Christopher

Well, G. Harry Stine wrote a series of books back in, I think, the 1980s on all the useful and profitable things that can be done in cislunar space. (I recall The Space Enterprise and Future Power.) The problem he and other would-be promoters encountered when they tried to sell existing businesses and investors on their proposals is that while everyone thought space industry could be tremendously profitable, the start-up costs were high enough that everyone wanted someone else to do it first and prove it worked Everyone wanted to be second in.

 

As a cynic about human nature, though, I think the real impediment to space industrialization and colonization is that there's nobody out there in the Solar System to rob and enslave.

 

Dean Shomshak

Being the "first in" is kind of the job of a government. Considering actually privately funded initiatives, it is doing that quite well.

Also I have to rejet that notion about "nobody to rob". There is nobody who even lays claim to it, so it is a free for all!

Can't find the Movies right now, but here are few Honest Trailers about them:

I am the first to admit they were fun as a Kid.

But as a Kid I did not bat an eyelash about "flying so fast around the planet to turn back time, yet not to fsat enough to catch both missiles"(1), "throwing his S" (2), "Super Amnesia Kiss" (2), "Wall of China Repair Beam" (4), "a sentient supercomputer that somehow lacks basic Chemistry knowledge"(3) and "squeezing coal so hard it turns into diamonds"(3).

And those are only the mistakes I have not supressed utterly.

That's uncalled for. People having differing tastes doesn't make them stupid.

Then stop purposefully miss-interpreting it every other sentence:

I could've lived with a Superman movie where Superman is eventually placed in a situation where he is forced to kill someone. That alone wouldn't have "ruined" MoS for me if the movie up to that point had been any damn good. But they lost me at Letting Pa Kent Die By Tornado Because I'm An Emo Chickenshit.

No, becasue Pa Kent wanted to give him enough time to grow up and decide for himself if he wanted to reveal himself.

This is exactly what I meant with not turning off your brains. The video establishes the reason for 10 minutes. You say "I was bored, so I make up a reason that runs 180° counter to the stated one".

That is not hating it because it is bad, that was having decided to hate it before you even watched it.

Then looking for incredibly flimsy excuses like this to justify that hate. For me that argumentation is as flimsy as the one of Creationists, except they at least picked a position that is impossible to disproove.

For you I need a single line from the Movie. That his how bad your position is.

Yes, but then he did have to snap Zod's neck. So not only was Superman's CvK wrong, the moral is that he should have just killed Zod at the outset, sparing Metropolis hundreds of casualties and billions in damage, and sparing the audience about an hour and a half.

 

 

Showing that Superman fails if he tries to not kill is not what Superman movies should be about. Had I taken my kids to see MoS, I wouldn't just be rolling my eyes at it, I'd be actively pissed off.

 

 

I'd like to think that it's possible to write a Superman movie without a Nietzchian plot that still sells tickets. In fact it might even sell more tickets. Maybe they'll try it one day.

He did ban 95% of all Kryptonians to the Phantom Zone. Sacrificing the Ghost of his father (together with the key that contained it) to do so.

You mean that movie where he was fighting overwhelming odds, outnumbered by 3 Kryptonians destroying a city so he allowed himself to be appear cowardly in order to save lives then defeated his enemies without killing them?

Let's sum the 2nd Film up:

He had a Depowering Chekovs Gun that he used on himself.

Then he somehow found a repowering Chekhovs Gun.

Then he tricked the villains into being around while he reversed the polarity on the Depowering Checkhovs Gun,

Also he threw the shield from hist chest somehow (I dunno, maybe cryptonian tech? How he manifested his super telekinesis?)

The "just make some Power/Chekovs Gun up" so he never needed to change was only interesting while I was under 20:

Since they are so overwhelmingly awesome, when have you actually last watched those old films, while you were not a kid/watched it with your kids? I mean how many decades? Let's do that right now. They should be findable on youtube. I watch them. You watch them too, then we can come back and tell what was all good about it.

I've often wondered about the ethics involved in a super-prison on such a high level. How do you treat the prisoners? Is it ethically acceptable to do things like put a prisoner you feel is exceptionally dangerous under some form of suspended animation? Or is there a way to contain really powerful prisoners that is at all humane?

 

And that doesn;t even raised the question of whether people can be detained there before trial (because they're perceived as too dangerous for standard confinement, Or perhaps with even no prospect of a trial (like most of the remaining inmates at Guantanamo, against whom there seems to be no interest in pursuing criminal proceedings). Do some of the normal standards for due process slip when dealing with someone like Grond, who is incredibly powerful but probably only dimly aware of his surroundings or even identity?

The idea behind a prision is relatively simple and goes back to the Ethics of freedom:

"You are free to do whatever you want to do, as long as you do not interfere with the freedom and wellbeing of another person."

Prisions are at the same time a punishment for the crime and a protection of the General Populace from you (because you have issues with the non-negative interference part).

Whatever they have to do to keep you locked up, they are justified to do it. Or they would be force to just kill you instead, because you can not be contained.

Can't find the part of Grrl Power that dealt with incarceration right now.

Guantanamo is a iffy thing here.

It kind of is a way for America to detain person "that are likely to harm it", but they have no legal standing to incarcerate them.

They can justify at least for themself that those persons pose a danger. But at the same time they did not trust local authorities to deal with them.

 

A power for my (Probably never done) book.  Tell me if it does what I THINK it does. 

 

 

  Ring of the Fox, all slots OIF (-1/2)  

 

8  1)   Signet Ring: Hand-To-Hand Attack +2d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4) 0

 

5  2)   Marked: Cosmetic Transform 1d6 (creates Scared individual, healed by Plastic Surgery), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Damage Over Time, Target's defenses only apply once (9-12 damage increments, damage occurs every 5 Minutes, +3) (13 Active Points); Signet Ring must do Body Damage (-1/2), Linked (Signet Ring; -1/2), OIF (-1/2) 0

 

It looks to me like the wearer of the ring punches someone, and then the target starts becoming scarred.  Whether it's by the ring cutting their face, or some substance in the ring, or a magical effect, it's hard for me to say, but that's what I get from it.

That are teh ideas I got too.

But I wonder:

What is the use for the wielder of the Ring to "scar" thier target?

Would the scaring effect work through a mask of some sort (skymask, clothing), so it could help later identifying a perp?

How does a signet ring casue a whopping 2D6 HKA on top of STR? That is doubling the damage ability of an average human ring wielder.

Is this for a Heroic or Superheroic Campaign?

that is in 6th Right? I also hear the cost of END reserves has changed in 6th.

Yes they did.

But End Reserve and LTE have nothing to do with one another.

End Reserve is a form of 0 End that is not tied to the AP of the using power. Or more detailed Fuel Charges that recover during adventure.

6E1 205: "Endurance Reserves do not have or provide Long-Term Endurance (see 6E2 132)"

Wich I interprete as: Do not consider End Reserves to suffer from LTE Loss/have LTE.

Of course it could also be interpreted that they can not be used for cases where LTE draing would occur. But that would run counter to the whole idea of using them as reactors.

APG 1 128 has rules for "Psionic Surgery" using Transform.

"Te primary form of Mental Transform is
Psionic Surgery — the ability to erase, change,
add to, or otherwise affect a person’s memories, personality, Psychological Complications,
Enraged/Berserks (and other psychologicallyoriented or psychosomatic Complications),
Mental Powers, and the like. Typically Psionic
Surgery is written up this way:
Psionic Surgery: Major Transform 4d6 (erase,
change, add to, or otherwise affect a person’s
mental “objects”; heals back normally), ACV
(uses OMCV against DMCV; +¼), AVAD
(Mental Defense; +0), Works Against EGO,
Not BODY (+¼) (60 Active Points); Limited
Target (mental “objects” in the minds of sentient
beings; -½), No Range (-½). Total cost: 30
points."

Generally Memory/Fact alteration requires a Major Transform, with one Cosmetic and Minor change thrown in (mostly for EGO+0 and EGO+10 Mental Illusion level of effect).

However one has to wonder how much of that is actuall memory alteration, and how much of it is plain mind control that reached the "target can not remember being controlled" level.

I wouldn't put the nuke plant outside the prison it would actually be safer to have it within the compound.

 

firstly if your at the south pole your going to need the waste heat to make your prison live-able

 

secondly it stops you needing a separate staff and defense force to protect it

 

third you can use it as a weapon of laast resort melting it down to prevent escape

 

fourthly makes for much higher stakes and an interesting fight when the inevitable break out happens

To 3, let me get this straight:

You want to trigger a literal Radiation Accident in the middle of a compound full of already dangerous and powerfull criminals, not all of wich had literal radiation accidents before?

I am not sure if we should put the designer in there (due to insane levels of negligence) or if he might be hoping we put him in there, so he is around for when that horribly backfires.

Geothermal power might be a much better idea. No radiation, much lesser security risk. And Geothermal energy is surprisingly abundant:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/13/geothermal_heat_from_planets_core_is_melting_the_west_antarctic_ice/

http://news.ucsc.edu/2015/07/antarctic-heating.html

http://dailycaller.com/2015/07/15/study-surprisingly-high-amounts-of-geothermal-heat-melting-antarctica/

Also can not be used to power the average villain McGuffin as easily as the nuclear option.

Well according to the Time Chart, an Hour is five levels below a Phase.

You recover only one per turn for free.

That "Taking a recovery" action is not really that helpfull in a actuall combat. it more or less explains why you are going to be back on full End/Stun with the next combat.

Two situations that have happened a thousand times before.  Superman is always outnumbered.  Batman fights guys with guns.  World weary?  He BRANDED a guy. [...] I don't want a Superman who is pouty, carelessly destructive on a massive scale and kills his enemies and I definitely don't want my Batman to be an ultra-violent casual killer who attempted to murder said Superman.

It never happened in a Univese where a gun is a HKA, Batman has only about normal human defenses and no enemy has a CvK.

Of course Superman would kill a bad guy to save innocents, if he was backed into a corner with no other choice. But that's not a Superman story. The point of a Superman story is that the strong have a duty to act morally and lawfully. The point of MoS was that Superman's philosophy is hopelessly naive, and the whole story was about his struggle to finally abandon the moral code that was holding him back.

Actually, quite the opposite. He still tries to do the right thing. Him doing that despite it backfiring so often makes him the symbol he is.

Failure is the most important part of a heroes Journey.

You are depicting it as if he went: "Have to Fight Zod. Necksnap".

The ENTIRE FIGHT before that was him trying to subdue Zod WITHOUT snapping his neck.

Superman should not kill, even to save innocents?

Yet superman should not also not fight the villain to subdue him without killing him?

Then what should he do:

Ask the guy making a "I will make them suffer because you care about them" speech to take the fight somewhere else with less people around?

Should he just have not been there supermanning, letting humanty (and the women he felt strong atraction too) die from the Terraforming?

Should he just not have any film?

Batman is literally about "Striking fear into the heart of his enemies". That is WHY HE DRESSES UP LIKE A BAT. He was actually once considered for a Yellow Lantern Ring, so deeply is he rooted in the emotion fear. He literally wants "to scare the criminal intent out of Gothams Criminal Element". Branding a human trafficker/slaver seems rather in line with that.

"You either die a hero, or life long enough to becoem the villain". Batman is on the later path of that yourney after about 20 Years of Batmanning.

I don't know why, but for some reason, I had actually thought the branding was something Luthor was doing to frame Batman so Supes would go after him. I admit I could be wrong, but that is the impression I came away with.

Yes, Batman does Brand People in that Movie. However, Lex hires the other Inmate that Kills the branded Person as part of his Scheme to "let them fight". And how much those claims "the Bat Symbol is a death sentence" is actually true or just fabricated by Luther/Overdrawn by the press is not clear. We only ever see the one guy getting killed. Because LUTHOR HIRED A ASSASIN.

He also clearly abandons that practice, after being reminded of Superman that you can stay a hero.

Seriously guys, stop turning off your brains. Or at least watch EGA Batman v Superman. The answers are right there.

You are complaing "this math book has no value for Pi" while staring at the the two pages dealing only with Pi and mentioning it's value 5 times.

Personally I would just base it of "Increased Endurance Cost".

"Cost LTE" should be proportionally to "Costs Endurance" of an equal level. A simple way might be to just add a "LTE Multiplier" to the Limtiation Value. As both Steve and Ndreare poit out, it is a lot more limiting then mere costing Endurance.

Yes, you can add the Martial Arts Maneuvers and STR to the HTH Attack. MA just is another source of extra DC, like Haymaker/Move Maneuver and STR.

However, you will need the proper "Weapon Element" for that Weapon/Attack. Each Attack Power bought with points counts as one Weapon Element, while each Weapon Class (Heroic Games only) counts as one Weapon Element (any onehanded Sword).

The name once again implies nothing about how that ability can be justified. It is entirely possible to build a constrictor snakes grab & coking abilities using Martial Arts (the rules construct).

All Martial Arts get one Weapon Element for free. While it is usually asumed to be "unarmed Attack", nothing says it can not be "Rapiers" or "Katanas".

There are several example Martial Arts in HSMA 6E, all with a list of possible weapon Elements (in case multiple would make sense). Some of those are dedicated armed styles.

Of course Martial Arts does have to be considered for Campaign Caps on Attacks/Combat Values. I like to think of it as a cheaper (because more limited version) to buying plain STR and CV's. I tend to avoid it for Superheroic settings altogether as it's pricing might be simply off.

I agree with Tasha's original post. Generally there is no point cost for everyman equipment.

 

However if you really wanted to build it up as a power, I would use the build Nolgroth made in post 5.

Oh, we were talking about a Photo-Camera. It just occurred to me that I have been using the Video Cameras so long, I totally forgot those existed. Despite me actually having a old Greyscale Camera and even doing some basic work developing Photos from the negatives. So my post is utterly wrong. Ah well, happens.

If I had to make a oldschool Film, propably "Eidetic Memory, Still Sightimpressions only(-?), Concentration, OAF(-1*)". Because using cameras will take up more attention then using a gun (you actually have to point onto the target for longer then it takes to squeeze the trigger).

The only reason it would cost any points is that powers have a minimum cost of 1 CP.

In the end it is like the Ammunition for a gun:

How it is build will not really mater on the Limitations part. What skills and limitations apply for using that gear, matters.

*Everyone in the time still knows what a camera is and that the film does not take light so well.

The plots were ok, the movies were adequately directed and the acting is solid.  However, I don't want a Superman who is pouty, carelessly destructive on a massive scale and kills his enemies and I definitely don't want my Batman to be an ultra-violent casual killer who attempted to murder said Superman. 

Superman:

He was outnumbered.

An absolute beginner.

And he was not willing to damn the last people of his race to death/fate worse then death just on the word of his space-dead-ghost, without at least talking with them first.

He tried to stop Zod without killing he. He tried his best. But he failed. Killing him was the only way he could save that familiy Zod was about to murder just to hurt him.

How is that not like Superman?

Batman:

Batman was world weary by the time Superman appeared. He had propably lost 2-4 Robins and Batgirl by that time.

He was only a human against enemies that used weapons. He did try to disarm them when possible (as seen when saving Martha). But they were still armead with weapons and threathened innocents.

Except for the Goons Luthor hired to smuggle radioactive Material into the country.

Only the contact with Superman made him remember the good guy in himself, as can be seen near the end.

Seems pretty human of him.

What you asked for is not the camera or not only it. It is also the recoding part.

Camera, CCTV system or Television:

All three can be defined as Clairsentience (Sight). Possibly also hearing.

As usual for Clairsentience (Sight), it does not provide a Targgeting sense connection.

Television can also be build as "HRRP, Radio And Television only(-?)" That asumes somebody is actually broadcasting for you to just perceive passively

Recoding to VHS tape, DVD or a disk would be "Eidetic Memory, only for Camera" or "Eidetic Memory, Only Sight and Hearing" (if you record your direct senses like a Shadowrun Cyberimplants). Possibly also a Focus (the VHS or DVD variant).

As that tends to be incredibly low point, you can usually just handwave it away. The Focus would end up with minimal body and defenses either way.

I'd say the potential consequences are distinct enough to warrant consideration.  For instance, getting the master villain to spill his plan aloud could reveal past misdirection and misinformation for all to hear (potentially clearing heroes of a frame-job or the like).  Having a bad guy spill the beans himself in front of other witnesses could be immensely useful to the heroes, whereas the hero reading his mind and sharing the info could leave witnesses saying, "why should we believe you?".

And if you cast Mind Control on the enemy, you could force him to admit all these wrongdoings without having actually done them.

With MC build the question of what was actually his sayng and what you force him to say. With Telephaty, no such issues.

The 5th Edition Stronghold source book has some really good stuff in it, including maps and the like, that you could easily copy over to Antarctica. I do like the idea of having more outwardly-facing military-grade weaponry to defend the prison from outside incursions - I feel like that's one thing that was weak in the Stronghold book. The only significant change I made to Stronghold in my world was to put an Army base around it.

If the prision is taken over by the inmates, the outward facing weapons effectively become a fortress. Look at the "Lockdown" storyline of Megallan to see how that can backfire:

http://magellanverse.com/lockedown/

Also with Air/Land defenses, you lock all incursions into subterranean/underwater approaches. Inlcuding the Superheroic ones.

So you definitely want those defenses to be not integral part of the walls.

The primary purpose of a Prision is to keep the Prisioners in, not potential incursions out.

Also how does that interact with the Ant-Arctica Treaties? They usually prohibit putting military weapons there.

That would make it Mental Illusions IMHO. Which allow you to change someone perception of reality.

Or the same build as for drugs, Psionic (-1/2)

I do not see what all the hate/fear regarding DC is.

If you cut past the stupid cutting done for the Theatrical release (or life in a country like germany, where they were cutting a bit more sanely) the story makes absolute sense and matches perfectly.

Watch a Few Cinema Wins on teh mater, it puts all that "so bad" stuff into context:

Still have to watch Suicide Squad but as I heard they cut the important Joker scenes out. Again those losses on the cutting room floor.

And stop watching Cinema Sins. They went all overboard with "finding mistakes that do not actually exist for a high score". In How to Train your Dragon 2 - a children movie - they recently complained about "too few deaths".

You are not a population. Your assertion that "everyone can do it" while possibly true is largely irrelevant. They don't, so we're stuck where we are.

I am not that special. So we are not stuck. We just need to aim for the right problem.

Star Trek introduced Transparent Alluminium to SciFi. Now it was found in the real world:
http://screenrant.com/star-trek-transparent-aluminum-real/

The SPD chart was cutting edge when it was introduced,  I think I said this in another thread recently, but, in a world where gaming has become more sophisticated in both RPGs and boardgames we tend to expect more elegance.  I think it is time someone with a really good background in game mechanics had a good look at the SPD chart and brought it into the 21st century...

 

In fact, while HERO has been through quite a few editions, the actual backbone of the game system has remained almost entirely unchanged.  All the thought and development has gone into the powers and skills and other bits and pieces.  Maybe there is an argument for the next edition to radically think about the core gameplay of the system.

"Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication." - unknown.

Maybe it helps if I write down my ideas?

SPD and REC:

SPD and REC price is increased by 3/existing values are cut by factor 3 (we can later consider more granular approach).

SPD cap is accordingly set to 4. Default SPD is set to 1.

Truns, Segments, Phases, Defense:

Turns take 4 seconds (rather then 12), split into 4 segments.

Stuff measured "Turns" has the duration Trippeled (due to Shorter Turns). Stuff with duration in Phases or Segments is unaffected.

You can act (have Phases) on SPD number of those Segments. Phases are taken in sequence.

You take free Recoveries at the end of Post Segment 4 (that is why Rec is also cut).

Defensive actions cost you one or a half phase at the end of the turn. But thier effect lasts until the end of the turn.

Hm, does not quite have the elegance I saw in SR5. I still need to figure out how to translate the SR5 Initiative Score+dice Calculation too Hero Atributes.

Edit:

Found the quick start PDF, that should help with translation.

http://freeronin.com/3e_files/MnM3_Quickstart.pdf

At first glance a D20 variant, but way differently from what I know from those.

The bonuses are more and higher, being based on Stats and Gear.

With Rolls you have to track "degrees of Failure".

Rather then rolling damage and tracking HP, you roll resistance to the Attack (with a Attack based DC). The effects remind me a bit of West End games Star Wars D6, but with a D20 spin. Or maybe a D&D style savng throw.

As far as those intro rules show, there is no form of Multiple Attack, only basic D20 Initiative.

A trigger would still work. But a bonus to OCV would simply allow the borther to do stuff like Haymaker or Multiple Attack his next phase (does open him up to followup attacks).

A Rating 12 attack is a insanely high amount. The highest for the example Characters is a 8. 5 Seems to be high. 2 Small (inlcuding Ability bonuses).

It could be that the defensive Weakness of non-bricks is simulated by exceptional high damage for Bricks.

One question I have to the original concept:

Is that one Character, or two?

I mean is that one Sheet that has two seperate characters acting? Or two seperate characters (played by two different players) that just happen to have that gear?

Yeah, it sounds like Trigger is how you want to go...just add in some special effects for "My Bro hits as well"

 

 

ST 60....HA trigger, Teamwork: "Crew served" Bro, with Dingus must be close...add to both chars, and it is done...but this would allow the Bro to also hit on his own...the differing "action" economies are an issue, as I Think M&M has no "Speed" just phases...maybe build it as +5 HTH, only if Bro tagged yah"..?

That.

It is one of those things where you have to go beyond simply how it is written up and consider what it is meant to do in the Grand picture. And if Hero can not model that better anyway.

Splitting a 2d6 attack 50/50 between two Elemental Types is wonderfully at getting some damage through defenses in D&D.

But it could not be worse at it in Hero.

Edit:

Found the quick start PDF, that should help with translation.

http://freeronin.com/3e_files/MnM3_Quickstart.pdf

The book description can be confusing.  The way I remember it is to figure the total of the Advantages that modify damage (don't count Reduced END for example) and add 1 and multiply by 5 to get the rate that STR adds 1 Damage Class.  So in the case of the last book example of a 8d6 HA with AP and Penetrating (+3/4) I convert that to 1.75 and multiply by 5 to get 8.75 as the amount of STR it takes to add +1d6 of extra damage to the advantaged HA (it would take 35 STR to add +4d6).

 

Damage affecting Advantages that total +1, +1/2 and +1/4 are much easier breakpoints to remember as they mean that extra STR adds damage at 1/2, 2/3 and 4/5 the normal rate respectively. 

 

HM

Just a minor Nitpick: "The rate at wich STR adds 1 DC" is not the same as "the rate at wich STR adds 1D6". Indeed that is the core of the problem of doing this math

It might be easier to simply think in dice/damage increments added as HM tells in his post.

But as he and I said, this is not exactly one of the easier parts of Hero.

Nah, I think they like powergaming to some extent, which has never really been my forte. However, they believe in making things as efficient as possible by the rules (whether they say yes or no to an idea specifically), which i feel when they create characters its more a lawyers view of the rules rather than the intent. But in some ways its ok, i mean really a 90 point active limit on a VPP is really limiting.

Generally I consider Hero unsuiteable for lone Powergamers/Rules lawyers. But in a group it can work. There is a set of "rule 0" in the "Hero Philosophy" section. One says: "Fun and Gamebalance take precedence over anything else written in this book." And that even comes before how you even make hit/skill rolls.