beauxdeigh

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I'M GONNA BE (500 MILES) by THE PROCLAIMERS When I wake up yeah I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you When I go out yeah I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you If I get drunk yes I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you And if I haver yeah I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you But I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more Just to be the man who walked 1000 miles To fall down at your door When I'm working yes I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who's working hard for you And when the money comes in for the work I'll do I'll pass almost every penny on to you When I come home yeah I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who comes back home to you And if I grow old well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who's growing old with you But I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more Just to be the man who walked 1000 miles To fall down at your door When I'm lonely yes I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man whose lonely without you When I'm dreaming yes I know I'm gonna dream Dream about the time when I'm with you. But I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more Just to be the man who walked 1000 miles To fall down at your door

Re: Musings on Random Musings

I'm not a hypocrite. You can never accuse me of being a hypocrite. ... ... Yeah, that's right. It's a load of crap. No one gets off this planet dodging that label. Not me. Not you. Unless you were born perfect, that is. Oh, I'm sure we all can think of people who have lived that we'd never associate with the word hypocrite. Yet, if you could ask them...they would never agree with you. Hypocrisy is human nature. They had to overcome it... ...through humility. That's it. Hypocrisy can be avoided with perfection or overcome with humility. There are no other ways to not be a hypocrite. Stating that you aren't a hypocrite is akin to claiming incredible foresight and then walking into a pole. So... I am a hypocrite. I've lied. I've cheated. I've stolen. I've lost my temper. I've lashed out in anger. I've hurt my friends, my wife, my children. I've done horrible things that I wish I could forget. I deserve far worse than I get every day. I am alive. I am learning. I am not perfect. I am a hypocrite.

Re: Need a hand with a power Remember to specify a defense to this power. All unconventional UAA powers require you define a defense, much like NND, such that some characters can avoid the effect. Also, remember that one of the best memes of superhero comics is a twisted version of the old axiom 'Nature abhors a vaccuum'. When Superman first appeared he was fighting thugs with handguns. Batman, too. It didn't take long for that to change and villians that could truly challenge them to appear. If you let this time manipulator in your game, then you would be absolutely justified in applying this concept to your game. Create a handful of villians specifically tailored to his background and powerset, and ask us for suggestions. I've got a few.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Pride is always a bitter, barbed pill to swallow. Doing so requires we not think ourselves above another. Any other. We may not agree with them, and we may even be forced to fight them, but none of that makes us 'better.' Often it requires us to give way when the urge to be unmoving is causing the blood to pound in our ears. It can require us to stand silent before the jeering mass even when we feel justified in bringing the hosts of heaven down around their heads. It always requires us to accept our own fallability. No matter how much we would like to protest to the contrary, we are the cause and center of our trials and troubles. Pride erodes away at us slowly and steadily. The longer we let it do so, the greater the distance between us and the rest of our world will become. Close friends become acquaintances. Friendly rivals become enemies. Disagreement becomes intolerance and hate. We like to ignore how destructive pride is. We'd like to make it a virtue. We want our posturing and chest-thumping to be seen as good and righteous. I'd sure like that, but it isn't.

Re: Musings on Random Musings I think Skaramine was referring to a post-mortem reunion, OM. As in he hopes the rest of the Beatles don't pass away too soon.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings 33 more days. Just 33 more days. Then the master (de)baters can start the pissing contests over who won. Hey "Uncle Sam"! One thread wasn't enough! Close them all!

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I hate to be the splash of cold water: Snopes has debunked this. It turns out this is an image of a submarine maneuvering room console that was modified for a submission to a competition on fark.com Doesn't mean I wouldn't like a steering wheel on my computer, though.

Re: Hero System is Just Alright With Me Fantastic guys! It's great to see so much agreement. Now, which 90+% is well put together? The point, of course, is not that these 'reworking' or 'polishing' threads are begun because of the bulk 90+%. It's that varying 1 or 2% that each of us individually feel doesn't work right that cause those debates and discussions. I think a huge majority of the posting members would agree that the HERO System is "well put together." I'd personally say about 96.32% of the system is just great, but that's just an approximation.

Re: Longest Running Thread EVER I thought the subject at hand was just fine... If we must change, though... Which hour-long television drama format is better: character driven shows like ER, The Practice and The West Wing? or theme driven shows like Law and Order (et.al.) and CSI (et.al.)? Why? (I'd make it a poll, but that wouldn't help the cause...Vive Le Longest Thread!)

Re: Gods and Champions

Re: Gods and Champions The connections of names to powers is fairly obvious once you read the passages being used as the character names: Exodus 10:21 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt - darkness that can be felt." ...would be the darkness manipulator. Isaiah 6:2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ...probably the chick with wings. Judges 15:14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. ...which is, of course, a verse referring to Samson. Matthew 27:51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. ...would likely be the earth mainpulator. Leviticus 26:22 I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted. ...a four armed beast guy fits here pretty well. (Although so does an animal empath/controller...first thing I thought of, but that wasn't on the list.) Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days - and also afterward - when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. ...which I admit doesn't exactly fit 'slingshot guy', but I'd never heard of the characters before this thread...maybe there's an explanation in the comics that I'm not seeing here. I do think it's a pretty cool idea to use scriptures as names, though. I think it's a great way to give Christian beliefs a foot in the comics without appearing to espouse their particular viewpoint. Plus, it makes me want to go hunting for some more ideas from my bible.

Re: Games gone awry

Re: Who have you updated? Frizbe from the original Enemies book. Albino Ultimate Disc Champion villianess extraordinaire! What?

Re: Storn's Art & Characters thread. Yeah, doesn't it though.

Re: Mystery Disad? What the....?! I once had a player hand me a cute little speedster. Everything was great until I got to the disads and saw: 60 - Mystery Disadvantages Damn it. I was annoyed. So, the character is running along at top speed, and spies the rest of the team fighting that evening's group of troublemakers. She takes a quick turn and heads into the fray, attempting a move-by. The player rolls and misses...horribly. At this point one of the other players speaks up and says, "Thank goodness you don't have any Unluck..." "Roll 3d6, Mr. Sixty Points of Mystery Disads."

Re: Help with a Villain Name - Laser Tag? I really like L-X, Hermit. Great suggestion. Zap might work, too. Like Lazer, it has the distinction of being an American Gladiators name, and has an air of super jock attitude.

Re: Champions vs. Mechanon I suppose you're right, and later in the battle he probably should have. However, I always picture the menacing machines of immense might facing their foes on foot until the fight forces them to take to the air for tactical reasons.

Re: Champions vs. Mechanon

Re: Same Machine...Different Meat

Re: Champions vs. Mechanon It's a optional rule. To my knowledge, it is not stated explicitly in the H5 rulebook. Since I was using that as my reference during the battle, and I could find nothing about it when I looked (pp 108 and 283), Mechanon is stuck with a 0 DCV when Entangled. Important to note this would have been true of Steadfast and Megaera as well. In all honesty, the 0 DCV bothered me during the fight. I felt the loss of the top damage dice when he was attacked balanced it out a little (not perfectly), and he was never Entangled for more than a fraction of a Segment anyway. Besides, the way I was rolling hot and cold, he would have rolled three ones on his Casual STR rolls anyway.

Same Machine...Different Meat Not a lot of love for the Champions here it seems. Fortunately, they aren't the only heroes on the block in the shining metropolis of Millenium City. I thought it might be interesting to see how five members of the fan-designed MC-8 would do against Mechanon. In for Witchcraft...Lady Liberty (LL) In for Nighthawk...Stalker (St) In for Defender...Megaera (Me) In for Sapphire...El Aguijon (EA) In for Ironclad...Steadfast (Sf) And Mechanon (Mc), as himself. It's Meat vs. Machine II...let's get ready to rumble!!! Pre-phase 12 Using the warehouse map from the resource kit...though I was tempted to use the starship bridge map. Once St and EA stealth their way into the building, Me and Sf knock in the warehouse door with LL between them, Mc is standing by some crates in the far corner. Ph.12 LL half moves into position behind some crates and shoots Mc with her Rune enchanted pistols. Excellent roll, Mc takes 10 STUN. Note: I typed this up as I went, and looking back I realize that every shot that LL was able to take turned out really well. Her 14 OCV with the pistols and the +2 Stun multiplier made every shot pretty effective against Mc. Mc would definitely put her high up on the potential threat list next time they meet. Mc acts next. Making his perception roll by 10, he is aware of both EA and St's flanking positions, but his threat matrix determines that the three entering at the door are the primary concern. Since LL has considerable concealment (-4), he softens them up with an Explosive Projectile. Almost missing the hex (a 16!) he does 38 STUN and 9 BODY before defenses. LL is in the single digits and is stunned. Me and Sf are hurt, but still solid. KB is negligable. Note: Unless otherwise stated, assume Mc has his Multipower Levels (+4) in OCV and his Overall levels in DCV (+3). St thinks like a team member (making his Tactics roll) and hits Mc's hex with a Glue Bomb, 3 DEF 3 BODY Entangle, reducing Mc's DCV to 0. Me goes next. The momentarily still form of the menacing machine is too tempting, and she goes for the Move Through. Even with her reduced OCV, she needs a 17- to hit. To remove any any doubt, she rolls a 6! 17 dice later (removing the top three 6s for the Entangle) Mc takes 16 STUN after defenses, and 5" of KB into the nearby crates. Note: I'm not sure if I removed the damage from the maneuver right to account for the DEF and BODY provided by the Entangle. I couldn't quickly find any example rules, which was the only case that the H5 index failed me, so I improvised. EA, counting on his shrunken state to avoid harm, flies closer to the robot prone in the debris and zaps him with his Stunning Sting. Needing a 14, he rolls an 11 and does 27 STUN! Note: I'm not sure if Mc would have the non-conuctive armor defense for this NND or not. There's nothing indicating it in his background or power descriptions. Plus, I'm trying to favor the 'meat' here. Next time they face him, this won't work. Sf lumbers forward at his full rate of 8" towards Mc, trying to keep himself between the robot and the stunned LL. Post 12 LL: recovers to half her STUN, even though she is stunned. Mc: recovers to 57 STUN remaining, and is plotting his revenge against the tiny insect flesh bag Me: recovers totally. Sf: recovers to all but 3 STUN. Ph.1...Ph. 2 LL recovers from being stunned Mc takes a half phase to right himself, and, his threat matrix recalibrated, takes a shot at EA in fully Offensive Mode (all skill levels to OCV). Mc needs an 11, and by his gilded circuits that's what he gets! EA takes 57 STUN and 4 BODY! After defenses! He's unconscious before taking the 29" of KB. He then takes an additional 4 STUN going through the interior wall, and another 11 STUN going through the exterior brick wall, to land 3" outside the warehouse fully grown at -42 STUN. He won't be waking up any time soon...like Christmas...2006. Ph. 3 St swings closer and does a repeat of his last action, hoping to keep the robot held down long enough for his teammates to finish it off. He hits two hexes behind Mc (on purpose) with a 2 DEF 2 BODY Glue Grenade. Note: I tried to play Stalker smart and a little lucky. Centering the explosion back a bit from the enemy means less Entangle to punch through for his teammates, and he also doesn't have to worry about catching Me in the Glue. Me flies up and attempts to smash Mc into the concrete floor with her Punch. She hits with a 14 and does 6 STUN to Mc after the Entangle and his defenses, and she sinks him an inch into the floor for an additional 5 STUN. Sf "runs" another 8" up to Mc. He's only 3" away now. Note: Sf needs a movement power badly! The fight would have been done if he could have reached HtH range sooner. I know, something is said about it in the character's description, but he could have bought 2 or 3 more inches with just a few points (instead of a base and vehicle) and he'd be better off. Next time, Megaera is just going to Fastball Special him at Mechanon. Ph. 4 LL has no clear shot on the robotic menace, so she jogs her full move over to a better, flanking, position. Mc doesn't even bother to stand up. He just shoots Me in his fully Offensive Mode (all levels OCV). He rolls a 7 and hits her square in the *ahem* chest. Ouch. Fortunately, Mc 'got a rock' and only does 29 STUN to the marvelous maiden after her defenses, She's stunned. She takes 13" of knockback up into the concrete ceiling, and, unfortuanately, the ceiling rolled well. She takes an aditional 18 STUN, is at 1 STUN remaining, and is heading towars the floor. Ph. 5 St swings into action and catches Me before she can hit the ground. They land comfortably behind some crates nearby for cover. Me recovers from being stunned. Sf half moves up to the prone Mc and starts a-pounding, quoting something about the "valley of the shadow of death." He rolls an 8 and hits solidly, doing only 6 STUN and sinking Mc further into the floor (no additional damage). Ph. 6 LL half moves up and shoots the downed robot again. Hitting with a 10, she leaks 15 STUN through the robot's defenses. Mc is relatively irritated now, he sets off an Explosive Projectile with his Flare as a Multiple Power Attack, placing himself at the center of the blast radius for the projectile. It's a calculated risk. He hits his hex. LL is knocked out at -1 STUN, but not stunned, and this means she avoids being blinded. Sf takes only 5 STUN, and is blinded for 5 segments. Mc takes 2 STUN. Ph. 7 Mc rises from the floor and backhands the blinded Sf, hitting easily with a 14. Sf takes 10 STUN, but surprises Mc by not moving an inch. Note: Mc's Overconfidence showing through here. The only visible enemy facing him is the blinded Sf. All the rest of the flesh bags are hiding or unconscious. I'd say being overconfident in this moment is to be expected. Also, I note that none of the MC-8 have have that Psych Lim, which I commend. Ph. 8 LL becomes conscious. St decides it's time to move from a support role to directly into the fray, to give the heavy hitters a moment to catch their wind. He half moves toward Mc and fires his Electro-Disc. He rolls a 9 and hits for 5 STUN and 1" of KB. Note: Having no Knockback Resistance or a Breakfall skill, Mc goes to the floor yet again. I've checked the sheet over a half dozen times, and I can't find anything that helps Mc keep his feet in a fight. Being prone and at 1/2 DCV is a huge advantage for the heroes. Me takes a free recovery. Sf rolls a 10 for his Hearing PER Roll against Mc, just enough to have a shot on the machine. He rolls a 14 on his punch and misses. Ph. 9 Mc stands and blasts the blind Sf with his 18d6. He rolls an 11, hits, and does 40 STUN. Sf doesn't move an inch, but is unconscious. Note: Only to -7, he'll wake up in the next phase. Ph. 10 LL stands and takes another shot at Mc. With a 10, she hits, rolls a hell of a stun multiplier, and does 18 STUN to the evil automaton. With that, Mc is at 0 STUN, and falls. St and Me still have yet to go this phase, and they'll likely knock Mc into double digit negative STUN. Sf will be coming conscious, and get his sight back next phase, ready to cause more trouble. So, I'm calling it a win for the meat. Mc's head will be heading out on Phase 11. Note: the head will "be heading" and "heading out" ... how cheesy can I get?! --------------- I would say for their first set, the MC-8 make a good team, and their creators get gold stars. They're a little better than the Champions. I never even used Megaera or Steadfast's Missile Deflection powers, which would pretty much negate the 18d6 blast on them if they acted as shields while the other heroes, especially Liberty, sniped away at Mechanon. The only other thing I learned is that I'm really rusty at running combats for this many characters, so it was slow going (like 4 1/2 hours)...I need to do this again, now that I'm a bit more familiar with the characters, and see if I can't speed it up.

Re: How to make this power, Shadow Dagger Ah, I see. You want 3d6 with STR. My bad. I also notice my END calculation is probably off (Ranged Advantage adds to the creation END). A little rework... ...and I think that does it. EDIT: If you have your heart set on Penetrating, the power goes up to 75 Active Points, and the Total Cost raises to 37 points.

Re: How to make this power, Shadow Dagger Give it a (-1/4) if you want, but it don't try to add anything of the level of a single Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4). Recoverable Charges are something you ordinarily recover after the end of combat (ie. Sweeping up the special dust you use to blind your opponent, or picking up the unbroken arrows). This character can recover his dagger by expending a little END. It's like saying that Thor throwing his hammer is a Recoverable Charge. Again, this is my take. I think it accomplishes what Reln was asking for, but it's his or his GM's call.

Re: How to make this power, Shadow Dagger Here's my take, based on what you asked for: I won't presume to decide whether or not this is a Focus until you clarify a few thngs for us: Is it an actual item that could be stolen? Do these daggers disappear once he is unconscious? From your description, if one is taken from him he can just form another. Is this true? What happens when he throws them? Do they stay around or disappear in a puff of negative energy? I think it definitely qualifies for Restrainable, but I'm unsure if it goes up to the level of Focus without the above questions answered.