Hawksmoor

Re: Doc Savage Write-up? The GGU uses Universals to. One thing to be aware though, you lose the complementary skill bonus. I'd give Doc lots of skills in the broad sense (Physics Chemistry Ancient World, Current Events) and let the Universal XXXXX take over the complementary roll or the obscure (I'll only need this skill 1-2 in the whole campaign. Hawksmoor

Re: The Quintessential BODY Incorrect. I stated that Body as an exponential progression has nothing to do with the creation of characters. The restriction on creating a character's body as limited by mass is anathema to the core concept of the game system. You can say that body for inanimate objects has exponential basis, but that fails utterly if you apply it to characters. It is not arbitrary, it is simply a metarule of the RPG. Players can pay however many points they want to increase a trait up to established campaign limits. IME a Damn Good Reason is "I am tough" I don't need any more than that to justify a 18 or 25 Body. I have nothing against exponential systems, WEGS (the DC Heroes engine) is one of my two favorite systems and that is entirely exponential. However, even in that system Characters are not held to the rule; 2 APS of Body or 18 APS of Body can be expressed by the same mass of a character. One is Jimmy Olsen and the other is Superman. Hawksmoor

Re: Make it Unseen Question Ah I see where you are going with this. One of Byrne's tricks was to have her make say a gun go invisible in the hand of another character so he would drop it. Or allow her to make a wall invisible so everyone could see inside. Transform wouldn't work since the power is constant and Sue should be able to turn anything invisible without a major contested roll vs. Body. I would go with Mind Control (one command Drop your xxx) for the turn invisible and trick you into thinking the object was teleported away or something. Irrespective of the effect role the SFX says that the object is now invisible you just didn't drop it. As to making other objects Invisible well Invisible Usable against others ranged is what you want. It makes things invisible. Its kinda the whole point. Hawksmoor

Re: Golden Age Champions As the Co-GM of a Golden Age game I can say that I am trying to get at the 1970s revival Golden Age rather than the true Golden Age. I want costumed villians! I want Death Traps! I want fun and seriousness! I like Pie! Hawksmoor

Re: Is Power Girl/Kara Starr the DCUs Gladiator? Now that is strange... Tell me more. Hawksmoor

Re: Quick Force Wall Question correct Hawksmoor

Re: Gravity manipulation costs? Well since change environment as a Telekinetic str adder that should do for the whole reorienting the gravity well. As to volume the answer is simple, your character can only override the Earth's gravity well so much and then the object is subject to the greater pull of the earth. Hawksmoor

Re: The Quintessential BODY Alas, you are wrong about what that number means the instant you apply the concept to a heroic and/or superheroic character. That number *only* represents the amount of unkillability a particular character has, irrespective of mass, will to live, or alien genetics. It is purely a metagame construct. We can slap all the explaination we want to 'make it believable' but in the end it comes down to how many points do we want to spend to keep this character out of the grave. Hawksmoor

Re: Everyman - What Do *You* Want To See? Personally I wouldn't like to see it. IMO it is a waste of precious capital that should by rights be used to develop a real product like The Ultimate Base or The Ultimate Energy Projector. Hawksmoor

Re: The Quintessential BODY As a slight aside I object to your assertion that earlier (and current for that matter) editions had characters with inflated stats. HERO grew out of Champions which was a super heroic roleplaying game. Justice Inc and the rest were Heroic roleplaying games. Regardless, high stats, read as anything over 10, are part and parcel of the game and have been since the game was concieved. Deviations you and other players might have towards the lower end of the spectrum are just that: deviations from the norm. High stats are the norm and represent heroic and superheroic stature. On topic I thoroughly disagree with the concept of limiting my character's body to anything less than either the campaign maximum or the amount of points I am willing to spend. I often have characters in the 14-18 Body range as a matter of course. That said I *always* have higher than 10 INT, unless the character cannot support it (Hardcase), just to have quicker than average uptake if not genius level intellect, and 11-14 EGO to represent the strong will required to take up being a superhero. YMMV, and it obviously does. Hawksmoor

Re: Build question on a VPP Nonononononononononono! Changing the song changes the effect, there is no need to go into a little side song that changes the slots. It is exactly the same as pulling another gadget out of the Utility Belt. The relevant points are how has he bought the VVP to change slots? Power Skill? Zero Phase? Half Phase? or worse no change in combat (ie none of the above?) Also remember a solioquoy takes no time, as would singing a song (incantation), requires extra time would be like having to belt out an entire song to get the effect in real time. In combat he gets the whole word balloon out and lightning strikes the ships. Hawksmoor

Re: Value of, "Only to Protect Against NNDs," Limitation Hmmmm.... Borg thinking here. VPP - Adaptive Defenses Pool Advantage Varible SFX any SFX +1/2, Defensive Powers only -1, Powers only change to defeat attacks experienced previously (-1/2), No Roll, No Phase (+2) This has been discussed previously but it does make sense as a mechanical solution for infinitely adaptable characters. Hawksmoor

Re: Hero is broken Or I suggest another option: People that don't see certain parts of the system as broken because it isn't actually broken. They grasp the core concept of the game as it was intended to be and do not bother sweating the details of the few parts of the game that exist in the extremities of the system in which the rules, like the laws of physics, break down. Hawksmoor

Re: Personal Super-Vehicles Afwan. Hawksmoor

Re: Hero is broken We can't because people and gadgets are objects with damagable internal parts. The Earthe and other massive objects are for this intent inert. A single 200d6 EB or 1000d6 EB would do nothing but pulverize the section of the Earth it hit, and disapate harmlessly. Why? Because that is how HERO was built. It was not built to model the interactions of megadamage versus planetary objects. Thus the Earth does not have a measly 89 Body despite the applications of the exponential system. It likely has a body score well into the millions and it (the earth) is only a small astronomical body, Jupiter and the Sun would likely have Body scores in the Billions. IMO the use of the rules should be restricted to the matter they deal with well, like how much damage Mechanon can take before his head detaches and his body explodes. Hawksmoor

Re: Personal Super-Vehicles Yet that is precisely what the duplication rule allows for vehicles. 300pt vehicle + 10pts for 4 copies *can* equal according to rules One Car, One Helicopter, One Submarine and One Jet. Page reference is 5ER pg 456 second to last paragraph. Hawksmoor

Re: Personal Super-Vehicles That rule is still in effect. Currently the Damocles Directive has 2 vehicles and a base. I used the doubling rule and the team has two 325 point vehicles, one a large vtol plane and the other an APC/prison van. Now the team has one more member and with his contribution I am adding 2 more vehicles (total of 4) and adding another 25 cp to each vehicle (for a total of 350 points). Which makes sense because the Carrier is supposed to have a working FTL drive added later as the team leaves Earth to investigate the coming Xorn Civil war. Hawksmoor

Re: OIHID/Multiform transformation question. SFX of the OIHID Transform. The object in question has focus like properties but once on it stays on, worse if you destroy/steal the object the character is locked in super/normal mode. Hawksmoor

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Guns plus Silver Avenger Stat-powers and an attitude. That is his utlity belt, and I think those are his grenades. Gotta have grenades. Hawksmoor

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. here is the CS and background from the GGU NPC draft. Man o man I want proper coding for the Hero Boards again. THE CRIMSON AVENGER Val Char Cost Roll Notes 40 STR 30 17- Lift 6400.0kg; 8d6; [4] 26 DEX 48 14- OCV 9 DCV 9 33 CON 46 16- 15 BODY 10 12- 18 INT 8 13- PER Roll 15- 14 EGO 8 12- ECV: 5 20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 18 COM 4 13- 16/26 PD 8 Total: 16/26 PD (0/10 rPD) 16/26 ED 9 Total: 16/26 ED (0/10 rED) 6 SPD 24 Phases: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 15 REC 0 66 END 0 52 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: 205 Movement: Running: 9" / 18" Swimming: 4" / 8" Leaping: 12" / 24" Cost Powers END Martial Arts: Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 4 1) Martial Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 2) Martial Dodge -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 3) Martial Strike +0 +2 12d6 / 4d6 Strike 5 4) Offensive Strike -2 +1 14d6 / 6d6 Strike Karate 8 5) +2 HTH Damage Class(es) 1 6) Weapon Element: Clubs 56 Pulse Pistol: Multipower, 75-point reserve, all slots 4 clips of 16 Boostable Charges (+1/2) (112 Active Points); all slots OAF (-1) 3u 1) Pulse Shot: EB 13d6 (65 Active Points); OAF (-1) 0 3u 2) Semi-Auto Shot: EB 11d6, Autofire (3 shots; +1/4) (69 Active Points); OAF (-1) 0 4u 3) Overload Shot: EB 15d6 (75 Active Points); OAF (-1) 0 20 Utility Belt: Multipower, 30-point reserve, (30 Active Points); all slots OIF (-1/2) 1u 1) Billy Club I: Hand-To-Hand Attack +2d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 0 1u 2) Billy Club II: Energy Blast 6d6 (30 Active Points); 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-1/4) [1 rc] 1u 3) Mini-Camera: Eidetic Memory (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), Visual Images Only (-1/2) 1u 4) Mini-Recorder: Eidetic Memory (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), Sound Only (-1/2) 1u 5) Smoke Pellets: Darkness to Sight Group 2" radius, 8 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn (removed by winds or rain) each (+0) (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On Strength (-1/4), Limited Effect (Normal Sight Only) (-1/4) [8 cc] 1u 6) Flash Pellets: Sight Group Flash 6d6 (30 Active Points); OAF (-1), 6 Charges (-3/4), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) [6] 1u 7) Thermite Pellets: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2) (30 Active Points); OAF (-1), 6 Charges (-3/4), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) [6] 1u 8) Sleep Gas: Energy Blast 3d6, No Normal Defense (LS: Self-Contained Breathing; +1) (30 Active Points); OAF (-1), 6 Charges (-3/4), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) [6] 1u 9) Throwing Blades: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1/2d6 (1d6+1 w/STR), Ranged (+1/2) (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), 6 Recoverable Charges (-1/4) [6 rc] 1u 10) Rebreather: Life Support (Expanded Breathing: Breath Underwater), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Hour (+0) (5 Active Points); OAF (-1) [1 cc] 1u 11) Monocular: +6 versus Range Modifier for Sight Group (6 Active Points); OAF (-1) 0 Crimson Armor, all slots OIF (-1/2) 17 1) Advanced Balistex Armor: Armor (10 PD/10 ED) (30 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Real Armor (-1/4) 0 3 2) Lenses: IR Perception (Sight Group) (5 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 0 5 3) Built in transmitter: Radio Perception/Transmission (Radio Group) (10 Active Points); Sense Affected As More Than One Sense [very common Sense] (Hearing as well as radio ; -1/2), OIF (-1/2) 0 Supersoldier training and treatments 8 1) Iron WIll: Mental Defense (11 points total) 0 10 2) Augmented Physiology: Power Defense (10 points) 0 4 3) Strong Leaper: Leaping +4" (12" forward, 6" upward) 1 6 4) Powerful Legs: Running +3" (9" total) 1 2 5) Improved All Around Athlete: Swimming +2" (4" total) 1 6 6) Perceptive: +2 PER with all Sense Groups 0 10 7) Efficient Physiology: Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) for up to 40 Active Points of STR (10 Active Points) 0 Perks Talents 18 Danger Sense (self only, out of combat, Function as a Sense, Intuitional) 14- Skills 3 Acrobatics 14- 3 Breakfall 14- 3 Combat Piloting 14- 3 Fast Draw 14- 3 Interrogation 13- 3 AK: Earth 13- 3 KS: CHECKMATE 13- 3 KS: The Damocles Directive 13- 3 KS: The Superheroic World 13- 5 Rapid Attack (Ranged) 3 TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, Combat Aircraft, Large Planes, Wheeled Military Vehicles 4 WF: Beam Weapons, Common Melee Weapons Special Forces Training 8 1) +1 with All Combat 3 2) Climbing 14- 3 3) Demolitions 13- 2 4) KS: The Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 11- 2 5) KS: The Agency Customs and History 11- 2 6) KS: (Avenger) Customs and History 11- 2 7) Navigation (Land) 13- 2 8) PS: Member of the Agency 11- 2 9) PS: Member of the Avengers 11- 3 10) Stealth 14- 8 11) Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical, Desert, Mountain) 13- 3 12) Tactics 13- 3 13) Tracking 13- 2 14) TF: Parachuting, Advanced, Parachuting, Basic 2 15) WF: Small Arms -10 16) Social Limitation: Civilians Just Don't Get It Former Law Enforcement Officer Package (Police) 1 1) Combat Driving 8- 2 2) CK: Washington DC 11- 3 3) Criminology 13- 2 4) KS: Criminal Law 11- 2 5) KS: The Law Enforcement World 11- 2 6) Paramedics 11- 2 7) PS: Special Agent 11- 2 8) Streetwise 11- -15 9) Social Limitation: Once a Cop; Always a Cop Karate Skills 3 1) KS: Karate 13- 10 2) +2 with HTH Combat -7 3) Total Powers & Skill Cost: 295 Total Cost: 500 350+ Disadvantages 15 Hunted: The Damocles Directive 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching) 10 Hunted: CHECKMATE 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching) 20 Hunted: TAROT 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 15 Psychological Limitation: Always Goes Armed (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Feels Guilt Over His Association with the Directive (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Justice not Law (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Overly Protective of Friends and Associates (Common, Strong) 5 Social Limitation: Owes a Marker (for Freeing Diva and Hardcase) (Occasionally, Minor) 5 Social Limitation: Public Identity (Occasionally, Minor) 10 Social Limitation: Subject to Orders (Checkmate) (Occasionally, Major) 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x Effect Poisons and Toxins (Uncommon) 20 Experience Points Total Disadvantage Points: 500 Background/History: Dane Sullivan doesn’t talk about the past much anymore. After the stares wear off the inevitable questions start in. He just doesn’t want to deal with it anymore. No, he isn’t from ‘here’, he is from somewhere else. A place where he was a hero, one of the chosen few, he was a super soldier, an avenger, endowed with tremendous abilities through a series of genetic and chemical treatments. With his teammates and colleagues, he worked to promote the cause of justice and the ideals of the American constitution. Sure there were superheroes that did the same thing, roughly, some even operating under government sanction. What Dane and the other avengers did was more traditional law enforcement; they brought the villainous often outright terrorist organizations down through diligence, teamwork, and tight indictments. day, though, it all changed. The malefactor de jour unleashed a potent weapon that, according to the brain trust back at HQ, could tear the fabric of space and time asunder. Dane and his squad stormed the hidden redoubt in Washington DC and fought their way through minions and henchmen until they at last confronted the madman. Howling he declared they were too late as he opened the window in creation. “Avengers do not quit!†Dane promised him as he powered on despite the rush of wind and the chaos of light sound and energy that flooded the laboratory. thin filament ripped itself free of the portal on the edge of forever created that day; a ribbon of possibility and improbability. Seething with energy it rushed the room, consuming everything it touched. Special Agent Martins was a fresh graduate of the program; a tech boy brought out to the field for this most hazardous of missions. He was crouched low beside a bank of computers trying to override the lockout codes and close the window down. Martins did not see the approaching danger. Dane Sullivan did. Moving as quickly as his enhanced body could move him Dane thrust himself between the ribbon and the obvious tech, hurling the man to safety even as the primal forces ripped him apart. knew pain, then silence and for a brief instant peace before he was thrust back into the chaos of the world. Cars whizzed by him as he stood in the street. “What?†he thought as he rapidly took in his new locale: Wisconsin Avenue on a street sign, trendy street corner café there. Dane calculated the new data. “Bethesda, Maryland.†He said out loud. The creep’s device had transported him across the district. He tapped his cochlear microphone and said “SA Sullivan. I’m ok got teleported to Maryland.†didn’t get the response he expected as he picked his way down the street to where he knew was a Metro terminal. He repeated his call and there was still no response. “That light must have destroyed my communicator.†Dane decided. “Still, I’ve got to get back to Southeast DC, no telling what shape the team is in.†So Dane hurried. He was heading for the Metro because of the Agency’s hidden assets stored there: a hover car. That and the communications gear inside would put Dane Sullivan back in the game. , when Dane got to the Metro station and swiped his agency pass in the reader nothing happened. He convinced the attendant to allow him to pass. The guy was obviously in awe of the reputation agents like Dane held, that and the armored costume, so he let him past the security gate. Dane ran to the location of the vault and threw open the outer door. Inside was just an electrical closet. Dane started opening doors franticly, his inner sense telling him something was very wrong. He was ripping stucco off the wall of an inner access shaft when Metro police shouted at him. rushed past them, they obviously could not help him; every second he wasted his team, no the world was in jeopardy. “I must have the wrong station.†Dane decided as he ran out into the city. He commandeered a car, flashing his badge and leaving a card, he needed to get back. he got to the southeast DC lair of the master villain he was surprised not to see the support team in place in cordon around the hidden facility. He also did not recognize the building. Things were really starting to prickle Dane’s senses. The situation was not right. back to the agency headquarters didn’t help matters. The facility was simply not in its federal hill location. At a total loss Dane wandered, a hero in armored spandex, alone in a strange land. DC police found him sitting on the steps of the capitol trying to decide his next move. They took him to the station, he didn’t resist. An agency called Checkmate soon secured his release. At Checkmate his story was checked and rechecked. The answers that came back were worse than Dane could have guessed. Dane Sullivan, the agency he worked for, the people he knew, none of existed. Not on this world anyway. He was on a mirror Earth. he thought about his options an offer came to him from a curious source. Another top secret US government agency was looking for a metahuman with a strong law enforcement background willing to go deep undercover on a long term assignment. Checkmate vouched for him, his psychiatric advisor endorsed the idea of ‘going and doing and not moping’. Dane Sullivan became the Crimson Avenger the watchdog of the Damocles Directive. the Crimson Avenger, Dane traveled the world intervening in threatening situations, running herd on over a dozen of the world’s worst criminals. He lost himself in his work, finding solace by living on the edge. In time he came to bond with the members of his team, especially the last group in Phase Four. the preparations began to deploy Phase Five Dane was uneasy. The compliance bracelets had been shown to be defective certainly, but the safety of incorporating alien technology with the human nervous system in the new DEDLOK technology was unproven. When the Liaison triggered the unit on Diva during one of his frequent vindictive periods, it became clear to Dane that the problems were more than suspected. The technicians tried to assure him of the freak nature of the injury. wasn’t convinced. The Liaison hurt Astrid to prove a point he was certain. So Dane pulled strings, called in favors he wasn’t certain he held. The results were the first pardons granted in the history of the Damocles Directive: Diva and Hardcase were free. He could taste the bile in the Liaison’s mouth when the older man told him. Dane knew the man hated metahumans, especially criminal metahumans; to let two free galled him. took his leave, the big man wanted to see if he could make America work for him. Diva, on the other hand, stayed close to Dane. She accompanied him as he took on assignments for Checkmate and the CIA. Ranging worldwide as a freelance agent, sure the work was very similar to what he did in the Damocles Directive, but he could do it with clear conscience: no one would die because of a choice he made. Personality/Motivation: Dane still possesses the strong sense of right and wrong and belief in justice that made him a good candidate for the Agency’s supersoldier program. His sense of devotion to his friends and teammates is nearly unbreakable. Dane does not have family or friends in the standard sense. His neighbors barely recognize him; his fridge is empty and his furniture barely existent. Instead his bed is a hard bench on a C-17, his television the screen of a satellite phone. His friends are those that share his peculiar lifestyle: Dane Sullivan is a professional hero. harbors deep distrust for the man he refers to as the old man, the Liaison of the Damocles Directive. Mostly for his own blindly following orders; certainly Dane never did anything totally wrong under the orders of the Directive but the situation did not sit well with him after a while. Quote: Quote: “There are two ways we can do this. Don’t make me pick.†about him: “He allowed himself to lose perspective. If you wish to employ him in your endeavors take that under advisement.†The Liaison Powers/Tactics: On his Earth Dane Sullivan underwent a series of treatments that made him a minor metahuman: low level super-strength, durability, and speed. The abilities granted ebbed slightly after his exile to our Earth until the Damocles Directive developed a better gene therapy based on the works of Saul Neuman. As a result the Crimson Avenger can lift a van over his head, and run at speeds approaching 40 miles per hour. The Crimson Avenger is a skilled hand to hand combatant and possesses a broad knowledge base as a special government agent. Peculiarly, the Crimson Avenger has a strong, almost preternatural, danger sense. Dane dismisses it as gut feeling and enhanced senses but regardless his danger antenna has gotten him and his teams out of more scrapes than can be easily dismissed. the Crimson Avenger Dane wears combat armor composed of hardened ceramic plates with plenty of web belts and storage pouches. He typically carries a high powered firearm of some sort or another procured from his contacts in the Defense and Justice departments. Campaign Use: Name: The Crimson AvengerName: Dane Sullivan: American with no criminal record: Formerly with the Damocles Directive: 1.82 meters: 110 kgColor: BlueColor: Brown Appearance: Dane Sullivan is a man in his mid thirties with the build of a person that engages in regular strenuous exercise. His brown hair is flecked with grey, and his eyes are getting little crow’s feet. He generally does not dress down for any length of time. If required he selects casual attire fitting with the local mores that are comfortable, easy to move in and can conceal a hidden weapon or two. the Crimson Avenger, Dane wears a crimson costume made of ballistex with armored ceramic plates covering vital areas. His mask covers his whole face with is hair exposed. The suit has numerous pouches for ammo and equipment and holsters for his weapons.

Re: Is Power Girl/Kara Starr the DCUs Gladiator? Getting whupped up on by powerful magical beings. -wait I think everyone has that one.... Hawksmoor

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Run around flapping arms... Coolness! Hawksmoor

Re: Is Power Girl/Kara Starr the DCUs Gladiator? Except the Lead thing, unless she is Andromeda/Laurel Gand. Wait a sec! Before Zero Hour didn't Rond Vidar and Laurel have a blond baby girl in the Giffen era? hmmmmm.... Hawksmoor

Re: Is Power Girl/Kara Starr the DCUs Gladiator? So it isn't out yet? Hmmm....LOSH tie in? How does that get less confusing? Oh I get it! Powergirl is supposed to be the Heroine whose true superpower is telling you her origin and making yo u think *you* need therapy. Hawksmoor

I just finished reading another of the whoppum good JSA trade books and I must say I am impressed. Reading one comic I have to ask are Power Girl's superpowers confidence based? She took a drastic powerdown after the Teasdale event, where in she nearly died. But now we have her back, bigger and stronger than ever. Which leads me to think that just perhaps Power Girl is a tough as she thinks she is able to be. Dr. Midnight's evaluation of her powers was one of the greatest pieces of continuity wrangling I have ever read. Powergirl spills what twists her backstory has undergone and he quietly debunks them saying that her powers are human and biologically based. Nice work on that! Hawksmoor