Yamato

Re: Bows

The term for Japanese bows is either "hankyu" for the shorter version or "daikyu" for the longer version. The reason that the daikyu could be fired from horseback is that the place that the hand holds the bow at is approximately 1/3rd of the way up from the bottom of the bow (when it's unstrung), thus avoiding the problem that other bows have which have the holding point (or shelf) at the midpoint of the bow. Also the firing method for these types of bows is a modified thumb ring style, due to the design of the shoting glove worn.

On a separate point, most horse bows (usually defined as a short composite bow) were fired with a thumb ring, which is very similiar (in mechanics) to the mechanical "flicker" (for lack of a better term) release for modern coumpound (i.e., pulley system) bows. If you want info on horsebows, check out http://www.horsebows.com or email the American agent for the manufacturer (Ed Gilbert - ed@horsebows.com). I personally own a lynx model 3-layer compound bow & it's a totally different firing style than the self/stick or recovers that I've previously fired.

Re: Equipment Guide - Delayed Recovery

Thanks, RJ.

I knew that I had seen it but couldn't seem to find it while looking at the various indexes. Of course, it might have helped if I hadn't been trying to find it after being up for over 30 hours. I'd give you some rep if I was able to.

On page 118, HERO System Equipment Guide, under Note #22 for tear gas hand grenades, it listed the following Advantage - Delayed Recovery (+2). ]Now I know that the explanation for this is somewhere in the HERO System rules (I'm still using 5th Ed. Revised with some additions from 6th ED.), but for the life of me, I can't find it. I guess my Googgle-Fu isn't all that great. Does anybody else remember where the explanation for this Advantage is given? Thanks for any help.

Re: Hit Locations in Super-Hero Game?

Something that I should probably mention is that since I got started in Hero (back in 1985), I've had only 3 PC deaths in the game. And those were at the express request of the player. As far as NPC deaths, I've had only 5 but that was also planned as part fo the storyline.

Re: Hit Locations in Super-Hero Game?

Well, since I'm the GM in quesdtion, let me chime in here.

What Mike forgot to mention was that Black Diamond (they were fighting GRAB) got hit by the team Brick who connected in the Vitals which effectively put her down for the count & resulted in the team capturing all of GRAB except Cheshire Cat (who had teleported out previously).

Since I'm the one that's rolling the Hit Locations, I usually roll them as Chest unless there is a reason for the location to be elsewhere. Also I try to use Hit Locations as a way to flavor the combat & not as a device to penalize the players &/or reward the villains. Usually it's the villains who end up suffering form the Hit Locaton damage & not the players. But even the players get caught sometimes. Just ask my wife about her character (Brick) in another Champions game we're playing in up in NYC who seems to keep getting KO at least once each game sessiions (we usually have 2 or 3 combvat/game session). Sort of the running joke.

As for how I'm handling location & VUL modifiers for damage, that's the way that I was taught back when I started playing Hero in 1985 & until this game, I haven't had a complaint about it. I figure that if you get hit in a sensitive location (like Stomach, Head, Vitals, etc.) then you should be taking extra damage from that. Also VUL are a Disadvantage that should penalize you which, applying their modifiers after defenses & Damage Reduction makes them not a Disadvantage to my mind. YMMV.

As for the way that 4th & later Ed. handle the effects of Killing Damage in regards to nonresistant defense, I stongly disagree with it. My thoughts are Killing Attacks are supposed to do damage. So unless you have resistant defenses of some sort, then if you get hit by a Killing Attack, you should take in on the nose for both BODY & STUN. My #0.02. YMMV

Re: Acid

If you've got Ultimate Energy Projector, take a look at the section on acid, pages 45-50. If you don't habve UEP, give me a call most evenings after 7 PM & I can give you particulars.

Re: Twisted Cross, Silver Bullets

I thought it was Von Hawkwood, but I could be wrong. Unfortunately ,my copies are in storage which I can't get to at this time. I do remember that the titles are The Spear Of Destiny & The cup Of Destiny.

Re: Twisted Cross, Silver Bullets

the knights of the blood books (there's 2 of them forget the author) with vampire knights hold up in a castle for a few centuries who skirmish one night against a Nazi field hospital set up on their door step and acidently make vampire Nazis also the helsing anime and manga back in the days when Walter was young and hip

They're by Katherine Kurtz & her husband Scot MacMillian. supposedly there was going to be at least another q but nothing ever came of that as far as I know.

For reading about weird things & teh War, try Trevor von Hawkwood's "The Spear Of DestinY". I used it as the basis for a CoC scenario in which thePCs discovered that the reaosn for the gas chambers in the camps was really for mass blood sacrifices to attempt to release teh Old Ones from their captivity. However, as somebody has already pointed out, let your players come to the understanding that the true horror of the war is humanity's capability for tru evil & depravity. Hope this helps.

Re: How many arrows can an arrow maker make?

Well, I talked to my contact this weekend who has a business making traditional archery equipment about the number of arrows that can be made. He statted that in a 10 hour day he could personally (with modern equipment & all the necessary parts) turn out about 200 arrows in that time. But that's if he did nothing else that day. He suggested that if the maker had the peoper equipment & available blanks, then he coudl probably turn out (if he worked all day at it exclusively) make a couple dozen. If he had to go search for feathers (for fletching), wood blanks (for arrows) or used deadfall wood or cut green brancjes than he could probably get 6 to 8 in a day & the penalties for accuracy with such improper means should reflect a fairly large penalty for accuracy when used.

As for the SCA, I've been a member since 1972 & have found that the level of accuracy in historical research in the SCA depends on who's doing the research & what their particular axe is to grind. Compared to groups like the Company Of St. Michael or the Schola St. Michale, the SCA doesn't have any sort of histroical accuracy, Comparedc to some of teh other medival reenactment groups (Pentwyvern, as 1 example), then the SCA is fairly good about historical accuracy.

From what I've heard about the SCA in Lochac (the Australian chapter), I'm not surprised that Curufea had problems with the SCA. Of course, I do remember about the surprise when a group of SCA members for Lochac came to Pensic 1 year & thought they had the most wonderful black cat with white stripes that they had found near their encampment & had fed over the course of a few days. Boy did they get a surprise when they suddenly discovered what their "kitty" actually was.

Re: How many arrows can an arrow maker make?

I took a look at the refernece tables given in the "Armourers' Companion" for Chivalry & Sorcery: The Rebirth (4th ed.) They give the productin times as 2 days for 20 arrows of quarrels or any type ( but that assumes that the maker has a proper shop with the correct equipment to make said items. If not, then I'd personally give the player the ability to make up to 6 if they made their Bowyer & Fletcthing skill roll. But that's me personally with no knowledge of how to do such things myself. If I remember to ask on Sat, I'll be over at a local Ren Faire here in NJ & I know that 1 of the merchants who'll be there actually makes a living producing bows, arrows, & such equipment for a living & ask his opinion. I figure that he knows what he's talking about on the subject as he makes really beautiful stuff & can also shoot in the expert level of the sport.

Re: Researching old sailing ships

If you can find it, FGU out out a supplement for the Chivalry & Sorcery system (1st ed) that included historical information on ships form Egyptian times up to the late Rennaisance. It included deck plans usable for 25mm miniatures & gave game stats for use in C&S for them, as well as their actual stats. I used to have a set but they disappeared a number of years ago along with a large amount of my old C&S stuff. You also might want to try the Osprey "Men-At-Arms" series to see if they have done anything on sailing vessels of various periods. If they have, it's probably spread over several differnt books. Hope this helps.

Re: A Problem of Dissatisfaction

Champions Universe - p.28, CU Characteristics Standard

- p.114, Campaign Guidelines & Standards

Hero 5th Revised -- page28, Character Types Guidelines Table & Character Ability Guidelines Table

Hopefully this will help. Good luck w/the new campaign.

Re: We've Got the Missiles peace to determine...

"Once the rockets go up, who cares where they comes down. that's not my department." says Verner von Braun.

I realize that you can't use Penalty skill Levels (PSL) to offset the -3 penalty for not having WF with a weapon, thus incuring the Unfamiliar Weapon Penalty. But if you had, say, 3 CSL With HTH Combat or 3 CSL With All combat, could you use them to offset the -3 penalty for Unfamiliar Weapon when you attack with such, thus effectively giving you WF with all weapons for either 15 points or 24 points? If not, why not?

Re: Namedropping

I believe that Khomeni was mention in Wild Cards IV as being an ace, but I could be wrong.

Gojiro - I believe that you mean Vlad Tepes III who was a member of the Order of the Dragon, thus giving him the name of "Dracul" & his son, Vlad Tepes IV aka Vlad Dracula (son of the Dragon) who was also known as Vlad the Impaler & was the source & inspiration for Bram Stoker's "Dracula" Interestingly enough, he was also a contemporary & relation to Elizabeth Bathory.

Re: Comics you loved...but apparently no one else did

Wally Wood's THUNDER Agents. Yep, it's definitely Silver Age & fairly cheesy in retrospective but I absolutely loved it when I was reading it back in the 60s when it originaly came. out. There's been a couple of attempts to bring it back by various companies (including a 1-shot by Marvel) but so far nothing's lasted more than 2 issues. Fortunately, DC has collected the original issues & the spin off magazines (Dynamo & Noman) in a set of 6 hardbound books. Considering the talent in the books I'm surprised it didn't do better when it came out. Favorite to agents were Lightning & Dynamo & The Raven had energy claws on his hands befrore Wolverine was a thought in Claremon'ts eye.

Re: Tall Ship Plans

Getting back on topic <>. You might try to see if you can find a copy of an old FGU product called "Biremes & Galleys" I believe. It was rules for using ships ffrom the earliest Ancient vessels up through the Rennaisance. What was nice about it was that they included carboard layouts of various of the ships & I believe that they had a galleon plan but I don't remember & have lost my set (mutter, mutter, mutter). But I do remember that they did have teh layout for a brig. The floorplans were scaled for 25mm or 1" = approx. 6'. Hope this helps.

On the other topic, if you ever get the rules done for Ravenloft in HERO I'd be interested in seeing them. I was sceptical of Ravenloft until I looked at the reading list of source material & realized that the authors were trying to do actual Gothic horror instead of slasher horror. It's 1 of the few D20 games that I ever liked.

Re: Supernatural Special Forces

You might consider an industrial siphon, i.e., professional seltzer bottle. I seem to remember a Serreted Edge novel (Mercedes lackey) in which the human engineer uses 1 loaded w/iron filings in the water. He also has it blessed by a pagan w/the old oak-&-ash-&-thorn blessing which tends to work against supernatural nasties. In the novel, it blasted a hole through a bqanshee's heqad, but that might just be literary license. However, an industrial siphon would fire even when the water's loaded w/filings. Just think of the look on the vamp's face when you let loose w/it in his face!! Also, in the Nightlife game the Hunters there had developed special rounds for shotguns that included holy water, silver nitrate, garlic, cld iron shot, & flint chips as these were all VUL of the variuos supernatural nasties of 1 sort or another. If fire works, then use WP rounds in your firearms. You mightg have to replace barrels fairly often but at least if the round hits it keeps burning until it's gone or has nothing left that's combustable. Just remember that WP grenades can splatter on you & WP burns are at least 3rd degree or worse. Also you might want to consider trying manganese powder & glycerin. It gives off a fairly high heat when it goes off. But don't forget about napalm. Every corporeal suprenatural beasty will burn & you can make napalm out of styrafoam packing peanuts or soap sahvings (Ivory works very well) mixed w/gasoline. Just don't be too close when it hits or you might get covered yourself.

Re: Poster map - Hudson City

Count me in on th raid on Steve's house! Of course, the problem is who gets the map once we'd grab it? . On a more serious note, I'm definitely interested in any maps that are available or would be available, so count me in if you do it, Steve.