Erkenfresh

Re: Package Deals in 5ER Ahhh yes, that's completely true. It was a lively conversation even if I had no idea what it was about.

Re: Giant Robot RPG (carry over post to SH from DC) "Very heavy resistance... but why are they using such primitive weapons?" Such a classic line from Robotech. Anyway, that idea sounds really awesome. You'll have to let us know how it turns out.

Re: Package Deals in 5ER That I can agree to. But, still no cost break on package deals in my campaigns.

Re: Package Deals in 5ER I see what you are saying Lucius and I can't say that you are wrong, just that I disagree. I see it as perfectly valid to give someone a discount for taking a package deal, but it's not something I would do. The reason I say a package deal and an EC are different is what you can put in them. A simple police package deal is something like this: WF: Pistols Fringe Benefit: Police powers Deduction Criminology Tracking I can't think of a valid reason such things might fit into an EC. So, let's say you were horribly burned as a child but the fire stayed inside you and gave you fire powers. Sounds like a good basis for an EC. Now try to justify putting in Criminology into your fire-based EC. PS: As for the example from my previous post, the part that doesn't make sense is you can't really drain/suppress his pistol. That's how you disable an EC is through drain/suppress etc. So, while the example didn't really make any sense, I really do understand this stuff, I just can't convey it properly.

Re: Package Deals in 5ER They make perfect sense. Now, let's say you take a police package which includes "WF: Pistols" and some ranged CSL's. When someone takes your pistol away from you, all your CSL's for pistols are worthless but you still have your skills at full power. Losing your gun doesn't take away your ability to deduce a conclusion from a crime scene. If you made your police package deal with an EC, then "draining" any one characterisitc, like your pistol, would drain them all yes? That's probably not a great example since it doesn't make any sense. I think the point is "package deals" and "elemental controls" and "multipowers" are completely different things. It's like comparing apples and oranges. I understand the basis behind getting a point break with ECs and MPs, but not behind a package deal.

Re: SPD Standards Instead of upping his speed so he could dodge a lot, try buying DCV combat skill levels instead. It has the same effect in the long run right? Sure, he's not gonna be punching as fast, but the idea that he's dodging around and hard to hit will be there.

Re: Is it time for people to stop making new RPG systems? I think it's something you could do with any novel. Take The Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin for example. I could easily see a way to generate the Seven Kingdoms in HERO with character sheets for the major players like Jaime Lannister and Robert Baratheon. So, in short, no there's no market.

Re: Package Deals in 5ER If you really have your heart set on giving point breaks for package deals, do it. You're the GM. Give a percentage discount like 10% off or something. Personally, that doesn't make any sense to me. A self-taught detective with the same skills spends more points than one working for the precinct?

Re: Question About Sample Character: Darien I know what I'm naming my next character.

Re: Question About Sample Character: Darien That seems the case with all of Darien's agility skills. I'd label his player as an outright liar and kick him out of my house! No seriously, they probably forgot to print a "+1 to all agility skills". I think that costs 5 points.

Re: Creating Fire Just use a lighter.

Re: Spell Duration RCC has the advantage of increasing the cost to get more time. This makes perfect sense to me. Also, the spell's END cost will only be paid during activation so I don't care that it's UbO or UaA.

Re: Spell Duration I'm using Killer Shrike's idea of having a spell pouch that you have to have nearby for mundane components like bat guano and pumice and junk like that. If someone takes the pouch from you, your spell is restrained.

Re: Spell Duration OK, I think I got it then. Since spells will be part of a VPP, I'm not so concerned about the real cost as much as the active cost so "costs endurance" before applying charges shouldn't matter much. I do require a -1 worth of limitations though, so I think a good writeup would be this: Night eyes: Nightvision, Usable By Other (+1/4), Ranged (+1/2), Persistent (+1/2), 1 Recoverable Continuing Charge lasting 6 Hours (+1/2) (14 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4), Incantations (-1/4) This would give one target the ability to see in the dark for 6 hours. To cast it on another target, the first one would have to be turned off, but this can be increased by upping the UbO by 1/4 per doubling. The caster would pay 1 END to activate the spell and that's it. Does that sound right?

Re: Spell Duration I want all spells to cost END so option 4 is out. Now, I'm still a bit confused with Uncontrolled. If we write it up with that, we have: Nightvision, Uncontrolled (+1/2) (7 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2) This would cost 1 END per Phase. So to give someone 10 minutes worth would be 50 turns, and slowing yourself down to 2 SPD would be 100 Phases = 100 END. That doesn't seem to work right.

I know it's been asked many times but hey one more time doesn't hurt right? I'm building up some spells for my campaign. One example is "Night Vision". In order to make it so it doesn't last forever and cost endurance, I'm putting the Instant limitation on it and then adding Lingering. So, it's like this: Nightvision: Nightvision, Usable By Other (+1/4), Lingering up to 1 Day (+2) (16 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), Instant (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4) Similarly, I want a spell to use Density Increase on someone else. I'm building it like this: Rockhard body: Density Increase (1,600 kg mass, +20 STR, +4 PD/ED, -4" KB), Usable By Other (+1/4), Lingering up to 5 Minutes (+1) (45 Active Points); Instant (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) Something seems wrong about this. It's a bit awkward. Any suggestions?

Re: Map Software They could only raid when the moon gets close to the hole. Perhaps that's only once every thousand years... and it's getting close right about now!

Re: Killing Damage DCs Here's the averages: 1/2d6 (max = 3, min = 1): (3 + 1)/2 = 2 average 1d6 - 1 (max = 5, min = 0): (5 + 0)/2 = 2.5 average So, that's why 1d6 - 1 is "better" and it's definitely simpler. Still, in my campaigns, we always go with 1/2d6.

Re: Railroading - Forcing PCs to take certain actions As others have mentioned, "that's what my character would do", isn't a very good excuse to leave the party. Either his character needs to have a reason to stay (fame, treasure, and women) or just have him create a new one and see if he backpedals on the decision.

Re: It's almost 5AM and I'm thinking about Space Combat My personal experience was that the vehicle combat was pretty boring. If anyone has any good ideas on spicing it up, I'd love to hear it. I'm also thinking more along the lines of "capital" ships, or at least not fighters.

Re: Railroading - Forcing PCs to take certain actions In situations where the entire party should die for doing something stupid, you gotta come up with some reason why they don't. Maybe after getting knocked unconcious, another party finds out what's going on and rescues them (this is especially good if the other party are rivals). Maybe they're taken prisoner, though this usually means the removal of their equipment, well at least somewhere safe until the party escapes and finds a cache full of their stuff (and their stuff only oddly enough). In one campaign, the party was fighting the final big bad boss of the whole thing and lost. It was very close too. So, I decided that they could remake characters if they wanted to but the ones who didn't were resurrected 100 years later. And the quest to fight the big bad boss demon continues, except now they have to find him. Anyhow, it's pretty easy to avoid railroading when you have a campaign setting book. When someone says "hey screw this, let's go find an inn, maybe if we take this road instead we'll find one" it's easy to go look on the map and figure out what's over there. For anyone who does world building on the fly, I respect you very much, it takes a good imagination.

Re: Help design this spell... Isn't this just an AoE with the "Nonselective" adder and an activation roll? The activation roll would be handled slightly different in that it would be rolled for each hex and would be low enough that only a few hexes are hit. To simplify, you'd only roll for hexes containing people or monsters and any other bolts going off would just be for effect so you wouldn't have to roll them. It'd be this: Bolts of the storm god: Energy Blast 6d6, Indirect (Down from the sky; +1/4), Area Of Effect Nonselective (4" Radius; +3/4) (60 Active Points); Activation Roll 8- (-2), Can't be used indoors (-1/2), Real Cost: 17 points

Re: Railroading - Forcing PCs to take certain actions Let the guy leave the party and give him a blank character sheet to make a new guy the party picks up. Hopefully, he's not too attached to Thodric and can move on. Thodric could go on to become an important hero in the war and you could have NPCs mention him to the party so they can chuckle.

Re: Two-Weapon Fighting + Sweep

Re: Two-Weapon Fighting + Sweep Maybe you're not ambidextrous. C'mon, it's not a 9 point talent for nothing, oh wait it is.