JMHammer

Nubula from CKC

This sounds almost exactly like the "Banishment to Duress" power exhibited by the character Nebula in the CKC book. It needs a lot of GM control to prevent it from getting out of hand. Effects like this simply have to be excluded from player characters and used only for dramatic effect by NPCs.

John H

Can't Dodge and Attack Simultaneously

MrThou said:

And the dodge DCV dosnt stack with whatever manuver you did correct? Example. Yu-Sool strike 0/+2, the dodge would only be -/+5 and not +7 correct?

The DCV bonus from a Dodge will stack with any levels applicable to that maneuver but will NOT stack from any DCV bonus from another manuever because it can NOT be performed simultaneously with another maneuver. A Dodge is a half-phase action that ends the character's phase, just as an attack action ends the character's phase. Therefore, your example is not possible unless you've house-ruled that it is. (If you have, that's what's causing your problem, I think.)

If a character has +1 with Kung-fu, +1 with HTH Combat, and +1 with All Combat, he can Dodge and set all three of his levels to assist his DCV. Assuming this character is performing a standard +5 DCV Martial Dodge, he will have +8 DCV vs HTH attacks and +6 DCV vs ranged attacks (because neither the level with Kung-fu nor the level with HTH Combat can add to DCV vs ranged attacks). But he can't Dodge and perform any other combat maneuver in the same phase.

Somewhat related: When a player in my games says, "I'm going to half-move to here [points on map] and then Dodge," I do assume the character is Dodging the entire phase and so is protected by the improved DCV for the entire movement portion of his action.

Anyway, as some others have already pointed out, don't worry about your players having their characters perform good dodges and blocks. Especially if you're playing a martial arts campaign, it's totally in-genre to do so. (Heck, if I were involved in combat I know that most of MY actions would be a Dodge or Block!) They'll get hit eventually, albeit not often, and area effect attacks - especially area entangles (nets, etc.) - will still allow the bad guys to grease them if you simply have to put them down for story purposes.

And don't forget that the bad guys can Dodge and Block, too!

John H

Lasers do no knockback - maybe

I think it would be fair to define the entire laser multipower as No Knockback. Unless you want the laser to have knockback, it will better represent the way a laser "really" works and will save you some points, too.

Does this character have a Human mind or a Machine mind for purposes of mental powers?

John H

Forecasting Weather

My staff mets write weather forecasts every six hours. They require about an hour of preparation before producing the written document (which then becomes part of a web page / data feed and a broadcast script). The forecasts they produce are essentially flawless out to 6 hours, nearly so out to 24, and then accuracy and precision drops off until we get out 3 days, after which it becomes more of an educated guess than a forecast.

But they're pretty darn good at it and as far as I'm aware no psychic abilities are involved. They do have a lot of training and some great equipment at their disposal, of course.

Some sort of psionic weather prediction power based on a type of precognition shouldn't be very expensive and it should be pretty accurate, especially compared to "normal" precognition. The weather is difficult to predict, but it isn't subject to significant short-term variation (say, less than one month) due to normal human interference.

John H

-1/4 Limitation on VPP: Magic Only

Hugh said:

I would allow this limitation in Champions, but it must have meaning. In this case, to me, it means all powers are subject to any adjustment power targetting Magic (big deal ) and the ONLY valid special effect is magic. No "Magic Flames" against Cold Dude, no "Magic Silver" against the werewolf, no "Magical Stake" through the heart of the vampire. It can LOOK like flames, but it's pure magic so it triggers no vulnerability. And no Variable Special Effect powers either - that's off your list if you want the +1/4.

 

If the player wants to limit it more, a greater limitation may be available (eg. only magical attack powers), but if you want a limit for "magic only", it's magic ONLY..

Just to pick one character that I sort of remember without a book in front of me:

Witchcraft (from Champions) has a smallish VPP. Her VPP has this -1/4 "Only Magic" Limitation. One of the defined "spells" for her VPP is her magic dagger, built as a small physical killing attack with some extra damage against evil nasties.

So, if I understand you correctly, this would not trigger Paper Man's 2xStun and 2xBody from blades and other "sharp" killing attacks because it's just a "magic" attack. Similarly, if she put together a Drain REC, it wouldn't trigger Twiggy Frail's 2xeffect from Drains/Transfers/Dispels/Suppresses.

Makes sense and I suppose it's worth the -1/4 Limitation. If so, it might even be worth more... Works for me; thanks for the explanation!

John H

A few thoughts on VPPs

I've seen the following Limitation applied to the control cost of Variable Power Pools on published characters:

Only Magic (-1/4)

Now, I'm pretty lenient when it comes to building powers as long as the builder has defined his effect and is just trying to reproduce it accurately. (Some of you might recall, for example, that in supers campaigns I don't restrict the active points in a power within a VPP to the number of real pool points in the VPP.) But this Limitation can't really be worth -1/4. I mean, you can do anything with magic, especially the magic power pools on super-types in a Champions-style campaign. And a Limitation that doesn't, isn't.

Um, anyway, generally speaking if you can represent a character's abilities well without the use of a VPP then do so. Only allow the character to use a VPP if it's needed to represent the character's abilities, or if a Multipower or other construct is just too screamingly inefficient as a way of building them. (Usually - depending on special effect etc. - 5 or more "m" flexible Multipower slots or 10 or more "u" fixed Multipower slots will prove to be more expensive than a VPP, especially one defined as "just these 5 basic types of powers using this one special effect.")

Players who start with a character conception of "I can do anything I want anytime I want," should be gently encouraged to come up with something else. Green Lantern is manageable, since you can define with the player exactly what his limits are. (Yes, GL can fly FTL in outer space and carry others along with him safely. No, GL can't change a man into a frog.) Cosmo The Cosmic Man is not manageable because he has no limits except the points he purchased. (Cosmo can do anything he wants as long as he has the points in his VPP to pay for it... BLECH! Ditto and double BLECH! to such published characters as Takofones whose VPPs are pretty much defined that way, too. Might as well just say that GM fiat defines what happens, and of course this is fine in limited cases for NPCs but simply can't be permitted for PCs.)

Players who are wizards with huge numbers of spells, or mentalists who can use a very wide range of powers with telepathic and/or telekinetic special effects, are good candidates for VPPs. However, if your group is just starting with The Hero System, give them Multipowers or other constructs first; then allow them to rewrite their characters with VPPs after a few sessions when they have the hang of the rules.

Lord Liaden's suggestion about allowing only those powers that have already been written to be used in combat is critical unless you want your game to slow to a crawl. Make an exception when your player needs to do something critical, like defeat the master villain once and for all, or save the world, or something equally significant. But it's otherwise an excellent way to keep things moving while allowing the player to use his character with the flexibility he paid for with the VPP.

John H

Knockout = Death

Interestingly, most people who are bludgeoned into unconsciousness do not simply wake up a few seconds or a few minutes later, shake it off, and go back to running a marathon. Most things that cause involuntary unconsciousness, such as anesthesia or head trauma, take a person to just a whisker away from death, permanent coma, or serious brain damage. And sometimes not even a whisker.

When someone is "knocked out" in the Hero System, unless they're in one of the "deep sleep" levels of knockout, they're probably not completely out. It would depend on the special effect of the attack, I suppose... Even FREd says something to the effect that someone in the lowest-level of knockout can perceive what's going on but can't effectively act in any way. So I don't necessarily see a second shot to an enemy who's knocked out at one of the first two levels to be necessarily unheroic, any more than hitting an enemy who's stunned. The visual effect is that the enemy is reeling from the last blow, or you can see he's shaking off whatever effect had been done to him, and you're giving him a final, finishing blow to put him out.

It can be quite uncool to have your heroes in a fantasy milieu walking about the aftermath of a battle administering final strokes. However, in historical period battles, that's pretty much what happened. And if your heroes are fighting "inhuman" enemies like goblins, demons, created or summoned critters, etc. it's probably not out of context or character for them to do so. Other humans or some other ensouled, sentient beings might give them a bit of pause, but that's part of the roleplaying: Are they cold-blooded killers or will they allow those who have fought against them and failed some chance at life?

John H

Two starships < One starship + shuttlecraft?

So, I buy a Star Trek-inspired Constitution-class starship for probably a zillion points. Then I need to pay maybe another hundred or so for a shuttle. If my starship has seven shuttles, that's a zillion plus seven-hundred.

On the other hand, if I buy the same Constitution-class starship (without shuttles) for a zillion points, can I get a second starship for five points?

As another example, what would be more useful to your ship: A second photon torpedo launcher (+5 points) or a second shuttlecraft (+100 points maybe)? I agree that having shuttles is nice, and certainly worth paying points for them, but are multiple shuttles really worth so much more than multiple big weapon mounts or other equipment?

Probably at some point, extra vehicles on a ship should be treated as extra equipment rather than additional vehicles that need to be purchased seperately.

Or all those weapons and other equipment should be purchased seperately, too.

Just one person's opinion...

John H

Original Question to Steve

GamePhil,

First Question to Steve

Followup Question to Steve

John H

Limitation doesn't limit character

I know this isn't what you were asking for, but...

Flight doesn't work under water unless you buy the ability for it to do so. This character did not do so. Therefore, he shouldn't apply the -1/4 Limitation "Doesn't Work Underwater" to his Elemental Control reserve cost or to either of the Flight slots within the Elemental Control.

For much the same reason, the Entangle slot of the character's Multipower shouldn't get the -1/2 Limitation "Susceptible to Water" because the entire Multipower already doesn't work under water and has received a Limitation bonus for that.

Minor quibbles: The Energy Blast slot of the Multipower costs 5 END to use at full power, not 4. Also, given the Limitations as listed, some of the Multipower slots have an incorrect cost.

I also think the Succor slot in the Multipower is a little abusive, but that's probably just me. (If it were defined as "Can't be used on self," with an appropriate limitation, then I'd be OK with it.) If your GM allows it as is, more power to you - literally.

Finally - and I could be wrong here since I don't have any of the reference materials with me - I don't think a -1/4 Limitation applies to the Stun Only aspect of the Energy Blast slot of the Multipower. I'm pretty sure that the rules specify something to the effect that doing no Body and no Knockback with a Stun-only attack is balanced out by the fact that you can't seriously injure someone or cause property damage accidentally and therefore is not worth a Limitation.

Sorry to be a critic...

John H

Steve Long wrote:

The rule is on 5E 309; it only applies to equipment. As multiple pieces of equipment, such weapons could be used for Two-Weapon Fighting, multiple-Power attacks, or the like. Shugoshin's character sheet is correct.

I don't understand the part regarding Shugoshin's ghost-cutting powers being purchased correctly as published. If a weapon can be duplicated for only 5 points, why isn't the Ghost-Cutting power purchased as part of "building" one of the swords and then the second sword purchased, with all powers built into the first, for 5 points?

Is this the correct interpretation?

---

The swords themselves, if picked up and used by someone else, wouldn't have these powers - they'd just have their base 1d6 HKA. This is because the Ghost-Cutting powers are innate to the character although he can only use it when wielding both swords. And because they're innate powers, he can't purchase the naked advantage with the 5-point gadget doubling rule (nor would he want to since it only costs 3...).

---

Also, it seems to me that having to have two different foci on hand in order to use a power is more limiting than having to have only one focus on hand. Are there any cases where this would be worth an extra bonus? If so, please give an example.

Thanks for responding to my questions, Steve! Forgive me if this request for followup shouldn't have been posted in this section.

John H

Steve Long wrote:

The rule is on 5E 309; it only applies to equipment. As multiple pieces of equipment, such weapons could be used for Two-Weapon Fighting, multiple-Power attacks, or the like. Shugoshin's character sheet is correct.

Howdy, heroes!

I asked Steve about the referenced rule. I won't repeat my (probably inanely) detailed question here, but I have some questions / discussion starters for all of you:

Foci are supposed to limit the character in some way. However, if this 5-point doubling rule only applies to equipment, that appears to provide a bonus to characters using foci, especially weapons. For instance, Blasto The Blast Gunner can make up some huge, powerful gun or other weapon with a real cost of 100 or even more, and then get a second one for only 5 points (105 points total); but Zappo The Electric Man has to build his big 100 real point energy blast twice if he wants to have it twice for purposes of two-weapon fighting or multiple-power attacks (200 real points). Given this, how do you maintain balance between gadget-using characters and those who rely on innate abilities?

Another real concern is Power-Armor-Guy purchasing a decent energy blast or somesuch for his OIF armor and then using the 5-point doubling rule to get 2 blasters. It gets worse if he spends 10 to get 4, or spends 15 to get 8 such blasters built into his armor. It greatly increases the number of charges for a very low cost (assuming charges are being used) and permits multiple-power attacks that are both less expensive than but more effective than applying the Autofire advantage.

However, this also applies to gadget-using characters who aren't consciously abusing the rule but just want a second gun. It still gives such characters double the number of shots (charges) for a very low price and the ability to perform multiple-power attacks in a manner that is both less expensive than yet in some cases more effective than a simple two-shot Autofire advantage.

All comments appreciated!

John H

In CCK, the Warmachine villain Warbird has an 8d6 EB, Ex (OIF: Battlesuit, 8 charges). He also has a second explosion-blaster, identical to the first, which he purchased for 5 points.

I assume this means he can either fire one at a time, getting 16 individual shots before running out of ammo; or use them together in multiple-power attacks. Question 1: Is this assumption correct? (Just as a comment, this appears to be a very inexpensive, possible abusive, way to get more charges and/or create the ability to perform multiple-power attacks. On the other hand, it is consistent with many powers, such as Summon, that have effect doublings for 5 points.)

Question 2: Is this a normal rule?

Question 3: If it is a normal rule can any character purchase a second copy of a weapon like this?

Question 4: I know that there is a page somewhere in FREd that permits this, but was this the intended use of that rule?

Next, the hero Shugoshin in CU has two swords, the second of which is purchased with this 5-point rule. However, Shugoshin's ghost-cutting power - technically, the ghost-cutting power of the sword - is purchased twice, once for each sword. Which brings me to Question 5: Should the ghost-cutting power have been purchased just once, for one of the swords, and then assumed for the other sword as part of the 5-point duplication rule?

Finally, Question 6: Can this 5-point duplicate power / duplicate weapon rule be used for "innate" powers or is it only for those based on foci such as guns and other weapons?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. I'm impressed that you respond to multiple questions every day and appreciate this willingness to interact with your customers.

John H

Another rule-breaker, but...

I'd do this in a very simple way:

First, set up the multipower and buy each slot in the multipower so that it has the same cost and the same number of charges. Buy each one as a fixed (ultra) slot. Do not apply any charges limitation or charges advantage to the cost of the multipower reserve.

Then, apply a +1/4 advantage to the multipower reserve: Total number of charges in the multipower is equal to the total number of charges of all slots added together, but the allocation of charges to the various slots can only be changed at the "armory" or other base location where rearming can be performed - and rearming takes several minutes.

I'd call this an advantage, not a limitation, because without applying this modifier the number of charges of each slot is always fixed, and with this modifier you have some flexibility in setting the number of charges of each slot.

John H

Check your private messages

Nymaz,

Check your private messages for a suggestion I made which does break the official rules but permits a bit more flexibility without adding significantly more power unless a player goes out of his way to abuse it. (Something easily scotched by a GM.)

John H

Star Trek CLASSIC Phaser

When we're talking Star Trek, I assume we're talking Classic 60s-era Trek, not New Trek. Like New Coke, New Trek has its good points but has always left a bad taste in my mouth.

This thread reminds me of a very interesting NPC from one of my old supers campaigns. A young boy, a fanatical Star Trek fan, lies in a coma following an automobile accident. To the doctors, he's in a persistent vegetative state. Strange reports begin coming out of New York: It appears William Shatner has gone nuts and has joined the local superhero team! Although the accident has caused some brain damage (hence the coma), it has also activated otherwise-dormant parts of this boy's brain. In his unconscious dreams, he is Captain Kirk. This manifests to the world at large as a psychic, yet physical, projection of the fictional character! No one who sees or interacts with him can tell its a psychic projection. And this projection believes he is really Captain Kirk.

The character had a phaser, tricorder, communicator, and good HTH combat skills as well as all the usual skills you'd expect (Many of which were useless because what good is TF: Federation Starships and PS: Starship Captain in a mostly earthbound supers game?). He had a one-charge-per-day multipower to represent access to the "Enterprise" - a big area-effect indirect energy blast with extra time (phasers from the ship), a big "General Knowledge" skill roll also with extra time, etc. Of course, there was no "ship up there" and all the effects were psychically generated by the comatose kid.

I think I remember the phaser pretty well:

30 .. 60-point Multipower Reserve, OAF: Phaser Pistol

3u .. Stun: 12d6 EB, Stun Only, OAF: Phaser Pistol

3u .. Kill: 4d6 RKA, OAF: Phaser Pistol, No Knockback [sFX: Anything reduced to -(Full Body Value) is considered disintegrated - completely gone.]

3u .. Heat: 2 1/2d6 RKA, Penetrating, OAF: Phaser Pistol, Max Range = 10"

1u .. Overload: 8d6 EB, Explosion, OAF: Phaser Pistol, 1 Charge, Use Destroys Weapon (and one power pack but not "extra" power packs - see below), Range Based on STR, Makes Annoying Warning Sound Before Detonation (+1 to Dive-for-Cover rolls) [sFX: Can Make Annoying Warning Sound For Up To One Minute Without Detonation At Character's Option]

2 .. No recoil: +1 OCV w/Phaser Pistol, OAF: Phaser Pistol

8 .. Endurance Reserve: 120 END, OIF: Hand Phaser / Power Pack

8 .. Endurance Reserve: 120 END, OIF: Hand Phaser / Power Pack

8 .. Endurance Reserve: 120 END, OIF: Hand Phaser / Power Pack

Special Effect: One Hand Phaser / Power Pack is in the Phaser Pistol to start. A fresh one can be swapped in using the same rules for changing clips. A Hand Phaser can also be used alone; it is identical to a Phaser Pistol but does not have the +1 OCV (it's awkward to hold and aim) and uses twice as much Endurance per shot, but it is easily concealable. The Hand Phasers / Power Packs recharge whenever Kirk "goes back to the ship" but he has to wait at least 24 hours before returning if he does that.

Total Cost: 68

[i actually broke some rules in the played version to make it a bit different than this, but this is what it would look like under the strict HERO rules. Well, sorta strict...]

No need to worry about light stun vs heavy stun - just use the Stun setting at less than maximum. This might be done to prevent a target from being completely knocked out or to preserve charge. The Kill and Heat settings can also be used at less than full power. The Heat setting could be used as a cutting / welding torch, to make things hot, etc. Also, don't get hung up on the wide-area beam that was seen in a very few episodes; represent this by just spreading the Energy Blast or RKA a little at the time it's fired.

John H

Not really an answer...

This doesn't really answer your question, but...

Assuming this character is for a supers game, she can be wearing a chip thong and nipple clips or pasties and still have 12 PD / 12 ED Armor that provides full coverage. The special effect is that the dental floss bikini produces a force field which generates the protective effect. Look at the character write-up for Nighthawk in the Champions genre book - his "vest armor" or somesuch works this way.

Just an alternative to consider.

John H

Iron Man for Champions

Vic,

Take a look at this:

Iron Man for The HERO System

Now, I am not an Iron Man fan. In fact, I've never read a single Iron Man comic book. I have seen Iron Man on the Hulk cartoon and I'm familiar with the archetype. So, I have no idea if this is an accurate rendering of Iron Man but I can at least tell you that these write-ups are pretty good ways of using The HERO System to design power-armor characters.

John H

Bouncing Boy

I remember building the entire Legion of Super-Heroes back in the early 1980s. Bouncing Boy was pretty easy to build using HERO and was a fun character for the players to play or play with. If you don't know BB, he was kind of a chubby guy who could inflate himself into a very large, bouncy, resistant ball-shape (most artists drew him with his relatively tiny head, arms, and legs sticking out in the appropriate places...) and had developed a great deal of skill deflecting himself off surfaces and using his own resilient body to absorb attacks or slam into enemies. He was so good at this that one time, caught motionless in the center of an anti-grav chamber and about to be shot by a goon with a big gun, he managed to use a sneeze to propel himself into a wall and then get a good bounce to take out the bad guy! Bouncing Boy also tended to lose - and regain - his powers more often than any other character, FWIW.

If I correctly remember the way I represented Bouncing Boy, I gave him a few levels of Growth to represent him inflating (BB wasn't always bouncy; he had to "inflate" to do his thing) and pretty much everything else was linked to the Growth. (I suppose that under current rules all this stuff could be purchased as OIHID instead of linked to the "inflating" power.) I used Growth because when inflated he could do Move-Throughs on small groups and I wanted to represent the fact that his body was wider - much wider - than normal, a hex or two across. The extra Strength from the Growth was limited (he couldn't use it to pick things up and throw them, for instance, but he could use it as part of the damage on his attacks or to "catch" falling objects or knock things out of another character's hands).

Linked to Growth were Superleap (under the current rules, just extra inches of Leaping with some non-combat multiple), a little extra ED and a lot of extra PD, a tiny amount of resistant ED and a good deal of resistant PD (even knives and bullets didn't penetrate him when he was inflated, they just sunk in and popped out again), non-resistant PD Damage Reduction (I used 50%, I think), Missile Reflection (physical attacks only), extra h-t-h damage only for Move-Bys and Move-Throughs, and a good number of 5-point skill levels in "bouncing" (used for Leaping, Move-Bys, and Move-Throughs, which I allowed the character to apply to DCV vs ranged attacks if he was in motion or to make bounces with a ranged attack if using a weapon).

BB also had a few useful noncombat skills (he was the primary instructor at the Legion Academy, etc.), all the usual Legion paraphernalia (Flight Ring and so on), and some basic combat training including some simple martial maneuvers so he wasn't a total waste of time in combat even when deflated.

Whoever played him usually had a good sense of humor and a good feel for the special effects. Any GM handling a game with such a character should allow the player to play the special effects as much as possible.

Autofire and To-Hit Chance / OCV

Well, when building a weapon this can be represented by purchasing levels for the weapon. I'm really not sure how to do this but it ought to depend on the weapon. A weapon with a hard recoil might not give you any more chance to hit with a 5-shot burst than you'd have with a 1-shot burst, although it would be scarier for the target. On the other hand, a recoilless weapon like a laser rifle should benefit in a big way for each shot fired.

Maybe add this to a typical weapon:

+1 OCV, linked to Autofire, must fire at least a two-shot burst at a single target

+1 OCV, linked to Autofire, must fire at least a four-shot burst at a single target

+1 OCV, linked to Autofire, must fire at least an eight-shot burst at a single target

...etc, with the number of shots in the burst doubling with each successive +1 OCV. Each successive OCV level should cost less because each one relies on a greater amount of ammo being expended.

Actual cost of these levels would depend on the exact nature of the weapon (OIF, OAF, other factors).

I suppose one could allow those OCV levels to apply against individual targets when attacking multiple targets with a single burst of autofire, but the attacker must allocate the number of shots he is applying to each of the targets, gets bonuses above the usual multi-target autofire penalties only for those targets which are the subject of more than one shot, but can still hit each target only once.

And yes, I agree that any untrained shmoe picking up a tommy gun can probably grease someone - at least at close range - a lot easier than if he picks up an M-1 Garand.

John H

I don't want to start another long thread about how well Hero manages to represent the damage one takes when one falls off a 6-story building onto the pavement. But...

Ralph, Randy, and Rupert are identical triplets, all with PD 4. Ralph is wearing a business suit (Def 0) and empties his pockets of keys, cellphone, and other sharp or blunt objects. Randy is wearing a suit of full plate mail (Def 5) from his armor collection. Rupert is wearing Super Power Armor (rPD 10, rED 10) that his genius stepsister invented for him. All three jump off a typical urban apartment building which is six stories tall - let's just say it's 10".

All three brothers jump from the building and impact the ground simultaneously (but don't land on top of each other or other such nonsense). All take 10d6 of damage if I'm remembering the simple falling damage system correctly, although if it's some other number it doesn't really matter. And let's forget about using strength or other powers or cute tricks to reduce damage. Furthermore, let's just say that all three take 10 Body and 35 Stun before applying defenses.

So, Ralph takes (10-4=) 6 Body and (35-4=) 31 Stun. He's almost certainly unconscious from that much Stun damage. The GM might want to rule that Ralph broke his legs or something, too, since this "attack" did more than 1/2 his unmodified body total.

Randy takes (10-9=) 1 Body and (35-9=) 26 Stun. He's probably unconscious, too, although not by all that much. And while he's hurt, it won't be anything disabling or even annoying as long as he doesn't make that jump more than 8 more times...

Rupert takes (10-14=) 0 Body and (35-14=) 21 Stun. He might be conscious - if he's anything better than a straight normal he'll be awake - although he'll probably be Stunned. Two Phases later he picks himself off the ground and goes up for another jump.

Although that fall didn't kill Ralph, it did hurt him pretty badly. If he were attempting to commit suicide with a jump like that he could get the "benefit" of the Head hit location and be dead with anything but a VERY low dice roll. This seems reasonable and feels about right.

Rupert is in Super Power Armor. When we talk about stuff like that, or a force field, or similar things that don't exist in the real world, I'm willing to believe almost anything. So, I have no trouble with Rupert getting up from a jump like that and walking away completely in one piece and ready to do it again on a bet.

But Randy, in his "real" armor, should break his legs or pop like a water balloon just as did Ralph with no armor at all. Maybe even worse! Put Randy in a kevlar vest, a SCUBA suit, or anything else "real" short of in the center of a rubber ball or 200 feet of rolled carpet and it should end the same way. This is where the system doesn't work for me and feels false.

I think that any armor that takes the "real armor" limitation or does not provide full coverage should not provide any protection from things like falls.

I'm also trying to come up with something similar regarding "real" armor and things like heat attacks (Won't you roast just as well, or better, inside your "real" metal shell?), area effect shock waves and the like.

Comments?

John H

Edit: Sorry, I didn't mean to start a new thread. As JmOz points out, I meant to reply to his Building the Animated Justice League thread.

I like the idea of representing how she "never fails" with her missile deflections by using Desolid. However...

1- It doesn't work against attacks from behind or by surprise.

2- If another character is behind her the attack doesn't travel through and endanger that other character. And it doesn't matter if the attacker was aiming at her or some other target; as long as she's in the path of the attack, she can deflect.

Therefore, I'd argue for Missile Deflection, with some form of useable on others, with a VERY high chance of success. This will probably be more expensive, but I feel it would better represent the special effect.

Finally, I think I've seen her using the bracelets in HTH combat, too, to block weapon attacks. Perhaps a few points of resistant defense which are linked to performing a block maneuver but take effect only if the attack which she attempts to block hits her? Could also allow that defense to apply if she attempts a missile deflection and fails.

John H

Disallowing Non-Combat Leaps

Considered just disallowing noncombat Leaping?

In all my games, characters can't use non-combat leaps (i.e. 2x normal leap distance) unless they buy one or more inches of extra leaping. If they do that, then they get the base level of non-combat leaping free. And there has to be some kind of reason for the character to have a super-leap.

John H

I have one word for all of you...

...and that word is

TiVo

I've had my TiVo for over a year now and it's great for things like this. Besides "season passes" for all the shows I know I want, my TiVo also searches for shows with keywords like "action," "adventure," "superhero," and various well-known hero names. When I come back from a 3-day business trip my TiVo is stuffed with hours of great superhero cartoons while the filters keep Pokemon and Power Rangers and other such drivel off my device's hard drive.

If you have a life, but still want to watch TV, and do it on your schedule, get a TiVo.

I know this sounds like a commercial, but seriously, this thing will change the way you watch TV. You'll spend more of your TV time watching things you want to watch and less total time in front of the tube.

John H

Easiest Solution?

I think the easiest way to represent it under the current rules is with a Variable Power Pool. Unfortunately, I tend to think that nearly anything is best represented with a Variable Power Pool of one sort or another... Barring a Variable Power Pool, which will probably be the least expensive way to do this anyway, you're going to have to make up some kind of house rule or otherwise define your own advantage.

FWIW, I frankly find the cost of the 5E Variable Advantage to be too high, especially if one wants to combine it with Variable Special Effect even in its lower-end form. It's almost always less exensive to just put together an appropriately-limited Variable Power Pool to handle this sort of thing, and doing so usually gives the character just that much more flexibility.

To keep things simple, I'd do it this way:

1- Improved Variable Advantage: To represent a power that always has the same base power (and disadvantages) but can apply any advantage or combination of advantages - including power adders - within the bounds of its special effect as long as the total active points don't exceed the active points purchased of the base power, apply this +1 advantage. Limitations are applied normally.

Example (1a): 10d6 Energy Blast, Improved Variable Advantage, Total Cost 100. Example powers: 10d6 Energy Blast; 8d6 Energy Blast, 1/2 END; 3d6 Energy Blast NND, Explosion, 0 END; 5d6 Energy Blast, Armor Piercing, Penetrating.

Example (1b): 25" Teleport, Improved Variable Advantage, Total Cost 100. Example powers: 25" Teleport; 20" Teleport, 1/2 END; 10" Teleport, Position Shift, No Relative Velocity, x2 Mass, Safe Blind Teleport.

2- Improved Variable Limitation: To represent a power that always has the same base power (and advantages) but can apply any combination of limitations - or none at all - within the bounds of its special effect as long as the total real points don't exceed the real points of the power as it would cost without the application of this advantage, apply this +1 advantage. Other advantages are applied normally.

Example (2a): 8d6 Energy Blast, 1/2 END, Improved Variable Limitation, Total Cost 100. Example powers: 8d6 Energy Blast, 1/2 END; 14d6 Energy Blast, 1/2 END, Extra Turn.

Example (2b): 25" Teleport, Improved Variable Limitation, Total Cost 100. Example powers: 25" Teleport; 50" Teleport, x3 END Cost.

3- Variable Power: To represent a power that always has the same base power but can apply any combination of advantages - including power adders - or limitations - or none at all- within the bounds of its special effect as long as the total real points don't exceed the real points of the power as it would cost without the application of this advantage, apply this +2 advantage. No limitations, and no other advantages, may be applied to the power.

Example (3a): 10d6 Energy Blast, Variable Power, Total Cost 150. Example Powers: 10d6 Energy Blast; 10d6 Energy Blast NND, x3 END Cost; 20d6 Energy Blast, Explosion, 1/2 DCV Concentration, x3 END Cost, Extra Phase.

Example (3b): 25" Teleport, Variable Power, Total Cost 150. Example Powers: 25" Teleport; 25" Teleport, x2 Mass, Useable As Attack, Ranged, 27+1/2D6 Side Effect (Extreme, Always), Full Phase.

Switching advantages and/or limitations is a zero-phase action and for all game mechanics is also handled the same as reallocating points within a "cosmic" Variable Power Pool.

I don't see how I could apply more than +2 to the cost of my Variable Power advantage proposal, since that already makes it cost more than a "cosmic" Variable Power Pool with the same number of reserve points, but much more limited since this Variable Power advantage works with only one base power. Granted, Variable Power permits the active points of the power to exceed the total of the "reserve" so I suppose that balances out the fact that it's limited to only one base power. Then again, in most of my games I treat both Multipower Reserves and Variable Power Pools as real points and not an active point cap, which gives players who use them more flexibility.

In any case, I think this definitely points up the excessive costs of 5E Variable Advantage and Variable Limitation.

John H