tomd1969

Re: Jupiter Impact!!?! I fear for Hollywood when they let that hack make any more movies. Just to name a few, here are the horrible things that Emmerich is responsible for giving us: 10,000 BC The Day After Tomorrow Godzilla (1998) The Patriot Independence Day I say kill it before it can make any more. Sorry for derailing the thread, but it had to be said.

Re: Warp Drive article on the Discovery website You see, this is where I've actually had to spend some time reading up on this, and this is my *limited* and *incomplete* understanding of it. I'm sure that Nyrath or Cancer can (and I'm sure will) correct any errors I make, and I welcome it. This is the way I understand it. The whole frame of reference thing has to do with this: Let's say that there are two people moving in opposite directions towards each other--let's call them Sam and Diane. From Diane's perspective, Sam is moving towards her at 300 kph from Sam's perspective, Diane is moving toward *him* at 300 kph. Now we add Cliff. From his perspective, Sam is moving 150 kph towards Diane, and Diane is moving 150 kph towards Sam. Now, if this is true (and it is plain common sense), then that would mean that as you move toward the source of an event, the light from that event should be coming toward you *faster* then the light from an event from which you are moving away. However, experiments from before Einstein's time show this to not be the case: no matter your frame of reference, the speed of light in a vacuum in your reference frame is *always* 299,792,458 m/sec. Scientists postulate a background substance they called the "Aether" to provide a universal (or "preferred") reference frame to explain why this was. However, there were numerous problems with the Aether theory, not the least of which was the problem of propagation of wave patterns. To quote Wikipedia: This was where Einstein's genius comes into play. The problem with the common sense approach to the relativity problem is that it assumes that *time is constant*. Einstein showed in the Theory of Special Relativity that time cannot be constant, and postulated that space and time were inextricably linked to each other--what he called "spacetime." Speed is equal to distance divided by time (S=d/t). If time is constant, then the way to increase speed would be to increase the distance (d) moved in the time (t). For example, 30 km/hour is half as fast as 60 km/hour. However, if time *isn't* constant, then another option would be to *decrease* the amount of time it takes to move a body a certain distance. For example, 30 km/hr is twice as fast as 30 km/2 hrs. Einstein postulated that what *must* be happening that as a body (we'll call him Sam) approached c, time must be slowing down from Sam's reference frame. The effect is the famous "Twin Paradox": a twin moves through space at some speed close to the speed of light and returns to earth. When the space-travelling twin returns, the earth-bound twin would be older.

Re: 6E Rules changes confirmed so far Okay, I'm going to pitch my 2 copper pieces into the breach. This flame war has gone on long enough that I've given up trying to keep up with it. The basic 3d6-roll-for-success mechanic remains, and it will continue to be "roll-low." I would have been happy with a change to this, if anyone who has been following my posts would see. Though, I'm not really surprised. No changes to the Speed Chart. Good. Movement will continue to be measured per Phase. Okay, I understand this. All measurements will be given in meters. There will be no use of "hexes" or any other mapping arrangement in 6E. Comeliness will no longer be one of the Characteristics. It's being replaced with a Talent, Striking Appearance, which a given group can choose to use in their game if they want a character's appearance to have a mechanical effect. Good. Get rid of it, I says! Good riddance to a Characteristic that had to be kludged to find ways to use it. All the other Characteristics will remain, but none of them will be "Figured," i.e. derived from other Characteristics. They'll all start with a base value that must be bought up separately. The costs of some of them have been "tweaked" -- no further details yet. The Figured Characteristics were one of the funkiest things about the Hero System. What do I mean? There was a reason that there was a rule about only being able to sell back one Figured. This rule got rid of some valid character concepts; since there are no longer any Figured Characteristics, we get increased flexibility. Good riddance, says I. OCV, DCV, OECV, and DECV will become separate Characteristics, not derived from DEX and EGO. They'll start with a base value of 3 and will be bought up separately. Some things about this: I've been thinking about this for years. I saw no real reason that someone who could pick a lock should be able to automatically shoot a gun better than anyone else, really (talking raw talent, not skill). Dex coupled with O/DCV and the bonuses it gave to Dex-based Skills made it *very* cost effective. I would also like to point to the Str/Dex debates of many years ago from the old Champions-l mailing list that raged for months. This will (hopefully) clear that up. Suggested starting point totals will be raised to compensate for the change to Characteristics -- no specifics yet. Oh, for sure. Perception will still be based on INT. Hmm... I could almost see these two being separated, as well... but oh, well. I'm neutral on this. Leaping will no longer be derived from Strength -- it will start at a base amount for all characters, as with Running and Swimming. As others have pointed out, not very many weight-lifters are high-jump gold medalists. Skills will still be calculated from CHAR/5, but there will be an optional "Toolkitting" note about changing that if desired. Other Toolkitting notes will appear throughout the rules -- no further details on those. This is one of the underpinnings of the Hero System, and I understand why it isn't going away, but I would have liked some more thought to have been given to this. Oh, well. Seduction Skill will be renamed Charm. I'm still scratching my head over this... was this really that big an issue? No new Skills will be added, although a couple have been "tweaked" (no more details yet). I'll have to see what's been tweaked. Package Deal will be renamed Template Finally. Language that says what it actually is. "Package Deal" was a term from previous editions when they actually provided a bonus. Since they no longer provide that bonus, it's about time to get rid of the "Deal" language. It's about time it's been changed. Some new Powers have been added, and others have been removed. The only one mentioned is Find Weakness, which is being removed. There will be no official way to reduce Defenses below 1/2 as with Armor Piercing. Eh. I never really used Find Weakness as it was. There are other ways to model it if you must have it. Adjustment Powers have been significantly reworked -- no further details yet. These have me curious. Energy Blast and Killing Attack will still be separate forms of Damage, as they are in 5E. I would have loved to have seen them combine them into one damage type and made "Killing" an Advantage on EB or HA. The Stun Multiplier for Killing Attack will become a straight 1/2d6. It will still be possible to buy up the Stun Multiplier with Advantages. I've been complaining about the effectiveness of KAs for some time. Look into some of my other posts about my philosophies concerning this. Max Stun for a KA was 1) higher than a EB/HA of the same number of DCs; 2) easier from a probability standpoint to reach. People were buying RKA just for the Stun Mult. That's a problem. I don't know if this is the fix, but it might be the first step. You will be able to apply your Normal Defenses to the STUN damage of a Killing Attack whether you have any Resistant Defenses or not. Good. See above for why. KAs needed to be nerfed for several editions now. Either the point cost of KAs needed to change, or the mechanic needed to change. Nothing has changed about the way STR adds to Hand-To-Hand Killling Attack damage. I'll have to wait and see on this. It makes sense, but with the other ways KAs have been nerfed, this might mitigate the issue somewhat. Increased reach for larger-than-normal beings and weapons will not necessarily require Stretching -- no further details yet. Wait-and-see. The method of Adding Damage is supposed to be simplified -- no further details yet. Yay! Big Thumbs Up! The Multipower and VPP Frameworks will remain, but Elemental Control is being replaced by a new Limitation, Unified Power (no value given). Aside from GM oversight there will be no restrictions on what Unified Power can be applied to. This might be good news... it may not. I'll have to see how this will work in practice. Elemental Controls seem to have fallen out of favor the last few years. I haven't seen many characters using them in the official supplements. Damage Shield is going to be "different" -- no details yet. With the ways people have been moaning about the "changes" to DS in 5ed and 5ER, is it any surprise that this would be changing? Personally, I see this becoming a new Power, but I could be wrong. Wait-and-see. There will be another, more granular way to make a Power ECV-targeted than using the BOECV Advantage. No specifics given, but it involves breaking the Advantage into its separate components (i.e. ECV Attack Roll, Line Of Sight, etc.) and "reassembling" them to make them more flexible (and simpler according to Steve). Steve implied that he's used this approach for other elements of the system. Wait-and-see. Disadvantages are being renamed Complications, and Psychological Limitations will become Psychological Complications. Good. They weren't really Disadvantages to begin with, particularly with things like Social Limitations and Reputation. There will be a single index, printed in both 6E rulebooks, with a letter code before each number to indicate which book it refers to. That's good. Hero's indices have been a wonder since the release of 5ed. Okay, overall, it looks like I will like 6th ed. I have a wait-and-see attitude to most of them, but any change on this list that increases the flexibility of the system will automatically get a thumbs-up from me. The Hero System touts itself as the most flexible rpg out there. The Hero System is not a game; it is a toolkit to make your own game. If you don't like any of the changes, houserule them back in. 5ed had a section in the back for adding & taking away Characteristics, adding/taking away/changing Skills, Powers, Disads, you name it. I have no reason to believe that 6ed will be any different in that regard. Play on!

Re: Book Of The Machine Available Oh, yes, and it shall be mine... yes, it shall! Yessss... my preciousss....

Re: New Product: Battlestations [board game] This sounds so cool, something I've been searching for quite a while.... too bad I don't have enough money to buy it yet.

Re: June 2nd Okay, now I really need to get serious about saving my pennies. Not only would I have to buy the game, but I would need a new PC, since I can't even get the beta to run on my system.

Re: Jason Voorhees Arrgghh! You are, of course, correct. Forgot to add it.

Re: Jason Voorhees How about: He's Right Behind You!: Teleportation 10", Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; +1) (40 Active Points); Requires A Stealth Roll (-1/2) (27 Real Points)

Re: Buying Souls/Demonic Pacts While the Ultimate Mystic doesn't cover the specifics of what a pactee demon should have, it does list the Disadvantages a *pacter* does have, including the Phys Lim: Damned. The section on pacters (the title of the section is actually "Priests, Pacters, and Servants of Higher Powers") is found on pp. 11-13. I agree that it should be a Spiritual Transform to give whatever Powers, etc, that you want, but it also gives the Disads listed in TUM.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Stay the Night by Benjamin Orr

Re: Thank you from ComStar! I'm with Steve on this one. I picked up TH 1 & 2 at the last possible moment, and I'm glad I did.

Re: Astounding Hero Tales gets nominated for Origins Award! Congrats, to everyone! Cool!

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Kashmir by Led Zeppelin from "Physical Graffiti"

Re: Stupid EC Question

Re: Sprit Whim Magic System Thanks. Thanks for the clarification. Sure... I had something similar planned for an urban fantasy project I was working on that never came to be. So, a lot of this stuff I'd worked out at one time. Unfortunately, my notes (and my hdc files) seem to have gone away... somewhere.

Re: Sprit Whim Magic System Instead of limiting the Real Cost to a minimum of say 30 Real Points, how about limiting it to a maximum of x pts (x is whatever you want it to be)? That way, the more powerful spells take longer, require more effort, etc. You could even have them buy a leveled Talent that allows them to increase how many Real Pts they are allowed--you could name it anything you want: Arcana, Magery, Craft, etc. So, Arcana I would allow spells of up to 5 Real Pts, Arcana II would allow 10 Real Pts, etc. I would also recommend setting up a codified system of these spirits: their names, what they do, etc. Also, what Side Effect would each one have if you fail the roll? Maybe the Invoking Voices of the Luminous Desert has a different Side Effect than the Queen of Pain that may or may not have anything to do with the Power you've purchased. If the Queen causes insanity (4.5d6 Major Transform Person to Insane Person (Mental)), perhaps her Side Effect is Capture (xd6/xDEF Entangle).

Re: Stupid EC Question What LL said. But to expand (and so I won't be accused of post count padding ), the *Active Cost* of a Power must be at least double the slot bonus. With the EC you have there, the first slot is the power with the lowest possible Active Cost for this EC. So that last slot is perfectly legal.

Re: Do you have any "deal breakers" when it comes 6th edition? There are two things for me that would be deal-breakers for me when it comes to 6th edition: 1) If they did away with the point allocation system and went to a system wherein PCs were randomly rolled; 2) If they went to a class-and-level system. Everything else is minor. I want to be able to create the character *I* want to play: if I want a character that shoots lightening bolts out of his arse, then I don't want the rules telling me I can't. If I want a hot-mama kick-butt martial artist who runs around in a red-white-and-blue costume, I don't want the dice and some retarded table telling me that instead I have Monstrous Darkness Control, Monstrous Radio Control, and Feeble Telekinesis (as actually happened to me once in an old FASERIP MSHRPG--I nearly threw the book across the room). These are the reasons I'm a Hero fan. Once you take those two things away, it ceases to be Hero and becomes D20. Since the odds of Steve taking these two concepts out of the game are very slim (he being a fan for the same reasons as I am), the chances that I'll reach "Deal Broken" state will be similarly slim.

Re: Order of the Stick Wow... Ahem.... That world is pretty much hosed, isn't it?

Re: A Blasphemous Idea for HERO 6th That's it. You've been sigged. I bet you're proud of yourself, now. Great stuff. LOL good.

Re: I had a descussion with Steve about buying some Hero's books... According to inflationdata.com, prices have inflated 74.30% since 1989. So that $20 rulebook: $20.00 x1.7430 ------- $34.86 Now, add in the fact that the 4th ed rulebooks were actually underpriced, and you begin to see the problem. Add in about two hundred extra pages or so... Oh, you must also factor in that the inflation rate given is a general rate, and does not consider the fact that certain things (such as paper) have increased in price more than the general inflation rate. When you think of it that way, $50 begins to more and more look like an absolute steal.

Re: [Killershrike.com] Vancian Spell List Revamp Ooo, KS. Well done.

Re: [Killershrike.com] Vancian Spell List Revamp KS, very impressive; you've been repped. Bravo. I do have one question, however: Could you give some information on what "Sortilege" is or where I could find a link with info?

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? A Vow to the Sky -- Bob Sakura from the "Battle of the Planets" Soundtrack

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Born on the Bayou by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "The Long Road Home" Come Together by some group called The Beatles (who knew?), "1" Higher Love (Full) by Steve Winwood, "Back in the High Life" Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, "Elephant" Medication by Garbage, "Version 2.0" I love iTunes Party Shuffle