Slim_McCoy

Re: Answers & Questions

 

A) The Antipasta.

Q) Damn you stink! What did you eat??

A) We're not in Kansas anymore.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it...

I have a question. The same Rick Shelley has a Sci-fi space opera series that starts with "Officer Cadet". Any opinions as to whether the series is worth reading?

I read "Officer Cadet" some time back, and it didn't hold my attention very well. I will admit that I had just finished reading one of the "StarFist" novels (Sherman and Craig, also mil/sci-fi) so my opinion may have been biased. May have to go back and try again and give Shelley a fair shot.

Re: Answers & Questions

A. Dealcoholized beer, decaffeineated coffee, and herbal cigarettes.

Q. To what do you attribute your long, dull, pointless life??

A. Because it's there.

Re: Character Help:Voodoo Doll

Voodoo Doll is a mutant with the ususal ability to "reflect" damage done to her. If you hit' date=' you get hurt. If you blast, you feel it as if you attacked yourself.[/quote']

 

OK, I'll give this one a whirl:

 

7d6EB (or 2d6+1 RKA)

Damage Shield

0 End

Always on

Persistent

Variable SFX (Limited: must mimic attack SFX)

 

96 AP, real cost 64 either way. Expensive, but would make me think twice before striking her a second time. You could put in in a 100 pt EC: Voodoo Powers, though....

Re: Magnus: Robot Fighter

Valiant had one of the better universes I've ever seen with regard to continuity and cross-over.

I like their idea for H.A.R.D. Corps as a Champions team. Each character has a brain implant that can generate nearly any Harbinger (mutant) power... one at a time. Need to switch out? Call back to HQ and they'll download a different power to you. Better be prepared for teamwork.

The series also inspired one of the better tag lines:

"Valiant Comics. Where dead is dead."

Re: Hero points?

Klytus uses something similar in his Champions games. He calls them Karma points. You get one Karma for every 10 XP's earned. The idea is that the more heroic your character is, the less he's at the whim of the vagarities of fate (i.e. the dice). You can spend Karma to re-roll a die roll, or to add or subtract to your die roll. He's got a whole menu of things that you can do with Karma, including donating points to a group Karma pool.

 

It's worked out as a pretty good system.

 

Doc

Sounds like a fusion of Shadowrun and WEG Star Wars rules.

I also like 7th Sea's Drama dice. Gives you an extra die on any roll. However, every time a Hero spends one, a die is added to the GM's pool to use for the Villians. The more good luck you have, the harder it bites you in the end.

Re: Design Question

Yeah, I just remembered that one of the PCs from my Millennial Men campaign has an ability like this. He has a Phys Lim: One Eye, which imposes certain penalties on Ranged Combat, and his Cybernetic Eye buys it off.

2 Questions about this character, and please don't take this as a flame... I'm still learning the system.

1) The Phys Lim: One eye and the Cyber Eye - Isn't this generally frowned upon?? Seems like buying Phy Lim: Missing Limbs and the power Extra Limbs to me.

2) The Focus Limitation on the Cyber Eye - IIRC, even an OIF can be taken away from a character with a specific effort. It shouldn't be a focus if it's surgically implanted.

Re: Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic

Have you played in a successful SF game, preferably a "space fantasy" like Star Wars, and preferably using Hero? If so, I'd like to hear about it, and what you think helped the game succeed and last. (I am hoping to learn something here.)

I've yet to play in a long-term Star Wars game... probably due to poor players, real world events, and the game being set aside for a "test run of this cool new system" which lasted 2 years in real time.

However, I was in a long-term Mechwarrior game that owed a great deal of its success to a strong GM who had a long-term story arc in mind before we started. Biggest pitfall of this system is making sure that the players remember that they are playing a person, not a 'mech.

Also was in a long-running Shadowrun campaign which succeeded because of group of players in love with the genre and some unexpected synergy between the characters.

First off, player interest in the (sub-)genre is absolutely vital. Space Opera, Hard Sci-Fi, Cyberpunk, Anime, etc.... find something that your players can get behind.

Secondary to that is a good, firm grasp of the campaign setting by GM and players alike. Nothing tanks my fun as a player faster than realizing that the character I've designed just doesn't work and that I have to start over.

Keep trying... it will click eventually.

Re: Answers & Questions

 

A. See, now, that's why I never volunteer.

Q. Why does this always happen to me?

A. He lives here. You're only visiting

Re: Leagacy of Iron: Power Suit characters...

That is a very cool idea that I shall steal... er' date=' be inspired by the next chance I get to make a Champions character.[/quote']

 

Funny enough, I had come up with a similar idea for our current Champions game. He's an enhanced human (super soldier) with TK ability. His armor suit doesn't actually provide him with powers per se, but a neural amplifier in the helmet allows him greater focus and control (TK abilities other than raw TK strength are all OIHID).

 

BTW, I say it's funny because John T is co-GMing the game. We got a kick out of it when he told me about Forceline.

Re: Point Cost For Duplicate Foci

OK, I'm not the most knowledgeable about this game system, but could the armor suits be represented as a gadget pool?

I'm thinking along the lines of a basic suit (armor, flight, senses) with "bolt-on" accessories (weapon pods, life support systems, ECM/stealth sytems) that can be tailored to individual mission requirements. Not too dissimilar to the Battletech Ominmech concept.

Hope this helps.

Re: Bloodstone by David Gemmell

Book 5 in a strange series that started as fantasy and ended as Post Apoc. This book lost focus midway through but redeemed itself somewhat with a healthy dose of action. It ended very abruptly and was somewhat of a letdown at the end.

 

I enjoyed the first two books, much less well known IMO, in the series more than the last three in congregate. I think this had something to do with expectations that were not quite met by the Jon Shannow books (last three).

 

I have NEVER read a series that started as Fantasy and ended with gunfire. Truly, these would have been better as two separate series IMO.

 

I give "Bloodstone" a 6 out of 10.

I definitely agree with you on this series. The first couple are a very interesting take on Arthurian fantasy, but I could not get past the radical shift to Shannow. I've found his other fiction to be hit and miss... "Legend" is probably my favorite of the lot, dealing with a fortress under siege and a legendary Hero coming out of retirement for what could be his last stand

Currently, I'm tearing through Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series for the umpteenth time, since I've just picked up the latest in the series (am I the only one who re-reads an entire series when the new chapter comes out??)