lord_salamander

Re: Mental Powers as Skills Option Thanks, I hadn't thought about using the magic systems as a guide. I'm looking over the 'Spells of Sarillon' system at the moment, and I think I might use something like that, combined with a standard effect so that every point they exceed their roll by equates to approx 3 EGO (or 10 EGO per 3, similar to the Mental Powers as Skills variant in APG1). This could be further applied to say, Mental Blast or the likes, ruling that every 2 points a roll succeeds by results in a +10 Active Points or something like that (I'll need to fiddle with the numbers until I settle on something). EDIT: First attempt on converting some powers (based off the idea 1 per 5 Approx Active Points, and using Standard Effect 1d6 = 3.5 Approx): Command: Mind Control 10d6, Telepathic (+1/4) (62 Active Points); Requires A Roll (Command roll, -1 per 5 Active Points modifier; -1), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Esper Side Effects (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) Description: Character rolls a Command skill check. This skill receives a penalty equal to the Target's EGO/3 (or -3 per 10), taking into account the EGO+10, EGO+20 modifiers into account when calculating the roll. Psychic Blast: Mental Blast 6d6 (60 Active Points); Requires A Roll (Psychic Blast roll, -1 per 5 Active Points modifier; -1), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Esper Side Effects (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4) Description: Character rolls a Psychic Blast skill check. Every 2 points he succeeds the rolls by equals +1d6 damage (base 2d6).

Re: Mental Powers as Skills Option Thanks guys, those are some nice ideas and I think I might steal them for my game. I hadn't thought about using the time chart and multi-attack for them - that should work well I think.

Re: Mental Powers as Skills Option So basically... if I had a mentalist with EGO 20 and Mind Control (15-) (7 Points) you're saying it should cost about 3 points (3.5 rounded down), for a +1/2 advantage, correct? That seems to make sense, as it more or less treats the skill like a power. Unfortunately I don't think its plausible to run Mental Blast as a skill as well, so I will have to ponder how I'm going to build the character. At the moment he has a 70 points multipower containing the Mind Control, Major Mental Transform (Memory Manipulation), Mental Illusion, Mental Blast, and Telepathy powers. Mind Control, Mental Illusion and Telepathy can be made into skills easily enough, although I'm not sure how to do the transform, or to even attempt it in the first place.

Hey guys, I've been reading through the APG1, and noticed the Mental Powers as Skills options presented within. For the campaign I'm running, and the style of play my players seem to enjoy, I'm thinking of changing over to the Powers as skills system, but I'm not sure how the system would work with modifiers such as cumulative, telepathic, area of effect, or extra time. Should I just put the advantages on the skills as if they were powers? Also, can you apply things like naked advantages to them? Thanks for the help, LS

Re: Energy Absorber/Blaster Ah, I see your point. More tweaking it is then! I guess my next question is: on avg, how much damage should a brick type character be taking per attack against him? What about a non-brick? EDIT: Ok, Ive adjusted the damage to be 8d6 max, with 20 PD/ED. Is that more suitable?

Re: Energy Absorber/Blaster The game will be initially low powered, with Attacks ranging from 6-8d6. So that means avg dmg is 21-28, which is just over my defenses. That should be OK initially, right? As the game continues I will invest more points into defenses and STUN.

Re: Energy Absorber/Blaster Ok, here is what seems to be the completed version. Tell me if you think it has enough CON and STUN, as well as the other attributes being balanced. Pulsar Characteristics 30 STR 8 12 DEX 4 18 CON 8 20 BODY 10 14 INT 4 12 EGO 2 16 PRE 6 7 OCV 20 6 DCV 15 3 OMCV 0 5 DMCV 6 25 PD 0 25 ED 0 3 SPD 10 10 REC 6 20 END 0 50 STUN 15 12m RUN 0 4m SWIM 0 4m LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 114 Powers 14 Biosteel Body Armour: (Total: 24 Active Cost, 14 Real Cost) +8 PD, Resistant (+1/2) (12 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Requires A Roll (14- roll; -1/4) (Real Cost: 7) plus +8 ED, Resistant (+1/2) (12 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Requires A Roll (14- roll; -1/4) (Real Cost: 7) 50 Energy Absorption: (Total: 89 Active Cost, 50 Real Cost) +15 ED, Resistant (+1/2) (22 Active Points); Perceivable (-1/2), Unified Power (Energy Absorption; -1/4) (Real Cost: 12) plus +15 PD, Resistant (+1/2) (22 Active Points); Perceivable (-1/2), Unified Power (Energy Absorption; -1/4) (Real Cost: 12) plus Aid END 2d6, Standard Effect (END gained equals damage done) (+0), Expanded Effect (x2 Characteristics or Powers simultaneously) (+1/2), 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; Whenever hit with attack; +3/4), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1) (45 Active Points); Perceivable (-1/2), Unified Power (Energy Absorption; -1/4) (Real Cost: 26) Note: Absorb (2d6)*2.5 Damage and Convert to END. Maximum +60 END at anyone time. 40 Energy Control: Multipower, 60-point reserve, (60 Active Points); all slots Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) 2f 1) Charged Punch: Hand-To-Hand Attack +6d6 (30 Active Points); Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4) 1f 2) Increased Strength: +12 STR (14 Active Points); Costs END To Maintain (Full END Cost; -1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) 3f 3) Energy Blast: (Total: 60 Active Cost, 31 Real Cost) Blast 4d6 (20 Active Points); Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) (Real Cost: 13) plus Blast 4d6 (20 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) (Real Cost: 10) plus Blast 4d6 (20 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) (Real Cost: 8) [Notes: Stages: I: 4d6 Damage (2 END), II: 8d6 Damage (6 END), III: 12d6 Damage (12 END)] 19 Uncontrolled Energy Maelstrom: Blast 6d6, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Area Of Effect (8m Radius; +1/2), Constant (+1/2) (67 Active Points); No Conscious Control (Activates when END pool (80+) overflows, deactivates when pool drops below half; -2), No Range (-1/2) Powers Cost: 129 Skills Military Officer Training 3 1) Climbing 11- 3 2) KS: Military 12- 3 3) Oratory 12- 3 4) Persuasion 12- 4 5) PS: Military Officer 13- 3 6) Stealth 11- 3 7) Tactics 12- 3 8) Teamwork 11- 2 9) WF: Small Arms Everyman Skills 0 1) AK 8- 0 2) Acting 8- 0 3) Concealment 8- 0 4) Deduction 8- 0 5) Language: English (completely fluent; literate) (4 Active Points) 0 6) Paramedics 8- 0 7) Shadowing 8- 0 8) TF: Everyman Skill, Small Motorized Ground Vehicles Skills Cost: 27 Perks 4 Fringe Benefit: Captain Perks Cost: 4 Total Character Cost: 274/275 Disadvantages 10 Hunted: The Government Frequently (Mo Pow; Watching) 10 Psychological Complication: Angry at Steel Vipers (Uncommon; Strong) 10 Psychological Complication: Vengeful (Uncommon; Strong) 15 Hunted: Steel Vipers Frequently (As Pow; Harshly Punish) 15 Social Complication: Public ID Frequently, Major Disadvantage Points: 60 Base Points: 275 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Re: Energy Absorber/Blaster Hmm ok. With the triggered aid how does 4d6, limited to END, self only, with 2x pool size, limited to the amount of damage done sound? Is that more or less what you were suggesting? What values would the modifiers have? Also, what are good vales for CON and STUN would be suitable? Edit: just read about adjustment powers. So aid would do 1/2 the value of the roll in points, not pure END? Does that mean for every point you get 5 END?

Re: Energy Absorber/Blaster I discussed with the other players about what we wanted to do with our game (I'm actually GMing it, whilst running this character as a major NPC/GMPC), and have decided to go low-powered, with the characters just developing their powers and having very little control over them. With this in mind I have revised the character (ignore over cost, characters will be going up to 300 points shortly after the game start). Pulsar Characteristics 16/30 STR 6 14 DEX 8 16 CON 6 20 BODY 10 14 INT 4 14 EGO 4 16 PRE 6 10/25 PD 0 (23r) 10/25 ED 0 (23r) 3 SPD 10 10 REC 6 20 END 0 30 STUN 5 12m RUN 0 4m SWIM 0 4m LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 107 Powers 14 Biosteel Body Armour: (Total: 24 Active Cost, 14 Real Cost) +8 PD, Resistant (+1/2) (12 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Requires A Roll (14- roll; -1/4) (Real Cost: 7) plus +8 ED, Resistant (+1/2) (12 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Requires A Roll (14- roll; -1/4) (Real Cost: 7) 66 Energy Absorption: (Total: 98 Active Cost, 66 Real Cost) Absorption 15 BODY (Energy, END), Increased Maximum (x2 points) (+1/4), Absorption As A Defense (Resistant; +1), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1) (49 Active Points); Perceivable (-1/2) (Real Cost: 33) plus Absorption 15 BODY (Physical, END), Increased Maximum (x2 points) (+1/4), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1), Absorption As A Defense (Resistant; +1) (49 Active Points); Perceivable (-1/2) (Real Cost: 33) 40 Energy Control: Multipower, 60-point reserve, (60 Active Points); all slots Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) 2f 1) Charged Punch: Hand-To-Hand Attack +6d6 (30 Active Points); Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4) 1f 2) Increased Strength: +14 STR (14 Active Points); Costs END To Maintain (Full END Cost; -1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) 3f 3) Energy Blast: (Total: 60 Active Cost, 31 Real Cost) Blast 4d6 (20 Active Points); Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) (Real Cost: 13) plus Blast 4d6 (20 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) (Real Cost: 10) plus Blast 4d6 (20 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), Requires A Roll (11- roll; -1/2) (Real Cost: 8) [Notes: Stages: I: 4d6 Damage (2 END), II: 8d6 Damage (6 END), III: 12d6 Damage (12 END)] 19 Uncontrolled Energy Discharge: Blast 6d6, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Area Of Effect (8m Radius; +1/2), Constant (+1/2) (67 Active Points); No Conscious Control (Activates when END pool (80+) overflows, deactivates when pool drops below half; -2), No Range (-1/2) Powers Cost: 145 Skills Military Officer Training 3 1) Climbing 12- 3 2) KS: Military 12- 3 3) Oratory 12- 3 4) Persuasion 12- 4 5) PS: Military Officer 13- 3 6) Stealth 12- 3 7) Tactics 12- 3 8) Teamwork 12- 2 9) WF: Small Arms Everyman Skills 0 1) AK 8- 0 2) Acting 8- 0 3) Concealment 8- 0 4) Deduction 8- 0 5) Language: English (completely fluent; literate) (4 Active Points) 0 6) Paramedics 8- 0 7) Shadowing 8- 0 8) TF: Everyman Skill, Small Motorized Ground Vehicles Skills Cost: 27 Perks 4 Fringe Benefit: Captain Perks Cost: 4 Total Character Cost: 283 Disadvantages 10 Hunted: The Government Frequently (Mo Pow; Watching) 10 Psychological Complication: Angry at Steel Vipers (Uncommon; Strong) 10 Psychological Complication: Vengeful (Uncommon; Strong) 15 Hunted: Steel Vipers Frequently (As Pow; Harshly Punish) 15 Social Complication: Public ID Frequently, Major Disadvantage Points: 60 Base Points: 250 Experience Required: 33 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Re: Energy Absorber/Blaster After reading over the advice I have put together this for the character. I'm still working on the skills/background and tweaking the characteristics, but what do you guys think so far? ---------------------------- Pulsar Characteristics 40 STR 10 14 DEX 8 16 CON 6 20 BODY 10 16 INT 6 14 EGO 4 16 PRE 6 10 PD 8 10 ED 8 4 SPD 20 20 REC 16 40 END 4 50 STUN 15 12m RUN 0 4m SWIM 0 4m LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 167 Powers 27 Energy Absorption: Absorption 15 BODY (Energy, END), Increased Maximum (x2 points) (+1/4), Absorption As A Defense (Normal; +1/2), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1) (41 Active Points); Perceivable (-1/4), Unified Power (Energy Absorption; -1/4) 27 Kinetic Absorption: Absorption 15 BODY (Physical, END), Increased Maximum (x2 points) (+1/4), Absorption As A Defense (Normal; +1/2), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1) (41 Active Points); Perceivable (-1/4), Unified Power (Energy Absorption; -1/4) 40 Energy Flight: Flight 40m 100 Energy Control: Multipower, 100-point reserve 3f 1) Energy Sheath: Blast 8d6, Area Of Effect (1m Surface; Damage Shield; +1/4), Constant (+1/2) (70 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Costs END To Maintain (Full END Cost; -1/2) 7f 2) Energy Maelstrom: Blast 8d6, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Constant (+1/2), Area Of Effect (16m Radius; +3/4) (100 Active Points); No Range (-1/2) 5f 3) Energy Blast: (Total: 80 Active Cost, 49 Real Cost) Blast 4d6 (Real Cost: 20) plus Blast 4d6 (20 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2) (Real Cost: 13) plus Blast 4d6 (20 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1) (Real Cost: 10) plus Blast 4d6 (20 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x6 END; -2 1/2) (Real Cost: 6) Stages: I: 4d6 Damage (2 END) II: 8d6 Damage (6 END) III: 12d6 Damage (12 END) IV: 16d6 Damage (24 END) 2f 4) Charged Punch: Hand-To-Hand Attack +6d6 (30 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4) 1f 5) Increased Strength: +20 STR (20 Active Points); Costs END To Maintain (Full END Cost; -1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2) Powers Cost: 212 Skills Military Officer Training 2 1) KS: Military 11- 0 2) PS: Military Officer 11- 3 3) Tactics 12- 3 4) Teamwork 12- Scientist 2 1) PS: Military Scientist 11- 2 2) Science Skill: Advanced Particle Physics 11- Everyman Skills 0 1) Acting 8- 0 2) Climbing 8- 0 3) Concealment 8- 0 4) Deduction 8- 0 5) Language: English (completely fluent; literate) (4 Active Points) 0 6) Paramedics 8- 0 7) Persuasion 8- 0 8) Shadowing 8- 0 9) Stealth 8- 0 10) TF: Everyman Skill, Small Motorized Ground Vehicles 0 11) AK 8- Skills Cost: 12 Perks 4 Fringe Benefit: Captain Perks Cost: 4 Total Character Cost: 395 Disadvantages 15 Hunted: [NPC Group] (Frequently; As Pow; Harshly Punish) 15 Psychological Complication: Hatred of [NPC Group] (Common; Strong) 10 Psychological Complication: Vengeful (Uncommon; Strong) 15 Social Complication: Subject to Orders Frequently, Major 15 Social Complication: Public ID Frequently, Major 5 Dependent NPC: Daughter - Skilled Hacker (Infrequently; Normal; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills) Disadvantage Points: 75 Base Points: 400 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Hey there, I'm looking to make a energy absorbing character that can then transform the power he gets from the energy he absorbs into energy blasts and/or additional strength. I'm new to the HERO system, so I'm somewhat in the dark here. So, some question I have are: - What type of adsorption should I use? What stat should it link to for the effect I want (I was thinking a seperate END pool just for the energy powers). - I'm looking to make a blast power that has several settings, so that the more END he spends on it, the more powerful it becomes. What is the best way to do that? Cheers, LS