albin

I have a few questions about CSL, OCV/DCV and Manuvers. As far as I can tell, the rules only permit buying CSL for offensive manuvers like Move Through or Trip (and ofc weapons and other powers). Can I buy them for defensive manuvers also? Like Block, Dive for Cover and Dodge? If so, how does it work? I might have missed something, but I can't find anything that tells me if I can buy CSL with Dodge or not. With Block, it seems fairly simple. Use CSL for OCV or DCV with the manuver (if you have a 3-point or higher CSL, otherwise only OCV). Correct? With Dodge I get confused. Say that I want to buy CSL for Dodge only. That should be 2 points/CSL? But I can only use them to increase OCV? So I have to buy higher cost CSL, right? With Dive for Cover, what do I increase with the CSL? (if I can buy CSL for that manuver at all?)Is it DCV or the DEX-roll? My first guess would be that a CSL for Dive for Cover only can increase DCV but if so, how do I increase the DEX-roll (without spending more points on DEX)? Do I buy SL with this manuver instead of CSL? I'm guessing that creating "house rules" for this shouldn't be too much of a problem but I want to know what the correct way to handle this is before I start messing with perfection. If I should even allow these things... My other question is how to handle ½DCV or ½OCV type of situations. Some of my players come up with characters where it would be fitting if they didn't get ½DCV with, for example, Two Weapon Fighting. Some kind of "ultimate gun fu master of doom". In 5th ed Dark Champions there is a Super Skill called Combat Running, where you double your characters running, with a limitation, to be able to use your entire running as a half phase action. Is it correct to use the same principle if I want to have full DCV while using manuvers like Multipower Attack or Two Weapon Fighting? That is, doubling my DCV with a limitation so the extra DCV only applies to counteract the ½DCV modification? Or should I get enough CSL's to do this? Or is it PSL? If PSL: Say my character has DCV 6. Should I get 3 PSL to counteract the ½DCV or should I get 6 since it's halved? I'm confused... Like I said, I want to know what the correct way to handle these things..

WARNING! This post poses questions to the philosophy behind the rules of Herosystem. Veiwer discretion is adviced! I created a hardcore vigilante with no supernatural abilities as such but lots of skill and iron will. I want to make sure that I calculated the damage correct. Please comment on any other things that look a bit strange... He has STR 23, Boxing with 2 extra DC and a Multipower (named Interrogation Art ) with various tricks that are bought as Weapon Element for Boxing. When he uses the "Broken..." and Stunning Blow, he is supposed to make a Multiple-power Attack with one of the regular Manuvers. One example of this is a Broken Nose-Jab and regular Cross. He should be able to do that, right? Since it's not two martial manuvers that just deal regular damage. I also assume that 1 DC from a martial manuver = +5 Apts when applied to something else then STR. I don't know if this is a correct way to look at it but it makes sense to me. 1. Broken Nose, Flash Sight 2d6, NND (Rigid rPD on nose, +1), 0END (+½), No Range (-½) Since there is a Martial Manuver defined as a Flash I'm guessing that I can add the extra DC from Boxing? I add 1d6/2 DC from boxing since I have a +1 advantage (that increases the damage) which makes the power 10 Apts/dice? So a Jab is 3d6, Cross is 4d6 and Hook is 5d6? 2. Broken Ribs, Drain END 3d6 There is no martial manuver based on Drain but I assume that I add 1d6/2 DC from boxing since Drain is a 10 Apts/d6 power. That makes the Jab do 4d6, Cross 5d6 and Hook 6d6. 3. Broken Windpipe, EB 2d6, NND (LS: SCB or Rigid rPD on throat, +1), Continous (lasts 1 turn, +1), 0END (+½), No Range (-½) Since the regular martial manuvers that have NND gains no extra damage from STR I'm guessing that they are defined as EB's and not HA's but even though they are ranged attacks, they gain damage from DC that should only apply to melee manuvers. Using the same philosophy as above, the Jab should do 2d6 (since I need 3 DC to gain +1d6), Cross 3d6 and Hook 4d6. 4. Iron Fist, HKA 1d6, 0END (+½) Halving the extra DC from the manuvers in the usual manner (I have no idea whatsoever why we halve them when applied to HKA's... anyone?) gives me the following: Jab 2½d6, Cross 3d6+1, Hook 3½d6. Nothing strange there, I hope? 5. Stunning Blow, Entangle 2d6 Body, DEF 2, Takes no damage from attacks (+½), No Range (-½) This one was hard to grip. What, to me at least, makes the most sense is that the DEF is unaltered by extra DC from martial manuvers, only the Body is affected. Even though Entangle is 10 Apts/level, the Body-part of it is only 5 Apts and with a +½ advantage, I need 3 DC to get +2d6 Entangle. What I get from this is Jab 3d6, Cross 4d6 and Hook 6d6. Remember that the DEF is still 2. 6. Unstoppable Blow, HKA ½d6, AVLD (Power Defense, +1½), Does Body (+1), SE (Always takes 1 Body damage, -½) This power is 17,5 Apts for each damage class so I get to add one from my STR. I need 3,5 DC from the martial art to increase the HKA by 1 DC due to advantages but since it's a HKA, I need 7 (!) which means Jab, Cross and Hook all do 1d6. I'm guessing this is a somewhat liberal way to interpret the rules? But I'm both interrested in if it's correct and if it makes sense so it you bothered to read this far, please answer both .

Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? How about a fictional group within the Catholic Church? Ordo Umbra Curator (something like Order of the Shadow Guardians) could perform exorcisms, hunt undead and witches and so on.

Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Well, there is already rules for Improved Equipment Availability. It might need a new name since that one don't feel right when it comes to magic And the Spell Pool could start at zero as default and cost something like 1 pts per 5 pts in the pool, like the equipment pool. I think it could work! Please add this (or something similar) mr Long or I have to create houserules!

Re: URBAN FANTASY HERO -- What Do *You* Want To See? Nice to see that so many has mentioned Hudson City. I would like to see a lot of material for incorporation magic and fantasy elements in Dark Champions. Using an Ingram in one hand and throwing fireballs with the other certainly has an appel to me. The problems I've had before in Urban Fantasy, set in Hudson City, is balance between players. Those who focus on magic tend to fall behind those who focus on mundane equipment. A magic pool added to the Resource Pool would probably even things out a bit. I guess that spellcasting then would require a Spellbook, or more likley a PDA with spells, since the Resource Pool isn't for innate abilities. Anyway, I would like to see some rules for this since I really like the Resource Pool in Dark Champions and I think it would balance things out when compairing a handgun with a firebolt-spell. Also, some technomany spells would be needed since the FH Grimoires lack these. Some of the schools in those books has little place in Urban Fantasy, like Druidry. When it comes to settings I like both the "open" Shadowrun type where everyone knows magic exist and trolls work as bouncers and the secret societies/concpiracy type of setting. I love DEMON and would like some guidelines on how to use them in UF. Sorry about my poor english skills, the only words I normaly say in english is stuff like "Energy Blast", "Major Transform" and so on...

Re: Ars Magica Heh... I really should spend more time reading my books. The Gift on page 265 in FH is very close to the Ars Magica system. Cheers!

I really like the basic ideas about the magic system in that game and since the rest of that rpg sucks, imo, it would be nice to simulate the magic system in Herosystem. For those that dont know which game it is, you have different verbs from latin, like creo, perdo and so on and combine those with different nouns (like fire, water, mind, body). So to cast a fireball, that would be creo ignem and to cast a drain life type of spell would be perdo corpus. You have a skill in each of those verbs and nouns and basicly an endless VPP. Every mage has a potential of casting a, say, 300d6 EB but you have to make the skillroll. Anyone familiar with the Ars Magica system or know of an existing conversion to Herosystem?

Hurry up! I love all the other ultimate books, great for all setting, power levels and so on! Energy Projector is a personal favorite of mine so I'm a little impatient... Hurry up, please Any clue at all when it will arrive in my mailbox?

Re: Divide by Three I just tried it and haven't had a chance to test it in play but it looks good on paper. But as far as I understand, you should only use this if they aren't allowed to place their spells in power frameworks, if they have to pay lots of pts for various Power Skills and so on. A mage I did had 4 attack spells. They cost him 24 pts and the skill to control them cost about 15 pts. If I would have had them in a Multipower as ultra slots, they would have cost him 28 pts and if I had removed the skill roll limitation, I dont think the cost would have increased by 11 pts. Anyway, to make a long story short... To perserve the game balance between warriors and mages, it really seem like a good idea to divide the cost by 3. Mages often pay a lot of points for stuff that warriors gets for free, or for a very low cost at least. Mages on the other hand have access to powers that warriors can't simulate with gear or skill. If your character is built on 150 or 200 pts, you have to limit your spells a lot to afford them if they cant be placed in power frameworks and stuff like that. To have as many spells as you often end up with in other games, like GURPS, D&D and so on, your main attack spell (equvalent with a warriors chop with a sword) might end up to only be usable during the full moon, under water, against fire giants, the spell takes 5 hours and 4 mages to cast and the regent is something not found in this dimention Perhaps not but you get the point But like I said, I haven't been able to try it in play yet. Perhaps the mages will turn out to be overpowered... About magical items and spells... I might be wrong but isn't the cost for magical items only for the person who creates it? Since they are all independant? Then I see no need to divide that cost by 3. Perhaps if you want a high fantasy campain where the character walk in to a general store and say "Hi there! I would like to buy 10 candles, a grappling hook, 1 kg flour aaannnd.... that Divine Greatsword of Might Chopping."

Re: Eunuch as a disad Like people already said, it depends a lot on the setting. If the campain is centers around family, sex and having children, it's a huge disadvantage. In most fantasy settings those matters aren't that important. I would settle for a Distinctive Feature in most campains, easy to conceal and probably major reaction. But it could ofc be a lot of other disadvantages depending on the setting. Social limitation - Females doesn't have much/any romatical thoughts about the character. Both females and males could veiw the character as "lesser then human". It could be a secret. Reputation - If it's generaly known that the character is a eunuch... Physical Limitation - The character can't have sex, children and so on. Psychological Limitation - Any sexualy loaded situation could make the character feel uneasy. Perhaps the character really wants to have children and so on. But like I said, if it's your normal "hack & slash" fantasy, I would only allow the distinctive feature. In most campains it's about the same as having a scar or tatoo that makes it easy to identify the character (assuming you know it's there...).

Re: Eunuch as a disad I posted a reply but it seems to have gone missing... Quick version: Depending on the setting it can be one or more of the three following disadvantages: Social Limitation - Females won't have much/any romatical thoughts about the character and immune to seduction and the character might be viewed as a second class human. Could also be a secret... Physical Limitation - The character can't have sex, children and other stuff. Distinctive Feature - The character has no genitals... Easy to conceal, major reaction. There are ofc things to concider here. If it's a social status to be a eunuch (fantasy like the Belgarion series include eunuchs that are the only ones that are allowed to serve the queen) this might only be a distinctive feature (added with some perk). If the story is centered around issues like family, sex, seduction then the social and physical limitations are appropriate but in most campains that's not really an issue. If it's your basic "I blast Dr. Evil with my energyblast" type of campain, go for the distinctive feature and stop there.

Re: Eunuch as a disad Depending on what kind of setting and how much effect you want it to have in your campain it can be several disadvantages. Social limitation - Women wont have much/any romantical interest in you, men might look down on you and so on. It might also be a Secret... Physical limitation - You can't have sex, children and so on. There can be problems with urinating and stuff like that. Someone mentioned that eunuchs often put on weight. Distinctive Feature - Well... It's most likely easily concealable (unless your campain takes place on a nudity beach or something) and in most places it would cause a major reaction (people do like their genitals). Using the golden rule for disadvantages - if it's not a disadvantage to the character, it's not worth any points - the social and/or physical limitation only applyes if the character wants to have romantic relations with women and wants to have children and so on. In most campains I would only make it a distinctive feature worth 10 pts.

Re: Dark Champions I'm not much for reading comics tbh, I just play But thanks a lot the tip! I'm guessing Doom Patrol based a lot of the powers on technology and normals being altered in different ways? I think I want a more mystic feeling to the setting... Anyone who tried Vibora Bay? Could that be a book for me?

I'm about to start a campain which would be in the Champions genre but I'm not much for costumes like Superman, nor the black-and-white morals of such settings. I want a darker setting of some sort. I'm not sure exactly what I want though so I was hoping for some tips The general idea that I had was that supers in this world all had to pay some great price for their abilities. One character concept I have so far (so you know what type of setting I'm after...) is a super-soldier-project-gone-bad. His skin would be badly burned and perhaps the loss of ears and a parts of some fingers and stuff like that. The "costume" would be some nazgûl-look-a-like robe which hides his ugly body... The accident in the project charged him with electric energy. He's sparking all the time, lots around the eyes. He can channel this in a few ways through his eyes which has rendered them useless, leaving him blind. But instead he has a spartial awareness thingie based on senseing electromagnetic fields and stuff like that. Anyway, he is a 350 pts standard super, energy projector. But the cost of his powers would be that 1. He's blind 2. He's ugly as hell 3. He attracts lightning 4. He has lost his place in the normal world due to several resons, his apperance, a hunted from those that "created" him and so on. Finding the love of his life, getting a normal job or even talking to most normals is near impossible. I want the players to feel that the cost their characters had to pay for their powers was more then they bargained for, so to speak. I'm looking for a setting that promote these kind of misfits supers. I want some concept to follow, they can't all got their powers from accidets like that Or could they? Any ideas?

Re: GMs: Funniest Character Sheet Mistakes You've Seen. Telepathic +1/4 on a Telepathy power I suspect he was thinking about the next power he was going to do... Mind Control.