gojira

Re: Personal Super-Vehicles If I were GM, I'd be willing to let players have almost any sort of vehicle that they could justify, backstory-wise and such. It's such a big part of the genre that I think players should be encouraged to get them. A vehicle could be justified with a Perk: Wealth and a couple of skills, like piloting. You don't have to build it, just buy it. Even average characters could own a van, ultralight, Cessna or sailboat. These items aren't that expensive to buy if you put your mind to it. Maybe even a small helicopter could be justified. Now using your vehicle bought with just Wealth for something besides quick transport and plot device, that's maybe a bit more iffy. Even the X-Men Blackbird was just a way to get from point A to point B. I don't ever remember the thing being armed in any way. Possibly this is why the point cost for building a vehicle is so expensive, to prevent player abuse. If the GM thinks a group or player should have a vehicle, sheesh, just give them one.

Re: Knockback and Bullets You'd have to change ALL the points costs of all guns to add the Does No Knockback Lim. Not a pretty picture. But maybe it can be added to.... REVISION 6!!!!

Re: I'm considering Hero...

Re: How to build a couple powers. So, the Inherent is there to prevent the armor from being Dispelled while you're in it, right? The "I can climb out" part is handled by the OIHID lim. And I don't want to get into the whole Inherent vs. Dispell debate, just commenting on the build as presented.

Re: Why should I play HERO? Welcome Valkyrie, er, Mad Irishman! I have to echo what others have said. You should look at GURPS too (see http://sjgames.com) but I've played GURPS and found it just a bit lacking. GURPS only has four primary stats, and it'd easy to munchkin out two of them and have like 90% of all player archetypes covered. Too easy, and too obvious. GURPS does a better job of feeling "real" than Hero, but frankly most players seem to enjoy the more cinematic rules that Hero provides. I've never played Star Hero, so I can't provide any opinions on that. GURPS Transhuman space is supposed to be good (I've never played it either), but it's also a near future, earth solar system only game, and that's not to everyone's taste. GURPS Space is a basic toolkit that let's you do anything, but it provides no default setting at all, nothing, nada, so you'd have to provide all the details yourself. That can be a lot of work. GURPS Traveler is a lot like the regular one, and GURPS Terradyne is out of print and pretty dated too. Overall I think you should look at the supplements both systems provide, and purchase what seems to fit your playing needs best. Hero is very well supported, and you should have no qualms about using it. Also, these boards seem to me to be a bit better than sjgames'. Just a personal bias, but I think the older population of gamers helps.

Re: Odd Mind Scan question So, if it works like sonar, are there both active and passive versions?

Re: Mentalist Conundrum What's the difference between NND powers and mental ones, in terms of balance? Why are you concerned about mentalists but not NND powers? I mean, it seems like it's up to the GM to balance all this stuff, and fudging up any one area is going to give a munchkin-prone player something to exploit. Is it just that many GMs assume that mental powers are already balanced with EB and HA and just don't consider them?

Re: Is Punisher the problem? Right. In my (partial) defense, at least a couple of other posts went up while I was composing mine. To expand on this idea a bit, it's about more than just screws. In (I think) RDU Neil's merc campaign, it sounds like free equipment plays a much larger role. But that's to be expected, and players wouldn't be surprised when everyone started getting free stuff at the start of an adventure. And if it was a green beret / blacks ops type of campaign, I wouldn't expect lots of loss and breakage to offset things. You just don't expect a highly trained operative to be that careless. I'm old school and I react poorly to the idea of not paying points for anything. I've also played a lot of GURPS and GURPS just doesn't work well for supers, in part because guns are so deadly in GURPS. It takes a lot of work on the GM's part to make GURPS work at those power levels. These issues can be largely avoided in Hero just by charging points for everything. RDU Neil and others have made a good case for not charging points for everything. It doesn't have to disrupt play balance greatly. And it's counter-intuitive for the players to charge points for *everything*. So it's not always a big deal and can actually help immersion. However, I still think not charging points has to be done carefully, and with a firm eye on play balance. RDU Neil's genres have been carefully choosen so that free stuff makes sense and doesn't affect play balance. I think the screws needed would be different in different genres. For an example of a different types of screw look at the Pulp Hero forum. People on that forum are asking for a size rating for guns that affects stealth. This will give players something to look at besides which gun does the most damage. That's an example of a different type of screw besides the OAF-take-it-away one. And players and GMs see the need for it. I think we should look at different genres and power levels, and try to determine what are the better screws for each. Also, we should determine where game play definately starts to break because of too many free things. Then we can say "Hey! This doesn't work so well, maybe don't go here." Maybe we could add some playtesting as well. But that might also be better handled on a different forum.

Re: Is Punisher the problem? On the other hand, I think it's important for the GM to keep the power level of "free" equipment fairly low. When a Gun Bunny PC can get a gun with powers as good as his partner's paid for powers, you have a game balance problem. This can be tougher in low powered campaigns. In superheroic games, it's pretty easy to keep guns at a lower power level than powers. In other games, guns and other equipment can be a problem. Fantasy especially, the power level between a regular sword and a signature item can be minimal. (My fantasy weapon list looks like this: Dagger, Sword, Stick, Rock. Want more? Pay points.) One solution is to encourage PCs to really cut loose with signature items. Go for the Japanese manga effect where everyone can basically cast spells. It's way fun! One thing I object to is declaring kevlar vests and grenades to be "free." My acid test is if you can buy it at Walmart, it's free. Everything else costs points. A kevlar vests is not exactly common item, and very pricey too. The actual military models only protect the upper torso; I'd give them a pretty low ACT roll. And grenades are totally illegal to carry around, even the police are only allowed "non-lethal" flash-bangs and such. Anyone who was actually a member of the military and drove around in a "battle van" wearing his body armour and carrying a loaded rifle would soon be minus his commision. This PC rational for having "real" weapons isn't realistic. Battlefield scavenge is a little different. Most of my Viper equipment is different enough from standard military models that a soldier couldn't just pick something up and use it immediately. And most of my battlefield scavenge tends to get broken in combat anyway. However, using a villian's own super weapon to defeat him is great super schitck and should be encouraged. Same for gangsta pushers and evil necromancers in other genres. There's no reason that a hero should not be allowed to "power up" during the course of an adventure. A good GM is prepared for this and doesn't allow it to short-circuit his plans. As I replied on the first page of this thread, the problem is Batman, not the Punisher. Most powers that people would actually want really are powers, even if the sfx is "real world stuff."

Re: I have Hidden Lands! Er, which one is this? Sometimes the acronyms just overwhelm me.

Re: Vampires and Automatons Yep. An OAF dispel people: M240 machine gun dispels people quite nicely. (Figure M240 is about 2d6+1K, autofire x 10, AE, and continuing to simulate supression fire, and I'd call that a People B Gone power.)

Re: An Open Call to Action This sounds interesting, I think I'd also like to lurk. I doubt I'd have any ideas right off the bat. I'd kinda like to see what develops. Warning: I'm an old fart. Third edition was perfect. Thank you.

Re: Triforce of Roleplaying Wisdom I vote for "Fun."

Re: Superpowers that haven't been thought out... I dunno. I always thought that it was dumb that you were an alien and the different light gave you super powers. Espcially when I found out that colored Christmas lights didn't give me super powers.

Re: Low-Energy State Effects Just an attack with Cumultive advantage. Frost and goes crumbly is a special effect. Maybe NND with Does Body, with the defense being that the target isn't unconscious or isn't inanimate. Maybe linked to power transfer too. Martial Arts, putting all skill levels into defence, maybe constantly dodging too. She's just not as skilled as Ranma (who is?), and one blow would do her in, so she's taking no chances. "Floating slowly to the ground" is just a special effect of a martial arts super leap. You could add flying or gliding to the leap if you are looking for more than just a leap. The floating part might be worth a Lim if it would give an opponent a clue as to the nature of her powers. An attack with high knock-back. The graceful touch part is just the special effect. Uh, Psych Lim: Likes dirty old men? Does Absorption work here? My book says "Energy Apsorption" but I'm sure it's been generalized to include PD by now. It also sounds like the absorption powers an END battery that powers her more esoteric powers. Overall, it sounds like she has serveral differnt powers related by a common special effect. This is an excellent concept for a Chi Vampire EC or Multipower! Just buy up those slots (maybe as ultra slots if multipower) and you're there. You might have a lot of powers in mind, and I'll let you define how many points you want to spend. It sounds to me like she has martial arts at a high cinematic level (to nearly match Ranma), notably low defenses (PD, ED) for a cinematic martial artist (doesn't want to get hit by Ranma), Absorption, and at least one MP or EC with some really odd powers. (Kinda like the original Chesire Cat had some really odd powers strung together with a "bitten by a radioactive ninja" SFX). Her major advancement will be gaining skill levels (from Hap!) so she doesn't have to dodge Ranma all the time, and increasing that Absorption power so she can better power her esoteric powers. She should be getting tougher too, but your character concept (physically weak and frail) may prevent that. Being sickly might be worth a Phys Lim if it keeps your PD far below the campaign average. I dunno if I said anything that wasn't obvious, but there you go. Good luck!!

Re: Must Touch Target Limitation. I'd be inclined to resolve a "skin contact" with a grab roll. You have to grab a specific spot (hand, wrist, forearm, etc) or item (gun, etc.) anyway, so it seems to fit. Any touch to any body part or item on the target's person could be just a SFX, and not need even an attack roll. You'd still have to be in HTH range though, of course. Depending on how often I think villians with some form of total skin protection (power armour, full body costume, really thick rocky skin, force field) appear, I'd give it a 1/4 to 1/2 additional limitation. Rep to Stan du'Ork though for actually reading the book to find out that No Range means just that!

Re: Lighting things on fire. I think the other thing to consider is, How much do you want this to cost? In other words, figure out what a reasonable power cost is in Fantasy Hero for magically starting a normal fire, then go from there. I haven't worked out your major transform numbers to see if they work, but they could be ok depending on what "ignition numbers" you assign. Start with igniting a candle and go up from there. If the numbers make sense for other genres, you may be onto something.

Re: Advice for new GMs Yet another noobie GM thread: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=654722 Some interesting ideas about character advancement and long term campaign issues.

Re: Low-Energy State Effects What's the special effect? I'm having trouble visualizing what is happening. Where in Ranma is this power dispalyed? Is this the boulder shattering technique that Ryoga learned? Ranma snatching hot chestnuts from a fire? I think I understand the general feel of your yin-yang idea, but I need more info! This could be almost anything, including a martial arts power stunt.

Re: Chronicles of Narnia to Hero God damn, you rule. Repped!

Re: newbie - thinkin of getting these rules Welcome Valkyrie, er, Brian Sommers! I'm a big Narnia fan from way back. Hero would work well for any Narnia RPG. Unfortunately, I can't think of any good Hero resources for such a genre. Fantasy Hero and the spell lists as others have mentioned, but this would just give you a general idea of how to adapt Hero to a fantasy world. You'll be in for a bit of work. Getting Sidekick is an excellent suggestion. I believe you can download it as a PDF from the Hero Games online store. If you have access to a good printer, then it would be easy to share with your wife and your friends. A good primer on Hero, and a cheap investment while you are still deciding whether to go for the whole nine yards! One resource you shouldn't ignore are these boards. There are threads here asking how do I create opimus prime, what should defenses be worth with specific limitations, etc. etc. Basically, the open ended nature of the game does leave a lot of wiggle room for the GM, and people here constantly ask "How should I do X?" and get ideas from other players here. It's a great way to lighten the load of a new GM. I think many people here would love to help you create the world of Narnia. Have fun and I hope you enjoy your stay here!

Re: Boiling Water

Re: Boiling Water Ditto on the broomstick thing. It's for steam under preasure, which has been raised to an even higher temperature than boiling water, in addition to the latent heat. Steam has a lot more heat that boiling water. Steam is invisible too. That stuff above a boiling pot of water is mostly vapor, not truely steam. I'd go with 1d6+1 KA for partial immersion, and 2d6 KA for total immersion, to keep in inline with boiling oil and steam. No, a lot of supers won't be much affected by this, but it's plenty deadly for the average person.

Re: Recharging Power Armor I really like the powered armor characters. I usually go with Only In Hero ID and that's about it. I really don't like it when people take my armor.

Re: Your favorite PC vs.. My character, Rocket Man (a.k.a. Iron Guy) vs. Magneto. Yes, a guy in a big metal suit against the master of magnatism. Hmmm, let's see. I think, if he were very lucky, Rocket Man would take the first bus out of town.