Zane_Marlowe

Re: Vehicle Speed There's a whole discussion of this in the Ultimate Vehicle, and in 6e2, 188 and 194-95.

Re: Hero System 101: Comments sought Hero's pretty good about things like this, but core mechanics are part of their IP so it's up to them, not us. I mentioned it because it was a concern of mine while writing a series of blog articles (unfinished, I do need to get back to them some time soon) where I tried to do something similar. It's less of a summary (as this is) and more of a commentary for beginners. I PM'd either Darren or Steve (don't recall) to draw their attention to it and asked them to let me know if I was stepping on their IP boundaries.

Hi Steve, a second question in conversation with a player who wants to make teleportation gates much like those in the game Portal. In 6e1 301, you wrote with respect to teleportation gates that I read this as permitting Transit through the gate Sight and Targeting through the gate Ranged attacks through the gate with modifiers based on range from source to entrance plus range from from exit to target. Not Hand to hand attacks, i.e., grabs, strikes, disarms, or weapons. My thinking was that teleport is a travel power, so while people and ranged attacks (e.g., a projectile or an energy discharge) can travel through, one cannot "partially teleport" weapons or parts of oneself for the purposes of close combat attacks while still remaining on the originating side. I designed a linked stretching power that would give the player the relevant hand to hand reach instead. Partial Access: Stretching 24m, Does Not Cross Intervening Space (+1/4), Usable by Other (+1/4), Indirect (Source Point Varies, Direct Path to Target; +1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points); Linked (Transit Portal; -1/2), No Noncombat Stretching (-1/4), No Velocity Damage (-1/4), Unified Power (Gravitic Powers; -1/4) I know it's within my discretion as a GM to rule that (4) is in fact not covered by the teleport power, but I thought it would also be worthwhile to pass the question along as well. What would your ruling be? Thanks again for your insight.

Hi Steve, thanks for taking your time to do these, it's really valuable. Okay, suppose we have two Speedsters, each with 3 skill levels vs. time chart penalties for non-combat skills (30 Active Points), so they can accomplish skills one step more quickly on the chart without penalty. This power is purchased with an END limitation so that it costs 3 pts of END per phase. Now suppose that the two Speedsters have different SPD characteristics. Speedster A has 6 SPD, but Speedster B has only 4. Each round, A will spend 18 END, but B will spend only 12. As A and B race to accomplish a task that normally takes 6 hours in only 1, A drops from exhaustion as he runs out of END, but B completes the task normally because he doesn't require as much END to do the same work. This seems like a strange result for the character who would otherwise have an advantage from his increased SPD. The problem seems to be that the effort of skill use (A's extra 6 END per round) can vary without changing the time to complete the task. Are there rules to account for this, or can you suggest a possible rule?

Re: Hero System 101: Comments sought Not to put a damper on what could be a very cool project, but you'll want to take some care about how much detail you get into lest you essentially give away the product.

Re: Star Hero Command Well, progress on building this campaign has been somewhat slow, but at last I've adapted a variety of ships from the Jovian Chronicles's excellent setting material. The players are going to captain these ships, and now that I've got the main conversions done for a set of missiles (5 types), interceptors (4 types), flight control computers (2 types), and capital ships (3 types), the rest of the conversions should go much easier now that I can basically modify what I have here.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See?

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See?

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See? I'll second those who think that there's no need to writeup an omnipotent, omniscient being, but that angels, demons, and other of the lesser beings would be good to have. I think the potential for offense turns on whether one represents the material charitably or not. Just as a reminder, there were a number of writeups for some of this kind of material in PA Hero, and I think that was generally well-done. It could be updated and/or revised for wider use in other Hero settings without much trouble. I can think of some very cool Champions adventures flowing from the unleashing of the Four Horsemen and the periodic aid of (Arch)angels in an attempt to put those monsters to rest. I'd also second (and hope you're still considering) the need for something like god/demigod templates so people can build their own pantheons, or add things to pantheons in the book. ("There was a hidden god whom the other gods would not name!") Servants of the gods (e.g., valkyries, angels) would be incredibly helpful as both templates and creatures. Having even a few of these in each pantheon would open up lots of campaign possibilities!

This'd make a SUPER cool Justice League for a convention game. http://dresdencodak.tumblr.com/post/10979241054/rebooting-the-justice-league

Re: Ctrl+V (ibid; 246)

Re: Changing the roll low to hit and skill check to a roll high to hit and skill chec Something I saw recently that seemed to take am lit of the calculation out of it was just to have the players have a static nuber to roll under that was based on a hit roll vs 0 dcv. So, characters with ocv 5 have to roll 16 or less to hit. Of course that's before factoring in thatbthe other guy has a defense. So all you do is ask players how much they made it by. If it's equal to or greter than the target dcv, they hit. They don't have to know the target dcv, and everyone can usually tell you how much they beat an easy number by. Easy peasy and you don't have to house rule a new system or analyze new sets of probability.

Re: Star Hero Command Oh, one other thing, it may be that in a sense I already built the lower levels in. Players are permitted to build their crews, so they may build their marine complements as well. I'll probably make use of those player generated NPCs to resolve actions the captains order, but the players won't be playing them directly.

Re: Star Hero Command Doing three (or n) levels is of course possible, but the reason for doing more than one is because they're different in kind. While marines have different duties than captains, they're essentially acting in the same "scale" for lack of a better word. Anyway, not a reason why it can't be done, but just the reason why I made that choice. Would be interesting to do all kinds of different "paired" games, but this is a PBEM game, so players sending emails as commands, communiques, political memos, etc., is very consistent with the scale and presentation of the setting.

Re: Star Hero Command Excellent comments friends, thanks! A friend suggested to me the idea of having aliens at different levels of technical and social sophistication. So here's the first part of what I've written for the players. More to follow soon, but this should help a bit. THE STAR HERO COMMAND SETTING By the late 23rd century, human beings have finally begun to spread out among the stars and colonize other worlds. The process has been difficult and costly. It is an undreamed of technical achievement alongside a harrowing cost in life as humans take their first steps into the galaxy. However, as with the earlier frontiers in human history, there are gains to be had for those who find terra nova first. For some, it is the promise of exotic or plentiful natural resources. Others seek political autonomy or the opportunity to make a new life. Still others may just feel the stirring toward the far horizon. Whatever the reasons, humans have entered into a new world of dangers and opportunities, and they will write the next pages of their destiny on the canvass of the galaxy. Players assume the role of multiple characters in this game, each occupying a different level of play. Unlike a normal RPG campaign that focuses on the exploits of a small group of closely related companions and their adventures, the characters in this game are responsible for both themselves and many thousands or millions of lives as well. The time scale for these characters’ actions might sometimes be measured in weeks or months as important plans and projects are carefully brought to fruition and the course of human events changes accordingly. Importantly, all the levels of the game are interconnected by the wider geopolitical situation. In short, tasks achieved or failed at one level of the game will affect the difficulty of future tasks at the other levels. THE KINGDOM CHARACTER The political entity that describes humanity will be built as a character using the Kingdom rules from chapter 8 of The Ultimate Base. This “character” describes the diplomatic, military, economic, and social qualities of humanity in this era, and the players can build this character—and thus define future humanity—as they see fit within the character creation guidelines listed below. This political entity will not be the only such entity, for the galaxy is filled with other political factions, including both aliens and human splinter groups. Accordingly, not all challenges for the kingdom character will be military in nature. Diplomacy, intelligence (and counter-intelligence), and wise economic and social policy will all be required for this character (and humanity) to survive and succeed among the stars. THE POLITICAL CHARACTER This character is the human political entity, and each player will additionally create a political character whose influence permits him or her to act on that level. For example, the political character might be a diplomat, an economic minister, or a military leader. These characters afford the players a way of speaking to one another about policies within the game, and permit the assignment of specific political responsibilities to specific players. However, the characters are not merely mouthpieces, for their skills and talents (as well as their flaws) may weigh importantly in the action taking place at the political level of the game. THE COMMAND CHARACTER Not to be overshadowed by the game’s political characters, the players will finally have a character who is a starship commander recently assigned to his first command. The ship name and type will be assigned, but with as much deference to the players' preferences as permitted by the political context and the fact that it's the character's first command. In general, there will be a lot of latitude extended to the command character and to the player as well. The command character can disposition the ship’s crew and resources on his own initiative as he attempts to complete fleet objectives in coordination with the other captains. Players are free to create the NPC subordinates who comprise that command, subject to the normal constraints of the crew typical of that ship type. MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION The Star Hero Command setting is inspired by military sci-fi, specifically those kinds of stories that translate “wet navy” conventions into space. Fans of Horatio Hornblower or Master and Commander should find the setting familiar for that reason. Characters in this setting tend to be physically adequate for the tasks of their command, but it is rarely the case that the Captain will lose his shirt in hand to hand combat, or even that most of the ship’s command crew will go to investigate an unknown planet by themselves. Instead, these characters are typically well educated in military doctrine such that they understand the value of a chain of command, of discipline and training, and of their personnel as the means to effect victory. HARD SCIENCE-FICTION Star Hero Command is like many military sci-fi settings in that it is a hard science-fiction setting. This means that in general, the world should behave more or less according to established scientific knowledge. Here are some examples: • Mass does not exceed the speed of light. • Communication happens at the speed of travel generally. • Newtonian movement in zero-gee environments rather than space dogfights. • Sensory information may take hours to cross the distances in a solar system. • Sensory instruments discover specific things like temperature, emission spectroscopy, visibility to radar or visible light optics, radio emissions, and radioactivity. “Sensors” are not generic instruments that produce whatever information one happens to need. • Without a plausible means of artificial gravity, characters will experience (and eventually suffer the effects of) zero-gee environments. While this isn’t necessarily an exhaustive list, it should illustrate the kinds of constraints science imposes on setting. That said, some concessions made on behalf of the setting are present as well. • Interstellar travel is made possible by means of wormholes and jump engines. • Ships are capable of sustaining crews through high acceleration maneuvering, and can therefore transit solar systems in days rather than months. • Ballistic, guided, and beam weapon systems are capable of targeting and effectively engaging ships at much longer distances than are presently possible. ROBOTS, ALIENS, AND PSIONICS Robots, artificial intelligence, and automation have made important advances and have enabled humanity to make important strides into the stars. However, the convergence of human and artificial intelligence once envisioned by futurists is still a distant possibility. Artificial intelligence is not creative, and so robots are still bound by human design. They act only as programmed, though the complex implications of robotic programming frequently requires expert maintenance by behavioral logicians. For this reason, robots and automated systems have not replaced humans in positions that include decision making responsibility in circumstances of life and death. Robots are adjunct systems that provide labor, information, and analysis. Aliens are present, and humans have regular interaction with some of their civilizations, but as yet humans do not have a wide social interaction with alien cultures. Trade and diplomatic missions have brought humans into the galactic community, but galactic culture is anything but cosmopolitan. In part, this is because alien civilizations are not uniform in their cultural and technological development. Some cultures have what appear to be archaic political forms alongside advanced technology. Others appear get by on what appears to be inferior technology, but have remarkably enlightened social regimes. Humans are not always well informed with respect to the races of which they are aware, and information remains among the galaxy’s most valuable resources. Psionics are (so far as anyone knows) still a matter of science fiction.

Re: Star Hero Command So here's a question I'm currently pondering. Aliens? Lots of these settings don't include them, but some do. Going without is simpler, but they are a kind of setting trope for many kinds of SF. I don't think it'll be out of setting, but I'm uncertain about which way I want to go with this. What would you do?

Re: Star Hero Command Lots of good reading there. I'm afraid I may get buried if I don't start picking and choosing a bit. I don't think I'm going to figure out the specifics of the engines except that they're going to be capable of sufficient acceleration to make system transit something that happens on the order of days. Nyrath's site is great, but as I said in the first post, we're going for the feel of a particular cross-section of military sci-fi: command fiction.

Re: Star Hero Command Interesting thoughts. The Ultimate Vehicle lists 120m of flight per turn (12s) as 1g of acceleration, so that bit of math is already done at least. With that and cumulative I have the mechanics except for the mass requirement. The Limited Thrust thing sounds good, but I'm thinking about what the upper limit on that might be. Maybe the non-combat multiplier?

Re: THE BOOK OF THE EMPRESS -- What Do *You* Want To See? I'm sensing a kind of "blank check" question. What doesn't V'han have access to?

Re: Star Hero Command I figured that rotation would be suspended during high delta maneuvering. Crew would strap in and have to deal with acceleration. One other rubber science concession will be some form of inertial dampening so the ships can get around systems in reasonable amounts of time. Also, does anyone have thoughts on how to make movement speeds sensitive to ship mass? I'm imagining a kind of "engine prefab" that could be plugged into different size ships and produce different movement speeds according to the mass to thrust ratio.

Re: THE BOOK OF THE EMPRESS -- What Do *You* Want To See? There's a lot of good stuff already covered, but one thing I'd like to see is more diversity in the kinds of minions she has. Someone who's conquered as many dimensions as she has should have an incredible diversity of troops and equipment. The experience should be like the 300 facing the Persian army at Thermopylae, where the enemy appears to be innumerable and of an uncounted variety. In the latest Champions Villains writeup for V'han, there is a relatively short writeup for how to vary her D-Soldiers, and there's a writeup for a tank and a starship. What I'd like to see is a more detailed writeup for how to generate subject races and technologies. Something closer to the Champions Superhero Gallery, but instead of selecting for multipower slots, defensive powers, you might select for lifeform type (includes characteristics and maybe low-level powers for limbs, culture types (e.g., warrior culture, ancient culture, urban culture, etc.), technical level (space-faring, savage, etc.) and so on. Furthermore, unless there's some reason why the technology needs to be standardized across all her subject races, it could be really interesting to see a similarly diverse kind of gallery for different kinds of vehicles and weapons that vary by technology level. Sometimes V'han will send soldiers with firearms, bombs, and tanks. Sometimes other soldiers whose native weapons are plasma grenades, lasers, and hover vehicles. She cares less for the capacities of her conquered peoples than for their effectiveness in serving her ends. (I imagine there's a lot of this information nearby in the Star Hero book, so perhaps a reference or two to the relevant parts of that book.)

So I'm starting a new campaign and I thought I'd give people a chance to comment on it while it's still in the formative stages in my thinking because it's a kind of different animal from the normal character-group-has-adventures game. This game is based on the kind of military sci-fi command fiction familiar to readers of the Honor Harrington series, Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series, and Walter Jon Williams's Dread Empire's Fall. The players will make two characters. The first is a naval officer tasked with command of a starship. This character will have to be a competent command officer, and will have to meet challenges from enemy ships and fleets, and from aligned, unaligned, and hostile planets. The officer must be a competent commander, making use of his crew's strengths, and training their weaknesses out to the best of his or her ability. The officer must also coordinate with other fleet elements, including the other player characters, to complete fleet-level tasks. The second character will be a kind of politician character. This character will be one of those determining the course of the fleet characters' parent political entity (i.e., "The Terran Hegemony" or whatever we decide to call it). This character will be in charge of one aspect of the political entity's actions as described in the Kingdom rules from Ultimate Base. The character might be a diplomat (for the "political combat"), an economic minister (for the "economic combat") a military leader (for the "combat combat") or someone else who operates at that level besides (e.g., a spymaster, an industrialist, or anyone with extremely high level influence). Characters' actions on each level shape the circumstances of those on the other. A successful military engagement will make it easier for the political characters to prosecute their ends, and a successful political action will make it easier for the fleet characters to accomplish the tasks set for them by the fleet. So also will failures make everyone's life a little more difficult. Consistent with the literature of the setting, this is a kind of hard sci-fi. When ships engage one another, they do so with the limits on information and maneuver imposed by the speed of light. Travel through solar systems takes place on the order of days, battles on the order of hours, information on the order of several minutes, at a minimum. There is no magic version of artificial gravity. I'm going to borrow ship designs from the Jovian Chronicles game which feature rotating crew habitats that produce artificial gravity with ordinary physics. Hopefully the only rubber science I'll need to include is the idea of either wormholes or jump engines whose use is constrained either by being in a fixed location (for wormholes) or by the distorting effects of a system's gravitational field (for jump engines). (I do think clever use of lagrange points would add interesting dimensions for strategy, but I digress.) I'd be interested in people's reflections on this question as it impacts the feel of the setting. Should it include aliens, robots and psionics? The literature doesn't require this to go either way, but I'm kind of inclined to include these elements if it doesn't break the military sci-fi feel of the setting. Psionics would most likely appear in the context of intelligence gathering. Aliens could be obvious as other factions. Robots are virtually guaranteed by some level of automation, though whether or not there are Asimov-style humaniform robots is a separate question. Also, if people have relevant resources of threads, I'm interested in seeing them. Thanks again, hope you find the idea intriguing!

Re: Casual STR and Grab I'd remind the player that drawing a weapon is a 1/2 phase action, so picking up a body is also likely at least that. If it's a grab-by, then they can move and grab in one phase, but the benefit in that case is a full move and a grab action. The rules for a multiple attack are up to the GM to adjudicate, but I'd be reluctant to have a full move, picking up, and blocking in the same phase. I might be inclined to give the player some DCV for cover now that he's got the human shield, but that's not a block maneuver.

This is a kind of ill-formed thought, but here it is anyway. I built my pre-gen convention characters and unwittingly realized after the fact that they tend to have initiative scores that group around the roll breaks (13, 18, etc.). Now my first thought was, "well, I'll have to fix that so they all have a determinate order, which is better for new players/convention formats where you want things to flow quickly." That said, it also seems that having a mostly determine order, but where the fastest guys are rolling off against each other, and after they've gone, the second fastest guys are rolling off against each other makes for an interesting kind of tiered initiative that keeps some of the best parts of rolled and determined initiative orders. So the question: which would you recommend for convention play, the tiered situation or the determined situation?

Anyone seen any good art for a stretching character? I'm noticing that outside of Mr. Fantastic and Plastic Man, this is one of those character types that's little represented. Unlike, say, the Brick/Night hero/Speedster types, it's hard to find non-branded images of this kind of character. Is that strange? I'd have thought it would be one of the most interesting types to draw.