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Posts posted by JMHammer
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Re: How to do Jackie Chan Adventures
JCA- Very fun show with smart dialogue. Some of the Jackie character's action, and much of the opening sequence to each episode, is rotoscoped which gives it a very fluid, lifelike animation style.
Jackie in the show is a top-end martial artist and brawler with tremendous acrobatic abilities who spends most of his fighting time dodging around looking for an opportunity to either run away or land a strong blow of his own. Jackie isn't superhuman and he knows it; although he is brave and self-confident, he isn't arrogant and trusts both his skills and his limitations.
A Kung-fu style of martial arts, excellent Acrobatics and Breakfall rolls, either a great Climbing roll or a power designed to represent his ability to scale walls with the hop-jump-bounce maneuver, some "luck-based" Damage Reduction (not really a power based on luck, but subject to the same Limitations as Combat Luck), and a Hand Attack with some extra dice of damage and a Side Effect (Character can take no attack actions in next Phase because he's rubbing his hand and saying, "Ow!). Skill levels with Block, Dodge, and Dive for Cover would help to represent how he comports himself in combat and a Counterstrike martial maneuver (a strike which must follow a successful Block) would go a long way toward doing that, also.
JCA Jackie is an accomplished scholar, traveller, and linguist (capital "S" and capital "T" and capital "L" in Hero terms) and should have a broad familiarity with all sorts of skills. He appears to have contacts in the scholarly community all over the world. Although he reads and writes English perfectly, his spoken English proves to even a casual observer that it is not his first language so he should purchase Language (English) 2 Active Points + Literacy 1 Active Point (which will have a net cost of 2 Real Points with the Linguist cost reduction).
Jade should probably be built as a Follower. She causes a lot of grief for Jackie but her presence in an adventure is more often net-helpful than net-troublesome. Their relationship should be represented with Disadvantages for both but excluding DNPC.
I don't like what they did with Uncle in the last two seasons. He went from a scholar who could work a little magic to a super-sorceror. That made him a more active cast member but weakened the dramatic potential of the character considerably. Maybe Uncle's player had a lot of experience points saved up, but he and the GM didn't come up with a convincing way of using them mid-game.
John H
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Re: Limited (restricted) Varaible Limitations?
That would be a fine way to handle that type of situation. If the character can only choose between two Limitations or among 3 or some other very small group or combination, you might consider adding an additional -1/4 to -1/2 Limitation: Can only choose from certain Limitations to fulfill the Variable Limitation requirements.
Another option might be to use a Multipower with each slot having a different Limitation with the same value (although you will not, then, be able to apply any Limitation value to the Multipower Pool).
A third way to handle this might be to take the Limitation: Power use triggers Susceptibility (see Disadvantages) under hot/dry conditions. Then define the damage or whatever other side effect he is supposed to take as a Susceptibility Disadvantage.
John H
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Billy Batson/Captain Marvel
As far as I know, Captain Marvel has not appeared on any of the DCAU television shows – not even as a face in a crowd or a verbal reference. So this is all a flaming guess based on my old comics readings and best estimation as to how The Big Red Cheese compared to Superman. This pair of characters will not be added to the archive file collections but I'll be happy to make changes based on your feedback and then repost them.
Enjoy!
Billy Batson
Player:
*6"**RUN02"**SWIM01 1/2"**LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 4Val** Char*** Cost 8** STR -2 10** DEX 0 10** CON 0 8** BODY -4 10** INT 0 10** EGO 0 12** PRE 2 14** COM 2 * 4** PD 2 3** ED 1 2** SPD 0 4** REC 0 20** END 0 20** STUN 3
Powers Cost: 78Cost** Power END ** Transform to Captain Marvel* 0** 1) Shazam!: Multiform (see Captain Marvel's character sheet) [Notes: Both Cap and Billy have to say the magic word in order to change. Billy Batson is built on a total of 95 points while Captain Marvel is built on 525 points. I always have the most expensive form pay for Multiform, and then designate any other form as the true form. Cap is built on a lot more points than Billy, so he pays for the Multiform even though Billy is the "true" form. Hence the 0 cost for this power.]* 0 73** 2) Magic Lightning: Energy Blast 12d6, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Indirect (Same origin, always fired toward attacker; +1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (165 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), No Knockback (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), Linked (Shazam!; -1/4) [Notes: The attack originates from "the sky" and will come through a nearby window or just appear from the ceiling directly over Billy's head. If the Magic Lightning is somehow prevented from reaching Billy, he will not transform into Captain Marvel.]* 0 ** * 5** Fawcett Fortune: Luck 1d6* 0
Skills Cost: 13Cost** Skill 3** Conversation 11-* 3** Deduction 11-* 2** PS: Radio Broadcaster 11-* 2** PS: Reporter 11-* 3** Shadowing 11-* Total Character Cost: 95
Val** Disadvantages 20** Accidental Change: Whenever the character says the word "Shazam" Always (Uncommon)* 15** Dependent NPC: Uncle Dudley/Uncle Marvel 11- (Normal)* 10** Dependent NPC: Mr. Talky Tawny 8- (Normal)* 20** Hunted: Mister Mind 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)* 15** Hunted: Sivana 11- (Less Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)* 10** Hunted: Black Adam 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish)* 15** Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Frequently, Major)* 5** Social Limitation: Minor Youth (Occasionally, Minor) [Notes: Being a legal minor doesn't seem to impede Billy quite as much as other young people, although it does cause a problem for him now and then.]* Disadvantage Points: 110
Base Points: 200
Experience Required: 0
Total Experience Available: 0
Experience Unspent: 0
Captain Marvel
Player:
*6"**RUN02"**SWIM015"**LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 284Val** Char*** Cost 75** STR 65 26** DEX 48 30** CON 40 20** BODY 20 13** INT 3 15** EGO 10 20/30** PRE 10 20** COM 5 * 50** PD 35 25** ED 19 6** SPD 24 20** REC -2 60** END 0 80** STUN 7
Powers Cost: 215Cost** Power END ** Transform to Billy Batson* 19** 1) Shazam!: Multiform (95 Character Points in the most expensive form) (Instant Change) (24 Active Points); Incantations (-1/4) [Notes: Both Cap and Billy have to say the magic word in order to change. Billy Batson is built on a total of 95 points. I always have the most expensive form pay for Multiform, and then designate any other form as the true form. Cap is built on a lot more points than Billy, so he pays for the Multiform even though Billy is the "true" form.]* 0 73** 2) Magic Lightning: Energy Blast 12d6, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Indirect (Same origin, always fired toward attacker; +1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (165 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Linked (Shazam!; -1/4), No Knockback (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) [Notes: The attack originates from "the sky" and will come through a nearby window or just appear from the ceiling directly over Captain Marvel's head. If the Magic Lightning is somehow prevented from reaching Captain Marvel, he will not transform into Billy Batson.]* 0 ** * ** The Power of Shazam* 12** 1) Wisdom of Solomon: (Total: 12 Active Cost, 12 Real Cost) +9 Mental Defense (12 points total) (Real Cost: 9) plus +1 PER with all Sense Groups (Real Cost: 3)* 0 19** 2) Strength of Hercules: Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (19 Active Points) applied to STR* 15** 3) Stamina of Atlas: Life Support (Eating: Character only has to eat once per week; Extended Breathing: 1 END per 20 Minutes; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Sleeping: Character only has to sleep 8 hours per week)* 0 37** 4) Power of Zeus: Damage Resistance (50 PD/25 ED)* 0 5** 5) Courage of Achilles: +10 PRE (10 Active Points); Only for defensive purposes (-1)* 30** 6) Speed of Mercury: Flight 10", Variable Advantage (+1/4 Advantages; +1/2) (30 Active Points)* 3 ** * 5** Fawcett Fortune: Luck 1d6* 0
Skills Cost: 26Cost** Skill 10** +1 Overall* 5** +1 with HTH Combat* ** * 7** Deduction 14-* 1** Hoist 8-* 3** Power: Super-Strength Tricks 11-* Total Character Cost: 525
Val** Disadvantages 20** Accidental Change: Whenever the character says the word "Shazam" Always (Uncommon)* 15** Dependent NPC: Uncle Dudley/Uncle Marvel 11- (Normal)* 10** Dependent NPC: Mr. Talky Tawny 8- (Normal)* 20** Hunted: Mister Mind 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)* 15** Hunted: Sivana 11- (Less Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)* 10** Hunted: Black Adam 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish)* 5** Physical Limitation: Invulnerability makes such things as surgery and hypodermic injections difficult (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)* 20** Psychological Limitation: Code vs Killing (Common, Total)* 15** Psychological Limitation: Protective of Innocents (Common, Strong)* 10** Psychological Limitation: Young boy in a man's body (Uncommon, Strong)* 15** Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Frequently, Major)* Disadvantage Points: 155
Base Points: 200
Experience Required: 170
Total Experience Available: 170
Experience Unspent: 0
Hmm... Maybe Shazam! should be Linked to Magic Lightning instead of the other way around as shown above.
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Rebuild of Hawkgirl with latest Hero Designer 2
Hyperman- I'll get to Dr. Fate along with Ebon in the next week or so. I might do Captain Marvel first since if he's basically "Superman w/o the vulnerabilities and super-senses and with a Billy Batson Multiform" he should be pretty easy to build.
The latest update to Hero Designer changed the way Hand Attacks are handled, so Hawkgirl needed to be slightly rebuilt. Let me know if you see anything egregiously wrong here so I can make the fixes within the next week or so.
AJL Hawkgirl
Player:
*6"**RUN02"**SWIM05"**LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 168Val** Char*** Cost 25** STR 15 25** DEX 45 25** CON 30 14** BODY 8 12** INT 2 13** EGO 6 18** PRE 8 18** COM 4 * 15/20** PD 10 10/15** ED 5 5** SPD 15 10** REC 0 50** END 0 60** STUN 20
Powers Cost: 202Cost** Power END 4** Wings: Extra Limbs (2) (5 Active Points); No fine manipulation (-1/4)* 0 20** Winged Flight: Multipower, 30-point reserve, (30 Active Points); all slots Restrainable (-1/2)* 2u** 1) Flying: Flight 10", Variable Advantage (+1/4 Advantages; +1/2) (30 Active Points)* 3 2u** 2) Combat Maneuvers: Flight 15" (30 Active Points)* 3 2u** 3) Cruising: Gliding 30" (30 Active Points)* 0 ** * 11** Energy Mace Basics: Multipower, 22-point reserve, (22 Active Points); all slots OAF Unbreakable (-1) [Notes: Anyone who picks up the mace can use the basic +3d6 to hand-to-hand attacks or when thrown. Of course, most characters will suffer OCV penalties unless they have an appropriate weapon familiarity. If the mace is thrown, it must be picked up or otherwise recovered before it can be used in melee or for another thrown attack.]* 1u** 1) Physical Attack: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (22 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2)* 0 1u** 2) Thrown Weapon: Energy Blast (PD) 3d6, Can Add Strength to Damage (+1/2) (22 Active Points); 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), Lockout (-1/2), Range Based On Strength (-1/4)* [1 rc] 1u** 3) Energy Attack: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (22 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2)* 0 1u** 4) Thrown Weapon: Energy Blast (ED) 3d6, Can Add Strength to Damage (+1/2) (22 Active Points); 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), Lockout (-1/2), Range Based On Strength (-1/4)* [1 rc] ** * 40** Energy Mace Arcana: Multipower, 60-point reserve, (60 Active Points); all slots OAF Unbreakable (-1/2) [Notes: 1- Only a character with Thanagarian weapon familiarity (generally, other members of the Thanagarian military or police) can use the "Arcana" multipower. Only Hawkgirl herself can use the Weapon Weaving and Defensive Posture slots. 2- The OAF portion of this Multipower has been given only a -1/2 Limitation because while Hawkgirl can lose it in combat as any other OAF she seems able to get it back very easily; even when captured or imprisoned it's never far away.]* 6m** 1) Physical Attack: Hand-To-Hand Attack +12d6 (60 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2)* 6 1u** 2) Thrown Weapon: Energy Blast (PD) 8d6, Can Add Strength to Damage (+1/2) (60 Active Points); 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), Lockout (-1/2), Costs Endurance (-1/2), Range Based On Strength (-1/4)* 6 6m** 3) Energy Attack: Hand-To-Hand Attack +12d6 (60 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2)* 6 1u** 4) Thrown Weapon: Energy Blast (ED) 8d6, Can Add Strength to Damage (+1/2) (60 Active Points); 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), Lockout (-1/2), Costs Endurance (-1/2), Range Based On Strength (-1/4)* 6 3m** 5) Weapon Weaving: +6 with HTH Combat (30 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2)* 3 6m** 6) Defensive Posture: Missile Deflection (Any Ranged Attack), +5 to Missile Reflection, Missile Reflection, Reflect At Any Target (60 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2)* 6 ** * 50** Exploit Your Flaws: Find Weakness 15- with All Attacks* 0 19** Knock You Flat: Double Knockback (+3/4) for up to 25 Active Points of Strength (19 Active Points)* 2 ** * 7** Thanagarian Toughness: +10 PD (10 Active Points); Only vs full-body impacts (falls, tackles, knockback, move throughs, area effect concussion, etc.) (-1/2)* ** * 12** Costume: Armor (5 PD/5 ED) (15 Active Points); IIF Durable (-1/4)* 0 6** JL Communicator: Radio Perception/Transmission (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); Sense Affected As More Than One Sense Hearing Group (-1/2), IIF Durable (Earpiece Transceiver; -1/4)* 0
Martial Arts Cost: 30Cost** Martial Arts Maneuver ** Thanagarian Winged Combat* 5** 1) Fast Flying Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +4 DCV, Dodge All Attacks, Abort; FMove* 4** 2) Nimble Flying Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort* 4** 3) Fast Strike: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, 7d6 Strike* 5** 4) Flying Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, 5d6 +v/5; FMove* 5** 5) Distance Shot: 1+1 Phase, +0 OCV, -2 DCV, Range +6, Strike , +1 Segment* 7** 6) Weapon Element: Axes, Maces, Hammers, and Picks, Blades, Clubs, Fist-Loads, Polearms and Spears, Thrown Axes, Maces, Hammers, and Picks, Two-Handed Weapons*
Skills Cost: 120Cost** Skill 16** +2 with All Combat* 20** +4 with HTH Combat* 12** +4 with Energy Mace* 13** +4 with DCV (20 Active Points); Only when airborne (-1/2)* 12** +4 with Winged Flight* ** * 3** Acting 13-* 3** Breakfall 14-* 3** Combat Piloting 14-* 3** Criminology 11-* 3** Deduction 11-* 2** AK: The Galaxy 11-* 2** KS: Thanagar 11-* 5** Language: Thanagarian (idiomatic; literate)* 3** Navigation (Air, Space) 11-* 2** PS: Soldier 11-* 1** PS: Spy 8-* 3** Shadowing 11-* 2** TF: Science Fiction & Space Vehicles, Combat Aircraft* 12** WF: Beam Weapons, Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons, Energy Weapons, Small Arms, Thanagarian Military Weapons*
Perks Cost: 5Cost** Perk 5** Fringe Benefit: Membership in the JL* Total Character Cost: 525
Val** Disadvantages 15** Distinctive Features: Woman with large wings (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)* 10** Enraged: When a colleague or innocent is seriously injured (Common), go 8-, recover 14-* 5** Hunted: Thanagarian Authorities 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Limited Geographical Area, Watching)* 15** Hunted: Hawkgirl Rogues Gallery 11- (As Pow, Capture)* 5** Physical Limitation: Wings take up a lot of space and sometimes get in the way (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)* 15** Psychological Limitation: Extremely Aggressive (Common, Strong)* 20** Psychological Limitation: Overconfident (Very Common, Strong)* 5** Reputation: Alien Invader, 8-* 5** Rivalry: Romantic (Katma Tui; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry)* 5** Social Limitation: Public Identity (Occasionally, Minor)* 5** Social Limitation: Exiled (Occasionally, Major, Not Limiting In Some Cultures)* Disadvantage Points: 105
Base Points: 200
Experience Required: 220
Total Experience Available: 220
Experience Unspent: 0
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Re: Ranged OK for HKA, not for HA
Not that all the explanations here don't make sense – because they do – but to me, EB and RKA are the same power except the former does Normal Damage and the latter does Killing Damage. Similarly, in my mind, HA and HKA are the same power except the former does Normal Damage and the latter does Killing Damage. I don't worry about what the Hand Attack (-1/2) Limitation is supposed to represent; it's there so that HA can have an Active Cost of 5 points per d6 but have a Real Cost of less than 5 points per d6. (FWIW, which is pretty much nothing, I always thought that the Hand Attack Limitation should have been -1/4, assuming that No Figured Characteristics is to remain at -1/2.)
I want consistency. I don't want to have to build a throwable Killing Attack using the HKA Power and the Ranged Advantage, while a throwable Normal Attack requires EB (that's EB, not HA) and a custom Can Add STR To Damage Advantage (plus, sometimes, the Limited Range Limitation or the Range Based on STR Limitation). But this is the way I'll need to build it if i want to continue to use Hero Designer. And while I and my spreadsheets can do arithmetic just fine, thank you, HD makes character design so much faster and easier that I'm not willing to give it up just because I can't customize it easily enough to suit my personal interpretations of the rules.
Thanks for helping me think through this, guys.
John H
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Re: Haymaker or mere Push?
Well, most guns have Charges, and therefore can't be Pushed. Powers with Charges can't be Pushed unless they're defined as Boostable.I consider that to fall under the 'Real Weapon' Limitation.I don't have a problem with Haymakering a gun. Doing so represents taking more time (the extra segment) and holding still (the -5 DCV) enough to aim and shoot properly. But if I were playing in someone else's game and the GM ruled that "real" guns couldn't be Haymakered, I wouldn't complain; your rationale makes sense.
John H
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Re: Another Take on the Animated Justice League
Hyper-Man,I have a couple of requests:- I'd like to see your take on Dr. Fate.
- I also would like to see your version of Captain Marvel/(Shazam) as if he were part of the animated series world as it relates to the current comics.
I think I can give Dr. Fate a fair shake. His action has been limited so quite a bit will be speculation. A VPP will probably describe most of his powers other than teleport and flight.
On the other hand, I'm not sure where to begin with Captain Marvel. He's never appeared on the show, not even in the background I think, so I don't know where I'd set his power level or even his range of abilities. My comics reading ended shortly after DC's Crisis of Infinite Creative Laziness, so I'm familiar with the Carlton Captain Marvel, the Marvel Captain Marvel, and DC's Earth-C Captain Marvel through the mid-1980s. But I don't read the current comics, so I'd need to know some things:
-How does The Big Red Cheese's strength compare to Superman's?
-Similarly, how does his "invulnerability" compare to the Blue Boy Scout's?
-Ditto with speed.
-Has he been demonstrating any other powers besides being strong, tough, and flying? I've read Kingdom Come so I gather that Cap's converta-blast of magic lightning can be used as an attack. Anything else?
If we were talking the pre-Crisis Cap I'm confident I could do him some justice. As it is, I'd probably be more accurate with Hoppy the Marvel Bunny or Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew than with a DCAU version of Cap which has never appeared.
So I need some guidelines from you, Hyper-Man, if you'd like to see a Captain Marvel. I don't think I'd add him to the archive files when we're done with him, since those are just for characters that have appeared on the various DCAU TV shows.
Best wishes,
John H
- I'd like to see your take on Dr. Fate.
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Re: Haymaker or mere Push?
I don't like the idea of weak/normal characters getting out of Entangles easily. A pretty normal person with a Str of 15 (3 DCs) who Pushes for +10 Str (+2 DC) and Haymakers for +4 DC will do 9d6. That will break most Entangles in a game with a couple of Phases of effort. A normal thing like handcuffs which, if memory serves, is just 4d6, can be broken in one Phase that way.
I disallow Haymakers against the Entangle for the character trapped by the Entangle. Pushing is fine. Attacks against the Entangle by characters other than those trapped by the Entangle may be Haymakered. At 1d6 per 10 points, the average Entangle tends to fall readily to the average attack (at 1d6 per 5 points) anyway; no need to completely pull the teeth of the Entangle.
(FWIW, I disallow characters getting more than double their effective Strength or Damage Classes from any combination of Pushing and Haymakering. In practice, this only applies to normals, and to those supers who get caught without their super-gear or stuck in their non-super personae.)
John H
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Updated "final versions" files
Each archive file contains Hero Designer 2 files and HTML files for each character. Although Hero Designer 2 is required to view the .hdc files, you can read the .html files with any web browser.
AJL 7.zip = Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, J'onn J'onnz, Flash, Batman
AJL Other Heroes.zip = Aquaman, Green Arrow, Supergirl, Captain Atom, Booster Gold, Skeets
New this message:
AJL Villains.zip = Giganta, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy, Star Sapphire, The Shade, Tsukuri
Final versions of Jason Blood/Etrigan and Orion will be coming soon. They will be added to the "AJL Other Heroes.zip" archive when they're ready.
I understand that some changes to the way Hero Designer handles Hand Attack will require a minor redesign of Hawkgirl. I'll put that up ASAP.
I'm kind of running out of steam with these characters. I'll probably do Ebon, then do final versions of the posted "Static Shock" characters, and that will be it. If you have any requests before I let this thread fade away, I'll try to fill them.
John H
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Re: Batman's two-wall jump
Unless a character has built a specific power to do something like this, and assuming that the two walls are no more than half the character's horizontal leap distance apart, I'd handle it by having the character make an Acrobatics Roll as a complimentary roll to his Climbing Roll. (In other words, Acrobatics could only "assist" the Climbing skill and not reduce its chance of success). I'd require the character to make these two rolls each phase that he continues to gain or lose "altitude" with this move.
John H
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Re: Goodbye Washington DC
Some years ago, before the terrorist attacks in late summer 2001, Tom Clancy wrote a novel in his "Jack Ryan" series which imagined a jetliner being flown into the Capital Building during a Presidential address to a joint session of Congress. I don't recall which book this is – Clancy's written so many – and this attack occurs at the very end of that book. However, the subsequent Ryan novel explores in some detail the ramifications of such a blow to the top levels of the US government.
John H
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Since this isn't a rules question, I didn't post it in the rules question forum. However, while this is directed to Steve Long, I would welcome reasoned responses from anyone.
In reference to this thread:
Why is the Ranged modifier acceptable for Hand-to-Hand Killing Attacks but not for Hand Attacks? Both Powers are for melee damage, the most significant difference between them being that one is Killing Damage and the other is Normal Damage.
I'm just trying to wrap my head around this and can't see the logic of this interpretation.
Thanks in advance,
John H
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Re: held action
Instead of disallowing a post-12 Recovery (which, the way I look at it, represents the Recovery one accumulates over 12 segments, not a "breather" one takes every 12 seconds simultaneously with everyone else), consider:
-Characters who act after the Haymakering character in Segment 12 only have to move a little bit, or score a Knockdown (Knockback even in the same hex - with no travel at all - will do), to make the Haymaker and the Endurance spent on it void.
-If the target has a Held Action, perhaps because he has a higher Dexterity than the Haymakering character, he can perform as above.
-The target character can Abort in Segment 1 to a number of actions, the most universal of which is Dive for Cover. With just a successful roll, relatively easy since only 1" of travel is needed, the Haymaker and the Endurance spent on it are void. And since this is an Abort, it automatically occurs before the Haymaker even if the Haymaker weren't the absolute last action in the segment subsequent to the segment in which it is launched.
-Villains can make use of the Speed chart, too...
John H
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Re: held action
I'm with Derek... sort of. I'd have the two characters "DEX off" unless the character attempting to make the defensive action chooses to Abort in which case the Dispel automatically takes effect before the attack can do its thing. In the specific case you describe, there is no practical penalty to the defender for Aborting since he is already holding an action and Dispel is an attack action which would end his phase anyway.
The rules are a good guideline but your GM should handle this as he sees best for his game, as long as he does so consistently in every identical case.
John H
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Re: Fade Rate and attributes lower than normal
nexus said:
Ick, that is going to make this construct complicated. I was working on a power that drained lifeforce from a target to heal the attacker. The results wouldn't fade, but could only increase the target attributes to normal.I've house-ruled this to create a (-0) modifier which only allows an Adjustment Power to "refill" - or increase only to starting levels - a Characteristic or Power but the points gained do not fade. The modifier is applied to Absorption or Transfer and essentially it makes the points gained from those powers function as Healing.
If you compare this to the official "Only Increase to Starting Values" Limitation (-1/2) you might agree that it's a fair way of handling what you want to accomplish. You trade the (-1/2) normally provided by this Limitation for "Points Gained Never Fade."
Otherwise you have to use some ridiulous Heal linked to Drain or some such, which is just more complicated than it has to be.
John H
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Re: Charges on a Multipower's Reserve
Rapier,
Well yes, this is The Hero System, so things do tend to come down to issues of cost and whether cost properly represents relative value.
Anyway: I agree that powers and equipment should be built in a manner so as to best represent the special effects. What I hope you might have inferred from my first message in this thread is that I think the costs which the official rules apply to Charges on a Multipower Reserve and/or Charges on Multipower Slots don't properly represent the relative value of the things which, in game terms, they emulate.
Here are two simple builds for an Archer's bow and arrows:
Example A
30 60-point Multipower Reserve, OIF Bow (-1/2), 12 Charges (-1/4), Must allocate the 12 Charges among the available arrow types and can only change that allocation "at base" (-1/4)
3 u4d6 RKA, OAF Arrow (-1)
3 u2 1/2d6 RKA, AP (+1/2), OAF Arrow (-1)
3 u12d6 EB, OAF Arrow (-1)
3 u6d6 Entangle, OAF Arrow (-1)
Example B
30 60-point Multipower Reserve, OIF Bow (-1/2), Some other Limitation - it doesn't matter exactly what it is as long as the value is (-1/2)
3 u4d6 RKA, OAF Arrow (-1), 16 Charges (-0)
3 u2 1/2d6 RKA, AP (+1/2), OAF Arrow (-1), 16 Charges (-0)
3 u12d6 EB, OAF Arrow (-1), 16 Charges (-0)
3 u6d6 Entangle, OAF Arrow (-1), 16 Charges (-0)
These are both reasonable ways of building a super-archer's bow and arrows but Example B is far better with more shots per slot than Example A has for the entire Multipower. Yet the cost is the same for both.
If you just don't allow Charges (neither as a Limitation nor as an Advantage) on Multipower Reserves, how will you represent, say, a ray gun with 32 shots but with 6 different settings? Without Charges on the Reserve, you can get a certain number of shots per setting, but not a total number of shots without regard to the setting used for each shot.
So I'm hoping we can explore here some alternatives to the official rules for handling the intersection of Multipowers and Charges.
John H
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Re: Charges on a Multipower's Reserve
Phil,
I follow what you're saying, but if you treat Multipowers with mixed Charges/No-Charges Slots that way then it obviates the entire point of treating Multipowers which only have Charges Slots in the manner you described in your previous message. You're right back to getting more and more charges by buying more Slots with the Charges Limitation without applying the Charges Limitation to the Reserve, which is the standard rule I feel needs some fixing as I described in the first message in this thread.
John H
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Re: Charges on a Multipower's Reserve
Phil,
That makes a lot of sense to me! Except...
How do you handle the situation where a Multipower includes some Slots with Charges and other Slots without Charges? This is a very common build among published characters and many of my own creations, and I'm not sure how they would be reconciled with your otherwise excellent resolution.
Thanks,
John H
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Game mechanic for Replicators
For Replicators, how about a variety of Multiforms? You'd have one form with a lot of points (some big bug, the "true form"), then each successive Multiform would be smaller, maybe have fewer points, but have Duplication to represent that a big bug can break itself down into multiple smaller bugs.
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Rubberband Man "first draft"
Ideally, I'd like to get Rubberband Man down to 350 points while still representing all the significant skills he demonstrated on the show, and increase his Disadvantages to 150 points.
Another fairly weak image. I'm surprised by the relative dearth of good Static Shock pictures available on the net.
Rubberband Man
Player:
12" RUN02" SWIM012" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 75Val Char Cost 20 STR 10 17 DEX 21 18 CON 16 11 BODY 2 10 INT 0 10 EGO 0 13 PRE 3 12 COM 1 18 PD 14 9 ED 5 3 SPD 3 8 REC 0 36 END 0 30 STUN 0
Powers Cost: 233Cost Power END 5 Fully Manipulatory Legs/Feet/Toes: Extra Limbs (2) 0 10 Rubberband Powers I: Elemental Control, 20-point powers 47 1) Rubberband Reach: Stretching 10", x4 Noncombat, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (69 Active Points); No Velocity Damage (-1/4) 2 7 2) Tie One On: Clinging (50 STR) (20 Active Points); Only where there's something to grab or wrap around (-1/4), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) 2 14 3) Rubber Legs: Running +6" (12" total), x4 Noncombat, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (24 Active Points) 1 13 4) Rubber Ball Bouncing: Leaping +8" (12" forward, 6" upward) (x8 Noncombat), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (23 Active Points) 1 11 5) Squeeze Through Cracks: Desolidification (40 Active Points); Does Not Protect Against Damage (-1), Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2), Movement rate is halved when using this power (-1/4) 4 11 6) Yielding/Insulating Rubber Body: (Total: 22 Active Cost, 19 Real Cost) Damage Resistance (18 PD/9 ED), Hardened (+1/4) (16 Active Points); Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) (Real Cost: 13) plus Hardened (+1/4) (4 Active Points) applied to PD (Real Cost: 4) plus Hardened (+1/4) (2 Active Points) applied to ED (Real Cost: 2) 2 34 7) Resilient Rubber Body: (Total: 60 Active Cost, 40 Real Cost) Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4), If any Body gets through other defenses, Damage Reduction will affect the Body portion of the damage only (-1/4) (Real Cost: 20) plus Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4), If any Body gets through other defenses, Damage Reduction will affect the Body portion of the damage only (-1/4) (Real Cost: 20) 6 60 Rubberband Powers II: Multipower, 75-point reserve, (75 Active Points); Affected by negative Adjustment Powers as if it were part of the Rubberband Powers I Elemental Control (-1/4) 2u 1) Wraparound: Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (75 Active Points); Feedback (Rubberband Man takes all damage done to Entangle by anyone other than himself) (-1), No Range (-1/2), If Rubberband Man is Stunned, loses consciousness, or does not maintain physical contact, the Entangle is immediately removed (-1/2), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4) 3 2u 2) Body Barrier: Force Wall (8 PD/8 ED; 4" long and 3" tall) (Opaque Sight Group), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (75 Active Points); Feedback (-1), No Range (-1/2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2) [Notes: Since Rubberband Man's body composes the Force Wall (hence the Feedback Limitation), he can launch attacks at targets on either side of the Force Wall.] 3 5u 3) Big Stretchy Fists: (Total: 75 Active Cost, 50 Real Cost) Hand-To-Hand Attack +4d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Selective (+1/4) (45 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) (Real Cost: 30) plus +6 with HTH Combat (30 Active Points); OCV only (-1/2) (Real Cost: 20) 0 5u 4) Catch and Release: (Total: 70 Active Cost, 47 Real Cost) Missile Deflection (Any Ranged Attack), Ranged (10") (+3/4) (35 Active Points) (Real Cost: 35) plus Missile Reflection (back at attacker), Ranged (10") (+3/4) (35 Active Points); Physical Missiles Only (-1), Costs Endurance (-1/2), Must pay Endurance for each Reflection attack made (-1/4), Will Not Work Against Heavy Missiles (-1/4) (Real Cost: 12) 3 7u 5) Putty Form: Shape Shift (Sight Group, any shape), Instant Change, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (70 Active Points) 0
Martial Arts Cost: 22Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Stretching, Grabbing, and Wrapping 3 1) Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 30 STR for holding on 4 2) Crush: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 8d6 Crush, Must Follow Grab 4 3) Choke Hold: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND 4 4) Martial Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 30 STR to Disarm 3 5) Sacrifice Throw: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +1 DCV, 4d6 Strike; You Fall, Target Falls 4 6) Martial Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 35 STR vs. Grabs
Skills Cost: 55Cost Skill 3 +1 with Rubberband Powers II Multipower 3 +1 with Martial Maneuvers 3 Acrobatics 12- 3 Breakfall 12- 3 Bureaucratics 12- 3 Climbing 12- 3 Concealment 11- 3 Contortionist 12- 3 Disguise 11- 3 High Society 12- 3 Interrogation 12- 1 CK: Dakota 8- 1 KS: The Prison System 8- 2 KS: The Music Industry 11- 1 Language: Musical Notation (Literacy) 3 Oratory 12- 3 Power: Rubber Body Tricks 11- 2 PS: Musician/Performer 11- 3 Shadowing 11- 3 Stealth 12- 3 Streetwise 12-
Perks Cost: 8Cost Perk 2 Contact: AJ of the Backstreet Boys (Good relationship with Contact) 8- 1 Contact: Music Industry 8- 5 Money: Well Off
Talents Cost: 7Cost Talent 4 Double Jointed 3 Perfect Pitch Total Character Cost: 400
Val Disadvantages 10 Dependent NPC: Sharon Hawkins 8- (Normal) 10 Distinctive Features: Any use of his powers makes an extremely distinctive squeeky sound (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Hunted: Law Enforcement Authorities 11- (As Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching) 10 Hunted: Ebon 8- (As Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Mildly Punish) 5 Physical Limitation: Dyslexia (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 10 Psychological Limitation: Code vs Killing (Common, Moderate) 5 Psychological Limitation: Forms selected for Shape Shift tend to be only mildly different variations of his normal body or to incorporate elements of his body or costume (Uncommon, Moderate) 10 Reputation: Ex-Con, 11- 5 Rivalry: Professional (Static; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry) 15 Social Limitation: Public ID (Frequently, Major) 10 Social Limitation: Has a police record (Occasionally, Major) 15 Susceptibility: When involuntarily stretched beyond his normal limits, 3d6 damage Instant (Uncommon) Disadvantage Points: 120
Base Points: 200
Experience Required: 80
Total Experience Available: 80
Experience Unspent: 0
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Re: Another Take on the Animated Justice League
freakboy6117,
That's an important point. Please take a look at the revised version here and let me know what you think.
Best wishes,
John H
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Shebang "first draft"
Shebang is built on fewer points than Static and Gear, but I think this represents her demonstrated abilities fairly well. She has at least as much raw power as either of the boys, but nowhere near the flexibility or variability with which they can use their numerous abilities.
The attached image is the best one I could find of Shebang. Considering all her great action sequences on the show, it's pretty disappointing. Anyone have a better pic or screen grab to replace this one?
Shebang
Player:
*10"**RUN04"**SWIM010"**LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 95Val** Char*** Cost 45** STR 35 18** DEX 24 20** CON 20 8** BODY -4 10** INT 0 10** EGO 0 10** PRE 0 12** COM 1 * 12** PD 3 4** ED 0 4** SPD 12 13** REC 0 40** END 0 45** STUN 4
Powers Cost: 103Cost** Power END 11** Enhanced Muscles: Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (11 Active Points) applied to STR* 9** Enhanced Leaping: Leaping +1" (10" forward, 5" upward) (x4 Noncombat), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (9 Active Points)* 1 16** Enhanced Running: Running +4" (10" total), x4 Noncombat, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (16 Active Points)* 1 2** Enhanced Swimming: Swimming +2" (4" total)* 1 ** * 5** Enhanced Physiology I: Lack Of Weakness (-5) for Normal Defense* 0 4** Enhanced Physiology II: Power Defense (5 points) (5 Active Points); Not vs Magic or Psionics (-1/4)* 0 4** Enhanced Physiology III: (Total: 4 Active Cost, 4 Real Cost) Sight Group Flash Defense (Real Cost: 1) plus Hearing Group Flash Defense (Real Cost: 1) plus Smell/Taste Group Flash Defense (Real Cost: 1) plus Touch Group Flash Defense (Real Cost: 1)* 0 1** Enhanced Physiology IV: Life Support (Extended Breathing: 1 END per Turn)* 0 ** * 1** Enhanced Bone Density: Damage Resistance (5 PD) (2 Active Points); Only Works Against Limited Type of Attack (Crushing Damage; -1/2)* 0 ** * 10** Enhanced Reflexes I: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% (15 Active Points); Must be aware of incoming attack (-1/2)* 0 10** Enhanced Reflexes II: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% (15 Active Points); Must be aware of incoming attack (-1/2)* 0 20** Enhanced Reflexes III: Missile Deflection (Any Ranged Attack)* 0 ** * 3** Enhanced Senses I: +1 PER with all Sense Groups* 0 7** Enhanced Senses II: Find Weakness 11- with Punch (10 Active Points); Only Affects Certain Materials (Inanimate Objects; -1/2)* 0 ** *
Martial Arts Cost: 12Cost** Martial Arts Maneuver ** Natural Agility* 3** 1) Martial Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 9d6 +v/5, Target Falls* 5** 2) Defensive Block: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +3 DCV, Block, Abort* 4** 3) Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort*
Skills Cost: 43Cost** Skill 5** +1 with HTH Combat* 3** +1 with Running and Leaping* 12** +4 with Acrobatics, Breakfall, Stealth* ** * 3** Acrobatics 13-* 3** Breakfall 13-* 3** Climbing 13-* 3** Contortionist 13-* 3** Stealth 13-* 8** Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical, Desert, Mountain) 11-*
Perks Cost: 2Cost** Perk 2** Witness Protection Program*
Talents Cost: 15Cost** Talent 9** Ambidexterity (no Off Hand penalty)* 4** Double Jointed* 2** Environmental Movement (no penalties on Narrow Surfaces)* Total Character Cost: 270
Val** Disadvantages 10** Dependent NPC: Mother and Father 11- (Slightly Less Powerful than the PC; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills; Group DNPC: x2 DNPCs)* 10** Distinctive Features: Artificial Person (Not Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable Only By Technology Or Major Effort)* 5** Hunted: Former Government Agents 8- (Less Pow, Capture)* 20** Psychological Limitation: Code vs Killing (Common, Total)* 5** Rivalry: Professional (Static; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry)* 20** Social Limitation: Secret ID (Frequently, Severe)* Disadvantage Points: 70
Base Points: 200
Experience Required: 0
Total Experience Available: 0
Experience Unspent: 0
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This thread and this other thread reminded me of an issue I've had with Multipowers for a while:
If one were to purchase a Multipower like this (Example 1)-
30 30-point Multipower Reserve
3 u30-point power, 16 Charges
3 u30-point power, 16 Charges
3 u30-point power, 16 Charges
3 u30-point power, 16 Charges
That's 42 points for a total of 64 shots.
But if one were to purchase a Multipower like this (Example 2)-
45 30-point Multipower Reserve, 64 Charges
3 u30-point power
3 u30-point power
3 u30-point power
3 u30-point power
That's 57 points for a total of 64 shots. The only advantage is that the charges aren't allocated to each of the slots in advance. For the sake of space I used only a 4-slot Multipower; but the more slots added, the less of an advantage applying additional charges to the Reserve appears to be.
And take a look at this (Example 3)-
45 45-point Multipower Reserve
4 u30-point power, 64 Charges
4 u30-point power, 64 Charges
4 u30-point power, 64 Charges
4 u30-point power, 64 Charges
That's 61 points for 256 Charges with no less flexibility (because 64 charges are applied to each slot) than Example 2. I'll admit that 42-->57 points is a significant amount (15), but 57-->61 is only 4 more.
On the other hand, when one applies Charges with a Limitation value to the Reserve, at least the character gets a cost break on the price of the Reserve.
I've been turning around in my mind various ways of changing how Charges might function when the modifier is applied to a Multipower's Reserve and to a Multipower's slots. Essentially, I'm concerned that applying Charges to each Multipower Slot is much more cost-effective than applying Charges to a Multipower Reserve; which pushes players to therefore not apply Charges to the Reserve even when doing so might better fit their special effects (such as a weapon with one power source and many settings).
My first thought is to do the following when Charges are applied to a Multipower Reserve-
When Charges are applied to the Reserve of a Multipower, take the number of Slots purchased for that Multipower and multiply by one-half of the Charges applied to the Reserve. The result of that equation [(Slots)*(Charges applied to the Reserve*.5)] is the total number of Charges available for the entire Multipower.
This would result in the same number of Charges with 2 Slots, but if more than 2 Slots are purchased for the Multipower then the number of Charges increases.
Has anyone else given this some thought? If so, care to share?
Thanks,
John H
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Re: Another Take on the Animated Justice League
SirViss and AlHazred,
Thanks for taking the time to review these, guys!
I don't have Gadgets and Gear or Dark Champions and won't until my latest bookcase projects are complete, which come after refinishing some tables and knick-knackery I have around the house. But I appreciate the suggestions; I'll take a look at those references as soon as I can.
SirViss said:
Just a bit of errata: shouldn't this be a Sight Group Flash Defense?Thanks for catching that. And I think Electromagnetic Sense ought to go into the Radio Group, now that you mention it.
Best wishes,
John H
Anyone have a writeup for a super archer?
in Champions
Posted
Re: Anyone have a writeup for a super archer?
Here is my take on Green Arrow as seen on the Justice League Unlimited television show. You can get more about him on this thread.
Hmm... Apparently, I've exceeded my "attachment quota" so I can't provide an image file or Hero Designer file. So go to that thread if you want those.
Green Arrow
Player:
Total Character Cost: 445
Disadvantage Points: 80
Base Points: 200
Experience Required: 165
Total Experience Available: 165
Experience Unspent: 0