gojira

Re: I need advice on mimic of a spell effect please.

(I am I wrong in assuming most people are familiar with the concept?)

Yes, a bit. Christopher explained a bit through.

Let me state my understanding, before I go any further. Soulstones are required to cast spells. In that way, they're like a magic wand or a scroll, where you need the item to cast. So that's a standard build

Spell, requires Soul Stone (OAF), -1.

OAF is an Obvious Accessible Focus. In other words is a thing you carry around that you need to use the power in question. Most gemstones are small, so perhaps OAF isn't quite right. Are Soul Stones small? Hard to take away in combat? Could you for example carry a dozen in an ordinary pocket? If so,

Spell, requires IIF, -1/4

IIF is In-obvious Inaccessible Focus. It's still a thing, but it's hard to spot in combat, and equally hard to take away even if you know it's present.

So that's the basics. I'd build on that. Since Soul Stones seem easy to acquire, I would not worry about reducing the point cost based on the fact that they must be acquired first.

Also, Soul Stones seem like they might be disposable or one time use. That's harder, and I'd have to think about and also know how they're actually used, exactly. But the fact that they're easy to acquire tends to override a lot of "use once" limitations. Arrows aren't really that much cheaper just because you use them up; they actually get a bonus because you can "recover" the charge (arrow) some of the time.

Re: Interesting article about Sexism in Geek Communities

Got her.

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete

Many PDF readers have a "text only" mode that just streams the text with a bit of formatting (headers and such). It makes complicated layouts easier to read. However you can miss a lot of stuff too, if the way the internal layout of the PDF isn't conducive to a text mode view.

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete

Yes, I bought Sidekick as a PDF something like 5 years ago and it's still listed in my Control Panel for download in the online store. The downloads are basically there forever, although I'd download a copy and make a backup, just in case an unrecoverable server hiccup causes that go to away.

PDFs on your computer are great for using the search function to find things quickly. And a laptop doesn't quite count as a screen reader, but you can still lug a smallish laptop to games easily, and one laptop weighs less than a stack of books.

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete

I know brick-and-mortar retail is really dodgy these days' date=' but will the book be available to the retail sector for things like special orders?[/quote']

 

Eh? Brick and mortar is dodgy? What the hey?

 

I'm sure the book will be available. Do you mean the pre-order? I can't say if that will be available, specifically. Jason has said he wants to make a "sell sheet" available so that if you go to a brick and mortar store and they say they can't order that, you can hand them the sell sheet and say "Now you can."

 

Hero Games has also started a new program through Bits and Mortar where retailers can give a customer who buys a hardcopy a free PDF, just like the online store does. Ask the retailer about your free PDF too, and tell them "It's a special program for retailers from Bits and Mortar" if they don't know about it. Anytime they can advertise something for free it's a big deal for them.

Re: Advice sought: Uncommon Sense(s)

Yeah, I'd say he's nearly omniscient in the area immediately around himself. He might never be surprised. He should probably get information from the GM unasked for. (I sort of feel he's a bit like Eagle Eye, one of the example superheroes from 5th.) He should be able to smell things like Wolverine, tracking, and basically giving chemical and "animal" analysis at a whiff. Lot's of Sherlocke Holmes stuff can be done with that.

I just read psyber's response, he seems to make the same points. I think the one thing where I'd deviate is taste. Identifying the area of a country where foods are from seems a bit much. However, even regular people can identify a lot of minerals and other chemicals by their taste. My college professor could. Lead salts taste sweet, for example, which is why the Romans added them to their wine. I think that's the angle I'd take with taste: identification of basic compounds.

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete

So for example, in CC, the Linked advantage is about one column long. Four short paragraphs, and a table with some example linked situations; basically half of a page of explanation. Even in 5er, Linked was four pages long, which is pretty ridiculous.

The other thing that's been cut is a lot of illustrations: the layout feels like the Basic Rulebook. So it's a little plain, but the text size is fine and so far I don't actually see anything missing. It's also two column text with no sidebars, so it's physically dense copy.

Re: Champions Complete Available On Preorder

Ow. Well that hurt a lot. I just purchased a few things at the store.

Re: Champions Complete Available On Preorder

If you mouse-hover over the pics online, the file name is "cyclone_firegirl.jpg" or something similar (I think there's a 1 and 2 version, and maybe a "sml" version too).

Anyway, I think they're Cyclone and Firegirl, two character made up for the cover art. So we should have a contest to stat them up!

And this Cyclone and Cyclone from the Ultimates are obviously going to have to fight. Or team up. Or both.

Re: Russian Nazca-like Space Elk discovered

It's so indistinct, I'd say it's a series of corrals for keeping animals in, to be honest.

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete

late in the game' date=' but will this be kickstarter or a traditional release?[/quote']

 

Traditional release! The blue-lines have been approved and the book is at the printer already. We're just waiting for the printing to finish and the books to be shipped to Hero Games. Then you just buy it in the store.

 

Will the previously written Champions Villains books be made incompatible by the exclusion of powers like summoning or frameworks like VPP?

 

Everything is compatible. There's a short PDF coming from Derek about how to convert existing character, but the first thing it says is that there's no real need to convert. Certainly nothing big like removing Summoning or any frameworks.

 

Thanks for the clarification. So how will you save space' date=' by removing the example and qa?[/quote']

 

I assume so. CC will have much less explanation. Just the rules. We'll have to wait and see. If this is really a concern, I'll be buying this ASAP, and the base price for the book includes a free PDF, so I'll be able to give a review of CC almost immediately. Just wait a couple of days, and see what people think. It should be that easy.

Re: More space news!

That's really slow. Is there a known upper limit for proven(i.e.' date=' stuff that's actually been used before) propulsion tech, and then a probable upper limit for known tech(stuff we kinda sorta know how to build but maybe haven't fully fielded yet)? Do either of these come remotely close to even .001 c?(i.e., 1/1000 of light speed).[/quote']

 

So far, the only actual "known tech" we have are rockets. Throw mass out the back to make it go forward, that's it. Everything thing else has only been demonstrated on a small scale (solar sails) or is completely hypothetical. Nothing we have actually gets anywhere near even a small fraction of light speed.

Re: More space news!

Just for fun, let's see if I did this right. Voyager deep space probes are just now (roughly) passing the orbit of Pluto and heading into actual deep space, leaving our solar system.

In 35 years, they've gone 39.5 Astronomical Units = 0.000624607383 light years, according to Google. 39.5 AU is what I found for the orbit of Pluto, and Google says that's about six-ten-thousands of one light year. Yeowzer. No wonder interstellar travel is such a PITA.

Re: And now, for your daily dose of cute...

Huh, I always considered rabbits something that ran from danger. You know, fast as a jack rabbit? I think that rabbit was trying to have a nap.

Re: Suppressing my rage

Hopefully though, 7e is a long ways off. I think 6e has a lot of work to go before the fanbase is large enough again to withstand another rules change.

Re: Interesting article about Sexism in Geek Communities

I'm can be pretty crass sometimes IRL. And I've been known to hang out in the underbelly of the internet, so I'm well aware of some of the alternate entertainment that elements of this particular fanbase are drawn to...

 

But at the point where you drop rape jokes and N bombs in the presence of children, you need a serious wake up call. Quite possibly a five fingered one...

 

This is internet trolling, 4chan browsing, youtube coment wars brought into real life.

[Pedo-bear] An Open Letter to Convention-Going Butt Photographers

Reddit internet troll exposed: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/18/us/internet-troll-apology/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Fort Worth, Texas (CNN) -- An internet troll reviled for his pornographic posts on Reddit and recently revealed as a middle-aged software programmer told CNN that he made "a huge mistake."

 

For years, 49-year-old Michael Brutsch hid behind the online screen name "Violentacrez," creating hundreds of subforums on the user-generated website, such as "Rapebait," "Incest," "Pics of Dead Kids," "Choke a Bitch," and "Rape Jokes." "Violentacrez" has been banned from the site several times, although Brutsch still maintains a separate account.

 

Re: Non-Phase Segments - what is happening then?

D&D is the worst offender of my sensibilities. "Roll once' date=' and that'll determine the broad results of everything you did for the last ten seconds, offensively." No, thanks. I'm actually a fan of the GURPS one second rounds where actions are very atomic, and really generally enjoying the mechanics in the last few editions of RuneQuest, with their "special effects" based on mutual dice results.[/quote']

 

 

I can understand what you're saying. But in my opinion GURPS goes too far. It's pretty reasonable to assume that most of your turn is actually spend jinkin' and jivin', trying to line up a shot, moving away from a potentially dangerous situation, thinking defensive, dealing with adrenaline rush, etc.

 

Compare with something like Twilight 2000 that is supposed to somewhat accurately simulate modern combat. Actions are 5 seconds long, and as a rookie you get one 5 second action every 30 seconds. You're assumed to be able to take only that many effective actions per turn, because you're not really good at fighting, or timing your shots for when it's safe to fire, or just plain quaking in fear most of the time, etc. Those are realistic concerns, although I don't know how accurately T2000 simulates them.

 

My main concern with GURPS combat that with everyone already moving at 1 action per second, there's no room for improvement. GURPS didn't handle super well because there no real good way to be faster. They introduced quarter seconds or multiple actions or something in GURPS, but the results were really fiddly, imo, and I didn't care for them. Even in T2000, normal people could progress and increase their actions per turn by becoming experienced in dealing with the stress of combat. That feels a lot more "realistic" to me: people don't all have exactly the same effective actions, based on their familiarity with the situation.

 

And lastly, it's a game, and a simulation of people acting. Discreet turns is just a bookkeeping device. Yes it would be nice to smooth actions out over a phase, but it's kind of unrealistic to expect the GM and players to do that, and have fun at the same time. Discreet actions every three or four seconds are a reasonable compromise.

Re: "Neat" Pictures

These Tron costumes are pretty neat. I'm about 80% sure this is a corporate event, not homemade.

Re: OIHID or Why Doesn't Billy Batson not Change Back?

I think OHID means you want to change back sometimes. Strictly as a game mechanic, you only take OHID if you want to give yourself a vulnerability that the GM can exploit. So if you "change" but you run around in your hero ID basically all the time, you don't take OHID.

OHID is only for players who want to spend part of the time as a eight year old with a sign taped to their back that reads "kidnap me."

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete

'Course' date=' I realize there's a catch-22 here. Because such products might very well make it easier to [b']grow[/b] the fanbase.

This is what I think.

It's obviously darn hard to sell modules given the size of Hero's current fanbase, but it's also darn hard to see the size of the fanbase increasing without investing in a few modules to get folks started. Given that Jason was demoing a "starter Champions adventure" at Mage's Realm (I think that's what was reported, take that with a grain of salt), I'm hopeful we'll see at least one or two.

I understand it might be a difficult financial decision to make, because it means investing in something that might not have good returns.

Re: Hero In Two Pages - Complete

Bump-dee-dump.

Also: Is it possible to get a copy with the first three lines removed? The stuff that says "it's over 700 pages!!" and "Don't Panic!!" I just ant the last heading line "Here is Hero System in Two Pages, Complete!"

It's no longer true that the core book is over 700 pages, so there's no need to have that part if this is actually going to be a player handout or similar.

I just saw Brave last weekend. I saw it at the cheap theater before it disappeared from the big screen entirely. But I was wondering: how would you convert it to an RPG?

Tuala Morn is an obvious starting point for Hero gamers. There's some obvious changes to be made. Magic would be one of them. In Brave the protagonists are all warriors of one stripe or another. There's one witch, and she's largely just a plot device. However, this also might be kinda boring for the players, and a little spell flingin' would increase player options.

The biggest issue I think is comedy. Brave is a pretty light-hearted film. I've never attempted a comedy oriented RPG. It might be interesting, but it could be a mess too. I think I'd probably go for a light tone without actually trying for jokes or slapstick, and let the players supply any comedy desired.

Another big issue is the Fae, and monsters in general. Mystical elements appear very infrequently in Brave. Yet if they're absent from an RPG, plot options decrease. If you can't fight monsters, that leaves wild animals, and other people. Neither is going to be fun in a light-hearted RPG for long, methinks. I'd probably increase the mystical elements in Brave, but make them a long ways away. You'll have to travel a couple of days to the "wild parts" of Braveland (heh, I just made that up) to see monsters or Fae.

I think starting points might be another issue. Brave has fairly "normal" characters. Merida is pretty competent, largely due to her "princess training." However she's pretty inexperienced (she's what, 14? maybe 16 or so...), so many of her skills are going to be at starting levels and no more. She seems a crack shot with a bow, and an excellent horsewoman. Everyone else seems to have one weapon skill, tops (except for maybe her dad), and perhaps a couple of social skills. The rest is everyman skills (default climbing (kilts!), local area knowledge and history, etc.) So by and large characters are pretty simple. Players might chafe a bit but I think it might be important to maintain a fairly realistic tone and stick closer to the movie here.

Well this got a bit overlong, and I have to close it out quickly. What would you do for a Brave RPG using Hero, and what sorts of ideas as a player do you like, and what would you like to change?

Re: [New Product] Champions Complete

When I say "Beginner" I mean that the reader does have CC but they could use context. "Beginner" modules would not reprint the rules but would show how they work in actual play and GMing.

I could see adding some "debugging" (what Shadowrun used to call it): hints and tips for the GM how each scene might play out. What skills are especially useful, or what sort of power combinations to be wary of, or anything else that might be especially pertinent. But usually that's a couple of paragraphs for each scene, and each scene could take several pages once the NPCs are added in. It's just quick notes to the GM what to keep an eye out for.

"Show how the rules work in actual play" sounds a bit much to me. A summary approach for GM advice is what I'd personally like to see. You could make the modules introductory for the Champions universe, sure that makes sense. Providing a sense of plot and continuity by dividing modules into starting and follow-up is a neat idea (rather than a strictly linear series like the old G1, G2, G3, etc. DnD modules).

But I personally don't think I want more than one or two, tops, "how-to" adventures outside of the core rules. I think that would get old fast.

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

Re: Superhero Costume Party

There's always Marge Simpson, the Little Mermaid, an astronaut, a fireman, a police man, Dracula, a zombie, bed-sheet ghost, a witch, a bunny, Hello Kitty, etc. Lots of ideas I think.