blast. Armor Piercing is a +1/4 advantage, so a 10d6 AP Blast is 12.5 DC - close enough for our purposes. And we want Reduced Endurance, another +1/4 advantage. So we get a 10d6 Blast (50 base points) Armor Piercing (+1/4), 1/2 END (+1/4) so 75 Active Points. Absent any Limitations, we now have our attack power.

 

Now, if this were a low power fantasy game, and our standard attack powers were 5 damage classes, it would only do 4d6. 10d6 AP would be hugely overpowered in such a game. But if we're playing high powered cosmic Supers, with DC's typically ranging from 16 to 18, this attack is beneath the notice of most credible opponents. So we bump it up to 13 or 14d6 (16.25 to 17.5 damage classes).

 

Just because it does 10d6 damage in D&D, that doesn't mean it should port over at 10d6 damage in Hero. The games are different and the scales are different. If I take a 20 STR Fantasy warrior from Hero, and call him a 20 STR in D&D, I'm probably reasonably on the mark. 20 is as high as normal humans go, and 20 is the maximum starting strength for the highest STR D&D PC races. In Hero, he will punch for 4d6 normal damage. In D&D, he will punch for 1d3 + 5 Damage. Give him a Longsword and, in D&D, he does 1d8 + 5 damage. In Hero, a 20 STR allows that 1d6+1 KA Broadsword to be augmented to a 1 1/2d6 Killing Attack.

 

I can tell you this fellow does a lot of damage for a L1 D&D character. I can't say the same for the Hero game, because the GM will set the parameters of his fantasy game. D&D comes with the campaign dials already set, where Hero is customizable so the gaming group sets the dial. A 1 1/2d6 killing attack for a starting Fantasy character may be quite impressive, or may be pathetically weak - it depends on the specific campaign.

 

Key Issues

1. You need to have a solid understanding of both systems to translate abilities between them.

2. You need to know the standards for the game you plan on playing the character in. A perfect translation of a Fireball for one game will be hopelessly weak for a second and vastly overpowered for a third.

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

Angels, Gods and Goddesses, and Demons would be the most power things in the game.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Rings of Power

 

Angels' date=' Gods and Goddesses, and Demons would be the most power things in the game.[/quote']

 

That's fine but that doesn't really tell us anything. Those beings can be the most powerful in any genre but aren't written up. That is unless you want to play at that level. And if Mythic level was printed, you could have done such a thing. Rather than asking raw numbers (which can be hard to visualize) what kind of tricks do you see the average and above average characters do? I.e Superman in the old Justice Friends could polish a moon to be reflective as a stunt. Now that is powerful! Or do you see a lower limit?

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Rings of Power

 

Angels' date=' Gods and Goddesses, and Demons would be the most power things in the game.[/quote']

 

To clarify, I'm referring to the player character power level. There are things that outpower any PC in most games.

[TheNaga]

Re: Rings of Power

 

That's fine but that doesn't really tell us anything. Those beings can be the most powerful in any genre but aren't written up. That is unless you want to play at that level. And if Mythic level was printed' date=' you could have done such a thing. Rather than asking raw numbers (which can be hard to visualize) what kind of tricks do you see the average and above average characters do? I.e Superman in the old Justice Friends could polish a moon to be reflective as a stunt. Now that is powerful! Or do you see a lower limit?[/quote']Polishing a moon is too powerful for characters except for Angels, Gods and Goddesses, and Demons.