Flames

Re: How to handle Western Hero Duels/Showdowns I think that sounds more like a Superskill to me, OCV levels that are tied to a PRE Attack.

Re: Master List of Limitations, HD Prefabs I humbly suggest that the HD site have a link to this thread in the Prefabs area, just to save HD users the step of searching for it.

Re: The Babel Effect This reminds me of when I was trying to figure out how to build the spell cast by The Gentlemen in the 4th Season Buffy episode "Hush."

Re: Good-by Brick Someone mentioned Sebastian Shaw. I remember when he was gloating over Colossus that the steel-skinned hero couldn't hurt him. But what if Colossus were to grab Shaw in a bear-hug and walk off of a pier with him?

Re: Sam Rami to do a Pulp Film? My casting choices would be: The Shadow/Lamont Cranston: Adrian Brody The Avenger/Dick Benson: Christian Slater Doc Savage: Ewan MacGregor

Re: Master List of Limitations Gone??!! I downloaded all of the amazingly finished Prefabs from MLoL, and I can't believe how incredibly handy it is to have loaded into HD3. It's nice that the program can load them all at once, too, just by shift-selecting the first and then the last one of the bunch all the same directory. Incredibly useful for coming up with ideas for NPCs, that's for sure! You can toss a couple of interesting Soc Lims, Psych Lims, and Phys Lims into a new NPC's Disad well, and devise a unique personality in a matter of seconds! We need to get the word out, this is the best!

Re: A website that sells pulp stuff, inspiring Dammit. And here I was thinking I'd found something Steve hadn't seen yet. Curse you, Steve Long, you are everywhere!

I came across this website when looking for Pulp-era images: http://www.vintagelibrary.com They're selling stuff, of course, but even without buying anything I find the site fun to poke around in. The synopses of the pulp fiction books and magazines are inspiring, I think. The cover art on display is amazingly sharp and colorful.

Re: Need code name for cleaner Cosmic Charlie Saint Stephen Terrapin Dire Wolf Wharf Rat Or any other of the myriad Grateful Dead songs out there. I leave you to ponder this while I go and take another hit. Of soda. Really. Just soda.

Re: HERO System 1/4-page damage tracker sheet handout I would love to do it as an export template, but I ain't got the chops for that.

Re: Hex DCV vs. Helpless Player DCV It makes me think of when I used to play this football-throwing game at the minigolf arcade. I would aim for the hole with the football and miss almost every time. I didn't start to hit the hole until I stopped aiming for the hole itself and aimed instead at the space behind it.

Re: HERO System 1/4-page damage tracker sheet handout The box for noting the damage taken from one segment to the next will help players to track when exactly they took damage and by how much, especially if the GM is enforcing rules regarding healing damage vs distinct wounds. But now I really do think I'm going to have to turn the page sideways, shorten the duration of the chart to a single Turn, include just about every conceivable stat, and then put the Segments on each end and in the middle just for reference.

Re: HERO System 1/4-page damage tracker sheet handout Okay, here's a version that's a full page for one character. I added some stuff to it, and it will do for two full turns. Laminate it, and you can use it with wipe-off markers again and again. I wanted to make separate columns for the various optional combat effects, but then that might scare away new players. I might make a landscape-oriented version that presents one Turn instead of two and covers absolutely everything. Make the newbie's head spin.

Re: HERO System 1/4-page damage tracker sheet handout As I've thought about the sheet more and more, I've considered expanding it to a full page and having it go through at least two full Turns, and having an extra column for additional mutable stats as they might be needed. I also wanted to have multiple boxes inside of each square to record multiple instances of reduction or addition in a stat, to better help with Heroic-level Wounding rules and so on.

Re: HERO System 1/4-page damage tracker sheet handout I hope you find it useful, Steve, and that you will post your impressions of it here. I'd love to see the sheet, or an improved version of it, appear on the FREE STUFF page.

Re: HERO System 1/4-page damage tracker sheet handout Okay, you got it. Here's hoping this thing comes in handy for players.

Re: Mental Illusions My interpretation of the rules is that if the illusion is that the character gets hit and takes damage, then the damage gets rolled. If the player is being told that the combat is really happening for the sake of gameplay, the GM just rolls the inconsequential to-hit, tells the player he's been hit regardless, and then rolls damage. The illusion creator might allow the illusory attacker to miss on a Phase or two just to give the illusioned hero the impression that it's a real fight, but I think he gets to roll damage any time his Phase comes up if he wants to.

Last session of HERO I played, I noticed players trying to keep track of STUN & END on the margins of their character sheets and I thought that there must be an easier way. I looked around for a combat tracker sheet and couldn't find one. Maybe the HERO System Resource kit comes with one, but I don't remember. So I pulled up InDesign and got busy. I'm planning on printing the attached sheet, 4 on a page and quartered, and handing them out to players next session (I'm not even the GM) to help in tracking damage and END from one Segment to the next, and also what Phases they act on. The sheet looks a little like those ones they give you at minigolf courses. Every time Segment 12 comes up, it's time for a fresh sheet. I'll post the full PDF version if anyone wants it and I don't get a threatening C&D from Steve. In the meantime, are there any suggestions out there for improving it?

Can Force Wall be purchased with the Based on ECV Advantage? If so, would it possible to englobe a character with that Force Wall if it only contained Mental Defense?

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs You know, I ought to re-write the example as if both the son and the father are PCs. That way, the really specific rules for maneuvers like Covered and so on, and even spending points buying off a Disad, could be shown. In the song's lyrics, there are about four specific combat actions described, maybe five. "I hit him hard right between the eyes" (unarmed Strike) "He come up with knife and cut off a piece of my ear" (Strike with HKA) "We crashed through the wall and into the street" (a Move-Through?) "A-kicken' and a-gougin'" (no specific maneuvers described, just melee) "Kicked like a mule and bit like a crocodile" (more melee) "He went for his gun and I pulled mine first" (higher-DEX character is able to use his Fast Draw Skill followed by a Cover maneuver)

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs Actually, you know, A Boy Named Sue would make a pretty good example of game play. GM: Okay, you've arrived in Gatlinburg, and it's mid-July. You're thirsty, and you want beer. The muddy street has a saloon on it. Sue: Okay, I go in. GM: All right, then. Make a Perception Roll, please, as you're entering the saloon. Sue: Okay... um... rolled a nine. GM: Good. As you look around the interior of the saloon, you see a big, bend, gray, old man dealing stud poker to a group of other men, and he looks very familiar to you. Sue: Who is he? GM: Make an INT roll to recognize him. Sue: Um... ten. Is that enough? GM: Well, you haven't seen him since he left home when you were three, but your penalty was offset by the worn-out picture that your mother had, plus the man has the Disad Distinctive Features: Scar on Cheek and Evil Eye, which is Difficult to Conceal, Noticeable and Recognizable. Sue: Wait, is it my father?! GM: Why, yes it is. Is your commitment to killing him Moderate or Strong? Sue: Let me check... Strong. GM: Well, your inclination is to attack him immediately, so you'll have to make an EGO roll to do anything except that. Sue: Well, I don't even care, I'm going to attack him regardless. Do I have to make an EGO roll to make a PRE Attack first? GM: Oh, no, I'll allow a PRE Attack. Sue: Great. Let's see... I'll just walk right up to him and say, as menacingly as possible, "My name is Sue, how do you do? Now you're gonna die!" GM: Okay, that's a pretty good soliloquy, I'll give you your base 4d6 attack plus two extra dice for making a deadly threat and for startling him. Sue: Six dice, then. I rolled... let's see... 24 total. GM: Well, you got him at his own PRE level and then some, so you get to act first regardless of DEX. Sue: I can't shoot him just yet, we're indoors and he's not holding a gun. I punch him, hard as I can, calling Head Shot on the Hit Location Chart, hoping for Head, of course. GM: Okay, he's just starting to get up, so I'm saying he's 1/2 DCV, so you've got to hit DCV 3. What's your OCV? Sue: With the Head Shot penalty, it's 3. Do I get a bonus for surprise? GM: No, you made your intentions known to him, he's looking right at you and fully expecting an attack. Eleven or less, give me a roll. Sue: C'mon, don't miss, don't miss... ten! GM: That's a hit; roll location, High Shot, that's 1d6+3, roll one or two to hit Head. Sue: C'mon, Head Shot, Head Shot... yes! Rolled a two! GM: You hit him hard right between the eyes, roll damage... he takes double STUN and BODY after defenses. ... and so on.

Re: Master List of Limitations Gone??!! I can't believe you guys are finishing the project I started! My heart overflows with gladness! I kiss you!

Re: Character: Big Jim Walker Characters from songs written up as NPCs? Geez, there's got to be loads of them. How about August West from the song Wharf Rat? Now there's a guy with some Unluck and a few Soc Lims.

Steve, Does Mind Link established via Mind Scan require the mentalist to maintain the Mind Scan lock-on?

Re: Master List of Limitations Gone??!! I'm glad I downloaded the pages for conversion to HD3 Prefab format. Now if I could just get 'round to finishing that project...