Lord Liaden

Re: Melee Reflection I haven't found Missile Reflection or "Melee Reflection" to be overpriced for what they do. You have to succeed at two successive Attack Rolls, one to block the incoming attack, the other to hit the target that you've Reflected the attack to; and you can't use Combat Skill Levels to improve the chances for both at the same time. Even allowing the Naked Adder approach for Melee Reflection, 20 to 30 points for this ability seems fair for most campaigns. Mind you, for Cosmically Powerful superheroes it might be too cheap compared to other abilities, but that's a concern for any of the fixed-price Powers for games at that level.

Re: How would you use Takofanes? There were in fact some neat suggestions on that thread. Not quite what I was going for here, but I think it would be appropriate to refer interested folks to it: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41734

Re: Elder Races... To tell you the truth, I think that most "elder race" types function better as NPCs (or even enemies). Almost by definition they have greater knowledge and power than the younger/mortal peoples, and if you want them to have the proper aura of wisdom and experience they can't really mingle with the "kids," or function at their level of competence. That said, it's certainly possible to have "younger Elders" - those who are relative striplings among their kind, or rebels and outcasts from their societies. These can be less prepossessing than the major Elves, Vulcans etc. I use two methods to set members of these races apart from their associates in adventuring groups. One way is to give them minor abilities that may occasionally be useful, but more often simply reinforce their alienness compared to their comrades. The Vulcan mind-meld ability is useless in a combat situation, while their extra inner eyelids are only helpful when exposed to extreme light. Elves may be able to walk on top of the snow, and to "sleep" and dream while awake and functioning, but that won't help them kill orcs. The other way is to posit a different mindset based on the alien qualities of the race, and roleplay that mindset during the game. Again with the previous examples, Vulcan logic and emotionlessness, or Elven bonds to nature and weariness from their long exile, make them distinct. For a game you really need a roleplayer who can get into the appropriate mindset; and the less anthropomorphic the race is, the greater the leap of imagination required. My personal favorite Elder Race is the Vorlons from B5. To me they epitomize this type of being as an NPC: powerful, mysterious, with an air of danger about them; probably benevolent, but with their own agenda that lesser creatures are not privy to; sometimes dispensing helpful but cryptic advice, but rarely directly involving themselves in the conflicts of younger races. When they do offer to help directly, there's usually a price, and consequences.

Re: Plot help! All right, I think I have a better handle on this now. It sounds like what you're looking for is concepts for superbeings that would fit within the conventions of a fantasy world with powerful magic, which is what the Turakian Age is. Do I have that right? If that's the case, let's explore a few of the classics, and let me suggest a few appropriate abilities for them. Elementals: Beings composed primarily of the four classical elemental substances. Earth - superhuman Strength, high Resistant Defenses, ability to move through the earth at will (Tunneling or Limited Desolid), ability to generate localised earthquakes (Telekinesis or Energy Blast, Only vs. Targets On the Ground). Usually Vulnerable/Susceptible to water. Fire - hurl blasts of flame (Energy Blast or Ranged Killing Attack), generate flares of bright light (Flash), body of fire that burns anyone touching them (Damage Shield). Usually Vulnerable/Susceptible to water. Air - Flight, ability to generate wind (TK or EB), rain or fog (Darkness), maybe lighting (RKA or Flash), ability to become intangible vapor (Desolid), possibly Invisible. Water - rapid Swimming, breathe freely in water (Life Support), hurl blasts of water (EB), ability to drown an opponent (NND: Life Support). Usually Vulnerable/Susceptible to fire. Undead: beings who have perished but been reanimated, or have extended their lives beyond their natural span through magic. Vampire: normally depicted as exceptionally strong, with fangs and sometimes claws (Hand-To-Hand Killing Attack), may transform into animal forms (probably Multiform), may have hypnotic power (Mind Control) or be able to turn to mist (Desolid). May have th power to Transform a victim into a vampire under its control. Usually has various Vulnerabilities/Susceptibilities, e.g. sunlight, garlic, running water. Ghost: Normally intangible (Desolid, perhaps Always On), often can become Invisible. Probably high offensive Presence due to their frightening appearance. Powerful ones can affect the physical world (Telekinesis, perhaps with Affects Physical World Advantage), may create frightening visions (Images or Mental Illusions). Lycanthropes: Beings who can assume an animal or animal-humanoid form (through Multiform or abilities bought OIHID). Wolves are most famous, but bears, big cats and others are possible. Commonly have exceptional Strength and maybe Speed and Dexterity, animalistic Enhanced Senses, probably exceptional Movement (Running, Leaping). May have Resistant Defenses, and often Regeneration. Usually Vulnerable/Susceptible to things like silver weapons or wolfsbane. Dragons: the classic fantasy creature. May be a full giant dragon (with appropriate Size abilities and Disadvantages, and great STR), or a draconic humanoid. Scales (Armor), fangs and claws (HKA), wings (Flight), maybe a usable tail (Extra Limb). Often can breathe something noxious - fire is most common (EB or RKA), but others are possible. Demons: almost any form is possible from the source materials, but let's start with traditional Christian depictions. Horns, maybe fangs and claws (HKA), sometimes wings (Flight), may be able to command "hellfire" (any of the previous suggestions for fire powers). Often able to assume deceptive and pleasing forms (Shape Shift). May be geared to battle (superhuman STR and Defenses), or to deceiving and corrupting humans (high PRE and Interaction Skills like Persuasion and Seduction). There's a great deal more that we could discuss, but I'm going to leave it at that until you say whether this is the sort of thing you're looking for.

Re: Plot help! Well, what type of campaign is this for? It sounds like either supers, fantasy, or horror (period or contemporary). What type of stories do you plan to run? Four-color supers, dark fantasy, pulp horror? Really, "magic" can just be the SFX for virtually any type of ability. What's more important is the genre and style of game that you want to play.

Re: How would you use Takofanes? Or, if Krim exists in/with the Crowns, bringing them all together might incarnate Krim on Earth.

Re: Evil Unleashed? And since I don't have some of those books (or Digital Hero articles, which I expect to be another major source of writeups), I'll probably appreciate EU myself.

Re: Evil Unleashed? From both the blurb on the "Our Products" page for Champions, and company remarks here on the boards, the Tiger Squad will appear in the Villains, Vandals And Vermin collection later this year. So, yes they're coming , but you'll have to wait a few months longer.

Re: Adjusting Costs When STR is 2 points

Re: difference between 4th edition and 5th edition Here's where you can find a pretty thorough summation of the changes from 4E to 5E: http://theemerged.blogspot.com/HERO425.htm

Re: Adjusting Costs When STR is 2 points

Re: Adjusting Costs When STR is 2 points I've long used 2-for-1 Strength in fantasy campaigns, and sometimes other heroic-level genres. While I do impose Normal Characteristic Maxima in most cases, I waive it for STR when I've increased the basic cost of that Characteristic. After all, many players love their 20+ STR brawny barbarians , and I find that doubling the cost of STR again makes players shy away from that concept.

Re: Melee Reflection Well, yes, it is different from Block; but then, Missile Reflection is different from Missile Deflection, too. When you look at the mechanics of simple MD, it's essentially a Block for Ranged attacks.

Re: Melee Reflection These would work unless, of course, the attack you're trying to turn back is not Normal Damage. Or is larger than the amount you've built, in the second case. You can use Grab and Redirect as per the UMA, but that has restrictions too.

Re: Melee Reflection This is pretty much the way I've been doing it for some time, except for the additional +1 Advantage for range. I'd have to try that out first. Considering that every character essentially has "Melee Deflection" for free (it's called Block) , I thought that Reflection as a Naked Adder for it made sense. It's worked well in my campaign IMO.

Re: How would you use Takofanes? You know, I was just rereading this, when I remembered that the Empyreans already have a major enemy in the Lemurians, and one with significant magical resources. IIRC Arvad the Betrayer, ruler of Lemuria, was around when the Empyreans attacked Tak's stronghold; he might come to the same conclusion as you about the Archlich's attitude, and try to ally with him. Arvad may just be arrogant enough to believe he can manipulate the Undying Lord. And Takofanes would probably be the, uh, entity best qualified to get the Mandragalore working again. Takofanes, King of Lemuria. Commanding the Mandragalore.

Re: How would you use Takofanes? Now that's an interesting twist... the other Crowns of Krim being used to control the Dragon Crown, instead of the other way around. As I mentioned on another recent thread, [MY PLAYERS STOP READING NOW! I MEAN IT!!] I'm planning on ending my current campaign with a world-devastating plot featuring Tak and the Crowns of Krim. The Archlich finally succeeds in capturing the Crowns, but rather than simply taking their crowns or binding them to his service, he uses them for a ritual to summon something even worse: six of the most powerful and destructive demonic entities abiding on the Earth (culled from various Champions sourcebooks).

Re: How would you use Takofanes? Well, according to The Mystic World, [spoiler!!] "Krim's heyday passed tens of thousands of years ago, it seems. So far as anyone knows, the demon-god now exists only through the Crowns and their wearers." (TMW p. 55) So, Krim may not be in a position to do much for Takofanes. Moreover, the current wearers of his other Crowns are mortal enemies of the wearer of the Dragon Crown.

Re: How would you use Takofanes?

Re: How would you use Takofanes? I actually suggested something similar to this once, although it required the assistance of Mechanon. It was in response to an observation from (IIRC) ZootSoot that Mechanon and Takofanes might be willing to work together, since they're both prepared to see all life on Earth ended. (I doubt those two egos could coexist for more than a brief period, but that part of the discussion isn't relevant here.) Anyway, I tried to think of a scheme that would fit both their motifs, but also their implied limitations, so that it would require their shared resources. Considering their dual megavillain status it would have to be something globally devastating. What I chose was an alchemical formula Takofanes knows for turning water into mercury, or something equally lethal. Mechanon would provide an orbital delivery system to saturate the atmosphere with the formula. Presto! World-wide mercury rain. One nice thing about constructing the threat this way is that it gives PCs a chance to stop it in time.

Re: How would you use Takofanes? The issue may fall within the realm of SFX. Just because there's nothing on a character's sheet to say that he can't do something, doesn't necessarily mean that he can. When you look at the sample spells for Takofanes in CKC, they tend to come with Limitations that aren't "necessary," strictly speaking; but they do imply that there are some restrictions to his sorcery, so that he can't simply whip up any construct tailored to the metagaming peak of efficiency. Not enough to really count as a Limitation, but a factor nonetheless. But you're right, this discussion really doesn't belong here. I should start up another thread on it.

Re: How would you use Takofanes? Make for an awfully short campaign. Logically, though, apart from a GM deciding that no, Takofanes simply can't do that... if the character had such a capacity, wouldn't he have used it back in the Turakian Age?

Re: Just thinking. A possible enemy of zombies. Thing about most scavengers is, they tend to avoid carrion if the carrion is still moving, especially if it's fighting back.

Re: Who's In Charge Here? Well, based on that description, I'd say that any of the proposals you describe in your first post would be valid. It would come down to the one that feels best to you. Not much help, I know. I will add that regardless of how you do it, it sounds as though Theodore should have some Psychological Limitations reflecting his malleability to Carrot Sticks's suggestions or orders.

Re: Thoughts on the Speed Zone Sounds like the construct has some balancing factors already built in. But I shouldn't put in any more opinions until I have the book in my hands. Sadly, since my game-book budget isn't unlimited and I'm already working on a backlog, that may take a while.