Jump to content

Vanguard00

HERO Member
  • Posts

    4,884
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    8

Everything posted by Vanguard00

  1. I very much liked San Angelo. Like many who have already chimed in, I grabbed it because Kurt Busiek endorsed it, and I'm a huge fan of Astro City. I wasn't disappointed in the least, either. The feel of the setting was as comfortable as the mechanics of it. Everything just seemed to flow. I even blatantly copied the format for one of my own games a few years back and again, everything just seemed to flow. I've used San Angelo as a setting in two face-to-face campaigns and had a great deal of fun each time. The detail provided let us run it like a modern comic--lots of emphasis on story and characterization. There was so much detail that everyone had available to them that we sometimes forgot about combat. I know, I know...it sounds crazy, but it's true! Lastly, I'll be using San Angelo again in a PBEM-style game early next year. Being from Sacramento, I've decided to replace that city with San Angelo and make it the state capital. It practically drops right in anyway, and there is so much familiarity for me that it's almost like the book was modeled on my home town. I don't use many of the established heroes or villains, mainly because I so thoroughly enjoy the 'classic' enemies, but since my players generally aren't familiar with them either, they do tend to pop up once in a while. I own the other books, as well, and even if I'm not using the exact entries, the ideas and plot points still come in very handy. You can mark me down as a satisfied customer.
  2. Genre Convention #42 No matter how bad a superhero was beaten during a fight, win or lose s/he will look fine in their 'secret' identity. Only major injuries will carry over out of costume, and those aren't nearly as debilitating as they seemed to be when the hero 'barely' defeated his foe. Corollary: Major injuries MAY carry over into the secret identity, but this is for plot purposes only and are only rarely noticed/commented on by associates. Genre Convention #43 Any villain who decides to turn over a new leaf and become a hero will almost certainly refrain from changing his name and/or costume, unless said villain-turned-hero is in a team of villains-turned-heroes, in which case it won't matter because everyone will find out anyway. Genre Convention #44 In any instance where half the city is demolished by a would-be world conqueror, no other superhero or superhero team except the one directly involved will notice anything amiss. Exception: Crossover events.
  3. I think both of these are good. The only other suggestion I could offer is "Uplift", maybe "Professor Uplift" (or "Professor Upgrade"). One of his cronies muttered it in jest and it stuck.
  4. I'm havin' trouble with an idea, here. I posted this over on 'Hero System' but figured it might get a little more response here. I'm goin' with a pheromone/charisma type character, and I want him to be harder to hit, and I want the attacker to maybe not hit as hard, all because "it just doesn't seem right". Extra DCV and Damage Reduction seem the order of the day, but I'm not sure how to simulate the fact that it's based on whether the attacker can overcome the urge to NOT hit the character, or NOT hit them as hard. Between having a cold and not having the book I'm comin' up with NOTHIN'. One recommendation has been DCV/Force Field combo with the limitation based on how often it should work. I'm not sure that's the way to go, but again, I'm out of ideas. Help, obvious or otherwise, would be appreciated.
  5. Havin' trouble with an idea, here. I'm goin' with a pheromone/charisma type character, and I want him to be harder to hit, and I want the attacker to maybe not hit as hard, all because "it just doesn't seem right". Extra DCV and Damage Reduction seem the order of the day, but I'm not sure how to simulate the fact that it's based on whether the attacker can overcome the urge to NOT hit the character, or NOT hit them as hard. Between having a cold and not having the book I'm comin' up with NOTHIN'. Help, obvious or otherwise, would be appreciated.
  6. A few more links for ya... http://webpages.charter.net/brueggeman/table-of-contents.html http://members.tripod.com/~S_van_Dorst/legio.html http://www.teacheroz.com/toc.htm That last one is a teacher's page, and it's FULL of links. Some don't work anymore, but you can still find oodles of useful info.
  7. Re: Re: Re: Martial Arts in Superheroic Games Gotta go with D-Man on this one. Simply don't allow every character to have it. Make 'em buy 3-pt skills with Strike, Dodge and Block instead, maybe with an extra DC or two if they think it's appropriate. It's rare that more than a few heroes have true martial arts. Most just have levels in HTH or with specific maneuvers. I'd recommend against disallowing them altogether, though. Martial Arts are such a great staple of the genre it'd be a shame to see an abuse of the skill drive it out of the game.
  8. Emerald Mask voiced my opinion. Scrap the campaign and turn those villains into NPCs. The tone of your post implies that you're not happy with the idea of a villain campaign, and "hijacking" is about as crappy a thing as players can do to a GM. Don't stand for it if you don't want to. On the other hand, if you're really going to try and run a villain campaign, read all the other suggestions. Then remember that villains earn XP, too. Everything you'd award points for in a hero campaign, turn it around. If the characters commit a successful crime, give 'em an XP or two. If they defeat the good guys in battle, give 'em an XP. If they have broken any Psych Lims, penalize them that amount of XP until they buy it off or you provide an alternate disad. There definitely needs to be some serious backlash, and I'm of the opinion that a serious "heroes come out of the woodwork to police their own" whoopass is in order. Look what happened when everyone thought Iron Man went rogue--the Avengers were on hand to shut him down. Same with Thor. They were prepared to go to town on their friend because he was wrong. First, though, make sure you really want to run a villain campaign. If not, start over. And honestly, if the players are dissatisfied with the game world (as opposed to the characters), then sit down and talk with them about what they'd like changed. Had they not killed the mayor then maybe they could have affected change in-game. There's not much recourse now.
  9. Re: Low fantasy, anyone? I'm a huge low fantasy fan, especially the books of David Gemmel and Guy Gavriel Kay. Both are reminiscent of true historical fiction, their respective worlds seemingly based on our own (albeit somewhat long ago...or maybe far from now). Magic is nearly invisible but known, though there are elements of spiritualism that might look familiar to standard high fantasy fans. If you're unfamiliar with their stuff, check 'em out.
  10. Q: Are you sure you know what to do on your date with the Hilton sisters? A: It was for identification purposes, but the gum was my idea.
  11. Re: If your heroes had gone down a darker path Interesting idea...it took me a while to mull this one over. Morningstar (a plasma EBer) would likely have gone the way of a typical villain. Sometime leader, sometime follower, sometime solo--I'd think he would be great as a recurring villain or a nemesis for someone. How would it have happened? Simple twist of fate. His background relates a tense relationship with a relatively overbearing father. MS left his home and family to make a life for himself and ended up being a hero. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that he fell into the wrong crowd and was simply lured in by the darkside. He enjoys using his powers, after all, and it's not too outlandish to see him crossing the line. Tempest--a super soldier type--could just as easily have become fed up with all the crap and taken it upon himself to make things right. He wouldn't be a traditional villain in that he doesn't see himself as such. Rather, it's simply a matter of not feeling that anyone else is qualified to judge him or to place restraints on his actions or morals. Thus, instead of a solid moral background turned to upholding all that is good and just, you get a (semi) megalomaniacal individual with an idea for some sort of metarchy (government by the superpowered). And poor Blink, barely-out-of-his-teens teleporter...well, he just couldn't get a break, and really, if no one's gonna give him a break then he'll just make his own and screw 'em! As a side note, this might be a good GM idea, just to shake things up. I could see running this as a one-night only scenario. Have the players run their characters as villains. Have them come up with the crime and carry it out. Assume things like "Code vs. Killing" has become "No Code vs. Killing", and "Honorable" becomes "Ruthless" or some such. It'd certainly be a diverting evening...
  12. Well, ain't you special. My point here was that if the magic item was part of the background and/or starting character and NOT something that had been previously RPed, then that item would have to accounted for via points. Allow me to clarify before you begin attaching labels (and I'll admit to a certain lack of clarity in my original statement). I don't take anything away from players unless the story allows it. By that I mean that I'm not out to "get" someone, or to specifically design a scenario where they lose an item, or anything of the kind. I believe that normal equipment, supplies, arms and armament, services, what have you, can all be accounted for through RP and basic finances. Therefore, I don't charge character points for normal items. It seems somehow against the grain. If a character begins play with a magic sword, then he must pay for it. It's my way of balancing the beginning of the game. It works for me. If that player loses the magic sword, then he is perfectly capable of reinvesting those points somewhere else (learning new skills along the way, removing a disad through roleplay, whatever). If he is somehow in a position to acquire a NEW magic sword, then he may do so at no additional cost in character points. He can buy it, steal it, make it, pick it up off the ground, whatever--and I won't charge him a single XP. Well, I could see where a GM would want to kill your character, but all I meant was that a magic item acquired via role play wasn't going to cost the character any points. If they find a magical sword capable of summoning gods, opening dimensional rifts, and protecting the bearer from any harm whatsoever, well good for them. Obviously I as the GM gave it to 'em. Now the item itself might be the focus of other people, but my point is that any item that the character DOESN'T start with can be accounted for in roleplaying. They find it, they keep it until such time as they do something stupid or the campaign simply works against them that time. I never said anything about killing a character OR stealing an magic item willy nilly. Where do you find these words? You're coming across as very caustic, Galadorn, and while I'm not about to get into a flame war with you, I can say from what little you've shown of your inability to tactfully respond to differing opinions or opposing views--or heck, even if you agree with the person!--I wouldn't want you at my table to begin with. You simply strike me as a poor sport. The question was asked by a third party and I answered him. If you don't like my answers, simply don't reply. They were only offered as options and alternatives, not as a way to get your goat or even incite a reply from you. Geez, man, you suck the fun out of trying to be helpful.
  13. I charge characters for any magic items they possess at the time of character creation. If/when that item is used/lost, they either lose the points (and the corresponding amount of disad points, or they become "bankable" points to be used just like XP. They cannot be used to acquire additional items. I don't charge CPs for normal items, period. Any items not on the person at time of creation will need to be RPed, either in the finding, the making, the buying, the stealing...whatever. They can keep those items indefinitely unless something occurs in-story to remove it (loss, use, theft, selling it, etc). I keep a close eye on magic items so it (hopefully) doesn't get out of hand. Magic items tend to be rare, few and far between...at least those of any power. Potions are slightly more common, but costly (in material wealth).
  14. Re: Package Deals Yep. Or rather, I will be (currently developing my first 5th Ed campaign) I will a set number of racial packages that are based solely on race and feature, predominately, physical differences. Racial packages will be mandatory (everyone has a racial package...I think. Haven't decided on humans yet...) However, as far as skill and such go, I'd still leave that to a 'profession package' such as Killer Shrike alludes to (and outlines on his site). No, I don't offer different "human racial packages", but different regions and subraces have slightly different "everyman" skills. For example, certain nomads all have "Riding, 8-", while others all have "TF: Small boats". Again, I leave the serious skills for profession packages, but I feel the "everyman" skills can be tweaked enough to allow for regional and racial diversity. No, but unlike some I use the "Normal Char Maxima" disad to counter the cost of the package. Thus, a dwarven racial package might have 23 pts in altered physical abilities and what not. Counter that with the NCM and the package costs 3pts. Since everyone is going to have to take a racial package (it'll be mandatory), the NCM will tend to counter it. [disclaimer: I haven't fully developed this yet so I haven't plugged all the holes...but I'm working on it.] In the past this is what I've done, as well. A "Distinctive Feature: Smell" given to a tanner would offset his skill package, but not count toward the regular disadvantages. Again I do this as well. If the characteristics are altered in a racial package, that becomes the norm for that character. Thus, if a dwarf gets +2 to CON, his NCM for CON is set at 22. Likewise, a -2 DEX means his NCM for DEX is set at 18. Consider changing everyman skills instead of (or in addition to) cultural packages. It makes things a bit easier and, in my opinion, a little more realistic. Them's my too sense...
  15. Q: What was the first thing you said this morning after that wild GenCon party? A: You'd think he'd have learned by now. Oh, well, better go get the shears...
  16. In the weirdness department, if you're considering having at least some connection to extradimensional locations, it might be interesting to see evidence of another supergroup from a parallel dimension having used the base. You go into the kitchen and find that there are dirty dishes, shadowy figured glimpsed coming into or out of rooms "just down the hall". Clothes that don't belong to anyone lying about as if they were just changed into/out of. That sort of thing. Might be an interesting scenario if the base is attacked in that other dimension and the heroes have to find a way to help them without actually knowing what's going on....
  17. I take the familiar fantasy standards and alter them to taste. For example: The elves of my world aren't the willowy Tolkeinesque ones. They're an empire building race, strong and tall and possessing innate magical abilities. Many other traits are familiar, however. Same with dwarves. They're not sturdy warriors--they're actually more halfling -like than anything else. They're just good miners. Reluctant warriors at best, but quite capable in their own way. No halflings. Orcs are semi-civilized, no better or worse than any other race. I don't believe that twisting the fantasy genre into something completely unrecognizable is the key. It's making the familiar seem interesting again. I like the "usual" features of a fantasy world, and in general I hold with them. Too far from center is too far from fun for me.
  18. Q: So what were you doing on the "Farmer sluts and the men who love them" episode of Jerry Springer? A: Okay, but just this once.
  19. Okay, no book handy, I'm not up on my mental powers, and I need an answer sooner rather than later. Assuming there's no house rule countering this, it's my belief that all mental powers are "visible", meaning they can be detected by one of the senses (not necessarily sight, but there's some way to detect their use). Is this not the case? Are mental powers invisible? Only some of them? Aid would be appreciated.
  20. [uh...Shrek?] Q: How did Hermit look on his date with the Hilton Sisters? A: Just reverse the polarity, hit 'em with the claw end, and run like a bastard.
  21. Q: We have a room locked from the inside and a knight dead by fire, tooth and claw. How was it done? A: Thirty-six of the one, two of the other, and marshmellows over everything.
  22. The closest thing to a "meta-plot" I've used is the one I'm running now. It concerns a new street drug giving certain people temporary super-powers but will eventually tie into the organized crime figures of the city and likely a clash with Genocide. The trick to all this is that it's all a big ploy by the REAL villains, a pro-meta group that wants all the world in the hands of metas. Not themselves, necessarily, but the most qualified meta, whoever that turns out to be. There will be at least two adventure/mini-campaigns before the real villains are figured out. By that time half of them will have already been introduced (I hope). All of the above should be taken with the proverbial "no plan survives contact with the enemy" caveat (or more appropriately, no plot outline ever survives contact with the players).
  23. Seems you like the name "Unity", LM. However, like someone else mentioned, that name might reinforce the previous domination-minded group, especially is UNity is directly involved with the UN. How about you name the team "Unity" as you propose, but allow the group to RP a name change if they so desire? Don't bring it up, necessarily, but if the propose the idea let 'em run with it.
  24. Let's see...past secret ID occupations have included: Photojournalist (National Enquirer type stuff) Owner and CEO of a high-tech firm Bartender DJ Mechanic Musician Accountant Policeman Mercenary / Bodyguard type Sales clerk (at a K-Mart ripoff called S-Mart) Housewife Student Maintenance Engineer Sometimes I like the idea of trying to find a way to keep from getting fired...or in one case, finding another job after my GM had my character fired for missing too many shifts. Other times I go with the comic staple of having a "freelance" type of job. It depends on what the character wants to do when I make him/her.
×
×
  • Create New...