OddHat

Re: Mental Gestalt/Teen Champions question Easiest way, if house-rule heavy, is to say that the Teamwork skill, when applied to Mental powers, can increase level of effect in exactly the same way that the Teamwork skill, when applied to attack powers, increases the chance of stunning an opponent. So, if two mentalists have Mind Control and the Gestalt (Teamwork) Skill, they: Roll to hit, and roll effect. Apply defenses. One gets (for example) EGO+10 after defenses, the other gets EGO +15 after defenses. Roll Gestalt (Teamwork) skill. If both succeed, then add their EGO+10 and EGO+15 results, for EGO+25. The target is effected by an EGO+25 Mind Control. As to who is actually controlling his mind, both attackers can give orders; if their orders conflict, then they're no longer using Teamwork, and the effect level drops appropriately. The Gestalt (Teamwork) users may designate one character as the head of the Gestalt. Potentially powerful, sure, but then so is regular Teamwork.

Re: Your Local Generation VIPER I love the idea of bitter, former would-be world conquerors down on their luck and taking teaching positions. Great fun to be had with the long, anecdote filled lectures harping back to the Glory Days. "Invulnerable foes are a problem, but one you can overcome! I recall that when I fought Captain Steel, I employed..." "Captain Steel!? Didn't he just win the Kirby Hero Medal?" "Eh? Yes. Bastard. As I was saying..."

Re: (Character) Astounding Girl I like the character, and the campaign use. She's an NPC, so the build is less important. Still, some feedback: 1) Her PD, Con, BOD and Dex make for a defense that may in play make for a very short career against even normal street thugs. I do like the idea of an NPC that looks competent but is actually a hostage waiting to happen; still, I'd probably give her some regen or Luck at the least to keep her viable a bit longer. Getting her knocked out when the team was thinking of her as a pocket Supergirl is fun; getting her killed would disturb my players. 2) She ends up paying 22 points for a STR Aid that's only going to on average give her +21 STR, maxed out at +36, and at a high END cost to boot. +36 STR, NFC, 2xEND Cost would only cost 18 points. You could throw on the extra phase if you wanted to make using it a bit harder, in keeping with the "She's not as good as her rep" theme. Personal Aid is a pretty gimped build in 5th unless you layer on the advantages. 3) You used the 'She even captured a Supervillain" line twice in her background; you may want to cut one use. Again, great idea and character, thanks for posting it.

Re: The Mind Controlling Hero

Re: The Mind Controlling Hero While I agree with this, I'd add that sometimes Superheroes have to walk into private places (secret headquarters mostly) and go through private papers and records to solve cases and save lives; it's part of the genre. Police do it in the real world, and with a search warrant it's considered to be an ethical course of action (baring special circumstances). The Telepath who searches through the mind of a nearby cute girl to find a way to talk her into bed is violating her privacy and behaving in an unethical manner; the Telepath who has good reason to believe that a given NPC has committed a crime and searches his mind for more information isn't on ethical ground any shakier than any other Vigilante/Superhero; the Telepathic Police Officer who searches the mind of a suspect has the same ethical guidelines to work with as any other cop would when searching the suspects home.

Re: The Mind Controlling Hero

Re: "Naked" Advantage question.

Re: Musings on Random Musings Every year, 1-2 gamers attending DragonCon vanish, never to be seen again. And a small group of gamers eat very, very cheaply.

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth? And all of the chaos mentioned above by Susano, the resistance pointed out by Captain Obvious, and the threat of other dimension lords mentioned by Balabanto, makes the V'han campaign. Further, V'han has centuries (or more) of experience at this sort of thing; she knows what to expect. So the players need to ask, why would she stir up such a hornets nest now? Why did she stop taking the subtle path? What terrible threat or unimaginable prize could provoke her into risking the destruction of a jewel like the CU Earth through direct conquest? It practically writes itself.

Re: Weird request

Re: Your Local Generation VIPER Glad to help, and enjoyed the character.

Re: Your Local Generation VIPER Great write up, repped. Typo in the Campaign Use section. "Making Ryder more" should be "Making Ryder more powerful".

Re: Weird request PM Zornwil. He does.

Re: Musings on Random Musings Sometimes, when I'm dead lifting or squatting over 440 pounds, I ask SatinKitty to come into the weight room and watch me, because my vanity is just that advanced. No wonder she's depressed.

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth? Now your players (and the US and UN, but mostly your players) have to decide if they want to push out V'Han's troops and let murdering scumbag dictators come back into power, or worse, let the "freed" nations dissolve into anarchy. V'Han makes friendly diplomatic noises while preparing to meet a counter invasion with overwhelming force, while elevating her new subjects life styles even as she trains human armies in the use of super-high tech weaponry. And the other dimension conquerers look on in growing concern, as do extraterrestrials. Can the players drive away V'Han without sparking a world (and solar system) wide war? Why has the Empress made such a bold move? What do the great world crushing Supervillains do? If you ever took that path with V'Han, it would be a major story arc for your campaign. Not saying that you should or have to; just pointing out that it can be done, and that it could carry an epic combination Alien Invasion / World War vibe.

Re: Susano's Guide to Adapting Fictional Characters to HERO The last point, on point balance, really has to be made. Hero gamers can get very Rainman about point balance; some of us need a reminder that just because a CU sourcebook says "Player Characters in Genre X should be built on Y points" is no reason to insist that fictional characters follow those guidelines. Power frameworks wise, I'll be very interested in your take on it. I'd say that many fictional characters have VPPs of one sort or another (almost all spell casters and gadgeteers), usually with at least -1/4 Limited Group of Powers Available (Spells/Gadgets with X limits), and a -0 "At the Writer's Whim" limitation.

Re: A Thread for Random Videos Actually, not that different from some of the meetings I'd get dragged into when I was in my 20s. (Except for the girl's head exploding; that never happened in my workplace)

Re: Another human civilization may live inside Earth's hollows Pulp era aliens are mostly concerned with conquest through really big machines, incomprehensibly Things from beyond the stars, or small groups of gangsters led by men in silly looking capes and cowls. Picking up scantily clad young women and running around with them is also perpetually popular.

Re: Susano's Guide to Adapting Fictional Characters to HERO Absolutely fantastic stuff, Mike. I hope this will go up on your web page; way too good to risk it fading away on the boards.

Re: COPS, CREWS, AND CABALS -- What Do *You* Want To See? I'd really like to see a group of concerned academics, something like a less adventurous Diogenes Club. They publish scholarly papers on time travel and paranormal phenomena, catalog ancient and alien artifacts, argue about the differences between mutants and mutates, fund small expeditions to hidden lands, that sort of thing. Campaign uses include a group that the PCs can go to for information but not actual combat assistance, possible patrons and mentors, an unusual sort of Watched or hunted, and a background element for heroes and villains.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Many moderately intelligent, moderately well educated people assume that everyone around them must be half educated morons. Worse, the less people know of a given topic, the more likely they are in general to overestimate their own knowledge. Something should be done about this, preferably involving over the top, cinematic violence.

Re: Musings on Random Musings A nice creamy tofu, with almonds and raisins, was one of my favorite after work snacks when I was in Tokyo.. I haven't been able to find that style of tofu in my area since coming back to the USA, though I suspect I could get it in NY or SF. Firm tofu takes sauces very well, and works in many kinds of stir fry. Just had some yesterday in a red-pepper sauce.

Re: Musings on Random Musings

Re: Musings on Random Musings

Re: Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth? I don't use V'Han as written when I run a CU game, and my equivalent of her character in my home campaign is based mainly on Robert Heinlein's Empress of 10,000 Worlds from Glory Road. That said, I have some ideas about why she doesn't just take the Earth through overwhelming force: She really thinks the Earth would be better off as part of her Great Empire. She's not interested in destroying Earth, or even enslaving Earth; she sees the Earth as ruled by squabbling petty tyrants and criminals, thugs determined to enslave their own people and poison their own world (if they don't blow it up first). That would be a shame, as the Earth is full of brilliant artists, powerful Superhumans, and masters of strange sciences. It's an incredibly promising world. Further, she isn't comfortable with the dimensional nexus Earth seems to be locked into, and the network of other extradimensional beings from anthropomorphic "Gods" to incomprehensible things that have taken an interest in this world. She doesn't want to provoke an open war with the Kings of Edom, Skarn, or the bizarre pantheons that see Earth as theirs, at least not until she's sure she can win at a reasonable cost. She doesn't want to destroy the Earth or wipe out more of its population than absolutely necessary. Not only would such a course be barbaric and wasteful, it would undercut her own ideology of conquest, giving ammunition to her political opponents at home. She's in the position of an 18th or 19th century Great Power that wishes to gain control over the resources of a small but rich and strategically important nation; defeating that nation's military is easy enough, but the complications arising from the possible reactions of other Great Powers and the costs of pacification are high enough to make caution the wisest choice. And so she uses cats paws, makes alliances with key powers and key personalities, and shows a kind and generous face to those she hopes to recruit to her cause while her covert agents do what needs to be done. Once Earth sees the alternatives and the dangers, once they understand that She is their best and only hope against the other, far harsher powers that covet their lands, the people will cry out to join her Empire. Claims that Earth already has "Freedom" and "Good Government" are met with polite dismissal by Her Majesty, and with open mockery by her generals and advisers. She points out that over half the world's population lives in poverty by the Earth's own standards, that two thirds live under brutal dictatorships, and that even the Earth's most advanced nations live under governments racked by corruption and inefficiency. Her advisers point out that only the wealthiest 1% of humanity live lifestyles above what is considered abject poverty by the standards of the Great Empire. Besides, they get all the Earth news feeds. Ten minutes research shows that the place is ruled by idiots, thugs and madmen. The only thing stopping third world nations from lining up to join the Great Empire is their own government's reluctance to surrender power.