devlin1

Re: Props and your PCs "And here's a picture of the building." "This is just an exterior shot." "Yeah, that's what it looks like." "So... is there a map?" "No." "Oh. Well, you can have this back." "But did you look at it?" "Yes." "It's a picture of the building." "Very nice. Can we, like, play now?"

Re: Props and your PCs I use almost nothing. I don't bother trying to synch up music to specific "scenes" in the game. If someone wants to have something that's generally appropriate playing in the background, that's fine, but I'm not much of a background music kinda guy (if I put music on, it's because I want to hear it, not have it fill in the gaps). Nor do I dim the lights, find illustrative pictures on the Internet, or provide my players with handouts. Unless, of course, it's a Paranoia game, in which case I have more props, forms, and audio elements than the game reasonably requires. I certainly don't have a problem with the GM of a game I'm in using a bunch of props, but I tend to find that they're way more interested in them than I am.

Re: Question about "DANGER SENSE DODGING" Personally, I'm stuck on why "Danger Sense Dodging" is defined as the ability to take a hit instead of the ability to avoid one. Were it me, I'd just buy more DCV with "Activation 13-" to equal his Danger Sense roll. I'm just not a fan of confusing Armor and DCV. Yeah, the guy can still get hit by an AoE attack, and he can't take damage as well as a brick, but really, that's okay. Not everyone can do everything, nor should they, IMO. As for getting knocked out in toe-to-toe fights with bricks... he should stop doing that. Going up against bricks that way, I mean. If he's that fast, there are better ways to take them down.

Re: How Long to Learn Hero System? 8 seconds. Next!

Re: Because I Must! Hardly. IMO, he's clearly a Responsibility of Power/Thrillseeker kinda guy, although I don't believe he'd seek the thrill if he didn't have the power to begin with. He may say something else to his wife, but it's our actions under pressure, not our words, that define who we are. The first sequence of the film (at least, I think it's the first sequence-- I've only seen it once, and that was a while ago) very much defines him as a Responsibility of Power archetype, dealing with multiple crises at once because he feels obligated to help people if he can (cf. Spiderman). He may be forced into another societal role in his professional life, but even there he uses his bureaucractic power (since his other powers are useless at best) to help people. And he does it because he feels it's the right thing to do. Of anyone in the film, I think his motives are the most clear-cut, as they'd probably have to be for a protagonist in that kind of plot.

Re: Lemme know how you'd handle this power build... IMO, this kind of shapeshifting is one of the few legitimate reasons to have a VPP. Going any other way is going to be too inflexible to accurately reflect the versatility of the power.

Re: Pirates versus Superheroes

Re: Pirates versus Superheroes

Re: Rep? It was an honor (and a surprise) to be nominated. Thanks, Hermit!

Re: Heroes By Gaslight John, very cool stuff. I dig the era. One minor quibble with the Frenchman: I think what you're going for there is "mon Dieu," which means "my God." "Vieux," on the other hand, means "old." I know, I know, hardly important, but you know how it is.

Re: First Post, First Character Overall, I'm with everyone else: he's a solid character. Good on ya. My nitpicks are these: I agree with TaxiMan in that his Summon seems to be benefitting from "Requires Gargoyle" twice. It's a bulky, expendable, rare Focus. That's it. Extra Limbs gives you any number of extra limbs. It shouldn't be necessary to buy it twice. Some of his Disads seem a little questionable to me, especially "Reluctant to Kill" and "Will Kill." So he's reluctant to kill, but since it's only at Moderate, he'll kill if he has to, right? I think these two Psych Lims are redundant. Were it me, I'd lose one of them, then turn that Enraged into a "Sensitive about appearance" Psych Lim to avoid attacking mirrors. I'd also drop Unluck and turn that 1.5x STUN Vuln into a 2x STUN. Personal preference, though. I dislike Unluck and appreciate giving the GM chances to exploit my carefully-calculated weaknesses. Economy of Points: You could save 15 points by putting Stone Fists and Stone Claws into a Multipower, losing the redundant Extra Limbs, and losing Ambidexterity (I find this rarely comes up in supers games, and I don't see it as being especially appropriate for a character who, as previously implied, isn't all that dextrous). Then buy 3 HTH CSLs so he has a fightin' chance of being effective in combat (or turn the 25 points spent on HTH CSLs into 8 levels with his Multipower!). After that I'd probably drop Simulate Death (he doesn't breathe and looks like a regular stone gargoyle when standing still-- looks dead to me!) and put those three points into INT (he seems smarter than the average statue), then drop the PS and KS: Sculputure to 12-. That'd leave me with another 4 points. Lose the extra level on Survival, and that's 5. If I put 4 points into DEX, it'd raise his CV by 1 all around, so I think I'd do that. I could then lose a level of Climbing and still have it stay at 15- (although were it me, I'd just drop the RSR on Clinging and not buy Climbing at all). Still 3 points left. I'd probably buy a tight SL with his PS and two KSs. Lastly, I notice he has CK: Paragon City. Where and when are you playing? Because I'm showing up on your doorstep to get a piece of that.

Re: Horror Hero Well, it has been done. There was a 4th Edition supplement with that very name. I know this, because I have it. It's good stuff. If you can find a copy, it's worth getting (if you're into horror, anyway).

Re: Pirates versus Superheroes I second that.

Re: Egyptian villain name needed Capstone. That's the pointy stone on top of the pyramid, made of electrum or something. Fits with Pyramid and isn't Thoth-Amon-Sul or anything. Nice and themed and Anglicized. Personally, I like Mastaba, although yeah, most gamers would make at least three jokes a night about it.

Re: And Suddenly It's a White Candle Stick!

Re: Please help critique character (Origin/Background/Points) There are probably a hundred ways to build a power to fit that specific instance, IMO. TK and Flight UAA (with "Vertical movement only" and other modifications) are the two that leap to mind. I agree that Suppress is no way to stop someone from falling. Can you stop them from falling altogether, or just slow them down? If the former, then TK is probably best, but if the latter, I'd go with that Flight UAA. Of course, with TK the weight of the target matters, whereas with Flight it doesn't.

Re: Please help critique character (Origin/Background/Points) Because maybe your character can't always justify being able run up the side of a skyscrapper. Maybe the GM isn't allowing powers. Maybe a lot of things. I think you're missing out on a good thing by not taking that Flight option, despite the turn mode for Running. IIRC, Skill Levels with Flight let you turn more frequently. Not sure about that, though.

Re: Please help critique character (Origin/Background/Points) Instead of getting hung up on the word "running," think about what you want that Le Parkour running to do. I've seen how those guys move-- very little gets in their way, and their agility isn't just due to speed (i.e., more Running). The problem with Running is it only lets you move on a horizontal surface. Flight, Only On A Surface would let you do the running-on-a-wall thing I see them do, and also let you get around any obstacle in your way. I don't know if you'd want to, but you could even do the classic bit of running on the tops of people's heads in a crowd. Reason from effect. And no, I'm not with you on the generic "Movement" power. You certainly could have it, but you'd always have to use the same modifiers to create common modes of movement (like running, flight, etc.). In the end, instead of creating the same Modifier "packages" over and over again, it's more convenient to have them as separate powers with costs commensurate with their utility. The TK question: I think the best way to do this would be to use Aid and Suppress, both with "Any Movement power, one at a time."

Re: Please help critique character (Origin/Background/Points) Ah. You're running solely off Sidekick. That explains a lot. However, you should still be able to revise him as others have suggested. Hyper-Man's MP is perfectly valid: as long as there are enough points in the MP pool to run two powers at once, you can run two powers at once. I don't recall offhand if Sidekick differentiates between ultra and multi slots for powers in an MP, but if it does, check that out. I understand your initial aversion to MPs, but sometimes, especially with multiple powers that serve the same general purpose (e.g., attack, travel, etc.), it's quite appropriate to put them in an MP, because odds are you'll only use one at a time. "Flight, Only in contact with a surface" is a must for this guy, IMO. I understand the SFX of the KB Resistance, but from a practical point of view, you don't necessarily need to have 10" worth, especially since you can use your Clinging to resist KB as well. Also, re: the 10 EGO, do you really want a weak-willed hero? If so, then... okay. Were it me, I'd say that the brainwashing/mindwiping did the trick, but his ambition and will are too strong to stay dormant forever. I wouldn't want this character to have a 3 ECV or be so easily-affected by mental powers like Mental Illusions and (God forbid) Mind Control. BTW, on the inertia stuff-- think about that old standard, Dispel: Knockback Resistance with the Advantage "Does Knockback." And is his ability to inhibit inertia really best represented by an Entangle (which a strong enough character can break out of), or should it be a Drain vs. Movement Powers?

Re: Please help critique character (Origin/Background/Points) Y'know, if you just make the MP big enough to Cling and Leap, you wouldn't have that problem and you could probably cut down on your costs. I also agree with those who suggested using a MP for the attack powers instead of an EC. You really, really need to free up points for SPD and DEX. Also, why so much KB Resistance? You can use Clinging to counter KB too, y'know. If you cut that KBR down to 5", you'd save a point of SPD. Is Le Parkour Running that "freerunning" jazz the French love so much? Apologies if you're French and take that as some kind of insult. It's not meant as one. And even if it were, it wouldn't be a very good one. But I digress. If it is, you might want to buy some Envionmental Movement for Urban terrain, maybe even Flight with "Only in contact with a surface" to really represent the unbelievable way those guys move. Then throw the Running, the Leaping, and the Clinging into a 30-point MP and save yourself another point of SPD (or thereabouts). If you have a 7d6 2x KB EB, why would you ever use your feeble 2x KB HA? I say drop that altogether, personally. I don't see the point. The EB can be used at close range, too, with slightly different (or maybe not) SFX. At the very least, up the HA by a few dice and put it in a MP with the EB and the Entangle. Also, drop the Entangle down and put some appropriate modifiers on it, like "Doesn't take damage from attacks" and "Cannot create barriers." All he's doing is preventing a guy from moving; he's not encasing him in ice. I don't think, anyway. And if it were me, I'd take the FF down to 15/15 (or maybe 20/10, considering the SFX of the power) and make it 1/2 END. Maybe you could use some of those saved points to up his END, REC, and STUN, because once someone gets through his defenses, this guy's going down. An ex-villain hero with a 10 EGO? C'mon... give it one more point, at least. I see a lot of opportunities to save points and a lot of ways to use them differently. A couple 3-point CSLs with that new MP, for one. With a 15 DEX, I don't see him doing too well against other 300-point characters. I know you want more disads, so how about a Vulnerability? Vulnerabilities are good. Gives the GM something to exploit. I'm sure you can come up with another Psych Lim, too. I get the idea of his forced transformation from villain to hero, but IMO, the mythology imagery is a little heavy handed. A wife named Demeter? Who names kids Demeter? Apologies if you're named Demeter. And they're just torturing their daughter by naming her Persephone. At any rate, that's just personal preference. Sorry for going on and on-- I haven't critiqued a character in a long, long time. I guess I was backed up.

Re: City of Heroes Based Campaign Oh, I don't doubt he does. I'll bet that was a damn good game. But of course he plays Champions; CoH is way too crunchy to be an M&M game.

Re: City of Heroes Based Campaign I like the idea of a CoH tabletop campaign, but I'd just use the setting and not worry about cramming characters into the artificial restrictions necessary for a MMORPG, including levels, power sets, and Enhancements (although some of them would certainly provide good inspiration for magic and technological items used by characters). I'd also leave out the hordes of supers running/flying/teleporting around Paragon City, and have a more "normal" distribution of supers to normals. I think if you leave out those two aspects and just concentrate on the rather rich setting, it'd make for a great game.

Re: In need of a good origin story "PUT ON THE SANDALS." "Whoa! Who said that?!" "IT IS I, HERMES, MESSENGER OF THE GODS. DON MY SANDALS, YOUNG ONE." "What gods?" "WHAT?" "Massager of what gods?" "THE GREEK GODS! 'WHAT GODS,' HE SAYS! WHAT DO THEY TEACH KIDS THESE DAYS? AND I'M THE MESSENGER, NOT THE MASSAGER-- ALTHOUGH THERE WAS THAT ONE TIME...." "Hey, Herman, I'd love to stay and talk, but my dad's in big trouble!" "I TOTALLY KNOW THAT! PUT ON THE SANDALS!" "I dunno... these look too big. They'd probably fall off or--" "SERIOUSLY! KID! PUT ON THE DAMN SANDALS!"

Re: Pirates versus Superheroes

Re: In need of a good origin story Hey, you nailed that sentence.