tinman

Re: Finally, I bought the game! Only one problem... I buy some of them to read or mine ideas from, but I think you make a good point (albeit a tongue-in-cheek one). If all they were interested in was squeezing every last cent out of their customer base they would have crippled 5E and 5ER such that certain rules were only contained within the genre books. Sort of like how White Wolf does it. Or, from what I hear, Green Ronin will be doing with their add-on rules supplements for M&M2E.

Re: Finally, I bought the game! Only one problem... I really don't see the problem. 5ER has all the rules to run any setting you want (and even some notes for the more common ones). In no way whatsoever is the Champions book (for example) required to play a superhero campaign. When I was playing 4E I used the HSR and never owned a BBB, but all I ever ran were Champions games. About half the people I currently game with own exactly one game book - 5ER. Note that I'm not talking about just owning one HERO book, I mean one game book period. Some of them are new to gaming and bought it for our Champions game, but more than a few of them have sold off their other books in favour of running everything in the HERO System, and none of them seem to feel the need to use genre books to do it. Bah. edit - some of them own 5E and haven't bought 5ER yet

Re: C.U. alternate world, after "Independence Day" The plague of locusts version. That would definitely make more sense.

Re: C.U. alternate world, after "Independence Day" But the premise breaks down when you consider that they can either get what they need from non-inhabited places or grow it in their huge giant ships, or the habitats they could likely build instead of huge giant ships if they were so inclined (this includes the need for the biproducts of biological activity, such as fossil fuels). When you consider that they obviously have mastered gravity and surely benefit from the amazing spinoffs that this technological breakthrough would entail then the whole movie seems like the equivalent of sending a carrier battle group to steal a fish from a guy in a rowboat on the other side of the world. Not worth the effort barely begins to describe it.

Re: C.U. alternate world, after "Independence Day" I think such a post-invasion world would see a sharp decline in nationalism and a new perspective on terrestrial concerns. I could see much cooperative effort to cobble together not only a means to defend the planet, but perhaps an expedition to try to find the aliens and assess their capacity for another attack. Once that expedition leaves effort would switch to building a fleet with which to carry the war to the enemy. Supers would definitely be a critical part of all three endeavours, as without them the technological gap would be too large to easily surmount. Earth's reaction to the crash-landing of the SDF-1 in the Robotech universe might not be too far off.

Re: You wake up as a 25K point character WWYD I can't say or the wish won't come true

Re: Tactical Challenge: Mechanon Adam Gray, two-fisted Nazi fighter: "Nuclear warheads? Is that some kind of bomb, or are we talking about those new magnetic torpedos the navy guys are complaining about?" (Once it's been explained to him who and what Mechanon is and what a nuclear weapon is): "... :shock:"

Re: WWYCD: Don't Say You Didn't Warn You Adam Gray would probably spend a sleepless night dwelling on it before realising that there isn't much point worrying until ****** shows up. He would then turn his older self's body over to Allied intelligence so that they can study it and perhaps gain some insight into how to replicate his powers. Then he would go back to fighting Nazi superhumans.

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech If the authorities had access to an interface and deep space capable meta who could transport prisoners a moon base prison (ala The Moon is a Harsh Mistress) would also work. Security would be the environment itself and survival would keep most of the prisoners too busy to do much else.

Re: WWYCD: The Pocket Dimension For 2nd Lt. Adam Gray, a light brick working for Allied Intelligence in 1942, fighting Nazis is his 9 to 5 (or more like 24/7). He'd shrug, grab a weapon and jump right in.

Re: Evil Corporations Actually I've been able to keep their efforts quite minimal and still drive the PC's nuts. They obtained DNA samples from most of the team (those who had DNA to sample, that is) by means of trickery and since then security on their facilities has gone through the roof. This has led the PC's into fits of paranoia but they've never been able to do anything about it short of busting into the place and trashing their labs (which they are afraid to do because they are sure that Magnus Biotech now knows their vulnerabilities and susceptibilities).

Re: Evil Corporations Another corporation in my campaign isn't evil per se, but it's products have definitely been used in questionable ways by others, and it seems to be willing to sell to anyone willing to pay with no questions asked.

Re: Evil Corporations I have a corporation in my game called Magnus Biotechnology which exists principally as a vehicle for researching immortality for the benefit of a cabal of rich and powerful individuals who call themselves The Gilgamesh Society. Once they master death they believe they will be able to control the world at their leisure. Because so many of the intended beneficiaries are rather advanced in age, ethical (and legal) practices have gone out the window in favour of expediency. And of course, unlocking the secrets of the DNA of key metahumans (the PC's for example) is a primary focus of their research.

Re: Building a Super-History... Out of curiosity, what is the gender breakdown of your players?

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech A cycle of escalating hostility between governments and metahumans is definitely something I want to avoid.

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech Metas with high-level but otherwise straightforward powers (bricks, energy projectors and such) could likely be contained in cells made out of tank armour of varying thickness. A cell for a mentalist could consist of a bubble within a bubble, with the intervening space filled with a nutrient solution and living frog brain tissue or something. Too simple to manipulate, but too pervasive to get around.

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech Of course there would also likely be a lot of incidents where criminal metas simply "refuse to surrender" and wind up dead. Especially if they've killed cops in the past or broken out of prison a lot.

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech

Re: Super Prisons without Super Tech

Re: I could watch him get slapped around all day To which Spider Man would respond "Ooookaaay..." and then proceed to web him up

Re: Ideas and advice for a Captain America Homage Screaming Eagle? Iron Eagle? Ol' Shiny? Sir?

My campaign world hasn't had time to realise any truly impressive technological benefits from the existence of metahumans. I'm looking for ideas on how to contain high-threat metas without the use of drains or force fields or such like. One idea I've been considering is sending them to dreamland. There is a metahuman in my world who is in a permanent coma, but who's powers pull everyone who comes closer than 500 meters to him into his dream world more or less permanently (it takes a mentalist or someone with a monstrously high EGO to escape). His life support needs are minimal, and the government could simply build an enclosure around his radius of effect to prevent anyone from accidentally wandering into it. Metas that are beyond the ability of conventional prisons to contain could simply be dropped into the zone of effect and the problem obligingly goes away. Even a rescue attempt by the meta's allies wouldn't be a problem because they would inadvertently enter the zone of effect and become trapped themselves. The government would have to keep the nature of their prison a secret of course, lest someone try to kill the metahuman generating the effect. Anyone got any ideas on more conventional means of holding high-threat metas without the use of super tech?