braincraft

Re: Anime Character Help I'm not 100% sure that HERO is the right system for running a FLCL game.

Off topic If you're confident about beating a man with a handgun in single combat starting at twenty feet, you're a braver man than I. That being said, google for the Tueller Drill, a law enforcement seminar that is supposed to teach judgement in short-range engagements between cops with handguns and violent offenders with knives or other weapons. The rule of thumb seems to be that if the guy with the knife is within twenty feet and you don't already have your gun out and aimed, it's too late. Even after taking multiple fatal and/or crippling shots from a handgun, many people can continue to advance and attack, due to the effects of andrenaline, shock response, and recreational drug use. It is extremely difficult to reliably take down a human being in less time than it takes for them to close a short gap, even if you have a firearm. Shotguns and uzis probably give you better odds, but I'm still not tempted to find out. Oh, and as for the martial art thing, just go with what you think looks cool. There are competent female practitioners of almost every martial art, and I don't see any gender associations any given style's 'look'.

Re: Classic Silver Aged Style Team Rosters I think that Mortal Badass (Captain America, Batman) is a pretty important archetype.

Re: The Ability to Cloud Men's Mind...? Mental Illusions, only to make self disappear/do the Shadow "I'm lurking right behind you mwa ha ha" trick, AoE selective, with linked DCV/Combat skill levels limited by success level of the Mental Illusions roll.

Re: WWYCD: Sleeping With The Enemy Hiro Phelps a.k.a. "Umbrella Lad" would immediately move to kick the spit out of the villain. If stopped, or talked down from it... "The second it interferes with work... the VERY MOMENT... it's over. Period. That's not 'advice', it's an order." Then keep both under surveilance until it comes to a head, one way or another. Hiro is the team leader, and likes to maintain an orderly working environment. Shadow would never approach anyone in their home without knowing who and what has been coming in and out of it. She'd observe from concealment, wait for an opportune moment to incapacitate the criminal, then restrain her and deliver her to the proper authorities. No, she doesn't see the irony of it all. Apex would have already read everyone's mind and would either leave it be until it became a problem, or forseen imminent tragedy, put the parties involved to sleep, and locked up the criminal. His perspective, as a citizen of an enlightened future society of telepathic supermen, is somewhat... detatched.

Re: Villain creation question To make it easier on your players, make some of her armor ablative, to represent rags getting torn away with partially-successful attacks.

Re: ... Doing the things a particle can... If you caused the atoms in an object to have no mass (via comic book science boson-bombardment) wouldn't they be desolid?

Re: Armor Piercing on normal attacks: Is it useful? A different flavor of AP could be attained by buying extra dice of damage with the disadvantage that the damage rolled on those dice only counts to negate defenses.

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? You know what might be cool? Martial arts maneuvers bought with the Variable Special Effects advantage. Not that that would probably ever be worth the cost. You'd have to make him immune to Analyze Style or something.

Re: Need help with an acronym Logistic Operations Key Interface?

Re: Clarifying Core Defense Mechanic Colossus doesn't have Visible Armor. He has Distinctive Features in his heroic identity and OIHID on all of his powers.

Re: Could your Champions character beat... Shadow - The teenaged apprentice of one of her world's golden age supers is built on a third of the points of her opponent. Cap would pin her down without trying and try to contact her parents/legal guardians. Umbrella Lad/Hiro Phelps - The wildcard-mercenary-turned-hero-for-hire, who wields an indestructible umbrella with his powerful martial arts skills. Come to think of it, he and Cap are almost identical in all but attitude, though your writeup edges Hiro out slightly in almost all categories. It would be close, though. Marvel Girl - No, not the X-Man. That trademark is still being litigated. The strongest mortal on Earth, she'd win by default because, being fairly invulnerable to all physical force, Cap has no hope of harming her directly. Unless he can figure out some way of tricking her into propelling herself into LEO, he's going to get himself knocked out trying to save bystanders from a building she accidentally collapses. Raideen - The greatest champion of the lost civilization of Mu (no, not Atlantis, the other one), with command over the immense psychic energy beamed to him across space and time and focused through his third eye chakra. He'd fly in at supersonic speed and bombard the countryside Cap is in with his psychic shout until Cap is reduced to sandwich spread.

Re: Where do superpowers come from? There's one guy whose mutant superpower is to unlock the latent superpowers in certain people. He doesn't even know he has this power, but for the last several years, a small percentage of the people he has passed in the street have been influenced by his power. If anyone found out about him, there would be a massive rush by... well, pretty much everybody, to track him down and use his power to create an army of superhumans, or to somehow boost the effect and make some enterprising fellow especially super.

Re: Sticky Goo from The Incredibles

Re: Sex and the Single Superhuman He gets rock hard?

Re: Sticky Goo from The Incredibles Autofire opaque entangle with cumulative effect and continuous charges?

Fine. I retract the chainsaw thingy. Hmm... retractable chainsaw thingies...

Don't make me take my own challenge.

Og Caveman superhero Str 25, 15pts Dex 23, 39pts Con 25, 30pts Bod 20, 20pts Int 14, 4pts Ego 13, 6pts Pre 20, 10pts Com 10 PD 13/3, 5pts ED 11/3, 3pts SPD 5, 17pts REC 12, 4pts END 50 STUN 46 Run 8", 4pts Swim 2" Jump 5" Total Characteristics cost: 157pts Og SMASH!: HA+5d6, OIF-Any big smashy thing, 12pts Tool-User: +2 OCV with Og SMASH!, 4pts Og is Real Tough: Physical Damage Resistance 50%, 20pts Fire... Bad!: +3 DCV vs. Energy attacks, 10pts Hyperevolve Brain: Aid to Intelligence 4d6, max 24pts, x2 END, Full Phase, Self Only, Fade 5pts/5 minutes, 24pts and Aid to Ego 4d6, max 24pts, linked to Int Aid, x2 END, Full Phase, Self Only, Fade 5pts/5 minutes, 20pts and +4 Overall levels, linked to Intelligence Aid (1 level for every 6pts of Aid), 27pts and Deduction 12, only when Int Aid is active, 2pts Devolve Brains: Drain Intelligence 4d6, max 24pts, x2 END, Full Phase, Recover 5pts/5 minutes, Ranged, 40pts and Drain Ego 4d6, max 24pts, Linked to Int Drain, x2 END, Full Phase, Recover 5pts/5 minutes, Ranged, 32pts Hyperevolve Animals: Summon 1x 150-pt expanded class of creatures (hyperevolved animals), Amicable, requires normal animals to work with, x2 END, Full Phase, 26pts Total Powers cost: 217pts Animal Handler 13, 3pts Climbing 14, 3pts English at 2pt level, 2pts Prehistoric gutteral language, native, 0pts Riding 14, 3pts Survival 13, 5pts Tracking 13, 5pts Hand to Hand Skill Levels +2, 10pts Combat Luck +3/+3, 6pts Total Skills and Talents cost: 37pts Total Character cost: 411pts Stubborn (common, strong) 15pts Uneasy about using weird brain-futzing powers (common, moderate) 10pts Unfamiliar with modern technology and society (frequently, greatly) 15pts Looks and sounds like a caveman (Concealable, Noticed) 10pts Og is big tough. Og boss of clan. Og find glowing rock fall from sky, make Og feel funny. Og understand strange things after glowing rock, like how to hunt mammoth better, and how to make better club. Og find out he can make self smarter, or other men dumber. Og can also make animals big and smart. When hunting mammoth, Og fall into snow and feel big cold. Wake up when funny little men cut Og out of ice. Og make them dumb, run away. Og confused by loud, smelly new world. Og want to go home. Next challenge: An aquatic gadget-based mentalist, who fights with two chainsaws or chainsaw-like weapons.

How would you go about constructing an attack that you have to charge in advance, but doesn't prevent you from taking other actions or using other attack powers while it's charging? And what if you wanted to make it dangerous, harmful, or inconvenient to hold the finished charge for too long, so that you couldn't just charge it an hour in advance and use it right off the bat when the fight starts? The specific power I'm trying to construct is a blaster cannon that takes a few segments/phases to charge up, but allows the use of other weapons in the meanwhile, and will damage the capacitors if forced to hold the charge for too long, so you have to charge it and use it, or dissipate the charge, which wastes power, possibly, but also means you'd have to charge the cannon again if you changed your mind about wanting to use it, therefore forcing the user and the target to worry about timing. I think I explained it all wrong.

He just looks dead.

Thread necromancy Mohandas Rex: Ghandi from an alternate Earth! Str 30, 20pts Dex 30, 60pts Con 30, 40pts Bod 20, 10pts Int 30, 20pts Ego 30, 40pts Pre 30, 20pts Com 20, 5pts PD 10 (30/20), 4pts ED 10 (30/20), 4pts SPD 6, 20pts REC 12 END 60 STUN 60, 10pts Run 10", 8pts Swim 4", 2pts Jump 6" Total Characteristics cost: 263pts Zeta Rays Multipower (120pt reserve), 120pts Zeta Ray, alpha frequency: Energy Blast 12d6 vs ED, 0 END, Armor Piercing, ultra slot, 12pts Zeta Ray, beta frequency: Ranged Killing Attack 4d6K vs rED, 0 END, Armor Piercing, ultra slot, 12pts Zeta Ray, delta frequency: Energy Blast 12d6 vs ED, 0 END, Explosive, ultra slot, 12pts Zeta Ray, omega frequency: Ranged Killing Attack 8d6K, vs rED, ultra slot, 12 pts Genetically Enhanced Physique: see characteristics Invincible Ego: Mental Defense 20(26), 20pts and Resistance +5, 5pts Antigravity/Force Field Belt: Flight 20" (x32 noncombat multiplier), 0 END, IIF-belt, 72pts and Force Field +10/+10, 0 END, IIF-belt, 24pts and Safe Environment (All options), IIF-belt, 7pts Armor of Zergal Hide: Armor +5/+5, OIF-zergal hide armor, 10pts Invincible Warrior/Improved Combat Luck: as normal combat luck, but at +5/+5, 11pts A Thousand Ancient Fighting Arts, Improved Upon By My Genius: HA+6d6, 0 END, standard limitation, 30pts and +5 combat skill levels with all combat, 40pts But... But... I CAN'T Die! Not Yet!: +10 Body, Invisible Power Effects, Does Not Affect Figured Characteristics, 20pts Always On Guard: Danger Sense(20), Noncombat, sense, 22pts and Defense Maneuver IV, 10pts and Lightsleep, 3pts Genetically Enhanced Senses: +5 to all Per rolls(20), 15pts Perfection of Mind and Body: +5 Overall Skill Levels, 50pts and Lack of Weakness -5, 5pts and Ambidexterity, 3pts and Eidetic Memory, 5pts and Longevity (1/4 aging rate), 2pts and Diminished Sleep (8 hours a week), 1pt and Power Defense 10, only vs sfx that target health of body or mind (-1/2), 7pts Total Powers cost: 501pts Acrobatics 15, 3pts Breakfall 15, 3pts Climbing 15, 3pts Combat Pilot 15, 3pts Computer Programming 15, 3pts Electronics 15, 3pts Deduction 15, 3pts High Society 15, 3pts Inventor 15, 3pts Mechanics 15, 3pts Oratory 15, 3pts PS: Dictator 15, 3pts Persuasion 15, 3pts Stealth 15, 3pts Seduction 15, 3pts Tactics 15, 3pts TF: Futuristic hovercraft and spacecraft, 4pts WF: All sorts of crazy nasty alien weapons, swords, energy blasters, 5pts All sorts of sciences, knowledges, and languages, 50pts Linguist, Scientist, and Scholar, 9pts Combat Sense 15, 15pts Speed Reading, 3pts Simulate Death, 3pts Total Skills and Talents cost: 134pts Total Character cost: 898pts Overconfident (Often, Strong) 15pts Egotistical and Arrogant (Often, Total) 20pts Dedicated towards returning to own dimension (Not usually, Strong) 10pts Obsessed with taking over the universe (Always, Total) 25pts Looks exactly like Ghandi, only in excellent shape (Easily concealable, noticed) 5pts Genetically altered structure (Not concealable, noticed, only detectable with specialized equipment) 10pts Hunted by US Military and Government 11- (Collectively as Pow; Detain ; Extensive Non-Combat Influence) 20pts Still somewhat unfamiliar with this planet's culture and history (Not usually, not much) 5pts Total Disadvantages value: 110pts 'Mohandas' Ghandi-238 knew from the moment he was processed from the vats of Calcutta that he was destined for greatness. Perhaps it was some mutation that made him different from the other clones... superior. He grew up stronger, smarter, healthier than the other vatboys, but the Bureau wanted him to go to work in the factories with the rest. He would have none of it, and staged a clone revolt, using the confusion to make his own escape into the underground, where he spent ten long years struggling against the mutants there until he finally gathered enough power to resurface, leading an army of rebels and mutants in a coup against the Bureau's leadership. With control over the Bureau, Ghandi then struck out at the other nation-states, taking them over one by one until the whole of the planet had fallen under his control. This was not enough for Ghandi, however. His ambition was a restless, firey passion that drove him to develop the spacefaring technology to travel to other stars, where he found yet more to conquer and subjugate. Using Bureau technology to enhance his already impressive physique beyond the limits of human potential, training in the fighting arts of those he conquered, and even developing some mutant ability to control and produce the deadly Zeta waves, it seemed that the Rex would soon bring all the galaxy under his opressive thumb. A new rebellion formed to overthrow Ghandi. But he was cautious well beyond the point of paranoia, and it would be a long, hard battle. Eventually, a band of rebels tricked Ghandi into getting hit with his own experimental DD device (Dimensional Drift), throwing him out of their universe... ...and into ours. When he first landed, Ghandi panicked and had a short but brutal run-in with some local superheroes. Later on, he realized what a golden opportunity he had. He would conquer this world as he had every other, and use its power to return to his own dimension and slaughter the traitors that dared stand against him. Earth would soon know the name of Mohandas Ghandi... and DESPAIR! Powers/Tactics: Ghandi is a brilliant warrior, and will study his opponents carefully before committing to battle. However, he is no more a coward than he is a fool, and is not afraid to stand on the front lines and kick some superpowered ass. He prefers to solve his problems with his fists, or some sort of high-powered weapon, but if necessary he will unleash the power of his deadly Zeta rays.Ghandi hates going into battle without a plan, but thinks brilliantly on his feet, and will try to trick and outsmart enemies to show off his superior intellect. He loves to make presence attacks and will do so at any opportunity.If it looks like he might be killed or captured, he will probably flee, content to wreak his vengeance for the delay in his master plans another day. Personality/Motivation: Ghandi wants to rule over everything, and won't stop until he does. In the meantime, he wants to kill, conquer, and destroy, not necessarily in that order. Despite his brilliant mind in matters of battle or sciences, Ghandi is impatient and direct when it comes to everything else. Other Notes: Ghandi is utterly arrogant and completely egotistical. He believes that he is the smartest and most powerful being in the universe, and will take anyone on to prove it. He doesn't mind cheating, though, as he considers any tactic that gives him a win to be perfectly valid and good. He is charming, in an intense way, and quite handsome, though some Earth women might be turned off by his nearly-exact resemblance to his less-sexy Earth counterpart. He will almost always wear his armor and antigravity/force field belt. His resources are limited at the moment, but he will try as soon as possible to procure some high technology to begin rebuilding his empire and its bounty of futuristic and alien science. He will almost certainly hire, brainwash, or otherwise convince some henchmen into joining him. He accepts no one as an equal and will not associate with anyone who is not a subordinate. His Zeta rays work by disintegrating matter and disrupting energy. Zeta rays can best be described as negative energy, a counterpart to antimatter. Channeling too much Zeta energy can tax even Ghandi's body, and he generally limits himself to the slots in the given multipower. He is capable even more powerful manifestations of the Zeta rays, but anything more than the 'omega frequency' listed (actually a toned-down version of the real omega frequency, which is a larger, armor piercing, penetrating, area-effect RKA) will cause him to take body damage, which he is much loathe to do. Higher manifestations of the Zeta power are best left as story elements. Whoo! Did that without consulting the book, so I probably made some mistakes. My request: Someone whose only power is that they are the best actor/actress in the world, and somehow make it playable.

I had meant 'interesting' in the sense of 'cool or unusual' moreso than 'cost-effective', in case I have not made myself clear.

In terms of special effect or point build/design, what is the most interesting power, characteristic, or ability you've ever seen in one of your games? I've heard some really funky ideas, but I'd like to hear more. If the Vanquisher has some elegant way of simulating a magic bullet that does damage based on how impure your heart is, or if Nanoman has some unusual disadvantages on his power to create robots from debris using his nanomachines, or if you have a guy who can secrete a liquid from his skin that absorbs kinetic energy, tell me here.