Mike W

Re: Starting points for rookies in established campaign Part of it depends on character concept too. You can make some nasty 350 point bricks or martial artists that can easily keep up with higher point characters. A good idea and some careful building can make for some scary "low point" characters. After all, +60 STR, 20/20 Armor, and +30 CON can be had for 120 points if you make them an EC. That's only about 1/3 of the points a starting character would have to spend.

Re: Starting points for rookies in established campaign I just picked up a campaign with two established characters and two newbies. The older characters had progressed from 375 up to 430-440 range so I started the new guys at 400 - which gave them about half of the experience of the older players. One thing to be careful about(which happened in my game) - if the old team has put points into things like a group base, radios, and vehicles, your newbies may find themselves paying the first month or so of experience just "joining the team" (i.e. - donating for the base, buying a radio to fit everyone else's, etc). This may require you awarding some assigned experience to defray the cost. If you can arrange it so that the old characters get some other assigned award at the same time it might go over easier.

Re: Timelines I think timelines are very useful when writing a character's history. It gives you a chance to see where the PC could fit into the world. It also helps you get a feel for the history of the world and how the NPC characters fit into. Who likes who, which heroes have rivalries and such. And so on.

Re: Character write ups help I basically make players fill out a questionaire before they ever build the character. It includes personal history(including how all contacts, allies, DNPCs, and enemies fit in), personality, and life outside of their heroic identity(if they have one). This usually requires them to give me 2-3 pages of background info and gets them thinking about the character in a way that doesn't involve the character sheet. We then translate the write up into numbers(a character sheet) and adjust the abilities as needed based on the number of points we have to work with. This has worked good for me in the past because they get more well-developed characters and a "wish list" of things to spend exerience on, and I have a good idea of how to pull the group together and what adventures I can center around different characters.

Re: Recovery and Endurance logic Maybe, at the same time, it's tougher to think about things when your'e tired but there is no specific game mechanic to represent that.

Re: Comeliness? The only use I've ever seen for Comeliness(aside from flavor) is as a complimentary role for interaction skills(especially Seduction).

Re: Recovery and Endurance logic Sorry, That last reply from sleepydrug should have been mine. I'm using a friend's computer and the autologin didn't click until after I had replied.

Re: Using 1-second turns instead of SPD chart I dont' like doing away with the speed chart. It helps to balance out characters. The brick that only goes 3 times but hits really hard is balanced by the more average guy who doesn't hit as hard but goes 4 or 5 times. Doing away with the speed chart sounds like a recipe for power gaming. Suddenly, all the players want to hit like the Hulk because they don't have anything to compensate for not doing so.(Sorry, CV's aren't enough for most people).

Re: Recovery and Endurance logic Kirby, First, the reason many of my recent posts don't address Zebediah's questions is because they were in response to a side issue that had started in response to one of Hugh's posts. Second, I think we are simply having a difference of opinion on how to represent things. I could build almost any of the mentalists/mages I've ever read about using personal END and charges as opposed to an END reserve. I will allow that there are a few exceptions, but not many. And I don't think Prof. X would be one of them(I'd buy reduced END on the powers instead). And as far as the "overwhelming majority" of mages running off of personal END goes...First, I was talking about a LOT more than other game systems. Second, one of the reasons I(and a lot of other people I know) play hero is because many of the other systems had problems with their logic. You couldn't build someone or something properly in them because the rules didn't allow it. Instead you got stuck "fudging it". Like Palladium's inability to let you build an armored hero character that could legitimately understand his own suit as a starting character. Or classic D&D's inability to let your wizard wield a sword worth spit(sorry,no you can't base your character on Gandalf). What other systems will let you represent is, quite frankly, a COMPLETELY different issue in my book. Finally, I would refer everyone to the very first sentence under END Reserve in Fred: "A character with an END Reserve has an independent source of Endurance which provides END to run powers." By definition, an independent source is not part of a character. So I restate my point about inherent powers: any power which draws its energy from the character must use personal END(possibly with a reduced END advantage) or in rare instances charges, unless there is a VERY good reason otherwise.

Re: Non-standard mythologies Japanese and Chinese mythologies have possibilities. American Indian myths are good source material, for background if nothing else. Celtic Mythology has a lot of possibilities, especially if you center around the three great treasures of Celtic Myth(particularly the Standing Stone, which is the one that isn't lost).

Re: Recovery and Endurance logic Actually, many mages require personal END to cast their spells. Dr. Strange. Magic in the novels of David Eddings. And you could make a case for the DragonLance setting as well. And D&D would be built with charges, not END reserve. Really, magic can run off of an END battery, but for most it's going to require either a) an object or creating a serparate Aura stat(which I have heard of people doing). Other than that, magic is normally going to require using personal END or charges the overwhelming majority of the time. The ones that actually use an END battery can usually be explained by the fact that not all magic systems require the caster to personally invest their energy into the spell, instead serving as a channell or vessel through which it flows. Others use the idea of mana, or tapping into an outside source to provide the energy. Mentalists - same thing. Most of them are hard-pressed to exercise their mental powers to their fullest when physically tired. Which would indicate that both their "physical" abilities and their Mental powers draw from the same pool of END. Solar Powered Hero - Could be built with an END reserve, but as I said. It's a rare exception. Most of them could be built other ways. Again, it isn't that you don't have exceptions, but they are very rare. Basically, if a player wants to have an END reserve for inherent powers, they need to justify it to me.

Re: Points to pull the trigger First, remember that all of these things would require the "fine manipulation" adder. No adder, no attempt. Second, impose penalties for the size of what you're trying to hit. A mechanism smaller than a dime is going to have one heck of a DCV bonus. That will make it possible, but VERY difficult to hit such things if the person holding it is skilled(since the target number would be the person's DCV PLUS the size modifier of the item, at least a -4) And remember, TK requires line of sight, so there is a good chance the TK character will get spotted after the attempt.

Re: Recovery and Endurance logic My definition of a natural power is one that is inherent in the character whatever the special effect. So Superman's strength and Captain America's strength are both "natural" powers, even though Superman's comes from his alien physiology and Cap's derives from the super soldier serum. Similarly, the Human Torch's flame abilities are natural. The key point here is that the energy that power all of those effects comes from the character, never an outside source. A system where the power never comes from the character is most likely a foci. Iron Man's armor is a good example. Cybernetics are generally ruled "inherent" in my book since they are part of the character's body and do not operate independently. Any "energy" they need to run is provided by the character's body. An END reserve MIGHT apply to an occasional individual power(I can only fire X number of plasma blasts) but that is going to be better represented by charges in most cases. What it all boils down to is that personal END is for things that the character must personally provide the energy to power whereas END reserve is for things powered by an outside source. There are exceptions(certain cybernetics, for instance) but not many.

Re: Recovery and Endurance logic True, it isn't "the rules as writen" but at the same time, I think that if you fall back on the basic caveat of "the player must justify all powers/abilities" it's pretty close. How do you, for instance, justify having an END reserve and personal END both for abilities which are "natural"? How often do you see in the comics(or any other genre) that someone burns themself out using their powers but still has lots of energy to do other things? I'd be hard pressed to think of ANY such circumstance that could not be explained by putting charges on the abilities as opposed to an END reserve(i.e. Magus can only cast so many fireball spells before he has to re-memorize them). Sure, people get their powers turned off and can still do other things, but that would be suppress/dispel vs. specific power effect, which is NOT the same thing.

Re: Recovery and Endurance logic Hugh, To me, any power that comes from the person should be run off of personal END. END reserve is for gadgets to represent how much power/fuel something has. This means that END reserve, to me at least, is almost always built into a focus - and thus probably has a limit about how it recharges. The back to back fight scenario isn't a big advantage for personal END, but in my games it IS an advantage.

Re: Recovery and Endurance logic Personal END/REC has several advantages over and END reserve that keep them balanced, especially if the GM is good. One that is often overlooked is the back-to-back battles feature. Our heroes have just defeated the villain of the week only to find out that he was really just a diversion and Dr. Destroyer is about to blow up something on the other side of town. During the interrogation, the heroes with personal RECs can quickly recover all the END they lost during the fight. But if that END reserve only recovers on post 12, or worse, like many focus based END reserves only recovers in a lab or under other special circumstances, the guy with the END reserve could be heading into the second fight low on END. This is a bad, bad thing.

Re: Power Armor EC Question To me, Power Armor just does not lend itself well to an EC. Ice powers. Mental powers. Angelic powers even, lend themselves well. For me, ECs have to involve powers inherent in the individual. Equipment already gives you a bonus(focus). Multipowers make sense if you want to limit things but the easiest way to have all(or most) of the powers shut down together is to give the suit an END Reserve(very cheap, 100 END, 5 REC, only REC under special circumstances - i.e. lab or any place it can "plug in") This costs very little(It's a 15 point power with multiple limits). Then anything that shuts down has to cost END(which may be an additional limit for some things). This way, if someone targets the END reserve they can effectively "shut down" the suit by draining or suppressing the END reserve.

Re: Too many stats in Hero I've seen people argue for a Presence Defense stat but that is about the only stat I would consider adding. I don't see a need to subtract anything either. Things balance well the way they are. Also, I particularly like keeping say, STR and CON separate. Combining them, to me, is more trouble than it's worth. For example, I ran track/cross country in high school. I could run 6 or 7 miles in 45 minutes. I'm a fast healer. I can shrug off most drugs rather quickly. This definitely sounds like a high CON character(as well as buying up REC and END). But I bench about 130. That makes for an average to below average STR. In the established system, you buy the character a few extra points of CON, reap the figured characteristic benefits and not have to mess with things much. If you've only got one "Body" stat, then you have to leave the body stat where it is(so the character's STR doesn't exceed what it should be) and individually buy up all of those other abilitilities. Same with EGO and INT. INT does affect how quickly you can pick things up and how well you can utilize information. EGO or willpower is a completely different idea. I hate games that try to make them the same stat because they are completely different ideas. You can have a weak willed genius or a strong willed guy with average intelligence. Combining stats just means you have more things to buy up.

Re: Multipower and Experience Multipowers do not unbalance a game in any way by themselves. As long as the powers in them fit into the campaign guidelines, everything works out fine. As someone else pointed out, the drawback to having a MP is that even though you may have several powers in them, you still have a fixed amount of points active - and that total is far less than it is for the person who purchase all of the powers separately. Also, sometimes an MP is the best way to represent a given special effect - perhaps a mage that only knows certain spells and can only juggle so much magic at once. I've seen any number of conversions where Batman's utility belt is a MP - which makes perfect sense. Just be careful about what you let the characters put into the MP. Remember, you're the GM so you have final say. As long as they don't put in any abilities that would violate the other campaign rules, you shouldn't have any problems.

Re: A character for your perusal I don't see how the VPP would be all that expensive. You only need about a 35 or 40 point pool if you can switch it in combat. After all, you can only hold two guns at a time so you don't need to have more "active" than that. And with the OAF that would make it -1 on all the powers which would give you enough points to buy two at a time. Besides, it's a framework. As long as the individual powers don't exceed the max it shouldn't be a problem. For example: 35 VPP(35 point cap) 13 CC +1 no skill roll, +1/2 half phase to change, all powers OAF -1, limited class(only guns) -1, all powers bought as "real weapons" -1/4 This gives you enough to have 2, maybe 3, 35 active point guns available at a time which you can pull out/switch for a half phase action. All of them must be bought with OAF and real weapon limits. This should not unbalance any campaign.

Re: A character for your perusal Two things I see here. First, I don't think an EC represents the special effect at all. It's cheaper, but I don't think a collection of weapons should ever be built as an EC. So I see two options. 1. Make it a MP with a limit that it can't be shifted in combat(i.e. you must return to base). 2. What this should really be(IMO) is a Variable Power Pool. It's kind of like the gadget pool example in the book except that all of the "gadgets" are guns. And he can change them in combat. I built a similar character recently that had, essentially, weapon creation as a power and that's how the GM and I both thought it should be built - a VPP. Second, he needs more non-combat skills. Increase his PS to at least 11 or less. Give him Investigate and a couple PRE based skills(Conversation or Persuasion) for interviewing people. Interrogation might work in the shop, but what about that reluctant witness who is scared to say what they know. You can't browbeat everyone - and that limited telepathy will let everyone you use it on know that you did something in their head. Increase his CK a bit. Streetwise would help. Every cop needs a few stoolies or at least needs to know where to look for information on the street. Add some extra knowledge skills and some other noncombat skills to flesh him out. The character has less than 20 points devoted to skills that don't have combat applications and that really needs to change.

Re: Help: Sniper Syndrome I think you've got to look at the problem on two fronts. 1. The player himself. Is this something that is ingrained in the player(i.e. does he like to play a lot of range fighter types) or is it something that is only for the character. If it is ingrained in the player, you're going to have a tough time getting him to change without repeatedly putting him in situations where he needs to stay closer to the battle - on the fringe but not off the map. 2. Create situations for him where being significantly separated from the team is a disadvantage. Start by moving some fights indoors or into more cramped quarters. If the character gets used to fighting in more cramped quarters maybe he'll move less distance away when things go back outside. Second, use large numbers of villains so his friends are outnumbered and need him to soak some damage or otherwise occupy a couple of guys. Maybe have one of the extra guys start beating on a crowd of civilians when none of the other heros can stop him. The sniper is taking a big risk firing into such a melee(it's only a matter of time until he hits a civilian after all), so eventually he has to close distance. If he does hit a civilian, the press will have a field day and maybe even the police(it is irresponsible after all). You could even take it a step further and have some villains attack a large crowd of people - disrupt a parade, concert, etc. something that would attract a LOT of people, more than could conveniently be evacuated. Bottom line - if he wants to back off 100 ft, put things in his line of fire - dogs, cars, terrified civilians, cops trying to lend a hand. Finally, start having well organized villain teams take advantage of his tactics. Intelligent villains/villain teams will scout their opposition. Have them start assigning people specifically to the hero, people who can take him out quickly. A mentalist is good. A stealth op with a BIG tech suppress gadget is even better. Um yes, Mr. Iron Man-type, that ninja just stuck a 6d6 tech suppress on your back, it affects all your powers simultaneously, so tell me, how well do you do with 20 less points in ALL of your powers/abilities. Oh and, how much did that END reserve cost again? Eventually, he'll have to move close to the action.

Re: Munchkin Challenge! I think some of Mysterio's powers would almost have to be built as Mental Illusions based on CON. I mean, I can remember Spidey-Mysterio stories where Spidey literally lost track of up and down because Mysterio's illusion was so good.

Actually, a character with 21 Dex and 4 levels has almost an identical chance to not be hit by a 9 OCV attack whether he blocks or dodges because of the diminishing returns principle. A 9 OCV vs 14 DCV hits only 9.26% of the time. An 11 OCV hits a 9 OCV 83.80% BUT, if he misses the 9 OCV character still must roll to hit and will about 1/6 of the time. So normal dodge is successful 90.74% of the time and normal block about 86.42% of the time. Given the additional things that block can do and the fact that it is not subject to DCV penalties from multiple attacker bonuses - at least not on the OCV block roll itself...the two are at least even. And martial Block will generally come out ahead of martial dodge.

Martial Block has, potentially, 4 advantages over dodge: 1. You can block for someone else. This is really useful for protecting bystanders and wounded/fallen allies. 2. There is a decent chance you'll get initiative on the person the next round. Generally, this works out in hand to hand fights. The other two have been overlooked so far. 3. Block gives you TWO chances to avoid getting hit - your block roll and your opponents attack roll - and with Martial Block you get a +2 bonus to each. This is a major advantage. 4. Martial block bonuses may, at GM option, be applied to missile deflect rolls. Martial Block is VERY useful if you know how to use it - particularly given the fact that anything over about a +3 bonus tends to be redundant in a fight between people of similar CVs.(Once you get to 14- you're getting very little additional benefit. Percentage wise, the best benefits come in the middle.) Even regular block has several advantages over dodge. You just have to know when to use it.