lendrick

So I was building some heavy armor for my campaign, and I wanted to make it slow people down by reducing their dexterity by some amount.  I wanted to use Side Effect, but Side Effect seems like it's built around being a single, one-off occurrence when a power is activated, as opposed to a constant thing.  Is there an official, accepted way of doing this, or should I just wing it?

(Note:  I'm looking for something in the general case; I realize some of this could probably be accomplished by adding weight to the armor, but what if it's actually cursed and I want to make the armor reduce PRE or INT instead?)

Greets

A couple of nights ago I had a thought that it might be fun to run a game in the Scott Pilgrim universe. My friends thought it sounded fun, so now it's up to me to think of various powers, rules, and other customizations to adapt the Hero 6E framework for a Scott-Pilgrim-esque experience.

Here's what I was thinking so far:

* (Obviously) make heavy use of the Martial Arts book, particularly the video game and anime bits.

* Your gaming group is your band. As such, most people either play an instrument or are at least groupies.

* Musical instruments are ranged weapons.

* Delivering a good soliloquy might earn you a temporary power boost (power of love, power of self-respect, etc)

* Rivals, followers, and dependents would play a big part.

* Astral travel (like Ramona's dream travel) would have to be worked in somehow.

* To keep the mood light and the game fast and simple, I might have damage be stun only. Villains would of course explode into a pile of coins when they die.

Any other thoughts? I'd eventually like to come up with a coherent list of rules, powers, and recommendations that I can pass out to people.

Re: One person versus a starship?

Starships don't necessarily have the same design limitations as airplanes, though. For instance, when you're floating out in space, you can have many inches of armor plating (and that's to say nothing of force fields, etc).

Now, I can see where maybe some sort of specialized shoulder-mounted weapon might be able to damage a small starship, and in that case "real weapon" would throw that off.

Re: One person versus a starship?

I've downscaled the damage that a lot of weapons do, since otherwise it seems like it's just a big numbers race. Futuristic weapons are cool, but I don't want people vaporizing each other in one hit, at least not while they're wearing armor.

One other scale issue I've seen is on page 398 of the bestiary. The "Engine of Destruction" has a planet-destroying cannon that does 10d6K. On average, that's 35 points of BODY, which a particularly tough human could endure the brunt of, to say nothing of a whole planet. The orbital cannon on 6E1p352 is another example of this. It's why I was wondering if there was something I was missing... Both of these things have MegaScale, but it appears to only apply to range. Perhaps it ought to apply to damage and BODY as well. That would keep the numbers a lot lower and still let you say that a single shot from a ship-mounted plasma beam would vaporize you instantly.

Edit: Per 6E1p48, a "competent" human maxes out at 20 BODY. 35 points of killing damage would put them at -15 body, which means that, *on average*, the "planet-destroying" cannon wouldn't kill Rasputin (or an Elephant) let alone a whole planet. Now, I know Rasputin's pretty tough, seriously.

Re: One person versus a starship?

Okay, that might fix my scale problem. I'll have to run the numbers.

Re: One person versus a starship?

Oh, just a clarification, I mean 6d6 of regular damage. On kill, it only does 2d6.

Do ships just not take STUN at all?

So, I'm running a space-based campaign in Hero 6, and I'm trying to build a starship (think maybe Serenity-sized) for my group to travel in. It seems to me like, according to the rules, it would be possible for one person doing 6d6 with a phasor rifle to take it down in combat (whereas honestly it ought to be able to just shrug that off). How is this sort of thing generally addressed?

* Is there a rule that separates massive scale combat from normal combat?

* Do you inflate the numbers on the ship to make up for this (for instance, having enough PD and ED that normal hand-held weapons can't damage it)? This option worries me, because I don't want to be rolling 20+ dice when ships shoot at each other.

* Just say "sorry, your weapons can't damage it"?

Peace,

Bart

Re: Modular sci-fi weapons?

Ah, cool. I own the APG, but I hadn't delved into it too much since we're just starting out. I'll check that out.

Re: Modular sci-fi weapons?

Well, I wouldn't base the costs *purely* on the point values, but I think they ought to be taken into account. Obviously if there's an ability that you want to limit, you'd charge more for it, and if it's something that you want all the players to have, you'd charge less. Similarly, it would make sense that some things (like a throwing knige) might just cost way less than others (like a phasor rifle) despite possibly having point scores within the same order of magnitude.

My point is that while it shouldn't necessarily be the sole basis for determining costs, it's certainly a useful number to have in terms of game balance.

Re: Modular sci-fi weapons?

I agree with your point about not necessarily doing all of the calculations for every item. On the other hand, doing them gives you a nice estimate of how much a given thing should cost. My plan is to base item prices (with a certain amount of leeway) on the point costs, so that way when I give money out to players, I'll know roughly the amount of "points" I'm giving them in terms of the items they can buy.

Greets!

I'm putting together some gear for my sci-fi campaign and I was thinking it might be nifty for their phasor rifles to have a modular design. That is, a phasor rifle would be able to support one barrel (which determines the kind of shot that it fires), one sight (to give bonuses for various circumstances, allow you to see infra-red, etc), and one clip (which would be an endurance battery that would have a certain endurance total and possibly recharge at a certain rate). Switching out a module should be quick, but not instantaneous. The rifle should be functional without a barrel attachment or sight, but should require a clip.

At any rate, if I wanted these modules to be available for purchase separately from the gun itself, how might I go about building them?

Thanks!

Bart

Re: Weapon that does knockback with no damage?

Thanks. I realized yesterday what I did and posted it on the discussion board too.... can someone delete this thread for me? Sorry for the trouble.

Peace,

Bart

Re: Weapon that does knockback with no damage?

I'm a bit nervous about applying double knockback (particularly multiple times) because of that big red stop sign.

Also, it might help to imagine this as a body-sized "wave" of force that hits more like a shove than a brick wall. I would think that knockback as written would tend to apply more to, say, a shotgun blast to the chest.

Mods: I accidentally posted this in the Rules Questions forum. Please delete it there.

Greets!

I've just started running a sci-fi campaign and I'd like to put together a weapon that does knockback with no BODY damage, or at least very little. I realize there are a number of different ways to do this, but I'd like some input as to what would be best.

The weapon is a shoulder-mounted gun called a Kinetic Pulse Cannon, and its main purpose is to essentially throw people and objects a fair distance. Actually getting hit by the kinetic blast shouldn't hurt much more than having a person throw you, although the landing could presumably cause injury, depending on what you hit.

The solution I'm favoring thus far doesn't actually involve the Does Knockback modifier at all, but instead uses 20 STR Telekinesis with a 2/3 limitation (only usable for throwing things directly away from you) and an endurance battery to store charges. It seems preferable manipulating Knockback into doing what I want it to, and it keeps the damage fairly low (4d6 normal damage).

Thoughts? Any better ideas? I feel a bit odd essentially subverting the knockback system, but it seems like it basically requires a lot of damage to be done, which isn't really what I want.

Bart

Greets!

I've just started running a sci-fi campaign and I'd like to put together a weapon that does knockback with no BODY damage, or at least very little. I realize there are a number of different ways to do this, but I'd like some input as to what would be best.

The weapon is a shoulder-mounted gun called a Kinetic Pulse Cannon, and its main purpose is to essentially throw people and objects a fair distance. Actually getting hit by the kinetic blast shouldn't hurt much more than having a person throw you, although the landing could presumably cause injury, depending on what you hit.

The solution I'm favoring thus far doesn't actually involve the Does Knockback modifier at all, but instead uses 20 STR Telekinesis with a 2/3 limitation (only usable for throwing things directly away from you) and an endurance battery to store charges. It seems preferable manipulating Knockback into doing what I want it to, and it keeps the damage fairly low (4d6 normal damage).

Thoughts? Any better ideas? I feel a bit odd essentially subverting the knockback system, but it seems like it basically requires a lot of damage to be done, which isn't really what I want.

Bart

Re: Cover Fire ability. Comments?

Perhaps, but the other limitations still would add up:

* It only provides cover against ranged attacks, which I think safely diminishes half of its usefulness right there.

* The fact that it only works against attacks from enemies who are within line of sight might knock that down to a 2/3 limitation.

Does that make sense? Also, I'm not sure how to express that the user has to attack in order to activate this power, so I lumped it in with the limitations.

Also, I'm not familiar with Guns of Opportunity, but I thought guns were an OAF?

Cover Fire (7 CP)

How does one go about building an ability that adds to damage class, such as Offensive Shot (-1 OCV, -1 DCV, +4 DC, costs 4 character points) with whatever Weapon Elements you have trained?

Re: Damage Class, weapons and abilities

I'm trying to keep things simple the first time around, so we're not going to be doing hit locations. I'm trying to keep things relatively parallel to D&D 3.5/Pathfinder in order get the group comfortable.

Re: Damage Class, weapons and abilities

I'm the GM (or will be, anyway). Since none of us have played Hero 6E (or any iteration), I want to make sure things are reasonably well balanced, and I've got very little sense of how things work.

I'll probably knock the damage on the phasor down to a DC 4, just to be safe.

Hey folks

Got a quick question for you. Let's say I'm going with the recommended DC cap of 8 in a heroic campaign. If I have a character with a heavy phaser that can put out 6d6 of stun damage, if they use an Offensive Shot (I believe that's the name) which, among other things, adds +4 DC, does that mean they're breaking the cap? Or because they're combining different abilities, do they get a pass? I realize this probably isn't a hard and fast rule either way, but I'm curious what people think in terms of balance.

Thanks,

Bart

Re: Psionic powers -- any comments?

It depends. Apart from the physical defense it provides, the armor is a piece of electronic equipment. I hadn't considered exactly how, but I'd imagine there might be multiple ways to weaken or disable it (possibly including psionics).

Re: Psionic powers -- any comments?

Good call.

XS3 Stealth Power Armor

• Resistant Protection (5 PD) (9 Active Points); Unified Power (XS3 Stealth Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  

• Invisibility to Sight Group , Custom Adder, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Time Limit (1 Minute; +3/4) (45 Active Points); 3 Charges (-1 1/4), Instant (-1/2), Bright Fringe (-1/4), IIF (-1/4), Unified Power (XS3 Stealth Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  

Multipower, 18-point reserve, (18 Active Points); all slots IIF (-1/4), Unified Power (XS3 Stealth Power Armor; -1/4):

• +5 STR, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (7 Active Points); IIF (-1/4), Unified Power (XS3 Stealth Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  

• Resistant Protection (12 PD) (18 Active Points); IIF (-1/4), Unified Power (XS3 Stealth Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  

• +2 with Ranged Combat (16 Active Points); Can only be used to raise OCV Power loses about two-thirds of its effectiveness (-1 1/2), IIF (-1/4), Unified Power (XS3 Stealth Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  

XR4 Heavy Power Armor

• Resistant Protection (12 PD) (18 Active Points); -5 DEX, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (-1), OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR4 Heavy Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  

• Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Area Of Effect (3m Radius Explosion; +1/4) (37 Active Points); 6 Charges (-3/4), OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR4 Heavy Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  

Multipower, 22-point reserve, (22 Active Points); all slots OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR4 Heavy Power Armor; -1/4):

• +15 STR, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (22 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR4 Heavy Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  

• Resistant Protection (12 PD) (18 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR4 Heavy Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  

XR5 Combat Power Armor

• Resistant Protection (8 PD) (12 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR5 Combat Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 0 END
  
  

Multipower, 18-point reserve, (18 Active Points); all slots OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR5 Combat Power Armor; -1/4):

• +10 STR, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR5 Combat Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs END
  
  

• +2 with Ranged Combat (16 Active Points); Can only be used to raise OCV Power loses about two-thirds of its effectiveness (-1 1/2), OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR5 Combat Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs END
  
  

• Resistant Protection (12 PD) (18 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Unified Power (XR5 Combat Power Armor; -1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 0 END
  
  

Phasor Rifle:

• +2 RSL (4 Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited Power Only works when firing single shots (-1/2), Unified Power (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs END
  
  

• Endurance Reserve (40 END, 2 REC) Reserve: (12 Active Points); OAF (-1), Unified Power (-1/4); REC: (2 Active Points); Slow Recovery 1 Minute (-1)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 0 END
  
  

• Killing Attack - Ranged 2 1/2d6 (40 Active Points); OAF (-1), Lockout: Stun (-1/2), Beam (-1/4), Unified Power (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 4 END
  
  

• Blast 4d6, STUN Only (+0), Autofire (3 shots; +1/4) (25 Active Points); OAF (-1), Lockout: Kill (-1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Beam (-1/4), Unified Power (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 4 END
  
  

Phasor Pistol:

• Endurance Reserve (20 END, 1 REC) Reserve: (7 Active Points); OAF (-1), Unified Power (-1/4); REC: (2 Active Points); Slow Recovery 1 Minute (-1)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 0 END
  
  

• Killing Attack - Ranged 1 1/2d6 (25 Active Points); OAF (-1), Lockout: Stun (-1/2), Beam (-1/4), Unified Power (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 2 END
  
  

• Blast 3d6, STUN Only (+0) (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Lockout: Kill (-1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Beam (-1/4), Unified Power (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 2 END
  
  

Re: "Leadership" multipower

Here's an updated version. I liked the bit where it increases PRE versus Presence attacks, so I added that. I also like the suggestion that it be limited to characters who are actually following orders, so I added that too. Here's the new version:

Multipower, 27-point reserve, (27 Active Points); all slots Requires a PRE roll (Characteristic roll; -1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (Recipients must be following follow leader's orders to receive benefit.; -1/2), Incantations (-1/4):

• +2 OCV, Usable Simultaneously (within 6m) (up to 8 people at once; +1 1/4), Recipient must be within Limited Range of the Grantor for power to be granted (22 Active Points); Time Limit (1 Minute; -2), Requires a PRE roll (Characteristic roll; -1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (Recipients must be following follow leader's orders to receive benefit.; -1/2), Incantations (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs END
  
  

• +2 DCV, Usable Simultaneously (within 6m) (up to 8 people at once; +1 1/4), Recipient must be within Limited Range of the Grantor for power to be granted (22 Active Points); Time Limit (1 Minute; -2), Requires a PRE roll (Characteristic roll; -1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (Recipients must be following follow leader's orders to receive benefit.; -1/2), Incantations (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs END
  
  

• +20 STUN, Usable Simultaneously (within 6m) (up to 8 people at once; +1 1/4), Recipient must be within Limited Range of the Grantor for power to be granted (22 Active Points); Time Limit (1 Minute; -2), Requires a PRE roll (Characteristic roll; -1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (Recipients must be following follow leader's orders to receive benefit.; -1/2), Incantations (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs END
  
  

• +5 Teamwork, Persistent (+1/4), Usable Simultaneously (within 6m) (up to 8 people at once; +1 1/4), Recipient must be within Limited Range of the Grantor for power to be granted (25 Active Points); Time Limit (1 Minute; -2), Requires a PRE roll (Characteristic roll; -1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (Recipients must be following follow leader's orders to receive benefit.; -1/2), Incantations (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs END
  
  

• +10 PRE, Persistent (+1/4), Usable Simultaneously (within 6m) (up to 16 people at once; +1 1/2), Recipient must be within Limited Range of the Grantor for power to be granted (27 Active Points); Time Limit (1 Minute; -2), Limited Power Power loses about two-thirds of its effectiveness (Only versus Presence attacks; -1 1/2), Requires A PRE Roll (Characteristic roll; -1/2), Incantations (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs END
  
  

Powers Total: 17

Re: Psionic powers -- any comments?

Okay, here we go. I made a number of modifications:

• Pyrokinesis does more damage
  
• Cryokinesis does a bit more damage, and also lowers SPD
  
• Sleep does slightly less damage, to make it DC 8.
  
• Heat Vortex only applies defense once.
  
• I swapped out the Telepathy power (which was intended for communication) with a slightly limited Mind Link.
  
• Haste now costs a lot less.
  
• The point of Awareness is that it allows you to sense things through walls and the like. I haven't changed it, but given that, maybe people can make suggestions?
  

Thanks for all the help thus far!

Bart

Healing:

• Healing BODY 2d6, Decreased Re-use Duration (1 Hour; +1/2) (30 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x4 END; -1 1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 12 END
  
  

Enhancement:

• +2 SPD (20 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 4 END
  
  

• +20 STUN (10 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x6 END; -2 1/2), Costs Endurance (-1/2)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 6 END
  
  

• Leaping +8m (12m forward, 6m upward) (4 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x6 END; -2 1/2), Costs END To Maintain (Full END Cost; -1/2)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 6 END
  
  

• Running +12m (24m total) (12 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x6 END; -2 1/2), Costs END To Maintain (Full END Cost; -1/2)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 6 END
  
  

Mental Powers:

• Mind Link , Human and Alien and Additional Class of Minds classes of minds, Any Willing Target (20 Active Points); Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4), Limited Power Power loses about a fourth of its effectiveness (Doesn't work when there's an energy shield between user and target.; -1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 2 END
  
  

• Spatial Awareness (Unusual Group), Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) (37 Active Points); Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -1), Costs Endurance (-1/2)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 4 END
  
  

• Resistant Protection (10 Mental Defense), Allocatable (+1/4), Time Limit (1 Minute; +1/2) (26 Active Points); Perceivable (-1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 3 END
  
  

• Mental Blast 2 1/2d6 (25 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), Normal Range (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 4 END
  
  

Energy Manipulation:

• Telekinesis (10 STR) (15 Active Points); Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 1 END
  
  

• Blast 6d6 (30 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), No Knockback (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 6 END
  
  

• Killing Attack - Ranged 2 1/2d6 (40 Active Points); 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), Costs Endurance (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), Limited Range (-1/4), Beam (-1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 4 END
  
  

• Blast 6d6, Area Of Effect (8m Cone; +1/4) (37 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 8 END
  
  

• (Total: 50 Active Cost, 24 Real Cost) Blast 4d6, Area Of Effect (8m Cone; +1/4) (25 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), No Knockback (-1/4) (Real Cost: 10) plus Drain SPD 2d6, Area Of Effect (8m Cone; +1/4) (25 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) (Real Cost: 14)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 10 END
  
  

• (Total: 40 Active Cost, 18 Real Cost) Blast 1d6, Damage Over Time, Target's defenses only apply once, Lock out (cannot be applied multiple times) (5-6 damage increments, damage occurs every Turn, can be negated by Heat; +3) (20 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) (Real Cost: 9) plus Blast 1d6, Damage Over Time, Target's defenses only apply once, Lock out (cannot be applied multiple times) (5-6 damage increments, damage occurs every Turn, can be negated by Cold; +3) (20 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) (Real Cost: 9)
  
  
  [NOTE:
  This power designates two targets and transfers heat from one to the other, causing cold damage to one and heat damage to the other.
  ]
  
  
  
  
• Costs 12 END
  
  

• Resistant Protection (5 PD/5 ED), Allocatable (+1/4), Time Limit (1 Minute; +1/2) (26 Active Points); Perceivable (-1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4)
  
  
  
  
• Costs 3 END
  
  

Powers Total: 189