Roy_The_Ruthles

Re: New Maneuver, please offer opinions

I think the idea is to allow Anyone (regardless of capability/Power Types) to try and rescue or save civillians.

 

Thus, a Combat Maneuver (vs Martial Maneuver or Power) specifically geared to let any Hero jump to save civilians.

 

Suggesting a specific Power Build is counter to the intent.

Yes, that is the intent. The only reason I limited it to hero's only was because I didn't want lazy PCs to say "why doesn't one civilian abort to save the other".

Re: New Maneuver, please offer opinions

right, we thought about that. But the PC wanted a way to not only Dive for Cover, but to also move civilians out of the way. Basically a maneuver for rescuing people as they fall off buildings as well as from attacks. That's why the Grab-By element was added.

So, one of my players wanted to do something super-heroic (rescue an innocent bystander) but felt like he wanted to do a grab-by to do it, rather than a DFC (he needed something to abort to). We talked it over, and I came up with this maneuver. What do you guys think?

The "Protect Civilian" maneuver is specifically designed for the super-hero genre, to allow Player Characters to more easily protect and rescue innocent bystanders. Any player character (or NPC super-hero) may abort to his maneuver. This maneuver is a full phase action that targets one or more civilians who are currently under attack. The hero makes a DEX check with the attacker.

 

If the hero succeeds the DEX check by more than the attacker (or fails it by less), the hero can abort to a Grab-By maneuver and grab the civilians, then move them out of harms way. Each civilian requires an attack roll vs. DCV 0 to grab, and failing one fails all subsequent grabs fail as well. Any who is resisting automatically causes the maneuver to fail (due to the fact that you cannot abort to an attack). While doing a grab-by you the hero may make multiple grab-bys as normal, with each imposing a cumulative -2 OCV/ -2DCV penalty on top of the -3OCV, -4 DCV penalty from Grab-By. With appropriate Power Skill Rolls, the hero can do things like pick up a bus of people and fly them to safety, or telekinetically grab every car on a bridge as the bridge collapses (i.e. use their powers in innovative ways to rescue larger amounts of people.

 

If the hero loses the DEX check, then he instead Dived for Cover in front of attack in order to take the brunt of it for them. The hero automatically succeeds in their Dive for Cover, but are also automatically hit by the attack they were trying to save the civilian from. They are also prone at the end, just like a normal Dive for Cover maneuver.

 

The purpose of this maneuver is to allow characters to super heroically save innocent bystanders, while still risking their lives. There is an element of risk to the character involved, but never for the Civilian (unless the character does not move them far enough out of an Area of Effect). This represents how sometimes Superman will grab Lois and fly off with her, and sometimes just get hit in the back with a laser, while grunting dramatically.

Re: Building an Encrypted Radio

you can also build it as mind link (though this has weird effects), or give the radio the "cryptography" skill so that it can encode and decode messages.

Re: VPP and "Limited Class of Powers"

And I completely disagree with your premise that Necromatic Magic is more Limiting because it limits Powers - it's because it Limits Special Effects Of Powers. I can attach Necromatic Magic Special Effect to any Power in the book.

While I agree with you, Necromatic FTL made me giggle.

Re: Abilities stopped by an item

Interesting Concept!

I think there are two bits to this character. A slow descent into possession by demonic energy, best represented by either a physical limitation, a psych lim, or a dependence on wearing the ring.

The other half is the powers he gets from his demonic hand. I can see this as a reverse focus (wear the focus, lose the power), a power with lockout to wearing the ring, a power with a straight up limitation "only while not wearing the ring" (-1/4 or -1/2), or even a OIHI (since people could grab his arms and keep him from taking off the ring).

Of these choices, I like the straight up, limited power best.

Re: VPP and "Limited Class of Powers"

To me' date=' it fits in #2. Good luck persuading me you can have a Lightning Bolt in your "fire powers only" VPP.[/quote']

 

Firebending? (From Avatar)

Re: Focus on focus

I can agree with that breakdown, it does seem weird that a focus can be "unbreakable" what with the hero system having few absolutes and all. Maybe there should just be a "unbreakable - permanently" or something.

Re: Focus on focus

ok, I agree that to the focus rules could use a reworking, I just don't find that their flaws tend to show up in games. It's one of those "this is a problem, but not a huge one" issues to me. I'm interested in how this thread goes though.

Also, I think issues like "breakable vs. unbreakable" are probably best handled by individual GMs and genres.

Re: Focus on focus

I'm not really sure how much of a problem Focus is, I see more of a problem in people not using the tactical option to attack them.

Re: Variable Point Pool in a Multipower?

I want to weigh in with something useful here, so how about a straight up attack for the "static" attack, and then either a MP, VPP, or a variable advantaged/special effect power for the "dynamic" part? I'm not sure you need the static part in the MP if it is just an attack power.

Also, Frameworks in Frameworks makes me cry.

Re: Alternate defensive maneuver names free of implied sfx

I still think Dodge should add +3 DECV. If not, there should be a similar manuver, but i really don't see it as unbalancing to make it the same maneuver.

Also, names are fine, people just have preconceived notions.

Re: Slow Gas Trap

I played through a 3.5 port of Tomb of Horrors. The trick here was we all had as rediculously defensive characters as possible and were all paranoid dudes. We were like "oh, a sphere of annihilation instead of a door, there must be some way for us to turn this into a cash system, but let us continue into the fake floor lava room instead"

Re: VPP and "Limited Class of Powers"

It would be a build representing reality manipulation of any sfx

Re: A multistage VPP

Build multiple pools with GM permission to use them together as one, or build limitations on the reserve so it scales (like was suggested)

Re: Restrainable Limitation

Since your head is a limb that can be grabbed, disabled, entangle etc, I suppose you could drop restrainable on a bite. It doesn't seem to different from restrainable flight with the sfx of wings.

Re: Useless Hero Facts

I once built a reality haxx based around stretching. The character was a brick who had worked with his teammate (a guy with buff all physical characteristics and powers), for over a year out of game, and forty years in game. So one day, after grabbing a 4th dimensional person, and pulling him into three dimensions, I decided to buy the power to use the 4th dimension to be next to Jarovit.

It was Stretching, Area of Effect, megascaled the area of effect to cover the entire planet. Then after fighting an avatar of an elder god, who could imprison you in other dimensions, I bought transdimensional, and three levels of indirect (to get through hardened dimensions). In retrospect, i probably needed UAA on that stretching.

Re: VPP and "Limited Class of Powers"

most games I play in allow Magic as a -1/4 limitation, either because powers that dispel, sense, suppress etc. Magic is more common than for example: super intelligence, Another part of the Magic limitation, is not all settings allow magic to do everything. One example from a setting I wrote, was that magic could only do things that were impossible by the laws of physics (which at least forced mages to be creative).

If there are only 8 powers, build it as a MP, and a VPP (with either -1/2 or -1 depending on the powers, like 8 attack powers should be -1), and see which way works best.

Re: The brown note

Or an entangle vs. CON (not that any of the other suggestions are bad)

Re: Think Tank

I don't think you can use one framework to adjust a power inside another framework, that's how I understood the "Combining frameworks" stuff I read this morning

Re: Tactics: Fighting with two VPPs

Concept conquers all

 

Terribly sorry to be such a killjoy on the combining VPPs thing. Of course TECNICALLY there is nothing to stop you creating a giant Aid, aiding the VPP you created it with and then switching it to a stonking great EB. Well, there's the GM, I suppose...

I'd rather have my joy killed before the game, than make it unfun for other players later.

Re: Tactics: Fighting with two VPPs

While I agree that 1 big VPP of 140 AP would be more effective, 70 is the campaign cap, so consider that I have bought 1 big VPP, twice.

Also, since the character is supposed to be both a super mystic and a super genius, i felt like two different pools was an apropreate way to get that feeling across.

Thanks for reminding me on the rules for combinding frameworks. I had put "adjust one framework with giant succor" in my bag of tricks, but now i'll take it out. Also I noticed I can't link powers, but I can still MPA them, which should be good enough.

So, I've built a character, Svetlana Doom, who is based around being the daughter of Dr. Victor von Doom and seeks to restore the family name.

She has two campaign cap VPPs, a super genius one that has OIF, 19- roll and half phase action (also no END); and a mystic arts VPP, Variable limitation (-1 total), 14- roll and 0 phase action to change.

So my question is, what are tactics that people have found successful when using multiple VPPs? I was thinking of using mystic arts for defense (because it's easier to shift around small numbers of active points for easier rolls, as you optimize your defenses), and super tech to attack (because of no END and high roll meaning I can change attack powers more easily).

Also, This isn't a game set in marvel universe, although it is supposed to be vaguely bronzish, and also I know I'm murdering fluff in the name of fun, and I'm cool with that.

Re: I am your NEMESIS!

first off, i want to say I'm a big supporter of PC's with VPPs ,my first hero character had a surprise one that forced me to learn the rules for building powers.

Secondly, due to the amount of book keeping inherent in this character (NCC VPP of (in my opinion, multiforms)), it works better as an NPC, just to the GM can handwave when he needs to, and do prep when he can.

It could be done as a PC, and by no means would be unbeatable (especially as a simple VPP not of multforms). This is due to once a villian realizes how his power works, he can take steps to offset this (like if my vulnerability is fire, i will try to fight you in a gasoline refinery, Are you sure you can risk missing?), or just have concepts that are hard for him to counter, like speedster, or mentalist, even with the right attack.

Re: How to present combat to new players

I usually write the formula to hit on the blackboard (I usually game in classrooms) and then show the algebra reworking the formula to the Your OCV + (11-roll) = DCV you hit form of the formula (since that's how I use it in my head)