casualplayer

Re: By request: Gravitar vs. Ultimates I have to say, with what is known, that I can't argue with you. She is overconfident with a capital 'O.' She's a smarmy, French, elitist mutant arrogant enough to call Dr. Destroyer a punk. Yet she is still alive after doing so, which kinda says it all. Sure, she has glaring chinks in her armor but you better have hot dice to take advantage of them. She has poor sensory skills other than a 14- PER. She has little DEF against adjustment powers other than Missile Deflection (pretty darn useless unless you save your action or like to Abort a lot,) a hefty DCV (10 in her underwear) and having enormous benchmark levels to begin with so it will probably take multiple hits to really start to hamper her. She has no KB Resistance other than bracing with her Flight, which I call bad design. She has an Enraged that may make her stay and fight when she should pack it in. So Invisible PCs or powers will give her a hard time. A multiple sense Flash, Images or Darkness will give her a hard time. Someone with a Vision power set (uuummm, Blackstar?) properly backed up will give her a hard time. Now correct me if I'm out of line (like I needed to ask,) but she probably flies constantly while awake. She likes making people look up at her in awe. So ground pounders are scratching their butts til someone brings her down and most are going to be firing at range of at least -2 OCV. She has her FF on from the moment she wakes til the moment she sleeps, so any physical or energy attack less than 10 DC isn't going to muss her hair. If you get close, blind her in a way that doesn't hamper your teammates and whale on her you may drive her away. I am seeing her react to a surprise attack with half-move straight up and Gravitic Alteration directly beneath her, possibly full move straight up if she twigs to the attack source with KS: Superguys. If she doesn't know which way is up (she should ALWAYS know which way is up, more bad design) then she still flies whichever direction she thinks is up and too bad if you are in the way. If she decides to start doing Move-thrus as a habit then be afraid; it's not like she's going to be hurt by it. Best scenario is that your team is not in the Gravitic Alteration area of effect or not hampered by it, and she didn't just open up enough range to compensate for her reduced DCV from being blinded. It could happen. But not to the Ultimates. She would whup them like red-headed stepchildren.

Re: By request: Gravitar vs. Ultimates How did you get from 'innocents being endangered' to 'all she ever does?' Do you think she only throws empty cars at PCs? When she shuts off the gravity does she spare the dimpled children? Does no one emulate this in their games, a situation that happens ridiculously often in comics? Just 'cuz they ain't your DNPC doesn't mean you let them go splat. Ya know, shouting "Police, freeze" may seem stupid in some situations but without it they are assassins in blue. So far I have heard the description of a spandex hit squad with Gravitar in their sights. Sounds uncharacteristic of Incredibil, and I think something got lost in his and ChuckG's spat. Was anyone here a player in that scenario? I'd love to hear more about what happened, or even a more nuanced version by Incredibil.

Re: By request: Gravitar vs. Ultimates 30 actions that will be handily used up saving the civilians and putting buildings back on their foundations when Gravitar launches her god awful city smashing attack, something I have noticed as absent in these scenarios.

Re: By request: Gravitar vs. Ultimates Players who chump out Gravitar are not going to enjoy playing at any conventions, and will probably have a tough time with any GMs not from that initial group. Gravitar should be a pants-filler, and any encounters with her should demand retellings that would take hours. It whiffs slightly of D&D players who say that they've killed Thor and have Mjolnir to prove it.

Re: Most Powerful Member of the FF? I'm saying Johnny cuz' he's gettin' no luv. When he's not being written 'blonde' he's a beatstick. He has been shown to come up with some mighty creative and precise ways to use his flame. Just about everyone has given him the edge over Ben, invisible, transparent force fields make for really poor Flash protection and temperature is a gizmo killer. Someone laid down the restriction of only the core 4, otherwise all bets are off. Crystal? Holy smokes! Valeria/Marvel Girl? Sue plus. The Brute? Purple power. Heck, there was even the Commercial 4 team of Hulk, Ghost Rider, Wolverine and Spider-Man.

Re: Standard Effect ... why 3? Some people buy fixed-rate CDs; some play the stock market. You lose a little potential for a guaranteed return.

Re: Mental Powers Based on DEX Could you trick someone into punching the wall behind you and hurting themselves? I would call it an 1 hex HA Selective Persistent 0 END possibly damage restricted by incoming attack, Requires Skill Roll (successful Martial Block/Block.) Someone swipes at you and you nimbly redirect their attack to the poor schmoe behind you, or even lure people into striking at you and punching the girder behind you (or like Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid, the side window of a car.) This could be crazy useful and should cost many points, but anyone who has this probably has a Martial Arts EC and will manage. Or just buy Luck.

Re: Just Picked Up Champions Worldwide All we need to do to regain perspective is check out Enemies: International from back in the day. That was an embarrassment, yet I still own it. This book sounds good. Think I'll buy it.

Re: Are the Early Wolfman/Perez Titans a ripoff of the Avengers? I'm always amazed at how surly Cyborg was in those early Titan days. Made Wolverine look sociable. Each had their Changeling/Nightcrawler to keep them from becoming a complete anus. The best example of how similar the teams were was the team-up book, and how well they gelled together.

Re: Are the Early Wolfman/Perez Titans a ripoff of the Avengers?

Re: The Role Models

Re: The Role Models To address the root post, we are working with a player who is interested but not comic-competent. We need archetypes that resonate with Joe Q. Public, not Johnny Comicshop. Can't go wrong starting with the Bible. Does your player want to play David, the master of precision power, or Goliath, the impressive brute? Would they be interested in playing Samson, the pillar of strength with a emmasculating flaw? Moses, the scion of royalty that wielded great mystical power and an impressive staff? There's Nimrod the Hunter or Nebuchadnezzar, Ruth and Rebecca, many an inspiration for superheroes to be found. The prospective player being likely American a gun-toting madman...errrr, hero might be appealling. Do they want to be Buffalo Bill or Marshall Dillon? Dirty Harry or the Outlaw Josey Wales? Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp or Kurt Russell's? Murdoch or Riggs? The Lone Ranger or Maverick? Someone mentioned Greek mythology before. Heracles and Theseus had a friendship very similar to our modern Superman and Batman. Prometheus defied the other Olympians to bring fire to Man. Orpheus could play his lyre to make the dead weep. And then there are the other mythologies to tap. No one lives in a complete vacuum, so most are going to know of the Big Three: Superman, Batman and Spider-Man. I would suggest these others. -Robin Hood -Lancelot -David -Samson -Br'er Rabbit or Bugs Bunny -Thomas Edison -Solomon -Benjamin Franklin -Davy Crockett -Hiawatha -Conan -Tarzan -Luke Skywalker -Sherlock Holmes -Achilles I would love to add ones like Pecos Bill or The Spirit but I don't think they have the breadth of resonance we are looking for. The names on this list are evocative and inspiring, and that's what I believe McCoy had in mind.

Re: A question to the physics-minded...

Re: A question to the physics-minded... I played a Glitter Boy as a PC in HERO ages ago, a Japanese hero known as Brass Bell. The Boom Gun was useless in melee, but great fun for fighting giant monsters and spaceships. Had all the drawbacks also including me taking equivalent KB unless I took the time to sink my anchors into the ground first and a monstrous hearing Flash all along the projectile path. Good times! This is the hardest I have ever seen anyone work to justify No Range Penalties. Or did you visualize the weapon doing something else, Tinman? Is this supposed to circumvent "pressure-wave sensing" Danger Sense or blow through FF? Is this supposed to be the "shoot the Killer from 2 cities away" gun from Wanted? Is this the "snipe from space" gun from Sol Bianca? It sounds scary-cool, and No, I don't want to be a player in your game. I like breathing. Even just 5 years down the line, I don't think people will be bringing slugthrowers to a superfight. Bullets are primitive and guns have that pesky action-reaction problem to overcome. A projectile with no drag isn't going to do much to a target, except make a diameter sized hole. Fling a charged projectile at the poor bastard and have the accretions do the damage. Put some spin (low, right english) on that baby and have that shred when it encounters spin-neutral mass. Forgive me if my terminology is poor; I had to walk away from Physics or pencil in a couple year window to spend in the Booby Hatch.

Re: who's missing from this team I think the team needs Gloriana. Make her an absolutely fabulous former page 3 party girl with light powers and a sparkling personality. Perhaps she was famous for being famous before she got her powers and is trying to come to grasp with being responsible and relied upon now. Good at heart but a bit of a flibberdigibbet. Model her after Jordan, if you want someone that top-heavy on the team.

Re: Wanted! If you're ok with "make-it-never-was" resolutions to the story, any story, then have at. They aren't hard to find. Every library in the country has a children's section. If the original Killer's death had been reported by Fox or the Professor, if it was hearsay and not a witnessed event, then no problem. Standard literary tactic, but this was a cheat. A beautifully illustrated cheat, but a cheat. Not worth my coin and far too common in Millar's writing. If I walk up to you and say "Your dad is dead" and then later I say "No, he isn't," should you be grateful or angry? I chose angry, you chose grateful.

Re: Wanted! This series started out promising, even with Millar writing it, and turned into a wankfest. The ending should get Millar a beating. The set-up, with the original Killer, was detailed in ways that only actual occurances should be drawn in comics. If we can't have some way of telling whether we are witnessing a "real" event or just being fed some bullcrap, then we might as well start watching daytime soaps instead of reading comics. I picked up #1-4, #4 with a feeling of dread, and read the last two in the store, #6 justifying my unease. I have no problem with Killer Jr. being able to put holes in supers; that's an easy power build. What I have to wonder about is why the villains didn't just nuke him from orbit, or at least out of firing range. Hit him with a Denny's or an armored truck from the stratosphere! It was established that "by any means necessary" was ingrained into these scum; why risk the crosshairs? They had worlds to play with, dimensions even, who would miss the city the Killer happened to be in when the hammer dropped? Dumb, cruel, misogynist writing-the Millarverse.

Re: Char: Vigilante & Sidekick for use and perusal Not a racial slur, a purity test slur. Maybe it's not as well known as I thought. I know it, wish I didn't.

Re: Char: Vigilante & Sidekick for use and perusal I like the characters so much that I won't tell you what Redwing(s) are a slang term for. Somewhat like when USAgent/Cap's adult black sidekick was named Bucky. When you can lay down the beatdown like Redwing can, does anyone dare call you a sidekick? Does he wear short pants and pixie boots or something? This guy is a thug-mower!

Re: Infinite Crisis He didn't make the bullets, just the gun. He put it up on a really high shelf so he shouldn't have had to put a trigger guard on it. He had the best of intentions and only had it for home security. If Batman'd stop trying to save points by buying this crap Independent DC would be a much happier place. Frickin' Munchkin.

Re: Infinite Crisis This thread seems kinda NGD, but still good. Let's see if we can steer it towards gaming. With what has gone on, would you still allow Zatanna or Batman to be on the team? I would ask about WW also, but role-playing games are infamously tolerant of an occasional head being ripped off. Zee, admittedly a mixed-up kid with nigh-limitless power at the time, mind raped many people. This is a matter of course at Marvel (Professor X twice daily before breakfast) but almost exclusively villainous at DC. I don't care if the satellite JLA voted (should have been ANY member could have vetoed, not some stupid majority rule manure) Zatanna committed a crime that should be prosecutable. Don't your campaign worlds have psi-crime law? Batman is criminally responsible for a mounting number of deaths. Rocket Red? Spoiler? We'll give him a pass on Overthrow under the Scourge Lameness Cleanup Amendment which the OMACs started out operating under. Why is he not in jail? He is unworkable as a hero and unpalatable as a teammate. He may be able to mount a good insanity plea but he is all about the premeditation. He has left his loaded guns, bought for home protection, lying out for the kids to find way too many times. Sure he's great for plot ideas but would you allow a PC to get away with this? Most of our game worlds have Mechanon being created by a PC a la Ultron; do you hold them responsible for what he does, and if not, why not? WW has 10 pt Perk: Diplomatic Immunity-Ambassador of Sovereign Nation. She could just say "Because he displeased me" and everyone would have to just take it. Is the DC universe so dumb they don't ask where the video of her snapping Max Lord's neck came from? Typewriter experts were coming out of the woodwork for Bush's military shirking letter; where are Diana's defenders? The most justifiable of actions of late by the DC's Big 3 is the one catching the most grief. In game I would milk this for some soul-searching but Wonder Woman could stay and continue to play. I am enjoying a good portion of this mega-series (Infinite Crisis, Identity Crisis, OMAC Project (sorta,) Villains United, Donna Troy) but the longer it goes on the more I feel like Maxwell Lord. I am watching gods at play in my (DC's) world without consequence.

Re: Skills System - Out of Synch?

Re: Skills System - Out of Synch? And there would be the other mindset, "Buying skills takes points that should be spent on Powers." I'm not buying up my skills unless given extra points just for skills. I blame this on giving Batman Teleport to "Disappear in Plain Sight" rather than an extraordinary Stealth roll. So Batman can't slip away if the walls are Hardened? Bad precedent leading to bad character construction and declining respect for Skills. I don't have to tell my old school gaming buddies that they must spend 50 pts on Skills. They would ask me "Why so few?" I really don't feel that anyone is disagreeing here. Dust Raven seems to think that I (maybe just Von Hase) is arguing that Skills should be recosted and I am not. Prestidigitator seems to think I don't know the magic of Skill Levels; I would argue back that what if your character has to walk a tightrope silently, what then? Trebuchet is just so used to disagreeing with me that he does realize that we are agreeing; 9 + (43/5) does not equal 22-, someone put more than 3 pts into Acrobatics.

Re: Skills System - Out of Synch? I think you spent a lot of time disagreeing to eventually agree. I think where we are failing to communicate is that some are saying an 11- is fine for ordinary conditions and Von Hase and I (and others) are saying "Who the @@#%%$% wants to role-play ordinary conditions?" "Nighthawk pulls his pants up. Is dressing yourself a DEX skill?" "Ironclad dramatically opens his Dr. Pepper." "Sapphire practices her songlist for the evening in the shower. Are there penalties for lathering at the same time?" If you are giving your characters the option of taking extra time you are surrendering the greatest tool that a GM has: control of the pacing. There are those that hyper-play the travel scenes to not tip off the players that something is about to happen. Most players learn quickly that adjectives mean that someone is about to attack or something is about to explode, but you burn so much time and effort by role-playing every itch and sneeze. If something important is not happening or about to happen, why waste the time?

Re: Need another 10 points in Disads--help!