OddHat

Originally posted by slaughterj

Or..."fear the power of my mystical hula hoop!"

This would also explain why wizards and witches in this world tend to be big fat people.

Originally posted by Rene

Of course, the target may not deduce that his tricky memory change was due to external manipulation. That would be covered by the +20 effect, I guess.

You beat me to it. Agreed.

Mind Control at EGO + 40 or so, the first +20 or so to make the victim believe even after he breaks free that his false memories did not come from an outside source. MC +30 would drop it to a level where the victim will believe any false memories that don't run counter to deeply held beliefs (+20) and simply won't remember the experience at all once he breaks free (+10). IPE for MC are only important if you (a) fail or ( are using cumulative effects to plant the memories.

As a GMs ruling, I'd say that MI should be able to do this as well at about the same EGO +30 or 40 level.

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

Yeah, the Breakout roll really kills Mentalists. Its too easy to make in most cases. I expect the Ultimate Mentalist will have some options to help circumvent this.

I'm guessing that negative skill levels vs. breakout rolls will be in.

-1 to breakout rolls per 5 points is roughly the equivelant of +3d6 standard effect only to counter breakout rolls (-2), so it seems like a good bet.

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

It would be a toss up which one is more expensive and requires more book keeping. Either way, a power best reserved for a GM run NPC (so that its only used when appropriate and so it can be handwaved away to speed game play).

So there's no place for Johnny Tick-Tock in Enforcers Inc. ?

Originally posted by Mastermind

I like the AOE: Mental Entangle...I wonder how much a compound power like that would cost!?

Here's one version. Might write this guy up as a villain; Time Stop Willy.

130 Telepathic Time Stop: Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF (Stops A Given Sense Group: Hearing Group, Stops A Given Sense Group: Sight Group, Stops A Given Sense: Passage of Time), Takes No Damage From Attacks Limited Group (+1/4), Works Against EGO, Not STR (+1/4), Reduced Endurance 0 END (+1/2), Based On EGO Combat Value (Mental Defense; +1), Area Of Effect (66" Radius; +1 1/2), Selective Target (+1/4) (261 Active Points); Mental Defense Adds To EGO (-1/2), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4), Susceptible to Mental Powers Uncommon (-1/4)

The power is useless against Mentalists, overwhelming to normals and non-mentalists. VIctims lose sight, hearing and sense of time passing for a few minutes (or more), then "wake up" feeling really odd (smell/taste and tactile senses aren't shut down).

Originally posted by Susano

Thanks for all the estimates guys... I think I'm going with a 50-75 STR.

(Chanting)

Megascale! Megascale! Megascale!

(End Chanting)

Originally posted by Susano

Actually, I read the nudity is symbolic of being reborn abd of being purofied, as the magical girl form is meant to be a "pure" form of the original, and being pure,can then do all sorts of amazing stunts.

True, that's the symbolism. OTOH, young Japanese males appreciate the flash of cartoon flesh every bit as much as decadent westerners.

Originally posted by Trebuchet

I think you're approaching this incorrectly. Mike clearly clearly stated "with a bat." That means you're looking at Knockback distances, not a throw.

 

Realistically, of course, hitting a leather-covered ball with a wooden bat with sufficient force to drive said ball into orbit would vaporize both bat and ball.

My guess was based on 40,000 hexes of knockback, sufficient to get into space.

Forgot about the indestructible bat and ball problem...

Originally posted by Enforcer84

I always liked that 3rd Edition Champions gave Heroic and Villainous options for the villains in the book (save for Mechanon) that way you could use them as hand out heroes...some of them were paper thin, but I kind of liked them, it always made me feel like those villains: Ogre, Cheshire Cat, Green Dragon, Icicle, Pulsar, Shrinker, and Dragonfly could be redeemed.

 

I've had some or all of them reform in most campaigns I have run.

I liked that as well. I still almost always include a Hero Option or Path of Redemption in my villain's background stories.

Originally posted by Hermit

Speaking of magic and mystical nature:

What of Divine Right?

A book, "Her Majesty's Wizard" by Stashef I believe, describes a wonderfully simplistic world. Knights command respect simply by being knights; the Queen is infallible in her judgement of matters of State, Heaven and Hell are quite close depending on your heart and actions, and so on.

Good series.

Originally posted by Hermit

Even in a world with dozens of dieties, if a king has the favor of the gods as his basis for rule, it surely changes things. People won't want to mess with him else they earn some overpower's wrath in this life or the next. The King, on the other hand, must comport himself as his patron insists, or else lose the divine right. In a fantasy setting, Divine Right can be very real and double edged.

Fun point here. An interventionist God (or gods) should make a huge difference in the way priests and nobles behave. Real history may have been full of corupt churchmen and oathbreaking nobles, but then they could always count on a God who at best wasn't going to get involved until after they died. Build a world where gods do drop by for a chat with misbehaving priests, or even better where every sin is punished by a lightning bolt, and you change the way people behave quite a bit.

Originally posted by Hermit

"The King and the land are one" is a classic Arthurian tid bit. An NPC king might sense something wrong, or experience a "feeling" or even be plauged by visions when troubles abound in his kingdom. This is epic fantasy, and obviously wouldn't work for all (or even most) campaigns, but it's certainly doable.

Terry Pratchett has done some nice stuff with this idea, especially in Weird Sisters.

OK, so I'm the only one who likes to base his fantasy campaigns on Discworld...

Re: Speaking of peasant revolts.....

Originally posted by Michael Hopcroft

What kind of farm tools frequently seen in fantasy worlds can be used as weapons? How difficult would it be tolearn to ifght with them as opposed to cutting down and threshing wheat?

Many of them, and peasants use them all day, every day; they already know how to aim, swing, chop, and cut with their tools; learning how to kill isn't much of a stretch. If they regularly butcher animals they know how to do that too. Axe, hatchet, sledge hammer, the standard scythe (not the huge thing you see in pictures of Death), flensing kinfe; there are all kinds of sharp and/or pointy things lying around on a working farm.

Utterly destitute peasants are also an option, just not that historically acurate in most of the west for the bulk of the middle ages. Even Russian serfs had axes. On the other hand, Hero is simulating Heroic Fiction...

Re: Five-Teams

Originally posted by Michael Hopcroft

I havent; seen the VIPER book yet. Does that organization still organize its agents into "five-teams" to more efficiently combat both supers and normals? And if so, how effective are they in real terms?

By definition, Viper always loses. Every villain they create casually saunters off on his own, usually killing a half dozen scientists on his way to the surface. Troops of Girl Scouts regularly wipe out Viper Attack Squads for Merit Badges in Public Service. Small yapping dogs chase Viper Mecha, drag them down, and reduce them to scrap. Entire Viper Nests have been destroyed by passing groups of nosey kids (sometimes with the aid of a large cowardly dog or shark). Six year old school yard bullies steal Viper's entire research and development budget every day at recess.

So not very effective.

Maybe 2d6 Entangle vs. ECV, Resisted by Ego not STR, Can not form barriers, Mental Def adds to Ego, Stops Sight, Hearing, and Unusual Sense: Passage of Time, AOE:Radius, Selective Effect, and Susceptable to Telepathy so he can let everyone go afterwards.

Alternatively, an AOE MC or MI with Selective Effect might do it, maybe with some kind of AOE:Transformation attack to erase everyone's memories of the event (MC could do that, but they'd eventually make their breakout roll and remember the time stop). The Transformation attack could probably do it alone.

Extra Dimensional Movement Useable By Others to move the team "outside of time" could work a real time stop, plus Transdimensional advantages on any senses and powers that could reach back "into" time.

Any of these could be massive game breakers.

Megascale on STR would be the best way to handle it IMO.

That ball is going to travel roughly 40,000 hexes (80 kilometers). That's going to take a STR around 8000 to pull off. Megascale could handle it with a STR of 8.

Originally posted by Blue Jogger

Yeah, but what do you do for those other 23 hours?

Every team needs a hostage.

Just buy everything with one continuing charge of 1 hour, plus maybe IIF: Miraclo Pill.

You're really looking at multiple END reserves, some with mandatory side effects, and extra active points with increased END cost. If you permit the extra END reserves it's not that tough to model.

Bilbo the wizard has a 60 point END reserve with 1 REC (5 points). He also has a 60 point 1 rec end reserve with 30 point side effects that activate whenever that reserve is tapped (4 points), a 120 point 1 rec reserve with 60 point side effects that only affect the environment around the user and activate whenever the reserve is tapped (5 points) and a 240 point 1 REC END reserve with 240 point side effects that only affect the environment around the user (4 points). Total real cost for the end reserves is 13 points.

All of his spells are built with the first 60 active points at normal END cost, the next 60 at 5 times END cost, and the last 60 at 10 times END cost. Megascale spells are automatically set at 10 times END cost. All of this can be done with "free points" to cut down on book-keeping and character cost, but I'd recomend against it, as this makes Wizards much more powerful. If you want the element of randomness back in there, drop the occurs automatically from the side effects and give the END reserves an activation roll; a failed roll means a fizled spell and a side effect. A magic skill roll probably isn't appropriate here, as the Active Point Costs of the reserves are quite low; people would rarely blow the roll.

Now Billy Bo-Bob-Brain has a regular 8d6 AOE:1 Hex Flame Strike spell which costs him 6 END. He can cast it 10 times without Side Effects, 10 more with minor effects that directly affect him, 20 more with Major 60 point Side Effects that affect the area around him, and a final 10 times with massive world shaking 240 point side effects (think Summoning 1200 point demons and global Change Environments).

Billy also has a 6D6 1 Hex AOE Megascale Flame Strike spell. As per the 10 x END cost for Megascale, it costs 60 END to cast once. If Billy hasn't been casting any other spells, he can cast his Mega-Strike once safely, with progressively worse side effects with each additional casting.

Anyway, that's how I'd do it. Or you could just wing it; your players will never know.

Edit: Fixed some of the numbers. I think the only way to do varied side effects as per the original system is GM fiat, or by calling the Side Effects "Unluck" and ruling from there if you feel like you need a more by-the-book method.

Thanks for the positive comments.

Re: Two campaigns

Originally posted by MoonHunter

Outsiders

This campaign was based on the notion that paranormals had been around since the begining of humanity. They served as the basis for myth and folklore. Vampires, Werewolves, Mages, Sorcereers, Immortals, and current Psionics were all 75+75 plus eps characters. Their culture was that of hiding themselves among the humans and protecting the secret of their existance. There numbers were growing, as the number of humans with "Talent" were increasing. SNIP

[/b]

I've been using something similar for years.

Very flexible background, and plenty of great sources to draw on.

Magic potentially changes everythng, even if most faux-middle ages fantasy refuses to aknowledge that. In a standard high fantasy setting the gods are real, and any peasant has a chance of being born with potential access to a form of magic that requires almost no formal training. How long is an abusive lord going to last when any low born wretch can use two or three minor spells and a sharp knife to end his tyrany? Yes, he'll have magical protection of his own, but will his hired mage sleep before his door at night? Remember also that the educated classes came out of the merchant classes, not the nobility. How long is that mage (grandson of a tavern keeper) going to put up with being called a filthy peasant before he kills the lord himself?

You can tweak the setting as much as you like to prevent the above scenarios, but the fact is the main advatages that the nobility had were always tradition, force of arms and wealth. In a world with magic force of arms and wealth become far more difficult to keep under the control of a hereditary nobility (unless they're also the only magicians), and tradition takes on a new meaning when the gods are real and active and regularly directly instructing their miracla working priests.

Anyway, rant over. I'd say that in a high fantasy world power would mainly lie with the churches, and then with any organized groups of mages. The nobles would be a distant third, especially if they had to really believe to become successful priests and to be genuinely bright and talented to be successful mages. Your setting may of course vary.

If you don't mind lumping five-hundred years of history into one semi-congealed mass;

Historical Knights trained daily, competed regularly, tested their skills in deadly combat, were tutored in swordsmanship from early childhood by profesional sword-masters, and generally devoted their early life to weapons and battle. They should absolutely have weapons based martial arts. On the other hand, peasant armies were often just grabbed off the farm and sent into combat with whatever tools they had, or tossed a spear and told "congratulations, you're a soldier." They shouldn't have any sorts of martial arts. Profesional mercenaries (far less common in some times and places than others) learned from each-other. They might be more likely to have combat skill levels than any formal martial art.

All of that aside, what flavor are you going for in your campaign? If you like the idea of Inigo Montoya facing the Man in Black with Rianaldi's Defense and a touch of Figarillo, then include martial arts. If you'd rather just have Grognard the Mighty rely on his massive muscles to win the day, that's good too. It's an issue of flavor more than anything else.

Re: Re: Sympathetic Villain

Originally posted by Blue Jogger

Oops, I was wrong about the PD and REC (I went back and fixed it). I'm not sure about the invisible power effects for the TK, if I go with +1 then there's no way to trace it back to Burnout (maybe that's the way to go). It only makes the pool 135 instead of 100.

As I said, cool character. My mistake about the minimum IPE costs; for some reason I was thinking of fully invisible as the only option.

This site might help.

http://www.realultimatepower.net/

Overall Levels with the Pure Motives -1/4 limit sounds about right.

Sympathetic Villain

Nice.

EDIT

Either you tweaked thing while I wasn't looking or I'm going blind.

So what's your challenge?