Remjin

Re: Equillibrium via Dark Champions

Hello everyone, recently watched Equillibrium again and was thinking... how would you represent something like the Gun Kata skills? Would you make good use of skills and combat options or would you use powers? I'd love to see how you'd represent it, as I like some of the concepts therein, and it makes for great visuals in any case. I tried the powers route for a Champions game via Energy Blast, Radius, No Range, Hole in the Middle... OAF, Gestures. =) I'd like a better way of doing it if possible.

Re: US Military .45 Pistols Heck, there's been lots of studies that proved lots of things... I don't pretend to know which is right or anything of the sort. I just know shooting my .44 (in my S&W 629 V-comp) is fun, and shooting at my father-in-law's scrapyard at abandoned cars makes it interesting. With just the cheap stuff, in a 240 grain jacketed soft point (I think it was 240 grain.. been a while since I've shot that gun) I had lots of penetration... which would support your "went right through" which just made it interesting. Note: I did avoid any "hard" parts of the vehicles like rotors, engine block, etc. No idea if that makes much of a man-stopper, but since a lot of handgun hunters use it to kill animals, I guess it makes it a something-stopper. =) The most common wisdom I've read on handgun rounds for self-defense, which I guess applies to combat as well, that made any sense to me was: shot placement counts for more than caliber. Sounds smart to me. *shrug* In the meantime, I like my .45, because it hits what I aim at and its at that nice place in felt power that falls just below being hard to shoot and well above feeling like a cork-gun. Any handgun is a poor substitute for a full-sized weapon, its biggest benefit seems to be convenience and being at hand. I'd much rather have a shotgun or rifle at hand if the poo-poo hits the fan, so to speak; but the best would be to be hidden away somewhere nice and safe with a blanket, some food, a pillow, a light, and something nice to read.

Re: DC inspired by TV C'mon, just admit it... your wife tolerates you watching it. Movies into DC games... 1. Blade (more vampire hunting) 2. Equillibrium (a world where emotions are supressed by a fascist government and rebels fight against it, plus the clerics are pretty cool =) 3. Batman 4. Mission: Impossible 1-3 (espionage and other "covert" missions) 5. any James Bond 6. Hard Boiled (more rounds fired than any movie I've ever seen, and pretty creatively) 7. The Killer (assassin with a conscience) Any could be fun, plus all those mentioned above.

Re: US Military .45 Pistols Argh, that stinks... I assume I have a low stun total.

Re: US Military .45 Pistols Again, exactly what I'd like to avoid.

Re: US Military .45 Pistols Remember, also, that body armor comes in several levels, and even then it depends on where you hit. The highest level of body armor is supposed to be able to stop some rifle rounds (note, SOME) but only at distance and if it hits one of the ballistic plates. I agree on .44 magnum, its a nice round, but not exaclty the easiest for fast follow-up shots without a lot of practice. Most mid to high body armor will stop a .45 slug, but then, no body armor covers the head, legs, or arms... and even though body armor may stop the bullet from entering your body, it does not make it "bounce off" harmlessly. It still hurts, you're still going to get the energy of the round, it just won't penetrate through your body. Best analagy I've heard about getting hit by a round that doesn't go through is to imagine being hit by a baseball bat swung by a pro baseball homerun hitter. Personally, I'm allergic to lead, especially at high velocity, and tend to avoid it at all costs.

Re: DC Art Findings Thread Darker shades may be an answer, plus more linear elements rather than the spray... or if using the spray, being more liberal with it, like Jae Lee did for some comics back in the 90s. =)

Re: US Military .45 Pistols Something else to consider is that a lot of the special operations people are using 1911s again... as well as FBI and others. Last I'd heard, the H&K USP in .45 was being employed as well, and an order had been made, but that was a few months ago. Would be good to see the US using their traditional round again... nothing wrong with a .45. The only problem with all the various double-stack versions of the .45 is grip size, which may be a concern for dispersing to a wide variety of troops in a wide variety of sizes.

Re: More Help Please Or maybe he means "Force" powers ala Star Wars...? =) Well, thinking in the vein of Force as just kinetic energy or something... perhaps he is simply a telekinetic of sorts? A psychic in some form, rendered from the mysterious forces of the universe, with a simple ability to manifest his will upon the physical world. So perhaps he has a tumor or a stroke and it simply awakens a part of his brain. =) Or a good hit in the head...

Re: New Supers Miniature Line Thanks for the info on the "IIRC" =) I'll have to check Fenryll out. If the price is right, I don't see a problem. A lot of the anime style resin kits are more reasonable in price (if you can find a place that sells the characters that aren't all pinup or lewd in content) and I've seen others... but GW has priced them out of most people's hands for the bigger stuff (Squiggoth, Mammoth, etc.). Yeah, the plasticard Baneblade I heard of... and have seen, and it looked cool. Talk about a good deal, y'know? I'm all for trying somethign new and experimenting, but I just don't have the will to do very much anymore. After building and painting probably 100 armies over the course of working for GW, I just got burnt out on it. I hardly ever build or paint models anymore. I'll have to check out the Digital Hero stuff sometime, but it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.... so perhaps later.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. oooh.. lively today. =)

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. I'm not really sure what his world is like, not being a long time poster on this forum, but I get the impression its supposed to be somewhat on the dark side, mysterious and pretty serious sort of thing? I don't know how you do your art, Storn, since I'm no artist... but you mentioned watercolors and digital, and from seeing some of your other stuff, could you maybe work in something similar to the old oriental ink paintings style maybe? I don't know how that works, exactly, but it seems to be nothign more than inks used like watercolors with the diffusion and such to create shades of color. If you could render characters in that style and perhaps use the positive/negative types of fields of like maybe a Sin City kind of artwork, or something in that vein of "suggestion of details" versus actual detail, that might be a good look. *shrug* Like I said, no idea how that would come together, closest to art I get is painting miniatures and drooling on other people's great work. Ugh, so gonna commission a pic soon...

Re: Energy Body...... yeah, just having the DR's as "Only in Hero ID" would cover the only in energy body thing.

Re: Need help with a Group name. a suggestion to induce groans.. with the Hunter leading, you could always name the group "Safari" =)

Re: New Supers Miniature Line I've stopped doing it much, except with minor use. It just takes forever, so I've taken to just bending the piece, cutting and puttying, or just skipping it and finding another piece. Yes. Frankly, its a pain in a lot of ways. Most resin comes as a casting mess. Forgeworld stuff I have run through tons of, and frankly, its a mess. Just flashing the stuff is a mess. The cheaper stuff (armorcast and the various other resin makers out there) is just as bad or worse. As a whole, if you want to spend a LOT of time working with the stuff, there is some very neat stuff out there with it. If you want to cut and modify it, its a nightmare mess, and its expensive. I have currently made and modified three pieces of resin stuff, all from Forgeworld, and assembled several from Armorcast and a few other makers. My recommendation is that if you're going to buy a piece, be able to see it first, there is a lot of resin that comes broken, bent, or messed up. It will easily get bent by heat (during transit, storage, or otherwise). Cutting it requires a breathing mask, at least one of those cheapies, better with a professional set, and only slowly as too much cutting could deform it. I used a dremel to cut most of mine, and it held up okay, but I took breaks after a piece started melting on me. It cuts easily enough, but it sprays really fine dust everywhere and its really bad for you. Safety glasses are also a really good idea. It frays, a lot, so follow up filing is also a must, but it cuts clean. Its just the edges that get that way, it cuts clean otherwise... just leaves fraying for whatever reason. Basically, it doesn't seem worth all the money, honestly. I have so far converted one Baneblade (looted for Orks, which, btw, really pisses people off... ) one battlewagon (very cool, btw), and one Hydra Flak Tank (also looted for Orks). All in all, it would have been better to just make something on my own, I think. The flak tank was worth it, the Battlewagon was pretty cool in some ways, but just like the Baneblade... just way too expensive for what you get. Better to take the time to build one yourself out of quality material if you already know how to build stuff. Just copy some of their designs if you need some creative basis. The hardest thing to replicate would have been the tank treads and wheels, and not even that hard if you can be creative with a dremel tool at all.

Re: New Supers Miniature Line Oh, I am by no means holding up Games Workshop as a skill and style marker. I was just talking about their plastic kits. I played their games for awhile (heck, i worked for 'em for awhile) and I'm just saying I enjoyed the plastic. While they have some good miniatures, I'm far from saying theirs are the best. Overall, I find every company has something to offer, its just up to me to pick and choose what I like. I don't use the armatures becuase I don't sculpt that well. I can blend things together, make a few knick-knacks and maybe change a face or a few pieces to suit my tastes better, but I can't just outright sculpt anything. I started trying to head down that path but I don't have the time. Overall, I find converting figures to be not too hard, it just depends. Plastic has its pitfalls, its biggest benefit is that it cuts easy. Pewter's benefit is that its more "stretchable" if the pewter quality is good. Plastic tends to deform more when you try to change its shape (using a little heat) or tear. As a whole, I'm more into the look then the volume. I'm more a hobbyist than a player with miniatures... thus, why an army is never done, and figures were always "in progress." I haven't been into it lately, got tired of it, but when I work on them I have fallen into a much quicker ideology of miniatures... enough time to make them look nice, but not so much that its an arduous process. 10-12 hours on a miniature is plenty, from unwrapping through conversion and painting to finish. Like you said, its all in the tastes of the individual. Some like to get it done, some like to drag it out.

Re: Need help with a Group name. Wow... I can't imagine the forethought... that thread is so long but so funny. =)

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. wasn't my intention....

Re: New Supers Miniature Line No insult to what you're doing... but you can tell those are clix because the sculpts still suck. Plastic is easier, yes, which is why I liked Games Workshops plastic kits before they were priced into idiocy... but until clix stop looking like playdough pushed together with popsicle sticks, I'll go with pewter. The idea isn't the ease of it, but the look of it. I'll gladly saw, file, glue, pin, resculpt, etc. if it means I'll have a much better looking fig in the end, which is why I'll probalby be using fantasy/sci-fi miniatures instead of the usual crappy superhero figs out there to make most of my figs. We'll see once I finally get some together. I'm only looking at this now since I finally found a group, I'm figuring on making some miniatures for everyone.

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Neat! A Storn drawn graphic novel? Excellent. Umm... but, to be a nitpicker, on the last page... the 2 frames before the last... you have the bodyguard blocking two swords with an axe in his right hand, and swinging a sword with his left. Then in the next panel, he has the axe in his left hand, sweeping the swords aside. Its the only panel where his axe is in his left hand... I enjoy the style of the artwork, though. Very neat. I always enjoy your work.

Re: Energy Body...... Okay, not too hard, I think.... buy all your powers related to the energy body as "Only in Hero ID," or if its a multipower, just disad the whole multipower with it. Stretching has a subheading for being able to pass through holes, under doors, that sort of thing, if I remember right (no book on hand), and then you can put the disads you stated for it on that. You don't need to buy a lot of stretching for this, so probably not necessary. 1" of stretching would probably be enough. Use an energy blast, no range, damage shield. Then Damage Reduction physical, maybe 50%, and Damge Reduction Energy at 75% to represent the not taking much damage from those sources. The PD/ED option is also good for that, with less calculating, too. Now that I think about it, its probably a better option. =) I believe others have covered other options better than I, so I leave it at that.

Re: Need help with a Group name.

Re: Need help with a Group name. Well, if you want to use MetaMen or whatever, the M design can be done. Look at Bishop or whatever from the X-men lineage. Heck, look what they did with the S in Superman... its more about graphic design than the letter. Uzumaki... Uzumaki... Uzumaki... Uzumaki! Uh... oops, sorry about that. Never been good with team names... but for the headmaster/mistress, a psychic might be a bit obvious. Try something at least a little different, like a technopath (control over technology ala "Sky High") or a retired batman type (mostly skills and mental accurity/strength of willpower). In fact, I'd lean towards the latter, and call him something simple like The Old Man. Respect via knowledge, tactics, and being able to exploit any weakness a student has. As a "normal" that would make him all the more spectacular.

Re: New Supers Miniature Line