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Jeghis

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Everything posted by Jeghis

  1. Re: Psion: a unit of psychic energy. Technically, Newtons are a measure of force, and Kelvins are a measure of temperature. Joule is the SI measure of energy. Also, a psion is a type of meson in particle physics, but that does not rule out using the same term as a property of a system. You could call is a psychon instead, to avoid any confusion. If you want to know what it measures, ask how you measure it. Will psionics depend on a new particle/wave? Can it be measured directly? It also depends on whether it is a colloquial term or a scientific term, even a measurement in SI. Help or hinder, that's that.
  2. Re: Growing Up Polytheistic This will probably be more unhelpful than helpful, but the world works that way sometimes. Hinduism is a complex religion and may not give you the kind of answers you want. The gods of the Hindu pantheon are inextricably linked in a way that the Greco-Roman gods aren't. Reading Homer, Seneca, and Aristophanes might be as helpful as getting individual views about a particular religion. Alternatively, you might look at the literature or talk to people about Vodun/Voudon/Voodoo or Wicca. But, you have a ready source for material in the United States in certain forms of Christianity. Modern Christianity could be characterized as having between one and five deities, possibly more. The primary deity is the Father, who is usually identified with the Jewish deity. Some Christians may also identify Allah with the Father. Jesus, the Son, serves a role as the Sacrifice and Intermediary. Like the Father, Jesus is a male deity. Judaism does not recognize Jesus as a deity, while at least some branches of Islam recognize him as a human prophet. The third deity is sexless and is a pure spirit: the Holy Spirit. This deity serves a role as an indirect informant and inspiration to humans. I am not aware of the use of this deity in Judaism, but I believe that at least some forms of Islam have a similar deity. Of the last two deities, Lucifer/Satan/The Devil plays the role of the source of all evil. Humans may worship him directly or serve him indirectly. Satan is usually characterized as male. The last deity is the Virgin Mary, who is the only female deity in the pantheon and the mother of Jesus, another deity. Mary is most often found in certain Catholic Christian sects. You could add any number of other saints, but I haven't kept up with my hagiology enough to know who's in and who's out in the 21st century. Now, you do have some of the same problems you'd face in Hinduism, in that all of the deities trace their origins and existence to the Father. In theory, after the end of days, everything that's left just goes back to being the Father, unlike a harder polytheism, like the Norse, where the deities simply cease to exist after a certain point. This view of polytheistic Christianity takes a variety of forms, but none admit Satan worship as being useful or good. One of my relatives takes the view that certain religions are Satan worship, though they do not make that claim for themselves. He also claims that either the Son or Holy Spirit gives him advice on a variety of topics, including career moves. Satan also gives advice, but he has to struggle to ignore it, usually with the help of one of the good three. He does not admit the Virgin Mary into his pantheon and views veneration of her as something bordering on satanic. The Harry Potter series is satanic. I am perfectly aware that Christianity is normally characterized as a monotheistic religion, but actual practice seems to deviate from that theoretical form. As an external observer, it is easier to characterize it as polytheistic, while Judaism appears to be easier to represent as a monotheistic religion, at least in many of its forms. Like I said, there's a lot of words here and too few facts. The other thing to keep in mind is that religious wars are not that pervasive a thing in world history. Most religions have adapted to the other pantheons, with the Romans being a prime example. Most conflict arose from land and resource disputes. Good luck. You'll need it. c/j
  3. Re: HeroCentral Issues? I haven't had a problem, per se, but I have had been waiting two days to log in, so far. I really need a social life.
  4. Re: How to handle RKA? An RKA is just a gun, so deal with it the same way. How do gangs, organized crime syndicates and para-military forces deal with it? Buy body armor and just prepare for it. You said he almost killed your Arch Villain, which is fine. Your Arch Villain should begin to prepare for him in an appropriate way. If he's savvy, frame him for murder, or arrange one. He likes to pull his trigger; let him shoot an old lady in the back, just because he's tricked into thinking he's shooting a tank. If your villain is more blood and thunder, then have him get help next time, either in terms of a team or better defenses or both. If you've got a villain that's a loner, then it's probably time to start stalking your RKA or hire someone who can. If you want to contain the RKA, then for villains who are aware of what they're fighting, there should be some sort of defense available, and 3d6 isn't that bad. It's a good rifle. When you think defense, don't just think of Armor. If you can't see your enemy, or can't get better than 8- to hit, that works just as well. Being levitated into the ceiling also works well. And Mind Control is a terror when you see evil demon spiders everywhere. Now, if you're worried about a PC or NPC dying, it's probably too late. RKA's are good for killing, hence the K part of the name. How you handle the K part will help to define the flavor of your game. Good luck.
  5. It is so refreshing to be asked for questions, instead of the response I normally get. I had a question: You had an answer: First, don't worry. As you get older, it's more common, until you wonder whether there was ever intelligent life on Earth. If we transpose every first and third letter, we get something completely unintelligible, so I'll approach it more directly. I understand your caveat about using Shrinking as an Abort. 4a) Suppose A has a Held Action (several game inches away), while B is trying to use Mind Control on C, who's in the next hex. [Names have been changed to protect the munificent.] Plucky, little Hero C manages to roll his second miracle Breakout Roll and avoid Mind Control one segment later, and then proceeds to demoralize B (name calling) and activate his defenses. These include a Force Field (IPE), Flight(IPE) and Shrinking (What would IPE be for getting small? He doesn't look small? http://www.herogames.com/forums/images/smilies/nonp.gif ) from the same EC. There are no Extra Time limitations on any of these powers. A reacts to something and shoots. As PC, I can't see what he reacts to, but he may just be trigger happy. 4aI) Is there any sense in which C can be said to be aborting to any of those powers? 4aII) If you are aborting, is there any game mechanics sense in which Shrinking takes more time to activate than Force Field? 4aIII) Would any reasonable person... strike that; this is Hero System. Would any reasonable player [a much lower standard] assume that it took longer to reach full power with his FF than it did to Shrink to full DCV? Thanks again, and if you want even more questions, I have a million. Just ask. You're probably too shy, so I'll just send them..... PS - Last night I couldn't sleep because kids were throwing scaleable smoke grenades through my window. Your work?
  6. Thanks for your valuable time Steve. We all know that you could be doing other things, like designing new supplements, gaming aids, editions of rules, etc. I suppose sleeping fits in somewhere. 1) Is Shrinking a power you can abort to under the "switching forms, shapes, or identities to obtain more defense or protection" clause on p362, 5ER? 3) If a good guy has a held action, can he react to a 0 phase action to stop it from happening, like activating a power in an EC? 2) Does it bother you when we mis-number our questions? 4) If a bad guy with a held action shoots at a not-nearly-as-bad guy activating his powers, is the not-nearly-as-bad guy considered aborting to one of his powers over the others, e.g., his Force Field over his Flight? 5) Boxers or briefs? Our K9 patrol swears by boxers, but our attorneys love briefs.
  7. I completely (well, mostly) understand the physics of vocal tracts and the biology behind human and animal audiology, but what's Voice? On page 352 of 5ER, it says that it's in the Unusual Sense Group under the Simulated Sense Rules and that it's worth 20 points, which seems a bit high, if you actually listen to most people who use it. It must be the lims. Does this mean that a(n) (N)PC can use the appropriate Enhanced Perception modifiers to increase one's Voice... roll, presumably to make it LOUDER and give it better e·nun'ci·a'tion? Can you have Tracking Voice and Microscopic Voice? OK. That was uncalled for. BTW, I thought maybe there was a sidebar on the page that I missed, and after looking for it for a few hours, I heard voices. None of them were helpful. I hope you are. Thanks.
  8. A friendly discussion has ensued in our PBeM game about Taking a Recovery as an action and Actions Which Take No Time and neither Rulebooks nor FAQ's can solve it. YOU are our only hope! On 424 it clearly states, "A character who Recovers during a Phase may do nothing else...." (though I hate to edit this beautiful prose, I feel that I must). It then discusses various actions that are Zero Phase Actions that may be exceptions, but nothing about Actions Which Take No Time. But on 358, in the discussion of Actions Which Take No Time, it says, "[T]hese actions take no time to perform; a character may perform them whenever he wishes... and as often as he wishes." You've guessed my question, I'm sure. What's the difference between a duck? Wait! That's not it. It really is, "Can you take a Recovery as an Action on a phase and also perform Actions Which Take No Time?" We await your kind reply. Your Devoted Reader, Jeghis
  9. Hey Steve, I'm not trying to be a bother, but I'm not intentionally asking a design/philosophy question about this. I really don't understand what 5ER means on p. 219. Is the total PER mod for a 2m character and a 2mm character the same under the same circumstances of range, lighting and contrast, when neither is trying to hide? Does a character with Shrinking need IPE to receive the PER modifier while not actively hiding? Can Shrinking [or Growth] have an IPE (Fully) advantage or is that oxymoronic? Is Shrinking visible to three senses without the PER modifier from Shrinking? I hope these are clearer and answerable, if nonetheless repetitive. thanks chester
  10. I am confused by the language concerning Shrinking and Perception in 5ER. I know the book says that Shrinking is not a limited form of invisibility, but it does affect PER. In this regard, it's a limited form of Change Environment. So how does a character with 5 levels of Shrinking not hide, except by whacking away at you? As a quick test of Shrinking, I took a film canister (remember film?) and placed it 20m away in bright sunlight. With a hi-contrast background, it was possible to pick out as an indistinct black blob. A human at the same distance still appeared to be a human. At 40m, the human still looked human, but the cannister was pretty hard to spot, and I knew where it was. Since I can still make out baseball players as human from the nosebleed seats at Camden Yards, but not the splat of tobacco juice next to the pitcher, I'm assuming that at 200m the human would still be human, but the cannister would fade into the background. I'm looking for intent here. What did you (plural) envisage when you wrote up Shrinking? Does it have a human sized fringe that needs to be gotten rid of with IPE? Is there just a qualitative difference between 1 level and 10? Are Growth and Shrinking visible by three sense groups regardless of their PER modifiers? Does a successful Stealth or Concealment roll somehow negate the 'fringe' of visibility around a Shrunken character? Munchkins everywhere want to know. Thanks. chester
  11. Re: Give me your best idea please What about using another language? not that all martial artists need to be asian, but: chinese: Ye Ying (literally, though usually trans. as 'nightingale', like the nurse) japanese: Yo-Ippari (though Yotaka is shorter, it means 'streetwalker') hmong: Hmo-dav (lit. trans.) or if you'd rather be like Jean-Claude van Dammmmmme french: Rossignol (the lit. trans. is kinda ugly IMHO -- Faucon de nuit) when i'm in doubt, i look to some of the bantu languages in africa. usually easy to spell and say. luzingu kele mpasi mpe beto ke kufwa. life is difficult and then we die.
  12. Re: WWWYCD: Caught in the Web Detective Throl: "Oh. You think this is funny, do you? Well, I'll tell you what. YOU go out there and chase down every flame waving, gun-toting, mind melting crazy and I'LL sit here and ogle this stupid website. And then when I'm done maybe I'll find the time to come pick up your sorry carcass from the gutter where some piece of trash left it and stick in the appropriate receptacle so that you don't stink up the streets and scare the children. So, get off your sorry butt and get out there and get to work NOW. We've got a job to do and it doesn't include this computer terminal. Got it? Good. GET MOVING!"
  13. Re: Politics in Champions.... i was reminded of this by recent events. don't discount the ability of 'normal' non-governmental agencies to help out where needed. the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced that they will no longer solicit money for relief to the south asian tsunami survivors. they have already raised US$1.2 billion, which is enough to fund these programs for the next decade, and decided that it would be wrong to use the images of suffering to raise more, when there are others who also need aid. just goes to show you that you don't need spandex and a mask to be a superhero.
  14. Re: Politics in Champions.... I’d say, fine to here. The UN is politically weak enough to succumb to a takeover, BUT you have to remember that a real takeover would be difficult without US support. Actually, any permanent member of the Security Council could politically block actions by the IST. The General Assembly really has little power. It can create and approve the budget, but cannot take action to force a member state to pay. I assume the shadow masters have the Money perk. I’m a little lost here. when you say "Those within the UN that were in support of the IST were kicked out, or otherwise dealt with (the Secretary General was one of those)." what exactly do you mean? were member states kicked out or just UN staff or were particular representatives of member states denied accreditation and asked to leave? I won't begrudge you your simplification of WW2 history. yet. um.. that's where it is now. again, the General Assembly can vote on lots of things, including the budget. individual UN agencies have mandates to provide services. but the Security Council wields most of the 'power' of the UN, if you equate power with the ability to cause damage. only the SC can approve the use of military force. since five members (Britain, China, France, Russia, and USA) have veto power, they can and often do block actions. the US invasion of Iraq represents the latest example. they cannot prevent one member state attacking another, but they can withhold their blessing, for what it's worth. Now, the point I'll politically call you on is where you say, "So in general the world is more accepting of America...." That's a fine generalization, but I can't think of a time in recorded history where it was true, not just for the US but for any political/military power. After WW2 many individuals liked the US for a variety of reasons. Most non-historians think of the WW2 period as one that started in 1939 with the invasion of poland and ended on the USS Missouri in 1945. Most of the world thinks it started in 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. again, after the war, most of the world admired the ideals that the USA expressed, but were not impressed with governmental action. the chinese were never that impressed. the kuomintang didn't like us because we abandoned them and mao's faction didn't trust us. You have to remember that most of the world's people live in Asia, not Europe, but our worldview over here is reversed. for example, when Gandhi was asked what he thought of western civilization, he said he thought it would be a good idea. the indians have had a long education in that subject. i'd suggest thinking about how you would want to structure the friction. there are some natural blocs. china seems unlikely to fall into the western camp soon. russia has the same problem. india has a very vocal and independent foreign policy and has for years. during the pakistani crises of 2002 (?) the Indian gov't rebuffed american attempts to interfere reminding them that the US had just resorted to force to resolve it's problem with afghanistan. the EU may develop into a viable state in time, but in this timeline it's hard to say when. also European political structures are proportional representative not winner take all structures. it's unclear what will happen in south america, but a union of south america seems unlikely. africa is and will remain a problem for eurocentric america for a long time, but excepting south africa, democratic republic of congo and nigeria, most don't have the resources to do much. also remember that right now more than 35% of the world's population live in china and india. that will likely grow. you might take that into account, as well as environmental damage from the war. the nuke over DC went somewhere. how's that?
  15. i have a character who has both TP (Delayed Phase) in a multipower and a Susceptibility to TP, 3d6 STUN. whenever i use my TP, i always roll those 3d6. fine. if i am TP'ed UAA/UAO and try to resist with my TP, can i, since it's Dealyed Phase? my CON is 14. as above, if i take 16 STUN, can i default to my TP to resist or am i stunned at the beginning of the segment? if i am TP'ed UAA/UAO and try to resist with my TP, do i take 3d6 or 6d6 STUN?
  16. Re: villian background help i thought about that too, but if it is, then he can shave some points with an O/IIF. if it isn't, then it's just incredibly difficult or impossible to remove. your choice. you could even make it Independent, if you're really courageous. that's a -2!
  17. sorry steve, but i understood Catacomb's question another way, and to make a short question long... Nukeporter has 10" combat teleport, x2 mass, SPD 6, moves 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 Portanuke has SPD 4, moves 3, 6, 9, 12 Seg 2 -- Nukeporter grabs Portanuke, minimal STR, but enough to establish contact seg 3 -- Portanuke holds action seg 4 -- Nukeporter teleports himself and Portanuke 10" (or 1") in seg 5, can Portanuke now use his held to do his massive 25d6 Move Through? and then again on 6?
  18. Re: Julie? Can I have SPAM instead of eggs and bacon? i've been using silly, old-fashioned 5ER. i can spell it three letters. {i know. 5 is not a letter it's a crahcter, but i have problems spelling "chacrtrers". it has more than three letters.}
  19. Re: villian background help i'm not sure how you want to use her. how do you want her to steal and react to threats? it looks like the invisibility will keep her safe from most normals, but maybe not a hero with danger sense, radar or combat sense. what's her reaction? you might also want to take Gliding (ground gliding, -1/4) to let her pass over pressure sensors. and while it may interesting to be able to drive the threshing combine down the alley to your donkey and ride off to your waiting submarine, does she really need to ride/drive/fly everything? [where did she find a sub to practice on?] and you'll need those secondary skills to back up the lockpicking [get it] and sec. systems. electronics and mechanics come to mind. other K/P/SS too, if you want them. try this. ask yourself where she was born and who her parents are. then do a quick sketch of the last 10-20 years of her life. she's a thief. was she ever caught? did she do time? where? who did she meet? how did she survive prison? how did she leave? who are her friends and lovers? does she have family? etc. with superpowers pretty much anyone could be a thief, but why? what drives her to do it? then you have a character. the concept is good. i would just focus on who she is, not what she can do. later on {since points don't matter and i'm not a PC in your game thank all the gods and demons of the universe} you can fill in skills. i always find it easier to create a character when i have restrictions. good luck and remember that even GM's should get to play interesting characters.
  20. Re: Effective Concepts Your GM WON'T Allow. Jacques Rambeau: once, long ago, we sat around abusing the hero rules to make stupid characters as we waited for the rest of our group to show up for the session of Danger International i was going to run. one of the 'characters' was Jacques Rambeau. he was a very, very, very good assassin. he could pick off a robin's head at 1/2 a mile using a blunderbuss. we all thought he was too silly to play, until Knob looked at it and exclaimed, "Hey! This is a good character. I'll play it just like it is." the reason that no one else wanted to play this charcater was not that he had an atrocious french accent. we never heard his accent. he had a common, total psych limitation: Must Mime. after a few days in one place, somebody would notice the mime with the gun case and shout out, "AAAAAH! It's the Killer Mime!" but he did a great job offing bad guys and Knob did a great job playing him. that convinced me that there are no bad characters, just better or worse roleplayers. Tarzan of the Concrete Jungle: this should have died, i know it, but my very first hero character (Champions, plain and simple) was Tarzan. problem was that we were in a city and there weren't no lions, tigers or bears. not even with kneepads or helmets. his big attack 'power' was a summon animals [with a mighty yell, of course]. once we were cornered beneath the city and Tarzan summoned... rats. lots of rats. too many rats. they attacked. they rolled a 3. they ate the thugs. it was gross. i really wish we had read the rules thoroughly.
  21. Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... a long time ago in DnD, there was a druid visiting the city. he didn't want to stay INSIDE, so he stayed with horses. in the morning, he did his duty with the horses, and the stableboy came in: Stableboy: {looking at the mess} Hey! You! I'm not going to clean up that mess. Druid: {Walking away smiling contendly} Didn't expect you to. GM: He's stunned.
  22. follow-up to Catacomb. if I use the mass multiplier and 'carry' another PC, how does that affect their movement? i assume it is just like running with them, correct?
  23. Re: Ultimate Thief/Scout if it's any help, i'm running a scout/thief in a 270 XP game based in Traveller's universe. we have access to equipment, so that changes things a bit. we also did a conversion from FRED to 5ER, so that plus XP has pushed him to 328 XP. in our world, i'm part of a planetary rebellion, so i specialize in getting information and people out. the planet is in a psi-heavy area (zhodani, if you know traveller), so it was STRONGLY reccomended that i make him psi resistant. right now, i am sundered from the main group, but that looks like it will change soon, if we don't shoot each other. here's a rundown of what i did. his best stats are DEX (20) and INT (23). he has the skills to get past security: security systems, lockpicking, electronics, stealth and concealment. his biggest disad is code against killing, so he doesn't have the psychological baggage that might get him into a fix. if he finds a trap or lock he can't get past, he doesn't. if it's critical, he takes his time. as part of a larger group, at this point, he's been able to do recon before entry. ok, back to the sheet. his major talents are combat sense, eidetic memory, absolute time sense and speed reading x100. he can go in read, remember and leave. it's also great with his powers. he has some protection, armor and mental DEF, that stand alone, but most everything else is in his multipower. it's limiting, but it does give him a chance to change his MO, from time to time. also outside are his HRRP, UV, and IR. his multi has invis to mental, sight and radio. this helps a lot to bypass normals, but leaves a lot that he has to do with skills. i took it to 0END, peristent, so i'm safe, but very hard to find if i take a hit. unless his blood starts to pool. i didn't take a clairsense, but i do have two floating teleport points and teleport, x2 mass. i've found that i can use them to go step by step through a building and escape back to my last safe spot, if need be. plus i can take a passenger, if that's needed. (with one drawback. he also is susceptible to teleport 3d6 stun, ouch. but we could only choose from a reduced list of disads.) the other powers in the multi are: force wall, force field, images (sight, radio), flash (sight, radio), telekinesis and flight. none of them are great, but they serve different purposes. for example, in the most recent runs, i'd go into a building to scout and then come back. using images i could walk people through the building. who cares if they believed it was real, they could see it and ask questions. the last thing in the multi is an energy blast. it has a max of +1/2 advantages from variiable advantage. again, the GM said the group i may be joining (if they don't read this post) needed more esoteric firepower. the easiest way to do that was just use a variable advantage. the only real limit is the +1/2 variable special effects advantage i can use. there, i made a list of advantages i'd used in my history and we decided which were common and which weren't. i took the whole EB as stun only, since he doesn't kill, but he hasn't used it yet. the only runs i've done with him have been recon and infiltration. now, it's a relatively new character, but as i worked through it i tried to imagine what would help him in his tasks. being overconfident is cool, but horrible for a thief who can be whacked by a brick. to be honest, (sigh) my inspiration wasn't a comic book thief, it was Bilbo Baggins. he was quiet, unassuming and quite willing to believe that he could get caught. i would caution you to choose your disads very carefully. being invisible is no proof against having a big mouth or being habitually unwashed. hope it helped. and i hope my GM doesn't read this. he's evil. unless he is reading this, then he's very nice. later
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