zakueins

Re: CHAMPIONS UNIVERSE II - What Do You Want To See?

Things I'd Like To See....

1)A "what happened to?" for all the major villans and heroes and organizations...not much. The big ones-VIPER, DEMON, UNTIL, and PRIMUS shouldn't be more than a page at most, just enough info to give an idea of plot seeds for characters ("In 2005, Bulldozer was actually as powerful as he thought he was for one whole day...").

2)I'd love to see a few new villians/villian teams that are second-stringers for the big bad guys, whom can take the place of a Dr. Destroyer/Mechanon/Graviton if the PCs manage to bust them. Enough info and history to have all sorts of fun.

3)Perhaps new character info for the various heros and villians that have appeared. Combine it with the "What Happened To", in the form of what has changed.

4)New stuff! New gadgets, gear, weapons, equipment, small fuzzy animals from Alpha Centauri...

(Just wondering why this hasn't happened yet...).

A member of the opposite sex of your character comes up to you in Hero ID and asks for help. He/she has just broken up with his current girl/boyfriend...whom is a very co-dependent superhero. Whom is not taking this break-up very well and is getting into the really creepy stalker/obessed/"you're my greatest fan" stage. So far, it's been kept out of the news, but it's only a matter of time before the hero does something that's "going too far"(turning the "other woman/man" into a frog, major property damage, etc, etc).

What would YOUR hero do?

Re: (Character) Midnight Man

And incidentally' date=' new moons don't shed light.[/quote']

 

The light of the new moon, when it is naturally the darkest...when all the nightmares and monsters come out and cause trouble.

 

That's the heart and soul of where the Midnight Man comes from. He's the thing that bumps off the things that go bump in the night.

Re: (Character) Midnight Man

Trying again...

Midnight Man

Val Char Cost

20 STR 10

17 DEX 21

18 CON 16

18 BODY 16

18 INT 8

17 EGO 14

20 PRE 10

14 COM 2

4/13 PD 0

4/13 ED 0

5 SPD 23

8 REC 0

36 END 0

37 STUN 0

8" RUN 4

2" SWIM 0

4" LEAP 0

Characteristics Cost: 124

Cost Power

26 Twin .45s: Multipower, 37-point reserve, all slots Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (46 Active Points); all slots OIF (-1/2), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4)

2u 1) Pounding Hard...: Hand-To-Hand Attack +5d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2) (37 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), OIF (-1/2), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4)

2u 2) Guns Blazing!: Killing Attack - Ranged 2d6, Autofire (2 shots; +1/4) (37 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4)

1u 3) Tricky Shot: Telekinesis (24 STR) (36 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Only to push or move something.; -1), OIF (-1/2), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4)

15 Armored Duster: Armor (9 PD/9 ED) (27 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4)

20 Ghostly Movements: Invisibility to Sight, Hearing and Mental Groups (30 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4), Bright Fringe (-1/4)

15 Encrypted Radio Link: Mind Link , Specific Group of Minds, No LOS Needed, Number of Minds (x8) (35 Active Points); Only With Others Who Have Mind Link (-1), IIF (-1/4)

8 Ring Of Midnights: Cosmetic Transform 2d6 (Into Secret ID) (10 Active Points); IIF (-1/4)

32 Walk The Shadows: Teleportation 20", x2 Increased Mass, Safe Blind Teleport (+1/4), Invisible Power Effects, SFX Only (Fully Invisible; +1/2) (79 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Only From Shadow To Shadow; -1), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4), Requires Light To Use (-1/4)

4 See The Night: Nightvision (5 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4)

4 Find The Heat: Infrared Perception (Sight Group) (5 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4)

3 Toughened Skin: Damage Resistance (4 PD/4 ED) (4 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4)

Powers Cost: 132

Cost Martial Arts Maneuver

4 Basic Shot: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, Range +2, Strike, +2 DC

3 Defensive Shot: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +2 DCV, Range +0, Strike

5 Offensive Ranged Disarm: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, -1 DCV, Range +2, Disarm, +2 DC to Disarm

4 Offensive Shot: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Range +0, Strike, +4 DC

1 Weapon Element: Default Element, Handguns

4 Martial Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort

4 Martial Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 30 STR to Disarm

4 Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort

4 Martial Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 35 STR vs. Grabs

4 Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 6d6 Strike

3 Martial Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 4d6 +v/5, Target Falls

5 Offensive Strike: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 8d6 Strike

Martial Arts Cost: 45

Cost Skill

3 Breakfall 12-

10 +2 with Ranged Combat

3 Concealment 13-

3 Criminology 13-

3 Cryptography 13-

3 Defense Maneuver I

3 Disguise 13-

3 Fast Draw 12-

3 Interrogation 13-

3 AK: San Francisco 12-

3 Lipreading 13-

3 Lockpicking 12-

2 Navigation (Land) 13-

3 Paramedics 13-

3 Security Systems 13-

3 Forensic Medicine 13-

3 Shadowing 13-

3 Stealth 12-

3 Streetwise 13-

2 Systems Operation (Communications Systems) 13-

3 Tactics 13-

3 Teamwork 12-

3 Tracking 13-

10 Two-Weapon Fighting (Ranged)

10 Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH)

3 Weaponsmith (Firearms, Swords And Daggers) 13-

2 KS: Organized Crime 11-

2 KS: GunKata 11-

Skills Cost: 101

Cost Perk

3 Anonymity

Perks Cost: 3

Cost Talent

9 Ambidexterity (no Off Hand penalty)

15 Danger Sense (self only, in combat) 13-

15 Combat Sense 13-

16 Universal Translator 13- (20 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4)

Talents Cost: 55

Total Character Cost: 460

Pts. Disadvantage

10 Hunted: Mr. Mad 8- (Mo Pow, Limited Geographical Area, Harshly Punish)

5 Reputation: Grim Avenger of Justice, 8-

15 Accidental Change: Struck By The Light Of The New Moon 14- (Uncommon)

10 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Sunlight-based Attacks (Uncommon)

10 Vulnerability: 2 x BODY Sunlight-based Attacks (Uncommon)

20 Social Limitation: Secret ID (Martin Lancaster) (Very Frequently, Major)

15 Distinctive Features: Extremely Detailed Shadow (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

20 Dependent NPC: Younger Brother Pete 8- (Incompetent; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID)

10 Susceptibility: Green Jade, 2d6 damage per Minute (Uncommon)

20 Psychological Limitation: Honorable (Common, Total)

15 Psychological Limitation: Casual Killer (Uncommon, Total)

Disadvantage Points: 150

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 110

Total Experience Available: 110

Experience Unspent: 0

He's the team leader and specialist of Strikers 7. More details as they come...

Midnight Man

Player:

Total Character Cost: 460

Disadvantage Points: 150

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 110

Total Experience Available: 110

Experience Unspent: 0

Re: Worlds of Empire - Waddya think?

I'm not impressed by it, but then again I was not very impressed with the Empire setting, a mis-mash of things that could have been done/written better.

It's not a bad world book...just not my thing.

Re: Cyberpunk Hero?

I'd agree-and also would add fixes to the problems of "the hacker always seems to nice and safe while we get shot at" (even with software that can turn their brain to rice crispies) and some of the other genre conventions that make it hard to RPG in the system.

It looks like Cyber will be the next one, though PA came very close. If past genre books are any indication, I am sure we will get "all of the above" in regards to the sorts of cyberpunk covered. The "what would you want to see" thread won't be up for a while, but aside from the obvious coverage of the genre, I would like to see a little section on nanotechnology and perhaps some computer rules or hacking rules of some sort.

 

I'd be willing to pay whatever it is worth. If its sized like Pulp Hero, I'd be willing to pay like $50, but it will probably cost $34.99. It could be smaller, and come in at the $27 mark, but I'm guessing it will be Pulp Hero sized and come in at $34.99.

 

I hope Steve throws in a little setting with it, ala Pulp Hero. Pulp's history and timelines served as "building blocks" for GM to build setting with. I don't know how feasible it would be with a genre as diverse as Cyber, but I loved it in Pulp.

Next big genre book?

What would you want to see in it? What sort of cyberpunk, from classic "the world sucks and we're all gonna DIE, but we get neat toys" to existential angst...

And, how much would you pay...

Re: IK Hero?

First things first, since IK is so D20-based, it's time to work out the D20-to-Hero 5th conversions. Get that done, we're about 70% done with IK Hero (the few non-standard races can be built up and such).

Re: IK Hero?

I fully agree-but, D20 is the 600 pound gorilla of RPGs these days, which is a shame. A conversion over to Hero 5th could only be seen as making the setting much better.

The Iron Kingdoms setting uses the standard d20 magic, but they do dump some spells to lower the magic of the setting (for instance, Raise Dead is gone, the only spell a Cleric can use to resurrect someone is the 9th level spell). They continually push that its a low magic setting, but its hard to do with d20.

 

I think that IK would work much better in HERO. With the use of separate STUN and BODY a character can be hurt in combat, but it in many cases will not require healing, just time to rest and regain STUN. Taking BODY will be bad news, as it will require finding a healer of similar faith, or drinking a potion which might have side effects. Switching systems will allow the GM to dump the spell list and limit magic to the level he wants, or even make magic more difficult with required skill rolls.

 

Guess I am saying, I think Iron Kingdoms would work great in Hero. Interested in seeing some conversions for Warjacks and unique abilities such as the Warcaster's ability to command 'jacks and cast spells through them. Hero also allows dumping the traits of d20 that seem to not fit in the game.

Re: Just Picked Up Champions Worldwide

I'd call it a six. It's not exactly CKC, but it's not awful.

On a scale of 1-10' date=' what type of rating would you give it overall? I'm debateing buying it, and unless it rates at least a five (average), I won't pick it up (and before anyone asks, I'm also waiting to hear from a few others what they thought).[/quote']

And, the verdict is? Not too impressed.

I was hoping to get more...meat. There's a lot of individual supers, some neat character seeds, but I'd like to have seen more. Like superhero teams for each area of the world, how religions (especially in the Middle East) consider superpowers, more "places to blow up" and "things to steal".

Not too impressed with the art, either. Need more variety of characters, too. More gadgeteers, more "updates" of familiar characters (i.e. how is Ultrasonique changed since his beating-how is he armored, etc, etc).

Still, it's useful. Not exactly great, but useful.

Just had this random thought....

DOUBLE TAPPING-

In certian firearms combat techniques, double-tapping is used to ensure that a target hit by fire goes down. The technique involves firing two closely-timed shots into a target, maximizing damage (which can work with modern semi-automatic pistols). In certian firearms systems (CQB, Gun Kata, etc, etc), a short (three round) burst of fire is worked so that it can hit within a very small area-usually the cluster of blood vessels above the heart-in tight sequence to do maximum damage.

If the player has a semi-automatic firearm, a ranged power/attack with Autofire (3 shots), a weapon/power that can be counted as "tightly sequenced" (this doesn't count having two guns, as the fire cannot be closely coordinated enough), and the Rapid Attack (Ranged) skill, the player can double-tap (or triple-tap) a target. After the first attack, the second (and third) are resolved seperately. If the second (and third) attacks hit-and beat the first attack roll, the damage from the second (and third) attacks are combined with the damage from the first attack. If the second (and third) attack hits but doesn't beat the first, the damage is kept seperate.

Re: Infinite Crisis

Wow, so maybe I should get to dusting off the World's Finest/DC reboot comic scripts, for when the whole Infinite Crisis thing crashes and burns.

Re: Semi-Anime-Ish Charater Ideal...

I'd say a BIG VPP with some suitable limitations.

Pretty high PD/ED but low STUN (they take abuse but they go down pretty quick when hit hard enough).

Some life supports (at the very least Longetivity).

I was pondering on a charater who is named Tenchi Morasoto. That's right' date=' the half-god/half-human son of Beldandy and Kenichi Morasoto from [i']Oh! My Goddess![/i]

 

The problem is...what superhero name should he have? It should have a norse panthion ring to it.

 

Also, what powers do you think a half-god should have? Especaly considering the fact that he comes from the Oh! My Goddess universe (but thanks to answering a certan phone call, no longer resides there...Thanks Ultimate Force).

Re: WWYCD: Let the Hunt Begin!!

Ghost Sniper-Escape. Hide. Hunt. She'll find high ground, wait for him to appear in the clear, then take a shot. Through the eye-she's that accurate. With a 3D6 AP RKA.

Hunt over.

Re: IK Hero?

So will I.

Especially if I actually get it converted over to Hero 5th.

Someday I'll play this game.

Re: IK Hero?

From what the fluff text is, warcasters use mental commands (as part of their training), while "normal" casters use verbal commands and the bond link to "authorize" them.

The magic system is pure D20, with a few extra spells.

How does the bond function in Iron Kingdoms? Do the two actually communicate? Do the Warjacks follow any order their Warcaster thinks at them?

 

That's fine. It really depends on the magic system's mechanics - do they use the default D&D 3.5 magic system, or did Monte Cook come up with something new for them?

Re: IK Hero?

According to Liber Mechanika, Warjacks use the most powerful (i.e. "smart") cortex avalable-which makes them a bit smater than the average dog. They're good at figuring out how to handle orders, but not too good at making up their own. Buy them at INT 5-6, with a +6 INT with the limitation of "only when following external orders", which should give a good sense of their intellegence. To represnet the bond, I'd add Mind Link and Psy Lim (Reprogrammable Duty, Only To Bonded Warcaster).

Hm...I like the side effect idea. My only issue is how to handle magic-personally, I'm just going to go with a VPP with the (initial) limitation of "Only Previously Memorized Spells".

I'd probably do that anyway, since the Warjacks are somewhat crappy without the Warcaster backing them up with Focus.

 

The chance of Bad Things happening when clerics heal outside their faith is easily handled with Side Effects, suitably modified.

 

Healing BODY 3d6 (30 Active Points); Side Effects (occurs whenever the character does some specific act (heals someone outside the faith and fails his roll), Side Effect affects both character and recipient of Power's benefits; Bad Things happen; -1/2), Requires A Faith Roll (-1/2)

 

You could give casters a +4 bonus to their roll to heal people of their own faith and -2 to heal others, for instance, to make healing the faithful a sure thing. Or you could get rid of the faith roll and just apply the roll as an Activation Roll to the Side Effect; I'd say that reduces the value of the Side Effect by 1/4.

Re: IK Hero?

Probably going to build the characters as templates with lenses-two templates (race and career), with lenses (to deal with specific character types).

Magic is tricky in the game-for clerics to heal outside of the faith, there's a very good chance of Bad Things happening.

Re: IK Hero?

Tho, if I felt really, really nasty...I'd buy the Arc Node as a follower of the Warjack.

You could do it that way' date=' too, sure. But I think the Indirect will come out a bit more, er, elegantly, [i']i.e.[/i], be simpler for the player/GM to implement; this is especially true since VPPs can be a pain to adjust - if the arc node Warjack adjusts the VPP on his SPD, but the Warcaster has a different SPD, then... But, as always, YMMV.

Re: IK Hero?

I'd probably buy Warjacks that had a arc node (which lets you do remote casting) as a VPP w/ the limitation "can only cast a spell that the bonded Warcaster can cast" and "only can use the END of the Warcaster".

I recall the Warcasters and the Warjacks. Like I said' date=' seemed an interesting thing to port to Hero - with a naked Indirect advantage for the Warcaster, limited to allowing him to cast any spell through the spear-carrier Warjacks. Focus being placed on Warjacks to allow them extra attacks and such is basically similar to them having powers that draw on the END Reserve of the Warcaster; when he runs out of END for the turn, that's it for special Warjack abilities. The Warcaster actually having to "place" Focus on the Warjacks would be a House Rule that requires the Warcaster to allocate his END at the beginning of the Phase.[/quote']

Re: IK Hero?

Think of it as steampunk fantasy-major magic, guns (that use alchemy rather than chemical-based propellants), steam robots, etc, etc.

When I demoed Warmachine at GenCon' date=' I was left with the feeling that it should be relatively easy to port to Hero. I'm not that familiar with the IK setting behind it. Tell us a little more.[/quote']

Would anybody be interested in seeing a version of Iron Kingdoms converted over to Hero 5th?

Re: Is there any originality left in comics?

I wanted to create a comic, need an artist, tho.