Lanith

Re: Interesting power for help and discussion

3d6 Ego Attack (0 End, Persistant, Damage Shield) +1 1/2, Must have memory of being ordered to kill attacker -1, Mental Attacks only -0

Active cost 75 Real Cost 37

You can of course add limitations as you would like.

That's just my thought.

Re: Interesting power for help and discussion

That's an odd power. One other way I can think of is a Mental Attack that's built as a damage shield.. It might take me sometime to get a write-up on it becuase I'm at work, but I'll see what I can think of.

Re: Say somthing clever... PLEASE!

HERO related: Super powers are more than just numbers on a page, and hero's are more than just their powers.

Non-Hero related: The necktie is the straightjacket of corporate society.

Re: Human Shield

Wasn't there an option with Grab that you could Interpose someone between you and an attack? Or is that just the medication talking to me again?

Re: Sword and Shield

Shadowpup pretty much hit it perfectly. The OCV bonuses applied to your shield don't work for when you are attacking with your sword, and vice versa.

Now I can see a reason for wanting OCV levels with a shield, it helps you block better when you use the block maneuver or the occasional shield bash, but the majority of the time they are useless.

Re: Quirks and disadvantages

How can either of those be a disadvantage?

Ex A)The Viper agent holds your Akira Limited Edition DVD in front of the barrel of his gun and yells, "Surrender or the video gets it!"

Never, never, never! is a PC going to hesitate to paste that Viper agent.

Ex B)Viper Agent 2 holds up a plate of lasagna, "Let my buddy go or I'll make you eat this!"

Now we'll have 2 beaten bloody Viper agents.

If you want to list your characters "quirks", make them 0-point disadvantages.

Disadvantage

0pt. Thinks with brain, not behind.

Now, not to sound entirely negative. I do agree with TRL on one thing, the disadvantages could use some work, but lets be honest. Powers get a million times more scrutiny for their "value per point" than disadvantages ever have. Most of my players use the same stock disads listed in FREd or BBB, and only ever enough to "fill their quota". (ie: all the available points they can)

Re: Feedback on a mutant plant power

snip

Allurement: Mind Control 4d6, Telepathic (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Area Of Effect (8" Radius; +1 1/4) (60 Active Points); Set Effect (must approach/touch plant; -1), No Range (-1/2), Always On (-1/2), Conditional Power only works when inhaled (-1/4).

Total Cost: 18 points.

snip

JorrJorr

1)Mental Powers based on CON, this is a drug that gets in your system, not your standard mind control from a mentalist.

2) Invisible power effects (This one isn't a requirement, but I would put it on just to be safer)

Those are some suggestions, you don't need them, but if I had a player want to use this power they would be requirements. Other than that I can't see it being too bad. There are a few nasty things you can follow up with, but I'll bet you're way ahead of me there.

Re: Question about "DANGER SENSE DODGING"

Your player doesn't seem to know where to put his powers to best advantage (which would explain the KO's) but that will be fixed with time or more KO's.

Personally I see the concept of the power and the best reason I can give for the Instant add-on is that the "Armor" isn't really there, it is only in effect the "instant" that the character realizes the attack is coming and tries to avoid as much damage as possible. (In game terms, the player would need to make a DS roll on every incoming attack to get the bonus DEF)

That's just my thoughts and I hope they help.

Re: Question about "DANGER SENSE DODGING"

The way the power is built looks fine, but I agree with everyone above the use of this would need to be "balanced" in the game. This character already, most likely, has the highest DCV and highest SPD. Would his/her having this power just "throw the game out of whack"?

Why is this power bought as Armor with the disad of Costs End? Why not just have the player spend the extra points and buy Force Field?

EDIT: I re-read the post and noticed something I missed before.

Re: Illiteracy...

Give him an obscene skill in Deduction. He can "figure out" that the words next to the sign with the cigarette and the big red X means "No Smoking", or anything else similar.

Or you can just be like my former GM, make it up it's not like the players are ever going to see the character sheets anyways.

Re: Combat Luck ruins Armor Piercing and Penetrating?

I won't get into the "cheese" argument. I'll just make a suggestion that you change the 1/2d6 killing attack, or just buy a new one with your next experience point earned.

Change that to a 6d6HA (just keep the sword sheathed), apply the same disads, add your MA's to that and you'll put a few STUN into anything except the bricks.

Re: (In Character) The Q.U.A.R.K. Column begins anew!

Quark -

I've recently completed my on-line degree in "Completely Unlikely Nuclear Physics". With the job market being the way it is, I've had to take a part-time job within an established firm.

Just last week I was working day-shift when the do-gooders ran in. Most of my co-workers ran screaming, but I was grabbed by my section leader and told to man the self-destruct system. How can I, the smartest person ever to step foot in the door, be expected to sacrifice myself for my no-neck, butt-licking supervisor?

James Pedeaston, Super Genius

Re: Brick tricks

My few cents on the subject:

If a brick picks up a car and tosses it down the street at the baddy; OK, someone is gonna get upset, but still OK. If he does it every combat, the police/civilians/insurance companies are going to have a problem with him and start taking his super-strong butt to court.

I agree with both sides of this argument, the occasional "brick trick" to gain an advantage is part of the genre. Abuse of your tricks is... abuse.

If the player in your game keeps "finding" a new gimick ("It's not a car, I threw a bank vault this time") start messing with his fine plan. Have people hide in those cars, get some normal dweeb to take him to court, have the police charge him with reckless endangerment, etc etc.

Re: 25+25 Modern day horror characters

I was trying to explain that to my favorite munchkin as he bounced combat based character after combat based character off of me' date=' and I kept rejecting them.[/quote']

Just let your munchkin bring in his combat monkey. When he finds he's totally useless in the first half-hour, smile nicely and say "I tried to warn you."

Re: Armor (equipment) questions

I'll grant you that, in many cases it will not matter that single shots will not punch through the armor, because the net effect of a full blast of auto fire will still kill you just as dead.

 

The problem with your argument is that it makes some assumptions that are not always valid, and I believe that it sidesteps the issue somewhat. First of all, the burst of auto-fire might be directed at a group of people, in which case individuals may not be hit multiple times.

 

And second, there are other weapons which are very much like the .50 Cal HMG, but that do not fire at the same rate. The best example I can think of is the RAI Model 500 (which is a .50 Cal sniper rifle).

 

The RAI Model 500 has a muzzle energy of 18,137 Joules, which is almost identical to the 18,539 for the HMG. And as a basis for comparison, consider that the .44 mag Desert Eagle only has a muzzle energy of 1,530 Joules (which is still very high, some pistols come in at around 200 J).

 

The RAI 500 is used against larger and heavier targets like vehicles. It seems to me that it should probably not be blocked by personal kevlar armor (IMO, of course). And again RAI 500 is not designed for a high rate of fire, so the autofire argument would not apply in that case.

Warp, I love that you quote the energy behind the bullets for the two guns, but seem to forget one thing. Someone firing the .50 HMG is generally firing for "effect" (Getting a group to seek cover, destroy cover, etc.) where as the person firing the RAI 500 is firing for a very different "effect" (precise injury or death).

Argument in game terms: Your argument doesn't apply quite accurately. Both guns would do equal damage, one with the advantage of auto-fire the other with the advantage of Armor Piercing.

Re: [GM asks your HELP] Ambient Music

Honestly it sounds more like you'd be looking for a CD of tribal chants or random sound effects.

On a different note, one of my personal favorites for streaming is Soma FM the Secret Agent channel has some odd funky music that makes good "background noise" for bars or just listening to.

Re: Baking your noodle

Edited for Length:So:

 

1. Can Images touch activate a touch sensitive screen?

 

2. If not, how do you build the linked TK so that it works within the area of the Images?

1. I would say the question is dependant on the "color" of your Images. If you telepathically put the Image in someone head. No, but other descriptions might work.

Just FYI, most "touch screens" don't care if you touch them or not. The sensors are located all around the screen and just pay attention to the realtive position of the heat source above the screen. ie: your finger

2. If I was to let a character have the Image (Touch) power useable on computers like that, I wouldn't make them spend the points on this unless they planned on using it in a game impacting way. If they just use it to look up info in the library or at home, fine it's free. If you want to hack through some binoculars from across the street you better spend some points.. and lots of em.

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

In one of my favorite all time games, two players would bring in "journals" from the previous game. One guy did a PoV sort of write up; "I watched as Cricket threw..." and another player did an underground newspaper; banner across the top, odd little stories from around town, the occasional reference to what the hero's had done.

Very funny journals to read back to back, the stories were about the same thing, but totally different.

Re: Most Embarassing Champions Moment

I wasn't present, but heard this story from some friends. The heros track down some baddies and chase them into a danceclub. All the normals run, the heroes wade in, except The Clown. (I don't remember The Clown's true name though) The Clown runs into the DJ booth, locks the door and finds a copy of "The Duck Dance".

While "The Duck Dance" plays on infinite repeat, a bad guy stands menacingly at the door and snickers at the weakling Clown, so Clown decides to move-through out the window. Short run, hop, Splat! The Clown KO's himself on the glass, not realizing it's plexi-glass.

Re: What blocks senses and powers?

EDITED TO SAVE SPACE:

I think the idea of the sense was that Iris was attuned to water on an elemental level: she just knew where it was and what it was doing. I suppose she was detecting 'I am water' rays emitted by hte damn stuff. I know science hasn't got that far yet' date=' but...[/quote']

 

Well that does help a bit, the detect is vague, but it does fit the character concept. I think the uses of it in the case of detecting "water" in people through walls and such are a bit overpowering.

 

If this was my campaing, I'd sit down with the player and say, "Hey, the way you're using your detect is a little extreme. Lets see if we can come to a comprimise about toning that thing down." Possible "balancing" ideas, it's stopped by common materials or objects (ie: walls, rock, non-pourous materials), or situations (ie:in the rain, air-conditioning), or just stop using the power like that.

 

I don't feel it's the GM's job to punish the players for finding a way to use a power in a new and interesting way, but there is a line between "new and interesting" and nearly game breaking. (360, indirect, discriminatory, targeting senses are VERY powerful; for the love of Pete everything gets blocked by something, even NND)

 

As a corrolary to the above statement, it's not the players job to try to gimp/munchkin their way through everything either.

 

PS: Yes I do keep a woodchuck in my wet woodshed she smells so sweet in the spring.

Re: Need help naming Enviornmentalist team.

The Army of the Twelve Monkeys! or however many members they have.

Re: If you could add one more...

I'm sorry I should have used a more descriptive word there; how about Flaw. As in character flaws.

Re: Environmental Movement vs. Personal Immunity

In reply to TaxiMan, I think that sounds like a munchkin way of buying an AoE drain vs. Dex with a nice color effect, but if it's listed in Fred and USPDB as being purchased that way, I won't complain about it.

In the instance that the power is purchased that way, then I would say Environmental Movement would be more than enough to offset the movement penalties.

Re: If you could add one more...

5. Limitation

"If we study the lives of great men and women carefully and unemotionally we find that, invariably, greatness was developed, tested and revealed through the darker periods of their lives. One of the largest tributaries of the river of greatness is always the stream of adversity." - Cavett Robert

Re: What blocks senses and powers?

Sensing water through dirt is probably harder than through rock' date=' as rock probably doesn't have a lot of water in it, so would be transparent to the sense. Air Con would actually make things clearer as it takes moisture out of the air. [/quote']

 

While those are valid points, I would think that sensing water through dirt would be easier as it is a porous material and lets water vapour pass through it easier.

As far as AC the reason I would say it is a pain is exactly that reason it removes moisture from the air.

 

Granted, I don't know all the special effects for this power nor how it is described by it's "color". (ie: Does she sense the moisture in the air currents or just "I sense water" and if so why would they detect people? People aren't water, we're just mostly water. Mud is only mostly water, blood is only mostly water, etc etc.) I'm basing my arguments on the assumtion that the water is sensed based on what is in the air currents.

 

Yes, I'll see you behind the woodshed.

 

EDIT: Me spelley goodly!