Ockham's Spoon

Re: suggestions for "does not work in..." I had a teleporter like this once, where he would step through the 5th dimension to reach his destination. But it didn't always work, because sometimes there were obstacles in the 5th dimension that you couldn't go through. The analogy was similar to the what appears in "Flatland" by Edwin Abbott Abbott. To wit, in 2D you see a 3D object only in cross-section. If you want to get around a purely 2D object, you can jump over it if you can enter 3D space. But if the 2D object is only the cross-section of a 3D object, you may not be able to jump it because it occupies space and not just area. The teleporter in question could "jump" out of 3D to go "through" (read, "around") barriers, but only if they weren't projections of higher dimensional objects. In game terms, we defined this as "Not through Affects Desolid", the rationale being that some desolid characters are just occupying another dimension, and it made it easy to buy Force Walls and such that could imprison the teleporter. To make the limitation worth something, however, I also had random objects that were just projections of higher dimensional things. This was not rigorously defined, but mostly a plot device to keep the teleportation from making things too easy for the heroes. ________________________________________________________________ And the new dance craze is the same as the old one: The unsustainable lifestyle - The Beauty Pill

Re: Thoughts on SPD The NCM rule is really more a guideline than a written-in-stone kind of rule. Your approach of setting the NCM for SPD to 6 is simple, and if it works for you, go for it. That said, I have generally taken a different approach to making superb martial artists and similar highly trained normals perform like they would with a higher SPD. I build them with levels with Sweep manuevers, Autofire for their flurry of punches, Triggered attacks (because I don't like Damage Shield) for a lightning fast riposte, etc. I prefer this approach for a couple of reasons. First, it is easier to keep track of PHA if you have a small SPD spread; that many more PHAs you can just skip over so it speeds up combat (for me anyway). Second, the more manuevers a character is capable of, the more variety you get in combat. If you sink a bunch of points into SPD instead of various combat manuevers to simulate high SPD, you tend to do the same thing over and over. If you have a lot of different manuevers to chose from and only a limited SPD to act with, you plan more carefully and combat end up being more colorful, at least in my experience. Finally, SPD can be a really huge advantage in combat, especially in one-on-one scenarios; there is a reason SPD costs so much. If you up the NCM cap, players are going to buy higher SPD because they can afford it. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it could change the dynamics of your gameplay a bit. __________________________________________________________ Mr. Tate: "And I was unfaithful at the changing of the royal guard." Mrs. Tate: "But that takes less than a minute." Mr Tate: "So do I." - from Soap

Re: Rules to ignore, or replace Oh you are right about the PER roll difference between Images and Shapeshift/Invisibility, but I mostly don't see why there shouldn't be some kind of PER roll for the latter two. Invisibility has the "fringe" effect to represent imperfect vanishing, but why not just build it with Images? Why not have some kind of advantage or adder to Images to eliminate the PER roll if you want effect to be perfect? Maybe this is just my own little hang-up that things aren't more streamlined. Consider also that you can't do a Cosmetic Transform vs. yourself or Shapeshift vs. others. But Transform doesn't require you to buy it vs. different senses. The way the two powers are built is completely different even though the effect is essentially the same. Okay, well the story-line effect is the same even if from a gaming standpoint one power is really an attack while the other isn't. As for the couch, I don't think Stretching is what I have in mind at all. (Maybe it is and I just haven't read the power description recently enough). I am not saying I want to reach further than my arm would normally go, but rather under a gap that is too small for my arm to fit under. I want to use Shapeshift to flatten my arm so it will fit. Maybe a better example would be I want my shapeshifter to operate an alien device that requires a hand shaped like a bunch of bananas. The device doesn't care what my hand looks like as long as it is the right shape. Surely that isn't Stretching is it?

Re: Rules to ignore, or replace I do not have any problems with the 5th Ed. Shapeshift per se; I think being able to select which senses will notice the change is nice (I once had a race of 4th Ed. shapeshifting aliens who identified each other by smell, the one sense they couldn't affect). My own personal issue is why have Shapeshift and Images when the construct is so similar? Why not just dump Shapeshift and use Images only vs. Self? My own knee-jerk response is that since Shapeshift actually alters your form, you could use it to say, reach under the couch to retrieve your loose coins that your arm would have otherwise been too large to fit under. But only if you bought Shapeshift vs. touch because the couch isn't going to be fooled by a sight-only Shapeshift. Clearly this is silly, but it seems to me there needs to be a better game-mechanic definition of Shapeshift that is more intuitive, because Shapeshift does things that strictly speaking don't affect any senses, like the couch scenario. My 2 cents (that came from under the couch)

Re: Suggestions for a player's Song character? Aid to PRE. Music can be inspiring or menacing, ask any Hollywood songwriter. If nothing else, it makes for great stage performances (if the character is a musician in secret ID). Drain vs. DEX with cacophonic music so grating that it causing all hearing it to cringe. This could be just an ear-spliting shriek or nails-on-the-chalkboard type thing, or it might be specific to individuals (some people hate Rap, some people hate Country, etc.). Might add a Darkness or Images vs. hearing with this to represent how much more difficult it would be hear anything else. Mimicry might be good too; many excellent singers have good voice control and this would be appropriate. One of the Fantasy Hero supplements (Fantasy Hero Companion II maybe?) has a section on "Bard Magic" which is likely to have some good ideas for specific power builds. ______________________________________________________________ An actual exchange between me and my mother - Mom: "What is this music you are listening to?" Me: "The Cure." Mom: "The Cure? It sounds like the disease."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... The heroes are stuck aboard a spaceship and one of them, Kateomi, has become infected with a deadly alien spore. They are in the infirmary looking for a cure, but they only one they know that works is exposure to hard radiation. Gemini: "Maybe a low dose of radiation would work if it were targeted well enough, or taken internally." Quinn: "Like how? High dose barium enema?" Kateomi: "You want to enema the spores to death? I think I'd rather expose myself to the ship's reactor core and take my chances with radiation poisoning." Viceroy: "I'm not sure which bothers me more, the fact Kateomi might die or that the first cure that pops into Quinn's head is a marathon enema party." Kateomi: "If I live, remind me not to accept any invitations to one of your parties."

Re: Rules to ignore, or replace I do not let characters buy up the maximum they can achieve with an Aid. If they want a 30 point effect, they have to buy at least 5d6 to get it. Being able to buy up the maximum just lends itself to abuse IMO. I am also pretty forgiving about what I will allow in power frameworks, provided it makes sense and doesn't seem abusive. I guess that really falls under GM approval, so it is not outside the rules, but it might not make it into officially sanctioned material. ___________________________________________________________ So don't smile so wide for that lens The cross-hairs are not your friends *click click* - The Beauty Pill

Re: Late Night - Desolidification Idea Do Desolid characters really need the ability to foil Affects Desolid? What would be the rationale? Seems to me that Affects Desolid is rare enough as is that it shouldn't really be an issue. And to think that someone might pay +1 advantage to have double Affects Desolid seems ridiculous, so the fact that each could be bought multiple times seems almost pointless. I almost never see double Armor Piercing, and that has greater utility than Affects Desolid. My 2 cents.

Re: Suppress Running? I am guessing you bought this Suppress with the +1 Advantage "affects 4 abilities"? If it were me, I would not allow mixing of characteristics with movement powers in a single Suppress, partly because it doesn't seem kosher, and partly because you end up with exactly the situation you describe. I would buy it as something like 6d6 Suppress vs. 2 abilities at once, 4d6 vs. DEX & SPD and 2d6 vs. Running & Leaping. Or maybe two separate Suppresses linked together but with a similar dice ratio. Price-wise it should be close to what you have now, but it won't have the movement vs. characteristics mismatch you have now. Nice ability by the way, I may have to borrow it for some characters of my own. _______________________________________________________________ "Why follow me to higher ground, lost as you swear I am?" - Ed Roland

Re: Darkness help I don't know how applicable this is, but a player of mine had a vampire character who was affected by sunlight but not killed by it (my mandate since I didn't want a character that could only effectively operate at night). We bought her a 3d6 Susc. to sunlight per hour. That meant she didn't like being in sunlight, but could do it, even for extended periods of time if need be. Where it really became a limitation was when combat started. She would be down a few STN, but the bigger problem was that she didn't get any recoveries while in sunlight. It was a nice way to impose a significant but not completely crippling handicap. _____________________________________ "Don't go into the light!"

Re: Doubled equipment + multiple power attacks? IIRC, extra limbs does not imply extra attacks. If you want to represent the fact that your mutant gets to attack a lot as a result of muliple arms, you need to buy up his SPD, give him Autofire on his attacks, buy PSL for Sweep manuevers and the like. And don't forget you will have to buy Ambidextrous to be able to use all those "off" hands proficiently. That said, the others are right about having to carefully watch the 5pt doubling rule so that it doesn't get abusive. _________________________________________________________________ I say risk and you say cost You choose trapped and I choose lost - Beauty Pill

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... The GM describes an attack that failed to penetrate Enigma’s defenses, at the last minute remembering her skimpy costume. GM: “The axe bounces off your armor, I mean, um, your…cleavage.” That must have been one dull axe. I'll say. Axes are all about cleavage.

Re: Artificial Advancement So it sounds kind of like gaming out critical moments of the character's background. I can see where that would be fun to do and give each player some personal time in the "mini-solo" adventure (although mixing different characters' backgrounds together might be fun too.) I have never done this per se, but I have introduced character's mid-campaign with fewer than points than they would normally have. Their initial encounters with the other characters often form the basis for some of their Disads, but in any event the Disad total matches the other characters pretty quickly. I then have given them the balance of their character points to get them up to speed with the other characters either by doubling the amount of XP they get or giving it in a lump sum through a "radiation"-type accident. This has often worked well, but I have had a few crash and burn because the critical scenes in the character's "background" did not play out the way the player had envisioned and it leaves the character a little short. You can probably overcome this by discussing it with your players and careful planning, but be aware that it can happen. Good luck with your campaign! ___________________________________________________________________ Some people spread joy wherever they go. Others, whenever they go. - Oscar Wilde

Re: Brainstorming a mystical superhero mansion There is only one door to access all of the storage closets, pantries, attics, etc. Which one of these rooms you get depends on which key you use to unlock the door. And of course one day some character finds a key they have never tried before... The lights in the study (or other room, or even all rooms) change color depending on the level of supernatural threat to the house or world at large. The ticking of the huge hall clock speeds up or slows down with the color of the light, because it is really the heartbeat of the house. The house may or may not be full grown, but either way you have to trim the woodwork periodically to keep it from becoming too unruly; let's face it, no one wants an ingrown doorframe - not only are they uncomfortable but they are hard to open too.

Re: Logic v Balance What we have here is a question of the conservation of momentum. By the laws of physics (which are very rubbery around a character who can alter her mass, but bear with me), momentum is: p=mv where m is your mass and v is your velocity. So if Monster Girl increases her mass by a factor of 8, then her velocity drops by a factor of 8 to conserve momentum. Maybe that is more than you were looking for, but that addresses the logic half of your question. Because effects in HERO are nonlinear with respect to STR and mass and such, by this logic she is probably better off keeping the velocity rather than shifting it to mass, regardless of potential OCV issues. _________________________________________________________________ The difference between being in a rut and being dead is six feet.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... A group of Fantasy Hero characters face a powerful lich. The warrior mage rushes forward and strikes the lich with his enchanted flaming sword, hopefully before the lich can cast any spells. The sword hits the cursed Entropic Breastplate that the lich wears and is reduced to dust. Warrior Mage: "$%#*@!!!" Sorceror: "No matter how hard you swear, I don't think you are going to be able to reigite your sword." Druid: "I think I'll string my bow for this one." Ninja (using bare-handed attacks at this point): "Whoa, I'm glad I let you go first!" __________________________________________________________ The difference between being in a rut and being dead is 6 feet.

Re: Spell: Inflict Wounds by Touch (Harming Hand) I built some Spectral Gloves for a Fantasy Hero campaign once, which were sewn from the skin of a spectre. The effect was to allow the character to have a "bare-handed" strike that by-passed armor (for ninja-type characters who used martial arts attacks a lot). I built it as a naked Armor Piercing advantage for up to 8 DC of attack for bare-handed strikes. But based on your description, the HKA seems like a better way to model your spell. My initial reaction would be to build this as NND Does BDY, but upon reflection, I think that Penetrating would be better. Armor wouldn't stop the damage, but it would prevent a full contact touch so it might lessen it. And I love the Side Effect vs. Undead - no advantage or limitation but nice flavor! ________________________________________________________ The rich scare me. They can already evade taxes. - Grim Reaper

Re: Let's talk about...Physical disads and powers that minimise them This is a crucial point I think, and how it is resolved probably depends on how the GM wants to run things. The difference from a character building standpoint is that the guy who sells off his sight and buys some kind of spatial awareness is essentially starting with zero points spent and zero points in Disads while the guy who buys a Blind Disad and then a compensating sense has some points tied up in both cases. Which is better? Well in the first case the character has 25 more points to spend on whatever he wants because he sold back his sight, but he also has to come up with more in Disads than the guy in the second case. Depending on how much of a stickler the GM is for enforcing Disads, that could be a good deal or a bad one. __________________________________________________________ So don't smile so wide for that lens The cross-hairs are not your friends *click click* - Beauty Pill

Re: Looking for House rule suggestion Sean, excellent LTE system. I will have to borrow that concept, and rep you when it lets me again. Nexus, if your GM wants people to get tired quickly, don't forget encumbrance rules. It doesn't take a lot of equipment and armor to make a character rapidly burn through END in combat. If that still isn't enough consider only allowing recoveries if the character makes a CON roll. For each step up the time chart you get a +1 to your roll. I have done this for characters who were sick or poisoned to represent them tiring out faster; the effect is not enough to keep the character from acting, but they do have to be more careful. __________________________________________________________ So don't smile so wide for that lens The cross-hairs are not your friends *click click* - Beauty Pill

Re: Combat skill levels and Multipower Bummer, no one to blame but myself. 50 lashes with a wet noodle. _______________________________________________________ "Why follow me to higher ground, lost as you swear I am?" - Collective Soul

Re: Combat skill levels and Multipower Oh. I seem to have missed the "no matter how many slots it has" clause; is that new to 5ER or do I just need to read more carefully? My memory was that skill levels "with a tight group" meant no more than three skills, powers, or manuevers in said group. More than that required 5pt levels. Well thanks for the correction. I know some players you have just made some players very happy. ________________________________________________________ Some people spread joy wherever they go. Others, whenever they go. - Oscar Wilde

Re: The more corrupt you are, the more it hurts Very nice; this build sidesteps having to come up with a mechanic for the attack by making it GM fiat. I like the 7 deadly sins idea too, although I suspect the truly corrupt would probably have committed several of them and it seems wimpy that they only get punished for their most prevalent transgression instead of all of them.

Re: Combat skill levels and Multipower For me it would depend on what kind of campaign I was running. If it were a Fanatasy Hero game, I would probably go with the 3 pt levels, because it could be any bow and any arrows, it just happens to be magical ones. Every other archer would be buying 3pt levels, so I would be silly to require 5pt levels to operate some magic arrows. For a super-hero game, I would make them pay 5 pt levels if the Multipower had lots of slots, because every other character with a large number of MP slots would have to and just because this guy bought his MP through a focus shouldn't change the cost of his levels. _________________________________________________________ I say risk and you say cost You chose trapped and I chose lost - Beauty Pill

Re: The more corrupt you are, the more it hurts I like the idea of a "base level corruption" where noble Psych Lims lower the base and amoral ones increase it. Not that I am the one building this power, but it is an excellent idea. The system won't let me rep you again yet though. ______________________________________________________ Check out the "Song of The South" bluebirds Face down in the plantation mud So don't smile so wide for that lens Crosshairs are not your friends *Click click* - Beauty Pill

Re: The more corrupt you are, the more it hurts I agree that the definition of corruption is going to be key to the construction (and pricing) of this power. Mr. Neilson gives some excellent examples. For that reason, the level of Pysch Lim that Doc D proposes would probably be a good way to define it in game terms. As for the build, I would just have a single power, say 10d6 EB, with the limitation that the damage can't exceed the "corruption level" of the target (-½). The "corruption level" is then defined as total points in "evil" Psych Lims, probably multiplied by a modifier for the level of evil (so Hates Killers might have a multiplier of x1, but Casual Killer a multiplier of x2 or something). You might have to tweak the numbers to get it to come out at the level you want. As mentioned above, some things have no level of corruption (like a vending machine, no matter how frustrating they may be) and hence the attack is useless against inanimate objects. But I would propose that most people are at least slightly corrupt; after all, no one is perfect. They may not be affected strongly by this attack, but it may still sting. I would by default give everyone a 5 or 10 point level Disad "Self-Centered" for purposes of this attack, because that is human nature. This would open a number of role-playing opportunities I think, but also keep the limitation from becoming an advantage (esp. in hostage situations I am thinking). _____________________________________________________________ I say risk, you say cost You choose trapped, I choose lost - Beauty Pill