Lxndr

Re: INT/EGO of a Machine Focus Hmmm, so his Mental Defense would also apply?

Re: More Help Please Oh! Then you can turn into a flying squid!

Re: (delete) A failed Dispel, it seems.

So, I've got a character with power armor, very specifically defined as working as a result of his cyberkinesis. It's an Obvious Inaccessible Focus, per the rules, and that's totally okay, yay for that and all that jazz. I've now got a villain who uses cyberkinesis. One of her powers is mental illusions (to machines). So she'd like to target the sensor suite of the suit, and basically cloud it to inoperability. What should I consider the int/ego of the suit be? Focuses have rules for determining DEF and Body, but I don't see any for determining INT/EGO, yet in this case it seems vital for the suit to have one.

Re: Area of a hexagon That's true, prestidigitator, but then that's true even of triangles, so the 'except for triangles' comment would be superfluous. Okay, end of tangent (I hope).

Re: Area of a hexagon

Re: Your PC's might be underpowered if... Your superhero might be underpowered if... he's not in hero ID?

Re: (delete) Invisibility to Forum Sense Group, Bright Fringe?

Re: I need a function! The Living Projector The living projector is a product of genetic splicing. Its function is bioluminescence - it creates light in various forms, from simple illumination to focused beams capable of slicing through all but the hardest armours. To use it, it needs to graft to one's chest and feed off the energy produced by the heart - which can have dangerous side-effects if over-used. Next: The Bellibone

Re: The probability and predictability of dice. Sounds excellent, Steve. Aod for the record, I just finished taking an applied statistics course. Standard deviation would possibly be useful (imho) in this case to quickly eyeballing areas. One standard deviation on each side is 68% of the data. The area for two standard deviations is 95% of the data. Three is 97% of the data. More-or-less, anyway. And the more dice you have, the smaller the range of numbers appears inside one standard deviation, which is part of why it's more predictable.

Re: More Help Please He was bitten by a radioactive psychic? Although I like mysterious background stuff, I prefer no more than one character in a group with it (unless it's part of the premise of the campaign, in which case it's EVERY character). Could always use the TMNT origin - something fell off the back of a truck, and he fell into it. Poor Average Joe.

Re: Talent List and Descriptions? I'd buy it.

Re: Your PC's might be underpowered if... No bars in the small towns of dry counties... Your PCs might be underpowered if their combined point value is less than half that of their combined enemies in any given combat? Your superhero team might be underpowered if the first segment where anyone gets to go during combat is 7.

Re: What I learn playing a GM. You are not God. You just tell the gods what to do. The more responsibility for the world and story you put in the players hands, the happier you'll be.

Re: What fundamental thing would you change about the Hero system? Is that really fundamental to the HERO system, though? I don't recall seeing any rules about gender demographics... maybe they added that in 5ER?

Re: Outside the HERO Box Thia: 3 points of 'normal damage' plus ranged (1/2) is 4.5, or almost 5, the same as 'energy blast.' Add 'strength adds' for a hand attack, though it lacks the kludgey 'hand to hand attack' disadvantage that the 5th edition gives it which I've never understood. Ideally, this would be worth exactly 3.333333333333, not just 3. 10 points of 'killing damage' plus ranged (1/2) is 15, the same as 'ranged killing attack.' Add the mythical (strength adds) and you also get 15, the same as 'hand to hand killing attack.' This is for an entire die of damage, not a damage class. A damage class more properly should be 3.333333333333333 to match the old values precisely.

Re: Outside the HERO Box I can see splitting into: Damage attack - Normal (3) Damage attack - Killing (10) Then give: Strength adds (+1/2) and Ranged (+1/2)

Re: Some Mind Control Stuff I'm not entirely sure if he should be the only one to give commands. And if not... since the mind control is a constant, always-on, building effect, how often can a given person be given a command? (An enjoyable mental image is forming, where, during fights, people keep shouting orders to each other, to override the order these villains are shouting) Is giving a spoken command a half-action in a situation like this, or a zero-phase action like a monologue? I imagine, since this is all a single effect, more recent commands would override older commands. So Mr. Pheromone goes 'kill Egani!' and then, next phase, Egani goes 'no, kill Mr. Pheromone!'

Re: WWYCD: Registration I've got an interesting registration system idea. Barring criminals (who are registered under their real name), people who register only register their superhero ID, unconnected to any regular ID. They get a separate "SSN" number, and effectively have two legal IDs they can operate. And since their 'secret' ID (their being-a-person ID) is not listed in the registration system (again barring criminals), hacking into the registration system only finds the movements of the superheroic ID (including procuring bases and the like) but not the movements of the secret ID.

Re: VERY Abusive Powers 1 pip RKA; Transdimensional (back to the moment of target's conception) Sure, it won't kill absolutely everyone, but how many people had resistant defenses when they were just a zygote in the womb? Assume the worst for Transdimensional (any dimension) and that's 10 active/10 real points. Wham, poof, and not only do they not exist now, but they never existed.

I've got this character I'm making (an NPC) who's sort of like The Envoy from the Wild Cards books - he exudes an odor that gets people to go along with everything he says. In this particular conception, being around him doesn't instantly cause anything, but exposure over time wears you down. Using the following advantages and limitations, I think I'm making the power the way I want: * NND (defense is appropriate LS or biology) * Cumulative (since it builds up over time) * 0 END, Persistent, Always On (whew, that's a mouthful) * No Range * Either AoE or Explosion (probably the latter, since the farther you get away from him, the weaker the effects) * And of course, Based On CON Now according to FRED (original, not 5ER), when sufficiently affected by a mental power Based on CON, it falls to the first person speaking to give the/a command. Is there an agreed-upon advantage value to 'only commands the administrator gives' when using Based on CON? Perhaps I should just cost that the same as Telepathic, since a telepathic command is pretty much guaranteed to get there "before" anyone else has a chance to speak. Also, has anyone ever applied 'Partial Transform' to Mind Control? I think it makes sense for this character - if you're around him a short time, you'll do some things, then as it builds up cumulatively, you'll be willing to do more things, and eventually you'll even be convinced it was your own idea. Does this seem "street legal" and if not, why not (and what would you do instead)?

Re: What fundamental thing would you change about the Hero system? Well, since the STR no longer figures into figured characteristics, it seemed silly to raise its cost on top of everything else. 1:1 seemed fair in this instance. I'd probably also put Hand Attack to a plain ordinary 5. If I were going to continue along that path, Comeliness would likely become figured (5+PRE/2 seems a fair number), and I'd also figure out some way to cost both PRE and DEX at 2, so that all 'standard' characteristics would have the same cost, since Com, Dex, and Pre are the 3 oddballs out. I don't like the idea of splitting splitting DEX into two attributes worth 2 points each, one for OCV and one for DCV (it doesn't seem entirely out of the question, but its impact on figuring SPD is something I find less than savory). Instead, consider this alternative: Reduce the cost of DEX to 2/pt, and then make OCV and DCV based on DEX/5 instead of DEX/3. One objection here could be that it reduces the number of useful break points in that particular attribute. On the other hand, since DEX and EGO are the only ones that benefit from the 3 division, it's not a huge loss, and seems to shift more importance to combat skill values. In this situation we would probably would do the same thing to EGO's combat values (the justification there being that EGO is now adding to figured attributes it didn't add to before). On the other hand, raising PRE's cost and providing benefits, this I'm not totally sure about. Sure, if I set it up so it figures into Comeliness, then that's something, but that's not a lot. These are things to think about, but right now I need sleep.

Re: What fundamental thing would you change about the Hero system? Here's a bit of horror for you all. A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away, on the old hero boards back in 2001 or so, there were a series of posts about the idea of making Size and Density primary characteristics. I got involved in it, and provided what I feel to be the definitive use of Size and Density in that manner. Of course, to do that properly, Strength and Body (which are affected by Growth and Density Increase in the base rules) had to become figured characteristics. Since Body and Str figure into quite a few other, there was a sort of domino effect. KB Resistance also becomes a standard figured attribute. There's a few other tweaks in here: * Int now figures into SPD (mental reflexes; cost increased appropriately) * Ego now figures into endurance and recovery (force of will) ----- Primary Characteristics: Siz: 10 (2/pt) - Size Den: 10 (2/pt) - Density Con: 10 (2/pt) - Constitution Dex: 10 (3/pt) - Dexterity Int: 10 (2/pt) - Intelligence Ego: 10 (2/pt) - Ego Pre: 10 (1/pt) - Presence Com: 10 (1/2pt) - Comeliness ----- Figured Characteristics: PD: Den/5 (1/pt) ED: Den/5 (1/pt) End: Con + Ego (1/2pt) Stun: Siz + Den/2 + Con/2 (1/pt) Rec: Con/5 + Ego/5 (1/pt) SPD: (Int+Dex)/10 (10/pt) *Str: (Siz + Den) - 10 (1/pt) *Body: Con/2 + Siz/3 + Den/5 (1/pt) *KB Res: [(Siz/5) + (Den/5) - 4] (2/pt) Running: 1 + Siz/2 inches (2/pt) Leaping: Siz/5 (1/pt) Swimming: 3 - Den/10 (1/pt) Height: 1m x 2^(size/10) Mass: 6.25kg x 2^(size/5+density/5) So size 10, density 10 = 2m tall, 100kg ----- So the equivalent of 1 level of density increase (5 points of density) works out to be 10 character points. The equivalent of 3 levels of growth (a doubling in size and a tripling in mass - so 10 extra points of size, and 5 extra points of density) is 30 points. Of course, we would need to give them Costs Endurance (probably at the 1/2 level) - that brings the cost of Density down to 6.66, and the cost of 3 levels of growth down to 20 points. Compared to 5 points (DI) and 15 points (growth) under the current system, that's a little bit higher. However, let's look at the figured characteristics that come with it: Old DI: +5 str, +1 PD/ED, +1" KBR New DI: +5 str, +1 PD/ED, +1" KBR, +1 Body, + 2.5 Stun, -1" Swimming Old Growth (3 levels): +15 Str, +3 Body, +3 Stun, +3" KBR New Growth (equivalent): +15 Str, +4 Body, +12 Stun, +3" KBR, +1 PD/ED, +2" Leap, -1" Swimming, +5" Running The differences in cost are easily accounted for by these additional, mostly advantageous, extra benefits. A bit more complex is Shrinking. The equivalent of 1 level of Shrinking is built as follows: -20 points to buy size down to 0, -10 points to buy density down to 5, +15 points to buy STR back up, +4 points to buy body back up, +2 to restore PD and ED, +12 to restore STUN, +10 to buy running back up, and +2 to buy leaping back up. This works out to 15 points. Buy it with 'costs end' and it's 10 exactly. Nice and clean. We even have an easy formula for figuring out size-based OCV penalties, by the by: Take your size, subtract your opponent's size, and divide by 5. That's your OCV/PER penalty to hit/see them, and their OCV/PER bonus to hit/see you.

Re: [Help] A Villain and Four Followers The first: Taken from the core idea of a superhero I once played for a few brief sessions, here's The Reaper's first follower, the supervillain Hubris (who still needs disadvantages): Hubris Player: Val Char Cost 10/40 STR 0 18 DEX 24 13 CON 6 10 BODY 0 13 INT 3 11 EGO 2 20 PRE 10 10 COM 0 3/14 PD 1 3/14 ED 0 4 SPD 12 5 REC 0 26 END 0 22 STUN 0 5" RUN -2 2" SWIM 0 2"/8" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 56 Cost Power 10 Suit Armor: Armor (5 PD/5 ED) (15 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 14 Suit Power: Endurance Reserve (30 END, 12 REC) Reserve: (15 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 53 Suit Power Suite: Multipower, 80-point reserve, (80 Active Points); all slots OIF (-1/2) 3u 1) Aid 2d6 (standard effect: 6 points), Can Add Maximum Of 30 Points, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per 5 Minutes; +1/2), [four powers] simultaneously (+1) (72 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), Self Only (-1/2), OIF (-1/2) 2u 2) Scythe: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6 (2d6+1 / 3 1/2d6 w/STR), Armor Piercing (+1/2) (45 Active Points); OAF Unbreakable (Big Scythe; -1) 2u 3) Density Increase (6,400 kg mass, +30 STR, +6 PD/ED, -6" KB) (30 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 1u 4) Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), OIF (-1/2) 1u 5) Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), OIF (-1/2) 4m 6) Flight 5", x32 Noncombat (30 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 9 Teamwork: +1 with All Combat, Usable Simultaneously (up to 4 people at once; +3/4) (14 Active Points); Limited Power Only On Teammates (-1/2) 30 Bending: Invisibility to Sight and Radio Groups and Spatial Awareness , Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4) (37 Active Points); Extra Time (Delayed Phase, -1/4) 20 Ripples: Spatial Awareness (Unusual Group), +3 to PER Roll, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) (30 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 13 Flicker: +4 with DCV (20 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (Only When Bending; -1/2) 19 Trick Battery: Endurance Reserve (75 END, 12 REC) (19 Active Points) 61 Bending Tricks: Multipower, 92-point reserve, (92 Active Points); all slots Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 3u 1) Long View: Clairsentience (Sight Group), Targeting, MegaScale (1" = 10 km; +1/2), Can Be Scaled Down 1" = 1km (+1/4) (52 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 3u 2) Long Jump: Teleportation 10", MegaScale (1" = 100 km; +3/4), Can Be Scaled Down 1" = 1km (+1/4) (40 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 6u 3) Slip Through The Cracks: Teleportation 15", No Relative Velocity, Position Shift, x16 Noncombat, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Safe Blind Teleport (+1/4) (90 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 6u 4) Tagalong: Teleportation 15", No Relative Velocity, x16 Increased Mass, Safe Blind Teleport (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (90 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 6u 5) Rifting: Teleportation 15", Ranged (+1/2), Invisible Power Effects, Source Only (Fully Invisible; +1/2), Usable As Attack (+1) (90 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 2u 6) Phase Step: Teleportation 15" (30 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 1u 7) Phase Support: Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing) (10 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 3u 8) Phasing: Desolidification (40 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 1m 9) Phase Walk: Flight 5" (10 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 6u 10) Bending Razor: Killing Attack - Ranged 2 1/2d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Invisible Power Effects, Source Only (Fully Invisible; +1/2), Penetrating (+1/2) (90 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 6u 11) Bending Crash: Energy Blast 8d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Invisible Power Effects, Source Only (Fully Invisible; +1/2), Armor Piercing (+1/2) (90 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) 6u 12) Crack the World: Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF, Cannot Be Escaped With Teleportation (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Affects Desolidified Any form of Desolidification (+1/2), Takes No Damage From Attacks All Attacks (+1/2), Invisible Power Effects, Source Only (Fully Invisible; +1/2) (90 Active Points); Limited Power Only While Bending (-1/2) Powers Cost: 291 Cost Skill 3 Teamwork 13- Skills Cost: 3 Total Character Cost: 350 Pts. Disadvantage 0 Normal Characteristic Maxima Disadvantage Points: 0 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 150 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Re: Name Help: Super Patriot We could call him the Sixty Minuteman.