Basil

Re: Alternatives to the Speed Chart from DH Both points here rely on you being willing to keep track of what segment it is (1-12) or of how long each Turn-reliant effect has been in play. If you are, great...you'll have the precision you seek. I'd rather not. The point for me is to get rid of the SPD chart entirely while keeping different SPD values relative to each other and to Segment 12. I've found it works okay this way, keeps my nose out of a checklist during play, and eliminates debates about what Turn it is or how many Segments have passed. With our system, there is no "Segment 6 of Turn 2." Each Segment is equivalent to all others. Well, to each his own. I'd go with your system, except for the end-of-Turn/XTime-1-Turn business. I don't really like randomness that that gets. Other than that, it's a great system. In particular, it keeps players focused on the game, rather than going, "It's another 4 segments till I can act again, so I'm gonna read/veg-out/yatter away."

Re: Alternatives to the Speed Chart from DH Oh, sorry, thought you'd gotten it from there. I guess "parrallel evolution" never occured to me. Sorry, my bad. I felt the same way at first, and that's surely a more accurate way to do things. However, we found that the bookkeeping was a hassle and slowed things down at times. Ya just gotta find your own balance between playability and precision. Hmmm.... Maybe it's just me, but I don't see that there'd be much more bookkeeping. "OK, it's Segment 6 of Turn 2. BigMage, your spell doesn't go off until Segment 6 of Turn 3. OtherMage, *your* spell has 'Extra Time: Extra Segment,' so the next time you roll a -- what, 5? yeah, OK 5 or less -- your spell goes off at your DEX on the *following* Segment." A little complex, but then "Delayed Phase" or "Extra Segment" isn't exactly dead simple anyway. BTW, I don't like the "roll a 12 to get a post-12-recovery" part. Bad rolls, and your character never gets to recover. I'd stick with getting Recoveries once a Turn. (NB: yes, I know a character can 'pause' a phase and Recover. Doesn't apply to the point I'm making here.)

Re: Opinions requested on an application of Side Effects Two issues arise out of this. First, the "common sense result". Is this the only logical result? The character achieves Indirect by bouncing his attack. The RSR roll could certainly be taken to mean "He fires his arrow, and it takes a bad bounce because the character miscaculated the angles". In that case,it makes sense for a failed RSR to equal a failed attack (charge and phase lost). However, the RSR could also be taken to mean "The Archer glances arund for a suitable surface off which to bounce his attack, however he finds none suitable for his archery. He must either fire a direct shot or select a different action". In this case, the ability to fire directly after a failed roll makes sense. Your second scenario doesn't really apply. Please note this from the originating post Thus the idea is: if the RSR is missed, the attack mis-bounces. Only if you assume your second scenario. Since the OP talked about a mis-bounce, this is a not-actually-*limiting* "Limitation", written down in the power's description for the sake of clarity. (and, to be honest, to prevent a "take-back" by a player -- "Well, I didn't *really* aim away from the intended target.") Was that a request for a translation? If so, I'd go with "Laedo ergo sum." Unless you mean "I am being hurt, therefore I am" (i.e., you want the subjunctive); that would be "Laedor ergo sum." You could replace "sum" with "me oportet esse" or "debeo esse", but those have the sense of "must" meaning "am required to, am obbligated to." Since I believe you mean "must" in the sense of "it is an inescapable conclusion that", you'd best stick with "sum" which in Latin is more forceful than "am" is in English.

Re: How to: Reverse persistant? Desolidification, Reduced Endurance (0 END, +1/2), Persistant (+1/2), Trigger (at will or whenever KO'd, +1/4), 90 Active Points. Admittedly, that's an odd pair of triggering circumstances. OTOH, I don't see why you can't jus say the character can activate the power whenever he wants, applying dramatic sense and common sense to this particular power.

Re: Opinions requested on an application of Side Effects I'd get away from Side Effect. Turn the limitations into Requires A Skill Roll and Must Shift Point Of Aim Away From Intended Target (-0). Ordinarily, the second one of those would be considered part of the SFX/appearance of Indirect, but in this case the character is forced to "aim aside" in order to try to have Indirect. Since he might fail to get Indirect (due to failing the Requires A Skill Roll), he is therefore forced to miss the target entirely. This takes what MitchellS (and others) pointed out was a based-on-common-sense result, and puts in place a game mechanic to handle it. IOW, instead of just assuming a fail-to-Indirect would be a clean miss, and instead of the is-it-enough-negative-OCVs-to-force-a-miss problem, you have a clear statement that yes, failing the RSR blows the shot. Since shifting the point of aim is almost certainly needed for Indirect anyway, I'd give the Limitation no more than -0. YMMV.

Re: Alternatives to the Speed Chart from DH I liked this idea when I first read it in AC#21, and I still like it. However, I'd make anything with Extra Time go by actual time passed, not by "luck o' the dice". Oh, and Hugh -- what you suggest doesn't change the probabilities, but does mean the Speed Chart still needs to be referred to. Of course, if someone wants to keep the Speed Chart in people's minds even while experimenting with another method, that's a good thing. But it *is* an extra complication... Since under the method etherio's talking about, each player rolls his own d12, the amount of die rolling is not all that different.

Re: Master List of Distinctive Features Thank you, Kristopher, Worldmaker, Krieghandt, and SKJAM. Oh, and Kristopher -- my imagination is coming up with nothing. Please either explain discreetly, or PrivateMessage me. Thanks.

Re: Master List of Distinctive Features What in the world does "Rode Hard And Put Away Wet" mean????

Re: When I Am the Benevolent Ruler.... When I am the Benevolent Ruler, I will remember the "The greatest good of the greatest number" is a meaningless noise, because one can never tell who makes up "the greatest number," one cannot compare "good"s to tell which is "the greatest," and one cannot know ahead of time what all the ramifications of an action are going to be. Instead, I will simply act sensibly (and cautiously) to give my people a chance to improve their lives. I will also learn from my mistakes, rather than repeating them in the hopes the result I wanted will eventually occur.

Re: The Dogs of War (AD&D canines for HERO) Yes they are. From the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., Micropaedia, under "fox": "fox, any of various members of the dog family (Canidae) resembling small to medium-sized, bushy-tailed dogs with long fur, pointed ears, relatively short legs, and narrow snouts."

Re: More USPD OK, 'bout what I expected. Well, I'll certainly be buying it when it comes out.

Re: Need help on powers One thing to remember about Usable As Attack: it only works against 100 kg of an inanimate object; to ba able to effect more mass, you have to increase the cost of the Advantage (+1/4 more for each doubling of mass). Don't know how important that is to the OP, but I thought it wise to bring it up.

Re: More USPD

Re: Comliness Perk I can see the point to removing COM from the Characteristics; it doesn't get that much use, really. However, to quote 5th Ed. p. 55 "Perks (or Perquisites) are useful resources, items, privileges, and contacts to which a character has special access. Perks are not innate abilites, but rather special benefits the character enjoys." As well, only Reputation has specific, game-effecting number attached to it--and frankly, that's why I object to Rep-as-a-Perk; it goes against the "feel" of the other Perks. I suggest that, since COM-as-Perk (as discussed so far) seems to be very oriented towards effects in play, that COM would be better done as either specialized Skill Levels, or as a Skill Enhancer. After all, if someone is really good looking, and used to using his looks, he would have learned/acquired Skill that use his looks; this would best be simulated as reduced costs for appropriate Skills. Comely: The character picks up certain Skills more easily. -1 Character Point for Bribery, Conversation, High Society, Persuasion, and Seduction. This list is just a quick thought; it might be amended. As for "so ugly he scares people" that's, IMO, best done as +PRE, only to frighten. At least, I can't see any need for a Perk or other game mechanism.

Re: Bringing up Everyman Skills Basil leaves, crushed, offended, and made more cynical by the abuse heaped on him. Particularly having his size mocked---1/4 teaspoon indeed!

Re: Bringing up Everyman Skills Ah, thanks for bringing that up; I was going to, but you got there first. Yes, 4th Edition's "some ES's you pay full price to upgrade, some you get a price-break on" was a bit confusing. However, once you realized that's what the inadequite text meant, it was easy enough to deal with. Now, what's this "Everyman lists have been expanded" bafflegab? Sure, 5th Ed. page 29 has added Acting and Persuasion to the "modern" list of ESs in 4th Ed., but AK: Home, PS: whatever, and Local Language have been dropped! And that makes no sense at all to me. I mean, your character's almost certainaly knows the basics of his home, his language, and his job (side note: I always thought you should get one point of ES in a PS, KS, or SC, not neccesarily in only a PS). Oh sure, 5th Ed. p.43 mentions getting a free 4-point Language, but why isn't that mentioned on p.29? Whether a price-break for all ESs, for some, or for none is best, is a matter for each GM, IMO. However, the official rules say, no price-breaks, however.

Re: Internet and cell phones Just because the characters call for help doesn't mean they'll get it. Oh, and just to make them think twice about using their cell phones? Remember, if yer cell phone is on, you can be located. With GPS-equipped phones, you can be located to within a few dozen meters, because all GPS-equiped phones broadcast your location all the time they are on!! And don't bother mentioning "encryption." Every encryption scheme cell-phones apply to their position-broadcasting is broken within a week or two---and that's the cracks that are announced by hackers!; the NSA probably breaks 'em within minutes. In fact, some cell phones keep in touch with the nearest tower, if the battery's in. Those kind, don't even need to be turned on. Yep, your players' characters' are being tracked 24/7 by all their Hunteds. Now, that'll make 'em leave their cell phones at home! Even if their phones need to be turned on before they inform the nearest tower where they are, imagine the dilemma: "Do I turn on my phone so Matt can contact me if he's in trouble, or do I leave it off so Dr. Nasty can't hack the phone system and find exactly where I am?" How to give your players ulcers.

Re: Bases. How are floors determend

Re: Bases. How are floors determend The only place I've seen the whole area&volume subject mentioned is p.209 of Star Hero. That basically says that for planets, ringworlds, and Dyson spheres, use the basic rule, which is that you only pay for floor area; height is ignored. For "orbitals" (and damn I wish that term was more fully explained), you buy volume, not area. However, this is treated much too briefly, and it's unclear what unit of volume is being used. Star Hero says, "...an interior volume of 8 quadrillion cubic hexes..." Now, what's a "cubic hex"? A cube 2 meters on a side (therefore 8 cubic meters), or a hexagonal prism (the hex face 2 meters between opposite sides), 2 meters high (and therefore 4*spr(3) cubic meters)? There's a~15% difference there! Anyway, unless your base is in outer space (or perhaps, for modern/pre-modern settings, underground) where you have to pay for each cubic meter, just assume the ceiling's as high as makes sense.

OK, I guess I wasn't clear about my last question (see "naked anti-Limitations"). I was asking about doing a "buy-off" of a Limitation, as a separate "power" a la naked Advantages. The point that doesn't seem to have gotten through (my fault, I suppose), is that I'm asking how to remove a Limitation from someone else's power, without knowing ahead of time all the details of that other power. To update my example: I want my character to be able to remove (or reduce, maybe??) Increased Endurance on anyone else's fire-based power. Since I don't know ahead of time all the details of whatever fire powers my character may need to apply this power to, can I just base the (Base) Cost of this power on the maximum Active Points he can effect? Or do I base the (Base) Cost on the number of points of difference? Obviously, this is going to need Usable By Other, and may have other Advantages and Limitations, but I'm asking how to determine the Base Points. Also, would such a power become Instant (a la naked Advantages), or does that depend on the power being effected? I've got a couple of neat little ideas for the USPD that depend on this, so I eagerly await your reply.

I'm not even sure "naked anti-Limitations" is what they'd be called, and I sure don't know how to do 'em. In fact, I've never seen one written up. What I'm talking about is a "power" that removes a Limitation from another power. It would look something vaguely like: This would let the character with this power remove the Always On Limitation for his or another's Fire Power. I guess its base cost would be derived from the Active Points of the power to be effected, the number of base points being the difference between the points with and without the limitation (in the above example, 60 - (60/(1 + 1/2)) = 20), with Advantages and Limitations figured on the base cost as any normal power. However, if I consider "naked Advantages" as a guideline, I have to wonder if a naked anti-Limitation is turned into an Instant, costs-END, power? Is there anything else I'm missing?

Re: Fantasy coinage Could you please give the URL of the exact page you found that on? I'm wondering when-about that evaluation is from. Actually, the "metal value" would depend on how pure the government made their coins---please note, historically no coins were pure metal for two honest and one dishonest reasons 1) Pure gold, silver, or even copper are too soft for use; they would bend, break, and wear away much too readily. Hence, they had to be alloyed 2) Coining is a expensive process. The 'cost' of this was reflected by decreasing the amount of metal to pay for the coining. 3) Governments make debased coins to pay their debtors with. I've dealt with the effects of economy and reputation on the worth of specie, already. Now, if people are measuring coin values against a money of account, that's a different story. Then it makes sense to talk about the effects of the local economy on the "value" of coins; that is, when the economy is good, any particular amount of gold/silver/copper/whateverium has a lower worth, compared to a non-inflated/non-depreciated standard. In times of poor economy, the reverse. Without knowing the silver content of A's silver pieces, the gold content of B's gold pieces, and which silver pieces gold is going for 10 of, the problem cannot be solved.

Re: Fantasy coinage

Re: Fantasy coinage That is only true of fiat money. Specie (currency in gold, silver, or other things of intrinsic value) will not have their value altered by the health of the issuing country's economy. The only effect of the country's "reputation" will be to make the currency more or less acceptable before the coins are tested. Once tested, they will be accepted at their actual worth. True, specie may have a change in value with change in location. OTOH, it is certainly in keeping with fantasy literature to ignore this real-life complication. As well, it is in keeping with fantasy literature to ignore any change in value across time. Since this both mirrors fantasy literature and simplifies the GM's job, they are both good ideas. As already mentioned, this has little relevence with specie (contrasted to fiat money). Goods and services have the value that they fetch in the market. There is no independant "value" separate from how much gold/silver/copper/whateverium they fetch.

Re: Fantasy coinage That's only true in Europe - the chinese had been using fiat money for centuries, although initially only for internal governmental transactions, it rapidly expanded into general use. Marco Polo - or whoever he got his stories from, depending on what you believe - mentioned paper currency in general use in the 13th century. Prior to that, squares of leather, painted with bright colours were used. These have been dated back to the second century BC. cheers, Mark Good point. I stand corrected.