TrickstaPriest

Hm. What's Paulaner like? (Get some rest, man)

Oh yes. I'm sure it was the Russian government. I'm more cautioning against the idea that the technology was all that insurmountable to begin with. I'm still in disbelief at how many people couldn't believe an insecure email server was used by Hillary Clinton. (pardon my edit, I am sick and lacking of sleep ) "Okay and what else is new?"

I would have to buy alcohol more regularly to have a drinking problem. My laziness wins out again! A hack like that could be accomplished by many different parties, from what I saw going out at the time the emails were being leaked. Email break-ins aren't usually sophisticated... but I have no clue what the DNC was doing to manage their messaging system. Many are poorly maintained and filled with vulnerabilities. Of course... a state sponsor certainly makes it easier and more affordable, and my money would be on Russia if I had to choose.

I snuck that 'n' in, indeed. C'est la vie.

I must bow to the Master, good Simon.

I was going to do something tonight, and then I found this thread and forgot what I was doing with my life. I have consumed more alcohol this year than the rest of my life put together, I am pretty sure. Then again I only recently just took up blue moon and Heffenweizen.

Had an organization group I made that was partly mystic, but with a VIPER style organization system: the "Qin". Far east style martial arts villains Lots of trained humans, each run by different 'branches' perfecting their art in secret and trying to take over societies and influence the world. So agents with fighting training, wuxia-ish heavy agents, and mystics and supers as the eastern-styled occultists and 'true talent'. Goals of each branch 'House' or leaf depended on whoever was the head of it, with plenty of backstabbery in advancement. They even had a 'modern techniques' offshoot that was trying to 'advance humanity's potential' through cybernetics...

At the very least, powers like that would be interesting things to 'stretch out'. And more to the point, I view this character as using much more powerful talents outside of combat than out. She feels like a character that develops more around social and internal struggles than in battles (unless those involve crossing internal barriers as well...).

I foresee a lot of defenses. >_> I have mixed feelings about telepathy "what would this person say if I asked them this question?"... I'll probably just junk some of the precog ideas that are too complicated, but the basic character is pretty simple. Skill Levels, martial arts, maybe some defenses that can be triggered/shared? Still, I am toying around with more ways to build precognition that 'learns' stuff. Clairvoyance "if I walked down this hallway?", other miscellaneous stuff like that...

Windows 10 is good, my issue has been more with Lenovo... put in a new drive, but you can't actually create a new instance of the recovery software on a new drive. Arrgh. Overall 10 has been good except for a few annoying things. Doing a clean install of 10 was mostly a big issue after the fact because of my laptop

Had a strange urge to make a character that I've spent far too much time thinking about lately! A teen heroine with (what is essentially) advanced precognition. She has a cocky personality when on the go, brooding and/or fragile when things are bad. Her archetype is a martial artist. She fights with Escrima sticks and wears a cape/cloak and dark (purple?) spandex, lurking in the darkness to beat up bad guys. Of course she has the usual array of teenage angsts plus those that come with mysterious backstories and dark secrets. (What? Anyone with a talent in time needs - at the very least - a closet full of secrets... a wit for mysterious one-liners... and of course a snappy tailor). Whilst I dig around for pictures and work on installing Windows 10... It is time for ideas! I am contemplating ideas for good Precog effects that dig up knowledge. Clairvoyance ("what would I see if I went in that house?"), Rapid Sight ("what would I learn if I read that book?"). Telepathy makes me raise an eyebrow, but mostly because I loathe Hero mental powers >_> What kind of precognitive effects would you come up with? I see danger sense, precog, skill levels as a general 'all-around advantages'...

Re: Hero Central Down for?? Thank you for your hard work, and good luck Dan.

Re: Hero Central Down for?? Good luck Dan...

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Tom did a great initial start on Solar Knight, but I wanted to add a bit extra. Here's some cheap lighting tricks to finish the job Thank you for a great job on his look, Tom!

Re: Force Field Is No Good? Forcefield is better to put advantages on like hardened because it has a lower base point cost. People take forcefield because they don't want or need a persistent defense, and want to have their defenses in a power framework. Any power framework. Or the want to put something like RSR on it that will be greatly hindered by Armor's AP quick bloating. Putting Costs END on armor means you are going to be paying a lot of END through the nose due to the high AP. Many combats don't last more than a turn or two, and I can easily put together a 12/12 FF that costs me only 2 END a phase. With many supers being at SPD 4 at 350, that's 8 END a turn... not a big concern unless I burn a lot of END a phase with other powers. Even if I do, a +1/4 advantage of Reduced END or Costs END (once a turn, to activate), cuts those costs down fast. Your hangup is over END costs and nonpersistence... this isn't an argument of forcefield over armor so much as nonpersistent defenses (costing some END) vs persistent ones. You should probably always have ~something~ in persistent defenses. But frankly even with 0 END and persistent you save more points having a forcefield in an EC than buying armor separately (12/12 FF with +1 adv in a 24 pt EC is still 24 points itself... armor is 36). You don't like ECs, but it is not common to find a character without ANY framework, and with any type of framework the lower the AP for the powers you put in the better (usually); putting armor in a power framework is bulky and difficult compared to a FF. I realize you could theoretically put nonpersistent and visible on armor to recoup some points, but that's irrelevant anyway since you wouldn't choose armor if you wanted nonpersistent visible defenses. There is no point in bringing it up unless you are trying to shoehorn armor into a place where it doesn't belong, or pull forcefields out of the frameworks they work so well in. People choose Forcefield when they want nonpersistent defenses, and although it vanishes some of the time it's often -well worth it- the rest of the time. Even though it's still cheap to get it persistent in a framework, it's even cheaper to just invest in 1/2 END and buy more of it to keep you from getting CON-stunned in the first place. Forcefields are very vulnerable to completely out-of-combat (and superhero ID) ambushes, but those (hopefully) should be rare anyway. So Forcefield characters can be more fragile, but they make up for it with more points. Sure an armor-based brick would be more durable in many ways than a forcefield-based one, but there are a lot of things you are missing in that comparison. A forcefield brick would be able to afford more defenses, either backup Damage Resistance or Reduction to cover themselves when they are down, or more forcefield to be harder to CON-stun. It's probably the most common defense against NND, and it's a hard-sell to say that your 0 END persistent armor is a forcefield SFX. In an EC it's vulnerable to drains, but armor outside of it is vulnerable to getting bulldozed with damage (since it's more expensive to buy) or armor-pierced (since it has a high base-cost). Frankly characters shouldn't totally lose defenses when they are down, but buying a bit of backup Armor (4/4 armor, OIF) for 8 points isn't a bad deal... especially if you saved 15 with your forcefield. Nonpersistent defenses without anything else can get you killed though and I don't recommend it... but 3 points in Damage Resistance or a few extra PD and ED can make a world of difference there. That doesn't make your Forcefield secondary defenses; the defenses you only really need when you're ass is on the grill are the secondary ones. If you are operating on your own, persistent defenses are a good idea, but having allies to keep you from getting 'ganked' when you are down is pretty important in either way. Solo work is messy and usually involves not being in a situation where you are risking CON-stun; however it does involve getting more persistent defenses if your GM is particularly sadistic. As a note... remember that when CON-stunned, when you recover on your next phase, you CAN abort even on that segment to a defensive action... like a Dodge + Raising Forcefield. If you are CON-stunned on your own anyway, a haymaker or called shot to the face will KO you (or CON-stun you again) even with armor... armor buys you extra time and a better chance to make it, but you'd need allies to cover for you anyway in the worst cases because if the first hit doesn't kill you, the second one will. If you get to a segment to abort first, there isn't much of a difference. Armor is better when you want to take defenses not in a framework. Like... body armor. A lot of speedy characters I've built who don't have forcefields may have a mix of a bit of Combat Luck and a bit of actual armor (bought as Armor with foci). Armor is good when you want invisible persistent defenses that cost no END, and aren't thinking about things like Armor Penetrating or protecting people and objects you carry. But it doesn't actually get taken a lot because people DO use power frameworks often... when they don't, yes Armor is almost always the better choice. That's why people say it's a matter of the character... because it is about what build you pick. Forcefield is much cheaper than Armor and is good when you frankly don't feel you need a lot of persistent defenses. With the points you save with a FF, too... you can invest in secondary defenses. I often buy extra raw PD and ED, resulting in more defenses anyway and making the character harder to CON stun, and I'd still have leftover points. I could buy 25% damage reduction and/or extra CON if I was making a brick. You could take power defense (even in your FF), an entirely other power, or anything else. Forcefield makes a great primary defense when paired with a secondary defense, and if you are too worried about END and persistent defenses you can buy it on its own with those traits. Or you can buy armor supplemented by a very-point-effective tiny forcefield. It's also very very cheap in AP compared to Armor and is great for mixed-defense builds. While it may cut you down a bit to buy a few powers in an EC, the point savings are almost abhorrent; it's not hard to add 5-10 points on power defense and cut most drains down to almost nothing. Forcefields have options. Armor doesn't, but it's good at the (few) things it does. As a general note, I find I use them about A40/60F if I consider 'Combat Luck' a Forcefield (because it's nonpersistent), sometimes that layout on the same sheet. But that's because Forcefield is lighter and easy to work with while Armor is bulky and unwieldy and doesn't fit in with the other kids; it comes down to your build. If you build characters with defenses in frameworks, you will want forcefield almost always. If you don't, you'll usually want armor. It's not that complicated to agonize over. The big points are fitting FF in easily with your power frameworks because of FF's low AP and not buying what you don't need. You won't always do it that way.

Re: Petrification Power Yeah, but XDM is Fire-and-Forget, I think... you hit them and then they are screwed. This also lets the character see what is going on, and potentially still do ~something~. And in this case, Clockwork has to burn through 8 END a phase and not switch his MP off onto any other attack power. It is very apparent to be a temporary power, basically, that makes both characters unable to do much in the situation. But the principle is very similar, especially if the Desolid has 0 END/Uncontrolled.

Re: Petrification Power A time master eh... Clockwork, a mad-scientist I had, had a variety of attacks based on things like this. I think the Entangle suggested above could work, although it would not really need Entangle/Character both take damage. Arguably it might be better as a BOECV power; forcing through time only by force of will, not strength. I loath using XDM UAA though... Transform does not necessarily have to actually transform something. Just like an entangle does not necessarily have to have substance, etc. For a similar totally-incapacitating attack, Clockwork had a You Are Out Of Time! power: 1) You Are Out of Time: Desolidification (affected by Temporal, Space, and Gravity Attacks), Usable As Attack (+1) (80 Active Points); Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2) Of course, this was limited by the fact that he could not change slots with it active (giving some reasonable limit to the fact that he could totally paralyze someone without their def providing benefit). For best results, you could consider continuing charges, or 0 END and Uncontrolled (lasts a few minutes).

Re: Surprisingly Effective Builds? Lot of strange and fun ideas here. the speed suppress reminds me of my attempt to write up Clockwork... a mad scientist who messes with time-altering devices. not a pleasant combination by any means! One idea that ended up being a lot more effective than I ever expected it to be was a DI/TK brick I had put together. He had enough DI for +40 STR, a decent forcefield, and most importantly AoE:Hex 0 END TK at 40 STR at No Range... and basically a multipower for swinging, leaping, and clinging, and a nasty last-ditch trick. I specifically avoided buying anything like AoE: Hex on STR... ... and I have been steadfastly surprised at how useful 40 TK AoE Hex strength is, even at no range. O.o It was well worth the 60 Points (in a 30 pt EC) he paid for it. I figured it would just be a weird flavor-power for his gravity well (since his own STR is 60 total with the DI), but... damn. From catching bullets that ricochet off of him (so they do not hit anyone else) to doing insanely difficult flying grabs or pulling off suplexes and nasty sweepTK/maneuver combos... Though my favorite so far was Crunch grabbing Foxbat in the gravity sphere... and then Foxbat accidentally gassing himself when he tries to shoot his pingpong gun. O.o That was quite funny, Hermit. I had another, more obscure build I think that went further than I could have guessed, but I cannot remember it now...

Re: Changing into a costume Legatus>> true, but I don't think it was realism specifically that they thought of. Besides, as the OIHID says, I think a phase to a turn fits fine. If you are wearing pants, shirt, coat, over your spandex, I could see a phase to pull 'em all off. Assuming you are already in a safe place to do so. If you carry it in your purse or backpack, a turn could fit better... so the GM judges as he sees fit

Re: Poison's Champions Art Thread Very good work. You did a good job... and I can see how Tom's hand may have influenced her character sheet. He seems to have fun with chain weapons... If I had to make any personal suggestion, I'd have made the chain vary more in thickness from behind, so it doesn't look so flat behind her. It doesn't help with it looking so 'flat' and then coming forward so sharply (it'd have been more gradual and undulated more if you had) Of course, varying the thickness in a chain to make it do that would be a b#(*$& to draw, so... I can hardly blame you for doing it as you did. Better than anything I could have done

Re: WWYCD: Magic Fishnets? Ok... I've held off long enough. Time to reply to this... ¬_¬ Cascade would love the addition of fishnets to her outfit. She's already something of a fighter, though she'd feel a bit guilty about 'cheating' in the case of a fair tussle. But she'd see if replacing the yellow leggings but having the pieces of black outfit over-top it would still let them work. That aside... she'd wear them for her own amusement when not in costume, as well... one of her outfits already has stockings, she would just switch them out. Rapid would find them quaint, and she doesn't don much to begin with (usually short and simple clothes, or spandex without sleeves or leggings)... but she prefers to train to become better, and not 'cheat'. She'd at least look about for the last owner of them, knowing how she might want them back... but more likely, she'd keep them and see if she'd run across someone new who could need them! She'd be sure Nightingale would understand... Mindy/Corax would find them a little ridiculous. She'd look pretty thoroughly into Nightingale... but unless she was running into a LOT of metahumans in her detective work, and was desperate for means to even the odds further, it'd take divine intervention to get her to wear them. She doesn't even wear spandex except to protect herself when poking her nose into dangerous places. Swallowtail would love them to death! She already has two mystic gymnastic ribbons, and is hell-on-wheels in martial arts. Her outfit doesn't have leggings either, so it'd work out well! Not that she thinks she has the looks to make them flattering... I'd probably find some excuse though for her to lose or give them up. Quite frankly, on 250 points she can mow down all of my 350 and most of my 450 characters. >.< And finally, Straight would wear them for a lark. He's mostly a ranged fighter, so it could even out his fighting ability... but while he may be out of the closet, he really doesn't see the need to scandalize his teammates that much. The poor prudes just wouldn't understand... and it'd be embarrassing, even to him, to wear. Oh. And Thirteen would likely have found them in his pockets one day (like just about anything else that seems to get him into more trouble than it's worth...). He'd grudgingly consider it a sign, and go looking for Nightingale... (because he doesn't want to think about the 'or else' his sister might put him through for not looking it up). They WOULD, however, give him the idea to pick up another pair of (harmless) fishnets. Something to joke and be a pig about... and the next time he'd run into a metahuman guy that really ticked him off (*coughbulldozercough*), after the sod was KO'ed... well, they'd find an unwanted addition to their costume after the police picked 'em up. Yes, he is a jerk. I have too many other characters, but most of them wouldn't have any special opinions not repeated above.

Re: The Ms Champions Universe contest Hermit ran a game briefly that included my character meeting... and trying to figure out how to control... a female Grond. Party. Animal. Be afraid.

Re: Kung Fu Schoolgirl minis Great! That's very cool, it makes me think of Real Bout High School (just bought all the manga) or Battle Royale... Very cool, anyway.

Re: Character Building Issues Midgame Same here. I just want to know why they are changing things around. I tend to be a bit leery on changing an entire concept, though. If it doesn't work rules-wise for some reason but it seems to work in my head, I try and break it down thoroughly and look at the best way of summing it up. Probably most players/GMs feel that first and foremost the stats are a representation of what the character should be able to do. Points aren't something spent, merely a representation of the character's "power rating". Of course, this said, some character designs are far more "efficient" at allocating their points than others. I don't usually run into this though, as I tend to look fairly carefully at what the power's end result is, rules-wise, and what it is supposed to do. Of course, recently while in the player-seat I've been learning that sometimes a design needs to be streamlined, as opposed to working out every single little detail. Going to have to remember to let players cut corners a little like that, and let them adjust for that later.

Re: Autofire for OCV bonuses Yeah, I think that needs to be the case. Although it can be very powerful (perhaps making the skill expensive will offset this), it is one of the primary uses of Autofire. It's not that you'll be hit by dozens of bullets from a Chain Gun, it's that at least one or two are going to hit. In a way, Suppression Fire is related, but is more intended to hit multiple targets and not a single one.