SirWilliam

Re: Guns In The MHI RPG To expand slightly on what Steve wrote, skills are expressed as {number or less}, e.g. 11- is read as {11 or less} which is the standard even odds skill roll. So whatever your skill roll is on your sheet is the number you want to roll on 3d6 or less. There are a metric ton of modifiers that can be applied based on anything you want to name, most importantly GM mood. As a general rule of thumb a 14- is very good, an 8- is pretty bad. Once you get over 14 and under 8 you're really out at the fringes of probability. Basic skill checks are pretty easy, it's when you get into powers and creating stuff from scratch that things get really ....... interesting.

Re: Guns In The MHI RPG FWIW there isn't that much actual performance difference between various and sundry firearms that shoot a given round. For example, think of the thousands of different firearms that shoot the .357 magnum round. The guns may have cosmetic, functional, quality, and an infinite number of other things to differentiate them, but in the end the bullet coming out of the muzzle is still the same caliber and within a small range of variables will perform approximately the same as the round fired out of any other firearm. Now you could give the real low-budget gun a - OCV, and an activation roll, while giving the custom Binford 8000 bonuses, in the end the terminal ballistics are going to be roughly equivalent.

Re: Announcement: The Monster Hunter International RPG! Baen sells e-books in a variety of formats, and I think MHI might be in the free library already. I personally do not prefer e-books, but the convenience of delivery is hard to beat.

:celebrate :celebrate Congratulations to Steve and the crew for landing such an awesome setting and a great author to work with! Congratulations to me (and the rest of the Hero/MHI fans) for being on the receiving end of said book.

I'm currently playing a hero who big and strong, and can fly. Fairly straightforward right? So now I'm thinking an AOE attack would be useful. Something along the lines of the kid hitting the floor in Sky High. Would a HA with Explosion do the trick? The character has a base of 50 Str, plus up to another 35 with limitations and pushing. Here's what I've come up with so far: HA +3 1/2 d6 (To make it fit my EC better) Explosion +1/2 Nonselective target -1/4 HA attack -1/2 Full Phase -1/2 Only when in contact with the ground -1/4 Only in Heroic ID -1/4 Not vs Flying targets -1/4 Does x1.5 Knockback +1/2 Only does Knockdown -1 Now IIRC the GM said the explosion would only apply to the HA attack DC's so in this case it would only carry out to 4 hexes. If this is the case then the target hex (at my base Str) would get 13 1/2d6, and the outer ring would get 11 1/2 d6. Correct? I'm sure there are other ways to do this, so feel free to suggest them.

Re: Changing to Heroic identity Thanks for the reply. All of his powers are "Only in Hero form -1/4", and my understanding is that this limitation means that he can't change instantly. (Sorry I didn't specify that, I'm running on about 3-4 hours sleep) What my vision of the special effect is he summons the power of his patron. No Focii used, or anything like that, just a mental call, and I assume the change would take something like a half or a full phase. He has a secret ID so he can't just go changing willy-nilly. Thanks!

Ok I have another question about my game for tomorrow. My hero in normal form is "Joe Schmoe", but when he is in hero for he's ... significantly different (6'11" 350lbs). Now do I need to buy something that allows him to change, or is that an assumed ability? Thanks!

Re: Total lack of ideas, clock is ticking down Great list of ideas guys. I went with something basic. His definining characteristic is he's got almost unlimited strength, but the more he pushes his limits the more it costs. I like the idea of tossing cars around like marbles and I've never played anyone this strong before. Should be interesting.

A friend of mine asked me a couple of weeks ago to play Champs. I was all set to play because I haven't done any for months. Now fast forward a week and a half and I've been totally unable to come up with a hero I want to play. My first thought was the crippled mentalist, till I realized it was Professor X. Then I thought I'd remake an old favorite (combat monster extraordinaire) but I've been there, done that, so what's the point. So I'm calling out for ideas! I have until Friday evening to have a working character. Points: 200 base, 150 in disads. No VPP's, no shape shifters. Go crazy, my creativity has been sapped by my job, and I need help.

Re: Power idea - flashing sword Knowing how to do something and being able to do it successfully every time you want to do it are two entirely different things. For an example, an Olympic grade gymnast, figure skater, skier, etc are widely acknowledged to be experts in their sport. Yet every competition you'll see at least one athlete have a severe error in their performance. Is it that they didn't know what they were doing? No, they have probably done that move a thousand times, but something wasn't right "this time" and they didn't do it successfully. As far as why I picked the PS instead of something else, well the answer to that lies in this thread, which inspired me to write up this power. http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43940 Actually the cost at this point is so low that a single -1/4 limitation is the difference between 1.333, and 1.42 points, which means it's effectively not lowering the price. If you don't like it, then by all means don't use it. I don't know if I'll get permission to use it either, but at least a couple people like the idea, so I'll count this thread worth creating. As far as justification goes the only justification I need is "I like it".

Re: Power idea - flashing sword I'm glad you like it. Now I'm glad I posted it.

Re: Power idea - flashing sword Well annoying or not it's there because it makes sense. Not even Miyamoto Musashi would be able to reflect light into his opponents eyes any time he wanted to. So the roll (for my use) stays to reflect having to maneuver things just "so" such that everything comes together to blind his oppponent. As far as the 1d6 vs 2d6, well with normal damage a single d6 gives between 0 and 2 body, so potentially an opponent could be flashed for 2 segments which is the in-game equivalent of 2 seconds. I think that's plenty. Using it will require me to hold an action until right before my next action (phase 9 held until 12 is good as it doesn't allow a lower-speed opponent an action before I go again) but again, in my mind that emulates the skill of the swordmaster dictating the fight on his terms. Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully I'll get to use this.

Re: Power idea - flashing sword

This idea came to me as a "trick" that a highly skilled swordsman or duelist might know. The SFX is the swordsman reflects light from his sword into the eyes of his opponent blinding him, and gaining a momentary advantage. Sword flash - 1d6 Flash 5 points active Limitations: OAF - highly polished sword -1 RSR -1/4 (Pick appropriate skill, IMO PS: Swordmaster) (If not a background skill up limitation to -1/2) Limited: Only in bright sunlight or with similar light source. Not on overcast days, dawn, or twilight. -1 No Range -1/2 Total cost: 1 point Now with only 1d6 you're not going to flash anyone for more than 2 segments, so this would be best used by holding your action until just before your next action, then flash your opponent, then immediately attack. At the very minimum you're going to get a -1 to their DCV, at best they'll be at 1/2 DCV. If anyone sees any reason this wouldn't work, please let me know.

Re: The Professions of Arms I'm not sure I could really add much to what you've already given, but here are a few things that I could see a swordmaster using his PS for: Teaching: A swordmaster is a skilled instructor in his art form. Training with him allows other characters to gain skill levels (not for free, but to explain why they got better). Likewise they could teach martial maneuvers. A successful skill roll could cut down the in-game time needed for the students to pick up these skills. Duels/matches: A PS skill roll would allow you to know the customs of dueling for an area. Perhaps in one culture you're allowed to use kicks, punches, and there is an unlimited fighting area. In another they use a platform and anything besides a sword strike is a foul. Like your previous example the PS would allow the character to choose the most advantageous time of day, and circumstances to duel. Weapons: A PS roll would allow the character to determine the quality of a blade, where it was made, etc, perhaps as a complementary roll to KS: swords. Would also be able to know what it's good for, and what it's weaknesses are. Other fighters: The PS would allow the character to know about the fighter he's facing by how he wears and holds his sword, how he moves, and his stance. Fighting: The PS could act as a complementary roll to resist disarms, and binds. Could also allow him a chance to resist or avoid "special" tricks. Just some ideas.

Re: The Professions of Arms I liked this idea/writeup a lot. I've been thinking of doing a swordmaster type hero and this would make him a lot more interesting.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... Well I see the thread has exploded somewhat since I last posted, and no I haven't read even half of them that have been added. As I said I kicked back and waited for a response to the e-mail I sent. Before I get to the results of the e-mail, there seems to be almost an assumption of malice on my part. I'm not that kind of guy, and the person in question is the son of a very good friend of mine although I don't know him as well as I do her. There's no way I would screw with him for fun. Now, I've gotten an e-mail back from him and he explained his views and for his part he's sorry he flew off the handle. I think we've agreed to rewind to before the part where the wheels came off and go from there. I think I'll leave this at that rather than include the contents of the exchange because I don't think it would do any good. I'm almost as surprised by some of the comments in this thread as I was by the incident. For those of you that made constructive suggestions, you have my thanks. For those of you who think I'm a terrible person and they are fortunate not to know me, well everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I have to say I've rarely been judged more harshly with regards to my personal character on less grounds than in this thread. JMO but if I was really the kind of person I was being judged to be, I would not have started this thread as a question of what went wrong, instead I would have bragged about how I screwed over the new guy. Regardless, you may carry on with other threads, and for my part I shall be careful of what I post and always wear my flame-retardent undies.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... Well you're certainly entitled to your opinion. You're right in one aspect though. I don't care about my PC's at least not in the sense that I'm emotionally attached to them. I care that their backstory is well developed, I care that they are behaviorly and conceptually consistent. But being emotionally attached to them? No, I reserve that for things that matter. A PC is like a shirt that I put on for the gaming session. If the shirt gets ruined I get a new one. I don't mourn the old one. I'll grant you that I used to "care" more, but since getting married and having kids nothing that happens "in game" really has much impact on me. I don't think that makes me a bad role-player, but maybe it does by your standards. Regardless that's not really pertinent to the conversation. FWIW I think incrdbl had it right when he said this:

Re: Player problem - opinions .... Just so we're clear on a couple of points: #1 I was not "hazing" him by any stretch of the imagination. I was playing in-character, and I've related about 20 minutes of a 4+ hour session. So a lot of this lacks context. #2 If I thought any of your in-character rationalizations had crossed his mind for even a second, I would actually be impressed with his RP'ing. Having been there and seen it happen I can tell you that IMO it had nothing to do with RP'ing. I work with one of his family members (actually Ran and I both do) and she'll be the first one to say he's got a short fuse and a bad temper. I guess I never realized how short and how bad until yesterday. #3 IMO, no Paladin, would cut down an unarmed person no matter what they had done. That's what that Code of Honor (Total) is all about. (Please note that the vow that you've been hotly debating was a moderate) Now at this point I'm just kick back and see what he has to say in response to my e-mail.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... Speaking only as a GM, the Paladin was not being played in character. * The paladin's player was acting on information the paladin had no way of knowing. That is the definition of "out of character". It was obvious that the player was not able to separate what "he" knew and what his character "knew". * The paladin was aligned with the God of GOOD. Which involves things like mercy, forgiveness and helping people. Murdering an unarmed man would go just a bit counter to those tenets no matter what he did. * The paladin certainly could have opted to leave the party and retire to his church. That would have been more "in character" than retreating to the gym for a late night workout. Having been at more than one party, someone really seeking to be alone doesn't do so by finding a private room at the party. I think the biggest problem is that we were expecting him to be a more experienced player than he is. He told us that he'd RPG'ed before and I took it at that. I think that may have been more along the lines of Bob and Dave from KoDT than RP'ing because he surely didn't seem be much into his "role". Honestly I don't really care if my character lives or dies. There's an infinite number of characters out there but from a player dynamic this is concerning to me. Just wanted to get that out there that I'm not upset or anything about what happened to my character. And this is JMO, but nothing that happens around a gaming table is even remotely close to rape. That particular violation maybe role-played, but not in any game I'll be involved in past the first suggestion that it's being considered. Seduction is about temptation. Sometimes you succumb to temptation and when you do it's your responsibility, not the person who tempted you. It's like when someone offers you a slice of cake when you're on a diet. If you eat the cake it's your responsibility. Was the person wrong for offering it? Probably, but you can't blame them if you ate it willingly. Carrying out the analogy rape would be like holding someone down and forcefeeding them or threatening them if they don't eat it. Actual rape involves removing consent. Yes the dice removed the player's power of consent, but if there was never any chance for something negative to happen to characters what would be the point of playing? We could just say "We win" and that would be the end of it. For the record this will be the only reply I make to this part of the discussion. Should the GM have offered him an "out" via RP'ing? I think so, and quite frankly I was surprised when he said that Thrudd succumbed that easily. I certainly would have if I'd been GM'ing, but each GM has his own style and interpretation of the rules, and this was the first session. Someone asked if I would have done the same thing if it had been a woman paladin. Honestly, I probably would have, only I would have been the one trying to seduce her. That would have been totally in keeping with his character. Anyway I have written an e-mail to all parties involved and have apologized for upsetting him if that was the source of the incident. If, by some twisted logic, he thought that that was appropriate behavior then we'll have to educate him. I think it's possible his gaming experience with MMORPG's (WoW and DDO) may be doing him a disservice in the much looser world of regular RPG's. Personally I think he just didn't really want to play any more, and chose this as his "out" rather than just say so. If so, we'll soldier on without him.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... He had left the party and headed back to the Wizards tower. My character had kept him out all night the night before and he pleaded fatigue. His player was sitting there with a look on his face that said "What the H$$$?" With regards to cues, it was obvious Thrudd wasn't happy about the woman coming on to him, but his reaction certainly came as a surprise.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... Ok, I'll admit I I had not considered some of these points. Now for some more info. #1 The vow wasn't part of his Paladin package and had no bearing upon whether or not he had his powers. It was also a Moderate. I know he didn't think he had lost his powers because he wanted to roll for them when he was chasing me and the GM pointed out that I wasn't an "evil creature". #2 The precise mechanism of the seduction involved a seduction roll and an ego roll to resist. Still I agree that using a social skill on a PC should be used with care. #3 The woman bit was done in-character. My character is a playboy (well actually he's a spy, but he acts like a playboy) and while he's heard of vows of chastity he can't quite believe they're real. #4 Taken in the context of the game, our characters have known each other for years. My intent was to set up our characters as kind of a balance to each other where he's the serious warrior and I'm the flighty one. A little good-natured banter always makes things more fun. Honestly I've known Thrudd as an acquaintance for quite a while and if I thought he wouldn't have taken this well I wouldn't have done it. I hardly "rode his @@@" all game session. I did my ventriloquism joke a couple (2) times and quit because a joke that's over used quickly becomes unfunny. I'm not sure about the views that the GM and I set this up to have fun at Thrudd's expense. Neither the GM nor I have that kind of time (both married with kids), and honestly neither one of us are the kind of people that would do that. Well anyway this thread has been helpful. I'll see if I can find out what the problem was and see if we can solve it.

As I write this I admit I'm at a loss of what to do about an incident during tonight's gaming session. So I thought I'd post it and maybe get shown the error of my ways, or maybe get some suggestions on what to do now. By way of background I've been gaming fairly regularly for about 16 years. I've played about every game that's come down the pike and read a few that never made it to the pike. I've been playing hero system since 1992 and it's been my preferred system for much of that time. Unfortunately I haven't gotten to PLAY in a campaign since I don't know when. I've always been running the action. So a few weeks ago I tell a friend who plays with me that I've got nothing for the future Champs game. Nothing in the hopper that I think is worth gaming and ask him to run something. He agrees and I'm all stoked to get to play something. In our Champs campaign it was just me as GM and Jobuna and Ran (names changed to protect the innocent) as players. Jobuna is taking over GM'ing and Ran and I are playing and Ran suggests inviting a mutual acquaintance. I agree because he's an alright guy if a little odd at times. So we make up characters and we're off. Tonight was our first night gaming. I'm playing a scoundrel type playboy who's about as non-combat oriented as you would find. Literally I have no CSL's and a Dex of only 16. My max OCV or DCV is 8. The new guy, who I will call Thrudd, is playing a Paladin to the god of Good. Outside of the mission he spends a lot of time during the first session praying, studying his bible, etc. I spend a lot of time carousing and picking up women, even during the mission. About what you'd expect. I have some fun with him with my ventriloquism skill by making it appear he had flatulence, but other than that I don't go out of my way to annoy him. Note that according to the GM we've known each other for years and are friends. So after a successful mission I decide I to host a party just myself, my compatriots, and some friends. I hire some female entertainment (I have a rep as a womanizer) and everyone is having a good time. Except for Thrudd the Paladin. In addition to his vow of chastity (disad) he's apparently also taken a vow of temperance because he won't drink. So rather than leave or anything like that he avails himself of my personal gym. I suggest to one of the ladies that she should go make sure he isn't lonely. The GM rolls Seduction, and the Paladin just lapsed his vow. Now I, and the GM don't really consider this any big deal. Maybe some roleplaying of penance, etc, and he's back to normal. No mechanical repercussions at all. Now Thrudd decides that I'm responsible (even though the girl in question denied my involvement [bless her] and he was no where around when I made my suggestion) and charges up to my bedroom and attacks me. Now Mr. Thrudd the Paladin is speed 4, Dex 20 with +3 CSL's and a magic sword that does 2d6 HKA, AP, and some other stuff. I managed to survive 1 whole turn by dodging, running, etc. If I had made my block roll I might have survived to phase 3 of the 2nd turn. As it was he skewered me and put me at -4 body (my hero had 8 body). He then removes his breastplate and commits suicide. At that point the GM and I were somewhat stunned and the GM called it because we only had 15 minutes left until we were supposed to quit anyway. So is it me or was that reaction completely over the top? In 16 years of gaming I've never been as stunned by an incident as I am tonight. The GM is considering just not inviting him back because he hates meta-gamers who act on what they know, not on what their PC's know. I don't know what to think. I almost wonder if he was just bored and didn't want to play. I just don't understand. Anyway, let's hear some feedback. Thanks.

Re: I'm in the market for a house.... Thanks for the replies guys. It would be nice if I didn't have to write it up or pay points, but I'm not too worried about the points. With a little work you can literally have a base for free with the various disads available. The initial writeup I put 1 CP into. I'm going to revise it a bit before Saturday, but I don't really expect that it's going to be a major point in the campaign.

Re: I'm in the market for a house....