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Metaphysician

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Everything posted by Metaphysician

  1. Re: Restricting/Redefining DNPC Exactly. And in a silver age game? An unwillingness to kill *won't be an issue in the game.* Hence why it shouldn't even really be a valid limit for such a game.
  2. Re: Restricting/Redefining DNPC Re: Total psych limits, I think the problem is not "how strictly to enforce," but "should this character have a Total limit?" IMO, Total psych limits are handed out/used *way* too much. The classic case being the Total CvK, wherein you will regularly have entire teams, every member of which has one. Characters should only take a Total psych limit if they are supposed to be absolute, unwavering fanatics in that sense. Anything less should be represented with a Strong or weaker limit. ( Btw, I'm of the opinion that no campaign justifies mandatory Total CvK. A campaign in which its expected that no one, or at least no hero, will ever kill anyone? Is a campaign in which no hero should *ever* be put in a situation wherein there is a significant need to kill anyone. In which case, its not a character limit, its a campaign condition. )
  3. Re: World Without People! Something every one of my characters would start doing sooner or later, though probably Hermes the first: "Is this actually Earth? Is this actually *our* Earth?" Its very very hard to move six billion people. Its much much easier to take a half dozen superhumans and stick them in the Matrix, or the Holodeck.
  4. Re: The Golden Apple He trusts anonymous mercenary information brokers *more* than the government? *baffled*
  5. Re: "The Inquision Is Come" I can't be the only one who thought of the "European Enemies" villain, can I? *ducks*
  6. Re: Super Law: Power stealing Honestly, this seems likely to be more a matter of arguments before the judge, and appeals to judicial panels. The question is not "Did this man do this act?", its "what crime, if any, does this act constitute?" The jury does not, nominally, get to decide what acts constitute a crime. They decide whether or not the defendant has, in fact, committed the acts beyond a reasonable doubt. Aggravated assault sounds about right, though. Most if not all victims could also sue in civil court for some *major* damages.
  7. Metaphysician

    A Gift?

    Re: A Gift? Hermes: The package would be from Darius, and even presuming Hermes was explained the social context of a few millenia later. . . well, Hermes would only open it via steampunk remote gadget. While standing behind an extremely strong barrier. Miles away. In a nice safely isolated spot. Like the moon. ( Darius *REALLY REALLY REALLY* hates Hermes, and with pretty damn good reason. Hermes wouldn't believe in a million years that this is anything but a revenge plot of some kind. )
  8. Re: CU: How does PRIMUS handle foreigners? Champions Universe implies that, while legally there are some complications, in practice the US government grants residency approval to aliens, magical beings, and such on a case by case basis. This is probably the best way to handle it, presuming say, there aren't enough alien visitors to actually have some form of consulate.
  9. Re: Back from the Dead...with a friend Hermes: Go visit the Winter King, and ask what the heck is going on. Given that he has, in the past, *not* pursued somebody who was, well and truly, returned to life. Most likely get a reply of "technically, you weren't resurrected, your death was just temporally preempted. So, not my turf kid." At which point, he'd expect this is some bizarre temporal phenomenon, maybe an alternate version of himself trying to occupy 'his' timeline and existence.
  10. Re: Captain America Build 350 pts But its true!
  11. Re: The Algernon Files I've used them in my Vanguard campaign. Notably, the Covenant. They served as the primary mystic guardian organization in the setting. . . and were a royal pain in the ass in Nox's backstory.
  12. Re: Harbinger of Justice You forgot two things: 1. Dr D's armor is, IIRC, only Hardened one time. That means either the AP or the Pen still gets through. 2. More importantly, you forgot the Deadly Strike ( Ranged ), which adds an extra +2d6 KA ( or +6 DC, depending on how you interp it )
  13. Re: Harbinger of Justice Solo under normal circumstances, no. However, try running the numbers of what his 5e version could do with a called shot to Dr D's head.
  14. Re: Our Super Leaders Indeed. Unless the percent of superhumans is extremely high, there's no way you could have a large nation where government office required superhuman ability. Granted, it depends on exactly what level of office requires superhuman members. . . As Kickback mentioned, it'd take over 600 just to fill out the top of the federal government. Even if everyone, super and baseline alike, agreed that superhuman oligarchy was right and just, you'd still need something like ten times that number of superhumans to even conceive of filling that many government positions. After all, not everyone wants to be a politician, not everyone is suited for politics, not everyone would get along with the rest of the government official-supers, and also, there's tons of other things that superhumans need to do, like protecting the nation. So, conservatively speaking, your looking at six thousand supers in the US alone. That's one out of five hundred people. Not many settings have a proportion that high, not even close.
  15. Re: Harbinger of Justice Its in the back of the Hudson City book. Honestly, though, your probably better off using his 4e version, with a few modifications ( Combat Luck, VPP no longer cosmic ). As much as I like high powered heroes ( well, "hero" in this case ), the 5e version is grotesquely overpowered in some ways, while drastically underpowered in others. To note in particular, the combination of Ranged Martial Arts plus Deadly Strike ( Ranged ) plus Targeting Skill Levels plus a 20mm cannon that pretends its a handgun, he basically kills everything that could conceivably exist in his genre the first time he gets a hit. Hell, IIRC, he has strong odds of soloing Dr Destroyer if he gets initiative and attacks first.
  16. Re: The Ten Things I Love About 6e and the Ten Things I hate about 6e My own explanation ( and why I like the new stun multiplier system, even though I generally don't plan to touch 6e with a ten foot pole ): standard deviation. The old 1d6-1 system gave roughly twice the spread the new 1d3 system does, which translated into a much higher likelihood of rolling ridiculously high stun totals. After all, with a killing attack, all you needed was for one die to turn up 6, and you'd explode your roll. Example: 12d6 normal vs 4d6 killing. Under old rules and new, the 12d6 averages Body 12, Stun 42. Under the old rules, the killing attack averaged Body 14, Stun 38-40. *However*, if the multiplier rolled 6, than it came out Body 14, Stun *70*. This is only slightly below the maximum possible stun result on the 12d6, 72. . . and that requires rolling twelve 6s at once, as opposed to a single six. In addition, compare the theoretical maximums of both: 12d6 maxes at 24 Body, 72 Stun. The killing attack, under the old system, maxes at 24 Body, *120* Stun. And that only requires rolling five 6s, which is unlikely. . . but astronomically more likely than rolling twelve of them. The new system isn't perfect, it means KAs now do significantly less stun than before, even on average. But, thats a worthwhile tradeoff, given when people want to do stun, they should be using normal attacks anyway. Also, since under the new system, Body damage *inflicted* also takes off an equal amount of Stun as bonus, killing attacks that actually *hurt* still do about the same total Stun. You just can't KO Dr Destroyer with a 20mm shell to the head, that bounces off harmlessly, but still inflicts excessive Stun.
  17. It is possible for two characters to both attempt to effect the same target or targets with a presence attack, or to attempt presence attacks against each other. When this happens, I would resolve it as follows: each contender rolls their presence attack as normal, with all modifiers. Then, take the *difference* between the two results. Whoever achieved a higher result inflicts this level of effect on the intended target(s). This applies even against people other than the person defending with a presence attack. This rule represents how two people can contend for the loyalty or fear of a single individual or group, or how to opposed sides in battle could both attempt to intimidate and/or defy the other. It also increases the value of Presence, as not only can you use it to terrify the other side, you can also use it to embolden your own side. Agents and lesser superheroes who would otherwise flee from Armageddon Man, might stand and fight if Superman or Captain America leads them. Conversely, it gives the villain a big reason to attack the Charismatic Leader, as not only is that one man down, but suddenly, he can make an unopposed presence attack against the survivors ( assuming no one else steps up to the plate with a defiant speech ).
  18. Re: I killed a PC. Only had one PC ever die, due to trying to solve a death ray problem by smashing the death ray. It was a fair death, though other PCs later brought Hermes back via time travel begoobery. It wasn't intentional, but it was in-character. Generally, I would say how to handle death depends on genre. I would, though, tend to go with "in a super hero game, death is never permanent and seldom actual." This applies for the PCs, but also other characters.
  19. Re: What's the craziest thing your Supers have ever done? *cough* My PC, Hermes, once solved the problem of a death ray that was killing White Crane ( a major NPC, think a wuxia-styled JLAer ). . . . . .by hitting the focusing coils of the death ray as hard as he could. Which is about as hard as a tactical nuke. His logic was, it probably would do less damage broken than active. The good news: it did in fact free White Crane from the death ray. The bad news: it went up like a *big* nuke. Hermes literally didn't notice being vaporized until Death basically tapped him on the shoulder. ( he got better later, time travel hijinks )
  20. Re: Wanted: Heroes Honestly, a homicidal hatred of Scorpia strikes me as a source of lightside points. . . *cough*
  21. Re: Who's your Nemesis? And... WHY? Hero: Hermes. Nemesis: Darius. Why: Because Hermes has indirectly or directly screwed over Darius repeatedly. Usually not intentionally, but its reached the point where the distinction is moot. Darius hates Hermes with a passion that likely overwhelms sense. And this kills Hermes a little on the inside, because he knows damn well that Darius is a lot like him.
  22. Re: On the emergence of the paranormal, including superpowers I would strongly suggest looking at the Paragons supplement for M&M 2e. Its pretty much the best toolkit for assemblying "realistic" superhuman settings yet to be published. And I also recommend the Wold Newton approach. That said, I would suggest avoiding Gestalt like the plague, unless you *want* to run an exceptionally dark setting. ( sorry, Oddhat, but its true )
  23. After your most recent misadventure, probably involving a very big explosion, your PC finds himself suddenly on the public viewing deck of a very large ship, with a fleet of other ships visible outside the viewing port. Eventually, by one means or another, your PC finds out that he is in an alternate universe. One very much like his own home dimension. . . at least up to five years ago. Around that time, some form of cataclysm ( appropriate for your setting ) occurred. It was impossible to stop before it destroyed the planet ( or else stopping it necessitated the destruction of the planet ). However, through the effort of the worlds superheroes ( and perhaps others ), as much of the Earth's population as survived was evacuated from the planet, and ultimately loaded aboard a somewhat ragtag fleet of interstellar space ships. All told, there are about five million remaining human beings aboard the fleet, as it travels searching for a suitable new home. 1. What is the nature of the cataclysm, for your home setting? 2. What is your counterpart doing, if he/she/it is around? 3. What does your character do, now that he has found himself on the flagship of the fleet?
  24. Re: Holding the end of the world Diomedes- Would kick this problem upstairs. "Paging Athena, paging Athena. . . yes, this is Diomedes. I currently have a live weapon of cosmic scale planetary destruction stuck to my hand. While I recognize and appreciate that you teach self-sufficiency. . . a little direct help might be called for."
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