Fenixcrest

Re: Reboot HERO I've strongly considered it, along with my other various on again-off again movie/show setting books. I once ran Reboot using rules adapted from AD&D 2e (whoa, way back in the day!), but nobody was a Guardian, so that particular difficulty was mitigated. That said, if I can find that notebook, I'd have a good starting point to work from, as I had defined a great deal about the environment of the digital multiverse, including a fairly elaborate Tear classification system. I basically defined types A-Z, based on variations in average size, stability, damaging potential, explosive power, and capacity for Portals. Also mused upon were the mechanics of a system crash, and a comparison of viruses to the undead.

Re: WWYD if you could recieve ONE super power Can it be a compound power, like Armor with PD and ED? If so, that's what I want. I don't care about immortality- I just want to be impossible to hurt, unless I want it to happen (i.e., I can turn it off briefly to get vaccinations and whatnot). Imagine how useful that would be- I'm a computer programmer, but in a pinch I could be the ultimate fire-rescue guy. They could send me into enemy territory to just confuse enemy gunmen with my unkillability. I could walk the streets of any major city at night without fear. I could go parachute-less skydiving. I'm not too interested in getting chlorine-bombed by some dictator, though, so I'd probably stick to the skydiving and part time fire-rescue. Of course, I wouldn't have any Knockback resistance- maybe it's best to avoid situations where I'd be hit by a bus, or shot with a missile. Also, no Life Support, by this thread's condition, so I hope nobody gets mad enough at me to use biological or chemical weapons on me, or hurl me into the freezing vacuum of space.

Re: Your PC's DNPC? I'm somewhat ashamed to say that my DNPC's are almost always from the template of "relative with a dangerous job." So, it might be the character's younger sister, who is an overenthusiastic reporter who likes to wow her boss with up-close photos of superheroic battles. It might be the character's second cousin, a promising rookie cop with too much optimism about criminal behavior. That sort of thing.

Re: Does your GM play too? My GMPC's tend to be support-type characters. They might be one-shots who show up to occupy the mooks while the PCs move on to the actual villain, or they might be full-on party members who exist primarily to soak damage and heal PCs. I try not to run persistent GMPCs who serve a major independent purpose; I have enough to worry about while running a game- I don't need to be trying to spotlight some NPC all the time.

Re: Magic and Mechanics, to you I try to write a fairly detailed "background" document about magic. Basically, why it works, what it looks like, what the conventions and standards of its practicioners are; obviously, these vary in a world where there are multiple types of magic. The game mechanics don't matter so much- if you have the points for it, and I deem it a power that doesn't make me cringe as a GM, then it's yours... but I'll expect an explanation of its effects, how others perceive those effects (appearance, sound, etc), any other campaign-relevant info (which book do you keep it in, what language is it written in, and so on, if these apply).

Re: Thoughts on the Speed Zone Potential brokenness aside, Speed Zone made me happy because it allows me to simulate my current nerdy obsession, Kamen Rider Kabuto without giving him SPD 12, costs END. In Kabuto, the heroes, while in their second armor form, can go into a state called "Clock Up", where they move so fast that everything else is frozen. Of course, the bad guys can do this too. On that note, it's also like Cyborg 009, where their leader, and a lot of villains, could accelerate to speeds like that.

Re: Scouters from DBZ Well, the build would be Detect Fighting Power(Discriminatory, Ranged), OIF(fragile). As for what it would detect... I would almost say toolkit a new number into the system, though I'm not sure what kind of number; I'm sure there's a better way to do it than what DBZ Fuzion did.

Re: Aikido throw Agreed with ghost-angel. A martial throw does velocity damage, in addition to STR and bonus damage. If you make it an abortable maneuver, then for extra umph, you could, perhaps, buy extra STR, only with martial throw, only to match amount of strength used to attack you by person being thrown. That way, you hurt them with your strength, plus their strength, plus velocity. ...ouch.

Re: what power do i use to stop scrying/bugs The scanner would only know the character's direction/general distance if the target's EGO +10 is exceeded by the Mind Scan Dice - target's Mental Defence (or, just direction if EGO +0 is exceeded, though large enough Mental Defence can prevent that). Although, now that I have the table in front of me, sufficiently huge dice would negate the need for telepathy unless the scanner wanted to know what was going on around the target. Also, as a GM, I would shoot down Mental Invisibility, since it's basically a cheaper way of buying Mental Defence. EDIT: I found the "general location" clause that you mentioned. I think that mainly applies to a largely blind "mental location" - i.e., among these 5,000 minds that I scanned in that town over yonder, I got a ping from the guy I was looking for. If you're scrying blind, though, meaning you don't know which town to scan, then we're looking at "Oh, I got a ping from my target! That means he's someplace... on... the planet. Dang."

Re: what power do i use to stop scrying/bugs Also, don't forget Mind Scan as a form of scrying, combined with Telepathy to determine, by your surface thoughts, where you are and what you are doing. Perhaps Mental Defense is in order?

Re: Favorite general types of SF weapons I'm a big fan of energy guns, especially the sort of gritty, Star Wars-style ones that look like they could be an actual firearm. Han Solo pulls that bad boy out of its leather holster, and you know somebody's gonna get shot. They have more of a "weapon"-ish feel to them than the Star Trek-style phaser, which, to me, looks too much like a gadgety non-gun, the old-timey zapper guns from the early days of sci-fi movies and TV, which look like childrens' toys.

Re: GM Question: Social Equity Yeah, I do that, too, sort of. The majority of people in my campaign don't care if you're a mutant, or what. Your parents and family might be kind of weirded out because they have to deal with it on a day-to-day basis (Ew. Jimmy built another nest in the basement.), but unless they're either members of GENOME, or have some non-GENOME-affiliated religious hangup about it, most people just raise their eyebrow and continue the conversation; I guess it's one of those "don't ask, don't tell" things. Sort of like... let's say you walk into the office and say, "Hey, co-workers! I'm a mutant!" and then make yourself glow for a second for effect. After the initial shock wore off, it's kind of like walking into the office and announcing that you're a transvestite, then briefly showing off that garter belt you have on under your slacks. Kinda of a weird thing to do, probably socially unacceptable, might get you reprimanded for causing a scene (though, in the mutant situation, you'd probably get in less trouble, since I'm sure that flashing a garter belt probably qualifies you for some sort of sexual harrassment allegation), but not something that would get you hurled out the 12th story window by an angry and fearful mob.

Re: A couple questions for GMs 1. I don't require too much; generally, just enough background to give a personality framework and an explanation for a character's abilities. Some of my players are awesome, though. In my upcoming game: "So, Stalin was a super in this timeline?" "That's right. He called himself the Blood Red King, and ruled over the USSR with an iron fist and psionic powers until Captain America (not the Marvel one) went in there and decapitated him." "Okay. My character's father was a Russian scientist who saw this coming and chose to launch his family into space for a few decades. He was one of the world's greatest geniuses, and had access to amazing super-technologies of the period. 50 years later, he has decided to check Earth out again, and my character, his daughter, opted to go down to planetside with some of his 1960's-era supertechnology." "..." "Yeah. She's a displaced 1960's scifi superhero." "Buck Rogers style? With the awesome little zappy gun?" "That's right." ...And I think that's good enough right there, plus it's bound to become more elaborate and weird as the game goes on. We've already developed a "not displaced, but kind of stuck in the past 1960's scifi villain" to be her hunted. The group and I are pretty excited about that one. 2. Psych lims, they pretty much come up when they come up. There was a character in this year's fantasy game who was afraid of becoming filthy. He usually got dropped in the mud or completely covered in blood at least once per session, resulting in him running screaming off the battlemat, toward the nearest water source. A less common psych lim, though, like a phobia of snakes, might only come up if the character actively ventures into a place where snakes are found, such as deserts and airplanes. Vulnerabilities... it depends on the vulnerability, and how familiar villains are with the character. For example, I'm not too likely to throw a -spewing villain at the characters from out of nowhere... but a villain that's familiar with the character, like a Hunted or another recurring villain, especially a psychic one, is likely to bring -spewing backup with him. Susceptibilities (assuming uncommon ones, like Kryptonite, not common ones, like being submerged(think of all those dockside warehouse fights!)) are the same case.

Re: New Power Advantage: Edible I consider eating something to be a voluntary action. Sort of like how you don't have to make an attack roll on your DRAIN BODY when you've already convinced the victim that it's actually an AID INT. Being force-fed the poisoned cake is an entirely different story, but chances are he's bound and at 0 DCV by then.

Re: What I learn playing a GM. Learn to roll Presence attacks. This is especially important in Heroic-level games, I find. I dunno about you guys, but my players tend to play their characters like fearless crazy people. If you don't roll the PRE attack for that dragon roaring and shattering a marble column with its claw, then your players will be just as content to respond, "I snort impudently and charge at it, whirling my quarterstaff above my head!"

Re: What Would Your Character See? Jonah MacDonald would see a tiny duct, or something, just barely large enough to squeeze into. On a dare, he would confidently wriggle into it, go about 5 yards, and then collapse into a tightly packed pile of terrified goo; he's incredibly claustrophobic, you see, but in complete denial about it. He usually depends on his teammates to pull him out of such places once he's there. Jordan Stormwrought fears very little. In this place, he would encounter himself, having fallen from grace and chosen to use his powers for evil. The two titans would have it out in that dreamscape in a battle between two ideas of power: the stern guardian, and the tyrannical juggernaut. This would end with the both of them locked in a stalemate, in some ridiculous grapple on a rocky outcropping over a canyon. Knowing that there can be only one, both would use their last ounce of STUN to break the grapple and execute their armor-piercing strike, and whichever of the two survived the 300 meter drop that ensued afterwards would be the one to emerge from the dream.

Re: Power idea - flashing sword The knight in my campaign has COM 29. He does this with his teeth on an RSR COM, no range. It can be pretty entertaining. "The mighty ogre binds your blade with his halberd and begins pushing you toward the cliff." "...I smile."

Re: More Difficult Than Average It could be a variable pool or multipower of various pertinent effects. RKA's, EB's, NND's, all indirect and either invisible or with variable special effects, sometimes area effect. This way, you can also do more abstract things if you want, like striking a red line across a character's limb in the painting, resulting in them suddenly getting a huge cut there.

Re: what power do i use to stop scrying/bugs Supress Clairsentience, perhaps?

Re: Irksome players I think it was reasonable in this case, having set a precedent in almost all previous sessions for SFX having major effects on the world; the mage's positive energy bolt has been known to briefly transmute matter and energies into their postive quasi-element forms, often resulting in highly increased damage output, the arcane swordsman's Light Blade spell can be used as a high-powered light source, the character in question's plant entangle has been known to cause serious damage to the environment and objects contained therein, the arcane archer's fire arrows have been known to actually light things on fire, and so on. I've been pretty clearly lenient about how far you can stretch a power throughout the campaign, I think. The mage managed to catch on to the fact that if something is on fire, a sufficiently successful Power: Magic roll on his positive bolt will result in said something being on radiance, resulting in massive damage and a 2d6 sight flash to everybody facing in that direction. I think after making a fairly large tree grow to block a vertical passage, the character in question could have made the leap that a similar method could be used to overwhelm what is, essentially, just another hollow structure. Obviously, they could have used other methods, including: tricking it into running off the edge of the big ol' pit they were near, hitting it with lots of Penetrating attacks, leaving the room. However, where the character in question was the only one engaged in a.) being stepped on/axed, b.) healing the people that were being stepped on/axed, or c.) failing the casting check on his Penetrating attack over and over again, it fell upon him to catch the "It is hollow" hints that I was dropping every Turn or so. On topic, how about those players that try to kill the contact? "The king rises from his throne, a grave expression on his face. 'I have called you here to give you a mission of utmost importance to the kingdom.' " "...I kill the king."

Re: fear-ability I'm a big fan of ye olde PRE Drain, since a few phases of exposure to such an effect will reduce most characters to a screaming mess in the corner. I used a new type of semi-corporeal undead in a session the other week, the Draed. Its modus operandi was to wrap its cloth-like body around a victim, and then proceed with a multiple power attack of squeeze (20 STR) and Drain PRE 3d6. This was its method of feeding, and doing so restored its BODY. It was actually really funny at the time, because the party's self-proclaimed "ghost hunter" ended up spending about a minute at below zero PRE, including the time it took to recover the Drained points, just a screaming, gibbering mess being slowly crushed by this cloth thing XD;

Re: Irksome players In that situation, the 3" radius sudden, explosive plant growth basically destroyed the golem, which was hollow, from the inside. I allowed this because it was a cool idea, and the golem was hollow. A solid golem of the same type, on the other hand, would have just been caught in the entangle. Also, the party was hell-bent on defeating this thing, even though they had almost no chance of piercing its defences.

As a GM, what sort of players do you find irksome? Not intolerably awful- there's plenty of threads for that. Just... kind of annoying. There's one guy in my current group who plays a low-strength, high agility, crowd-control sort of character. Physically, he's kind of useless except for feats of agility. So, whenever the party fights something huge and nigh-invincible (iron golems, and the like), he basically gets all pissy and threatens to go take a nap, or something. The thing that's annoying is that I leave behind subtle clues for him in these situations. For example, in the case of the iron golem, I made note that the thing was hollow. It took like 20 Turns of the party, determined to kill this thing even though they could have just left through the door (which was smaller than the golem), and this guy whining the whole time, before he figured out that he could try targeting his 3" radius plant-based Entangle inside the golem's hollow body. Due to the time frame involved, the party member who had the treasure being guarded by the golem has reached her healing cap for at least the next month, and I had to endure more then forty vinyard's worth of whine from the guy in question. x_x Like, he figures it out, but first he complains forever about being useless, when some creative application can do awesome things. How about you guys?

Re: [Vanor] A Symphony of Magic hmm Great minds think alike XD;; I should get around to finishing that system. Yours has a higher order of detail than mine does, though. I'm impressed =)

Re: Difficulty reaching Super-Hero status That's because he's 8- and hella tough. I'd imagine that his rolls are going off about 20 times for him to assemble some seemingly unstoppable evil plot in the background, with small chances for the Four to catch on if they weren't busy with other things, eventually culminating in Sue getting hurled into another dimension and everybody else getting stranded on a rogue asteroid, tied to a hydrogen bomb. The idea is that maybe there's an 11- chance of that Reed will notice that some rare component he needed has already been bought out, or for Ben to hear something about a missing warhead during one of his trenchcoat strolls. Eventually, they either put two and two together and stop Dr. Doom, or they end up strapped to an H-bomb in 6 months. Something like that, anyway.