largosama

Re: Throw vs. Strike Just to make sure... When someone is grabbed, they get an immediate chance to break out, right? I think I recall reading that it's based on casual strength... is that correct?

Re: I have 100 arms... I can: I like that idea A LOT! If I break it up into a bunch of duplicates, it should make the battle more chaotic and it will actually feel like you're fighting against a 100 arms.

I just introduced Eurostar to my campaign last night (Durak is one of my PC's hunted). Durak, Mentalla, and Ultrasonique and the PCs squared off. I briefly went over their powers to myself before the players came over, but I completely overlooked the fact that those three have OODLES of speed, even the bulky brick Durak. Anyway, it was the first true 'villain' team for them to face off against and I'm happy to say that it came off quite nicely. The villains were beating the crap out the PCs for the first part before the players got their wits about them and started really fighting back. The fight was starting to look like a total victory for the players until an outside event stopped the fight. The real fun part was Durak versus Johnny Bam (a PC brick). Both have 70 strength and lots of either armor or damage resistance. The sheer amount of stun that was done was just staggering and would have turned any non-brick into a pancake.. fun fun! At any rate... anybody with Eurostar stories in their game?

Re: I have 100 arms... I can: No matter what the end result is with this guy's powers, your suggestion is on the 'If the players piss me off' list whether I had it written down on the character sheet or not!

Re: I have 100 arms... I can: Good question, but he is truly multidexterous so all arms will be available to use... thousands of years of motivation and rage enabled him to train all of the arms

Sometime during my super-hero campaign, my players will be facing off against a guy with 100 arms. The size of his body will be big enough to accommodate this many arms (they are running down each side of his torso). He is going to be of the master villain variety (weapons master/dark magic-user type) with the popular villain intent of destroying all life and he's had a lot of time to plan this one out. What kind of powers would you would advise I take just based on the fact he has 100 arms. How about combat tactics. Basically, how do I simulate powers-wise the fact that he's shooting energy blasts out of 100 arms, or beating the snot out of somebody with dozens of punches... Is it just a really huge autofire advantage or something more?

Re: Throw vs. Strike Bear with me here as I am fairly new to the HERO system and I do not have the Ultimate MA book. Let's assume for a second that the brick doesn't have any martial maneuvers for whatever reason. Since there is no basic throw, does that mean he can't just pick up the guy next to him and toss him? Could you guys run me through this hypothetical: 70 strength brick versus a 70 strength villain (who weighs about 350 lbs). There is an armored wall behind them (I believe it was 13 Def/7 Bod, but I could be wrong). The wall is 5" away. Ignoring PD and armor of the villain, run me through the damage capabilities of a regular strike which knocks the guy back into the wall as well as a grab and throw into the wall. Let me know if you need more info.

Let's say I have a brick character with 70 strength and I'm up against a 350 lbs man. We're fighting inside of a building. Assuming that the building will not fall if you bust up the walls a bit, is there any advantage to my brick striking the guy as opposed to just grabbing him and throwing him at full strength into a wall?

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? That is debatable. I had to do some thinking about this one as well when he came up with this. However, there will be times when he has to deal with something that his body can't heal (the evil bad guy ultimate evil-doer curse attack or something like that) yet no one will be able to operate on him due to this.

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? There is a kind of 'church police' that will be introduced. There are mystical/religious forces with the Church that allows for the More Powerful with the NCI I agree with you on the 'Avoids Publicity' limitation and I have passed that on to the player. Ditto on the Martial Arts damage classes As for the three characters, I appreciate the advice, but it's a format that is working for us and has allowed the story to go in different directions without completing shifting the campaign's focus

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? Heh, point taken. We're running a standard game (200 pts/150 disadv). I think a lot of the trouble in character building in HERO is that there are many ways to make an 'uber/cheesy' but legal characters. Combine that with so many people new to the system (including myself), it was tough to argue against something when I didn't really have anything to offer as an alternative. The only thing I did put my foot down upon was putting basic quirks as disadvantages (i.e. (this example didn't really happen) Dislikes apples)

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? The fact that he's got the Holy Grail and is not 'Lawful Good' will come up in game soon enough. Pools definitely made my head hurt (hell, everybody in the group was in pain trying to really understand them). I understand them a lot better nowadays but I still have to refer to the book a zillion times to fully explain it. There are a few things on the characters in my group that hindsight being 20/20, I would change. For now, with the exception of things that are *very* sketchy (Alexander Lyons was probably the sketchiest) I'll leave them be and keep a close eye on them. Luckily, there's a limiting factor on much Lyons can affect my campaign. That's the fact that I had everybody create three characters. They are all part of the same team. Each adventure, they can use one of the characters and they can't use them again until every one of their characters has been used. So, I'll only see Lyons every three adventures. While this does slow down individual character advancement, I find that it increases the team's flexibility, and it also creates an interesting game of planning (If we use the blaster in this group, we won't have a long range attack in our group for next week).

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? Okay, the player and I have been talking and he changed his character. He removed the MP and put it in regular martial maneuvers. He removed some moves to make it work. Isn't he going to be able to do basically the same exact thing but with just a few less moves (he lost HKAs, charging attacks, and takeaway)? 3 Weapon Element: Chain & Rope Weapons, Karate Weapons, Staffs 4 Fast Strike: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, 5d6 Strike 5 Offensive Strike: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 7d6 Strike 3 Takedown: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +1 DCV, 3d6 Strike; Target Falls 4 Martial Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 5 Grappling Block: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +1 DCV, Grab One Limb, Block 4 Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 5 Flying Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +4 DCV, Dodge All Attacks, Abort; FMove 3 Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 25 STR for holding on 4 Martial Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 30 STR vs. Grabs 4 Reversal: var Phase, -1 OCV, -2 DCV, 30 STR to Escape; Grab Two Limbs 4 Joint Lock/Throw: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND ; Target Falls 3 Grappling Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 5d6 Strike; Target Falls; Must Follow Grab 3 Sacrifice Throw: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +1 DCV, 3d6 Strike; You Fall, Target Falls 54 Total Martial Arts Cost

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? Assume that I'm ignorant about why the MA Multi-power is powerful. Could you run through a hypothetical combat situation where this is just completely broken?

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? HA! I never thought of that one!!! I've asked the player to look in on this thread and maybe we can all have a discussion. However, I forwarded the portion of the Visual Fx disad to him... never expected his character to turn into the Human Torch!

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? Strangely enough, if actually fits out with the character's history (Foxbat, as I recall, tried to blow up the Empire State Building where the character (his name is Alexander Lyons) had his business. Originally, he had Foxbat showing up even more, but I told him there's just no way he would do that.

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? The skill pool was just an idea that the player and I had to represent the fact that he has been around for 2,000 years and knows a lot of things. This way, he'd be able to recall (just using as an example) how to build a wooden barrel or how to ride a horse. There was no way to list everything, so we put it into a pool. Now, I'm definitely not going to let him be able to do 'everything', but enough so that it uses his history to his advantage enough

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? Also, just as a note, many (if not all) of the items such as the Utility Belt, he got straight from the Gadgets & Gear book

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? The multi-powered martial arts... we had huge arguments over but because at that time none of us had actualy played this game, I wasn't sure how it all was going to work out. He wanted a way to be able to switch fighting styles and do different moves (kinda like Lei from Tekken fame)... any advice on how to do this?

Re: Too much tweaking? Too powerful? Full powers/disadvantages: Blessing of the Grail, all slots Inherent (+1/4); all slots Visible (Mild white/divine glow when powers are actively protecting or healing; -1/4) 5 1) Blessing of Health: Healing BODY 1 point, Can Heal Limbs, Inherent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (18 Active Points); Extra Time (5 Minutes, -2), Self Only (-1/2), Visible (Mild white/divine glow when powers are actively protecting or healing; -1/4) 5 2) The Resurrection: Major Transform 1d6 (Dead Body into Live Body), Inherent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (34 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Day, -4), Limited Target ([Very Limited]; Self only, when dead, body must be fairly intact and no last rites performed; -1), Visible (Mild white/divine glow when powers are actively protecting or healing; -1/4) 35 3) Blessing of Health: Life Support (Eating: Character does not eat; Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Immunity: All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents; Longevity:: Immortal; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep), Inherent (+1/4) (62 Active Points); Always On (-1/2), Visible (Mild white/divine glow when powers are actively protecting or healing; -1/4) 8 Utility Belt: Multipower, 20-point reserve, (20 Active Points); OIF (-1/2); all slots OAF (-1) 1u 1) Advanced Lockpicks: +2 with Lockpicking (4 Active Points); OAF (-1) 1u 2) Multitool: +2 with Mechanics (4 Active Points); OAF (-1) 1u 3) Microelectronics kit: +2 with Electronics (4 Active Points); OAF (-1) 1u 4) Flashlight: Sight Group Images 1" radius, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Hour (+0) (10 Active Points); Only To Create Light (-1), OAF (-1), Limited Range (10"; -1/4) 1u 5) Smoke Bombs: Darkness to Sight Group 2" radius (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On Strength (-1/4), 6 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4) 1u 6) Throwing Blades: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6-1 (1d6+1 w/STR), Range Based On STR (+1/4) (12 Active Points); OAF (-1), 6 Recoverable Charges (-1/4) 1u 7) Collapsible Staff: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6 (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4) 1 35 Grey Market Contacts: Variable Power Pool, 30 base + 5 control cost, (45 Active Points); VPP Can Only Be Changed Between Adventures (-1/2), VPP Powers Can Be Changed Only In Given Circumstance (With access to contacts and/or connections; -1/2), Limited Class Of Powers Available Limited (Real Items only; -1/2); all slots Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 0 1) Armored Costume: Armor (8 PD/4 ED) (18 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 9 0 2) Auto-Polarizing Lenses: Sight Group Flash Defense (6 points) (6 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 3 0 3) Linegun: Swinging 10", x4 Noncombat (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 7 1 0 4) Mini-Radio: Radio Perception/Transmission (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 6 0 5) Medical Kit: Healing STUN (Simplified Healing) 3d6, Requires A PS: Emergency Medicine Roll (No Active Point penalty to Skill Roll +0) (30 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Character May Take No Other Actions, -1 1/2), Gestures (Requires both hands; Complex; -3/4), Does Not Work On Some Damage Two or More Types of Damage (Severe Trama) (-1/2), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2), 8 Charges (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 6 25 Memories: Remembered skills (Skill Pool), 20 base + 5 control cost, (30 Active Points); Limited Class Of Powers Available Very Limited (Skills only, no martial arts; -1) 27 2000 Years and 1000 Forms: Multipower, 40-point reserve, (40 Active Points); Gestures (Requires both hands; -1/2) 1u 1) +5 with Breakfall (10 Active Points) 1u 2) Chi Strikes: +10 STR (10 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), Only to add to martial combat actions (-1/4) 2000 Years and 1000 Forms - all slots are multipower ultra slots with listed AP reserve cost 1 1) Quick Strike: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, +2 DC Strike, 4 Active Points 1 2) Side/Spin Kick: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, +4 DC Strike, 5 AP 1 3) Stone Breaking Strike: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, +1 DC HKA, 4 AP 1 4) Striking Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort, 4 AP 1 5) Grappling Block: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +1 DCV, Grab One Limb, Block, Abort, 5 AP 1 6) Evasion: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge vs all Attacks, Abort, 4AP 1 7) Quick-step Evasion: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +4 DCV, Dodge All attacks, Abort, up to FMove, 5 AP 1 8) Charging Attack: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, -2 DCV, +2 + v/5 DC Strike, up to FMove, 5 AP 1 9) Charging Grapple: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab 2 Limbs, +10 STR for holding on, up to FMove, 5 AP 1 10) Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, +15 STR to escape grabs, 4 AP 1 11) Reversal: var. Phase, -1 OCV, -2 DCV, +15 STR to escape grab, Grab 2 Limbs, 4 AP 1 12) Choke hold: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab 1 Limb (Head), 2d6 NND (neck protection defends), 4 AP 1 13) Joint Lock/Throw: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb, 1d6 NND (reinforced covering protects), Target Falls, 4 AP 1 14) Joint Break: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -2 DCV, Grab one limb, +1/2d6 HKA, Disable, 5 AP 1 15) Standing Grapple: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab 2 Limbs, +10 STR to hold on, 3 AP 1 16) Standing Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, +2d6 Strike, Target Falls, must follow Grab, 3 AP 1 17) Falling Throw: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +1 DCV, Strike, You Fall, Target Falls, 3 AP 1 18) Disarming Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab Weapon, +5 STR takeaway, Target falls, 5 AP 1 19) Sidestep Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +3 DCV, +v/5 Strike, Abort, Dodge 1 attack, Target Falls, can only follow target movement, 5 AP 6 20) Weapon Element: Blades, Chain & Rope Weapons, Karate Weapons, Mourn Staff, Staffs, Three-Section Staff Disadvantages 20 Normal Characteristic Maxima: No Age Restriction 15 Physical Limitation: Inhuman Physiology (Infrequently, Fully Impairing) Notes: The grail blessings are always on. Painkillers, anti-biotics, anti-depressants, etc all do not work. Surgery does not work (the incision will heal within minutes) and weird things happen as they try to treat him. 20 Hunted: Catholic Church 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) Notes: He predates the Christian church itself and is, ultimately, something of a pagan. He is a Christian in the sense that he believes in the Almighty and in the divinity of Jesus, but does not adhere to the teachings of the Church (in his mind, if God wanted him to change, he'd, ya know, withdraw his blessing or something). For its part, the Church knows the grail is lost but in circulation and has picked up hints and legends about Leonidas, during the times when he wasn't as active about hiding his identity. 20 Psychological Limitation: Code of Conduct: Soldier's Code (Common, Total) Notes: The Soldier's Code: This is the Code of Conduct between "good-guy" soldiers on TV and in the movies. It's better to die on your feet than live on your knees. Never leave a man behind. Never give up, never give in. Never let an insult to you or your unit go unpunished. Will not Murder-will use overwhelming lethal force on the battlefield, but will not attack innocents, will accept surrenders, does not attack the wounded, etc. 20 Psychological Limitation: Will not break his word (Common, Total) 15 Psychological Limitation: Avoids Publicity (Very Common, Moderate) 15 Hunted: Zorran the Artificer 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 15 Hunted: Shadow Dragon 11- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 10 Hunted: Cateran 8- (Mo Pow, Mildly Punish) 0 Hunted: Foxbat 8- (Less Pow, Mildly Punish) 0 Hunted: Past acquaintances 8- (Less Pow, Watching)

I have a player in my group that has an immortal/regenerating hero. His character has been around in the game world for about 2,000 years. Due to this, he has learned many martial arts skills and skills. I decided to let him do a multipower Martial Arts as well (constantly switching styles) Fine... He's intending to play a Immortal Batman style character. He also has access to various gadgets through the 'grey market' contacts that is done up via a VPP: 42 Grey Market Contacts Variable Power Pool, 35 base + 7 control cost, (53 Active Points); Limited Class Of Powers Available Limited (Real Items only; -1/2), VPP Powers Can Be Changed Only In Given Circumstance (With access to contacts and/or connections; -1/2), VPP Can Only Be Changed Between Adventures (-1/2) I told the group at the end of the first session that if they need to do some minor tweaking they can do so. This was intended to fix up powers/stats in characters that when writing up the characters made sense, but now that they've played the character, it just doesn't work/make sense for the character... Alrighty, so the guy reduced his Grey Market VPP to 35 and gave all of those a 15- activation roll. 35 Grey Market Contacts: Variable Power Pool, 30 base + 5 control cost, (45 Active Points); VPP Can Only Be Changed Between Adventures (-1/2), VPP Powers Can Be Changed Only In Given Circumstance (With access to contacts and/or connections; -1/2), Limited Class Of Powers Available Limited (Real Items only; -1/2); all slots Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 0 1) Armored Costume: Armor (8 PD/4 ED) (18 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 9 0 2) Auto-Polarizing Lenses: Sight Group Flash Defense (6 points) (6 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 3 0 3) Linegun: Swinging 10", x4 Noncombat (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 7 1 0 4) Mini-Radio: Radio Perception/Transmission (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 6 0 5) Medical Kit: Healing STUN (Simplified Healing) 3d6, Requires A PS: Emergency Medicine Roll (No Active Point penalty to Skill Roll +0) (30 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Character May Take No Other Actions, -1 1/2), Gestures (Requires both hands; Complex; -3/4), Does Not Work On Some Damage Two or More Types of Damage (Severe Trama) (-1/2), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2), 8 Charges (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) Real Cost: 6 He used the leftover points to add a Utility Belt: 8 Utility Belt: Multipower, 20-point reserve, (20 Active Points); OIF (-1/2); all slots OAF (-1) 1u 1) Advanced Lockpicks: +2 with Lockpicking (4 Active Points); OAF (-1) 1u 2) Multitool: +2 with Mechanics (4 Active Points); OAF (-1) 1u 3) Microelectronics kit: +2 with Electronics (4 Active Points); OAF (-1) 1u 4) Flashlight: Sight Group Images 1" radius, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Hour (+0) (10 Active Points); Only To Create Light (-1), OAF (-1), Limited Range (10"; -1/4) 1u 5) Smoke Bombs: Darkness to Sight Group 2" radius (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On Strength (-1/4), 6 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4) 1u 6) Throwing Blades: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6-1 (1d6+1 w/STR), Range Based On STR (+1/4) (12 Active Points); OAF (-1), 6 Recoverable Charges (-1/4) 1u 7) Collapsible Staff: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6 (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4) Do you think I should allow this? Too much tweaking from the first version to the second? Do you think that this character is trying to do too much (martial arts, immortality, gadgets). Opinions?

How would I go about doing this: Super powered human that can regenerate/resurrect/heal his own limbs if he is contact with dead matter. Also, he can absorb the knowledge, powers, and strength of the absorbed dead matter. So, this guy could cut off an energy blaster's arm, attach it to his own and gain the ability to energy blast.

A question about Change Environment that came up. Can a person with the Change Environment power reduce the range that he can affect? An example from the game I ran the other night. Nolan, a guy with various earth and heat abilities, has the power to raise the heat in the surrounding area. For the sake of this argument, let's say that it's 10". He's battling some bad guy who he theorizes can be affected by heat, so he starts raising the temperature. However, his teammates are within the 10". He doesn't want to cook them along with the bad guy. So, he wants to reduce the range to only 5". Can he do this?

Re: After the Ultimate Evil... what? The whole 'ultimate evil is gone and now there's a opening at the top' idea is a good one. I advise checking out the second season of the anime Slayers (not only for Xellos, one of the best characters of all time, but it fits this plot quite nicely). Okay, your group has beaten the ultimate evil. Now, in order to ascend to the throne of evil, a dozen demons with powers just a smidgeon under the power level of the ultimate evil must get rid of you. I'm also a big fan of storylines where 'While you're distracted in your adventures and battles against an ultimate evil, a new threat has been building right under your nose, whether's it's a secret society or just a regular ol' criminal organization'. Maybe a villain team that had just average powers suddenly gets a lot financing/mystical powers and gets a lot more powerful. The WWE (back then the WWF) did this back when the 'Corporation' was around. The Corporation was a team of fairly powerful villains that was mostly concentrated on facing off against Steve Austin. In the meantime, the Undertaker was forming the 'Ministry of Darkness' by kidnapping and transforming wrestlers into new characters. The Ministry slowly grew in power but wasn't considered a major major threat until one day the Corporation and the Ministry joined forces (forming the Corporate Ministry) which was an absolutely devastating group. (Wrestling fanatics: I know I left some parts out, but I just wanted to get to the point ;-) I do also like the idea of 'other dimensions/universe's ultimate evil... you beat the ultimate evil... you're now known universe wide... so everybody wants you to take out their ulimate evil... also, what other villain wouldn't love a chance to be able to say that they've beaten the guys who could beat the ultimate evil? -Kevin

Hey guys... I'm in the middle of building characters for my Champions game and one of my players wants to build a character named Leukocyte with a power where he can heal somebody's damage but will cause Leukocyte the exact same damage that he is healing. Is this possible? The next step, if that can happen, is that he wants to be able to transfer the damage he has received to another character (Leukocyte heals 5 damage on Bravo Man and then lays hands on Evil Nazi Man on a later phase and transfers the 5 damage to him) Can this be done? -Kevin