ajackson

Re: The move to FTP

I'm not sure how this scales up if you had more than your default 8 character slots to start with' date=' e.g. due to getting characters to level 40 or buying extra slots.[/quote']

I believe they said your 'last 2' slots, whatever that might be, would be available. Also, that any slots purchased at the C-store would remain available.

Re: The move to FTP

If the free to play have to use Archetypes' date=' then does that mean returning former subscribers who go free to play won't be able to play their old characters?[/quote']

You won't be able to play the old characters with the old powers. They have said there will be a procedure to convert characters to archetypes.

Re: Killing Damage in 6e

Also' date=' since Killing damage Stun multiple is 1-3x, why is the hit location chart still as set in 5e, i.e., with a 1-5x Stun multiple? Is that an error? Something forgotten to be updated? Been discussed at all?[/quote']

I haven't run superhero level since 6e came out, so I can't really comment there, but the reason the hit location chart isn't a problem is that it also applies to normal damage attacks, and in fact you do more damage with normal attacks; 2d6 killing to the head averages 35 (max 60), 6d6 normal to the head averages 42 (max 72).

Re: I'm curious, why is Dex still more expensive than other characteristics?

32 people isn't much of a sample to go by.

The standard error on 38 would only be 8%, so it's enough to be statistically significant (though this ignores non-random bias sources, such as who would answer such a poll). However, it seems at a minimum that 1 point is a rather common house rule.

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible?

Unlikely. You'd end up with all sorts of nasty chemical combinations leached out of the surrounding stones and then never re-sequestered in animal and plant remains. My guess is that it would stink and be highly toxic.

Well, if you take an iceball planet (something like a supersized Europa) and have it migrate inwards (or possibly undergo a merger with a rockball further in), you'll wind up with a planetary ocean some hundred miles deep, with most minerals locked down below a layer of some high pressure/high temperature allotrope of ice, and stellar UV breaking down water should cause a gradual loss of hydrogen into space and a gradual buildup of oxygen. You won't have any land, and you might well wind up with some really nasty permanent storms, since there's no land masses to break up hurricanes, but you might be able to manage a breathable atmosphere and a pleasant enough ocean. You probably also won't have any life; while there's water, most of the other necessary minerals are locked down below the ice.

Re: Does the Giant Flaming Ape have a name?

I was thinking his name should be GAAAHHH--because that's what everyone says when they see him coming, i.e.--

 

"GAAAHHH!!! It's a giant flaming ape! Run for your lives! Don't bother to pack!"

Well, in CO what they say is "Ooh, Qwijibo's respawned! Quick, let's kill him!"

Re: Is DOT overpriced

DoT is one of many advantages that is only useful in combination with AVAD vs a defense the target doesn't have; with a simple normal damage attack, it just lets you do zero damage many times in a row..

Re: FUZION Kill Damage in Hero

My general opinion of the Fuzion kills mechanic was that it was Ultra-Mega-Stupid. If you want tanks to be chaff in your game, so that the alien battlesuits have to be defeated by superheroes (as opposed to the way it works in vanilla champions, where the tank has scary damage and defense levels, it's just too immobile and too low CV to be much use vs supers), I'd just reduce the defense levels of tanks in your campaign.

Re: Zones of Control in Hero

Yes' date=' you can: the rules allow you to allocate once per phase. There's nothing that implies you have to do it at the beginning of your phase - indeed the rules segment you quoted specifically says you cannot "re-allocate". So you can switch your points once. That implies you can use more than one power per phase.[/quote']

Got an answer from Steve. Using a power from a multipower is considered an (implicit) allocation of points, preventing you from changing it later.

I found this section unclear:

A character can change the way his Multipower reserve points are distributed or allocated as a Zero Phase Action. However' date=' unless the GM permits otherwise, he may not distribute or allocate reserve points more than once in a Phase. For example, he could not allocate reserve points to a Teleportation slot at the beginning of his Phase, make a Half Move with Teleportation, then re-allocate points to his Blast slot and attack with the Blast — having allocated his reserve points once already at the beginning of his Phase, he cannot change that allocation until his next Phase (or unless he Aborts to do so in a later Segment).[/quote']

Now, the rule as written suggests that, if during phase 1 I used my multipower to teleport (allocating points), during phase 2 I would be able to teleport (no allocation required, as it was already allocated), change my multipower to blast, and attack. However, the example suggests that this isn't legal. Which understanding is correct?

Re: Zones of Control in Hero

I note that the quote I gave is actually unclear on a point: let's say I used teleport last phase, so my multipower is set to teleport. Can I teleport (no allocation required), change slots, and take another action? The text implies not, but I'm not sure of the details of how -- is using the teleport allocating points?

Re: Zones of Control in Hero

Still doesn't really let you use a sword trick and an attack of opportunity in one phase.

A character can change the way his Multipower reserve points are distributed or allocated as a Zero Phase Action. However' date=' unless the GM permits otherwise, he may not distribute or allocate reserve points more than once in a Phase. For example, he could not allocate reserve points to a Teleportation slot at the beginning of his Phase, make a Half Move with Teleportation, then re-allocate points to his Blast slot and attack with the Blast — having allocated his reserve points once already at the beginning of his Phase, he cannot change that allocation until his next Phase (or unless he Aborts to do so in a later Segment).[/quote']

By extrapolation, this means that by setting the trigger it is no longer possible to use the multipower again during that phase, though it will be possible to use the multipower in later phases.

Re: Zones of Control in Hero

While I wouldn't call myself a newbie per se (lessee, first played champions in 1988), the usually useful answer to 'how do I do X' is 'like this', possibly with some discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of different methods.

Re: Spell Multipliers in 6e?

One way to get the 'spell multipliers' effect in 6e is to just assume that all characters have a moderate size (45 active points is probably sufficient in fantasy) multipower. A warrior fills that multipower with weapons (and maybe a shield), a mage fills it with spells. You can pretty much ignore point costs for weapons and rule that weapon proficiencies cover them, most weapons will be 1 point slots anyway, and you're getting 1/10 cost for spells up to the desired size.

Re: WHY CSL's

I had a thread about CSL costs; short version is that 8 and 10 point levels appear overpriced (the 'proper' cost appears to be 8 for all combat), 5 point levels are probably slightly underpriced, 3 point levels are almost certainly underpriced.

Re: Penalty Skill Levels versus the Size Modifier

Thanks for all the imput everyone. I think I'll go with this' date=' and see how it works. If, however, in the future I want to build this ability and make sure it's RAW, what level of Limitation would you apply to CSLs?[/quote']

Well, it's 5 point OCV levels (in 6e, it's +OCV, same cost), Only to negate size modifier. Value depends on the game, I'd probably typically give a value of -1/2, or maybe -1/4 if you're using hit locations and figure they count as size modifiers.

6e1 415 mentions the idea of awarding HAPs instead of points for complications, but doing so has the problem I've usually seen from this sort of award system: there is no scaling for severity -- it's just a flat 1 if it comes up. In addition, the awards seem rather modest: if a disad should really be worth 15 points, it seems like it should provide 3d6 HAP in a typical session, and very few disads will come up 10 times in a session. So, I was thinking of making complications provide multiple HAPs. Tentative scaling:

If the penalty is minor (-2 check penalty, 1d6 NND damage(combat only), lose up to 10 active points, take an inefficient action), base value is 1.

If the penalty is moderate (-5 check penalty, 3d6 NND damage(combat only), x1.5 vulnerability, lose up to 25 active points, take a mildly ineffectual or irrelevant action), base value is 2.

If the penalty is severe (-10 check penalty, 3d6 NND does body(combat only), x2 vulnerability, lose up to 50 active points, take a severely ineffectual or irrelevant action, or similar), base value is 3

If the penalty is totally disabling, base value is 4.

If the penalty is actively contrary to your objectives, base value is 5.

If the penalty applies to something that is only a small part of the scene, or covers only a small fraction of the scene (1-2 phases), or occurs only once, or can reasonably be evaded by choice of actions, use the base value.

If the penalty applies to something that is an important part of the scene, or for a large part of the scene, and is at best extremely inconvenient to avoid, gain the base value again.

If the penalty applies to basically all reasonable actions for the entire scene, gain the base value again.

Thoughts?

Re: Large Wingspan Disad?

the trouble with fighting kobolds is they run around tunnels the guy in plate mail can't even move in

Sounds like the kobolds taking advantage of size: small.

Re: Large Wingspan Disad?

... Humm ... I'd say that Restainable would take care of that on its own.

Restrainable means it doesn't work when grabbed or entangled, not that it doesn't work indoors.

Let's say you have a character with wings. What sort of limitation is it that you can't fly except in fairly wide spaces? In this case, the limit was basically that he needed a full 2m of clear space on both sides of his flight path. I assigned this a -1/4 (on top of Restrainable, which is normal for wings), but pondering if that seems fair. Thoughts?

Re: Martial Arts iiinnn ssspppaaaccceee!!! Which style is flexible enough?

Actually' date=' compression suits are pretty lightweight when considered as 'armor.' How much PD would you give a suit like this one? (w/o the helmet)[/quote']

Assuming it's designed to let you move in zero-G, implying smart fabrics of some sort, probably about 2 resistant and another 4 non-resistant.

Re: Martial Arts iiinnn ssspppaaaccceee!!! Which style is flexible enough?

Actually, here's a fairly simple experiment which will have many of the same problems as zero G martial arts: simply balance yourself on one foot, keeping your foot planted, and try to hit a punching bag, and compare it to doing the same thing with both feet on the ground and freedom to move your feet.

Re: Martial Arts iiinnn ssspppaaaccceee!!! Which style is flexible enough?

If nothing else' date=' you can grab your opponent with one hand and punch him with the other. Provided the knock-back isn't too great, you'll likely still have a grip on him afterwords, even if the activity starts both of you tumbling around a bit.[/quote']

Yes, you can do this, but realistically the damage would be quite poor.

Choke holds in zero-G combat aren't very popular for campaign-specific reasons. Compression suits are commonly worn aboard spacecraft' date=' and they feature a helmet adapter which protects the wearer's neck. Of course, this means that [i']shatterproof helmets[/i] are readily available as brawling weapons....

And that people are wearing enough armor that brawling weapons will be totally ineffective.

Re: Martial Arts iiinnn ssspppaaaccceee!!! Which style is flexible enough?

With the right training' date=' you could throw your opponent while not imparting much momentum to yourself, and velocity + bulkhead = damage [/quote']

Physics disagrees. The only way you can throw someone in space without also throwing yourself is if you have a solid surface to push on, and throws that work in gravity would just cause you to spin about. If you want to throw someone away from you in zero-G and you don't have anything to push on, the way you do it is either a straight push (which will be rather weak) or getting your legs between you and your opponent and pushing them away with your legs.

 

This is actually likely a factor for all zero-G melee combat, because action-reaction also means you can't put your full body weight behind a punch in zero-G unless you have your feet on a solid surface. In practice, the moves most likely to work in zero-G would be tackles/movethroughs (push off of a bulkhead into someone) and choking (punches would be more effective than they are in water, but still not very effective).

Re: Flash Rebuild

Partial Transform' date=' 6E1 308?[/quote']

Hm. Right, there it is, though the advantage looks overpriced.