Alverant

Re: Religion in Science-Fiction?

Theres this impression' date=' trope even, that all religions are primitive, supertitious and stupid.[/quote']Well the major religions of today were created thousands of years ago when people knew little about the way the world worked. So you have "primitive". Religions are "superstitious" pretty much by definition. And I can't touch the last one without violating TOS.

Re: Religion in Science-Fiction?

Why? Speaking as a Christian' date=' I fail to understand how the existence of alien races elsewhere in the universe conflicts, in any way, with my religion. Yes, I believe there are other races out there. Yes, I believe God created them as well as us. Yes, I believe they are also created in His image. Does that mean they physically resemble us? Not necessarily. I belive being in God's image means we are thinking, feeling, loving, cerebral, emotional beings. I do not understand, and never have understood, this theory in science fiction, that first contact with an alien race would cause such devastating problems for religion. Can someone explain this to me?[/quote']Well if your god sent his ONLY son to Earth to save humanity, who saved the aliens? The OT never mentioned aliens and the only sentient non-humans he supposedly created were angels. Aliens present a problem in that they are something your god did not create exists. I remember reading about a monk who was executed for thinking aliens existed.

Re: WWYCD: "Dear Superhero" (Warning: Ugly situation)

Now I've been thinking and came up with this:

 

Dr Prospero (my master supervillain) gets wind of this.

 

Long story short - he sends in what he calls a Level 2 Response Team. Consists of mercenaries to protect the village, aid workers to improve the infrastructure and living conditions (building hospitals, roads, schools etc) and political action officers to organize local cooperatives and elections.

 

And they would be there for the long haul. Dr Prospero plays for the long-term. He WILL save the world, dammit, even from itself.

 

And if anyone moans about him violating national sovereignty and using white mercenaries in black Africa he would tell them. "At least I am doing something about the problem, not just waffling and wringing my hands."

Re: WWYCD: "Dear Superhero" (Warning: Ugly situation)

I'd complain to the GM about bringing serious real world issues into a light-hearted superhero campaign.

Re: EPIC Champions--unofficial material, what should I write about?

Not to brag but my group will be hitting the 10 year mark soon with only one player leaving. We have 3 campaigns running (two superhero, one fantasy). I think having multiple GMs is important so you have a back up if the "primary" GM can't make it. Being regular makes everyone comfortable. I also think it helps that all the players are adults and relatively stable lives. In our group we have two married couples and a two players who are siblings and the married couples have their own businesses. So chances are, they're not going anywhere. I think that has a bigger influence since bad GMing can be fixed by either switching GMs or learning how to GM well.

Re: EPIC Champions--unofficial material, what should I write about?

How about keeping a gaming group together long enough for these multi-session story arcs to be concluded.

Re: The Elves are Dying Out

One question that would come up is what caused Calamitas both in terms of what they think caused it and what really caused it. (Remember just because you know the answer doesn't mean it's right.) There could be several theories behind it. If the elves consider it divine punishment, they may consider bizarre ways to regain divine favor. Likewise humans may think God is striking down the elves to make way for Man and the sooner the last elf dies, the sooner Man can rule. I also imagine that the ruling elves would have sponsored exploration forces around the world looking for a cure and/or more elves. That raises the question of if there are elves in Asia or the Americas and if so, did the Calamitas happen there too. It could be that Calamitas is a disease harmless to humans which would make such explorers carriers for the plague. That would make the elves in the rest of the world quarantining the campaign setting (and maybe considering how to wipe it out to save themselves).

I imagine any cure scams would have come and gone ages ago but hope springs eternal. Given how the culture in the real world during that time treated women, I wonder if all the human/elf pairings were elven male with human female. The idea of a female elf mating with a human might be so offensive to them that it was never even considered. If such a pairing could produce a child, it would mean there wasn't a problem with either elven gender individually and instead the problem would be with both.

Also I think medical science would have advanced more here than in the real world as the elves attempt to find a cure.

Re: Summon specific being?

The advantage of using summon for a vehicle is that you can always get it when you need it. A normal vehicle has to be parked somwhere (where it could be stolen)' date=' propably nearby. And the enemy can prevent you from having it just by drawing you away/abduct you.[/quote']

This isn't so much about summoning A vehicle (which you're right about having advantages), it's about summoning YOUR vehicle. Particularly if you're summoning it from a specific spot (ie your base) where any vehicle can be on the summoning pad.

Re: Summon specific being?

If you combine Summon Specific Being with Expanded class of beings so you can reset the person being summoned anytime you want you don't need a VPP (although using it with a VPP is another way to potentially abuse a VPP). And while the Teleport idea is better in many cases' date=' it only works if you know where the person is. Summon lets you automatically grab them from anywhere, which means it can effectively bypass lots of storyline by forcing the final confrontation early and at a venue of the summoner's chosing. But if you pay a hefty advantage for Specific Being, it makes it harder to pull that kind of trick off cheaply.[/quote'] Can you combine specific being with expanded class? That sounds contradictory.

 

One of the things I like about Hero System is that it does acknowledge that the powers can be abused but points out the players and GM should be mature enough to handle it. Just because the rules say you CAN do something it doesn't mean it's a good idea. And that's my question about making "Specific Being" a +1 advantage; it appears to be there because it can be abused and not because it's powerful. (It is powerful but also has some severe limitations too that balance it out.) And also its effect on vehicles. Putting your hoverbike in a pocket dimension is mondo expensive even though it's impact on play is minimal.

Re: An Unusual Kind of Growth Power

I'd go with straight growth and keep the extra stats. If anyone asks, say it's part of the defenses (all CON really does in 6th is protect against being stunned). Since his real body is at the center (or head) of the inflated body I'd buy extra defenses with a 14- activation. If it activates then the attack it one of the inflated body parts away from the real body.

Am I the only one who had dirty thoughts when reading the thread title?

Re: Summon specific being?

The reason Summon Specific Being has a Stop Sign next to it and is so expensive is that you could potentially unbalance the game. Hostage situation? Summon specific hostage. Want to lure your nemesis into a trap? No need, just summon him and BAM! Want your slippery ex-husband to pay child support? Summon the loser to court.

 

Granted the rules suggest Summon Specific Being should only be used for ghosts, but if you want the solution to Fermat's last theorem it won't help to summon any random ghost.

Plus why is it more expensive to have a specific vehicle when the most common effect is pulling it out of storage?

Re: ARMED Acronym

I like the Anti Revolution' date=' the other part might be a bit extreme. Thanks for the input![/quote']You did say it was for a dark police state.

 

How about:

Anti Revolution, Mayhem, Enlightenment, and Dissent. Everything against changing the status-quo (for better or worse).

Re: Summon specific being?

I want to revive this thread since I had the same question. If the points spent on "Summon Specific Being" can be lost, then it's more like the Independent limitation. So why isn't it treated as such?

My other problem is with vehicles. First you have to buy it at +1 Slavish Loyalty. That's OK because it makes sense. Then if you want the same vehicle each time it's the Specific Being advantage and give an example of a hoverbike being stored in a starship. That doesn't make sense. If the hoverbike gets destroyed, you can replace it by going to the nearest hoverbike dealer. By then you may even have some extra points to get a better model. If a vehicle bought through a perk is destroyed, you don't lose the points (well not in pre-6th) so why do it when it's bought as a summon?

It's easier to just add "extra dimensional movement" have "summoning" be a special effect if you want to summon a specific vehicle/follower.

I think prestidigitator had it right in his first post, it's meant for VPPs. But even then if you're looking for a ghost, it's probably better to use Mind Scan that's transdimensional and Telepathy than Summon.

Re: Vulnerabilty vs. Specific Type of Presence Attack

I'd also include a flattery type PRE attack where the "attacker" heaps tons of compliments on the target to convince him/her to do what they want.

OTOH, if I were a GM I may not allow what you're suggesting in favor of a psychological complication that can be used on the PRE attack chart. For example if the character has "Sucker for a Pretty Face" complication it would not only include (in spirit) your "Vulnerable to Beauty-Based PRE Attacks" (like needing PRE+10 instead of PRE+20) but also put the character at a disadvantage with respect to skill vs skill rolls.

Re: transformer question

I recently found a station that shows the old Transformers/GIJoe cartoons at midnight and watching them when I get home at night. But, it did leave with a couple of questions.

 

1) I am pretty sure of this one but want confirmation. Soundwave's cassettes would be Summon and/or Follower right?

2) For characters' date=' like the Constructicons when they combine into Devastator how would that work in hero terms?[/quote'] It wouldn't. Merging means one character has control while everyone else gets bored and start talking, reading, making dice sculptures, etc.

Re: Bring Out The Old!

My group hasn't gone into 6th edition yet. Personally I liked Viper 4th edition better than 5th. High Tech Enemies is a good resource. Doubly so because it had a hero group (a rare thing in a Champions book). I don't have too many of the books. Most of my 4th ed and earlier books were destroyed during some minor flooding.

Re: ARMED Acronym

Anti-Revolution and Mass Extermination Department

Re: Power Armor Characteristic Purchase

Extra CVs? Maybe' date=' but it wouldn't be my first instinct - running a tactical computer takes several orders of magnitude less power than moving a heavy mech around or firing energy weapons.[/quote']+2 CV that costs END would cost just as much END as running 10m. Sounds about right to me. Just remember the END rules are based on active points, not realism. The energy it takes to fire an energy weapon isn't accurately reflected in its END cost.

Re: Power Armor Characteristic Purchase

You have to pay END on STR regardless of it's bought through a focus or not. As for the stats, if you want you can justify buying O/DCV with Costs Endurance as a combat computer that helps with aiming or a mental shield for DMCV. Only problem is that you'd have to spend the END every phase whether or not you need it.

If you bought PRE through the suit (it looks impressive and the character feels more secure in the armor) that shouldn't cost END unless you can find some way to justify otherwise (can't say it can't be done, but I can't think of it).

Re: No magic?

I don't find that to necessarily be true. Many people don't bother to explain the mechanics of super technology, innate powers or magic.

 

Lets be honest, no one can tell me exactly how Iron Man's force fields or Professor X's telepathy really work.

Re: No magic?

btw what is clarkes law?

Re: No magic?

Without magic you lose an easy MacGuffin. "It's maaaagic." is all that's needed to justify something. Technology needs a bit more explanation. So if your players are in a bind you can't as quickly magic them out of it. Also you're losing a potential character development tool with "visiting Uncle Ben in Heaven"/"rescuing Uncle Ben from Hell" story arcs as well as other existential plots.

Apart from that, it's no big loss. I'd love to be part of a magic-free campaign. Unfortunately one of the other players in my group loves magic.

Re: No magic?

I don't see any more logic in saying "He is from Krypton' date=' a planet with a Red sun. So he has superpowers under a Yellow sun."[/quote']Well for one thing, you don't learn how to be an alien the way you learn how to use magic. Magic is an external force that's manipulated. Aliens have innate powers.

Re: Megascale Movement, Lightspeed, and Escape Velocity

But this also triggered some frightening thoughts... Earth's escape velocity is 11.2 km/sec. Or just think of it as 12" Megascale 1" = 1 km. Yup. With just 12" of movement, you can reach escape velocity in a single phase. Just watch out for the guy with Megascale flight Usable as a Weapon. Even if you can survive in space, if you can't fly back, you're on a one-way ticket ride.

 

Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I've screwed up the calculations. But then show me what it does take to reach escape velocity or break Lightspeed with a little Megascale movement.

I think unofficially you should be calculating your velocity over a turn when comparing game mechanics to real world speeds. So if you have a SPD of 6 you're only half way there to escape velocity. So you need to spend the points for enough NCM so your velocity is 134.4 km/turn.

Re: Where are the Big Dumb Objects in your campaign?

Preferable to whom?

Mega-structures are a very science fiction oriented trope.

They are also' date=' conceptually, built by societies with not only far more technical savvy, but also massively more resources, than a fantasy society has available.[/quote']Wrong. The ancient peoples in the real world had awe-inspiring monuments in part because they did not have the tech savvy we have today. Take the pyramid-like structures built by different cultures around the world or the terra cotta army an Emperor of China had built for his tomb as examples. If people can get so exact and massive without computers and complex machines, just think what they could have done with magic and creatures many times stronger than a man.

You can justify the technology part with magic' date=' but overall, unless you posit a very unusual fantasy world (probably a planar spanning culture) such an object isn't entirely appropriate. It would also have to be an extremely magic-of-the-gods type of world. Remember, Terry Pratchett's Discworld is comedic fantasy and his world was designed to fit his (admittedly enjoyable) joking verve. If you make such an object and you aren't joking - or relying on creation myths for its existence - you've stretched the bounds of the genre beyond ordinary recognition.[/quote']Tolkien had Sauron's fortress. Stardust by Neil Gaiman had Stormhold which was a castle built into a mountain. "Jack and the Beanstalk" had a giant's castle in the clouds. So how is having something like that stretching the bounds of the genre?

This is not to say I have don't have "large structures built by the ancients' date='" or things designed to induce wonder, but they aren't anywhere near the "big dumb object" level. Nor do they need to be. It could be an artifact, magical effect, exotic and scenic locales, supernatural creatures of rare wonder and beauty. Fantasy has never really been about "feats of godlike engineering." Indeed, that description alone sounds like science fiction.[/quote'] A "big dumb object" is just a name given to objects meant to invoke a sense of wonder. That covers a lot of ground including exotic locals and creatures. The focus doesn't have to be on those objects, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be there. And they don't have to be there either, that's not the purpose of this thread. I'm just asking about what sort of objects GMs use in their campaigns to invoke a sense of wonder.