ErikModi

Re: Enraged Strength "Hulk Up" ability, please examine That was exactly the problem the GM and I had with the first iteration of the power, which was based on ordinary Enrage. I was pretty much pestering the GM all the time with "do I roll Enrage now? How about now? How about now? Do I roll now?" Now, part of that was because we were a bit fuzzy in defining specific Enrage conditions. Recently we'd switched to a "Rage Meter," which we'd worked as an Endurance Reserve that starts empty and can't be spent and only fills on specific conditions. It was better, but not by a lot, mostly because we did away with the Enrage rolls for it. Once the Rage Meter was full, Enrage was triggered, and I started rolling to come out when the meter was empty. With the Triggered Aid to Strength, we can set a few conditions, which will hopefully be met before the start of each of my phases, giving me a gradual build-up of Strength as the fight progresses.

Re: Enraged Strength "Hulk Up" ability, please examine Oh, you're talking a build-your-own Limitation. I thought there was a published one that would do exactly what I wanted. . . darnit.

Re: Enraged Strength "Hulk Up" ability, please examine

Re: Enraged Strength "Hulk Up" ability, please examine

Re: Enraged Strength "Hulk Up" ability, please examine Part of the problem with the flat strength increase is that, by the time an Enrage finally happens, the combat is basically over, so it's pretty functionally useless. Also, the GM has imposed a 75 active point limit on all power/characteristics etc. (though he has allowed us to buy one power at either 100 or 110 points, I forget which), and has also explicitly stated that Aids will let you break campaign limits (adding more than the 75 AP cap to one ability), so this Aid is much more useful in that regard. I wasn't sufficiently familiar with the Increased Maximum Effect to know exactly how it would match up, thanks for that. That'll give the GM and I something to compare it to when deciding how to work the power. As for return rates, that's exactly why I want it to be able to fire a total of four times per turn (I act on four phases, and have to reset the Trigger at the start of my phase). Yeah, a 1d6 will most likely be gone completely, but if I can build up seven or eight points, then it accomplishes the slow, overall build to maximum strength I was going for. Thank you VERY much for the feedback!

Okay, I've been mulling this idea over for quite some time. My character is something not unlike Symbiote Spider-Man/Venom/Carnage, though with a healthy dose of anger management issues (which we've been doing as extra strength, only usable while Enraged.) I've been liking this idea less and less as the campaign has gone on, and would now like to switch to a more Hulk-like "the angrier he gets, the stronger he gets" framework. So, here's the ability I wrote up for it: Enraged Strength: Aid Strength 5d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action to reset, Character does not control activation of personal Trigger, Three or more activation conditions apply simultaneously; +1) (75 Active Points); Reduced Roll (1d6) (-2), Only to Aid Self (-1) The idea behind the "Reduced Roll" limitation is that I want the Aid to slowly build up over the course of two or more turns toward maximum, rather than rolling all 5d6 two or three times. Discussing the "Increased Maximum Effect" advantage with my GM, he was understandably reticent about it, since the advantage was apparently so misused it was removed from 6th Edition. I figured that only rolling 1/5 the potential Aid dice at once made sense as a -2 limitation (or, if you like, a -1/2 limitation per die below maximum rolled.) The way the Trigger works is this: Basically, the GM and I agree on a set of conditions which will "provoke Rage" in the character. When one of these conditions is met, the Aid triggers and the character gains the boost to Strength. The GM was likewise wary about the ability triggering multiple consecutive phases (or even multiple times on the same phase), so I designed the Trigger that it requires a Zero Phase action to reset, essentially meaning that once Rage is provoked, it cannot be provoked again until my character acts (Speed 4, in case anyone was wondering.) The character doesn't control the Trigger activation because, after all, he can't just "get mad" at a whim. . . enemies have to provoke him or things have to go awry. I have not had the chance to show this ability to my GM yet, but I would very much appreciate some constructive feedback. Thank you.

Re: Why Don't The Villains Kill? Think about this truism: "There's no safe place on Earth for a cop-killer." Now give the "cops" in question heat vision, the ability to lift a couple hundred tons, energy blasts that can shatter concrete, mental abilities that can make you spend the rest of your life thinking you're an eight-year-old girl, etc., and you see why some villains might be reticent about actually killing a hero. Crazy as the Joker is, you can be damn sure every time he thinks about killing Batman, he's calculating how long he'll last when Superman comes to collect. And with heroes like Superman, the above phrase gains several points in Megascale. Comic books, and a lot of other serial media, I think skated for a long time on the idea that "this is the way it is." Heroes and villains don't kill each other because, well, the story gets pretty boring of the hero has no villains to fight, and the story effectively ends if the hero dies. More recently, I think, coming up with valid reasons why villains don't kill heroes has become more important (heroes still tend to skate on the "heroes don't kill" trope, though this is changing a bit, either finding reasons why heroes choose not to kill or creating heroes who have no problem killing.) It could be that the hero and villain are just that good, never giving the other opportunities to outright kill them. It may be some kind of "I want you to admit I'm right" thing, or quirky obsessive relationship, or the afforementioned fear of killing Batman only to have Superman give you a two-mile atomic wedgie.

Re: Marvel Avengers' Alliance Heroes Yeah, that's the plan. Build each class as it's own power, and a hero can only have one class at a time. In the game, heroes have alternate outfits which can change their classes.

Re: Question: Can you give Limitations on a Perk? If you build the Perk as a Power, why not?

Re: The One, True Son of Krypton Yeah, I thought about doing Unified, but applying the kryptonite disadvantages to each power seemed more cost-effective.

Re: The One, True Son of Krypton Awhile ago, I did just that. Based more on the Smallville presentation of Kryptonians, the 75 active points is to make the powers legal for the HERO game I'm playing in. Kryptonian Strength: +60 STR (60 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 30 Kryptonian Agility: +30 DEX (60 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 30 Kryptonian Constitution: +60 CON (60 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 30 Kryptonian Speed: +7 SPD (70 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 35 Kryptonian Recovery: +71 REC (71 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 35 Kryptonian Endurance: +355 END (71 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 35 Kryptonian Body: +65 BODY (65 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 32 Kryptonian Stun: +130 STUN (65 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 32 Kryptonian Toughness I: +73 PD (73 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4), Bypassed by Kryptonian Strength (-1/4) Cost: 32 Kryptonian Toughness II: +73 ED (73 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 36 Kryptonian Resistance I: Resistant Protection (50 PD) (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4), Bypassed by Kryptonian Strength (-1/4) Cost: 33 Kryptonian Resistance II: Resistant Protection (50 ED) (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 37 Kryptonian Invulnerability I: Damage Negation (-15 DCs Physical) (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4), Bypassed by Kryptonian Strength (-1/4) Cost: 33 Kryptonian Invulnerability II: Damage Negation (-15 DCs Energy) (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 37 Kryptonian Indomitability: Knockback Resistance -75m (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4), Bypassed by Kryptonian Strength (-1/4) Cost: 33 Kryptonian Regeneration: Regeneration (3 BODY per Turn), Can Heal Limbs, Resurrection (73 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Cost: 36 Kryptonian Movement: Movement, 75-point reserve 4f Kryptonian Flight: Flight 75m (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) 4f Leaping +150m (154m forward, 77m upward) (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) 4f Running +75m (87m total) (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) 2f Swimming +75m (79m total) (38 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Kryptonian Tricks: Multipower, 75-point reserve 4f Heat Vision: Killing Attack - Ranged 5d6 (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) 4f Arctic Breath: Blast 15d6 (75 Active Points); Deleted by Gold Kryptonite (-1/2), Suppressed by Blue Kryptonite (-1/4), Suppressed by Green Kryptonite (-1/4) Of course, you still end up with an almost 800 point character BEFORE applying points to ordinary characteristics, skills, etc.

So, if anyone's familiar with the Facebook game Marvel Avengers' Alliance, it's pretty awesome. For awhile now, I've been thinking about importing their hero setups into Hero System, for chuckles. I'm getting a start. . . a pretty slow start. The first thing I'm doing is writing up the class bonuses. For those who haven't played the game, there are five classes (technically six, but Generalist provides no bonuses or penalties, so it's more of a "non-class.") Each class is strong against one other class, and weak against another. As in: Blaster --> Bruiser --> Scrapper --> Infiltrator --> Tactician --> Blaster A Blaster always crits against Bruisers, and ignores their Defense. A Bruiser gains Enraged when attacking or attacked by Scrappers. Scrappers attack twice when attacking Infiltrators. Infiltrators gain "Combat Reflexes" when attacking or attacked by Tacticians, which allows them to counterattack when attacked, deal increased damage, and makes all their attacks "stealth" to bypass abilities which allow a character to intercept attacks for another character. Tacticians gain an extra action when attacking Blasters (different from Scrappers, who immediately use a predetermined attack ability; Tacticians can use ANY ability they possess.) Now, I'm not sure how to represent the counterattack and extra attack abilities in Hero. Suggestions? What I have so far is: Blaster Class Bonus: Naked Advantage: for up to 75 Active Points, Armor Piercing (x4; +1) (0 Active Points); Conditional Power Power does not work in Common Circumstances (When not attacking Bruisers; -1/2) [Note: Hero Designer created this ability at 0 points and 0 END, that can't be right. . . ] Bruiser Class Bonus: Aid Strength 4d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger resets automatically, immediately after it activates, Character does not control activation of personal Trigger; When attacking Scrappers; +3/4) (54 Active Points); Conditional Power Power does not work in Very Common Circumstances (When not attacking Scrappers; -1). Cost: 27

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... At a D&D Next playtest at CONvergence (Minnesota gaming convention,) I was playing a human cleric. The rest of the party was a halfling rogue, elf mage, dwarf cleric, and dwarf warrior. After defeating a group of kobolds, we proceeded to another problem spot to find an undereducated human guarding a pen full of kobolds outside a cave, where presumably the major bad guys were waiting. The rogue kidnapped the guard, and we spent some time interrogating him, at which point the non-human party members decided it would be a good idea to dress me up in the guard's clothes and have me try and con my way into the base. As I'm talking to the equally undereducated guards, one of them notices something amiss and asks who I am. In OOC conversation, we come to the realization that we have no idea what the kidnapped guard's name was, or if we even asked. I make a Wisdom check to try and remember his name. GM: You think it was Fred, or Frank, or Francis, something like that. Me: I'm Fr-aaghah(coughcough), I watch the squeakers. ("Watching the squeakers" was something the guard had said a lot while we interviewed him.) On the first round of the ensuing combat, I alert my fellow party members by shouting "THIS WAS A BAD PLAN!"

Re: Take a Teammate to a Movie Nightscream would either take her to whatever seems good at the theater, as an earlier poster mentioned, for the experience, the feel of seeing a big movie with a big crowd, that unique energy, as well as the obligatory soda, popcorn and candy. Since he's seriously pining after his high school best friend-turned single mother stripper, he wouldn't be hitting on her. If it was movies at home. . . Shawshank Redemption perhaps, explaining to her sort of what it's like being in prison. Star Wars Saga is a gimme, if they can squeeze the whole thing in (yes, Prequels to.) Princess Bride is another obvious choice. The Fifth Element is another favorite movie of mine, and a good fit for where this character is in her life, excellent suggestion by the original! Along a somewhat similar theme, Repo! The Genetic Opera. While I (and Nightscream) have a taste for somewhat offbeat, sometimes dark movies, he'd want to show her something happy, uplifting, demonstrating the best of what humanity can aspire to. Galaxy Quest may be perfect.

Re: Sci-Fi Melee Weapons: Bat'leth, Lirpas, Lightsabres, Rykk Blades, Koltari, Denn'B And in the essence of the lightsaber, it is a fantasic, BUT NOT ALL-POWERFUL, cutting weapon.

Re: Robocop vs Terminator Ouch.

Re: Sci-Fi Melee Weapons: Bat'leth, Lirpas, Lightsabres, Rykk Blades, Koltari, Denn'B Lightsabers can actually be realistically statted without being ultimate blades of death or flashlights on steroids. A Hand Killing Attack, first of all, probably not dealing a ton of damage on its own. Armor piercing, certainly. Lightsabers are effective cutting tools, but you still need to put some muscle behind them to get them to cut through something. An armor-piercing sword, done and done. Lightsaber: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6 (2d6+1 w/STR) (Reduced Negation (5)), Armor Piercing (+1/4) (50 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Knockback (-1/4), Total Cost 22 points. Where lightsabers really come into their own is in how Jedi and Sith use them.

Re: Sci-Fi Melee Weapons: Bat'leth, Lirpas, Lightsabres, Rykk Blades, Koltari, Denn'B

Re: Robocop vs Terminator I think you're dramatically overestimating RoboCop's toughness, and drastically underestimating that of a Terminator. I'd place them as pretty much equal in terms of physical strength and resistance to damage. And that computer spike is just that, a COMPUTER spike, meant to interface with appropriately-equipped computer systems. Sure, it looks scary, and did a fine job acing Clarence Bodicker, but it's not a weapon and not meant to function as such. If RoboCop tried to stab a Terminator with that, odds are it would crumple like tinfoil.

Re: Robocop vs Terminator Depends. Does Robocop have a Cobra Assault Cannon, like the one he used to one-shot ED-209? If so, Robocop hands down. Seriously, however, comparing the armament of the two a la "Deadliest Warrior" is key. Robocop has an insanely powerful machine pistol, but it's still just a machine pistol. Terminators, in their home future, have phased plasma rifles. And as is shown in the few future battles we see through the Terminator films, these plasma rifles are quite capable of taking Terminators apart very easily. Robocop has been shown as vulnerable to sufficient quantities of damage, just like a Terminator, so a few blasts from a plasma rifle would probably do him in. Of course, if the Terminator has been sent to Robocop's time and forced to make do with those weapons, most weapons essentially cease to be a factor. Robocop's gun can't damage a Terminator, the guns a Terminator is likely get its hands on can't damage Robocop. At which point it may come do to a purely physical, hand-to-hand confrontation. Terminators appear to be far faster and more agile than Robocop, and their strength and toughness are probably about equal, giving a physical advantage to the Terminator. However, as was pointed out, Robocop is still Alex Murphy, with years of experience and training and certain "never say die" attitude that may allow him to outthink the Terminator. Of course, if high-end weapons like the Cobra Cannon come into play, weapons once more become a factor. In all likelihood, I see a conventional weapon vs. conventional weapon battle being fruitless, with a hand-to-hand confrontation ending in a draw. Robocop can outthink the Terminator, but can't overcome its agility advantage. Both Robocop and the Terminator realize they need more firepower to put down the other, and go in search of same. At which point, whoever gets the big gun first wins. Of course, there can be exceptions. A hand-to-hand confrontation may end in Robocop's favor if he can use some of the tactics ordinary humans have used to destroy them: molten metal, hydraulic presses, high explosives, etc. Of course, there's nothing preventing a Terminator from doing the same thing to him, but the question remains whether a Terminator is programmed to take advantage of such improvised weapons. Likewise, Robocop may be able to turn a Terminator-with-Big-Gun's firepower against it somehow. Basically as stated above, because of the X-Factor of "human ingenuity," I give the advantage overall to Robocop.

Re: Package Deals/Templates: Twilight Series Whatever you may or may not think about Twilight aside, that is actually a stunningly good vampire write-up. I've been grappling off-and-on with my own Hero System take on vampires, trying to give them a "blood pool" (Endurance Reserve) that recovers as they drink blood. Your feeding power is nicely done, I like the link to the razor-sharp fangs. A blood pool could easily be linked into that power, granting X recovery, only in a phase in which Feeding dealt BODY damage to another creature.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... From last night's game: Flipside has recently picked up the ability to detect powers. Like most of his abilities, this sense is touch based, i.e., he has to touch a super-powered individual to sense what powers they have. The whole point of getting the ability was essentially to let him detect what powers someone had so that he could more effectively drain them. As we finish a security system install in our civilian identities in the early, apparently overcast evening, Flipside feels a power all around him. Since he's not touching any super-powered people, this understandably weirds him out. We travel back to the base, and perform a number of experiments trying to figure out what's going on, including throwing him up in the air, as the power seems all around except from the ground. In the air, he can feel the power all around him (leading the GM to rename the session from "Twilight" to "In The Air Tonight," after the Phil Collins song.) Eventually, we manage to determine that the power is actually a Drain on Stellar Light. Shortly after we figure this out, our crime-detecting supercomputer (which we have taken great pains to avoid calling a "crimeputer") alerts us to a break in at the Plainveiw Museum of Art and History. Groundwire: What, are they stealing "Starry Night?" After the laughter dies down, she continues "What harm could that do, it's just a painting?" All players: Ooooh. Me: Yeah, until some idiot says "as long as nothing bad happens. . ."

Re: Fusions I may run that past the GM.

Re: Fusions I took another look at Requires Multiple Users, as that was the first thing I went to for trying to build this ability, but that limitation doesn't seem to support simply having two characters use a power that cannot be used without them. The "Not possible" entry seems to require nine or more characters, and our superhero team is only four.

Re: X Ray-ted Vision Nightscream may or may not. On the one hand, he's really kind of a mild-mannered science geek only marginally hardened by his stint in prison, so he'd be somewhat baffled that anyone WANTS to see him naked in the first place. On the other hand, his best friend who he desperately wants to make his girlfriend is a stripper, so he has no real hang-ups with the concept. Back on the first hand, he is helping aforementioned stripper care for her five-year-old son (whose father is the man he killed that earned him his jail time), and he thinks that at least one person in the household (okay, borderline apartment) should make their living with their clothes on. Back on the other hand, the good publicity for giving money to charity and being able to speak about some of the dealings of his heroic life could be a boon to his mental health and public image. And back on the first hand, exposure isn't exactly something you want when your a vigilante whose civilian ID is still on parole, hence his less-then-sterling public image to begin with. I can recall a wonderful line from the season 2 finale of Boardwalk Empire. Says Arnold Rothstien: Flip a coin. When it's in the air, you'll know which side you're hoping for. That's probably how Nightscream would handle it.