Black Rose

Re: ICE Era hero stuff sloppy? While mine haven't disintegrated... yet... I seem to have lost one page per major book. And the Werewolf first edition's layout was done by crack-addicted spider monkeys. And not normal crack, either, but the green glowing crack. I mean, I get that you want the flavor text first, then the character creation stuff, then the crunchy setting info. But this was just sickening in its "hunt through the book for just what your Breed Gifts are, foolish gamer! Ha ha, hunt for me little Homid!"

Re: This one might be a little wacky... I agree that the 1/3 jumps might be a little too much, but what about this? Use the "flip-over" alternate to-hit rules; OCV+10-3d6=DCV hit (I find this somewhat more elegantthan both the standard method and the alternate mentioned above, and it lets you hide the exact DCV from your players). Take the total DC and divide by three (12d6 EB equals 4d6, 2d6 KA equals 1/2d6); this is now one "increment" (or chunk, or level, or whatever). If the to-hit roll is missed by one, you do one increment of damage. Make the roll exactly, and you do two increments; make the roll by one, and you do three increments. This covers the mild-decent-solid hit range. Now, for every +2 by which you make the roll, you may add another increment to the roll. If this is too extreme (forex, if the OCV/DCV levels you're playing with are too high), make it every +3. If the dice totals you're playing with are larger than the 12-14 DC range, you might consider making the increments smaller; perhaps one-quarter or one-fifth.

Re: Your PCs might be Underpowered if... ... this session.

Re: What Do You Consider An "Animated" Style Campaign What animations do you and your friends watch? A game set against the genre assumptions of the Powerpuff Girls/Dexter's Lab is gonna be very different from one set against Teen Titans/JL, which will be different from straight BtAS. I'd say go for only as much "detail" as is minimally required -- only introduce NPC groups (good, bad or indifferent) just before you plan to use them. Don't make anything too serious.. or too silly, either; kinda buffer everything with a thin coating.

Re: If you could add one more...

Re: Lum! Yum! IIRC, in the last movie (whose name eludes me at the moment) Lum decides to leave and make everyone forget she was ever there... except Ataru doesn't quite forget. And wants her back. And somehow manages to get her back. Hey, we showed these things about ten years ago at the anime club I belonged to, after around eight hours of other anime; I almost never managed to stay awake through the features. Regardless, he does end up admitting he loves her. I seem to remember another "game of tag" where he is trying to get to her, and everyone else on earth is trying to stop him, and in the end Lum catches him as he pretty much passes out and brings his hand to her horn. At the time, I really loved Urusei Yatsura. Not that I don't now, but I've seen more anime since. Now I really love Ranma Nibunnoichi.

Re: Activation and RSR Always a way to go, and I do it myself at times.

Re: GM's "rights" To the outside observer, many people worship their place of rest (praying by their beds) and their meals (praying before meals). The idea that spider-mutants might "appear" to be worshipping insects makes perfect sense.

Re: Prophetic Insight I have a character I have been working on for the last month, who originally had some absolute knowledge of the future of the ficton to which they were going, and all the nearby fictons* as well. However, something happened midtransit, and not only was the character sent to the wrong host body (wrong age, wrong sex!), but most of the specific information is now completely unavailable due to "hysterical amnesia)**. I finally decided to use: Flashes Of Knowledge: KS: Various Ranma 1/2 Timelines 30- (21 Active Points; 5 Real Points); Only On First Meeting Or During Dreams (-1 1/2), No Conscious Control (Only Effects cannot be controlled; -1) I like this because, there's almost no chance I won't get an answer, but the NCC makes sure it's going to be scattered and all-but-useless info that I'll have to put together. * Coined by R.A.H., I believe, to represent all the various possible timelines created by writers unconsciously tapping into the multiverse for their stories. ** Is there such a thing? I seem to recall such a thing, but I could be wrong. In any case, here it refers to actually knowing a thing, but being unable to consciously access the knowledge. Much like hysterical blindness means your eyes work find, but you "refuse" to see.

Re: Flavour in Combat over mechanics Yeah, I really got played in that game. I pointed out to everyone, as a way of showing that Exalted really understood the anime/kung fu fan/gamer mindset, that you could get bonuses to your maneuvers by being uber descriptive. Big mistake: anyone will become Robert Howard if it gets them pluses to hit. My advice? Based on the player - and let everyone know it will be different for each of them - determine what you consider their "standard description level". Anytime they go above this level, give out bonuses. When they reach a new standard, adjust upward; no longer is the old standby good enough. If you think a player has really done well at portraying a particular maneuver several times (thrown knives, sword disarms, acrobatic dodges, whatever) then they earn XP towards some CSL/PSLs. Thus there is a reward for not only being descriptive, but having a schtick - assuming that's your thing in your games.

Re: I'm the best there is at what I do...And what I do today is.... I've been thinking Hero needed something like this ever since... well, pretty much since I made my second character. I totally see the cheesy goodness of it, truly, but it would be so nice to have an official way to Cram one's way to an 11- skill. Heck, I'd be happy to stop right there. Maybe something like Skill levels that can only add to Crammed skills, and no others can likewise. Perhaps letting Skill Enhancers affect Crammed skills (I really like this one, BTW). Anyone else have some good ideas on this subject?

Re: "You're not a REAL Hero!" I've just managed to catch up on this thread, and I think the talking-at-cross-purposes problem is due to poor definitions. We're each using our own personal definition, some of which I imagine can't be adequately expressed in words, and when someone disagrees with us, we think they must be nuts. I mean, how could you disagree with me? I'm right, after all In any case, I have my own definition to throw into the arena. And it all comes down to one word. SACRIFICE Obviously, not all sacrifices are equal, and not everyone will agree on the value of a given sacrifice. I mean, really, Bruce Wayne could be doing a lot of good with all that money by running Wayne Enterprises like a full-time CEO, buying up all of Gotham, "gentrify" everything, and hire some decent psychologists for Arkham. This Dark Knight gig is nothing more than Brucie-boy unsuccessfully trying to get over his parents' death. Right? I hope my point got across to y'all. Now, sure, I feel the poor guys who put themselves in front of the sharp end of the stick, with no real assurance of coming back from it, are making a bigger sacrifice than someone who cuts a $100 check to Amnesty International. Thing it, they are both sacrifices. And, we don't always see the true sacrifices a person makes. Except in movies and comic books.

Re: Package Disads House Rules? Killer Shrike has, I believe, a rather elegant solution to this. Give the humans their own Package Deals. I recommend focussing on their strong points; adaptability, quick and broad (if not as deep as the longer-lived races) learning, things like that. This helps make things a little more even across the board. Remember, if you have a race that is "just as good as humans, only better at insert thing here", they should cost more; they're better, ferchrissake.

Re: Deadly Blow... So would I, in some cases, but according to Steve all praise his name! and the Mighty FAQ: Q: Does the Deadly Blow Talent change if the attack it’s used with has Advantages? A: No; that would get pointlessly complex. which I can also see. If you had a reasonable selection of moderately powered weapons, the accounting could get... well... "pointlessly complex".

Does anyone have any opinion, one way or the other, on the subject of Disad "Forcing". By this I mean a player putting themselves into a situation where they know they are going to get hosed by a Disad, mostly to accomplish two things, one laudable, the other somewhat self-serving: first, to better roleplay their character; Example: Joey is a sucker for the ladies, and always buys what they say, even when he ought to know he's being snowed (PsychLim: Sucker for a Pretty Dame; C/S). His Player frequently maneuvers Joey into situations where he's going to get lied to, screwed over, and used by women, because Joey would find himself in these situations. and second, to pre-empt, or lessen the effect of, the GM using his Disads against him; Example: Rick can't seem to catch a break with his personal life (Secret ID and 1 die of Unluck). In this session alone, he's roleplayed his girlfriend giving him the third degree about chatting up "long legged blonde skanks" (team member in her Secret ID), getting a chew-out by his boss at work, and nearly getting caught changing into RoofRunner by his little sister. Rick's player is hoping the GM won't screw him over any more than he has himself. Now see, I would think of this as the player taking initiative and "assisting" the GM in telling an interesting story. OTOH, I could also see it as trying to cheese out of getting to be screwed over by the GM, as is his right and privilege . What I want to know is, what do you, Herodom Assembled, think of it?

Re: 4th Edition still OK for a NEWBIE? I hate doing these "Me too! Me too!" posts, but I really think I have to in this case. I picked up the 4th Ed Hero softcover back in '91-'92 (somewhere in there) for around US$7.50, and it was the best US$7.50 I ever spent. Granted, I couldn't comprehend the system at the time (too many acronyms, too flighty), but when Fuzion did BGC and Champions:NM, I realised that Hero did it better. Lots better. Sure, I had some kerfluffles at first, like thinking EBs caused STUN... just STUN... and you needed KAs to cause BODY. Made that power staff darned expensive.... Seriously, unless you've got a pretty tight budget, pick it up. It'll give you a good grounding for 5th Ed. and 5th Ed. Revised. You know, I keep wanting to make some sort of analogy describing the relationship between 4th and 5th, and I can't think of a single one that doesn't suck rocks. 4th is damned good, 5th has more examples and clears up some very long-running arguments :cough:Linked:cough: OTOH, it also has a couple of design decisions that people are still trying to determine whether they work "correctly" or not. As always, it's a fun game, and an even more fun community. Welcome, it's good to have you. Enjoy the show.

Re: What would your character do...#78: It's Good To Be King? Penumbra would, depending on how it was decided he should be king - former monarch's fiat or bloodline: question the sanity of a ruler who thinks a guy wearing an enchanted SS uniform who goes around fighting colourfully dressed weirdoes with powers based on icky-bad shadowstuff would make a spiffy king wonder how his grandad managed to pull off being in the line of inheiritance of a small European country while keeping up the hectic lifestyle of an SS scumbag (Penumbra's got issues, y'see) Besides, Pen's already theoretically heir to a country; granted, it's the realm of Shadows, but it is a country. Now, if he could pull off getting Diplomatic Immunity for that tie.... Regardless, he'd manage to offend someone, either by being too nice in a situation calling for pragmatism, or being too cold when a show of compassion was needed. And who wants a king who is trying to magnify his powers a hundred-fold by building an enormous palace of obsidian?

Re: XP for Disadvantages [Long] Skip giving XP based on frequency; after all, if it's frequent, you'll get it pretty often anyhow. Give it based only on severity. If it comes up, and you get it in the teeth, you get XP for it. Otherwise, only the 1 for the game, with maybe another one for good RPing or a long adventure. Also, I think I'd only allow the "worst" disad to count for getting XP. This way, you don't end up with 10 XP for a single adventure. Maybe another +1 if some other Lims were really prevalent. Then again, I feel that 5 should be the most for a long-running campaign. If you wanted to ramp up the power more quickly, give out more.

Re: Deadly Blow... My understanding, though I could be wrong, is that it would add directly; i.e., from 1d6 HKA, AP to 2d6 HKA, AP. If I am wrong, and it does happen, it would be "prorated" to 2 DC, or 1 1/2d6 HKA, AP. Also, you want to post questions to the topmost forum on the board. This is a good place to get answers from all the forumites, though.

Re: GM Only Listing Snerk... chuckle... "He said 'informative integrity'. Bwa-haaaaaa!" Sorry dude, the idea of a sub-forum even having integrity past the first day or three is funny. We have genre fora with cross-genre threads, NGD has gaming threads.... God, I love this place. I really do. PS: I know you weren't saying any of the threads manage to keep on-topic for long. The mere idea of informative integrity made me giggle.

Re: The Authority:What the heck? No, I can see her point. I agree entirely. My experience with smut is that, after a while, it simply loses any reaction value. "Ooh, naked flesh, whoopie." No, they make other flavors of ice cream because those who do not partake of the Holy Chocolate are wrong

Re: The Authority:What the heck?

Re: Loosening up Hero System This just occurred to me. Roll against DEX, but at -5 to the roll, and an additional -1 for every 3 "pips" of DEX you are below 30. If you are successful, you have deflected the missile. If you fail but are within 5 of making the roll, you "caught the missile", taking 1/2 dmg. If you fail by more than 5, you simply get hit - hey, you're trying to catch an arrow/knife/rock/thingummy, you kinda have to get in it's line of movement. Works for me, makes it something hard to do, but still doable, and gives a punishment for failure.

Re: Super Powers that are really "wanted" ... by everyone

Re: Got my 'damaged' books today... I got VIPER and MMM a few days ago. As far as "damage" goes, I think the spine was a little sharp (like the coating on the cover had a miniscule bit of flash) and beyond that, nothing. My FH had the lower corner bent a little, like could happen if I tossed it onto my bed and it hit my pillow a little too hard. I'd just like to say that DoJ is one of, if not the, coolest companies with which I've ever had interaction. They totally rock.