ideasmith

Re: Silver bullets, garlic grenades, and all that stuff

While you all raise good points about it being modeled better through a Disadvantage than a player power (and that is, after all, how it's done in the published material), I was concerned only about the old "me too" method.

 

GM: You're facing a werewolf.

Player 1: Fortunately I always carry silver bullets with me.

GM: You do?

Player 1: I'm a paranormal investigator. I have KS: Lycanthropes right there on my character sheet.

GM: [checking] Oh. OK.

Player 2: I always carry silver bullets too.

Player 3: Me too.

GM: Wait a minute. You're a jeweler (#2), and you're a reporter (#3).

Player 2: So I'm the guy who made his silver bullets. If he's going to need them, I figure he knows what he's talking about.

GM: *sigh* All right. And you?

Player 3: Werewolves are a fact, so I'm prepared.

GM: But...

Player 4: And my sword is coated with silver, too.

GM: But you're a ninja!

Player 4: It's an ancient sword handed down from my great-grandfather, who used it against many monsters.

GM: Now wait a minute....

 

Of course players 3 and 4 would be overruled, but I think it would be reasonable to find *some* way to give the characters a price (albeit a marginally small one) for having an easily recognizable Special Effect covering an opponent's obvious weakness. (This is in contract with, say, a vampire's possible Vulnerability to fire; if the Special Effect of an attack is fire, the price is that it isn't electricity or cold or lasers or something else that might be someone else's Vulnerability.)

I have two things to say about this:

1. The opponents with weaknesses against silver should be balance by opponents with advantages against silver.

2. Changing equipment in mid-game should only be possible with an in-game explanation of the change. Obviously, if learning they will be facing werewolves is followed by a few weeks time to spend aquiring custom stuff ...

Re: this power

Flight

 

Buy enough to make it equal to their Running, or purchase the Advantage "Running Usable As Flight."

Adding 'No Turn Mode' might be useful.

Re: Repost: Squirrel Girl

Shouldn't she have some luck? In fact, shouldn't she have quite a bit of luck?

Re: A Game Of Questions

Less interesting to whom?

How would I know?

Re: Normal Characterist Maxima and Characteristic Powers

Characteristics bought as Powers can presumably be Dispelled. That might balance things out here. It might not.

Re: Create Water spell

Putting out fires' date=' torturing enemies, fill a car's radiator, I don't know, players tend towards clever particularly when it comes to situations where resources are limited.[/quote']

 

I think that if you bought Life Support, Usable By Others, Physical Manifestation and Dispel Fire Powers; the torturing enemies and fill a radiator would be special effects.

What I'm considering for Secondary Characteristics:

STR: BODY*1

PD: BODY/5

ED: CON/5

SPD: (DEX/10)+(INT/20), round normally

REC: (BODY/5)+(CON/5)

END: CON*2

STUN: BODY+CON

Comments?

Re: INT question

What the Champions INT stat represents is very different from what the MENSA tests test for: These are different senses of the word Intelligence. A character could concievably have an INT score of 1 and still be elligible for MENSA.

Yes, membership in MENSA would be a perk.

Re: Superfluous Powers

Gamma World wasn't a comic book (initially)

The X-men predate Gamma World.

Re: Feeding on SPEED

e) take the Limitation "not when wearing Power Armor" on the extra Speed.

Oops sorry. Didn't get the poll right the first try.

Re: Defense against Entangle

1 pip RKA - Penetrating(+½), Continuous(+1), Damage Shield(+½), Autofire(20 shots; +2½), Reduced Endurance(Zero END; +1), Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; +1), Only Vs Entangles(-1)

 

37 Active Points, 18 Real Points (presuming the -1 value is correct).

 

For no apparent reason, entangles (of a non-mental nature) just don't affect the target (while he's awake). Or stop affecting him extremely quickly.

Entangles with Hardened also won't be affected.

Re: What fundamental thing would you change about the Hero system?

Break things into the basic 4 that was discussed and rejected for 4th ed.:

• Attack

• Defend

• Move

• Percieve

Have everything be built from these with Modifiers.

If I was creating a game based on this suggestion, I would add Create and Hide to the list. Possibly also Enhance & Special Effect. That would bring the list up to how I classify Powers when analyzing a game.

Re: Defense against Entangle

Free Action: Drain BODY 3d6, Damage Shield (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Continuous (+1) (105 Active Points); Limited Power (Only vs. Entangles; -2), Always On (-1/2)

 

DO NOT LET THE PLAYERS KNOW HOW THE MARTIALARTIST IS GETTING OUT. As soon as you do it will be the start of an arms race. Also remember turn about is fare play. Create some villains with Entangle.

You need Invisible Power Effects on that power. Otherwise, by RAW, the power is visible to normal sight and hearing and the characters will know how the martial artist is getting out.

Re: Defense against Entangle

A couple of the heroes in my campaign have an Entangle attack that is causing a lot of headaches. Besides not getting hit or hiding behind a Force Wall, is there any defense out there that you have used against Entangle attacks? (For the curious, one of the special effects is a cable gun, one is an ice attack, and another is a focused paralysis beam.)

Teleport.

Re: What fundamental thing would you change about the Hero system?

I would definately agree with SteveZilla and Kieth. If anything' date=' I would be a GM and assess the power an automatic +1 advantage of "Can raise above Normal Characteristic Maxima" and see how quickly they change their build. *smile* Course, you could also say that the character had to pay for the STR as Normal Characteristic Maxima cost and apply any Limitation to THIS cost.[/quote']

 

I would just rule that most Powers, including modified Characteristics, are doubled by Normal Characteristic Maxima. The exeptions would be Powers with Requires a Skill Roll or a Universal Focus.

Re: How to create power: flight via temporary energy platform

Energy constructs are usually bought by taking the affects and adding the Physical Manifestation Limitation.

This specific example would be Flight, Usably by up to 8 others at same time as self, Physical Manifestation.

Edit: Just because something can be destroyed does not make it a Focus. An object is only a Focus if it can be taken away.

Re: Super Smell

So I am making a charater whom I want to be able to smell blood over miles and miles. sort of like a hyena does' date=' how would I go about doing that? megascale? I don't think so.[/quote']

 

50 points worth of telescopic should work fine. Suggest applying Concentration and Extra Time to bring the price down, unless you expect your character to use this in combat.

Re: What fundamental thing would you change about the Hero system?

Page 19 second to last paragraph and the chart on the following page, says that you can't get greater than a 30 in a primary CHAR without being superhuman. It may not say "hard cap" but it does say that for game purposes having a physical primary CHAR above a 30 for a normal human is not possible.

 

This chart was carried over into 5ER but I don't have mine around to verify the page number at the moment.

 

TB

Pages 19-20 5ER

Re: Supressing a Disadvantage

Since you are only suppressing a current psych lim' date=' I would guess that a minor transform would be good enough?[/quote']

 

I would rule that a Major Transform was needed.

Re: What fundamental thing would you change about the Hero system?

And of course' date=' if STR no longer affects Figured Chars by default, there's really no reason for any other Char to do so. [/quote']

 

Still plenty of reason for CON and Body to affect Figured Characteristics. Especially Constitution. Or would you drop Constitution from the game?

Re: question for gm

By the rules as written, no points are gained. Depending on the genre, disadvantages gained in play are usually temporary.

I would suggest having the Disadvantage last 1-6 games, then either just have the Disadvantage go away, or letting the player choose between losing the Disadvantage or gaining the points.

Re: How to build: instant learning

I think it's even more specific than that. I believe the thing you Summon actually has to have a character sheet' date=' technically (meaning has to be built with some kind of Characteristic block, etc.).[/quote']

 

A spirit can have a Characteristic block. So can a memory, if someone writes up a Characterstic block for it. (Don't forget the Always On Desolid & Invisibility.) I'd say "requires a Charactistic Block' is less specific than 'must be a creature or object'.

Re: How to build: instant learning

Of course the reason why Skill VPPs are questionable is because they are so very' date=' very cheap. You can do "anything" for an investment of 3 points. But if you make your Skill VPP as large as a power mimic pool and limited to mimicing one person at a time, I think you can sell it to any GM who will tolerate VPPs in the first place.[/quote']

 

I have a house rule that Special Powers & Skills take up 5 times thier active cost in 'space' in a Power Pool or Multipower pool. Instead of the 1* active cost usual in such cases.

Re: Another Hero in search of a name

Champion of Eurynome?

or, if he carries some emblem of his status, name him after that

Staff of Eurynome?

Crown of Eurynome?