Rebar

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... "Off topic to the thread, but maybe the new player would have a better time, and be up to speed faster, if someone actually helped them, instead of yelling at them and abusing them for making errors." Hardly. Much fun was had by all. (Perhaps I overstated the drama a little.) Besides, there is somethin gto be said about encouraging a player into taking some initiative on her own - even if it's not the most strategic move - rather than garden-pathing her.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... New player in our group - not an experienced RPGer, in her first battle. There is chaos all about. New Player: (desperately scanning her sheet, which reads like Greek to her): "I, um use my Danger Sense! Do I sense danger?" GM (irritated, booming voice): "YES. THAT WOULD BE THE 2-STORY TALL KILLER ROBOT THAT'S RAMPAGING TOWARDS YOU. I'LL GIVE YOU THAT ONE FOR FREE." More mayhem. NP (more desparate scanning): "I, um, use my Sense Alignment! Can I sense its alignment?" GM (irritated, booming voice): "YES. IT'S EVIL. I'LL GIVE YOU THAT ONE FOR FREE."

Re: TK with touch feedback Yep. Naked Advantage ranged on touch sense - (based on 10pt power). Exactly what I came up with after posting. Just added it into the TK slot. I hadn't thought of the non-persistent lim though. Good one. Thanks.

Does TK provide touch sensitivity? Say I wanted to reach inside a box through a crack - could I feel what's in there? If not, is there a relatively inexpensive adder? Or do I gotta spend, like, 20 points? N-ray - applied to touch sense group? Skip the TK and go with indirect ranged STR?

"...been working on building something like this as Followers using the Automaton rules..." I would like that, yes. Initially, this was supposed to be a low-cost "flavour" thing, but it's grown quickly as I found more things I can do with it.

"I've never been keen on naked advantages" No, but in this case, it's exactly the right mechanic. Normal sight is a 20pt. free power. I'm just modifying it. "...and even more unkeen on modifiers like AE on senes. In my opinion, senses are already area of effect; certainly you can see more than one object in your field of view!" Right, but that's only a radial view from a single point. AoE means I can see objects that would normally be hidden. Besides, it's not really not much of a useful power considering the cost - but I like the flavour. It will be his "default" mode. "Personally, I wouldn't even put them in the Multipower, unless you need all the orbs to take flight (otherwise it wouldn't work too well mechanically)." That's the idea. He has limited orbs. "You can put a limitation on the Flight and the EB to be dependant upon how many orbs are in the area," No, that's why it's a multipower - with multi slots instead of ultras. If I've got 40points of them roaming, then I've only got some of the remaining points for flight or EB. "... put No Range Modifier on your EB. After all, it's the orbs firing..." Oh yeah - duh! I was mistakenly thinking cancelling sight mods was enough. And the cost goes up some more... Drat. EB is already maxed out with the indirect advantages. Won't fit in the MP any more.

"Legion has a squadron of devices the size of baseballs that cluster around his torso. Each has a camera eye, a hover-motor and a beam weapon. The pods can pool their energy to fire a single powerful particle beam. (So far, his targeting software can only track a single target at a time.) The pods can also use their collective lifting ability and carry him aloft. The pods can detach themselves from his torso and swarm around him, probing the near vicinity from all angles and positions, providing him with constant and multi-facted input about his surroundings. They can look behind him, move ahead to peek around corners and into areas that someone with normal sight just can’t do. Legion is rarely caught off guard. They can roam far afield, drifting into rooms or down dark alleys as much as hundreds of yards from his location. The pods are also capable of using their beam weapons individually on specific targets from any position and any angle. Legion has a limited number of pods and must deploy them judiciously to maximize their utility. For example, he can send several out to scout ahead, but while they are deployed, he has only a few remaining to carry him aloft." 70 Pods: Multipower, 88-point reserve, all slots: (88 Active Points); Restrainable - by capturing pods (Only by means other than Grabs and Entangles -1/4) 5m 1) Pods swarm: Naked Modifier, Area Of Effect (on sight group) (4" Radius; +1 3/4) (44 Active Points); Limited Power (no range; -1/2) 1u 2) Pods swarm: Increased Arc Of Perception (360-Degree) (Sight Group) (10 Active Points) 2u 3) Pods explore: Clairsentience (Sight Group) (20 Active Points) 1u 4) Pods scout ahead: Telescopic +6 to PER Rolls (only to offset the Range Modifier) (Sight Group) (9 Active Points) 14m 5) Pod beam weapon: Energy Blast 10d6 (vs. ED), Indirect (Any origin, any direction; +3/4) (87 Active Points) 5m 6) Pods dock and lift: Flight 15" (30 Active Points) P.S. I guess I'd better tell my GM about this before he reads it here...

A novel approach. I will consider it. I can see some problems tho. It adds complexity, since now I have to track the movement of one or more objects instead of just using simple perception rules. On the other hand, it might give me the concept-faithfulness I was looking for in terms of multiple targeting and sharing of resources (like how many can he deploy and still be able to fly?), and the fact that they could be restrained. I'll have to decide if I want it to be a major power or a minor power.

What happens to a cue ball? I'm going to weigh in with a different - hopefully more succinct - application of Newton's Law as an analogy: Incorrect analogy: Two billiard balls, touching each other, a push between them, they move away in opposite directions at the same speed. (Equates to the attacker, gently placing his fist against the target's cheek, and then pushing really hard.) Correct analogy: One billiard ball, racing towards another. They impact, and the stationary one goes flying. What happens to the cue ball? It stops dead! (Equates to one fist (that has previously been set in motion), flying towards a stationary chin.)

I want to create a recon gadget - a swarm of baseball-sized pods that can spread out in an area and send back images. They can't pass through sealed barriers, though they can go around them - even down hallways and air ducts. Normally, the pods will hang out in an closer area or attach themselves to the character to recharge. I can see a bunch of powers that might make sense: 1 Clairsentience (the pods can move into a room at range and spy) 2 N-ray vision - not into sealed areas (this is a similar effect to Clairsentience, but simpler mechanics) 3 Telescopic Vision (the pods can scout hundreds of feet ahead) 4 Naked advantage - area effect on sight (but wouldn't allow him see through (i.e. around) walls 5 Naked advantage - fully indirect on sight (also wouldn't see through (i.e. around) walls 6 360 degree vision A combo of 3-6? (telescopic with indirect on sight would still only allow him to see around 1 (one corner) - no more.) (Danger Sense will be a good one to save XP for.) What do you think would be the best way to model the effect well? It would be nice to maximize flexibility as well as maximize faithfulness to the concept - while minimizing cost. P.S. if you're thinking Multipower, that could get complex, since this power is already going to be a slot in a multipower with other stuff (the pods can fire beams and fly as well!). (It's doable though, they're still slots, just partial ones).

All good points. I can see that applying the lim on the slots not on the MP pool cost is a valid way to go. (rationale is easy: *this* slot takes extra time to activate). The idea of taking slots that aren't really limiting is especially relevant to my situation - the slots I'm building aren't all that different. Each are compound powers, yet each have some of their points devoted to an EB, with the remaining devoted to other SFX-dependent things, thus: slot 1: EB (sml) fully indirect + clairsentience slot 2: EB (lrg) + flight

What lim would be on extra time to change slots in a MP? Say it took a 1/2 phase? -1/4? or -0? If you said -0, then how long a delay would you impose in order to qualify for a -1/4 lim? A full phase? More? Is that a used phase, or can the character act?

I remember as a young lad reading some gunslinger comic and being disgusted when the good guy and the bad guy had a stand off. Suspension of disbelief when it comes to normal time dliation/compression in a story is standard practice - but in a shootout, elapsed time is key to the drama. In drawing his gun, the baddie spoke a paragraph of words. Bad enough, but the good guy managed to respond with several paragraphs of words - and still draw his gun faster than baddie - and shoot him.

End battery? When I create powers that use End, but have a duration, I check out End battery. It may or may not model what you're looking for.

>I'm the GM for the game Rebar is in, busted... >Maybe an egg timer is necessary? I can state from experience that any kind of formal timing will be received poorly. Leads to paralysis and frustration. I suggest that the group be presented with this as a key problem and urged to be ready to go at their phase. Point out that in a second, they wouldn't be able to accurately sum up the situation anyway, unless they want to take a half phase to make a perception check. If they're not sure, encourage them to hold their phase until they are. Hopefully, as combat speeds up, people will be less desperate to "make their one phase per 20min." really count. And I suppose some slackers are going to have to put away their sketchbooks...

(speeding up combat) for veterans Thanks, many of these ideas I will take to my group. But to reiterate: these are seasoned players - many years of playing Hero system. Even those who don't read the rulebook are quite familiar with combat, the SPD chart, etc. No problems there. Yet we still find it quite slow. I'd like to concentrate more on shortcuts in the rules, and less on the learning curve. I confess, we do like to take time to assess the situation as the top of our phase comes up. Things change fast, no one wants to fire at an empty target.

Looking for ideas to speed up combat by simplifying rules. We are an experienced group, all good RPers, no one at risk of abusing changes or finding loopholes. Some rules experts, some rules-lite, all many years with system. First considerations: We conclude that much of the slowness in combat comes from waiting for ones phase to come around. So, lose SPD chart - 1 action per phase, 6 phases per turn. (Tantamount to everyone buying a 6 SPD). No SPD accounting, no one waits on the sidelines for their phase. END, while a good thing to factor, seems to take more accounting than it warrants. Many systems don't even account for it. What about eliminating it? Input on other ideas appreciated.

Ball & Chain Ball and Chain Hmm. I like that idea - but I'd think it would have to be for a non-serious game. Too much humour potential. They're divorced, they can't stand each other, and they're still in the middle of the separation, complicated because of their superheroing lives - especially since their powers are co-dependent. To give it a little less contrived feel, I'd just make one have an EB that looks/acts like a ball and the other entangles and force powers. Got their powers in a car accident - which never would have happened if he hadn't been driving so fast, and if she hadn't been driving him crazy with her yammering about his driving.

Looking for ideas for twin powers (not literally twins, just a 2-person team) that are co-dependent/complementary. Fire/Ice Light/Dark etc. Or prehaps, rather than cancelling/opposite, they multiply. ? Outside-the-box ideas welcome too. Cloak/Dagger etc. The bigger picture: one of them is dead. I'm actually looking for a cool concept (roleplaying-wise) for *half* a team.

While the rules explicitly state that a Follower, once created gains his/her own XP, can the master put his/her own XP into his/her Follower power that he paid for? i.e Upon character creation, I bought a 75pt. Follower for 15 pts. I gain some XP. Can I put an extra point into Follower for 16, thus giving me my Follower with 80pts.? (Let's leave aside for the moment the issue of in-character justification for the Follower's sudden acquisition of 5PPs.)

require RPing I quite like the idea of requiring in-game RPing before spending XP on something. My swordsman jogged all across town for several games before I bought 1/2 End on his running.

>>your average Joe can pick up a full grown adult, hold them over their head, and sprint for an indefinite length of time without tiring" >Wouldn't they eventually exhaust their modest END? Lift a 100kg object: 2 End Run 6": 1 End x2 phases per turn -4 Rec per turn Oops, you're right, he would burn 1 End per turn, thus he would only be able to do it for 4 minutes (slightly less than 1/2 km).

If he could use his powers merely with someone throwing a bucket of water on him, I would not give it more than -1/4. No way it would be more than -1/2. Heck, 'only during day' is only a -1/2. The only in water -1 1/2 I believe is for "only fully immersed in water" .

sig lines ."The difference between kinky and perverted is as follows: Kinky is with a feather. Perverted is with the chicken" This has been around for at least 20 years and has morphed somwhat. The original: What is the difference between erotic and kinky? Erotic is tickling your partner with a feather. Kinky is using the whole chicken.

starting again "But, in my experience, such players often become "dissatisfied" with their character if they feel like the other players have more powerful ones, and they proceed to make new characters quite often." Curious. Do you make them start at square one again? i.e no XP?