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bigdamnhero

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bigdamnhero last won the day on January 6 2018

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  1. HD has started locking up on me and I'm not sure why. I reinstalled the most current version (Build 20230715) and updated my Java (version 8 Update 381). I can open existing characters or open new ones just fine. But when I go to try and select/add a Power or Talent, everything freezes up and I have to use Task Manager to close out. (I'm on a Windows machine.) I can add Skills just fine - it seems to be anytime it's trying to open another window that's causing the problem? Help me Mister Wizard!
  2. I'm currently running a Galactic Champions game, so our space battles also include flying spandex people punching spaceships. We mostly use standard Hero vehicle combat (6ed), but I wanted to use a vector-based movement system with at least a passing resemblance to how objects actually move in zero G instead of looking like the usual WWII dogfight. (Basic concept swiped from the minis game Full Thrust.) We've only had one space combat so far, but it worked really well: the players found it easy to understand after just a couple moves, it played quickly, and really gave the battle a unique feel. No hexes: freeform movement measured using rulers or measuring tapes. The exact scale is handwaved, but 1 “movement unit” = 1cm on the map. (You could use 1m = 1” but you’ll need a big playing space!) We ignored the Z axis and just did everything in 2D. In my experience/opinion, trying to simulate 3D on the tabletop is way more trouble than it's worth. A ship’s Flight is how fast it can accelerate; there is no maximum velocity. (I mean theoretically there is, but I’m pretty sure you’ll run out of table long before you approach 1 C!) Ships can move NCM if they want, with the usual effects on CV. For each ship you need to keep track of three things: - FACING is the direction the ship is pointing – indicated by the miniature’s facing - COURSE is the direction the ship is moving, which may not be the same as its facing – indicated by arrow on a disk or a counter - VELOCITY is how fast the ship is currently moving – we tracked velocity using 2d10s (ie a velocity of 24 is reflected with a 2 on one die and a 4 on another) Ships move and act on their Phases as normal. Movement is a 4-step process: - The ship drifts in the direction of its current Course for its current Velocity in cm. Leave the Course arrow in place to mark the ship’s starting position. - From its drift location, the ship can then move normally up to its full Flight move in cm. There is no Turn Mode, and rotation is “free” so basically they can move wherever they want up to their full movement. The new Facing is in line from the drift point to its final location, to reflect the direction the ship was applying thrust. - Measure the distance from the starting position (the arrow) to the final location (the mini); the distance in cm is the new Velocity. - The new Course is in line from the starting location to the final location; move the course arrow up to the final location. Combat is handled normally after movement. For simplicity, I let ships & character do a full move and attack at one additional range band (ie -2 OCV). Movement Example: A ship with 24m of Flight is currently moving towards the right, which we’ll call 3 o’clock; its current Facing and Course are the same and its current Velocity is 10. The ship wants to accelerate. First the ship’s mini drifts 10cm towards 3 o’clock, and the arrow is left in place. The ship then moves normally, and decides to move 24cm straight ahead. The distance from start to finish is 34cm, so that is the ship’s new Velocity. Its Facing and Course are unchanged. Move the arrow counter up to the final location. Note that for linear examples like this you could’ve just added 10+24 and moved the ship forward 34cm. The next Phase I took pictures! Ship’s Course and Facing are both still towards 3 o'clock, Velocity 34. (The arrow is on the disk under the ship counter, but you don’t need to see it until you move anyway.) Say the ship wants to turn to port/left. First, the mini drifts 34cm to 3 o'clock, leaving the arrow in place. From there the ship moves its full 24cm to 12 o'clock. The ship’s facing is now towards 12 because it was applying thrust in that direction. Measure the distance between the starting and end locations, which comes out to around 42cm – that’s the ship’s new Velocity. The angle from start location to finish is the new Course; move the arrow up. (I left the arrow on top so you could see it.) Looking at this pic it looks like the ship counter got bumped out of alignment, but it should still be facing straight towards 12 o'clock. On it’s next Phase say the ship wants to stop. First the mini drifts 42cm along its current course (call it 2 o'clock). Then the ship moves 42cm (using NCM) back towards 8 o'clock, ending up where it started. Velocity is 0; new facing is towards 8 o'clock, and the Heading counter is removed (or ignored).
  3. Huh - same file, new problem. When I open either of the two HKAs (claws & sting) and click the Add Modifier button, nothing happens? The problem doesn't seem to happen with other Powers, and doesn't seem to happen on other characters aside from those made from this same template. I didn't notice if it was doing that before or not. Sorry. trace.log
  4. Yep, that did the trick. Thanks again, and Happy New Year!
  5. Here ya' go. Thanks Dan. trace.logVenom Enhanced Xenovore.hdc
  6. Hey all. I have a .hdc file I created that won't open and locks up HD when I try. I can open other files, including ones I created the same day as ProblemChild.hdc*, so I'm guessing it's a corrupted file or something? Any suggestions where to look or how to fix it, other than starting over from scratch? Thanks, * That's not the actual file name, but now I want to create a villain named Problem Child...
  7. From last night's historical fantasy game. As part of their efforts to build an alliance against the evil Prince Kor, Our Heroes have been trying to facilitate a marriage between the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, and Princess Zoe Porphyrogenita, daughter of the Byzantine Emperor. Things are going well, until Robert, King of the Franks shows up... GM: The French King looks around the room, spots the beautiful Princess Zoe, and makes a beeline over to start chatting her up. Geralt: (Irish Holy Warrior) Oh hell no! I step between them and politely suggest to King Robert that this isn't the Princess he's looking for. GM: Great, make me a High Society Roll to see how badly you step in it. [Geralt rolls a natural 18] [headdesk] Geralt: (angrily) "What do you think you're doing trying to make time with the Emperor's betrothed!?!?" ...followed by an exchange of Who Do You Think You Are's and Don't You Know Who I Am's, ending in... Geralt: ...And I deck him! And that, children, is how in 1001 France declared war on Ireland and sat out the war against the Antichrist.
  8. Meanwhile, back on topic... Really? I have vaguely-fond memories of that show, but I don't recall it being particularly high-powered? What about it says GalChamps to you? Both good questions; both TBD. I kindof see two different ways we could go: either the PCs are established space heroes, possibly part of an existing organization; or they're Earth heroes who've been zapped into outer space and are trying to figure things out. Either could be fun, but two very different games. That's actually the first conversation I intend to have with my players. A good distinction. Personally most of the new gods stuff never really appealed to me except as interesting one-offs, so I'm leaning towards the former. I've done high-level games before, so I'm not worried about keeping it balanced - you just have to make sure the advanced alien tech is 1) more powerful than Earth tech, but 2) not powerful enough to overshadow the PCs. Heh, there's one I haven't read in awhile - good suggestion! Yeah, particularly in mainstream comics, the constant cosmos-shattering events get tedious after awhile. Nice idea. I'm probably not going to use the CU straight up, but I'll definitely be pulling bits from it! Yeah, I have all the SH books. Good suggestions! I like that way of looking at it! I plan to have a fair amount of variation in tech levels, so spaceships from Race X might be mook eggshells; ships from Race Y might be roughly as powerful as the PCs; whereas ships from Race Z can smack them around like chumps. I figure that will allow me to mix up the types of stories we tell. I don't think I have that one...yet! I hadn't, but yeah there could be some good material there. Thanks again, all. Keep it coming if you have more ideas.
  9. OK, I'll bite. (I've derailed enough threads in my day...) Powerful isn't the same as unstoppable, let alone godlike. In most "Earth-bound" superhero settings, conventional military forces aren't normally a big challenge to powerful superheroes. But in large numbers, they can still wear the heroes down until they run out of END. And there are always specialty units with advanced/heavy weapons that are powerful enough to at least get a few good licks in. (Sure Superman could take out a tank battalion with ease, but he also knows if he does it's just a matter of time until someone breaks out the kryptonite.) Even if none of that exists and military forces are no threat at all to the supers, well there are still super Bad Guys, or else what's the point? A galactic game has even more possibilities because of different tech levels; the PCs may be able to punch through a Xenovore ship with ease, but try that against a Malvan ship and they're going to get spanked. Again, powerful isn't unstoppable. But that aside, maybe because they're wise enough to realize that might doesn't make right, that power corrupts, and that benevolent dictatorships rarely stay that way for long. To use the classic example, Superman doesn't take over the world because he recognizes that just because he has the power to force others to do his bidding, doesn't mean he has the moral right to do so. He believes that democracy, while far from perfect, has proven a far better method of improving the human condition than any autocracy ever tried. And more practically, he knows that if he tried, every other super in the world would join forces to stop him, and even he's not THAT powerful. There's already a genre term for beings who think their powers give them a right to dictate how everyone else should live - they're called supervillains. Those are fair questions, but they're not exactly new: they've been explored in numerous comic titles, mostly awful Iron Age drek and Zach Snyder movies. If that's what you want to play, fine, but I find them extremely tedious myself. [shrug] I could poke the same holes in just about any fictional world, including yours. It's all just a matter of what assumptions you make, and what things you're willing to handwave in order to play the kind of game you want. I've found exactly the opposite: quantifying things like that put limits on things. "Am I strong enough to rip open a tank?" [checks the numbers] "Nope, I guess not." "But the Hulk can do it!" "Well, I guess you're not the Hulk..." Again, the whole point of Superman is that he has faith in humanity to find their own path, and he's read enough history to know that by becoming an autocrat he would inevitably become autocratic and tyrannical. He sees his primary job as preventing other supers from trying exactly that trick. Honestly, RDU Neil, I get your points, and if that's the game you and your players wanted to play, fine. But as far as I'm concerned, your "hero" became a straight-up villain by the 3rd paragraph when he decided that he had the moral right to force his beliefs on other people. Huh, actually defeating and overthrowing your "hero" sounds like a solid concept for a GC campaign... In the Star Wars game I just finished, the GM actually had a lot of fun simulating SW "physics." Space has a down, you see, which is why most planets only seem to be habitable in a very small zone, because if you move too far from the poles, you'll fall off. Again, it all depends on whether you want to play science fiction vs. space fantasy (Star Wars) vs. superheroes in space (GC). I'm not one of one of those gamers who thinks realism is a 4-letter word, or needs to be put in scare quotes. I've played plenty of "real world plus ____" games that were a ton of fun. But generally realism (or the lack thereof) should drive the needs of the story, not the other way around. especially in any kind of SF setting, where much of the world works however you want it to work. If you want to tell a story about superheroes who are powerful, but not godlike, who are strong enough to treat most conventional militaries as a mook fight, but there are still plenty of beings/things that can challenge them...then you just set your campaign guidelines accordingly. There's nothing wrong with the take you chose to pursue, but it's by no means the only valid take.
  10. Yes, but she wants to buy them as an item, rather than CSLs/PSLs themselves. She's not trying to munchkin, it just fits the character better: why spend hours practicing to get better when you can invent a gadget that will do it for you?
  11. True. But the player would also like to use the sling normally, ie throw lead shot at people. I could make him pay points to add an RKA slot outside his VPP, but it seems simplest and cheapest to just take a 1pt WF. That's a fair point. The alchemist has described it as a coat-of-many-pockets-type thing, but it might be worth clarifying that in more detail. I'm not quite sure what you mean here? The sfx is still: alchemical potion/item. Good points. But I don't think the Range By STR is as big an issue for the player as the lack of accuracy. Sorry if I didn't make that clear before. Yeah, we talked about that too, but that would mean either reducing the Base Cost of the attacks or buying up the VPP Control Cost. The player doesn't want to do the former, and isn't yet ready to do the latter. Thanks again for the comments, everyone. Sorry I've been so spotty is replying.
  12. Yeah, I think that's the one the Alchemist's player was trying to remember.
  13. (Longer reply when I have more time, but for now...) Actually I’m enjoying the discussion, so derail away.
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