braincraft

Re: Analysis Thread: DCV Oddities I've always thought empty hexes should start at DCV 0, for simplicity if nothing else.

Re: Triggered Recovery? The morbidly ironic thing about this argument is that the proper constructs actually work better and are much cheaper than the explicitly wrong one in contention.

Re: Ninjas in a Champions game In theory, you could use this technique on other types of enemies, too. You could have a group of several identical-looking guys, each with only one or two powers, rotating in and out in a confusing way to make it seem that each has an array of awesome powers. It'd look like an army of Super-Skrulls!

Re: Triggered Recovery? REC (the characteristic) /= Recovery (the action) You can create the effect you're aiming at; in fact, it's not hard using the existing rules. A number of viable options have been put forth by myself and others. Don't complain that you can't create the effect with a specific application of the rules. I'll note that you can't bake a cake with Mind Scan, either; but the rules provide for both scanning minds and baking cakes.

Re: An alternative to CSLs? Naked Accurate won't help you with Block, and it scales in cost with the active points of your attack. +10 3-point OCV levels is a lot more efficient against opponents with 13 DCV or less than Accurate on a 30 active point attack power; if DCVs are high, Accurate becomes more cost-effective, if attack powers are strong, CSLs become more cost-effective.

Re: Triggered Recovery? REC is not an action. Trigger allows an action to occur. QED.

Re: building a mental "voice" Images BOECV?

Re: [Character] Rex Aw, CRAP. Just when I thought I'd come up with something original.

Re: Triggered Recovery? There's generally no point to using Trigger on characteristics or any other power that's on all the time or almost all the time (just use a conditional disadvantage), and there's absolutely no point to buying STUN that only works if you go below 0 STUN (that works exactly the same as if you'd just bought more STUN). If you want an effect that lets you regain consciousness when you're knocked unconscious, buy a Triggered STUN Aid. I've used that construct before; it was a 'Second Wind' power on a tough martial artist character. You might want to limit it in some way, because unlimited free STUN when your STUN gets low is pretty boring; you might as well have just bought more STUN, or Damage Reduction or something of the sort. If you just want to regain consciousness faster instead of actually waking back up immediately, try limited characteristics, like +10 STUN (only to improve category for Recovery frequency when below 0 STUN, -2). You might also try something like Damage Reduction (Only for damage below 0 STUN, -2), but that would get expensive quick.

Re: [Character] Rex Well, in any case, I fixed it.

Re: Combat Skill Levels vs Martial Arts Comic book continuity is like biblical canon; you can justify almost any assertation if you dig deep enough.

Re: [Character] Rex You know, I just noticed after posting that his Entangle slot doesn't have 'No Range', even though it probably should. It doesn't change his point totals in any case, but it seems kind of funny for him to throw a couple of steel girders at a guy to tie him up.

I noticed that most bricks have pretty serious personalities. They're either psycho berserkers, honor-obsessed stiffs, or bullying jerks. This is my attempt at combining the good, clean fun of the Animated JLU Flash's personality with good, clean brickery. Also, I noticed that all of the other characters I've posted so far are female, and I figure I should start on evening up the sides. REX Val Char Cost Roll Notes 50 STR 40 19- Lift 25.6tons; 10d6; [2] 23 DEX 39 14- OCV 8 DCV 8 25 CON 30 14- 20 BODY 20 13- 15 INT 5 12- PER Roll 14- 11 EGO 2 11- ECV: 4 15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 16 COM 3 12- 10/28 PD 0 Total: 10/28 PD (0/18 rPD) 5/23 ED 0 Total: 5/23 ED (0/18 rED) 4 SPD 7 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 20 REC 10 50 END 0 60 STUN 2 Total Characteristic Cost: 163 Movement: Running: 10" / 20" Swimming: 2" / 4" Leaping: 10" / 40" Martial Arts: Dino-Fight! Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 4 1) Charge +0 -2 12d6 +v/5 Strike, FMove 4 2) Crush +0 +0 14d6 Crush, Must Follow Grab 3 3) Flying Tackle +0 -1 10d6 +v/5 Strike; You Fall, Target Falls; FMove 4 4) Martial Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 3 5) Martial Grab -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, 60 STR for holding on 4 6) Martial Strike +0 +2 12d6 Strike 5 7) Offensive Strike -2 +1 14d6 Strike 5 Brave: +10 PRE (10 Active Points); Only vs PRE Attacks (-1) 1 Deep Breath: Life Support (Extended Breathing: 1 END per Turn) 12 Efficient Musculature: Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (12 Active Points) applied to STR 6 Increased Tissue Density: Knockback Resistance -3" 11 Reptillian Healing: Healing 1 BODY, Can Heal Limbs, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (30 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Turn (Post-Segment 12) (-1 1/4), Self Only (-1/2) 6 Reptillian Reflexes: Lightning Reflexes: +4 DEX to act first with All Actions 6 Sharp Senses: +2 PER with all Sense Groups 5 Strong Legs: Leaping + 0" (10" forward, 5" upward) (x4 Noncombat) 1 8 Strong Legs: Running +4" (10" total) 1 45 Tough: Armor (15 PD/15 ED) 27 Tough: Life Support (Immunity All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents; Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum) 3 Tough: Power Defense (5 points) (5 Active Points); Only vs Physiological SFX (-1/2) 60 Brick Tricks: Multipower, 60-point reserve 4u 1) Big Swing: Area Of Effect (up to One Hex; +1/2) for up to 80 Active Points of STR and HA (40 Active Points) 4 2u 2) Break on Through: +50 STR (50 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), Only to calculate casual STR (-1/2) 5 1u 3) Digging In: Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Only on substances with DEF less than avg BODY rolled on STR (-1/2) 0 4u 4) Home Run: Double Knockback (+3/4) for up to 80 Active Points of STR and HA (60 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2) 6 2u 5) Wreckage Wrap-Up: Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF (60 Active Points); OIF (Materials of Opportunity; -1/2), Limited by available materials (-1/2), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), No Range (-1/2) 6 Talents 6 Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) Skills 15 +3 with HTH Combat 4 +2 with Pull Punch 3 Breakfall 14- 3 Climbing 14- 3 PS: Curator 12- 5 Rapid Attack (HTH) 3 Scientist 2 1) SS: Anthropology 12- (3 Active Points) 2 2) SS: Archaeology 12- (3 Active Points) 2 3) SS: Biology 12- (3 Active Points) 4 4) SS: Paleontology 14- (5 Active Points) Total Powers & Skill Cost: 287 Total Cost: 450 300+ Disadvantages 10 Distinctive Features: Built like a brick house (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 5 Distinctive Features: Unusual musculoskeletal makeup and density (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable Only By Unusual Senses) 10 Hunted: Hunter Gunn 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 10 Hunted: VIPER 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 5 Physical Limitation: Big and Tall (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 10 Psychological Limitation: "Dinosaurs are totally sweet!" (Common, Moderate) 15 Psychological Limitation: "Do you like pizza? Because baby, you've got 'fine' written all over you!" (Common, Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Make 'em laugh (Common, Moderate) 15 Social Limitation: Secret ID (Frequently, Major) 5 Unluck: 1d6 55 Totally Sweet Bonus 0 Experience Points Total Disadvantage Points: 450 Background/History: When someone asked six-year-old Trent Reed what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said, "A DINOSAUR!" When asked why, he responded, "Because dinosaurs are TOTALLY SWEET." When someone asked sixteen-year-old Trent Reed what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said, "A paleontologist." When asked why, he responded, "Because dinosaurs are TOTALLY SWEET." When Trent was twenty-six and a candidate for a Ph.D in paleontology, he was in the field, excavating bones to support his thesis findings. In a freak accident, he discovered a well-preserved bit of dinosaur flesh in a bog; so well-preserved, in fact, that a prehistoric viral organism, long lain dormant, infected Trent. If Trent had been a normal human, who knows? He could have died, or he could have easily fought off the primitive illness, or become the vector for a terrible plague. What happened instead was that the virus interacted strangely with Trent's latent mutant DNA and caused a series of changes. Almost overnight, Trent's gangly 6'5" frame (which had caused his colleagues to dub him 'The Reed') veritably exploded with thick, steely muscle, his skeleton becoming denser and stronger, the scrapes and bruises from his gruelling work on the dig disappearing as if by magic. When he returned to the university, he could only explain his sudden growth spurt as "hard work and clean living." Trent quickly discovered, in private sessions, that he could easily lift a passenger car over his head and leap between city rooftops without fear. Kitchen knives could no longer pierce his skin, and even the minor wounds left by power drills and chainsaws would heal without so much as a mark. If you had asked Trent then what he wanted to be, there would be only one answer he could give: "I wanna be a DINOSAUR!" Procuring for himself a costume (from the same place all these super-folk do, one supposes), Trent fought crime for a while as 'Homo Sapiens Rex'. It wasn't long before he realized his error and shortened it to 'Rex'. Personality/Motivation: Trent was always a good-natured goof, but it's difficult to say whether getting superpowers made it easier or harder to get away with. He cracks jokes during super-battles and flirts shamelessly (and crudely) with costumed babes. Despite his reputation as being somewhat less than serious, Trent/Rex is a hard worker when it comes to doing what he loves, whether that be making the world safe from supervillainy or just helping to maintain the natural history museum where he works. Quote: "That punch was 'DINO'-MITE! Heh, heh... you see what I did there?" (To a female supervillain) "So... do you rob this bank often?" Powers/Tactics: Rex knows he's not the biggest or the strongest or the most invulnerable brick on the block, but he's definitely big, strong, and hard to put down, and he takes advantage of his simple and direct power set with simple and direct tactics. Charge in, stun or knock out somebody on the first hit, and continue to use high-damage maneuvers to end the fight. Not to say that he's not imaginative, though; he has an array of brick tricks that he uses to great effect. Campaign Use: Pretty standard brick. Appearance: Trent is a gigantic sandy-haired guy in his mid-twenties. He has a sheepish grin almost as big as his size 20 shoes, and huge, ridiculous bodybuilder shoulders. He's even heavier than he looks, which can sometimes be a problem. Imagine Seann William Scott's head on Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's body. He dresses like he's still fourteen, which is a feat given the limited selection of clothes in his size. Rex is a giant in a skintight green and greenish-brown bodysuit. His costume consists of a scaled pattern from mid-calf up to mid-torso, where it meets a lighter solid panel covering his chest, head, and shoulders. His gloves and boots are similarly colored. On his chest is a yellow circle with the silhouette of a skeletal tyrannosaurus rex within, and on his head is a vaguely silly crest, like someone stuck a green dinner plate halfway into his head.

Re: First-aid kit, physicians bag

Re: First-aid kit, physicians bag There's a pretty huge difference between what you'll find in a household first aid kit and what a paramedic might have in the back of his ambulance, or what a field medic might be carrying in his pack, or what a family practitioner might have in his bag on a house call, if doctors still really made house calls. All of those would be different from what a forensic scientist might carry with him to a crime scene. All of the above would need a facility like a hospital or lab in order to finish the job they started on-site. In fact, many problems will require a number of facilities, between which the patient or samples would have to be transported. Specific sciences require even more specialized equipment and facilities. Or you could just gloss it over and say that your street-level vigilante can do it all out of the back room of his low-rent downtown apartment.

Re: HTH combat questions The problem is that you can't abort to a defense if you've already acted in a given phase, and he only had phases that overlapped his opponent's. He couldn't attack and then abort when it was his opponent's turn to attack, because then he would have used his action for the phase and been unable to dodge. Due to the peculiarities of the SPD chart and the way defensive actions work, it was possible for a SPD 3 character to make two of his phases count twice (by Dodging for the duration of two of his opponent's phases) and using his third phase to attack, while it was impossible to do this with a SPD 4 character due to the way held phases and abort phases interact.

Re: Ninjas in a Champions game Balance how? You can't send 350 1-pt handicapped ninja after a single 350-pt super, and you can't throw a 2100-pt ubervillain against six 350-pt heroes.

Re: HTH combat questions

Re: New Advangage: Seeking

Re: New Advangage: Seeking Forget the to-hit bonus; it's relatively inexpensive to guarantee hits with AoE (Accurate) and NRM. The huge, unbalancing factor in fire-and-forget is that you benefit from additional attack actions. You could easily launch one of these for each enemy and then go have a sandwich while the opposition frantically dodges every turn ad infinitum. If you want extra independent attacks (or any other kind of autonomous actions), buy a Summon or Duplication. Otherwise, you'll have to settle for directed homing attacks as a special effect of accuracy and Indirect.

Re: HTH combat questions If your opponent has a slightly lesser initiative order and equal or greater capabilities in all other respects, you're not going to do well no matter how you futz around with the SPD chart. Unless he plans on Dodging every round until the tiger drops dead from exhaustion, your guy is gonna have to take a chance dropping his defense to make an attack. Your hard caps are pretty arbitrary. If you want fights to take longer, use more defensive actions, buy more defensive powers and stats (like Combat Luck or extra BODY), and allocate resources more conservatively (like using your combat skill levels for defense). And, of course, don't let anyone buy their OCV or DCs ridiculously high.

Re: First-aid kit, physicians bag A first aid kit has basically zero overlap with any of the tools, equipment, or supplies you would need to practice forensic medicine.

Re: Help building a power. And the explanation is way too long. Cramming and a whole bunch of skill levels (possibly also combat skill levels, and possibly with multiple Cramming slots), all with Focus and Only For Skills 'Memorized'.

Re: Character Wuji I don't think you really need to make Liang Style a seperate multipower instead of just putting the attacks in the existing multi and giving the slots OAF. Is it really imporant to be able to use your area attack with your super-running (which is pretty much the only functionality you would lose)? You could use the spare points to shore up his CVs and defenses, or just give him some other weird power. He seems like he's intended to be a toolbox-type character, but he can't really do anything other than beat you up in fifty different ways. At least he has a movement power, something a lot of beatstick-makers forget about.

Re: [Characters] Rocket Girl and Black Scorpion Owning a katana doesn't make you a samurai. She has 'eclectic' martial arts because she picked her moves up from various other martial artists, who practiced various styles. Glad to hear you like 'em, though.