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Rapier

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Posts posted by Rapier

  3. Nanobots & Zombies

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Nanobots & Zombies

     

    This is a plot device. I don't think you should spend time bothering to write up the description, let alone making ALL those rolls and checking defenses.

     

    Simply say that either every corpse gets animated, or a corpse gets animated on a roll of 11-. It will save you a great deal of time and I think you will be happier this way.

     

    However, if you are bound and determined...this might be a good use for DoT. Or you could go Constant Uncontrolled.

  4. Proper Whip Build in 6e

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Proper Whip Build in 6e

     

    Don't know. I've got the same thing:

     

    Whip: (Total: 21 Active Cost, 11 Real Cost) RKA 1/2d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum 4-8 (STR Min. Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -3/4), Real Weapon (-1/4) (Real Cost: 5) plus Reach 6m (6 Active Points) (Real Cost: 6)

     

    21 Total Active

    11 Total Real.

     

    Maybe Steve can't read his own writing? :)

     

    If this is for a SuperHeroic campaign, the 21 Active should be well under any campaign limits so should pose no problems. The Real Cost is the same, so just leave it as you built it.

     

    If this is for a Heroic campaign, heroes at the most use Resource Points (if anything) and again, those are based off the Real Cost.

     

    As long as the Real Cost is the same and the Active Points aren't prohibitive for your campaign limits (and you know how it works), I wouldn't sweat the difference.

  5. Dodging Fireballs

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: Dodging Fireballs

     

    I don't think I would ever allow a +1 DCV Only vs AoE. It just makes no sense to me.

     

    The whole concept of AoE is that everyone within the Area gets hit (except for Selective AoE). The attacks FILLS that area. If you are in that area you get hit. The only way to avoid the attack is Desol (which kind of makes you not be in the same plane of existence as the attack) or NOT being in the Area. So +1 DCV would have absolutely no effect.

     

    Dive for Cover is the maneuver designed to escape an AoE.

     

    I would be ok with Damage Redux, Resistant Protection and Damage Negation if the attack had the right SFX and Limitations. In this case, an AntiMagic Shell or Magical Grounding would make effective SFXs for all those builds. In these cases, they would be good for all magical attacks and not just a Fireball.

  6. PSL Clarification

    in HERO System 6th Edition Rules Questions

    Posted

    Steve,

     

    I'm doing a lot of PSL stuff today (obviously 8P). I'm slightly confused by a bit of the text (6E1, p84).

     

    PSLs can only be purchased to offset a single OCV (or DCV) penalty, however the text says "a character can change how his OPSLs are assigned as a Zero Phase Action."

     

    If a character can only purchase a PSL for a single OCV or DCV penalty, what is there to assign?

     

    Thanks again!

  7. Looking at characters in Champions 6E

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: Looking at characters in Champions 6E

     

    I don't allow anyone to sell OMCV below the base of 3, under the principle that a Limitation that does not limit is not worth points. In this case, selling OMCV below 3 when you have no mental powers has absolutely no effect on your character...so is not worth any points.

  8. Looking at characters in Champions 6E

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: Looking at characters in Champions 6E

     

    I've done this, when you are converting characters over it's easy to just match the old Characteristics to the new. I had a bunch of characters with no mental powers and OMCVs of 5 - 7.

     

    I would say that it's primarily a conversion error.

  9. Resistant Defenses

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Resistant Defenses

     

    A better question is why we kept a Resistant Protection power (Armor; Foce Field if it costs END; what have you) when this could have simply been an example of Characteristics as a Power.

     

    I would imagine for Baby Steps. We've become accustomed to FF and Armour and Resistant Defense. They've been combined into a single power.

     

    I should point out that Resistant Protection is a one-stop-shopping for defenses that will allow you to purchase PD, ED, Mental, Power and Flash defense. All in one place.

     

    So I guess simplicity and brevity?

  10. Is DOT overpriced

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: Is DOT overpriced

     

    I'll confess to some disappointment that most published material' date=' especially characters and power writeups, under 6e to date seem to be demonstrations of how well 6e can simulate exactly what we had in 5e, rather than showing the kind of significant improvements that would indicate a new edition was worthwhile. Unfortunately, the more "just like 5e but with slightly different costs and an occasional change in build" characters published, the less likely there will be any real change to the standard character builds.[/quote']

     

    I've noticed that also. I'm also, to a certain extent, guilty of it myself. I'm getting better, but old habits die hard. I built a Constant, Uncontrolled attack the other day and only a day or two later did I jump up and shout "OMG I COULD HAVE USED DoT!" It takes some getting used to, and I would like to think it will get better in the near future (if it hasn't already).

     

    One thing I would note is that most comments seem to assume an active point limit. I'm not sure whether this ever went on record on the Boards, but SETAC brought up active point issues a time or two, and Steve was pretty adamant that AP caps are an optional rule at best, and the system would not be designed around optional rules/AP caps. As such, assuming the AP always stays the same is an assumption not made within the design of the system, so the possibility of a rule failing when AP caps are imposed is something that the designer appears not to have been overly worried about.

     

    For myself, I prefer AP guildelines. In a game where 12 DC attacks are the norm, I might well be OK with a DoT power having recurring 10d6 damage, or even recurring 12d6 damage. But then, bending the AP guidelines to achieve an effect which is not overpowered has never bothered me much, whereas some GM's/groups are much more struct about AP maxima.

     

    I feel the same. I've got some campaign guidelines and ask that anyone violating those guidelines discuss it with me and I get final approval. I don't think I would have a problem with a straight up 10 DC DoT attack in a 12 DC game. The real stumbling block is the MP crowd. MPs are still very prevalent and the character has to decide if they want to pony up the points to buy the DoT straight out or increase the Reserve so it'll fit. It's a tough decision.

  11. PSL Categories

    in HERO System 6th Edition Rules Questions

    Posted

    Steve,

     

    I'm having a bit of a problem reconciling in my mind what qualifies for a PSL as opposed to what requires a CSL.

     

    I understand that natural modifers on a maneuver (eg Haymaker DCV Mod, MoveThru OCV Mod) are ineligible for PSLs, but is the list of common PSLs (Range, Hit Locs and Throwing) exhaustive?

     

    Smaller than man sized targets apply an OCV penalty (6E2, p51: "Target Size"). Would this be a likely candidate for a PSL?

  13. Cutting the Drama Out of Character Creation

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Cutting the Drama Out of Character Creation

     

    Player death should not be a common occurrence, IMO, in ANY game. Players (myself very much included) get rather attached to their characters and it can be fairly traumatic event when they die.

     

    My first question would be what kind of campaign you are running? Heroic? Superheroic? Realistic? Black-and-white? Gritty and grey? Four colour?

     

    My second question is what kind of AP ranges do the characters have, and what are their average DEF?

     

    Thirdly, how do the opponents stack up against the players in number and power?

     

    Have you considered using some of the generation template charts in Champions?

     

    What about using some of the pre-generated powers in Champions Powers?

     

    Did you know that you can create pre-generated Package Deal for certain occupations (eg Cop, Marine, School Teacher)?

     

    CharGen is always going to take a while. It's the most time consuming aspect of Hero. Do you use Hero Designer? HD has cut down my CharGen time by a factor of 8 (at least). It's well worth the cost.

  16. I want to be legal, second opinion?

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: I want to be legal, second opinion?

     

    Hugh's response was a great deal of merit, but I figured I would take a look anyway.

     

    Firstly, I'm assuming simply from your Regen build that you are using 5E? It's important when asking any kind of design/build questions these days that you include what version of the game you are using.

     

    11 Regeneration: Healing 1 BODY' date=' Can Heal Limbs, Inherent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (34 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Turn (Post-Segment 12) (-1 1/4), Self Only (-1/2), Visible (-1/4) 0[/quote']

     

    I wouldn't approve Inherent. Inherent is an odd duck. You see it in strange places, most commonly Extra Limbs. Adding Inherent means that there is no way, as a GM, that I can turn off your Regen. There may be times when, for the purpose of the story, that is important. I also think that Drain/Suppress of Regen is going to be so incredibly, crazily rare that I don't feel you should waste the points on the Advantage. However, that is up to your GM.

     

    Visible as an absolute, flat-out 'no.' Glowey veins don't count for the extra Limitation.

     

    5 Healing 1 BODY, Resurrection (30 Active Points); Extra Time (5 Minutes, Character May Take No Other Actions, -2 1/4), Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Minute (Character May Take No Other Actions; -1 3/4), Self Only (-1/2), Resurrection Only (-1/2), Linked (Regeneration; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; Lesser Power can only be used when character uses greater Power at full value; -1/2) 3

     

    Hugh is dead on with 'Character May Take No Other Actions.' The character is dead. I would certainly hope he is not taking any other actions. Since he is dead, he CANNOT. Any Limitation that does not limit the Power is worth no points. Extra time was taken twice. You seem to be trying to rebuild Regen into the Resurrection and then take a Limitation for Only Resurrection. The Linked is a no-go out of the gate.

     

    Most importantly though, if I tell the players that they have a 50 AP limit on their powers and a player brings me a character that has what amounts to one power broken out into two builds just to get around that limit...I am going to be a very unhappy GM. You should build the Regen w/ Resurrection and send it to your GM. Tell him that while you understand that there is a 50 AP limit, you couldn't get Regen under that limit. Ask him if you can have an exception or if he has another build that might do the same thing (and be under the limit).

     

    Do NOT bring a character to your GM trying to do an end-run around the campaign limits. It doesn't send a good message, nor does it affirm your intent to play fairly.

     

    20 Body Modification: Succor Str, Con, Dex, Body, Spd, Recovery, endurance, stun 3d6 (standard effect: 9 points) (Custom Adder), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), all [special effect] powers simultaneously (+2) (55 Active Points); Self Only (-1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (Can only have 6 activations, active at once; -1/2), Visible (-1/4), Physical Manifestation (-1/4), Linked (Regeneration; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; Lesser Power can only be used when character uses greater Power at full value; -1/4) 2

     

    Ug. You are using standard effect (which is handy with Adjustment Powers). However, .9 SPD = 0. There are no partial points of SPD so 9 pts added to your SPD will do nothing. Only 6 Activations at once on a power build with All Powers Simultaneously is not a Limitation at all, let alone one worth -1/2. Visible, again, has to go. Physical Manifestation is invalid. Physical Manifestation is, well, a physical manifestation. There is something about the power that is physically present and the power can be turned off by someone acting against the manifestation. This Limitation is usually applied to things like Wings and Ice Slides. To stop the flight you can tie up the wings. To stop an ice slide, you can attack the slide and break it. I cannot imagine anything that would allow Physical Manifestation of ANY characteristic (except possibly STR). Linked is invalid.

     

    2 Strengthen skin: Damage Resistance (5 PD/5 ED) (5 Active Points); Linked (Regeneration; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; Lesser Power can only be used when character uses greater Power at full value; -1/2), Nonpersistent (-1/4), Visible (-1/4), Physical Manifestation (-1/4) 0

     

    As above, Linked is out. Visible is out. Physical Manifestation is out. The 'hardening of the skin' is SFX and is not worth Limitation points.

     

    1 Nightsight: Nightvision (5 Active Points); Extra Time (5 Minutes, Only to Activate, -1), Linked (Regeneration; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; Lesser Power can only be used when character uses greater Power at full value; -1/2), Visible (-1/4), Nonpersistent (-1/4), Physical Manifestation (-1/4) 0

     

    Linked is out. Visible means that a power is detectable by three sense groups. Glowing eyes is one sense group. Visible is invalid, as is Physical Manifestation.

     

    3 Life Support (Longevity: Immortal) (5 Active Points); Linked (Regeneration; Lesser Power can only be used when character uses greater Power at full value; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/2) 0

     

    Linked is only a Limitation when it limits the power. If you have a power that is always on (like Regen), linking something to it is not worth points. I would also STRONGLY, STRONGLY urge any player to not limit the Immortality. I had a player now who is a 4000 year old Immortal mummy. If his Immortality gets turn off for some reason, he will suddenly be 4000 years old...and very dead.

     

    1 Lengthen limbs: Stretching 1", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (7 Active Points); OAF Bulky (Requires heavy weapon; -1 1/2), Linked (Body Modification; Lesser Power can only be used when character uses greater Power at full value; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/2), Instant (-1/2), Only To Cause Damage (-1/2), Limited Body Parts (Arms and legs.; -1/4), no Noncombat Stretching (-1/4) 0

     

    1" of Stretching really isn't a whole lot. It's roughly in that 'why bother' category. A Bulky OAF means that you have to lug around some kind of huge object (placing you at 1/2 DCV IIRC). Actually, this power is built so poorly that it should be scrapped entirely. It appears that your intent is to rubberband yourself a bit beyond normal reach to do some damage. Purchase an EB with a heavily limited Range. If you intent is only to do damage, then start your build with a power that does damage.

     

    In 6E there is a version of Stretching called Reach. That is what you are looking for.

     

    There is no easy way to say this, but you're a Munchkin. Now, that's not as bad as it sounds. We've all been there. Especially in the early years. I was a Munchkin, but now I'm better.

     

    You seem to be desperate to tack on every Limitation you can find to bring down the cost of the powers. Like Hugh, I get suspicious when I see power builds that cover more than 2 lines.

     

    You are trying to Link everything to a power that is always on (and with Inherent, unable to be shut off). A Limitation that does not limit the power is worth no points.

     

    You are trying to double dip using Visible and Physical Manifestation. None of these powers would qualify for either Limitation, as described.

     

    Some of these Powers could benefit from being inside an Elemental Control, since it seems you are trying to give them a single, unified special effect. But Powers in an EC need to cost END.

     

    I think you are trying to hard, especially since you are knocking yourself out to so heavily Limit a power...and are only saving yourself a handful of points. Step back and simplify.

  17. Campaign Building Blocks: General Musings

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: Campaign Building Blocks: General Musings

     

    I started with a rough idea about the United States. I've really liked Mel Odom's breakdown of the US in FREELancers. I borrowed the concept of the US breaking up into member states similar to how the EU is organised. I then broke out the country in some member states and brainstormed an idea about how what I wanted would come to happen.

     

    Once I started describing (in broad strokes) how people perceived the member states, I was off and running with ideas. I began to think about what kind of fantastic creatures I could populate the world with, and figured a way to work that into the settings.

     

    Then I realised that now that I've got this foundation a lot of the things (like magic) start to fall into place. I didn't really have to try and decide how magic was going to work in the setting as I just had to realise that I had already worked it out in my head. It's hard to describe but filling in some of the foundation pieces led me to a cohesive world theory that included things like magic.

     

    I've also found that sometimes it helps to take a break and forget about it for a while. Come back and read through everything. Sometimes it sparks new ideas or changes in how things work.

  18. Sx help: Name that pistol!

    in Dark Champions

    Posted

    Re: Sx help: Name that pistol!

     

    Sometimes I wonder about that. Realize the system is about genre conventions and drama trumps realism' date=' but on a 2d6 RKA you only have a 7/36 chance to roll 10 BODY or more. Shouldn't a single funshot kill Joe Normal more than 19% of the time?[/quote']

     

    In a heroic campaign, Hit Locations are not unusual and Head/Vitals hits are x2 BODY. Also remember that your 'average joe' only has 8 BODY to being with. There are also the bleeding rules to consider.

     

    You are correct in that most handguns aren't going to land you in an insta-kill situation, with our default ruleset, but there are optional rules that provide a great deal more realism that can do that job.

  20. "Neat" Pictures

    in Non-Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    Re: "Neat" Pictures

     

     

    It's strange how similar public transportation facilities appear. The tower shot in that one pic looks JUST like the blue-line CTA stop at Harlem here near Chicago. The platform pics look familiar also. I guess there is only so much differentiation you can expect, but I still find it startling.

  22. Is DOT overpriced

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: Is DOT overpriced

     

    Hmmm. I see what you are saying. But isn't that true of most 'not-directly-effecting-defenses' advantages?

     

    If you've got a 60AP limit, adding Extended Range or Continuous (etc) forces you to decrease the DCs in the attack to account for the Advantage. If the average character is designed to withstand a 12DC Blast, an 8d6 attack won't normally do much, if anything.

     

    For 60pts, you can have:

    - 12d6 Blast

    - 6d6 Blast, Constant, Uncontrolled

    - 8d6 Autofire

     

    In a campaign where characters are designed to be standing up to the 12d6 Blast, is the 6d6 (Constant, Uncontrolled) going to have much of any effect at all?

     

    DoT is pretty powerful at the crazy expensive level. A Constant attack will only activate on the character's SPD. DoT allows it to tick on every single phase. That's a pretty beefy effect.

     

    While I can understand the impression that comparing a DoT attack to a regular attack, puts the DoT attack in a 'too expensive for the effort' box...that is true of 90% of the Advantages (except AP, Penetrating). I don't really see that DoT is much of any different from the rest and believe it is appropriately priced.

  24. Impact of Multiple Attacks

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Impact of Multiple Attacks

     

    Thanks for the responses - that all sounds sensible. I guess situations where there's a large disparity between OCV and DCV will be where it turns up most' date=' as suggested. Hmm. I might still try a couple of test combats. Any excuse... [/quote']

     

    That's very true. Against markedly lesser opponents where the penalties for maneuvers won't have such a large impact, you can see quite a bit of extra fanciness.

     

    Of course, we see that regularly too. What happens when an opponent is Entangled (and 0 DCV)? Everyone blasts him!

     

    At the same time, against a target with a much higher SPD, you will almost never see someone Haymaker.

  25. Impact of Multiple Attacks

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Re: Impact of Multiple Attacks

     

    We've rarely used any of the multiple-attack maneuvers. In most cases, the penalties (and END Cost) are prohibitive enough that you're not going to be throwing them out every phase.

     

    About the only difference I could foresee is the amount of damage per phase increasing and dropping the opponents a bit faster.

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