badger3k

The quote I was referring to was: Q:_ If a character’s DCV is modified by a Combat Maneuver, does that modification affect all attacks against him, or just HTH attacks? _ A:_ It affects all attacks, in the interest of playability and dramatic realism. A GM who wanted to emphasize real-world realism, or who wanted maneuvers to be consistent with Combat Skill Levels, could rule that they only apply to HTH or Ranged Combat, depending on the type of attack the maneuver was used to make. I hadn't seen the one you quoted. So which one is correct then?

Actually that's what we've been saying (it can get confusing) - in 5e, combat manuever DCV mods apply vs all attacks. Skill levels are different. Page 36: Irons has a 3 point CSL with pistols, a 3 point CSL with knives, and an 8-point with all Combat. The 8-point skill level can be used for OCV or DCV for all attacks. The 3 point CSL with pistols could be +1 OCV with pistols OR +1 DCV vs ranged attacks (when using the pistol). The 3 point CSL with knives can be +1 OCV with knives OR +1 DCV vs HTH (when using knives). So in the example, he puts both 3pt pistol and 8pt overall in OCV, giving him +2. He can't use his 3pt level with knives for OCV or DCV since he's using a pistol. If he wanted to, he could put his 3 pt pistol and 8 pt overall into DCV (+2 vs Ranged) - I believe the 8 pt overall level (CSL) would also provide +1 DCV vs HTH at the same time (so he'd be +1 DCV vs HTH, +2 DCV vs Ranged that phase). Makes sense? I loaned my 4th ed book to a friend to learn the basics of the system (since I only have 1 FRED), so I can't look up the earlier rules.

Given that the FAQ states that DCV mods for maneuvers apply to all attacks (HTH and Ranged), are the "vs all attacks" on the martial dodge and dodge maneuvers holdovers from earlier editions, or is there another interpretation on the rules that I'm missing?

OK - havin' some trouble myself with little changes from earlier editions. The Dodge maneuvers are still a puzzle - maybe your right on that.

Where does it say that a maneuvers DCV adjustment does not apply vs ranged attacks? I've looked through FRED and UMA and can't find reference to this. Does this mean that a brick using a haymaker is not at -5 DCV vs laser lad? If you can point it out, I'd appreciate it (not trying to be funny or insulting, just haven't found anything stating any limits on maneuver adjustments). Whoops, found one from the FAQ: Q:_ If a character’s DCV is modified by a Combat Maneuver, does that modification affect all attacks against him, or just HTH attacks? _ A:_ It affects all attacks, in the interest of playability and dramatic realism. A GM who wanted to emphasize real-world realism, or who wanted maneuvers to be consistent with Combat Skill Levels, could rule that they only apply to HTH or Ranged Combat, depending on the type of attack the maneuver was used to make. Therefore, there is a difference between maneuvers and CSLs (unless of course, you play that way). For CSLs, 3 point CSLs can provide DCV, but only for the same type of combat as the attack (ranged or hth). This always struck me as strange - skill with a rifle helps you dodge bullets? The way I read it, a 5 point CSL can be bought as OCV and/or DCV (switchable) with HTH or Ranged, OR it can be bought as DCV vs All (cannot be switched). I think the FAQ says that you can use the CSL as DCV when using the attack/maneuver/whatever you bought it with, so I'd agree with other posters that if catgirl used her claw attack and put the CSL into DCV, it would work for HTH only.

Given that, it does sound like the characters in the games, especially FFX2 (although I haven't played it). What's the concept (I toyed with something similar - using a VPP skill pool to reflect ancestral memory or computer link). Thanks for the side note - didn't know there was a difference - last I knew, they'd just changed the name to protect the sensitive (like shell-shock became battle fatigue became PTSD).

Making a doppleganger? Although some spells that let a mage become a fighter spring to mind as a similar effect. It could also be a schizophrenic character (or MPD - whatever its called nowadays - personality capable people maybe), or else you want a party of adventurers rolled into one character (sounds like one of my players).

Re: Ultimate Gamer's Toolkit for D&D3 Shrike has some good stuff, so do some others (haven't the links now, though). Its pretty much as you have it - I'm working on my own stuff now - for example, a +2 flaming keen longsword is: 1) Hand Killing Attack, 1d6+1 vs PD (20), Armor Piercing (+1/2), Reduced END (0) (+1/2), STR min (12 STR) (-1/2), OAF (sword) (-1), Independent (-2). Total Active Cost = 40; Total Cost = 9 pts 2) +2 OCV (10), Only for OCV (-1/2), OAF (sword) (-1), Independent (-2). Total Active Cost = 10, total cost = 2 3) 2d6 EB vs ED (fire) (10), Reduced END (0) (+1/2), OAF (sword) (-1), Independent (-2), No Range (-1/2), Linked (-1/2). Total Active Cost = 15, total cost = 4 I generally use EB for fire, ice, etc - but usually lightning or acid get RKA - just a personal preference. I also prefer to use EB since the effects in 3e are not that big, especially at higher levels. Doing an extra 2-12 points stun is IMO a better conversion than an extra 1d6 body and 1 to 30 stun. I generally try to build the items individually, but am working (off and on) on the base abilities to add to items. For example - the Ghost touch ability is: Naked advantage of Affects Desolidified for 60 point power. (+1/2) OAF weapon (-1) Independent (-2) Active 30 points, Real 7 points. I used 60 ponts as the base because most weapons in FH are 60 active points of less. The cost can be adjusted for particular weapons, or used as is. Of course, the ghost touch also allows a insubstantial/desolidified character to use it to attack the real world, but I HR that since it already affects the real world, the ADesolid lets it be picked up and wielded (I suppose a naked advantage of Affects real world could also be used). Just some samples of what I did. There's also a bunch of threads here dealing with conversions.

Just wanted to post a quick reply - yet another game with some ideas that I liked that I might try! Aargh - have the first the books (original copies), and I might actually have some notes on that. I'll add more if I can dig them out (I think I did some work on races and magic - liked the deodanths a lot for some reason, and the star-powered mage).

Could be - has happend in the past. Here's an idea based on the dragon-elves idea I posted before. Elves are a race of elementally-linked beings. This is the source of the Wood Elves, Desert Elves, etc. Desert Elves were fleshed out somewhat, since they played a part in the war between two countires whose names I can't remember now. The Elves (Milyanu I believe was their name) were taller than humans, with bronzed skin and hair, long legs, and larger than human proportioned feet. They ran barefoot over the desert sands, and lived by hunting and gathering. Other than less need for water and food and resistance to heat, they possessed some spell abilities (the same with all elves). These nomadic beings were prosecuted by the desert dwelling humans, and sided with another country fighting them. They worked with human ranger types who were commando style - they had gone native, so to speak, and were feared by the humans (sometimes on both sides). In Hero terms they'd have immunity to heat, Diminished eating, extra inches running (or maybe flight, only to run on sand). Magic would be water/food finding, sand magic, mirage, or heat/light magic. I used them originally in a Rolemaster game, then tried transferring them to Hero (may still have sheets somewhere). Maybe not original, but there's an idea - the Milyanu themselves never used "elves" as a term, but humans (in the game) did, and the stats were based on the elven stats for the game system. I forget the name for the desert rangers, but their enemies were the Golden Lances, an elite cavalry unit.

In the older (4ed) Fantasy Hero, each school of magic used a focus - crystal for mental, staff for something else, I think a tuning fork for sonic, etc. Depending on how you build the system, it can be unique foci for each spell (the old D&D sulfur for fireballs) or can be general. In 3e, if a spell has no money cost listed in the description, the spell components are assumed to be part of the wizards spell pouch. If he loses the pouch, he loses his foci. A lot of fantasy uses similar rules/guidelines. I recall some story where a wizard needed a staff to cast magic easily, but take the staff away he could still cast, it just cost more energy (strain, etc). Something in the old FH may have reflected this too. Its similar to other genres, especially super-hero, with lots of heroes relying on foci for their powers. I've never had a problem with it, nor have my players (who like the reduced cost from the foci).

I erased the post I was going to make, then read the posts since I started writing. You said what I was going to. Tolkien is a great creator, not an great author. I recently re-read the Lord of the Rings - well, I started it. By the Return of the King I gave up and skimmed whole sections. Boring. I am supposed to care for these people? I couldn't care less that the world was saved. By then end I had lost interest. Re the Lovecraft writing style. Try reading the Silmarillion sometimes. Lovecraft was good at setting a mood (IMO), Tolkien could make a scene, but mood? More like Mud. For whatever reason, IIRC, Tolkien had sort of a Renaissance during the 70s, especially with college kids. Who tended to be play wargames, and be a market for some new sort of fantasy game? Making a game that relied heavily on Tolkien (even borrowing Moorcocks alignments, somewhat, it still was geared more in line with Tolkien than anything else) was probably a no-brainer. Whether it was a marketing plan, or just an attempt to incorporate what was popular at the time (which I believe), the end result was D&D - which became the standard for most games since. If Conan was all the rage, we might have a "Howard"-standard of gaming. However... Tolkien may have had a large contribution to the fantsy genre (and gaming in particular) from the formation of the adventuring party - most of his contemporaries IIRC tended to have one hero, with sidekicks if needed (like Doc Savage). Tolkiens characters tended more towards equality (roughly speaking, in terms of being used in the story), a trait that a role playing game would try to encourage (and which computer gaming tends to get rid of, despite its best attempts not to). A conan-style game would be one with a gm and one or two players probably.

Couple ideas Tried to dig up some older stuff, but its buried, so I'll give some specifics from memory. Neither campaign got off the ground, mainly because I never finished fleshing out the ideas. World one starts out as sci-fi - the universe is being destroyed (for whatever reason). Since star travel is done through gateways (artifical black holes), the desperate try to escape through a black hole. Surprise - they survive in another universe, where they seem to be hovering over a wall. The wall is a world, as big as who knows - its at least galaxy sized. The second thing they see is a starship sized dragon bearing down on them. Ship goes boom. Another repeats performance, but escapes and tells others. Picture a Douglas Adam's moment - Star Dragon sees one ship, blasts it, then gets bowled over by hundreds more. Ends up looking like a cartoon character. Anyway, the survivors land and discover a civilization of dragons. The high tech civilization of many races survives peacefully, then trouble starts. History later records it as a vicious attack by the dragons, but who knows the truth. Many died on both sides. Tech fails in some areas, reducing it to medieval. Magic arises, tought by the elves (descendants of dragons who tried to shift forms to meet the humans/etc). Different elven types exist (forest, desert, etc). Given the almost infinite size of the world, some areas may still have tech, some may never have heard of the newcomers. A further thought has the gods being some of the original survivors who gained power (the stars overhead are numerous white holes from a large number of universes, so there is a lot of magic going around). Never got further, though I've used elements elsewhere, expecially the dragon/elf connection (all elves had fine scales, some were throwbacks with wings/etc) - not in every world, just a couple. Number 2 is similar in that the world is huge - maybe its a whole plane - a vast cavern system connected in many ways. Caverns are huge (hundreds of square miles, maybe thousands), with crystals in the ceilings (again, could be 10', could be 100 miles up) that duplicate suns/moon/stars. Elemental nodes provided weather influence (cold/ice for a wintry climate, fire/heat for a desert, etc). Different civilizations develop in each cavern, with the main highway being a large inter-cavern water system. Thus one cavern was a norse-oriented culture, one desert nomads, one medieval Europe, etc. The bad guys there were a race of beings that used biological base for magic/tech. Just some odd ideas from 20+ years ago.

Re: Re: where from? Ok - I've read some of the novels, so I know what you're talking about. Although in the current game, he had several clones active, with them developing different personalities/goals/etc. Perhaps the villains duplicate can do something similar - change his mission so that he can stay alive. That can be an interesting plot device later (as you stated - the "i'm an innocent dupe" ploy). Appreciate the answer. As another aside - the dupe can then be significantly different in powers perhaps - one may be a drow elf, one a human fighter-type (high str/etc) with magical powers, etc. Altered clones may make the mission more achievable (if allowed by the spell/etc).

For the ranged recombination, why not the 30 pt ex-dim movement (any location in any dimension, trigger is death of duplicate, with two jumps - one to x dimension, 2 to home and original body). Add uncontrolled, etc and that can simulate an instantaneous body disappearance. But can a dead body have a power usable like that, even if triggered? Wouldn't the original body have the regeneration from death (only for duplicate), extra-time, expensive expendible foci, etc? Or maybe couldn't is the better way to put it. It would require the duplicated body, of course. But then that would let the memories carry over (unless the GM says that the risen dead (or new body per sfx) has no memory of the past duplicate. Of course, the disappearance may not be an issue - the duplicated body may stay where it dies. Since nothing is sent back to the original except his "spirit" (not his intelligence, or awareness, since he does not possess knowledge of the duplicate), he'd just have to spend points to regain the power (or have the items to make the duplicate body if cps for spells are used that way). Forgot about the time delay - good idea - it keeps the main villain from popping bodies out. Maybe add side effect from having a body die on him (perhaps a cumulative transform if the spell has any really nasty side effects like aging or power loss). Interesting idea - I'd definitely have some form of side effect, though - maybe change the casting character to evil or something similar, to keep any pc from getting the wrong idea. Maybe not part of the original story, but can be used for dramatic effect too. This has possibilities - thanks for bringing this one up Jallen0002.

more thoughts Other appropriate limitations could be Charges, Extra-time (for example, the flame gun needs time to get the elemental 'powered-up'), side effects ("it only blew up once... so far..."). Disads on steampunk mages might include vulnerability to electricity and magnetics (the tech option) - and those attack forms may be more common than usual in fantasy games. Most of the powers/advantages/limits can apply to the genre - the biggest thing is making the special effect fit the concept (to me at least). Maybe I can come up with something more specific later on.

where from? It sounds like it'd work out the way you want, so long as you say so. Add mind link (only w/duplicate) and the original would learn/know what the dupe does. Better able to keep track of his nefarious plots. Or even pay for more dupes and you have a cabal of sorcerers who are all one guy! Similar to the clone/dark circle idea from old LSH comics (just re-read old books short time ago, so the idea stuck). (edit) - of course I missed that this is how you want it. For a recurring villain, everytime the players ran into him, they would know him, but he'd have no idea who they were - a distinct disadvantage for him. Still, think if he started making others look like him, or he has a good twin brother, or other such actions to throw the pcs. (end of edit) Another option I'd seen used in fiction is that the duplicates are mental constructs, or defined as solid illusions (sfx only, the game effects would be the same). What novel(s) is this from, btw? The idea seems familiar, but I can't place it.

Not one for the genre, but I'd go ahead and use the focus when building items. Are we talking spells themselves or merely the items created - the FH grimoire uses some of the rules to make items, with a different point cost for the spells themselves - haven't read the rules enough to see how it was done. If you have the books FH/FHG they might give you some options on how to do what you want. edit - from what I'm familiar with, the activation and jam/burnout on the items is a good idea. About the closest I've come to the genre is (maybe) the Girl Genius comic book (and Jules Verne probably)- the tech there seems almost like magic.

Or hardened, power def - maybe I'll have to rethink diseases in the game. Sticky? in the words of the Librarian - Ook! edit - disease damage shields for undead or priests of a disease diety.

Uncontrolled continuous cumulative - more like an aid to the bodies natural recovery system. A little more expensive but more in line with an "aid immune system" effect. Of course, a powerful disease could work the same way.

Transform can work, but it may be too expensive, especially since its a major transform (maybe minor, depending on the effect) - thats 15 (or 10) points per die. Plus it needs to go vs the targets whoe Body, so it would be expensive - (with a 30 AP cap, that would be 2-3d6 Transform - possible effective, possibly not) I'd use a drain to do the same thing - say STR drain for arm, STUN for head, Running or DEX for leg, etc. Probably have to have the Variable Effect advantage (maybe +1/4 for characteristics?). It would create similar effects, but not have to break the Body-barrier. Another way is variable Negative Skill levels, usable as attack, to reflect the penalties that go along with a disabling hit. Going off memory here, so sorry I couldn't be more specific with my advice (point wise).

For most natural diseases, I'd go with the Transform route (since its easiest). Tougher diseases would get built and thus the dispell (more than suppress) would be the way to go - most diseases constructed would have defenses vs transform as a standard (no cost) - how much I haven't figured out yet. Most diseases are going to be plot devices more than game effects (i.e. if the character contracts a hideous disease, the adventure will probably be built around finding/getting a cure). Poison would be dispell for complete stop, suppress for temporary abatement. Since the poisons are built already, its easy to use the powers for them. Plus most have faster effects than disease, making the cure more immediate in game terms.

I'd say the art was done, then changes were made - the patch should probably be Cobra (look at the illo on p 70 as well). For another instance look at the "Destroyer " cannon on p 106, but the cannon is called the "Destructor" on p 105 in the text. Just a case of "oops!". Besides, Cobra sounds more combat-oriented than moccasin (it can be a shoe!). Cobras have a more well-known rep around the world. Even though there's the nasty gi-joe connection. Erk.

From what he wrote, all the powers in an EC can be active at a time, but you still can only do one attack power per phase. Odd coincidence. At work this morning, I thought about buying the whole EC as an autofire, and, "twisting" the rules to allow different powers to be autofired (i.e. I'd buy the whole EC with the autofire advantage, base and powers). As for the expense, I'm not gonna worry about it - they should be tough (the last one I used killed/stoned 2 party members out of 5). Appreciate the response.

Could you make a summon into a DNPC? Or have a-megascale duration? Seriously, I'd just add the same ideas as other people posted. That summon does sound like an interesting idea - have to look into the mechanics when I'm fiddling around. Could make an interesting challenge for a player. Heh - heh - heh.