Wolf

Re: Learning the Heroes System Another option you might want to look at is the Hero System Basic book (Linked for your convenience), This is the simplest and most "boiled down" of the rules, and it's in an affordable format. This may be one of the better options for you, it'll get a lot of the more verbose explanations out of the way, so you can get to the gist of the system and play, get into all the optional stuff later, as you learn the system. Torchwolf is right, that two page handout is awesome for a resource... The member maintained external sites are a great resource... you can grab comic NPC's off those, re-tool them for your playstyle (as has been said before, there is a lot of freedom in Hero, so everyone has a little different take on things, and you'll see even different opinions on how to make a Pizza Oven, even). Most importantly, ask, we are a pretty generous board here, and we enjoy to help, and introduce our beloved system to others.

Re: Cool Guns for your Games I tell ya though, they "feel" better in my hand than a Glock and, for reasons I don't get, I really dig the way they look. I mean, I prefer the XDm look better than the XD, but what can you do? One can't change ones own visual prefrences.... can you? lol.

Re: Cool Guns for your Games

Re: Cool Guns for your Games

Re: Cool Guns for your Games

Re: Hey, Balabanto has a Website! I've been thinking on what's been bothering me about games these days, and I think you've hit head on with some of the issues that I've been working on. Awesome job, keep 'em coming.

Re: Cool Guns for your Games lol, I see what your saying, and yes military training itself isn't geared towards assualting with a pistol, but things change and or exceptions exsist everwhere. Our LT gave up his Capt.'s bars and took a demotion to turn our platoon into a special actions platoon. Our training included each member to be as proficient with room clearing with our M-9 as our M-16 (we were a morter platoon that was disbanded for our tour in Kosovo because big Arty. had the entire country "ranged in" so they didn't need morters, but they needed a specialty CQB trained platoon. So there we went, and you can train small unit room clearing with a 9mm. A small revolver is something I'm just not as familiar with (haven't ever fired one) that it would "curb" the confidence factor of someone who has trained the heck out of building clearing with a pistol. not to mention I'd like to get one anyway because I do beleive in having a nice collection. Right now I just have my XD 5" .45 for CCW. and that was my #1 go to. its a solid little weapon.

Re: Would like help with a Champions game Note: I'm on my wife's laptop, so I don't have the file for Mayham, so I'll put that up as soon as I get on mine (just lazy at the moment, lol) And now on to the body of the post: Okay, so my first game was last night, and I found out why I hadn't gotten Mayham's sheet for review, the player hadn't made one yet. So I'd say with BS time included (and some taking care of my kids, we are in the middle of potty training my older cub, so there were some major interruptions- note that if you have a young person and you wish to game, have lots of patients) it took us something like 5 to 6 hours to make the character. So we got started at something like 8 pm... grrr.... I could kill a player... With 6 Guards 6 scientists (just dropped the stat-line a tad, they really didn't do much other than run and a few got in the way, lol, they survived... barely (mostly causal Str. usage by The Monster)... lol). The Monster had worked out a way to escape his containment pod (read as an Iron Lung looking deal that was being used to run some experiments on The Monster), and popped his container. This alerted the guards for Phase 12, and they all shot their blasters at him.... doing... squat... lol. Cord wasn't really restrained vary well, and busted loose, swinging across the room into a moving kick on one of the guards by the door. The Monster walked over to the control unit and destroyed it. Darkflame woke up and missed a few guards, hitting the last one. Mayham studyed his containment pod (read as something about the size of the poration device from the movie "The Fly," and visually closer to the unit that Ozborn changed into the Green Goblin from the first "Spiderman" movie) hitting it a few times with "normal punches" then Blowing it apart from the inside with a sharp blast. They managed to take down all the guards, and as the last one fell, 6 more showed up at the door. Mayham decided to blow through a few walls until he found freedom. Chased and harassed the entire way, they manage to find the outside after a few walls, and they made it outside. We had to stop at this point because it was too late with little children needing attention. It was fun... relaxing, and a good time was cited by everyone. There was some witty banter utilized, Mayham tended to steal the spotlight in that regard, while it was revealed that The Monster has a "thing" for Darkflame... (they still don't know why Darkflame was unconscious, and why The Monster has this interest in her... They also don't know why Mayham seemed to have the best way out, his history is that he was a scientist that was working on these experiments, but he wasn't very nice, however an experiment gone wrong has inserted a Heroic personality into his mind, and he is very confused about who or what he it at the moment). What's everyone think so far? Thank you all for your help.

Re: Cool Guns for your Games yah, I got my wife a glock 32 for concealed carry, but I figured that since the .357 is so different than what I'm used to carrying it'll take me out of the "door kicker" mentality that would be a liability in a "normal" civillian ccw situation (I.E. defend and run/ call police, as opposed to clearing rooms and going on a man hunt type deal).

Re: Addendum: Thanks guys. I don't mind having a handle that I can fit my hand around, it just looks like most of the ones I saw in the store looked like the handle alone would "print" pretty badly, and if I get a snubby .357, I want it to sit pretty small in the holster, ya know.. That one Baloo showed at the bottom looks pretty close to perfect, though.

Re: Cool Guns for your Games That S&W is really close to what I'm looking for for a CCW here in 2 months.... I want a very short barreled .357.... most of the ones I've seen have these handles that are massive... lol.

Re: Would like help with a Champions game I had thought about having the Corp. come to them (after the Heroes have defeated a solid number of the "bad-guys") and start asking for help in catching other experiments gone wrong, and escaped. But have they escaped, or have they been let go... Are they truly experiments gone wrong? But I could draw lines that start that line of thought earlier.... I like that idea though... Good stuff!

Re: Would like help with a Champions game I hadn't thought about that... I never watched the show to begin with, so maybe I'll see if they have it on Hulu or youtube... Thanks.

Re: Would like help with a Champions game

Re: Would like help with a Champions game I finally got the goods on that second PC. His name is going to be Called Mayham, he's going to be kinda a combo Brick/ EP using nuclear projection and expulsion as stated upthread. He doesn't have his memories wiped, but during one of the experiments gone wrong his identity was switched with a heroic one, I think kinda like the whole Rouge conversion in Marvel. He's a pretty dedicated comic fan (heroically inclined) and a pretty good RPer, so I'm not really worried about this being a bid to get away with being a blood thirsty psychopath... but it is noted. I think his powers are going to be somewhat expanded on the Nuke dude from the Hero season [1 or 2]. I figure a shield melting physical rounds that are inbound for a sort of rPD style thing... but again I haven't seen his build. I'm thinking now that the corp will be in a smaller town/city, ala Raccoon city but upwards built (so it's got to be big enough to have a decent skyscraper) but I'm starting to second guess why someone would have something like that in such an open place... however this is comic logic, I mean, in Disney's Gargoyles Zatatos had the mansion built on top of his skyscraper, even knowing that the "monsters" would be awakened there in the middle of New York City... so, it works in comic logic, right?

Re: Would like help with a Champions game Right on... Thanks for the help. I like the idea, I can combine a touch Weapon X (one reason I named it Corp X, to evoke that feel) with a touch of blackwater, I like that. (I am not setting this in any solid supers world, so I can take things off of the current world) So I can definitely get them some SoF forces to help... I like that. And then that'll lead to super-soldiers, and even some well trained power armor/ up-armored troops. Maybe they have the corner on the tech market, and their trying to edge into the Genetics... I don't know if the other PC is going to be an amnesiac... so I should probably wait till he get's his concept in to figure that one out, as right now, I can go either way. If that's the way he goes, I'll make them all memory wipe cases. Maybe I can have The Monster know a kindly Janitor...

I saw the help that Narf got on his 'need help now' thread, and so I decided that I wanted to ask of the massive group here, for some help with a supers game that I'm running for my wife and a friend. So I'll post what I got.... General Concept: Mutants (everyone is a mutant who is being experimented on). Corporation X (no I don't mean place name here, I'm going comic cheezy and naming it X). First Game: Main characters (2 pc's and 2 NPC's) get a chance to escape from this massive torture house and go free... after that I really don't have much, but to cheeze off some of the ideas present in TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Main Character (my wife's cha.) Darkflame. The Mini she's going to be using She has bat-like wings, and the ability to expel "dark flame" as an EP.... it also serves to "lick her wounds" and self heals. Recently she was severely damaged (she does not know this) protecting the Monster, and now has amnesia, and can no longer remember anything... This is because the corp, once aware of her ability to heal, pushed it as far as they could, and Darkflame couldn't take the stress and pain, the torture was too much. This earned the Monster's loyalty. I'm thinking this is how the escape attempt starts, is The Monster just looses it, and starts smashing stuff, taking Darkflame off the operating table that she's on, unconscious. She will start the game waking in His arms. Everyone else (PC #2 and Cord) will be able to escape as a result of the damage The Monster makes as he's trying to get out. PC #2: he's based on a DC Character named Atom Smasher (I think). I haven't been given a Character yet, however he's supposed to be a brick type that has the ability to expel atomic energy in the form of enhanced punches and an energy projection... along with some form of using that as a defense... I'll put up his sheet when I get it and go through my approval process... then your critique. NPC 1: The monster... I think I'm actually going to reduce his int, and make him more bestial in nature. he's going to have a thing for Darkflame, but can't express it in any more of a deep way than a dog can to it's owner. Brick, just huge, and strong. (as written he's still somewhat human, and not furry, but I'll be changing his write-up to reflect the changes soon, I will update when that happens. NPC 2: Cord: I've built him much like spiderman just repainted. He has the ability to generate these blue arms (with hands) from his arms. (using a powerful generator wrist cuff on his lower arms he can extend these a great deal) he can wrap people up with them, he can grab, he can swing, he can even grab two things and pull back until he's able to slingshot himself great distances... He's a bit like the proverbial used car salesman. PC 2 might not be able to make the first session, so I might have to run his escape separately, I'll hold back Cord to escape with him if that's the case... otherwise all four will make it out together. This is designed primarily as a game with my wife, but my buddy might be able to make it every now and then, so it's set up to be a series of one offs where I can change out the PC #2 and the NPC's for some extra firepower if my wife needs it... it's really why The Monster is designed to be so attached to her, and why Cord is so flaky/ sleazy. The two security goons are dual levels of security I can throw at them during the escape attempt. It was suggested to me to use power armor, however, I can't seem to find a mini I want to represent that armor (I know a weak a** reason to have, but it's what I got)... So I figure that the very advanced troops (appearing after they escape, later in the campaign) will be power armor. I dunno, would it make sense that a company doing so much genetic work have tech based troops, is that a very comic book-y type convention? What should I do with this? do I have decent base Ideas? Where can I go on a adventure to adventure basis? I've found that I'm pretty bad at Comic based games, so what would direction would I need to go to with this to keep the feel?

Re: CON Only to Resist Stunning Personally, I'd go with removing Body, and using Con for damage... just due to already having the roll pre-built into con... IE, you'd have to make a Body roll (which honestly is only an issue if you use Hero Designer a great deal, as I have) otherwise it's just as easy to add a "body roll" to body. But for me personally I'd still need to have a stat roll that covers some of the ancillary rolls that might pop up that the Con roll is good for. But I don't think that that's not a bad idea, heck you could even re-name it to Health, and even increase the cost a tad. Health (this is somewhat cool because as you loose health you ability to deal with stun damage will decrease, and your Health rolls will become worse): Body type HP: what was formerly "body" damage would just read Health damage. Con Type rolls: use this roll for endurance, and health checks, poison, staying awake, extreme "push," feats of endurance, etc. Lowering your rolls as you take damage may also be an interesting part of using this system. Con type resistance to stun... This would become the same thing as what con is used for, however with this system any "body"/Health damage you took reduces your ability to take the next hit (this would quickly compound itself, and you would end up with a "death spiral" as it were, so some people my not see it as "fun." I don't know how far this idea can be used, but I do like the mechanic it seems to suggest happening. You loose functionality to "build" a glass jaw, or someone who has low HP, but can take a hit... so I don't think it's going in the direction that DOJ is going, but it's got some interesting uses.

Re: CON Only to Resist Stunning , big smile of pride... "why thank you sir!"

Re: CON Only to Resist Stunning I personally agree with you Hugh to be honest; however, I could see using a Con rolls to resist sleepy-ness (That character that decided to stay up all night and pull guard shift, while everyone else got a full nights rest, the classic I'm following him all night tracking scene, the wizard up all night researching- rolling to see if he doesn't crash at the midnight point, etc.), resisting poison (fairly simple explanations), Psi/Ego powers that have the use Con disad, I could see jacking a "push" depending on a Con roll... I can honestly see a great deal of odd little uses... then again, I've never actually had any occur in-game. So Again, I gotta go with you and say that despite the above list it's getting something for nothing to use the 'only to resist stun' modifier. Heck I really didn't allow it in earlier editions, I just didn't decouple very often, and thought it was a bit 'twink-y' but I know others probably would disagree (however, we all have to rule things based on our game group, and for mine, this is what was necessary).

Re: Cool Guns for your Games

Re: So, are Bricks more expensive in 6th Edition? If we have time before Monday, and we receive critique that we feel is valid enough can we alter our builds to come closer in line with said critiques? If not, I'll put up my changes, and just have it as a "how 'bout now" deal that's outside of the Brick-a-thon.

Re: So, are Bricks more expensive in 6th Edition? I'll go for that, I just built myself an NPC brick for a one on one with my wife. I haven't had any characters ever critiqued before, so this should be good for me. He's for a standard point, Kinda X-men/ Disney Gargoyles level game, maybe a tad more powerful, but Again he's the brick, and as such handing out, by and far the most damage.

Re: Death Becomes me, help me figure it out? I've actually been working on a Bleach type game for Hero (6th though), and I'm probably going to have tiers that have prereq's to make power levels distinct. Such as Only when down to 5 body, 10 stun or something like that. Then that allows for someone to be beat up, and even the possibility that someone could get taken out before they ever power up... rare but you see it in anime. Other wise work on building the powers and instead of giving normal exp (though there would be some normal XP of course), you hand them powers at the appropriate moments... making it closer, but not tied, to a leveled type progression...

Re: Ego Attacks in 5e Ego Attacks work off of your ECV (EOCV + 11) - EDCV, and folks rarely have a very high ECV... Also the Ego Attack is resisted by Mental Defenses (so neither PD or ED are applied to Ego Attack). Also you can purchase the "Takes Body" advantage to the Ego Attack, and now you have a ego combat blast that does body. (and still ignores your dcv and PD/ED). I would delete, but I worded it differently enough that it might take two looks at it to finally get it... one never knows.