bigdamnhero

Re: Is Crimefighting Ethical?

Re: HERO Crib Sheets My last game group and I did that sort of thing all the time, but then most of us were friends before we started gaming together. As for crib sheets, I have a one-page combat summary sheet that I sometimes use: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=917954#post917954 I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for or not. PS - If you see Christopher Lee and Britt Eckland, say Hi for me. Then run. bigdamnhero “Why should I trust you?†“Because I have the gun!â€

Re: I know SOMEONE has done this... Right, essentially a different way of doing the same thing. In my case, the driving force was having them start out low-powered and quickly (>_ 20 pts per session) learn how to use their powers more effectively. So initially they might just have one EB, one movement power and one FF/armor, but they soon figure out other ways to use . bigdamnhero “I've never been this near to a woman before. It makes me want to do something. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is I want to do a lot of it!â€

Re: Is Crimefighting Ethical? Request for clarification: I'm getting a mixed message here. bigdamnhero “I can't keep track of her when she's *not* incorporealy possessing a spaceship.â€

Re: Ethics for mentalists Depends which side of the MC they're on. bigdamnhero

Re: Ethics for mentalists #6: Confidance man. Considering how easy it is to persuade allegedly-intelligent people to part with their money without mind control... bigdamnhero “As the days go by, we face the increasing inevitability that we are alone in a godless, uninhabited, hostile and meaningless universe. Still, you've got to laugh, haven't you?â€

Re: Ethics for mentalists

Re: What would you recommend? Good point. I would advise against trying cosmic power-level first time out, both for this reason and because as a GM you may have more trouble balancing such a campaign. Depends on your comfort level. bigdamnhero “We’ve got a blind date with destiny...and it looks like she’s ordered the lobster!â€

Re: I know SOMEONE has done this... Actually, I did something like this just recently. Except in my case, the players knew what was coming. The PCs started out as competent normals with few-if-any combat skills. They played the first adventure as normals, and then had the Proverbial Radiation Accident that gave them all superpowers. Turned out pretty well, and the players all seemed to enjoy it. The big advantage as I see it was that it gave the players a chance to develop their “civilian†personas before they put on the capes & tights; the characters were people-who-became-superheroes, rather than superheroes-who-have-secret-identities. As I said, the players knew it was coming and had already drawn up super-powered versions of themselves. I think I’d be a little leery of just assigning superpowers to them on my own estimation. Another consideration: since your characters will be just starting out as superheroes, you may find it difficult to come up with 150-points worth of Disads. (They’re probably not Hunted by Dr. Destroyer yet!) Our solution was to write up their super-versions as low-powered 150+100 superheroes, under the premise that they were still figuring out how to use their powers. Then for the first few adventures, I handed out XP at a greatly accelerated rate and let them take points for Hunteds they developed in-game. Once they got up to the standard 200+150 level, XP and Disads were handled as normal. bigdamnhero "Life is like a sewer: what you get out of it depends on what you put into it."

Re: Superman's Secret ID Interesting way to turn the question around: if you have superpowers, is it ethical to NOT use them? Certainly he wouldn't sit on the sidelines while some supermonster is tearing up the city. Nor would he stand idly by and watch someone get mugged -- and of course with his enhanced senses, he has a better chance of knowing such things are going on. But taking a more proactive role as a vigilante...? I dunno. I still have a hard time seeing it in the real world, but maybe that's just me. I can see him seeking some sort of official sanction -- whether by joining a law enforcement agency, or as an agency-unto-himself. bigdamnhero "The use of unnecessary violence in the apprehension of the Blues Brothers...has been approved."

Re: Ethics for mentalists Interesting thread – sorry I missed the early discussions. A lot of this will be summarizing points others have already made: I’m of the “Violence is always bad, but it is sometimes significantly less bad than the alternative†school myself. So by that thinking, using mental powers to coerce someone to do something against their will is wrong. The question is: is it any more or less wrong than pointing a gun at them and coercing them to do something against their will, or just hitting them until they do what you want? Much depends, of course, on why you’re coercing them. Coercing people for your own benefit – “Have sex with me†– is a bad thing however you dress it up or rationalize it. Coercing people to protect others – “Don’t kill that person†– is a good thing, because it’s less wrong than murder. Where we enter serious grey area is when you start coercing people “for their own good†but without their consent. If I wrestle you to the ground to keep you from throwing yourself off a cliff, no jury in the land will convict me of assault. OTOH if I force you at gunpoint to put down that Big Mac and eat a salad instead, my “It was for his own good!†defense will be rightly laughed out of court. I think that to most people, being deprived of the right to choose is what makes mental powers seem so evil. If you point a gun at me and order me to surrender, I can choose to comply or not; if I choose not to comply and get shot, well that was my choice. Personally, if I had to choose between being mentally compelled, physically compelled, or compelled at gunpoint I’ll take physical force any day. I’ve been hit before, bruises heal, etc, and I can choose to fight back or not. And while I’d prefer not to get shot, I’d rather have someone point a gun at me than find myself twisting on some mentalist’s strings with no control over my own mind. I suppose the ethical mentalist could always give a target some kind of “Leave now before I make you leave†type of warning? [sidebar: what was that cop comedy (movie? TV show?) several years back where the one partner was a martial artist, but he was required to give people a lengthy warning before he could use his abilities? The joke was that he usually got beat up before he could finish the warning.] Of course, for most superhero games I file this under “It’s a genre thing†– right next to the whole “vigilante justice†question – and ignore it, because otherwise it’s all but impossible to have effective mentalist heroes. (As Blue observed.) bigdamnhero “I know. You know I know. I know you know I know. We know Henry knows, and Henry knows we know it. We're a knowledgeable family.â€

Re: What would you recommend? Another option: if your players are new to superhero gaming, you might consider starting them out as "low-powered" heroes: 150 + 100 from Disads. The idea is that they're playing brand-new heroes who are still learning how to use their powers effectively, and haven't made a lot of enemies yet. Then for the first few adventures, you hand out XP at a greatly accelerated rate (like x5) and allow the PCs to take points for Disads they develop in game (typically Hunteds) until they get up to the "standard" 200+150 point level; after that, XP progresses as normal and they can't take any new Disads. (Well they can, but they don't get any points for them.) 250 points really isn't much to build a superhero with. But it can help players make the transition from heroic to superheroic level. YMMV, of course. Or if that all sounds too fiddly for you... then just start at 200+150. bigdamnhero “Well, my days of not taking you serious are certainly coming to a middle.â€

Re: WF for Weapons on Vehicles v Vehicle Weapons Correct. The question is whether it should count as a separate WF, in addition to the penalty. As with so many things, the consensus answer seems to be "Depends on the campaign." bigdamnhero “I'm not a liar. Not in this instance anyway.”

Re: Is Crimefighting Ethical? Based on the opening post, I assumed we were talking about the real world: if I woke up tomorrow with superpowers..." sort of thing. I generally have no problem with it in fiction. bigdamnhero “I've never shot anyone before...†“I was there, son. I'm fairly sure you haven't shot anyone yet.â€

Re: Best supporting non-super character in comics? Another vote for JJJ and Aunt May. Really, all of Spidey's supporting cast were excellent. Never had much emotionally invested in Jarvis, but always thought Wong was the $%#@. OK, technically he was a master martial artist, but compared to most of the beings that attacked Dr. Strange's mansion, he was definitely DNPC, Incompetant. Never was much of a DC reader back when, but Max Lord was fun at one point. bigdamnhero [twack!] “Message for you, sir.â€

Re: Is Crimefighting Ethical?

Re: Is Crimefighting Ethical? Oh BTW: good luck getting any evidence you gather admitted into court, so unless you do plan on going the Punisher route, anyone you catch will be back on the streets before you've finished washing their blood off your knuckles. Any cop will tell you that in 90% of cases, identifying the perpetrator is the easy part -- the hard part is proving it in a court of law. bigdamnhero “He thinks we're either a threat, food, or a mate. He's gonna either kill us, eat us, or hump us.â€

Re: Is Crimefighting Ethical? True enough. However... I'm no fan of the current administration, but I don't think we can blame this one on them. [i kid! I kid!] Vigilanteeism is illegal in every modern society that I'm aware of, for good reason. It makes for great comics, movies, etc, but in real-life it leads to mob violence and a lot of innocent corpses. bigdamnhero “He's not the first psycho to hire us nor the last. You think that's a commentary on us?â€

Re: Will the real Jolly Jonah Jameson please stand up? Yup. Although the comparison that came to my mind was Magneto: his inner motives are (mostly) admirable, and he honestly believes that he's doing what is right and necessary. But flawed by an inability to admit that he might be wrong sometimes and a belief that the ends justify the means. Good analogy. A simplistic role like that is not inappropriate in a children's story, which Potter is and comics (arguably) were back in the day. But yes, I much prefer the more 3D version. bigdamnhero Paranoia (n) - The delusion that one is important enough to be the object of a conspiracy.

Re: Infiltrate the facility Are you looking for ways to encourage your trigger-happy players into developing a more subtle approach? If that's the case, one possibility is to simply take their guns away from them: planetary authorities use very sophisticated weapons scanners, and they can't leave the ship unless they leave their guns behind. Or go the other direction, where you set up the facility's security force as being so overwhelming that it would be blatantly suicidal to try anything overt. No obvious flaws in the security system, no unlocked backdoors, etc. If this goes against what the players are used to, you may have to be a little forceful about making the point. ("Make an INT roll...You're pretty certain that would be a really dumb idea.") Disgruntled employees are always a good hook, or even just employees who owe money at the tracks and need cash fast. Or employees that can be seduced, tricked, or impersonated. One of my favorite tricks is posing as the UPS guy/pizza guy/phone repair guy/etc. bigdamnhero “What's the fun of being a grownup if you can't be childish?â€

Re: 20 Years ago Today I was walking down a stairwell, when a former roommate coming up the stairs with a stunned look on his face told me the news. I can still remember the look on Danny's face, and I'm sure the look on my face was about the same. bigdamnhero “It is sobering to consider that when Mozart was my age he had already been dead for five years.â€

Re: WF for Weapons on Vehicles v Vehicle Weapons I've generally handled it the way g-a and others have described: if you have familiarity with a weapon, then you can fire it from the hip, bipod, tripod or vehicle mount. Only excpetion would be if a vehicle mounted weapon is fired through a radically different mechanism than the dismounted model -- such as coaxial machine guns that are fired through a tank's main gun targeting system. In practice, I tend to be fairly lenient with WF groups. That said, having actually tried to fire a .50 cal accurately from the top of a moving APC, I could definitely argue a case for requiring a seperate WF for shooting from moving vehicles. Or alternately, allowing characters to buy CSLs that can only be used to offset the penalties of shooting from a moving vehicle? I think I like the second idea better. bigdamnhero “The problem with life is that for the most part, you don't get to control how your XP are spent.†– Steve Long

Re: Entanglements

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... From yesterday's Pulp game: "There's a perfectly rational explanation! I have no idea what it is, but there has to be one!" "Hmm... maybe standing behind the skeleton that [another PC] is shooting at wasn't my best tactical decision ever." GM: "What are you doing?" Me: "I'm chatting up Simone (a French Femme Fatale PC), and she's trying to ignore me." [simone player mimes blowing cigarette smoke in my face] Player: "What's his name?" GM: "Uh... [flip, flip] 'Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Module.'" And last but not least... "You see Ted Danson being held at knifepoint by two gummy bears." Explaining the context would only spoil it. bigdamnhero “On my planet there is a saying -- the man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.” “Life expectancy must be fairly short among your people.”

Re: Entanglements Right, but might not that depend on sfx as well? Handcuffs, sure; glue-gun, probably; gravity trap...I dunno. bigdamnhero “I had a plan…A good plan. Smart. Carefully laid out. But I got bored. All that watching, waiting. My legs started to cramp.â€