CBikle

Re: Post your Cybernetics! A.C.I.D. ( Acidic Cannon of Internal Design) A.C.I.D. is an elaborate and ill-thought out idea. It harnesses and concentrates the users' stomach-acids and projects them through a reinforced chest catheter which funnels the acids through a cannon that bursts out of the firer's stomach and hopefully douses the targets with an acidic spray. Although it has plenty of surprise-potential, A.C.I.D. has not been perfected and tends to ruin the clothes and digestive systems of its users, probably limiting its potential as the "Derringer Of The Cyber-Age". 17real pt. cost: 1) A.C.I.D. ( Acidic Cannon of Internal Design): RKA 3d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2), Area Of Effect Nonselective (14" Cone; +3/4) (101 Active Points); 3 Charges which Recover every 1 Week (-1 3/4), Activation Roll 13-, Jammed (-1 1/4), Side Effects (2d6 killing attack NND; -1/2), No Range (-1/2), No Knockback (-1/4), Gradual Effect (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12); -1/4), Inaccurate 1/2 OCV (-1/4), Restrainable (Removed by cyber-surgery ; -1/4) 9 2) Stomach-Reinforced Armor: Armor (8 PD/8 ED), Hardened (+1/4) (30 Active Points); Activation Roll 8- (covers Hit Locations: 12-13) (-2), Restrainable (Removed by cyber-surgery ; -1/4) Long time ago, a player in a CyberPunk game actually wanted something like this. Total real cost: 26 pts.

Re: New player needs help translating character ideas into game terms I'd buy the extra-STR with a-1/2 limit of "only whip-related effects" (no casual str, bracing vs. knockback, limited in its ability to lift/throw, etc.) and the "No Figured Characteristic" limit (unless it's in a framework). Both of these limits would be in addition to whatever focus limit you'll probably apply. The whip itself might have 3" stretching (about 20" ft.) with limits like Always Direct (-1/4), No Noncombat Stretch (-1/4), No Velocity Damage (-1/4) and probably a focus limit. You could also try building the whip with Telekinesis also.

Re: Post your Cybernetics! 12 StimLine Adrenal System: (Total: 17 Active Cost, 12 Real Cost) Lightning Reflexes: +3 DEX to act first with All Actions (5 Active Points); Restrainable (Only by means other than Grabs and Entangles; Removable through cyber-surgery; -1/4) (Real Cost: 4) plus LS (Eating: Character only has to eat once per week; Sleeping: Character only has to sleep 8 hours per week); Restrainable (Only by means other than Grabs and Entangles; Removable through cyber-surgery; -1/4) (Real Cost: 2) plus +3 CON (6 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), Restrainable (Only by means other than Grabs and Entangles; Removable through cyber-surgery; -1/4), Limited Power Only to prevent Stunning (-1/4) (Real Cost: 3) plus +4 STUN (4 Active Points); Restrainable (Only by means other than Grabs and Entangles; Removable through cyber-surgery; -1/4) (Real Cost: 3) [Notes: The Stimline Adrenal System is cyberware that pumps the user full of stimulants] Figured I'd start with something eclectic. I've also attached the Prefab for StimLine. In hindsight, there probably'd be some sort of Physical limit or Distinctive Feature (jumpy ?) attached to long-term users. Depending on how high-powered a game you're in, things like 25 % Resistant Physical and Energy Damage Reduction (only vs. stun) wouldn't be unreasonable (extra 18 pts. real cost).

Re: What to do with a winged ex-heroine? SThat's a tough one. Ladyhawke was essentially abandoned in Hell (HELL !)and the PCs are just starting to wonder about her ?

Re: Character Ideas Here's a basic Elemental Control for fire powers. 22 Fire: Elemental Control, 66-point powers, (33 Active Points); all slots Limited Power Traditional fire limits ( Not underwateror in vacuum, can potentially ignite flammables, etc) (-1/2) 23 1) Super-Fiery Form: EB 3d6+1, Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4), Damage Shield (Offensive; +3/4), NND (+1), Continuous (+1) (68 Active Points); Limited Power Traditional fire limits ( Not underwateror in vacuum, can potentially ignite flammables, etc) (-1/2) 24 2) Fire Stream: EB 12d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (75 Active Points); Limited Power Traditional fire limits ( Not underwateror in vacuum, can potentially ignite flammables, etc) (-1/2), No Knockback (-1/4) 22 3) Fiery Trail: Flight 24", Position Shift, Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4) (66 Active Points); Limited Power Traditional fire limits ( Not underwateror in vacuum, can potentially ignite flammables, etc) (-1/2) 23 4) Fiery Field Of Fiery Fire: FF (15 PD/20 ED/5 Mental Defense/5 Flash Defense: Sight Group), Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4), Hardened (+1/4) (67 Active Points); Limited Power Traditional fire limits ( Not underwateror in vacuum, can potentially ignite flammables, etc) (-1/2) This is very basic and your GM really shouldn't have any problems. If the GM asks, your Force Field generates a heat-induced hazy aura which slightly reduces glare and makes it slightly harder for mentalists to pinpoint you (this is why your FF has flash and mental defense built-in.).

Re: Robbers on the Road All of that would be fine if it came about naturally either through one side being more lucky and/or strategic than the other in the initial ambush. If the GM is obviously stacking the deck, fudging die-rolls, etc in order for "his story" to progress, that shatters my suspension of disbelief and pulls me right out of the game. I prefer impartiality or at least a pretty good illusion of it. That's fine and is an interesting plot development. Cyril would probably surrender in that case and that decision would be based on that character's M.O. I'd have no problem with that at all. I don't consider the treacherous stagecoach to be railroading, as the decision to surrender or not, would be mine. However... Cyril could be the kind of paladin who runs both the princess and the driver through with his longsword in order to protect her chastity. The annoyance factor of railroad adventures increases exponentially depending on how long the GM drags the railroad out. If the players are sitting at the table for 45 minutes unable to really interact with the environment while the GM narrates "his story" and has NPCs and events play their roles... I do understand that there's a section of players that prefer that the GM take a more visible presence.

Re: I need a certain type of catastrophe Maybe fire just stops existing one day. What would that do ?

Re: I need a certain type of catastrophe Some major chemical shift changes the nature of oil/petroleum making them unusable as fuel or lubricants.

Re: Robbers on the Road Fighting against impossible odds is a staple of the fantasy genre. Conan, Elric and Corwin of Amber did it regularly, usually solo (of course the PCs may not be quite as powerful as those guys). Sometimes I think GMs overthink their scenarios and don't take into account, PC actions based on character's(and players') personalities and circumstances and that leads to the "I'm just trying to tell a good story" card getting overplayed. Part of the charm of RPGs, is that your character might handle a situation diffently than say Batman, Luke Skywalker, etc. If I'm playing Cyril the Paladin and I'm escorting the princess through the woods, surrendering to the bandits is almost certainly not an option. If I'm playing Mort the Thief, I'd be a lot more willing to negotiate. Part of GMing is being more adaptive and responsive to how characters might react to plot elements (like the ambush).

Re: Robbers on the Road Looking back at the original post, I think I need more info. Taxboy: How are bandits/highwaymen usually regarded in the part of your game world where the robbery would be taking place ? Do they normally leave survivors ? Is there in fact a charismatic gentleman-type bandit leading the gang ?

Re: The Champions Do they suck? It might be better now, but GURPS is a bad system (I should know, I've playtested a number of their sourcebooks). The rules were scattered throughout the book's text and sidebars and there was little consistency towards them. I did like a few things like Quirks and the Intuition advantage. Weirdness magnet too. .

Re: The Champions Do they suck? I think the C:NM Allies book sold poorly as well. Don't get me wrong, I'd pick up a superhero sourcebook myself, partially to support the company and , like you, also have fond memories of the Strike Force and Organizations Books. Purely speculation , but maybe Hero wants a consistant stream of material released (which I think is a nice change from the old days. I think I'm still owed a few issues from my Adventurer's Club subscription) and the Star Hero and Fantasy Hero books were ready to go. Plus, maybe Hero was banking on the sourcebooks being bought by non-Hero GMs (I've picked up a few GURPS sourcebooks even though the system is ass.).

Re: Robbers on the Road You could always have the bandits back down or negotiate first, but then there wouldn't really be a point to the whole scenario. If the bandits somehow had one of the player's DNPCs captive, that might get them more willing to play ball.

Re: Hypothetical Axis Amerika 2005 Check out The Man In The High Castle, which deals with this theme. Essentially the US was divided into East and West America (just like Germany), Germany controlled the East Coast and Japan controlled the West Coast. You could have a lot of creepy parallels to the real world (Bush might still be president since his family bankrolled the nazi party before the US entered WWII). The nazis might have certain restrictions regarding paranormals, maybe using giant robots to control the mutant and alien populations.

Re: The Champions Do they suck? In hindsight, the Champions should've had sidebars suggesting changes for lower and higher versions. From what I understand, previous superhero-sourcebooks didn't sell all that well in the past so... Is there actually a big mandate for high-level superhero characters in Hero products or is it just the same 3 or 4 vocal usual suspects? I think if there were sufficient interest, a high-level hero book would be put on the fast track.

Re: looking for Adventure idea The eco-terrorist angle that people have suggested is the one I'd go with , but other possibilities: 1 Maybe the companies are trying an unpleasant medication on Arkham Inmates (of which she is one) and she's enacting revenge (maybe the medication works and that's got the Arkham types nervous). 2 Maybe Poison Ivy is being controlled herself (Grodd maybe ?) or maybe she's being manipulated by some other 3rd party (her counselor at Arkham ?) 3 Perhaps the robberies have no connection; maybe Poison Ivy is just using Superman to commit these robberies to impress potential buyers of a mind-control serum. 4 Red Kryptonite.

Re: Orson Scott Card To Write Ultimate Iron Man...

Re: Robbers on the Road [QUOTE]Actually, being sold into slavery is not unheard of in the fantasy genre. Conan the Prepubescent was sold into slavery, for example. In a less well known example (but much more recently read by me, online at the Baen Free Library) the title character in The Lion of Farside by John Dalmas spent some time enslaved after being captured. Being broken and staying a slave forever more, though, is a genre violation. It would also not necessarily even be 'realistic' in that most PCs are superb physical or mental specimens with extreme skillsets, and it would be highly wasteful to just break or cripple them. That's why many PCs would rather try to fight off the bandits mentioned in this thread(even with insurmountable odds against them) rather than surrender and risk death or slavery. Thinking further on this, I think the reason that the "Robin Hood scenario" often is a disaster is because it inherently allows for three extremes players hate: 1 Being railroaded into an adventure. 2 Getting your stuff taken away. 3 Potential confrontation with the GM's pet Super-NPC fighter type who'll easily kick your ass and be a smartass while doing it.

Re: An odd question It depends on what kind(s) of powers I'd received. My general answer is I'd make myself rich and help out where I could, hopefully without drawing too much attention to myself from the media and the government. Don't know if fighting crime would be in my mission plan (not looking to start trouble with La Cosa Nostra). Probably just stick to rescue type operations if my powers lent themselves to that type of work. If my powers screwed me over like Bruce Banner or Cyclops, I'd be much more pissed off and less likely to put up with too much nonsense.

Re: Orson Scott Card To Write Ultimate Iron Man... Bothers me for two reasons: 1 Seems like every new writer feels the need to "revamp" and "update" his origin, when the original idea still works (Stark and other scientists are held captive by Asian warlord, Won Chu, for the intent of creating a high-tech weapons sweatshop and Tony uses the opportunity to create his first suit of armor with the intent of escaping). Both Ellis and Card's updates add nothing to the character (same goes to the knuckleheads who made Stark evil and reversed his age back to a teenager). David Michelinie and Bill Mantlo were the only ones who got it right: Make Stark a progressive futurist capitalist who is surrounded by high-tech trappings at Stark Intl. and has an interesting cast (Madame Masque, Jack Of Hearts, Jarvis, Mrs. Arboghast, Rhodey, Bethany Cabe, the Guardsman, et al). Unlike most millionaire playboys, Stark enjoys being rich and hangs out in Monaco casinos with super-models. Michelinie added the alchoholism and alternate suits of armor and mase them both work. 2 I hate re-reading the same, but slightly-altered origin every time a re-launch/revamp/reboot/whatever is dictated.

Re: The Champions Do they suck? Both the 4th and 5th ed. Champions were designed as exhibition characters, intended more as guidelines and learning tools for GMs and players as to what a starting character should look like and to illustrate how certain math heavy powers like Multiform and Duplication (this was more relevant to 4th ed. characters) are calculated. None of the characters were really designed as arena-style combat characters (although Ironclad's 12d6 attack w/ Find Weakness is pretty nasty for a starting character).

Re: Robbers on the Road In general, you're right. However, unless the "gentleman bandit" angle is played up, the PCs are relying on the GM to not have them murdered or sold into slavery (which is unrealistic for the fantasy genre).

Re: Robbers on the Road Ack. I hate that style of GMing. Sorry, but that smacks of bad D&D. It largely depends on the party; If it's largely made up of thieves, odds are they will avoid confrontation. If the group is largely made up of war-clerics, barbarians and ex-soldiers, there's a good chance they'll fight. I think the "Robin Hood" scenario can work, but I think it's doomed from the start if the GM ties it in to high-handed railroading (sometimes mistakenly referred to as "storytelling".). You really have to subtle with these types of adventures. Other alternatives might be: - Maybe the robbers have the same enemy as the PCs (which in theory would encourage dialogue). - Perhaps everybody recognizes each other's Rep, which might encourage dialogue. - Perhaps after introductions are made, the evil sheriff's thugs/guards arrive to arrest everyone or a big monster or hunted shows up ("Egads ! it's a shambling cube of Eye-Pudding or Neo Eye-Pudding !") encouraging a temporary truce. And the robbers can always surrender or back down too. Why are the PCs wrong in defending themselves and belongings ?

Re: Breaking through a force wall of 50PD/ED Hardened Don't know if this has been suggested, but howsabout this: Get a hacker to break into the computer system and make their network think that the base is on fire or whatever applicable emergency. If the FW is tech in nature, the computer might turn it off to allow people to escape to safety and allow emergency services access to the compound to put out the fire/waste-spill/whatever.

Re: Need help with time powers. Both options you mentioned would work. Personally, I'd go with the Transform attack myself and I'd consider it a major transform. Other effects could be that the transformed target couldn't be directly attacked or perhaps even moved(maybe needing the transdimensional modifier) and his or her medical condition would be stabilized (would immediately stop bleeding if at negative body) and the target would have no knowledge of what has passed since he was transformed.\ In one of the Digital Heros, there was an article on time-stop powers.