Karmakaze

Re: Master List Of Limitations new home

And now it's a wiki...

Re: Surfer girl character name

I actually like Kahuna for the hero name. It's got a good meaning and it's Hawaiian.

I've actually been in a game with a character whose code name was Surfer Girl. There are probably some other Beach Boys song titles that would work, as well.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

The heroes are receiving their mail. As a replacement team, none of them are particularly famous.

Siafu: Oh! I got a fan letter! (reads) "Dear Siafu, Our teacher said we have to write a letter to our favorite superhero. I don't have a favorite superhero, so I threw a dart at a national list and I got you..."

A rather creepy necromantic villain has developed an obsession with the team leader. Also in the mail came a large wooden box. There's no return address, and the label reads "every woman deserves flowers and a puppy."

Beater: All right, I'd like everyone to take a step back. You don't all have to see this.

Heavy Metal: (slow on the uptake) Wait -- Shouldn't that box have holes in it?

Re: Campaign Concept Source: "No Ordinary Family"

I kind of figured that they gave the kids non-combat powers to avoid the whole child endangerment thing.

Re: Superhumans changing the course of history

You might be interested in a comic book called "Ex Machina." There are significantly fewer metahumans than in most superhero universes, but our viewpoint character has the ability to talk to and control technology. He manages to get elected as the mayor on NYC on the basis of having

(Not much of a spoiler, it's the last panel of issue #1 IIRC.)

Re: How do Hero System players/GM view DnD?

Already disapointed more then a few of my players and such' date=' that I won't Run Storyteller or d20 products for them anymore. Then I sit them down at the table and run the Same Game.....with a Better System.[/quote']

 

I still haven't worked out how to run a LARP with HERO System. Not that I would put myself through that again.

Re: How do Hero System players/GM view DnD?

I'm somewhat new to this system' date=' having come from more d20 based systems. I am relishing the creative freedom that I have to do anything I want. I've been reading on the boards that a lot of people put down the DnD game, which is fine by me, however it got me to wondering what angle or viewpoint do Hero System gamers come from when viewing DnD. Is it just scoffed at for being a simple game? I am interested to hear what people think.[/quote']

 

Well, I can tell you that my issue with DnD (3.5 and 4 anyway) has nothing to do with it being a "simple" game. I have the exact opposite problem. It's not a system, it's a laundry list of one off rules and exceptions. The Player's Guide of 4E even says so, straight up: "Every class, race, feat, power, and monster in the D&D game lets you break the rules in some way." As far as I'm concerned, that's not simple -- that's the tax code! I do get the impression that people whose first game was D&D and who have iterated up through the systems are enough used to the "stacking exceptions" style that it doesn't throw them.

 

So my main emotional reaction to D&D is frustration, since I can and have run campaigns using HERO in multiple genres, Call of Cthulhu, Ars Magica, Vampire/Werewolf/Mage/Hunter, and a handful of other systems. And then I find myself having trouble wrapping my mind around the game everyone else manages intuitively. I did have a series of modules I ran successfully at conventions by keeping to low level characters and emphasizing roleplay, using AD&D2 and DnD3.5, but after reading through the three core 4E books, I just gave up.

 

Past the idiosyncratic personal issue, though, my opinion is pretty straightforward: It's a perfectly good system that accomplishes what it sets out to do, but it's not the sort of game I, personally, like to play. For one, High Fantasy is not my favorite genre, and for another, it's much more focused on combat roles and miniatures-style strategy than I prefer. But for people who do like that genre and playstyle, it reads to me like it works well, and I hear from a lot of people who like it.

Re: Soon to be New Player

HERO works fine with minis. If you look at the company logo, the hexagon around "hero guy" is a hex from a battle map.

Re: Magical Knick Knacks

I had a character once with a magic multitool, much like a Swiss Army knife with some cantrips embedded. In addition the actual small blade (with an ever-sharp spell on it, of course), it had a sparker for starting fires, a small light spell (maybe as bright as a tea-light candle), a tiny magnifying glass, and generally whatever small magical effect was appropriate to the story.

I was in another where we were given, essentially, magic bathtubs. They were canvas bags that could be stretched on a frame and had a built in water summoning spell when assembled, as well as a stone that heated the water when dropped in. It was a very civilized adventuring party. The DM had actually worked out all of the necessary 3.5 edition spells to create them.

In a modern game, I had a "bottomless cup of coffee," which was a travel mug that maintained itself at about half-full of whatever liquid it had been filled with last (and, naturally, kept the liquid hot indefinitely.)

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

A couple of my teen champions characters found a new PC, a refugee from a VIPER experiment in the street, and offer to give him a lift to the police. As they drive, they realize where he's from and how brainwashed he is.

PC: Aaa! "This car is protected by Viper" ('cause it's in the back seat!)

Re: Your PCs might be Underpowered if...

Your PC's might be underpowered if' date=' in a street level campaign, the most powerful Hunted they have is just the convenience store manager down the street.[/quote']

 

I was in a campaign once where my character started out working at a convenience store, and we had an extended plotline where she was trying to get her last paycheck out of her (former) boss...

Re: Convention Help

If you can, playtest it with a few friends first just to get a general feel for timing. It's also a good way to spot balance issues.

I usually prepare more scenes than I need, and have a mental flowchart of the absolutely necessary plot points. If the players are barreling through my plot like a runaway train, then I have things to keep the pacing right. If they drag through everything, then I can streamline down. It also means that if I can tell what type of thing that particular set of players enjoy, then I can pick from the optional stuff that seems like a good match.

Here's a link to a necromantic thread where I was working on some convention pre-gens and some thoughts about why they are the way they are: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/34669-A-Blast-From-The-Past-old-4th-ed-pregens

(I really need to finish tweaking those for 6th ed...)

Re: Time Traveller in 1928

Yeah' date=' it CAN be a great pulp plotline. I just hate the meme of looking at old photos and misinterpreting what is seen there. People can be really stupid.[/quote']

 

But what about when you see photos of a time that you know was black and white, and then someone has a color photo from the era. It's clear proof of time traveling anachromatic particles..

Re: Campaign Concept Source: "No Ordinary Family"

That said (and even more tangentially) I think that that show (Jake 2.0) is one of the several reason I enjoy the new USA series "Covert Affairs": seeing Chris Gorman (AKA Jake) as a CIA handler...It's sometimes strangely like his character Jake grew up and evolved into his character Auggie...IMNSHO. YMMV of course.

So removing the nanites had a really dire side effect?

Re: Campaign Concept Source: "No Ordinary Family"

I like that Jim gets run over when he stands in front of a moving vehicle. He's strong' date=' but he still has only a normal man's mass. On the other hand, most vehicles--and certainly a beater like his friend was driving, should have been wrecked the first time. I've hit a deer at relatively slow speed--I saw it coming*--but it still smashed the radiator and buckled the hood.[/quote']

I kept expecting him to punch the radiator.

Stephanie' date=' dear, when you're moving at 600mph you can't afford not to pay complete attention to the road. Plus, I think she ought to have come out of that skid completely unmussed OR with the clothes on her backside completely abraded away. Not just a few artistic tears. And I'm sorry. It doesn't matter how fast you are, the vacuum cleaner can't work any faster.[/quote']

My best guess is that whatever protective field prevents windburn, dust in the corneas, or the soles of her wildly inappropriate shoes from wearing through was still partially in effect during her tumble, but fading as she slowed. Maybe it's a comics code approved force field.

 

Um... the vacuum could work faster if she can project the speed force into things she's touching? Nah, probably not.

Re: Inspiration: Captain America Alternate Designs

Cavalry pants? Really?

Well, you do see him on a motorcycle/motorbike a lot. That's kind of like cavalry...

I also like following the artists links on these - sometimes there's good concept art on their personal galleries.

Re: Campaign Concept Source: "No Ordinary Family"

So, we know as of last night that Mom has regeneration.

Captain America: Fighting Styles Winners!

Project Rooftop is a blog that invites artists to do reinterpretations of superhero costumes. (Sometimes alternate universe, sometimes just "how I would have done it.") Their most recent contest was for Captain America, and they've posted their favorite entries with commentary.

As always, I like some better than others, but it's a great inspiration source if you're trying to think of a look for your new patriot-type hero.

Re: Campaign Concept Source: "No Ordinary Family"

That female detective got out of the trunk without using her gun. Powers for sure' date=' you just wait.

[/quote']

 

I'm pretty sure that's a standard safety feature in most modern cars.

Re: Opposite Schools of Magic

It depends a lot on the setting involved.

If it's a four or five element setting (like, say, Avatar or Ronin Warriors), then yes, absolutely, there will be interaction. Implementation is again going to vary a lot by setting.

If it's a setting where everyone using magic is locked into schools and every school has an opposite, then I'd probably put it in as a 0-point limitation, and have defenses slightly weakened against the opposing force.

On the other hand, if it's a setting where everyone using magic is locked into schools and every school has a "compliment" (for example, healing and necromancy are simply two sides of the same coin), then I'd probably negate a DC off of "complimentary" attacks (on the grounds that the defender will know how to handle a similar magic to their own) and possibly more for "matching" attacks. And, again, if it's setting wide, it's likely a 0-point limitation.

On the gripping hand, if you're not locking everyone into an opposite/compliment, then I'd apply it on a per-power basis. That is, when the spell is built, define whether it is strengthened, weakened, or neutral to it's opposing force, and apply the corresponding advantage or limitation. For example, a wall of water might be easily evaporated by a firebolt, but a wall of ice would extinguish it.

Re: Campaign Concept Source: "No Ordinary Family"

Personally I'm pretty tired of the "The whole world is normal...Until Now!" campaigns that have been so prevelent recently. As far as the show it self: It was okay' date=' not great, but I'll keep watching. Then again I didn't like Heroes for the first couple of episodes.[/quote']

 

The problem with having the world always contain metas is that you're then stuck explaining the alternate universe to a new audience. It's the same reason why every movie franchise starts with an origin story. The belief is that audiences won't tolerate being brought in any later in the story.

 

I'm a little torn on that idea. It is true that the weight of having to learn a lot of old continuity does put some people off getting into comic books. You can still draw in comic book readers to a superhero show by drawing the background universe in broad strokes and trusting them to fill in the classic tropes themselves, but a more general audience may well choke on the alternate universe setting. On the other hand, space opera shows have succeeded before, and they tend to require even more expository scene-setting.

 

Urban fantasy has the same problem. Either they have to go with a conspiracy that operates at disbelief-stretching levels or a world that has all this weird stuff but somehow came out just like ours anyway. I notice that a lot of the popular urban fantasies are set either shortly after a major "coming out" or have it happen during the main story arc.

Re: Ok I'm confused....

For a full-fledged character generator, you're not going to do better than Hero Designer with the service contract.

That said, check the free download section of this site - I'm pretty sure someone put together an excel sheet that helps with some of the bookkeeping involved.

Re: A 'Drug Predilection'

How are you building the side effects of the drugs? You might be able to give those characters Damage Negation, only vs. side effects.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

A group of shady-looking types are trying to launch what's obviously a missile. When our heroes confront them, they insist that their papers are all in order and that they are launching a "weather balloon". They stick to this story in the face of any and all evidence to the contrary. Finally, as some of the heroes are about to stop the launch, the head tech loses his temper.

Tech: If you don't stop interfering, I'm going to hit detonate without launching and kill us all!

PC: How are you going to do that? All you have is a weather balloon.

Later on, the same PC makes a call to the head of the government department responsible for the fiasco. (And who has previously promised there would be no more shenanigans.)

PC: (without saying hello) Now, you're going to want to say "Happy Birthday," but just hold off on that.

Official: What? Why?

PC: Because nobody here was born yesterday!

Official: This is about the weather balloons, isn't it?

Re: Sherlock Holmes?

I'm not sure where my Complete works of Sherlock Holmes has wandered off to' date=' so I'll have to avoid the physical skills portion.[/quote']

 

This may help you with that: http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/d#a69