megaplayboy

Re: Guns, guns and more guns I wanted to ask, "Okay, if I drop a 2000 pound bomb on an Abrams, and on a battleship, which one will still be functional?"

Re: Guns, guns and more guns He said that based on the research he had done, he stood by the writeup.

Re: Deputization question Did a little hunting around--it looks like the reqs aren't that much different from regular police officer training: no criminal record valid ID basic academy training(3-6+ months, depending) So we have 3 people with public ID who might qualify...perhaps given the current emergency situation in game, we can get provisionally deputized, and fulfill the training reqs as we go along... anyone else ever tried or gotten a PC deputized?

Anybody out there know what it takes to become a sheriff's deputy in the state of California? Our PC group is trying to get at least one member deputized so we have some legal basis for what we do...

Re: Guns, guns and more guns Can't possibly drive you as nuts as the Missouri class battleship with 10 DEF in the HSVS (and Steve's response when I pointed this out) did me...

Re: Good places to have battles...and stuff A mall parking lot, a shipping district full of train cars and truck trailers, a construction site... a martial artist's nightmare and a brick's dream

Re: Are you Judge, Jury, and Executioner? I'm tempted to have a "Honorable Judge Jurian X. Kushner" in my game now...

Re: random idea for an alternative champions campaign Of course, one factor is that superhumans wouldn't have to be as powerful in the 19th century in order to be a major force in society, or even to be a threat to social order. Being cannonproof might be tantamount to total invulnerability, for example. Being able to move at even 50-60 MPH might make one uncatchable. Simple invisibility would be incredibly effective. etc. I think even a half dozen 200 point PCs could take down a company of riflemen, given how long it takes to load and fire the firearms of the era... there might be a Nat Turner style faction, out to avenge their suffering. there might be a "let's just go home" faction, just wanting to return to their native soil(and bring as many comrades with them as possible) there would likely be many wanting to just fight for their freedom and the freedom of others, perhaps to earn full rights as citizens, by force if necessary the reason why I found the idea intriguing is because it puts characters into a position where obeying the law is clearly immoral, and defiance of authority is simply rational.

Thinking about some of the discussion about heroes taking the law into their own hands led me to come up with the following idea: The Southern US, circa 1840: Strange glowing meteor rock lands in a field near the Bood plantation. Slaves(and possibly a few others) begin manifesting supernatural/superhuman abilities, including at least one being apparently bulletproof. What happens next?

Re: Your Dream Ultimate Ultimate Silver Surfer--just because I'm curious what a more edgy version of the character might look like Ultimate Defenders--ditto Ultimate Fem Force

Re: [4color] Why do you dislike the Iron Age style? (No flames, ok?) I think sometimes in gaming you have a situation where the PCs are more "Silver" when the GM starts throwing Iron Age style scenarios at them--DNPCs brutalized, NPC heroes murdered, mountains of innocents getting killed. In those situations, either the campaign ends due to player discontent, or the PCs are compelled to become harder-edged in order to deal with more ruthless opponents. The other situation that pops up is edgy, killer PCs thrown into four-color campaigns. This is usually self-correcting, as the authorities or other PCs step in to rein in the rogue PC. I think a lot of players really aren't into the brutality level of an Iron Age game.

Re: What Would Your Character Do? #68 Hmm...it'd be different if he did it in exchange for a full pardon and international recognition for his artificial orbital "nation"(which anyone is welcome to emigrate to). I can't imagine the world leaders signing off on a deal like that. The only way that could haappen would be if the villain had some devious "insurance"(nukes in major cities, or nano-explosives inside the leaders themselves) to compel them to honor the deal.

Re: Barrett announces 25mm man-portable assault cannon in testing reminds me of the "small arms" in Mayfair's Underground "superpunk" game: the pistols went up to 30mm, and IIRC there was a rifle of some kind that was 50mm(!). Of course, in a world with ex-commandos with superpowers, that kind of ordnance is probably necessary

Re: Ultimate vs The Authority Well, the Ultimates is basically kind of an Iron Age version of the Avengers, while the Authority is kind of an Iron Age version of the JLA, albeit with different characters and fewer qualms about using force, and using their powers to make big changes to the society they "protect". I suspect you'd probably enjoy the Ultimates more than the Authority.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll Well, all arguably true. OTOH, he wears a costume, has a nom de guerre, a strict moral code, used to have something approximating a Secret ID/alter ego, and was a longtime member in good standing with the JSA(and, occasionally, the JLA). It'd be pretty easy to confuse him for a superhero.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll It occurs to me that there's one pretty glaring exception to this--the Spectre. He's been around since comics began, and has been dispatching murderers left and right for most of that time period. Technically, that makes him a vigilante--except that his "authority" to act as JJE comes from, uh, well, God(or at least the DCU's version of the Almighty). I'm not sure how to reconcile that...

Re: I made the GM cry.... I think occasionally threatening to quit can get GMs to shape up a bit. Sometimes they don't even realize that the players aren't enjoying themselves.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll Well, what about heroes who can resurrect the dead? Are there characters who'd find that morally objectionable? After all, It's not actually that expensive, and might fit conception for a handful of character types. "You know, Bruce, I can bring your parents back..."

Re: Code VS Killing Poll

Re: Crime and Punishment Wow, that must be hell for the superheroes. They have to operate very tightly(and avoid ticking off any corrupt officials in government) to avoid getting mindwiped. I can see a Menton-type villain wreaking havoc on such a system. After all, once someone's been "reprogrammed" once, it's undoubtedly easier to do so again

Re: Crime and Punishment In my current campaign there will likely be some form of "fast track" for criminal cases involving use of paranormal abilities or "restricted" technologies(i.e., power armor), so that criminals can be brought to trial and processed quickly. There will be three levels of detention: Big City SuperMax(essentially a slightly upgraded regular maximum security facility); Freedom City's VAULT(the most secure facility on the planet); and likely an "exile" colony on Mars or Titan. No democratic nation in my campaign has a death penalty. Some of the fascist states in the campaign, like China or Taraqistan, use summary execution or "reconditioning"(i.e., brainwashing or psychic surgery) on prisoners with superhuman abilities. more as it occurs to me...

Re: Who are the greatest (?) super villains? Viper/Madame Hydra ring a bell? She's ruthless, reasonably competent, and (while she's a hottie) her femaleness has little to do with her villainy. Cheetah, Queen Bee, Lady Shiva, Hela, the Black Queen, etc.... Glorith was an uber-baddie, worked just fine. Umar, the sister of Dormammu, is another one. Cassandra Nova, the Goblin Queen, etc....

Re: XP....how much per session....? I tend to think you should factor in not only the pace of advancement, but also the relative starting level of the campaign--if you award 2-3 xp per session in a gritty fantasy campaign with 100 point PCs, then that's a pretty quick rate of advancement, but in a galaxy-spanning cosmic supers game with 1000 point PCs, 2-3xp would be pretty slooow. So I'd suggest a "standard" of about 1 percent of base campaign points(1.5xp for FH, 2.5xp for low supers, 3.5xp for standard supers), adjusted for pace(.5 to 3x, round up), to give you a range from 1 xp for slow paced fantasy, to 30+xp for a DragonBall Z type of campaign

Re: Duplication as attack Probably easier and cheaper to buy it as a Summon, Duplicate of specific person(+1), slavish(+1)--210 active points(for a 350 point hero) before limitations are applied--you could probably make it require an attack roll, and add another limitation, get the cost down to 105 points or so.

Re: Code VS Killing Poll A follow-up question: does the relative ruthlessness/implacability/irredeemability of the villain have an impact? the escapability of the prison system? a combination of the two(worst case: the Stronghold is a poorly-designed, poorly-run sieve, the villain has super-lawyers who give him time to elude authorities, and the villain gets worse and worse every time they get out)? At some point, if the justice system actually isn't working properly, a principled hero may feel no recourse but to make an exception so that lives can be saved and justice can be done. Plus, logically, if a villain were already under a death sentence, theoretically law enforcement might deputize a hero team to carry out said sentence against the villain, on the grounds that the state lacks the means to do so otherwise(and to expedite public safety, etc.).