Farkling

JimOz has a completely valid approach, especially if it works when he's unconscious, except, how do you justify the armor failing when the END battery is empty? Power:: Force Field, 0 END, unusable when END battery empty (-1/4), OR Armor, unusable if END battery is empty (-1/4) ?? I think it's a force field..he describes an actual force field, and I think the numbers work out the same. Character disad:: Susceptible to Force Field being struck (2d6, Instant, Acts as Drain to END Battery) (Very Common) Hmmm....that's interesting....overloading the force field could concievably cause Susceptibility damage, if the battery empty's to quick, as GM I might burn STUN points for the remainder. On the other hand, you could require the battery to recover the negative END, since it is a Drain effect. Note, you could buy that down on the time so it's Phase or Turn as the character gets XP....would that have potential rules abuse?

Ack! He's in Belgium..... I don't know anyone in Belgium. Victor...is English your native language? IF not, maybe we can find someone clearer?

And on another note, Klytus adding the defense is something I don't agree with....I might add half of it to simulate the "Casual STR effect" since the DEF is nearly STR and I cut corners in combat...the object cant use its STR actively...it's an object. And there is a little too much bang for the buck in that method for me. If you use the Move Through logic, I would consider the vehicle unusable a 0 BODY, otherwise the longevity of objects is too great in combat. I'll have to try this variant. I think it would work faster in combat.

Personally, since it is a comic book, I apply the breakbility to large objects. Small Aerodynamic stuff DESIGNED for throwing could certainly do more damage...but if you want it to work that way on a regular basis, maybe you should buy a power than applies to "Balls of circumstance" or something like that. A pitcher has levels that he can use to hit you and increase his damage after all. His experience and special effects allow him to be "on target". The brick on the other hand can throw the ball HARD, but not target as well...thus a variation in damage due to special effects. Now, with LARGE objects...it can do up to it's DEF+BOD in damage (in combat), and any BODY in excess of it's defense is applied to the object. Nasty GM's will have the gas tank explode when the car is destroyed. Technically the object is unusable as a weapon once it's BODY is gone. Your Mileage May Vary. Large objects should get bonusses to hit or minor Area Effect applications. After all, it is much easier to dodge a punch than a buick. If the object is bigger than one hex, you should need to dive for cover to get out of the way... So, on the fly, a car or telephone pole or wall would add a little reach and make it eaiser to hit the target. Let's see....70 STr = 14d6. So StrongGuy swings his mighty Pinto. He rolls against DCV three to hit the target hex (Pinto is bigger than one Hex). 1st attack does his 14d6 (STR) for, 15 Body and 56 STUN.... The pinto has 5 BODY left. StrongGuy may roll 10d6, or 14d6 for damage...depending on GM. Personally, since it is a car, I think he has enough left for weapon use until negative BODY, so I say 14d6. Let's say he gets a good roll....16 BODY and 60 STUN. The Pinto now has -6 BODY. This is not quite to the -14 to utterly destroy it. For dramatic effect pieces should be falling off. Also for dramatic effect, the GM decides to have the gas tank explode. Let's see....maybe 9d6 Normal Explosion....enough to startle StrongGuy and perhaps discourage him from wantonly destroying peoples property. It'll also pretty much finish the car...I expect it wil be at -10 BOFY, making it what? a 9d6 club if used for another swing? StrongGuy pretty much has some twisted remnanats of the frame left at that point. Or maybe the engine block... Additionally, if StrongGuy's target is still standing, he's is in the blast area also. So might be pedestrians, buildings, friends, the press, the police... heh heh heh. Nobody gets extra damage perks for free....says so in FREd somewhere. And next comes the insurance company suing him for wantonly damageing their customers property...or the news story about the starving single parent who had their only means of transportaqtion callously destroyed in a supervillain battle. Alas, poor StrongGuy will find it incredibly difficult to locate a weapon that can stand up to his STR rating. Megron had that problem in my games for years. He would pick up a big object and use half of his STR so it wouldn;t get too damaged. He always went looking for a car when a martial artist showed up. It was the only way he could hit them.

Hmmm. Fellow posters, I have pondered your input. I think I am going to go with a Side Effect variant. I skimmed FREd and see that Side Effects can be designed as occuring every time a power is used, so here's my take on the construct/package following the great input from you folks:: 1) If he wishes to be able to use direct mind reading, he purchases a usable Telepathy power for direct mind reading. Side Effects applied to each usage to simulate the "dropping the barrier". Tallk about a noisy mental power...even the norms will hear it. 2) He can have Lupus' PL: {Psychihc background noise) Crowds/Stress, -3 CHAR rolls. He can purchase a Susceptibility to large groups of people. Since he has two CRUDE Telekinetic powers, he could concievably take BODY once unsconsious...or he can take it as a STUN Drain effect... 3) Since one of the primary effects he is looking for is the detection of sentient minds around him, we will construct a "Detect Sentient Minds" Sense which is appropriate, and link an identical or lesser "always" Side Effect to it. By his own admission he doesn't need to lift his "Mental Barrier" as far, to simply perceive minds. What would Discrim/Analyze Effects be on such a mental sense in your opinions? I think this may give maximum return for his concept and points, since he really percieves it as more of a handicap than a power. This compromise gives him a reduction in points, a few more options, amd a little more control and playability. It also gives him some point breaks on what I perceive as powers....any other input? I just hate saying NO to players with neat ideas. I'd rather work with them...

That's because I can't read my own notes archer... It's 5d6 here. Still enough read mere mortal minds, even at Standard Effect. My error on the translation. It was late.

I'm with Doug....what's so bad about central casting? I find it top be really useful for people with no idea HOW to create a character background....

Hmmm. From his character description, I kind of like the "Susceptible to Crowds" option...I'll present that to him...that'll give me a better handle on his description, I'm sure. I'm not a GM who likes "No Conscious Control" In my experience, players who bought the power and paid the points dislike the usage being under the GM's whim...and it is more of an Always On than No Conscious....since he won't ever really have it shut off. Good ideas nonetheless. And the Jean Grey comparison was mine. Her and the old Rachel Summers Phoenix were the only "sensory" telepathic constructs I could think of.

I have a puzzling question. One of my fellow gamers said his last GM informed him this power could not be built for a 75 AP limit. I am unsure why? I am thinking that the prior GM did not want to deal with it...it seems pretty straightforward. The character (Bob?) is a Telepath who is trying to teach himself to use his powers. He suffers from the XMen "Jean Grey" effect of being unable to easily tune-out the surrounding mental noise. He's has yet to learn to block out surface thoughts. IE: His Telepathy is always running at a low level picking up surface thoughts from everyone around him. Bob has been built with 360 Mental Sensing, and the Telepathy in his EC is designed along these lines:: (Telepathy, 6d6, 0 END, Persistant, AE - Radius) (Recieve Only, Always On, Only for surface thoughts, Standard Effect) Standard Effect by my hous rules should make that 21 EGO Does this do what has been described? Or should I have used a different power? I realize that I could possibly construct this completely as a mental sense, but how would you read the thoughts? Analyze and Discrim wouldn't QUITE stretch that far would they? Additionally, do y'all agree that it be reasonable to require an EGO Roll for him to SORT through this information and make it usable? I'm thinking of suggesting Rapid on his Mental Senses to simulate the ability. We have also bought him a small Physical Limitation entitled "Psychic Background Noise" that will penalize his perception and skill rolls. I like the concept, it is a nice take on the early Professor X character. It also opens the door to eventually making him very good at any combat, interroagation, interaction with small groups of Human Minds...effectively the door is open for ALL sorts of effects since people really "telegraph" to him. Much room for character growth. Any input would be welcome.

My mind is definitely having trouble with the box. I like Shrike's construct very much, except for one minor detail. The Vehicle has an onboard AI...by definition it thinks for itself. Not completely adaptable for this purpose. In terms of the robot... I keep thinking about Mind Scan and Mind Control and EGO-based TK... If it IS a construct with it's own mind, then you use Mind Scanning and Mind Control it (limited to Only works on robothingy, requires bulky OAF focus, concentrate 0 DCV throughout). The question is...if you Mind Control an AI, are you allowed to exceed it's existing programs? If so, the kludge is to buy a relatively useless AI that only has the necessary onboard systems for diagnostics and databases, then Mind Control it...otherwise you have to purchase combat programs and such. Now, I can't think of a way to cheaply create a world scanning power that will locate an OBJECT (unintelligent robothingy), but the unintelligent robothingy has a massive flaw...it is basically a thug pounding brick, since it would be difficult to simulate ANYTHING else without the CHAR buying the powers. But if you CAN build the world scanning power, you use TK to move the robothingy around. The improved version would let you sieze control of vehicles and such a la Terminator 3...

A pont to AnotherSkip: I am the rules lawyer for the group I GAME with. It's strange, I can handle superheoric/cyberpunk games just fine, but my Exalted games feel like Machiavellian Mage...I just don't seem to GM actual Anime sword 'n' Sorcery well. Our current GM does, but doesn't get all the nuts n bolts. If someone wants to use a Charm (read that as Power) in a way he doesn't think applies, he checks his index, and asks me to look it up. I understand the rules really well, and interp just as well. Such is the group opinion. Heck, White Wolf is a piece of cake next to HERO. On the HERO side of it, I butted heads with the last GM I played with. He did NOT give me a listing of the house rules, and if he'd told me it was a Silver Age romantic campaign up front, I never would have played. Two of the players were very, um Bronze to Iron though...so I thought it was a Bronze or Iron gamee. I opted to spend my defense allotment on SPD and got to play a bona-fide speedster. That was a blast, that character concept hasn't shined so much since he was an NPC in 3rd edition days. I even spent 30 pts on the Transform to do Superspeed effects in an area. Anyway, to reflect my knowledge of the rules, and that I frequently will figure DCV's in my head from the hit/miss rolls (combat is so sloooow in his HERO games), I bought a KS:Metahumans and a SC:Powers and SC:Power Suppression. Eidetic memory, Rapid senses (x100), and other sundry support to reflect how slow the world "seemed" to the speedster. I need to get this off my chest... I quit playing shortly after I was smacked down by GM fiat. Rapid senses, no PER roll (17-), and knocked unconscious by a power application that was PUBLIC knowledge, visible, and well documented to the heroes and superhuman databases of the game universe. Everyone knew except the metahuman expert who was established as a Stronghold consultant. Wasn't even given a chance to notice the attack and run. That would've been much more dramatic than knocking me unconscious for a few hours (real time, not game time). His excuse? Planting explosives in the sewer tunnels under the villains warehouse headquarters wasn't heroic, so I was punished. The character had a Hatred of the leader, a dislike for the villains, and was trying to protect the city from the nefarious plot. The evacuation of the few people in the area was even arranged. One of the heroes was even helping him! Ooops. Sorry. My apologies. That shouldn't be bothering me so much...it was just a game after all. It is just so exasperating to be punished for playing IN character, especially if you are an experienced GM.

and most of the guys have known them for so long, they think they are obvious thiings... And forget they need to tell.

Every Hulk style character we've ever written up in my gaming groups has had a Physical Limitation of "cannot control STR" or some variant thereof. It was specifically to simulate the accidental use of too much STR, or to reflect that our "Hulk type" could not exert normal STR. Y'know, use keyboards, payphones, doorknobs, food processors, microwaves, and things of that nature. It's a Thing limitation too...."fingers the size of half-dollars" I recall seeing at a con somewhere....

I don't know.... if it's a Physical problem....it may be a limitation applied to a power... A more "global" problem would be a Psych Lim for "Lack of Control of Powers" or a "Stress looses mutant abilities" also. The whole visit to Dr. Ruth scenario would make it seem like a psych lim....

One of the biggest effects of "Real Weapon" is the tacking on of a STR minimum...and all the rules applicable to that also.

Um...unless I got my wires crossed somewhere, the Weapon Element Rule does not apply to the nifty MPower idea. Weapon Elements are purchased for the weapons they apply to. The "base" weapon element is free (they choose fencing in the example, do they not?) It's somewhere after pg 254 in FREd. So, why can I not pick the MPower as the Martial Arts Weapon Element? Additionally, weapon elements are bought following the Weapon Familiarity rules...and in those rules it specifically states that you do not need to pay points for a familiarity with any weapon you spent character points on. So, either the user of the MPower buys a broad WFam, AND an element (the MPower itself), or it is completely free to use with Martial Arts he knows if designated that way. Right? The quibble is the specific GM interpreted meaning of the limitation "weapon of oppurtunity". As an aside, this represents an arcane mastery of all weapons...if you could neutralize his powers, then he would suffer all the penalties AND the loss of MA applications temporarily... And I have a professional interest. One of my new players had a Shadow Teleporter who could sculpt weapons from darkness...and that's how the slots are in his MPower..."blunt objects" (EB) and "pointy objects" (RKA). The shadows were not "solid" enough for pushing through STR.

I personally favor the Unluck solution as a temporary patch, and I advise having th echaracter give you a list of situations he would and wouldn;t kill in. Bushido or Old West Codes against Killing still allowed the murder of certain types of people... (hmm....as did Nazi Codes vs Killing.... ) I also am a GM who feels free to let Disads migrate as the character changes and grows. If ArmorGuy starts researching how to adjust his defense against magnetic assaults by incorporating non-ferrous materials in his armor, I am perfectly willing to switch the Magnetics Vulnerability to something more apporpriate, perhaps a Sus to Heat or Physical Blows. Now, for the EVIL application. Does the dead fellow have any surviving relatives ?? (and sometimes, female realtives are preferred in this case) With the MegaCorp description you supplied, I have a couple campaign ideas for you here. 1) Classic Comix Cliche #217:: Stolen power armor or experimental weapons used to capture or kill the murderers. "I'm going to show you as much mercy as you showed my poor dead husband!" FRZZZP!! 2) Robocop. Judge Dredd. Or other formidable 20-30 pt hunters. (8-, limited by geography) 3) Reputation "Distrusted by the man on the street" "Didja hear??? They killed my fixer's brother in law...he declared 'em persona non-grata" 4) The cops. Have them get into the life of the character with a fine tooth comb. 5) The spouse/relative variant also works with designed and activated killing machines or biogenetically engineered viruses (tagged to the DNA code of our perpetrators?). The necessary sample materials could be collected from any scene the heroes appeared at...or any hospital they were attended at. 6) Anything else dramatically appropriate. Hell, a telepath reading his mind would declare him guilty of accessory to murder based on your description. Think of the Disadvantages as guidelines...not rules of stone.

To further comment upon this subjecy... Most of us ahree that Hero does a fair job of modelling the comic book heroes...MOST of the time. The system feels pretty stable from James Bond up to Galactic Guardians, and we use the arbitrary comparisons built into the desingn, because we have no REAL examples to compare to...to paraphrase the pioneers of comic book metahuman research, "I have no idea where the energy comes from, but the evidence is that MegaGuy can freely use it as he wishes." After playing too many systems to count, I settled on Hero because it can be rewritten or adjusted to suit my taste. At the convention, we are trying to ge tnewbies into it, so we will dump the speed chart, and the endurance rules for the combat, and likely use a bloody tape measure for speed. I'd hate to run new players off using Hero's versatile and in depth combat system right at the start. And my only real comment on GURPS is this: Champions reality model breaks down right below the James Bond level, depending on the style of your game. GURPS starts to break down around Indiana Jones or the early James Bond level. So use the system you are most comfortable with for the game you are running. Me? I have a few house rules to implement at LOW power levels, but other than that, well, I find Hero to be a bit more flexible and adaptable in my hands. I certainly find I can design most artifacts and spells and other various special effects more easily...especially when I don't need anything more than an ESTIMATE of Active Points for a paranormals game. Thanks ever so much for letting me stand on my soapbox.

Option B !! Option B !! Seriously, it is much simpler and less, um, rules manipulative than forcing the range and reflecting. After re-reading the Deflection/Reflection rules, I'm pretty sure that "forcing the range" may work mechanically. But for forcing the rules into it, either will work... However, I find they both hinge on "with the GM's permission" for the naked power advantage, and the usable against others. Isn't it simply easier to add one more power to the book that acts as Missile Deflection/Reflection with hand to hand attacks? We know comic justification for it exists...Magneto is a good example of power deflected (metal) melee attacks. But can he reflect them? The damage shield is the CLOSEST special effect for this by my information, since it DOES damage to HtH attackers. But it still has to be saddled with a Variable Advvantage to cover everything as a reflection, and needs to exceed most active point limits set for a campaign. At least you don't need defenses, since if you block the attack, it doesn't do damage. The damage shield effect could theoretically bounce some damage from AE HtH attacks also though, unless limited. Though I suppose that is nitpicking, since the AE HtH attack may not actually cause the wielder to "contact" the victim, depending on SE. Hmmm....that would be a flaw with the damage shield construct also...if a focus hits the target, doesn't the focus take the damaage? Swordguy: "I hit him with my sword" Blocker: "I reflect the attack back at him" (makes roll) GM: "Swordguy's sword shatters as you complete the manuever" Maybe the forced range IS the beast substitute. Waht would the additional limitation be for "only to Reflect attacks Range can be added/forced onto" ?? That would then be HtH only, using that construct. And as to the martial arts, I believe it says in a book somewhere that TK with Fine Manipulation can use martial manuevers, so the precedent has been set that to give range to the martial manuevers you merely need to have access to ranged strength...so it would be relatively easy to use on most martial artists. That same justification covers stretchy martial artists too...so would it cover Street Fighter style CHI punches? Those are usually bought as TK or EB are they not? Possibly this needs more consideration. Maybe Missile Reflection is too powerful and shoul dbe toned down? Or does it need seperate adders for application to "melee" strikes of various kinds? I think I'm debating for the sake of debate at this point. I'm going to take a nap.

Telepathy is the way to go. There may be Side Effects on the power though, or a physical limitation (psychologically based) Cannot consciously choose all retained memories Ghosts remain in psyche Loses sense of identity under stress Suppressed Multiple Personality (Psych Lim maybe?) And of course, Tachyon's effect on Brain Trust at the trial would simply be his telepathy putting Blythe to sleep, and the other personalities "took over" briefly. There is indications of this in the old Genosha/X-Men run where Rogue's powers were suppressed also. Rogue as she joined the X-Men in the comics WAS an MPD, she just had the control in times outside of life threatening. An obvious disad added by the GM upgraded her powers. The Carol Danvers psyche was mostly passive and didn't think she had a right to destroy Rogue's life. Probably due in some case to Prof X's telepathy...off screen, no?

It's a plot device. So th emechanics are really irrelevant unless the PC's are to be given the power to muck about with the translators. Besides...why is the power relevant? The Universal Translator power is hidden within an onboard computer system, whether ship-mounted or robodroid mounted or hand portable. So, you have an AI that acts a a universal translator, and it is relatively cheap for it to be "near perfect" (ie. the 30- skill roll). Players can't muck with the power, they have to muck with the AI, the memory or the programs. Simplified Example:: Eidetic Memory Prog: Access Universal Language Index Prog: Access Specific Language File Prog: Translate Language Alternatively, the computer gets a Mind Link to all portable translators, and the robotic/android version gets the Mind Link, and has its own (smaller) onbaord translation ability, only between languages it knows. However, it is a convenient excuse for a link capable AI to LEARN languages. This same idea extends to a nastier Firefly/B-5 universes where translators are uncommon or exist in varying forms of ability. The small hand portable that translates one-one languages up to the multiple language computer library system. And that's my 2 cent science fictional opbservation. For a character? Hmmm....Telepathy only to communicate? (cannot exceed +10 level. can only translate voluntary communication in beings language)...there's a base. Telepathy does understanding and comprehension...says so in the book. You must add inherent CSL's to gurantee a connection though....

And I personally don't see any problem with a damage shield requiring a block roll...just define the SFX as "as the the incoming attack" ... it also cannot exceed the actual dice in the attack. A two slot MP to cover the HKA vs. the HA. Ditching the power advantages is safe, it simulates a lack of "control" over the niceties of the reflected attack. Alternatively increase the MP slots to include the common effects. The VPP limited to "only to duplicate/refelct hand to hand attacks" "requires successful block roll" is also viable. Consider also, as the rules are "written" I think you would still require a ACTUAL deflection/reflection of no range energy attacks...but this is open to GM interpretation of how they wish missile delflection to be designed. And the rest of you brains...what about a TK damage shield to "deflect melee attacks" ... how would that operate?