Shike019

Re: Modern Swordsmithing

I have.

 

 

 

 

Seriously? You're advocating blocking with the EDGE, the thinnest and most delicate part of the blade? That's a good way to notch your sword. The only way you can get away with this is if your sword is considerably harder in the edge than your opponent's sword.

 

Examination of recovered medieval swords (you know, swords that were owned by people who were professionally trained to fight with them, as a then-current weapon of war) shows that they routinely blocked with the flat.

Thanks, this is great stuff. How about materials other than steel? Any Ideas?

Re: Modern Swordsmithing

The sword was going to look like a samurai sword in design, but I wanted to see if there could be better materials, that we know of in the real world, for sword making besides variations on carbon steel. BTW I got the idea watching a documentary on bullet proof vests and thought the idea would be interesting to explore. And since I don't have a great amount of knowledge in metallurgy and what not, I thought I would ask.

Any other ideas on different types of materials that might be better suited to swordmaking than steel? again the design is a katana, thought if need be different techniques can be developed in story for the actual forging process, but I want the design to be that of a katana.

Re: Modern Swordsmithing

After doing a little more research, I found that Boron Nitride is slightly harder than Boron Carbide (just below diamond) in hardness and the cubic structure is created a lower temperatures in effect making the titanium alloy "core" more plausible. I think that I will go with this idea instead of the boron carbide.

I think it will be fun having a weapon that has essentially a Diamond edge with a light but durable core making the whole light, sharp, and fast.

Thanks for the help.

Oh, the character has the "Wealth" perk, which should take care of the money issues.

Re: Modern Swordsmithing

Fortunately money isn't exactly a problem. My character will acutally be doing the forging (though he should probably buy up his weaponsmithing skill a little.)

I just wanted to figure out the "science" of the types of materials and my GM likes to keep things as "real" as possible, that's why I was looking at Real world stuff. Of course, he hasn't had the opportunity to use any fictional metals (such as adamantine and Mithril). I like the boron carbide edge, since it is almost as hard as a diamond, which means it won't need to be sharpened as often (hopefully) and the titanium core, which is light. A Titanium silicon alloy is described as being more ductile which would with keeping the sword in one piece. Does this sound plausible?

Ok, I've got a Martial artist character and I'm thinking of buying a sword for the character.

Now, I'm wondering, If swordsmithing continued to develope along with modern science, etc, and using moder knowledge of metallurgy and materials such as ballistic Ceramic (Boron Carbide, 5th hardest known substance), etc.

How do you think swords would be made (not energy weapons) using combinations of materials or one material, or different types of the same material.

I would prefer nonfictional materials (so no adamantine or mithril ) and at least some sort of scientific (even very basic) reasoning.

Any help would be great.

I was thinking of a Boron Carbide edge with a Titanium alloy core or some such, but the firing temp of the Boron Carbide ceramics is about 300 degrees celcius hotter than the melting point of most titanium alloys.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for the help.

Re: Martial Artist

Does Two-Weapon Fighting hold any sway over an unarmed MA?

I don't have my books, but I think it allows you to use the Sweep Maneuver w/ a reduced penalty (not positive)

Re: Martial Artist

What kind of martial artist? As in Style. Each of the styles (at least the eastern ones) generally have suggestions for special abilities. I have an MA in a Champs game who is 2500 years old. He has an entangle (Based on con) for a Paralytic touch. Buy MA DC's and 5pt CSLs, Damage Reduction (resistant), etc. There are quite a few suggestions in the UMA for powers and what not.

Also for the poison immunity thing there is already an option LS: All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents

Also look at the Dim Mak techniques in the UMA. There is quite a bit in there that will help to make your character unique.

Also decide if he uses weapons or just bare hands and choose an appropriate style, or build your own style.

Other things to consider buying a HA with Indirect.

Re: System cap on creativity

I think it does. It allows you to wield a weapon in each hand (and perform sweeps with your attacks) I see no reason why you have to have the same weapon in each hand (or use the same power with each hand) it just means that you can use both hands equally well at the same time.

Re: Martial art style Prefabs and other cool ones.

Ultimate Martial Artist and Ninja Hero Character Pack

SKU: DOJHERO705

This costs 6 dollars and has all of the martial arts (w/ associated skills Weapon Familiarities, disads, etc.) The only thing it doesn't have are "Powers" suggestions.

And it only costs 5.99 (since HDv3 only came out recently, all of the packs in the online store are either compatable with v2.xx or were made under v2.xx)

(Disclaimer: I may be wrong about the last statement but they should be compatable)

Re: System cap on creativity

I've only found one group of concepts that the current rules do not allow and as far as I know, no GM has overruled, even on these boards.

 

Concept:

Character can shoot an ice blast (narrow beam) and a fire blast (narrow beam). Character aims at two different targets (one on the left at long range and one on the right at long range) simultaneously. Both targets are within range of the two attacks he possesses.

 

You can change the description of the powers in questions, but as long as the properties ot those attacks are the same and situation is the same, it is basically the same concept regardless of description. Two different attacks, two different targets, simultaneous attack.

 

This kind of thing happens in the source material, but the current rules do not allow for this kind of event. It allows for two attacks on the same target and allows for one attack against multiple targets.

 

Now you also claim that the system doesn't allow for Absolute Defense vs SFX, but then you have to define exactly what Absolute Defense actually means and if that definition can be achieved for a specific campaign.

 

- Christopher Mullins

Ahem ... What about the Two Weapon Fighting (ranged) Skill?

Re: Alignment Issues

Lawful tries to impose order on the univers (or their own small portion there of) and Chaos "goes with the flow" Laws can be evil in nature (there could be a low that dictates the binding of feet for females. Or sacrificing your third child, etc.) These would be "lawful" but definately evil.

Re: Alignment Issues

Not really. Those are just synonyms, not definitions or examples. In fact, it makes me suspect that Vinge isn't even talking about alignment issues at all. Bad weather, natural disasters, car accidents, unannounced visitors, change in career, health issues, etc., can all destabilize your life, they can occur randomly, they can increase the amount of chaos in your life, but they really don't have anything to do with character alignment.

 

Are we just talking about random, entropic events in life, or are we talking about the willful acts of "chaotically-aligned" people. And even if a Chaotic mob of anarchists, who are philosophically opposed to Law and Order* come and burn down our hero's house and murder his family, that's an act of Evil, much more significantly than of Chaos.

If I remember correctly from my Logic class in my undergrad, the shortest definitions are the best, thus if you can define a word with only a single word, that is the best definition you can use. So synonyms are probably the best way to define what you're talking about.

Re: Favorite Hero Book of 2006

Since the only new release I bought was the Ultimate Skill, I'll have to go with that one.

Re: Your "2007" Pet Gaming Projects

Fantasy Hero: I will continue working on my Abrä Dâr as well as my spells database. I haven't started on the Equipment database yet. If anyone wants to contribute go to my Homepage and click the submission button.

Re: Slayers Magic Spells

Why can't you both host it?

And I would like to put them into my Searchable Spells Database.

Re: Absolutely Indestructible?

If I remember correctly an unbreakable focus is "normaly" unbreakable but it has to have a special condition (set at the time of creation) to destory it. Yes I know it sounds sillly, but I think thats how I remember that lim. If it were completely unbreakable then It wouldn't be a focus, but probably "Independent".

Re: Alignment Issues

What you're touching on, Outsider, and what the bulk of the essay is about, is just that: it isn't simply an axis, it's a lens, and beyond that, a snapshot of behavior. How average LG person acts on a given day is as much a factor of their view of society (the moral axis) as it is their own interests (ethical axis). Those 9 possibile combinations are nearly limitless in their interpretation, while still giving someone "a guideline."

 

That's why I *like* the alignment system, and never understood why people bash it so heavily.

While I agree with you, the main problem that people see witht he D&D alignment system is they feel constrained by it. They see it as a definition of their character not a general description of their behavior. One can give a reasonably accurate description of what an average character with each alignment will do in a given situation (like I said, average character) but there are always those who don't and won't follow the stereotype but that is true of any society.

Re: Alignment Issues

And I have no problem with that (either Norse Mythology' date=' or comic books, in fact, I quite enjoy both), but my question is, what the heck do "law" and "chaos" mean in those contexts? I have seen occasions where these words (or similar ones) were simply substitutes for "good" and "evil." Do they mean something else in the comic books refered to? I don't know of any such law/chaos war in DC. Nor do I know of any conflict between law and chaos in Norse mythology. In both of those cases, AFAIK, the conflict is between good and evil, just like it is in real life for at least ten thousand years.[/quote']

 

Personally I think a better term to use than law is Order vs. Chaos. Order takes out any implicit "legal" meaning such as the laws of a particular land. As an example, someone with a Lawful alignment could walk into a City where the laws are all against his personal code of honor, which means he isn't obligated to follow those laws.

Re: Alignment Issues

But lawfulness and chaoticness are not concepts that we usually deal with or care about much in the real world (and off-hand' date=' I can't think of any source material that does either). I have no idea what David Johnston is talking about in Marvel/DC. I don't recall ever seeing those words used or otherwise delineated in a way that corresponds to the D&D system. I suppose one possible way to define them is by the obedience to actual societal laws, but that isn't quite what D&D seems to mean. If I drive over the speed limit, am I being "chaotic"? If I don't, am I being "lawful"? I suppose lawyers might care about such distictions, but most real-world issues are about good and evil much more than "law" and "chaos" (as D&D-esque terms).[/quote']

 

It seems to me that people are still using comics as a major basis of source material when in fantasy there are very different sources.

 

IF I remember correctly (second hand knowledge) Norse Mythology deals more with Law/Chaos instead of Good/Evil.

Re: Pg number for cost of PER roll bonus?

Under Enhanced Senses in the POwers section 5ER pg 160

Re: Alignment Issues

I'm going to try this one more time,

As I tried to state HERE in DND Good, Evil, Law, Chaos are FORCES OF NATURE not moral concepts or personality traits. A Character's alignment is nothing more than a designation on how they relate to those forces of nature. Sure some personality traits coincide better with some alignments than others, but it is the characters relation to those forces of nature that the alignment system represents.

Re: What's the best hero suppliment!

If software counts' date=' however, [b']Hero Designer[/b] gets my nod. It's a vital tool that should be in every HERO gamer's arsenal. On top of that, it's probably the best piece of chargen software in existence. Would that d20 had anything even remotely as awesome.

Repped

As for my votes, I will have to go with Hero Designer at the Top and following a close second and third Ultimate Skill and UMA.

Re: What Would Your Character Wear? The Costume Party!

Artemis, in all actuality, would probably dust off his old clothes from Ancient Greece (He was born ca 500 BCE). Or quite possibly, something he wore in China (ca 50 BCE - 50 CE).

Re: Skills? How many points are normal?

Or you could buy your skills like a sane person:

9 Paramedics 16-

0 PS: Obstetrician 11- (everyman)

6 SS: Medicine 16-

3 TF: Jetskis, SCUBA, Small Motorized Boats

0 TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles (everyman)

1 Fringe benefit: Licence to practice Medicine

And you remain one of the finest doctors on the continent for less than half the points.

If you want to be good at a skill, get a high level in it, don't buy it a dozen times under slightly different names.

You see, I think this is where the problem lies between the two sides of the argument. To those of us on the other side of the equation, he didn't buy the same skill multiple times. They are distinct but related areas of science and knowledge, each of which gives a bonus. Also, SS: medicine and SS: Surgery are completely different skill sets and I as a GM would give the SS: Medicine heavy penalties for doing surgery and many others would. I guess the problem we are facing is that of granularity in their skill sets. In my opinion if someone wants to be a surgeon he has to buy SS: surgery or PS: Surgeon. not PS: Doctor.

Re: Skills? How many points are normal?

I don't trust peoples ability to honestly evaluate their own capabilities, not even myself.

 

Certainly not someone who takes nine out of twenty one and still gets a result over 20.

OK, I mis counted. I admit that. But in all honesty By the time I finished Highschool I had that skill list. I also made several Area honors Bands (One in principle sax, one in second chair). I taught Sax, Euphonium and Clarinet. I am an Eagle scout. I ski raced throughout Highschool, played soccer throughout my young life and had soccor lessons from British Professionals, and Studied Soo Bahk Do until I was a Junior in High School (made it to 2nd gup which is more than a mere familiarity with the style).

All I'm saying is that 6 points in background skills doesn't fit me and I was an average Highschool kid from where I came from.