Metaphysician

Re: From bloodthirsty deity to nonbloodthirsty hero

Actually, one of the players in a campaign I am in has Quetzlcoatl as a PC. He took the fairly straightforward route: Quetzlcoatl ( and some of the other gods ) actually *are* nice guys, who are entirely uninterested in human sacrifice. Tezcatlapoca just corrupted, killed, or drove off all of them, and set up a regime of bloodlust and death.

Re: Have a Holly Jolly Security Breach

what do you deplete from nuetronium?

*pulls techno-babble out of ass*

If you increase the density of neutronium while preventing it from creating an event horizon, the lost potential energy results in the neutrons breaking down, turning the neutronium into a large mass of pure condensed quarks.

*/techno-babble*

Re: Alternate Earth/WWYCD - Enough?

I ignore them. My problem with them is I pretty much GM all the Hero I get to play at all' date=' so I don't have a 'YC' to 'WW..D' with. The one I get to play is a supervillain (a Necessary Evil campaign jsut getting started), and that doesn't really fit the discussion.[/quote']

 

I don't know, quite a few of the reply-ers seem to be playing villains. . .

Re: Alternate Earth/WWYCD - Enough?

If you don't wanna read the thread, don't read it. If the thread you want to read about is off the front page, click over to page 2. If you want people to talk about something else, post something worth talking about.

If WWYCDs are on the front page and stay there, its because people enjoy them. If threads you'd rather read don't receive interest, its because people *aren't* interested.

The rest of us aren't going to change our posting and reading likes and dislikes just to serve you.

Re: Brainstorming European bad guys?

There's this supplement for 4e that might help. . .

*runs away*

Re: Was the GM right or wrong in limiting my Gadgeteer?

Just as a side note:

 

These are the 5 moments of "Are you sure?" I've enshrined forever.

 

5. Mike, I swing my monofilament Katana at the rocket.

 

4. I jump on the back of the Dragon Turtle.

 

3. I leave the base and take out the garbage.

 

Me: Did you put your clothes on?

 

Player: No.

 

2. I step over the ten foot wide pit.

 

1. I land on the Dragon's head.

For my GM, the usual giveaway is not when he says "Are you sure you want to do this?", its when he asks for exacting details about what your trying to do. Generally, that means what you are about to do is. . . well, not necessarily *stupid*, but something with consequences.

( in my case, typically 'tear a hole in space/time" )

Re: Elemental Controls, how do they work?

Can you explain what "Adjustments vs. Game Mechanics should be banned" means in your mind? Because I heard "Drain all Fire Powers" or "Suppress all Mutations" and I got confused for a second. So before I type up something that's vaguely rant like about functionality and balance' date=' can you clarify?[/quote']

 

Oh, I mean by that things like "Drain vs Energy Blast" or "Suppress vs Flight", where the power is defined in terms of the game mechanic it effects, irrespective of the SFX of the mechanic. So, technically speaking, that Drain vs Energy Blast would work equally well on a telekinetic force bolt, a cybernetic laser implant, and a object-throwing super skill, which makes no sense.

 

Hence, I tend to think the adjustment hierarchy should look like "single specific power", "narrow power SFX", "broad power SFX", "*really* broad power SFX".

Re: No combat respect

You know, this actually happens with my character Hermes alot. Doesn't matter what I've purchased lately, he almost always gets nearly KOed or maimed or killed every significant fight. Admittedly, he is the lowest durability member of the party, and the fastest. . . but I think those two combine to result in enemies focusing their attacks a lot.

Anyway, most of the advice has already been said.

Re: WWYCD: "He'll be back."

Microman II: Calls in the rest of the team ASAP, in order to track down and *capture* the hunter robot. Once captured, Microman would want to get the whole story in his own words, and preferably figure some way to travel to the future to get some direct observations.

Presuming the scenario is as described. . . he'd be rather unsympathetic towards the organics. Fear of great change is natural, but thats no excuse for perpetrating what amounts to attempted genocide. OTOH, the uploads could use some lessons in how to better deal with irrational people.

Hermes: It would take some incredibly weird coincidences for this scenario to occur anywhen near Hermes. . . but thats not much of an obstacle. While this would probably require deciphering how to read computer chips with bronze age steamtech, eventually Hermes is going to get drawn into investigating how a mechanism from a future that is not for that world ended up hunting down a critical individual thousands of years in the past. This likely leads to Hermes discovering cross-dimensional travel, breaking through to the next stage of godhood, or possibly destroying the universe.

Re: Elemental Controls, how do they work?

I disagree, I think Adjustment powers vs specific power effects SHOULD logically adjust all the powers in an EC. If, logically, it shouldn't, then the powers shouldn't be in the EC.

 

For example, EC: Gadgets is no good, since there's no logical reason why someone Draining your OAF'd Force Field would make your blaster gun weaker. On the other hand, an EC: Force Field would work, since someone Draining your Personal Field (i.e. Force Field) power WOULD make your Force Punch (i.e. HA) weaker: they're the same "power", just manifesting differently.

True to a point, but the problem is, it almost never works both ways. A Drain vs FF would effect the HA logically, but there's no reason why a Drain vs HA would effect the FF. Or, for that matter, what a Drain vs HA would *constitute*.

Hence why I tend to think Adjustments vs Game Mechanics should be banned. . .

 

EC: Werewolf Powers can work. It could also be bought as naked powers, not in an EC. It depends on how the concept goes. Maybe Suppressing your Resistant Physical Damage Reduction, Not Against Silver really means you're being made more human, and hence less resistant to damage by non-silver weapons, so your fangs (HKA) and extra STR would also be reduced. Or maybe you're just inherently a werewolf, so Suppressing your DR only means that.

 

And this point, we get into game design aesthetics, but the problem is there's a better way to represent lycanthropy: Multiform or OIHID. And even if the wolf form is constant, if these powers can be shut off by something, its better represented with a Disadvantage, not an EC.

 

Also note that Adjustment powers that work against all powers of a certain SFX at the same time affect ECs doubly, not as if the powers had been bought outside the EC. The EC is still a limitation in that situation. For example, consider a 20 pt EC: Force Field Control having three powers: 20PD/ED Force Field, +8d6 HA, 8PD/ED Force Wall. If it gets hit by a Suppress that affects "All Force Field SFX powers at the same time", and rolled 10 pts of effect would reduce this to: a 10 pt EC, with a 10PD/ED FF, a +4d6 HA, and a 4PD/ED Force Wall. Had the powers been bought w/o an EC, they would've been: 15PD/ED FF, +6d6 HA, 6PD/ED Force Wall. Which is what would've happened if the Suppress had been bought to affect only one power at a time.

Which trends heavily into "far too complicated for practical use."

I tend to think that things would work much more readily if you eliminated both ECs *and* Adjustments vs Power.

Re: Elemental Controls, how do they work?

Elemental Controls are free points, basically. Their only limitation versus buying each power separately is the dubious 'one Adjustment effects all' limit. . . except that Adjustments versus specific power effects shouldn't logically trigger this weakness, and Adjustments versus the 'element' probably shouldn't have been bought Versus One Power At a Time anyway.

There really isn't any concept that needs an EC. Either your far better off using a multipower or VPP ( every single energy blaster/controller concept ), or you should just apply limits on some or all your powers ( Force Field and Flight, with Linked: Only when Damage Shield is On, for a Human Torch-style energy aura ), or you should not be getting the cost savings in the first place ( the 'EC: Werewolf Powers' type twinkery ).

Re: Best Pre-5th Edition Material?

Did someone mention Watchers of the Dragon yet? Because they should. Awesome sourcebook/adventure combo. And it centers on Seeker, too.

Re: Suppress CSL

Order 66 was carried out by clone troopers, not storm troopers. The difference is subtle, but there. Just think about it... STs are described as extremely accurate, but as soon as Luke or Obi-Wan show up, they can't hit the broad side of a bantha! It must be a force sensitivity thing. Some shift in the training between the ep. 3 and ep. 4 means that STs have no resistance to the subtle mental influence of Jedi.

 

Although that seems more like a Mind Control, AoE Radius, Set Effect (Try not to hit me), Only Versus Stormtroopers. An... interesting build, to say the least.

Or it could just be the exact same "nameless mooks can't hit the broad side of a barn whenever name characters are on screen" effect that dozens of other movies have, none of them with Jedi.

It just boils down to the fact that its easier to film poor accuracy than great dodging.

Re: Suppress CSL

Well' date=' the Jedi effect, if I'm not mistaken, actually makes the STs miss like mad, and not just when they're shooting the Jedis. In any case, it's a completely valid concept: my opponents are so unnerved by my presence that they shoot timidly and with lack of confidence, making them miss more often. I completely agree with the general rule you mention; SFX should always come before game mechanics. That might not be the case here, tho.[/quote']

 

Mechanically possible, but my point is, there's *no* evidence for this in the movies. . . and if it were present, you'd think Order 66 would have gone way differently.

Re: Suppress CSL

Problem is, there's no reason why the STs become unable to hit anything intrinsic to the characters, in that example. Its pure plot fiat.

If you want to give a Jedi a "hard to hit" power, its a much more coherent idea to give them *better DCV*, not a power that reduces other people's OCV.

A general rule: don't think "I want to produce ____ game effect, what mechanic do I use?" Think "I want to produce _____ actual in-story effect, what mechanic do I use?" IOW, don't say "I want to reduce the other guy's OCV, how do I do that?", say "I want to make its really hard for another guy to hit me, how do I do that?"

Re: Top Signs that you need to rethink your GMing.

What if your players are asking to stop for porn breaks?

 

Or perhaps you don't stop for breaks, and just put your porn in your game.

When your GM decides to switch to FATAL, your game is officially dead.

Re: Suppress CSL

Just to correct something, no one here really objects strenuously to the idea of Suppressing CSLs. I can think of several ways it could be done, reasonably.

Its the idea of magically making the PCs abilities worthless with no rhyme or reason. If it works on a PC, it should work on an NPC with the same special effect. If it disables CSLs even based on pure skill, it should do so equally to 1000 point demigods and 150 point heroic cops. And if your plot requires suppressing all the skills of the Non Powered Superhero, consider for a second what that means for the other team members, who lose all their skills *and* their powers.

Re: Suppress CSL

What Oddhat said, pretty much. If it effects skill, it should effect everyone regardless of whether they have a 'PC' or 'Super' tag under their name. . . and if it effects 'powered skills', it really shouldn't do a damn thing to Batman types and others who don't *have* powers.

As for why something that magically effects the PCs CSLs without also effecting the nearby cop's CSLs is bad? Because it screws over the player in an arbitrary fashion. "So. . . we shouldn't rely on our powers. . . or our *skills*. . . what exactly *should* we rely on, dumb luck?" The only 'lesson' it could conceivably teach is 'humility', and only in the sense that 'sometimes, you just get screwed.' Generally, this is not something you should do to players who you expect to remain your players.

Re: Suppress CSL

A warning to the intended user: this concept runs a very high risk of crossing into "GM Railroad" territory. While negating powers makes sense IC, negating skills and the results of them pretty much requires pure GM Fiat.

So, consider carefully *why* you want a villain who can negate CSLs.

Re: WWYCD: The Seven Deadlies

I find it amusing that two of the superteams I've played with/GMed for would more or less resolve this situation just by being proximate to the Seven Deadly Sins. . .

As for my own characters, Hermes notably would be a walking bane to Sloth. More than perhaps any other character in that game, Hermes is full of hope and activity. . . in spite of knowing with a fair degree of certainty that his entire world is doomed to nigh-total destruction.

Re: No robotic love?

I tend to think that most of the aspects of Life Support are overpriced for a supers game, disease and poison immunity in particular.

Re: Realism vs cynicism The world's reactions to superhumans

Re: Plastic Man, actually, he pretty much could kill millions of people. . .

( can you say "giant shapeshifting mass of sharp pointy death flowing over a city"? )

As for Nazi Superman, closest I can think if Red Sun, though in JSA: Liberty Files, the Martian Manhunter is brought to Earth by Hitler, and is at first deceived/indoctrinated to be the Nazi superweapon.

( he only had mental contact with Hitler at first, whose own view of the world was so strongly skewed that the partially-amnesiac J'onn couldn't see through its falsity/perversion. Not until Batman made mental contact, and gave him a conflicting viewpoint. At which, cue the end of the war, as J'onn didn't like the Nazis anymore )

Re: WWYCD/W:The gift

Banner: "All I want for Christmas is to make three tactics rolls in a row, Santa."

There is a story behind this, I am sure. . .

Re: WWYCD voluntary super registration

Quetzalcoatl: *Upon finding himself visiting the future* "I am Quetzalcoatl, God of Knowledge, Lord of The Skies, Scion of Ometeotl The Creator, and King of Anahuac. That should be sufficient for your purposes."

I don't know, it went *real* well the last time Quetzlcoatl just told someone his name.

Re: WWYCD: King Arthur is back

Since Fujiko's clan has produced a number of Slayers, they're definitely on the side of the light. Assuming Mikoboshi is evil, three Slayers, including the Vice President's daughter, and a lot of friends, would be after him.

 

Heroes following them into battle would note that the group has a solid grasp of tactics.

This would. . . not be terribly relevant for Mikaboshi, or the campaign in general. Mikaboshi is a techno-demon lord scaled for a JLA/Avengers level game. . . and scaled to be a megavillain for such, to boot. Buffy-style slayers would be helpless against him, whatever their grasp of tactics or numbers.

Seriously, except for a street level supernatural game, virtually everything in the Buffyverse serves no use in a supers game. They just don't operate on sufficient scale.