Samuraiko

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Bishonen and Bishoujo are the pretty boys and girls of anime (the guys are almost femininely attractive). Hence the cry of "BISHI!". Will send you a PM on anime recommendations. Also give Susano a shout... Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... From last night's DARK GUARDIANS Champions game... Midnight and Avatar (one of the PSI agents, with a COM and PRE of 20 and 25, respectively - we have taken to calling him the "PSI Bishi"... I liken him to Vampire Hunter D in BLOODLUST), along with a few others, head off to Babylon for "the quintessential latte" (don't look at ME). After an entertaining interlude where we nearly got eaten by three carnivorous pick-up trucks, Avatar looks at Midnight. "Want to find a dark alley with me?" (Now, YOU tell me what you thought when you read that. That's what Midnight thought, too. Nope, not quite.) Off we go, leaving the others behind. Now imagine this - a tall, gorgeous red-haired woman in a black trenchcoat, and a tall, gorgeous black-haired guy in a white trenchcoat. We practically SCREAM "Bishi" as we stroll down the alley (we also apparently scream "TARGET"). As it turns out, Avatar's idea of a good time is watching the would-be muggers out of the corner of his eye and then scaring them off with a single glance. Midnight is vaguely amused watching him do this, but to take his ego down a notch, she stops in mid-stride. "So am I just along to break into applause each time you do that?" Avatar looks back over his shoulder, and sees over HER shoulder that lurking in the shadows, there is yet another mugger getting ready to pounce on Midnight. He shrugs and says, "You could do something about the guy behind you." Without missing a single beat, and without turning around (and thanks to a beautiful Clairsentience roll, following by five rapid-fire EGO attacks), Midnight snaps her fingers, and the would-be mugger drops in his tracks, unconscious. Midnight shrugs at Avatar and says: "You can applaud now." Avatar grins and offers her his arm, and off they go. Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Three from this past Saturday's DARK GUARDIANS Champions game... Midnight: "Whisper did not die with intent to defraud!" On the GM trying to remember the other name (the actual Japanese name) for the legendary chain-whip weapon called the "Tail of the Night Dragon": John: "The Whip of Ouchiness!" *much laughter ensues* GM: "No, no, no... it's..." Michelle: "... the Miracle Whip?" *chorus of groans and laughter* During our previous session, a PSI agent named Bodyjack had successfully taken over our brick Qurria'al, who was subsequently taken down by Midnight (in her civilian ID, no less) thanks to rapid-fire Ego Blasts. After she knocked Qurria'al out, Bodyjack reformed into his own body and decked Midnight, then vanished before she could hit him back. As it turned out, the Dark Guardians and a team of six PSI agents now must form an alliance of convenience... and one of the PSI agents is Bodyjack, who suddenly realized that the Dark Guardians' mentalist is the woman he decked in combat earlier that day. Bodyjack: "So, um... no hard feelings, right?" Midnight: "Don't know yet, but I'll let you know." (Shortly after that, the two groups reconvene at Midnight's penthouse suite at a nearby hotel, where she demonstrates her invisibility technique to the PSI agents... by scaring the living CRAP out of Bodyjack.) Midnight: "Nope, no hard feelings." Michelle aka Samuraiko

Does having "No Relative Velocity" on Teleportation kill speed/falling movement for everyone using said power, or just the person who actually has it? (Example: If driving 90 mph in a car, and the person with Teleportation reaches out, grabs hold of the driver, and teleports herself and the driver out of the car, what happens?) Also, is this effect conditional upon either a) having Usable as Attack (reach out, touch someone, teleport them without teleporting me), or having the necessary Increased Mass to teleport someone with me? Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: Playing cards as offensive weapons... No, don't kill her yet. She still has to drive Zephrem crazy for a while longer. And no, I won't play her any more recklessly than I usually do... I'll have my chance for Tarot, don't worry. And as far as the minor arcana go, I have an idea of how to deal with it... Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: Playing cards as offensive weapons... Yeah, the next step is figuring out the Minor Arcana... oy... a 78-slot multipower. My brain hurts just thinking about it. Michelle aka Samuraiko PS - is there someplace other than Hero System Discussion that frameworks like this are shared?

Re: Playing cards as offensive weapons... Here it is... You'll notice that 1) all of the powers are Ultras, and 2) all of them have a Burnout roll (although that varies per power, we wanted to simulate the idea that channeling some were more difficult than others... still need to work with DustRaven because one or two of the powers went weird thanks to HD, but the rough idea is as follows (for them's that want her whole history and stats and such, drop me a line and I'll send you the character): CHARACTER: TAROT Cost Power 62 Major Arcana: Multipower, 62-point reserve 5u 1) The Fool: Drain INT 5d6, Limited Range (+1/4); Activation Roll 14-, Burnout (-1/4) 3u 2) The Magician: Aid Magical Powers 1 1/2d6, Can Add Maximum Of 17 Points, Limited Range (+1/4), all magical powers simultaneously (+2); Activation Roll 11-, Burnout (-3/4), Limited Power Only boosts learned (not-inherent) magical talents (-1/2) 2u 3) The High Priestess: Precognitive, Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Sight Group); Precognition/Retrocognition Only (-1), Time Modifiers (-1/2), Vague and Unclear (-1/2), Activation Roll 13-, Burnout (-1/2) 4u 4) The Empress: Aid EGO, INT, or PRE 3 1/2d6, Limited Range (+1/4), Usable Simultaneously (up to 2 people at once; +1/2); Activation Roll 13-, Burnout (-1/2) 3u 5) The Emperor: Aid STR, DEX, or CON 3 1/2d6, Limited Range (+1/4), Usable Simultaneously (up to 2 people at once; +1/2); Activation Roll 12-, Burnout (-3/4) 3u 6) The Hierophant: Mind Control 10d6 (Human class of minds), Telepathic (+1/4); Activation Roll 11-, Burnout (-3/4) 3u 7) The Lovers: Mind Control 12d6 (Human class of minds); Activation Roll 12-, Burnout (-3/4), Set Effect ("Protect/Aid Me"; -1/2) 5u 8) The Chariot: Teleportation 20", x2 Increased Mass, x4 Noncombat, Safe Blind Teleport (+1/4); Activation Roll 14-, Burnout (-1/4) 4u 9) Strength: Aid INT, EGO, and PRE 2 1/2d6, Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect only affects the recipient of the benefits of the Power; Equivalent Decrease of CON, DEX, and STR; +0), Usable By Other (+1/4), Limited Range (+1/4), [three powers] simultaneously (+1); Activation Roll 12-, Burnout (-1/2) 1u 10) The Hermit: Extra-Dimensional Movement (Single Dimension (to dimension where time does not pass)), Limited Range (+1/4), Usable As Attack (+1); Side Effects (Power rebounds on self; -1), Activation Roll 11-, Burnout (-3/4), Requires An EGO Roll (-3/4) 1u 11) Wheel of Fortune: Luck 3d6, Usable By Other (+1/4), Limited Range (+1/4); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect only affects the recipient of the benefits of the Power; Recipient gains equivalent number of levels of Unluck; -4 1/2), Activation Roll 14-, Burnout (-1/4) 3u 12) Justice: Transfer 2d6 (One primary Characteristic to same primary Characteristic), Can Transfer Maximum Of 23 Points, from any [special effect] power one at a time (+1/4), Variable Effect (To) to any [special effect] power one at a time (+1/4), Limited Range (+1/4); Limited Power Can only transfer enough to make two attributes equal (-1/2), Activation Roll 14-, Burnout (-1/4) 4u 13) The Hanged Man: Drain SPD 5d6, Limited Range (+1/4); Activation Roll 13-, Burnout (-1/2) 3u 14) Death: Killing Attack - Ranged 4d6; Activation Roll 11-, Burnout (-3/4), Limited Range (-1/4) 4u 15) Temperance: Missile Deflection (Any Ranged Attack), Missile Reflection, Adjacent Hex (+1/2); Activation Roll 14-, Burnout (-1/4) 3u 16) The Devil: Mind Control 12d6; Activation Roll 12-, Burnout (-3/4), Set Effect ("Take the path of least resistance"; -1/2) 2u 17) The Tower: Energy Blast 7d6, Explosion (+1/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4); Activation Roll 11-, Burnout (-3/4), Limited Range (-1/4), Only affects targets on the ground (-1/4) 3u 18) The Star: Aid PRE 4d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1/4), Limited Range (+1/4); Limited Power Only to resist PRE attacks (-1), Activation Roll 14-, Burnout (-1/4) 3u 19) The Moon: Mental Illusions 12d6 (Human class of minds); Activation Roll 12-, Burnout (-3/4), Limited Range (-1/4) 4u 20) The Sun: Energy Blast 8d6; Activation Roll 11-, Burnout (-3/4), Limited Range (-1/4) plus Sight Group Flash 4d6; Limited Range (-1/4) 4u 21) Judgment: Minor Transform 5d6 (Person into Person with Psych Lim: Remorse for Doing Proscribed Action (Total), Time), Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a Turn or more to reset; Person performs proscribed action; +1/4); Activation Roll 14-, Burnout (-1/4), Limited Range (-1/4) 3u 22) The World: Healing BODY, STUN and END 3d6, Usable By Other (+1/4), Custom Modifier ([Three powers] restored simultaneously; +3/4); Activation Roll 11-, Burnout (-3/4) (What else would you have expected from someone who's been using tarot decks since she was fourteen?) Enjoy! Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: Playing cards as offensive weapons... Even weirder than that... mind you, I have to figure out how to configure HeroDesigner to give me the Power Framework in a way I can POST. Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: Playing cards as offensive weapons... Cool... Yeah, the idea is not so much that my character will be throwing them to inflict damage, but more a matter of a nifty way to range a spell that has to have contact with another person. Make a card appear out of thin air and throw it at the target - when the card connects, the Power related to said card goes off. Hence I was more concerned with accuracy than with damage, but knowing damage is always fun, too. Once I get the character approved, I'll post it on here - her Multipower Framework is... unique, to say the least. Michelle aka Samuraiko

I don't know if this is in the right place, so I fully endorse it getting moved if needs be. What I want to know is this: 1a) how far can the AVERAGE Joe Normal throw a playing card? (this does NOT mean an acid-tipped, steel-edged, hyperdimensional playing card, by the way - I mean the normal everyday boring kind) 1b) how accurately can said average Joe Normal throw said card? 2) how far/accurately can a person with a 12 STR and a 17 DEX throw said card? 3) how much damage could said card do, thrown from the hands of the person in question #2? Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Random quotes from the Dark Guardians Champions game over the last month or so... GM: "Come on, you know it's not really a real combat for you guys unless Midnight's money is being thrown around." Midnight: "Hey, for all I know, Whispering Death has the erotic drive of a strand of kelp." Whispering Death: "Touchstone got laid! Who wants pancakes?" Touchstone to Whispering Death: "Just because YOU haven't got laid since BEFORE you were killed..." GM: "Okay, so Midnight and Whispering Death are seated in the waiting area, Touchstone's over by the table, Rhyanon's in the potted plant..." Midnight: "Well, if you're going for being ignored, you could always stand outside wearing your robes, holding out flowers, and asking people if they've accepted Christ as their personal savior. Not only would no one want to talk to you, but they'd probably go out of their way to pretend you weren't even there." John: "Qurria'al will just dive through the skylight." Marianne: "There isn't one." John: "Yet." DeAnna: "You just got kicked in the nads by BodyJack!" GM: "So you're going incognito?" Michelle *sotto voce*: "If you can call a well-dressed knockout redhead with a Yakuza bodyguard pulling up in a Ferrari and walking into a downtown bank 'going incognito...'" GM: "Well, Qurria'al is now strolling toward the back of the bank to go rip the vault out of the wall..." DeAnna: "Oh, s***, BodyJack just took over the brick!?!" Marianne: "Great, anyone here strong enough to take Qurria'al down?" GM: "John, what's Qurria'al's Casual Strength?" John: "35." GM: "Then no." *the whole group stops to think for a minute, then everyone looks at Michelle, whose character Midnight is physically the weakest member of the group* Shane: "Okay, Midnight, he's all yours, take him!" Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: A Thread for Random Videos Well, I did a new music video... not funny, but damned cool! http://www.zazaza.net/Colors.wmv You will probably need to open this as a URL in Windows Media Player. Rather large, but very, very cool. Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: A Thread for Random Videos Does it have to be Google Video? I've found some great ones on YouTube... *reads farther along* Oh, guess not. Okay, then, when I get to work and can find the links, I've got some amusing ones. Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? Have never read the Amber novels, can you believe it? Hmmm, might have to look into those a bit more. I also looked into what SteveZilla recommended... that might also be fun. Dunno how applicable to your campaign, but fun. No, I'm not planning on having Midnight die... but if you do sic her with Unluck (ESPECIALLY where Zephrem is concerned... or better yet, only for when Vagabond is attacking...), she may not make it 'til the end of the campaign. Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? "Ghost Love Score" by Nightwish Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? And it's still going... my brain is getting crossed trying to make sense of it all, though. BTW, the power I was working on was basically creating a mental attack that went along the lines of... "I hit him with a mental attack-" "Ha, foolish hero, you can't hurt me, I have Mental Defenses!" "Correction..." *WHAM* "You HAD Mental Defenses..." And then promptly play his brain like a harp. However, in typical me fashion, I came up with a new character concept (on the off chance that Midnight gets killed going head-to-head with a DEMON Morbane who's currently possessing the body of the most powerful telepath on the planet), and am having good fun creating her powers. A theme-based character, but a cool one... If I could just finish the thing... Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? Unreal. All I did was ask a single stupid question and THIS comes out of it. I'm not sure if I should be flattered or afraid. (Mind you, if in the end no one can agree on the rules thing, you can always agree to meet in Arizona Stadium, which I will personally fill with lava and spikes, and you can slug it out with socks filled with manure.) The funny thing is, I started another conversation like this between myself and John about another power Midnight might try her hand at (an active, offense-based, screw-over-the-other-mentalists power). Which John will, unless I am mistaken, be asking ole' Steve about when I get off the computer. Should be amusing. Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about. Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? Ow... my head is starting to hurt. Thankfully though, all this seems to make sense to my GM and my husband, who can explain this to me in terms I might be able to understand. (The GM because he will tell me how it works, and my husband because he can translate from Hero to Michelle.) The repping will continue as soon as I can... (and damn, I wish I could have repped Presto for his latest post instead of for his first one, I absolutely love the idea... and call the power "When It Absolutely, Positively, Has to Be There Overnight...")

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? Amazing how one person's ignorance starts such a conversation! Geez... Thankfully, Dust Raven will be coming over later this afternoon for more in-depth discussion on this whole thing. It's proven to be a very educational (albeit confusing as hell) lecture on how all this works. He actually repped me for going outside "the GM's mind" to try and present multiple ideas on something my character could use to help my teammates (we're big on team spirit), which I also thought was cool. My other fun challenge (one for a new thread, if/when I get the idea hammered out a bit more) is going to be the development of a new power for Midnight for dealing with a mentalist/mage that has taken umbrage at her nearly besting him not once but TWICE... something mental/mystic-related, and very, VERY disconcerting... I will also be repping everyone from the start of this thread (yes, including you Steve, not that you really need it), so be patient, you will all get some. Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? That's my point - let's say I'm back in NYC (the only REAL place to live) following up on a lead, and my friends in Edge City (on the West Coast, Seattle-area) need me. I would have to bamf twice - once to get from the East Coast to the West, and then once again to get wherever in Edge City they are? Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? Now to make sure I understand this, I would theoretically be teleporting TWICE to get to them - once using the Long Path (to get to their general vicinity if I am far away), and then once again using the Short Path (to get to WHERE THEY ARE), correct? Or am I reading this wrong? You've gotta remember, I don't have all the Ins and Outs of this system memorized. I'm still working on this. But I do seriously appreciate that folks are trying to help me out. (My husband then mentioned, "Are you sure this is 'Shadow-esque'?" I said, "Yes, if one of my 'agents' needs me, of course 'the Shadow knows...' and should be able to do that 'just in the nick of time to save your a** appearance' thing.") Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? And then comes the almighty question... Can I con Dust Raven into letting me switch out my current Teleportation for this (assuming, of course, I eventually can afford to pay the difference in cost)?! If anyone else has other ways of possibly doing this, I am all for hearing them - at least then I can give him multiple possibilities and maybe hammer out an acceptable way to do this... Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? Hmmmm... no way to scale down that second one to be a bit more refined, hmm? Okay, now is that 72 points for EVERYTHING? (Assuming I do it that way and my GM is kosher with it?) Michelle aka Samuraiko

Re: The Use of a Focus for Teleportation...? Ooops, thanks for moving it Steve, didn't realize it had gone in the wrong place. *blush* I meant "focus" as in an item that the teammates carry. However, if there is some sort of "homing signal" they can use (even if it is something like a mental "cry for help", as it were), that would work too. And can someone give me a ballpark figure of how much this is gonna COST? Michelle aka Samuraiko PS - my teleportation is currently in my Elemental Framework... 21 Shadow: Elemental Control, 42-point powers 27 1) Walk the Twilight Path: Teleportation 14", No Relative Velocity, x2 Increased Mass, x4 Noncombat