Centaurs - Should they have Extra Limbs?

[Ninja-Bear]

Well another function of extra limbs for spiders would be Defense from disabling strikes on legs. (Not sure how it would quite be written up in Hero.) A spider can lose a few legs and still function the same in mobility. (I know crabs can!) Sonin a Fantasy game with giant spiders, the Hero chopping off a limb isn’t gonto stop a spider like say doing the same to a goblin.

[Scott Ruggels]

Giant Spiders are a staple of Fantasy (Just ask Frodo), and one must be very careful in constriucting them.  Yes I would argue that you would need to buy extra limbs for a spider.

[Ninja-Bear]

Just thinking, giant Scorpions should have indirect on their tails because they can attack at odd angles.

[Christopher]

17 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

That’s why it’s cheap! 3pts

Seems to expensive for the benefit. Do not forget the "What not to spend points on" rule, 6E1 31

" But the corollary to that is, if a character wants an ability that’s not likely to have any effect during the game, there’s no reason for the GM to make him spend Character Points on it — he should just get it “for free.” For example, suppose that a character wants to be an expert on Italian literature. In HERO System terms, that would be a Knowledge Skill: Italian Literature. Unless the GM has a lot of adventures planned that involve interpreting Dante’s Divine Comedy or Bocaccio’s Decameron, KS: Italian Literature isn’t of any use in the game — it’s just “flavor” to help make a character distinctive and define his background a little. There’s no reason for the character to have to
spend even a single Character Point on it, so the GM should just let the character write down KS: Italian Literature 14- on his character sheet for no cost"

 

In a grab Focussed Campaign I could see it. But that is one specific setting vs the average setting.

 

[Christopher]

3 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Just thinking, giant Scorpions should have indirect on their tails because they can attack at odd angles.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Scorpions need the Grab to even have a decent chance to land the stinger against equal sized targets:

 

[Christopher R Taylor]

Yes, horses kick from the front too, they prefer to use rear legs (more powerful and less dangerous for them) but they can and do rear up and kick the living crap out of something with forelegs.

 

And you're right about spiders, they do use their legs for lots of different stuff (like webbing).

[Ninja-Bear]

7 hours ago, Christopher said:

Seems to expensive for the benefit. Do not forget the "What not to spend points on" rule, 6E1 31

" But the corollary to that is, if a character wants an ability that’s not likely to have any effect during the game, there’s no reason for the GM to make him spend Character Points on it — he should just get it “for free.” For example, suppose that a character wants to be an expert on Italian literature. In HERO System terms, that would be a Knowledge Skill: Italian Literature. Unless the GM has a lot of adventures planned that involve interpreting Dante’s Divine Comedy or Bocaccio’s Decameron, KS: Italian Literature isn’t of any use in the game — it’s just “flavor” to help make a character distinctive and define his background a little. There’s no reason for the character to have to
spend even a single Character Point on it, so the GM should just let the character write down KS: Italian Literature 14- on his character sheet for no cost"

 

In a grab Focussed Campaign I could see it. But that is one specific setting vs the average setting.

 

Really ? 3 pts too expensive?  Yes I understand the concept of getting what you pay for-hence 3pts.

[Ninja-Bear]

What your saying Christopher that 3 pts isn’t worth the chance to grab an opponent and while he’s at 1/2 DCV to be able to pummel him at no penalty? [Scratches Head]

[Gnome BODY (important!)]

15 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

What your saying Christopher that 3 pts isn’t worth the chance to grab an opponent and while he’s at 1/2 DCV to be able to pummel him at no penalty? [Scratches Head]

If the opponent grabs your arms, kick him.  If he grabs your legs, punch him.  One's as good as the other. 

FRED also doesn't mention Extra Limbs when assigning the grabee's OCV penalty.  Only if your opponent has Extra Limbs and sweeps/repeats a grab or you have multiple opponents grabbing you do you get any while-grabbed benefit from Extra Limbs.  I wouldn't pay 3 real for that. 

[Christopher]

2 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

What your saying Christopher that 3 pts isn’t worth the chance to grab an opponent and while he’s at 1/2 DCV to be able to pummel him at no penalty? [Scratches Head]

You have that ability as a normal, 10 in all Stats human. Puching someone while he is grabbing you legs is not a exceptional ability.

 

I mean for example, here is captain kirk. He uses his legs to grab Khans neck/head, while using his hand to hold himself in a position for this maneuver:

 

[Ninja-Bear]

4 hours ago, Gnome BODY (important!) said:

If the opponent grabs your arms, kick him.  If he grabs your legs, punch him.  One's as good as the other. 

FRED also doesn't mention Extra Limbs when assigning the grabee's OCV penalty.  Only if your opponent has Extra Limbs and sweeps/repeats a grab or you have multiple opponents grabbing you do you get any while-grabbed benefit from Extra Limbs.  I wouldn't pay 3 real for that. 

First of all if I grab and you kick isn’t as good as you say. Depending on special effect of Kick when bought, say Jump Kick, you shouldn’t be allowed to use it. A STR DMG defines as a kick? Maybe. If it was bought as a Muay Thai knee strike, most definitely! And if you grab and I punch, again depends on sfx. One is not as good as the other. Besides the fact that with extra limbs, I can grab you and hold one to you and then later pummel you with NO penalty. Look at FRED where it talks about using one hand and the other to punch. It’s -5 STR DMG which depending on character build can a big difference. Again it’s ONLY 3pts. I wouldn’t say it’s gaming breaking but reall, it’s worth the points. (And this coming from a cheap skate!)

[Gnome BODY (important!)]

11 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

First of all if I grab and you kick isn’t as good as you say. Depending on special effect of Kick when bought, say Jump Kick, you shouldn’t be allowed to use it. A STR DMG defines as a kick? Maybe. If it was bought as a Muay Thai knee strike, most definitely! And if you grab and I punch, again depends on sfx. One is not as good as the other. Besides the fact that with extra limbs, I can grab you and hold one to you and then later pummel you with NO penalty. Look at FRED where it talks about using one hand and the other to punch. It’s -5 STR DMG which depending on character build can a big difference. Again it’s ONLY 3pts. I wouldn’t say it’s gaming breaking but reall, it’s worth the points. (And this coming from a cheap skate!)

You don't have to buy the ability to kick.  Anyone can execute a Strike with their arms, legs, head, etc.  Punch, kick, and headbutt are explicitly listed as examples of the Strike maneuver.  Grab-and-kick and grab-and-headbutt are RAW no-penalties.  Please consult your GM before attempting. 

Which incidentally means I was wrong, you need five limbs grabbed to prevent someone from striking back, not four.  The 3 real option is worse defensively than I thought! 

 

Extra Limbs is worthwhile if and only if you intend to initiate grabs frequently.  It's very good for that, but that's all it's good for unless Required Hands rules are in play.  

 

This is all just dancing around the topic though.  Should a centaur have Extra Limbs?  Only if they intend to grab with their legs and can convince the DM that they'd be able to kick with their other legs at the same time.  

[Ninja-Bear]

Gnome to be clear, I know that you can do a strike damage. And if you read over the rules, the GM can still exclude you from trying certain maneuvers including strike based on description.