Hugh Neilson

Re: How do people feel about multi-power attacks?

Re: what character concepts -HAVE- Gm's allowed that you thought they wouldn't? Why none. All of my characters are well thought out and perfectly balanced Unless, of course, there's an unreasonable GM out there...

Re: Oops... Farkling, don't both those maneuvers halve your DCV? I'm not saying you're wrong (especially for the Brick!) but there is a price to pay for bracing. So, do you want to reduce your chances of being hit, or reduce your knockback if you are hit? Depends on whether I'm a 5 DCV Brick or a 12 DCV agile flyer, I guess... And maybe the flier should consider landing - that shaves off 3.5" of knockback on average. Maybe we should shell out some points for knockback resistance? Clinging? Now we get into concept, of course. I also wonder how it is the heroes are getting knocked all over the map, but the villains aren't. I agree that "knocked back and prone" is disadvantageous, but that it's not overwhelming, so I think we're on the same page here.

Re: How do people feel about multi-power attacks?

Re: Help with a power

Re: Transfer w/ Healing??? Taking damage from your own healing would be a side effect, so that's pretty easy. The build for transferring damage to a third party would be some form of attack power (maybe a Drain with reduced fade rate would work best) which is limited based on damage the character has taken on. And anything is posible.

Re: Diving For Cover & Breakfall I don't see this as intrinsically game-breaking, but I do see where it could be abused by a high SPD character with a great DEX based skill roll. Why can't you use breakfall/acrobatics? Because you're putting everything you've got into getting out of the area quickly, which would be impaired by trying to land neatly. You might also consider a penalty to the dive for cover roll if they want to use Breakfall in conjunction. Maybe consider a tradeoff - each 5 DEX feeds either to the Breakfall roll or the Dive for Cover roll, but not both, so if you want your 30 DEX to provide a 15- dive for cover (modified by distance) then you start with a base 9 breakfall roll (also modified for distance) so it's not a gimme for high DEX/SPD characters. My first step in any such discussions is generally to sit all the players down, discuss the proposed rule change, make it clear that it will apply to PC and NPC alike (ie the villains will also use/abuse this change) and have a group discussion. If the players want to change the rules and allow this, then they shouldn't be surprised to meet a DEX 38 SPD 10 Martial Artist who uses this tactic regularly.

Re: Oops... I follow your logic, but I'm not sure I agree. The character using the Martial Strike was already taking defensive actions to some degree. Would the Martial Dodge's defensive maneuvering be completely different, or just build on the +2 already achieved from Martial Strike, subsuming its +2? By contrast, the Haymaker penalized DCV by taking Our Hero off his pins, and requiring (normally) until his next phase to recover from being off-balance. As such, enforcing the penalty even if he aborts to a more defensive maneuver could be seen as reasonable. Presumably, had I not aborted, but continued my Martial Strike, I would continue to move defensively by choice. I'm not choosing to be off balance after my haymaker - I am off balance. Maybe aborting doesn't help recover that balance any quicker, so the oenalty stacks with whatever bonus my new maneuver provides. Doesn't Sweep with multiple maneuvers impose the worst of all DCV penalties on the character? If I Sweep and include a Martial Strike, I only get the DCV bonus if no other maneuver included in the Sweep has less than a +2 bonus' If I included, say, an Offensive Strike with -1 DCV, then I get the -1 DCV penalty. Now the Abort costs the next phase, so it should be better than the Sweep result, but it doesn't necessarily follow that it must eliminate the penalty from the prior maneuver just because it would eliminate the bonus.

Re: Fade Rate OR Recovery In Fantasy, you can buy healing spells which will speed the fade rate. Even in fantasy, I find a recovery of 5 or less is rare, at best, so you are weakening adjustmnet powers if you change the fade rate to REC. As well, buying extra REC in a fantasy setting is already a pretty effective choice, especially if you're using long term END rules and encumbrance (which most fantasy does, in my experience). This just makes it more of a "must have", especially if Adjustment spells are common. hmmm...REC drain w/ long term Fade to frustrate PC's who use END rapidly by crushing them with LTE. On the other hand, if you also apply it to Aid, I suppose there's a real tradeoff in REC. You will, of course, be answering the question "how much of an advantage for my REC not to impact my Aid fade rate". And someone already mentioned the potential in a REC drain arising from this.

Re: Autofire for OCV bonuses

Re: Help w/a power

Re: Moving Advantages/Limitations to Adders/Subtractors There's no need to be using the "F" Word!

Re: Open or hidden dice

Re: Help w/a power

Re: Moving Advantages/Limitations to Adders/Subtractors I believe the writers of Mutants and Masterminds did./ Don't their modifiers al add or deduct a point from the per level cost of any given power?

Re: Fade Rate OR Recovery As for the concept, I'd say adjustment powers were more than adequately hosed in 5e without adding a faster recovery rate on. And this pretty muich grants everyone a faster recovery rate - when is the last time you saw a Super with stats under 8 STR and 18 CON (6 REC)? This is exacerbated if they can take recoveries to regain their lost stats. The Brick is down 20 STR? Big deal - I'll take one recovery. Martial Artist down 7 DEX? I'll take 2 REC's - more speed so same basic effect. And why would anyone pay +1/4 to make the fade rate 5/turn instead? Better to pay +1/4 to step the fade rate one up the chart - you can have your REC per minute. That should provide adequate time to take you down before you get that first recovery, so why should I pay the same amount to allow you 5 points back every turn? I agree with the poster who asked why not just use an NND instead. For 60 points, I can have a 6d6 NND (power defense), rather than a 4d6 ranged STUN drain. Or shell out another 2 points and get a 5d6 AVLD (power defense). The STUN drain's only advantage is circumventing REC, and even that fails you if the target is at -22 STUN when PS 12 rolls around.

Re: Fade Rate OR Recovery

Re: Help w/a power 3d6 Transfer = 45 points and 4 END. Once 18 points have ben transferred, the power has no effect. 3d6 Drain + 3d6 Aid, linked (-1/2), Self Only (-1/2), limited to points drained (say between -0 and -1/2; depends how common power defense is) = 42 to 45 points and 3 END, and the Drain works even if your AID is maxed out. Which power would you rather pay 45 points for? Now let's make it Area Effect. 2d6 Transfer, ranged (+1/2), 12" radius (+1 1/2) = 90 points and 9 END. The 2d6 roll is divided up between everyone in the area. Once 12 points have ben transferred, the power has no effect. 2d6 Drain, ranged (+1/2), 16" radius (+2) = 75 points and 7 END + 2d6 Aid, linked (-1/2), Self Only (-1/2), limited to points drained (say between -0 and -1/2; depends how common power defense is) = 8 to 10 The 2d6 roll applies to everyone in the area and continues to apply even after the maximum 12 points have been "transferred" So the present system would have me pay 5 to 7 points for a power that costs 2 more END, has a smaller radius, divides its damage among everyone in the radius and stops working entirely after I get my 12 extra points. Gee, that seems equitable! Why don't I use those points I saved to make my Drain Selective Area so I can fire it off at no risk of injuring my teammates in the area? That makes my Drain 80 points and 80 END, so I'm somewhere between even and 2 points up. Frankly, I don't believe Transfer was unbalanced before, so I'd say 5th Ed hammered it pretty good. It was a ripoff in 4e as well, when that Aid only cost 5 points per die, but at least it was closer. Considering a 2d6 Transfer costs 30, and 3 END, and a 2d6 Drain with a 2d6 Self Only Linked Aid would cost the same points and 2 END, it seems like heavy overkill to also penalize the Transfer by making it useless as a Drain when the max points have been transferred. PS: Guess what one of the changes I hate most in 5e is? We've long since hourse ruled away the unfairness to Transfer. It works just like a drain, except you also add the roll on the die (unless the target has power defense) to the user of the power.

Re: New Boss Multiform?

Re: Open or hidden dice Hidden. I'm sitting behind a screen anyway. Why would the characters know whether that EB was 10d6 with a good roll, 12d6 with an average roll or 15d6 with a poor roll? I run villains who generally judge the power of their opposition by how hard they hit, so they don't get to know that was a poor roll and that guy will likely hit a lot harder next time.

Re: Want your ideas for a Villain If it's only 1 hex, then Our Heroes' defenses are still on against ranged attacks and their powers still work if they're more than a hex away (meanting our villain still gets smacked with ranged attacks, doesn't he?) On the other hand, Suppress implies the powers won't work at all. What about: Suppress Superpowers 20d6 [standard Effect: 60], all Innate Superpowers at the same time (+2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Megascale (+1/4; 1km radius), Personal Immunity (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Inherent (+1/4), Invisible Power Effects (+3/4*) (420 Active Points); Always On (-1/2), No Range (-1/2), Only to the extent powers would affect him (-1/2 **). Total cost: 168 points. * So it's detectable only by some obscure sense, based on his SFX. ** So the characters' powers still work, just not against him. You can still, for example, fly away or attack his allies with your EB. It just won't affect him personally. Arguably not a -1/2. At -0, the power costs 210 points. I'm with sleepy on this - he's a major villain so don't worry about his point cost. If you wanted, you could build him within 350 (140 left over after hius major power), but he's definitely a one trick pony then. BTW, seems to me the easy way to beat this guy is use your powers to drop a wall on him, or toss a car at him. Anything indirect should work, right? This guy is liable to wind up dead, of course. "He's taken a direct hit from MuscleMan, and soaked up two of RadiationGirl's most powerful blasts. I can't afford to hold back - I'll fire my MegaStrike Arrow at him!" "Say again? He did what?"

Re: Help w/a power

Re: Help w/a power Not according to the FAQ: Q: If a character has an Area Of Effect Transfer, does he apply the effect to all targets within the area and get all the points? A: No. He rolls the effect on his Transfer dice and determines the amount. He then divides that as equally as possible between all the affected persons. Catch one person and average 14 END. Catch 5 people and average 14 END. As well, once you get 24 END (and your target is down 12 STUN), the power does nothing, as Transfer doesn't act as a Drain when you've received the maximum points. [i don't agree with that rule, but it is the present rule.] Since it's not expensive enough maybe you can add some points to the maximum transferred.

Re: The Duplication Paradox FWIW, I'm on the same page. Then again, I'm not sure why Duplication can't just be folded into the Summon rules anyway. Maybe in 6e...

Re: Simulated D20 Evards Black Tentacles I've got to side with the "summon automotons" route. That's basically what they are. Mindless tentacles which grab and squeeze whatever they can find until disrupted or the spell ends. Note that the original D&D spell calls for them to wrap around columns as likely as the character standing next to it. More powerful version? Summons more tentacles.