Syberdwarf2

Originally posted by Aroooo

Sorry if I was a little vague. Your point here is the point I was trying to make The 'feel' of any campaign is up to the GM. The good thing about making ships - once you've done it, its done. I mean, once you design "ship type a" you don't need to design it again, like we do with NPCs.

 

Anyway, back to work

 

Aroooo

A very good point. That way, I don't have to make up a new ship for every adventure; complete with new ship-class, manufacturer, et cetera. Just take my baseline ship, give it a few tweak as needed, and there ya go.

Re: setting problems

Originally posted by Syberdwarf2

I actually have been having success in using the plot generator as a starting point only. It gives me something to focus on when stuck for ideas or, even more importantly, when I have too many ideas. (that can be worse than any writer's block).

I also decided to use the generator for my Dark Champions campaign I'm running for the Misses. After all, there's nothing that says the generator is exclusive to SH, and the plotting elements presented in it aren't genre-specific.

Personally, I like it.

However, even though I use it as a start point, I don't want to let my campaign become part of a generic setting, identical to so many others where the only difference is names.

Jeez, I can't believe I didn't think of using tabloids. So far, I've been using just the regular local paper or USA Today. I'll probably give the tabloids a try, though. I'm in the mood for something really weird.

pick me pick me

Originally posted by Aroooo

Thanks for the vote of confidence

 

Maybe I will once I get everyting cobbled together. Maybe an IPX team around the end of first season... Hm... I could get into running that.

 

Aroooo

Can I be the first one off the ship when we get to Z'Ha'Dum?

I'd also like to volunteer to be the primary tunnel-rat/ strange-looking-cave investigator.

Oh pleez oh pleez oh pleez?

But wouldn't firing stars at another star in a galaxy, whether at once or one at a time lead to making objects so incredibly massive that black hole of incredible proportions would be created? I shudder to think of all that mass adding up to increase gravity over and over and over again.

SD: "Suuuurrre he will. After all, guys, this is just a game. Mechanon is just a fictional charac......"

(((((Hears knock at door))))

(((((Opens door, and sees......))))

M: "PREPARE TO DIE ORGANIC! "

((((sounds of laser fire and burning flesh))))))

SD: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO................(splat)

Originally posted by Armitage

In the episode with the Yangs and Cons (I think, can't remember the title) Spock was able to telepathically influence a woman's behavior at a distance, although it took intense concentration.

I may have the wrong episode, but I definitely remember him controlling a primative woman from across a room.

I remember that scene also, but not the episode. I would simulate the Vulcan telepathy at range power with an Increased Endurance cost and either Activation Roll or Concentration: 0 DCV (or both)

The value of the Ablative Limitation depends on whether or not it lowers the Active Points when STUN or BODY is exceeded in the attack. IIRC, it's worth (-1/2) if the attack exceeds EITHER STUN or BODY and (-1) if it exceeds BODY only. Since vehicles don't have a STUN characteristic, Ablative would have to be taken as a (-1) limitation.

Steve,

On pg.177, the Pricing Guide lists Vehicles as;

"1000 credits (or more) x total Character Points." I assume this means the total number of points (less Disadvantages) times 1000?

For example; The Merchant Ship (pg.222), lists the "Total Vehicle Cost: 507"

So the Price of the Vehicle would be 507,000 credits (or more).

Is this correct?

umm, okay...

Originally posted by BasilDrag

Except that a "hex" of area is the area of a hex 2m from side to side, or 2*sqrt(3) square meters. So it's (657*2) * (164*2) / (2*sqrt(3)) = 124,417 hexes in area, or almost exactly 135 points

 

 

 

No, no, no, no. You add all the areas, then look that up on the chart. 124,417 * 246 = 30,606,582, which is closest to 195 points.

 

Or, you could say each doubling of area adds ~7.5 points, and 246 decks is ~8 doublings, for +6 points.

If you read my next post after that, I'd already fixed the problem with my math (thanx to the help of a fellow herophile). The problem was not so much with the numbers I was using as it was with my Order of Operations.

--Syber "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" dwarf2

Re: missiles in a dogfight

Originally posted by Aroooo

Okay, in keeping with the thought that a missile is a vehicle (at least built as one ), how would you handle a missile in a dogfight?

 

Starfighter A is in a dogfight with Starfighter B. In one turn, B launches a missile at A. Now you have 3 vehicles the dogfight. How is it resolved?

 

This also begs the question, how do you handle a dogfight with multiple participants? 3 on 3 for instance... The writeup in 5E talks mainly about 1 on 1. I'm thinking that everyone rolls their combat piloting, and those numbers are compaired to each other as you figure out who is attacking whome - essentially the 3 on 3 becomes 3 1 on 1's.

 

Aroooo

Starfighters A&B are being controlled by a pilot,(be it a person or an AI). Such an entity will be able to make snap decisions of his own accord, reacting to conditions in a dogfight and maneuvering.

A missile, fired at said starfighter, will either be a smart bomb variant or a dumb missile. A dumb missile will pull an energizer bunny an just keep going, and going, and going....

A smart missile would have a computer in it with a very simple program; "Go to specified destination" (the target ship). It may also have other programs such as "Follow/Track last designated target". It would be able to maneuver after said fighter, but like any other vehicle, it might be outmaneuvered. However, it will only follow the instructions it is given prior to its being fired.

I thought we got Mechanon to solve that printer problem?

Originally posted by Agent Escafarc

From your example your total number of hexes would be 26,506,008 sq hexes which would 195 pts you don't have to by each deck separtly:)

Let's see......657 times 164 times....... yup. What you said. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Originally posted by Agent Escafarc

Just like Bases each deck's L x W are added together to figure the total area.

So to use my ealier example;

The Andromeda measures in at Length (657 hexes), Width (164 hexes, and Height (493 hexes). Assuming 1 hex= 6.5 feet, that's 4270.5, 1066, and 3204.5 feet respectively.

With L x W to figure SIZE that's an area of107748 square hexes. Cost for that much area (closest figure in SH expanded vehicle chart is 125000 sq hexes) is 135 points.

Now the juicy part,......

The height is 493 hexes. Assuming that the average deck is 10 feet tall (approx. 1.5 hexes to make it easy), that would give the Andromeda..... 328 decks!....

Okay, so let's whittle that down. Make the average deck height 2 hexes; 246 decks.

Now (only if all decks are the same size), 135 points times 246 decks comes to 33,210 character points. ugh.........

My biggest hang-up (the only one actually), with the Vehicl rules was not a question of Mass. It was a question of Height.

SIZE provides for length and width (Area). It doesn't touch on height (l*w*h). For example; I started working on a writeup for the Andromeda Ascendant. I've figured the L x W, in game terms. But how tall would it be? How many deck levels? etc.

Originally posted by Syberdwarf2

Uh, Mister Superskrull?.......

Uh....

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ?????

Oops, never mind. (just caught up with the rest of the posts.

Sorry.

Originally posted by Agent X

Superskrull has worked on a Card Organization that I think is far superior to the Card Shark organization. Maybe he'll you about it if you ask him nicely?

Uh, Mister Superskrull?.......

Uh....

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ?????

I agree with Agent X. The organizations are overused. Personally, I'd like to see a fleshing out of the Card Shark crime organization from 4th ed Dark Champions. On the other hand, it is nice to run a game with a premade org, it eliminates SOME of the paperwork.

Re: Martians

Originally posted by AlHazred

Would you like my War of the Worlds adaptations?

Are you refering to the book, the movie, or the TV series?

Originally posted by Kage Neko

I would like to see it.

Sorry, but I recently cleaned house on my game stuff, and threw out handwritten copies of 4th ed characters from published books. Apparently someone, either the Shadows or that pesky little worm Bester, mixed that up in there. Oops.

I'll keep my eye out for it though, if it turns up.

Personally, I'd try to run a game with the PCs as either members of IPX or ISN. IPX gets the fun of exploring, ISN gets.... well, you know. Look at the civil war story arc:eek:

Originally posted by Agent X

I think I'm going to write up a ship for your consideration. May take me a day or two.

I have my take on a 'White Star' if anyone's interested. Actually not THE white star, but WS was used for inspiration for my SH campaign. It's not a B5 write-up, just something fun and crunchy to chew on.

Re: Re: Revised Multipower

Originally posted by Dynamo

Sorry to be a math-nit, but the Taser slot is 100 AP. Kinda hard to fit in a 44 point Multipower.

OOPS.

You're right. Sorry, too many late nights, I guess. And just where did that 44 point reserve come from? Oh yeah....

Taser slot; 100 active points.(and therefore the most expensive power in the MP)

therefore, 100 points in the reserve, right?

uh-oh, the syberdwarf lost track, and wrote the power down as a 44 point reserve. as a 44 pt-res, it comes to 19 points. but the Real Cost should've been 44 after the MP limitations.

My bad.

Kickboxing

The final peice of the characters powers/abilities that I'm having trouble with is her martial arts. How would you do this? Her style is kickboxing (professional, not Thai Kickboxing). I have yet to accquire my copy of UMA. Incidentally, just to make things gel with my sense of ethics, I'm NOT asking for 'what does the book say?' or anything like that. That wouldn't be fair to my favorite game company, IMO.

Anyway, I figure I'd take bits from Boxing and Karate (as defined in FREd). But, how would y'all do it? My biggest hangup is that there's a variety of kicking styles in kickboxing. Any or all of which could be defined as Martial Strike. Should the Misses and I just give the PC martial strike, do some handwaving, and call it whatever type of kick she wants to do at the time?

You make a valid point. The starship construction rules are kinda vague. But IMO, that's the point. They could've put more in there in the way of example ships, or construction variants, etc., but that would detract from the premise of the book. SH was meant to be a genre book. For ships to have a 'naval' feel to them, or B5, or S:AB&B, whatever; that kind of stuff would depend on the sub-genre and the type of campaign being run.

Please don't get me wrong, sir. I do agree with you. It is annoying that I have to do writeups of ships from scratch. BUT, I also have to do NPCs, Campaign summaries, Setting info, and all other forms of homegrown campaign/setting goodness from scratch. It's just more paperwork for me. The downside of my particular situation (and I know I'm not alone here), is that I have a wife and 2 kids. I'm pushing, um.... 23 (uh, yeah, that's the ticket), okay 30. I have a full-time job with full-blown family responsibilities as well.

Now, I still have time to work on my hobbies, and I manage to balance it out with the family, or get them involved. However, I only have so much time.

Thankfully, there's TUV, TE, and soon to be released; The Spacer's Toolkit.

It is a pain in wahoo, to have to do all that work, though. But sometimes, that's the fun of it.

Actually that sounds like a pretty cool idea. I've never seen or heard of a campaign that dealt with magic in that way. (even though I'm sure they're out there. There'd be all kinds of possibilities for magic-based tech equivalents. I am curious how the advent of mass production would be handled. IRL, of course, this is accomplished with automated robots. Why not an 'army' of skeletons, zombies, or golems filling the roll of robots? This would be very do-able in HERO terms, since the only difference between said magical constructs and robots is their name. They're all automatons, aftrer all.