Tungsten Shephard

Re: Homo Sapiens and their guns What about missile deflection with invisible power effects? That might simulate the "eye" phenomenon.

Basic Marine Player: NPC Val Char Cost 13 STR 3 13 DEX 9 13 CON 6 12 BODY 4 12 INT 2 11 EGO 2 13 PRE 3 10 COM 0 5/12 PD 2 5/12 ED 2 3 SPD 7 6 REC 0 26 END 0 26 STUN 0 6" RUN 0 2" SWIM 0 2 1/2" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 40 Cost Power 9 Standard Issue Spectra Level II Combat Vest & Helmet: Armor (7 PD/7 ED) (21 Active Points); Half Mass (-1/2), Activation Roll 14- (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4) [Notes: Taken from HERO system Equipment Guide] 20 Colt M16 A4: (Total: 52 Active Cost, 20 Real Cost) Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, 30 Round Clip Charges (+0), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4) (37 Active Points); OAF Durable Expendable (Easy to obtain new Focus; -1), STR Minimum 13 (STR Min. Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -1), Required Hands Two-Handed (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4) (Real Cost: 10) plus +2 with Ranged Combat (10 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 7) plus +1 with Range Modifier (5 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 3) 25 Combat Vest Weapons: Multipower, 25-point reserve 1u 1) M 9 Barretta Standard Issue: (Total: 25 Active Cost, 11 Real Cost) Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6+1 (20 Active Points); OAF Durable Expendable (Easy to obtain new Focus; -1), 15 Charges (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4) (Real Cost: 8) plus +1 with Ranged Combat (5 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 3) 1u 2) The OKC-3S Combat Knife : (Total: 10 Active Cost, 4 Real Cost) Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6-1 (1d6 w/STR) (10 Active Points); OAF Durable (-1), STR Minimum 6 (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4) (Real Cost: 4) Powers Cost: 56 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Marine Corps Martial Arts Program [Commando Training page 23 Ultimate MA] [Notes: Book says it's specifically for Marines ] also the MCMAP is a real world Martial Art taught to Marines. Maneuvers included are. 3 1) Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 2 1/2d6 +v/5, Target Falls 4 2) Punch: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 4 1/2d6 Strike 4 3) Choke: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND 4 4) Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 28 STR vs. Grabs 4 5) Hold: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Three Limbs, 10 STR for holding on 4 6) Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 23 STR to Disarm roll 4 7) Throat attack: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, HKA 1d6 +1 4 8) Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 1 9) Weapon Element: Clubs 1 10) Weapon Element: Knives Martial Arts Cost: 33 Cost Skill Military Skills Trained 5 1) Accurate Sprayfire 5 2) Concentrated Sprayfire 5 3) Rapid Attack (Ranged) 2 4) Navigation (Land) 11- 3 5) Stealth 12- 3 6) Climbing 12- 3 7) Combat Driving 12- 18 8) +3 with HTH and Ranged Combat 3 9) Concealment 11- 3 10) KS: Military Customs and Courtesy 11- 3 11) KS: Military History 11- 3 12) KS: Military organizations 11- 3 13) KS: Operational Planning 11- 3 14) KS: Small Unit Instruction 11- 3 15) KS: Small Unit Tactics 11- 3 16) Teamwork 12- 10 17) WF: Common Melee Weapons, Emplaced Weapons, Small Arms, General Purpose/Heavy Machine Guns, Grenade Launchers, Shoulder-Fired Weapons, Vehicle Weapons 3 18) Systems Operation 11- 4 19) Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Desert) 11- 3 20) TF: Parachuting, Basic, SCUBA, Tracked Military Vehicles, Wheeled Military Vehicles 1 21) Weaponsmith (Firearms) 8- Marine Corps Martial Arts Program 3 1) Breakfall 12- Modern Everyman 0 1) AK: Home country or region 8- 0 2) Acting 8- 0 3) Conversation 8- 0 4) Deduction 8- 0 5) Native Language (idiomatic; Literate, literate) (5 Active Points) 0 6) PS: Choice (Everyman Skill) 11- 0 7) Paramedics 8- 0 8) Persuasion 8- 0 9) Shadowing 8- 0 10) TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles (Custom Adder) Skills Cost: 92 Cost Perk 5 Fringe Benefit: Improved Equipment Availability Military equipment 3 Fringe Benefit: Membership USMC "Semper Fidelis" Perks Cost: 8 Total Character Cost: 229 Pts. Disadvantage 15 Psychological Limitation: Bound By Duty (Common, Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Overconfidance, "Must improvise adapt , overcome" (Common, Moderate) 20 Social Limitation: Subject to Orders (Very Frequently, Major) 15 Military Oversight: 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching) 5 Reputation Marine: , 8- 10 Custom Disadvantage [Notes: This is a catch all for the individual Infantryman] Disadvantage Points: 75 Base Points: 75 Experience Required: 79 Total Experience Available: 79 Experience Unspent: 0 There a real world Marine using Standard Issued Equipment and Training. If you spend the points you can bring him up to Super HERO level easy enough. Give him Heavy Weapons and he is a threat to almost any Super. It is very basic. Not to get to much into my full background but yes you can teach those skills if you work with someone 8-10 hours a day for two weeks. In most Martial arts Dojo's you could pass as a Black Belt with only 80-100 dedicated hours of Martial training. This does not include body conditioning such as running, push ups, etc.

Re: Homo Sapiens and their guns The infantryman I wrote up, I did when you were posting. He is not my submission for your challenge. Just my response to cops and infantry being 25+25. I'm working on your challenge right now.

Re: Homo Sapiens and their guns Most Black Belts are casual by nature thus 5 years 1 hour a week and some practice at home casually. Those serious about it can reach Black Belt in about 2 weeks if all they did was train like they do in Basic Training. (see Karate Kid for details) The martial training in many countries exceeds our own military. The Philippines is a great example of this. They train 4 hours a day just in HTH combat. Their Escrima techniques are far deadlier than what we train our basic troops with and worth more in HERO points. Oddly enough this is because the Philippines can't afford enough ammunition for practice so they don't. Thats why my standard U.S. Infantry guy is +3 CSL's for HTH and ranged combat. 23 points is very basic at best IMO and I will agree that you can earn a black belt with only knowing 3 maneuvers quite well. (once again see Karate Kid for details) Escrima Page 17 Ultimate Martial Arts Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Arnis/Kali/Escrima 4 1) Body Shift: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 2) De Cadena: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 3) Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 20 STR to Disarm roll 4 4) Nerve Strike: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, 2d6 NND 4 5) Pattern Strike: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Weapon +2 DC Strike, Must Follow Block 4 6) Redonda/Punch: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, Weapon +2 DC Strike 4 7) Sinawai/Kick: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, Weapon +2 DC Strike 5 8) Takeaway: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab Weapon, 20 STR to take weapon away 3 9) Takedown: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +1 DCV, Weapon Strike; Target Falls 4 10) Weapon Bind: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Bind, 20 STR 0 11) Weapon Element: Clubs 1 12) Weapon Element: Blades 1 13) Weapon Element: Karate Weapons 1 14) Weapon Element: Chain & Rope Weapons 1 15) Weapon Element: Empty Hand Martial Arts Cost: 44 Cost Skill Arnis/Kali/Escrima 2 1) KS: Arnis 11- 2 2) KS: Kali 11- 2 3) KS: Escrima 11- 2 4) PS: Moro-moro Dancing 11- 1 5) WF: Blades 1 6) WF: Karate Weapons 1 7) WF: Chain & Rope Weapons 1 8) WF: Off Hand Skills Cost: 12 Sorry I meant 75+75 basic HERO, with at least 50 in exp. Sorry I did not clarify. There is a funny story behind that as the man's commanding officer at the time goes to my church. The man in question was the only one with any legal background in the area, so he got the job. Just a national guardsman doing his job. Social disadvantage Under Orders FTL.

Re: Homo Sapiens and their guns I would also like to point out that the requirements for both Law enforcement and U.S. Military personnel have vastly improved over the last two decades. This is due in part for requirement for using new hight tech equipment, scanners, computers, gadgets, etc. This is also do in part in a change in warfare theory. Basic Training now includes some basic elements formally left to special forces in the 80's and early 90's. This includes but is not limited to. Computer Systems operation 3 points Combat Driving 3 points Parachuting 3 points and about 9 points worth in other related KS skills. Even some expert knowledge in some background skills such as PS: Lawyer, Doctor etc... is not uncommon. Especially for weekend warriors or the national guard. For example when we liberated Iraq. It was a simple lawyer from Minnesota, a sergeant in the Army national guard, who wrote both the new constitution and legal procedures for that country. Not some bureaucrat from Washington or a Bar induced Diplomat.

Ok here is my basic Soldier at LOW points. Now I have not even added background skills just "normal" things acquired in basic training. Basic low powered Infantryman out of boot camp Player: NPC (made with Hero Designer) Val Char Cost 13 STR 3 13 DEX 9 13 CON 6 12 BODY 4 12 INT 2 11 EGO 2 13 PRE 3 10 COM 0 3 PD 0 3 ED 0 3 SPD 7 6 REC 0 26 END 0 26 STUN 0 7" RUN 2 2" SWIM 0 2 1/2" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 38 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Basic HTH combat Training 4 1) Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 2) Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 5 3) Kick: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 6 1/2d6 Strike 3 4) Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 2 1/2d6 +v/5, Target Falls 4 5) Punch: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 4 1/2d6 Strike 3 6) Jab: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, 4 1/2d6 Strike Martial Arts Cost: 23 Cost Skill 9 WF: Clubs, Common Melee Weapons, Emplaced Weapons, Fist-Loads, Small Arms, Unarmed Combat, Grenade Launchers, Shoulder-Fired Weapons, Vehicle Weapons 18 CSL's +3 OCV with HTH and Ranged Combat 3 Teamwork 12- 3 Tactics 11- 3 Weapon Systems Operation 11- 4 Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Desert) 11- 5 Accurate Sprayfire Skills Cost: 45 Total Character Cost: 106 Pts. Disadvantage 10 Social Limitation: Under orders (Frequently, Major, Not Limiting In Some Cultures) 15 Military Oversight: 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching) Disadvantage Points: 25 Base Points: 25 Experience Required: 56 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0 Sorry I was trying to go 25+25 but I easily ran out of points as you can see. In defense of my argument for more realistic costs, I think your way off point base. Nothing personal but 25+25 is substantially wrong. BTW I would never use the above character. My basic infantrymen is a bit more 75+75.

Re: Homo Sapiens and their guns I sincerely hope by "costume" you don't mean bullet proof spandex? Thats so 70's... (shudders)

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Ask Lex Luthor

Re: Homo Sapiens and their guns Well lets define normal vs. competent normal. For a start I think we can agree that John McCain is a normal 150 point HERO doing extraordinary things. Now how about Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) character. I see Zeus also as a competent normal the same point value as McCain but a different character altogether. Where McCain becomes a HERO is not based upon the points he has in his character or his skills but the choices he makes throughout the Die Hard series of movies. A character like Zeus might not be as dangerous as McCain but he could aim (set) or aim for vitals (haymaker) as good as any 150 point normal HERO could, or even just using his head to get out of bad situations that McClain would not normally think of. Just because he does not shoot like McCain does not make him any less dangerous in the hands of a good player and only slightly less dangerous with a gun. Now lets take a look at the truck driver tells McClane the 21st president was Chester A. Arthur, and identifies the school in which Simon claims to have placed a bomb. The truck driver would also be to me a competant normal with a wide variety of skills and not just limited to truck driver stereo type. Now that I think about to me a HERO is nothing less than a competent normal acting like a HERO should. 150 points for competence sounds about right.

Re: "Sorry m'am, you'll have to check your hand grenades." Private Charter Aircraft? http://www.jetcharter.com/ Plus if you use a small town airport and there are many details of your cargo can be easily overlooked. The main concern for TSA is for the safety of large aircraft. Private charters are a whole different matter. There are also x-ray proof camera suitcases that exist in the real world. I would also avoid landing at large established airports such as LAX and instead make a research roll in finding a small airport. Heck even having them look up real airports on the internet can be fun at times rather than just making a research roll. As a GM you don't always have to create the "escape" for your players. Given the oppertunity to think about it. Most G.M.s would be amazed what regular people can come up with when shown the full details of the problems they might face. Another option is to simply get a travel pass or weapons permit perk and have the character pay points for it.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign I like that idea as a house rule, and it would solve some issues many seem to have. For example you could always "not allow" for maneuvers for equipment not purchased with character points. Thats not a bad idea as we don't want to loose focus on the original post in question. As for a final stand about guns and supervillains. I think you should always have a good mix to provide an amount of realism (even where supers are concerned) where the bullet proof villain is the exception not the general rule. Especially since there are so many ways of a villain to deal with a bullet wound to begin with. Remember what makes a HERO truly super is not always who he is or what powers he has as much as the choices he makes. This can include normals with guns, meat cutter knives, or fists of fury, be it villain or honest cop. Same with supervillains, its not the super powers he has, it's the options and choices, the villain makes, during the crime that he commits too. Furthermore there are plenty of dangerous non-bulletproof villains in comic book Literature that have posed a threat in one way or another to bullet proof supers and vice versa.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Golden I would say that would be true for most new recruits regardless of profession. (Normals just out of the academy). Most veterans who are considered competent would be worth more points IMO like your friend. Tell me even though thoes recruits were incompetent how was their marksmanship skills? Could they stand and aim (set) aim at a vital spot (haymaker) then fire? That action would only be a few seconds worth of time. Still dangerous if they hit.

Re: Supervillain RapSheets Thank you for the website, there is a lot of good information there.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Those are very brief descriptions I used, and the skills you used to justify their who and what they are, are in fact way off. You have to be kidding me if you want to use a straw man argument to deflect my point. I stand by my stance that most competent normals are more than 75 points and a gun in the hands of a competent normal can can be a dangerous thing. The police are not the weaksauce that most GM's tend to think they are. Does this eliminate the need for Supers, no of course not. Extra ordinary crimes call for extra ordinary measures. Weaksauce straw man at best.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Id say Sir Edmund had Climb 5 points Weath 5 points Contacts 1 (quite a bit more actually but one will do for purposes of this discussion) Survival Arctic / Subarctic & Mountain 18 or less (14 points) Thats 25 without even getting into the details of his character. Thats almost 1/3 of who he is as a Competent Normal according to HERO 5rh ed rules. Too few points according to his full profile on wiki. (not that wiki is always right just viewing a quick public profile.) The Pastor of my Church however who free hand climbs sheer surfaces as a hobby has at least 9 points in Climb 4 more than Edmond. With no points in survival. We joking call him Spider man. Edmond was not famous for climbing sheer surfaces as much as surviving the trek up Mt. Everest. Look at skills as more of a % of success and understanding on a bell curve rather than an arbitrary number. Competent Normal skill levels might then make more sense then.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign No its better to remain Anonymous. Cults are more trouble then they are worth, history has shown that to be true over and over again. Once a cult gets bloated like Scientology did, secret stuff begins to leak out of it. Then you begin to loose control over your project child. This is always bad for cult leaders and Evil Master villains alike even the vile competent normal ones. Besides its more fun and laughs to be a well rounded competent normal.

Re: S.H.A.R.D. - Super Hero Acronym Resource Directory NECRO Northern Environmental Centralized Redistribution Organization. (Canadian Pro Environment Terrorist Group) Producers of ZoMbIES Zone Mobile Infantry Elite Squads. (The foot soldiers of NECRO usually brainwashed) I don't have my papers here but we came up with a whole slew of things for NECRO years ago some were quite funny. Currently were are using. M.I.B. Metahuman Investigation Bureau. (of course they all dress black suits, white collared shirts and black ties with no personality go figure)

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Oh I forgot to add to guy number 5 Knows ancient languages, studies conspiracy theory, world religions, and theology. (theology as a second hobby, and the others mostly get idea's for Friday game night backdrop campaign idea's.) Guy 5 would be me of course. COMPETENT NORMALS FTW!

Re: A Common Origin Story For An Entire Team ? In the game I'm running all mutants are the result of the 1918 flu pandemic. Since the flu was the result of the 1908 Tunguska explosion and an alien conspiracy mutant powers make sense. Since all supers are tied into this event it was easy for players to come up with genetic backgrounds tied to their respective families. This has worked out very well for the players as it gives the following. a) Reason for supers to exist in the first place. A single point of origin etc... Conspiracy's for them to uncover and a reason why the U.S. government pushes for childhood vaccinations. c) Allows for players to come up with a background that ties them genetically to a period of history without their backgrounds being too silly. So far this has worked out great.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Hmmm well that is a good question. So I'll describe my game group. Please understand that we have been gaming for about 20 years. These are competent normals and real people. Guy 1: Helped build the Mars Rover. Reserve Major in the Air Force, has been hunting since he was 4 and can actually track animals in the woods. Crack shot with just about any pistol or rifle. His wife is a bio chemist for a major pharmaceutical company and quite scary herself. As a class project she made a large chemical reaction using coffee grinds and blew up her families barn by mistake. Guy 2: Masters degree in History, makes web pages for a living. Studies historical warfare and tactics used for fun. He can tell you the optimum defensive ground and firing point for any form of warfare. Guy 3: Masters in Engineering, Plays competition paint ball and collects swords. Was raised by his Okinawan mother and trained in his family Martial Arts since birth. Knows pressure points for acupuncture, and teaches people how to use data bases at his work. Guy 4: Masters in Philosophy & Math, goes shooting every month to keep his skills up. Does competition skeet shooting. Certified Genius. Guy 5: Former Meat cutter, can dissect a cow to steak edible meats in less than 1 hour. Has a knife collection and can accurately throw a knife or lawn dart 20 yards. Guy 6: Former Oil field worker, has ties with the ... well lets just say he has contacts and leave it at that. Also goes shooting with guy number 4. Bigger and stronger than guy number 5. These are competent normals. You should meet my neighbors they are truly scary. Most are vets from Vietnam, one is a fireman, and two are cops on my street. I'd say they are competent normals as well. As I said wake up and smell the competent normals. If you still think competent are 75 points you need to get out and meet more people in your neighborhood.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Oh no I meant no offense. My experience tells me all to often that game designers seem to overlook the consequences of weak NPC's. For example the writer of the Eberron campaign setting thought it was fine that the a 20 year veteran law enforcement officer of the city of Sharn should be fine as a level 2 fighter. Good campaign design but he did not seem to GM enough.

Re: Need help with character You should call him "Bulletproof Night Owl" For the 18r PD and gliding cape w/ night vision. Disadvantages should be left to the player and see if he can come up with something fun.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Rather difficult with 150 points. i don't believe you can run a good game where normal points are always arbitrary. I make my (most) normals with 50 character points and 50 skill points, then with 50 points in either perks talents, or more characteristics. Equipment is always free for normals. Even with those parameters you can have a deadly normal when the rules are properly applied. These points also assume 50 to 75 in disadvantages of course. If you assume all competent normals are whats described on page 346 of 5th ed rules. Then you must live at home and make RPG's all day long. Real life competent normals are far more competent in my experience.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign The reason most superhero's don't kill is because most realize the consequences of their actions. If the HERO can't be brought in for justice for murder "even if it was a crime boss" because of say ... belligerence. Then the threat of a government sponsored sniper bullet should always be in the back of their mind. Supers should strive to have the support of the public. Once the public goes against the super he becomes no different than the masked villain. Case in point, in one of my games one of the HERO's chose to murder the local crime boss. The players chose to ignore the GM imposed "code vs. killing". The local police force still investigated the murder and body trail left in the "HERO's" wake, and put warrants out for all the players. The players had no "evidence" to support their actions were justified and were promptly arrested. The campaign then became very interesting when the players then became the villains. Very fun campaign.

Re: how do you deal with guns and superheroes in your campaign Well also don't forget you can double the damage class of any weapon in the game from CSL's as well. Even without a head shot I would assume a Sniper SWAT member would have a few ranks of CSL's to add damage. The cost of this would not be much in the overall scheme of things. Then there are Ranged Martial maneuvers if you allow them. Once again "normals" can be dangerous.