Thia Halmades

Re: Sell me on HERO 5th ed. A question intentionally to spark a discussion (not a flame war or a "HERO 1z t3h l33tz!21#!!!eleven!!@!" sort of discussion, it's a formal, serious question) that I had was this: In HERO I can merrily pop off and model literally any character, whether its Indiana Jones (nice one, Boom) or a Street Level cop or Galactus. I can also model any SPELL, any POWER or any effect that I can think of (including the game-breaking and absurdly expensive Time Stop). How well does GURPS handle this? Could I go into GURPS and model (not just "find" but model) all of the d20 spells as I have in HERO? Can I create new package deals on the fly because I have all the tools in front of me and know precisely how they work? Is that possible? I genuinely don't know. I would say from what I've read in this thread and my minimal experience with GURPS that the answer is "nnn...yyy... maybe." Whereas with HERO the answer is not only "Yes." It's four different VERSIONS of Yes. So what says the assembly?

Re: Dilema...

Re: Are Heroic Characteristics Realistic? Right! We're in total agreement then.

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? I saw Mirror Mask for the first time this weekend; I really loved it. A grown up, less cheese filled Labyrinth.

Re: package deal question And STR should be costed at 2:1, and DEX should be decoupled from OCV & DCV. But you know, c'est la vie.

Re: Never Built a follower before need assitance I'm with Derek. Just look it up in the Bestiary (if you have it) or if you don't, I think you can just DL the entirety of the book in pre-written HDv3 format for like... seven bucks? Double check with someone who has it (I tend to just plug them all in myself). But a Falcon is built on 118, so I would think a Crow would be slightly less.

Re: Alien Wars/Xenovore Q's They're basically a variant on lizard folk; kinda scaled, with leech-like mouths. They come in various flavors for the purpose of making them how you want them to be. I can't find any really analagous images in the SRD, though.

Re: Problem with force field I submit that this probably isn't the forum to get into that discussion (it's an NGD discussion), and second, you must spread some rep around etc. etc.

Re: Problem with force field "Your greatsword comes down and clefts the hobgoblin from crown to crotch. There's a shower of blood as he staggers backwards and collapses. With red ink dripping from your blade you wheel around to engage your next opponent..." My games are rated R. All of them. For "Mature Themes, Drugs, Violence, Language, and Adult Situations." I play with all adults, so it's no issue. But there is a LOT of violence.

Re: Simple Falcon/ Bird of Prey Well it is technically a move-by, and dramatic and common sense factor in here. The falcon kills by whip-lashing its prey to death. Swoop, snap, neck break. Except the tiny things. They evidently just go along for the ride and then get eated.

Re: Are Heroic Characteristics Realistic? To clarify, I'm almost always discussing "dramatic realism." Bear in mind, I am saying that it's totally reasonable for these super-strong normals to pull apart doors, that's fine! I really take no issue with it. I'm simply asking what the best way for the system to represent it is. And in some cases, plain old STR will get the job done. In most cases, I submit we'd be much better off saying "he's THIS strong" but because he's "THAT" strong he can also do [these things]. I'm not worried about realism; I'm worried about what the book says on the topic and what makes the most sense from a design standpoint.

Re: Are Heroic Characteristics Realistic? Quite possibly from an imperfect understanding of STR in this system. However, my use of HERO submits that the stats are comparatively secondary, which in a sense puts me in the same camp as the "scrap the stats completely" cats, although not completely. I find comfort from comparative stable measurement systems. However, let's say that Marv can rip a prison cell door off its hinges, or bend the bars with an extended effort. How much STR do you think (or does the system suggest) it would take to actually bend the solid bars of a prison cell door? Or remove it entirely? Will a weight lifter's supreme strength be enough to do it, given the physics, limited movement, etc? I'm arguing that just STR only gets you so far; that in order to properly represent "heroic strength" you do in fact need to incorporate powers. It could even be Skill Levels, which in turn may be a Special Effect. "He's not really skilled, he's just that strong." It's all a matter of interpretation of the system and your preference of use and overall functionality. How much STR would you give someone to bend or pummel a max security prison door? How much would it cost to build a power that accomplishes the same thing (say, a Dispel or whatever)?

Re: package deal questiom

Re: Are Heroic Characteristics Realistic? Heh. Rep coming.

Re: Sell me on HERO 5th ed. I was a d20 GM, and I never liked GURPS much. What you really need is someone who's familiar with both systems. While I can fanboy the HERO system all day long, it won't do you much good. Frankly, I think it's the greatest system I've ever used (and after a couple of decades, I've used a bunch). For me, there's just nothing I can't model and no genre I can't play. I love it. Seriously. Hopefully someone with something more constructive to say will be along in a little bit. But having played a little bit of GURPS, I can't say that I like it much (although I'm told the vehicle rules are superior), and I genuinely adore HERO.

Re: Is this a legal build Well, for the first one, anything is legal with GMO, however, in terms of the question "most valid" way to do a thing, Negative Skill Levels are not the way to go, as they are in fact limited to objects. As far as I know, you CAN do it that way, but I wouldn't call it the valid build, because Change Environment exists to do this, does that make sense? You can do it that way with GM approval, but I would never approve it, because that's what Change Environment is for. Insofar as the Trigger, I wouldn't allow it because it's (pardon me for this one) cheesy as all get out. It's basically giving you a free abort in the event an AOE shows up, and in terms of SFX, or "knowing" you've been targeted... ugh. I just don't like it; I'm not saying you can't do it. It's trigger! You can make the Trigger whatever you want with GM approval. But I wouldn't approve of it. I would restrict it to being an Attack Action. I think you're also reaching with the "only AOE attack" limitation, because there's no way to really know (other than someone lobbing a grenade) that an attack is even going to BE AOE. It goes back to the whole common sense, dramatic sense sort of thing.

Re: Is this a legal build No, there's no "by the book" way to improve the DCV of the Hex you're IN. This is actually the point of AOE attacks; there are a LOT of other ways to avoid the attack (Flying Dodge, basic defenses including Force Field, things that would block the attack itself like Force Wall) but there's no "by the book" way to improve the DCV of the Hex in which you're standing. Your best options are to have abilities that get you out of that hex, Desolid, or to bork your opponent's OCV scores (which is what I posted initially).

Re: IST Pittsburgh Again, Mark, I'm always impressed by your background material, but where are the plotlines? Environment and understanding the world you want to put the PCs in is king, but who are their adversaries? What are the core plot lines? What is the "thesis" for your campaign? Do you know what the national threat to security is going to be? Have you written that?

Re: Is this a legal build Change Environment is an attack power, basically; it can only reduce things or create penalties. If he CE's the "hex he's in" he'll only reduce his own DCV, i.e., he'll become easier to hit. CE cannot provide a net benefit. Now he can build a power around 5 point DCV Combat Skill Levels and apply Usable By Others, Area of Effect to it if he wants too, but I tend to frown on those constructions, personally. But no, straight up, Change Environment can't 'improve' your DCV in any way; it can lower your opponents OCV (per the build I posted) or reduce just about anything ELSE in your opponent, but it cannot give you any sort of bonus.

Re: Answers & Questions Q: When I said "give those guys a raise," after my daughter's recital, why is it that the Legion of Doom is now on my payroll, and I'm getting angry letters from an unpaid band? A: Hey, you said "hit 'em with everything!"

Re: Is this a legal build I think you just aren't understanding how Change Environment works. If you want to drop someone's OCV with the end RESULT making it "harder to target your hex" then the power I would build is: 37 Gravity Well v.1.0: Change Environment 1" radius, -6 OCV, Ranged (+1/2), Mobile (+1) (75 Active Points); Requires A Power Roll (-1/2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2) (7 END) You can remove Mobile to make it cheaper, but the design is intended to keep people from "moving out" of your comparatively small AOE, which is likely the first thing they're going to do. You want to the power to "stick" to them, so I mobilized it for that reason. This version has One Continuing Charge for 5 minutes; you can increase the number of charges to improve the utility, but for a once-a-day it would look like this: 27 Gravity Well v.1.1: Change Environment 1" radius, -6 OCV, Ranged (+1/2), Mobile (+1) (75 Active Points); 1 Continuing Charge lasting 5 Minutes (-3/4), Requires A Power Roll (-1/2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2) And 8 times a day, with each charge lasting one minute (which is more than enough time for a single fight, in most cases) 41 Gravity Well v.1.2: Change Environment 1" radius, -6 OCV, 8 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (+1/4), Ranged (+1/2), Mobile (+1) (82 Active Points); Requires A Power Roll (-1/2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2)

Re: Answers & Questions Q: Which end of the Palindromedary did you intend on kissing again? A: Because they're the best team ever, of course.

Re: IST Pittsburgh Okay. Do you insist on setting it in PIT because that's what you're familiar with? It would make more sense in a higher-profile area. Most supers teams have the ability to get to any point of conflict within their zone; it would make more sense to put them in Beantown, Philly, NYC or a similar, high-profile city. Unless you have some major plot reason for sticking them in Western PA.

Re: Simple Falcon/ Bird of Prey Seriously. I don't wanna get hit with a 28d6 aerial strike. "So, Thia, are watching the Glarck!" "Jarome?" glances around. "Jarome?" Swoosh! CRUNCH! All they ever found were a pair of stilettos and a Holy Avenger. The two officers were never hear from again...

Re: Is this a legal build Erg, first, we're peers, not pears. That aside, this fails the whole SFX reasonability thing. You aren't surrounding YOURSELF with the field, you're surrounding THEM in the field. If you want to make YOURSELF harder to hit, those are 5 point CSLs, to raise DCV (a dedicated DCV CSL) which you can then apply modifiers too, such as "Costs END" and so on.