KA.

Okay Winterhawk, here goes! It sound like you are going for more of a "death motif" than, "scary". For some reason, One Death Guy is scary. A whole bunch of Death Guys seems to lose the effect. It is all about contrast. That is why Army of Darkness, while a great movie that I love, is nowhere near as scary as Evil Dead. A whole army of demons just lacks the punch of a single one. Anyway, my suggestions are for the "scary option" but they do not interfere in any way with the non-scary option. To me the idea of the Graveyard Shift conjures up more of a cultish group. All the people who work late at night. Security Guards, Night Duty Nurses, Cops on the Late Shift. Lonely, separated from normal society, few friends, little family. If some Evil Force was trying to get a foothold, it would be fertile ground. Imagine some Big Bad. A Demon, Necromancer, whatever. He wants to assemble an army to perform a massive human sacrifice that will bring him ultimate power. So he starts where he is comfortable. The Night. He starts sending a core of emissaries around the city. Maybe in the form of an all-night delivery service. They don't do anything obvious. They just talk to people. Stirring up their resentment. Their jealousy of the "Daytimers". Heroes spend a lot of their time going around at night. They start noticing little changes. Weird Graffiti on the walls. "Darkness is coming." People they interact with are less friendly, more moody. The whole atmosphere changes at sundown. Weird, petty crimes start to occur. Someone keeps breaking out streetlights, rendering more areas totally dark. Animals start to disappear at an alarming rate. Ordinary people (who just happen to work nights, if anyone checks) start to harass and attack their "daytimer" neighbors for no reason. People start wearing strange clothing, strange jewelry. All of this can be woven into the background of your campaign, until the heroes start jumping at the slightest sound. Then lower the boom on them. An army of normals that aren't evil, just misguided. A very powerful Demon, with an army of loyal followers that are basically innocent. A thousand points of Dark. Angry little people, doing nasty little things, that add up to total chaos. A night watchman lets a gang of stupid kids into the Chemical Warehouse to find some things to play with. A night nurse starts sending patients out the door with a bottle of powerful hallucinogens to "take when they get home". Cab drivers start playing "Death Race" for real, killing pedestrians and keeping score, and making it look like a series of accidents. Then the really nasty stuff starts. And the original Graveyard Shift you are building now? Run it the way you normally would. Let the heroes fight them, and eventually beat them. But once they are beaten, have something weird happen. Have them die! During their trial! On live TV! Just drop dead, out of nowhere. After some time, they will eventually have to be buried. And the heroes will have to start doing something else. After a while, begin the type of things I have outlined above. So what was the first group? Sort of a "publicity stunt" for the real Evil Power. Something to shake people up, and get them edgy, before the real Graveyard Shift begins their work. And later, when the heroes are at their wit's end, and it is time for a showdown, they can always come back . . . from the grave. KA.

First, misterdeath, I agree wholeheartedly with your statements. Second, to the Gold Rush Games, gang . . . I am not as upset about this as Monolith appears to be (not that he has no reason, I am just not), and I am not just trying to turn this into a fight, but there appears to be some circular logic coming from GRG on this issue. (Much Paraphrasing Follows. Trying to be Brief, Not To Slant Things.) When it was brought up that the Villains and Heroes seemed underpowered, Mark said that it was because they were NPC's. When I asked what exactly an NPC was, Monolith said that they were background characters (which would justify the low points) but that Villains should be on the same power level as standard Superhero PC's (back to square one). RPMiller corrected Monolith, saying that an NPC was just a GM controlled character and that it did not imply that the character was low powered. Which brings us back to: Why are the NPC Villains and Heroes Underpowered? Not trying to stir things up. But it seems like we have not quite gotten to the point where everyone understands each other. If GRG is going to use a lower power level, more appropriate for "Dark Champions" than Standard Superheroes, then they should either make that clear or put more than one version of Heroes and Villains in their products. There is nothing wrong with that. But it could be misleading to newer players and GM's, unless it is clearly indicated. Anyone who has been on the boards for a while will remember the "Example Wars" that used to take place before Steve took over. "But Doctor Zed had a DEX of 21 and Normal Characteristic Maxima, and didn't pay extra points for the 21st point of DEX. Since he was published in Unknown Enemies, that must mean that the NCM limit is higher than 20!" And so on, and so on, ad nauseum. I, for one, never want to head down that path again. So, if you are going to publish things with a Hero License, either make them Standard, or Clearly Indicate that they Are Not Standard. Either is fine, Neither is not. I don't mean that to sound rude, but it is very important. I know this sounds like obsessive nit-picking, but 5th Ed. was like Hero's version of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Not everyone was happy with all of the changes, but at least we were able to say: "Okay, now we know where we stand. Now we know what the rules are." To start drifting away from that consistency is not a good policy. That's why little details matter. Hero used to be this little bulletin board and a bunch of die-hard fans that would not give up on the system that they loved. They had to endlessly debate the rules because there was no consistent source of information. Things were scattered here and there, in supplements that often contradicted each other. If some of us seem paranoid about heading back in that direction, maybe we are. But we have a good reason. KA.

Just wondering, are you going for something "scary", or just villains with a "death" motif? If you want scary, I have some ideas for you, but they would work better if your players didn't know about them. If your players don't read this board, let me know and I will post them. If they do, just email me, or send a Private Message, and I will send you what I thought up. KA

Derek, I must respectfully disagree. I don't see anything wrong with the use of Flash as an attack. Even a main one it that is what the character wants. It is the combination of this with his "requiring" the GM to serve up opponents with no Flash Defense that makes this a problem. Especially when he has been using the attack in what I assume is a public way for quite some time. If you were GM'ing and a player asked you: "Would you make sure that no villain has higher than a 15 PD and 20 CON? I want my Energy Blast to CON Stun everyone, everytime I use it." Would that be okay too? I don't see any real difference. To buy an attack that is uncommon, and thus effective, is perfectly okay. But to demand that no one in the game world adapt to that attack, ever, is abusive. Especially when the attack is something like Flash. If your character spends 90 points on an NND Radiation attack, and everyone starts to show up in lead suits, that could be considered "screwing". However, Flash is an attack that exists in the real world. Sunglasses and protective goggles are available at any Discount store. Imagine if a GM did this to a Player. "Dr. Flash just Flashed you again." "This is the 30th time I've been Flashed. Can't I get some Flash Defense?" "No, not in your concept." "Can I develop an extra Targeting Sense?" "No." "How about if I . . ." "Look! Your job it to get Flashed, and then beaten up, by Dr. Flash. There is no alternative! You exist only to be his punching bag. You will get Flashed and like it. From now on, you are required to stare directly into the Flash whenever Dr. Flash decides to Flash you." That would be considered abuse of a player, but NPC's can be abused too. Unless the villains have a Psych Lim "Cartoon Character: Falls for the same corny gag over and over." it does not make sense for this to work every time. Also, this is a slot in a Multipower. It is not the character's only attack. You would not remove his effectiveness if everyone wasn't a sitting duck for his Flash attack. A childish, but satisfying, solution for at least one session would be this: Begin a normal session. Start the plot, follow clues, interact with NPC's, whatever. Except, when you get to "combat time" just say: "And Character X Flashes everyone and the rest of you mop up. After the police arrive . . ." "Wait a minute! We're not going to play out the combat?" "Well, no. Since no one in the world is allowed to have Flash Defense, Flash is the most effective attack. Since Character X always uses his Flash attack, you always win. And since it appears that winning is more important that actually playing the game, or staying in genre, or facing anything that might be a challenge, then I will go along with your wishes. You win. I don't see any reason to waste a lot of my time playing it out, with the odds so obviously tilted in your favor. So, from now on, all combat will be resolved by me saying "You win." Now. After the police arrive . . ." Sometimes people are a lot less happy when you give them what you want. KA. P.S. I am not an evil GM, but I have faced this kind of problem before. One of my players would always try to come up with some foolproof method of destroying anyone he fought without taking a single Stun. I am not talking about strategy here, I am talking about the kind of whining that BadTodd is describing. Player: "I want to hit this guy, and then flip up in the air and kick him, and then take his gun and shoot him with it, and then hit him with it?" Well, that is Five Attack actions (Punch, Half-Move Kick, Disarm, Shoot, Hit) and it will use up Five of your Phases. Meanwhile, unless he is Stunned, he will get to try to hit you, and his friends may decide to shoot at you." Player: . . . pout pout pout . . . "You won't let me do anything! Okay. How about if I Flip and grab his gun first, then shoot him and kick him and hit him at the same time?" Finally, I "threatened" this guy with running a "limited series" with him. He could design whatever kind of character he wanted. All the points he wanted. No limit. At first his eyes lit up at the possibilities, but then he realized what was going to happen. I was going to fill the world with Human Punching Bags. No defenses. No attack powers. Just cannon fodder for him to beat to a pulp with his Uber-character (Sort of like some issues of The Authority ). He realized how unfun that was going to be, and straightened himself out in the regular campaign. Sometimes players don't realize that the fun of the game is the challenge. If you let them "run over" the world too much, they will grow dissatisfied and leave the game, and it will be your own fault. As many kids can tell you the day after Halloween, having all the candy in the world does not make you as happy as you think it will. It is the GM's job to be a better "parent" than that. And "feed your kids some vegetables" once in a while. It is good for them.

I would buy Martial Throw. Your group is battling some Viper agents. You "blend in" with the agents. An enemy speedster is zooming past your hex for a Move-by on one of your Team. Suddenly, one of the "Viper Agents" Martial Throws him. Ouch! I would also buy some levels with common Blaster weapons. You "borrow" a weapon from a fallen Viper agent, taking his appearance as you do, get close in behind some of the remaining Viper agents, and start blasting! You don't have to turn into a combat monster, just get enough levels and maneuvers to do what you can effectively. KA.

Okay, I am not trying to take sides in the ongoing argument, but I do have a question: What else do you call characters controlled by the GM, other than NPC's or Non-Player Characters? If I have Mechanon or Dr. Destroyer in my campaign, I refer to them as NPC's or NPC Villains. To me, the designation NPC does not imply any particular point value. I am not trying to say Mark is wrong, or being deceptive, but I don't understand the position that the Heroes and Villains in Dragon's Gate have low power levels because they are "NPC's". I can understand that since the Standard Superhero is now 350 points, that you might not want 500 point NPC Heroes running around, since they might overshadow the players, but I see no reason why they shouldn't be at the Standard point level. I do not mean this as an attack, or as something "wrong" with the product, but I do think that it would be a good idea to have, at the very least, a 350 point version of NPC Heroes and Villains included in future products. Even if it is only in the form of a footnote: "To increase Dr. Example to the 350 Point level: Add 30 points to his VPP, 5d6 to his Optic Blast, and 10PD/10ED to his Armor. Also increase his DEX to 25 and his SPD to 6." One major reason for this is to help out the GM (the main point of a lot of products of this type.) When my players encounter someone, they aren't given a rundown of their stats. As I often say: "It's not tattooed on their forehead!" But, when they meet an NPC hero, they figure that he will be up to Standard Hero levels unless they have some reason to think otherwise. So imagine this scenario. The PC's meet NPC hero. They appear to be on friendly terms. A news flash is overheard that Mechanon is attacking downtown. At this point either the NPC Hero will have to "beg off" (since the 5th Ed. Mechanon could kill him with one shot) causing the players to be suspicious of their new "friend". "Wow, that guy is either up to something or a coward!" Or the NPC can go along, and die. Triggering all kinds of unintended consequences and possibly derailing the entire plot. I realize that it is the GM's job to prevent this sort of thing, but on the other hand, if they have to redo every NPC Hero and Villain to do it, it limits the utility of the product. Not slamming, not attacking, just pointing out something for future products. KA.

Reported! KA.

I just realized that the link to "report" doesn't work. But you can email Ben with a link, and I am going to. KA

I'm gonna tell Ben. KA

BadTodd, First, please don't take this the wrong way because I don't mean to be condescending. (I have been playing, on and off, since the early 80's, and I was double-checking the rules on Flash just the other day, because they can be a little complicated.) Would you mind posting a "play by play" of how these Flash attacks are working in your campaign. How many Dice of Flash is he using? What does he Roll to Hit? Are there any Advantages on the Attack? What happens to people who have been Flashed? I do not mean to imply that you don't know the rules, but I have found myself doing things the way I was sure was correct, only to read something later that made me realize I was incorrect. Also, I agree with a previous poster. These are villains you are talking about, not always the most reasonable people. Imagine "Flashing" someone like "The Punisher". He is going to open up Autofire in your general direction. If that is a little hard on the teammates, or bystanders, then so be it. You could also have more villains with Area Effect attacks. If they start lobbing grenades around blind out of frustration, the Mayor himself may have a talk with this character. You could also start having more thugs show up on vehicles, using them for attacks (Move By. Move Through). When the Flasher blinds them, send them careening into the innocent crowd. A few near catastrophes should have the other players talking to him, at the very least. But the main point is this, criminals aren't stupid. If every night the news features thugs being captured because of a Flash attack, next week people will start having flash defense. Have this guy go back and read a few early issues of The Human Torch. Criminals started using Fire Extinguishers, Fire Proof suits, etc. Superheroes do not get away with using the same trick over and over again. KA.

Re: Re: Video Games are Bad GM's! We should learn from them. Hey there Rayoman! I had forgotten all about Fallout. I do remember there being more that one way to accomplish your goals, plus a lot of just plain hilarious bit thrown in along the way. That is a great game. I already have a copy, but thanks so much for the offer. Talk to you later, KA.

Well, as far as talents, and based on which version of Batman, you could make a case for: Absolute Range Sense - The Bat makes some incredible shots with the Batarang, often with bounces. You could just give OCV levels, but if you want it a bit more "realistic" this could help explain it. Absolute Time Sense - Seems like the kind of guy who does not need to synchronize his watch. If you say "Go, in five minutes." He knows when that is. Ambidexterity (Eliminate Off-Hand Penalty Entirely) - Seen plenty of either hand lockpicking, batarang throwing etc. Bump Of Direction - Just seems appropriate. He never gets lost. Combat Luck - Little armor but hard to hurt, adds up to this. Combat Sense - No question on this one, he lives in a cave, darkness is not going to hinder him in a fight. Danger Sense - Not Spiderman-level, but enough to reflect a lot of intelligence combined with a lot of experience. Double Jointed - One of the world's great escape artists. Eidetic Memory - Another part of the high intellect package. Environmental Movement - Seen him go through swamp, desert, snow, underbrush, and never tangle his cape. Lightning Calculator - The high intellect thing again. Lightsleep - You can't sneak up on the Bat, even when he sleeps. Perfect Pitch - Actually referred to on the 60's TV show. Resistance - Hard to interrogate, if not almost impossible. Simulate Death - Seen it in the comics, I am pretty sure. Speed Reading (x10) - Intellect again. Universal Translator - Knows so many languages, what's the difference. Just my take, and this may be the uber-powered version of the Bat, but they pretty much all fit. Part of the reason he can get along without major powers and still be useful is the huge amount of non-powered stuff he can do. KA.

Re: Re: Video Games are Bad GM's! We should learn from them. Thanks for the reply, AA. I think you have helped me narrow the focus on what my original idea was. Many people are either players or GM's, they don't get the chance to do both. Which means that I, as a GM, can fall into bad habits that I am not even aware of. The frustration of playing a video game, saying: "Why can't I play my character according to his concept?" "Why is there only one way to resolve this?" can help a GM think about these issues when he is the one controlling everything. I have the utmost respect for the effort it takes to GM a game. The players just have to show up and play, the GM does all the work. But if you host a party, and do a lot of work, and everyone hates the dip you made, you wasted your time. If someone else has a dip recipe that everyone loves, you might want to give it a try. So that is what I am looking for here, an exchange of "recipes" for good GM'ing. The kind that makes players want to join your campaign. KA. P.S. Thanks to everyone for all the replies. Including the ones discussing the merits of various games. Not exactly what I was looking for, but welcome information, nevertheless. Since I do GM most of the time, video gaming is one of the chances I get to be a player. So I am always glad to hear an unbiased review.

Allandrel, Two Things: 1) I would never expect a video game to be as Interactive as playing face to face. I guess the point I was trying to make is, that we as GM's should make sure that playing face to face with us is always more interactive than a video game. 2) Yep! If you like the first one, you will like the second one. I rented it, and I am glad I did. As much as I enjoyed the first one, this really is very similar, and you can play through it in a day or so. Unless you have unlimited spending money, rent it, enjoy it, and buy it when it comes out as a "Greatest Hit" for $20. There are also some minor video problems that may be corrected by that time, so you would end up with a better copy than you would by buying it right now. KA.

Ben, With the utmost respect for both your position and abilites, you are starting to sound like "Count Floyd" on SCTV. For those of you too young to remember, Count Floyd was the host of a late-night horror movie show on a no-budget television station. Count Floyd would come on, dressed as a vampire, to host "Monster Chiller Horror Theatre", but instead of the horror films he expected, he often got stuck hosting something like "Four for Texas" starring The Rat Pack. Then he would try to make whatever turkey (pardon the expression;)) he got stuck with, sound scary to the viewers. "This movie stars "The Rat Pack". Ooooohh, Rats. A whole pack of them! That's really Scary!" KA.

Okay, I have been playing Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II for the last day or so, and I have noticed something. Video Games are lousy GM's! I know this is hardly a revelation. Many people here probably never play video games, because of their weaknesses. But certain things about this game in particular have made me think about GM'ing in general. By the way, if you are a video gamer, there may be some spoilers here as far as B.G.D.A.II, so read at your own risk. Now to the problems: 1) On a Rail. Due to the very nature of a Video Game, the plot can only branch so many ways. Major events take a lot of programming, and they are pretty much going to happen no matter what choices you make. BUT! How many of us GM in a similar fashion? We take a lot of time planning out "bits" that are going to come up in the game, and they come up in the game. No matter what the players do. Example: A certain NPC is going to 'betray' the players at some point. Giving Viper, (or whatever the main enemy is) a chance to ambush them. Maybe it is the stoolie they rely on for information, maybe a local cop took a bribe, whatever . . . Obviously the PC's have to interact with this NPC quite a bit for them to be in a position to 'betray'. But, what if, in the course of these interactions, the PC's go out of their way to help this NPC. They discover that the stoolie has a sister that is on drugs (that is why he sold them out, to get money to pay off her pimp), and they rescue her and place her in rehab! Would the stoolie still sell them out? What if they saved the Cop's infant son from drowning? Would he still turn on them? In a video game, the answer is, of course, 'Yes'. But shouldn't we be able to rise above this and alter our plots? At the very least, couldn't the betrayer have a "change of heart", and arrive with a warning "just a few seconds too late", so that even if the plot goes on, the PC's don't feel like they got burned for trying to help someone? And, if the heroes did something really extraordinary, couldn't the whole 'betrayal' be avoided? If not, then something is wrong. 2) "I'm a Doctor, not a Mechanic!" Another thing that bothered me in Baldur's Gate, were some of the little things. There are certain areas that you reach by shoving around boxes, jumping on top of them, and then jumping on top of a previously unreachable wall. This process is fine if you are a Barbarian Fighter, I suppose, but when I was playing through as a Necromancer, it really irritated me. Here I am, a Master of the Dark Arts, and I have to shove around boxes like a longshoreman. Why can't I just have a spell that let's me levitate? Why can't the Monk (Martial Artist) just flip over the boxes? The things that you have to move around are right there, it is not like some major obstacle in the game, so why not let the characters have a way to do it that is appropriate to their type? Again, this comes back to GM'ing. Have you ever designed a scenario where the only way to advance the plot was to interrogate a certain Viper agent, or find a certain book in a library? Even if your players don't really work that way? I am not saying that the "Computer Hacker" should be able to find any piece of information he needs by "hacking" for five minutes. But on the other hand, wouldn't it make more sense for him to roleplay talking to other hackers, to help him find what he needs, than beating up a Viper agent? Isn't the point of the exercise to make it somewhat difficult, but not impossible, to obtain the information; rather than doing that in one prescribed manner? Players should be able to play their character in a way that is true to the concept, and still make it through the plot the GM has created. 3) The Big Brawl This topic somewhat intersects the last one, but here it can be much more exasperating for players. The End. The Final Showdown. The Grand Finale'. One of the most frustrating things for me in B.G.D.A.II was the ending. Without giving the entire plot away, evil people are trying to assemble a big Evil Artifact. If it gets assembled, the world ends. At the end, Big Bad Guy is trying to complete things, you fight Big Bad Guy. You Win. The End. Now I know this sounds like nearly every video game of this type, but here is the problem: This game gives the illusion of having different types of characters. Which means there should be different ways to resolve the ending! Instead, it is just: "Beat on the bad guy until he drops." This is a perfectly valid solution if you are playing a Fighter (or a Brick). But, if you are a Thief, you should be able to sneak past people and steal a vital component, rendering the Evil Artifact useless. If you are a Gadgeteer, you should be able to sabotage the Evil Artifact! If you are playing a Mystic, there should be some way for you to either Turn the Bad Guy to the Good Side, or Turn the Bad Guy's supernatural allies against him. Beating up the Bad Guy should not be the One and Only solution to the Main Problem. If players choose to fight it out, that's different, but if the Ninja wants to use Stealth to solve the conflict, there should be a way for them to do it. Okay, there's my rant. What does everyone else think? Are some human GM's no better than a video game? Are there "warning signs" we should watch for when GM'ing to help avoid this? Am I just cranky because I can't sleep and it's 4:00 A.M.? KA.

I just wanted to say that if you store the Champions at the proper temperature, and put them back as soon as you are through with them, they won't go bad so quickly. . . . No! Wait! That's Milk! Not the Champions, Milk. Nevermind. KA

Sketchpad, I doubt if you read my post, but your rendition is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. Good Job! KA.

I have to say that I like Nighthawk just fine as a character. He fills the "Batman" role on the team. I like his costume just fine. It looks like a cross between Birdman and Blue Falcon, with a darker palette. What I don't like is this costume for this character. I think that is where most of the derision is coming from. Most of us are comic readers, and we can't help thinking: "Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a Creature of the Night. Black, Terrible...a... a..." Duck? Okay, sorry! He doesn't really look like a duck, exactly. But unless you get several thousand angry ones together in a small coastal town, people just aren't that scared of Birds. That does not mean that the character needs a total overhaul or anything, it just means that with "Bat" already taken, and having to go with a Bird motif, he needs to look as tough and menacing as possible, and the Bird Hat is just not cutting it. I think a more streamlined, stylized "beak" possibly coming to a sort of widow's peak above the brows, and more of a "fitted" look around the top of the head, not as "fluffy", would give a more menacing look to the character. I am not artist, but I may try to put something together to show what I am talking about. KA.

Re: Armor vs. Damage Resistance Welcome, Greatwyrm! Hope I can make this clear and simple. There are two kinds of basic attacks in Hero, Normal and Killing. Regular Defenses, like PD and ED, work against Normal Attacks, but only Resistant Defenses work against Killing Attacks. If someone Punches you (Normal Attack), you would soak up some of the damage, just because you have fat and muscle to pad the blow. So you would get to subtract your PD. But if someone Stabs you with a Knife, or Shoots you (Killing Attacks), it would go right through your "padding". It is possible for a Superhero to have skin that is so tough that a knife or bullet will not cut through it (think: Superman), that is because he has bought Damage Resistance to make his Normal PD and ED, Resistant, so it works against Killing Attacks. So Damage Resistance makes the PD and ED that you already have become Resistant to Killing Attacks. What if you want to buy more Defenses than just the PD and ED that you get from your Strength and Constitution? That is what Armor is for. Armor is extra points of Defense, that are also Resistant, so they work against Killing Attacks without having to add anything to them. Hope that helps, KA.

Bengal, I have a lengthy, and very well written, article on the process from someone named Peter Lindstrom. I found it on the net somewhere, and liked it well enough to download it. I don't feel comfortable posting the entire content here, but if you would like a copy, send me an email and I will be happy to send it to you. KA.

I checked Digital Hero. Steve's article is well worth checking out for anyone who wants to get more creative with Entangles. Here is my shot at what you are trying to do: Cost Power END 32 Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Based on CON (+1/4), Cannot Be Escaped With Teleportation (+1/4), Takes No Damage From Attacks All Attacks (+1/2) (80 Active Points); Susceptible to Alcohol Very Common (-1), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4), Requires Skin Contact (-1/4) 8 Powers Cost: 32 The modifiers I made up were: Based on CON +1/4 and Requires Skin Contact -1/4 My reasoning is that being based on CON rather than STR or Damage like a normal Entangle is something of an Advantage, since many people have a higher STR than CON, but not much of one, since high CON is also quite common. Requiring Skin Contact is a small Limitation, since there are quite a few people in the Supers world that are fully covered. Most people have some exposed skin, but if a GM wanted to be a stickler, you would either have to buy this "Area Effect 1 Hex", or get out the "Hit Location Chart" to find out if you actually managed to hit bare skin, or take a Penalty to your "To Hit" roll, unless the target was naked. Just some thoughts, KA.

If any of you have read the "Hero Refit" thread, you will have seen the comments about one of my player's GM'ing abilities. http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12532 He was a bit "harsh" when designing opponents to say the least. (By the way, if you haven't read it, please stop by to comment, the most recent version is in my last post.) Worse than that, when the other player and I actually managed to overcome the monstrosities he threw at us, he claimed that our characters were "too powerful". I think a lifetime of video gaming had caused him to have the idea that slaughtering the enemy was the only acceptable outcome. He was peeved that we had actually managed to survive! (By the way, if this sounds a bit immature, the person in question was only around 15 at the time, so please make allowances. I did!) Anyway, in a fit of pique, I designed a new character, Harmless Man. He can hardly be accused of being too powerful, just take a look . . . Harmless Man Player: Val Char Cost 10 STR 0 10 DEX 0 10 CON 0 10 BODY 0 10 INT 0 10 EGO 0 10 PRE 0 22 COM 6 2 PD 0 2 ED 0 2 SPD 0 4 REC 0 20 END 0 20 STUN 0 6" RUN02" SWIM02" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 6 Cost Power END 15 Luck 3d6 Powers Cost: 15 Cost Skill 3 Acrobatics 11- 3 Acting 11- 3 Breakfall 11- 3 Bribery 11- 3 Bugging 11- 3 Bureaucratics 11- 2 AK: City Knowledge 11- 3 Climbing 11- 3 Computer Programming 11- 3 Concealment 11- 3 Contortionist 11- 17 Conversation 18- 3 Cryptography 11- 3 Deduction 11- 3 Electronics 11- 17 High Society 18- 1 Language: Afrikaans (Basic Conversation) 1 Language: Albanian (Basic Conversation) 1 Language: Ancient Mayan (Basic Conversation) 1 Language: Arabic (Basic Conversation) 3 Lip Reading 11- 3 Mechanics 11- 2 Navigation (Pick Something) 11- 17 Oratory 18- 17 Persuasion 18- 17 Stealth 18- 16 Survival (Urban) 18- Skills Cost: 154 Cost Perk 3 Anonymity 2 Deep Cover Perks Cost: 5 Cost Talent 3 Absolute Time Sense 3 Bump Of Direction 47 Danger Sense (Area: Any Area, Sensitivity: Any Danger) 18- 5 Eidetic Memory 3 Lightning Calculator 3 Lightsleep 3 Perfect Pitch 3 Simulate Death Talents Cost: 70 Total Character Cost: 250 Val Disadvantages 40 Dependence on Plutonium: Takes 3d6 Damage, Uncommon, 1 Minute 30 Hunted by Mechanon: 14- (Very Frequently), More Powerful, Harshly Punish, Extensive Non-Combat Influence 30 Hunted by Minuteman VII: 14- (Very Frequently), More Powerful, Harshly Punish, Extensive Non-Combat Influence 25 Blindness: All the Time, Fully Impairing 25 No Hands: All the Time, Fully Impairing Disadvantage Points: 150 Base Points: 100 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0

Hey there everyone. I was looking at something on a Lycos site today, and all of their pages are going to be deleted as of Feb 1! I know that there are old Champions and Hero pages scattered all over the 'net, and if anyone knows of anything cool on a Lycos page, please post the location here so that anyone who wants it can get it. I will be doing a few searches, and if I find anything I think anyone would want, I will try to post a link here. KA.

Okay, Here is the latest, but not necessarily the final, version. Any thoughts now? Meteor Player: Val Char Cost 40/70 STR 10 30 DEX 30 25 CON 10 25 BODY 10 18 INT 8 14 EGO 8 22 PRE 2 18 COM 0 39/45 PD 2 39/45 ED 5 6 SPD 20 25 REC 4 50 END 0 50 STUN -8 6" RUN02" SWIM08"/14" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 101 Cost Power END 67 Multipower (Costume): Multipower, 100-point reserve, all slots: (100 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) 8m 1) Armor (20 PD/20 ED) (60 Active Points) 4m 2) Damage Resistance (30 PD/30 ED) (30 Active Points) 4m 3) Density Increase (6400 kg mass, +30 STR, +6 PD/ED, -6" KB) (30 Active Points) 3 6u 4) Energy Blast 18d6 (vs. PD), 16 Charges (+0) (90 Active Points) 3u 5) Energy Blast 10d6 (vs. ED), STUN Only (+0), Personal Immunity (+1/4), Explosion (+1/2) (87 Active Points); 6 Charges (-3/4), No Range (-1/2) 5m 6) Flight 20" (40 Active Points) 4 3u 7) Regeneration (No Control below 15 Body): Healing 2d6 (max. Healed Points: 12) (Can Heal Limbs, Resurrection), Reduced Endurance 0 END (+1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (90 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-1), Self Only (-1/2) 3m 8) Total Life Support: Life Support , Eating: Character only has to eat once per year, Safe in High Pressure, Safe in High Radiation, Safe in Intense Cold, Safe in Intense Heat, Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum, Self-Contained Breathing, Sleeping: Character only has to sleep 8 hours per year (23 Active Points) Costume Powers, all slots: OIF (-1/2) 94 1) Costume Characteristics: (Total: 142 Active Cost, 94 Real Cost) +20 STR (Real Cost: 20) plus +10 DEX (Real Cost: 30) plus +10 CON (Real Cost: 20) plus +10 BODY (Real Cost: 20) plus +10 PRE (Real Cost: 10) plus +8 COM (Real Cost: 4) plus +9 PD (Real Cost: 9) plus +9 ED (Real Cost: 9) plus +10 REC (Real Cost: 20) 2 12 2) Space Senses: (Total: 22 Active Cost, 12 Real Cost) Infrared Perception (Real Cost: 5) plus Ultraviolet Perception (Real Cost: 5) plus Radio Perception/Transmission (10 Active Points); Costs Endurance Costs END Every Phase (-1/2) (Real Cost: 7) plus Telescopic +1 to PER Rolls (only to offset the Range Modifier) (Sight Group) (Real Cost: 1) 1 5 Instant Change (same clothes only) Powers Cost: 214 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Meteor Fighting 4 1) Meteoric Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 5 2) Meteor Kick: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, STR +4d6 Strike [Notes: 12d6 - 18d6] 4 3) Meteor Punch: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, STR +2d6 Strike [Notes: 10d6 - 16d6] 3 4) Meteor Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, STR +v/5, Target Falls [Notes: 8d6 - 14d6 + v/5] Martial Arts Cost: 16 Cost Skill 3 Astronomy (INT-based) 13- 3 Computer Programming 13- 3 Electronics 13- 3 Mechanics 13- 1 Power (STR-based) 8- 3 Science (INT-based) 13- Skills Cost: 16 Cost Talent 3 Bump Of Direction Talents Cost: 3 Total Character Cost: 350 Val Disadvantages 15 Accidental Change: When BODY damage is taken (in "costume"). 14- (Uncommon) 15 Code Against Killing: Common, Strong 15 Dependent NPC (Girlfriend): 11- (Occasionally), Normal 5 Dependent NPC (Professor) : 8- (Normal; Useful noncombat position or skills) 15 Honorable: Common, Strong 15 Hunted by Green Dragon: 11- (Frequently), As Powerful, Harshly Punish 15 Hunted by Viper: 8- (Occasionally), As Powerful, Harshly Punish, Extensive Non-Combat Influence 15 Novice Hero: (Very Common; Moderate) 5 Rivalry (w/ Co-worker): Professional (; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry) 15 Secret Identity: Frequently (11-), Major 15 Susceptibility: Strong Magnetic Fields 2d6 damage, per Turn (Uncommon) 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN Magnetic (Uncommon) Disadvantage Points: 150 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0