KA.

Re: I am hot!

Re: Bored At Work????, This even worked with my firewall 'caroline78' seems very enthusiastic about this site. This is the second thread she has started on it. KA. Edit: Whoops, my mistake. That other thread was started by her sister, 'caroline79' !

Re: Attracting villians Some idiot on the local news does a report on "The Town with No Supervillains!" That would be enough to draw some of the upstart villains with large egos. Which are what you usually want at the start of a campaign. KA.

Re: Teen Champions PCs vs Minuteman. One thing to remember is that it is often not the opponent that is deadly, it is the situation. If the PC's are given to believe that the Minuteman is going to hunt them down and kill them, or kill innocents in an attempt to kill them, then they have little choice but to fight to the death, most likely their own, unless you tone it way down. If you set up the situation so that all they need to do is delay it for a certain amount of time (it is actively chasing another mutant and will only really smash them if it must do so to complete its mission), they should be okay. Also, if you aren't running an Iron Age campaign, there is no reason for it to even attempt to destroy them on sight. Minutemen could easily have orders to capture all previously unknown mutants for study. Perhaps they are looking for an "anti-mutant" that cancels powers, or a telepathic mutant that could help round up other mutants, etc. In which case they would need to make sure they didn't "kill the goose that lays the golden eggs" by snuffing such a mutant out before they were able to study and use it. I would hesitate to put underpowered heroes in a situation where they face an enemy that can, and has cause to, obliterate them with a single attack, because that is just the same as creating a D&D style deathtrap. But, I have no problem with having the players encounter something that they just have to run away from, for the time being. As long as you don't set up a situation where running away is going to get innocent people killed, or have other unacceptable side effects, other than bruised egos, I don't see a problem. KA.

Re: I am hot! Agreed. I was just trying to put things in perspective. I don't think anyone actually posted anything offensive. A few of the comments might not have made any sense to an innocent party, but that was about the extent of it. I am not a major participant on the NGD boards either, other than going there for things that are truly Non-Gaming Discussion, as in: Sharing recipes People sharing personal happiness/sadness Discussions on things like buying a PC, Car, House, etc. I know that some people avoid the NGD board like the plague because they think there is never anything there other than endless political flamewars and off-color jokes, but there is a lot of decent information to be found if you look. To add a bit to what AmadanNaBriona said . . . The Kara Rachel incident was not just a case of someone choosing to post as another gender. Male gamers (generally, not in every case) seem to tend to 'help', 'defend', 'protect', and/or 'show off in front of' what they perceive as an attractive female. Especially one that flirts with them. I don't know if it was the original intent of the poster or something that just happened, but it seems like once Kara/Rachel found out that he had a loyal group of followers, he used them to shout down anyone that questioned or disagreed with him. Even normally rational posters were manipulated into attacking people for little more than failing to agree with Kara/Rachel's opinions on certain topics. It was pretty darn ugly. I see a difference between someone who get their kicks by pretending to be a girl online and flirting with other guys (weird, but, whatever) and someone who gets their kicks setting a relatively peaceful online community at each other's throats. Which is why I, and some others I think, take this sort of thing seriously. Some people see a termite and think of a small bug, some people think of their house falling down. KA.

Re: "Am I Hot?" It would all depend on the actual effect it had on him. For example, if Joe Normal with a PD/ED of 2 had this condition, he might easily die, or at least suffer major damage, before he realized what was happening. On the other hand, if you have the PD/ED/Life Support to keep from getting harmed right away, it might only be a minor inconveniece. Sounds like a Physical Limitation to me, with the point value based on the chance of actual harm. Could make for some interesting roleplay opportunities though, like not immediately noticing that the person you found in a room was dead because you couldn't feel that they were cold. Or not being able to tell that a closed door was hot and walking right into a fire on the other side. I was told in chemistry class years ago that this sort of effect could happen from exposure to a strong Base. Acid, as we all know, burns. But I was told that a strong enough base could practically burn through your skin before you would notice. I never had the desire to test this out , but someone with a chemistry background might be able to verify it. KA.

Re: I am hot!

Re: Thoughts on the various Bat ideas I've had I'm not sure I get where you are going with this, but I wanted to post to bump up the thread, anyway. Are you saying that in the DCU, if there had been a Batman, there would be a hole that had to be filled in the crimefighting commuity, so there would be a need for someone/some group to 'take on the role' of Batman? Even though Batman has had various people who 'supported' him in the past, including Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, etc. he was always the one in charge. Having a bunch of bureaucracy around a 'Project Batman' just seems against the concept. I know that I may be totally misreading what you are talking about, but perhaps when you provide a bit more detail, someone will see what you do want and provide something useful. KA.

Re: I am hot! Guyon, You said in a later post that you are no longer following this thread, but just in case you check back in someday, I wanted to respond to this post. Discrimination is a rather charged word to use, especially these days. May I ask you some questions? Do you lock your doors at night? Do you lock your car? Because if you do, then you are guilty of 'discrimination'. Just because you have heard that some people might have harmed others, or stolen from them, you assume that they might harm you, or steal from you. You are pre-judging everyone who might happen by your home or your car, by keeping them out with a lock. Or, is the fact of the matter, that since you are aware of the fact that some people might actually harm you or steal from you, you choose to be somewhat careful about who you choose to allow into your personal space? Most of us only take precautions against threats that we are aware of. Before the Kara/Rachel incident, I was aware of online crime, in the sense of fraud, identity theft, etc. But I was not aware that someone would actually be insane enough to come into an online community and spend years building a set of online personas, enlist allies to their cause by a campaign of flattery and flirting, and then create conflicts designed to set those allies against other board members, merely to stir up conflict for their own amusement. Now that I am aware that such a being exists, I am on guard against a repeat performance, either from them, or someone with a similar intent. That does not mean that I have any sort of 'grudge' against new members. Or that I automatically assume that they are some sort of psychotic troll. But I must say that I will always have a bit of skepticism when someone suddenly shows up saying: "I am a super-hot flirtatious gamer chick. *wink* *hugz*" Not being a super-hot flirtatious gamer chick myself, I don't claim to understand their feelings or motivations. But I would say that if I just started posting on a new board that was nearly torn to pieces by someone pretending to be a chubby balding 40-ish gamer guy, I would not take offense if they took their time getting to know me before trusting me. And, one more time, the reason that this board has a touch of paranoia is due to the Kara/Rachel incident. I would not like to think how bad things would be for new members if we allowed another one to occur. Which means that some of us who seem so guarded, may be trying to keep this a place where new people can be welcomed, with some slight reservation. And those who are too ready to take everything at face value, could be unknowingly helping to create a situation that will make things really unpleasant around here. KA.

Re: I am hot! I applaud your selfless efforts to help the board! KA.

Re: I am hot! In the interest of fairness for all parties involved, you may want to read this thread. http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27220 It is rather long, and it will probably take a while for you to fully understand what people are talking about, but once you do I think you will see why you are being greeted with some amount of suspicion by some of the members here. One main point is that in the beginning a lot of members had doubts about the poster(s) in question, and were shouted down by others who wanted to believe. Which is why people are a bit more skeptical now, and a bit less likely to back down from their suspicions. Try not to take it personally. If you actually are a hot female who loves to game and is naturally flirtatious, some day you will run into someone from these boards who will meet you in person and verify your existence, at which point apologies will most likely be offered. Also understand that this board was a friendlier place before that incident, and one of the reasons we can seem a bit rude is that we don't want things to get even more chilly for people who come here to learn about Hero. If you are some idiot who is trolling, especially the same idiot mentioned above, please leave now. I really don't think you will get very far, at least not with anyone who has been here for a while. KA.

Re: I am hot! Welcome to the boards, Siren. It sounds like you already have some good suggestions for the Entangle. For the 'Dark Side' you could probably work out something with either a Psychological Limitation or a form of Berserk/Enraged. Berserk is basically the idea that under certain conditions your character could end up harming someone without really meaning to. You would have to talk to your GM about exactly how they wanted you to buy it. If you don't mind my asking, how did you get started playing Hero? Also, you might want to let us know what edition/version your group uses, because there are a few things that have changed a bit over the years and we wouldn't want to make suggestions that won't work in your group. KA.

Re: New Player Hates All The Dice Does this player, or anyone else in your group, have access to a laptop, PDA, programmable calculator, etc? I use an Excel spreadsheet on my laptop that can 'roll' up to 25 d6 of Normal Damage, or 10 d6 of Killing Damage, and add up the totals including BODY and STUN. And it does all that in the time it takes to hit a button. These days, I think this feat could be recreated on anything more complicated than a toaster. So, if your player hates rolling dice that much, there is an alternative that would not mess with the underlying math of the game. KA. P.S. If anyone would be interested in a copy of the spreadsheet, just let me know.

Re: New to Hero Wiretwister, Welcome to Hero! memorax300 has offered an excellent piece of advice. Especially since you can download Sidekick from the online store for something like $7. The rules of Hero are not complicated, but there are a lot of options, and detailed descriptions, in the big hardback book, that can get in the way when you are just trying to learn the basics. Also, unlike some 'lite' version of RPG rules, Sidekick is the actual rules, just a shorter form, so that you won't have to relearn everything when you switch to the big book. KA.

Re: Desol Move Through One thing this thread got me thinking about is: Exactly what Defenses would apply to the Move Through damage that the Desolid Character inflicts on himself? I guess it would depend on how abusive this technique turned out to be in actual gameplay, but my first reaction would be to say that, based on SFX, only Defenses bought with Affects Physical World would apply to the self-inflicted damage. I guess I see it like 'shorting out' the two dimensions or something like that. If you are Desolid, you can be Desolid and not get hurt. You can even buy attacks that will affect those in the Physical world. But, doing a Move-Through into the Physcial World seems like you are 'shorting out' your Phasing ability at the moment you do damage. I would probably not allow someone without an "Affects Desolid" attack to hit you at that time, because that doesn't really seem fair, but the idea that you might very well hurt yourself by deliberately using your power in such a wierd way, does seem fair. Options : 1) Perhaps you would need to make a DEX roll (Power Skill Roll) to time your Attack so well that you can use your Normal Defenses against the Damage. 2) Perhaps you can only use the Defenses that you bought as "Affects Desolid" against the Self-Inflicted Damage. 3) Perhaps some random factor could decide which set of Defenses you get to use. KA.

Re: Prepaid Wireless (aka Tracfones) I think that if you were going to do something in a fictional world, you might want to consider cloning someone else's phone. All I know about this topic is what I learned from a Spiderman novel, so bear with me. All the information about "I am the phone with this ID, I am registered to Person X, I connect with Network Y" can be stored on a chip, and is sent out when the phone is used to make a call. At one time, you could scan for that information when a phone was nearby (I think it is encrypted now, but if we are talking about a fictional super-genius, that shouldn't be any problem). If you could successfully clone the phone of an innocent bystander, and then use that signature for your phone, it seems like it would be very hard to 'casually' track you. Assuming that the person with the phone you cloned is a Cab Driver, or UPS Driver, or Bike Messenger, or Pizza Delivery Dude, and you are moving around quite a bit too, it would be pretty hard to keep track of who was who and who was where. If you did this on a daily basis, swapping out phones all the time, you would probably be fairly secure. KA.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... Well, it all depends on the campaign and the circumstances. In Heinlein's 'Glory Road' a man from Earth finds himself in another world where he ends up becoming a 'legendary Hero'. He and his lady love accept the hospitality of a Lord. After the feasting, they each go to their separate rooms. A little later, the Lord's beautiful daughter shows up and wants to 'warm the Hero's bed'. He politely turns her away. After a bit, the Lord's beautiful younger daughter shows up with the same intentions. Again, he politely turns her away. Finally, the Lord's Wife shows up, making the same offer, and is also politely turned away. Finally getting some sleep, the Hero and his love are surprised in the morning to find that they are no longer welcome at the castle. After they hurriedly saddle their horses and start riding down the road, the Hero begins to explain his unusual night. At which point his love, a native of this world, tells him that he is an idiot! Basically, the conversation goes something like: "Don't you realize that any Lord would be honored to have a Son of the Legendary Hero in the family? It's not like they expected you to marry anyone! First you refused his oldest daughter. That was insult enough. Then, thinking that you liked younger women, they sent her little sister, and you rebuked her too. Finally he offered you his own Wife, and you refused her company. You are lucky he didn't kill you for an insult like that!" Sorry for the long example, but I am just trying to illustrate that something like a vow of Chastity can be as much trouble as the GM chooses to make it, based on the campaign. For one thing, it could easily result in a 'Hunted', or 'Rivalry'. (Princess Clarissa is madly in love with you, even though that love can never be consummated. Evil Lord Rodney knows that as long as you are in the picture, he will never have a chance to win the heart of the Princess. Evil Lord Rodney begins to figure out what sort of 'accident' you are going to have.) There could also be the classic problem of: "Cynthia is going to be sacrificed to the Volcano God in the morning. They are sacrificing her because she is a virgin. You and Cynthia are locked in the same cage awaiting your fate." Even though it might not be an ideal solution, for those without a Vow of Chastity, there is a solution to this problem. KA.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... So, if Thrudd's player does decide to come back, what role would you and the GM prefer to see him in? Court Jester? Village Idiot? Whipping Boy? I am amazed that you are not able to see his position. You and the GM play together regularly. He is a newcomer. The first night of a new game 'random circumstances' just 'happen to align' that his character is humiliated and dishonored, and he reacts to this poorly because he is a 'bad roleplayer'. I am not saying that you and the GM set out to do this, but you can't see how it would look that way to the new player? During this lengthy session, how many times did your 'womanizer' character find out he was romancing a man in drag? How many times did he have to go to the Healer to have a venereal disease cured? How many times did he wake up to find that the woman he spent the night with had stolen his purse? In other words, how many times was the egg on your face, rather than the new guy's? I think that one main problem here is that it sounds like you and the GM were not serious about the campaign to start with. You were just doing a one-off to relieve your boredom until you got your regular campaign back on track. Which means you didn't approach it seriously. The new player did. If you had told him that you were playing "The Three Stooges go Medieval" he might have done just fine. As far as all the complaints about Metagaming, etc. Will you please fill in the backstory that explains how you and the Paladin are 'longtime friends' when you behave this way toward him? The only possibilities are: 1) The 'Paladin' is one in name only. He is actually just as much of a rogue as your character and merely uses his 'holiness' as a front. But in that case he wouldn't have the Psych Lims that he does. 2) The Paladin only tolerates your character because he believes that you are going to be the key to some great evil, and that the only way he can stop it is to stay near you and be the butt of your jokes. But that is a little indirect for a Paladin and doesn't make much sense. 3) While your character may seem to enjoy wine and women, the Paladin believes, perhaps mistakenly, that he is basically good and would never really do anything to harm anyone. That one makes some sense, and could provide for a friendship in which he intended to 'turn you around', and help you 'see the light'. However, sending a woman to seduce a man who has taken a vow of chastity, crosses the line into evil. Which could quickly change his opinion of your character. More than that, if he has been hanging around with your character for 'years' then this is hardly the first time a woman has batted her eyes at him, unless he is disfigured. Which means that, in game, his character could have easily thought that the woman used some type of evil magic, or was perhaps, demonic herself. Now sending a Succubus to seduce a friend of many years to cause him to break his Holy Vows is something that seems to cry out for vengeance. That act is nearly unspeakable. Finding out that his so called 'friend' was actually in league with the darkest evil, and finding himself no longer in a state of grace, he lost control of himself and killed your character. Then, in pennance, took his own life. Do I think all that was going through the Player's mind at the time? No way! I am just saying that there is a possible in-game explanation. What I think happened is no doubt what he thought happened. You and the GM made a joke out of his character and a joke out of the game, so he delivered his own punchline. It isn't like he physically attacked anyone, or tore up the furniture, he just gave you both a dose of your own medicine. If you were going to ignore the social contract and have your fun at his expense, then he was going to do the same. You can call it 'Metagaming' or "Poor Roleplaying' or whatever else you want. But basically he just refused to be your punching bag. Maybe he does have a bad temper. Or, perhaps you should choose a more malleable victim, err 'new player', for your next session. KA.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... Korvar, You are right about it being a major step for one character to slaughter another one. However: 1) In character, the Paladin would not have to be a genius to figure out that the Person who hosted the party, and who knew he was in the exercise room, was the one who might have sent the woman to seduce him. Also, in character, he would not have felt it was right to attack the woman (NPC or not) and instead would look for the 'man' responsible. 2) Out of character. I think the player got the idea, from the combination of SirWilliam's character sending the woman, and the GM railroading his character into breaking his vow, that the two of them had set up the entire game to have a cheap laugh at his expense. At which point the usual taboos are no longer in force. One major reason that you don't kill PC's is that you don't want to upset your fellow players. But at the point that you think your fellow players have gone out of their way to humiliate you, why would you care how they feel? KA.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... I think you are on the right track. I don't think the player even got to make a roll, I think that the GM just said: "Okay, the girl makes her Seduction roll, so you break your Vow of Chastity." I don't know how most people play, but that sounds like crap to me. If you had a character with a Psych Lim "Womanizer", and a woman (maybe the King's favorite concubine, or someone else the character really shouldn't sleep with) made a Seduction roll against them, maybe they would to it. But for a character with a Psych Lim like "Vow of Chastity", that is going to take a heck of a lot more than a simple roll. That is like saying that someone with a 20 point Code vs. Killing, would just up and murder someone, because someone with Oratory told them to. It's a 3 point skill, for goodness sake, not 100 Points worth of Mind Control! Anyway, it sounds like you and I are in agreement on this one. KA.

Re: Player problem - opinions .... SirWilliam, Let me begin by saying that you have not provided all of the details, so that what I am about to say could be proven incorrect by information that I don't possess. Also let me say that I am not in the habit of 'going off' on someone that I barely know here on the boards, usually I go out of my way to welcome those that I am 'meeting' for the first time. And, even though what I am about to say may sound a bit harsh, please don't feel like I have formed some sort of instant opinion about you, or that I somehow 'dislike' you. However, you did ask for input, so here it is . . . It sounds like you and the GM acted like jerks. I don't know if Thrudd is an experienced role-player, or if this is his first real experience, but in either case I doubt that he was informed that you and the GM were planning a reenactment of 'Dangerous Liasons', rather than a more standard Fantasy Hero game. Even though I wouldn't have been thrilled about having another player use his abilities to make it seem like my character was farting, I probably could have handled that with good humor, and it sounds like Thrudd tolerated it fairly well too. But, when you and the GM conspired to dishonor his character in such a capricious and mean-spirited way, and on the first night of play, I am amazed that he actually had the courtesy to seek an in-game solution, rather than just walking right out the door in the middle of the session. And that is what appears to have happened. I have never seen a PC, especially one with a vow of chastity and the psych lims to back that up, fall into bed with some NPC wench because she 'made her Seduction Roll'. That sounds like the worst form of GM railroading, and it also seems to have happened merely so that you and the GM could have a cheap laugh at this characters expense. Even if you wanted to explore this kind of plot, you should have had the player's okay before you went there, and the 'woman' in question should have had some type of supernatural ability to cause a Paladin to fall to her charms. It sounds to me like you had the one thing that is the most valuable commodity in role-playing, a Player that actually understands his character and gives a crap about playing it correctly, and you decided to rub his nose in that by screwing around. I think his response to that was entirely appropriate. I also understand that neither you or the GM probably meant any real harm, and didn't realize what the other player's reaction would be. I think that some people get so caught up in the 'clique' of friends that they regularly role play with, that they don't stop for a second to consider how obnoxious their behaviour might be to a newcomer. There is a huge difference between laughing 'with' someone, and laughing 'at' them. After several sessions, which would have allowed this person to feel like a part of the group, your rogue character could have probably gotten away with a few more 'practical jokes'. But as it stood, Thrudd probably came to the conclusion that you and the GM had no intention of actually trying to start a campaign, and instead just put him through the process of creating a character so that you could team up and humiliate him. Again, if there are tons of extenuating circumstances, please let us know, but as it stands it looks like you and the GM are the people who went over the line in this situation. KA.

Re: Ruling on this situation...

Re: Ruling on this situation... A couple of things: 1) People who can't fly often grab fliers. It may be the only way to have a fight with them. Otherwise they can just fly around and throw things at you, fly around and blast you, etc. So grabbing them may be the best you can do. Spiderman does it all the time. 2) I don't know why this guy keeps getting grabbed, unless he is using the above tactics, and that is the only way for his opponents to have a shot at him. Some nasty things you can do if he never seems to take any damage in combat: a) Give him an opponent with Mental Illusions/Mind Control: 'The ground is still thirty feet away.' and 'I can handle a powerdive into the ground, and it will fix this wimp once and for all.' can be very dangerous things to think when you are flying full speed at the ground. Give him an opponent with Density Increase. Not so that he can't lift them. Activate it when he is near the end of his powerdive maneuver. Player: "Oh, crap! I can't pull up! We won't survive an impact at this speed!" Density Guy "Speak for yourself, my body is as hard as a diamond right now." c) What happens if he gets Stunned, or KO'd, while powerdiving? d) What if he is put into a Darkness field that affects his sense of orientation while powerdiving? "Oh, crap! Which way is the ground?" CRUNCH! "Oh. There it is . . ." I am not saying that the player deserves any of the above just for doing something 'smart', but if he is combining this with sniping tactics so that villains never, ever, get to attack him at all, I can understand your frustration. KA.

Re: The battle to beat all: Foxbat VS The Joker Hey, I just call them as I imagine them. KA.

Re: The battle to beat all: Foxbat VS The Joker It all depends on era . . . Golden Age (Not Four Color) - Foxbat dies on the first page, poisoned by a ping-pong ball dipped in Joker venom. Batman swears vengeance and the Joker seemingly dies after falling off a majestic cliffside during the fight. Silver Age - Joker and Foxbat play pranks on each other. In the end Batman and Robin play a spectacular prank of their own which captures both villains, and they are seen in the last panel laughing at The Joker and Foxbat, stuck together by a huge mess of glue filled taffy. Iron Age - After a few jokes on both sides involving disemboweled prostitutes, Foxbat is found dead. The only mystery is, he does not have the trademark 'Joker Grin' on his face. After a quick Bat-autopsy, it is revealed that Foxbat has been sodomized and the 'grin' is firmly fixed on his anus. Batman responds by torturing characters that bear an uncanny resemblance to Marvin, Wendy, and Wonderdog, to the point of death, even though they don't actually know anything. Then he tries to kill the entire Justice League, for, well, no reason at all. KA.