Sean Waters

Re: Reasoning from effect/I think I have finaly done it/GL Bubbles Oh I'm Mr Party Pooper today: also from the FAQ: A: Yes, a character could summon such an object (e.g., a Base, Vehicle, or Computer), subject to the GM’s approval. The character must apply the Amicable Advantage at the Slavishly Loyal (+1) level, since he has full control over the object. Additionally, if he Summons the same specific Vehicle every time (or the like), he must pay for the Specific Being (+1) Advantage, unless the GM waives it. Derive the cost of Summon from the total cost of the object, not its cost divided by 5. Which indicates that these might be a lot more expensive than first envisaged...

Re: Reasoning from effect/I think I have finaly done it/GL Bubbles I don't have Ultimate Vehicle, but I've now looked at the FAQ and noticed this: A character may not use Summon in this way to substitute for another power. For example, a character cannot Summon a bunch of swords and hand them out to his friends; that’s HKA, Usable By Others. As always, common sense, dramatic sense, and the GM’s discretion apply. It seems that the force bubbles, cruise missiles etc would clearly violate this injunction - it is a way to get around building the effect with powers, isn't it? These force bubbles are a good idea,my concern is that they seem too powerful, and at lower level I'd certainly allow them in a game I ran, even if they are not, technically, a 'perfectly legal build'.

Re: Get out of that I just can't seem to get which board to post on. Still,so long as there is always someone to put me right... If I get told off for reposting this you'll back me up, yeah?

Re: WWYCD: Drug enforcer No...I think you'll find they are followers...

Following on from the stretching damage question,the FAQ quotes an answer to an example without quoting the example,so is a little hard to follow - it seems to suggest you do need to be a minimum distance from a target to take advantage of stretching bonus damage which does seem to contradict the rulebook, which says that acceleration is not a factor, so for instance for an adjacent opponent you would get no bonus damage, for an opponent 1" away you could get up to 1d6 bonus damage, 2" away you could get up to 3d6 bonus damage, 3" away and you could get up to 5d6 bonus damage and so on (subject to having the requisite points in stretching!). Is this right? Also the stretching FAQ says that you can grab a fixed object and pull yourself to it, up to stretching distance or half that in a half phase. The rulebook says that you can't use stretching to enhance movement, but that seems to be exactly what is happening here - for example a character with 6" run, 7" swinging and 8" stretch can move 8" in a phase using their stretching powers. Granted this makes 'common' sense, but seems to circumvent the rulebook. I appreciate the stretching doesn't increase the run or swing distance per se but the book says can't improve movement capabilities, so which is right or are they both and I'm just not seeing it?

Elephant (STR 90, weight 100kg) grabs Buzzard (STR 30, 10" flight not restrainable). Buzzard can't fly off with Elephant unless he wins a STR v STR if I understand the last post, and, given the example that is very unlikely. What if Buzzard is hovering near a building roof, and Elephant jumps off and grabs him? In effect, Buzzard is already flying. Can Buzzard maintain his position in space using flight (he easily has enough STR to hold Elephant up and fly with him if Elephant wanted top cooperate) or do they both start falling?

If someone buys a flight UAA, maybe defined as antigravity, or whatever, can a targetted character resist it (STR v STR roll or whatever, like TK uses), or are they got when they are got and can do nothing about it? I can see how a strong character might be able to fight the effect if close enough to grab something fixed but not (necessarily) otherwise. If the power can be 'resisted' would the same apply to Teleport UAA? It is just that it seems so potentially lethal for potentially very few points. I suppose that is why the STOP sign is there...

Grabs and entangles; how do they interact with other powers. Teleport tells you you can get out of entangles using the power, but what about shapeshifting, growth, shrinking or stretching (and probably others I haven't thought of)? OK you could just say that it depends on special effects but that is really just penalising the player who doesn't make every entangle a complete covering: maybe there ought to be a limitation or advantage for entangle to cover this? And so to grabs. We have (probably) all seen Terminator 2 and 3 which seem to demonstrate how useless this manoeuvre is against a shapeshifter. Similarly, twisting the arm of someone with stretching powers is going to be pretty ineffective,or trying to hold on to someone who suddenly changes size. How do you handle these situations? +5 effective STR per 10 points in the relevant power for breakout purposes only? OK then what about the shapeshifter who grabs someone? Should they get a bonus to hold on? Now I appreciate that all these points could probably be addressed by building appropriate powers or skills (+20 STR only vs grabs and entangles...) but you don't think of every situation when you build a character, so how would you approach it?

Re: Cosmic Level Gaming (e.g. Authority) I think that a lotof good points have been made. For what it is worth, can I wave this one at you: 1. High powered games are often a lot more work for the GM: it is superman syndrome - how do you hide something from someone who can see through everything except lead and who can rip lead lining out without breaking a nail? You need to be cunning, and even then, players tend to do - or try and do - much more than a character written in a book or on film. 2. Don't model on existing high powered characters - you'll be disappointed that your version of The Midnighter gets taken out as a result of a few lucky rolls, or becasue a major villain hit him rather than Apollo. You know the Authority is not going to be wiped out in the book - they are the book - or if they do,they'll be back. In an interesting game they will be facing villains who can take them down either by strength or Team Achilles guile. 3. High powered is as high powered does - I have played with a group of 250+ point characters, didn't hand them character sheets, just pictures and bios, and let them rip. They were surprised at how low point powered they were: the team were real world shakers - it depends on the challenges they face. This lot defeated Gods. Maybe not quite straight up face to face and fist to fist, but they won. And they left a 3km deep crater in Spain, but that is a loooong story... 4. Killing attacks. Be aware that an 18d6 attack will almost always get near to the average of 56 stun/ 18 body, but a 6d6 killing attack can do nearly three times that stun and twice that body with alarming regularity. Play by the rules, die by the rules - be prepared to muff it in favour of flavour.

Re: Ratri and Post 500 Are you one with the night? This question probably won'tmake any sense unless you have read 'How to be a Superhero'.

Re: WWYCD: Drug enforcer Captain Lemming would fall off a high building onto the foul villain. Of course from that high up it can be difficult to tell the guilty, but most people have done something wrong. The chances of it having anything to do with this particular case are pretty slim, however. Unless the street is busy there is a good chance he'llmiss completely. Oh, and then he'd die. Long falls do that.

Re: Who was the LAMEST? Got to be the original Thor. His secret ID had a walking stick. I assume that was what you meant?

Re: Reasoning from effect/I think I have finaly done it/GL Bubbles I really like the idea, but I do have a couple of reservations: 1. You seem to be summoning vehicles. Summon only really works on living things, which would allow opponents,for instance, to mind control them and so take them off you. If you could summon the inanimate you could, say summon a 'base' the size of a phone box with massive defences and stand there and make rude gestures at your opponents. 2. You have allocated 15 DEF. Too high. That is equivalent to a 15/15 Force wall with 0 END and persistent: 150 points. Way, way too useful/powerful IMO. You may be in a high powered campaign, but remember GL is a planet shaking character - one of the most powerful in the DC Universe,not known for their low powered characters. Excellent creative use of the system though.

Re: Reasoning from effect/I think I have finaly done it/GL Bubbles Taking a bit of a lateral thinking approach, if all you want to do is move people, and keep them alive while you are doing it you could use teleport, extra time and moves through intervening space. That would be cheap. Mind you they'd die when they arrived....back to the drawing board...

Re: Dodgy area We've been thinking of the hex as another character. What we need is an 'imbue item or area' advantage. It would only work for 0 END powers (whether naturally or reduced to 0 END), and would imbue a single item,or a single hex with a power. You can double the radius or number of items for a +5 adder. An area could be centred on an object rather than a fixed point, but does not grant everything in the area the power - just the area, basically what it is made of. The power would last until turned off, or the character leaves the area/object. If you imbue an attack power,it lasts one use. You can not imbue the same power on an object twice at the same time - if someone tries,just apply the largest (GMs may make special effects decisions) +1/4 for 'giving' the power (-1/2 limitation if you can not use it yourself, but only imbue it) +1/2 for sharing it. Work for you? You could use it to toughen normal glass to be bullet proof, ramp up the damage on an arrow (the damage from the arrow and the imbued power would be seperately applied to defences, like an alpha strike) OR make a hex more difficult to hit.

Re: Dodgy area It is an idea, but an expensive one - most characters with a ranged attack are going to be able to avoid it with ease,and it doesn't really fit in with the special effects, but excellent for a 'bad luck' type power.

Re: Dodgy area

Re: Dodgy area What I'm after is something that makes the character and the character's hex more difficult to hit. I'm not too bothered about other characters. The hex is not another charcter and doesn't get to decide not to accept the bonus,so I'm thinking that AT MOST you need UBO - you are not attacking the hex, that would be silly and require a new attack every time you moved. I'm still not convinced that even UBO should be necessary. Now I'm completely with you on the AoE advantage saying you need to make an attack roll to hit the hex- but if it is no range then you hit the hex you are in, and this is no range, so no attack roll is necessary. What I keep coming beack to when I think this one through is the cost/benefit dynamic - building it as a +1/2 advantage doesn't create a power that is excessively useful for the cost. You could do it with Aid to add DCV to you, one hex AE (the hex has DCV so you should be OK), and it would effect the whole hex,you and everyone in it. You could probably get away with 'self only' -1/2 as you can not 'pass it on' - only people standing on your toes benefit. Aid doesn't cost END, so the cost would be the same, but the bookkeeping is more of a problem with the Aid option, and just feels messier. Oh and you'd probably need to make it constant to work properly,which makes it cost 13 points per 1d6 and it makes peopleyou are tyrying to punch harder to hit, which is silly too. Forget I mentioned it.

Re: Dodgy area I looked but couldn't see where it says AoE is only applicable to attacks. I mean,granted there are not going to be that many occasions where it isn't, but I don't think it needs to be.

Re: Dodgy area The idea is that there is some sort of gravity lens around this particular character, that deflects things even before they get there, be they bullets, punches or energy blasts. AE Hex attacks are not that common in our games: explosions are more usuually preferred, especially by villains, and there is no real way in the rules to deflect such a variety of attacks with missile deflection, which is an 'active defence' in any event - this is meant to be a field that is on at all times. The beauty of this is that the amount of deflection is directly tied to the skill of the attacker - someone with a high OCV will hit the hex anyway,a bit lower and you'll land nearby,as the amount you miss by (in hexes) is linked to the amount youfailed the roll by. Anyway,it doesn't stop a villain who get's smart targetting the hex next to you wuith an explosion... It is not really mean to to act as a defence for others standing nearby, and certainly is not designed to assist villains who manage to grab you, so I'd have thought useable as an attack was unnecessary, maybe useable by others simultaneously, where the 'other' is your hex. You'll be telling me that I'll need to make it persistent too as the hex is not conscious, so 12 points a level. No END cost that I can see... Mind you for what it is, that seems a bit expensive,look at it globally - how much more usefull is +4DCV and a DCV 7 hex...not enormously, but that will depend on the frequency of AE attacks in your game. I don't see it as munchkinism (mind you, munchkins never do), and it sorts out the joker with 10 DEX and grenades...

Re: Dodgy area Repulsion fields, displacement shields, whatever. It is the only way you can make a hex hard to target - can't see how you would do it with CE,especially if you were thinking of 4 or 5 DCV to make a hex realistically difficult to target. Of course if there is a better way... I do like the idea of useless advantages though - how about invisibility with invisible power effects, so that whilst they can't actually see you they can't see that you are invisible...

Dodgy area -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DCV levels with the area effect (hex) advantage. Hmmm... So,assuming you bought this intriguing power, what would it do? 1. Make you harder to hit? 2. Make your hex harder to hit? 3. Make anything/anyone in your hex harder to hit? 4. Something else? Why do it? Well,mainly #2 above,to stop those sneaky area effect (hex) and (explosion), and maybe even (AE area) wallahs getting you. What do you think?

Re: Dodgy area This is probably on the wrong board...haven't used themin a while...

Re: Official Champs Uni = Marvel Uni? Well, given that Marvel was one of the main inventors of the genre a little derivation is to be expected. Let's not get the nice people at Hero sued, eh....

DCV levels with the area effect (hex) advantage. Hmmm... So,assuming you bought this intriguing power, what would it do? 1. Make you harder to hit? 2. Make your hex harder to hit? 3. Make anything/anyone in your hex harder to hit? 4. Something else? Why do it? Well,mainly #2 above,to stop those sneaky area effect (hex) and (explosion), and maybe even (AE area) wallahs getting you. What do you think?