esampson

Re: Gods with Off Switches vs. Loaded Guns. DC vs. Marvel in Character Design.

Re: Gods with Off Switches vs. Loaded Guns. DC vs. Marvel in Character Design. I would disagree there. You've got plenty of heroes who can take some pretty extreme punishment such as Spiderman but who have absolutely no defense against a gun (other than not being shot). Batman himself was like this for a very long time and even now his bodyarmor isn't capable of handling much more than a rifle. When a hired goon shoots at Batman what do they tend to use? Guns don't necessarily behave really well for characters in a superheroic game but for thugs and the like it seems quite reasonable for them to be armed with such. Of course if your heroes are more along the lines of Superman than even high powered rifles are terribly effective and you're stuck breaking out the Apokolyptian weaponry. I would not only not use the penalties, I wouldn't allow the maneuver. Special effects are all well and good and are even a principle component of the Hero System, but you can get too far carried away with it, IMO. Letting people bounce bullets off their chest as a block maneuver should be no more allowed than letting someone throw a haymaker by lightly touching their opponent with a finger. That is to say that maybe I have a character who has the freaky ability to transmit kinetic energy through contact and so by concentrating hard they can touch someone and inflict a massive 'haymaker' because of the strange way their power works but for 99.9% of the characters out there if you want to throw a haymaker it has to at least somewhat look like an all out attack. Likewise if you want to bounce bullets off your chest with a block maneuver there better be a reason why you have to be concentrating on the incoming fire for it to bounce of your chest (something that aligns with requiring a half move, only works on attacks you're aware of, and when you miss you start taking damage regularly). At least that's how I would rule it as a GM.

Re: Gods with Off Switches vs. Loaded Guns. DC vs. Marvel in Character Design. This would be the man who is able to build and maintain jet aircraft all by himself and his butler without other people noticing the millions of dollars that have to be diverted and no one ever wondering why unidentified aircraft have a tendency to appear and disappear around the old family home? Again, on the surface there's a statement made that he's super wealthy and he can afford it but really such a statement is fairly superficial. Dig a little past the surface and you encounter problems. And yes, I am picking an older style of the character that isn't as true today and yes, if you dig deep enough into Marvel's characters you encounter inconsistencies in their powers/abilities/stories but those inconsistencies tend to be buried a bit further down, at least IMO. I'm not saying "Marvel rules and DC drools" or anything like that. I'm saying that if asked which one I prefer more then it is Marvel because they tend to have less of these issues.

Re: Gods with Off Switches vs. Loaded Guns. DC vs. Marvel in Character Design. "Invulnerable" is always a loaded word. It gets tossed around a lot but almost never correctly. She Hulk is a great example of that since she is "less invulnerable" (what a concept) than the Hulk and we see him get hurt all the time. He just regenerates and has hefty defenses so that things like bullets bounce off of him. Not even Superman is "invulnerable" (with the exception of Kryptonite). Doomsday was able to beat the stuffing out of him without a scrap of green K. (Of course there was a story back in the late 70's/early 80's where Superman died while in the bottled city of Kandor but when his body was removed he came back to life since he was once again "invulnerable") As for which I prefer, I tend to enjoy the Marvel stories a bit more. Characters seem a bit more human. Their powers tend to come with downsides whether it is Cyclops' need for his visor, Rogue's inability to touch people, or Hulk's profound anger management issues. Even characters who do not have a direct downside from their powers such as Spiderman tend to have their own crosses to bear (guilt over his uncle's death). DCs characters have a tendency to not go too far past the surface of what they are. (This is a tendency, not an absolute rule) Superman is a great example of this in the fact that he has these truly immense powers and talks a good line about how every life is precious and he has an enormous responsibility towards protecting everyone. If you want to see how such a situation would really play out then read Astro City #1. As it is we get Superman talking the talk but not really walking the walk.

Re: Champions 1st edition I was never crazy about the really high point totals that some villains were built on but I think in many cases those were caused by "non-optimal" designs. (Then again, when you could just round things out with a villain bonus you didn't really need to optimize your design). On the other hand I spent plenty of time building "balanced" villains (as in point balanced) before I realized that A) a lot of the disadvantages that would normally be used on a character wouldn't really be applicable to the villains (Secret Identities which didn't really come into play since the villains were almost always the instigators of the fights, Hunteds didn't just randomly show up but were part of the storyline, etc.) and after their very first adventure the heroes had their own 'bonus' in the form of XP.

Re: Dodgeball question Oh yeah, just to get even sillier with trying to force mundane activities into the base rules, I just realized you can work out exactly how fast a normal human 'should' be able to throw a ball. A regulation beach volleyball is about .28-.29 kg. Since a dodgeball is a little bit lighter we can round that down to .25 kg. According to the throwing chart you use 8kg at 1 strength and then each 1/2 weight is 5 strength less. 5 division is -25 strength so it takes a -24 strength to lift a dodgeball. Assuming the thrower has a 10 strength they can throw it about 56m or around 672m per turn, so that's DCV 9 and an additional DCV 4 for size which means DCV 13. Remembering to add the -2 for Grab and even a superhero has a pretty awful chance of trying to catch a dodgeball thrown by an average person (and noting that even if we increase the weight of the ball slightly and decrease the strength to represent a child you will probably only drop 2 points in velocity based DCV so that it is pretty difficult for a superhero to catch a dodgeball thrown by a small child).

Re: Dodgeball question An object travelling at between 24-47 mph is at DVC 5. I don't think 24 mph qualifies as a particularly fast throw, even on the playground (maximum range at that speed is a bit over 30 feet and I'm sure I remember kids able to throw those balls farther than that). That means that according to RAW the ball has a DCV of around 9. With no modifiers at all your average person needs to roll a 5 to catch it which is about a 4.5% chance. With the penalty for Grab the odds of a successful catch goes from slim to pretty much non-existent.

Re: Dodgball question With mundane activities you always have to fudge around a bit. Otherwise the odds of a normal human being hitting a baseball become astronomical (massive DCV from both its size and speed). Hitting and dodging are both probably pretty straightforward. OCV minus range penalties verses target's DCV. Blocking (if you have more than 1 ball in play) is also pretty straightforward. The main problem becomes catching which I would probably do as some sort of competing stats. Either OCV vs. OCV similar to blocking or else a skill roll vs. skill roll. Probably lean more towards the first than the second which would make it like a block but I would probably change the modifiers somewhat (since its easier to block the ball with another ball than it is to catch).

Re: lets combine some characters and see what we get Actually, as I think about it rather than having it being simply a spear able to penetrate any terrestrial metal her spear could be part of the ship's engine and function similar to Starman's Cosmic Rod (flight, energy blast, telekinesis).

Re: lets combine some characters and see what we get When Wonder Woman was originally created Paradise Island had highly advanced technologies (although this were not visually displayed). Wonder Woman herself created a healing ray to save the injured Steve Trevor that worked so well it actually brought him back to life. Then of course there was her invisible jet. However magic was a much more prevalent part of her background. Rather than the center of the Earth I was thinking of her home as being a hidden valley within a small fictional South American country. People know that her country exists since she's an emissary of it but they don't know that it resides within the borders of another country. It is kept hidden through a combination of tribal magic and the advanced technologies recovered from an ancient alien spacecraft which has had a ziggurat built over it (emulating Wakanda's vibranium mound). Her abilities are a strange mashup of alien origin and mysticism. Her strength and speed are "gifts from the Jaguar Spirit" but the Jaguar Spirit is the being who brought the 'chariot' to them in ages past so really her abilities are from exposure to alien technology. The people are not, however, exactly confused over the true nature of the Jaguar Spirit. It is a revered part of their tradition but they can also identify it as a deceased alien in the same way that Black Panther receives his power from the Panther Totem in the form of a heart-shaped herb. In addition to the abilities she derives from exposure to the alien spacecraft she also carries with her a variety of weaponry made from scraps of the hull such as a knife and a spear which are capable of cutting through any terrestrial metal as well as bracelets which enable her to project a force field.

Re: lets combine some characters and see what we get Yeah. Probably should have been a little clearer. I was really talking about using the Huaorani as a starting reference point rather than saying the character is explicitly Huaorani. And yeah, I came up with the idea because I was thinking 'Let's make her a real Amazon'. Looking through the mythologies and histories of various tribes I hit on the Huaorani as a good starting point for developing the culture. I was thinking of sort of mashing them up with the Toltec, at least visually.

Re: lets combine some characters and see what we get Just trying to break the mold a bit while keeping what (to me) seem to be the critical parts of the concept (in this case an under-represented minority rather than simply 'black') how about making her (still viewing the character as female) a Huaorani (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaorani_people). While the huaorani people people built primarily with wood we could take a bit of historic license and make her hidden kingdom looking more Mesoamerican with a great deal of stone which conceals their advanced technology (perhaps recovered from ancient alien astronauts?) which is also something both characters have in common (or at least had before some of the changes WW went through). Interestingly the jaguar has a strong place in Huaorani culture so we can incorporate that into the character.

Re: RFC: ACW-10 "Talon" Combat Rifle Ok. So one thing that comes up is the question "is this clear?" [TABLE=class: grid, width: 100%] [TR] [TD]Points[/TD] [TD]Power[/TD] [TD]END[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2f[/TD] [TD]Shaped Charge: (Total: 71 Active Cost, 25 Real Cost) RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing (+1/4), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4) (45 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 1-6 Charges (-3/4) (Real Cost: 16) plus RKA 1d6, Area Of Effect (8m Radius Explosion; +1/4), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4), Armor Piercing (+1/4) (26 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 1-6 Charges (-3/4), Limited Power: Armor piercing only works on target directly hit by the attack and not against targets simply caught within the explosion. (-0) (Real Cost: 9)[/TD] [TD][1-6][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] The idea behind this is that someone hit with the attack takes a 3d6 RKA, armor piercing, with a +1 stun modifier. People standing next to the target (or even the target themselves if the attack should strike an obstacle such as a wall behind them) would take a 1d6 RKA explosion with a +1 stun modifier (I should probably modify the limited power to remove the +1 stun modifier to targets simply caught within the explosion). It is not meant that the target should take a 2d6 RKA, armor piercing, with a +1 stun modifier then a second 1d6 RKA, armor piercing, with a +1 stun modifier. So is it clear as written? Would you write it up differently as a 3d6 RKA with a naked advantage on 15 points of the RKA for an explosion? I'm not really looking for point efficiency (both of them should total to the same) but clarity. And as always I'm looking for more general feedback as well. Does it feel too Dark Champions? Is it too complicated? Is the damage too high for agents? Too low to be a threat to what you consider your average brick?

Re: Everybody Has Powers! (source material request) Doh! How could I have forgotten? Bicycle Repairman On a more serious note, there are several different ones listed here (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EveryoneIsASuper). Although I've never read either of them you might try to try Top 10 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_10_(comics)) and Lanfeust (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanfeust_of_Troy).

Re: RFC: ACW-10 "Talon" Combat Rifle Partly. It was motivated by trying to balance cost/damage. Adding the +1 stun modifier makes the attacks 2d6+1 and 2d6 AP.

Re: Everybody Has Powers! (source material request) Normalman

Re: RFC: ACW-10 "Talon" Combat Rifle Actually I've also got a variant written up that used Blasts instead of RKAs for the primary attack. Just didn't want to overload the first post. Additionally this really isn't meant as a weapon for the players. It is meant primarily as an NPC weapon, hence not worrying quite so much about things like an actual limitation for the full phase delay if switching bullets but not grenades. If I were writing it up for Dark Champions I would probably be adding things like the Real Gun limitation, requires 2 hands, etc. I'd probably also tune the damage to be a bit lower. As the current damage sits I think it would probably shred most DC heroes pretty quickly. But that does bring up the original reason for the RFC. The game that I originally created Cartel for was very much a DC style (DC didn't actually exist at the time). The original gun were basically just M-16s with M203 grenade launchers and the Cartel agents used pretty straightforward grenades. I've been out of Champions for over 20 years and in that time things have moved on a bit and I'm trying to get an impression of where the 'world at large' sits. Saying the gun feels too Dark Champions is a perfectly acceptable response, btw. Would modifying the attacks to being largely or even completely Blast based instead of RKAs fix that or is the overall concept of gun with grenade launcher just too DC? What about the damage levels? To high/low for a standard superhero campaign? Is the +2 OCV +3 Range combination of Inherent Accuracy and Laser Sight for standard agents over the top (especially when combined with levels)?

Re: The Good and Bad about Marvel and DC Not to mention Professor Xavier about every 10 years. Isn't he about due?

Re: RFC: ACW-10 "Talon" Combat Rifle Sorry. It's for 6th ed. Math is included for the slots so if you can tell me what's off with shaped charge it would be great (Compound power with 45 and 26 active points, 71 AP according to my math). edit: 6th says "The GM may restrict which types of CSLs a character can Limit; for example he might rule that only 3-point or more expensive CSLs can have Limitations." So that's sort of indefinite to me. One of the reasons for the RFC was for things like that. I don't know if lots of people say that no, you have to have at least 3-point CSLs for limitations or if that is rare.

Request For Comments: Having been out of the game for a long time I've recently started encouraging my son to pick up the Hero System and as a result I'm getting back into it as well. I'm dusting off an old concept of mine from about 20 years back and am looking for comments/critiques/ideas/etc. Cartel: Founded in the mid 80's by the owners of several advanced manufacturing companies Cartel is motivated by a simple goal; profit. To be more specific Cartel is interested in the profits that can be made from the current situation created by supercriminals and the heroes who try to stop them. Initially concerning itself with the manufacture of arms and armaments for various villains Cartel quickly branched out into additional profit producing fields such as the training of henchmen, laundering of money, genetic enhancements, providing logistics and support in the form of trained agents, both non-powered and powered to villains willing to pay their prices, as well as providing services as a clearing house and arbitrator for supervillains interested in contacting and working with other (non-Cartel) villains. ACW-10 "Talon" Combat Rifle: In many ways the gold standard for firearms in the post-superhuman world. Created in 2010 by one of Cartel's various arms manufacturing companies as something of a showpiece weapon the Talon is too expensive for wide scale military deployment but sees a great deal of use in smaller scale. It is the standard firearm of most Cartel combat agents as well as enjoying a high degree of popularity among the various support personnel of quite a few criminal enterprises. Of course all weapons that are used illegally arrive on the street after being 'stolen' from the manufacturer in order to keep the company's hands clean. As a result the Talon is also deployed by the superhuman response units in many major cities, often being sold at a discount as escalating the power available to superhuman response units increases the demand from criminal organizations for Cartel's services. Composed of high tech polymers and alloys the Talon is a light weight assault rifle capable of firing three round bursts of high calibre ammunition. The clip of the Talon holds 30 rounds and includes built in sensors capable of monitoring the amount of ammunition remaining in the magazine and passing the data along to the optional Advanced Combat Electronic Sight (ACES). Typical load out for most consist of 4 magazines of ammunition of either regular or armor-piercing ammunition. Beneath the barrel of the gun is a specialized launcher. The launcher utilizes a cylinder capable of holding 6 specialized 40mm shells. Controls on the side of the launcher enable the user to quickly fire whichever of the shells they so desire. [TABLE=class: grid, width: 100%] [TR] [TD]Points[/TD] [TD]Power[/TD] [TD]END[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]35[/TD] [TD]ACW-10 "Talon" Combat Rifle: Multipower, 71-point reserve, (71 Active Points); all slots OAF (Rifle; -1)[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]Inherent Accuracy: (Total: 4 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) +1 OCV on Autofire (2 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1) (Real Cost: 1) plus +2 range on autofire (2 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1) (Real Cost: 1)[/TD] [TD]0[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Possible slots for the multipower include: [TABLE=class: grid, width: 100%] [TR] [TD]Points[/TD] [TD]Power[/TD] [TD]END[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]3f[/TD] [TD]Autofire: RKA 2 1/2d6, Autofire (3 shots; +1/4) (70 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), Beam (-1/4), 4 clips of 30 Charges (+1/2)[/TD] [TD][30][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]3f[/TD] [TD]Autofire: RKA 2d6+1, Autofire (3 shots; +1/4), Armor Piercing (+1/4) (70 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), Beam (-1/4), 4 clips of 30 Charges (+1/2)[/TD] [TD][30][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2f[/TD] [TD]Fragmentation Grenade: RKA 3d6, Area Of Effect (20m Radius Explosion; +1/2) (67 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 1-6 Charges (-3/4)[/TD] [TD][1-6][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2f[/TD] [TD]Concussion Grenade: Blast 9d6, Area Of Effect (20m Radius Explosion; +1/2) (67 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 1-6 Charges (-3/4)[/TD] [TD][1-6][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1f[/TD] [TD]Flashbang Grenade: Sight and Hearing Groups Flash 6d6, Area Of Effect (14m Radius Explosion; +1/4) (44 Active Points); 1-4 Charges (-1), OAF (Rifle; -1)[/TD] [TD][1-4][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2f[/TD] [TD]Flashbang Grenade: Sight and Hearing Groups Flash 6d6, Area Of Effect (14m Radius Explosion; +1/4) (44 Active Points); 5-6 Charges (-3/4), OAF (Rifle; -1)[/TD] [TD][5-6][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2f[/TD] [TD]Smoke Grenade: Darkness to Sight Group 14m radius (70 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 1-3 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-3/4), Limited Power (Doesn't block IR perception; -0)[/TD] [TD][1-3cc][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]3f[/TD] [TD]Smoke Grenade: Darkness to Sight Group 14m radius (70 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 4-6 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-1/4), Limited Power (Doesn't block IR perception; -0)[/TD] [TD][4-6cc][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2f[/TD] [TD]Shaped Charge: (Total: 71 Active Cost, 25 Real Cost) RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing (+1/4), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4) (45 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 1-6 Charges (-3/4) (Real Cost: 16) plus RKA 1d6, Area Of Effect (8m Radius Explosion; +1/4), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4), Armor Piercing (+1/4) (26 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 1-6 Charges (-3/4), Limited Power: Armor piercing only works on target directly hit by the attack and not against targets simply caught within the explosion. (-0) (Real Cost: 9)[/TD] [TD][1-6][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1f[/TD] [TD]Flechette Shell: RKA 4d6 (60 Active Points); 1-2 Charges (-1 1/2), OAF (Rifle; -1), Reduced By Range (-1/4), Reduced Penetration (-1/4)[/TD] [TD][1-2][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2f[/TD] [TD]Flechette Shell: RKA 4d6 (60 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 3-6 Charges (-3/4), Reduced By Range (-1/4), Reduced Penetration (-1/4)[/TD] [TD][3-6][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] When equipping a character with a Talon they will chose one of the first two slots (alternately they could chose both and have 4 clips of regular ammunition and 4 clips of armor piercing ammunition). Any of the remaining slots can be chosen although the gun is limited to a maximum of 6 shells. There's no particular limitation on this and it is simply a function of the weapon's special effect. Likewise while there is no explicit limitation a character who has both armor piercing and regular bullets who wishes to swap between them must spend a full phase action changing between those two slots to represent switching clips. Any other switching of the multipower is a standard zero phase action (although it is not possible to change from standard ammunition to a shell and then to armor piercing ammunition without spending the full phase to change clips). Optional sights for the Talon include: [TABLE=class: grid, width: 100%] [TR] [TD]Points[/TD] [TD]Power[/TD] [TD]END[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]Laser Sight: (Total: 5 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) +1 OCV with all rifle attacks (3 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), Limited Power: Only out to 125m (-0) (Real Cost: 1) plus +1 range with rifle attacks (2 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), Limited Power: Only out to 125m (-0) (Real Cost: 1)[/TD] [TD]0[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]ACES (Advanced Combat Electronic Sight): (Total: 7 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) +1 OCV with all rifle attacks (3 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), Limited Power: Only when shooter braces and/or sets (-1) (Real Cost: 1) plus +2 range with rifle attacks (4 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), Limited Power: Only when shooter braces and/or sets (-1) (Real Cost: 1)[/TD] [TD]0[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Because the slots represent things that might possibly be carried rather than what is absolutely carried the final cost of the gun can vary depending upon its configuration. As an example: "Brick Killer" loadout: [TABLE=class: grid, width: 100%] [TR] [TD]Points[/TD] [TD]Power[/TD] [TD]END[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]35[/TD] [TD]ACW-10 "Talon" Combat Rifle: Multipower, 71-point reserve, (71 Active Points); all slots OAF (Rifle; -1)[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]3f[/TD] [TD]1) Autofire: RKA 2d6+1, Autofire (3 shots; +1/4), Armor Piercing (+1/4) (70 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), Beam (-1/4), 4 clips of 30 Charges (+1/2)[/TD] [TD][30][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1f[/TD] [TD]2) Flashbang Grenade: Sight and Hearing Groups Flash 6d6, Area Of Effect (14m Radius Explosion; +1/4) (44 Active Points); 2 Charges (-1), OAF (Rifle; -1)[/TD] [TD][2][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2f[/TD] [TD]3) Smoke Grenade: Darkness to Sight Group 14m radius (70 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Turn (-3/4), Limited Power (Doesn't block IR perception; -0)[/TD] [TD][1cc][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2f[/TD] [TD]4) Shaped Charge: (Total: 71 Active Cost, 25 Real Cost) RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing (+1/4), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4) (45 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 3 Charges (-3/4) (Real Cost: 16) plus RKA 1d6, Area Of Effect (8m Radius Explosion; +1/4), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4), Armor Piercing (+1/4) (26 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), 3 Charges (-3/4), Limited Power: Armor piercing only works on target directly hit by the attack and not against targets simply caught within the explosion. (-0) (Real Cost: 9)[/TD] [TD][3][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]Inherent Accuracy: (Total: 4 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) +1 OCV on Autofire (2 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1) (Real Cost: 1) plus +2 range on autofire (2 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1) (Real Cost: 1)[/TD] [TD]0[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]Laser Sight: (Total: 5 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) +1 OCV with all rifle attacks (3 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), Limited Power: Only out to 125m (-0) (Real Cost: 1) plus +1 range with rifle attacks (2 Active Points); OAF (Rifle; -1), Limited Power: Only out to 125m (-0) (Real Cost: 1)[/TD] [TD]0[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]47[/TD] [TD]Total[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete Pretty much all eReaders can support some form of tables. The problem is more typically that it is a P.I.T.A. to properly format all the tables, especially for the relatively small screens of most eReaders.

Re: What would you put this limitation At? It would depend on how often he's in the present. Seems like a pretty straightforward example of a Conditional Limited Power: -0 Very Uncommon (character is rarely, if ever, limited) -¼ Uncommon (character is limited about a fourth of the time) -½ Common (character is limited about a third of the time) -1 Very Common (character is limited about half the time) -1½ Extremely Common (character is limited over half the time) -2 Ubiquitous (character almost never gets to use power) So if 75% of the time you find yourself in the present day it's a -1/4. If he only finds himself in the present about 2/3 of the time then it is a -1/2. My guess is you're probably looking at about a -1/4 but YMMV, and that's what's important with conditional limitations like that. Just because one character has a -1/4 limitation for not in water another character might get a much higher limitation because their campaign takes place next to the ocean and lots of the encounters take place by the ocean.

Was there math involved in the final cost calculations of the levels of Growth or were the numbers just sort of pulled from the air? (recognizing that the Growth costs are somewhat close to what could be done by purchasing stats with various limitations such as costing END even when not in use, being constant rather than persistent, etc.) I ask because I'm looking to create a character with a bit more granularity in their growth ability. I know there are in-between levels listed in the APG but since they are dividing a lot of things in half rather than a third the numbers come up very awkward.

Re: How would you Build Spidey's Web Shooters? I'd be surprised if you could use 32 charges in 3 turns unless you've got something like autofire. Since you are probably only really using them no more than once per round (with the possible exception of using up charges for swinging) with the occasional exception of multiple attacks and there will most likely be rounds where you don't use them at all because you are dodging attacks/diving for cover or just plain punching/kicking someone I would imagine in 3 turns you would use up about SPD*1.5 or so. Considering how often Spiderman runs out of web fluid (granted, it isn't that often but he doesn't often go through more than 1 or two fights in a row) and 8 clips is probably way to much as well. Considering you're using so much less web fluid to swing as when you are webbing someone up I probably wouldn't want that to use up a full charge and so I would take it out of the multipower, reduce its END cost to 0, and take a small limitation (-0 to -1/4) that you can't use swinging when you are out of charges. I'm a big fan of Endurance Reserves under earlier editions back when it functioned more like charges (you could even have clips) and suspect I would probably still lean towards an END reserve. If we assume you use roughly 6 END per use and a 6 SPD then that's 54 END for 3 turns (using my earlier logic). Extend that to, say, 4 encounters an it is 216. That's 54 active points plus 2 more for 3 points of recovery which makes it 56, which does seem like a lot except that you add the -2 for limited recovery, -2 for slow recovery (1 recovery per 5 minutes which means it takes 6 hours to make a complete batch), and the -1/4 for IIF and it only costs you 11 points. If you want to be even more 'accurate' to the comic you could probably apply a (small) Limited Power limitation that breaks your Endurance Reserve into clips that require an action to switch out every so often. (EDIT: Just realized you can make the effect even more accurate to the comics but doubling the reserve and adding another small Limited Power limitation to the remaining half that to access that part of the reserve you first have to go home. This simulates fluid that is already completed but which isn't being carried. Final cost: 56 Active with -2 for limited recovery, -2 for slow recovery, -1/4 because it is broken into 4 'clips', -1/4 for IIF (10 CP) + 54 active points with -2 limited recovery, -2 slow recovery, -1/4 for being broken into clips, -1/4 for having to go home, -1/4 for IIF (9 CP) = 19 CP.)

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete Post hoc ergo propter hoc. I suspect that Champions: New Millennium's failure might have had to do with things other than the cover. That said, I agree that I don't think the game really needs to use overt sex appeal on the cover to generate sales. I'm actually very excited about CC because I think that the lowered economic barrier to entry ($40 instead of $80-115) as well as looking a lot less intimidating at 240 pages will help encourage new players.