lensman

Re: WHY is combat so slow and what have you done about it? Games can be slowed by numnerous factors, here are some I have encountered and my solutions Players who are learning the system. 1. Player aids. Have spreadsheets for defenses and ready calculations for PD ED, special def. and AP, Pen. and what is hardened. Do same for OCV, range mods, and Actions in a Phase I posted a xls sheet ofr this kind of thing here: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56862 Post #10 in thread. 2. Use 11 + OCV. Subtract roll of 3d6 and that generates a DCV hit. Subtract that same 3 d6 number again to generate DCV hit critically. 3. I use a chart that generates damage from 7 d6 to 20 d6 down a column of a 3 d6 result. It's somewhere, I don't recall where I snagged it from. The environmentalist player By this I mean a player who wants to know if there is a fire hydrant nearby, or a fire extinguisher, or a man hole cover. Things in an environment that are not drawn in detail on a map but that might be of use. 1. Simple die roll of 3 d6. Low result means something is there, high result, zip. 2. If you as GM know you have this kind of player be prepared. Generate a likely set of objects and dole themn out by saying, "Well, you see this..." High Skill use or skill mongers. By this I mean a player who wants to use Acrobatics, then breakfall out of a climb roll to activate levels in DCV and Missle deflection, using a PER roll ... you get the idea. 1. Besides just keeping track, some characters just take longer. Bricks are simpler than Martial Artists. As GM, know the character mechanics as well as the player, if not better. Indecisive, hesitant player Lacks the War gamer gene, not tactically minded or too numerous character abilities for Player skill 1. Depending on genre limit player time for action. Have a scale for time that rewards characters with combat experience and nip it for inexperienced types. If you get this type player with this type character, then embolden them by pointing out that every decision they make (Backed up with the skill rolls) was sound and alter antagonists action. 2. Have other players or you as GM suggest some sort of play book for actions and power use.

Re: Damage flowchart? Not finished, but this is a zipped xls of work to date. Will finish and post in other formats tomorrow.

Re: Damage flowchart? Ok, I like to work in excel, but I will Save As a few different file types and post them here.

Re: Damage flowchart? Ok, am starting on a xls sheet for a stepped decision tree in any given Phase for action. It will take a couple hours 'cause I am a slow typist.

Re: Damage flowchart? I thought of something completely different. Here is a sheet I made for my Gamma Hero run for players. It was orginally made in Open Office then saved as xls.

Re: GM-ing advise What kind of GM-ing advise would you have for a GM wanabe ? GM as noun. Your job is setting, mood and character. GM as verb. Motive is your engine. Characters act based on motives, theor own and those they are exposed to in others. The battle that could become war because men clashed after being moved by a political figure, who in turn ordered those men in response to a sleight that offended his sense of civility. What kind of mistakes have you made and then learned from ? Hoarding information. Being so tricky and plot-wise, having many arcane twisting plots and interconnected secretive NPC’s, that players never felt like they could ever penetrate to the truth. I learned from Joss Whedon, the bad guys make mistakes & misjudgments as well as the players do. What are some examples of good and bad GM? Over prepared (read: Railroad), under prepared (read: no sense of continuity or serial elements.) What might frustrate a newer GM ? Players going in a different direction than expected. Players constructing a ludicrous (‘cause they don’t have the script) scenario that completely misreads what has happened and is happening or will happen. What are your more humorous stories ? A villain that kept rolled 18 for hit location. I ended up renaming the character ‘Toe cutter’ A PC was being interrogated by a Inquisitor. The PC had cultivated a persona so obtuse and ‘touched’ that a trained Inquisitor could not squeeze any information out of him. A fellow character spying on the interrogation reported back to the group, “Tim 1, Inquisitor Zero.” Much too the delight of the PC’s. Once in a Champions game, PC heroes were attempting to stop a fellow in his ‘suped’ up vehicle from evading the law and entering a foreign embassy and seeking asylum. At the gates, the vehicle was stopped, to the guards one character uttered, ‘Don’t worry, it’s just a repossession.” Alright, that last one may not seem funny, but it was hilarious at the time. What was you best plot twist ? In a Wild Martial Arts campaign set in and around Asia. One player took over a criminal enterprise and ran it. Another player had been harassing local gangs. Well for a long while I played middle man and as one player tried to shut down said criminal activities, I fed the loses to the player who was trying to shift the focus of the criminal enterprise from illegal to legal activity. In turn each made moves and counter moves without the players ever knowing it was each other the whole time. What might confuse a newer GM ? Players who ask for things that seem within the realm of possibility and reason for their character but those very same things kill game balance or system balance or campaign genre. What are you 5 best "must knows" about being a GM ? 1. Be a pace monster. Always have events, people, activities that are happening no matter where / what the players do.. 2. When building a plot, know the bones, some muscle and a few organs. Let the players add some flesh, ligaments and skin on their own. 3. Know and love the genre you are running. No good at Horror, don’t run a horror game. 4. Know the character skills / powers better than the payers. That way you can make sure you as GM know how to apply them to any situation when the player asks. 5. Know when too much is too much. Players can often ask for too much detail or knowledge from a situation. Balance a really great roll or application of skill to a poor resource and the reciprocal.

Re: Cool Guns for your Games Actually its Grammerton Cleric

Re: Cool Guns for your Games Jere are some pics for weapons in my Gamma Hero game.

Re: Daily Art Findings You could start by thumbing through these links http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1210642#post1210642

Re: Help with an ability 1. Social Chameleon: Character can enter a town and after a couple of days be able to pass himself off as a local, complete with dialect, KS's, even language. This ability fades away after he leaves. Images Sight Group and Normal Hearing Images 1" radius -5 to PER Rolls Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) Extra Time (1 Week, Only to Activate, -2 1/4) Limited Power Only to appear as a member of any one group (-2) Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2) No Range (-1/2) Limited Effect Only Normal SIght (-1/4) 2. Gather Information: Essentially an uber streetwise skill that operates ina similar manner as #1. Mind Scan Some where there is a description of Mind Scan as a super ‘Tracking’ ability, reflecting the intimate knowledge this write up sounds like. 3. Studious: As #1 but is able to learn a particular skill after a few days of study, knowledge of which fades over time. Transform, with built in Fade rate,

Re: HERO Greek Mythical times - ideas and sources? Here are some resource links I collected for my game: Hoplon http://www.larp.com/hoplite/hoplon.html Xiphos http://www.hellenic-art.com/armour/sword.htm Greek names http://www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/Ancient-World/Greece/Male.htm Greek units of measure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_weights_and_measures Ships in art http://www.artsales.com/ARTistory/Ancient_Ships/09_epic_poems.html Dogs in Greece http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/canes/canes.html Greek musical instrument http://www.clarsach.net/harps.htm Greek food http://www.greek-recipe.com/static/ancient/ancient3.html Encyclopedia Mythica http://www.pantheon.org/ Greek English INVALUABLE TOOL http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/enggreek? Famous Greek quotes http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/top/nationality/greek/ http://www.yasou.org/ancient/greek_quotes.htm http://www.greekstudies.pdx.edu/Quotes.htm Flower resource http://www.flowerparade.ca/flowers/varieties.htm Greek Baby names http://www.babynamenetwork.com/baby_names/origins/Greek_baby_names.cfm http://baby-names.adoption.com/origin/Greek.html Greek Mathematicians http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Indexes/Greeks.html#all Greek pantheon http://web.raex.com/~obsidian/GrkPan.html Greek Warfare http://monolith.dnsalias.org/~marsares/warfare/army/g_trirem.html Hoplite http://www.lloydianaspects.co.uk/armour/hoplite/hoplshld.html Greek Philosophers http://www.ics.forth.gr/~vsiris/ancient_greeks/ Greek beds http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Lectus.html Phyllotaxis http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Phyllotaxis.html Roman Armor http://www.a2armory.com/roman.htm Ship terminology http://www.ageofsail.net/aostermi.asp Phi http://goldennumber.net/ Nautical Terms http://phrontistery.info/nautical.html

Re: Teleport Object Hyper-man: Right, good points and clearly I mixed up my definitions and now must change things and apply the limits so the power works the way I wanted to work. I have to limit the Range adv. to no greater than inches of Teleport and must Limit the Teleport to 'Only destination is Users dominant hand.' It does have such a 'defense' but I dare not post it here as the player is unaware. Bloodstone: After your post I went to the book and read up. And the power is just a fulfillment of the intent of the Gamma World mutation Thanks

Re: Teleport Object Where / what do I check to be sure?

I need opinions on the correctness of my solution to an aspect of a power construct for Teleport Object. The SFX is a Gamma World Mutation, the mechanics are: Teleportation 15" Ranged (+1/2), UAA (+1) Limited Power mass limited to 25 kgs. (-1) Gestures (-1/4) I have ruled that any object Teleported only has one destination, that of the user's primary hand. The rationale behind this as a non limitation is that it mirrors use of Teleport as a movement power. Characters can Teleport from any one position to any other postion, so I reversed that and said Teleport object can Move an object from any other position to only one other position at time of use. My question, now the player wants the ability to Teleport an object from any position to any other position (within the range of the power.) How do I do that?

Re: The 300 HERO-fied? This may not be the power level everyone wants, I tried to low ball it and here now... SPARTAN Val Char Cost Roll Notes 15 STR 5 12- Lift 151.6kg; 2 1/2d6 [1] 11 DEX 3 11- OCV: 4/DCV: 4 12 CON 4 11- 13 BODY 6 12- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 11 EGO 2 11- ECV: 4 27 PRE 5 14- PRE Attack: 5d6 10 COM 0 11- 6 PD 3 Total: 6 PD (0 rPD) 2 ED 0 Total: 2 ED (0 rED) 3 SPD 9 Phases: 4, 8, 12 8 REC 6 30 END 3 30 STUN 4 Movement: Running: 6"/12" Leaping: 2"/4" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers END 3 +12 PRE Ritual ([65-128] casters; -1 3/4) RSR Hoplite : -1 Roll (-1/2) OIHID (-1/4) 3 Efficent Recovery: 1 Succor END 1d6 Self Only (-1/2) Extra Time (Extra Segment, Only to Activate, -1/4) 4 Root +0 +0 30 STR to resist Shove; Block, Abort 4 Shove +0 +0 30 STR to Shove 4 Martial Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Charge +0 -2 Weapon +2 DC +v/5 Strike, FMove 4 Fast Strike +2 +0 Weapon +2 DC Strike Perks 4 Reputation: Spartan Culture (A medium-sized group) 14-, +2/+2d6 Talents 7 Deadly Blow: +1d6 (Spear) Skills 0 Language: Greek (Native) 9 Hoplite: Teamwork 14- 3 +3 with any single attack with one specific weapon : Spear 10 +2 with HTH Combat 5 +2 with DCV Limited Power Only to 2x value of Shield or Cover (-1/2) Requires A Skill Hoplite (Teamwork) -1 Roll (-1/2) 2 WF: Spartan Cultural Melee Weapons 1 WF: Thrown Spears 3 Stealth 11- 3 Concealment 11- 2 Survival (Temperate/Subtropical) 11- 2 PS: Civilian Life 11- 0 Acting 8- 0 Conversation 8- 0 Deduction 8- 0 Paramedics 8- 0 Shadowing 8- Total Characteristic Cost: 48 Total Powers & Skill Cost: 77 Total Cost: 125 50+ Disadvantages 20 Psych. Lim.: Loyalty to Sparta Above all Else (Very Common, Strong) 10 Psych. Lim.: Callous to Idealsnot striving for perfection (Common, Moderate) 45 Experience Points

Re: How to build: HKA to flesh Here is my first pass,. Thanks for all comments. When I say 'nick,' that is what I use to scare my players witless. That and the write up, should they ever see it. 15 Blade of the Black Saint Holomestos: total active: 85 HKA 1d6 (vs. ED) Active pts: 60 Invisible to Single Sense: Detect "Evil" (+1/4) Indirect (Same origin, always fired away from attacker; +1/4) Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) NND (Arcane Def. Specifiacally vrs. Dark Arts; +1) Does BODY (+1) OAF (-1) Required Hands One-Handed (+0) -2 Decreased STUN Multiplier (-1/2) Side Effects, occurs automatically whenever Power is used (-1/2) Minor Side Effect(Major Transform (Spirit) 1 d6 +44 Max effect, -5/season : Partial, Marrow fiend STR Minimum 8 (-1/2) No STR Bonus (-1/2) 7 +5 with HTH Combat : Active points 25 Limited Power Only works on first attack on any foe in a given melee (-2) Linked (Blade of the Black Saint Holomestos; -1/2)

Recently player characters were investigating a cult and after some sabotage and discovery they were chased from a stronghold. A carriage chase ensued and at one point at a turn a lone cultist swiped at the carriage with a blade. The blade passed through the carriage and windows effortlessly, leaving no sign of it's passage, and 'nicked' a PC in the shoulder for 6 BPDY. The carriage continued, the investigators escaped after a harrowing chase. After the session, players began to muse on the mechanics behind such an attack and how it was built. So how did I buy it? Right now I have no solid idea. 1 d6 HKA, Limited: Only vrs. Living targets Would that allow it to pass through everything else? Indirect : Allows passage through barriers but not personal defense, hich it also did.

Clinging and Environmental movement. A character has Clinging, limited to non vertical surfaces, to mimic Balance. I have a character who has EM: over Cluttered / broken terrain, to simulate surefootedness and experience in terrain and Cover useage. Both are about to enter a cluttered sewer system filled with refuse and obstacles. The Clinging guy will want to use his power to negate any Environmental or situational negattive modifiers. Not having bought EM, should I allow that, and if I do, why ever buy EM instead of a limited form of Clinging?

Re: Heroes: How do you build... I use datapath.

Re: Challenge Lists Mathematics a Tragedy (play) a constellation Balneology War weary lover returns

Re: Heroes: How do you build... So is it just HRRH with tons of Rapid? Rapid: 1,000,000x is Six levels of Rapid Sense modifier on HRRH (18 Active for single sense) It allows a +18 PER (+3 PER / rapid increment) to counteract penalties for performing tasks more quickly. At 1,000,000x it takes one Phase to percieve what others percieve over 6 hours. What about operations like cut / paste so that she can 'dump' information collected. I suggest a Power skill for the HRRH

How do you build telecommunications / wireless girl? HRRH, what about network security and accounts and being a portal and ... Mind link only to radio receptive devices? She is Mona Lisa Overdrive. I did not catch the characters name

Re: Eberron Hero Have you implemented the 'Five foot step' as a free action if you do not use any ohter movement in that Phase? 'Cadting on th edefensive' should give you some extra DCV against melee.

Re: The Fan Project My first post to the dicussion on the HFP is done.

Re: The Fan Project I log in using lensman, th ewiki shows: Logged in as: Peter C. Shafer and permission denied.