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Re: What is Happening with Dark Champions?

Finding Player's who want to Play and can coordinate their schedules is the hardest part for me.

 

That I am am still waiting for Danger International 5E/6E by Hero Games.

 

QM

Where are you?

Re: Worst Hero Names (of your campaigns)

And yet... I've seen significantly less thought put into character design than that.

Re: What is Happening with Dark Champions?

I think what you're seeing is twofold. A lot of people use Hero for Champions, and are specifically trying to get away from grit. Those of us who want it are no longer bothering to identify their campaigns as such, because Dark Champions has simply become one of the tools we use so often that we stop thinking of it as a genre. For me, it's something that can be usefully applied to nearly any campaign, and I treat it as such.

Re: A curse that returns?

You could also build it kind of like an unbreakable Focus (this is Plot-oriented, not mechanics oriented). There is a very specific and difficult way that it can be broken permanently, but it treats any other attempts to remove it as a long term Suppress/Drain, with a specified Return Rate. Alternatively, the reversal (however done), only affects that particular instance of the curse (turns the Hulk back into Bruce), without affecting the curse itself. Could make for a very interesting plot line in a campaign.

I think the problem you're going to run into with doing it by the book is that, once a temporary solution is found, that will be used on a more or less continuous basis to suppress the curse. Or the player will decide they like the curse just fine, and it doesn't really matter how it could be removed. Both issues are addressable, but I'd consider them before implementing this in your campaign.

Re: Gorilla

How would I go about making him original? I have three different gorrila.gorrila like characters. I would like the character to possibly have two heads.

Okay, weird thought, but everyone always builds the "two-headed monster" from whatever source, with the heads side-by-side facing the same direction. What about an ape with a very modified skeletal structure, and one head facing forward, one backward? Build the legs and arms right, and it could move and act in any direction normally.

Re: Worst Hero Names (of your campaigns)

Exodus: Exodus has the power of the ten plagues of Egypt. That's right. The ten plagues of Egypt. Fortunately' date=' Exodus is a very religious man, and wouldn't hurt a fly, so many of his powers never get used. Nonetheless, he feels his abilities would be helpful in an environment of his fellow heroes. The flaw, of course, is that Exodus has no movement powers, and after the first time someone asked him to demonstrate his abilities and he filled Freedom Strike's base with frogs, there haven't been a lot of people willing to give him another shot. Thus, he walks from city to city. That's right, he WALKS. One day, he hopes, his pilgrimage will be complete.[/quote']

 

Say, about forty years?

 

 

As of this Saturday night we've been forced to embrace... Mr. Melty!

He thought it sounded Golden Agey.

Oy vey

 

No, just cheesy.

Re: Character Class Mottos

Lucius Alexander

 

I should get a t shirt with a palindromedary on it.

Rex Harrison would sue you over infringement of his 'Push-me-pull-you' clothing line.

Re: "I know a guy"

Yeah. And' date=' on top of all of that, the ability has Adventure Potential [i']built right in[/i].

Contacts? Adventure potential? Speak to me of this idea, for with it I am unfamiliar.:smoke:

Seriously, Contacts do work both ways. If your GM is on the ball, they should be getting something from the relationship that matters to the character (and ideally, to the player). My mobster character has spent a lot of time working with or on these people, and I fully expect to have to do a little quid pro quo on some of them to get what I want. In roleplaying potential alone, these people can be a blast, and spice up an otherwise straightforward adventure.

PC: "You want what?"

Contact: "You heard me."

PC: "But why does it have to be from Original Ray's? Isn't the pizza here in San Francisco good enough?"

Contact: "And don't forget the anchovies."

Re: "I know a guy"

I have a character I'm building for a campaign who has such a VPP. The idea is that he's a mobster, and has been in the business for twenty years. To detail all of the people he would know, all of the favors he could call in, would take forever. I mean, we're talking thousands of contacts here, if you include everyone who knows the Boss or someone else who is a known associate of my character. Of course, the GM and I know we can trust each other. I won't use it to break his adventures, and he won't use it to break my character.

Also remember that Contacts have their downside. Unless they're slavishly loyal, people can use them to find you.

Re: Eccentric but plausible ways a character could be rich?

Famously good:

Interior Decorator

Hairstylist

Makeup Artist

Special Effect Artist

Stunt Person/Daredevil (30PD/ED would go a long ways towards making stunts safer)

Performance Artist (no, you can't make money doing this, but it'd be funny to combine this with a hero)

Conductor of a major symphony orchestra

Developed effective cure for baldness, flatulence, acne or the like (minor but widespread condition)

Invented toy whose fad time has come and gone

Made a series of cult classic movies (preferably embarassing ones) twenty years ago, and Netflix/DVDs are generating royalties, even better with a Public ID

Re: Selling back OMCV

Sorry for not being clear; why is something that's generally more useful to a typical character worth so many fewer points? (swimming v. OMCV)

Because Swimming has a maximum utility. OMCV can be applied to many powers and situations, swimming lets you stay afloat and move in a controlled fashion through water. You could, conceivably, build a character around Super-Swimming, but you'd be taking at least 3d6/phase Embarassment Damage at the table.

Re: Avian Aliens

STR will be proportionally higher per unit of body mass, but on an absolute level, would probably be lower. Remember that a lot of that muscle mass is going to be devoted to flying, not lifting or punching. You're right about the HKA, though.

Re: Selling back OMCV

How often does it come up in game? That's the acid test.

Intrigue game with lots of poisonings. Post-apoc game with concerns about the status of the food. Any game with cinematic scout/spec-ops/ranger types. Werewolf oriented, animal characters, etc...

Re: The Walker - a very low powered superhero

Several police reports where people were charged with wearing them' date=' after being busted during a crime. Maybe they were already felons, as that is listed as illegal. Or maybe it's something like wearing one while engaging in a crime. There's lots and lots of little gotchas with city laws.[/quote']

 

I think that that is the correct interpretation. Wearing armor during the commission of a crime is considered similar to carrying a weapon during the commission of the same crime. IIRC the term is 'aggravating factor', but I'm not sure. It is considered recognition of the fact that it is a crime and evidence of premeditation. Just walking down the street wearing one shouldn't get you busted, though it may draw attention from the LEOs.

Re: Avian Aliens

Reduced BODY is what I was going to say, as well. Those bones are geared to minimum weight, rather than highest strength. Probably reduce ground movement, since their feet are more likely to be adapted to perches on rocks or branches rather than walking, as well as for catching prey. Possibly add something to simulate the ability to glide, as well as fly (I don't know if 6e carried Gliding forward), as most raptors spend more time hovering and circling rather than in wing-flapping flight. You might want to build a Diving Attack Martial Maneuver for them, since it is somewhat different than a Move-by or Move-through (sort of a Grab-by with a big change in direction).

Re: Evasion Talent

Oh, I'm not exactly new. My friend as taken runs at four Hero campaigns over the years, going back to Fifth Edition. There's just some abilities that don't plug neatly into the lists of powers, and require some. . . finessing

 

I tend to want to avoid using Dive to Cover for two reasons. The first is that it isn't entirely reliable. The second, and much bigger concern for me, is that it takes your action. I want to keep the pressure on the bad guys, not spend all my actions diving for cover.

I should have said "New to the Hero Boards", then. Welcome, either way. The Limited Defenses option is going to give you what you want. And Hero is all about figuring out how the concept that doesn't plug neatly into the powers gets described and finessed.

Re: The Walker - a very low powered superhero

I like. Should probably change the character sheet from 'jujitsu' to 'krav maga', but otherwise, nice writeup. Can't see anything unbalancing or big holes at first readthrough. I like "Things You Can Buy at Wal-Mart" as a power name, especially.

Re: Evasion Talent

Desolid can cause a lot of secondary effects (i.e. problems). The cleanest way to do it is buy a normal form of defense (PD/ED, Damage Reduction/Negation) with the Limitation Only vs. AoE attacks. I know you have the whole irrational thing going, but it really is the simplest and most effective answer. Another option would be to buy CSL's with the Dive For Cover maneuver, which might play into the character's concept better (he's already quick and tricky, this makes him moreso).

Oh, and since you're new to Hero, be warned that this kind of debate can go on for a very long time, which is part of the juicy goodness that is Hero.

Re: Why do tails cost points?

Scheherazade was a cat girl?

I think you just triggered an anime, somewhere in the world.

Re: Evasion Talent

*sigh*

 

50% Damage Reduction, Requires a skill roll. Simple.

 

If the attack "hits" you make your skill roll and take half damage. If the attack "misses", you make a Dive For Cover roll for your character and take no damage. Pretty much exactly how the power works in D20, with the addition of the skill roll or Dex roll.

Well, geez, yeah, if you want to make it simple and easily understood...

Re: Selling back OMCV

edit:{referring to Hugh Neilson's post, above}

Okay, I can agree with all of that. It is certainly true that any ability can be considered to be context-specific and dependent on the nature of the campaign in terms of value. Which is essentially what I said, that this question comes down to campaign parameters.

I'll restate my question: What value does OMCV give to the zero-point average person walking down the street (other than as a sellback)?

Re: Selling back OMCV

I do see a difference between selling back Sight and selling back OMCV. Being blind means you can't read normal text, can't differentiate colors, and could easily have problems perceiving at any great distance. Passive Sonar, like DD's, while sensitive, has it's limits simply due to the inverse-square rule when considering energy transmission.

Losing your OMCV, however, doesn't really impact a character in a world without a relatively common use for the ability. Even if the Mental Block rule is in effect, unless you're running into Mentalists on a regular basis who are using powers that that maneuver will affect, you're not losing anything significant. Most other Characteristics have a common use for every character, from the basic Normal to the Cosmic Super. OMCV doesn't seem to have such a use in every campaign. And I think the answer to this question is ultimately going to come down to campaign parameters.

Re: Evasion Talent

But wouldn't the Desolidification only last for the duration of the attack' date=' allowing you to attack back on your next phase?[/quote']

 

However, a smart group of agents could just keep hitting you with AoE stuff and keep you Desolid more or less indefinitely (delaying actions appropriately). Hard to coordinate, but doable. They won't be hurting you, but you'll have problems doing anything useful until you manage to get out of their effective range. And if the Desolid is on an Abort, rather than a Trigger, then you've used your attack action for the next phase, anyway.

 

Just thinking, you could replace Lucius' Extra-Dimensional Movement above (I like that option, but variety & spice) with a Summon Cover ability, or even an Instant Barrier with a variety of SFX.

Re: Evasion Talent

There is an assumption at the core of Hero that is also in D&D, but which D&D has mitigated a great deal over the years. If you are strong somewhere, you are weak somewhere else. More accurately (in Hero terms), if there is an Offensive ability, there is also a way to Defend against it. If there is a Defensive ability, then there is a way to Attack around it. The high DCV character has ALWAYS been vulnerable to AoE attacks. In my group, the One-Hex AoE advantage is known as 'The Speedster Killer'. This is intentional, and a large part of the balance that allows for nearly any character to be reasonably pitted against another character of equal points.

As your character advances, you can shore up the weaknesses, or play to the strengths, but you will always have weaknesses. If the GM is constantly throwing AoE attacks against you, finding a defense against that is important. Why would you buy a Defense that only works against AoE? Mechanically, because it will cost fewer points than a power that works against everything. Thematically, because it represents the character developing methods to deal with this particular weakness.

To me, part of the fun that Hero has is this simple balance. There is no perfect defense, no way of dealing with every situation head on. It can lead to wonderfully inventive role-play and Power usage because someone always has your number. Finding this balance is not as simple as in other games, and requires recognition of the existence of this balance on the part of both GMs and players. But once you have it, you will find those weaknesses as much fun to work with as the strengths.

Re: Selling back OMCV

But of course. One of the first songs I remember really liking before high school (back in '82 or so, I think).

And, naturally, it's on the album Stop Making Sense.