Fedifensor

Re: Lucha Libre convention game!

For my first table' date=' I only had 3 players. I was afraid I wasn't going to get to run, since only one guy had a ticket. But then a gal walked by and asked if I was looking for players, and she joined the game. Then a guy I know (Fedifensor, from these boards) came by and I recruited him too. Three players was plenty! They chose to play Supergran the Atomic Aztec, Amazonia the Jungle Princess, and Caveman Cortez the Wrestling Neanderthal Detective -- the perfect combination of brawn, beauty, and brains![/quote']

Honestly, I wasn't expecting to have as much fun as I did. Mexican wrestling isn't anywhere near my area of expertise (I don't even watch sports). However, we had a LOT of fun. It was brought up near the end of the game that Supergran, Amazonia, and Caveman Cortez were basically Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman for the Lucha Libre genre. Instead of being an strange visitor from another planet, Supergran was a strange revived Aztec demigod. Instead of emerging from a spaceship, he came out of a volcano, etc.

 

There were a lot of great moments. The best was when Supergran picked his Carmen Ghia (little sporty car) up over his head and smashed some evil midgets with it.

Twice! After hitting the midgets once, and seeing more behind me, I picked up the car again and did one of those backward wrestling falls, slamming the car into the other group of midgets.

 

They also had a lot of great one-liners; Supergran and Caveman Cortez were trading jokes through every fight. They put a mailbox over Frankenstein's head so he couldn't see them, and then kept making post office jokes.

The players of Amazonia and Caveman Cortez were both fantastic with the quotes...better than I was, to be honest. Fortunately, I was able to compensate with lots of flashy moves (brick moves are big attention grabbers).

 

The game ended a little bit early, partially because we had only three players, partially because one of my players asked me to end it early so he could prep for the game he was running in the next slot.

That was me. I was debating just taking the slot to prep a Paragon-tier 4E module, but I had done a good portion of the prep before the con and just needed time to draw out the maps (which ended up taking me about 45 minutes). Sorry if it cut into the game time, though I don't think the module suffered for it. In fact, I think it ran perfectly - high-octane action all the way through, and lots of fun!

Re: List Your CO Heroes!

So far, I have three:

* Shootist - Archery/Munitions with a gunslinger look

* Ironside - Might-based brick

* Technomancer - Force-based power armor character

I have very little fashion sense, so it's been hard for me to come up with new costumes. I have lots of concepts, but I don't know what visuals to link to them.

Global ID is Heroic (yeah, I got lucky) and I have a lifetime subscription.

Re: City of Heroes/Villains Mission ARCs

Just played this. Had fun' date=' but there was a issue in the third mission -- I think you intended for the spawns to be PPD, but all the spawns were Avatar of Television bosses.[/quote']

Just fixed that. Apparently, the last time I edited the mission, it somehow got the groups for the mission switched. I did a test run after editing this time, and everything seems to be working again.

Re: City of Heroes/Villains Mission ARCs

I'll check it out perhaps with a couple other people later' date=' but I generally dislike timed missions. I don't get the urgency, I just get annoyed.[/quote']

Generally, I agree with you...but there was a good story reason for it. So far, the feedback I've gotten about the timer has been good.

 

And' date=' also, I can't believe you got the global handle @Heroic. Awesome![/quote']

When global handles originally came out (I've been playing since 3rd wave beta), I got @Heroic1. But I kept trying to change the handle, and was finally able to get @Heroic. Heroic has been my ID on the CoX boards since release, so I was glad to get it.

Re: City of Heroes/Villains Mission ARCs

So far I am disappointed with the ARC generator. I can't mess with the maps nor can I add decision gates or contacts within the story This reduces the possibilities to being mostly just shooting galleries.

While you can't add true contacts within the story, use allies (set to stay there or leave the map) to impart additional information during missions.

Here's my arc:

Digital Transition

by @Heroic

Arc ID: 143017

Length: Long

First Published: 05/03/2009 12:15 PM

Morality: Neutral

Mission 1: Small size map, level range 40-54. Contains Ambush, Boss, Collection, Ally.

Mission 2: Unique map, level range 40-54. Contains Ambush, Boss, Ally.

Mission 3: Large size map, level range 1-54. Contains Boss, Collection, A Destructible Object.

Enemy Groups: Freakshow, Psychic Clockwork, Custom Group.

Description: A strange message appears in your email. The citizens of Paragon City are about to be enslaved by Television. You must break into a Freakshow base and recover the parts to the one being that can defeat it - the Radio!

[Type: Story, Estimated Time: 1 hour, last mission has EB and a 30-minute timer]

My two main concerns on this one are the difficulty of the EB in the final mission, and the time limit. It originally had a 1 hour timer, but after a friend and I finished it in 20 minutes (including one death each because we weren't paying attention and drew aggro from multiple groups) I decided to reduce it to 30 minutes. Any feedback people can give is appreciated.

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

Looks like Simon has closed HERO Central for April Fools Day.

EDIT: It's back up.

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

The Silverstone campaign website has the group picture updated with artwork for American Steel.

Re: Surprisingly Effective Builds?

I wouldn't say that Rebus is over- or under-powered. He fits in pretty well with the group' date=' from what I've seen.[/quote']

Glad to hear it.

 

My character in the X-Men: TNG game has +2 Overall Skill Levels, Usable by Others (x8), with the SFX that he barks out orders and if the team follows them, they all get +2 to whatever they're doing. It has proven to be surprisingly effective.

The effectiveness of Overall Levels never surprises me.

Re: Surprisingly Effective Builds?

All of the FMove martial arts are very very effective. I built a pretty run of the mill low end speedster with speedster martial arts. I was surprised at what a quantum leap of impact 15 pts of those MA had over the traditional levels with move through / move by' date=' route.[/quote']

I was wanting to do a character based on Nic Cage's character from the movie Next. The movie is not great and is riddled with plot holes' date=' but the character would make a great villain or NPC concept in a Champions game. If you haven't seen it, he could see all possible futures for himself and those around him (as long as he was involved somehow) within about two minutes and use the information to always make the optimal choice in any situation by playing them out in his mind. I think the approach would be about the same.[/quote']

Is it a red flag that my character in the X-Men: TNG game has both FMove martial arts and precognition?

 

Of course, the GM said my character might be underpowered. I wonder if he's still saying that now...

Re: Surprisingly Effective Builds?

A 4 SPD energy projector - low DEX, high defenses, big Energy Blast, minimal movement powers. Sure, I was the slowest person in the group - but you don't have to be mobile when you have a ranged attack. Plus, the first time the high-DCV martial artist came after me, I spread my EB by 5d6, using the +5 OCV to guarantee a hit on him. Good times...

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread.

Haven't seen Storn post in a month or more. Did Steve decide to have him do all the art for 6E?

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

Thank you' date=' Zac. Have fun everybody! [/quote']

Keep in mind - with two games at six players each, and the typical turnover of online games, openings may appear. Watch this space!

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

Ooh' date=' the Chalice ReVamp #2 looks really good. Feels a lot...tighter and cleaner, if that makes any sense. Thank-you for all your work, Fedifensor.[/quote']

Glad to help. I tried to design it in such a way so you could upgrade things fairly quickly, without spending a lot of experience points.

 

But please, let's get rid of the "Rock 'n' Roll" Reputation completely. I don't want it for Ali, and unless the GM has reasons for wanting her to have it, she doesn't need it. She's actually moving to Thebes to take a position as a music teacher at the Thebes School of Dance and Art in Waxhaw, not as a performer.

I'll let you and Zac talk it over, but my take would be that if you drop the Perk, you should drop the Disadvantage as well.

 

EDIT: Version 3

 

Chalice

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

13 STR 3 12- Lift 151.6kg; 2 1/2d6 [1]

23 DEX 39 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8

29 CON 38 15-

15 BODY 10 12-

13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-

14 EGO 8 12- ECV: 5

18 PRE 8 13- PRE Attack: 3 1/2d6

16 COM 3 12-

 

14/26 PD 11 Total: 14/26 PD (0/12 rPD)

14/25 ED 8 Total: 14/25 ED (0/11 rED)

5 SPD 17 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

11 REC 4

54 END -2

42 STUN 5 Total Characteristic Cost: 155

 

Movement: Running: 6"/12"

Leaping: 2"/4"

Swimming: 14"/112"

Tunneling: 8"/32"

 

Cost Powers END

55 Endless Water: Multipower, 55-point reserve

5u 1) Wellspring: Energy Blast 11d6 (vs. ED) (55 Active Points) 5

5u 2) Just Like Suffocating: Energy Blast 3 1/2d6 (vs. PD), Continuous (+1), No Normal Defense (LS: Self-contained breathing, can breathe water, or rigid face covering; +1) (54 Active Points) 5

4u 3) Water Rights: Telekinesis (30 STR), Affects Porous (55 Active Points); Only on water, or objects in water (-1/2) 5

4u 4) Erosion: Tunneling 8" through 8 DEF material, x4 Noncombat (45 Active Points) 4

4u 5) Wash It Away: Dispel 12d6, Any one fire power (+1/4) (45 Active Points) 4

2u 6) Darkness Was Upon the Deep: Darkness to Sight Group 2" radius, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (30 Active Points); Extra Time (Extra Segment, Only to Activate, -1/4) 1

2u 7) Writing on the Waves: Telekinesis (10 STR), Affects Porous, Fine Manipulation (35 Active Points); Only on water, or objects in water (-1/2) 3

 

17 Waterform: Elemental Control, 34-point powers

17 1) Body of Water: Force Field (12 PD/11 ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (34 Active Points)

17 2) One With the Water: Swimming +12" (14" total) (x8 Noncombat), rapid Noncombat movement (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (34 Active Points) 1

14 3) Forecast Calls for Rain/Slippery When Wet: Change Environment 2" radius, -2 to Sight Group PER Rolls, -1 DCV, -1 OCV, -1 to DEX Checks, Personal Immunity (+1/4) (34 Active Points); Extra Time (Extra Segment, Only to Activate, -1/4) 3

 

8 Child of the Waves: Life Support (Expanded Breathing; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in Intense Cold)

2 Fountain of Life: Life Support (Drinking: Character does not need to drink), Usable By Other (+1/4) (4 Active Points); Water only (still needs food) (-1)

 

Talents

3 Environmental Movement (no penalties on wet/slippery surfaces, or in water)

 

Skills

4 Penalty Skill Levels: +2 vs. Range Modifier with Endless Water multipower

3 Conversation 13-

3 Deduction 12-

3 KS: Appalachian Folklore (INT-based) 12-

3 KS: Music (INT-based) 12-

3 Paramedics 12-

3 Persuasion 13-

3 Power: Water Control (CON-based) 15-

4 PS: Singer (PRE-based) 14-

4 PS: Songwriter (INT-based) 13-

3 Streetwise 13-

3 Survival 12-

2 WF: Small Arms

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 200

Total Cost: 355

 

200+ Disadvantages

15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity Frequently (11-), Major

5 Social Limitation: Checkered Past (Occasionally, Minor)

5 Distinctive Features: Third Eyelid/Tattoos (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

10 Enraged: when someone more powerful metes out blatantly unfair punishment to someone less powerful (Common), go 8-, recover 14-

20 Hunted: Reverend Laurence Mattheson (aka Obeah Fortunatis, the Conjure Man) 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)

15 Hunted: Elemental Force 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish)

10 Hunted: Mystery Hunted 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish)

10 Susceptibility: Very Hot and Dry Environment (when Body of Water active) 1d6 damage per Turn (Uncommon)

10 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN Fire Attacks (Common)

15 Psychological Limitation: A Second Chance - Code Versus Killing (Common, Strong)

15 Psychological Limitation: Settling Scores - driven to use her abilities to physically punish those who abuse others weaker than them or in their power (Common, Strong)

10 Psychological Limitation: Don’t Slip - tries to be scrupulously fair in all her dealings (Common, Moderate)

10 Psychological Limitation: Don't Let Them See You Cry - needs to prove by word or deed that she's "tougher than the situation" (Common, Moderate)

5 Experience Points

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 355

 

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

Version 2 of my interpretation of Chalice, based on feedback from Haven Walkur and Zac.

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

7] Distinctive Features.

I'm not sure I understand the criticism; I took two DFs, but I took them both at Easily Concealed. By "don't stack", do you mean I can't have two DF Disads at the same level? Does one of them not count if I do that?

 

The DFs were minor character background details, but I thought the tattoos and third eyelids were different enough to require two different Disads...even though they're both individually easy to conceal (long sleeves in one case, sunglasses in the other).

Need to head to bed soon, but I thought I'd respond on this real fast. Check out the edited version of my post for a sample character writeup that may address your other comments. As for the Distinctive Features:

Generally' date=' characters should only take Distinctive Features once - having several scars just makes someone more distinctive, for example.[/quote']

Both features make you stand out a little, without destroying your Secret ID. The net effect is the same for both. So I think they should be combined.

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

And here's the "fluff" for Chalice...and this is the edited and trimmed version. :-o

That's the trimmed version?

Speaking as a fellow player who also has his hand in tweaking the campaign guidelines. I have a few comments. Background is good, if a bit grim. As long as the campaign doesn't start focusing on brutal beatings of evildoers, we should be fine. The picture is very cool (and yes, I'm biased towards that style of artwork). The character sheet...has a few problems. See below.

• The main attack (12d6 EB) is slightly over campaign limits. Either it would need to be toned down, or something else would have to drop to compensate.
  
• Per Zac's guidelines, he's not a big fan of Requires a Skill Roll. Plus, if I'm reading things correctly, your chance of successfully activating a 60-point power is 8 or less...
  
• Likewise, the Side Effects at -1/2 seem a heavy price break for the net effect. If you leave it that way, Zac's going to have to make that limitation come up a LOT, which doesn't seem to fit the background.
  
• Now, that said, I'm not sure why you need the limitations. You have two multipowers of the same size, and most of those powers are mutually exclusive. If you're Tunneling, you're probably not throwing an Energy Blast. Why not combine them into a single multipower, take the powers that you want to be able to use simultaneously out of the MP, and put them into an Elemental Control?
  
• Slippery Character doesn't seem to fit thematically for Combat Luck. Why not just buy it as Armor? The net effect is that you're watery, and harder to get a good hit against. Which means it reduces damage.
  
• You also have lots of powers right from the start. You may want to hold back on some of them, and buy them as you gain experience.
  
• The third eyelid and tattoos don't stack...multiple distinctive features just make you more distinctive, and neither is big enough to push the combined effect past Easily Concealed.
  

Overall, I think it's a good character. However, I'm pretty sure the multipowers will need to be retooled to make the character fit Zac's campaign.

EDIT: Check the spoiler box for an alternative...

Re: Increasing NCM?

One reminder about Non-Combat Movement...it's slow.

Not slow in the sense of total inches moved, but slow in terms of acceleration. If you have 5" of combat movement, and a x32 NCM, it will take you 32 phases to reach the maximum speed of 160". For a SPD 5 character, that's over a minute to reach your top speed.

A way to reduce this is to purchase an advantage on the power like Rapid Noncombat Movement (+1/4), which allows you to reach full noncombat velocity in a number of phases equal to the number of doublings. So, for example, the person with 5" of movement and x32 NCM would accelerate to 10" after 1 phase, then 20", then 40", then 80", and finally to the full speed of 160" in 5 phases.

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

(Posted from my G1 phone)

The cheapest solution to give Sentry +1d6 is using a MP slot for a Baton (+1d6 HA, 0 END, OAF) for 1 pt, or you could buy it outside the MP for 3 pts. Another option is just pay 4 pts for +1 DC with Martial Arts. It really depends on the flavor of the character.

The other option is to leave it as is, and just make the character efficient enough in END use to push when necessary.

Re: Not "Secret", not "Public", just "Identity"

It's interesting how we're generally OK with the character losing points (picking up disad's) in play' date=' but we'd never allow them to GAIN points (like contacts, favours or other perks) in play. [/quote']

I treat Disadvantages as changing over time. Secret IDs can be switched to Public IDs, old Hunteds can be defeated and "traded in" for new Hunteds, etc. I have yet to actually tell someone that they have to buy off a Disadvantage without allowing them to replace it with a different one.

 

As far as gaining new Hunteds...if a character antagonizes a villain or villain group enough, they will temporarily gain them as a Hunted. This may go away as the Hunted calms down, or become permanent after the player trades them out for a Hunted on the character sheet that isn't coming up as often.

Re: Vehicle - Stilt Suit

Penetrating on a Rivet Gun¿?? I'm ditching the laser rifle...

Seriously, that's overkill. Penetrating doesn't reduce the defense of armor versus the attack - it has a minimum that completely bypasses armor. This isn't Excalibur or a tight-beam photon cannon...it's common construction equipment.

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

Raider A.K.A. Sentry (maybe?) version 3

Just an opinion as a fellow player, but I like the Sentry name better. Also makes things more interesting when the media finds out about you...

("Excuse me, Mayor. Is Sentry working for the city? Is there some sort of cover up going on?")

Re: Storn Art from idea to Full Picture Year 6

Well, I think I may have pitched it before, but here's my idea.

Technomancer - A gadgeteer with a twist. While he has designed and created his own suit of power armor, high-tech and sleek, he also has the ability to modify technology by touch. As long as there is some (comic-book) way for the tech to be used in the fashion he wants, it works. For example, a motorcycle (or part of a car) could be transformed into a big gun. You'd see elements of the vehicle in the gun (perhaps the handlebars morph into the trigger, the exhaust pipe into a vent, etc). Perhaps he "revs" up the gun before it fires, and it belches smoke and flame from the exhaust port/vent.

I think the contrast between a high-tech suit and a patchwork motorcycle-gun would be interesting to draw. The downside is that you'd probably have to pay extra for the background, showing the unneeded pieces of whatever item he used as a basis for the new gadget scattered around his feet.

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

Are you still looking for players for the campaign?

 

I don't currently have Hero Designer, but here is a link where you can download a MSWord file of my proposed character, Quantum Girl:

 

... (text deleted)

 

I don't have a full writeup of her background just yet, preferring to leave things open-ended a bit so she can be tailored to fit well with the campaign and the existing characters. If this character sounds like a decent candidate to you, please let me know so we can hammer out the details.

Okay, took a look at Quantum Girl. While there are specific issues with some of the forms, the big problem is the background. The world of Catalyst doesn't have a lot of dimensional travel, and as far as people know, the analogues of people in other dimensions don't have superpowers. Superpowered beings are not only unique to Earth, but seem to be unique to this dimension's Earth.

Now, it's possible that you've done what no one else has been able to do...find other dimensions with superpowered beings. But it sets the bar MUCH higher for the application, because you're basically redefining the game world.

Aside from that, the HKA Does BODY NND Affects Physical World on your intangible form would have to be nixed - that's way too lethal, especially for a Bronze Age game. The growth version has a 65 STR with a 5 SPD, which exceeds campaign limits. The density version has 41 PD/41 ED...also well over campaign limits. The overall package allows you to pick the best form for the situation, and the best form usually exceeds the best character in the campaign. For example, I can't think of a single character, PC or NPC, that comes close to a 41 PD or 41 ED. Hiroshima is closest, with lower defenses combined with Damage Reduction...but he's a master villain.

To be clear, while I am a GM for one of the Catalyst cities, I'm not the person who would approve or deny your application. But I would highly encourage you to reapply with a different character. The concept of Quantum Girl doesn't fit the game world very well and would require significant retooling of the powers.

Re: Not "Secret", not "Public", just "Identity"

Step out of your character in the same game for a sec' date=' Fed... how on god's green earth do I introduce myself to people? I'm still trying to figure how I'll play that one. [/quote']

I think the previous post is a good guideline...

 

IMO' date=' back in the day, Wolverine was a good example of someone without either Secret or Public I.D. Pretty much everyone Logan knew was aware that he was Wolverine so he never had to go out of his way keep his I.D. secret. On the other hand, most villains did not know where he lived and the people in his life could generally take care of themselves so he didn't have deal with the consequences of a Public I.D.[/quote']

So, if you're wearing a costume, you're Engram. If you're not, even if you have to use your powers, you're Armando. Explain things to the cops...they'll have a file on you, but that can't be helped. Just don't stick around giving interviews to the media.

Re: Not "Secret", not "Public", just "Identity"

This is true' date=' but it is also true that people should only take No ID when in fact it is believable that the character will still have No ID once his career is up and running.[/quote']

Which is believable for the character in this case, because he's a mentalist. For many of his powers, the only person who knows he is doing something is the target. However, what No ID really means is that you won't be saddled with the traditional problems of a Secret or Public ID.

 

For example, whether you have a Secret or Public ID, the issue of how you make ends meet will come up frequently. For a Secret ID, most people have to go to a job, and the boss won't accept the excuse of "I was fighting crime". Even if you're a multimillionaire, you have to worry about people embezzling funds, members of your corporation running Black Ops off the books, etc. A large part of the time you spend away from the team will be at your job, so Secret ID is definitely worth the 15 points.

 

For a Public ID, it can be hard to maintain a normal job if you keep having reporters, crazed fans, and supervillains showing up where you work. It's even worse if your job is "celebrity" - which is why I treat that as a separate Social Limitation (partially balanced by the need to buy Well Off).

 

On a separate note...how many people give out the extra 5 points on Hunteds for "target has a Public ID"? Do you ever have a situation where the Hunted is rolled, but can't find the character so it doesn't come up?