Wanderer

Re: WWYCD: Once bitten . . .

Nova: I'm somewhat doubtful that a vanilla vampiric bite would overcome his strong defense powers, and that a simple application of his psychokinetic Transform anything into anything power on himself could not reverse the disease. It is the contagion biological or magical ?

Re: WWYCD: Welcome Divinity?

"We have seen your power' date=' your integrity, your virtues. We hold extraordinary power; some have, in your past, regarded us as divine. That may---or may not---be true, but we have determined that you hold great value. We would hereby make you one of us, in effect, a god. Do you accept?"[/quote']

 

Nova: "Well, I've always known that mutants have a manifest destiny to become gods, so this will only bring my path to fulfillment sooner. I thank you for the honor. I must respectfully ask for a full and true disclosure of the rules this will committ me to. If your calling is compatible with the path I've chosen, I will be honored beyond words".

 

OOC question: exactly how much godlike are we talking, here, powerwise ? The Superman/Silver-Surfer/Thor tier ? The Q/Odin/Galactus tier ? The Infinity Gauntlet tier ?

Re: WWYCD: The Coverup

Nova: we have no way to know whether it was really your mentor's last-ditch attack to cause this, and whether he did it purposefully. It was a desperate battle, and powers can often react unpredictably in such circumstances. He was a good man, and laid down his life to defeat evil. No good can come from outing your doubts to the world. By all means, bury this down.

Re: Looking for one-being-team builds

I doubt anyone has.

 

Amalgam characters are all about context.

 

You can't build their specific copied powers (even if they are just VPP slots) until you can see the PC team that they will be facing and copying.

Sorry, but maybe I need to specify my intention further. I wasn't looking for "mimic everything" buildups. I was looking for guys that have all the powers of a given superteams, so the power set would be fixed. Eg. the Super-Skrull has all the powers of the Fantastic Four (plus shapeshifting). Some versions of Amazo have all the powers of the original seven Justice League members. Likewise for Xavin and Kid Amazo. The Composite Superman had all the powers of the Legion of Super-heroes. They didn't copied powers per se, they replicated them.

I would be looking for some insights into clever integration of big sets of different powers, apart from VPP, not for a Mimic VPP buildup. That's trivial (there's even some in USPD, IIRC). I hope I made the difference clear, sorry if I was unclear before.

Has anyone managed to churn out good character builds for amalgam one-man-has-all-of-a-team-powers characters ? Amazo, Super-Skrull, Composite Superman, and/or their younger counterparts Kid Amazo and Xavin ? I'm specifically looking for builds that go in some more detail than one big VPP or Mimic pool.

Re: WWYCD "super" registration

This is where Nova's Magneto Complex would kick in at godspeed. This is just the kind of worst-case scenario he has prepared himself to fight.

"I have no opposition to a voluntary registration scheme. Let them those supers who want to be cops or soldiers or want to reveal their secrets to the government, be. But mandatory registration of powers and identities only serves to open the door for servitude and discrimination of my people, if not far worse. The laws of man were not for supers in the first place, but superior beings stripped of the rights even mere humans enjoy and enslaved to serve the whims of demagogues and bureaucrats is outrage beyond words. I will never obey it, and assist all those who will resist it, by any means necessary. I will continue to do my best as I see fit, to make the world a better place. The moment someone tries to use force on me or any other super because of this Act, I will retaliate with proportionate force. The moment lethal force is used, I will acknowledge this as a declaration of war by this government against the whole paranormal race. You guys are asking for a war you cannot win, risking the loss of huge chunks of your armed forces, economy, and infrastructure. I regret the appalling destruction and loss of lives, but I will make sure the politicians and commanders, or whoever may be manipulating them, that caused this tragedy will be preferential targets. How good are your plans for continuity of government, folks ? It would be nice to have someone with the authority to talk about peace terms, when the dust settles on this tragic farce".

Re: WWYCD: Harem Comedy from Hell

Arachne:

"Um? Creeeeeeeepy. You guys do know that I'm, like, 15, right? Cah-reepy. Creepy much? Um, yeah. Bye now!"

 

And then she'd try desperately to avoid them all.

Hey, nobody said that the harem suitors couldn't be the same age of the ahm lucky courted one, too. In the harem comedy source material, it's the default. Therefore Arachne just got three powerful magical spoiled teen guys with more power than they safely control, raging hormones, the hots for her, and total lack of restraint/common sense/respect for public safety. Much mayhem ensues.

Re: WWYCD: We hope you're feeling better now

Nova: what, the Matrix trick again ? Will assume that as in the past, sone enemy of him has trapped him in virtual reality or psionic illusion, and try to find any useful clue to help him wake up.

Re: WWYCD: Halloween From Hell 2007

Nova will shapeshift into a look adequate for the occasion, then crash some party, the wilder the better. If some really big evil manifest and registers to his cosmic awareness sense, he'll drop anything (moaning all the way for the missed merry time... unless a really good fight is foreseeable; he enjoys a wild party, but also a good combat).

Re: WWYCD: Harem Comedy from Hell

Jack-A-Dandy will need plastic surgery to get the grin off his face.

Given that Nova has a decidely lecherous streak, this would be his reaction as well. He would likely find the roguish wizard more of a kindred soul and try to set up her as his main squeeze, but would alternatively flattered and annoyed by the worshipful attitude of the priest type, since he regards himself on an evolutionary path to cosmic godhood, but despises religious fanatism. He would be more definitely annoyed by the consort antics of the interdimensional lady, being not really the marriage type ("Marriage ? Not thanks my Lady, I'm not yet ready for it. If you won't invade my dimension, through, we can date"). Having three powerful babes squabbling for him would definitely fulfill his definition of "interesting times".

Re: WWYCD: Dead before your time...

Nova has Resurrection (you can only kill him if you destroy his mind and spirit before the killing blow), so this is standard (if distressing) business for him. Any lingering power weakness will in all likelihood temporary effect of sun energy deprivation or psychic shock. Will assume it was a truly tough battle to have downed the one-man-army likes of him into temporary death, so he will be eager to get info about the course and outcome of the fight. Be sad and hold a raucous "Wait me in Valhalla my friends" party wake for fallen comrades who didn't have a garanteed return ticket from the land of the dead. Try to make sure the baddie was gone for good in the battle, if not start a massive hunt for revenge.

Re: WWYCD: Out of Focus, in the know

Nova: would guess the accident has re-tuned his cosmic awareness senses to work on the other-dimensional intruders, would likely try to retune his TK and energy control powers to work on them, too.

Elementalor: this is totally outside his field of expertise, would likely try (after some futile attempts to affect them with his powers) to get help from some mentalist or reality manipulator (AKA magician: he's a kind of skeptic).

Re: WWYCD: The Nightmare on Hero Street

Nova: his cosmic-level brick and energy-projector powers are willpower-based, so in all likelihood they work in Dreamtime, too. Unless Nightmare manages to shatter down his resolve or composure badly, Nova will administer him the beating of his life.

Elementalor: he's a mutant version of Xavi (teenager Super-Skrull), so it largely depends on whether his powers work in Dreamtime. It's a wild toss.

Re: WWYCD Genocide - or Genocide?

If the levels of CvK described in 5ER don't quite match what the player had in mind' date=' then he can write up a new PsychLim to better describe it (perhaps "Pacifist"), just RP it as you suggested, or use the 0-point option from the old Adventurer's Club magazine years ago - Reluctance to Kill; meaning the character could kill but generally opts not to not because of lofty ideals but because killing causes all kinds of negative consequences (legal, criminal, and/or public relations). I'd put myself in this category.[/quote']

 

IMO and experience, some rather toned-down CvK versions may be playable which express some reasonable moral restraint in use of lethal force, but do not tie down the character's hands to do what's necessary: e.g. slightly modified variants from the Master Lists of Disadvantages:

 

Prefers Not To Kill (Common, Moderate: 10 Points): This Disadvantage indicates that the character is willing to use lethal force when necessary -- but that is still definitely rare in the character's opinion. The character does have moral objections to killing, but realizes that sometimes it may be necessary. Such a character is willing to fight and do injury, but in a moment where the decision is "Kill/Don't Kill", this character will generally choose "Don't Kill", unless the situation is such that not killing is clearly the worse of two evils. At that point, the character will not hesitate before killing.

 

Will Not Kill In Cold Blood (Uncommon, Strong: 10 pts): The character with this Disadvantage has no qualms about using lethal force in combat. Nor does he hesitate to use "excessive" force (bringing a gun to a knife fight, for example). However, he draws a very distinct line between killing to survive and murder. The character will accept genuine surrender, and won't put an extra shot into a downed opponent "just to make sure", he doesn't fire on non-combatants, and won't make lethal booby-traps, etc. It could be a genuine moral decision on his part, or a superstitious fear that something bad will happen if he kills in cold blood, or even a promise to someone he respects.

 

These I'm quite at ease to use as a player, and have no qualms to see in play as GM. I would have severe reservations about allowing a Com Tot CvK unless it's absolutely necessary and central to the character's personality and background (i.e. the character's extreme dedication to pacifism is a defining feature).

Re: WWYCD Genocide - or Genocide?

Both Nova and Elementalor would spend some moments being utterly dumbfounded at the thought there might be even the shred of a doubt about the right thing to do, then would take off to exterminate the space locusts, their only worry that some specimen might escape their cleanup efforts. At the most, they might stop before killing the last survivors to make some checks and ensure that wiping out the locusts doesn't cause some terrible unbalance in the cosmic equilibrium of reality or the ecosystem of the Galaxy (Hey, it happened with Galactus).

These kinds of scenario is part of the reason why I regard CvK as a supremely stupid Disadv and would never ever take it for a character nor play in hard-core Silver-Age games (except maybe in the much toned-down "Will Not Kill In Cold Blood" or "Prefers Not To Kill" variants). In my campaigns, the only recurring urredeamable mass murderers a la Joker have very good pragmatic reasons why they can't be reliably killed (either killing them only makes things much worse, or it can't take them down for long).

Re: When should Always On be used

If you're more famliar with Marvel Comics' date=' Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk when he gets angry*. The transformation into the Hulk takes longer than 1 second (1 phase) and if you can keep him calm (drugs, psychology or psychic powers) he can't change, so it fits too.[/quote']

 

My character has a somewhat similar OIHID concept. He changes into superpowered form through Extra Phase Concentration and sustains it through a combo of willpower and solar energy. Being severely affected by fear or despair or drained of Mental Characteristics can stop or turn off the trasformation.

 

As I said, the activation condition is Extra Phase Concentration

 

The turn off condtion is : Accidental Change: Changes Out of Heroic Identity If INT, EGO, or PRE Is Drained/Suppressed to 0 Or Character Is Severely (EGO/PRE +20) Affected by Despair-, Doubt-, or Fear-inducing Mental Powers or PRE Attacks Always (Uncommon)

Fred (book at home, can't quote the page now) states in the description of TK that Telekinesis is in many ways inherently indirect. Does it affect the point of orgin of the power, too, or not ? IOW, if a character is meant to be albe to use TK both from his hands, eyes, and forehead at leisure, does he need the +1/4 "Variable Point of Origin" Indirect, or not ?

A related question: suppose one gives the said VPO Indirect to a whole TK or Energy Blast Multipower, and since the real character benefit from the Advantage is generally limited, the Advantage is added to the Reserve instead of every single advantage, thus sparing Active Points. If one would wish to use the new optional rule from that treats VPO as a +5/+10 Adder, in such a case (Common Advantage to a MP Reserve), one should still use the +1/4 Advantage, since I'm not aware of any rule to add a Common Adder to a MP Reserve (adding the Advantage or the Adder to the individual power slots is really out of the question, since in my sincere opinion VPO Indirect is not useful enough to justify lowering the Active Point value of MP slots). Am I right, or there is a different system ?

Re: [Review] The Ultimate Energy Projector

...which' date=' against the right target, can be very effective indeed![/quote']

 

Yes, but only in the infrequent case that the character has a double Vulnerability or Susceptibility and your Multiple SFX is poised to make advantage of both at once, otherwise (e.g. there is only Vuln or Suscept to exploit) Variable SFX can provide the same tactical advantage, and is cheaper and more flexible (i.e. for the same price, you can access a wider range of SFX). Make no mistake, I graciously acknowledge that there are several character concepts where MSFX perfectly realizes the flavor of the power, and just like pretty much all the new character options in UEP, it may be useful and flavorful in the right concept and situation, and therefore MSFX is a rather welcome addition to the HERO system (really, IMO there can never be a thing like too many options ), but in many cases VSFX remains a valid substitute. So I won't rush to smudge VSFX out in every char sheet and write MSFX in its place.

 

What is your opinion about the new options for Missile Deflection/Reflection and Powers' Point of Origin ?

Re: [Review] The Ultimate Energy Projector

Actually Multiple Special Effects probably are the one new option that most leaves me cold. I won't deny that might be the occasional character concept that might really call for it. But I think that in many other, likely most, cases, you can fulfill the concept equally well with good old Variable Special Effect, which provides added flexibility bang for the same character-point buck.

Re: [Review] The Ultimate Energy Projector

Yeah, very good review, as it is the sourcebook in question.

Pardon me if I hijack the issue just a bit, what is you opinion about about the several new character options provided by UEP ? E.g. variant rules for point of origin, adjustable FF, and Multiple Special Effects.

Re: Balancing Duplication

For balancing Duplication, as long as said power is a secondary add-on to an otherwise substantial list of powers, and not the character's main gimmick (i.e. the Engineer instead of Jamie Madrox), I'm quite fond of using/allowing it with the following Limitation: "character suffers Dependency effects if any copy is brought within Range of any other". Negative effects can usually be modeled using rules for Dependency (STUN loss, Incompetence, and Weakness all work fine), with the time interval geared to 1 Phase, or 1 Turn at most. Justify it with whatever rubber science or pseudomystical babble you fancy: maybe too close duplicates cause harmful quantic resonances, or painful telepathic feedback.

This ensures that Duplicates can be easily and flavorfully used to real advantage in order deal with any sustained situation that involves an area too big for a single hero to cope with, or crises in multiple locations. E.g. dealing with large-scale natural disasters or battles, or dealing with multiple crises in different states or countries. Or even, theoretically, having one duplicate to cover civilian ID and the other to perform superhero work.

At the same time, this Limitation ensures that Duplication cannot be used to overwhelm a single combat with a flood of equally powerful copies. Within the same area, Duplicates can at most be used to make only one combined attack.

Since this Limitation all but removes the combat usefulness of the power, and makes it most of a flavor power, I recommend to give it an hefty value: -2, or -1 1/2 at the very least.

Using such a power build, it is heartily recommended that some or all of Ranged Recombination, Rapid Duplication, Easy Recombination, and a Mind Link between Duplicates, is used.

In my expereince, this is an effective way of dealing with Duplication's significant potential for abuse, while keeping it around for flavor reasons, and I heartily recommend it.

Re: STRONGHOLD -- What Do You Want To See?

I second many of the suggestions given here, but my main one is to ensure that the book is written not just from the perspective of PC putting NPC villains into the super-prison and trying to keep them there, but also from the one of PCs getting themselves slammed into said super-prison, and trying to breakout and escape, for whatever reason: villain campaign, framed heroes, vigilante antiheroes, or freedom fighter rebels against the tyrannical government.

That said, I share the vote for all of the following nice suggestions that other forumites have made (thrown in one big quote since I'm just lazy ):

I'd like to see a section on the social life of the inmates. The U.S. Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment does not allow prisons to hold all prisoners in permanent isolation because social contact is a basic human need. Given that, if the prisoners are allowed some time during the day to mingle, what do they do? Do they form gangs or cliques? Do they make contacts and hatch plots for when they return to the outside? How do their superpowers affect their social interactions? If there is some sort of superpower suppressor device in operation, how does the loss of superpowers affect the psychology/morale of former demi-gods?

 

 

1. Body & DEF of all walls, doors, machines, etc., as well as any special defenses or vulnerabilities.

 

2. Guidelines for determining the success, failure, or partial success of attempts to destroy or circumvent particular security features by brute force or by skill (e.g. security systems, mechanics, or computer programming).

 

 

1) Super Guards: Is the prison staff all normals? Are they PRIMUS agents? Maybe a brick or an energy projector able to do containment-style force walls could help keep control. Perhaps a retired Silver Age hero is the warden, or (feeding into my second request) a Silver Avenger. Do they use battlesuit technology?

 

2) Who's in charge here?: How does Stronghold fit in the scheme of the CU justice system? Is it under the federal prison system's control? Does PRIMUS control it?

 

3) Guantanamo Bay: How does the ACLU feel about a place like Stronghold? Are there protests against Stronghold by the public? Is the media biased against it? Do prisoners try and use the media to gain sympathy?

 

4) Solitary confinement: Is every prisoner kept locked in a cell all day? Are they allowed to mingle with each other for meals or exercise periods like non-powered inmates can? I assume there will be some inmates that are so powerful/dangerous/psychotic that they can't be allowed out of solitary.

 

5) Gender: Are prisoners sorted by gender into separate cell blocks/levels? Are they grouped by power-level, ignoring gender?

 

6) Levels: Are there varying security levels in Stronghold? The real hard-cases would be down in the lower levels, but less dangerous prisoners would be on a different level of the facility from them.

 

what about those convicts who are not serious escape risks, or whose crimes aren't particularly violent, but the nature of whose powers makes Stronghold the only practical option for incarceration? Are they treated just like everyone else, or do they get privileges such as outdoor exercise?

 

6) A look at special holding facilities constructed to hold a single supervillain because of the danger he/she/it poses to us all.

 

7) A quick look at capital punishment in relation to metahuman crime would also be nice (though not pleasant).

 

Also, holographic lives in hot sleep (a la 'The Green' in Next Men, for example) seems to be a popular theme. Any chance or speculation or opening for the Hot Sleepers to think they're awake in a mutual shared illusion?

 

The Demolition Man - Cryoprisons and Conditioning

 

Who runs the cigarette smuggling? Is there a shop and a laundry room? Is working there considered a privilege or a punishment? What prison cliques exist? What do these cliques all do, exactly, and who runs them? There should, for example, be an informal Viper nest inside Stronghold. Who runs it, and what sort of activities is it involved in?

 

More importantly, how are your players going to get out?

 

The latter bit shouldn't be construed by GMs as permission to turn Stronghold into a revolving door for supervillains. Make sure to mark any typical escape routes as something special for players and very select NPCs only.

 

Plus some ideas for introducing the players (as villains) to life inside Stronghold. Not quite a full adventure, but some ideas for getting them to know the ropes.

 

Post-block life, where the villain repents or just cuts a deal to do dirty deeds for the government would be nice. Sounds like you may have intended to include some idea of how long a parolee may expect to be on parole, which would be great.

 

How about some overview of the process by which the techs determine which powers they need to plan for? Is it all just based on a bio-scan plus collecting anecdotal lists of what the villain has been observed to do in the past? What kinds of things will a full examination tell them, and what ace-in-the-hole powers might slip by?

 

What do they do with criminals whose powers they haven't figured out how to neutralize, and who have the right life support that hot sleep isn't an option?

 

Also, what about super-powered arrestees who haven't yet been convicted? Do they go to Stronghold to await trial? Are they put in with the regular population?

 

As a GM I would like the "GMing Stronghold" section to include notes on some of the weaknesses of the prison - structural, technical, and procedural - with suggestions for how they might be exploited by villains (or heroes) trying to escape, or to break out other inmates. It would also be nice if the administration and structure of Stronghold would allow for PC heroes to temporarily join the guards of the prison, to allow for some extended stories set there.

 

Life after Stronghold - Ex Cons and the Legal System, Parole Officers, Superhuman Bounty Hunters.

 

Accessibility to Family Members, the Media, Protesters, and etc...

 

Hot Sleep vs Human Rights - Not just the Legal Ramifications, but the Personal Ones.

 

"Flood the place with poison gas. Its the only way to be sure!" - Stopping Vigilantes, Mercenaries, and I.H.A. Minute Men VII Robots from attacking, rescuing, and killing convicts.

Re: 5er Faq Pdf?

Thank you.

 

I don't really understand why Hero would not maintain these as downloadable files on the website instead of purely a database. Both are useful, but when I asked a while back Dan Simon reacted as if... well, let's just say he was hostile to my request and leave it at that.

Once, they were. In the previous incarnation of the site, the FAQ was in the form of HTML chapter pages that you could save. I have done so and cherish my saves, since I find the ability to read and search the FAQ at my leisure on my own laptop much, much more useful than having to connect to an online database each and every time I want to look up an Hero rule topic. I rather dislike the present form of the FAQ and find it rather lacking as functionality goes in comparison to previous model.

Re: The Mind Controlling Hero

Just as a note, the ethical issues of Mental Control Powers have been discussed extensively some time ago.

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41050

Re: Defense vs. mind-switch

There is an optional rule in 5th UMentalist about applying difficult to dispel to a character's EGO, which doubled the EGO that has to be transformed.

 

Throw a lim on that, and you get it fairly cheap, and it isn't an effect that would come up all that often, that would be cool.

 

If the character has a 20 ego, 2 levels of difficult to Dispel would be 20 active, and say a -1 for a lim. For 10 points you would have an 80 EGO for that particular transform.

This seems a rather clever way to do it, even if it would require to use a Naked Advantage, which as a rule I regard as a rather kludgy and unelegant way of doing things, and tend to avoid whenever possible.

Costwise, I'm uncertain (need to run HD simulations) which would be the cheapest option, do it the way you suggest, or build Mental/Power defense with a Lim. I suspect the latter.

BTW, which is the forum's collective judgement ? Does Mind Switch (and other kinds of Mental Transforms) partain to Mental Defense, or Power Defense ???