Ternaugh

Re: How long to make Master Mold? Oops! My error! JoeG

Re: How long to make Master Mold? No one has built one, though technically standard computers are as subclass that can be shown to be functionally equivalent to part of a Von Neumann machine. See, it's really hard to find the infinitely long tape to hold the symbols. Remember, too, that a Von Neumann machine can calculate just about anything, but isn't necessarily optimized to do these calculations in a specific interval of time. So, it could take a few milliseconds to draw up the plans, or a billion years. With proper optimization of the symbols on the tapes, it is theoretically possible to reduce this time to a fixed minimum, but the optimization itself may not be possible in a reasonable amount of time. I like the idea of buying the parts at Wal-Mart, though. It would be fun to see them argue that the lead weights on the fishing line are actually the data marks on a VN tape, and that the reversible power drill makes the perfect transfer mechanism, while the photoelectric nightlight is a great reader of the information. Of course, it would get a bit fiddly, when they explain how the decoder mechanism can be built out of the YMCA Elmo, but that's the fun of roleplaying it out. Your Players May Vary, JoeG

Re: Difference between Ultraviolet Perception and Nightvision? Because UV goggles may not be appropriate in a Fantasy Hero campaign. By Nightvision, I am assuming that we are talking about a light-intensifier. There has to be some light( there's some, even in "total" darkness), it's just heightened so that the image looks like "daylight". Of course, that means that a bright light source will become blindingly bright. So, you could temporarily disorient a character using Nightvision, if you exposed him to a bright light. UV vision wouldn't necessarily be affected in this way, but you need a source of UV light to see. Of course, YMMV, JoeG

Re: V'Ger from the 1st Star Trek movie. I'd definitely agree. The Motionless Picture's story, while visually interesting (due to the special effects work of Douglas Trumbull), leaves much to be desired. According to Stephen King in Danse Macabre , Roddenberry was too attached to his story idea, "The God-Thing", and many authors were actually contacted to see if they could fix it. JoeG

Re: V'Ger from the 1st Star Trek movie. I think that the "official" answer from the novel is that V'ger was then able to imagine other dimensions after the merger, and that it went off to explore them. It sort of links into the "Traveller" storyline from Next Generation, where Wesley learns that warp barriers and the like don't really exist if you think they don't. But don't think too hard about all of it, since it was really just a remake of the Nomad episode from TOS, with better special effects. YMMV, JoeG

Re: Missing SW-Brand Mono-Climates Not in Star Wars. All you really need is one of those little oxygen mask dealies with a little box (like what Han, Leia and Chewie wear inside the "worm" in Empire). And anyway, what does a Mynokk breathe? JoeG

Re: Newbie Question - Judging the Challenge A few things that I use to judge the challenge in FH: 1. For stock thugs, I usually assume 1 to 2 thugs per character in the encounter. If the PCs are exceptionally tough, I add on skill levels, armor, and then SPD, usually in that order. These tend to be rather generic writeups, since they are meant to be defeated fairly easily. Most thugs tend to be SPD 3, with an occasional SPD 4 thrown in for variation. 2. For a tougher encounter, I add a "seasoned" thug (one that looks a lot like the PCs' characters--complete with full writeup). Usually, the "seasoned" thug will have some useful tactical skills, to better use the stock thugs. Mages usually fit into this category. Under most circumstances, the PCs will win at this level, though it may be rough for them. 3. For a major encounter, I usually have a team of "seasoned" thugs, with a liberal dose of stock thugs, if appropriate. This level of encounter is usually used as a set piece in my games, with plenty of chances for the PCs to act heroically. There may also be a character or two who are much more powerful than the PCs, though in my games they usually have another agenda rather than fighting the PCs. 4. Don't forget obstacles and obstructions. Bushes, trees, bodies, etc all serve to give the PCs something to fight around, while giving the whole session a nice set decoration. 5. Caveat: I usually avoid the ultra-powerful solitary bad guys in FH, mainly because they rarely work out the way you expect. Mainly, the PCs just gang up on them, and beat them to a bloody pulp. Of course, YMMV, JoeG

Re: Why does the USS Iowa only have a 10 Defense?

Re: So why do you play Hero? Because it lets me design my own world, in my own way. It lets my group and I tell stories together, in a fluid fashion, without having to flip through many rulebooks looking for all of the exceptions to the power stunt/spell/feat. It lets me base character development on roleplaying, rather than leveling. It has wonderful support, both from the publishers and the fans. It is the game system that I have played the most during the last 22 years, across the most genres. JoeG

I'm a little confused about END costs with movement powers, especially after reading two examples in 5er. On p122, the first column uses the example of Golden Eagle buying up his Flight to 20", with a x8 NCM (+10 adder). It ends with the statement that both combat and noncombat movement will cost 5 END. On p123, under Endurance, it's noted that a character with 15" of Flight and a x8 NCM would pay 3 END per phase. Which leads me to the following questions: 1. Do NCM adders apply to END cost for movement powers? 2. Do adders that are not in use add to the END cost for movement powers? For example, is the Increased Mass adder in Teleportation always added in, even if the character isn't teleporting any extra mass? Thank you, JoeG

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... It would have been better if Stephenson had figured out how to end it. As an aside, I'm reading a nonfiction book, Dragon Hunter , by Charles Gallenkamp. It's about Roy Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic Expeditions (which found the huge amount of dinosaur fossils in the '20s). It touches on the political and social upheavals of China and Mongolia at that time, and features many scenes that were apparently "lifted" by Stephenson from the Chinese revolution. Though I'm pretty sure Gallenkamp hadn't read Stephenson's work, it was interesting to observe the parallels. YMMV, JoeG

Re: Crazy Idea to Remove the Math Cool! It does seem to charge more for powers with more advantages than limitations, and powers with more limitations than advantages get more of a bonus (than the standard Hero system), but this is probably the most workable interpretation of the add/subtract method. JoeG

Re: Crazy Idea to Remove the Math Right. Your method would be the same as the pseudocode that I listed in post #25. The reference that you quoted above was for casualgamer, who implied that the entire thing could be achieved just with multiplication, in post #38. Neither method is all that simpler than the current rules. You just trade a subtraction and comparison for either a multiplication or a division. And it plays all kinds of havoc with the concepts of End cost and Active points. Perhaps, what is needed is a very light version of the rules, where the weapons are prelisted, and special stuff is already precalculated. Of course, it would have to be limited to perhaps a single setting or genre, without a lot of magic or superhero stuff. All in all, it would look a lot like a Hero rulebook for 3rd edition (Justice, Inc., for example). YMMV, JoeG

Re: Crazy Idea to Remove the Math Foxbat Special: 6d6 EB, OAF-Ping Pong Pistol (-1), 8 Charges (-1/2) Base cost=30 Real cost= Base cost * (1 +0 -1 1/2)= 30 * (1 - 1 1/2) = 30*(-1/2) = -15 Points. So, we'll pay you 15 points if you take this Ping Pong Pistol. And if you only need 6 shots, it's 23 points back! At some point with limitations greater than advantages, you will have to divide in order to get the costs somewhat correct (or, you can ignore the sign, add 1, take the reciprocal, and then multiply...try explaining that to a newbie). And you are very close to the same calculations needed for standard Hero. Now, Fuzion did use adders for their modifiers, which was a simplified way to look at powers. Given the pre-chewed state of the powers involved, however, it was really just a way to perform minor tweaks. And if you ever had to do major adjustments to a power, Fuzion basically handed you back over to the Hero 4th rules to fix it. In truth, I don't understand the "decimalization" part of your post. If what you are saying is that the values shouldn't be listed as a fraction, then they're easily converted (and with Hero math, you need to know only 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, all easily convertible to decimals). Now if you are arguing that the various limitations are set wrong, then that's a different thread. As always, YMMV, JoeG

Re: The Fameous Ice Slide If you want to explain the basic entangle without cold damage, remember that ice can also act as a sort of insulator. Eventually, the character would melt a hollow in the ice bond, and could even stay relatively warm (well, at least above freezing). You could also theorize that manifesting that much ice in one spot creates a bit of warmth somewhere else, like around the character being entangled (though most comic books seem to ignore things like thermodynamics when it isn't convenient anyway). So, the person may be toasty warm, but still held in an ice prison. YMMV, JoeG

Re: Crazy Idea to Remove the Math Which generates a division by zero error. I think that what you are looking for is something akin to: if (adv - lim)=0 then Real Cost = Active Cost else if (adv - lim) > 0 then Real Cost = Active Cost *(1+ (adv - lim)) else Real Cost=Active Cost / (1+(-(adv - lim))) Which isn't nearly as simple as it first appears. JoeG

Re: Twisted magic items Bag of Folding This item is linked to the Prime Origami Plane, and affects any non-living item placed completely in the bag. After the bag is closed, the item is affected by the strange magic of the POP, resulting in an origami figure made of the original item. The figure so created is seemingly random. 5 Bag of Folding: Minor Transform 1d6 (Item into origami item made of original materials, canceled by Dispel Magic, Bag of Unfolding), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (20 Active Points); Independent (-2), Non-living target, must fit completely within bag (-1), IIF (Small bag; -1/4) JoeG

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Just finished Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett. Very good read that combines themes involving downsizing, accounting scandals, and really express delivery, thanks to "Bloody Stupid" Johnson's mail sorter. Nice cameos by some of the regular gang. And for those of you who are up to it, there's a "pop quiz" on terrypratchettbooks.com about the book. 10 winners get a packet of genuine Ankh-Morpork stamps. Currently rereading Guards! Guards!, which, by million to one odds, is also written by Pratchett. JoeG

Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Just finished Stealing Time , by Alec Klein, about the AOL-Time Warner merger. The writing is choppy in a couple of places, but the book is a good read. Currently about 50 pages into Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs , by Adrienne Mayor. The author delves into myth and histories to document biological and chemical weapons, and their use in war. JoeG

Re: Superleap UAA??? That would be: Knock You into Next Week: Extra-Dimensional Movement (One week into future), Usable As Attack (+1) (40 Active Points) [Notes: With this attack, the character literally knocks the target into next week.] Powers Cost: 40 YMMV, JoeG

Re: Internet and cell phones Options: 1. Phone works fine for dialing, connects, then drops call as character runs into dead zone. Phone resets a few meters later...and insists on listing the "dropped call" notification. Character must stop, spend a few seconds to clear, and then attempt to dial again (with dino bearing down...), or forget about call. 2. Hurricane that took out island power also took out cell phone towers. Backups fail. Add in an obnoxious scientist telling us about the dangers of relying on high-tech solutions. 3. Cell phone towers not enabled yet. Park isn't open. 4. Cell phone is GSM, tower is CDMA (or the reverse), phone won't work. 5. Random telemarketer calls just before the "send" is pressed, offering an all-expenses paid trip to the Island's grand opening. Telemarketer insists on reading entire speech, and won't understand the "I'm being chased by a dino" sales objection. 6. (For satellite phones), Character runs for cover, and breaks the connection to the satellite. 7. Battery begins to overheat, character must toss cell phone away before the battery explodes. 8. Character actually places call, receiver thinks it's a prank. 9. Character actually places call, receiver believes the problem, and then spends the next week trying to get someone to bail out the character. EthicallyBankruptCorp , the owner of the island, sues surviving characters over NDA. 10. Loud shouting into phone attracts other dinos looking for the animal in distress. YMMV, JoeG

Re: This just in... How about a few movie/book ideas? In chronological order of appearance: Andromeda Strain (movie/book by Michael Crighton)--a nasty virus from outer space piggybacks on a returning satellite, and begins to kill people, unless said people are suffering from acidosis (pass the Sterno, please). As it mutates, it begins to eat plastics. Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters (book by Kit Pedler, Gerry Davis)--the bugs designed to eat bioplastic mutate to eat other plastics uncontrollably in early 70s London. Night of the Comet (movie)--nasty radiation from the tail of a comet cause people to a) turn into a red dust, slowly dry out and turn into zombies who want to eat people if protected by some metal from original exposure, or c) cause Valley-Girls to dispose of said zombies with Uzis. Ill Wind (book by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason)--mutated bacteria begin to eat petroleum products-directly out of the tanks. Later on, LA gangs eat people, without requiring the zombie treatment first. As always, YMMV, JoeG Now Playing: Oingo Boingo, "Dead Man's Party" Queued about an hour ago, before I even saw this thread. No, really.

Re: Pokey Starships? Actually, Traveller's starship construction systems and combat hardly seem "outdated" to me. While Book 2 had definite issues, Book 5 rocked. Sure, they didn't have all of the "crunchy bits" of later systems (especially FFS), their simplicity allowed the creation and play of a variety of ships in a short time (compare to the steps needed in MT or FFS). And we'd be hard-pressed to create a space vehicle now that is capable of even 1 G of sustained thrust (the best we've got are ion engines that give about 1/100 that). As to the "speed" of spaceships, I really believe that few people have any real grasp as to just how large the solar system is. Most people also forget about inertia, and allow "turning on a dime" and stopping almost instantly. And most people have trouble with the concepts of speed vs acceleration. On p. 125 of Alien Wars, it is mentioned that the ships can attain speeds of up to 180" per turn before ways of canceling out Gs is needed. Given this guideline, it means that Alien Wars vehicles will have some difficulty keeping up with typical freeway speeds (180"/Turn=108kph=67.5mph). Of course, once they hit this cruising speed, there would be no discernable G effects, since the engines wouldn't have to be on to maintain it (in the absence of another force). Now, if you take this "speed" to be acceleration, I think what they were after was actually about 3Gs. This is generally the cutoff listed in GURPS and FFS for requiring acceleration compensation. By the way, none of these ships could achieve escape velocity as written without assuming that it's acceleration. Now, I believe that the nuclear-pumped x-ray laser missiles were actually a product of Traveller: 2300 (aka 2300 and 2300AD), not Traveller as such. The missiles themselves were fitted with little stutterwarp engines. Traveller didn't need them, because TL13 lasers were effectively x-ray already. JoeG Now Playing: Tron OST

Re: A question about dungeons. Or, you could always camp it up. When a long-running campaign needed a wand so dangerous, so powerful, that it couldn't safely be stored in this dimension, they traveled to OtherRealm to retrieve it. Of course, the wand was placed inside of a dungeon for safe-keeping. Outside of the dungeon entrance, you could see a little logo indicating the builders of the dungeon, right next to the cornerstone. And inside, things just got weirder. There was an empty room, with a faint engraving in the middle of the floor, saying, "This room left intentionally blank". There was the required giant statue of a beastie, with "ruby eyes the size of dinner plates". There were "You are here" maps on the wall, and emergency exit signs. There were barracks, where the orcs could rest, and play a few video games (Gauntlet seemed to be a favorite). And there were huge piles of really weak crates holding metal cylinders with pictures of fruit and vegetables on little pieces of paper glued to the outside. And, since this was OtherRealm , the party's mage had a little problem remembering spells after they were cast. And, in a bit of typecasting, they ended up in a fiendish trap, "The Gameshow of Death", with your hosts Monty Haul (a very powerful demon), and his lovely assistant, Vanna Wight. The appearance wasn't a total loss, as one lucky party member took Door #2, and won the brand new cow! ("with pre-leather exterior, four-hoof drive, and California emission") It was, perhaps, only the second time in my GMing experience, that my group wanted to lynch me. And I normally don't count the first, since it was a Paranoia game. YMMV, JoeG Now Playing: Meat Loaf, "Bat Out of Hell II"

Re: Fantasy coinage Additionally, "sterling" meant an alloy mix of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metal (usually copper). The origins of sterling could be a German region ("Easterlings"), Sterling castle, or even a mark of a bird on certain coins. And the first gold pound (English) was issued in 1489 during the reign of Henry VII. It weighed half a troy ounce (a little over 15g) and had a purity of 23 karat. And that 20:1 ratio mentioned in your post was the number of shillings in a pound. And 1 shilling was worth 12 pence. In most cases, the loss of value of the continental currencies was due to a debasing of the currency by lowering the gold or silver present in the coins. JoeG Now Playing: Thomas Dolby, "The Golden Age of Wireless"