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Peregrine

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  2. How does a Megacorp make money?

    in Star Hero

    Posted

    Re: How does a Megacorp make money?

     

    ...the introduction of natural monopolies [and] free trade... natural monopolies enabled capitalism

     

    I do not think that the emphasized terms mean what you think they mean...

     

     

    ..because "monopoly" is the antitheses of both. What you have described here is a purer form of merchantilism, where law/regulation/treaty favors one or more economic actors over others, with the right of force ensuring compliance.

  3. How does a Megacorp make money?

    in Star Hero

    Posted

    Re: How does a Megacorp make money?

     

    Outright warfare between megacorps is not a big feature of cyberpunk. When it happens it'll be small scale and mostly through proxies.

     

    Cyberpunk 2020 presented this exact scenario in their Fourth Corporate War sourcebooks. A Corporate War between the two biggest megas on the planet caused the (near?) total collapse of the global economy. Not coincidentally, this was the planned end of the CP2020 product line.

  4. Idea: The Champions Multiverse Project.

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: Why no 1st/2nd/3rd/4th Edition Champions Earths?

     

    Whether "the attempt didn't work" is debatable; but certainly the 4E Champions Universe is a distinct entity from that of 5E/6E. Even major established groups like VIPER and DEMON are significantly different from one incarnation to the next.

     

    I would even split it into "Champions 4e Earth" and "Dark Champions 4e Earth" on the simple basis of the fate/status of the organization RAVEN. I might even argue for a third division, "Mutant Files Earth", given the substantial boost in power levels relative to the rest of the Champions Universe 4e.

  9. Fused Powers

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Fused Powers

     

    This is the kind of think I would just require a Teamwork and then Power roll from each character' date=' not a specific power build.[/quote']

     

    Yep. The OPs example was one of spontaneity, not preexisting character build.

  10. How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

     

    Okay, I said "amoral thugs" just as an extreme example. Really the point it that they are supposed to be playing heroes, so whatever other idiosyncrasies the characters may have they need to be heroes first and foremost.

     

    One problem you might be facing is one unique to storytelling. You say the players act realistically, but consider that you are their only window into the world you have created. This very often means that anything you say or mention is somehow important and so no matter how you describe stuff red flags are always going up for them, because you wouldn't mention it if it didn't have some significance. In real life you encounter thousands of tidbits of info every day, most of which fades into the background because it isn't all that important. In a role-playing game you can't go into all that detail or you would spend the whole time describing the colors of passing cars and what direction the breeze was blowing and whatnot. It is tricky to give enough detail to camoflage the vital details in the description of the scene without confusing and boring players with insignificant minutia.

     

    Tricky enough that I would recommend not bothering all that often. And keep this in mind: as a storytelling medium, RPGs are a thing unto themselves. If you try to tell a story via an RPG as if it were some other medium, you will fail far more often than you will succeed (anecdotal exceptions to the contrary notwithstanding). [/tangent]

  15. My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: My character building technique (How to build Hero System Characters)

     

    I like this. A lot. Comments below.

     

    I am sick of posting pieces of this in other threads. This is the process I go through when I create a character. It includes the "campaign reality check" stuff to check your stats, defenses and other stuff to make sure that you aren't a total wimp.

     

    http://tashasbraindump.blogspot.com/2010/09/creating-hero-system-characters-101.html Is where I posted this to first.

     

    ---

    It's pretty common for someone to look at the Hero System rule book and be totally overwhelmed by the options inside. Usually first characters are a mish mash of powers of wildly varying powerlevels and are not really suited for play. After seeing this come up time and time again on the Hero Games forums I thought that it was time for me to try and answer this once and for all.

     

     

    1) Learn everything possible about the campaign. ie What Genre, What kind of adventures will be run (ie Action, Political, soapopera etc). Does it take place in one spot (ie one city) or does it travel? How often will characters be engage in combat? How serious is the game (is it comedy, Tragedy, high drama or something inbetween?)These questions gives you a direction for your character and it allows you to make a character that fits the GM's campaign.

     

    2) Know the powerlevel of the campaign. Know what the Dex and SPD range is and what the Average stat for both of those is. You also need the Point levels of the campaign (ie 350pt supers, 150pt Heroic normals). How powerful should your attacks be (ie 10d6, AKA DC10, AKA 50pt attacks). Average and maximum OCV, DCV, OMCV, and DMCV (for 5e players the last two are Mental combat values). Maximum and Average PD and ED also maxes for unusual Defenses (ie Power def, Mental def, Flash Def). Average is important as it tells you what most PCs should have for that ability, so you can decide whether your character should be above or below that value.

     

    IF (and that's a big IF) the GM is A. willing to provide the above information (beyond point levels - that's always given) and B. not planning a bait-and-switch campaign.

     

    3) Come up with a basic idea of what the character is beyond adventuring. ie Marine Corps Sniper, High Society Socialite, College Professor, News Reporter etc. This gives your character a life outside of adventuring and gives greater depth to their background. This step also can give you ideas for people who may be attached to the character both for good or bad (ie a Dependent or a person Hunting the PC) Write these ideas down.

     

    4) Now work on their Adventuring side. Wizard, Healing Priest, Person turned into metal, Thief/Rogue, Person who can create fire effects. Be general at this point, specifics come next

     

    5) Take those generalities and be more specific. Write out what they can do in plain english (don't even worry about opening a rule book yet). This step is VERY important for Super Heroes and for Spell Casters. Done right this will both help with writing up powers and will suggest weaknesses.Make sure that this list shows what you want your powers to DO. Fiery Body from being possessed by flame elemental is a good start, but you need to write down specifics of what the Character does with that Fiery body. The more specific and detailed the writeup the easier it will come to write up powers.

    ie Fireperson

    a. Can project bolts of fire

    b. Body's fiery aura can vaporize bullets and is resistant to heat effects

    c. Being made of fire makes character lighter than air and allows her to fly

    d. can see heat (ie Infrared Vision)

     

    5) Start writing the character up. This is where you open your Rule books and Genre books. I recommend starting with skills. See if you can find a writeup of your profession in the genre book. Most of the professions have some sort of package that lists out skills (and complications) that are appropriate for that profession. You may think of more. Next work on Perks (things like favors, contacts and licences), Go onto Talents, then Powers. When you start to write up powers go back to your list of what your powers should do, then find the power in the book that best fits that writeup. Start with the abilities that translate easy. (ie Can project bolts of fire; sounds like either a Blast or a Killing Attack Ranged or it can be both if you like)

     

    6) Now balance the character so they fall within the points budget. This is a great time to see if some of the powers can be purchased in a Multipower. Also think of limitations on your powers (Power requires a Roll is a good limit for beginning heroes, also think of weakness in powers ie Fire powers probably don't work under water or in Vacuum. Also this a good time to lower stats that you were kind of wishing for but don't break the concept to lower (ie Presence is a good one to lower). If you cant come under budget go onto the next step because you might find ways to save points in the proofing stage

     

    7) Proof the character vs campaign limits. These question are to reality check the character so they aren't a total wimp or totally Over powered.

     

    a. Do I have at least 1 attack power that is straight up dice of damage (ie Strength, Energy Blast or Ego Attack). This means one attack power that has no advantages like NND, Armor Piercing, Penetrating etc. If your powers all have gimmicks you can find yourself in situations where the character cannot damage the badguys at all, which can make for a frustrating experience.

     

    b. Are my defenses = 2x to 2.5x the dice being thrown in the game (ie if the campaign is based on 50pt (10d6 powers), then I should have from 20-30 Defenses.

     

    c. Can I take one attack at campaign average with an average roll and not be stunned (ie have my Con Score exceeded by damage taken after defenses) 1d6 does 3.5 average stun. so 3.5 x 10d6 = 35 stun on average - PD or ED (lets go with 20) and you take 15 stun which means that you need 16 Con to not be stunned by an average hit (round to 18 to take advantage of figured chars).

     

    d. Do I have enough stun to take 3-5 average attacks?

     

    e. Do I have enough End to use my most common attack + run end using defenses + movement for one full turn? ie (Sum Attack End Cost + Defense End Cost + Movement End cost/2)* SPD gets that number Move/2 is because you take half moves during any phase you attack.

     

    f. Do I have some movement power so I can move faster than the average person who moves 6"/phase or is moving slowly ok for the character concept.

     

    All good stuff. no comments.

     

     

    8) Does the character still fit the points budget? If you are under budget go onto Complications/Disadvantages the next step. If not, then really look hard at all of your powers and skills and see if there is something that can be cut (and purchased later when you get exp). Also, see if there is some other limitation you can place on your powers to help lower points.

     

    As per the emphasis I added above, too many GMs get hung up on "you didn't have an in-game opportunity to learn that" ("because I didn't give you any opportunity to do so" being both unsaid and avoided by said GMs).

     

     

    9) Go back through your notes and see if any complications jump out at you. If you were the crusading lawyer or reporter perhaps some criminal is hunting the character. Perhaps you know that the character is curious, has strong convictions against killing. Perhaps that body of flame has a weakness against cold attacks. Write it all down and come up with your complications. BTW Complications are good for the character. They give the GM something to grasp onto to help write adventures that involve the character beyond just being there. Don't be afraid to have that weakness to alien glowing rocks, or Ice attacks, have a sweet curious Aunt May, or a Wife/Husband,Girlfriend/Boyfriend. These things make your character interesting, not your powers and skills. If you are really hurting for ideas go to this site, it's a real nice resource for Physical, and Psychological Complications along with Social Complications Masterlist of Limitations

     

    Addendum - pick Complications that you want in your character's story, not "what this character's minute-by-minute life would look like", because a good game will focus on the significant events, not the mundane ones. (The latter may come on-screen on occasion, but the emphasis should be on the former.)

     

     

    10) Go though your notes and write down your characer's background. ie Job, what the character did before they started adventuring. It can be anything from a bullet pointed list of events to a short story. Make sure the GM gets that background along with the Hero system writeup. You are done and if you have followed all of the steps you should have a well rounded character that isn't a total wimp, that can contribute inside and outside of combat, and has a background that the GM can use to write adventures

     

    Congratulations you have finished your character!

     

    Amen!:thumbup:

  18. Normals

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: Normals

     

    I'd also like to see a military book, Special Ops Hero, say. Something that lays out some basics of how military groups work, from the ground up, and gives some ideas about how to use them in a campaign setting. I'd love to run a military campaign, mixed with Star Hero or PAH.

     

    GURPS Special Ops covers this very well from the non-stats perspective; the intrepid could even covert the GURPS stats to Hero. But yeah; I'd like to see a HEROic take on our real-life trained paranormal operatives. (Those folks are FAR from "Normal"; in a superheroic setting it would be reasonable for them to be low-powered supers with "advanced and intensive training" as their origin.)

  19. House Rules

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: House Rules

     

    You mean, other than the official optional rules in the Hero System rulebooks?

     

    House Rule Number One: NO HOUSE RULES.

     

    I don't have a problem with house rules in general. I have a problem when house rules are represented as the correct interpretation of RAW, particularly when RAW has changed over editions. If you want to grandfather something in from a previous edition, that's a house rule, too. Be honest about it.

  22. CHAMPIONS VILLAINS -- What Do *You* Want To See?

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: CHAMPIONS VILLAINS -- What Do *You* Want To See?

     

    A Bat-Mite or Mr. Mxylplytk(sic) type villain might work better--say' date=' a mischievous but powerful faerie with a ludicrously large VPP who the players can't easily beat, but have to find a way to foil or trick into meeting the condition that banishes him back home.[/quote']

     

    As long as the focus of the scenario isn't "humiliate the PCs, directly or indirectly, until they find the One True Solution to the puzzle". Each half of that statement is bad GMing; put together... well, lets just be reminded that two wrongs never make a right.

  23. In Progress From Blackwyrm Games: Mythic America

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: In Progress From Blackwyrm Games: Mythic America

     

    One thing that will turn me of in a heartbeat is any kind of political correctness, especially when it comes to personifying the "worst aspects of America", since the identity of those aspects is highly debatable among any but the most hidebound (on both sides of any argument over such). Granted, Mythic tales are generally far more cut-and-dried, but be careful where you make the cut; erring on the side of political correctness would be that exact turn-off I opened with.

  25. City Killer - Only you can destroy Philadelphia

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: City Killer - Only you can destroy Philadelphia

     

    The volcanically active margin of North America is its western margin' date=' and only the northwestern segment of it currently has the right conditions to produce volcanoes. The interior of North America and the East coast lie far from any currently active plate boundaries and therefore are not locales where volcanism can occur.[/quote']

     

    Except for the Yellowstone caldera, but that's at least a continent-killer...

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