OddHat

Re: Musings on Random Musings
 
You can't get an adult to change his opinions by pointing out his reading comprehension problems.
 
Most of the time, you can't get an adult to change his opinions at all if he has an emotional stake in an issue.
 
I game because, in the real world, there are very few problems that can be solved with an axe.

Re: Musings on Random Musings
 

 
Not sure, but I'd guess Zanoni, from the Bulwer-Lyton story of the same name. I've tried to read the e-text, but it's not in a modern enough style for me to get into these days.
 
Zanoni is an immortal mystic who gives up most of his powers out of love for an ordinary girl. This turns out to be a bad deal for everyone concerned.
 
Or it could have been a comment on "The Coming Race", a sci fi that helped start the lost world with near-magical science genre, but the Vril-ya were not exactly men at all.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread.
 

 
As they would say on FIREFLY ... Shiney!
 
PDS

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat
 

 
"Tens of thousands of Thorites attacked the Marvel Comics building today for publishing images of their god."

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat
 
Totalitarian America.
 
NT: So you thought______________, but the truth is___________.

Re: Taming Absolutes
 

Re: Taming Absolutes
 
Bulletproof.
 
Can you think of a good justification for being bulletproof? OK it happens in the comic, but they model bullets differently and situationally.
 
You want bulletproof in Hero? Get rid of the killing attack mechanism

Re: Complicate the Person Above
 
From the Muppet Show is Koozbain.
 
Mutant for Hire built the Sphinx then sent it through time where it has defied all explanation as to its building.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
"And I would have gotten away with it to, if it hadn't been for those meddling Earthlings!"
 
"Fine. I really am the sidekick."
 
"Excuse me while I whip this out."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 

Okay, it was a rather complicated situation, but I'll try to explain as briefly and as simply as possible.
 
The team of which Dr. Anomaly is a member encountered a person who was a time traveler who said he was "stuck" -- he couldn't get a "lock" on his "home" time anymore, and he feared that meant his future no longer existed; he said he'd consulted many experts on time travel but none of them could help. The team member who encountered him suggested that he trying talking to Dr. Anomaly who, as a scientist and a mage, might be able to bring to bear abilities (or combinations of abilities) that other experts couldn't, and what did it hurt to try?
 
In the investigation and discussion with "Mark" (the time traveler) that followed, we discovered that as far as the universe was concerned, he simply didn't exist...no instrument could detect him, magic (and magical beings) couldn't interact with him or see him, even though he could physically interact with his surroundings, the laws of physics and magic, when applied from outside himself, didn't "stick." He was a powerful psionic, and we figured out that he didn't exist, not really...and the only reason he seemed to exist was that his own incredible force of will could make the universe interact with him, if he forced the issue, but outside forces couldn't.
 
It was eventually determined that the reason he couldn't get a "lock" on his home time was that he wasn't from this universe, or any alternate timeline or parallel universe...but from the universe that would come into being after our own eventually ceased to exist, many tens of billions of years hence. The reason our universe didn't "acknowledge" is presence was because at a very fundamental level, he didn't match up with the fundamental constants, etc. that had stabilized in the first few microseconds after our Big Bang. What was worse, though, was that a bit more thinking, theorizing, etc. led to the realization that he was, in essence, a man-sized bubble of quantum state zero...no quantum signature at all. This is an inherently unstable state, and if something happened to destabilize him...the collapse of the "bubble" that he represented could tear a very large hole in this universe. It was decided we needed to "weave him in" to this universe, and quick, before something happened to destabilize him.
 
We decided to do this by using nanobots to "swap in" matter of our universe in place of the 'matter' making up his body...carbon atom for carbon atom, oxygen atom for oxygen atom, etc. Theoretically, when we were finished, he would exist because he'd be made up of "stuff" from this universe, and the danger would be averted. This was all complicated by the fact that he was a very advanced, genetically-engineered person, with his own live-in colony of nanobots (for wound repair, etc.), much more advanced than those to which we had access, that tests showed would combat (and easily destroy) the "invading" nanobots we needed to use.
 
Eventually we came up with a way to do it, and started the process of replacement. In so doing, however, that made the possibility of him becoming destabilized a lot greater...which led to our universe, at least in the immediate vicinity, starting to have a "quantum fizz" in the timeline, as the future...or even the existence of a future, miliseconds ahead of the current moment...became very uncertain. The main way this manifested, at least as far as the characters were concered, as a sort of burning/itching in our heads as reality was starting to come apart. Dr. Anomaly, probably because of his INT of 40, was hit especially hard by this and was having a difficult time holding his concentration on the procedure.
 
The last major hurdle came when the matter in all of "Mark's" body except his head had been successfully swapped for "local" atoms; the problem there was that "Mark", as a very powerful psion, still had his self-conception rooted in where he did (will? would?) come from, and that was preventing us from being able to swap out the atoms that made up his head/brain.
 
One of our team, Scarab, is a multiformer themed on the Egyptian pantheon, and changed to its Anubis form, because among other things the Anubis form is a mentalist, and was going to try and pry "Mark's" psionic focus into the here-and-now. Despite the urgent need to try and scratch the itch inside his head, Dr. Anomaly realized that given the power of "Mark's" mind, that was almost certain to fail...but there was a sure-fire way to grab "Mark's" attention, and really focus it on the here-and-now, and make him want to be here, in this universe, and not in a place that didn't yet exist. Dr. Anomaly yelled "No, not Anubis! We need Hathor, and now!"
 
(Hathor has been short-hand described, in a Stargate episode, as the Egyptian equivalent of the Goddess of Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. Scarab's Hathor form, among other things, has a 30 PRE, 30 COM...with +30 PRE, Only vs. Men, and +30 COM, only vs. Men. )
 
Anubis immediately changed, manifested as Hathor, in all her glory...and completely sans clothing of any sort. It grabbed "Mark's" attention, alright, focused him well-nigh instantly on the here-and-now, and in the next few seconds the replacement process was able to be completed successfully.
 
The "I'm glad my brain is itching" repeated phrase came from Dr. Anomaly, who unfortunately happened to be looking at Anubis when he called for Hathor, which meant he was looking at the all-too-naked Hathor who manifested a moment later. Now, Dr. Anomaly has nothing against good-looking women, even naked ones. The problem here is that Hathor is an aspect of a team-mate of his, he has no desire for any kind of "complications", and seeing Hathor that way, very deliberately exerting her influence-on-men to the fullest extent (on emergancy overload, you might say), gave him all kinds of thoughts that, for his own peace of mind and team harmony, he shouldn't be having, and desperately did not want to have, regardless of what his body's reaction said!
 
So, to try and drive that image out of his head, instead of fighting the terrible itching inside his skull, Dr. Anomaly focused on it, embraced it, tried to use it (unsuccessfully) to scour the image of Hathor from his mind, and was repeating the "I'm glad my brain is itching" almost like a mantra to help him focus on the itch rather than on Hathor.
 
A few seconds later, when the process was completed, the horrible itch went away as the "quantum fizz" in the timeline died down, as there was no longer a chance of a quantum collapse...and Hathor mercifully manifested some clothing and "turned down the wattage" on her PRE & COM.
 
So there you have it. I'm sorry it was that long, but that really is the shortest I felt I could give the context and have it make sense. (Then again, I never have been very good at condensing things when I write.)

Re: The New Circle
 
2
 
The legend of Mr. Thunder started with Bobby Brooks, a kid who wanted to be someone someday. It was the same dream shared by hundreds of boys everywhere. The power to be a hero had been earned along the way.
 
Bobby was an amateur spelunker who enjoyed exploring the caves around his Wyoming town, Faucet City. Legends said a treasure existed at the bottom of one of those caverns for the person who could find it. Hundreds had lost everything to find that phantom, but Bobby just liked to explore and had no expectations of being rich.
 
Bobby found something that existed under the cavern system he knew so well. Some hidden door led him into a garden of sunlight at the bottom of an undiscovered shaft. He couldn't find the source of light as he wandered among the strange flowers and trees.
 
His second discovery was the old woman sitting in a wicker chair of emerald wood. She gestured for him to approach, which he did despite common sense posting nagging questions in the back of his mind.
 
"Hello, Robert," the old woman said, literally almost as transparent as a piece of paper in front of a light. "I have been waiting for you to arrive. I bequeath you my legacy. Use it well."
 
"I don't understand," Bobby objected, moving forward.
 
Clouds rushed in, blocking the light above. Thunder rolled like a thousand drums. Then the shadow was gone, leaving behind a very confused and changed Bobby Brook flying above the town.
 
Bobby learned the secrets of his powers origin with time, built a rogue's gallery that included a predecessor, and helped others all over the planet. He is on good terms with most heroes he has dealt with such as the Rovers, Champions, and Robert Caliburn.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat
 

 
"Hey, Dad, what's with this crate in the basement?" *grumblegrumble*clicks on flashlight*
"4th Edition Props?"
*opens crate*
"The Maine?!!?"

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat
 

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat
 

 
Dead drunk in a Thai whore house.

Re: Complicate the Person Above
 
Oddhat: having recently been thawed out, his first words were "Og, og og og" and he had to shave, lose the club, and eventually went on to marry.
 
Truth be told, he was better with the club.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat
 

Presidential Pardon !

Re: Complicate the Person Above
 

Re: Inner-Earth Update
 
Are Bulwyer-Lytton's "Coming Race" (the Vril-ya ?) in there as well ? Such a crowded place the interior of the earth !

Re: Advantagous sfx
 

oO(No. I'm not wrong. But that animated GIF... 
So compelling...
 
The waving fingers... The tongue...
 
Losing will... Unable to fight...
 
Curse you, Doc Democracy! Curse you! Curse...)
 
Yes. I understand. I am wrong. It is all so clear to me. Now.
 

Re: Advantagous sfx
 

 
Jane "Dragon" Collins, Mrs. Oddhat's fire breathing character, ended one of our current group's battles by using her fire breath in a drug lab. I had made a point of repeatedly mentioning that there was almost no ventilation, and that the air was filled with white powder. Those working with the drugs were wearing breathing masks. She used her fire breath anyway. Blew up the house, knocked herself and the entire rest of the group out, destroyed evidence, severely injured the lab employees and allowed the bad guy and his chief lieutenant to flee.
 
Even if that never happens again in the campaign, I think quite a lot of lighting candles and illuminating dark rooms can be balanced against it.

Re: Advantagous sfx
 

I know we talked about this recently but the thread has been dead a few days and was quite lengthy anyway - I didn't want to put people off, having to catch up.
 
So the question is: to what extent should sfx enhance the abilities of a character by giving bonuses to a character?
 
I would argue that, as a base, given that Hero is supposed to be a system of mechanics with sfx laid over the top and not being integral to the function of the mechanics, NOT AT ALL.
 
It has long been accepted in Hero though that sfx can have inor effects. Start of the rot, I'd say. A concession to sloppy character building.
 
Part of the proble, of course, is the lack of detail that limitations and advantages provide: on a 60 point power, a -1/4 to +1/4 spread is 48-75 points. That is a lot.
 
Thus we have the '+/- 0' advantage/limitation - something that doesn't justify saving 12 points or spending 15. this hole has been filled (to an extent) by the introduction of adders, but the +/- 0 is still with us and, barring a really major change in the system, always will be.
 
Fine. Why are you writing this, Sean?
 
I was looking at the mechanics for grab, and noticed, that 'depending on sfx you can use streching to escape a grab'.
 
What?
 
I mean it is one thing for a GM on an idividual basis to allow a character, possibly with a power skill roll, to escape a grab using, or aided by, stretching. No problemo.
 
What pushes by buttons is the system which professes to have used sfx for flavour, and nothing more (you may want to catch Darren Watts pod cast - there is a recent thread pointing at it) specifically approving using sfx as a justification for piling on the utility. Presuably Mr Fantastic's stretching let him escape but Machine Man's doesn't. Logical, fine, but also a voilation of the principles of the system.
 
Being able to escape a common combat manouvre like grab is far more than a +0 advantage, IMO. It is something that Mr Fantastic's player should have paid points for.
 
I like Hero above pretty much every other system simply because the ground rules are clear. What you do with them once you have them out of the box is up to you, but if you build a character and give it to 10 people, and they all get to fill in the background and sfx, but the powers, characteristics and skills remain the same, they should all do the same thing in game, as far as I am concerned.
 
If the sfx do not match the powers that is a failure of the player to think through their concept, or a good excuse to spend XP.
 
I do appreciate I am ranting but this is something I feel strongly about.
 
Do we want a system that is mechanics led? Or sfx led?
 
Or a little bit of both?...like every other system?

Re: Inner-Earth Update
 
No room for a beast-man city. Have to save that for something else. It's a big world; we can wedge in lots of lost civilizations.

Re: The New Circle
 
Character Name: Mr. Multiverse.
Real Name: None
Nationality: variable
Hair/Eye Color: variable
Place of Birth: variable
Date of Birth: variable
Height/Mass: variable
 
Cost Characteristic Value
STR 0
DEX 0
CON 0
BODY 0
INT 0
EGO 0
PRE 0
COM 0PD 0
ED 0
SPD 0
REC 0
END 0
STUN 0
 
OCV: 0 DCV: 0 OECV: 0 DECV:0
Phases: 0
 
Cost Powers and Talents (END)
Mr. Multiverse Body:
+45 STR 45 pts.
20" flight 40 pts
+ 20 (10 ed/ 10 pd) armor 30 pts
Sense rifts and aliens 3 pts
 
Multiverse Powers:
50+25 variable power pool, powers change between hosts (-½), powers reflect knowledge or powers of hosts (-½), Host has no control over what powers manifest (-½). 30 pts
 
Cost Skills
3 KS- The Multiverse
3 KS- Dimensional invaders
3 KS- Aliens
 
160 Points Disadvantages
25 Hunted by Demon
15 Hunted by V'han
20 Protective of Earth
20 Driven to close portals and stop dimensional invasions
10 DF: Mystic Aura
10 Reputation: Wandering hero with personality shifts. 11-
25 Needs a host body to act
15 Accidental Change: Dimensional portals may cause him to lose grip on body 11-.
20 Susceptibility to mental attacks 3D6
 
CHA Cost = 0
Total Powers Cost = 148
Total Skills Cost = 9
Total Cost = 157
 
Plot Hook 1) One of the player characters suddenly has more strength, and is capable of transforming things to suit. An example is a gadgeteer will be able to create tools at will from everyday items with transform. His costume has also changed to a black suit with an earth symbol on the chest. Research tells him the history of the uniform and that something is about to happen.
 
Plot Hook 2) Heroes learn that one hero has become active in a neighborhood, reappearing within moments after leaving almost constantly. Other incidents start flooding the police and rescue lines, reports of a disaster in the making. Then a city block vanishes.
 
Plot Hook 3) Mr. Multiverse is one of a number of heroes being honored with a museum. The curator of the museum would like for the players to track the enigmatic hero down and ask him to appear with some of the other retired mystery men invited. Of course, the curator has an ulterior motive of some kind.
 
GM's Notes- I didn't know how to express this on paper, so I don't know if I did it right. This character essentially has no body to call his own, so goes from person to person adding on to their capabilities, and disadvantages. Some kind of extradimensional trigger could lead to other adventures down the road. Naturally this is a take off of Captain Universe, created for the Micronauts by Bill Mantlo, then given his solo series drawn by Steve Ditko.
 
I hope this is acceptable and usable by other Gms and players.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat
 

 
Uncle Elwin's Drunk Again
 
Uncle Elwin’s drunk again
Says he needs a special friend
Pigs are squealing in the rain
Screaming out their special pain
Uncle Elwin’s drunk again