Bloodstone

Re: Falling damage: all the right angles?

Very cool' date=' although any pretense at anything more than cinematic realism is lost when someone catches themselves one-handed like that and then someone else pulls them up one handed.[/quote']

 

Well, Nathan Drake is supposed to be an amazingly skilled climber, so he's got mad grip and upper body strength:

 

 

Re: "Neat" Pictures

Wait, is that Sleeping Beauty and Ariel?

 

And the background is Jaffar, Ursula I think (yep, theres the trident and crown and a tentacle), and I don't recognize the dragon. It doesn't look like the one in Sleeping Beauty.

That's definitely supposed to be Aurora on the carpet and Maleficent in the background.

It's really quite scandalous that Ariel is wearing Aquaman's pants though...

Re: Falling damage: all the right angles?

I wasn't aware we were discussing a situation of falling 40 m straight down onto an angled surface.

Actually, the OP doesn't mention falling 40m (or any other distance) and then sliding down an angled surface.

As far as I can tell, he was just talking about sliding/rolling down a hill or other angled surface and applying damage from doing so.

The video link he posted to illustrate what he was talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WZOQsdzXx8Q#t=0s

The falling straight down and then impacting an angled surface is an entirely separate (though interesting) side conversation...

Re: "Neat" Pictures

...Obviously' date=' we need pictures deftly organized.[/quote']

 

Such dedicated sites already exist out there on the intarwebz...

Re: MMA-styled martial arts locks and grappling

Well' date=' I was thinking with the Ultimate Martial Artist, you could buy power advantages for your manuever. I would buy variable special effect (+1/4) to represent leglocks or armlocks.[/quote']

 

An advantaged maneuver is probably too expensive to be worth it in this instance.

 

It would almost certainly be cheaper to purchase the exact same maneuver multiple times and with a different name.

 

However, you can already define Martial Grab or Joint Break as any joint lock that's appropriate to the users style, so if your style includes leglocks and armlocks I would almost certainly allow a character to perform both with a single martial maneuver.

 

Oh and to be clear, I'm assuming leg lock, your using your legs instead of hands and targeting the legs, but you could use your hands to attack legs. so alittle description would be useful.

 

Not typically.

 

When most people say leg locks, they are talking about submission holds performed on the opponents legs. Especially in a submission grappling or MMA context.

 

While the vast majority of these holds do utilize the attackers legs for better power and control of the opponent, most of them are still performed on the opponents leg(s) by the attackers arms. There are a few exceptions, like the Indian Deathlock or Stepover Toehold, but they are relatively obscure and virtually unseen in MMA.

 

In real life submission grappling, leg locks are kinda my specialty, so I could ramble on for a while here... but I'll try to show some restraint for once

Re: Falling damage: all the right angles?

Presumably, if a character tumbles/slides down a steep enough surface, they will still take some sort of falling damage.

 

But...is there an angle they can coast down on and land without hurting themselves? Are any special traits needed to pull off this stunt?

It depends on a lot of factors.

How controlled is the initial tumble?

Did the ground they were standing on just drop from under them and turn into a slide or are they hitting this slide with some serious momentum behind them?

Are the characters wearing any sort of protective gear at all?

I can do a fall down a flight of stairs and take no appreciable damage because I've got the training to do that particular trick. Of course, that doesn't mean that if I slip and fall down a flight of stairs it's not going to hurt. One is a controlled stunt the other is a accident that I'm not prepared for...

Generally speaking, sliding down a smooth surface like glass (or the nice waxed floor of a shattered office building) will inflict little to no damage. Might not want to do it in shorts and a tank top though... by contrast, the abrasion from something like concrete will tear up your up pretty good if you aren't wearing appropriate gear. Thick, properly padded clothing like a motorcycle jumpsuit will prevent the worst of it though. There are things I imagine you generally don't want to do in the process of such a slide, like try to slow yourself with your bear hands or flip over so that you are face down... that's going to leave a mark...

Of course, in a cinematic campaign, concrete might inflict no damage from being slid across, other than maybe some cosmetic effects like shredded jeans and slightly bloodied up hands or elbows. Probably some dust kicked up on the heroes face for good measure. Heck, how many movies have featured the hero slipping down the side of a mountain, crashing into a pool of water (usually with majestic shot of him in free fall next to a waterfall) and walking away completely unharmed?

Mind you, I'm only talking about a clear, relatively controlled and unobstructed slide. Hitting something on the way down or twisting the wrong way can certainly inflict harm, though I think minor obstructions like small tree branches and such can be ignored.

So if this is just a cool action hero stunt that you expect to come up from time to time, I'd probably just figure out how difficult I want it to be, request a Breakfall/Acrobatics/DEX roll and let anyone pull it off competently safely on a good roll. Fail the roll, and you take some falling damage in the process. And of course if you then fall off something at the end of the slide you have to worry about the impact with the ground that come after, so possibly another bit of falling damage afterwards.

Now, all that said you might want to check out the rules in the Ultimate Speedster on Uncontrolled Movement. Pretty detailed stuff in there, but it might be more than what you are looking for.

Along those lines, you can always buy some very limited defenses only to protect against Skidding/Crashing damage, some limited Flight to more quickly reduce Uncontrolled movement and/or you can grab some Environmental Movement so you can act without penalty while skidding about (as seen in the Uncharted clip where Nathan is firing his gun quite competently while sliding to his doom...)... but I'm not sure this sort of thing would come up often enough that I would want to charge my players points for it.

Re: Bell curve spread?

Do you want the likelihood of rolling a given number in the 16 number range

or

of rolling a given number or lower?

For example...

The chance of rolling an 11 on 3d6 is 12.5%, but the chance of rolling 11- on 3d6 is 62.5%

EDIT: Ninja'ed!

Re: MMA-styled martial arts locks and grappling

Also' date=' what rules are you using, and how complex/detailed do you want to go?[/quote']

 

Good point!

 

I assumed 6E with my page and book references, but most of the same rules will apply in 5E (though Instead of Multiple attack it would be a Sweep...)

Re: "Neat" Pictures

Linda Le

http://www.vampbeauty.com/about.htm

As for the giant:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Awakening_sculpture

There's actually a bunch more pictures of her (and Meagan Marie) in that particular set.

Re: MMA-styled martial arts locks and grappling

Lots of different options here, but your two major ones would be:

- A variation on Martial Grab, which is how most joint locks are designed for most martial arts. Typical leg locks will only require immobilizing one limb, but many will immobilize two. You can generally just assume that compound locks are performed via Multiple Attack as per 6E2 p65. This maneuver only does Normal damage and is probably most appropriate for Achilles Tendon Locks/Foot Locks and Calf Crushers, as these maneuvers are less likely to do lasting damage to the target.

- If you want the option to actually break legs you will also want to buy Joint Break, which does Killing damage and is defined in the aforementioned HERO System Martial Arts. This is particularly appropriate for twisting ankle locks like Toe Holds/Heel Hooks as well as Knee Bars.

Of course, like any joint lock, skilled fighters have enough control to choose how much damage the inflict. You can rupture and tear soft tissue with a calf crusher or Achilles, just like you can choose to only inflict pain with a heel hook or kneebar. You could also add some additional granularity by creating custom maneuvers. So a Knee Bar could be an entirely separate martial maneuver from a Hell Hook. But it's probably not worth the points investment for the character to buy versions of several extremely similar moves...

Re: Ben 10: Ultimate Alien

Well, the series is almost wrapped up, so just a couple of quick notes for now:

- Writeup for Fasttrack is done, just haven't posted it. It's honestly still pretty basic. I was kinda hoping we would see some more speed stunts or some better indication of just how strong he's actually supposed to be. He's got at least one more appearance coming up.

- Writeup for Eatle is also mostly done. I know he has one more appearance coming up, so I'll post him after that one.

- Jury Rigg is just some scribbled notes so far, but it's enough to make a playable, if not particularly powerful, character. One more appearance for the little guy and then I'll actually write him up.

- Writeup for Clockwork is mostly done, though he's still a bit limited. Despite that, he's pretty scary powerful already. I'm still working on the design for his Time Rewind Hologram, but I don't think we'll see anymore of him.

Of course, all of the above aliens will probably appear in the next series at some point (I've already seen the new design for Eatle, for example)

Re: "Neat" Pictures

It goes farther back then that...

Yes, I'm aware just how messed up her history is.

Enforcer asked if she had replaced Diana as Wonder Woman, either while Diana was dead or depowered.

She actually did replace Diana when the Princess was still very much alive and fully powered. She had stopped being Wonder Woman as a result of Infinite Crisis storyline.

Of course, when Donna was actually a young Diana, she hadn't been called Wonder Woman yet

Re: "Neat" Pictures

She has been Wonder Woman when Diana was ...dead? I think she was dead at the time...or depowered.

Diana had steeped down from the role of Wonder Woman, so Donna took up the mantle:

Re: Barnstormer, flying speedster

I think 30" per phase is plenty for this guy. His SPD score is keeping his combat speed down compared to some speedsters in MPH terms' date=' but I'm OK with that. This is the speed where he has the most control for now.[/quote']

 

Yeah, that's totally a personal preference thing, just wanted to make sure you were aware of what the character was capable of in somewhat more relatable terms

 

I've had a several first time speedster players think their character was lighting quick and then get disappointed with how it feels in actual game play.

 

Most bricks, blasters and power armor guys usually have a 5-6 SPD and 20-30" of combat movement. So I generally don't feel that fast in combat unless I have at least one or two more points of SPD and at least twice as much combat movement... but that's me.

 

What's the SFX of this guys flight anyhow?

 

I'm getting a bit more of a Cannonball vibe from this guy than I am a Superman/Flash style speedster anyhow, but not really sure what you're going for...

 

Yeah, the END is an issue. I may try doing it as a pre-Megascale stlye multipower with one slot for combat speed and one slot for a higher NCM speed, and see if that will save enough pts to put some in END. He does have half END as an option on the variable advantage, but that's still 30 END per Turn just for movement. Multipower may be the way to go to get the total AP down to lower the END cost.

 

I'd play with it some more. Otherwise I think it will end up being frustrating.

 

Mind you, as a low defense speedster, he probably burn some phases just Dodging now and then.

 

Hmm. The intent isn't to allow the HA damage to apply to his move-by and move-through maneuvers (or any standard maneuvers). I was using the build for it from Ultimate Speedster:

 

That's definitely a problem with the write up, though. The idea in the text is that it replaces the standard maneuvers, not augments them, but nothing in the build really prevents the powers from adding to the maneuver damage.

 

Gotcha. I'd definitely write those powers up differently if they were intended to be exclusive with Velocity based combat maneuvers.

 

I think that CVs aren't too high in the game in general. Conceptually, he's a guy who likes to fly who's pushed to heroics by circumstance, so initially using just his raw agility. I figure I can buy up his OCV over time if needed.

 

Yeah, nothing in his background screamed trained fighter or anything, but not knowing the game I wasn't sure how playable those CVS would be. It's not uncommon to see bricks straight out of the main Champions books with OCV's in the 10-12 range.

 

Yeah, his defenses are like tissue paper. I have two problems there: Finding the points for them, and finding an SFX that's in concept. I'm thinking of light armor (crash suit) plus "body adapted to flying" to just buy up base PD/ED and stats.

 

Yeah, speedsters are rarely bulletproof, but they tend to be fairly tough just so they can survive the effect of their own powers.

 

Biological adaptations could account for a higher than normal human PD/ED, or you could buy some OIF/IIF PD/ED via a padded costume that the rDEF armor could stack with it.

 

Could always go with a force field like Cannonball too, in which case you save a few points via the Link to the movement power.

 

Of course, you could probably also justify some extra abilities liek life support's that are useful for fliers (heat for high friction, cold and breathing for the thin air at high altitudes)

 

Well, if you fall out of an airplane, you aren't going to break the fall, it's going to break you. =)

 

Sure, the odds are stacked against you, but that's why they teach you how to fall when your chute doesn't open. Try to minimize the damage and hope for the best

 

Plus he's probably crashed a lot learning his powers at lower altitudes, so he could have learned how to roll with things and not take a header.

 

Of course, it also goes hand and hand with his Acrobatics skill.

 

If need be, you can also justify the skill as a power/physical adaptation for flight.

 

The mechanics of taking reduced damage from falling is mainly what your after for a guy like this. Superman doesn't have to worry about it the same way Angel does...

 

As for the parachute use, I'm assuming he does know how to use one. It's not a core skill, though. I'm assuming basic parachute use subsumed under the Professional Skill. The parachuting skill from Dark Champions provides for more ability than he'd be expected to have. (Packing a chute, etc.)

 

Core rules have Parachute use defined as a Transportation Familiarity. Dark Champions/Ultimate Skill makes it an optional skill.

 

I was going to buy a few movement skill levels for background fluff, but ran out of points. Not really needed for his core abilities, though, as no turn mode and combat acceleration/deceleration pretty much cover him there.

 

The character doesn't actually have No Turn Mode listed as an option for his flight... though you should have room for that option once you make the decision about NCM/Megamovement...

Re: Barnstormer, flying speedster

No idea what the game is like, so with that in mind:

In combat movement terms, I find he's kinda slow for a speedster. He's only zipping around at about 67 mph in normal combat.

That's not too terrible until you contrast it with his mega-movement, which lets him travel at almost Mach 9 out of combat.

With that kind of speed, he could fly virtually anywhere on earth in about a half hour, but in practice he'll never actually be able to do that since he burns WAY too much END in the process.

At full speed, this character eats through 60 END per turn. Hard to say what he'll be like in combat, because I don't know you will have him fight, but he can potentially burn through over 60 END per turn when he goes all out on the offense.

Of course, with only 40 END and 8 REC, he's going to spend a lot of time sucking wind or performing way below his real potential.

If you are looking to skimp some points, Position Shift and NCM can probably be shelved, which would save you 15 points.

Position Shift is pretty useful, but probably not critical for the concept. You can always pick it up with some XP in a session or two.

NCM is probably a bad idea though. The Megascale advantage cannot be applied to any movement power with increased NCM and vice versa, so pick one or the other. This is why many 5E speedsters have their movement in a MP.

Also, in 5E terms, megascale movement generally requires Megascale Sight so that you don't go splat! Many people I know ruled this as unnecessary, so check with the GM on that one...

His potential damage is rather high: 13d6, 19d6 and 23d6 for his three most common modes of attack.

By contrast, his OCV is probably just a bit too low. 9, 7 and 3 for those same three attacks.

Of course this is not an issue if he mainly uses his highly accurate but much lower damage Cleaning House power...

DCV of 11 while flying isn't too bad, but his defenses are still rather low. It's only going to take one average 14d6 hit or 2 average 10d6 AoE's to knock him out of a fight. Less if he get's knocked back into something sturdy, which tends to happen quyite a bit to flyers. Of course, you also have to factor that if he is KOed on the move he will then plummet to the ground, take even more damage and be out even longer .

Anyhow, if the GM lets the speedster do an 19d6 with a Move By, I'm guessing that a similarly powered blaster type will tear this guy up in seconds.

Of course, that big 23d6 attack I mentioned above is on a move through. With on OCV of 3, he'll never hit anything except the broad side of a barn, which is probably a good thing since he'll almost certainly get Stunned or KOed every time he does hit...

I'd probably get him some Flash Defense to protect those Eagle Eyes of his. Of course, that won't help with his Eat My Dust power, which he's not actually immune to, but then I'd probably also buy Personal Immunity on this power so he could melee opponents in the safety of his own dust cloud.

Might even go with OIF flight Goggles to save points and because I like the visual

Breakfall would probably be a good and background appropriate skill to have. Also, some ability to use a parachute couldn't hurt based on his apparent background as a circus stunt pilot.

You may want to check out Movement Skill levels with flight on p369 of 5ER. Versatile, useful, background appropriate and fairly inexpensive... but ultimately might not be worth it the way you have the characters variable advantage set up.

Frankly, I would change the build considerably. For example, I'd reduce the points spent in the characters basic moment power and then leverage the MP that you already have. I'd probably have a slot with additional inches of combat movement (which can of course increase his damage via move by and move through, reducing the need for hand attack dice), add another slot for mega-movement (it's not like you will ever use combat stunts in the same phase as mega-movement anyhow) and if there were points left over possibly add a few more speedster stunts for added fun and versatility.

Also, not sure that the Money disadvantage is appropriate in a superheroic game where you probably aren't paying for equipment and such...

Re: "Neat" Pictures

If that's a real photo and not a photomanip' date=' that's pretty frickin' awesome. Elvis looks a little intimidated.[/quote']

 

Not real

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]41836[/ATTACH]

Re: "Neat" Pictures

"What can be inferred about the mind of the Creator from the works of His Creation?"

"An inordinate fondness for the Beatles."

I'm wondering if there is any significance to the insects chose to represent them.

John looks to be a potato beetle... Ringo has a huge schnoz, so the rhinoceros beetle makes sense. I'm not sure why Paul McCartney is a stag beetle. The dude's been married like 5 times!

George is... a dung beetle...

okay, hopefully they were all just chosen for color

Re: Very flashy, acrobatic martial arts styles?

That's one kick heavy theoretical martial artist you got there

Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwon Do have the same roots and a lot of technical overlap, with modern TKD tending to be the flashier of the two styles.

So I'm not sure that Tang Soo Do would add much to the mix...

Of course, Tricking alone could probably tech a practitioner all the fanciest kicks from Wu Shu, Capoeira and TKD anyhow...

Re: Very flashy, acrobatic martial arts styles?

That's one kick heavy theoretical martial artist you got there

Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwon Do have the same roots and a lot of technical overlap, with modern TKD tending to be the flashier of the two styles.

So I'm not sure that Tang Soo Do would add much to the mix...

Re: Very flashy, acrobatic martial arts styles?

Fwiw' date=' I watched Tekken (the movie). And they had a bonus video called Stunt Stars. It focused on Cyril Rafaeff, who according to the show, was instrumental in developing Parkour, and was the fight choregrapher for Tekken, District B13, and several Transporter movies.[/quote']

 

Did they actually say he helped develop parkour? Cyril has certainly helped popularize the art via his movie roles. But he came along after the core parkour group had already been working together for many years. The Yamakasi was formed in 1988. Cyril's first real exposure to parkour came on the set of Banlieue 13 back in '03 or '04 when he was working with parkour "founder" David Belle.

 

Mind you, he's a skilled acrobat, stunt man, street tumbler and martial artist, so a lot of skill overlap, I'm sure he learned various new movements fast and he's been doing it for nearly a decade now...

Re: "Neat" Pictures

http://wesleydodds.tumblr.com/post/13373444716/thought-id-repost-this-picture-i-commissioned

Thought I’d repost this picture I commissioned from Mike Kevan.

 

It includes The Shadow, The Green Hornet, The Spirit, The Question (Vic Sage), The Question (Renee Montoya), Rorschach, and Carmen Sandiego

 

Go Fedora Clad Crime Fighters!

Re: How do I determine this...

In a book (Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris)' date=' I read that vampires had x20 the strength and was x20 faster than a human. How would this convert to STR, DEX, SPD, and PD?[/quote']

 

What are your metrics?

 

Do you want them x20 stronger and faster than a normal human or x20 stronger and faster than a really strong and fast human?

Re: Stalker Chick

Can u guys think of any female villians in the Champions Universe that could fill this role of psychotic stalker.

Well, if you want a literal psychopath, Scorpia from Eurostar would probably work. She's also incredibly vain. You could even have it that Mentella has planted this suggestion in her head as something of a detraction from there little "feud".

Re: A Thread for Random Videos

Kevin Spacey's best scene ever. Still trying to find the whole thing' date=' in which he demonstrates how many different ways he can nuance the same five words....[/quote']

 

Re: A Thread for Random Videos