Vanguard

Re: state of the art comm-suite Ah. Okay, I haven't visited this Comm build since I created it in 5th Ed. Wasn't really paying attention to what Drains actually affected either. Thanks for the heads up. And I didn't go with IPE 'cause I didn't want them completely invisible, just really hard to detect.

Re: state of the art comm-suite

Re: Horror Hero This right here is the thing that I think makes the Survival Horror game one of the hardest to get to work/play right. As you mentioned, unless the players are exceptional role-players, or the GM tried to hold them to exceptional role playing, you just don't get that sense of fear or any kind of emotion out of it. I turned to my wife and said, you just can't get that type of emotional reaction out of our group. Some of us might have been able to pull it off but others would've just shrugged and taken the shot. I think it can be done but the GM needs to sit down with the players and everyone needs to agree to try and get that type of mindset going. Otherwise, you won't get the feel that you're looking for and, ultimately, might not have any fun with the game. ::Frowns:: I hope that makes sense 'cause it did it my head . . .

Re: state of the art comm-suite This is the implanted head set I created for our super group years and years ago . . . Outsider Headset Mk3 Implanted Transmitter: HRRP (Radio Group), Concealed (-10 with HRRP PER Rolls), Requires Ground-Zero AI to function properly (+0), Remote Activation (+1/4) Shielding: Radio Group Flash Defense (30 points), Hardened (+1/4); Only to protect Radio Percept/Transmit (-1/4) Shielding: Power Defense (30 points), Hardened (+1/4); Only protects Radio Percep/Trans (-1/4) GPS Circuitry: Detect Geographic Location 28-/22- (Unusual Group), Concealed (-10 with Detect PER Rolls), Discriminatory, Analyze, Sense, Transmit (37 Active Points); Always On (-1/2) Life Sign Monitor: Detect Vital Signs 28-/22- (Unusual Group), Concealed (-10 with Detect PER Rolls), Discriminatory, Analyze, Sense, Transmit; Always On (-1/2) Concord, couple of questions for ya. Why the "Rapid" on your Detects and HRRP? Another question, and it might be group/game specific but why two HRRP? Wouldn't the one cover both the short and long range transmissions? The way my group did was as long as there were satellites, you could reach any where on the globe.

Re: OT: Anyone try out STO FTP yet? I gave it a try after I gave up on Battlestar Galactica Online. And like some here, I'm hooked. Not 100% sure what I'm doing but just made it to Lt Commander tonight and have outfitted my new little Escort and have been able to do some damage. I'm a bit too timid to try any of the "fleet" actions since I don't think I'm up to par just yet and I'm not sure how to enter them solo (not that's a good idea but . . . ). As for being Free to Play do far I haven't really run into any restrictions that are "forcing" me to purchase any Cryptic Points. (Although, I have looked into it and it REALLY irritates me that every time I try and look at purchasing them it redirects me to the Perfect World website and they want me to first purchase Zen and then convert it (100 Zen = 80 Cryptic Points) to CPs. I'd rather just purchase the CPs directly. Other than that, I like the ship-to-ship combat. It does feel like a Star Trek battle and the ground combat is just as entertaining. The cool thing about both the space and ground missions is that they're not all "go here and kill that". You get to do research and other type of stuff too. Basically I think it's one of the better free-to-play games out there . . .

Re: Robocop vs Terminator Quick questions for my fellow Geeks of the 'Net.... I don't know if I'm just being literal or narrow minded about what a cyborg is or not. It's always bugged me that a Terminator classifies as a "cyborg". To me, the Terminator doesn't classify as a "cyborg" because it's an android covered in living tissue. Where as Murphy fits my definition of a cyborg because he started out human, died and then got better. (They had the technology . . . ) So I'm not sure if I'm limiting myself and my interpretation of "cyborg" or not . . . ?

Re: Why is Speed so unpopular? Woot!! Thanks Hyper.

Re: Why is Speed so unpopular? This is the point where the GM needs to step in and say "No". If someone wants to increase their Speed just because they want to go more times, that's not a valid reason for an increase in speed and the GM needs to take steps to keep that from happening. The same can be said for Dex (before 6th decoupled it from CVs). You'd have characters with ludicrously high dex's because they wanted to have high CV values, which led to Dex inflation. The same concept applies to Speed and Speed Inflation and the same measures, the GM just plain saying "No", can be taken to stop it. Optional Velocity Factor? Is this in one of the APG's? 'Cause I'm really interested in that concept and would like to take a look at it. About the only problem I see with this idea, is the way the system deals with changes to your Speed. From what I recall, if you do anything that changes your speed (short of lowering it) you can't act again until you have a phase, from both Speeds, that you would be able to go on. Then you can start acting on your new phase. And you would have to go through that same song and dance every time your Speed changed, which would slow the game down even further (at least for you*) and I think, cause more headaches than it would resolve. *=This is a general "you" and not you specifically . . . Edit: PS: For the record, I don't have a problem with Speed.

Re: How (un)realistic are Street Samurai? Skipped a bunch of posts that had divulged into discussing guns vs swords . . . How realistic or unrealistic a Street Sam is, is pretty much dependent on your game world/setting. When I played Shadowrun my Street Sam didn't carry a Katana but he did have implanted Dikoted* Cyberspurs with the Reflexes and Muscle Enhancements to use them extremely effectively. He also carried a heavy pistol as well as a Light Machine Gun. He also had enough Dermal Plating and other defense type enhancement to take an Assault Cannon round to the chest and survive. (He'd be hurt but the damage compensators and other type of devices would keep him up and moving long enough to get away and/or kill his opponent). So, back to my initial statement, if you want the Street Sam with the blade to be effective, he can be effective, if you want the blade to just be for style, it can just be for style. It's all a mater of how you would like to play it. *=Diamond Coated

Re: Current Techology: Bullet-Proof Skin I would think that the size of a needle would allow it to slip between the weave and not meet any resistance. You might want to leave areas unarmored for other reasons though . . .

Hey Steve, Something came up in our game last night that I was curious about. I looked around and couldn't find the answer so I thought I'd ask here. A Ranged Martial Disarm uses the DCs of the weapon fired plus +3 DCs from the maneuver itself. Which, using the proper weapon is pretty burly. What I'm curious about and couldn't find the answer on, is whether or not the DCs of a HtH weapon would apply the same way using a normal Martial Disarm. Thanks

Re: A note on starship design: the engines point down.

Re: Mega Knockback in 6th If I recall correctly, in 5th Ed you can still take damage from an object your KBed into. You just can only take an amount of damage equal to the Body + Defense of the target you hit. If you're taking more KB than the target you hit, you take the damage then subtract the dice from the remaining KB and continue on your merry way. Rinsing and repeating for everything you connect with until you stop. Normally, the incidental impacts don't matter much in a superheroic level game 'cause you've got the defenses to withstand them. (Hopefully). Where it really comes into play is, like you mentioned, when/if you hit a mountain side. I haven't checked on KB in 6th because we don't use it since we've mainly been playing Heroic level games that rarely, if ever, use KB.

Re: A note on starship design: the engines point down.

Re: A note on starship design: the engines point down. Never really had an interest in playing hard sci fi games. So no, I use artificial gravity and inertial dampeners. Does cause issues when said systems get damaged but I tend to fudge it a bit so people aren't smushed against the bulkhead walls when that happens.

Re: ADVANCED PLAYER'S GUIDE II -- What Do *You* Want To See? Don't know if this has already been suggested, haven't read the entire thread, but I would like to see all the optional rules that the APG2 bring to the table included in the Hero Designer program. It's very frustrating to sit down to create a character with the official character creation software and then not be able to because it doesn't include all the rules.

Re: Encyclopedic General Knowledge Was going to suggest something like this as Mechanon in Galactic Champions has "KS: Everything 50-"

Re: Parachuting Rules? What indie said. Hero System Skills is just a "reprint" of the Ultimate Skill. If you have the Ultimate Skill, you really don't need the Hero System Skill as it would be pretty much the exact same information except updated for 6th. Our group is getting by just fine with our copies of Ultimate Skill. And I'll have to say, if you don't have a copy of it, then get Hero System Skills. It is, without a doubt, one of the most useful books in the Hero System.

Re: Parachuting Rules? The Ultimate Skill, for 5th Edition, is *THE* place to go for all parachuting needs.

Can you use a naked Advantage/Limitation for Martial Arts? I know they're special cases when it comes to Modifiers but I was curious as how, or if, Naked Modifiers applied?

Re: Music to Kill Zombies By 1) Tonfa-Blades (Probably don't need to explain but the weapons used by Kroenen (sp) from Hellboy) 2) Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran 3) River Tam

Re: 6e: Defense Misunderstanding Hehe, what about the brick that "gets out of the way" by ripping up a section of the street to block the incoming Blast attack.

Re: Normals vs Zombies game - advice sought, please! I'd say it is. We had an amazingly fun time with a world we revisited when we were playing Gatecrashers that had become zombified. (Funny story there actually . . . )

Re: No more "Abort to Dodge?" I've never really considered "aborting" to be acting sooner than you would normally go. I've always looked at is a "WTF" moment and one of this split second, save your bacon, kind of things. If that makes any sense. In either case, I don't think it really causes that much of an issue considering when you Abort, you're giving up your next available phase so it's not like you get to go again when your aborted phase rolls around. You just continue doing whatever action you aborted to. Which, I think works out. If you aborted to Dive for Cover, then you're still diving for cover (or recovering from the dive) when your aborted phase rolls around. Same with Dodging, etc. In short I don't think there's a problem with it so I've never disallowed, nor been in a game, that has disallowed it. Although, come to think of it, it might be interesting to experiment and see what would happen if it was disallowed . . . . .

Re: Abort to dodge, while dodging Aborting is the mechanic of sacrificing an upcoming phase (if you haven't attacked yet) for the ability to do something in the phase (or segment) you are currently in. In you example above you stated that you've "punched a guy". That means that the blow has already landed and the phase is progressing on. In that same phase, if you see a grenade, a guy with a knife, or even the same guy getting ready to punch you back, you abort your next phase to Dodge out of the way of the attack. Doing so, as pointed out above, not only gives you bonus DCV against the attack that is currently coming at you but also provides addition DCV for any other attack that comes your way. To further explain the mechanic. Aborting could be likened to that "oh crap" moment when you realize that the feces is about hit the fan and it's time to move. Because, in case you don't know, Aborting only applies to defensive actions. You can't abort to shot the guy across the street. (Although, to steal a phrase from Mr. Long, this can be waived by the GM for dramatic and story line reasons). First off, a turn is 12 seconds. Second, your guy moving at a SPD three can only go 3 times in that phase, regardless of aborting. I'm going to pull numbers out of my rear here since I can't quote the speed chart from memory but let's say you go on phases 3,6 and 12. If you've gone on 3 and you abort, you give up phase 6 for your aborted action and can't go again until 12. If you chose to abort before 12 then you give up your 12 and can't go again until 3. You still only get your three actions, you just might get them all at once if the crap is really deep.