Rapier

Re: The ThunderCats Project

When I wanted a character that could sense any animal within a few miles of where he was standing' date=' I thought about Mega-scale sense, I was told that he wouldn't be able to sense anything until after the first mile and I should go with Telescopic. Now I'm not sure if that's official or not...[/quote']

 

A mile is only +16 Telescopic (actually it's just about 1.25 miles) which isn't too bad. The problem with MegaScale is that it doesn't reduce very well. With a 2km MegaScale sense, he could sense that 'there is an animal within this 2km radius.' That's not always all that helpful...but might be exactly what you are looking for. MegaScale can be nice for those 'I sense evil approaching' moments. The Telescopic Detect would allow him to determine which hex the creature is in within that 1.25mile radius.

Re: Sensory Input (5e)

I side with Mr. Reasonable on this one - you PAID for the new sense' date=' so why should you not recover points for losing the old sense? If one character has sonar, radar and sight, and the other has sonar and radar but no sight, clearly the first has an advantage and that should be reflected in points. Otherwise, why not just buy 360 degree sight, define it as radar and sonar, and call it a day. You can spend some of the points saved on Flash Defense for the fact that Sight Flash won't affect you, and take a Physical Lim for "hearing and radar flash work like sight flash".[/quote']

 

Because that's not how it worked in 5E. In 5E, the existence of a power that offset the Disadvantage drastically reduced or negated the value of the Disadvantage. In this case, since the new sense power is more powerful than Normal Sight, it doesn't seem to warrant any value at all. This character also now has the added benefit of being totally immune to Sight Flashes. It seems like this deal gets better and better.

 

What? hero fully approves selling back sight rather than taking a Physical Limitation. Well, 6e Hero does - maybe it's time to upgrade.

 

[tongue-in-cheek]But then all the Figured Characteristics go away![/tongue-in-cheek] This is specifically a 6E kind of thing. Which, I guess someone could bring into their 5E game without too much difficulty.

Re: Smart Automata sans Computers

It's no problem at all. It's not too uncommon. Just build the droid as a normal character and purchase their Automaton powers and buy off whatever Characteristics that are inappropriate.

Re: How Much DCV?

Naked Advantages are particularly contra-indicated with MP slots.

Generally, a character cannot purchase a naked Power Advantage or Adder that adds to any slot in a Power Framework.

Now, it does go on into the standard Hero disclaimer that a GM can overrule this and can allow a Naked Advantage on an MP slot if dramatic license, common sense, etc.

Re: Some newbie rules questions

I've been saying that weapons (with a focus) can't be more than doubled. Things like Claws can be more than doubled, but I keep one hairy-eyeball on them.

Re: room filled with water

A Severe Transform can turn something into something else (including air...so I guess you could call that nothing). A Transform will create water. How much water? That depends a lot on what you are Transforming and how much water.

Hero doesn't always handle fractions well. Instead of reducing something to 1/16 we usually handle things by saying -Xm of Running. You can then always Limit it with: 1/16 Running or max of 2". If a normal character in the campaign has 20" of movement, you just purchase the CE with -18". In theory since you would be Limiting ONLY the amount of movement, you would need to purchase a compound power.

Water Filled Room: (Total: 150 Active Cost, 140 Real Cost) Change Environment (-20m of any mode of Movement), Area Of Effect (100m Radius; +1 1/2) (50 Active Points); Leaves Character with 2m of Movement (-1/4) (Real Cost: 40) plus Change Environment (-5 DEX Roll and all Skill Rolls based on DEX, Suffocation), Area Of Effect (100m Radius; +1 1/2) (100 Active Points) (Real Cost: 100)

Re: Rapid Clotting

Healing in both editions (5 and 6) specifically states it will stop Bleeding.

 

Healing 1D6; Only to Stop Bleeding would be the most straightforward build no matter how you hand Bleeding Rules.

That would take an overt act (actually activating the power). If a character was Stunned or unconscious they couldn't activate it. So it would need a Trigger to be safe.

Re: How Much DCV?

Personally, I find most *any* use of a Naked Advantage to be rather munchkinny. Why buy up your Endurance at all or pay for Reduced END on *any* of your powers, when you can just buy 0 END on *all* powers? Basically, to me it gives an overall vibe of "screw the concept, what's the most cost-efficient way to min-max the system?".

 

YMMV, and obviously it does. This is all my opinion, no more or less valid than anyone else's.

While it is possible to go all munchkinny with Naked Advantages, I think it also opens up a HUGE range of possibilities and concepts that were nearly impossible or difficult before. Naked Advantages do require close monitoring and if they were an actual Power would definitely have a Stop Sign on them.

I've used a LOT of Naked Advantages that are extremely appropriate for the character's concept and aren't a bit munchkinny.

Re: How Much DCV?

Sometimes a think that it just has to come down to the GM enforcing a certain amount of evenness in the campaign. In my campaign I didn't let anyone go over 8 DCs of damage (even to the point of artificially lowering the amount of extra DCs in a martial maneuver) except the team brick who gets to have 8 DCs. I've got another character who's DEF is almost twice what I 'allowed' but it's in her MP so if she jacks up her DEF that high, she can't attack. Sometimes it makes no sense, and it's more expensive that it should be (or cheaper).

Sometimes we have to enforce the roles and tropes. I don't believe it is possible to necessarily completely balance everything. As nice as it would be, different powers have different effects and they can interact in ways that can be very effective in some cases.

You are very correct in everything. It IS more effective per point, in many cases, to purchase an AoE Hex for your powers instead of lots of OCV. This is kind of why we get the big bucks to sit behind the screen.

Re: Rapid Clotting

Something was weird about the one in 5E as well. The chance to stop Bleeding was always higher the worse the wound' date=' which never made sense to me. My house rule was that it would drop to the next lower wound level due to the roll rather than stopping entirely.[/quote']

 

Yeah. I don't use the Bleeding rules so never looked at it very closely, but did check 5E and it's the same. I also didn't see anything in the errata. I assume it's a typo and that first line should read 1 - 3 or something. I posted in the Rules Forum, but haven't gotten a response yet. It's the weekend, and I guess Steve does deserve a day off every once in a while!

Re: room filled with water

Personally I'd still (usually) do this using Change Environment' date=' using the CV penalties described for being underwater and using the "1 point of damage" effect as equivalent to having to hold one's breath (or use Life Support). Otherwise, it takes an awfully big Transform to create that much water....[/quote']

 

That's my thought too. The special effect of the power is that the room is full of water. What matters, and what the OP seems to want is the combat effects that lead to this type of SFX. That's Change Environment. You can use CE to reduce movement and impart END expenditures and OCV/DCV penalties.

 

Build the Power as Change Environment and give it the modifiers you would expect it to have.

Re: Sensory Input (5e)

Being Blind is not a Disadvantage if you having another targetting, discriminatory sense that replaces it. Doubly so since the Sonar and Radar senses you've purchased are superior (being 360 degrees) to normal sight.

I also think you've overpriced the size limitation. It's hard to say what it's worth since you don't say how tall they are, but a 1m tall creature only qualifies for a 10 point Disad for size (Infreq, Slight). Size Disads aren't meant to say 'how often are you little' but 'how often does being so little impact what you do?' If you are talking about another race, chances are they have chairs and countertops built according to their size so this would not be much of a limitation at all. It's not like a race of beings that are 3' tall are going to build work surfaces 5' tall.

Other than the Disad issues, it looks good.

Re: How Much XP to Award?

I've also been known to give our skills or even powers instead of XP at the end of the night. If someone has made some spectacular Everyman skill rolls, it's warranted to say "HOLY COW you figured out how it's done!"

You don't ALWAYS have to give rewards in XP. A juicy Contact or Favour (or another Perk) could be just as valuable...and most players don't like to spend points on that stuff anyway! You have to spend points on stuff that goes BOOM, y'know.

6E2, p113: Bleeding Table

If a character has taken less than 5 BODY, they stop bleeding if they roll a 1 on 1d6 (1 in 6 chance). If a character has taken 6 - 10 BODY, they stop bleeding if they roll 2 - 5 on 2d6 (4 in 11 or about 1 in 3). This would mean that larger wounds are more likely to stop bleeding than smaller wounds.

Is the first line in error? Should there be a range to stop bleeding (eg 1 - 3)?

Re: Rapid Clotting

How are you defining 'Bleeding?'

a) Do you mean the bleeding damage that occurs when you are < 0 BODY? I asked a while back and 1 BODY / Turn Regen will never heal someone who is at negative BODY until the bleeding stops.

Do you mean the option Bleeding rules (6E2, p113)?

If you are referring to (a), a Paramedics roll (with it's implied first aid) will stop the loss of BODY from bleeding. If you are referring to (, those rules already specify when bleeding stops (including a method which could easily be described as clotting) including the ability to make a first aid attempt (with a Paramedics roll).

Does Not Bleed is definitely cheaper and simpler a build than the 2 BODY Regen that would be required to stop negative BODY loss. The biggest problem is that there is still a lot of resistance from some quarters for using Automaton powers on Characters (especially ones that aren't built as Automatons). Personally I would lean towards Does Not Bleed (Post Seg-12).

Note: Something looks odd about the Bleeding Chart on 6E, p113. If you've lost < 5 BODY you only stop bleeding on a roll of 1 (1 in 6), yet if you've taken 6 - 10 BODY you stop bleeding on a roll of 2 - 5 (1 in 3). That first entry must be in error.

If a character has performed a half-phase action (eg a half move or a failed Fast Draw to draw a weapon) and attempts to Change Clips but fails his Fast Draw Roll (so that the Clip Change requires a full-phase), what happens?

Does he continue to change clips and his next action he completes the clip change and only has a half phase action remaining?

Re: Armor Wars

How many scientists in the world are capable of designing - not even constructing' date=' just designing on paper - a nuclear weapon? [/quote']

 

Tens, if not hundreds of thousands. Any halfway decent electrical or mechanical engineer, physicist and a fair number of the mathematicians and chemists.

 

Heck, you can get the general concepts and design theory off the Discovery and History Channels (and Wikipedia).

 

The only real obstacle to DIY-nuclear-weapons is the fuel.

Re: TASER in 5ER

No' date=' a realistic TASER is capable of incapacitating a fully grown man with a single zap, leaving him with a reduced will and ability to resist but conscious, able to answer questions and walk with assistance. Locally being on the receiving end of a TASER is part of the police training before one is cleared to carry one. I have yet to have an officer tell me this was a pleasant experience, but I have also yet to have one say they were rendered unconscious by it. To me, this is stunned, which means on the average more than 10 but less than 20 STUN pips getting through on the first shot.[/quote']

 

If a character is only barely Knocked Out (down to -10 STUN), he’s not completely unconscious — in fact, it’s more like he’s deeply Stunned. Depending upon the character and the nature of the attack, he may even be on his feet, wobbly but still standing, as he tries to shake off the effects of the attack. He’s dimly aware of what’s going on around him, but is too woozy and dazed to take any action or maintain any power. He can make a PER Roll to perceive something really important, but otherwise he cannot interact with the world. He can’t move, Dodge, take any Actions, or do anything but take Recoveries.

 

I believe the after-effects of being tased are more sever than modeled with the Stunned game mechanic. I believe a better model for that effect is a reduction to <0 STUN, which also reduces END to 0. I don't foresee anyone jumping up after being tased and immediately running laps.

Re: Entangle That Get's Tougher Over Time

Yeah' date=' I was curious about why HD doesn't let you add DoT to an entangle - I can't find any rule for that.[/quote']

 

DoT = DAMAGE Over Time. Entangles don't do damage.

 

There are rules for multiple Entangles. IIRC every new application of an Entangle adds 1 BODY to the Entangle. How you get to than 'new application' is up to you. You can fire again, add AutoFire or a few other builds to do just that.

Re: Armor Wars

The US Military (along with other country's) is not 'state of the art.' The funding and development processes are arduous, lengthy, problematic and in some ways counterproductive.

My dad was flying remote control airplanes in the early 70s. They started developing drones in the 90s. Do you think it really took 20 years before someone said "hey! that's a great idea! we should do something like that!"

Do some reading on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Heck there is even a movie about it (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144550/). What a mess!

But it's not ALL incompetence. It's part of the nature of the beast. The US Navy has 284 ships. They aren't going to overhaul all 284 every two years because the computers have gotten faster. It's logistically impossible. The testing equipment has to go through to be approved guarantees new developments are usually implemented years behind their development.

If you handed the military designs for an exo-battlesuit ala Iron Man, it wouldn't see action for until probably 2020 (if even then). A small upgrade on a tank (a proven platform) like a weapon redesign is going to be a LOT easier to get incorporated than an entirely new, untested platform. Doctrine and plans, support teams would all have to be developed and included in the Table of Organisation. Then you are going to have to convince the guy in charge of ALL the tanks (who is a probably multi-star general, has lots of political clout and who loves tanks more than his own children) that he is going to have to give up some of his authority to these new battlesuit guys and relegate his precious tanks to a minor role behind the Iron Man Infantry. He is going to kick and scream and do everything in his power to not give up a stitch of his authority.

Developing new technology (like an armoured battlesuit) is the easy part. Getting it deployed to the front lines? Now THAT'S hard!

Re: TASER in 5ER

Unfortunately, that is part of the problem with modeling some real world effects.

A realistic taser is capable of taking down a fully grown man with a single zap (on average and for the most part). This means it's got to deliver about 20 - 25 STUN. I prefer the NND version because I think it's more accurate for the effect. You either have to bite the bullet and drop the rather large amount of points to get the one-hit-taser or use something that might take a couple of blasts before it knocks someone out.

I guess we could also break it down. What is the main effect of a taser? Does it knock someone unconscious? Does it lock up their muscles making them incapable of moving? A DEX Drain might be a better option.

Re: 6E Hexmap?

I have always used a hexmap, since I first started using a battlefield. I prefer hexmaps (as opposed to squaremaps) because of the offset.

Back in high school we never bothered with battlefield prep or design. You just had X number of enemies and you kept attacking one after another until they were dead. Granted this was AD&D so the vast majority of these battles took place in narrow corridors in a dungeon...but we were young and stupid.

Re: Hardened Invisibility versus . . . ?

That's actually a great idea, I think. I like it as a Disad on the Invis, though it might make basic invis too cheap. I'll have to see.

 

I think I'll make the Detect the standard detect with increasing advantages.

 

Thank you, I'll have to stat this out. Much appreciated.

It doesn't have to be a Perk. You can create Custom Powers, Talents, Perks and Skills. Considering the rule of thumb that defenses are cheaper than offenses, each level of Detect Invis might be priced correctly at something near 1/2 the cost of the Invis (12, 14 and 16pts...respectively).

Re: Hardened Invisibility versus . . . ?

I like it as a Disad on the Invis' date=' [/quote']

 

Not to belabour a point, but that isn't a Disadvantage, it's a Limitation. Disadvantages are a < 6E term (called Complications in 6E) to refer to "personal disadvantages, hindrances, and drawbacks a character has to confront during his adventures (6E, p414)." Limitations are applied to a power and make it less effective or less powerful.

Re: "Neat" Pictures

I see France' date=' but I can't see Paris ... [/quote']

 

You saw London? You saw France? oO!