JDHMorgan2003

Re: Advanced energy sources: Some thought and pretty big numbers. I don't know if this is off topic...but how would you expect to harness the energy given off by a fusion reaction. I'm not sure if I understand how they harness fission energy, but I thought it was via the heat given by the reaction driving steam turbines. How are they planning to harness the reactions for a space ship. I'm not sure how I would like to have my space ship run via steam turbines, even if they were using a fission reactor to generate the steam.

I've read thru the sections in The Ultimate Brick on real-life weight-lifting values and how to achieve similar results with HERO. But, I was wondering if raw STR would really be how to model things like Olympic or World records. My thought would be to base it off of an EGO Roll (vis-a-vis Pushing). Say you had a character with 15 STR, he would always be able to bench press 150 kg, clean and jerk 100 kg, dead lift 180 kg, leg press 400 kg, and snatch 80 kg. That sounds impressive, especially if converted to English measurements. If the character makes his EGO Roll to Push, he just became a 20 STR character for purposes of one event. So, those numbers go to 300 kg bench press, 200 kg clean and jerk, 360 kg dead lift, 800 kg leg press, 160 kg snatch. From what i recall, those sound remarkably like the actual records. And it would also match that real-life weight-lifters can't always make the lift when it counts (they fail their EGO Roll). This has been intriguing me for some time, as it seems that many people assume that 20 STR would be the max that a human could have for STR, at least for NCM. That 20 STR would make the character better than any current record-holder. It seems to me, that EGO should be a central factor to almost any dedicated character. Especially to any character taking a background of Physical Training or Mental Training as it would be the basis for the character to push themselves to achieve and maintain their capabilities. Not left behind, as only valuable for mentalists. I would appreciate any comments on my analysis, especially any constructive criticism. I don't know if I'm understanding the underlying essence of EGO in HERO.

Re: Why are robots always immortal? But that's just my point. Because the bots have to replace their worn-out (i.e. old, or aged) parts, they are not immortal. So, if someone used a sfx on them that said the parts aged, got old, fatigued, stressed...say as a Drain BODY NND (LS: Immortal)...they would not be protected.

Re: Why are robots always immortal? And just my own two cents...I wouldn't allow an immortal robot unless it could function indefinitely without part replacement. Right now, humans can go out and get on a list for part replacement...hearts, livers, kidneys, and other parts are replacable, not easily, but it can be done. Also, humans can get a prosthetic limb, probably not as good as the original, but they're getting better every year. Soon, we might be able to replace via prosthetics that are as good as the original. But we still wouldn't be immortal (LS: Immune to the effects of aging) because the individual components could still wear out.

Re: Why are robots always immortal? I was wondering what one would consider an "aging" attack. I was wondering becuase someone mentioned that robots wouldn't suffer from the effects of aging, and that's why they would buy LS: Immunity to Aging. I've watched several documentaries on airplane crashes where the NTSB concluded that the planes crashes were influenced by metal fatigue. That sounds a lot like an "aging" attack on the metal body of the plane. Another thing that was somewhat important as far as materials science, here in Oklahoma, at least one bridge collapsed due to "aging". The bridge was not maintained properly, and so it got really old, really fast.

Re: "Down-to-Earth" special powers You mentioned that you were basing one of your characters on Andre the Giant using medicine to have corrected what killed him...you should also check out autism. The character of Rain Man was built on an autistic individual...using medicine perhaps you could have him maintain a much more normal social interaction level but retain his incredible mental abilities.

Re: Surely someone can do something with this: Oak Island I'm trying to remember, I think there's a modern adventure novel set on Oak Island as well. I think the name was Riptide. A pretty good read, and useful for Pulp or Dark Champions. Had a very interesting idea as to what the actual treasure was that could end a lot of characters without them even knowing what happened.

Re: Xenovores *Possible Spoilers* I don't have my copy handy, but I thought they used themselves in their bioengineering. They tried loading every possible gene so they could survive when the war happened. I liked the concept of cannibalism linked to population growth. But I agree, they probably hadn't really looked at how far it could go.

Re: Player Characters who might need Automoton Powers if i recall correctly, there is also the little thing of tripling the cost of defense powers involved with "Takes No STUN"...that can get very expensive... Shirak the Destructor in C,K,C spent over a hundred points on his PD alone...that can be very balancing when you look at how many points you have to spend...then there was also El Diablo Robotico in M&M... sorry, C,K,C - conquerors, killers and crooks m&m - Masterminds & Madmen

Re: Making a Post-Apoc "logical" One thought on the lack of hygiene after the fall of Rome. It wasn't that people didn't want to bathe, at first, but that they didn't want to be accused of being Jewish or Muslim, or of belonging to any heresy of the time. The church wasn't very forgiving, and being clean, was indicative of Islam or Judaism. When they were allowed to, they were very clean. Also, it usually made you look more attractive, and that wasn't always a good thing.

Re: The Death Note and How To Stop It Thanks for the link... I just wanted to get a better feel for what you meant...I've always been curious about detection/attack powers described that way... Especially, 'cause Batman was always my favorite character, and he never identified internally as Bruce.

Re: The Death Note and How To Stop It So, does "real" mean the name your parents gave you...or the way you think of yourself? Not really trying to be difficult, but it's something I was thinking of. Also, it could be applicable to someone who had several aliases. Thanks for the info about the mask.

Re: The Death Note and How To Stop It One question I had concerning the Secret Identity...if you identify internally as your Codename, would that protect you if he found your legal name... Like Batman is the real personality, and Bruce Wayne is the fake... Could he take out the Harbinger by writing down "The Harbinger Of Justice", while picturing what his mask is described as, or even a grainy photograph?

Re: Making a Post-Apoc "logical" oh, and for carbon, you would need charcoal-burners...a whole new profession that hasn't existed in about 200 years

Re: Making a Post-Apoc "logical" sulphur is found in hot springs, saltpeter is found under dung piles

Re: Experience increasing why not introduce penalty skill levels that apply only to the increasing cost of powerful spells. that way you could have somebody who sucked at casting spells, but when he did succeed, he could have a serious impact.

Re: Experience increasing And for Skills, you could also adapt the Valdorian Age Normal Skill Maxima...basically, they are allowed normal progression up to 13-, then like Normal Characteristic Maxima, they have to pay twice the normal cost... Also, there are no Skill Levels. You can still buy Combat Skill Levels or Penalty Skill Levels. The Valdorian Age book also introduces several new types of Penalty Skill Levels. Thay way, you don't necessarily have extremely high skill levels, but with the right Penalty Skill Levels, you can reduce a number of different types of penalties

Re: Now Taking Preorders For the Champions 25th-Anniversary Special Edition! done my preorder, and e-mailed Steve...anything else needed

Re: How to do: Twins I would second the post about COM...the distinctive features would cover actual appearance. I've always thougth COM was more or less how others felt about the character, not necessarily the actual appearance...how else would someone with shape shift bother with it.

Re: Supernatural Special Forces just a question, do all supernatural creatures fall under the heading of baddies, or is there free will even with such things as lycanthropes, or even vampires...or are they somehow required to be evil... question is, would there be any point in recruiting them into your hypothetical special forces mix?

Re: Robert E Howard or J.R.R. Tolkien? I'm going to disagree on Howard's worldbuilding. He did a credible job on worldbuilding, and I think it's much easier to access. Most of it comes from National Geographic (i think). Unlike Tolkien, Howard's world of Hyboria is very completely described. Tolkien only covered the Northwest section of Middle-earth, leaving everything else undefined. I find Howard's description of Hyboria much easier to work with, as I can find analogues for most every place Conan or his contemporaries adventure.

Re: The Problem with Even Characteristic Costs you're using the old version of GURPS, in 4th they changed the cost to an even amount (ST and HT are 10 pts per +1, DX and IQ are 20 pts per +1)... I kind of prefer the method where the changes to characteristics in package deals modified the NCM...you could do it where the changes didn't effect the actual characteristics, just where the break point was for the maximum...so that +2 DEX would mean you started with 10 DEX but could buy it up to 22, the cost is already paid for with the points spent on the Package Deal.

I tried the search function, not sure if I tried the right queries though...anyway, I was looking through either the Turakian Age or the Valdorian Age and came across a reference to Normal Skill Maxima. I was wondering just what this referred to, since I don't own a copy of either of these works just yet. Also, is this used in any other genre, or just Fantasy Hero?