eepjr24

Originally posted by Zed-F

There may be some questions regarding the design style of the submitted characters that Dean will have to deal with. For myself, I tend to buy a lot more powers on my characters, but have some substantial limitations as well -- for instance, the character I submitted makes heavy use of Focus, RSR, and Side Effect. As a result I expect she will under most circumstances be able to keep up with the above listed PCs despite being built on a lot less points, but will occasionally get hamstrung fairly badly.

 

We'll have to see how this plays out, and what Dean's plans are regarding making the stats of the PCs in the game public (is it encouraged, discouraged, or neither?) I was planning to post my character's stats once she's finished, which should be soon, but Dean might want me to change some stuff around or might want me to not post it, so I'll wait to hear from him first.

On the RSR/SE/Focus, my character submission had some of that (he is pretty young as a hero), but also some "Mystery Power" points so that I can have the character discover yet unknown abilities in his arsenal. I have a list of possibles in there and I hope this flies. I too will start a but underpowered but I love the RP potential of the self discovery process.

My biggest downfall may be that I know very little about the CU, having always GM'd in my own custom universes and played in peoples who did the same. Hopefully the character concept is not too far out to be adapted. I won't post char info here because I have no idea what Dean's policy is on it (It may be part of the meet up adventure, etc).

- Ernie

Players...

You are best off trying this in the Player Finder forums.

- Ernie

Submissions...

Methinks that perhaps our intrepid GM got a few more responses than anticipated. Give him a bit to sort it all out and get back to people, it has after all only been one day.

- Ernie

Re: Here is another question

Originally posted by CorpCommander

Instead of dispelling a power an opponent has, can I dispel the effect once they have used it?

 

For example, lets say my friend the rogue was caught trying to steal a dragon's egg from the wizard and the wizard Transformed the rogue into a frog. Can I dispel the effect of the transform and turn the thief back to normal?

 

In general, no. This is per reading multiple questions to Steve in the rules forum. The exceptions I have seen are: 1) The transform lists dispel as one of the healing methods. 2) The effect being dispelled is a power with the limitation "Gradual Effect". In this case, you can dispell any damage or effect that has not yet occured.

 

Can I set up a trigger such that when I am attacked by a magic spell the dispel goes off and attempts to "shoot down" the offensive spell?

 

I think I can looking at the book. I believe that I could wake up in the morning, spend the END on the triggered dispel then wander about town. When the wizard finds out I un-polymorphed the rogue and decides to ambush me with his Fireball spell the trigger kicks off and I attempt to dispell the fireball before it hits me. Whether I am successful or not, I would need to spend the END again to reset the trigger.

Trigger is one possible solution, although even at the -1/2 level it can be difficult to set a trigger that will do what you want. In the above example, if you did not see the spell coming you would most likely get pretty crispy (must be able to sense it for trigger to work).

 

If Trigger is not appropriate, could I instead abort and dispel as a defensive action? If you were the GM would you allow this?

 

Yes, in general I would allow you to abort to a dispell, since it is a purely defensive action. I would also recommend you look into Delayed Effect as another option.

 

I don't think that is abusive but I am also not sure if its against the spirit of the rules. It doesn't appear to be against the letter of the rules.

Thanks

- Ernie

Continuous moves?

Mark,

Where are you seeing the continuous powers move thing? I thought I remembered that as well, but could not find it when I went looking. I will check the FAQ's, I was just looking in FREd, and I easily could have missed it there even.

- Ernie

Re: A few questions.

Originally posted by PerennialRook

I'm buying talents for Ash when I notice Deadly Blow. Cool. As an archer I give him Expert Archer and as a hunter I give him Expert Hunter. Now fletcher is hunting a deer with his bow. Do I get both +1d6's to his attacks for a total of +2d6?

 

I would say yes.

 

Also I'm buying Rapid Archery for Ash, though with the variant that uses the naked Autofire. Do I have to include the +2d6 from deadly blows with the cost of the bow's Autofire?

 

Yes.

 

Ash has a STR of 25, more than enough for the heaviest bow in the book. Can I get a 3d6 Great Composite Longbow with a range of 315" and a STR min of 24 weighing 1.6 kg at a cost of 55 SP?

 

Personally, I would not allow this, for several reasons. A) This would give you a bow that can fire an arrow over 1/3 of a mile. I don't think you could make such a bow out of wood. C) When you add your DC's and special arrows to it, you could easily be doing 5-6 d6 Killing attacks.

 

I would possibly allow you to have a "Fine Very Heavy Longbow" custom made for you, with a 20 or so str min, and the "Biting" improvement. This would probably involve you going on quests for the materials, etc. It would likely cost at least 70 SP plus materials.

 

Ash's afore mentioned bow has a wick on the front of his bow to light arrows that have been wrapped in oil soaked cloth. How do I build said arrows?

 

Usually, the GM will have a way to build fire arrows already, and you just buy them. Ask you GM what his preferred method is, or suggest the one above from Captain Obvious.

 

- Ernie

Originally posted by AlHazred

Cost	Power	END
4	Wizard's Mark: Sight Group Images, Reduced Endurance 0 END (+1/2), Uncontrolled (+1/2) (20 Active Points); OAF Fragile (Golden Scribe, a delicate marking device that seems to be made of gold; -1 1/4), Set Effect (unique mark for each wizard; -1), No Range (-1/2), Requires A Magic Skill Roll (-1/2), Limited Effect (Detect Magic sense only; -1/4), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4)

I did like Images, but the more I think about it, the more hand waving it requires. Images are 1 hex and cannot move. To use them without hand waving, you would probably have to buy Megascale at the +1 or higher level. Also, since magic senses vary (mostly in the Sight, Mental or Unusual groups), you would have to buy it for both the first two and really could not affect the third. This would bring the AP to about 45.

It does have advantages, in that one cast will do the trick. A transform of the same AP would take 2 casts for some adventurers and three for the sturdiest warriors (standard effect). Since it is unlikely to be cast in combat this is not a big issue. Overall, I like the mechanics of the transform better in this case.

- Ernie

Supress

Try this:

2d6 Supress (DCV, ECV, OCV, Characteristic Roll and all Skill Rolls based on CON, DEX, EGO, INT, PRE, or STR) [+2], Standard Effect, 0 End [+1/2], Persistent [+1/2], Area Effect Radius: 1" [+3/4], Personal Immunity [+1/4], No Range [-1/2], Target only loses -1 per affected power [-1/2]

AP: 50

RP: 25

It will suppress 6 active points for each of the listed items, which should be more than enough for a -1 to the roll. I left out Always On, which would save you another 5 Real Points. It seemed like that was a bit over the top, that they still exude this aura even when unconcious. Of course, it is your game, so feel free to add it back. =)

- Ernie

PS: Heya back atcha, Scotto.

Images?

I am not convinced that I would even need to give them a power. I was more thinking of granting them a disadvantage:

Distinctive Feature: 'Wizards Sigil', Concealable with Major Effort, Noticed: Major Reaction, Only Detectable by Unusual Senses, Not distinctive in some cultures.

That has a total disad point of 0. Being able to dispel it is one of the Transforms Healing methods.

Mechanics?

Well, that would probably work in some games. I have some ideas for in game uses that would make mechanics desired:

1. Demonologists mark their next victims with a sigil that only mages and demons can see.

2. The city guard marks criminals with identifying marks.

3. In some countries, slaves are marked with their owners mark. Tampering with slave marks has a death penalty attached to it. (No brands will marr that beautiful flesh now).

4. Some necromancers have to mark dead bodies with their sigils a week before raising them.

etc...

- Ernie

25 points?

ST: Where did you get the 25 points from? I MIGHT allow a summon to sell back sight perception, but the amount would depend on it's PER roll. This is something that really is better handled by a disad, or simply by GM fiat (change the base perception to Radar instead of Sight).

Personally, I would try to convince the GM that it is not that big a difference, since it will be more limiting than sight in many ways (no color, no ability to read text, affected by radio noise, clouds, etc).

- Ernie

Transform?

Okay, I can go with Transform. I don't want people to be able to "rub" it off, this is a wizards mark, and it can only be removed through an appropriate transform by a wizard (the same one or another) or a Dispel of enough dice to remove that transform bought with Standard Effects.

Ex: Mitchum has 15 body, and a wizard applies a mark to him. To remove it would take a dispel totalling 50 AP (30 body transform, 3 body per die, 10 cosmetic dice, 50 AP).

It will only show up to 'Wizard Sight' which is a sense available for purchase by those who meet some requirements (magic skill roll minimum and/or RP in magic spells). Some magical creatures may have native 'Wizard Sight'.

Since transform is cumulative, any wizard can apply the transform to anything given enough time and endurance.

Any of that sound unbalanced or such?

- Ernie

Great Job!

- Ernie

Combined...

I would just hand wave it, myself (no pun intended, of course). I would let the characters do it, but their magic roll for BOTH spells is -1 per 10 AP cast during that phase. This should balance out any gain from the combined spells, and would show the increased difficulty of doing two spells at once. I also might combine it into a single spell roll, at the characters option so they either fail both or succeed both.

- Ernie

How do most GM's handle these, if at all? I am talking about markings that wizards put on things that are visible only to magic senses (or sometimes to normal senses in special circumstances like the light of a full moon during a Solstice or whatever). These could be placed on an item to denote ownership, or a trail to mark directions, or even to mark a person for death in some cases.

I would think this is either Images, Transform or (less likely) Change Environment. The first or the last bought 0 end, etc. Does anyone have an example of this type of spell from their games?

- Ernie

Originally posted by Hugh Neilson

Thank you! Reverse engineering the power, to me anyway, is a highly appropriate way of assessing how it stacks up to other powers. If I can build it three ways, and they all give the same cost, it seems to me it's balanced.

 

Which only leaves me with whether to pull the "standard" indirect and reduce the base cost...

Or you could just leave it and have characters who don't want the indirect aspects apply a custom limitation "Not Indirect" for -1/2, giving you the exact same pricing. I realize the active cost will be a bit higher, but given the usefulness of high AP TK, I would be okay with that.

As always, YMMV.

- Ernie

Simple spells, complex implications

Not sure if this is the gist of the thread or not, but it is always interesting for me to see how others handle certain powers and advantages that can radically alter the campaign setting. IE:

Transform (Transmute lead to gold, etc)

Flight, teleport (Effects on transport, war, scouting, etc)

Megascale

Instant Change (I usually make this one extremely rare)

Do you allow sweeps with spells? Or do you have the player model them with limited autofire? Or some other method?

Do attack spells receive lims for "No spreading or bouncing"?

Etc...

- Ernie

Watch power

Super Magnet:

Clinging, only to metal surfaces (-1?), OIF (-1/2), 1 charge lasting 1 minute (-1), Extra Segment to Activate (-1/4), Gestures to start (-1/4), STR Cannot be used to move, only to stay in place (-1)

AP: 10

RP: 2

Well, it's not great, but it might save you some day. =)

Isle of Goblins?

The natural defenses of an island might help too. Say that they have made deals to appease the local sea hazard (kraken, mer-folk, saughin, giant squid colony) and thus most other sailors will not even go near their island. This also gives them shipping, which is an alternate form of revenue, although you have to be a little desparate to ship with a goblin crew so they are not competing with the big guys, and pirates don't bother them much because of the low cargo values.

- Ernie

MA don't cost way too much...

Or at least not in my opinion. I have both played and had characters run in FH and Champions games. MA may be slightly too expensive for what you get, but it is pretty close overall. I took Dauntless example of 15-30 points in skills for a man at arms and a martial artist:

Man At Arms:

20 STR

17 DEX

20 CON

11 BODY

10 INT

10 EGO

13 PRE

10 COM

8 PD

6 ED

4 SPD

8 REC

40 END

31 STUN

75 Total

4 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons

2 KS: Military Rules and Law

2 KS: Sword Fighting

4 +2 OCV with Falchion

6 +2 with Swords

10 +2 HTH Levels

28 Total

Martial Artist:

20 STR

20 DEX

16 CON

12 BODY

13 INT

10 EGO

13 PRE

10 COM

6 PD

4 ED

4 SPD

7 REC

32 END

30 STUN

75 Total

3 Breakfall

2 KS: Jujutsu

2 KS: Fighting armed opponents

1 WF: Blades

Kito-Ryo Jujutsu:

3 Sacrifice Throw +2 OCV +1 DCV STR Strike, Both Fall

4 Joint Lock / Throw +1 OCV, Grab one limb, 1d6 NND

3 Legsweep +2 OCV -1 DCV, STR + 1d6 STR, Target falls

4 Strike +0 OCV, +2 DCV STR + 2d6 Strike

6 +2 with Jujutsu

28 Total

On the old Offense/Defense/Mobility rating I use (from one of the older excel spreadsheets, I think figured from an old article) they come out exactly the same for total rating.

If the MA does his first maneuver (Joint lock/throw) and splits his CSL's he is the same OCV and DCV as the MAA splitting his. He has a decent chance to keep his target on the ground, and he is not using any weapon at all. He also will wear teh MAA's stun down. He does have a decent chance of taking some body along the way. And a lucky hit by either of them would make the fight alot shorter.

I am not saying the MA is even with the MAA, I still think the MAA has a slight edge with his chance to end the fight in a hit or two. But he is certainly not twice as effective as the MA for the same points.

- Ernie

Re: Re: Re: What's the limitation?

Originally posted by Hugh Neilson

My general requirement is that the ONLY special effects can be magic. You can make a magic flame, but it doesn't trigger vulnerabilities to heat and flame. You can't use VSE to get around this. "Only Magic" means Magic ONLY".

Just curious why you do that? I mean, I can see some pretty major implications. A mage who uses his "metal magic" to create a dancing sword spell would not trigger the Treant's vulnerability to blades? Or the ice mage who uses his ice bolts versus a fire elemental would not ahve them do extra damage?

Thinking further, it would probably work well if everyone assumed things worked that way, but it would take some getting used to for some players. In my current magic system design, I require mages to have a skill for each broad type of magic they have. So a mage might have a Smoke Magic skill, a Fire Magic skill and a Air Magic skill, but not a General magic skill. His VPP could only contains spells of a type for which he had a skill. In an extreme emergency, I might allow them to try it without, but the side effects would probably take them out of the picture for a while.

- Ernie

Re: What's the limitation?

Originally posted by JMHammer What could a character not do with this Variable Power Pool? I don't see how "only magic" is a limitation.

 

Your concept sounds interesting, but I don't understand this part. [/b]

Well, they could not make anything that would run in an anti-magic field, or that could not be detected with "Detect Magic", be affected by Adjustment powers with "vs Magic" effect, be countered by defense bought "Only vs Magic", etc.

You could disallow it for your games, if you like. But it is a fairly common lim for VPP's, even found in FREd on page 209.

- Ernie

If one character uses a power on another that has the "Gradual Effect" limitation on it, can the targetted character at some point before the full damage has been done, dispel the remaining effect? My initial leaning is to say that it depends on SFX, but usually yes, since it fits in well with the concept of Gradual Effect giving the target time to do something about the effects of the power. For ex:

Target is hit by a 4d6 gradual effect: 1 turn power in phase 12. 1d6 affects him immediately. On his next action, he casts a dispel powerful enough to dispel the AP for the remaining 3d6 (including advantages, etc). He is still damaged for whatever the 1d6 did, but will not take the remaining 3d6.

Thanks.

- Ernie

Hot potatoes...

Okay, after further thought and reading all the posts again, I am thinking that I have another idea, and that the two spells are getting slightly different from each other. Will think more about the armor one, here is my currecnt thoughts on the weapon heating spell: (No book here so lims, etc are approximate)

4d6 EB vs ED (heat), One Hex Accurate (+1/2), Only versus targets holding metal handled weapons (-1), Delayed Effect: 1 Turn?, Not versus Magic Weapons with flame effects or other magical heat defenses (-0), Other lims as required by campaign.

Would it be fair to say that the spell always hits the hands? This seems to have advantages and disadvantages that are about equal. The Delayed Effect gives the weapon wielder a while to drop the weapon, even at a speed of 2 or 3. I would probably even allow an abort to drop it. SFX is a fire sprite entering the weapon handle, heating up the handle and then flitting off when they get bored. After one turn the weapon handle would be warm to the touch, but not enough to do damage to someone picking it up.

- Ernie